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BOSO.ME

July 10, 2008
11:15
Hard Work never killed anyone
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Says who?

Apparently, in Japan it’s so popular, they have a name for it - karoshi.
July 07, 2008
10:55
How to know you’re ready for parenthood…..
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MESS TEST: Smear peanut butter on the sofa and curtains. Now rub your hands in the wet flower bed and rub on the walls. Cover the stains with crayons. Place a fish stick behind the couch and leave it there all summer.

TOY TEST: Obtain a 55-gallon box of LEGOs. (If LEGOs are not available, you may substitute roofing tacks or broken bottles.) Have a friend spread them all over the house. Put on a blindfold. Try to walk to the bathroom or kitchen. Do not scream (this could wake a child at night).

SUPERMARKET TEST: Borrow one or two small animals (goats are best) and take them with you as you shop at Asda or Tesco. Always keep them in sight and pay for anything they eat or damage.

DRESSING TEST: Obtain one large, unhappy, live octopus. Stuff it into a small net bag making sure that all arms stay inside.

FEEDING TEST: Obtain a large plastic milk jug. Fill it halfway with water. Suspend from the ceiling with a stout cord. Get the jug swinging. Try to insert spoonfuls of soggy cereal (such as Fruit Loops or Cheerios) into the mouth of the jug while pretending to be an airplane. Now dump the contents of the jug on the floor.

NIGHT TEST: Prepare by obtaining a small cloth bag and fill it with 8 to 12 pounds of sand. Soak it thoroughly in water. At 8 PM begin to waltz and hum with the bag until 9 PM. Lay down your bag and set your alarm for 10:00 PM. Get up, pick up your bag, and sing every song you have ever heard. Make up about a dozen more and sing them until 4:00 AM. Set alarm for 5:00 AM. Get up and make breakfast. Keep this up for 5 years. Look cheerful.

PHYSICAL TEST (WOMEN): Obtain a large beanbag chair and attach it to the front of your clothes. Leave it there for 9 months. Now remove 10% of the beans.

PHYSICAL TEST (MEN): Go to the nearest pharmacy. Set your wallet on the counter. Ask the clerk to help himself. Now proceed to the nearest supermarket. Go to the head office and arrange for your paycheck to be directly deposited to the store. Purchase a newspaper. Go home and read it quietly for the last time.

FINAL ASSIGNMENT: Find a couple who already has a small child. Lecture them on how they can improve their child’s discipline, patience, tolerance, toilet training, and table manners. Suggest many things they can improve as well. Emphasize to them that they should never allow their children to run riot. Enjoy this experience. It will be the last time you’ll have all the answers.
July 02, 2008
4:35
What did you just say?
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My little girl has become a chatterbox. Anything you say, she will repeat. For a while now, she has been saying the names of every single child in her class, including their surnames.

Some weeks ago, while looking in the mirror, she pointed to herself and called her name. Her full name. It was the first time that I heard her mention her surname. And she butchered it.

You see, she had learnt her name from her teachers in school. And they obviously couldn’t pronounce our surname properly. When I mentioned this to my wife, she did say that they asked her to teach them how to pronounce it just a few days before. She did her best, but left them still trying and not succeeding.

But what can we do? She spends over 9 hours a day at the nursery, so that is where she has learnt most of her speech, and we have tried to teach her the correct name, but she seems to prefer her pronounciation.

All of a sudden, I feel useless. I’ve seen African kids who can’t pronounce their own names, in fact, I know a few (I might be related to some). And I’ve seen a few who speak with Birtish accents, but when it comes to their own names, they get the pronounciation spot on. I was hoping our little girl would be in the seond category, but it’s looking very unlikely.

So, is it a bad thing? I don’t know. But I guess this is what happens when you decide to raise kids in a foreign country. And I’m sure this is the first of many similar situations I’ll have to face over the next few years.
July 01, 2008
4:35
Paul Ince - The Guv’nor !!
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Following on from my last post, it’s great to see Paul Ince take the job of manager at Blackburn Rovers, becoming the first ever English black man to manage a club in the top flight of English football. (Ruud Gullit and Jean Tigana were 1st and 2nd black managers respectively).

However, Paul Ince needed special dispensation to take the job, as he does not have the required qualifications to manage a club in the top flight.

Now, make no mistake, Ince has excelled in his two previous jobs at Macclesfield and MK Dons. And when he started managing, he was talking about going all the way to the top, hopefully managing Inter Milan one day.

What surprises me is that he has been managing for two years, and has not managed to get any of the UEFA badges. You see, to manage in the premiership, you need a UEFA Pro License, which is the highest qualification you can get. But you can also get a lesser ‘A’ badge or a ‘B’ badge when you start coaching. I read in the press that last year, Paul Ince was meant to go to college to get his ‘B’ badge, however, he didn’t turn up, and went golfing instead. And Roy Keane, who only just retired, has already completed his qualifications.

