platinumricky: Saw this on jalopnik early this morning.The evoque-inspired styling looks good on their flagship, i just hope LR's reliability improves with this new model. I think they should make the air-suspension feature optional,its not easy to fix @​ all.

It might become optional now or, at the very least, installed on only the rear wheels because the SUV is going on a major diet. It is easier to maintain a certain ride height with air suspension without having to worry about the inherent weight of the vehicle plus additional cargo. In the X5, only the rear wheels are on bags and even that generates an occasional "SUSPENSION LEVEL ERROR" after some time.

Looks good though!

Baba_Eleko: [size=16pt]This OP get time oo[/size]

You would think! The actual calculations took no time at all because I just did it in Excel spreadsheets (ctrl-D) but formatting the numbers to align because tables can't be posted? Waste of my time!

The lyrics were in response to the British Royal Navy's bombardment of Fort McHenry in 1812. It's a testament to America's resilience and defiance in the face of adversity.


The Star-Spangled Banner

O say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there
O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave

Sounds like this Range Rover can finally get out of its own way!

The 2013 version has an all-aluminum unibody structure that is 39% lighter than the current model’s steel body. The result is a vehicle that is up to 926 pounds lighter than before, depending on the market and equipment.

The car maker said the vehicle’s lighter body also helps improve its acceleration, braking, handling and fuel economy – attributes rarely highlighted in descriptions of previous Range Rovers.

A new air suspension system is meant to retain the cushy ride for which Range Rovers are known. But the latest underpinnings also enable flatter cornering, sharper handling and a better steering feel than before, the car maker said.

The model coming to the U.S. has a naturally aspirated 5-liter V8 engine and is about 700 pounds lighter than the outgoing version. More than one engine will be available and the vehicle comes with an eight-speed automatic transmission.

Inside the vehicle has more than 4.7 inches more legroom than before, so rear-seat passengers in particular should notice the difference.

“The new Range Rover preserves the essential, unique character of the vehicle – that special blend of luxury, performance and unmatched all-terrain capability,” said John Edwards, Land Rover’s global brand director. “However, its clean sheet design and revolutionary lightweight construction have enabled us to transform the experience for luxury vehicle customers, with a step change in comfort, refinement and handling,” Edwards said.

http://blogs.wsj.com/drivers-seat/2012/08/15/2013-range-rover-lighter-quicker-with-a-bigger-back-seat/

AjanleKoko: Where's the transmission?

I guess the new "in" thing is to now have buttons (like Lamborghini) or gear lever that rises (new Jaguars)!

Leaked pictures for the all new 2013 Range Rover.

www.autoblog.com/2012/08/14/first-2013-land-rover-range-rover-images-leak-out/

Appliances on for 4 hours a day for 31 days

Appliance ------------------ Power Usage (Watts) ---- Unit Cost kWh (NGN) -- # of Hours per day -- # of days in 1 month -- Total cost per month
2.5 Ton Central AC ------------------ 3500 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 4 ---------- 31 ---------- NGN 4,904.20
Central AC with Fan only ------------ 750 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 4 ---------- 31 ---------- NGN 1,050.90
Large Window AC ------------------ 1440 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 4 ---------- 31 ---------- NGN 2,017.73
Medium Window AC ------------------ 900 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 4 ---------- 31 ---------- NGN 1,261.08
Tiny Window AC --------------------- 500 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 4 ---------- 31 ---------- NGN 700.60
Floor Fan --------------------------- 100 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 4 ---------- 31 ---------- NGN 140.12
52" Ceiling Fan ----------------------- 95 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 4 ---------- 31 ---------- NGN 133.11
48" Ceiling Fan ----------------------- 75 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 4 ---------- 31 ---------- NGN 105.09
36" Ceiling Fan ----------------------- 55 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 4 ---------- 31 ---------- NGN 77.07

Electric Oven @ 350 degrees --------- 2000 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 4 ---------- 31 ---------- NGN 2,802.40
Old Refrigerator 22 cubic Feet --------- 200 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 4 ---------- 31 ---------- NGN 280.24
New Refrigerator 22 cubic Feet --------- 72 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 4 ---------- 31 ---------- NGN 100.89

100-Watt light Bulb ------------------ 100 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 4 ---------- 31 ---------- NGN 140.12
60-Watt light Bulb -------------------- 100 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 4 ---------- 31 ---------- NGN 140.12
CFL (100 watt equivalent) light Bulb ---- 25 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 4 ---------- 31 ---------- NGN 35.03
CFL (60 watt equivalent) light Bulb ---- 18 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 4 ---------- 31 ---------- NGN 25.22

Computer + 17" CRT ------------------ 200 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 4 ---------- 31 ---------- NGN 280.24
Computer + 17" LCD ------------------ 150 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 4 ---------- 31 ---------- NGN 210.18
Laptop ------------------------------ 45 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 4 ---------- 31 ---------- NGN 63.05
17" CRT Monitor --------------------- 90 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 4 ---------- 31 ---------- NGN 126.11
17" LCD Monitor --------------------- 40 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 4 ---------- 31 ---------- NGN 56.05
Sleeping Computer + Monitor ---------- 10 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 4 ---------- 31 ---------- NGN 14.01

