This Kenyan Developer

My company won’t even accept new contracts for PHP anymore, we consider it that badly out of touch with the state of the art as far as web development goes.

The essential problem is that web applications are no longer simple. There was a time when the height of web app complexity was having a pile of includes and finding yourself needing memcached. Today even mid-range sites demand vastly smarter methods of dealing with data.

Web user expectations have risen dramatically as well. Forms must validate and pre-fill intelligently – to do otherwise is basically an unforgivable crime. Long sequences of Click->load->edit->load->response are no longer acceptable, rapid out of band responses, ajax and comet communication, the requirement for effective ORM and a dizzying array of support libraries for everything from RSS consumption to elegant charting has flipped the balance from a need to do primarily HTML, with some application logic, to a complete and dramatic reverse – it is not possible to deliver a modern web app in any kind of competitive timeframe if you’re spending all your time fiddling with HTML, there’s just way too much other stuff to do.

Ruby and Python stepped up to this challenge to a degree that PHP simply never has – and probably never will. There are no PHP frameworks that can hold a torch to Rails or Turbogears – they are a fundamental expression of their respective language platforms with the web as the interface, not a method for generating HTML with a variety of support libraries.

I understand that at this point there will be a pile of old school, die-hard PHP geeks shaking their heads and saying “Hasn’t he heard of Cake or …”. If you haven’t already seen the writing on the wall, there’s probably nothing I can say to convince you. I did PHP commercially for years, but I stopped two years ago when it became clear that times have moved on – just as they did for perl when PHP arrived on the scene.

Change is good, I’m delighted with Turbogears, it takes a clean language and grants it an unparalleled ability to bring a task to the web with a fraction of the code – and a hundred times the readability and manageability – of its nearest competitors on other platforms. I have successfully turned this into a major advantage for my company, and we have been cheerfully stealing contracts out from other firms to the point where we had to boost our price and we still have a month and a half wait time for anyone who wants new work done.

I cannot bring myself to work with PHP code anymore. It feels like going backwards – from a spreadsheet to a calculator, from the ball point pen to the hammer and chisel. Those who sit there cherrypicking features and saying “PHP 6 will have this too!” have no idea how insane they sound. You could write a book with a hammer and chisel too, but the time it would take! and who would even want it? Get moving now people, and shift to a modern platform. Change comes fast and it’s far better to be leading the wave than lost in the wash.

Hell, it’s more fun as well, I can spend my time on the fun, challenging parts of the work rather than mucking around with crap.

- His name is phirate and acn be found @ sitepoint

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1. nation.co.ke
2. East African Standard
3. bing.com [not Kenyan but gets a special mention for taking the search market to new heights may be the only serious competitiong google has faced so far]
   
4. Softlinkoptions.com – Haiya!
5. Businessdailyafrica.com
6. haiya.co.ke
7. brightermonday.com
8. kenyanjobs.blogspot.com
9. Daily Nation and Sunday Nation
10. butterfly.co.ke
11. safaricom.co.ke
12. stockskenya.com
13. intokenya.com
14. Capital FM 98.4
15. RICH.CO.KE – Authorised Nairobi Stock Exchange Data Vendor
16. kenyaonetours.com
17. popote.co.ke
18. Best Jobs Kenya
19. equitybank.co.ke
20. Nyeri Online
21. kra.go.ke
22. kenya-airways.com
23. University of Nairobi
24. Kezania.com
25. Mambo.co.k
26. Kenya Broadcasting Corporation

Like we say where I come from – Haiya!

the year is half gone and still not done everything I’d planned to do.

I have almost completely forgotten to be updating the blog and have gotten completely engrossed with work.

Not such a bad thing.

need to spend a little more time with meself off work. Like they said at the sacco meeting.

No need working too hard. Need some healthy balance.

Like some music,  sometime with me swits . . . a concert perhaps?

Work has been great – got blacklisted by google for having viruses on our server but working hard to clear it.

new projects everywhere.

Working on a social networking website that I hope could take the world by storm! still developing – Hope to launch with three modules. One is done. Two are almost done. Other modules can come while we are up and running.

I promise it will be amazing! keep it here.

Let’s say a guy named Mwangi is attracted to a woman named Njambi. He asks her out to a movie, she accepts; they have a pretty good time. A few nights later he asks her out to dinner, and again they enjoy themselves. They continue to see each other regularly, and after a while neither one of them is seeing anybody else.

And then, one evening when they’re driving home, a thought occurs to Njambi, and, without really thinking, she says it aloud, “Do you realize that, as of tonight, we’ve been seeing each other for exactly six months?”

And then there is silence in the car. To Njambi, it seems like a very loud silence. She thinks to herself, “Ngai! I wonder if it bothers him that I said that. Maybe he’s been feeling confined by our relationship; maybe he thinks I’m trying to push him into some kind of obligation that he doesn’t want, or isn’t sure of.” And Mwangi is thinking, “Ngoma! Six months!”