For someone who wanted to manage at the top, I’m surprised he didn’t prepare for the role. He’s been retired for years, and could have taken his badges a lot earlier. Current and recently retired players are already talking about getting their badges, Stephane Henchoz started his while still playing for Blackburn, and Steven Gerrard has been thinking about doing his for a while. Neil Lennon is starting his A badge this summer.

Make no mistake about it, the UEFA Pro License is hard work. Generally, the course takes a year to complete, with 240 hours of work to be put in. Prospective coaches are taught on their handling of top-class players, their use of the latest technology, and their abilities to deal with off-the-field problems. The English course begins in June with a 10-day residential period at Warwick University.

Glen Roeder and Gareth Southgate are both working towards obtaining their qualifications, after being given dispensation to manage with it in the past. And we hear that Ince should be one of the last people to take a job in the premier league without one.

We have another black former player in the shape of John Barnes, who is claiming that the only reason why he has not been offered another management job since he was in charge of Celtic, is because he’s black. However, I don’t see his name on the list of holders of the UEFA Pro license. For all I know, he may have an A or a B badge. However, if someone in the premiership decides to offer him a job tomorrow, he won’t be able to take it, because he’s not ready. They say opportunity knocks but once. I’ve heard another expression, ‘If opportunity doesn’t knock, then build a door.’ or ‘Chance favours the prepared mind’.

Both Paul Ince and John Barnes were great footballers. And Ince has done really well as a manager. But both would be wise to follow Roy Keane’s example, and prepare for the future in good time.

N.B. Just realised that Roy Keane’s name is not on the list of managers who have the qualification. However, I don’t remember the Premier League making a special case for him unlike Glen Roeder, Gareth Southgate, Avram Grant and of course Paul Ince, so I assume he has it.
June 30, 2008
4:35
Equality ??
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Last week, the British government put forward plans to introduce a new law that will allow firms to discriminate in favour of female and ethnic minority job candidates . The entire country has been debating this since it was announced, with most people it would seem against the idea. Personally, I’m in favour of it, and I think the problem is that most people don’t understand the law.

First of all, the ‘positive discrimination’ aspect is just a tiny part of the legislation, which also targets age discrimination, and tackles the gender pay gap in the public sector. Secondly, this is not an affirmative action law, as operated in the US, which forces you to choose ethnic minorities over other people. As far as I understand it, affirmative action means that, for example, when a university is picking new students, they have to pick a number of black people, and this most likely means that some white people will be overlooked for blacks who may not be as qualified as them. This creates resentment a lot of the time. The UK law is not the same though. The UK law means that if you are recruiting staff, and for any reason you have to decide between two equally qualified candidates, you can pick a woman or an ethnic minority in order to ‘balance out’ your team, allowing you to have a more diverse team. So why would you need a law to do this? Well, because this protects you against an employment tribunal.

Make no mistake about it, women and ethnic minorities need some help out here. A couple of years ago, I saw a hiring manager glance at a CV, and toss it in the bin after looking at it for less than one second. When I asked him why, he said because the person had an Indian name. A few weeks later, the same person said he had decided to hire only ‘white British people’, because they gave the least trouble. To be fair, we had a team member who was of Bangladeshi origin (born in the UK), who left the company suddenly, using a story which we found to be a lie. However, I think it was unfair to tie this behaviour to his race.

It’s not too long ago we had a case of a Pakistani man looking for job in Wales, who was told there were no suitable vacancies. He decided to write a similar CV, with a Welsh name, and fewer qualifications. And guess what, within 3 hours, he was asked to apply for a position paying £33,000 p.a.

So how many times has this happened to me? How many times have I applied for a job I am more than qualified to do, only to have my CV tossed in the bin because I don’t have an English name? How many times does this happen daily to other applicants in recruitment offices all over the country? The truth is that I will never know. Take a walk around the City of London, and all you’ll see for the most part are white men. Of course, they are in the majority in the population, so that’s not too much of a surprise. But check the boardrooms of major UK companies, check key positions in the government, and black men and women are few and far between. There are a few exceptions though. Like Trevor Williams, Lloyds TSB’s chief economist, who speaks regulalry on BBC’s breakfast show.

But as you can see, he’s the only black man on the board. And I suspect there are very few black man on boards of other banks and financial institutions in the country. I certainly didn’t see any at the Mansion house dinner.

But will this law help? I don’t think so. As long as the people making the decisions are not forced to pick ethnic minorities or women, they will always be at a disadvantage. Until there are more ethnic minorities in influential positions, and more hiring managers who are ready to pick people solely based on ability and talent, this new law is just a drop in the ocean. It’s a step in the right direction though, and hopefully, in the not too distant future, attitudes will change.

And you know what? I like to think that the two jobs I have gotten since I got here, I got them because I was the best person who applied for the job. If I found out that I got the job for any other reason, I would not be happy. And I think most ethnic minorities or women would think in the same way.

