Merriam-Webster Add w00t to Dictionary

Congratulations World of Warcraft addicts. Give yourselves a pat on the back, Halo-ers; you and all the other gamers and internet fans out there have collectively legitimized 1337 speak. Teachers weep, meanwhile, w00t!

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My Gmail goes LEET!

:)

For those who don't know what that means, read this.

Work, work

Life's been busy as hell of late at work. Been putting in long hours for something I volunteered for and now I feel shouldn't have done it :(. Kher, I had no idea it would get this bad at work but you could always count on our management to screw things up beyond repair! I'm glad I won't be here for long.

Pen Pricks

Lazim hai, hum bhi daikhain gay

An awesome piece put together by Dr. Adil Najam over at Pakistaniat.

The line that stood out for me was Quaid's affirmation:

Musalmaan ... Museebat mein ... Kabhi Ghabraya Nahi Karta!

What more can I say? God Bless Pakistan!

Sweet Revenge

Congratulations to Team Pakistan for an excellent victory today! I must admit I had given up hope after India had posted a 300+ total but what do ya know! Pak chased it! And in some fashion! All credit to the lads and a much-needed boost for a nation reeling from the effects of a brainsick ruler!

Mush has gone MAD!

There could be no other sane explanation for it. The lust for power has gone to this guy's head to the extent that he's now willing to break every freaking law and curb every possible independent voice in the country just so that he could have things HIS way. Sadly, as a result, the ignominy of a fourth Martial Law (under the cloak of 'Emergency Plus') is upon us; all news channels are off-air since Saturday and several lawyers, politicians and activists are under arrest or confined to their homes under duress.

Good thing they haven't clamped down on the Internet so far - or else we'd be doomed. I say that because I (and thousands more I'm sure) have been flocking on web sites to get the latest updates as all channels have been forcefully blacked-out. The common man, though, is deprived of this facility and hence has been left vulnerable to rumors like this that did the proverbial rounds today before it was dismissed by Mr. Pervaiz "I'll do anything to please the West" Musharraf. In his words, it was the "Joke of the Highest Order". You said it right Mush, you have indeed played a "Joke of the Highest Order" on the people of Pakistan. Congratulations!

Another day, Another bombing

Today saw yet another suicide bombing, this time targeting the airforce personnel in Sargodha. It sent a shiver down my spine as I read the breaking news on BBC Online since one of my cousins is an airforce officer and works there! Thank God he's safe and wasn't on duty at that time, but that couple of minutes of uncertainty made me realize the helplessness and fear people must face in such situations and worst yet, the unfortunate people who lose friends/family in such incidents doesn't even bear thinking about!

Pakistan is turning out to be a battlefield between pro-American and pro-Taleban forces. We are sadly paying the price for a supposed "War On Terror" whose very foundations were based on evidence conjured up by its instigators from faulty intelligence - it was more like a cloak for their ulterior motives. It is indeed sad to see some people still believe what the Bush administration says even after failures of such magnitude in the form of their needless invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan. Their hands are stained with the blood of thousands of innocent civilians in both of these countries as rightly reminded by a brave protester in this photo. They should be treated as war criminals and tried in a court of law for murdering thousands of completely innocent men, women and children.

For now, what the future holds for our country is anybody's guess. The sensitive situation is set to prevail as the military seeks to further strengthen its grip on state affairs with news once again doing the rounds of an impending declaration of emergency across the country. I hope it doesn't come to that, and let's hope we do have elections - although, again, I doubt they'll be free and fair. I can't help but think we're screwed either way! Your thoughts?

Rotund

All work and no play makes Johnny a fat boy! For sure I mean! What did ya expect?! These software jobs with their odd timings and sedentary styles are the perfect recipe to become chubby and overweight. So much for all my efforts of last year when I managed to lose no less than 7Kgs! (Seriously!) Now I would give just about anything to go back to that state :(!

