Amala The Best Food Ever

Amala can be a topic of hot debate in the Nigerian social space. Regarded as an acquired taste, it’s processed by slightly cooking the yam to remove toxins and drying the yam to remove all moisture. Traditionally, the yam peels (sometimes along with the barks) are sun-dried for two to six days. Once completely dried, the peels are milled into a powder known as elubo. These days, some producers use dehydrators to speed up the process.

To make amala, the elubo flour is mixed with boiling water and stirred heavily until it rises and develops a smooth consistency. It’s popularly enjoyed with ewedu soup and gbegiri.

You’ll find amala all over Nigeria, but its home is considered to be in Oyo State, Southwestern Nigeria.

The interesting thing about amala (and the flour it’s made with) is how it possibly evolved as a means of preservation before the age of technology. With this method, yams were protected from moisture and rot and could be enjoyed until the next harvest.

Step by Step How You Can Cook Amala

Amala and Ewedu soup will always stay one of the most popular Nigerian soups, not only among the Yoruba people. A combination of Ewedu leaves and Amala gives a unique taste to this dish. 

Ensure you eat some when you visit Africa. Ewedu is a traditional soup native to the Yoruba part of Nigeria it is often served with Amala or any other traditional swallow food like Eba, Pounded yam or fufu. It is very delicious and nutritious and it has a slimy effect when it’s cooked which is very similar to Okra. 

Making Ewedu soup is easy. It will totally take you 30 minutes to cook it (15 minutes for preparation process and 15 minutes for cooking itself.

How to cook Ewedu Soup

• Pick your Ewedu leaves, make sure you don’t pick the stalk/stem along with it.

• Wash the leaves thoroughly to rid it of dirt. Pour the water into a medium size pan, place on a bob on medium heat, bring to a rolling boil.

• If you’re using a broom (Ijabe), use the broom to pound the leaves.

• If you’re using a blender, take the Ewedu off the heat and leave to cool for a bit…don’t switch the heat off.

• Add the Ewedu into a blender along with the Iru, make sure you don’t add all the water, just 1/2 a cup should do. Too much water will affect the viscosity of your Ewedu.

• Using the pulse function, pulse a few times till you get a semi-purée consistency.

• Transfer the Ewedu back into the pan, add the ground crayfish, bouillon cube and salt to taste.

• Switch off the heat and let it simmer with the residual heat for 3 minutes….stir occasionally to prevent burning. Do not over cook or the Ewedu will go brown.

How to cook Amala

• Pour water in a pot and allow to get hot.

• Add the yam flour into it and stir continuously using a wooden stick to avoid lumps.

• Add extra yam flour if watery or add some water if it’s too strong (just like the way your make your semovita).

• Turn the yam flour very well, then add a bit of water, cover and allow to cook for about 10 mins.

• Wrap it up in nylon.

        

Smart devices could expose homes to thousands of cyber attacks a week

 

A home filled with smart devices could be exposed to thousands of hacking or unknown scanning attacks from around the world in a single week, according to a new report.

A real-world study carried out by consumer group Which recorded more than 12,000 attack attempts in a week, including 2,435 specific attempts to maliciously log into the devices with a weak default username and password. 

This equates to 14 attempts every hour by real hackers to infiltrate the devices.

UK households now have more than 10 different connected devices on average, ranging from TVs to thermostats.

While these products can bring huge benefits for consumers, the research highlighted how connected homes can become a major target for hackers.

The study, carried out with cybersecurity specialists NCC Group and the Global Cyber Alliance, involved a fake home filled with products including smart TVs, printers and wireless security cameras, as well as more unusual gadgets such as wifi kettles.

Researchers then connected them to the internet, exposing them to online threats and malware created by real cybercriminals.

They looked for unique scanning attempts – a technique used to locate online devices that exists in a legal grey area and is a potential gateway used by hackers – and hacking attempts, which are a clear breach of the Computer Misuse Act.

Most of the time, the basic security protections in the devices were able to block the attacks, but that was not always the case.

The most targeted devices in the testing were an Epson printer, an ieGeek branded wireless camera and a Yale smart home security system. All three devices were purchased from Amazon.

Which said that while hacking traffic came from around the globe, the vast majority appeared to originate from the USA, India, Russia, the Netherlands and China.

“While smart home gadgets and devices can bring huge benefits to our daily lives, consumers should be aware that some of these appliances are vulnerable to hackers and offer little or no security,” said Which computing editor Kate Bevan.

