Having trouble finding the words.

If you look down the chain of blog posts to last year you will see that I saw Uganda through a different set of eyes.

This year the words aren't coming as easily.  I feel terrible for the life that I have assembled in the light of the life I know that people are living here.  It has to do with the fact that last year I came to help Johnny with the leather shop.  I spent more time with just him and Johnson.  This time, because of the Hacker Space I have met the Mirembe Cottage girls and have fallen in love with their excitement and smiles.

Yesterday was a very heavy day.  Today I am having trouble finding motivation.  How can I walk around in my over entitled world, knowing what I know.  I watched a TED talk from a wonderful woman in the WHO that summed it up, its a burden of knowledge.  Another great talk talked about seeing these children gives you a disease of the soul.  Sounds powerful, I challenge you to pick up this disease.  It is powerful.

While we have been here Beruit had a bombing that killed 40 people, per the CNN article, and Paris had a terrorist attack.  Similarly there was a school in Kenya shot up and more people died in that attack than died in Paris.  No one reposted their facebook profiles for Beruit or Kenya.  The world turned Blue, White and Red for the Paris attacks.  Was it tragic, certainly.   Is it news worthy, of course.  Should it be all we care about, NO.

This has started an US against Them thread in the American psyche, can't be having "those terrorists" in our country.  Of course, we are the radical extremists that killed a huge portion of the Indigenous North Americans.   Then we setup shop with rule number 1, you can have any religion and speak your mind.  I think that if you are speaking your mind against someone else's religion, you are doing it wrong.

As you can tell, I am angry.  Angry at the fact that we don't want to get along.  Angry that we have this one rock we are all stuck on and we all want to get ahead of one another.  Rising tides float all boats.

So on to what this post is about.  I am calling to everyone that reads this to travel.  See this rock.  See that we aren't alone.  See that American's aren't nearly as free as we think.  See real freedom.  See what people that are feeding us go through to make that happen.  Go see the children.  Go see the temples, the churches, the mosques.  See with your eyes the happiness and pain of life.  Its how I got to where I am in my life, its how I understand that we aren't alone in the world.  7 Billion of us are competing for resources that we could all be easily sharing.

Once you get back home you will have a new appreciation for everything you have.  You might even decide that your 4 bedroom house out in the burbs is pretty posh compared to the 1 room hut your coffee farmer lives in with his wife and 4 kids.

I'm purposefully not putting photos in this post because if you want to see it, you know where to buy tickets.  Go.  See.  Feel.

I think I am allergic to these girls, they make my eyes water.

I have to say that getting here isn't easy.  Being here is way harder.  There is so much help that is needed.


If you look back at the history of Uganda you know its not that positive.  Idi Amine, Colonialization, Wars, Famine, its probably one of the most unstable places in the world's history.  This means a few things.  One of them being, there is nothing holding this place up.

Electrical infrastructure is barely in place, the power fluctuates constantly.  100v - 400v over the course of a week is pretty hard on everything.  The people don't have much banking or finance infrastructure so credit is hard to come by.  AIDS killed many people, so there are many orphans.  The instability creates poverty, creates more orphans.  Basically the infrastructure here IS the people.

The "public schools" all require fees to be paid by the students.  Additionally because of the last horrific ruler, Idi, the school system is meant to hold people down.  Add to that the fact that today's teachers were students under his rule, the education system is basically un-changed.  Memorization is the rule of the school, not learning.

Over the last few days we have been focussed on working with "Street Kids".  We have had the pleasure of working with smiling faces, humble girls that just want to have a better life.  John, Becky and I have been doing STEM learning projects with Lego Mindstorms and Edison robots and have been amazed.  Some of the girls, with a very basic education, have really picked this up and ran with it.

How they can do anything, really, is beyond me.  Some of these girls have had parents that beat them bloody and sent them out begging because they look worse and will do better begging.  Most of the girls have spent countless hours sorting through trash piles and garbage to find scraps of food or "recyclables" like steel and aluminum which have value.  Often if they return with nothing they are beaten some  more.  These girls have come from rough beginnings and the sad fact is there are hundreds more just like them, that tonight will sleep on the street and run and hide from demented men who would use them for whatever they like.

I have looked into the eyes of the rescued and cannot see the pain.  They are joyful.  They are eager to learn.  They are children again.  They dance and smile and hug you and thank you for teaching them.  I think I am allergic to that because they keep making my eyes water.

Yesterday I had the pleasure to have a few minutes with Daniel, the man that wanted to save them and has set his life in motion to do it.  Starting 4 years ago he has created a place for the girls to be safe and have food and get education.  He has a faith based program going and has taken 25 girls off the street and put them into his program.  He's putting that good energy out there and getting it back in terrific ways.  Watch the video and listen to his story and how he felt drawn to give back.  https://youtu.be/tivYRh8qsSM

Why STEM education for girls that barely have a grasp of basic education?  Because Hackers don't ask these questions.  Hackers look for the end and then work on the means.  If you watch them building Mindstorms you see them counting the number of holes in a piece or assembly and placing connectors so many holes from the end, etc...  You see them talking to each other, correcting and guiding each other.  They are Hackers in their own right.  They don't take on computer systems like the TV Hackers but they use their resources and solve problems.  They are curious and want to know things.  These girls have unlimited possibilities and I am proud to be even a small part of Hackers for Charity and know the good work that is being done to make sure these girls are cared for.

