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Dec 27, 2007

A Prison Diary … by FF 8282 …

5 comments
A Prison Diary … by FF 8282 …

Hello ...
Just finished reading "A Prison Diary" by FF8282 ...
Its the first part of a three part book ...
By renowned British writer/author Jeffrey Archer ...
The book is very different to all his other books ...
This book was written inside a jail cell ...
Jeffrey Archer, a charismatic national leader and novelist ...
Probably on his way to become the Prime Minister of Britain ...
Gets sentenced to 4 years in prison ... accused of perjury ...
So ... instead of 10 downing street ... he ends up in jail ...
Her Majesty's Prison at Belmarsh ... a double A-cat prison ...
This book is an hour-by-hour day by day account ...
of the first 21 days of his 4 year sentence ...
He starts by telling us how he was strip searched ...
How he was on the medical wing on suicide watch ...
And how he was banged up for 18 hours a day in a small cell ...
Along with some of the worst criminals in Britain ...
With his trademark writing style he narrates his experiences ...
It makes an interesting and thought-provoking read ...
The importance of prison reform ... the effectivesness of the system ...
How a first time offender rather than a first time prisoner ...
Struggles to face life behind bars ...
Its about solitary confinement ... retribution and redemption ...
A very good book ... looking forward to reading the sequels ...
Laterx ...

Dec 17, 2007

Stairway to Heaven/Hell/Everywhere …

13 comments
A building under construction … can you see the stairs to the floor doom … ???

Hello ...
Male' is one of the most densely populated cities ...
And due to the scarcity of available land to develop ...
The only logical direction of expansion is sky wards ...
And we are building at an alarmingly rapid rate ...
So rapid... each block has a few buildings under construction ...
That may be a sign of economic boom and good news for some ...
But for people who live on highrises and on multiple floors ...
That is far from good news ... infact its bad news ...
Here is what annoys me... and what frustrates me ...
I live on the top floor of a 6-storey building ...
That may sound kewl... but let me tell you... it really is not ...
My building doesn't have the luxury of an elevator system ...
So each time I come home... I have to climb up the stairs ...
Thats 75 boring/tiring steps... and I do it 3-4 times everyday ...
And to add to the frustration and annoyance ...
Everyone who I care to visit ... be it family or friends ...
Doesn't live anywhere even close to the ground floor ...
So every time I have to visit of them for any given reason ...
I have to be ready to climb a few flights of stairs ...
The places of my work are on 2nd floor of different buildings ...
So gotta run up and down these stairs a few times everyday ...
Thats not all ... what actually infuriates me is that ...
Most places I go on work related stuff are never on ground ...
Most places I go to get a service like banking and bills ...
Are not on the ground ... so I gotta do more climbing ...
Have you started to see a pattern here ... get my drift ???
Say you are going to meet someone or pick someone up ...
When you are nearing his/her place ... you let 'em know ...
It used to be like... you call and ask him/her to come out ...
Nowadays... you call up and always ask him/her to come down ...
I know there is not much anyone can do about this ...
But all this climbing is really starting to get to me ...
I know climbing can be considered a form of exercise ...
It can even be good for urbanites who doesn't get much of it ...
But only an expert like our personal trainer can tell us ...
If we should be happy we are forced to do this all the time ...
Or will it just get us to bust our knees at a young age ...
Laterx ...

Dec 10, 2007

Is your University on the Top 200 … ???

9 comments
World University Rankings 2007 …

Hello …
Got an email with an interesting PDF attached …
It had the list of the top 200 Universities for 2007 …
You can download a copy of this here ...
As you may expect … I immediately scanned the list …
To see if my University was there somewhere …
It was not … bummer …
Then I noticed something interesting …
There were no Malaysian Universities on the list …
As many Maldivians go to Malaysia for their studies …
I wanted to share this with you guys …
Laterx …

Update::
Some are finding it difficult to download the file ...
So I've put a direct link to the PDF ..
Just right click... and save ...

Nov 20, 2007

My tech wish … give us podcasts …

12 comments
Give us some kewl podcasts …

Hello …
I don’t know if there’s such a thing as a tech wish …
But if there is such a thing … here is mine …
I wish for podcasts … podcasts by Maldivians …
I know some bloggers have talked about it …
I’ve been told that a few even tried it …
But I have yet to know of a regular Maldivian podcast …
I enjoy listening to podcasts ... I listen to many a week …
There are lotsa podcasts out there for you to download …
An insane number of them on all topics you can think of …
And I think it would be a good idea … a great idea …
If a Maldivian started to take up podcasting …
To talk about local stuff … to cover local issues …
Several months ago … or was it a year … I’m not sure …
I tried to put out a podcast with simon as a guest …
We even recorded a few takes … it was fun …
Then I got busy with other stuff … lost my focus …
But when I did manage sit down and learn Garageband
And figured out how to edit and add intro/outro/jingles …
The moment had passed and the things we talked about …
Had become pretty out dated … bummer …
So I didn’t manage to put out that podcast …
But I seriously wish that someone else would …
We are here to download … to listen … to comment …
To compliment … and of coz … to constructively criticize …
So all you guys out there … if you have something to say …
Say it with a podcast … or better yet … a video podcast …
Or is that wishing for too much too soon … ???
Also … I was thinking that it would be kinda kewl …
If some radio shows were made available as podcasts …
So we could listen to them at our convenience …
Laterx …

Oct 30, 2007

Back-up your cell phone … it’s a bummer to loose all data …

11 comments
logged into zyb dot com

Hello …
So imagine this scenario …
You are traveling or something …
Aand you loose your cell phone …
With all your contacts and calendar events and all …
That would be like a real bummer right … ???
Nope … not anymore … not when you are on zyb
I just got to know this website … zyb
It lets you backup/sync your cell phone …
Contacts … calendar events … even text messages …
This is like really good … very convenient …
Weather you loose your phone …or get a new phone…
You can just sync over the air wherever you are …
And get all your data right back on your cell …
I sync’d my cell … with a few hundred contacts …
And found out 6 people already using zyb …
Including murad and jaa … to name a few bloggers …
So I guess … it’s a good service to check out ...
Especially coz it doesn’t cost you anything … hehe …
Lemme know what you think of it …
Laterx …

