4th, 5th & 6th outage

It has been a great novelty in our area of Nyali to have had no outages

till last night, since the last time I wrote - the 3rd outage. What
utter relief!

But, this does not mean that the whole of the north coast and other
Nyali areas further afield had this reprieve. They have continued to
have their outages.

Of course, it was too good to be true. For, at about 10.30 pm last
night, the lights suddenly went off and the surprising thing, this time
round was that when I rang one of the emergency numbers, it was quite
promptly answered. Also, the female there, had very ready information at
hand considering that I rang within minutes of the outage. She told me
that some power pole in Kisauni had caught fire and that the power would
be back within half an hour. This too was a novelty. The fact that not
only was the emergency number promptly picked up, but, she knew what I
was talking about and also gave me the reason and the approximate time
the power would be restored. Another relief!

But, comes daylight and the power went off, again, at around 9.30 am.
Another phone call, which again, got a prompt response and the guy at
the other end told me that they were fixing something around Kisauni and
it would be back. In fact, while I was talking to him, it came back. He
also mentioned that the outage last night was because of some problem at
Kipevu. Now, this is contradictory information as I was told that the
half hour outage last night was due to a power pole having caught fire.
Who was right?

Another novelty - he also told me that after about 2 hours when they
finished their work at that site, we would again, experience a few
minutes of outage when they restored supply everywhere.

True to their word, the power went off again, for about 5 minutes and
has been steady, since.

I hope and pray that the KPLC will continue to improve on their services
and be as quick and prompt when and if the power goes off. And we hope
that the remaining areas of Nyali and further afield will have the same
kind of experiences as us who are around Cinemax.

Of course, I'll continue counting....

3rd outage

My informants, i.e. my neighbours, while I was out, told me that the

power went off yet, again, at around 3.45 pm and came back after about
15 minutes!

As I have written earlier, I'm going to log every outage, everytime we
have one for KPLC to realize how many times they make us suffer and mess
things up. While this particular outage was, one would think, 'only' for
15 minutes, it can do untold damage if one is baking something for
example. Anyway, when the power goes off, we never know how long it will
be gone for. Even when our phones are answered by KPLC (very rare, these
days), they do not necessarily keep the times they tell us it will
return even if they know, which most of the times, they don't.

So, as far as the general power consuming public is concerned, whatever
it is that they were doing when it went off, it all goes to waste. This
is the damage and wastage that these persistent outages lead to. In
these times of economic hardship, KPLC, is continuously adding salt to
festering wounds. And they don't seem to care in the least and continue
to increase their tariffs to unbelievable amounts. That is all that they
care about, it would seem.

Starting to count..... 2nd Outage

The power went off yet, again, this morning at about 11.30 am and again,

phones were not answered. When one eventually was, a sleepy voice did
so, in a very bored manner. I think the KPLC should now apply for
toll-free numbers, considering their rising costs in bills and equally
rising cost of telephones, too.

In fact, everything is going up, except people's salaries and the cost
of living in this country with the amenities of 'civilization', is
slowly going beyond the hands of the average citizen. Our horrible and
unaccountable service providers including the politicians, it seems are
having it all, instead. The very people (wananchi), they are supposed to
'serve' are the ones suffering at these people's hands!

I have now, started a count on the number of outages we suffer, even in
a day and for how long, too. The one mentioned above lasted for about
half an hour. I wonder when the next one will be.....? Probably, in the
evening or late afternoon like yesterday, just when we're trying to
relax in front of the t.v.! When and if we do, I'll write, again with a
different number, of course, but the same heading.

Get your act together, KPLC. We suffer enough without you people adding
to it.

Another outage

It seems that the latest outage here in Nyali was due to a branch from a

tree falling on the power lines. This lasted just over an hour but, of
course, it continued to go on and off at least a couple of times after
that.

Oh and talking about trees - this will be another excuse for their
wrecking crew to go around chopping them off, I suppose. All in the name
of them getting in the way of power lines. I wonder how other places
manage to have their power still intact despite trees. Or are they
trying to tell us that it's either 'progress' without trees or we go
back to cave dwelling days - live without power, a supposed sign of
'civilization'?

