American Systems that Work

A few things that are making my life easier while trying to adjust in University of Maryland, College Park.

Shuttle Bus and Metro System: I am using Google to know which bus number is going where I want to go. The buses are tracked by satellite and you know when one is running late. This is a proper "public" transportation system.

A Metro bus going somewhere

Lyft and Uber: even though these work in Kenya, these services have been very helpful on those odd trips to unknown places like looking for a place to live.

Airbnb: the cheap alternative to hotels and motels has proved very useful. I have also met very interesting people from all over the world.

Airbnb

Motorists are very "sane" on the road: A STOP sign means stop; in Kenya, we always ignore most signs. Pedestrians and cyclists are accorded right of way, without much hassle.

A STOP sign

Internet is very fast: yeah, like the Fios I am using at the Airbnb.

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They told us to wait

They said we should wait. The wazees were deliberating. They were discussing "important" issues of national security and interest. So, we walked out. We stood by the door. It was raining hard, and we strained to stand as close to the wall as possible, to avoid getting drenched. Inside, the air was exuberant. The wazees were laughing heartily as they imbibed to their fill with nyama choma and Tusker baridi . My stomach was grumbling. I looked around at my friend. She was shivering. "She's going to catch a cold if we don't get somewhere warm soon," I thought to myself. I could stay here and wait to see the wazees and tell them why we had come. Or I could save my skin and call it a day (or night). I chose the former. I motioned to Wanjiku to follow me. She seemed shocked. We had come so far, having walked in the wind and rain for two hours. She was heavy with child, and due any day now. We passed the Toyota VXs that had transported the wazees to ...

Analyzing a carry trade proposal: Short USD, go long on bitcoin

I recently completed an assignment for an International Economics Policy class which entailed designing a carry trade. A carry trade is a financial transaction that involves borrowing (short) in a low interest currency, and lending (go long) in a high interest (yield) currency. For instance from Bloomberg 's rates for bonds, this would involve borrowing in Swiss francs (rate is -0.15 percent) and lend in New Zealand dollars (rate is 2.83 percent). All else remaining equal, the carry trade would yield a rate differential of 2.83+0.15 = 2.98 percent. Note: this is an unusual case where the interest rate we are borrowing from is negative; usually, this would involve subtracting the first interest rate from the second. For instance, borrowing in Japanese yen (0.04 percent) and lending in Kiwi dollars (at 2.83 percent) would yield 2.79 percent as profit. My carry trade in this case involves borrowing in USD at a rate of 2.33 percent, and buying bitcoins. But, what, you may ask, is the...

Everything is God

Nothing is too small for God Nothing is too big God is everything God is not mocked God does not mock God is Do not despise anything Do not think yourself too big for anything Do not think yourself too small for anything For you are God A true expression of what God is A child of God A part of God Therefore there's nothing to fear Whatever action you take Wherever you go Whatever you choose Whomever you choose That you have chosen And nothing else could have happened There's no other place you could have been Here you are Right here is where you are And nowhere else And yet everywhere else And therefore, nothing to fear Nothing at all

Munene, the journey...

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