Oct 18, 2007

Born ready. Born perfect. This is Artificial Life …

12 comments
DNA

As a kid ... I was fascinated with science fiction novels ...
I read stories set in fictional future worlds ...
About near-impossible human achievements ...
And huge technological advances ... time travel and stuff ...
Not that I understood much then ... but it sure was intriguing ...
But I never actually thought I'd live to see this day ...
Fox has reported that Craig Venter ... a genetics specialist ...
Has created artificial life ... yes artificial life !!!
With synthetics chromosomes from laboratory chemicals ...
This is like huge ... I mean really huge ...
I can't even begin to wrap my mind around the impact ...
This discovery would have on our world as we know it ...
On life as we know it ... or on propagation of human kind ...
I'm sure there is gonna be like heated debates over this ...
I'm sure there will be like more than a few opinions ...
Especially between scientists and religious people ...
Life is supposed to be a gift from God himself ...
And if we human learn the ability to give life ...
Someone somewhere is gonna have serious problems with it ...
I dunno how far or where this would take human kind to ...
I dunno how far down this road we should venture ...
I dunno who would control this ... or who wouldn't wanna control ...
But I do know ... that there might come a day in the future ...
When an unborn fetus will have the right to be born perfect ...
Laterx ...

Oct 6, 2007

Patches of green in our city concrete …

12 comments
A garden … on the roof of a building …

Male' is like one of the most dense cities in the world ...
Old buildings and structures are being leveled almost daily ...
To make way for for offices and apartment buildings ...
And as these new buildings pack in closer and closer ...
Male' is taking the shape of one huge concrete building ...
With narrow roads and lanes as access ways and path ways ...
And in the midst of all that ... its very refreshing to see ...
Some people working hard and exploring the possibilities ...
Where they can fit a few plants ... and grow small gardens ...
Be it balconies ... flat roof tops ... or external stairs ...
We should be happy ... as it has been a long time since ...
A healthy environmentally friendly trend took off in the city ...
These small gardens are like patches of green in the city ...
And people tend to spend a lot of time in these areas ...
While some people like to sit and relax in these gardens ...
Others go there to think ... contemplate ... and cogitate ...
While looking down into the city and vehicles zipping past ...
I'm seriously thinking about starting my own small garden ...
Given the area ... my garden can't be bigger than 3ft by 3ft ...
May be a few potten plants first ... but its a start ... eh ???
Laterx ...

Oct 1, 2007

Could this be the power of blogging … ???

10 comments
It used to say Taxi Que … now it correctly says Taxi Queue …

A coupla months go ... i wrote a blog post ...
It was about prevalent spelling mistakes of signage ...
They say blogs have the power to sway public opinion ...
I don't think thats true ... and I'm not sure I wanna do that ...
Some even say blogs can make you rich and famous ...
Haven't seen a single buck my way yet ... hehe ..
But may be ... just may be ... I might have made myself heard ...
Cos they actually have corrected a spelling mistake ...
I guess may be i could think of thisas a small victory ... ???
And i guess my blog hasn't been totally useless after all eh ... ???
Laterx ...

Sep 24, 2007

Get ready … Heroes Season TWO is on …

8 comments
Heroes Season Two Promotional Poster …

Hello ...
So I've blogged a little about heroes here before ...
What I like about it and what I don't understand ...
I've also blogged about Hiro being my favorite ...
Most of my buddies are in to these TV shows ...
Some of 'em really didn't like the last few episodes ...
Of season one ... and they spoke of it deprecatingly ...
I can't really ... completely disagree with 'em ...
I've been religiously waiting for season two ...
So at least to justify it as a good show ...
Just so that it might tie those loose ends together ...
And now ... its here ... its on ...
And from tonight onwards ...
I'll have something good to look forward to ...
For at least a few weeks ... hehe ...
Our coffee's will have a little Heores talk ...
Pen drives will become a lot more important ... hehe ...
Its a good show ... i like it ...
And I'm thinking (read: hoping) it'd just rock ...
Laterx ...

Sep 19, 2007

… and i was born years before today … Happy Birthday …

17 comments
Some of the presents i got …

So ... another year has just zipped past me ...
Hell ... i could've sworn it couldn't have been 12 months ...
But it HAS been 12 months ... and a lot has changed ...
Anyways ... I have this tendency each birthday ...
To ask myself ... is this where i saw myself at the age ...
The answer is a bit of YES ... and whole lot NO ...
There have been certain things i wanted to do ...
But they just haven't happened yet ... same old same old ...
Too much expectations ... hence too much disappointment ...
May be those things didn't happen for a bigger reason ...
May be i've to like ... come to terms with ...
Disallow false hope ... and accept certain truths ...
So I'm thinking maybe I should make a resolution this time ..
I procrastinate ... I sometimes work in long irregular spurts ...
So ... I resolve to develop more sensible work habits ...
A wiser man once told me something like ...
"Beware ... the frivolity of ambitions not actualized" ...
Still haven't been able to wrap my mind around that completely ...
Often people have this thing that they do ...
When nothing seems to be working for them ...
Mine has always been TV and reading ... I need more ...
Laterx ...