There are so many exciting things on the way for these girls, the future is now bright for them.

Please keep the Mirembe Cottage in your heart, if you pray - here is a subject for you to bow your head over, if you have the means, donate to a cause that will help a fellow human that hasn't had the advantages you have had.  I know I will be doing more with this group but they are such great kids I cannot do enough.

I am humbled and grateful.

Thank you.

Yesterday Johnny and I talked about the really huge fee that Emirates assessed on the HFC items I was transporting to Uganda.

United is my frequent Airline and as a 1K I get loads of perks.  Its why I flew the first leg of my journey via United, all our luggage was free.  The flight was free as well using points.

Connecting via Dubai meant I would move over to Emirates.  I looked their excess baggage fees up online and figured it would be several hundred dollars.  After all luggage was tallied, the cost was $2600 (odd number for a hacker right?)  Then on the way to the plane I had to weigh my cabin luggage, that has never happened to me before and let me tell you I have flown a bunch.

I looked around and saw a huge yellow dumpster for you to throw away your overweight items.  That's right, they have this weight problem so often that they know you will pay or throw away.

Now I am not the average person going through there and did have an expectation of fees.  I was prepared to pay and we had expected it to hurt a bit.

Johnny posted about the fees on his blog and asked for a rally of donations.  I have caught that before, the Hacker Space A/C, Parts for various things, I jumped to action when I could.  I was shocked that 5 minutes after the blog post went out donations started coming in.  So and So from Atlanta, such and such from the Netherlands and on and on.  Then it happened.  A single donor wrote away the problem.

This gives us a problem.  We now have more than we need.  My thoughts are this, we can take the overage and get it into the hands of the HFC and use it for the upcoming VEX Robotics stuff.  It was something my 10 year old wanted to help with and started a lemonade stand to help out.  That or help with the 3d printed hands that Johnny is working so hard toward.

We are a community, we all help each other and today I am more aware of that than ever.  Thank You to all that jumped in.  Thank you to anyone that read the post and felt it wasn't right.  Thank you to my community of curious folks that want the world to be better.  Thank you.

...didn't even have to use my AK...

...I guess you could say it was a good day.

I slept like a log.  No AC, lots of creatures discussing various ideas loudly, like a log.  Getting to East Africa is a long journey.  Being here goes FAST. 

Today we got up and got moving by having breakfast at The Keep with some perspective discussion.  

(Hey, America, this is what coffee should look like.  It also tastes way better.)

I really enjoy talking with Johnny and Jen about where they have been led and how its working.  They told me about how some of The Keep staff has come and gone and we focused on those that have flourished.  One of the waitresses finished school and is working as a book keeper at a big hotel.  She was given a hand up to a new life in part by her desire to get ahead and part by having a first opportunity.

Others have stayed on and been promoted to new position with more possibilities down the road.  Henry is constantly looking to give back.  He's doing great work at the hacker space and is always learning more so he can help more.  He doesn't see the work he is doing as work and if you ask about his day its filled with teaching classes and organizing more Street Kids to come to the Hacker Space.  Such a good heart.

Sometimes it's about having just one chance, giving chances is why I come.

Today I watched Johnson stitching with the machine I brought last year.  I cried.  Only Johnny knew how to use it when I left, now he's passed the knowledge on (pebble in a pond, ripples, that whole thing). In the grand scheme it's small, it's not small to those you help. 

I also asked Johnson to show Becky and John some basic leather tooling techniques.  X-Carve assembly was going well with Johnny and Henry.  Johnson is a good and patient teacher.  I can't wait to see the finished goods. 

After working on the x-carve assembly a while we decided to spend some time in the AC at the hacker space.  I brought some Arduino boards, shields, and neo-pixels.  I had the opportunity to teach Henry about the Fastled.io library.  Of course he immediately zipped right past my level of knowledge and started extending his coding experience.  Henry has no time for libraries simplifying tasks, he's more about how it works and making it work just like the library in pure code.  He has a thirst for knowledge.  Talk about smart, so smart.

Finally, Africa has a very poor electrical grid.  Before we came the Longs had a waffle iron blow up.  I realize its an odd thing for people to fret about but, its a connection.  Sometimes the Missionaries that the Long's cater to just need something that reminds them of home.  Johnny figured it was a Varistor as it was completely charred.  He put out the word for parts and John was able to locate them in Columbus and transport them here.  I learned to solder in the Navy and did lots of it in my first job out as an electronics tech, I have repaired this type of thing before and knew the traces and barrels were shot.  Let's just say that Donkey will get his wish, in the morning.

Today was a great day.  I'm touched by how small things make huge impacts. 

I hope your day is full of helping because this feeling is amazing and I want everyone to have it.

(X-Carve Assembly, Leather Tooling, so much awesome.)

Stress, packing and some pop-tarts.

We have had a huge amount of FedEx, UPS, and USPS traffic over the last few weeks.  Johnny discussed in his blog post ( http://www.hackersforcharity.org/hackers-for-charity/zero-to-3d-printing-robots-and-prosthetics-in-uganda-with-the-ultimaker2/ ) that I would be bringing another 3d printer to help with Prosthetics Printing.

