Good vs. Evil. The boundries might have blurred but yet the battle rages on. Not only on earth but also in each of us. I am not going to categorize what is good and what is evil in this battle on earth. I am going to talk about the battle that rages in all of us. The everpresent, tussle and tug-o-war, that causes us to rethink some of our actions. Some have it easier than others. In some good has made significant conquests and gained much ground, bringing evil to a crushing defeat, albeit not total destruction, since destruction of evil in us, is not possible for we are flawed human beings in our inherent nature. In others, evil has taken such a hold, that even the rays of good are blocked out by perpetual and utter darkness. Most of us have it harder though, with good and evil headbutting, making and losing ground each day. Who will win? Perhaps neither. But will we take an active part in the fight or will we only silently spectate and let fate takes its course? But you can change fate and as such we can take a side in this battle within us. What side will you choose? Will you choose good or will you choose evil. It all depends on you. Not taking the side of good and making an effort for its cause, will automatically side you with evil. In our religion and in many others, non-chalence and non-commital to good, is surrendering to evil... Because, my fellow warriors, there is no neutrality in this battle. Choose your destiny, pick up the weapons of your consciousness, belief and character, and fight on. You will find me in the camp marked "good", for I have chosen a side consciously today, and from there, if you choose the same, we shall fight this battle together and give it, at least in ourselves, some semblence of conclusion.
New Years Resolution No. 1 concluded.
P.S: I am flying to LA tomorrow and from then on, I do not know if I will have net access at my hotel room there. So will see whats up down there and update if things work out. Otherwise wait till I get settled and all :).
Thursday, December 29, 2005
Monday, December 26, 2005
Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah - I Salute Thee
I wanted to reread about the life of the Quaid again and reaffirm my being a Pakistani. Therefore me and my brother found a few articles concerning the great man. Here, I share with you, some of the quotes from people who knew the Quaid one way or another and had the honour of meeting.
* "Few individuals significantly alter the course of history. Fewer still modify the map of the world. Hardly anyone can be credited with creating a nation-state. Mohammad Ali Jinnah did all three." - Stanley Wolpert on Jinnah.
* "There is no man or woman living who imputes anything against his honour or honesty. He was the most upright person, I knew." - The last chief justice of India Lord Patrick Spencer.
* "Gandhi died by the hands of an assassin; Jinnah died by his devotion to Pakistan." - Lord Pethick Lawrence, the former Secretary of State for India.
* "Contributed more than any other man to Pakistan's survival." - Richard Symons.
* "The greatest man I ever met." - The Agha Khan.
* "The most important man in Asia." - Beverley Nichols, the author of `Verdict on India'.
* "An outstanding figure of this century not only in India, but in the whole world." - Dr. Kailashnath Katju, the West Bengal Governor in 1948.
* "One of the greatest leaders in the Muslim world." - Abdul Rahman Azzam Pasha, Secretary General of the Arab League.
* The Grand Mufti of Palestine considered his death as a "great loss" to the entire world of Islam.
* "Mr Jinnah, was great as a lawyer, once great as a Congressman, great as a leader of Muslims, great as a world politician and diplomat, and greatest of all as a man of action, By Mr. Jinnah's passing away, the world has lost one of the greatest statesmen and Pakistan its life-giver, philosopher and guide." - Surat Chandra Bose, leader of the Forward Bloc wing of the Indian National Congress.
* "Quaid-i-Azam was the originator of the dream that became Pakistan, architect of the State and father of the world's largest Muslim Nation. Mr Jinnah was the recipient of a devotion and loyalty seldom accorded to any man." - President Harry S. Truman of USA.
Quaid-e-Azam on his last message to the nation, on 14 August, 1948, said, "The foundations of your State have been laid and it is now for you to build and build as quickly and as well as you can".
Alas we failed our Quaid miserably in the years that ensued. I hope we can still learn and come to grips with our destiny and realize his dreams. InshAllah.