Sep 12, 2007

!important! … do *not* buy 32gb pen drives …

25 comments

Hello ...
A friend calls ... invites me for a coffee ...
I go meet him ... and he asks me to give him some movies ...
He threw across a pen drive ... I caught it and had a look ...
God damn it ... it was small 32GB pen drive ... a SONY ...
Compared to the 8GB cruzer that i carry around ...
The 32GB pen was like enormous ... capacity wise ... hehe ...
I was impressed ... and wanted to ask him for more details ...
But i didn't get time ... i had to leave ...
Later ... i come home ... copy some movies on to the SONY ...
On the way to return the pen I meet this techie buddy of mine ...
I show him the 32Gb pen ... hoping he would be impressed too ...
Feeling sorry that I had that pen ... he explained ...
The 32Gb pen was a serious piece of crap ...
You can apparently see files being copied to it ...
But the files are corrupted and cant be used ...
I didn't believe him ... and checked it out ...
Holy shit ... he was right ... I couldn't open any files ...
It said something like data corrupted ... or truncated ...
Sulking ... I fired up my HEX editor ...
I'll be damned ... just a bunch of zero's ...
The pen wasn't writing any data on to it ...
It was just writing a shit load of zero's that can't be used ...
I called up my friend and let him know what I've learned ...
All he wanted to do was call the seller and ask for a refund ...
So guys ... I know there are some cheap 32GB pens going around ...
Don't fall for it ... check it out really well ...
Before you cough up your hard earned cash ...
Laterx ...

Sep 8, 2007

iPhone’s finally cracked … and in use in maldives …

13 comments
The iPhone … being used on Dhiraagu Network …

Hello ...
This might be good news to some guys I know ...
Not so good news to big corporations ... hehe ...
The hottest item on the planet ... right now ...
The iPhone ... has finally been fully cracked ...
It can now be used anywhere with any telecom carrier ...
I saw a few iPhone used in male' the other day ...
Click on the pic ... you'd notice MV DHIMOBILE as the carrier ...
Who says Maldives isn't a tech community ... hehe ...
Of course ... I check out the phone a bit ...
Pictures and videos just doesn't do 'em justice ...
The actual thing is like ... wicked kewl ...
Only probelm is ... its just a bit expensive for me ...
Well ... the price is gonna come down soon I guess ...
I'll just ... wait this one out for a while ... hehe ...
But you ... get it if you can ... its just awesome ...
Laterx ...

PS::
Keep an eye on this site ...
Some kewl iPhone hacking videos might pop up ...

Sep 5, 2007

Sleeper Cell … a very good TV show …

2 comments
Sleeper Cell Tv Show …

Hello ...
Just finished watching Sleeper Cell ...
The complete two seasons of it ... it was good ...
This TV series is about a Muslim FBI agent ...
Who goes under cover to infiltrate a terrorist group ...
A well-written ... a well-directed TV series ...
It s a very good show ... you might like it ...
It s a bit dragging at time ... but if you bare with it ...
you might really enjoy it ... watch it if you can ...
Laterx ...

Sep 1, 2007

here begineth the site re-design bender …

10 comments
The DragonFly theme That I was Using Before …

A little over two weeks ago ...
I was messing with my blog a bit ...
And just got tired of staring at the the old green theme ...
Especially the Dragonfly on the header ...
So i set out to change the theme of the blog ...
I tested out several themes last two weeks ...
You may have noticed some wierd themes on my blog then ... hehe ...
But nothing i tested out held my fancy for long ...
That is until i stumbled upon my friend Muard's blog ...
I immediately knew what i wanted to do ...
And yes it was a bit more than what i needed to do ... hehe ...
So i ended up doing a lot more than changing the theme ...
I wanted my blog to be aesthetically pleasing ...
And functional with an easy to use interface ...
I also wanted a modern look with a bit of Ajax thrown in ...
I'm guessing this ain't gonna easy for me for two reasons ...
One ... I am no techie ... and i can't code to save a life ...
Two ... a design becomes redundant after a given time ...
But i'll give it a shot ... lets see how it turns out ...
If you guys have any thoughts ... plz let me know ...
Laterx ...

Aug 25, 2007

Try to enjoy those inconvenient jams, what else can one do…???

5 comments
Click for larger picture …

Hello ...
Long traffic jams has become an everyday sight in Male' ...
Some roads at times are practically parking lots ...
I seriously doubt I'd enjoy being stuck there ...
Especially when everyone starts to horn when in Jams ...
A ride around Male' has now become arduous and unsafe ...
I wonder how many vehicles are there in Male' ...
In the whole 2 square kilometers of Male' ...
A quick look at the transport ministry's website says ...
That there are close to 20,000 registered vehicles ...
Most of them are motorbikes ... of course ...
Which makes one thing really very clear ...
We need a reliable and efficient public transport system ...
We need it ... like yesterday ...
We also need to find out somehow or another ...
Where those young ebullient bikers are flying past to ...
Laterx ...

PS ::
I heard there's a public bus service from MTCC ...
I wonder where they are and what their routes are ... ???
Because i've yet to see a public bus on the road ...

Aug 20, 2007

I wanna buy this Camera … should I … ?

12 comments
Olympus SP-550 Ultra Zoom …

Hello ...
Everybody admires a good picture ... right ???
I've been interested in photography for a while now ...
And am thinking it would be a good hobby ...
Am sure most of you hobbyist photographers will agree ...
So to start off ... am contemplating buying this camera ...
Its an Olympus ... SP-550 Ultra Zoom ...
If you want ... you can read a review here ...
I know its not a professional camera ... its not that good ...
But hey ... I'm not a professional ... not just yet anyway ...
As you guys are probably aware by now ...
There is a great deal of technique involved ...
With shooting a great picture ... not just dumb luck ...
And this camera gives me the ability to go manual ...
With the ease of point and shoot simplicity ...
So what do you flickr guys think ... ???
Will this be a good investment ... ???
Laterx ...

