On 29th of March 2014, I wrote about my joining the bitcoin revolution and promised to let you know how my adventure with bitcoin turns out. And I have Sumbo to thank for the timely reminder.
image: freeformers.com
So far I have used bitcoin for the following transactions:

  1. Paid one of my monthly installment for my (now discontinued) online MBA program with bitcoin. Some European schools accept bitcoin.
  2. Used Paga to pay a Ghanaian bitcoin dealer in Naira for bitcoins
  3. Used PayPal to buy bitcoins from a broker in Romania
  4. Bought iTunes gift cards with bitcoins
  5. Tracked the bitcoin to dollar exchange, hunting for speculative gain (got my hands well burnt)
What do I now think of bitcoin?

Not so much. It fluctuates widely with the dollar and one must be careful in holding it for long. The one for my MBA school fee payment, I held it for just one day and it significantly dropped in value such that I had to mix it with dollars to complete the school fee payment. 

It is a transaction fee free payment method with no verification/holding period. Once you pay, in seconds to very few minutes your transaction is finalized without any fear of reversal. So you have to be careful that you don't send payment to the wrong bitcoin wallet.

There is also a very active bitcoin forex trading community. People who speculate on the exchange rate of bitcoin to dollars. I didn't bother trying that out as I still have the burn marks from the regular forex trading. I have only left money in my bitcoin wallet hoping it will rise in value against the dollar.

In Japan, Hong Kong and a couple of asian countries bitcoin is a big deal. They even offer physical goods and services at physical stores for payment via bitcoin. 

Overall, my adventure with bitcoin has been more of an excursion. Something, you did because it was new to you and fun to talk about, but not worth making part of your daily life.



 For three years now, I have been collecting annual reports and financial statements of companies on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. And being a cheerful generous person, I have made them available to everyone. You can access them at http://www.slideshare.net/olafusimichael 

 It is part of my grand plan of a stock analysis app. I have a giant Excel file with computed financial analysis and ratios (quantitative analysis) of the companies. I even paid a Ukrainian lady to do most of the data entry after creating the analysis template. That one I am not sharing. It is the core intellectual property to be used in the development of the app.

