(Tech)LifeDotCom

Code Nuggets: A Side-effect of Using DropDownList AppendDataBoundItems With DataBound Items

2008-10-12T02:35:00.002+06:00

Picture this: You have a webform with two DropDownLists, both of them are databound to some data you get from a database. Now the first DropDownList's selection determines the contents of the second dropdown. So you simply do a AutoPostBack = true for the first dropdown and populate the second dropdown in the handler function. Right?

But wait. What if you are required to put in a static item in the dropdown? Something like "-- Please Select --" as the first item in the list to force the user to make a conscious choice. Hmmm, so you look around and find the nice little property named AppendDataBoundItems that will take care of that. All you have to do is declare the first (static) item in the Items collection in the designer (or put a <asp:ListItem> tag inside your <asp:DropDownList> tags) and set AppendDataBoundItems to true. This nice little property tells the DropDownList to add the databound items after the statically declared items, so you can have your happy little "-- Please Select --" in your dropdown.

The Side-effect:

The side-effect becomes evident when you play around with your two dropdowns. Its immediately clear that something is not quite right. The AppendDataBoundItems property forces your dropdown's items from the previous postback to be treated as static objects on this display. Sort of where you get an ever-growing second dropdown with a hangover from the postback, which is clearly not what you wanted in the first place!

The Nugget:

So the quick solution is to use a loop to remove items selectively from your dropdown. Remember you still want to retain your first item, so that's why you use a loop. And a while loop at that.

while (DropDownList1.Items.Count != 1) { DropDownList1.Items.Remove(DropDownList1.Items[1]); }

There. You won't have a problem with your static-dynamic dropdowns anymore! You can even extend it to other purposes, if you have several static items that you want to preserve, or if you want to preserve static items that are of a particular value. The possibilities are endless, and the pain in your back is gone.

A Note:

Perhaps you'd want to use a for loop in place of that while loop, trying to do a quick

for (int i = 0; i < DropDownList1.Items.Count; i++) { DropDownList1.Items.RemoveAt(i); }

but believe me, it wouldn't work. Why? Because the DropDownList shrinks as you remove items from it, so your loop is bound to fail at some point, terminating earlier than it should. And of course I don't have to remind anyone that you cannot remove items from a collection while using an Iterator.

So that's it, I think the nugget had pretty much sauce alongside it!

(You can get a low-down on AppendDataBoundItems on ScottGu's blog or Andrew Rea's blog)

Code Nuggets: Getting two SQL column values in a single column

2008-09-28T23:43:00.001+06:00

Well this type of thing doesn't come up very frequently (at least to me) and if you're like me working on multiple databases it gets very frustrating when it does come up. Since I don't use it very frequently, I tend to forget how to do it properly in the database system I am using at the time.

So it goes something like this: Suppose you have a simple SQL table called Users. Now this table has three columns, id (int), firstName (varchar) and lastName (varchar). Sometimes you have to return the full name from the database in a single column (for reasons of sanity, or otherwise). How do you do it depends on your DBMS. (We assume that we have a record (1, 'George', 'Lucas') in the table.)

MySQL:

MySQL supports it via the CONCAT function. You can have as many values as you want as the parameters to the function.

Example:
SELECT CONCAT(firstName, LastName) from Users

would return:
GeorgeLucas

and would even be better if you use a CONCAT(firstName, " ", LastName) in its place which would give you a nice space in between the names.

Oracle:

Oracle also supports the CONCAT function, but you are restricted to only two values as parameters. However you can CONCAT the CONCAT function itself on the cost of getting your code ugly. Another way of concatenating multiple strings in Oracle is actually using the || operators.

Example:
SELECT CONCAT(firstName, CONCAT(" ", lastName)) from Users

SELECT firstName || " " || lastName from Users

both accomplish the same thing and would return:

George Lucas

SQL Server:

With SQL Server it actually gets a little bit easier if you are used to concatenate your strings through the '+' operator. However make sure that you CAST any numeric values to varchar before trying to concatenate it, as '+' also works as the addition operator.

Example:
SELECT firstName + " " + lastName from Users

That's all to it to the concatenation function, and remember that selecting two values and displaying them as a single values is also called concatenation (a thing that I usually look over).

java.CompilerError when running RMIC

2008-09-03T04:23:00.005+06:00

The other day I was trying out a Java RMI program in connection to an assignment. Let me be very clear here: I really like Java as it was one of my first proper programming languages (mind you, I am talking here circa 1999-2000 when Java-fever hadn't caught up) and I am a big fan of its elegance. The only turn-off which made me head towards Microsoft's direction was the lack of a proper, Visual Studio-league IDE for Java in those days. Much water has passed under the bridge, and there are many better IDEs for Java now, like Eclipse and NetBeans, but the curse still remains. (You might also want to give JCreator a shot, one of my favorite Java editing tools)

