Weekend Assingment #205

My family and I don't like pets. I've never had one in my life. The only contact I had with critters were squirrels in the backyard, crows in the garbage can and stray cats up in trees. However there was this one time when I was mowing the lawn and I nearly shredded a turtle. The first glimpse I caught of it was when it started climbing up a fence to get away from the approaching blades. Of course the poor thing couldn't get far and just hung there for dear life. Luckily I noticed something small and black thrashing around and managed to cut the motor just in time.



The closest thing I had to a pet were mealworms given to me as a science project by my science teacher. We were suppose to take the little buggers home and take care of them for a week. I was suppose to change the oats they lived (and secreted) in every so often. But I couldn't bring myself to touching the squiggly smelly mealworms. Soon enough mold started growing inside of the container and they began to die. As you can guess I didn't get a good grade on that project.


The only type of pets we seriously considered getting were fishies, but we never bothered getting any.


As far as the extra credit is concerned, I stated my preferences in this post. So you'll find me siding with the felines.

=========================================================Want to learn more about the weekend assingment? Then check out Karen's Blog!=========================================================

The best posts of Feb ‘08

It’s that time of month again! Time to wrap up February by reflecting on the best posts of the month. As usual I’ll give you links to selected posts. After reading the posts indicate which one you liked the most by leaving a comment. The entry with the highest votes will be short listed for a competition we will hold at the end of the year where you’ll get to vote on the best post of the year!

Last month’s winner was The luscious orange

Here are this month’s entries:

Feb 6, 2008:
Me and My Nissan
I like this post not only because of the good times I had with my car. But also the writing is fast and hard-hitting. It was fun to write and even more fun to read.

Feb 16, 2008
Weekend Assignment #203
When I was putting together this post I wasn’t expecting much. But then the comments started rolling in! Apparently people really enjoyed my virtual tour of Karachi.

Feb 23, 2008
Weekend Assignment #204
Here’s another weekend assignment that made the cut. I like this one because of the tone of voice that I set. Plus I do a bit of soul searching and talk about why I chose my profession.

Let the voting begin!!!

Guess What?! (Part II)

In last week’s post I had all of you stumped. So out of the goodness of my heart here are some more clues.

This place also has:

Come on people I am practically giving it away!

Sham elections can do no good

It’s been a while since the US mandated elections of February 18 ended. I waited until now to give my views because I knew the aftermath would be much more interesting. First of all I have to admit that I was surprised to see the opposition take control over parliament. Now that Musharraf’s cronies are out of commission there was a chance that a coalition led by the PPP (Bhutto’s party) and the PML-N (Nawaz Sharif’s party) could be formed to bring back ousted chief justice Iftikhar Chaudry, who could then lead a formal inquiry into Pervez Musharraf’s crimes against humanity.

But as usual constant bickering and grandstanding squandered this opportunity. Seeing an opening for its self the Bush administration jumped in and backed Musharraf as a key ally in the war on terror. Let me tell you that kinda talk doesn’t score points with the Pakistani people. Bush is already unpopular the world over and if he goes around backing other unpopular presidents, well that just makes him super unpopular. Of course his reputation is already so far gone that I don’t think these last few blunders will make a difference.

laugh out loud hilarious!

Me and Dogs

Let’s get one thing straight I don’t like dogs. They may be man’s best friend but tell man to keep them on a tight leash. My earliest experience with dogs was when I was a kid. I used to live in Queens and in the part of town where I lived everyone had a back alley. Good for drug dealers and for pulling out of makeshift driveways. The guy next door had two pit bulls with a tenacious appetite for human flesh. If they saw you anywhere near their owner’s fence they would come running. Teeth bared eyes fixed on you. Their barks were deep and throaty, strong enough to paralyze you with fear. If there wasn’t a chain link fence between us there would have been a serious mauling.

Then there was King he lived further up the alley. I don’t know his breed but he was the size of a goat, he was mild mannered but we would duck back into our backyard when we saw him coming anyway. It seemed everyone had a dog in my neighborhood and they all wanted to play when you were playing. I’ve been chased off of my own lawn, been pursued on my bike and been snapped at when getting off the bus.

So yeah dogs suck and if you don’t like it, well then…bite me!