 Currently, I have the following annual reports made accessible to everyone at http://www.slideshare.net/olafusimichael :
Access Bank Annual Report 2004.pdf
Access Bank Annual Report 2005.pdf
Access Bank Annual Report 2006.pdf
Access Bank Annual Report 2007.pdf
Access Bank Annual Report 2008.pdf
Access Bank Annual Report 2009.pdf
Access Bank Annual Report 2010.pdf
Access Bank Annual Report 2011.pdf
Access Bank Annual Report 2012.pdf
Access Bank Annual Report 2013.pdf
Access Bank Annual Report 2014.pdf
Access Bank Annual Report 2015.pdf
Ashaka Cement Annual Report 2012.pdf
Cadbury Nigeria Annual Report 2013.pdf
Cadbury Nigeria Annual Report 2014.pdf
CadburyNigeriaAnnualReport2011.zip
Carlyle Group Annual Report 2013.pdf
Computer Warehouse Group Annual Report 2011.pdf
Computer Warehouse Group Annual Report 2012.pdf
Computer Warehouse Group Annual Report 2013.pdf
Computer Warehouse Group Annual Report 2014.pdf
Computer Warehouse Group Annual Report 2015.pdf
Dangote Cement Annual Report 2012.pdf
Dangote Cement Annual Report 2013.pdf
Dangote Cement Annual Report 2014.pdf
Dangote Flour Mill Annual Report 2008.pdf
Dangote Flour Mill Annual Report 2011.pdf
Dangote Flour Mills Annual Report 2009.pdf
Dangote Sugar Annual Report 2009.pdf
Dangote Sugar Annual Report 2010.pdf
Dangote Sugar Annual Report 2011.pdf
Dangote Sugar Annual Report 2012.pdf
Dangote Sugar Annual Report 2014.pdf
DANGOTE SUGAR ANNUAL REPORT-2013.pdf
Diamond Bank Annual Report 2004.pdf
Diamond Bank Annual Report 2005.pdf
Diamond Bank Annual Report 2007.pdf
Diamond Bank Annual Report 2008.pdf
Diamond Bank Annual Report 2009.pdf
Diamond Bank Annual Report 2010.pdf
Diamond Bank Annual Report 2011.pdf
Diamond Bank Annual Report 2012.pdf
Diamond Bank Annual Report 2013.pdf
Diamond Bank Annual Report 2014.pdf
Ecobank Abridged Annual Report 2013.pdf
Ecobank Annual Report 2003.pdf
Ecobank Annual Report 2004.pdf
Ecobank Annual Report 2005.pdf
Ecobank Annual Report 2006.pdf
Ecobank Annual Report 2007.pdf
Ecobank Annual Report 2009.pdf
Ecobank Annual Report 2010.pdf
Ecobank Annual Report 2011.pdf
Ecobank Annual Report 2012.pdf
Ecobank Annual Report 2013.pdf
Ecobank Annual Report 2014.pdf
Ecobank Annual Report 2015.pdf
First Bank Annual report 2006.pdf
First Bank Annual report 2007.pdf
First Bank Annual report 2008.pdf
First Bank Annual report 2009.pdf
First Bank Annual report 2010.pdf
First Bank Annual report 2011.pdf
First Bank Annual report 2012.pdf
First Bank Annual report 2013.pdf
First Bank Annual report 2014.pdf
First Bank Annual report 2015.pdf
Flour Mills Nigeria Annual Report 2012.pdf
Flour Mills Nigeria Annual Report 2013.pdf
Flour Mills Nigeria Annual Report 2014.pdf
GSK Nigeria Annual Report 2013.pdf
GSK Nigeria Annual Report 2014.pdf
GSK Nigeria Financial Report 2011.pdf
GSK Nigeria Financial Report 2012.pdf
GTBank Annual Report 2011.pdf
GTBank Annual Report 2012.pdf
GTBank Annual Report 2012_lite.pdf
GTBank annual report 2013.pdf
GTBank annual report 2014.pdf
GTBank annual report 2015.pdf
GTBank Financial Report 2009.pdf
GTBank Financial Report 2010.pdf
Guinness Nigeria Plc Annual Report 2007.pdf
Guinness Nigeria Plc Annual Report 2008.pdf
Guinness Nigeria Plc Annual Report 2009.pdf
Guinness Nigeria Plc Annual Report 2010.pdf
Guinness Nigeria Plc Annual Report 2011.pdf
Guinness Nigeria Plc Annual Report 2012.pdf
Guinness Nigeria Plc Annual Report 2013.pdf
Guinness Nigeria Plc Annual Report 2014.pdf
Guinness Nigeria Plc Annual Report 2015.pdf
IHS Annual Report 2009.pdf
IHS Annual Report 2010.pdf
IHS Annual Report 2011.pdf
IHS Annual Report 2012.pdf
Japaul Annual Report 2012.pdf
Julius Berger Annual Report 2009.pdf