50-56" Plasma TV ---------------- 340 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 4 ---------- 31 ---------- NGN 476.41
50-56" LCD TV ------------------ 260 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 4 ---------- 31 ---------- NGN 364.31
50-56" DLP TV ------------------ 170 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 4 ---------- 31 ---------- NGN 238.20
42" Plasma TV ---------------- 270 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 4 ---------- 31 ---------- NGN 378.32
42" LCD TV ---------------------- 210 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 4 ---------- 31 ---------- NGN 294.25
32" LCD TV ---------------------- 125 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 4 ---------- 31 ---------- NGN 175.15
19" CRT TV ---------------------- 75 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 4 ---------- 31 ---------- NGN 105.09
PS3 ---------------------------- 194 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 4 ---------- 31 ---------- NGN 271.83
XBOX 360 -------------------- 185 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 4 ---------- 31 ---------- NGN 259.22
XBOX Original --------------------- 70 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 4 ---------- 31 ---------- NGN 98.08
Playstation 2 --------------------- 30 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 4 ---------- 31 ---------- NGN 42.04
Nintendo Wii --------------------- 18 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 4 ---------- 31 ---------- NGN 25.22

Toaster --------------------- 1440 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 4 ---------- 31 ---------- NGN 2,017.73
Radio Clock ------------------ 4 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 4 ---------- 31 ---------- NGN 5.60
Radio Stereo ------------------ 400 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 4 ---------- 31 ---------- NGN 560.48
Vacuum Cleaner ------------- 1440 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 4 ---------- 31 ---------- NGN 2,017.73
Hair Dryer ------------------ 1875 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 4 ---------- 31 ---------- NGN 2,627.25

In this scenario, the appliance is on for just 1 hour for the whole month.

Appliance ------------------ Power Usage (Watts) ---- Unit Cost kWh (NGN) -- # of Hours per day -- # of days in 1 month -- Total cost per month
2.5 Ton Central AC ------------------ 3500 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 1 ---------- 1 ---------- NGN 39.55
Central AC with Fan only ------------ 750 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 1 ---------- 1 ---------- NGN 8.48
Large Window AC ------------------ 1440 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 1 ---------- 1 ---------- NGN 16.27
Medium Window AC ------------------ 900 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 1 ---------- 1 ---------- NGN 10.17
Tiny Window AC --------------------- 500 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 1 ---------- 1 ---------- NGN 5.65
Floor Fan --------------------------- 100 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 1 ---------- 1 ---------- NGN 1.13
52" Ceiling Fan ----------------------- 95 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 1 ---------- 1 ---------- NGN 1.07
48" Ceiling Fan ----------------------- 75 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 1 ---------- 1 ---------- NGN 0.85
36" Ceiling Fan ----------------------- 55 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 1 ---------- 1 ---------- NGN 0.62

Electric Oven @ 350 degrees --------- 2000 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 1 ---------- 1 ---------- NGN 22.60
Old Refrigerator 22 cubic Feet --------- 200 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 1 ---------- 1 ---------- NGN 2.26
New Refrigerator 22 cubic Feet --------- 72 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 1 ---------- 1 ---------- NGN 0.81
1 ---------- 1
100-Watt light Bulb ------------------ 100 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 1 ---------- 1 ---------- NGN 1.13
60-Watt light Bulb -------------------- 100 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 1 ---------- 1 ---------- NGN 1.13
CFL (100 watt equivalent) light Bulb ---- 25 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 1 ---------- 1 ---------- NGN 0.28
CFL (60 watt equivalent) light Bulb ---- 18 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 1 ---------- 1 ---------- NGN 0.20

Computer + 17" CRT ------------------ 200 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 1 ---------- 1 ---------- NGN 2.26
Computer + 17" LCD ------------------ 150 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 1 ---------- 1 ---------- NGN 1.70
Laptop ------------------------------ 45 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 1 ---------- 1 ---------- NGN 0.51
17" CRT Monitor --------------------- 90 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 1 ---------- 1 ---------- NGN 1.02
17" LCD Monitor --------------------- 40 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 1 ---------- 1 ---------- NGN 0.45
Sleeping Computer + Monitor ---------- 10 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 1 ---------- 1 ---------- NGN 0.11

50-56" Plasma TV ---------------- 340 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 1 ---------- 1 ---------- NGN 3.84
50-56" LCD TV ------------------ 260 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 1 ---------- 1 ---------- NGN 2.94
50-56" DLP TV ------------------ 170 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 1 ---------- 1 ---------- NGN 1.92
42" Plasma TV ---------------- 270 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 1 ---------- 1 ---------- NGN 3.05
42" LCD TV ---------------------- 210 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 1 ---------- 1 ---------- NGN 2.37
32" LCD TV ---------------------- 125 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 1 ---------- 1 ---------- NGN 1.41
19" CRT TV ---------------------- 75 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 1 ---------- 1 ---------- NGN 0.85
PS3 ---------------------------- 194 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 1 ---------- 1 ---------- NGN 2.19
XBOX 360 -------------------- 185 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 1 ---------- 1 ---------- NGN 2.09
XBOX Original --------------------- 70 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 1 ---------- 1 ---------- NGN 0.79
Playstation 2 --------------------- 30 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 1 ---------- 1 ---------- NGN 0.34
Nintendo Wii --------------------- 18 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 1 ---------- 1 ---------- NGN 0.20

