₦airaland Forum

ElRazur:
If they are Nigerians and in Uni, and drive Ferrari as the article claim. I am sure it is safe to conclude that they are adult. lmao.

I think proving that they are involve is harder, but showing that they enjoy the benefits and spoils of their father's handiwork is easier imo. And na that one dey vex people.

I don’t think it is that easy to conclude that they’re adults because they’re in Uni. All my siblings started university between ages 16-17. But that’s neither here nor there, as the kids even if minors shouldn’t be allowed to profit from their father’s criminal enterprise.

So I agree that extending the visa ban to them is appropriate since issuance of visa is a privilege and not a right.

@Kobo - If the kids are indeed adults and are involved in their father’s alleged criminal enterprise, then I can understand.

I really don’t want to sound like an apologist of the corrupt leaders because there’s nothing I would like better than making them face the firing squad if found wanting by an impartial court. I just think that we should be fair.

Kobojunkie:
It is a news report in which the daughters were singled out for banning. What? Should the news paper not include their names and their pictures?

Yes, the newspaper should not include their names and definitely not their pictures! Two wrongs don't make a right. Do you think people could go after the kids?

Listen, I seriously hate that guy and what he did but I don’t want harm to come to his family over something they couldn’t control. We cannot choose our parents or siblings.

Naming the kids is wrong and borderline irresponsible. Extending the travel ban to include the kids and family is the right thing to do because it pressures those in power to do the right thing if they know that their actions will be detrimental to their kids but do not name the minors!

The kids didn’t ask for the guy to be their father but they also shouldn’t be able to profit from his actions. How many of us as kids can control what actions our parents took?

I also don’t mind the Ex-AGF being singled out because his actions or lack thereof almost brought the country down!

For 2005, everything else being equal, the Honda will probably be a better buy. But for the latest models, the Camry is a better buy.

@Siena – Toyota is actually more innovative than Honda if you include their respective luxury brands. Acura which is the same as Honda has the worst line up of almost any tier 2 brand.

At least, Lexus which is a Toyota still competes with other tier 1 brands. I won’t buy a Lexus but at least they have the LS, GS, IS and the LFA to keep other brands on their toes.

Acura as a company needs to get re-organized and all their designers fired! They only have one new car that is worth mentioning and that’s the MDX. Even Honda’s line up till date only includes 1 interesting car, and that’s the S2000. The S2000 is an engineering marvel based on the horsepower/liter and the RPM.

@netotse - there’s nothing like learning your trade from the ground up, congrats!! The ZPrinter 650 is about $60k but I have seen a different brand for about $15k.

I think there are subtle differences as one connotes a sense of equality and the other, a submission of will.

Work with – suggests that there is a mutual benefit to be derived from both parties and neither party has control over the other. If you say “work with,” you better be sure you have a lot to offer (business partners) as it sounds arrogant.

Work for – implies some level of submission of the interviewee.

Overall, I would think you want to sound humble but also let the interviewer know that you’re not just there for the paycheck and you do have something to offer.

netotse:
mennn i had one interview like this in an electrical firm, er'thing was going fine until the guy asked me if i'd ever heard of the public procurement act o, that's when i started to realise that it's not enough to know V=IR in all the languages of the globe. . .so now i'm downloading the act now o, no more interesting reading for me for a while

My guess is that you were not applying for an entry level position because only seasoned engineers get exposed to writing proposals.

netotse:
how do you suggest i go about learning autocad? i started sometime back but the tutorials i had were Mech Eng. biased so i quickly lost interest, is autocad that much of an advantage? i tried to use autocad to draw the diagrams for a transformer bay we were planning to install while i was still in shiroro but it was to clumsy(ended up jomo-ing it wiv MSword ) isn't there i way i can get straight to using the electrical part of autocad? or can i use visio in it's place?

lol @ jomo-ing. Autocad is only needed when designing a new part especially if you’re worried about fitting issues. Visio is probably more than enough for your drawings.

