Ankahi

If you've been living under a rock or something, you need to get hold of this great new
program called Ankahi. It airs weekdays on SAMAA TV from 10-11PM, and is hosted by Faisal Qureshi (of Loose-Ends fame) - a humble and down-to-earth fellow (surprisingly for a media man). Do check it out!

Dr. Randy Pausch - Last Lecture

When a dying man gives a talk on how to "live", you're bound to listen carefully. Dr. Randy Pausch is one such unfortunate person, who has sadly lost the battle against pancreatic cancer and has been told by his doctors that he has only a few months left in him. While that would send most of us in a deep comatose-like depression, it's had a different effect on Dr. Randy altogether. It's made him more determined to share his view of how to make the most of your life - a true believer in the adage that it don't matter how long a life you have, but it is how well you live it that matters. A truly inspiring talk that you absolutely must see!

There's also a TIME article on him:
http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1733748_1733756_1736194,00.html

Back to School!

And so it's supposed to be! I am going back to SCHOOL ladies and gentleman - the very thought of which sends shivers down my spine tbh. I am sure no one would welcome the prospect of taking up books again with open arms but you gotta do what you gotta do eh? At the same time, I am also excited that I'll be pursuing the subjects of my interest and possibly end up doing some serious research in them (ending up with a Doctorate), but time will tell how far I'll go. Fingers crossed for that.

So I resigned yesterday with a month's notice and now prepping for the new semester by selecting the courses I'm going to be studying this Fall. Classes start August 20th, yikes!

Vote for Nobody

Seems true enough in our case. What you YOU think?

The Paradox of Our Time

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings, but shorter tempers; wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints; we spend more, but have less; we buy more, but enjoy it less.

We have bigger houses and smaller families; more conveniences, but less time; we have more degrees, but less sense; more knowledge, but less judgment; more experts, but more problems; more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get angry too quickly, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too seldom, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We've learned how to make a living, but not a life; we've added years to life, not life to years.

We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbor. We've conquered outer space, but not inner space; we've done larger things, but not better things.

We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul; we've split the atom, but not our prejudice.

We write more, but learn less; we plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait; we have higher incomes, but lower morals; we have more food, but less appeasement; we build more computers to hold more information to produce more copies than ever, but have less communication; we've become long on quantity, but short on quality.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion; tall men, and short character; steep profits, and shallow relationships. These are the times of world peace, but domestic warfare; more leisure, but less fun; more kinds of food, but less nutrition.

These are days of two incomes, but more divorce; of fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throw away morality, one-night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer to quiet to kill.

Source: http://www.xdude.com/paradox.htm

Here we go again...

I had almost forgotten. Today's the last day before we switch to a daylight saving time and push our clocks one hour forward in an attempt to utilize more daylight and in turn, save us some of that precious power. It was when I paid a visit to the market today that I found out that it was the talking point of the day, and everyone was busy giving their opinion of the whole time-changing thing. Some thought it was a futile attempt at fooling people into thinking that the government is actually trying to do something for them, whereas others were a bit more hopeful and thought that it might actually work this time.

Whether this attempt will fail like the last one remains to be seen, but you're likely to run into a lot of confused people in the next few days - most of them, sadly, poor who couldn't care less tbh. A friend regaled something funny he encountered on a bus the last time we did this daylight saving thing. While on his way to work, he inquired the bus conductor about what time it was, to which the conductor asked back: konsa? naya ya purana wala? :)

In my opinion, it is a very useful thing indeed - provided it is utilized properly and the masses are educated about it. If everyone starts doing things one hour later then there's no point in it. Except for namaz, everything should be done at exactly the same time. Some public service ads aimed at raising awareness ought to help IMO. With filthy rich telcos around these days itching to get some attention, it wouldn't be hard attracting sponsors for these ads either.

I guess we'll have to wait and see. Meanwhile, here's something that oughta put a smile on your face:

Speak Up and Be Free?

These stupid billboards, they do your freaking head in don't they!

I'm talking about the stupid bullcrap JAZZ ads that have "taken over" the billboards at several places in the city. Since when does speaking up and being free involve doing semi-nude poses that could at best be described as raunchy? Come to think of it, almost all mobile ads project some sort of hollow made-up dream society where all the kids are jumping around in night clubs - in some cases, with grannies joining them - and singing as if they're high on drugs on something.

Is this the kind of bull we'll be serving now that our media is finally FREE? Is this how we become an "enlightened" and "tolerant" society? One that accepts freedom of expression? By the looks of things, I'm beginning to think it was better the other way around to be honest! Who the hell approves these stupid billboards/television ads/dramas anyway?! (that is, if there is an approval process in place in the wake of millions in advertising revenue - especially from the telcos). And there's another of these totally inane billboards on Sharah-e-Faisal of Shezan twist that would probably look better on a poster of an X-rated film. I am not kidding people, it really is that bad! See for yourself (the twist ad). I'll try and get an image of the JAZZ ads as well. It freaking does my head in sometimes, really.

How NASA writes software

Must Read:
http://www.fastcompany.com/node/28121/print?donttaseme

If I had some money...

I don't know about you if I were to somehow ended up with a considerable sum of money, the first thing I'd do is build a multi-story car park on Sharah-e-Faisal! If you happen to work in and around the area, you'd realize how desperate the plight of us poor drivers has become these days. The service roads are jam-packed almost all (if not most) of the time, and driving through them is no less than enduring hell.

