Thus Spaketh Idd Salim

Long time ago, when the word ‘gay‘ meant ‘to be happy’, I used to do ALL aspects of a system myself. From idea, conceptualization, wire-frames, testing, debugging, installing etc. This was mainly due to the misguided Idea that:

1. No one around was good enough to do exactly what I wanted and I had to do it myself.
2. No one could be trusted as a code/project partner and that everyone was a SurfCon just waiting to understand, then pounce on my Idea and steal it.
3. Everyone was busy with their own hassle and no one cared about my bizarre ideas.

And so, night in, night out, I coded deep into the night. Coding alone and debugging endless projects. until I learnt one word. DELEGATE. This article from About HR changed my whole view. I stopped being a do-it-all coder. And started being a live-like-a-human coder. Delegation does not mean you are weak. It enables you focus your strengths on the real meat, while you , proverbially of course, ‘let the garbage-man handle the garbage‘.

Whether it is coding, running a shop or even trying to get laid, you need to delegate some parts of the entire puzzle, to achieve the final, expected result.

The word GAY might have evolved in meaning, but certain success principles remains the same

The Curse of Yangu-yangu

Directly translated to mine-mine, yangu-yangu is a street phrase depicting that the owner of the object [idea, item, place etc] will NOT share under whatever circumstances, even if sharing would improve the loot and bring MORE for everyone on the table.

A certain Kamaray, once posted a comment on my blog talking about this and how it affects Kenyans :

Nice piece…time the talking stopped and the “cash-ing” started.

1 Problem : Kenyans don’t share : Coder dies with brilliant code, Marketer dies with brilliant marketing strategy, Finance guru dies with financing connections……bring them together….BAM!

This is what I feel Kenyan need. A Symbiotic relationship. A convergence of thinkers, doers and talkers who all work towards filling a common bucket.

If a good coder and find a brilliant marketer and a finance guru puts all the other pieces together, then this will be a story worth writing home about.

Back to code!

Adios!

A troubled but genius innivation

Last week, I called my landlord to ask her why there was no water in my apartment. She told me,  “pigia city council uwaulize. I just connect you to water. Not provide it.” So I packed my stuff and moved to the leafy suburbs where the taps never run dry.

Also, Last week [what an eventful week. Arsenal match included], I Mathematically demonstrated that it was IMPOSSIBLE for Mpesa to go down due to user-load. But, the downtime issue occured again last week!  This downtime lasted so long that I, for just some seconds, assumed that the eye of the Nebula had finally opened and the finger of god was about to start poking us all. I could not send money home and I had to cancel my Friday night Pool Hustling to take the money back home, by hand. Yuck! 2002 all over again.

But now, Mpesa is back up. We are all smiling. Long live Safaricom. Until the next downtime. They we can all switch back to Safaricom-ni-madogi mode.

After a response by Kaduki and a blog posting by Kachwanya (both very learned, incisive and non-partisan friends of mine and former Stacherians) about a non-safaricom-controllable element of the downtime, I decided to do my research and what I found out was interesting.

The Mpesa Architecture

Minimalistic Mpesa WAN Overview

Note/Disclaimer : The map above is my own sketch of how the Mpesa system would hypothetically work. It is by no way endorsed by Vodafone or Safcom. Ok.. Safcom wouldn’t -ofcourse; So let me stop at Vodafone.

From the WAN-map above, we see that Mpesa has 3 primary points-of-failure.

Point 1 : Data Path-1-to-2 Request Path

If the link between Saf and Voda fails (cut, rained on, power issues of just the plain fear of Makmende), your Mpesa will fail. Shared responsibility – Saf-Voda

Point 2 : Data Path-2-to-3 Auth path

If for some reason Voda does not get a full hand-shake and ACK from the bank, then your Mpesa will fails. Shared responsibility – Bank-Voda

Point 2 : Data Path-3-to-2-to-1 Response path

If for some reason Saf does not get a full and timely response from Voda, then your Mpesa will fails. Shared responsibility – Saf-Voda

So, clearly, Safaricom might, and I suspect, always does her part.. and VERY fast at that, but the multiple-points-of-failure make them look bad in the eyes of the public.

Solution

Many come to mind:

1. Develop a Kenyan Mpesa. Locally hosted and run. No downtime.
2. Take and work on daily data snapshots. Reconcile with Voda at end of day ala the ATM Model.
3. Work on a Store-and-forward modus operandi where there is a system-trust threshold based on the last-known-user-balance so that the client ALWAYS gets served and reconciliation is delayed abit. This could also be made more secure by placing repeat requests by this client on queue-2 is reconciliaton is not yet down.

That’s all, folks!

Back to code.