Add to this the XCarve I donated and all the normal stuff, plus all the Thanksgiving prep and we have a world class case of too many suitcases.  If you read United's policy you see a per-piece policy.  If you read the Emirates policy, they do it by weight.  This means I will probably get charged twice and in various ways.  (I just checked into the United flight and it didn't flinch at both Becky and I having 3 bags so we may have dodged a bullet.)

Here is a crazy amount of stuff to pack.

(Lots and lots and the X-Carve isn't in the photo.)

So we have been packing, planning packing and stressing about packing so much we aren't able to enjoy the fact that we are taking a journey, one with challenges and one that will be rewarding.

I hope you have way less stress in your day.  Here is a video of a time-lapse we did for the initial hour long packing session.

  or via googledrive

I'll get to the pop-tarts later.

Back at it.

I haven't written here for a while and figured I would put a few words down.

I am going to be back in Africa in less than a week and this trip has been the most difficult to prepare for.  Challenges.  

I spoke with Johnny for 10 precious minutes at DEFCON and we discussed what we would be doing this year.  I think he's at the point where he believes me when I say I will help.

We decided that an XCarve could be a good thing to have and we on the spot named a few projects for it.  The Inventables X-Carve is a "pro-sumer" grade CNC that is available as a kit.  I ordered it.

(Here is the machine built out)

Once the kit arrived I had to assemble it.  Luckily I have a place called the Columbus Idea Foundry I can use and have rented a space there for this.  This means I have to truck everything I need to make it work.  It also means that I understand what I will need in Uganda when I get there.  After assembly in the standard fashion I had to think about shipping/Uganda.

(It didn't take long to assemble, to de-Uganda took a bit of time.)

(At one point I dropped a split washer on the floor and sent out a BOLO for it.  I found it the next day.)

(Carriage getting closer.)

(Spoil board installed, this is the biggest challenge as it will be hard to check in luggage.)

So I started crimping terminals so I could unhook and reassemble and so maintenance later wouldn't be difficult.  

I had to start considering use and ways to make the machine as useful as possible.  I decided Mortise and Tenon furniture fabrication might be good.  So I cut a tenon hole for the spoil board.  I also decided that the base under the machine would need strengthened.

After like 4 orders for stuff from Inventables (Terrific customer service, great people) I think that I have the machine together.

Recently Johnny asked if I would mule another item.  A 3D printer.  This, added with the items for the keep and to get folks going with projects means I have crazy amounts of luggage.  Well the good news is there are 3 of us going.  My wife Becky and my friend from High School John will be there too.

This trip is going to be bigger, going to be better, going to be amazing.

Hello World!!! And some ramblings about how we can use each other to make the world better.

Hello World

It's not just "Hello world", it's making an electro programmable machine, who's pulse beats at a rate no specie would understand, communicate in beautiful and fluent ways that no one of its kind/make will ever comprehend or compute.  I created, it responded, if it's not art I don't know how to calculate what is. Hello world.

Lately I've been doing a bit of learning and I have started to draw some parallels with how we now teach in this digital world.  As a programmer doing any thing with code you start with the "hello world" for whatever language or framework you are interested in to learn some basic things.  Actually the most recent 2600 had an article about this, its about PowerShell basics but you get the gist.  Go read that it's way better written than I can produce.  Go ahead, subscribe and download etc...  I can wait.

Anyway, when you go to school the first day they show you the coat rack and your peg, or in high school you are handed a schedule of events and just expected to stick to them without reminders.  First day on a new job, computer login, IT Policy, where to park (where you park at least 80% of the time for as long as you work there.) These are the "hello world" of regular peoples world and how we learn social paradigms to coexist on this rock.  

I started this new job that's a little closer to the source and started seeing this metaphor coming out but my introduction has worked like most "hello world" examples.  Some are dead simple in how they work ( arduino  ) and some parts are a bit more like learning a command line language that uses auto-complete turned off.  Then I started looking around and seeing it everywhere.  I guess we'll be using "hello world" to describe initial learning from now on.  Teach em the most important things first.

When I apply this idea to life long education it sticks.  Look at it, 80% of what you know, you know simply because it sticks after it was first learned.  I did trig, as a professional for 5 years.  I remember the root formulas (xDMHR/dby=rh) but really not much more.  I couldn't hit the broad side of a carrier with a mk48 ("mark fourty eight ") presenting a Diw range within 1200 yards.  But while I did it, I knew it cold and could calculate it in my head.  Not bragging, Diw is the easiest calculation for speed across a line of site.

I guess it's the 80, unless it's awesome.  Then maybe 85.

But think of the amazing culture we'd have if we all we pushed to the 80.  Teach the 80.  Enforce the 80.  My eldest son that had a teacher who's goal it was to have your child able to make change, like a cash register but in your head,  before they finished one subject in math.  That's going for the 80!  Let's shoot to be very directed at the 80.  Exceptional kids will push past the 80 on their own. Just hate that we test our children past the 80, and never congratulate them on achieving where we all run at that point and time

I have a child that knows all about aerospace and astronomy, he didn't learn it in 9th grade because it's about 8 years of knowledge learned on his own.  He picks up the 80, very fast and then off he goes.  Did a "hello world" on the mello-phone and switches from French horn to mello-phone and marches in the summer and fall.  I have never once said to make sure he practiced any piece of music nor have I placed a time on being a kid and free to chase his passion.  Let's get the 80, out there and let's see where the next group of pioneers go.  Why did Kennedy's challenge get us to the moon so fast?  We already had the 80.  When you have the 80, it just takes a "hello world" and you are on your way to the moon.