Again, nobody was answering their phones, including the emergency lines.
One wonders why they don't. Also, these people are beginning to practice
impunity like most of the other so-called service providers. Since they
have a monopoly of being the only providers of this commodity, like the
water, in this country, they know that they can get away with anything
short of murder. But, then, in this country, since we have very little
of law practiced and justice meted out, even murder is being got away
with here. One just has to pay the right amount to the right person!

While the KPLC continues to increase their rates to unbelievable
amounts, their services are deteriorating, too. Easy money.....? And so
they couldn't care less about the 'service' they give, since they can
hold the whole country to ransom by threatening to cut us off! They
already know this with their nearly daily outages all over the place.

By the way, what are they doing about sustainable, renewable energy in
the face of rising fuel costs? We have all the sun in the world and the
wind, too, not to mention wave power at the coast. Have they given these
a thought? Or are they too lazy, mentally and physically to put this
infrastructure into place? Or is their excuse going to be, 'we don't
have the funds', like the stuck record reply of the water providers? All
of these people, especially KPLC, charges us an arm, a leg and eight
pints of blood for the power they give us in fits and starts and very
unreliably, too.

Really fed up with KPLC.

Strange maintenance .......

Yesterday late afternoon about 5.45 pm, we in Nyali, suddenly had an

unwarranted outage. And the power was not restored till around 9.30 pm. Why?

The reason I am asking this question is that these people had a
'planned' maintenance outage on Sunday thereby messing up our off day.
While the advertisement said that it would return by 5.00 pm, it did
not! Instead, the whole of Sunday was spent with power going off and on
at least 5 times!! When it did not get back at the scheduled advertised
time, I rang up Mr. Mkomba who at first refused to answer the phone,
but, eventually, did. He told me that after this maintenance, there
would not be any more 'unplanned' outages in this area. In answer, I
told him that should there be one soon after (knowing them, it was
highly likely and I was proved right, yesterday), I would write this
email to all of my usual recipients, including a copy to him, of course.

Why did they have to choose Sunday to do their so-called maintenance?
And after having messed it up why does the power still keep going off
and on without warning? Why don't they answer their emergency phones?
Nor do their 'officials' answer theirs? Does not KPLC have any
professionalism left, anymore? They seem to be joining our growing
number of useless 'service' providers who just exist, but, do not really
accomplish anything much!

There was a time when it bothered KPLC, that their reputation was at
stake, but, not anymore, it seems. They seem to have become totally
impervious to criticisms, do not think that they have to answer to their
consumers and are beginning to practice impunity like many in our
so-called government.

They care less about all the damage they cause, including damage to the
country's economy and have no plausible explanation for all of these
outages. They behave like it is some kind of vital secret affecting the
country's security. In fact, their actions or rather non-action is
landing us in a number of security problems, i.e. danger, when it
happens at night, especially. Are they aiding crooks? And what about the
people who have disabilities and cannot see properly and who might fall,
etc., and get hurt, some badly? Have their thoughts ever turned in these
directions?

The only reason that I can think of for them not answering their phones
is because they have no answer for what is happening and when they
supposedly 'fix' something, it is a short fix, not destined to serve us
long time. Hence, the frequent outages, here.

Will this email warrant an answer from these people? I wonder.....

GOD MAKE ME A TV

Something to read and think about....

GOD MAKE ME A TV

A teacher from Primary School asks her students to write a essay about what
they would like God to do for them... At the end of the day, while marking
the essays,she read one that made her very emotional. Her husband, who had
just walked in, saw her crying and asked her:- 'What happened?'
She answered- 'Read this. It is one of my students' essay.'

'Oh God, tonight I ask you something very special :
Make me into a television. I want to take its place and live like the TV in
my house.
Have my own special place, And have my family around ME.
To be taken seriously when I talk....
I want to be the centre of attention and be heard without interruptions or
questions.
I want to receive the same special care that theTV receives even when it is
not working.
Have the company of my dad when he arrives home from work, even when he is
tired.
And I want my mom to want me when she is sad and upset, instead of ignoring
me...
And... I want my brothers to fight to be with me...
I want to feel that family just leaves everything aside, every now and
then, just to spend some time with me.
And last but not least, ensure that I can make them all happy and entertain
them...
Lord I don't ask you for much... I just want to live like a TV.'
At that moment the husband said :- 'My God, poor kid. What horrible
parents!'