'Rotund' describes me (with my considerable girth) just about perfectly. Damn you Mcdonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut, Chocolates and M&Ms!! I'll have my revenge ya'hear! Speaking of M&Ms, I know there's a packet lying in the freezer right now and I know it won't be there by tonight! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah ...

H.E.L.P!

Violence grips Karachi - AGAIN!

I woke up this morning from the plangent sound of my mobile alerting me to the receipt of a new message; who knew what calamity it was going to report. It was Teeth Maestro's message through the Twitter Karachi channel that over a 100 people had been killed in a bomb explosion near Benazir's convoy! What the #$#%$! I said to myself. If there was one thing we'd been grateful for the previous day, it was that there'd been no untoward incidents reported all day across the city. But sadly, the day ended on a bloody note - yet again.

The name Karachi must have become synonymous with violence and bloodshed for those foreign folk. No wonder they don't want to travel here, because you never know who might blow up what in pursuit of their twisted and hidden (or perhaps not so hidden) agendas. Another thing that saddens me is the sort of response from the so called "educated" people on a prominent place like Karachi MetBlogs. Just by going through the comments here and here, you could why we are the way we are. When the educated lot are truly "jaahil" by nature, when such people harbor feelings of hatred and animosity towards a fellow human being, no wonder the entire nation has become intolerant beyond recognition!

I don't know what else to say really; the death toll from last night leaves May 12 and 12 Rabbi ul Awwal calamities in the shadows. May ALLAH grant peace and patience to the dead and their families, and destroy all those connected with this heinous act and fail them in such sick and demented agenda of theirs. Amen.

Eid Mubaraks!

Ramzan whizzed by faster than ever for me this time! And here we are, once again, on the eve of that delirious day we all look forward to. Sadly, not even such a joyous occasion is riddled with controversy in this dear country of ours. The disunity is so evident! :( I'll leave the ranting to another post; for now, wishing everyone who reads this post bauhat bauhat EID MUBARAK! :)

God Bless us All - especially our country! Amen!

On the current political scene

This couldn't be more appropriate right now ....

baaziicha e atfaal hai duniyaa mere aagay
hotaa hai shaboroz tamaashaa mere aagay

Sham Democracy

I am left utterly speechless as the crème de la crème of corrupt politicians are once again joining hands to rule this dear country of ours! The sight of all those losers in National Assembly clapping and celebrating Mushy's re-election was truly sickening! I mean how freaking low can you get?! Selling your soul to the man who has America's blessings, and what about BB - who's going to pay back the billions she's looted and will loot over the next 5 years?!! What will happen to Zardari - will he be let loose to fill his pockets with state wealth YET AGAIN?! Are their previous deeds all forgotten, JUST LIKE THAT?!

No one has the right to absolve the criminals of the state - no one! Where is the Supreme Court now?! If there's any semblance of law and order left in this country, they should immediately take notice of this disgraceful ordinance and render it null and void at once!

I am simply outraged, incensed and vexed at the hypocrisy of the people who claim to be the representatives of the people of Pakistan. And don't even get me started about Mushy! He has lost what little credibility he had as a leader, as his actions have demonstrated that he'll do just about anything to stay in power - sanction the heinous acts of May 12, violate the constitution, exceed his term in office as Military Chief, hold more office than legally allowed, form alliances with known plunderers - the list goes on and on!

The stage drama of his re-election and the so-called "deal" with BB has exposed everyone and everything. Kinda ironic when you think that such looters are going to be leading the Land of the Pure!

PTCL Broadband

For someone who lives in a city suburb like me, getting the state-of-the-art facilities like DSL from ISPs is always a pain. Although DSL and Cable have been around for a couple of years in the city, no ISP had bothered to expand it to remote telephone exchanges like mine. And so my area had been starved of broadband connectivity uptill now when PTCL decided to start off their broadband operations. And you know what, within days of starting off, they had received hundred of applications! I wonder why other ISPs didn't see the wisdom in starting off in such remote and previously cut-off areas as well, since a lack of competition would have resulted to scores of people signing up for them! Anyway, I couldn't be more happier and signed up instantly for a 256kbps connection costing me Rs. 1199/month.