Autocad is a very cool program especially if you’re trying to build prototype. I need to learn to use it again someday but I remembered it was hell when I had to use it in school!

Take a look at this! Autocad + 3D printing = any prototype.

[flash=425,344]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaK0Lx1arWg&hl=en_US&fs=1&"[/flash]

I've be LMAO all afternoon reading this thread!

It is human nature to think that the grass is not greener on the other side, which may not be true (I love double negatives).

Anyway, what you eat don’t make me poopoo (you gotta love censorship)!

LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY

Someone asked if LCD can be translated into their native language. Here you go “Likwi crista diplay”:-)

Yoruba language tends to be very descriptive which is probably partly due to underdeveloped/stagnated vocabulary.

I speak Lagos Yoruba and I write it by phonetically spelling out the syllables. If I can vocalize it, I can easily spell it by stringing the syllables together. Reading is a little harder as it requires me to try different sounding syllables until it makes sense.

I have given up on languages but I would want my kids to be multilingual (Yoruba, English, French, and Chinese).

The article writer is being a little disingenuous about DOD’s procurement procedure by painting it black and white.

The article writer complained about “a spec (two years ago) that required Core2duo computers with 2GB ram and Windows XP ….[and] the spec is obsolete, and it costs far more to buy a bunch of obsolete Core2Duo machines with 2GB RAM than it would have cost to buy more-powerful computers at Costco.”

It is probably true that it costs more to buy the older parts with guaranteed spare-parts but what he failed to mention is that the older parts, albeit not the latest and greatest, are x10 more stable and proven. Do you all remember what happened during the Windows ME and Vista upgrades with it not being compatible with different peripherals and technologies? How much does he think it will cost to continually upgrade fielded technologies?


The write said “If the military wants a Mercedes, they just issue a spec that requires a hood ornament with three lines trisecting a circle, and see whichever car company meets the spec at the best price …Which means that the DOD is probably the only buyer in the world paying sticker price.”

Isn’t this the same thing we do when we go see a doctor? We tell the doctor our symptoms or problems and it is up to him to come up with a diagnosis. The DOD usually wants highly complicated systems that they cannot by off-the-shelf. They really don’t know how or have the resources to make it but they know what they want the system to do. How best can one address the situation other by saying that the experts go ahead and design a system that could satisfy their specification and based on your design, I’ll determine who to give the project to?

I think the writer should have focused his article on corruption on how cost reimbursement contracts are creating wastage and how fixed-price contract should return.

AjanleKoko:
Nice idea by DARPA, getting students to help them solve their military engineering problems for free

You will be surprised at the amount of technology coming off campuses! The rationale is simple: where else can you get experts (Profs) to gladly work on theoretical problems for peanuts (students only get paid a stipend)?

AjanleKoko:
Frankly speaking, I don't really see how participating in a DARPA contest will help Nigerian engineers. Maybe it'll help them get visas to the US, get jobs with DARPA, maybe even get rich. It's a very long shot.

What do you think become of those people that participated in the challenge? Same reason you have a lot of startup tech companies near college campuses especially in Boston & Silicon Valley areas.

AjanleKoko:
Asides Barth Nnaji who set up Geometric Power, I am yet to see any high-profile Nigerian engineer that has come back home from the diaspora to set up any kind of viable engineering enterprise. Rather I hear a lot of complaints about the various problems in Nigeria -  but wait. Aren't engineers supposed to be problem-solvers?

Not saying that I would be any different, I would love to come home but all the stories I’m hearing about people moving back dey scare me….I’ve been gone for almost 20 years!

AjanleKoko:
What I would love to see in Nigeria is professionals like you and me collaborate to set up a technology zaibatsu-  a clique of Nigerian engineers who want to see us become a technological power at least in Africa.

Wild idea, huh? But think about this. What if all the electrical engineers in Nairaland came together and formed a co-op? Actually contribute funds towards the production of , say, local electrical low-power-consumption appliances like bulbs. Hire local engineers, use local raw materials, etc.
What do you guys think?

