My High School!

Holy crap! It's a birds eye view of my highschool. I got this picture from a friend on facebook. I didn't recognize it at first but some prominent features stuck out. And then I was like holy crap it's my highschool! I never realized how big it was! This picture is from the 80's I went during the 90's. Lot's of good friends and memories were made here. I mostly hung out with the geeks in the library. Plus I first caught the programming bug when I took my first comp sci courses.

Didn't like gym too much got excused during ramadan "You wouldn't want me fainting now do you". Plus got my self excused from swimming classes "Can't wear shorts!" oh what else we started a Muslim Student Association and skipped out on the prom. All in all we created our own high school experience. If the price we paid was being outcasts so be it.

this is official CRUC business

where's Sandra Bullock when u need her?

this HAZARA is for y'all

wow what a concept, yaar!

Here are some goodies for you....

JGraph pdf

Also here is some more credible hours that I put into mi project:

From now on I'll try be nicer

We experienced an ICP outage, excuse me.

Sinuses are flaring up

lost 1 day.

So that you can keep an eye on me

Dooo a dilly dilly dum dilly doo

Right so those of you who are wondering how to make a nice meatball or a computer program that can go and kill pretty much anyone you've come to the right place. As a member of the IEEE Computer Society I get to know things waaaaaaaaaaaaaay before any of you folks do. That makes me happy. Generally speaking I like to be happy and have decided to be happier from now on. Therefore here is something that I am willing to share with you folks. ehhhh...righty-o.

http://www.geocities.com/saqib12182/_derived/SWEBOK_Guide_2004.pdf

Have a smashing good day, cheerio!

Mary Jane

Dear Students
CRUC Student membership is now open for MS students. Membership has no fees. Students who wish to join CRUC requires research interest towards Ubiquitous Computing.CRUC will offer some research surveys and projects/thesis for students. To become the member, student has to opt surveys/projects/ thesis to show their contribution towards research. During the research period (6 months to 1 year), student will remain the member of CRUC. Volunteer work may also be required for some research events. Interested students are required to submit their CVs showing capabilities/ experience towards research through e-mail (cruc@nu.edu. pk).AQEEL-UR-REHMANCRUC CoordinatorFAST-NU, Karachicruc@nu.edu. pk
http://cruc. khi.nu.edu. pk

the smell of d link

Policies
Students are required to work as internees in Center.
All the internees must report to the respective coordinators in a specified time period. Proper attendance will be maintained in this regard.
Internees are expected to share the results and findings among other students in the form of presentations and reports.
Students will also be encouraged to submit their work in international conferences.
Students may be required to spend some extra hours after university timings or during holidays in working days.
Certificate or experience letters will be issued by patron of the Center, on the recommendations of the respective coordinators.

Doomed I tell yeah!

Well then I dub thee leo

http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/feb2009/2009-02-12-03.asp

"The U.S. Air Force Space Surveillance Radar is monitoring the clouds of debris as they pass over the radar facility in Texas."

That's for those two. sick 'em!

Da' Cardinals

Here speejee teach them a thing or two about this...and Black Sabbath is the Hydrogen Bomb. Oh I dunno we'll just whip one up!!!

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yeah yeah lone star and all....................................hi!

The “How’s Your Thesis Going?” Post

My house is buzzing with the sounds of heated political debate. We’ve experienced being minorities in the US so we know that this is huge and may very well usher in a new age of Civil Rights reform but how will Obama’s victory impact the world? In the midst of all this buzz we are planning something special. I’ve alluded to this special thing in previous posts. People wonder if this indicates romance, it does. And now to supplement your suspense I bring you nuisance! I will force you to switch from your emotional driven hemisphere and engage your more logical half. Yes time to put on your Vulcan caps and dip into a bit of hard science. (Aren’t I a stinker?)

It’s going good, thanks. Read on to see what I am doing:

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

Nov 02: Had a meeting with my research group. We reviewed the algorithm plus took a look at the partially implemented tool. Both areas need improvement. This verdict was a bit hard to take after all this effort it still wasn’t good enough. At that moment I lost my resolve. Am I in over my head? Were the naysayer right when they told me not to take on this challenge? Should I just give in and quit? I had to convince myself that I was being overly pessimistic. I conceived of this idea, I laid out a grand plan for this idea, I lobbied for this idea. In the end it is mine and it deserves to see the light of day.