We all have amazing potential, we stretch ourselves to be better and that suddenly becomes the 80% of who we are.  Your 80 is changing all the time.  Grab your 80 and see what primer will take you into the next version of your life.  We can accomplish almost anything if we collaborate and add our knowledge and experience.  Lets solve some big problems with our collective 80.  I saw a TED talk recently on what hunger and starvation on a global scale means.  But we have the combined knowledge to help those in need, help themselves.  We all have the 80 in us, we just need to give them the ideas that help.  

Hello world.

We are all doing it, kill cable (satellite)

Goodbye DISH Network, you are too expensive.

I get like 500 channels beamed to my house from space.  Its pretty amazing.  And, really, its too expensive.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank television for all it has given me.  This Old House, Julia Child, Justin Wilson, Gold Rush, and many many more shows.  I don't want to give up TV.  I want to give up the bill.  I already spend money on the Internet.

"But what about Local Channels?"  I went out and got an OTA antenna, it pulls 40 HD channels for me.

"But what about show X?"  Well, I basically have found ways to have any show I want.  My Roku does Netflix and Hulu and many others.  With the PBS App, we can have This Old House and my wife can have Downton Abbey.  So that's not a problem.

This means no DVR, I have to look at that later.  Apps play shows commercial free so its only the live tv that suffers.

My most difficult thing so far has been really simple stuff like News.  I don't like US news.  I never will think the Oscars are more important that what is going on with ISIS or Syria or the Ukraine, etc...  Today I found something awesome.

On a Roku you can add "private channels" and today I found No Where TV.  Here is some information on it from another blog.  http://mkvxstream.blogspot.com/2014/04/nowhere-tv-best-private-roku-channel.html

I can now watch BBC.  This means I am back in business and for DISH this means I do not want their bill.

www.sling.tv
I had gotten a suggestion of Sling.tv for things like TBS, TNT, etc...  I looked at it, $20/month.  Seems OK.  But wait, what is this, Sling.tv is owned by DISH???  Ok, they are recognizing the market place and looking for simple content, here's the problem.  $20/month for the service and they pick the channel line up.  THAT IS WHY I AM DOING ALL OF THIS!!!!  no Thanks.

here is what I want.  A content DVR that has an OTA input, with channel guide, for cost of the device plus ~$10/month for the channel guide and search service.  that would actually kill cable.

Arduino experiments

How about some christmas lights?

Having muled Arduino kits to Uganda, I spent some time at Micro-Center looking wide eyed at all the things I can build.  Since I don't have much experience with Arduino, I engaged with my 14 year old and he and I built a christmas light controller.  Its surprisingly simple.

Basically you need something that can handle Logic.  I went for an Arduino Mega 2560 R3 .  This is where the program that will run the lights, lives.  The Arduino outputs in 5vdc or 3.3vdc.  Neither of these voltages will work and they are very limited in the amount of current draw something can have.  Here in the US we use 120VAC at 60hz.  So I need to switch that on and off.

SainSmart makes components that will do this.  Basically I need to take the 5V signal voltage from the Arduino and switch on and off 120v.  The thing I need is a relay.  I decided on switching on and off 8 different channels.  So I picked up a Solid State Relay Bank.

Wiring was simple, I took 4 standard $.59 outlets and cut their hot leg off making each outlet independent.  (Similar to making a 1/2 hot outlet that runs on a switch.)

Run a hot line to each leg of the relay bank, then run the other hot line off to the outlet.  Tie the common together and viola, switched outlet that runs on Arduino.

Need more information on how to build it?  Ask, or use this Instructable.  I didn't set mine up for music, just turn off and on.  Now my 14 year old is all into Christmas Lights because he makes them do whatever he wants.

I am going to build another one of these and show all my wiring, right now it is working perfectly but looks like a clunky prototype.

Maybe a big christmas light tree.  Then one for the house.....

The point of this post is, if you want to make things like this happen, do it.  I spent a little time on google and made it work in my kitchen.  I now have all these ideas for how to make my house more efficient using these types of controllers.

Made it home despite Kevin Mitnick

Hey there everyone, just back inside from a snowy day here in Ohio.  I fed and watered the chickens, its too cold for anything else IMHO.

On the way back I snapped a few photos of local things.  Finally we got to Kampala and Entebbe Airport and I got to the departures hall.  At security I had a big bunch of journals to take back to the US for Ngozi.  In Dubai they thought they were bibles and questioned them.  I figured the security in Kampala would question the books because I had many.  They only were concerned with my Kevin Mitnick business card in my wallet.  "Why do you have tools?"  "Its a business card with a funny shape, it looks like electrical circuitry."

https://www.mitnicksecurity.com/shopping/kevin-mitnick-lock-pick-business-card


I left Uganda on Tuesday and spent a little over a day in Dubai looking at big buildings and reflecting on how strange it is how your life can be so different if you are born in one place vs another.

This could be the road running past your village.

Or the road running past your village which contains the world's tallest building.

You may understand that construction is something that shows improvement.

Or you may live in a place of beauty that is constantly challenged to improve simple things like roads and safety.  