Toaster --------------------- 1440 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 1 ---------- 1 ---------- NGN 16.27
Radio Clock ------------------ 4 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 1 ---------- 1 ---------- NGN 0.05
Radio Stereo ------------------ 400 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 1 ---------- 1 ---------- NGN 4.52
Vacuum Cleaner ------------- 1440 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 1 ---------- 1 ---------- NGN 16.27
Hair Dryer ------------------ 1875 ---------- 11.3 ---------- 1 ---------- 1 ---------- NGN 21.19

The goal of this thread is to sensitize people to how much electricity appliances they own consume per month.

There are a few assumptions that I have to make to make the calculation possible.
1. I would assume that you pay NGN 11.30 per kWh (1 unit).
2. That your appliances are on for 1 and 4 hours a day, respectively.

NOTE: The calculations below are just estimates of what a typical appliance consumes and your actual appliance may vary but it should be too far off.

Since I can’t really post spreadsheets and tables of the actual calculations, I’ll try to post it in a way that will still be meaningful.


EDIT:

Attached Excel spreadsheet

ekt_bear: Can we get a summary for those of us who are feeling lazy need to go to sleep soon

Looks interesting though.

Click on the link to watch the video on a different player if you can't watch it on YouTube.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfobLjsj230

Andrew Mwenda takes a new look at Africa - TRANSCRIPT of Speech given at TED

I am very, very happy to be amidst some of the most -- the lights are really disturbing my eyes and they're reflecting on my glasses. I am very happy and honored to be amidst very, very innovative and intelligent people. I have listened to the three previous speakers, and guess what happened? Every single thing I planned to say, they have said it here, and it looks and sounds like I have nothing else to say.

(Laughter)

But there is a saying in my culture that if a bud leaves a tree without saying something, that bud is a young one. So, I will -- since I am not young and am very old, I still will say something.

We are hosting this conference at a very opportune moment, because another conference is taking place in Berlin. It is the G8 Summit. The G8 Summit proposes that the solution to Africa's problems should be a massive increase in aid, something akin to the Marshall Plan. Unfortunately, I personally do not believe in the Marshall Plan. One, because the benefits of the Marshall Plan have been overstated. Its largest recipients were Germany and France, and it was only 2.5 percent of their GDP. An average African country receives foreign aid to the tune of 13, 15 percent of its GDP, and that is an unprecedented transfer of financial resources from rich countries to poor countries.

But I want to say that there are two things we need to connect. How the media covers Africa in the West, and the consequences of that. By displaying despair, helplessness and hopelessness, the media is telling the truth about Africa, and nothing but the truth. However, the media is not telling us the whole truth. Because despair, civil war, hunger and famine, although they're part and parcel of our African reality, they are not the only reality. And secondly, they are the smallest reality.

Africa has 53 nations. We have civil wars only in six countries, which means that the media are covering only six countries. Africa has immense opportunities that never navigate through the web of despair and helplessness that the Western media largely presents to its audience. But the effect of that presentation is, it appeals to sympathy. It appeals to pity. It appeals to something called charity. And, as a consequence, the Western view of Africa's economic dilemma is framed wrongly. The wrong framing is a product of thinking that Africa is a place of despair. What should we do with it? We should give food to the hungry. We should deliver medicines to those who are ill. We should send peacekeeping troops to serve those who are facing a civil war. And in the process, Africa has been stripped of self-initiative.

I want to say that it is important to recognize that Africa has fundamental weaknesses. But equally, it has opportunities and a lot of potential. We need to reframe the challenge that is facing Africa, from a challenge of despair, which is called poverty reduction, to a challenge of hope. We frame it as a challenge of hope, and that is worth creation. The challenge facing all those who are interested in Africa is not the challenge of reducing poverty. It should be a challenge of creating wealth.

Once we change those two things -- if you say the Africans are poor and they need poverty reduction, you have the international cartel of good intentions moving onto the continent, with what? Medicines for the poor, food relief for those who are hungry, and peacekeepers for those who are facing civil war. And in the process, none of these things really are productive because you are treating the symptoms, not the causes of Africa's fundamental problems. Sending somebody to school and giving them medicines, ladies and gentlemen, does not create wealth for them. Wealth is a function of income, and income comes from you finding a profitable trading opportunity or a well-paying job.

Now, once we begin to talk about wealth creation in Africa, our second challenge will be, who are the wealth-creating agents in any society? They are entrepreneurs. [Unclear] told us they are always about four percent of the population, but 16 percent are imitators. But they also succeed at the job of entrepreneurship. So, where should we be putting the money? We need to put money where it can productively grow. Support private investment in Africa, both domestic and foreign. Support research institutions, because knowledge is an important part of wealth creation.