“There are a number of steps people can take to better protect their home, but hackers are growing increasingly sophisticated. Proposed new government laws to tackle devices with poor security can’t come soon enough – and must be backed by strong enforcement.”

Nigeria: Bad Leadership Has Turned Nigeria to Land of Poignancy

Bad Leadership Has Turned Nigeria to Land of Poignancy 

 Former President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday expressed worry over the state of the nation and blamed bad leadership for the nation's woes.

The former president, while receiving a book titled, 'The Man, The General and The President,' written by Femmy Carrena, said in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, that even though the country is destined to be a land flowing with milk and honey, bad leadership has made it unachievable.

According to him, the country is currently dripping with bitterness and sadness.

But despite the worsening insecurity, the federal government has said it is preposterous for anyone to declare Nigeria a failed state on the basis of the country's security challenges.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) also said alleged plots by some Nigerians to bring down the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari would fail.

Obasanjo stated that although Nigeria is destined to lead the black race, failure of leadership has prevented the country from taking its rightful place in the comity of developed nations.

He said: "My prayer is that all of us will have something to contribute to making this country what God has created it to be - a land flowing with milk and honey.

"Right now, it is a land flowing with bitterness and sadness; that is not what God wants this country to be.

"We must change the narrative; we must talk to ourselves in the civilised language.

"There is nowhere you go in this country that you will not see geniuses in any section of the country. So, why should we look down on ourselves?"

He stated that over 14 million children were out of school, adding that if care is not taken, Nigeria would have more "Boko Haram in future."

Obasanjo urged Nigerians to emulate some prominent citizens that are doing well at the international level.

He said: "We have Akin Adesina running the African Development Bank (AfDB); we have Benedict Oramah running the Afrexim Bank; we have Mohammed Barkindo running the OPEC (Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries); we have my sister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, running the WTO (World Trade Organisation), and we have Amina Mohammed who, I think celebrated her 60th birthday yesterday or the day before yesterday, who is number two in the United Nations (UN).

"These are things that should give hope and encouragement for the future.

"And each of these people that I have mentioned, are doing fantastically well. We have even at the AU (African Union), Ambassador Bankole Adeoye, who had just taken over as the Commissioner for Political Affairs & Peace and Security (PAPS) of the AU.

"So why are they doing well there and here we are not doing well? Something must be wrong! We should be interrogating this; we should ask then what should we do?

"What we should do is put our house in order, and we can put our house in order."

The book was reviewed by Professor Emeritus, Michael Abiola Omolewa, a former Chairperson of United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), and the review was read on his behalf by Ndidi Amaka-Okafor.

Insecurity Does Not Make Nigeria Failed State, Insists FG

Meanwhile, the federal government has said it is preposterous for anyone to declare Nigeria a failed state due to the country's security challenges.

Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, stated this yesterday in response to a recent declaration by the Council on Foreign Affairs in the United States that "Nigeria is at a point of no return with all the signs of a failed nation."

Former US Ambassador to Nigeria and a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, Mr. John Campbell, and the President Emeritus of World Peace Foundation, Mr. Robert Rotberg, had urged the United States to acknowledge that Nigeria is a failed state in the light of the many challenges plaguing the country.

"Nigeria's worldwide companions, particularly the USA, should acknowledge that Nigeria is now a failed state. In recognition of that truth, they need to deepen their engagement with the nation and search to carry the present administration accountable for its failures, while additionally working with it to supply safety and proper financial system," they had said in an article.

But Mohammed said in Abuja that "Nigeria is not and cannot be a failed state."

He stated that the declaration by the council did not represent an official US policy.

Mohammed said: "This declaration is merely the opinions of two persons, former US Ambassador to Nigeria and a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, John Campbell, and the President Emeritus of World Peace Foundation, Robert Rotberg.

"Declaring any nation a failed state is not done at the whims and caprices of one or two persons, no matter their status.

"Just because Nigeria is facing security challenges, which we have acknowledged and which we are tackling, does not automatically make the country a failed state.

"Like former US Senator Daniel Moynihan said, "You are entitled to your opinion but not your facts."

Mohammed said Nigeria did not meet the criteria for a nation to become a failed state.

He listed the criteria to include the inability to provide public service and inability to interact with other states as a full member of the international community.

"Yes, the non-state actors may be rampaging in some parts of the country; they have not and cannot overwhelm this government," he said.