I was also reminded by others that my project will become part of the CRUC’s repository. This means students who will come after me may view my thoughts and efforts. They may take my work and build upon it. Taking it in directions I could not have. In the end they will grow more competent becoming a valuable resource for the Pakistani IT Industry. So in this way I am helping to build the technological capabilities of my ancestral homeland. In a beleaguered nation where more than half the population is illiterate, every effort counts. This is something that drives me and pushes me to keep moving.

Oct 12: Indeed, genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. I was hit with another bolt of insight. I didn’t have any paper on hand so I wrote down on the back of a receipt. I had to get it down at that second or else it would have been lost. That insight was enough to keep me busy programming this whole week. And I still have a long way to go.

Oh and I hate debugging code. Tracing out an elusive error makes my skin crawl. It requires to dig into your code and route it out. All though at the end it’s satisfying to remove the little bugger getting there is very painful. Maybe this is why I didn’t become a developer.

Also, always, always take the time to refactor your code. I feel lazy at times and lope things together. Bad idea. Your poor method or class get overworked and underpaid. Plus it’s an eyesore navigating a sea of code all lumped together.

Sep 13: After figuring out the backend, the next biggest technical hurdle that I had to overcome was working with graphics. Java has put in a lot of effort to make graphics easy to work with. However I am just not getting it. After several haphazard attempts I had to face fact that I didn’t know what I was doing. Once I admitted this to myself I took the next logical step and began writing “hello world” graphics programs. How rude.

Also if you can’t figure out how something works just think of it as magic. Getting into the details will only sidetrack you. Of course if you must know try understanding the overall concept before getting into the nitty-gritty. You keep your sanity this way.

Sep 05: A certain UCFer was gracious enough to become a participant in my case study. My goal is to have a wide range of interfaces to test, to make the study as comprehensive as possible.

Sep 03: Handed in my proposal to a duly designated university official. He carefully placed the hardcopy in a binder. I wonder where it goes from here.

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The “How’s Your Thesis Going?” Post

It’s going good thank you very much. So what am I doing? Read on to find out…WARNING UNADULTERATED GEEK TALK FOLLOWS!

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:

Aug 22: After making changes to the design I started development work. I had to refactor a database management class. It was becoming overburdened with too many tasks. Luckily Netbeans makes this process a piece of cake.

Aug 10: Working on the proposal. One section has to do with current research going on in this area. Luckily my IEEE membership helps me stay up to date. End of ringing endorsement.

Aug 04: Got registered for the Fall 2008 semester. No need to apply for classes just the Thesis! yay.

July 15: Finalized an advisor today he’s the patron of research group, plus the dean of my university. He also liked the idea but gave some suggestions to make it better. I’ll have to figure out how to incorporate those changes.

July 03: Met with a research group (check out their website) at my University. They too are working on HCI. I got a kick out of sharing my ideas with them. Plus they coaxed my ego by telling me how wonderful my idea was. Which makes me feel shiny. They ask that I write up an abstract, which can be pitched to potential advisors.

June 22: This week was spent wrestling with the backend. I have SQL server installed on a server class machine the client machine which is connected to the server via a network switch was suppose to interface with the databases on that machine. However I had trouble creating a data source that could do the job. Still wanting to work with SQL server. I tried downloading MySQL. The download was pretty painful thanks to DAP, which would go over the file size and continue downloading eventually delivering a corrupted .msi file. I had to do a direct download from the server to get it right.

Then I spent two days installing, configuring and connecting to MySQL. Online documentation is extensive and you can easily get sidetracked with all the nitty gritty details they throw at you. I managed to get my IDE connected however when I created and compiled a sample CRUD application the thing wouldn’t run. I kept getting an “access denied” message from MySQL. Apparently the IDE wasn’t using the correct password. I used the console to take a look at the grant tables the password for the database was long and convoluted. I tried changing it but that didn’t work. I got so frustrated I finally decided to drop MySQL for the backend. That decision was tough, as I had already invested so much time into it. However if I stuck with all progress would have ended, so I settled on derby. Its already integrated with Netbeans. Aside for a few minor hiccups the thing works fine.