Pakistan Zinabad. Pakistan Paindabad.
Sunday, December 25, 2005
I Am Cute Right ? - ميں پياری ہوں نا ؟
Here is pic of twinkle that my dad sent me recently. I guess twinkle was trying to be extra cute or she might have been trying to pose for the camera. She has been known to do that at times. You decide.
ٹوينکل کی يہ تصوير ميرے ابو نے حال ہی ميں مجھے بھيجی تھی۔ ميرا خيال ہے کہ، ٹوينکل تصوير ميں کيوٹ بننے کی کوشيش کر رہی تھی يا پھر کيمرے کے ليے پوز کر رہی تھی۔ ٹوينکل وقًت فوقًت، کيمرے کے ليے پوز مارتی رہتی ہے۔ آپ خود اندازہ لگايں۔Saturday, December 24, 2005
Women Rights Please? - عورتوں کے حقوق ؟
I read a news article today, that reingnited in me, the desire to talk about women rights in Pakistan. Why is it that women are so downtrodden in our society ? In the villages, towns, and cities of Pakistan, women are second class citizens. Agreed that it is the same all over the world, but the contrasts between male and female life are sharper in Pakistan than compared to the societies of the West. To be clear, I am not referring to the freedom of the less than favorable aspects of society such as skimpy clothes and the like. I am referring to rights as accorded to a woman by Islam. The Sonia Naz case and now this only proves yet again, that women need better rights in Pakistan. Let us hope and pray that, one day, women will have equal rights, not just in the educated but uneducated sections of our society. InshAllah. You can read the full story here.
ميں نے آج اخبار ميں ايک مضمون پڑھا جس کی بنا پر ميں نے، پاکستان ميں، عورتوں کے حقوق کے موضوع پر لکھنے کی ٹھانی۔ ہمارے معاشرے ميں عورتيں اتنی ستم ظريفی کا شکار کيوں ہيں؟ پاکستان کے گاوں اور چھوٹے بڑے شہروں ميں، عورتوں کی درجہ دوئم حيثيت ہے۔ يہ درست ہے کہ مغرب ميں بھی کچھ حد تک يہی حال ہے، ليکن ہمارے ہاں ايک مرد اور عورت کی زندگی ميں زمين آسمان کا فرق ہے۔ ميں معاشرے کی ان باتوں کا ذکر نہيں کر رہا جن کی اسلام اجازت نہيں ديتا مثلاً بےپردگی وغيرہ۔ ميں اُن حقوق کا ذکر کر رہا ہوں جو عورت کو اسلام نے ديۓ ہيں۔ سونيا ناذ اور اب يہ، اِس بات کا ثبوت ہيں کہ ہمارے ملک ميں، عورتوں کو بہتر حقوق کی اشد ضرورت ہے۔ آيں ہم سب دعا کريں کہ ايک دن عورتوں کو برابر حقوق فراہم ہوں گے، ناکہ صرف پڑھے لکھے بلکہ انپڑھ طبقے ميں بھی۔ انشاﷲ ۔آپ پوری سٹوری يہاں پڑھ سکتے ہيں۔
Friday, December 23, 2005
First Words Of Urdu - اردو کے پہلے الفاظ
I thought I would write some words in Urdu today. So I installed some urdu fonts. I am thinking of writing the remaining posts in Urdu and English both. Give me your comments in this regard. (P.S: Note I have pronounced Fonts as FANTS in Urdu and also fobbish Urdu with lots of repetition, lol. Bear with me. I am new to this thing and writing urdu after a lapse of 5 years. The translations will not be word for word but the general meaning will be the same in its entirety. I also might not be able to translate every post into Urdu and some will be only English depending on the time I have on that day). آج ميں نے سوچا کہ ميں اردو ميں کچ لکھوں۔ اس سلسلے ميں، ميں نے اردو کے فانٹز اِنسٹال کيے ہيں۔ اب ميں سوچ رہا ہوں کہ باقی ساری پوسٹس اردو اور انگلش دونوں ميں لکھوں۔ آپ لوگ اپنی راۓ ديں اس بارے ميں۔Thursday, December 22, 2005
Final Things To Do Before Moving
OK the time to move for me is getting closer and closer still. December 30th is catching upto me and before long I will have to board that flight to Los Angeles. As such, there are a number of things that need doing urgently now. I have to close my bank account here because the no name small bank limited to the Mid West, is not in California. I wish the Bank of America had a branch here. It would have made my life so much more easier.