Jul 31, 2007

Can’t install Aperture … so going Lightroom …

5 comments
Adobe Lightroom 1.1 …

Hello …
I’ve always tried and admired a good photograph …
And always aspired to take a few great shots myself …
And as anyone … I do have a few in my pictures folder …
As I was missing a good picture management software …
I downloaded and tried to install Apple Aperture
Thinking that on a Mac apple softwares will work better …
But no can do … I couldn’t get past the first step …
Apparently I needed at least 1GB of RAM for it to work …
And my MacbookPro has got only 512MB … damn it …
So after some advice from Nazee and a few others …
I downloaded and tried Adobe Lightroom
I tell you its amazing … these adobe guys are just great …
If you ever wanted a good way to manage your pictures …
And do some editing/archiving work on the fly as well …
Try adobe lightroom … you’ll never look back …
It is that good … and more …
Laterx …

Jul 23, 2007

Parade of the Athletes … enjoying good music …

2 comments
Parade of the Athletes by DJ Tiësto …

Hello ...
Listening to Parade of the Athletes by DJ Tiësto ...
You know those times when something is really good ...
You feel an obligation to tell someone about it ...
Lets just say ... this is a something like that ... hehe ...
I've always liked house and trance music ...
With a bit of electronic thrown in kinda agrees with me ...
I like to hear vocal-less music when i work ...
I discovered DJ Tiësto few years back ...
But I discovered this album only a few weeks back ...
I know this album is old ... and I'm not up to date ...
But Parade of Athletes is good ... very good ...
Its probably the best album to date from DJ Tiësto ...
Parade of the Athletes was the soundtrack ...
To the Opening Ceremonies of the 2004 Summer Olympic Games ...
So need less to say ... its bound to be good ... right ???
I mean ... how many DJs get a chance to spin ...
At an worldwide event like that .... eh ???
I guess this album is gonna be on my iPod ...
For a very very long time ... hehe ... yeah i know ...
If u can download it ... have a listen to this album ...
It just might tickle your fancy ... hehe ...
If you know any other good music like this ...
Please let me know ... I'll check it out ...
Laterx ...

Jul 20, 2007

MRF 45,000/- for a bird … ??? Damn … !!!

4 comments
Xim’s Macaw … its really colorful … good luck bro …

Hello …
I visited a friend’s place after a long time …
The place had changed a bit … for good perhaps …
And there was excitement in the air …
My friend had bought a pet bird that night …
And everyone was gathering around to watch …
Kudos to anyone who guess how much he paid …
A whopping MRF 45,000/- … for a baby Macaw
That went nicely into his collection I guess …
Coz he had Cockatiel, Lovebirds and a kewl African Grey …
I can understand the love for pets … especially birds …
I know it may be rewarding and therapeutic at times …
But I seriously can’t understand this…
How anyone can be ready to pay this kinda cash …
To buy a bird and the responsibility of taking care of it …
I guess people are different … eh ?
Laterx …

Jul 17, 2007

The iPhone has arrived on Maldivian soil … !!!

7 comments
Holding the first iPhone i ever saw … its freaking awesome …

Hello …
I just went out to meet Yattey ... an old friend of mine …
He was in his office … with a colleague of his …
They were deep in discussion … when I entered his cabin …
The moment I walked in … I was awestruck …
My friend was holding a brand new iPhone in his hand …
At first … I thought it was a good fake …
It took me a moment to realize … that it was the real deal …
I immediately took it and checked it out …
It was real alright … very real … it was beautiful …
It was smaller than I had previously anticipated …
It seemed smaller than the video iPod and lighter …
I slid the screen button to unlock the phone …
But of course it would not work as a phone yet …
As we all know iPhone is locked to US AT&T network …
My friend told me that he just bought it today …
And with in a few hours … he’d try and hack it …
So that it can be used here in Male’ … that’d be kewl …
I immediately placed a bet … and he accepted …
I told him that if he could hack the iPhone …
I’d buy the iPhone off him and meet his asking price …
I don’t think I’m gonna loose this bet … what do you say ???
Thought the iPhone cannot be used as a phone yet …
It can still be used as an iPod … and other stuff …
Just holding the iPhone sent a chill down my back …
It was really beautiful … it was amazing …
That was one freaking awesome piece of hardware …
The best “I need to have that” gadget right now …
Laterx …

Jul 3, 2007

A thank you note to the gentleman who stole my iPod…

6 comments
My New iPod … serial 5K7222QNVQ5 …

Hello …
I’ve bought a new iPod … but I still wanted to thank you …
You might not know me, but I’m the guy you stole from …
First of all, let me thank you for not stealing my entire bike …
That would’ve been the worst, so thank you very much for that.
As for stealing my iPod and stuff … I’ll take it as a lesson …
Thank you for reminding me that I’m an urbanite …
And I need to live and act like one …
And while living in the most densely populated city …
I should be more careful and more street smart …
As you’ve noticed by now, it’s an old iPod …
And it freezes when you connect it to a charger …
But I assume you wouldn’t have this problem …
As you only stole my iPod, not my charger …
I really hope you are enjoying my music collection …
Because, it took me years to build that collection …
I hope it reminds you of some good times in your life …
Which I assume are not that many, I’m sorry …
I also hope that you’d listen to some podcasts I’ve in it …
There are some tutorials about photography and MacOSX …
May be you can use them if you rip off another guy …
And steal a camera or a Macintosh computer …
There are some self help podcasts on it as well …
Maybe you need them more than I do … its very good …
I sincerely hope my iPod hasn’t become just a paper weight …
As for the raincoat you stole from me …
Its NOT really a rain coat …infact its a windbreaker …
Its not gonna help you stay dry … I’m sorry …
Before I end this note, I would like to thank you again …
For opening my eyes to the real world …
For making me more mature and more responsible …
I think I’ve become a better person after this lesson …
Thank you … laterx …

PS ::
I was just being sarcastic …
Because of you … I had to buy another iPod …
I hope you burn in hell for ever … you asshole …
You can’t steal other people’s iPod and stuff …
You hear me … you bastard … !!!

Jun 27, 2007

I’ve been heinously robbed … damn it !!!