This is just one step on a long list of milestones that I have to complete. I am reminded of a Will Wheaton blog post in which he is anxious about finishing a writing project by August. He to has to overcome several milestones before the project comes under control. That’s the same with me and I hope we both accomplish what we have set out to do.


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The “How’s Your Thesis Going?” Post

It’s going good thank you very much. As most of you know I have temporarily given up work to complete my masters. I publicly mull over this decision in this post. It’s nice to see that people support me. My second to last semester is over thank you very much (oh! I still owe you the exciting conclusion to the Emilio Juarez story). Now I can fully concentrate on my thesis. Yay! I love making my ideas a reality. So what am I doing? Read on to find out…

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:


May 28: The netbeans IDE is mostly cool. I like how the code editor’s side bar highlights errors and warnings. Clicking on them takes you directly to the error, saving you from having to scroll all the way down. However it does like going nuts every so often. I can’t tell what sets it off but all of a sudden it starts to seize up. Controls become inoperable I get stack overflow messages left and right. If I manage to get through that the GUI editor starts acting up. It starts to fix components to their default size disallowing any resizing. I just keep going and somehow the problem gets fixed.

The core of Netbeans is fairly versatile but sometimes it lacks features. I suppose this is acceptable since the creators couldn’t anticipate every single need of the java programming community. However they were forward thinking enough to allow for the additions of plugins. Community members have come up with some pretty nifty plugins. One of them lets you convert VB.net forms to java GUI specifications, it’s called NET2Java. I was only able to get the source code and not the design view after the conversion. Another plugin gave you a Datetimepicker controls which comes in handy when you want to set the date using a calendar view.

Again very cool very shiny. But I must say that I had trouble with the installation. I am the kinda guy who needs to be led by the nose in these matters. The documentation the programmers had given was sparse at best. And on top of that they constantly referred to an old version of netbeans. I had to spend a lot of time figuring out the new locations and names of the various managers (e.g. plugin, library etc.).


May 15: I had another mind numbing programming session. I was wrestling with two Jlists. I wanted to generate an event based on what the user selected from one list. I used the isFocusOwner() method but the damn thing kept freaking out every time two selections were made. So I had to make a design decision do I stay Jlist hell or do I change tactics. I decided to change tactics and opted for radio buttons. The Jlists were yanked off the interface in their place was a neat row of radio buttons. I added them to a button group to ensure mutually exclusive selection. Now I just needed a way to generate the event based on the button selected. I went with actionlisteners, they’re the best, plus I used some of the button group’s method to chalk out code that would act the way I wanted to act. After going nearly insane I got what I wanted…and I am just getting started!

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Mind Numbing Study Session

Today was spent studying for 12 hours straight! I have finals at the end of this week and I am getting in some last minute study time. I already know the material, I try understanding it as we go along. But for finals all that info needs to be on the surface. The best way for me to do that is to make notes. I just jot down a brief outline of the material which helps me focus and "connect the dots". It seems simple enough but when you're talking about a whole semester worth of content it gets pretty grueling. But you know what they say no pain no gain.

I am looking forward to the end of the semester. I'll be liberated from having to take an endless stream of classes. Giving me more time to work on my thesis and mess around online. Some of my classmates aren't so excited about the semester ending. They're worried that they may have to repeat it. It's tough to comfort someone when they're in that position. They know you're doing fine and don't want your sympathies. What can I say to that? I won't apologize for doing well.

Anyway the study session was pretty hard on my brain. I think I blew out a couple dozen neural pathways. Any time I concentrate too hard my neurons stop firing and refuse to think. That's when I have to coax them into action with some kind of stimulus. My favorites are caffeine, sugar, a power nap, exercise, TV, web surfing, and my all time favorite a shot of garam masala.

The “How’s Your Thesis Going?” Post

It’s going good thank you very much. As most of you know I have forsaken work to complete my masters. I publicly mull over this decision in this post. It’s nice to see that people support me. My second to last semester is almost over I just have to take a couple of tests. I am not too worried about not getting a good grade, as my midterms were decent. After the exams I only have to concentrate on my thesis. Yay! I love making my ideas a reality. So what am I doing? Read on to find out…

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:

May 7: Took my server to work today. I had the networks guy configure it to support software developed by my company. I need access to a functioning copy of the application as a reference. This is why I am required to sign an agreement to carry out my research. Essentially the agreement will give me a licensed copy of the application for free, so long as I don’t use it for commercial purposes. That shouldn’t be a problem seeing how I don’t usually need to check up on any sales order or see how much inventory I have on hand (yeah, it’s an ERP). I am mostly interested in the interfaces of a select few forms. Those are going to be fed into the tool for analysis.