The minister said it was not the first time it was predicted that Nigeria would fail or break up.

He added: "We were even once told that Nigeria would break up in 2015. But their doomsday predictions have all failed and will fail again."

Presidency: Foreign Magazine's Opinion on Nigeria Distorted, Unfair

Meanwhile, the Presidency yesterday described as unfair and distorted an opinion in the latest article on Nigeria entitled 'The Giant of Africa Is Failing' published by the Foreign Affairs (Magazine).

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, made the condemnation in a reaction to the article.

In a letter addressed to the publishers of the magazine, the presidential spokesman took exception to the way and manner facts were being misrepresented to support distorted opinions.

The letter read in part: "The latest article on Nigeria in Foreign Affairs titled 'The Giant of Africa is Failing' is unfair both to a magazine with such an esteemed pedigree and to its readers.

"Former United States Ambassador to Nigeria, John Campbell, has been predicting the collapse of Nigeria for several years. He is of course entitled to his opinions, even where events consistently prove him wrong.

"But facts should not be bent to support distorted opinions.

"Let me give you one example.

"The authors write:

'At an April meeting with the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Buhari reportedly requested that the headquarters of the U.S. Africa Command be moved from Germany to Nigeria so that it would be closer to the fight against jihadi groups in the country's north.'

"President Buhari did not request that AFRICOM move to Nigeria. The transcript of the call with Secretary Blinken is available on the State Department's own website.

"It's not just a question of the invented addition of 'to Nigeria' with regard to AFRICOM. It sums up a piece that attempts - subtly but revealingly - to shift facts to suit an argument."

According to Shehu, Nigeria faces multiple challenges, not least of which is the dissemination of fake news and prejudiced opinion.

He said: "This is something we have come to expect from partisan blogs and politically motivated lobbies.

Making A Solar-Cell Tester

The Solar Cell Tester

Now to a quick real example that will make use of all of the above. I recently decided to characterize a bunch of small solar panels that I had in my junk drawer. This means adjusting the load on the panel and noting down the voltage generated by the panel and the current through the load. I hooked up two multimeters and wrote down some numbers, but this is obviously a job for a microcontroller.

As is clear from the image, this is a quick lash up. The larger chunk of copper-clad has a current-measurement resistor and a pair of resistors configured as a voltage divider to step down the panel voltage to something the 3.3 V ADC can handle.

Dangling off that is the (silvered) variable load circuit, which is entirely sub-optimal: a MOSFET dissipates the heat by being turned half on by a PWM’ed voltage fiiltered by that 100 uF capacitor. The 9 V battery and optoisolator were cobbled on to ensure a high enough voltage to fully open the MOSFET, which wanted more than 3.3 V. This horrible, but functional, load circuit was a later addition — the first version just had a potentiometer here, until that got smoked by running too much current through it.

The pushbuttons are used to start and stop recordings from the device out on the balcony without having to run back inside. The procedure was to alligator-clip in a new panel, and hold the white button while it made recordings. The small black button is pressed once to demarcate a new cell’s data. The data goes back to my laptop over UART serial through an ESP8266 running esp-link as a transparent WiFi serial bridge, seen in the upper left, right next to the recycled laptop batteries. Hot glue and cardboard round out the high-tech build.

To the Datasheet!

This kind of quick and hands-on tool-building is where Forth shines. The Jeelabs Forth libraries already have some functions that simplify the ADC setup, but they actually didn’t work for me, so I turned to the datasheet. The bare minimum that one needs to get the ADC working is to turn on the ADC peripheral clocks, enable the ADC unit, and then select the ADC sampling time. We might also want to run the ADC calibration procedure to make sure our readings are correct. This is all the sort of low-level detail that you’d have to do with any microcontroller — or lean on a library that does it for you.

How to Build a Blog Step by Step

 

Step 1: Choosing a topic for your blog

When it comes to Internet marketing, there is a phrase I learnt many years ago that has proven itself time and time again.

"The riches are in the niches".

It's so much easier to focus on a single, niche topic than try and be everything to everyone. The challenge here is choosing the right niche, one that will be profitable and sustainable for you. Getting this step right requires extensive keyword and competitor research into topics that you are passionate about (there are some great online tools available to help, including Google Trends, Google Keyword Planner and SEMrush) to discover the right niche for your blog.