YM Alumni in the South of Asia

This is a shout out to my brothers in YM. We had some good times together selling t-shirts at conventions, hanging out at six flags and who can forget Villanova! I lived in New York, the guys from Jamaica NN know me very well, some of them have visited me in Pakistan. I am often asked how I am managing in the wild and wacky city of Karachi, alhumdullilah (All praise belongs to God) my family and I have adjusted nicely. One of the things that I find most amusing are the preconceptions that people have about this place. I remember uncles telling me that the exhaust fumes from buses and rickshaws are so thick you won’t be able to see your hand in front of your face. Not True! Although there is considerable amount of pollution it ain’t that bad and nowadays most people use natural gas to fuel their cars because it’s cheaper and cleaner then gasoline.

Also, the people of Pakistan are working hard to make this country a better place to live. They are getting plenty of help from expatriates who have been investing in real estate and businesses since September 11. Statistics say that about 50,000 Pakistanis left America post 9/11. Those figures seem to be true. My undergrad college in Pakistan had students from Ohio, New Jersey, and Canada. So thankfully I had plenty of company.

The government of Pakistan is a totally different matter. As usual they are more interested in lining their pockets then helping the nation. Only an organized movement can sack such leaders. Religious parties have been campaigning against the current government for some time now but the movement launched by Pakistani Lawyers has been much more effective. As you know politics in Pakistan is pretty brutal they play for keeps over here. I can cite numerous examples foremost on my mind is Bhutto’s assassination. So that’s why I didn’t involve myself in any political activities.

But that’s not say that I am sitting idly by. I remember my roots and the importance of doing dawah (Inviting others to the way of Islam). I decided to use my writing skills to this end. One of the projects that I started is this blog and a website dedicated to the very first Islamic themed Science Fiction novel written by none other than yours truly (click on the “Activate Project Neo” button to learn more). I pray it becomes a tool for dawah amongst the youth in western nations. Ameen.

To learn more about my experiences in Pakistan read all the America V. Pakistan (AVP) articles. Finally I hope you drop by often Inshallah I’ll be posting daily. Take care and Allah hafiz!

Weekend Assingment #204

Well I can't exactly pin point a year that I like the most. That's because I try to live my life constantly improving myself. Thankfully because of this I am always looking forward to tommorrow.


However if I were to mention a remarkable year that I had it would be the year 2000. This was when I was in high school taking some of my very first computer science courses. The world was all abuzz with Y2K, the whole world will explode! they said. Of course I wasn't worried I knew how computers worked and I knew there would be no nuclear armagedon. However it was fun to see people going nuts building safehouses and stocking up on food. The year 2000 came and went and civilization continued marching on.


However the pandamonium that had struck became a testament to the fact of how much technology had become part of modern day society. Being a CS student this made me feel on top of the world. I became more committed to software engineering then ever before. Of course right about then the tech bubble bursted, IT is dead! they said. Become an Accountant like your dad, better yet become a pharmacist like your uncle. I told them thanks but no thanks my passion for programming kept me going and now by the grace of God I am moving along nicely in my chosen field.

=========================================================
Want to learn more about the weekend assingment?
Then check out Karen's Blog!
=========================================================

Guess What?!

Can you guess where this is?



Stumped? More clues soon to come…

Did you guys hear about this?

Way Cool! (US Navy Shoots down aging spy satellite)

Seems more like a publicity stunt as this wasn't entirely necessary.

UPDATE: here's the Pentagon's take on the matter

SECOND UPDATE: Now they're saying that a B-2 Stealth Bomber crashed in Guam. I think I know why it happened. I recently got some intel off of the airwaves (read, Discovery Channel) that pinpointed a weakness in the bomber. Apparently the triangular shaped aircraft can't remain stabilized without its computer system crunching numbers and making adjustments. So its possible that this vital component gave out, thus causing the crash.

THIRD UPDATE: Here's what AVWeb uncovered about this. Of note is this passage

"The fire, which was reported shortly after takeoff, was followed by an uncommanded and uncontrollable roll to the right."

This seems to back up my theory of a computer system failure. There could have been an electical fire that short circuited the crucial component, thus destabilizing the aircraft.

They got it all wrong

I don’t know how well the new Knight Rider show did but I do know that long before its premiere fans were complaining about how ugly the new KIIT looked. I couldn’t agree more, I guess this eyesore can’t take the place of the original KITT. I grew up with the series, I was the kid who put the tape recorder up to the TV speakers to record the theme songs (I know there are others out there). It’s going to take a while for people to adjust to the new look; my only concern is that the series will flop by then.

Oldie Star War fans had similar complaints with the prequels and the re-mastered originals. But I didn’t find anything wrong with them in fact when put together they carried the story pretty well. So I guess new kids won’t mind this new take on the classic TV show and it might (just barely) make it out the gate.