But what is the international aid community doing with Africa today? They are throwing large sums of money for primary health, for primary education, for food relief. The entire continent has been turned into a place of despair, in need of charity. Ladies and gentlemen, can any one of you tell me a neighbor, a friend, a relative that you know, who became rich by receiving charity? By holding the begging bowl and receiving alms? Does any one of you in the audience have that person? Does any one of you know a country that developed because of the generosity and kindness of another? Well, since I'm not seeing the hand, it appears that what I'm stating is true.

(Bono: Yes!)

Andrew Mwenda: I can see Bono says he knows the country. Which country is that?

(Bono: It's an Irish land.)

(Laughter)

(Bono: [unclear])

AM: Thank you very much. But let me tell you this. External actors can only present to you an opportunity. The ability to utilize that opportunity and turn it into an advantage depends on your internal capacity. Africa has received many opportunities. Many of them we haven't benefited much. Why? Because we lack the internal, institutional framework and policy framework that can make it possible for us to benefit from our external relations. I'll give you an example.

Under the Cotonou Agreement, formerly known as the Lome Convention, African countries have been given an opportunity by Europe to export goods, duty-free, to the European Union market. My own country, Uganda, has a quota to export 50,000 metric tons of sugar to the European Union market. We haven't exported one kilogram yet. We import 50,000 metric tons of sugar from Brazil and Cuba. Secondly, under the beef protocol of that agreement, African countries that produce beef have quotas to export beef duty-free to the European Union market. None of those countries, including Africa's most successful nation, Botswana, has ever met its quota.

So, I want to argue today that the fundamental source of Africa's inability to engage the rest of the world in a more productive relationship is because it has a poor institutional and policy framework. And all forms of intervention need support, the evolution of the kinds of institutions that create wealth, the kinds of institutions that increase productivity. How do we begin to do that, and why is aid the bad instrument? Aid is the bad instrument, and do you know why? Because all governments across the world need money to survive. Money is needed for a simple thing like keeping law and order. You have to pay the army and the police to show law and order. And because many of our governments are quite dictatorial, they need really to have the army clobber the opposition. The second thing you need to do is pay your political hangers-on. Why should people support their government? Well, because it gives them good, paying jobs, or, in many African countries, unofficial opportunities to profit from corruption.

The fact is no government in the world, with the exception of a few, like that of Idi Amin, can seek to depend entirely on force as an instrument of rule. Many countries in the [unclear], they need legitimacy. To get legitimacy, governments often need to deliver things like primary education, primary health, roads, build hospitals and clinics. If the government's fiscal survival depends on it having to raise money from its own people, such a government is driven by self-interest to govern in a more enlightened fashion. It will sit with those who create wealth. Talk to them about the kind of policies and institutions that are necessary for them to expand a scale and scope of business so that it can collect more tax revenues from them. The problem with the African continent and the problem with the aid industry is that it has distorted the structure of incentives facing the governments in Africa. The productive margin in our governments' search for revenue does not lie in the domestic economy, it lies with international donors.

Rather than sit with Ugandan --

(Applause) --

rather than sit with Ugandan entrepreneurs, Ghanaian businessmen, South African enterprising leaders, our governments find it more productive to talk to the IMF and the World Bank. I can tell you, even if you have ten Ph.Ds., you can never beat Bill Gates in understanding the computer industry. Why? Because the knowledge that is required for you to understand the incentives necessary to expand a business -- it requires that you listen to the people, the private sector actors in that industry.

Governments in Africa have therefore been given an opportunity, by the international community, to avoid building productive arrangements with your own citizens, and therefore allowed to begin endless negotiations with the IMF and the World Bank, and then it is the IMF and the World Bank that tell them what its citizens need. In the process, we, the African people, have been sidelined from the policy-making, policy-orientation, and policy- implementation process in our countries. We have limited input, because he who pays the piper calls the tune. The IMF, the World Bank, and the cartel of good intentions in the world has taken over our rights as citizens, and therefore what our governments are doing, because they depend on aid, is to listen to international creditors rather than their own citizens.

But I want to put a caveat on my argument, and that caveat is that it is not true that aid is always destructive. Some aid may have built a hospital, fed a hungry village. It may have built a road, and that road may have served a very good role. The mistake of the international aid industry is to pick these isolated incidents of success, generalize them, pour billions and trillions of dollars into them, and then spread them across the whole world, ignoring the specific and unique circumstances in a given village, the skills, the practices, the norms and habits that allowed that small aid project to succeed -- like in Sauri village, in Kenya, where Jeffrey Sachs is working -- and therefore generalize this experience as the experience of everybody.

Aid increases the resources available to governments, and that makes working in a government the most profitable thing you can have, as a person in Africa seeking a career. By increasing the political attractiveness of the state, especially in our ethnically fragmented societies in Africa, aid tends to accentuate ethnic tensions as every single ethnic group now begins struggling to enter the state in order to get access to the foreign aid pie. Ladies and gentlemen, the most enterprising people in Africa cannot find opportunities to trade and to work in the private sector because the institutional and policy environment is hostile to business. Governments are not changing it. Why? Because they don't need to talk to their own citizens. They talk to international donors. So, the most enterprising Africans end up going to work for government, and that has increased the political tensions in our countries precisely because we depend on aid.