I think it's a fantastic business idea too. One that would do everyone concerned loads of good IMHO.

What say you?

Programmers vs. Management

A man in a hot air balloon realized he was lost. He reduced altitude and spotted a woman below. He descended a bit more and shouted, “Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I don’t know where I am.”
The woman below replied, “You’re in a hot air balloon hovering approximately 30 feet above the ground. You’re between 40 and 41 degrees north latitude and between 59 and 60 degrees west longitude.”

“You must be a programmer,” said the balloonist.

“I am,” replied the woman, “How did you know?”

“Well,” answered the balloonist, “everything you told me is technically correct, but I’ve no idea what to make of your information, and the fact is I’m still lost. Frankly, you’ve not been much help at all. If anything, you’ve delayed my trip.”

The woman below responded, “You must be in Management.”

“I am,” replied the balloonist, “but how did you know?”

“Well,” said the woman, “you don’t know where you are or where you’re going. You have risen to where you are due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise, which you’ve no idea how to keep, and you expect people beneath you to solve your problems. The fact is you are in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but now, somehow, it’s my fault.”

--
If you happen to work at a software house like me, you'd know exactly what she's talking about! :)

Addicted to Trek

I am absolutely, totally and completely addicted to Star Trek these days - their TV series, movies, the whole franchise basically. It started when a friend introduced me to Star Trek - Deep Space Nine (a series that premiered in the 1990s). Then for me, came the most popular of them all, Star Trek - The Next Generation with the famous starship Enterprise and it's captain Jean-Luc Picard (played by Patrick Stewart). Last week, I finished watching Star Trek - Voyager. and now, I'm onto Star Trek - Enterprise!

I guess I'll be hooked until there are no more movies or tv series' left to watch! This is the last and I've seen all the rest! :P

Wise Saying

Your worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God's grace.... and your best days are never so good that you are beyond the need of God's grace.

- Anonymous

The Odds of Dying

Death is an uncomfortable topic for most, yet we cannot deny the fact one way or another, we ARE going to die one day. In other words, the odds of dying are 100% - an absolute certainty that is. However, the manner of one's death can be numerous. It is disconcerting to even think of our death, let alone thinking of the manner in which we're going to die! According to LiveScience journal, our odds of dying are something like in the picture shown below (click on it to view the original size).

Apparently, you are more likely to commit suicide or fall to your death than be killed by a tsunami or any natural disaster. Hmmm ... and for once, I shall not end with with my customary footnote of 'Enjoy!' :)

Remember MacGyver?

Oh boy! Do you remember MacGyver? The handsome handyman on TV who could get almost anything done with only a basic set of tools and some duct tape! :P

If you grew up watching his super-cool tv shows like me, then you'd be thrilled to know that there's a MacGyver movie in the making! Can't wait!

Credits:
http://gizmodo.com/386877/holy-crap-macgyver-blockbuster-film-coming

Me the Photographer

I like to point and shoot once in a while too, time permitting of course. I bought a Canon Powershot A560 last year, a budget camera but an extremely good one. While there are no snaps I took with it online, there are a couple I took with my friend's Nikon back in the university days. These were taken during the rainy season of year 2006 (my final year at NED). Enjoy!

NED Admin Block aka "White House"

CIS Surroundings

More "White House"

All photos on Flickr here: http://flickr.com/photos/fnasim/tags/ned/

Twenty20 taking over?

Sure, it was fun for a while but hasn't this Twenty20 thing gone too far? I mean it's great for entertainment and all, and sponsors love it on the evidence of the recent ICL and IPL series, but come on, it's not cricket!

BBC Sport published this story - Twenty20 'to conquer world sport' - on their website today. It is an interview with Allen Stanford, a billionaire who thinks that Twenty20 can turn out to be the most lucrative sport in the world!

I can understand why Mr. Stanford and several other businessmen and women are excited about this latest money-making prospect, but too much Twenty20 will take the excitement away in my opinion. With the way the interest in holding more tournaments is growing, it might end up seriously damaging the sport altogether. Your thoughts please.

Girl Power Surge in Pakistan

If you stay informed of the latest happenings in IT in Pakistan, then you must remember that little girl Afrah Shafquat, who became the youngest Sun-certified Java Programmer in the world at the tender age of 11 years in 2002. I remember seeing her at PDC 2005, the last one I attended and couldn't help but notice how small she was for doing computer programming, let alone completing certifications! Well, she's continued to make great strides culminating in the form of an MIT scholarship that she's just won. Congratulations to her and her family who must be very proud!

You can read the article on ArabNews website here:
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=11&section=0&article=108734&d=8&m=4&y=2008

Previously, her elder sister Afsah had also won a scholarship from MIT last year. More on that on the same website:
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=11&section=0&article=76009&d=8&m=8&y=2006

It is so refreshing to see something positive being reported about Pakistan for a change. With all the doom and gloom that's been surrounding the country of late, this couldn't have come at a better time.

I’ve found God, says man who cracked the genome

THE scientist who led the team that cracked the human genome is to publish a book explaining why he now believes in the existence of God and is convinced that miracles are real.

Francis Collins, the director of the US National Human Genome Research Institute, claims there is a rational basis for a creator and that scientific discoveries bring man “closer to God”.

Click here to read the full story at TimesOnline.co.uk

A mix of Illiteracy and dogmatism

Read this entry:
Tamache Mullah goes on air

Courtesy: The Dawn Blog

Cartoons about Bush

Artist: David Horsey. More at SeattlePi.com