All in all Uganda is wonderful.  Know it isn't as safe as your little neighborhood but also know the people there are genuinely nice.  If you feel like you don't want to go, I have a few great projects you can help me with.  I have 3 basic pet projects now, I will probably blog further about them when they are more designed.

Here is Johnny's post about my leaving.  http://www.hackersforcharity.org/hackers-for-charity/a-few-precious-days-with-jason-kent-in-uganda/

Finish what you start

I have some good lessons to take away from my trip.

First I have to thank the Long's for sharing their home with me.  Happily they have a wonderful place to stay and can have the leather shop close so it is a safe environment.  I also have to thank the Ngozi Creations staff and especially Johnson for my belt.  Some items are special, some are beyond that.  Mostly I have to thank the Hacker Community for keeping these guys going, and holding the events that got me involved with HFC.  

My final couple of days were a whirlwind, I was able to help with a couple of technical projects, and just basically discuss some neat thoughts that occurred to me.  Now the job is mine to complete.

I will give you some closing comments in a bit, I have some things we could help with, as a community.

Ok so I showed up with loads of luggage and curiosity.  I had one task to complete, the stitching machine.  

We unboxed it and learned how to use it.  I wasn't going to be happy until I saw lock stitches in leather.  Johnny and I setup and got the machine working.  Expect neat products in the near future.  I feel that I have done what I came for, now on to bigger things.

My last few days in Jinja were about community.  I met some great people at The Keep.  Missionaries that hire trained people, that Johnny has trained-the-trainer for and learned basic skills,  keeping the missions rolling.  I met a nice factory owner that wants to use some machines to help Ngozi move into other projects.  Cutting straps for belts, for instance, takes this factory just seconds (It takes much longer when it is done with basic tools).  Then it can be tooled by an artist and sold at a reasonable price, giving both quality and consistancy.  This nice man just threw the doors open and offered to assist because he hires from this community of Jinja, and wants to support it and I think he really understands what Johnny is doing in his shop.

I wanted to also just look for things that would draw me into motion.  Door handles aren't really my forte but learning is.  So I fixed a pesky problem Johnny just didn't have time for, just new handles so a useful door can be used.

The wifi in the house kinda was slow.  So I did what I do at home.  I am on wimax, I have to position my base stations somewhere with good signal.  I also look for the best Access Point placement as well.  I setup in the leather shop and geeked out on donated equipment, add a cache to the mix and viola, new access gear.

Small simple projects at home, Africanized when in Uganda.   Picking up the AP I didn't know the vendor, communication method for configuration or options available.  I hadn't logged into a Blue Coat for 5 years and made sure I had most things and hoped for the best.   Turns out a patch cable isn't easily found (an assumption, I realize now the level of assumption you cannot cross).  Similarly, zip ties for cable management are hard to find.  Immediately we saw how much more difficult setup in the morning is for the Ugandan staff, and how tear down will be at closing.  Now we need a server cage so we don't hurt the cables or equipment but can keep them secure.   The local cage builder has been summoned, it'll be a few days.

Why was putting faster more reliable service so important?  Community.  Johnny can now offer both inexpensive and low bandwidth Internet to those that need it (via queuing on the metering software).  He can offer tourists fast Internet that is more expensive and charge for their use.  This facilitates collaboration for those helping and ability to flex to the customer needs.  Many of these missions are businesses with boards back in the US, he can offer the service they need to keep the local population moving forward.

I got to see the Computer Training Center as I was leaving.  It's a bit small for a training center in the US, I think 20 seats with stations but,  looks like a modern facility in the US.  The folks that take classes there get skills and certification that easily becomes a job in many possible places.  Literally saving lives.  Yet, Johnny and the staff at the CTC will tell you there is so much more to do.  

So here is the promised wisdom.  Please stop trying to kill Johnny!  I mean this with love and with the understanding that we want to help.  We just need to realize there is a component to helping that can become a burden on someone else.  He's had quite a few people help out with donations but if the thing being donated isn't something the hands on the ground understand, it becomes a burden.  

Here is an example drawn off of modern US problems:

Let's say I come to your house and notice a brick loose on your porch or sidewalk.  I'm neighborly so I run down to the hardware store and buy a new brick, some mortar, a mixing machine, and sand.  I drop it all on your lawn with this note.  "hey neighbor, I noticed your loose brick, you are welcome, let me know when it's fixed!". 

Or, I hear you are a mason so I further direct said neighbor to you and they say " I have everything you need" except it's mortar you have never used with instructions that assume you have and a mixer that runs on horse drawn power, and you have no horse.

HFC can use money and I used to be the guy that could throw $100 bills at whatever.  Trust me, if you want to they will be well received funds and put to a good use.  But, if you want the kind of fulfillment I am currently riding, GO to Uganda.  You don't have to work, just don't create work for Johnny.  I think it would be even better if you had an idea of need before you go, and finish that one thing.  Heck, one project and a safari on the Nile, not a bad vacation.  Just about anyone can find the time to come and work one project.  Just be willing to make sure it gets finished.  

If you have a good idea, awesome!  If you want to mail a complicated thing to Johnny expecting him or an uneducated Ugandan, to start and finish, you have to rethink how you help.  We all have talents, it's ok to use them.  My head runs heavy with ideas for this and that, I just have to restrain myself to ensure it doesn't become a burden because I didn't factor in: dust, high theft environment, high humidity, power that is unregulated, i.e. Uganda.  