And Njambi is thinking, “But, hey, I’m not so sure I want this kind of relationship, either. Sometimes I wish I had a little more space, so I’d have time to think about whether I really want us to keep going the way we are, moving steadily toward…I mean, where are we going? Are we just going to keep seeing each other at this level of intimacy? Are we heading toward marriage? Toward children? Toward a lifetime together? Am I ready for that level of commitment? Do I really even know this person?”

And Mwangi is thinking, “…so that means it was…let’s see…February when we started going out, which was right after I had the car at the garage, which means…let me check the odometer…Whoa! I am way overdue for an oil change here.”

And Njambi is thinking, “He’s upset. I can see it on his face. Maybe I’m reading this completely wrong. Maybe he wants more from our relationship, more intimacy, and more commitment; maybe he has sensed…even before I sensed it…that I was feeling some reservations. Yes, I bet that’s it. That’s why he’s so reluctant to say anything about his own feelings. He’s afraid of being rejected.”

And Mwangi is thinking, “And I’m going to have them look at the clutch again. I don’t care what those Nugus say, it’s still not engaging right. And they better not try to blame it on the cold weather this time. What cold weather? It’s 30 degrees outside, and this thing is shifting like a chokora garbage truck, and I paid those incompetent thieves 12,000 bob!”

And Njambi is thinking, “He’s angry. And I don’t blame him. I’d be angry, too. Ngai! I feel so guilty, putting him through this, but I can’t help the way I feel. I’m just not sure.”

And Mwangi is thinking, “They’ll probably say it’s only a 90-day warranty. That’s exactly what they’re going to say, the nyangaus.”

And Njambi is thinking, “Maybe I’m just too idealistic, waiting for a knight to come riding up on his white horse, when I’m sitting right next to a perfectly good person, a person I enjoy being with, a person I truly do care about, and a person who seems to truly care about me. A  person who is in pain because of my self-centered, schoolgirl romantic fantasy.”

And Mwangi is thinking, “Warranty? They want a warranty I’ll give them a bloody warranty. I’ll take their warranty and stick it right up their…”

“Mwangi,” Njambi says aloud.

“What?” asks Mwangi, startled.

“Please don’t torture yourself like this,” she says, her eyes beginning to brim with tears. “Maybe I should never have…Ngai, I feel so…” She breaks down, sobbing.

“What?” says Mwangi.

“I’m such a fool,” Njambi sobs. “I mean, I know there’s no knight. I really know that. It’s silly. There’s no knight, and there’s no horse.”

“There’s no horse?” says Mwangi.

“You think I’m a fool, don’t you?” Njambi says.

“No!” says Mwangi, glad to finally know a correct answer.

“It’s just that…It’s that I…I need some time,” Njambi says.

There is a 15-second pause while Mwangi, thinking as fast as he can, tries to come up with a safe response. Finally he comes up with one that he thinks might work.

“Yes,” he says.

Njambi, deeply moved, touches his hand. “Oh, Mwangi, do you really feel that way?” she says.

“What way?” says Mwangi.

“That way about time,” says Njambi.

“Oh,” says Mwangi. “Yes.”

Njambi turns to face him and gazes deeply into his eyes, causing him to become very nervous about what she might say next, especially if it involves a horse.

At last she speaks. “Thank you, Mwangi,” she says.

“Thank you,” says Mwangi.

Then he takes her home, and she lies on her bed, a conflicted, tortured soul, and weeps until dawn, whereas when Mwangi gets back to his place, he opens a bag of crisps, turns on the TV, and immediately becomes deeply involved in a rerun of a tennis match between two Czechoslovakians he never heard of, as he awaits the big match of the day between MAN-U and ARSENAL.

A tiny voice in the far recessesof his mind tells him that something major was going on back there in the car, but he is pretty sure there is no way he would ever understand what, and so he figures it’s better if he doesn’t think about it… (This is also Mwangi’s policy regarding world hunger)

The next day Njambi will call her closest friend, or perhaps two of them, and they will talk about this situation for six straight hours. In painstaking detail, they will analyze everything she said and everything he said, going over it time and time again, exploring every word, expression, and gesture for nuances of meaning, considering every possible ramification. They will continue to discuss this subject, off and on, for weeks, maybe months, never reaching any definite conclusions, but never getting bored with it, either.

Meanwhile, Mwangi, while playing squash one day with a mutual friend of his and Njambi’s will pause just before serving, frown, and say,

“Kamau, did Njambi ever own a horse??”

– I didn’t write this. Got it in an email and hope my readers love it!

I was in church on Sunday night and what was almost a most terrible event turned out to be a great victory for me. I thank God.

Got into the parking at npc without a car tag and getting out was almost a disaster.

But a nice gentleman called Wycliffe helped me out and soorted the matter most amicably.

A great end to agreat evening!

For all the lovers of How I met your mother. barney stinson has a bro code.
I. Bros before hoes. I cannot stress this enough. Always remember, girlfriends come and go, but your boys are always there. Breaking this rule is to commit the cardinal sin against Team Testosterone.