The packing is still kinda slugglish these days. I have to seriously pickup the speed and finish it. The good thing is there are two more boxes left to pack. The sooner I finish it, the less the stress, clamour and hubhub at the last minute. The reduced pressure might even help me enjoy my move, so tomorrow and in the next few days, I intend to finish my packing. Then I go give them to Fedex to be delivered over to my new apartment in California.
I also have to throw away a lot of junk I seem to have accumulated during my three year stay in the apartment. Junk such as about 200 National Geographic magazines. Now National Geographic is a great reference magazine which I wouldn't mind collecting. But they are heavy and lugging them all the way to California is going to cost me an arm and a leg. And last but not least, I have to clean my apartment to hand it over, back to the landlord, which in this case is my University (since I live on campus). There go the mile high stacks of pizza boxes and the Donut box castles.
So much to do and so little time. Wait, who am I kidding. I still have time. I wish I hadn't gotten this lazy. Time to put the pedal to the proverbial metal and get cracking.
The packing is still kinda slugglish these days. I have to seriously pickup the speed and finish it. The good thing is there are two more boxes left to pack. The sooner I finish it, the less the stress, clamour and hubhub at the last minute. The reduced pressure might even help me enjoy my move, so tomorrow and in the next few days, I intend to finish my packing. Then I go give them to Fedex to be delivered over to my new apartment in California.
I also have to throw away a lot of junk I seem to have accumulated during my three year stay in the apartment. Junk such as about 200 National Geographic magazines. Now National Geographic is a great reference magazine which I wouldn't mind collecting. But they are heavy and lugging them all the way to California is going to cost me an arm and a leg. And last but not least, I have to clean my apartment to hand it over, back to the landlord, which in this case is my University (since I live on campus). There go the mile high stacks of pizza boxes and the Donut box castles.
So much to do and so little time. Wait, who am I kidding. I still have time. I wish I hadn't gotten this lazy. Time to put the pedal to the proverbial metal and get cracking.
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
The Inventor of the World Wide Web Has His Own Blog
The Inventor of the World Wide Web finally has his own blog. When I read this news, I was happy and surprised at the same time. Now I can look at the writing and words of a man that single handedly changed the way we retreive and access this huge and immense repository of information called the World Wide Web. You can read the full story which follows:
You can find his blog here.
" Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, has begun to write his own blog. The news has caused a ripple around the blogging community with hundreds of comments posted on the first message.
While Berners-Lee has doubtless had many opportunities to address the web audience and indeed has occasionally done so as the Director of the World Wide Web Consortium, this is the first time that he has taken to writing publicly from a personal viewpoint.
The first post merely explains that while he has access to creating web pages, he wonders what this blogging thingy is all about and has decided to try it. He has since said that the blog is intended to be mostly concerned with 'geeky semantic web stuff mostly'. Any questions relating to the operation of the W3C should be addressed to the working groups.
In his typical low key fashion Lee simply began writing his blog without fanfare and it took a couple of days before it was noticed by the blogging community. There are now some 455 comments to the first message, many of which are either awed to be commenting on the blog of the web's founder or simply thanking him."
By Steve Malone at PC Pro
You can find his blog here.
Why I Blog
A lot of people have been asking themselves the question, why do we blog, what are our reasons to blog and such, what motivates us to keep tapping at the keyboard in this cyber realm. Well I thought I would ponder on the same questions myself and tell you guys why I blog.