Julius Berger Annual Report 2010.pdf
Julius Berger Annual Report 2011.pdf
Julius Berger Annual Report 2012.pdf
Julius Berger Annual Report 2013.pdf
Julius Berger Annual Report 2014.pdf
Julius Berger Annual Report 2015.pdf
Lafarge WAPCo Annual Report 2010.pdf
Lafarge WAPCo Annual Report 2011.pdf
Lafarge WAPCo Annual Report 2012.pdf
Lafarge WAPCO Annual Report 2013.pdf
Lafarge WAPCO Annual Report 2014.pdf
Mansard Insurance Annual Report 2009.pdf
Mansard Insurance Annual Report 2011.pdf
Mansard Insurance Annual Report 2012.pdf
Mansard Insurance Annual Report 2013.pdf
Mayer and Baker Annual Report 2012.pdf
NASCON Annual Report 2009.pdf
NASCON Annual Report 2011.pdf
NASCON Annual Report 2012.pdf
NASCON Annual Report 2013.pdf
NASCON Annual Report 2014.pdf
NASCON Annual Report 2015.pdf
Nestle Nigeria Annual Report 2009.pdf
Nestle Nigeria Annual Report 2010.pdf
Nestle Nigeria Annual Report 2011.pdf
Nestle Nigeria Annual Report 2012.pdf
Nestle Nigeria Annual Report 2013.pdf
Nestle Nigeria Annual Report 2014.pdf
Nestle Nigeria Annual Report 2015.pdf
Nigerian Breweries Annual Report 2007.pdf
Nigerian Breweries Annual Report 2008.pdf
Nigerian Breweries Annual Report 2009.pdf
Nigerian Breweries Annual Report 2010.pdf
Nigerian Breweries Annual Report 2011.pdf
Nigerian Breweries Annual Report 2012.pdf
Nigerian Breweries Annual Report 2013.pdf
Nigerian Breweries Annual Report 2014.pdf
Nigerian Breweries Annual Report 2015.pdf
Oando Annual Report 2005.pdf
Oando Annual Report 2007.pdf
Oando Annual Report 2008.pdf
Oando Annual Report 2009.pdf
Oando Annual Report 2010.pdf
Oando Annual Report 2011.pdf
Oando Annual Report 2012.pdf
Oando PLC Annual Report 2013.pdf
Oando PLC Annual Report 2014.pdf
Okomu Oil Annual Report 2011.pdf
Okomu Oil Annual Report 2012.pdf
Okomu Oil Annual Report 2013.pdf
Okomu Oil Annual Report 2014.pdf
PZ Cussons  Annual Report 2009.pdf
PZ Cussons  Annual Report 2010.pdf
PZ Cussons  Annual Report 2012.pdf
PZ Cussons  Annual Report 2013.pdf
PZ Cussons  Annual Report 2014.pdf
PZ Cussons  Annual Report 2015.pdf
Stanbic IBTC Annual Report 2008.pdf
Stanbic IBTC Annual Report 2009.pdf
Stanbic IBTC Annual Report 2010.pdf
Stanbic IBTC Annual Report 2011.pdf
Stanbic IBTC Annual Report 2012.pdf
Stanbic IBTC Annual Report 2013.pdf
Stanbic IBTC Annual Report 2014.pdf
Sterling Bank Annual Report 2012.pdf
Sterling Bank Annual Report 2013.pdf
Sterling Bank Annual Report 2014.pdf
Sterling Bank Annual Report 2015.pdf
Total Nigeria Annual Report 2009.pdf
Total Nigeria Annual Report 2010.pdf
Total Nigeria Annual Report 2011.pdf
Total Nigeria Annual Report 2012.pdf
Total Nigeria Annual Report 2014.pdf
Total Nigeria Annual Report 2015.pdf
UAC Annual Report 2012.pdf
UAC Annual Report 2013.pdf
UAC Annual Report 2014.pdf
UAC Annual Report 2015.pdf
UBA Annual Report 2008.pdf
UBA Annual Report 2009.pdf
UBA Annual Report 2010.pdf
UBA Annual Report 2011.pdf
UBA Annual Report 2012.pdf
UBA Annual Report 2013.PDF
UBA Annual Report 2014.pdf
Unilever Annual Report 2009.pdf
Unilever Annual Report 2011.pdf
Unilever Annual Report 2014.pdf
Unilever Annual Report 2015.pdf
Unilever Nigeria Annual Report 2011.pdf
Unilever Nigeria Annual Report 2012.pdf
Unilever Nigeria Annual Report 2013.pdf
UTC Annual Report 2005.pdf
UTC Annual Report 2010.pdf
Wema Bank Annual Report 2010.pdf
Wema Bank Annual Report 2011.pdf
Zenith Bank Annual Report 2005.pdf
Zenith Bank Annual Report 2006.pdf
Zenith Bank Annual Report 2008.pdf
Zenith Bank Annual Report 2009.pdf
Zenith Bank Annual Report 2012.pdf
Zenith Bank Annual Report 2013.pdf
Zenith Bank Annual Report 2014-.pdf
Zenith Bank Annual Report 2014.pdf
Zenith Bank Annual Report 2015.pdf