The wife looked up at him and said:- 'That essay is our son's.

MSG please read

Take care in reading labels when buying.

Article on MSG

Here's an interesting article that warrants a read....we will be extra vigilant in checking labels from now on....

The content of this article has links to substantiate its claims - Scary stuff

MSG (a slow poison) - Very interesting

The food additive MSG (Mono-Sodium Glutamate) is a slow poison. MSG hides behind 25 or more names, such as Natural Flavoring." MSG is even in your favorite coffee from Tim Horton's and Starbucks coffee shops!

I wondered if there could be an actual chemical causing the massive
obesity epidemic, and so did a friend of mine, John Erb. He was a research
assistant at the University of Waterloo in Ontario , Canada , and spent
years working for the government. He made an amazing discovery while
going through scientific journals for a book he was writing called The Slow
Poisoning of America ..

In hundreds of studies around the world, scientists were creating
obese mice and rats to use in diet or diabetes test studies. No strain of
rat or mice is naturally obese, so scientists have to create them. They
make these creatures morbidly obese by injecting them with MSG when they are first born.

The MSG triples the amount of insulin the pancreas creates, causing
rats (and perhaps humans) to become obese. They even have a name for the
fat rodents they create: "MSG-Treated Rats."

When I heard this, I was shocked. I went into my kitchen and checked
the cupboards and the refrigerator. MSG was in everything -- the Campbell's
soups, the Hostess Doritos, the Lays flavored potato chips, Top
Ramen, Betty Crocker Hamburger Helper, Heinz canned gravy, Swanson frozen prepared meals, and Kraft salad dressings, especially the "healthy low-fat" ones.

The items that didn't have MSG marked on the product label had
something called "Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein," which is just another name
for Monosodium Glutamate.

It was shocking to see just how many of the foods we feed our children
everyday are filled with this stuff. MSG is hidden under many different
names in order to fool those who read the ingredient list, so that they
don't catch on. (Other names for MSG are "Accent, "Aginomoto," "Natural
Meat Tenderizer," etc.)

But it didn't stop there.

When our family went out to eat, we started asking at the restaurants
what menu items contained MSG. Many employees, even the managers, swore they didn't use MSG. But when we ask for the ingredient list, which they
grudgingly provided, sure enough, MSG and Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein were everywhere.

Burger King, McDonald's, Wendy's, Taco Bell, every restaurant -- even
the sit-down eateries like TGIF, Chili's, Applebee's, and Denny's -- use MSG
in abundance. Kentucky Fried Chicken seemed to be the WORST offender: MSG was in every chicken dish, salad dressing. and gravy. No wonder I loved to eat that coating on the skin -- their secret spice was MSG!

So why is MSG in so many of the foods we eat?
Is it a preservative, or a vitamin?

Not according to my friend John Erb. In his book The Slow Poisoning
of America , he said that MSG is added to food for the addictive effect it
has on the human body.

Even the propaganda website sponsored by the food manufacturers lobby
group supporting MSG explains that the reason they add it to food is to make
people eat more.

A study of the elderly showed that older people eat more of the foods
that it is added to. The Glutamate Association lobbying group says eating
more is a benefit to the elderly, but what does it do to the rest of us?

"Betcha can't eat [just] one," takes on a whole new meaning where MSG
is concerned! And we wonder why the nation is overweight!

MSG manufacturers themselves admit that it addicts people to their
products. It makes people choose their product over others, and makes
people eat more of it than they would if MSG wasn't added.

Not only is MSG scientifically proven to cause obesity, it is an
addictive substance. Since its introduction into the American food supply
fifty years ago,MSG has been added in larger and larger doses to the
pre-packaged meals,soups, snacks, and fast foods we are tempted to eat
everyday.

The FDA has set no limits on how much of it can be added to food. They
claim it's safe to eat in any amount. But how can they claim it's safe when
there are hundreds of scientific studies with titles like these:

"The monosodium glutamate (MSG) obese rat as a model for the study of
exercise in obesity." Gobatto CA, Mello MA, Souza CT , Ribeiro IA. Res
Commun Mol Pathol Pharmacol. 2002.

"Adrenalectomy abolishes the food-induced hypothalamic serotonin
release in both normal and monosodium glutamate-obese rats." Guimaraes RB, Telles MM, Coelho VB, Mori C, Nascimento CM, Ribeiro. Brain Res Bull. 2002 Aug.