There have been times when I wanted to blogicide my blog and move on. I resisted the temptation to do so and stuck around with it. I stuck around because I forgot I was going to blogicide it really. Had I remembered it, you would not have been reading this post right now. But once I did come back to blogging again, I stuck around with it cuz I realised a few things. When I had started blogging, I wanted to get on the blogging bandwagon more than anything. There was a huge hoopala over it and I wanted to see what the commotion was about. That was my prime motivator for starting. But as I started blogging, I could see myself imagine other uses and advantages of blogging. When I think about the reasons as of now, these ones come to mind.
1. A blog gives you a stored repository of your own thoughts years down the line. You might one day even forget you had committed these thoughts to be written. Pleasent surprises often spring up reading your own thoughts. You might even learn a thing or two from your old posts. I know I have.
2. Writing helps your increase your own imagination and thought process. Writing, like reading books, helps us visualize.
3. A blog helps your get over an ordeal in its own way. You write about something and then you learn to overcome it. Down the line, you might be faced with the same prospect and you might find comfort in your own words it seems.
4. An added reason I started my blog was also because I realized I wanted a webspace of my own. I wanted to have an avenue where I could put my HTML and CSS coding skills to use and see the fruits of my labour. I constantly update my templates and tweak them around and play with them and hence I learn. Monkeywrenching is the best approach to learning.
5. Blogging helps me meet people I would not have in other circumstances. It helps me make myself a better person by reading their thoughts sometimes. If someone has made the mistake I have, I offer advice and if someone has made the mistake I might in the future, I try to learn from it.
In the end, a blog is like a beautiful memory book for some, a ranting place for others and a discussion forum on some specific aspect for the rest of em. It all depends on your own personal reasons. Mine are all of the previous three.
There have been times when I wanted to blogicide my blog and move on. I resisted the temptation to do so and stuck around with it. I stuck around because I forgot I was going to blogicide it really. Had I remembered it, you would not have been reading this post right now. But once I did come back to blogging again, I stuck around with it cuz I realised a few things. When I had started blogging, I wanted to get on the blogging bandwagon more than anything. There was a huge hoopala over it and I wanted to see what the commotion was about. That was my prime motivator for starting. But as I started blogging, I could see myself imagine other uses and advantages of blogging. When I think about the reasons as of now, these ones come to mind.
1. A blog gives you a stored repository of your own thoughts years down the line. You might one day even forget you had committed these thoughts to be written. Pleasent surprises often spring up reading your own thoughts. You might even learn a thing or two from your old posts. I know I have.
2. Writing helps your increase your own imagination and thought process. Writing, like reading books, helps us visualize.
3. A blog helps your get over an ordeal in its own way. You write about something and then you learn to overcome it. Down the line, you might be faced with the same prospect and you might find comfort in your own words it seems.
4. An added reason I started my blog was also because I realized I wanted a webspace of my own. I wanted to have an avenue where I could put my HTML and CSS coding skills to use and see the fruits of my labour. I constantly update my templates and tweak them around and play with them and hence I learn. Monkeywrenching is the best approach to learning.
5. Blogging helps me meet people I would not have in other circumstances. It helps me make myself a better person by reading their thoughts sometimes. If someone has made the mistake I have, I offer advice and if someone has made the mistake I might in the future, I try to learn from it.
In the end, a blog is like a beautiful memory book for some, a ranting place for others and a discussion forum on some specific aspect for the rest of em. It all depends on your own personal reasons. Mine are all of the previous three.
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Changes To The Template
OK I made some changes to the template today. I have been told by a lot of people, that my blog lacked color and was too bland. Well, after researching on how colors go together, and since I took a color course when I was in college, I made some changes to the colors of the template. Hope you guys like it over the last one. Do remember to give critiques, comments and suggestions. Thankyou.