6 comments
Under my bike seat … when i discovered that i’ve been robbed … :(

Hello …
I’ve this bad habit of leaving stuff in my bike …
Though I’ve heard of stuff getting stolen …
It had not happened to any friends of mine …
So I didn’t give it much thought … until yesterday …
Here is what happened … it sucks to get robbed …
Down with flu pas few days … and bored outta my skull …
I was home …just drinking as much liquid as I can …
My bike was parked right in front of my place …
Yesterday I wanted to get a CD from my bike …
And when I lifted the seat up … I was shocked …
There was nothing in there … I mean nothing …
It was cleaned out … not a thing in there …
Even the guys at the wash doesn’t clean this much …

Items lost include …

  1. Ipod Nano … Serial Number ... YM537BNSZC ...

  2. Rain Caot …

  3. Few Music CDs …

  4. Few DVDs …

  5. Bike WipeCloth …

  6. USB Cable for my Portable Hard disk …

  7. Registration and documents relating to the bike …

  8. A very old pair of sunglasses …

  9. Lotsa receipts and Bills …

  10. An old Nike baseball cap … green color …


I cant remember what else I put in there …
But I’m thinking there would be other stuff too …
Yeah … I know what you are thinking …
I shouldn’t have put all my stuff in the bike …
Yeah … but people are lazy … people trust other people …
That’s a lame excuse … I should’ve been smarter …
The thing I’ll miss the most is ofcoz my iPod
Me and my iPod have had fun times together … hehe …
And I’ve several podcasts and many rare songs in it …
That I don’t have backed up in my mac anymore …
So I’ve learned my lesson the hard way …
Make sure you guys are smarter than me …
Don’t get robbed … and don’t leave stuff in the bike …
Laterx …

Jun 19, 2007

When can we pull the plug on fax machines ???

3 comments
Fax Machine …
Hello …
Since like around mid 1970s …
Fax machines have been used widely in businesses …
But now … after around 30 years of use …
Is still a pre-requisite for setting up a business … ???
I don’t think so … I think we should move on …
Why cant we use email instead … why cant we let go … ???
Why should we use this unreliable technology … ???
To start with … a fax machine is expensive to buy …
With the added cost of thermal paper or ink cartridges …
It is expensive to operate and maintain …
And all it does … while taking up so much space …
Is send out and receive black and white images …
And usually it doesn’t do a very good job at it either …
Can we forget the garbled fax messages we receive … ???
How often have we sent the same fax more than once … ???
And the annoyingly slow speed and dreaded busy signals … ???
All of which can be avoided by using email instead …
I can understand the fact that some businesses …
May require your signature on a form or a contract …
And for those desperate situations …
There are several email/fax gateways around you can use …
I’m trying to avoid sending faxes all together …
And it nice to know that some of the business cards …
And email signatures of most email I get …
Doesn’t have a fax number advertised on it anymore …
That’s a good sign … right … ???
Laterx …

Jun 7, 2007

Feeling good about my 100th blog post …

3 comments
My 100th blog post stat …

Hello …
So … I’ve reached the ubiquitous 100th post …
And as to follow the blogging tradition …
I announce here … my blogging milestone …
Some of you veteran bloggers …
Might scoff at a measly 100 posts …
That’s barely twice a week … you might quip …
But for me … it has been a satisfying run …
At a pace I call my own … and am comfortable with it …
When I started blogging … it was a bit of a challenge …
But now … it is almost a part of my biorhythm …
More like a part of my obsessive compulsiveness … hehe
I was thinking may be now … after over a year of blogging …
I should change the look and feel of this blog …
But am having second thoughts about it …
As I kinda have grown to like this green look … hehe …
Also, some serious bloggers have suggested …
That I should migrate from my Wordpress to MovableType
But am holding that off too for the time being …
Wordpress just seems to work for me … why change ???
I thank my readers …
Who’s geographical locations surprises me …
I thank my commenters … for your words and your time …
Laterx …

Jun 3, 2007

If you cant spell it … don’t display it …!!!

10 comments
Taxi Que … ???

Went to Hulhumale’ ferry terminal …
To have a coffee in Sea House …
And saw this … this is not good …
Proper signage is most welcome …
But not if you can’t spell them right …
Someone please throw these guys a dictionary ….
Sheesh … !!!

May 27, 2007

Am falling in love with Opera … again !!!

0 comments
OperaMini on my Motorola V3X

Hello …
I’m falling in love with Opera, no … not Oprah … hehe …
I’m talking about my favorite browser … Opera …
I have it on my Mac at home, my windows box at work …
And I also had OperaMini installed on my phone …
But I never really started using OperaMini until recently …
I was thinking what would I do with it on my phone … ???
I started trying out OperaMini on one of my commutes …
And I tell you … don’t underestimate this little beast …
I’ve learnt that OperaMini can do lot more that I first thought …
The feel, speed and functionality are just awesome …
History and bookmarks management is a breeze …
Say like … I can read any website … check out mvblogs … …
I can administer and moderate my own blog …
I can read bloglines … and pull my email and RSS feeds …
I can do stuff on facebook … even upload pictures …
OperaMini is like the best thing on my phone now … hehe ..
Opera is probably the best browser on the planet … hehe …
Try it out … you’d like it … am sure you won’t regret it …
Laterx …

PS :: Kudos to Primary0 for intro’ing it to me …

May 24, 2007

Girls … your 10th coffee is free at Shellbeans !?!

0 comments
The Shellbeans coffee card … notice the heart shaped hole punched through it … hehe …

Hello …
Went to Shellbeans yesterday for breakfast …
Met a friend there who was carrying a coffee card …
I asked how it worked … and this is what I was told …
You buy a coffee and they give you a coffee card …
The coffee card has 9 beans printed on it …
And every time you buy a coffee and present the card …
They punch a heart shape hole through the bean …
And when all the 9 beans have been punched through …
Your 10th coffee is free … that is kewl … right … ?
I think this is a great idea … for getting customers back …
I remember Nasandhura had this sometime earlier …
It was kinda popular there then … it was crazy … hehe …
I say in Shellbeans the program is aimed at girls because …
The card is pinkish in color and girlish in design …
And yes … they punch heart shaped holes in it … hehe …
I’m not sure a guy would be much thrilled to carry it around …
So go on … have a cup of coffee in Shellbeans …
And before you know it … you might get a free one …
I’m guessing I’ll enjoy those free coffees … how about you … ?
Laterx …

May 17, 2007

Bionic Woman is coming to the telly again … kewl …

0 comments
The new Bionic Woman … kewl …
Hello …
Remember Bionic Woman and Six Million Dollar Man … ???