II. Never drink the last beer, unless you’ve been granted specific permission that it’s OK.

III. If a girl falls into the following criteria, she is off limits forever until the end of time:

A. Was an ex-girlfriend.
B. Your friend specifically told you he wanted her.
C. Is you’re buddy’s sister.

However, if it’s your buddy’s cousin, well she’s up for grabs, and you’re welcome to rub it in his face for years to come.

IV. Never diss a guy if his team just lost a crushing game. I lost approximately nine friends last October who felt the need to bust my balls when the Red Sox lost to the Devil’s Bitches. Just leave it alone, it’s kinder to pick on them for a dead relative.

V. You must never own a cat.

VI. If you get 2 tickets to the big game, the priority list for granting the second ticket is as follows:

1. Your best friends (in order of how long you’ve known them).
2. Your acquaintances.
3. Your co-workers.
4. The mailman.
5. The UPS guy.
6. NASA.
7. John Kerry.
….1,485,726. Your girlfriend.

VII. You are allowed to enjoy exactly one chick TV show, and one chick flick. (Mine are Dawson’s Creek and Love, Actually). You may have no more. And if you like Grease, well, we’re already too late.

VIII. Birthday and Christmas presents for your guy friends are optional. Beer always makes a great gift.

IX. If you go the bar with your buddies, you must buy a round of drinks at least once.

X. There are no mercy rules when playing someone in Madden, hoops, street hockey, bare-fisted boxing, etc.

XI. If you owe someone money, pay them back as soon as humanly possible—unless it’s a gambling debt, which must be paid immediately.

XII. Standard shotgun rules are as follows.

A. Shotgun may only be called within full sight of the car.
B. Shotgun must be called outside.
C. Shotgun calls last approximately ten minutes.
D. Shotgun never carries over to a second ride.

XIII. NO PDA (Public Displays of Affection). Hey, congratulations, another girl can stand the sight of you. You don’t need to wear her like a ******* trophy.

XIV. It’s alright to cheat at any game where money isn’t involved. In certain circumstances, relationships may be classified as “games.”

XV. Don’t tell other guys elaborate stories about your weightlifting exercise routine. No one cares.


XVI. Never openly question another guy’s sports wisdom, unless said information specifically pertains to your favorite team. It doesn’t matter how ludicrous the other guy sounds telling you that Jake Plummer was better than Steve McNair last season, let him be.

XVII. When out with the guys, never accept a call from your girlfriend—unless she’s dying or trapped under a burning fuel truck, and if that’s the case, make it quick.

XVIII. Always allow a buffer zone at urinals and on couches.

XIX. Never share a bed with a guy, unless there’s no way around it.

XX. Bros Before Hoes. I know, I already used it. I can’t stress it enough, though. It is absolutely infuriating how many of my guy friends have become insufferable dicks since they’ve gone out with someone.

Then I found these added by readers at Rules For Men

In a 6 person hot tub, there should be a maximum of 3 guys.

A man should not sing and dance at the same time

A man should not watch Oxygen, Womens Entertainment, or Lifetime.

Men do not lie about their age.

A Man should not swing his arms when he is walking.

A man should never carry a woman’s handbag

A man should never go tanning.

No man should dye their hair

A man should never refer to an athlete as a “stud”

A man should never cry during a movie. In the event that he does, he must under no circumstance admit it to anyone other than a girl he is trying to score with.

A man should not “pop” his collar.

A man should not speak more than two languages.

A man should never say “it’s to die for”
Kevin

A man should not wear a scarf without a jacket or coat.

A man should not wear an ascot.

A man should never use the following words: fantabulous, ginormous & fierce.

A man should never wrap a towel around his head after leaving the shower.

A man should never “sip” and alcoholic drink through a straw

A man should never wear a blouse.

If you are not living with a girl you should not have tampons in your bathroom.

A man should not wear crocs.

A man should not wear a leotard or do pirouettes.

A man should never wear a sweater over his shoulders

A man should not eat grapes from the vines

A man should never rollerblade

The word cute should not be used other then describing a chick they want to bone

If you compliment a guy on his six-pack, you better be referring to his beer.

A man should never, ever wear capri pants.

A man should not wear flip flops with a suit.

No man should wear a speedo to the beach

No man should make a kissing face in a photo.

No man should wear girl jeans

No man should ever get a pedicure

A man should never highlight his hair.

A man should not talk to another man in the bathroom.

A man should never sing show tunes.

A Man should never eat out of another man’s hands.

Two men should not share an umbrella.

A man should not have “an outfit”.

A man should not wear a white belt.

A man should never wiggle out of a pair of pants.

if I had my way – I’d have loved to spend the long weekend chilling with the chimpanzees at the sanctuary in Sweet Waters Conservancy. But am not having my way and so had better look for alterative entertainemnts for the weekend!

I have been thinking of a certain business since a few year ago. A portal for kenyans to hook up and do business. A place where they can trade, a place where they can share and discuss. A place wher ethey can do all things social, business and fun and it seems that soon its going to happan. Am completely excited about this project. i think it iw what I should have been doing from the begining!