MP3 + Toilet Seat
Well, it seems the Japanese have done it again. A Japanese sanitary company by the name of Toto has made the World's first MP3 enabled toilet seat, named Apricot. It comes fully loaded with a remote control. MP3s are loaded persumably via an SD memory card. It is expected to sell for around 800 Bucks or so. Now with that amount of money, you would expect it to have colon cancer analysis, in-built self cleaning and a massager too.
IF you spend your days and nights and recreational time in the bathroom, reading novels and stuff, this is your best bet. And oh you might want to get yourself checked by a behavioural psychiatrist.
P.S That girl in the picture looks mightily surprised, don't you think? Wonder if she is listening to a catchy tune or something.
Monday, December 19, 2005
Congratulations Pakistan
Congratulations to the Pakistan team on a fine bowling performance in the 4th ODI to wrap up the series 3-1, with one ODI still to go. The bowling has been superb, the batting has matured as well and there have been a lot of positives and good things about the new Pakistan team.
Kamran Akmal and Salman Butt have both been good mainstay opening batsmen for Pakistan and it seems the opening pair problem might have a solution at hand. Both play with maturity beyond their years and are a good prospect for the team. I hope they continue to develop and give Pakistan crickets years of more service. On the other hand, Yosuf has been inconsistant and is still prone to getting out via LBW. Younis Khan has had a poor form in the ODI's with two successive ducks in the last 2 ODIs. They need to raise their game a bit if they are to be ready for the World Cup.
Shoaib Akhtar, Rana Naveed-ul-Hasan, Danish Kaneria, Soaib Malik and Sahid Afridi have been great with the ball during the tour. Shoaib especially has proved a lot of people wrong. I hope he continues to keep himself fit and firing for the World Cup. Danish is also maturing and would be a welcome addition to the ODI squad just like he is in the Tests. Soaib Malik and Shahid Afridi bowl well together too. Rana Naveed might just as well have cemented his place in the ODI squad with his thrilling ODI performance this series. The guy has control and can bat a little as well.
Last in all, Inzy has been a great captain. He has a talismanic effect on the other members of the team. The way he directs his field placement, his composed and calm body language and his experience, have all lent a hand in the development of Pakistan cricket. IF and when Pakistan manage to win the World Cup, it would be the cherry topping to the desert that is Inzy's career. InshAllah.
Kamran Akmal and Salman Butt have both been good mainstay opening batsmen for Pakistan and it seems the opening pair problem might have a solution at hand. Both play with maturity beyond their years and are a good prospect for the team. I hope they continue to develop and give Pakistan crickets years of more service. On the other hand, Yosuf has been inconsistant and is still prone to getting out via LBW. Younis Khan has had a poor form in the ODI's with two successive ducks in the last 2 ODIs. They need to raise their game a bit if they are to be ready for the World Cup.
Shoaib Akhtar, Rana Naveed-ul-Hasan, Danish Kaneria, Soaib Malik and Sahid Afridi have been great with the ball during the tour. Shoaib especially has proved a lot of people wrong. I hope he continues to keep himself fit and firing for the World Cup. Danish is also maturing and would be a welcome addition to the ODI squad just like he is in the Tests. Soaib Malik and Shahid Afridi bowl well together too. Rana Naveed might just as well have cemented his place in the ODI squad with his thrilling ODI performance this series. The guy has control and can bat a little as well.
Last in all, Inzy has been a great captain. He has a talismanic effect on the other members of the team. The way he directs his field placement, his composed and calm body language and his experience, have all lent a hand in the development of Pakistan cricket. IF and when Pakistan manage to win the World Cup, it would be the cherry topping to the desert that is Inzy's career. InshAllah.
Sunday, December 18, 2005
I-20 Issues
Well I got an email today from the USC Office of International Student Services (OIS). They informed me that they have made a small error in processing my new I-20. They wrote Fall 2006 as my joining/starting semester date instead of Spring 2006. Well, they assured me there won't be any problems and once I arrive there on the 4th of January, they will correct it. The reason I am kind of worried is because my Optional Practical Training expires in Febraury 2006 and Fall 2006 semesters normally start in August 2006. I don't want the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to have any wrong ideas about me. I am saving the OIS's email as proof for the DHS should problems arise. Let us hope and see what happens.