Also it’s interesting to note that fans of the series can be found in Pakistan as well. They used to broadcast the show on the national channels so anybody with a TV and an antenna could get it. And due to the action-oriented nature of the show you could understand the story without having to understand the dialogue. Therefore you find fans in the most unlikely places. While surfing the net at my desk I pulled up a webpage selling Knight Rider DVDs. This catches the eye of the office janitor we started chit chatting about the show and how he loved watching it as a kid. Once we were done he rolled up his sleeves, took a bite of tobacco and continued cleaning.

So its safe to say that the show has had an effect and the idea of it being reincarnated would have been great had they stuck to the original format. Another thing I don’t like is how Ford’s PR machine is all over this. This makes me think that the show’s producers are more interested in selling cars then creating first-rate entertainment. And can anyone tell me who the hell is Mike Tracer?!

The “How’s Your Thesis Going” Post

Now that the KIIT graduation ceremony is over, I need a new academically related post to keep this blog going. I looked around trying to find something that had a long gestation period so that I could keep a similar format as that post. So naturally my Thesis came to mind. It is a requirement for my Masters degree, which I am doing from FAST-NUCES. As you know a thesis requires you to do research and development so that you may come up with something original and make a contribution to your field of interest.

I had to ask myself what interests me enough to take on such a challenge? The answer lies in Human Computer Interaction (HCI). Currently the boundary that separates us from our computers is the User Interface (UI). The most popular example of a UI is Window’s start button. It allows us to access our programs quickly and easily (most of the time). Otherwise we would have run them using a command prompt, yummy!

So what could I do in this area? Help out HCI designers of course! They have to follow a set of heuristics when designing an Interface. They may not be aware that their design may be violating this set of guidelines. That’s where I come in, I’ll be creating a tool that analyzes end user behavior when using a UI. After the analysis is complete the tool will generate a report stating which guidelines were violated. As any marketing expert will tell you a good product is only as good as its name. So I am asking you the “I Don’t Know” reader to help me think of an exciting and relevant name for this tool. Because frankly speaking, I can’t think of one.

As always this post will be updated and reposted when new information is available about this project, so here’s the low down:

January 10: I had an epiphany today, which was so potent that it helped crystallize exactly what I had to do and how to do it. I wrote it all down then started to break it up into pieces and plugged those pieces into a schedule, which I plan on following, by the will of God of course.

January 29: I finalized an agreement with a former professor who is an expert on AI. He works at another university so he can’t be an official advisor. Now I have to get an official advisor.

February 06: I am working on a presentation that will help me pitch my idea to potential advisors. This presentation will be modified to garner industrial contacts; they’ll be needed to test out the tool on their products.

February 14: The project is picking up steam I found a faculty member who is willing to help me out by being an official advisor. His areas of interest coincide with mine so we’ll make a good team.

I guess we’re all screwed with these morons in charge

College shootings galore

What’s going on over there?! What’s with all these college shootings? Have people grown tired of living in an insulated society where the rule of law prevails? Do they have to resort to violence to get some excitement in their lives? In almost all the college/school shootings in recent years the perpetrator has always been pissed off at society for one reason or another. This delusional individual isn’t capable of coping with his problems so he goes on a killing rampage.

I’d like to take such a person and show him what it’s like in Pakistan. Here’s a country where STATE SANCTIONED violence is the norm. Examples of which are the Bhutto assassination, random killings of political party workers by a rival party (the word party can be easily replaced by the word gang, these types of killings are ramping up as the sham elections near) and numerous bombings that are meant to keep the opposition in line. People are craving peaceful lives for themselves and their children. They couldn’t fathom why a person acting on his own whims would go and gun down his fellow classmates. After all getting a college education is a blessing something to be thankful for.

If we can’t help such lunatics see the light then perhaps stricter gun control is needed. Various gun control laws are in effect but clearly they are not doing enough. In my opinion the antiquated second amendment needs to be repealed. From my understanding the colonist put that piece of wisdom in there to protect themselves from invading armies that may want to take their newly found freedom from them. Nowadays Americans should be more worried about getting hit by a drunk driver then invading armies and/or terrorist sneaking in to their country and terrorizing them.

Weekend Assignment #203

hmm $500 that comes to 30,000 rupees. What can you do for Rs. 30,000 in the city of Karachi? Let's see there's the Pearl Continental which offers fine dining. A steak dinner for two will set you back Rs. 6,000.

Afterwards you can go shopping a popular destination is Park Towers. Its a trendsetting shopping mall overlooking the Arabian Sea. People come from all over to shop here. If you are looking to buy fashionable Pakistani clothing, check out Adnan Amir, a trendy botique located inside of the mall. Be prepared to shell out Rs. 4,000 for a stylish new Kurta.