I would like the hacker space to have a mig welder.  I did Ugandan analysis of this.  Arc welding draws huge power.  Can the shop's power handle it?  Shielding gas available?  Filler wire available?  The answer btw is no.  Also, no one knows how to shoot mig to teach it.  It's a great example of a great and super teachable technology that could help change lives.  I need to do way more research to figure out feasibility.  Had I bought a 110V (Uganda is 220v) welder and some wire and shipped it, it would just sit until someone on the ground figured out the need and power etc...

One project I did conceive while there is a DIY voltage regulator.  Able to handle 100vac to 400vac and give steady 220vac up to 1000w, would be a huge help.  I am going to get a design and prototype done.  If its easy enough we could potentially offer soldering and basic electrics as a class, in Jinja.  This teaches skill, safety, and allows for hard earned electronics (20 line text phones are pretty normal for those with more than minimum wage jobs) to survive such a harsh environment.  Repairs on the regulator, should it break, would be done by the hacker space as educational so the price can stay low.  My end requires finding, funding and delivering a completed regulator design, finding parts for the first batch , getting soldering irons, voltage regulators shouldn't be a problem, solder, training materials and time to deliver it all as a complete thing.

Going there gave me the context to understand that those starving kids in Africa your mom told you about, are still starving only now they are 17-25 years old and want to learn a trade.  With some education we can get them a meal, we just can not assume that cash will solve this, at the end of that monetary line are a set of hands that might just be busy with something else.  Johnny and Jen both work two jobs helping out those who want it.  Go.  If you think you can help, do.  One of the things that Johnny really needs right now is support from the hacker community.  He has a very important project that needs skills.  If you want to volunteer, ping me.  Need OpenWRT knowledge, some rsync services ideas and anyone that knows GSM radio/comms/phones to help decipher log messages, please let me know.

I guess what I am trying to say is, help any way you can but finish what you start.

If you can Donate, please do.  I can assure you 100% of the money goes to good use.

I enjoy this community of security professionals and geeks I get to hang with.  BTW, jinjacon isn't a bad idea, teams of hackers hacking all the things.  

Thanks for reading, if you want to send some cash to help...do.  Just think about helping in any way you can. 

I will follow this post with one that has photos.  Bandwidth isn't free everywhere in the world so it will have to wait until I am back on my home SSID.

The Stitchening

My primary mission when I came here was to get the Boss up and running with Johnny.  We have done it!  And then we did some other things.

Here is Johnny stitching together the home-made sandals we threw together in the shop.  The machine worked really well, I stiffened up the table its on and we finished the sandals easily.  They aren't much to look at but they represent a pathway that can now be walked on.

Here is Johnson putting the finishing touches on my belt.  I am going to enjoy this belt for years to come.  Every time I look at it I will be able to know its connection to the artist, what it means to have been able to come here, and what it means that this place exists.  Its a deeply personal thing for me as this belt will help hold me to my perspective.

Here it is all finished.  I really love this belt, fear not, you all will get to see it as I expect to wear it often.

In addition to the stitcher I got to work on loads of elecronical/techy things.  I installed a web proxy, got some high-powered wifi working, and soon we will be upgrading The Keep's registration server.  This is going to turn The Keep in to the best wifi signal and fastest Internet in town.  Johnny might be blogging about this aspect in his next write up.  I was doing it so I don't have photos.

Have a beautiful day!

Market and Sandals

Good morning from Uganda! 

 

Today Johnny and I ventured out a bit and ran a few odds/ends errands.  We rolled past Loko Village.  This is the village from a passable road.  Basically think poles with tin as the structure.  This is the village that brought loads of focus on Hackers for Charity, it is really how it all started.  Read about it here.

 We needed a few things from the Market so we drove over.  The first thing that hits you is the smells.  There are definite Live Stock smells, those I can live with.  Then there are some fish/dried fish stalls, that stuff is pretty strong.  Amongst all of the strange and wonderful fruits and various merchants, we stopped in the middle of the "tailor" section.  Hundreds and hundreds of stalls with Treadle Singer Sewing machines.  It was one of the sweetest sounds.

 Stall after stall all under make-shift tarps keeping the alley ways drier.  Its all red-clay so when it rains it becomes very slipperty and messy.  They dig a ditch through they alleys in the middle to drain water away.  Johnny just charges right in.  On this trip we bought belts from a few of the vendors.  The buckles and parts are "up cycled" into hand crafted pieces.  I commissioned the resident Journeyman "Johnson" to make me a belt and needed to get a buckle.

 This is the entrance to the market, we parked in a gas station and Johnny gave a nod to the armed guard.  Upon our return the guard gets a tip, I assume only if the vehicle is untouched and is still there.

 This guy deals with cooking.  One can purchase a small gill like device that is made from ceramic and can hold charcoal or burn off of cooking gas, the big pot goes over the top.

The ladies all part of the divine symphony that is the chattering of a time when things were made to last forever and will only need a small amount of maintenance to keep it all going.