'Obesity induced by neonatal monosodium glutamate treatment in spontaneously hypertensive rats: An animal model of multiple risk factors."
Iwase M, Yamamoto M, Iino K, Ichikawa K, Shinohara N, Yoshinari Fujishima.
Hypertens Res. 1998 Mar.

"Hypothalamic lesion induced by injection of monosodium glutamate in
suckling period and subsequent development of obe sity." Tanaka K, Shimada
M, Nakao K Kusunoki. Exp Neurol. 1978 Oct.

No, the date of that last study was not a typo; it was published in
1978. Both the "medical research community" and "food manufacturers" have
known about the side effects of MSG for decades.

Many more of the studies mentioned in John Erb's book link MSG to
diabetes, migraines and headaches, autism, ADHD, and even Alzheimer's.

So what can we do to stop the food manufactures from dumping this
fattening and addictive MSG into our food supply and causing the obesity
epidemic we now see?

Several months ago, John Erb took his book and his concerns to one of
the highest government health officials in Canada . While he was sitting in
the go vernment office, the official told him, "Sure, I know how bad MSG is.
I wouldn't touch the stuff." But this top-level government official refuses
to tell the public what he knows.

The big media doesn't want to tell the public either, fearing issues
with their advertisers. It seems that the fallout on the fast food industry
may hurt their profit margin. The food producers and restaurants have been
addicting us to their products for years, and now we are paying the price
for it. Our children should not be cursed with obesity caused by an addictive food additive.

But what can I do about it? I'm just one voice! What can I do to stop the poisoning of our children, while our governments are=2 0insuring financial protection for the industry that is poisoning us?

This message is going out to everyone I know in an attempt to tell you
the truth that the corporate-owned politicians and media won't tell you.

The best way you can help to save yourself and your children from this
drug-induced epidemic is to forward this article to everyone. With any
luck, it will circle the globe before politicians can pass the legislation
protecting those who are poisoning us.

The food industry learned a lot from the tobacco industry. Imagine if
big tobacco had a bill like this in place before someone blew the whistle on
nicotine?

If you are one of the few who can still believe that MSG is good for
us and you don't believe what John Erb has to say, see for yourself. Go to
the National Library of Medicine at http://www.pubmed.com/. Type in the words "MSG Obese" and read a few of the 115 medical studies that appear.

We the public do not want to be rats in one giant experiment, and we
do not approve of food that makes us into a nation of obese,
lethargic,addicted sheep, feeding the food industry's bottom line while
waiting for the heart transplant, the diabetic-induced amputation,
blindness, or other obesity-induced, life-threatening disorders.

With your help we can put an end to this poison.
Do your part in sending this message out by word of mouth, e-mail, or by
distribution of this printout to your friends all over the world and stop
this "Slow Poisoning of Mankind" by the packaged food industry.

Blowing the whistle on MSG is our responsibility, so get the word out.

These outages....

Considering that most of the North Coast of Mombasa mainland has unpredictable and numerous outages nearly every day, it is not in the least surprising that one cannot find an email address (in this technologically advanced 21st Century), for the Ministry of Energy or one (except an online form) for Kengen, either. Nor one for the Electricity Regulatory Commission (formerly Board). They've changed their name!

You see if they gave their contact emails, i.e. displayed them under contact information at their websites, they would be inundated by a lot of emails from people who might have the courage to write to them about their expensive and shoddy 'services'.

It is also very ridiculous that while on one hand the KPLC advertises that they can connect people 'mara moja', they will not be able to give them an uninterrupted supply. That 'service' will leave a lot to be desired and will be full of frustration for those who get attracted to this prompt 'service'. For they know not what they are letting themselves in for - 'where ignorance is bliss......

Those of us who live in Nyali and it's environs could tell them otherwise.

First, the bills will really floor them when they get them at the end of the month!

Second - despite paying for their connection through their proverbial noses, they will not get a constant and uninterrupted and constant supply. In fact, they will not be able to do any predictable work which involves electricity due to the very real and frustrating thought that the power will and can go off without due notice at any time. And while it might just go for a second or a couple of minutes, whatever they might have been doing using it, will all go to waste due to this erratic 'service'.