Wild idea? Not at all! Lately, I’ve been obsessed with manufacturing but I still can’t figure out a niche! We can’t keep waiting around for the government to create jobs, what we need the government for is to create a conducive environment for private businesses to thrive.

What makes your idea great is that we don’t even have to re-invent the wheel. There are technologies that could be initially licensed until we stand on our own two feet.

Even if we can’t manufacture, there is no reason whatsoever that we can’t freaking assemble imported electronics and maybe even manufacture a part or two! I know the alaba and Aba people are doing their thing but we need to take it to the next level! I get sick when I see how well India is doing in terms of software development.

I’m definitely down and open to ideas that you might have. The private sector is the answer to Nigeria’s problems!

What's missing is an emoticon of someone sitting back at eating popcorn but I guess this will have to do!

netotse:
@Ajanlekoko
wallie just posted something on this thread that was tagged as spam, maybe you could get that sorted out? also if he got banned for that. . .

Thanks netotse! I think the spam bots must love me because I've been banned twice already! The setting needs to be relaxed a little bit! I used to think that including links in your post triggered it but I think cutting/pasting an article is the culprit.

@ OP--- going off topic

Can people express their dissatisfaction/disagreement without hauling insults at the other party? I can understand posting a sarcastic response but verbally assaulting people because you disagree with them? Oga o! I understand that the anonymous nature of a forum allows for e-thugs that will probably call you sir/madam/oga to your face but, at the very least, lets show a little restraint (but who am I to complain!).

Pharyn:
I want to build a career in it. I am highly passionate about the use of DC in house wiring.

How can I enter into the elect/elect engineering profession?
Thanks

You can definitely wire a house to use just DC but there’s no sense in doing it. Power coming into the building is AC and you will need to convert/step it down before bringing it into the building. Let’s assume you’re able to do just that, what voltage are you going to step it down to? Keep in mind that different appliance will have different power requirements. Also, this means that when you go appliance shopping, you can only buy the ones that support DC.

Moreover, the physical act of wiring a house really falls into the domain of an electrician. If your background is electrical engineering, “power” is a field that will always be in demand especially as it relates to batteries and efficient power distribution/metering.

If electrical engineering is not your background, programming microcontrollers is a little “easier” to get into because you can develop the requisite knowledge as a hobby. You can turn the knowledge you gain from a simple hobby in robotics into a career that will rival those of engineers with a PhD.



@Ajanlekoko/House
I don’t know how much you know about robotics but what do you think of the viability of a program that teaches teenagers how to program robots to do really cool stuff (google Lego Mindstorms)? Imagine having a teenager build a robot that can autonomously navigate a course!

I see no reason why a team from Nigeria/Africa cannot participate in a program like the one below:

“The DARPA Urban Challenge is an autonomous vehicle research and development program with the goal of developing technology that will keep warfighters off the battlefield and out of harm’s way. The Urban Challenge features autonomous ground vehicles maneuvering in a mock city environment, executing simulated military supply missions while merging into moving traffic, navigating traffic circles, negotiating busy intersections, and avoiding obstacles.

The program is conducted as a series of qualification steps leading to a competitive final event, scheduled to take place on November 3, 2007, in Victorville, California.  DARPA is offering $2M for the fastest qualifying vehicle, and $1M and $500,000 for second and third place.”

Our feature depends on engineering and without it the youths will always remain unemployed as only manufacturing can readily assimilate such a large group of unemployed graduates!

Relatively speaking, the situation could be just as bad for some lawyers in the US. Here, the pay could range between $35k for $160k+ for new graduates. The truth is that most people only see the $160k before jumping head in.

The $35k salary is very real if you work for the prosecutor’s office which is what could happen if you’re not a graduate from a top 20 school or not in the 25 percentile class rank of a lower tiered school.

Imagine having student loan payments that is twice your salary after tax?

