How the Large Hadron Collider Works

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the largest and most complex scientific instrument ever built and the highest energy particle accelerator in the world. The accelerator is located 100 meters underground and runs 27 kilometers through both French and Swiss territory. It really is an amazing creation! Watch this great video to know how it works:

Dr. Israr's Blasphemy

Readers of this blog will vouch for the fact that I tend to stay away from religious debate, as we seem to have different interpretations and after all, everyone is entitled to their opinions and beliefs. But this time, Dr. Israr has really crossed the line for me. His comments, aired on June 12th on a QTV program, are shockingly sacrilegious and leaves one wondering: what the ?#@$ was he thinking?! I addressed the following letter to PEMRA and sent it to the editor of DAWN. Hopefully it'll get published.

The recent deplorable comments by Israr Ahmed on QTV are a cause of shame and disgust for all Muslims. One can only judge the true intentions of a speaker by the selection of issue. By narrating a highly controversial tradition from a dubious source that contradicts the very essence of Islam - as Imam Ali (as) embodied whatever Islam is - Mr. Ahmed has shown an incredible lack of rationality and objectivity. Mr. Ahmed deliberately tried to put doubts in minds of the unwary and stoke flames of sectarianism, in pursuit of fulfilling his satanic agenda. However, the responsibility of this act does not end with Israr Ahmed. The team of QTV responsible for producing this program share equal blame for their severe lack of competence in screening this venomous content, which has the potential of causing great social strife. Subsequent apologies from the ARY Network notwithstanding, this is a case-in-point for taking measures against incompetence of a media outlet by PEMRA.

In this regards, we ask the regulatory authority to severely reprimand the administration of QTV along with imposing a hefty fine as a reminder for the channel to rectify it's conduct. We also demand the QTV administration to name-and-shame people involved in broadcasting the program in question. Furthermore, speakers/preachers such as Israr Ahmed should be barred from writing or voicing comments through the electronic media, in view of the disturbance of public order these people can and have caused. We sincerely hope that by taking such strong measures in view of the controversy created by the speaker will restore public confidence viz-a-viz the credibility of the media and governance credentials of the people in power.

The damned video in question:

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

Q league ka safaya hogaya!

I woke up on Feb 19th to GEO's flashing headline "Q league ka safaya hogaya!" running amidst some patriotic background music. And why not? They have every reason to be pleased, perhaps more so than anybody else given they bore the brunt of government's excesses on the media. I'm just glad we won't get to see the likes of Wasi Zafar on our television sets anymore! :)

So, the people have apparently spoken and Mush and his cronies have been outrightly rejected. Great! But where does this lead us? Back to the looters of before sadly. They looted us separately when they were in power and now they're back to loot us together! Democracy, gotta love it eh?

Like I earlier said, I did not vote in this election. But apparently, it made no difference AT ALL as we've learned of massive rigging having taken place in several constituencies of Karachi in favor of MQM. I can't speak for others, but I am bewildered as to how an MQM guy can win from PS-126 - an area dominated by PPP supporters. I have heard of at least 10 different credible accounts of rigging across Karachi. Nevertheless, the election have by and large been free and fair and I guess we should be thankful for that.

In other news, YouTube has been blocked in Pakistan on PTA's directions for containing some "blashpemous content". When these spoonheads will realize that this is the 21st century is beyond me! Besides, placing such bans on web sites only serves to spark further interest in them. Such actions speak volumes of the narrow mindedness on the part of PTA chiefs. Although not confirmed yet, the reason for the ban is either the vote rigging videos that have sprung up over the last couple of days OR the anti-Islam movie clips made by Geert Wilders - a dutch politician who seems to be on a personal mission to defame Muslims and the Quran. More on him here. Meanwhile, the vote rigging clip shown on GEO can be viewed on VidPk.com here.

If they must ban such things, why couldn't they hire a half a decent network guy to install some advanced filters so that ONLY the objectionable content is inaccessible rather than the entire website?! This is similar to the stupid blogspot blanked ban they put in place last year. Looks like they haven't learned anything. Ah well, here's hoping this just a temporary measure.