So back to where I was, trying RMI. I made a simple interface class, which compiled fine, and then an implementation class, which compiled fine in itself too. Then I had to run RMIC on one of the classes (which I tried doing from command line, since I am not sure how NetBeans handles it), and plop, I got a java.CompilerError stating that something has gone horribly wrong and the compiler is now mangled, and that I am supposed to file a bug report. Something like this (extra line-breaks have been added for readability):

error: An error has occurred in the compiler; 
please file a bug report (http://java.sun.com/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi).
1 error
----------log:rmic(7/491)----------
sun.tools.java.CompilerError: mangle NItem1Impl     javasoft$sqe$tests$api$java$rmi$Naming$NItem2Impl     javasoft$sqe$tests$api$java$rmi$Naming$NItem3Impl     javasoft$sqe$tests$api$java$rmi$Naming$NItem4Impl
at sun.tools.java.Type.mangleInnerType(Type.java)
at sun.tools.java.Type.tClass(Type.java)
at sun.tools.java.ClassDeclaration.(ClassDeclaration.java)
at sun.rmi.rmic.Main.doCompile(Main.java)
at sun.rmi.rmic.Main.compile(Main.java)
at sun.rmi.rmic.Main.main(Main.java)

Undaunted, I ran a Google search for the error which lead me to this bug report. Mind you, there is no solution in there. I figured the solution out myself. You just have to make sure that the jdk/bin directory is in your PATH variable (I am talking about Windows), and then compile the class from the command line from the class's directory. For example, earlier I was trying to run:

C:\Sun\SDK\jdk\bin>rmic 
"C:\Documents and Settings\uxuf\RMITest\build\RMIImpl"

but this threw an error everytime, so after setting the path variable (through System Properties->Advanced->Environment Variables) I found out that I had to pass the parameter to rmic without the quotes, which automatically means without any spaces :) and became something like:

C:\Documents and Settings\uxuf\RMITest\build>rmic RMIImpl

So if you are stuck in a similar situation, when no solution to that stupid error is in sight, try out rmic from the directory which contains the class. It worked for me!

The Apple Software Update

2008-04-20T22:20:00.005+05:00

With all the talk about Apple apparently forcing Safari on unsuspecting users through the Apple Software Update, I wanted to get a piece of it too. Apple Software Update is usually installed if any software from Apple is installed on your computer, like iTunes or QuickTime. I had iTunes installed on my system as I found it quite convenient to use my iPod with, and since then it (iTunes) has become my de facto audio player.

So I fired up Apple Software Update, and voila! There was no Safari in the list, let alone being checked by default. There was an update to Apple Software Update though, and an update to Apple QuickTime + iTunes. So I randomly updated Apple Software Update to the latest version, and when the update completed, there I had little Safari sitting innocently on my list checked already :)

Moral of the story: Update your Software Update before quipping on Apple.

Epilogue: I might give Safari a spin, because I had played a bit with it when the public beta came out last year. But I am not terribly impressed, not much to ditch my existing Firefox 3 Beta 5, which itself is light years fast of Firefox 2.

PHP: Getting your user's IP Address

2008-03-31T03:38:00.003+05:00

It's easy, just use $SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR']. Echoing the user's IP address would look something like this:

echo "IP Address: " . $SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR'];

But that works only in PHP versions greater than 4.1.0. If you're still using earlier versions, use HTTP_SERVER_VARS, and for heavens' sake, upgrade.

Source: PHP: Predefined Variables - Manual (This page should be on the thumbs of all PHP developers)

2006-12-20T01:40:00.000+05:00

Moved... http://uxuf.wordpress.com

2006-10-13T20:01:00.001+05:00

Finally it was time to bid adieu to Blogger, and all its eccentrities.
The Regulatory Authority in Pakistan has not helped either…

The final nail in the coffin was the blocking of the beta.blogger.com
domain. That helped break down the entire comment system of my lil
blog, prompting me to take immediate action…

This WordPress account was created by me some time ago because I
wanted to test their service. Turns out I'll have to use it from now
on… Please update your bookmarks and blogrolls and feeds accordingly.
Additionally, the uXuf.blogspot.com address would redirect you to the
new place.

Tagged by Maria

2006-10-06T16:31:00.001+05:00

I am thinking about...
ramadan in hot weather and that it'll be the same way for the next 12 years!!

I said...
I'll be late tomorrow

I want to...
go home, hit the bunk and sleep my heart out

I wish...
Pakistan could somehow majically shift to the southern hemisphere

I miss...
university! Friends, foes, bullies, begaars, webmasters, cafe, dhaaba...

I hear...
the a/c whirring (but there's no chill), Buzz's typing on the hard mac keyboard and Rubab talking to someone on the phone

I wonder...
how could they be so dumb!