I also want to say that it is important for us to note that, over the last 50 years, Africa has been receiving increasing aid from the international community, in the form of technical assistance, and financial aid, and all other forms of aid. Between 1960 and 2003, our continent received 600 billion dollars of aid, and we are still told that there is a lot of poverty in Africa. Where has all the aid gone?

I want to use the example of my own country, called Uganda, and the kind of structure of incentives that aid has brought there. In the 2006-2007 budget, expected revenue: 2.5 trillion shillings. The expected foreign aid: 1.9 trillion. Uganda's recurrent expenditure -- by recurrent what do I mean? Hand-to-mouth is 2.6 trillion. Why does the government of Uganda budget spend 110 percent of its own revenue? It's because there's somebody there called foreign aid, who contributes for it. But this shows you that the government of Uganda is not committed to spending its own revenue to invest in productive investments, but rather it devotes this revenue to paying structure of public expenditure. Public administration, which is largely patronage, takes 690 billion. The military, 380 billion. Agriculture, which employs 18 percent of our poverty-stricken citizens, takes only 18 billion. Trade and industry takes 43 billion. And let me show you, what does public expenditure -- rather, public administration expenditure -- in Uganda constitute? There you go. 70 cabinet ministers, 114 presidential advisers, by the way, who never see the president, except on television.

(Laughter)

(Applause)

And when they see him physically, it is at public functions like this, and even there, it is him who advises them.

(Laughter)

We have 81 units of local government. Each local government is organized like the central government -- a bureaucracy, a cabinet, a parliament, and so many jobs for the political hangers-on. There were 56, and when our president wanted to amend the constitution and remove term limits, he had to create 25 new districts, and now there are 81. Three hundred thirty-three members of parliament. You need Wembley Stadium to host our parliament. One hundred thirty-four commissions and semi-autonomous government bodies, all of which have directors and the cars. And the final thing, this is addressed to Mr. Bono. In his work, he may help us on this.

A recent government of Uganda study found that there are 3,000 four-wheel drive motor vehicles at the Minister of Health headquarters. Uganda has 961 sub-counties, each of them with a dispensary, none of which has an ambulance. So, the four-wheel drive vehicles at the headquarters drive the ministers, the permanent secretaries, the bureaucrats and the international aid bureaucrats who work in aid projects, while the poor die without ambulances and medicine.

Finally, I want to say that before I came to speak here, I was told that the principle of TEDGlobal is that the good speech should be like a miniskirt. It should be short enough to arouse interest, but long enough to cover the subject. I hope I have achieved that.

(Laughter)

Thank you very much.

(Applause)

http://www.ted.com/talks/andrew_mwenda_takes_a_new_look_at_africa.html

I would think that a better measure would be to compare what's paid in Nigeria to other countries around the world and not just US but what do I know! But are Nigerians really being ripped off?

Here's a list of what other countries pay and how they rank with Nigeria. I included Nigeria in the list and assumed that $1 = NGN 158.55. The unit is cents/kWh.


Country/Territory US cents/kWh
1 Bhutan 1.88 to 4.40
2 Iran 2 to 19
3 Pakistan 2.06 to 14.62
4 Ukraine 3.05 to 3.95
5 Thailand 4.46 to 9.79
6 Uzbekistan 4.95
7 USA 5 to 37
8 Argentina 5.74
9 Vietnam 6.2 to 10.01
10 Taiwan 7 to 17
11 Nigeria 7.13
12 Jamaica 7.35 to 16.80
13 Malaysia 7.42
14 China 7.5 to 10.7
15 South Africa 7.6 to 14
16 Dubai 7.62
17 Iceland 9 to 10
18 Russia 9.58
19 Perú 10.44
20 Canada 10.78
21 Australia 11 to 51
22 Moldova 11.11
23 Hong Kong 12.04
24 Israel 12.34
25 Turkey 13.1
26 Uruguay 14.47 to 22.89
27 Bulgaria 16.33
28 Croatia 17.55
29 Latvia 18.25
30 New Zealand 19.15
31 France 19.39
32 Finland 20.65
33 UK 21.99
34 Singapore 22.24
35 Spain 22.73
36 Chile 23.11
37 Hungary 23.44
38 Portugal 25.25
39 Guyana 26.8
40 Sweden 27.1
41 Germany 27.81
42 Ireland 28.36
43 Italy 28.39
44 Netherlands 28.89
45 Belgium 29.06
46 Philippines 30.46
47 Brazil 34.18
48 Denmark 40.38
49 Tonga 57.95
50 Solomon Islands 83 to 89

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electricity_pricing#Global_electricity_price_comparison

Kobojunkie:
Again . . .




Again . . .




Sigh . . . This data is actually collected here in America and tabled.

---->>>>Table 5. Residential Average Monthly Bill by Census Division, and State

http://www.eia.gov/cneaf/electricity/esr/table5.html

Please look at the RESIDENTIAL RECORDS . . . . .

Is the "Again Again" supposed to imply that your prior post made sense? Save that for the kids on NL that are still teething.