So now you're left with Rs. 20,000. You should hold on to that money and find some one with membership to Pakistan's premier resort, known as Dreamworld. Located on the outskirts of the city this tranquil area offers visitors plenty to do. There are plenty of restaurants to choose from all convenietly located inside of the park. A nice meal for two will cost you Rs. 1,000

By now you'll probably have to fuel up your car because you'll have to get through major traffic jams to reach all of these destinations. If you are using a conventional gasoline engine you’ll have to pay Rs. 1,500 to fill up. Most people equip their cars with Compressed Natural Gas tanks. They fit snuggly in the back trunk filling up one of these bad boys costs Rs. 300 and lasts the whole day, that is if you travel lightly.

Right about now you’ll have Rs. 15,000 to burn. You can blow that money on electronic goods. Karachi has a bustling market catering to these in demand products. Of course you’ll have to venture into the “real” Karachi, the Karachi you here about on TV, you’ll have to enter…Saddar. Make sure a trustworthy local accompanies you watch out for hawkers trying to sell you bootleg watches and don’t mind the beggars just say “Maf kur do” (forgive me) and move on. After Sidestepping a couple of open manholes and dodging manic rickshaw drivers you’ll soon come across the electronics market. You’re sure to get a bargain on brand name products from the likes of Toshiba, Phillips, Sony etc. Just be prepared to haggle because the shopkeeper is going to try to swindle you out of your money, just another day in Karachi!

After spending all your money you can now relax on the beaches after all this is one pleasure that comes for free.

An excellent video, I give it two thumbsupskies!!!

There use to be a video from You Tube here, I guess they moved it. It was a message from the American Muslim community to the world

Let there be light!

Chicago

Dubai

Niagra Falls

Paris

Singapore

My take on Will Smith’s “I am Legend”

Will Smith and Sci-Fi movies go hand and hand. He certainly has made a name for himself in this genre. I liked him in Independence Day, his performance was great in I, Robot although the story did not live up to the hype. When I heard that he was coming out with another SF movie I got the DVD as soon as possible, here are my thoughts:

I can relate to this movie because I too had to lock my self up in my house as the rioters and thieves took to the streets after Bhutto’s assassination you could read about my eyewitness account here. What I didn’t tell you was that thieves actually came to my house trying to get me to open my door using the pretense that they needed help with their broken car. I told them to get lost.

Getting back to the review I got teary eyed after watching a scene in which Will Smith is feeling the effects of social deprivation and has resorted to talking to mannequins as if they were real people. When he approaches a female dummy and says hello he doesn’t get a response. He recently lost his only companion, his dog Samantha, so he gets really emotional and pleads with the dummy “Please say hello.” Let me tell you that’s some damn good acting. My recommendation would be to go see the movie, if you haven’t already. Also don’t leave me hanging tell me what you think about the movie, say hello by leaving a comment.

Is America losing its Tech edge?

I wanted to open this can of worms because this is becoming a problem that needs to be highlighted. As mentioned in a previous post, America has achieved technological superiority. But due to the current administration’s War on Terror resources are being diverted from noble pursuits such as research. This is making it harder for the US of A to maintain its lead. Some say that this is a necessary expense as America is safer because of it. This seems highly unlikely as more and more people are joining the “We hate America” camp, including her allies. Can you blame them? The nation is perceived as a bully picking on weaker nations, its good guy image has been forever tarnished. Trust me no one believes US forces are there to help the Iraqis and Afghanis restore democracy, it’s an occupation plain and simple, all hail Emperor Bush!

Foreigners had more respect for the nation when it was pursuing technological greatness (cold war era). During that time there were terrorist just as there are today but none of them snuck into America and terrorized her people. Ever since the collapse of the Soviet Union America’s unfailing support for Israel has gotten her in loads of trouble. Undoubtedly the Jewish people had a dire need for their own homeland and the fledgling nation needed support. But this support must not been given blindly.

If America wants to set things right it needs to get back to what makes it great. Or else history will look upon these times as the decline of the United States. A prolonged war in Iraq and Afghanistan will bleed the US dry. Its citizens are already suffering from having to pay increased taxes and exuberant gas prices. This financial burden is making it difficult for them to satisfy their needs. And what’s worse, NASA, the crown jewel of America’s technological empire is showing signs of decay. Drunken astronauts, congressional inquiries, corruption at the highest level all of these ailments are taking hold of the once proud organization.