Bionic Woman is about a Jamie Sommers …
A tennis pro ... who suffers a near-fatal skydiving accident …
Then her body is transformed …
With $50 million worth of bionic wizardry … kewl eh … ???

Well … I do remember the show … vaguely ...
I remember I liked it a lot when I was a kid …
So its kinda good news they are bringing it back …
I remember those Friday mornings in front of the telly …
Waiting impatiently for the parts …
Where they would use their special abilities …
I even remember the sound they played …
When certain abilities are being used …
It was so kewl then … so I guess it’ll much better now …
So I’ve a feeling I’m gonna enjoy this new show …
Can’t wait for Bionic Woman to kick some serious ass … hehe …
Also Michelle Ryan as Bionic Woman is kinda hot too… hehe …
Laterx …

PS :: youtube has some kewl videos of the new show …

May 6, 2007

Saw Spiderman 3 last night … it ROCKED !!!

5 comments
Spiderman 3 … Spiderman bonded with the symbiote … kewl …

Hello …
Saw Spiderman 3 last night, and I tell you ... it rocked …
It was better than the last two Spiderman movies …
The action sequences were utterly spectacular …
I’m gonna share my thoughts about the movie here …

So in here goes the standard spoiler alert bit …

Good points …
- The cast was good except for Kirsten Dunst …
- The story was ok … but a little crammed …
- The fight scenes were great … obviously …
- Gwen Stacy is like really hot … damn … !!!
- The CGI was kewl … especially Sandman …
- Venom was like great … very badass …
- Spiderman has finally mastered his abilities …
- The dark Spiderman was the best … liked him …

Bad points …
- I just don’t like Kirsten Dunst in this movie …
- Peter and MJ just don’t look good together anymore …
- MJ’s character is weak … always damsel in distress …
- More villains than one movie can properly handle …
- Sandman was very peripheral to the movie …
- Venom didn’t get enough screen time …

All in all it was a good movie … really enjoyed it …
Wish I could see it in IMAX … that would’ve been nice …

Laterx …

May 2, 2007

I hate those small “Snap Preview” windows …

1 comments
I just hate those “Snap Preview” windows …

Hello …
I’ve been spending time online these days …
And there is this thing that’s driving me mad …
Its “Snap Preview” … those little irritating windows …
Here is what happens … I’m reading a website or a blog …
My mouse hovers over a link …and suddenly without notice …
A window pops up showing a small preview of that site …
Its like pop-up windows all over again … sheesh !!!
I don’t understand why anybody would wanna see these …
The preview is too small to be useful … its pointless …
The texts are too small … you cant read anything on it …
The images are too small … you can’t tell what they are …
So I wonder what might be the use of these windows … ?
I find them windows annoying and obtrusive …
They cover the content I’m reading …
And I’ve to move my mouse away to continue reading …
Somebody please tell me how to stop these pop-ups …
And if you are using this on your websites or blogs …
Let me tell you something … “Snap Preview” is just wrong …
Do the world a favor … and turn it off … like now …
You are not doing anybody any good by using them …
If anything … you are actually hindering your readers …
Laterx …

Apr 26, 2007

Is Graffiti in the eye of the beholder … ???

0 comments
Graffiti on my lane …

Hello …
Alot of construction work going on the roads these days …
And I had to take a detour on the way back from work …
I went through some roads that I’m not much familiar with …
And I realized that I was seeing a lot of graffiti on the walls …
So it got me thinking … why the sudden increase in Graffiti …?
What changed in the city …?
Has people got more to say, or we got more vandals… ?
It’s a bit complicated than that, so let’s talk about it a bit …

They say graffiti art began with the inscriptions on cave walls …
It has spread everywhere ... every culture we see worldwide …
Different people have different views on graffiti in their city …

Some say it is an art form, a form of liberal expressionism …
They claim that with their vibrant inner-city literacy …
They liven up otherwise plain and boring walls …
And just generally improves the aesthetic appeal of an area …
They go even further saying graffiti is a part of urban lifestyle …

Others label graffiti as a juvenile act of vandalism …
They blame the graffiti artiste for blighting the city …
For them graffiti is made by socially incompetent teenagers …
And deserves no artic merit … none whatsoever …
They think graffiti is how gangs mark territory …
And send messages to rival gangs …
Most city officials are against graffiti and consider it a crime …
They also have whitewashing campaigns to clean up graffiti …

When I think about these colorful images/texts on the wall …
I get mixed feelings … I can’t decide if I like 'em or hate 'em …
Who decides what is art, what is good and what is not … ?
But I do know this … graffiti is supposed to be ephemeral …
And disfigurement of private property is a punishable crime …
Laterx …

Apr 24, 2007

10 movies I’m waiting for in ‘07 …

1 comments
Hello …
Its has been a slow year for me in the movies arena ..
There just doesn’t seem to be any good movies coming out …
So, I made a list of ten movies I want to see this year …
Give me your thoughts … tell me if I’ve missed anything good …
The list below is random … not necessarily in any order …
Spider-Man 3
1- Spider-Man 3 – The third installment of the popular comic franchise sees Peter and Mary Jane finally together, but with three new enemies: the Sandman, Venom and Spidey's old enemy: the New Goblin, his best friend, Harry Osborn, threatens the lives of people close to Peter. The greatest battle lies within.
The Bourne Ultimatum
2- The Bourne Ultimatum - Bourne races to discover the final mysteries of his past while a government agent tries to track him down after a shootout in Moscow. By Final, I mean the finale’ as in the trilogy. But there are more books out there with Jason Bourne. I’ve of course read the book. It rocked.
Eva Almighty