What difference does showing me the average figures paid by States make? The median (not even average) income in the US is about $57k. Does that mean that I earn $57k? You dey waste my time.

thoth:
it will take only 3 months by that rate to get back the amount they paid for the company. Now how is that an investment ? What do we gain from such witchcraft investment ? What incentive makes the investor to actually improve the services if he can just sit back and make gains without doing anything ? If china was having that kind of investment i wonder where they would be by now.

It will take 3 months to recoup billions of dollars? How much do you really think you pay? Let’s do a real quick estimate of what’s paid.

Currently in Nigeria, 4,736,507 households are metered clients of PHCN. See the break down below:

1 Abuja Electricity Distribution Company 277,293
2 Benin Electricity Distribution Company 665,313
3 Eko Electricity Distribution Company 267,710
4 Enugu Electricity Distribution Company 768,245
5 Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company 952,878
6 Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company 462,832
7 Jos Electricity Distribution Company 301,462
8 Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company 161,741
9 Kano Electricity Distribution Company 286,622
10 Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company 373,993
11 Yola Electricity Distribution Company 218,418

If the average household gets 12 hours of electricity per day at a rate of 11.30 NGN/kWh then the net income for the Power Distribution companies, Power Transmission Companies, and Power Generation companies per month is : 4736507 * 12 * 11.30 *30 days = NGN 19,268,110,476 ($118 million).

Now from the $118 million, deduct the cost of gas to power the Power generation turbines, the cost to pay the workers, cost for overheads, and the cost for people not paying their bills. How much is left for profit to cover the principal amount borrowed/invested by the companies? Or do people just lose sight of how much a billion dollar is and how many billions of dollars is needed to revamp a 50 year old decayed infrastructure?

Kobojunkie:

@Wallie,

a) This post is discussing the cost of electricity for a home(place of residence), and you decided to bring in a number in an attempt to suggest that what you pay there close to average cost of electricity incurred per household in anywhere USA.

b)I felt it was my place to ensure that people not be misled into thinking what you posted was anything near average for an american home, or even small businesses.

c) Saying as high as is still being dishonest, because again, the average electricity bill in homes across America never come close to that amount, for any month. Not even during the winter years.

Kobojunkie and I had honestly thought you had left all your antagonistic-antics-just-to-be-contrarian behind! Whodathunk!

Anyway, for someone that espouses reading comprehension, I’m highly surprised by your conclusion based on what I wrote.

How am I attempting to suggest that what I pay is close to an average household or even my average monthly bill? I gave the EXACT rate I pay which is just about 3 Naira more than the 12 naira the guy pays. I also gave a range of what I pay and said that the higher end of the range only happens on occasion. Wouldn’t what I pay/paid just mean that I consume more power since you have my rate? See division. Go back and re-read my post.

How can me saying “as high as” be dishonest if I actually paid more than that for the billing period that ended in February?

Lastly, stop being presumptuous about what people pay and do not pay! America has over 311,000,000 people and that includes people living in a 20,000 sq ft houses and 100 sq ft houses/apartments.

There’s also a variation in the amount being paid per kw based on where you live that’s greatly influenced by supply and demand. If you live in a house the size of a closet away from civilization, then it is only natural for your bill to be insignificant.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electricity_pricing#Global_electricity_price_comparison

I think this whole back-and-forth is childish and a waste of my time (no disrespect intended). I’ll let you have the last word.

Kobojunkie:

I live in America too and I have NEVER EVER PAID MORE THAN $60 BUCKS a month in electricity bill. I run 4 Machines all day and my current monthly bill, in a[b] 4 bedroom apartment[/b], is about $45 a month.

I don't live in darkness either!

There's no reason to doubt how much you pay but like you said, you live in a 4 bedroom apartment and run 4 machines a day. No where in my post did I give any indication as to the size of my house or apartment and what’s contained in it.

Also, in my post, I said “as high as an occasional $600 per month.” I would have thought adding the qualifier “occasional” before 600 means that it only gets that high sometimes but I guess not…

maasoap: How are you being charged for what you're using when you're paying 500naira monthly whether you have power supply or not. Why not tie the whole charge to per unit charge? In that case, the electricity companies will also be motivated to improve power generation. but in a situation where they are sure to rake in 500 naira per meter per month whether they provide light or not, is not a good idea.

I understand your feelings especially since the service is erratic but keep in mind that the rate is just a needed precursor to get investors motivated to come into the power sector. An investor can now say with confidence that it will take X number of years to recoup their investments based on the current rate. The 500 naira is probably a service charge for providing power to your house.

thoth:
now listen to this fool, you should have first compared naira to dollars, then compare the minimum wage of US to nigeria and also compare the ratio of the average americans earning and how much he is supposed to pay for electricity every month. What sort of liar are you in that you pay more than $600 on electricity a month ? I think only stupid nigerians would allow themselves to be shafted again and again with this stupid line.

GboyegaD:
And does the average man earn $7.25/hour which is your minimum wage? there is no basis for comparison here.

Nigerians and sentiment!

What does minimum wage have to do with how much it costs to generate and transmit electricity? Is your electricity subsidized? Shouldn’t the cost to generate and transmit electricity be passed on to consumers?