Other nations are stepping in and taking charge. Japan and Korea are two Asian nations making great strides in the area of research and development. The world looks to them for cutting edge technology and knowledge. China has put a man in orbit and at its current rate of growth will soon become a tech leader, outstripping America, which is only running on momentum. Europe under the umbrella of the European Union has done a lot of work in the area of Information Technology, a domain once held only by the US.

And this is just me speaking off of the top of my head. Check out what the IEEE has to say, you’ll find that they have empirical evidence to back me up:

A DEARTH OF INNOVATION? IEEE-USA created the institute in 2006 in response to a concern that innovation in the United States is in decline and that the country’s longtime competitive advantage is evaporating. Such concern had been spelled out in a report earlier that year by the U.S. National Academy of Engineering called “Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future.”

“The report pointed out two phenomena,” says Ralph W. Wyndrum, an IEEE Fellow and 2006 IEEE-USA president, who serves as the institute’s president. “First is a change in the U.S. government’s R&D priorities. The second is the loss of major private research institutions, such as Bell Labs and Sarnoff Labs, which have shrunk or disappeared entirely.” The report also asserted that foreign-born, U.S.-trained engineers returning to their native countries are taking home skills needed to compete with the United States.

“Innovation in the United States is being diminished both in absolute terms and in comparison with up-and-coming nations, such as China,” Wyndrum says.

To counteract these trends, three years ago Wyndrum began lobbying the IEEE-USA Board of Directors to create an organization dedicated to teaching U.S. technologists how to innovate.

Read full article here

So I implore the powers to be don’t trash America and its people they don’t deserve it, let’s get back to basics and focus on recovering our title as tech leaders.

The way we speak

I stumbled upon this quiz the other day while surfing the net, thought I share the results with you:

What American accent do you have? (Best version so far) Neutral You're not Northern, Southern, or Western, you`re just plain -American-. Your national identity is more important than your local identity, because you don`t really have a local identity. You might be from the region in that map, which is defined by this kind of accent, but you could easily not be. Or maybe you just moved around a lot growing up.

Click Here to Take This Quiz Brought to you by YouThink.com quizzes and personality tests.

Wow! This quiz is dead on. I was born in Indiana lived there for five years. Then moved to New York and lived in Queens for two years. Then moved again out to Long Island and lived there for twelve years. If you are familiar with the socio-economic condition of these localities you would know why I would have been exposed to different types of accents, growing up.

I want to know the story behind your accent.

UPDATE: Check out the stir this quiz caused over at Jim Wright's Stonekettle Station. Thanks for the shout out man!

A site to behold

Ladies and Gentlemen meet MareNostrum a supercomputer residing in an antiquated European chapel. This computing behemoth is not for spiritual contemplation (all though that is a possibility) rather it is poised to revolutionize the oil industry. With its increased processing capabilities it will allow geologist to visualize subterranean structures, which were previously locked away by millions of gallons of seawater.

Current modeling techniques are pretty good at uncovering what lies beneath the bedrock when it’s accessible from the surface; however it becomes much more complex when you have to do the same thing underwater. This is because they have to decipher signals sent back as echoes to create a model, similar to how bats see. However these echoes refract when underwater, to get an accurate image they have to keep track of these refractions as well.

This is not possible with the current state of the art that’s why they turned to supercomputers. Which is capable of creating a model, using collected data, in 20 days. If your desktop computer were asked to do the same thing it would take well over a century!

On a more emotional level I am taken by the stark contrast between new and old. As always I want to know your thoughts.

Weekend Assingment #202

I usually write about action and adventure with a sci-fi twist. To tell you the truth I tend to stear clear of all this lovy dovy stuff, it's highly illogical. But that's not to say that I don't have a heart yes even with all my superior intellect I too can become overcome with emotion. So here goes:

A love story that I found inspiring would be the tale of Laila El-Haddad. Her story is a real life drama set in the hostile city of Gaza. You can learn more about her by going to her blog (check out "Raising Yousuf, Unplugged: diary of a Palestinian mother" in the blog roll). After reading her story I soon saw that my problems didn't amount to a hill of beans compared to what she had to go through just to perserve her family. It makes you thankful for everything that you have.

Oh and I have no comments on the extra credit :)

The Programmer’s Prenup

I wanted to share an article I read the other day on cio.com. It’s a humorous look at what a programmer’s spouse may have to put up with. Instead of linking to the article I decided to reproduce it here, fully cited of course. For all you programmers out there remember it’s only a joke!