I regret...
not many things in life

I am...
a lot different than what I was

I dance...
very rarely now, headbanging is more like it these days

I cry...
over my misdeeds that I cannot undo

I am not always...
myself

I write...
on bus ki seats (not really :P)

I need...
paani

I finish...
*most* of the things I start

I tag...
JonyDada, Raheel and whoever else still alive...

Armstrong finally gets the moon quote right

2006-10-04T03:44:00.001+05:00

Armstrong's popular quote:

"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

has been the subject of much debate among the "correct" grammarians (or whatever they are called) because he (apparently) missed the "a". According to them the sentence should've read:

"That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind."

and that in its present form, it sounds as "That's one small step for mankind, one giant leap for mankind." But now, thanks to advanced sound processing techniques, an Australian programmer claims he has found the "a" that has eluded researchers (and listeners) for decades. According to him, it's there alright. Seems like the amreeki equipment at the time weren't sharp enough to transmit the whole thing in clarity...!

Read the whole story here.

Plethora

2006-09-29T15:15:00.001+05:00

I've been meaning to blog lately, but the problem is exactly that, I don't know what to blog...

I was disconnected for a few hours from the outside world as, again, the curse of the red cellphone descended upon me. Though I must admit, that it was a lot different this time. There were no Prosmetics, no kids in cool gear, nor any motorcycle wala, neither any handguns...

Just a plain old mini-bus and lots of people stuffed in it, and I was one of them.

Though I was the chosen one, to lost my phone yet again...

With this phone goes my companion in long and electricity-less nights, the FM radio. The GPRS, with all the games and ring tones I had downloaded and the hours that I have billed on to Warid people, all go down the drain.

This was the third cell. Maybe I oughta call up the Guinness Records people now...

Why Materazzi earned Zidane's headbutt...

2006-09-06T18:04:00.001+05:00

Italy's Marco Materazzi finally disclosed what exactly he said to incur the wrath of Zinedine Zidane during World Cup 2006 Final. During an interview, he told Gazzetta dello Sport:

"When I held Zidane's shirt, he said: 'If you want, I'll give you the jersey later.'"
"I responded that I preferred his sister, it's true," Materazzi said.
"It wasn't something nice, true. But luckily there have been dozens of players who have confirmed that a lot worse things are said on the field."

Seems like Materazzi also has Pakistani leacher tendencies, always referring to other people's sisters and mothers... Any self-respecting man would be proud to execute that headbutt!

Go Zidane!

Source: Yahoo! Sports

Environmentalists Alert!

2006-09-02T10:53:00.001+05:00

The people of Karachi who have no semblance of placid natural environment in the city, yet again are being deprived of another natural asset, and nobody is concerned enough to keep a check on this atrocity. Yes, the pond that came into existence under the FTC bridge thanks to the incessant rain, is drying up fast. None of the conservation bodies are interested in this issue, so it becomes our duty to save our city's environment.

Just think of it... This pond offers a fantastic view when you take the turn from FTC towards Kala Pul. In addition to this it will also kill a whole generation of mosquitoes, that we have so lovingly bred on puddles and our blood. So I suggest that we get mobilized over atrocity, and work together to SAVE THE POND!!

Blogger Babes

2006-08-29T03:43:00.001+05:00

It turns out Blogger beta isn't a wasted effort at all! For one thing, you get the "dog" (looks to me so) replacing the B of the Blogger. I realized only today that using the beta is a privilege accorded only to a few lucky ones (I didnt notice because privileges are so natural for me *snicker*).

As I said somewhere, it is good for the non-tech people, as it uses those AJAX enabled snippets to arrange layouts according to the user's taste. The general population (who doesn't even have the desire) wouldn't now have to get their hands dirty with HTML and CSS. Adding custom code for statistics is just drag-and-drop, keeping the flow intuitive.

Close to hell for us techies, 'cause you cannot live if you cannot customize; and that's just what Blogger doesn't let us do at the moment.

The better thing is that, with the beta release, Blogger marks the shift to the dynamic web. Wonder why it has taken them so long, all the rest of the services are long established on it.

By dynamism of the web, I mean that you no longer have to publish your blog every time you make a change in the template. Old blogger used to publish pages of your blog to its server, and serve the appropriate pages whenever a request arrived. With the beta, the pages would be created on the fly, no more publishing.

All the bitching was due to the fact that I had recently delved into the Blogger codebase, and had come up with really interesting tricks like customizing the individual pages, recent comment box on the sidebar, intuitive layouts; and then *poof*... Blogger beta strips me of any right to modify my template.

These snippets are available if any of the old Blogger people (or the beta users who haven't switched to layouts) want them for their blogs.