April 23: I did some serious amount of Java programming today. My brain took a while to switch gears (What’s a swing component? How do you add a method in this thing? Where’s the main method?). But once it did I was hooked. Now I remember why I got involved with this crazy profession it’s just plain fun!

April 16: I finally got my IDE up and running. It’s been a while since I’ve done some real hard-core programming. You see at work I do mostly Software Quality Assurance work. Sure I hang around programmers and code a lot but I never actually do any programming. There is always so much documentation and other paperwork to attend to. On occasion my manager may suggest that I should fix the some of the bugs that I have found since the programmers are booked solid. Those are the only time I get to get my hands dirty. Which is why I like working on my thesis even more.

April 10: Today I met with my company’s lawyer. We discussed an agreement by which they would lend me the source code of certain projects for research purposes. He was a pretty nice guy and I had fun explaining what I had in mind. Even though he was from the legal world he followed along with the all computer jargon I threw at him. Which was refreshing to see.

April 1: Today’s April Fools day and guess who the fool is? No not that guy…Me! I went down to the laptop shop to get my computer upgraded. Turns out that they don’t carry parts for my six-year-old Toshiba Satellite 3005. That really sucks! But I won’t let that get me down, I just won’t. So I am using another PC that has enough oomph in it.

March 27: I downloaded the IDE needed for implementing the tool. I might have mentioned I am going to be developing in Java. That’s because I am sick and tired of working in visual studio. Plus Java has excellent GUI support, which makes sense for my project.

Right so the IDE that I downloaded and installed is none other than NetBeans designed and developed by Sun Microsystems themselves. So I know that I am getting a quality product, which makes me happy. However my trusty laptop wasn’t as happy running NetBeans. It took waaaaaaaaaay to long opening the start page and loading source files. I couldn’t stand it anymore and decided there and then that I would have to install more memory. Luckily I already have the logistics figured out I know where to go and how much they’ll charge me. Now it’s just a matter of finding time for the procedure. In the meantime amuse yourselves with this shiny badge:



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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:

March 12: Having read the latest research about my topic and assembling a team of advisors I am now ready to work on the corporate presentation. *Insert evil genius manic laughter here* I’ll be pitching my idea to my company first. If you know of any other software developing organization that may be interested in this kind of research let me know.

March 08: Got some feedback on the presentation that I sent out. They say that I am off to a good start. But I am keeping my fingers crossed anyway. Oh and I am helping out my unofficial advisor with one of his projects. The classic example of; I scratch your back you scratch my back.

February 28: Finished up my presentation sent it out to my advisors. I wonder what they’ll think? I am going to modify this presentation to pitch my ideas to companies so that I can use actual interfaces for analysis, makes the project much more credible.

February 21: I got a taste of the typical Pakistani student’s mindset. When I tell them I am doing a thesis their eyes light up. “You’re doing a thesis? No way!” they then go on and tell me how I’ll crash and burn and how I should drop this silly idea of a thesis. “You’re better off doing a research survey” which is a glorified term paper. I plan on returning to the US after getting my degree. I know that a thesis will be critical for getting a job and gaining admission to a college. So I have to do a thesis.

Now don’t get me wrong, these guys are my friends and they mean well. The problem is that the basic education they received didn’t prepare them for imaginative thinking. Their education was more focused on memorizing facts and figures so that you could pass a test. Understanding the material wasn’t necessary. That’s why it’s so hard for them to come up with an original idea and then remain motivated to complete the project.

Another reason for de-motivating me is something that I like to call the “lemmings effect”. Students over here don’t like to stand out and blindly do what every one else is doing. For example when a teacher asks a question often times the whole class answers back. That way the individual is safe in the crowd. So when everyone else is doing a research survey your nuts for not doing the same thing.

However, this doesn’t go for all Pakistani students there’re plenty of them doing cutting edge research. When I meet them I can tell that they are strong-minded, know what they want, and then go get it.

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.

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.

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 but wants to help out anyway. Yay! Now I have to get an official advisor.

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.