Donnie Briggs and Derek Slater, CIO

February 04, 2008

So you're a programmer and planning on getting hitched? Make sure your intended really understands what he or she is getting into–require a signature from your future spouse on the following handy prenuptial agreement! (If you're already married, attempts to garner signatures after the ceremony have met with mixed success, but it's still worth a try.)
1. I, the programmer's intended, recognize that our wedding may be quick, cheap and/or fancy, but not all at the same time.

2. I certify that my future spouse's old Turbo Pascal text is an appropriate coffee table book now and for the foreseeable future. I will not sell it back to the university bookstore while my future spouse is at work.

3. I understand that my future spouse's profession requires constant learning, that this process will demand certain sacrifices of time and attention, and that these sacrifices will be exponentially larger in years during which he or she decides to switch from ASP.NET to, say, PHP and Ruby on Rails.

4. I assert my willingness to forgo making the same tired nonprogrammer jokes again and again, including but not limited to having a LISP or leaving the dinner table due to buffer overflow from drinking too much Java.

5. I will refrain from asking my future spouse to provide technical and engineering support for all his or her future in-laws. This agreement includes but is not limited to software installation, Vista downgrades, TiVo programming, and troubleshooting for toasters, espresso makers and other household appliances.

6. I acknowledge that my future spouse likes to compile and intends to continue compiling throughout our marriage, even after we have an argument. Or children.

7. I understand that my future spouse's time spent reading thedailywtf, gizmodo and programming.reddit.com is totally work-related and should not be interrupted. Use of, reference to, or pillow talk about slashdot.org is not now, and shall never be, grounds for termination of this marriage contract.

8. REM Begin marital code snippet #1
10 INPUT "How many days will your mother be staying with us?", U$
20 For U$=1
30 PRINT U$"? Okay - but tell her the Xbox is totally off-limits."
50 FOR U$ = 2 TO 13
60 PRINT U$"? I don't think so."
70 For U$= 14 to N
80 GOTO FRIEND'S HOUSE
90 END

9. # Begin marital code snippet #2
startofmarriage: MOVE #0 ,D0 ; store chance for divorce in D0 register
checkbudget:
MOVE $004008, D1 ; weekly budget for clothing in D1 register
MOVE $004012, D2 ; weekly budget for tech stuff in D2 register
CMP.W D1, D2 ; compare the budgets
BGT moretech
ADD.W #1, D0 ; did not spend more on tech this week
SLEEP 604800000 ; wait a week before checking budget again
BRA checkbudget
moretech:
SUB.W #1, D0 ; tech budget greater; relax
SLEEP 604800000 ; wait a week before checking budget again

BRA checkbudget


___________________________________[signature of programmer's intended spouse]

___________________________________[date]

___________________________________[attestation of third-party witness]

Printable Version (Remember: It's only a joke!)

Donnie Briggs is a programmer. He blogs (mostly not about programming) at Liquid Egg Product.

Derek Slater is the editor of CIO's sister publication, CSO. He can't program his own wristwatch. But he's married.

© 2007 CXO Media Inc.

Osama wants you for holy war

Morgan Spurlock has a new film out. This guy is an independent filmmaker and has made numerous “muckraking” films. In his latest endeavor he tries to find out why young Muslim men listen to anti-American rhetoric. I can help him answer that question very simply, they don't like being shot at! The more complex answer has to do with US foreign policy in the Middle East. When they see Israelis gunning down innocent men, women and children they feel the natural pain and anguish that comes from seeing a family member die. And then when they find out that America is paying for the bombs and bullets being dispensed into the hearts and minds of their brethren they go nuts.

Islam has taught Muslims to view all other members of the faith as brothers and sisters. So no matter if you’re killing an Iraqi, Afghani, Palestinian, Kashmiri, Chechnyan; your killing a fellow family member and that just sucks.

If a non-Muslim does not know this, then I can understand why he or she will wonder why anti-American rhetoric is so popular amongst Muslims. If I were to turn the tables and ponder a similar question, I would like to know why mercenaries hired by a private security company (read, Blackwater) enjoy killing children and taking pot shots at civilians. What drives them to do something so insane and vicious? Are they getting the same brainwashing sessions that US soldiers are getting? Which basically teaches them to hate all Muslims and view them as some kind of sub-species not worthy of the air they breathe. Can’t believe that beloved drill sergeants are teaching grunts this message? Well you should talk to soldiers who had the foresight to leave the US army to get the real scoop.

Rant over return to your homes.