I still remember when I was working in London, we had someone come in to fix the photocopiers. He was black. When he asked who he was to report to, he was directed to me. You should have seen the look on his face. When he left, and I was signing off his job, he said he was proud to see a black man doing very well for himself in ‘The City’. And you know what, it wasn’t until that day that I realised that I was the only place person in my office. And when I went out for lunch later that day, I walked down the length of Fenchurch street, and I could count the number of black people I saw on one hand. Coincidence? Maybe. But it had never occurred to me. An d from that day onwards, I became more concious of myself, of my race, of the colour of my skin.

I heard an argument on TV that a white working class man in the UK is less likely to go to university than any other section of society, and that if anyone needs help in the workplace, it is them. That’s not an argument I want to get into, the whole ‘working class white man’ story is something that perplexes me completely, but they are becoming more and more of a political force in the guise of the British National Party. And from my Nigerian roots, I know how much emphasis our people put on getting an education. However, statistics in the UK show that blackboys don’t do too well at school. All sorts of reasons have been postulated as to why this is so. But the truth is that, at least, they are in school in the first place.And I’ll stop here, because I don’t want to say anything controversial.

I just hope that by the time my daughter starts looking for her first job, she won’t get chosen because of the colour of her skin, or her gender, but because of her ability to do the job.
June 29, 2008
15:54
If Real life was like Facebook…..
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[www.youtube.com]
June 28, 2008
17:44
So sweet
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Blanket from Mothercare - £15.00

Teddy Bear - £9.00

Watching your 21 month old baby tuck her teddy bear in, and put him to sleep: Absolutely priceless, and so freaking cute.

It’s so strange, I’ve not blogged in ages (that is beginning to sound like an echo, seems I’m always saying that now!). Funny thing is, I’ve had so much to say !! Mainly boring politics or techy stuff anyways, will try and type some stuff up and post over the week.

I’ve been trying to install Windows Live Writer on my work laptop, but it’s connecting to the blog for some reason. I’d prefer it if I had that, so I can compose my thoughts offline, and then publish later.

Anyway, talk to ya’ll later.
June 11, 2008
15:44
Back online (Again)
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OK, BT have finally connected us back to the internet.

So, we moved into this house on the 26th of April, and finally got internet on the 11th of June.

I’ve been without the web for so long, I’m so used to not having it.

I need to do a lot of work on this blog, I need a new theme, and the blog itself needs to be upgraded. I’m toying with actually backing it up and reinstalling. Which might mean I’ll lose all my pics, then again, I don’t have that many anymore…..
May 29, 2008
5:32
The world according to Baby O
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“Apple” - Any round fruit including apples, oranges, satsumas

“Nana” - Banana, was the first word she learnt to say, not mummy or daddy, nope, “nana” !!

“How are you?” and “Hello” - She says this all the time !!

“Bye Bye” - Can mean bye bye or “go away”, depending on who she wants to walk away, you or her

“Eat” - She’s hungry !

“Nice” - She says this if she’s enjoying her food

“Biit” - A combination of “biscuit” and “eat”. Used to be her favourite food, but that title now belongs to “Apple” see above

“More” - She wants more !! Usually with regards to food.

“Phone” - Your phone’s ringing, pick it up !!

“Again” - She wants you to sing a song again, or she’s saying it to the TV hoping to hear something again.

“Wash your hands” - She picked this up from day care, and now, she’s come up with a song for it !!

“Flower” - Flower, tree, or even drawings of flowers on the curtains

“Water” - Water, juice, anything in liquid form

“Sorry” - She says this to herself !! When she falls over or drops something usually.

“Shoe” - Any shoes beware. Baby O has been known to try on any shoes she finds, size is not a detterent !!

“Sleep” and “Tired” - She wants to go to bed !!

“Bath” - She can see you’re getting her ready for a bath. Prepare for the constant battle of trying to stop her drinking the bath water.

“Beebies” - CeeBeebies is her favourite TV station, and she says this when she wants you to turn on the TV.

She can also make animal noises !! If you say the name of any of the following animals :

Horse (Neigh)
Cow (Moooooooo)
Sheep (Baaaaaa)
Snake (SSSSSSSS)
Dog or Puppy (Woof Woof!)
Cat (Miaow)
Moneky (OOOhh AAAAAAhhh)
Bird (Tweet Tweet)
Duck or Geese (Quack Quack)

Her speech is coming along nicely, and anything you say, she will repeat, be warned !!
May 28, 2008
3:35
American Sports 101 : Baseball
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This is a game played by two teams, one out the other in. The one that’s in, sends players out one at a time, to see if they can get in before they get out. If they get out before they get in, they come in, but it doesn’t count. If they get in before they get out it does count.

When the ones out get three outs from the ones in before they get in without being out, the team that’s out comes in and the team in goes out to get those going in out before they get in without being out.

When both teams have been in and out nine times the game is over. The team with the most in without being out before coming in wins unless the ones in are equal. In which case, the last ones in go out to get the ones in out before they get in without being out.

The game will end when each team has the same number of ins out but one team has more in without being out before coming in.

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