Last week, the biggest report on current internet trends and the implications for business was released: the Mary Meeker Internet Trends 2016.

Most of the trends in the report are global, meaning they can't be directly applied to Nigeria. Yes, more people are buying tablets and phones than laptops. More people read news on their mobile devices than on traditional media. There are now more businesses focusing on mobile, just for smartphone users, not accessible on PCs/ and internet browsers.

 For me, though, the most interesting bit is that more businesses are going online. I don't mean having a business website, I mean becoming more of an internet business. Completely rendering their services online. Just like our banks are now pushing mobile banking. And I see a great opportunity there. It will be a gold mine for people who can develop web applications.

 When the trends we see in developed countries finally reach us here in Nigeria, the first beneficiaries will be those who can power the future: the web app developers. And that is the category I want to fall in.

 I have been progressing well with my C# and ASP,Net MVC training. Every non-training day I have, I practice. Most of what I am learning now still look like gibberish but I have told myself that even if this is rocket science, I am ready to become a rocket scientist and give it all the diligence it requires. 

 I will be careful not to make the mistakes I am making with my Excel programming knowledge. My focus will be mostly on creating products I can sell rather than consulting and building programs for people. Then if I am successful in my current plan of learning to build a technical team, then I will begin to take on consulting projects. 
image: cvattached.wordpress.com

 Yes, where will you be five years from now?

 This is the one question no one is humble in answering. Everyone ends up exaggerating and trying to sound as logical and ambitious as possible. 

 In 2011, where did I see myself being in 2016? Well, I am definitely not where I saw myself being. And if I try to rationalise things (the one unique ability of humans) I will say though things haven't gone the way I expected and planned, where I ended up isn't a bad place. In 2011, I wasn't seeing myself running my own business. In 2011, I didn't think I will be this very knowledgeable about things outside of telecommunications engineering. In 2011, I wouldn't believe that I will become a highly sought-after trainer, conducting trainings for all levels of professionals and across all the major industries. (Just this past weekend I was in Enugu teaching close to 40 mid-senior bank staff on Microsoft Excel). I am now usually booked four weeks solid, and sometimes several weeks ahead. In 2011, I thought by 2016 I will be a fluent French poet. I still remember the lovely poem I wrote in French then as an assignment from my French class teacher at Centre Culturel Francais, Abuja. It was about Lagos. You can read it here Pouvez-Vous Deviner La Ville? Most discouraging is my financial change. I am not as rich as I thought I would be five years into the future.

 Overall, I can't say if I have progressed satisfactorily in the last five years.

 The main reason is that I faced a lot of unexpected events too early in my career. Like losing my first job 6 months into it (in same 2011). Losing most of my savings in my pursuit of French and fighting off the depression of a job loss. Reminds me of the quote that says, "When your neighbour loses his job it is recession, but when you lose your job it is depression." Then a sudden career shift, from the core technical I started and trained for to the business side (analysis and business reporting). Then a merging of those two career lines in my third job.

In five years from now, I am sure I will be where I never imagined. Again.
Last week, hackers put up for sale 117 million LinkedIn passwords (with corresponding email combination), 360 million Myspace emails and passwords, and 65 million Tumblr emails and passwords. And that is terrible news for those of us who use the same email and password combinations across different sites.
image: security.cs.umass.edu

Security online is just as terrible as security offline. If a thief is determined to break into your house, well, all the security measures and high walls with electrifying curled barb wires won't make it impossible for an expert thief. It will only make it a worthy challenge. For those of us who watch action movies, think Ocean Eleven and Stolen. The same high security that makes some thieves consider breaking into your house a mission impossible is what will motivate some other thieves to want to do it. And that's the very case for online security, except that you are now open not only to local thieves but all thieves across the globe. 

 Are we then helpless in securing ourselves (social/email/bank accounts) online? The answer is a sad yes. But we must still give it our best efforts. If you have an account with hundreds of millions of Naira and don't want to fall prey to hackers, the best security measure is to not enable internet banking or mobile banking for that account. Still that doesn't make it 100% secured but close to it. The remainder is in the hands of the bank security/IT team.

 However, it is practically impossible to not be online and have online accounts (email accounts, online banking access and social media sites accounts). So what can you do to better secure yourself?

 There is a popular saying in the IT security world, "There are only two types of people: those who have been hacked and those who don't know that they've been hacked." Just think about the 117 million accounts on LinkedIn, the 360 Myspace accounts and the 65 million Tumblr accounts, do you think all the people affected will know that they have been hacked? Maybe your LinkedIn account is one of them. Or mine. 