Me and My Nissan

I used to have a gray colored Nissan Sentra. It was a bit old but man could that thing scoot. There was a stretch of road that wound its way through a wooded area. Me and my friends would take it there and race along its curving sides. Lucky for us there was barely any traffic at night so we could race with impunity. The road would end at a railroad crossing normally you would slow down but not us that’s when we would take her beyond 60. Once the wheels hit the ramp you would be airborne at the apex you would literally be flying. Then the nose would nudge downwards and begin the descent, foot of the accelerator, brace for impact. A Jarring jolt told you that you landed, thank god for seatbelts slow down up ahead is a red light. No cop car tonight, scurry home now, less you push your luck.

Another thing I liked to do was take it to my high school. I would come around back windows up downshift to second gear floor it. Tires squealing race across the parking lot. Punks hanging out after school look on in amazement. Like an avenging angel I speed by engine roaring tires burning. A swift turn takes me behind the dumpsters and I am out of sight. Who was that guy? I knew the answer it was me and my Nissan.

The KIIT graduation ceremony post

This post will be updated with the latest information related to my graduation ceremony as soon as it becomes available. After updates are made it will be reposted, here is some background info on the ceremony:

They plan to have it Inshallah (by the will of God) on February 3, 2008. I first mentioned my undergrad college in the Patrick Stewart Post. I had a great time during my time at KIIT, I loved it and it loved me back. So here’s the lowdown and a nifty countdown timer just for you:

January 08: Got an email from the admin office saying that we are going to have a graduation ceremony

January 09: My friends from college are all a buzz, we’re going to have a blast!

January 10: Got official invitation in the mail, need to confirm my family’s seats.

January 12: Made photocopies of my guest’s NIC (National Identification Card) cards. They’re needed for registering the seats. Only 2 guests allowed per graduate, bummer.

January 15: Need to start looking for the driver of my digital camera and fill in the registration form.

January 18: I found the driver for my digital camera on the Internet. I lost the CD that came with it which is necessary to transfer pictures to my PC. So thank god for the internet now I just have to install it.

January 21: I submitted the registration form in person. You could have faxed, mailed or even emailed it in. But I wanted to meet with my former teachers. It’s my birthday today, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!

January 25: The Guest of Honor has been confirmed for the ceremony. This honored guest happens to be my professor at my graduate college. He’s a very senior member of Pakistan’s academic community and was consulted when they were forming KIIT. I flunked his class the first time (everyone falls the first time) and had to repeat it. I passed the course the second time around, yay me!

January 28: I went to pick up my cap and gown. Finding the tailor was an adventure in itself. Over here directions are given in a roundabout manner. They tell you the general area but not the exact street and how to reach that street. So once you are in the neighborhood you are on your own. I had to ask around and get lost a couple of times before finding the place. Of course when I got there they were closed. I called the tailor to ask when he’ll be coming “Around 11 but for you 10:30”. You see stores over here don’t open up until 11 am, that’s because they have to remain open all night, like up to 1 in the morning. Apparently that’s when people get a chance to shop.

I had half an hour to kill and was feeling hungry so I went looking for a restaurant (they call them hotels) that served chohla purri. Purri is fried dough that is served with a spicy chickpeas sauce, delicious. Here is a sample:

So the guy comes around 10:50 (at least he tried) and I got my cap and gown and a hood from him. Once I get my digital camera up and running I’ll have a picture of me wearing the thing, looking all scholarly like.

January 30: They had originally booked Karachi Sheraton for the event but for some reason they couldn’t keep the booking. Know its going to be at the University’s campus, luckily it’s the same day so I don’t have to change the counter!

February 2: It’s the 11th hour or (15th hour according to the timer) still couldn’t get my digital camera to work. Have to use my sister’s yay for little sisters.

February 3: I had so much fun at the ceremony. It was kind of like a mini-reunion, because we had our ceremony 3 years after graduating. A lot of my friends are married, which means I better hurry up to. Everyone has great jobs, mashallah. This is a sign that the IT sector is alive and well in Pakistan. The food was great. There were so many people to talk to that I couldn’t get to them all so I will be emailing them. I had heart felt conservations with some of my best friends I’ll never forget them no matter where I am.