 Here is Johnson working hard on my belt.  I asked for him to make me one like one he just delivered to a Belgian customer.  Johnson was very nervous talking to the customer,  so I became his next customer, this gives him the opportunity to see what it will take as his career advances from Journeyman to Master Leather Craftsman.  He is very dedicated and immediately started following our business advice on how he should price his work.  He feels bad asking a premium price for his products, I explained that the people he is dealing with want to have an authentic piece of art that someone they met had made.  He still balks at the price but appreciates that now when a customer walks in and asks "how much for a belt?" he has used mine as a test and can confidently say "75,000 shillings for a belt with a simple pattern, anything custom and the price goes up based on my time".  Its small things like this that educate Johnson in how to interract with customers.  If you want a genuine African Leather belt, hand tooled, the price is about $30 for a simple one and if it takes longer, like mine, well you just need to let the man tell you what he's worth (and remember that he is lowballing you).  I am honored to have been able to have this made and humbled by how genuine Johnson has been with me.

 Then Johnny and I went back to the leather shop.  I told him that the first pieces we should stitch are sandals.  They don't do sandals at Ngozi but for the experience and to use this as a learning opportunity, we did some product development.

Here we are at the Tooling phase.

The design came together on the fly and we even did some art on the Sandals.  I even picked up the leather tools for the first time since 7th grade and cut a design into one of the Sandals.  It was fun learning the process for binding leather the way we were and it was great to feel the tools again.  

Sometimes perspective is something that is lost so quickly that we never see it smack us in the face, until we really get it good.  The fire at Loko Village, completely destroyed the homes of over 100 people.  Imagine living in abject poverty and having the roof over your head disappear.  Johnny saw this need and really wanted to figure out a way to help.  I think that we all lose our perspective and that was Johnny's moment to really make a difference and get smacked in the face a bit.  Hackers for Charity has built many programs but out of Loko Village came a guy that wanted to learn something new.  He wasn't looking for a job, he didn't even think about that aspect, he just wanted to learn.  He is now a journeyman in the progam (I am using that word as a reference point, he's pretty far beyond that.)  He returns to Loko, helps a few children now and then and has become that voice that a few hear on how to get out of that situation and work your way toward a life of less worry.  Today I teased him about his girlfriend and you could tell that he thinks of where his life is going.  Not that long ago, he wouldn't have seen past his next meal.  

My next post is going to be a bit about some of the technology things we did today, I am sure you are already only occupying the edge of your seat but relax, that post will be in a day or two.  Tomorrow is another day.  Lets see what it brings.

First real day in Jinja

I made it from Dubai.  

As I said customs was a chore.  It wasn't any different in Uganda except the electronics are red flags and they couldn't figure out why I had so much booze.  Apparently they haven't had a pumpkin spice latte or vanilla shot in their venti vanilla machiato.  

In Dubai it was countdown timers on the arduino boards they wanted to know about.


I knew I had made it when I saw the stack of journals.  These are created in the leather shop on the grounds.  Look at the cool design.  I am going to talk leather later but its pretty amazing.  It is also a huge opportunity to help out.  If you are artistic and have ideas for leather design, reach out.  Lets get these guys some more options or even custom work.  You work with the artists and they turn these out with high quality and attention to detail.

I was tired last night.  As I explained, napping is evil and that is what killed my day the next day.  That and some really long car riding.

Today, after a sleepless night from travel and African sounds that were too interesting to sleep thru, I woke early.   There are about 10 billion things outside that are trying to communicate with something that is very far away.  Goats, bugs, dogs, birds, probably bats that are bigger than birds, holy crap I am now envisioning that scene from Indiana Jones where she has the bat.  *shudder*

Hennyway.....

Beautiful day.  And today I get to give someone something that will change people's lives.   Its gonna be a good day.

Welcome to a new day in Jinja, Uganda.  I left the background lit in this shot, Lake Victoria in the Front Yard.

We wake and prepare to head out.  The Bed and Breakfast is a ministry to help weary missionaries and keep sanity amongst the lost.  They also run The Keep, a Coffee Shop/Restaurant/gathering place.  We head on over.  The Keep is a castle/d&d themed place.  Johnny, Jen and their youngest hit this place every morning as part of their routine.  It's very much like the community center in Finland MN, only it's also a coffee shop so it has lots of people from the community that pass through.  As you can tell, their barista is good, really good.  And YouTube trained.  The ministry of The Keep also helps to train people to work in real jobs that pay ok for the area.  The Barista here learned his craft from the Long's via YouTube.  *looks at camera* "you hear that every Barista in America?  There is a guy in Uganda that learned this via YouTube, you will make Latte Art or be ridiculed forever." </rant>

While there today Johnny met with a guy that will be fixing their car and we discussed the hackerspace/makerspace and he offered mechanical expertise and a place to have mechanical classes.  The Hacker Space is going to be something we talk about more but hear me out.  It isn't only going to be Ugandan's learning computer skills.  I think this could be a community of more than that.  I hope to see ideas from our discussions in the Hackerspace/makerspace.  Also, if you have run a maker space, please contact us we have some questions around lessons learned.  After breakfast and morning coffee, we moved on to the day.  The hardware store!  (could this day get any better?)

Let me try to describe the hardware store.  You know those tiny little ice cream shops that only have a counter.  Those are way bigger.  The transaction to find 4 bolts was long and involved.  Think about that they next time you are in Home Depot looking at 3/8" x 3" bolts and nuts.  We needed to mount that stitching machine so we could get it working.  

Returning from the Hardware Store we took Bodas (motorcycle taxis).  About 2 miles, maybe less, $1.50 for both.  This is inexpensive transportation and scales well.  It something we should consider in NYC.  At the same scale, Manhattan to Mid-Town for $3.