 What we can only do is, again, our best. Use a password manager tool like LastPass (www.lastpass.com). Let it generate very long (at least 16 characters) passwords for your accounts. And it will generate different passwords for different accounts. So no account will have same password and email combination. If a hacker gets hold of one of your account login details he can't try those combinations to access your other accounts. 

 Next, don't sign up any site you don't really need to sign up on. The fewer the sites you sign up on, the lower your risk of your details being stolen and used to access your other (more important) accounts.

 Finally, avoid using shared computers. Don't go logging into your online banking on someone else's PC/tablet. 

 If you follow these tips, you might still be hacked but the damages won't be as much as if you do not follow these tips. 
Some of us are not naturally wired as a business manager. We don't enjoy managing people. We most enjoy doing technical tasks. I fall into that category. I am trying hard to rewire myself and move into a business man category.

 The business man category is one built on leverage. You create a system that is bigger than you -- have teams that collectively do more than you alone can do. You are able to grow your business because your capacity is not depended on you anymore. You can scale up as business booms rather than burnout as the technical do-it-all guy would.
image: monalisa.org

There are some unique advantages to being an independent consultant -- a one man implementation team. We produce the best work. Because we operate on the level of a highly skilled artist. Your favourite books, were there written by a team or one person? The best work of arts -- be it painting or sculpture -- are works of an individual. When you make yourself a precision tool and expert at one thing you've got immense passion for, even a team of a million people can beat you at it. They can produce more work than you and work faster than you, but their work is a mass production one rather than the mastercraft (one of a kind built with art and perfection) that yours is. 

 For some people the choice is a clear one -- whether to be an independent consultant or a business manager. But for others like me, it is not very clear which to be. Our hearts pull us in one direction and our heads pull us in another. If I am to follow my heart -- I will be an independent consultant, doing just the technical non-business-managing tasks I thoroughly enjoy. But my head knows that it's a very unhealthy -- both financially and physically -- choice. I am a natural workaholic. A magnet for work. If I don't build a business with teams to share the work with, I will end up ruining my health and all by having no time for anything other work. So I am over 50% sure that the business man route is better for me but making the transition is rocket science. But I'm committing myself to keep trying until I make it work.
Who is more right?
Are they (militants) serious about bringing Nigeria's oil production level to zero?
Is it true they've got foreign assistance (technically and/or financially)?
Are they serious about shooting down airplanes and helicopters in the Niger Delta region with missiles?
Is the FG making the same mistakes over again?
Boko Haram in the north. MASSOB (very peaceful) in the south east. Militants in the south south. Murderous herdsmen in the centre. What if it motivates some ill-intentioned people in the south west?
Why does FG treat this like some military competition?
Who is suffering the most loss?
Who is more believable -- delivering on promises?
Who is more strategic, going for the heart of it all?
Who has better utilized resources -- getting the most from what it has?
Who is achieving its aims?
Who has lost credibility -- the trust of the other party to stick to its end of any possible peaceful agreement?
image: globalplusnews.com

 I read on Vanguard that Niger Delta militants are now backing MASSOB and condemning the use of military to quell their peaceful agitation. I hope the FG rethinks its strategy of first ignoring and then repressing. 

 *****
In another news, legendary Muhammed Ali is dead. When I went to sleep past mid night, the lastest news was that he was on life support. This morning I woke up to the news that he's dead. Been battling Parkinson's. Sad news.

Let's say you have started a side business. You sell about 21 different products. You've hired a trusted hand to manage the business but he is not Excel savvy. So you decided to set up some basic templates to handle invoicing, accounting and inventory management.

 We will focus on the inventory management template you set up. It documents the stock of the different products you have -- the quantity in stock, the cost price and number of days they can be stored for. There is just one more thing you want to add. You want the template to highlight in orange products that are due for restocking. And your restocking rule is to not have less than 40 of any product. So once a product quantity drops below 40, it is marked for restocking.

 How do you do that with Excel? 