February 4: Here are some pictures from the event I’ll have more for you soon:

February 13: These are off of my digital camera; don’t mind the date its wrong; need to fix that darn thing! Don’t know when the professional photographs will be in. In any case I won’t be reposting this post just updating.

letter from shaitan‏

I saw you yesterday as you began your daily chores.You awoke without kneeling to pray Fajr. As a matter of fact, you didn't even say Bismillah before your meals, or pray Isha before going to bed last night.You are so unthankful, I like that about you.I cannot tell you how glad I am that you have not changed your way of living, Fool, you are mine. Remember, you and I have been going steady for years, and I still don't love you yet.As a matter of fact, I hate you, because I hate Allah.I am only using you to get even with Allah. He kicked me out of heaven, and I'm going to use you as long as possible to pay him back.You see, Fool, ALLAH LOVES YOU and HE has great plans in store for you.But you have yielded your life to me, and I'm going to make your life a living hell. That way, we'll be together twice.This will really hurt Allah.Thanks to you, I'm really showing Him who's boss in your life with all of the good times we've had.We have been watching dirty movies, cursing people, stealing, lying, being hypocritical, fornicating, overeating, telling dirty jokes, gossiping, being judgmental, back stabbing people, disrespecting adults, and those in leadership positions, no respect for the Mosque, bad attitudes. SURELY you don't want to give all this up.Come on, Fool, let's burn together forever.I've got some hot plans for us.This is just a letter of appreciation from me to you.I'd like to say 'THANKS' for letting me use you for most of your foolish life. You are so gullible, I laugh at you.When you are tempted to sin, you give in HA HA HA, you make me sick.Sin is beginning to take its toll on your life.You look 20 years older, and now, I need new blood.So go ahead and teach some children how to sin.All you have to do is smoke, get drunk or drink while under-aged, cheat, gamble, gossip, fornicate, and live being as selfish as possible.Do all of this in the presence of children and they will do it too. Kids are like that.Well, Fool, I have to let you go for now.I'll be back in a couple of seconds to tempt you again.If you were smart, you would run somewhere, repent for your sins,and live for Allah with what little bit of life that you have left. It's not my nature to warn anyone, but to be your age and still sinning, it's becoming a bit ridiculous.Don't get me wrong, I still hate you.IT'S JUST THAT YOU'D MAKE A BETTER FOOL FOR ALLAH. PS. If you really love me, you won't share thisletter with anyone.

sign,
Shaytan

NOTE: Written by an anonymous writer; bismillah = In the name of God; Shaytan = satan; Fajr = predawn prayer; Isha = nightly prayer

PS: I couldn't post yesterday because of my graduation ceremony. It was an all day event. I'll have more about this later.

Weekend Assingment #201

Funny how Karen mentioned that there was very little turn out for a SF themed assingment. That underscores the point I made in yesterday's post. In which I talk about the dilema faced by SF fans in mainstream society. I guess it takes a special kind of person to appreciate the wonders of science and technology. Any who to each his own, on with the assingment!

If I had to exist on one type of food for a whole week, I would want something that meets the four basic food groups. That way I will have a well balanced meal and not feel...unbalanced? So I find that a salad fits the bill nicely. You get your vegies, croutons or chow mein noodles gives you carbos, add some meat toppings for protien and a dairy based dressing for the last group.

Of course I am eating this for the $500 otherwise I usually have cereall or fruit for breakfast, A sandwich for lunch and Salan (think of it like a dipping sauce for the bread) roti (bread) for dinner.

Why I am off bookstores

I am an avid reader, have been ever since I was a kid. As I grew older I started to settle in with one genre in particular, Science Fiction. As any SF fan will tell you this genre isn't exactly mainstream. And it shows. Go into any corporately run bookstore and you'll have at tough time finding a good SF novel. Sure they’ll have a section dedicated to science fiction and there will be some really good authors to choose from (Michael Chrichton, Isaac Asimov, Douglas Adam etc.).

But having to choose from only grade A material can get tiring. This is like when you’ve tried everything that McDonalds has to offer and decide to venture off in search of some “real” burgers. I found that these bookstores tended to be cautious and wouldn’t take chances with unknown authors. This was devastating as I was being cutoff from some really great stories. Sure they were available on Amazon but with costly shipping charges the online reseller wasn’t an attractive option.

So what’s a guy to do? Get help of course. It seems the internet is willing to offer free goodies when its feeling generous. There is some really good SF to be had that isn’t usually available in the large bookstores, who are more interested in pressuring you into buying their wares then offering a wide selection of quality science fiction. A good source of free SF is promotions carried out by the authors themselves. For example Jeffrey Thomas’ "Deadstock", available on his publisher’s website also Baen publishers offer some of their titles for free which can be downloaded from their website. Also the well known Guttenberg Project gives you free access to classic SF works like Jules Verne's “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” or H.G. Wells' “The War of the Worlds”.

Until I get through these digital books I’ll be abstaining from the greedy bookstores. I don’t know when they’ll get their act straight. What do you know?

UPDATE: Tor is giving away free e-books! I am never stepping foot in another bookstore ever again (* lives to regret these words).