We had pressing issues to attend to.  My mission was to bring a very important piece of equipment to the leather shop.

This strapping thing right here is the Tippman Boss.  We had some assembly, and requisite fiddling but, it works.  I couldn't be happier.

This machine means more professional presentation, more speed, more accuracy and takes their products to a new level.  The Long's are making people into craftsmen that can go out and find their own work.  This machine makes it so they are still connected and was donated as a open source community project.  We all can support it by either buying the goods or donating, we all can offer talents for things that can be made or designs that would be something special for you.  The idea is if a craftsman strikes out on his/her own, they can use the machine to keep their craft rolling.  It isn't just for the Longs, its for their Leather Project.  If anyone in the graduate community from the Leather Tooling School (patent pending) needs to fix Tack for Horses, they can.  Any project is possible.

I cant wait to see DEFCON next year.  The items for sale there will for-sure be amazing.

Today was about ideas.  Little dumb ones and big a-ha moments.  Johnny showed me a video of a guy named Zack.  Zack needed an idea once.  He searched the Internet and got the idea, and this spawned another idea.  Google picked it up and did the video.  Zack got everything he needed to fulfill his ideas.  But, Johnny realized, no one ever got him to put forth his ideas.  They assumed a laptop would do it.  What they needed was collaboration.  More and more ideas but all formulated to solve a central problem.  Zach wants to help farmers.  It may just be that he can help them understand crop rotation, his idea is to help Farmer.  Mine is to find the appropriate solutions to problems and find the resources to make them happen.

I hope your day is full of ideas, great big ones, and little tiny ones.

Dubai stop over

I broke a cardinal rule.  I napped.  When flying long distance I find it better to keep the time at the destination, go to sleep as late as possible.  I napped, oops.

BTW, misc electronic parts is something that puts customs officers on edge, especially if they look like a Hollywood bomb with countdown clocks.  How does one describe a proxy?  "makes internet faster."

12 hour flights aren't very fun.  Tomorrow is a mere 5.5 hours but then I will finally be in Uganda. 

False starts on the way.

Have you ever been so certain something would happen that you believe you made it happen?  Yesterday I knew for certain that United would pull its usual shenanigans and cancel my flight.  I had anticipated it so thoroughly that I made it happen.

So, last night my flight cancelled.  This means they have to get me there.  I was the first customer they helped and got on a 10am Emirates flight. 

I know you have heard the rumors of my ability to cause aircraft to break and blame me for problems it may have caused you.  I can assure you I make them break on the ground, where repairs are trivial compared to up in the air.

Any way, bee+ and remember, maybe you need to have been slowed down so you could experience something else.

BTW, it so happened that Johnny and his family were returning from an exhausting trip and had all this stuff to do at home.  Not losing the day by getting me at the airport was perfect.

Steps toward Uganda

Before I depart for Uganda…

I figured that since I was about to embark on a pretty significant journey I thought I would pause and reflect a bit.How did this all start? Well, have seen these “I Hack Charities” T-Shirts at various security conferences and a few years ago I stopped by the booth and bought a shirt and heard about Johnny Long and what he’s been up to in Uganda.

I followed Johnny’s blog for a while and finally met and talked with Johnny at Shmoo last year. This year at DEFCON I saw my friend from Australia and Johnny talking and said hi and looked at some of their leather goods. I saw a pretty vast improvement in the quality of the leather and the quantity he had with him. We talked about the leather program and I told him I wanted to help.

Johnny gave me a few ideas on how to help and we finally decided on what I could do. It was expensive and would probably require a trip there to get things up and running. I agreed and promised an upcoming bonus to the effort. The bonus came through and I am happy to report everything is in place for me to go.

Being a global traveler I looked for a required VISA for Uganda. Its pretty simple, US citizens just pay a new $50 bill. O_o Apparently a bill newer than 2006 is accepted. Odd, I agree.

Next, vaccines. Right after I bought my tickets the whole Ebola thing blew up (and wasn’t in this part of Africa) but being former Navy I remember getting vaccinated for everything. CDC says Yellow Fever, Typhoid and Anti-Malarials. Given I have had most of this, but it was long ago, and being risk averse I decided to get the shots.

After paying for and getting Yellow Fever and Typhoid I am ready to set off. Buying a few last minute items and keeping in touch with Johnny I learn there is a guy in-country with Johnny right-now! So I start following his blog. Check out http://www.pilgrim.ninja

This just gets me more and more exciting I am now all set except for packing and making the very long flights there.

From my home I will travel to DC then DC to Dubai, UAE. I am going to take a day in Dubai to look around then fly toward Jinja, Uganda utilizing the airport in Kampala, Uganda.

The question I feel needs answered the most is “why go?” Its pretty easy for me, I am not good at finding these things and getting them going but, I am good at finding resources and putting them with need. I don’t feel fulfilled without helping people and I want to help. Finally, I have children. If I can leave the world in their care and they do all they can to help others, imagine how great the world will be. My grandmother Martha helped me to understand that we all should care for our neighbors and demonstrated it to me time and time again.

Being the change you want to see in the world is way harder than quoting Ghandi, who’s ashes were spread nearby BTW.

BTW, I posted this on Postagon but their stance on HTTPS caused me to move it here.