 You use conditional formatting. And in a creative way because you want it to not only highlight the quantities that are less than 40 but the entire record line for the products with quantities less than 40.

 Form this:

To this:

And here are the steps to achieving it.

 Highlight the entire records without the header. Go to Home menu, conditional formatting and click on new rule.

Select "Use a formula .." in the formatting rule dialog box.
In the formula box that shows, press = and select the first record in the quantity row. It will come as $B$3 (a dollar sign before the column alphabet and the row number). In our case we don't want the formula to drag to other columns (like cost, storage days and product columns) so you will leave the dollar sign before the column alphabet. But we do want it to drag downwards to other rows, so it would do each row in our table; for that we remove the dollar sign in front of the row number.

 Final formula will look like this: =$B3 less than 40<40 40="" font="">
Got it?

Then you set the formatting to be displayed.


And that is all! Click on OK.

You should now see the result.




And that is how you set conditional formatting to highlight an entire row based on value in just one field.
image: slideshare.net

 I've got two Cisco certifications and one Oracle certification, but the Excel that is the source of my business income I don't have a certification in. And the really surprising part is that those other certifications are a lot harder than Excel's.

 On Tuesday, I was thinking this through and decided it was time I did the Microsoft Office Specialist Excel 2013 (MOS 77-420) Exam. That way I can organize special trainings for people wanting to take the certification. And I can add the certification to my email signature (extra marketing advantage).

 I went through the exam details on Microsoft's site and immediately felt like doing the exam the next day. I know everything the exam is covering. I have taught them to other people every month for the last two years. And I work almost daily with them.

 I called New Horizons, one of the accredited test centers in Nigeria, and asked to pay and do the Exam this week. They told me they've not bought the Microsoft Exam vouchers yet because of the forex issue and as the minimum quantity they are allowed to buy is 1000. But if I pay this week I can take the exam in two weeks' time. It looked too long for me as I was ready to do the exam the next day. I called Aptech. I called NIIT. I called First Logic. They all told me they don't have the vouchers too. So I had to get back to New Horizons and book for the exam.

 In other not to act to proudly, I bought the MOS Excel 77-420 exam study guide. It's going to be the easiest technical book and exam study guide I have read. I kept thinking I could have written this myself. Maybe I should write one.

 Once I take the exam, I'll be sure to give you all an update on how it went and what the exam structure is like. And then I will update my Udemy Business Data Analysis with Excel course with insights on how to pass the exam.

 Wish me luck!

image: marketwatch.com

 Yesterday, I watched Steve Jobs: The Lost Interview on Netflix.

Steve Jobs is the genius who made personal computers popular; who brought us the iPod, iPhone, iPad and created the word's biggest company. But for me what I find most striking about him is that he's the rare combination of technical brain and business ingenuity. 

 Most business people are not technically savvy, and even those with a technical background avoid the technical bits of their business. Steve Jobs was different. He had a brain that functioned as intelligently as that of Albert Einstein and the business acumen of Andrew Carnegie. He was a genius in every sense of the word.

 The interview was in 1995. He predicted all that is now happening in the technology world. He had an excellent way of explaining things. He was the main motivation for my wanting to follow my passion -- for 3 years (2011 to 2014) I watched over and over another video on him that showed how he followed his passion and changed the world. I watched it so much that I knew I was going to follow my own passion too rather than be a brick in someone else's palace wall.

 He showed me how the mind of a genius works.
  1. A true genius is himself and not trying to prove his ingenuity to the world. It is just like being a billionaire; you are not trying to impress anyone or act like a billionaire. You already are. It is the people who aren't who are trying to act like one and wanting to be associated with billionaires. If you need a genius quiz show or some competition to feel like a genius, then you probably aren't a genius.
  2. A genius thinks long-term. Sees into the future. Think Albert Einstein. He gave up so much for his work on Physics because he knew it would change how we see and interact with our world forever. Thomas Edison could fail 1000 times because he was in it for the long term. Same with Steve Jobs, he was more focused on creating the future. They all think long-term.
  3. They've got brilliant simple minds. I have biographies and auto-biographies of people who lived as far back as 600BC. The ones who were the brightest and shaped their world had the simplest lives. They were not the high sounding and complexity loving ones.