Written on Wednesday, September 2, 2009 at 3:16pm
This is part 3 of 3 of my Facebook Notes sequel on the pain I went through before getting my passport at Nyayo House, mainly because I had Muslim Names, despite the fact that I am a Meru. [Part 1 is Here] ,  [Part 2 is Here]

At this point, I had already paid the mandatory fees, submitted my Birth Certificate, ID, PIN etc… All that was documented as mandatory documents in the application forms. I had also waited for double the 2 weeks waiting period. All I had planned to do that day was just go pick up my passport.

Ohh no! Not with the names ‘Idd Salim’, I came to learn painfully!

My grandmaz ID came and I Took it to Nyayo House. Will not venture much on what else was asked for after the ID came because I finally got the passport, but I was forced to do some things I am not particularly a fan of or proud of.

But the end justified the means. Thank you mabwana Charles and Bwana lang’at of room 8 Immigration.

After providing the documents below, I am happy to announce that I am now officially Half Kenyan!

- My ID and Photocopy
- Mbugua’s ID and Photocopy [to prove someone knows me]
- Ma Late Granny’s ID and Photocopy
- My Birth Cert and Photocopy
- My PIN
- My High School Leaving Cert dated 1997.
- My Introduction letter to Starehe from Isiolo DO and DC dated 1996.
- Extra passport processing Fee for Muslim Applicants

After an citizenship interview slotted tomorrow, I will officially be, 100%, a citizen of this lovely and blessed country! Saa hii I am tiziing National Anthem, History of the Njuri Ncheke, Geography and The Size of Migingo Island.

Sasa I can dump ‘Kimani Ochieng Chepdinyich’ na niregeshe the strange non-kenyan majinaz of ‘Idd Salim Kithinji’

God bless you all!!

Addendum

I got the passport at last and I now guard it with my life. Don’t want to go there again. I am ashamed to be a Kenyan at these times of discrimination and utter in-equality.

God bless Kenya and I hope things change for the better.

Amen!

This is part 2 of 3 of my Facebook Notes sequel on the pain I went through before getting my passport at Nyayo House, mainly because I had Muslim Names, despite the fact that I am a Meru. [Part 1 is Here]

At this point, I had already paid the mandatory fees, submitted my Birth Certificate, ID, PIN etc… All that was documented as mandatory documents in the application forms. I had also waited for double the 2 weeks waiting period. All I had planned to do that day was just go pick up my passport.

Ohh no! Not with the names ‘Idd Salim’, I came to lean painfully!

Tuesday, September 1, 2009 at 10:12am – Day 4 of x @ Nyayo House…

Today I went with 2 additional documents to Immigrations Dept.

- A Primary School Leaving Certificate from Isiolo Hekima Primary School (needless to say, All A’s.. hehehe) that was given to me in 1996 (13 years ago).
- A letter from the DO and DC and chief of Isiolo waying that I am a citizen and also a copy of the letter of recommendation that recommended me to Join Starehe Boys Center, Form 1, in 1997.

On the way up to 1st floor, I meet some Somalis Smiling and hugging each other waving freshly printed Kenyan Passports chanting “Abrogha#$ yadda yadda Genya Bassbot!!”.. I smile, “This must be a good day”. I console my unsure self. Ohh How wrong I was!

Different day, same result.

Let us assume for a moment I was not born in Kenya. [Sometimes, I actually wish!]

According to http://u.nu/5xe43

(1) Subject to subsection (2), a person of full age and capacity, on making application to the minister in prescribed manner, may be registered as a citizen of Kenya if he has satisfies the Minister–

(a) that he is of African descent;

(b) that either–
(i) he was born and one of his parents was born, in a country to which this section applies; or
(ii) he has been a resident for a period of not less than ten years in a country to which this section applies and he is not of an independent state on the continent of Africa ;
(c) that he is ordinarily resident in Kenya and has been so resident for a period of five years;
(d) that he has an adequate knowledge of the Swahili or the English language or such as the Minister may prescribe;
(e) that he is good character; and
(f) that he would be a suitable citizen of Kenya.

So, a well behaved (see e), swahili and english speaker (see d) like me who has been in Kenya for 5 years+ (see c) AUTOMATICALLY qualified to be a Kenyan.

“Kama huwezi pata your mother’s ID, then usitusimbue. 1998 is just the other day. go look for the ID”. They Said. (I have that and more recorded in my phone).

But at least I got an option. “Get us your grandmothers ID card and that will help”… What ???

I cannot get my mother’s ID, sembuse ya granny? So I called back home in Meru, and THEY HAD IT… They would send it over to NBO via Meru Nissans, the quickest possible.

“Mbona una-photocopy things everyday hapa?”, Asks the photocopy lady at Nyayo on my way out. “Wamekataa kunipa passport because naitwa Salim Idd Kithinji.”, I respond “Kwanini?”, She asked half-annoyed, half suprised “Si majina ya Ki-Kenya”, I confessed, feeling very Ugandan.

“You will get that passport in JESUS name! “, She says… “Amen”, I respond.

Acha tuone granny ID ikija wataitisha nini sasa. Maybe hoove-prints from all our camels in Isiolo.

Aluta Continua…