I have a question for the anti-Ribadu fans here. How do you think one (Ribadu or someone else) should go about fighting corruption in Nigeria - arrest the entire political class before being presented with any evidence? To make the hypothetical more interesting, imagine that the corrupt official is extremely rich and well connected. In order words, he controls the IG and several high level judges.

Like most have said, Ribadu might not be a saint, but he was the right type of person that Nigeria needed and still needs today! I hope we have 10 more people like him (that purportedly engages selective justice) and you will see the dramatic change that will occur within the tenure of an administration!

We all saw the results of having a meek well-intentioned president. A certain degree of heavy-handedness is needed when you’re dealing with people that do not recognize the rule of law.

Without pointing fingers, just because you can grammatically string words together correctly does not mean that you should because the “flow” might not be proper (sounds funny).  If you have cologne that smell like poop, it might not be poop but chuck it, nonetheless!

The real art/difficulty in writing mostly has to do with sentence construction and clarity. In other words, choosing the right set of words to express yourself makes all the difference when writing.

Disclaimer: I’m not an expert in English language but I dey try small small; after all, English came to Africa on a boat!

@Apocalypse - Yeah, there are verbs that could be used as nouns and they are called gerunds. What are you trying to say about "most favorite song"?

You're also wrong about enumerator, parastatal, and majorly, the words do exist. Moreover, you can become your own lexicon, at least in the legal world, as long as you define the words.

To people saying 80k is a lot, well, it all depends on how much you’re spending. If your monthly expenses is 80k or greater, not only would you not have any savings, you can also go into debt.

Try to live within or below your means and you will have money left over to save.

True story – In the early 90s, I wanted to explain the basis of a fuel subsidy to my boss and I most have said “fuel” like 5 times and he still didn’t understand me until I spelt it out. I was saying “Fu ell” instead of “F yul.”

The problem most 9jas have is that we were thought to pronounce every single syllable in a word.

Here's another!

There is a two-letter word that perhaps has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that is 'UP'.

It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP? At a meeting, why does a topic come UP? Why do we speak UP and why are the officers UP for election and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report?

We call UP our friends. And we use it to brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver; we warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen. We lock UP the house and some guys fix UP the old car,  At other times the little word has real special meaning. People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses. To be dressed is one thing, but to be dressed UP is special.

And this UP is confusing: A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP. We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night.

We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP! To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP, look the word UP in the dictionary. In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4th of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions. If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used. It will take UP a lot of your time  but if you don't give UP, you may wind UP with a hundred or more.

When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP.  When the sun comes out we say it is clearing UP! When it rains, it wets the earth and often messes things UP.
When is doesn't rain for awhile, things dry UP.

One could go on and on, but I'll wrap it UP, for now my time is UP, so, it is time to shut UP!

Oh . . . one more thing:

What is the first thing you do in the morning & the last thing you do at night?  U-P!

You think English is easy?
1) The bandage was wound around the wound. 

2) The farm was used to produce produce.

3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.

4) We must polish the Polish furniture.

5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.

6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert,

7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.

8. A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.

9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.

10. I did not object to the object.

11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.

12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.

13) They were too close to the door to close it.

14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.

15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.

16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.

17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.

18) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.

19) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.

20) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

Let's face it - English is a crazy language!
There is no egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple.
English muffins weren't invented in England or French Fries in France,  Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat.

We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.

And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth, beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese? One index, 2 indices? Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend? If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?

If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?

Sometimes I think all the English speakers should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane. In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell?

How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites?

You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which, an alarm goes off by going on, 

English was invented by people, not computers and it reflects the creativity of the human race, which, of course, is not a race at all. That is why when the stars are out they are visible but when the lights are out they are invisible.

PS. - Why doesn't 'Buick' rhyme with 'quick'?

I actually agree with Cohomology's reasoning! I will receive every information of importance given to me with a grain of salt if I can’t reconcile it with my reasoning. I think the problem in the world today is that we don't have enough independent thinkers too many follow-follow!

Cohomology --abstract algebra? Cool.