The service has been pretty good so far, except for a couple of days ago when the PTCL link had been damaged rendering DSL inoperable for 5-6 hours. Bearable I'd say .. but the speed's been damn good at all times. Another thing that works in my favor is the Fiber Optic line I switched to last year, finally giving up on the old copper lines, which seemed to never get rid of their noise problem. I don't know if it's mal-management or what, but the PTCL guys can't seem to keep the copper wires running devoid of noise for a week straight! Good thing I switched to fiber optic which is just wonderful ... even on dial-up!

So, all in all, I'm a happy PTCL customer - so far! :)

TV Series Galore!

For those of us still reeling from our defeat to India at the Twenty20 final, there couldn't be a better way to move on than to switch the focus to a brand new season of some awesome TV series! I'm talking about Prison Break and Heroes ladies and gentlemen! PB's third season kicked off last week (and I'm downloading it right now on my DSL!) and Heroes season two is set to start next week! So, all in all, we're in for a treat of TV Series!! wohoo ... and not before long, LOST will come back too and the tv season will be in full swing.

Naheeeen!!

Naheeeeeeeeen!! was what I cried out when Misbah lofted his cheeky flick attempt to fine leg, only to be caught by that bugger Sreesanth! It felt like an ineffable thump in my chest! What a pulsating game! and what heartbreak at the end! :( Full credit to Misbah though for making a game out of nothing, when the team once again choked when it mattered the most ... but it was Misbah who single-handedly won us the game ... almost!

Losing to India is doubly painful ... but I guess I'll get over it slowly!

Image courtesy Cricinfo.com.

Congrats Team Pakistan!

I write this post having just witnessed the Pakistani side overcome New Zealand in Cape Town - with relative ease I must say, even though Pakistan lost some wickets and it seemingly became tight in the end, but with so many wickets in hand you expect a team to win ... so Congratulations to all for a job well done!

It is a pleasant surprise to see our side playing so well after the much-vaunted debacle at the ODI World Cup earlier this year. It's been like a breath of fresh air in times when Pakistani sports are possibly at their lowest ebb. Hockey's going down the drain; Squash looks far from its glorious past, and there aren't any others we're real good at ... so cherish the moment while they last I say! It's gonna be one heck of a final for sure! And I hope we win ... It would be welcome distraction from all the violence and political turmoil the people of this country have had to live with over the past few weeks. With all the doom and gloom elsewhere, I'm sure a victory on Monday would go a long way in raising our spirits as a nation.

Go Team Pakistan! Make us Proud!

Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy's keynote at NED Convention 2007

An excellent keynote delivered by Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy at the recently held NED Alumni Convention in Silicon Valley. He talks about the power of ideas and how our universities need to be the center of ideas. He also talks about how simply allocating millions of rupees to the HEC budget isnt going to bring about a change in the country. You'll be astonished to hear some of the examples he gave of the misuse of such valuable funding. Like I said, a MUST Listen!

5 Myths About Terrorism

Six years after 9/11, all too many Americans still have only a vague idea of what does -- and doesn't -- motivate terrorists. It doesn't help that many politicians exploit the anxiety that terrorism evokes to promote their own agendas.

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StumbleUpon

This site is for those *free* moments you get at work or home when you got nothing important to do except surf around the web. Well, there couldn't be a more excellent alternative to installing the StumbleUpon toolbar. All you gotta do is sign-up on their site and choose your Interests (more like the kind of sites you'd love to visit in free time) - popular choices include online games, quizzes, optical illusions and the like.

Once installed, it sits nicely there below the address bar and once you're free, you click on the "Stumble" button to start stumbling and visiting random and cool sites in the process :). I've found some great sites using this service and I recommend you try it out!

Happy Surfing!