If that’s the case, then the incurred cost to generate 1 kW should be about the same barring inefficiencies and the cost to power the power stations. Like the US, Nigeria has an abundance of gas to power the power stations; however, unlike the US, Nigeria is still lacking the infrastructure to get the gas from the gas fields to the power stations where it is needed, which means that it will cost more to generate power in Nigeria.

Now with your thinking cap on, exactly why should electricity be cheaper in Nigeria?

To the guy lacking common sense calling someone a fool, see the attached picture. Ode!

Now that you’re being charged for exactly what you use, it is up to you to adjust your usage. The problem is that most Nigerians have never been in a position to learn how to conserve electricity due to lack of availability and the erratic way PHCN used to bill people.

Things to consider:
1. Do you need a 60 inches flat screen TV? All things being equal, a bigger TV will always consume more electricity.
2. How about your computer? How much electricity does it consume? All computers are not created equal.
3. Is your fridge and freezer energy efficient? Can you tell me how much energy they consume exactly? The manufacturers usually provide the number.
4. Do you really need a 100 or 80 watt light bulb?
5. How about other kitchen appliances like toasters, microwave ovens etc? How often do you use that your 1300 watts microwave oven?
6. Is your AC energy efficient? Do you run your AC on “Hi” 18 hours a day even though your windows are partially open?

The bottom line is that you need to start checking the energy consumption of any electrical appliance that you buy.

For comparison sake, I pay $0.0986 / kWh which is about NGN15.60 and my monthly bill ranges from $400 per month to as high as an occasional $600 per month. Your rates are not high at all. As a matter of fact, I see no reason why your rates should be lower than what I pay in the US because our transmission and distribution lines are more efficient than yours.

I can almost guarantee that your rates are going to be raised in a couple of years because of the heavy investments that is needed in your power sector.

Dielectrophoresis - force applied to particles when subjected to non-uniform (AC) electric field.

In my particular situation, dielectrophoresis is used to trap and release bioparticles (cells) on chips. One example of where this Lab-On-Chip technology is used is in blood sugar testing devices for people with diabetes that only require a tiny amount of blood.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngZZEubmAjw

Very funny responses!

I guess living in the US for too long have made me cold-hearted when judged by Nigerian standards!

My brother-in-law would drive my car without my permission only to end up damaging it and he expects me to pay to fix it? Only if I rinse my face with water starting from my chin to my hairline! Mcheewwww!

Onyenna:

lagerwhenindoubt, if u are standing behind me and I take a picture facing front, will u appear in that picture?......

Especially when you consider the fact that you're 4 times bigger than he his!

The Moon is 1/4 of Earth's diameter and is an Earth satellite. Meaning that the Moon orbits around the Earth synchronously. There's nothing to see from the Moon's surface that faces the Earth but Earth. If you want to see something different like other planetary bodies, then you would have to go to the opposite surface from the surface facing Earth.

This is what the button looks like.

LOL...your vent is open to outside air and you have to close it. There's a button where your AC/Fan is that has one or two symbols on it. The first symbol shows fresh air coming into the car and the other shows recirculating air. Press that button to stop outside air from coming in. The recirculating button looks like the button to the right in the attached pic.

Jarus:
This worries me. Recently my car has been making some noise anytime I match brake while driving it out of my compound early in the morning after being parked overnight. It then stops after few meters of driving. My thought has been that this is caused by the waterlogged road in my area. Any contrary view?

It is corrosion on the surface of your disc brakes or drums that clears up after you apply the brakes a few times. It is caused by water and/or moist air. Perfectly normal.

Be careful when you apply the handbrake because you might induce the car to drift sideways if your front wheels are not straight.

Another alternative is to use your feet to stop the car like Fred Flintstone. See the video below for how to perfect the move:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hFW3Pp3sJ4

Life is rosy for some but bad for others. That's the case before now and will probably be the same in the future.

The only people that I know who are currently jobless are recent college graduates. The problem with seeking employment during an economic downturn is the fact that you're competing with people that have the same degree as you but also have years of experience.

Even with a B.Sc. in nursing, the coveted hospital positions are looking for people with over 1 year of experience. Without experience, a recent nursing graduate will be lucky to find a full-time Nursing Home job. In nursing homes, you don't develop your skills as much, the job is dirtier, and the pay is lower. The last thing you want as a recent graduate in any professional setting is to be in a position where you have no skill and in no position to develop any. That's why you would see someone with 10 years of experience that's unemployable because all he did for the 10 years was some mundane thing that anybody could do.

For those considering law school in the US, forget it! There’s an oversupply of legal graduates for fewer legal positions that are occupied or competed for by seasoned unemployed legal professionals. Save your $100k- $200k and do something else!

For those looking to an MBA as a way out, that will only be true if you go to a highly rated program and you have years of experience to back up your resume.

Like was said earlier, if you’re currently unemployed, go back to school and hope to weather out the storm.

Actually, this move will guarantee the NURTW more revenue because every commercial driver will be required to register and the database created will be used to collect dues. There will be less money to steal by due collectors.