3- Evan Almighty - The last time we saw Evan Baxter, he was being tormented by rival Bruce Nolan onscreen, live from their Buffalo TV station. But as time passed Evan has made up with Bruce, he's gone onto better things. Newly elected as a congressman in pursuit of a greater calling. But that calling isn't serving in politics, but being summoned by the Almighty himself, who has handed Evan the task of building a new ark, much as Noah did before.
The Fantastic Four: The Rise of the Silver Surfer
4- The Fantasic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer - After the death of Dr.Doom the Fantastic Four feels life is back to normal for the team. And Reed Richards and Sue Storm get married. Little do they know that a new enemy the Silver Surfer takes charge to destroy the earth and it's up to the fantastic four to stop him. As they also deal with the return of Dr. Doom.
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
5- Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End - Captain Barbossa, Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann must sail off the edge of the map, navigate treachery and betrayal, and make their final alliances for one last decisive battle. The trailer wasn’t much, but am hoping the movie will be better.
Ocean’s Thirteen
6- Ocean’s Thirteen - Danny Ocean circles up the boys for a third a heist, after casino owner Willy Bank (Al Pacino) double-crosses one of the original eleven, Reuben Tishkoff. How can one not anticipate this movie. The cast alone blows my mind.
Die Hard 4: Live Free or Die Hard
7- Live Free or Die Hard - When a criminal plot is in place to take down the entire computer and technological structure that supports the economy of the United States (and the world), it's up to a decidedly "old school" hero, police detective John McClane, to take down the conspiracy, aided by a young hacker. John McClane is back.
Grindhouse
8- Grindhouse - A homage to exploitation B-movie thrillers that combines two feature-length segments into one double-bill designed to replicate the grind house theatergoing experience of the 70s and 80s. In "Death Proof," a psycho named Stuntman Mike stalks and kills beautiful women with his car. In "Planet Terror," a small-town sheriffs' department has to deal with an outbreak of murderous, infected people called "sickos." A gun-legged woman named Cherry and her martial arts-wielding partner take on the zombie army. The two films will be fused together by fake movie trailers. Whew!!!
Transformers
9- Transformers - Dueling alien races, the Autobots and the Decepticons, bring their battle to Earth, leaving the future of humankind hanging in the balance. I’ve been waiting for this movie since I was a kid. Dunno why no body ever thought of doing a version of this movie a bit earlier. Here it is now, and if it is anything like the trailer, it will blow our collective minds away. Autobots … transform.
Rush Hour 3
10- Rush Hour 3 - While in Paris, Lee and Carter inadvertently get mixed up with the Chinese Triad crew. Am hoping there will be a lot of Paris, hot ladies, A lot of talking and immensely entertaining martial arts sequences. Tucker and Chan has proved to be good together. They could have thrown Owen Wilson in as well. Hehe ...

So … have I missed out on anything good to come … ?
Let me know if you guys think of any good movies this year …
Wish you guys a good movie experience ...
Laterx …

Apr 16, 2007

My favorite coffeeshop serves Starbucks coffee …

2 comments
Starbucks Coffee in Trends …

Hello …
I love coffee … I need coffee … and so do most guys I know …
And noone can say no to a cup of designer coffee … can they?
And now … you can have that cup of coffee … at Trends …
Nasandhura is a favorite hangout for a lot us … isn’t is … ?
And it is good that we can enjoy that special cup … right there …
So go ahead … have a cup of Starbucks coffee … you’ll like it …
And no, these are not the Frappaccinos I wrote about earlier
This is the real deal … this is steaming Starbucks coffee …
Made to order … made right then and there … how cool is that?
And you don’t necessarily have to be a coffee connoisseur …
To feel and enjoy the difference … its just good … very good …
Laterx …

Apr 10, 2007

Reading Tintin comics … feeling nostalgic …

4 comments

Hello …
When I was a kid … I loved to read Tintin comics
Hell … every kid on the planet loved it …
I remember we never got tired reading and re-reading ‘em …
My favorite characters were … the twins … they were hilarious …
So when I saw the Tintin comics … available on rapidshare …
I set my internet connection ablaze … and got ‘em all …
It feels good going through and reading these PDFs …
Brings back torrents of memories and stuff … happens eh … ?
Here is a list quick list for all you Tintin fans out there …

1 Tintin in the Land of the Soviets
2 Tintin in the Congo
3 Tintin in America
4 Cigars of the Pharaoh
5 The Blue Lotus
6 The Broken Ear
7 The Black Island
8 King Ottokar's Sceptre
9 The Crab with the Golden Claws
10 The Shooting Star
11 The Secret of the Unicorn
12 Red Rackham's Treasure
13 The Seven Crystal Balls
14 Prisoners of the Sun
15 Land of Black Gold
16 Destination Moon
17 Explorers on the Moon
18 The Calculus Affair
19 The Red Sea Sharks
20 Tintin in Tibet
21 The Castafiore Emerald
22 Tintin and the Flight 714
23 Tintin and the Picaros - (1976)
24 Tintin and Alph-Art
25 Tintin and the Lake of Sharks

As a kid … I missed numbers 1, 2, 11, 23 and 24 …
What did you guys miss … ??
Or are you one of those I’ve-read-‘em-all kids …
Who just forgot to lend 'em or bring ‘em to school …
For a couple of years … straight … hehe …
Laterx …

Mar 31, 2007

Saying YES and/or NO to life …

3 comments

 Saying yes to life and no to drugs …


Hello …
I just saw a billboard telling us not to do drugs …
The billboard is at the eastern end of Majeedhi Magu …
Near the ever popular artificial beach of Male’ …
The sign says … in bold red letters …
“Say yes to life OR no to drugs” …
Well … I know I don’t have a degree in English …
Nor do I know much about advertising …
But I’m guessing … this is not what they wanted to say …
I think it would have been better if they say said …
“Say yes to life AND no to drugs” …
But hey … that’s only me saying … I might be wrong …
But I guess it would have been good …
If somebody threw a second glance at the wordings …
Before they displayed it on a huge tri-vision board …
What do you guys think … ???