Saturday, December 17, 2005
Added del.icio.us tagging and bookmarking
I have added del.icio.us tagging and bookmarking to my blog today. I went over all my previous posts and also tagged and filed them. Del.icio.us is a bookmarking service that lets you bookmark websites and information you find over the internet either using tags or without them. The advantage of the service is that you can access your bookmarks and favorites from any computer with an internet connection. This is great for researchers, students and other people. It is also great for sharing favorite links and wish lists etc with your friends. If you have a del.icio.us and if you like any of my posts, you can see the bookmark to del.icio.us link at the bottom. Just got to click that. Give it a try. It might seem daunting at first, but it is a lot of fun and of great use.
On another note please tell me if you are having problems with the loading times on my blog. It seems the LIVE feeds on the right take too much time to load from Feeddigest. I want you guys to give me your comments stating whether it is slow or not slow. Depending on that, I will either remove them or keep them. I would appreciate your comments in this regard. Thanks guys.
On another note please tell me if you are having problems with the loading times on my blog. It seems the LIVE feeds on the right take too much time to load from Feeddigest. I want you guys to give me your comments stating whether it is slow or not slow. Depending on that, I will either remove them or keep them. I would appreciate your comments in this regard. Thanks guys.
Thursday, December 15, 2005
Highlights of the 3rd ODI - Pakistan Innings
Here I am posting a link to the Pakistan innings batting of the 3rd ODI. Some person put this up on filefront. I do not condone this btw, as this is most definately a copyright infringement since the person used the highlights off the sky sports channel. I provide it as is, since I came across it today. Download it if you want to.
Edited: My friend showed me the link the England Batting Innings.
First Innings - 3rd ODI
Second Innings - 3rd ODI
Edited: My friend showed me the link the England Batting Innings.
First Innings - 3rd ODI
Second Innings - 3rd ODI
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
The ever snuggleable, huggable and cuddleable munchkins
I thought i'd post some pics of my cats twinkle and casper. As some of you know Casper is a persian shorthair and his mate, Twinkle is a turkish angora. Casper is about an year older than Twinkle. Below are some of their pics from the hundreds I have. Enjoy.
Casper and twinkle enjoying a lazy day on the couch. Talk about hounding all the coach to yourself.
Casper in all his regal glory. One of the most whitest and cutest cats i've seen to this day, everytime I see him, it still doesn't cease to amaze me how beautiful he is. He is always active as hell and causing mischief in the house is his favorite passtime. His way of showing affection is by butting his head on your body, and also as a way to gain attention. Is the world greatest goalkeeper of the pingpong ball, doing dives and acrobatics.
Twinkle having some time away to herself. Normally she follows you around everywhere, unlike Casper. She loves to be cuddled and stroked. One of the best features of her's is that she sits with you for long times on end while you work. A miscarriage of Casper's and her kittens haven't deterred her from being the all around best snuggleable cat that she is.
Casper and twinkle enjoying a lazy day on the couch. Talk about hounding all the coach to yourself.
Casper in all his regal glory. One of the most whitest and cutest cats i've seen to this day, everytime I see him, it still doesn't cease to amaze me how beautiful he is. He is always active as hell and causing mischief in the house is his favorite passtime. His way of showing affection is by butting his head on your body, and also as a way to gain attention. Is the world greatest goalkeeper of the pingpong ball, doing dives and acrobatics.
Twinkle having some time away to herself. Normally she follows you around everywhere, unlike Casper. She loves to be cuddled and stroked. One of the best features of her's is that she sits with you for long times on end while you work. A miscarriage of Casper's and her kittens haven't deterred her from being the all around best snuggleable cat that she is.
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