LASTMA or the like will probably enforce the validity of some sort of certificate or receipt to be displayed by commercial drivers that proves they paid their dues.

It is a win-win situation for all involved. NURTW moves away from the motors parks but in the process they become more organized and better funded.

Too many emotions flowing in this thread!

My answer to the OP is mostly tied to my human element. I believe in helping deserving people in need.

Would I send my relative to school abroad knowing fully well that I’m just throwing money down the drain? NO. I would only send a relative or anyone else to school abroad if I know that he/she has what it takes to succeed.

If a relative just wasting away in Nigeria just wants to seek greener pastures abroad and seeking ticket money, sure no problem because his standard of living will probably improve even if he ends up working at McDonalds for the rest of his life.

I will only give you money for what I think you have a chance at succeeding at.

Why give you millions to study abroad when I know fully well that you’re unserious about education? Why not give you the money to pay for something that you’re really good at? Like learning a trade and setting up a shop for you?

Lastly, it is human nature not to appreciate what is given for free! For that, my help will come with preconditions that will force you to appreciate my help. There’s no free lunch.

For example:
1. I will only give you the money on per semester basis and only if you maintain a GPA above B average; or
2. I might give you the money initially as a loan but will write it off if you graduate with a B average; or
3. I might give you the money as a loan payable to your siblings in 6 years. In other words, you owe your sibling whatever I gave you.

The bottom line is that I work hard for my money and I don’t have an endless supply of it but I would also like the little supply that I have to benefit more people. And the only way that will happen is if there’s a net return to the society from my little help. In other words, “Pay it forward.”

Onegai:
In Nigeria, if you and your foreign masters get employed as a bank teller at GTB, then I go do masters, then all of us now have masters, people now start doing Ph.D to work in bank (already happening). However, no matter the technology being used behind the till, the job is basically still paying out cash and recieving cash. No special skills required.

And you should read more. If I had been discussing my se.x diary in detail above complete with nude pics, you'd have paid attention to my original post

Lol. . .only out of curiosity! You can’t blame me for skipping most long posts because some people are borderline irrational and there are others that can’t even string a coherent thought together! I'll go through your posts sometime to see if you're one of the sane ones.

I always laugh at people that try to transpose their banking experience in Nigeria into the US banking sector! You will hear them say, “I’m a banker” to which I respond “what does that even mean”? You’re a bank teller?

Onegai:
Hello there. Let me explain how Social policy and Economics work. Please take a seat…

So when someone dumb slowpoke decides to hire the educated to do the jobs of the skilled workers, he deprives the skilled workers of jobs, which in turn make the skilled workers compete with the unskilled workers for their jobs. And no, contrary to your Pastor's optimism, manna will not fall from Heaven to feed the now unemployed unskilled workers. Who take to robbing, anarchy (that's a big word, so look it up) and kidnapping and whatsoever to survive. Sound familiar??
Yup, that's what happened to Nigeria. The truck driver is now at home hungry because a graduate is doing his job and the CEO, who then deprives the graduate the ability to earn his worth of years of schooling back from society, is CHEATING the graduate of that. Yes, we can all start business, but that would take more jobs away and increase the competition amongst skilled sellers. Go to Balogun, for every Kuddy Cosmetics (a big distributor), there are 30 small shops who barely sell one lipstick. Yet the owners have to pay dues, rents,
schoolfees, eat...

"Well, they can go to Agriculture", I can hear you say. Absolutely. How many farms exist that can pay unskilled workers enough to live on more than $2/day (Nigeria's current Cost of living)? And those farms also are now accepting job resumes from skilled workers, who might have been driving trucks in the city, but graduates are too busy (with your encouragement) applying for secretary, customer service representative, salesperson and truck driver.

A society must have a blend of graduates, skilled workers and unskilled workers. That way, everyone gets a fair chance to survive. The rest is upto them.

Think about the points I raised above. Thank you.

signed, a humble female engineer, without a job, whose Dad made sure she watched (amongst several other educative programs) CNN Business with him as a kid (while her peers were dating and pinging) because he knew that the schools would NEVER teach her Economics, Social Studies and Policy making. He was appalled at the low level of education amongst the best graduates he was constantly being asked to hire.

I initially skipped most of what you wrote but decided to read it because someone else quoted it. You miss me with your economic talk.

What you posted above will only be true if the law of supply and demand no longer works (Economics 101). As a person or businessman, you can demand whatever you want but are only going to get it if there’s supply for your demand.

In other words, if there are enough skilled jobs for graduates, then no graduate will accept Dangote’s offer and he would need to rethink his demand.
Moreover, why do you think Obama is advocating more training and education for out-of-job workers? Because low skilled jobs are forever gone and are being replaced by demands for a more skilled workforce. Just a decade ago, people with high school degrees working in manufacturing where earning middle class salaries but today, you will most likely need a college degree just to get by.

As the society becomes more advanced, the level of skill the society needs becomes more advanced. Think about what life would have been like in the 50s for engineers with no computers and what their life is like today. What was once considered advanced skill will someday become “no-skill” or norm because even a 5 year old can now do it (see computer usage).