Three Cool Engineering Videos

A walking dog from a project funded by DARPA, the folks who gave us the internet...



The last launch of the space shuttle Discovery as seen from a flying aircraft...



Germans doing what they do best...build cars.

Regime Change

There has been a consensus among Ethiopians for while now that there needs to be a regime change in Ethiopia, but not so much on how to bring about that change. The abrupt changes we have witnessed in Tunisia and Egypt in recent days seem to have given hope for Ethiopians that a similar change may be possible in Ethiopia in the near future.

It would be nice to have a relatively peaceful regime change in Ethiopia as have happened in Tunisia and Egypt. I doubt that will be the case though in Ethiopia as recent history of Ethiopian opposition groups is replete with disorganization and mistrust. I also question the wisdom of bringing about changes in a sudden way since that usually invites chaos and power vacuum.

Regardless, some kind of forced regime change in Ethiopia seems inevitable. If the Ethiopian people decide they had enough like their Tunisian and Egyptian counterparts, there is nothing the Woyane regime can do to prevent its own demise. The only question is whether or not the regime that will take over from the Woyane will be more accountable to the people.

Chaotic change not in the interest of the people of Egypt...

...neither is dictatorship.

This Music is Really Good for You - VI

The David Crowder*Band is a very entertaining Christian group out of Texas. They are loaded with talent and fun to listen to and watch. I think of them as a fusion between the sounds of U2 and Michael W. Smith. I can't wait to see them perform live. Enjoy!

Poverty and Affluence in Ethiopia

Ethiopia today is a study in contrast between two extremes, more so than at any time in its modern history. The picture below is a composite of two pictures: a mother begging on a street side in Bahr Dar and a family celebrating a birthday in a private room at a hotel in Addis Ababa.

Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior

This WSJ article with the same title should be of high interest to most readers of this blog who, I believe, are either parents of young ones or prospective parents. The author, Amy Chua, is a parent and a professor at Yale Law School. Her Chinese approach to strict parenting was an extremely refreshing reading for my wife and I; stereotypes aside, we agree with most of her parenting philosophy. I hope you will find it useful. Here are a couple of quotes from the article:

"Chinese parents can order their kids to get straight As. Western parents can only ask their kids to try their best."

"...studies indicate that compared to Western parents, Chinese parents spend approximately 10 times as long every day drilling academic activities with their children. By contrast, Western kids are more likely to participate in sports teams."

The Tiger Mother Talks Back

Amy Chua responds to readers' questions about happiness, relationships and tips for teaching toddlers.

Have a Happy New (Zealand) Year!

Poi-E is a song in Maori language by Patea Maori Club of New Zealand. The harmony and rhythms they display is infectious. Enjoy!


Here is the original version.

Christmas Concert

The Creative Arts Ministry at McLean Bible Church in McLean, VA, presented a spectacular Christmas concert this past Friday, which I thoroughly enjoyed. The show was extremely well presented and captivating. It was simply the best Christmas concert I have ever witnessed! The concert will be re-broadcast on the internet on Christmas Day, Saturday at 6:30 PM Eastern Time, and I highly recommend that you watch it.

Here is the instruction to watch, go to www.mbclive.org and wait for the countdown timer in the top right to reach zero. Streaming will begin 15 minutes before the show. The show runs about 1:45 minutes and is composed of two Acts with a 10 minutes intermission. Merry Christmas!

Here are a couple of teasers for you from the concert. This one is an original music titled "Proclamation."


And this one is probably the best version of "Rejoice" you will ever hear.

Beat for Peace in Sudan

This Music is Really Good for You - V

I love to listen to both secular and Christian music. In my opinion, the quality and creativity in today's Christian music scene is better than what I see in the secular music scene. Here are a couple of my favorites Christian songs of late. The first one is a reflective song by a soloist named Bebo Norman and the second one is an upbeat song from is a group called Casting Crowns. Enjoy!

Haile to the Chief!

Haile Gebrselassie retires! "It is better to stop here." Maybe not yet.

Thanks for the memories and best wishes on your next adventure(s)!

Eskinder Nega takes Haile to task for his recent flirtation with Meles. He also takes a critical look at Haile's rash announcement of his retirement and his political aspiration. Read here.

A shellacking for Obama's agenda

I was expecting the American electorate would rebuke President Obama's leftist agenda in last Tuesday's US midterm election. Instead, what they actually delivered was a strong repudiation of that agenda. When I voted for Obama in 2008 I did so with the hope that he would govern from the political center and that he would offer a more pragmatic foreign policy. What the country got from him and the Democratic party, unfortunately, was an unbridled expansion of government in a time of high economic distress and an apology tour by Obama that sent the wrong signals to enemies of the US. Now that the Democrats have been given a shellacking, one would expect that they will moderate and tack to the center. But judging from their early reactions to the elections, I highly doubt that that will happen. As for me, I will do what I can to defeat their redistribution of wealth and social engineering agenda here in the US and elsewhere.

Obama's loss Africa's gain?

I read an opinion piece by G. Pascal Zachary yesterday titled "Midterm elections could give a boost to Africa – if the Democrats lose." The article suggests that the expected rebuke for President Obama and his party at the polls next Tuesday will force Obama to intervene more vigorously in African affairs than he would otherwise prefer.

I think this is wishful thinking. I do not expect to see a significant policy shift on Afican issues by the Obama Administration whcih will result from the outcome of the election. Obama has been pursuing essentially the same policies of his predecessor, with only minor tweaks, when it comes to US policy towards African issues. If Obama was inclined to make his mark on Africa, we would have seen him get engaged personally at least a year ago.

Now that Obama is more likely to be viewed as a lame duck president after the election, I doubt that he will be any more proactive in African affairs. Besides, his more intimate knowledge of Africa, which he acquired by virtue of his African heritage, will likely inform him that Africa is not the place where he should expend his limitted polical capital. The more likely scenario for Obama's Africa policy in the next two years is an ad hoc policy dictated by crises.

The True Size of Africa

Click on the image for a much larger image.

Witnessing the Birth of a New Nation

The referendum that is to take place early next year in Southern Sudan is sure to give birth to Africa's newest nation, though there are still plenty of obstacles to overcome before this becomes a reality. But are Ethiopians ready to welcome a new nation-state to their west and all that it entails, both good and bad? Here is a fascinating music and dance to help you ponder this thought. Enjoy!

How is a job created?

Government does not create a job.

Birtukan is "pardoned" and released (again)

Glad her imprisonment is over. But is she really free? I doubt it.

The practice of pardoning Birtukan Mideksa

"...given her past practice, I wouldn't be surprised if she asked for pardon again, and given the practice of the government, I wouldn't be surprised if the government were to pardon her again..."

Video starts at the 46:36 minute mark. The quote is found at the 52:00 minute mark.

Reaganomics vs. Obamanomics

A Tale of Two Recoveries: The state of the economy after a year of 'rebound.' (WSJ, 9/22/2010)


Recession May Be Over, but Joblessness Remains (New York Times, 9/20/2010)


The verdict is clear: most of Obama's economic policies have proven to be ineffective in stimulating a recovery and job creation. It's no wonder that most of the architects of his economic policies have left the administration or are planning to leave soon.

Ethiopia's trends compared with some selected countries

The graphs below are made using Google's public data explorer. What's neat about this tool is that it allows you to quickly visualize data and spot trends. I wanted to see how Ethiopia's trends compared with some selected countries. The results speak for themselves, but I think you should take them with a grain of salt since the data comes from the World Bank which, in turn, gets a lot of its data directly from member countries.