Mar 26, 2007

Like … my skull is on FIRE …

2 comments
Ghostrider …

Watched Ghostrider movie several days ago …
Just couldn’t wait but tell you … it sucked …
Okay … I admit I was never a Ghostrider comic fan …
But I always admired how kewl he was … when on fire …
How could I not … come on … the guy is on fire …
His skull is on fire … he rides a bike which is literally on fire …
How can you get more bad-ass than that … eh ?
When I first watched the trailer … I was awed out …
Good narration and good 3D … kewl stunts … and all …
Nicholas Cage as Ghostrider … a good thing … right … ?
Wrong … all wrong … dead wrong …
Story sucked like no other …the villains were half-assed …
Its almost a joke how Ghostrider gets rid of 'em …
All what the movie has going for it are …
Nicholas Cage’s acting … and the hot babe Eva Mendes …
And the good CGI … fire looks like fire … thats kewl …
A movie made for a quick buck … trash to the max …
Laterx …

Mar 21, 2007

Tonight … we dine in HELL …

1 comments
300 the movie …

Hello …
Watched 300 last night … it was incredibly good …
If you have been living in Mars for a while …
Let me tell you a little about this movie …
300 is about the Battle of Thermopylae …
Where in 480 BC a force of only 300 Spartan soldiers …
Lead by King Leonidas held off an invading Persian army …
Numbering in the hundreds of thousands … for three days …
The movie is based on a graphic novel by Frank Miller …
The same guy who did Sin City …
The guy who is going to do the next Batman movie …
I normally don’t like war movies …
But this movie had all the necessary elements like …
Strategy … bravery … sacrifice … brutality …
Honor … loyalty … betrayal … yes …the dagger …
This movie just blew me away … on so many levels …
The acting was good and engaging …
The battles were ferocious and violent splendor …
The cinematography was superb …
The lighting … the composition …the high contrast …
The camera movements … the slow motion … all good …
Every frame was like a Photoshop masterpiece …
Ready to be printed and hung on a wall ...
A stunning kewl movie which will takes you back …
To ancient Greece … and explicitly demonstrate …
The strength and perseverance … of Spartan Army …
One of the must see movies of the year …
There is no excuse for missing this movie …

PS ::
The title of the post is a line …
By the King Leonidas … before his final battle …

Mar 12, 2007

Drawing lines … in the sand …

7 comments
Boundaries …

Hello
We as individuals need to clearly define ...
A conception of our own personal identity …
Without our own understanding of self …
Who we are … and what makes us different …
It is impossible to engage in a functional relationship …
Or to clearly and unambiguously communicate …
With people around us and with who we care for …
The similarities between people are often appreciated …
But do we ever stop to respect the differences … ?
Enter personal boundaries ...
Boundaries define limits …
Mark off dividing lines …
The purpose of a boundary is …
To make clear separations …
Between different turfs …
Between different territories …

Personal boundaries are the limits we set …
Allowing us to protect ourselves from manipulation …
Boundaries are a part of …
The biological imperative of maturation …
As we individuate and become adults …
They help us separate our own thoughts and feelings …
To take responsibility for what we think, feel and do …
They help us enjoy ourselves while respecting others …
But boundaries don’t always keep people out …
Sometimes they fence us in ... real tight ...
Think about this ... will do you good ... hehe ...
Laterx …

Mar 4, 2007

My mattress said …

8 comments
Look what my mattress had to say …

Hello …
I’m moving …
And I got myself some new furniture …
Also got myself a new mattress …
Check out what my new mattress had to say …
“Do not leave any heavy objects …
On this mattress for long periods of time” …
Hehe …
I guess I gotta start practicing …
Polyphasic sleep patterns eh … ???
Can’t be napping long now …
Don’t wanna ruin my new mattress …
Now do we … hehe … ???
Laterx …

Mar 2, 2007

Finding a place to live … in Male’ …

9 comments
Hello ...
Several weeks back ...
I started hunting for an apartment ...
I had not the vaguest idea ...
That it would be this damn difficult ...
First ...
I let my friends know that I'm looking ...
No luck ... there ...
Second ...
I tried the newspaper classifieds ...
I tell you ... don't even try that ...
For some inexplicable reasons ...
All of those ads are expired ...
Third ...
I asked everyone I met for coffee ...
They responded like ... I'm the 10th guy ...
To ask them that that day ...
Fourth ...
I texted almost everyone in my phonebook ...
A handful responded with hopeful replies ...
So I followed these few hits I got ...
I didn't want a fancy place ...
But didn't want a pigeon hole either ...
Something between would've done nicely ...
Along the way I came to the realization ...
That if you wanna a place in Male' ...
You should know the right people ...
Have wherewithal for a superfluity advance ...
Be a diplomatic charismatic negotiator ...
Beat the highest rent proposed ...
Basically ... you need to give up a limb ...
And brutally murder someone to live in Male' ...
You might think this is facetious piffle ...
Do you seriously ... ?
Laterx ...

Feb 27, 2007

One year living … One year blogging …

10 comments
Hello ...
Today is my blog anniversary ...
Its been one year since I started blogging ...
I first started off at blogspot ...
But that just didn't cut it for me ...
So I got my own domain name and webspace ...
And created this blog ...
Some say blogging is wicked kewl ...
Some say blogging is therapeutic ...
Others say blogging is a waste of time ...
For me ... I'd say its a bit of all ...
I feel good blogging and along the way ...
I've met a lot of awesome folks ...
Writers ... readers ... movie/tv fans ...
And some plain kewl people ...
They've educated me better in many ways ...
I spent some time today ...
Slogging through my blog archive ...
I just read titles mostly ...
It felt like ... a year flashing by my eyes ...
It was good ... really good ...
It’s a great way to remember things ...
Or see the state of mind ...
You were in at a given time ...
So without being melodramatic about this ...
I'll just provide some stats ...
I've written 83 posts the past year ...
Contained within 10 categories ...
For which I've got around 278 comments ...
Thats around a post every 5 days ...
And this month so far ...
I've got 1779 unique visitors and 36875 hits ..
Not bad I guess ... hehe ...
So before i end this post ...
Let me thank you my faithful readers ...
For reading my mundane and discursive ramblings ...
Thank you ... my manifest commentors ...
You've been my recourse and always will be ...
And yes ... my unrelenting and ardent spammers ...
Much to my chagrin ... you remain unchastened ...
Laterx ...