Third - when they will try to ring the emergency numbers, most of them will be engaged or not be answered. And if they do get an answer, they will most likely not be given any reasonable reason for these persistent outages and if, like me, they start making noise about this, the person at the other end will either hang up or start making empty promises.

Over a week ago, I had been promised by Mr. Mkomba, that by the end of that week, our outages would be a thing of the past and that we would get a normal and predictable service. But of course, as I have mentioned earlier, this was an empty promise, as usual and it was made under a kind of duress. He had to say this to delay me from writing an email such as the present one, I think.Since then, the power has gone off here umpteen numbers of times and when I've tried calling Mr. Mkomba to remind him of what he had told me, I managed to get through to him only once! Subsequent calls all went unanswered!

The one person who answers is their (KPLC), Customer Relations Manager, Mr. Vidzo. Hats off to him! He tries his level best to give me a sensible answer but, I think he too, is running out of excuses.

Since these constant outages mess up our electrical appliances despite the Sollatek devices (they start misbehaving first), who will be responsible for the unbelievable expense and waste that they cause? Isn't it high time that the people who suffer from these outages get together and sue KPLC for damages?

Change in traffic rules.....

Driving around in this country, one gets a very nasty feeling of traffic
rules having been changed without road users being officially informed
about them.

The following are some of the most irritating...

1. Pedestrians have become totally irresponsible when they are either
alighting from public transport and/or crossing roads. They never seem
to bother to look right or left before stepping into the path of an
oncoming vehicle. Could this be because, when there is an accident,
NOBODY bothers asking the suicidal pedestrian if s/he bothered checking
before deciding to cross? It is ALWAYS assumed that it is the driver's
fault and everybody descends on him/her without a bit of evidence. And
to add insult to injury, the offending pedestrian is NEVER taken to
task. In other countries which apply better laws on the road, even
charge pedestrians for this misdemeanour, not just the driver.

2. On a highway, we are taught in driving schools, slow and heavy
traffic is supposed to stick to the left lane leaving the right one free
for faster traffic and for overtaking. But, in this country the rules
have been reversed and one gets the impression that all of the slower
traffic drivers were trained in countries where they drive on the right.
Nearly every slow traffic will be populating the fast lane thereby
forcing the other faster lot to overtake from the wrong side and making
them highly frustrated when both lanes have slow moving lumbering
nincompoops.

3. Traffic police seem to be able to do nothing about all of this,
either. They never seem to enforce the right traffic rules.

4. Having people selling all kinds of things at intersections. This
creates traffic jams when cars ahead start stopping to buy things from
these vendors not to mention that it is a dangerous pursuit in this age
of people being robbed and held up. How does one know that a vendor is
not a crook in disguise? Again, can't the traffic police regulate this
as well as the umpteen beggars/crooks(?), who also descend at your
window the minute you stop?

5. Matatus and tuk tuks stop and turn anywhere they wish, with
impunity. God help the person who tangles with them! They have become
awful pests.

Can the people and police concerned please bring order back onto our roads?

Tree cutting & power lines

Why is it that while tree planting is being encouraged all over the

country, our one and only power company, KPLC, is also busy chopping off
some of these trees? This is done in the name of protecting the overhead
power lines, of course.

But, one should observe the wanton way the power crew goes about
chopping them off and living in their wake skeletal trees (shadows -
anything but...), which offer no shade to anybody and some are left as
stumps! There are countless such examples all over the country, and
there is at least one perfect example of this misplaced enthusiasm
outside Nakumatt Cinemax in Nyali. Just a trunk stands there with no
hope of it every reviving to it's former glory!

Also, these people throw branches and all the debris onto road
indiscriminately, which gets in the way of traffic and can cause accidents.

So, my request to KPLC is that they be very conservative with their tree
cutting exercises since we urgently need these trees in this stifling
heat and the about to arrive torrential rains (we hope), to give us much
needed shade as well as relief to our tired eyes. It's such a relief to
see and feel something green (even if it is full of dust), after seeing
mostly a country whose towns and cities are turning into an unkempt and
disorganized concrete jungle!

I wonder how power companies in other more advanced countries manage
with trees and power lines? Yet, they don't have the number of outages
that ours does......?

Would love to see more greenery around,