[quote author=St. Richy link=topic=446439.msg6062089#msg6062089 date=1274293155]If i must sound professional, it is not wise for someone residing in nigeria to be left handed. This is because d ERGONOMIC Considerations employed in the design of machines, equipments as well as systems available 4 use in nigeria ar easily manipulated by a right handed operator. How can a left handed person work conviniently in a mechanical or in a production engr.g workshop?[/quote]I think you’re trying to make a valid point but I’m afraid it’s getting drown out in your attempt to sound “professional.”

It is true that most machine/utilities are ergonomically designed for a right handed person but with most things in life, humans adapt to fit their surroundings.

[quote author=St. Richy link=topic=446439.msg6062089#msg6062089 date=1274293155]Observably is the fact that left handed people work wit the principle of slow and steady.[/quote]You must live in Shakespearean times or you’re trying too hard to sound “professional.”

uyakachi:
I THINK IS CHOICE
I CHOSE TO BE RIGHTY EVEN TO NEXT WORLD
DONT FORGET THAT JESUS CHRIST IS RGTY,, IF IT HAPPENS TO BE CALL NAMES

Nothing wrong with choosing your choice but why bring religion to it?

Not to be sacrilegious but if Jesus Christ is white and you’re black, what does that make you… the Devil? Since we know that the devil is associated with darkness! Doesn't this sound stupid to you, assuming that you're a reasonable person?

Here’s a non-scientific poll! How many people know of a leftie that is below average intelligence?

I’m left-handed and my uncles always want me to hand them stuff or eat with my right hand. I usually just laugh and tell them that I actually wipe myself with my right hand, which is actually true.

The truth is that I’m somewhat ambidextrous. I use my left-hand for anything that requires precision like writing or holding a cup of coffee, and my right-hand for anything that requires strength.

I always tell my friends that being left-handed is special, otherwise how would you explain the last 4 US presidents being left-handed considering that only 7-10% of the population is left-handed? Lefties are here to takeover!

I think you should sit your wife down and really talk to her. Let her know that being a housewife is out of the question for now and the only real question is what she would like to do to support you financially. It is very typical for females raised in a single income family to think that the whole financial welfare of the family depends on the husband. This is even true for females with graduate degrees.

The bottom line is that you have to give her the support/encouragement she needs to run a business, if that's what she wants to do. There is no such thing as a perfect woman/man except in the movies. It is very hard to find a partner that has all of the following qualities:

1. Highly Driven
2. Educated
3. Beautiful
4. Religious
5. Faithful
6. Family oriented
7. Kind

When you find a person that has most of the qualities in quantities that you can accept, the only thing you can do is to work with them.  Your wife is not perfect and nobody is but you can make her a better wife by helping her improve on her weaknesses.

Are you sure you want to be a lawyer?

In tribal times, there were the medicine men. In the Middle Ages, there were the priests. Today, there are the lawyers. For every age, a group of bright boys, learned in their trades and jealous of their learning, who blend technical competence with plain and fancy hocus-pocus to make themselves masters of their fellow men. For every age, a pseudo-intellectual autocracy, guarding the tricks of the trade from the uninitiated, and running, after its own pattern, the civilization of its day. Fred Rodell


Assuming you’re able to get into law school –
Law school has been described as a place for the accumulation of learning. First-year students bring some in; third-year students take none away. Hence it accumulates. Unknown


After graduation -
[i]There are three sorts of lawyers - able, unable and lamentable. [/i]Robert Smith Surtees

If you’re one of the “able”, then you will become -
[i]An individual whose principal role is to protect his clients from others of his profession. [/i]Unknown


Just joking Akdot! Study hard and do well in school; you’ll be fine!

That sounds like a good book to read. If only we could have one visionary and charismatic president! I included charismatic as a quality because the legislative arm will need a lot of convincing to do the right thing! On the other hand, the president can easily deal with the executive arm by firing the incompetent ministers at the slightest hint of incompetence or corruption.