An example of this concept in action is Laguna Beach Stays, a blog I launched in the era prior to Airbnb, Expedia and Booking.com. By focusing on the niche topic of "holidaying in Laguna Beach", a topic that was frequently searched for and had limited significant competition at that time, I was able to create a valuable digital asset that generated ongoing income from Google Adwords and affiliate networks for accommodation. I eventually flipped this blog for a handsome profit.

Step 2: Deciding on your revenue model

Just like the physical world, there are plenty of different ways of making a buck in any given industry. In blogging these options include:

Image and text ads (there are manual and automated options for this)

Sponsored content (blog posts, emails)

Affiliate marketing

Selling your own digital or physical products

Training courses, memberships and more

The style content you publish on your blog will dictate your success with any of these revenue models, so it's important to make this decision early in your journey.

My first blog, Tshirt Alert, made the majority of its income through manual advertising placements including paid reviews, display (banner) ads and text link ads. Manual advertising is still one of the most lucrative forms of advertising, as you can literally name your price! The challenge is creating an environment that is unique enough that advertisers can warrant the investment.

Step 3: Coming up with an awesome name

Having a memorable name for your blog is super important. I know this sounds logical to most people, but what I see being overlooked all too often is having the .com domain to match.

If you're talking to someone at your local and they say "You should check out this awesome blog I'm into, it's called The Freedom Chaser"... you're not going to search for TheFreedomChaser.xyz when you get back home are you. No siree. You need the .com domain or you'll be losing valuable traffic to someone else's website.

Of course, there are occasional exceptions to this rule. For example, if you are focused only on an Australian audience then it can add to your credibility to choose a .com.au as your primary domain, but even then I'd be looking to secure the .com too, to allow for future expansion opportunities.

In short, it's important to ensure a high-quality domain name is available to match your blog name. TIP: There are a handful of free brainstorming tools available online to assist you in finding the perfect name and domain for your blog.

Check out some web hosting tools that also give you the option of buying a domain name.

Step 4. Choosing the best tech for the job

When it comes to the technology that will power your blog, there's a stack of tech companies out there vying for your attention. But please take heed: not all blogging platforms are created equally.

In my 20 years of experience, I've found that the most robust blogging platform is the self-hosted version of WordPress (there are more details about why, and how to set it up in my book). You'll also want a reliable web host that doesn't charge the earth for its services to give your blog a home, and to tweak some of the WordPress settings for optimal performance and exposure in search engines. With humans now sharing the attention span of a goldfish, site speed is critical and I've found that the Genesis framework combined with a StudioPress theme is your key to achieving this. It's one of the oldest themes on the market and is still lightning fast. Search engine rankings also rely on speed and performance; your goal is to appease the Google PageSpeed gods.

By doing all of this, you'll be setting your foundations for the best chance of success.

Step 5. Publishing awesome content

Now comes the fun part: creating content that is so engaging it will get the whole neighbourhood talking! I say this in jest, but there is actually a deeper truth to this statement, as the more your content is shared by others, the faster your authority will grow.

So, do you need an IQ equivalent of Einstein and the creative genius of Andy Warhol to create highly shareable content? Thankfully, no. You just need to know how to use the right planning, research techniques to uncover topical gems, and then adapt the right post structure for your topic and audiences. A few examples of popular post types include listicles, tutorials, reviews, infographics, case studies, quizzes and product comparisons.

I also encourage budding bloggers to begin with the end in mind. When it comes to creating content, what I mean by this is determine who you are writing for and how you are going to reach them with your content, before you even start it. By doing this, you'll find it easier to write content with real purpose.

These are essentially all of the key components in my WISPR (Who, Ideate, Syndicate, Publish, Repeat) content planning framework.

Step 6. Learning from your victories… and your mistakes!

Being a blogger isn't all about the free merch and launch party invitations. An income-generating blog is a business, and behind every business lies a treasure trove of data. If used effectively, this is data that can take your business to new heights.

For starters, you'll need the tools in place to find out what works and do more of it, plus the ability to track mentions of your blog across the web. Free tools like Google Analytics and Google Alerts are a good starting point for this. It also pays to monitor the activity of your competitors by creating alerts and subscribing to their newsletters too.

Final word

Becoming a successful blogger can be hugely fulfilling. You can see why; in essence, you are creating a media outlet from scratch, crafting content that will eventually be consumed and discussed by thousands of people across the globe. There are also other benefits, like the supplementary income and the flexibility to work whenever and wherever you want to.