The Craze Beta

2006-08-27T18:39:00.000+05:00

What is with everyone coming up with the beta editions of their offerings these days? Starting with Gmail Beta, we get Windows Live Mail Beta, Yahoo! Mail Beta, Yahoo! Photos Beta, Flickr Beta, and now, sweet Blogger goes beta too!

For many services, going beta just means getting AJAX-ified, with little or no improvement in features (Windows Live Mail leads the contest), only getting a face-lift and incorporating oh-those-cool-functions on the page that have nothing whatsoever to do with cutting the round trip time...!

With a sense of loyalty to the technology and the tech community (not to mention the need to be the first in trying things out - izzat ka maamla), I have officially switched to the new Blogger Beta. Switched - 'cause, ummm, beta could be exciting; officially - 'cause Blogger Help says you cannot opt out of the Beta!

So what does this beta has to offer over the old version? For one, the "privileged ones" now have a separate, red carpeted entrance at http://beta.blogger.com. Ordinary mortals should stick to their filthy swamps and keep using the lowly Blogger home page to log in.

The Blogger people have added support for tags - or "labels" as they call them. Der ayed durust ayed is the only thing that comes to mind.

And there is this supposedly cool Layout feature, that help you manage the "template" of your blog. Beware, the "template" word is hushed now, if you're cool, you'll have a layout.

So the layouts help users "drag and drop" widgets, or little snippets (previous posts, profile, description etc) on the page. Intuitive it is, but couldn't achieve its full potential until the "Edit HTML" option starts working. Gives us "power users" that creepy feeling of helplessness!

That means my little blog page has some AJAX elements in it. How I have been dying to have a little Ajax, that would keep my dishes clean... Who said God doesn't listen?!

Oh, and by the way, you'll have to comment by choosing the "Other" or "Anonymous" option on the comments page, your logged in nick wouldn't work here. Of course, what did you think? Its Beta!

Besides that, all the functionality is unchanged. They have tried to spruce up the Dashboard a little, with cramming the various blog-specific options, and the Blogger Buzz posts. Heck, they even forgot to fix the bug that occurs in the Rich Text Editor that it doesnt convert line breaks to hard line breaks :\ So it'd be better to stick to posting via e-mail!

Buss ooper say make-up kiya hai, under the hood its all the same!

Returning to the Craze Beta, I forgot to tell you: Flickr has gone a step ahead, its now Flickr Gamma!

And that gives an excuse for procrastinating office work too. Whenever somebody wants to take you to task, just claim that you've gone beta!

Sm**ing the night away...

2006-08-23T07:11:00.000+05:00

Meeting with an important client in the morning, and I have just smoked the night away...

Rings and smoke and despair, acting as a warm blanket over me, taking me in their arms, cajoling me, killing me. Must get around it somehow, the day is already doomed.

Blogger Reds

2006-08-19T13:22:00.000+05:00

There seems to be (yet again?) a problem with my Blogger template. It somehow magically decided to just fly away, leaving me with a bunch of useless code. The backup of my customized template was in my puked up PC, which refuses to connect to the LAN.

So I have uploaded a temporary template, a very stripped down version. But hey, it would load faster, isnt it?

Bear with it for a few days. I'll bring up a rocking new template!

Sending mail with System.Web.Mail (.Net 1.1)

2006-08-09T16:21:00.000+05:00

If you thought that it was a serious shortcoming that .Net framework 1.1 wasn't able to send email through SMTP servers that used authentication, you are in grave ignorance. On the surface of it, yes, you cannot send an email with the standard System.Web.Mail.MailMessage class; but you can of course play tricks on the Exchange server (yeah, that's what I get out of it that this things works only on an Exchange server) to make it authenticate you.

There is a namespace called http://schemas.microsoft.com/cdo/configuration that does those funny (and highly interesting) tricks. First we would check how to use a simple SMTP server (no authentication), and then we will use authentication to send a message.

//using System.Web;
//using System.Web.Mail;

//The simple SMTP Server
MailMessage message = new MailMessage();
message.From = "src@someone.com";
message.To = "dest@someother.com";
message.BodyFormat = MailFormat.Html;
message.Subject = "This is a spooky mail!";
message.Body = "Heheh, just kidding!";

SmtpMail.SmtpServer = "your.server.address"
SmtpMail.Send(message);

Now lets check out a server that uses authentication. Microsoft provides the CDOSYS object to achieve just that. You wouldn't think they were so dumb that they didnt incorporate some lousy authentication mechanism! Add the following lines before the SmtpMail lines.

message.Fields[
"http://schemas.microsoft.com/cdo/configuration/smtpserver"
] = "your.server.address";
message.Fields[
"http://schemas.microsoft.com/cdo/configuration/smtpserverport"] = 25;
message.Fields[
"http://schemas.microsoft.com/cdo/configuration/sendusing"] = 2;
message.Fields[
"http://schemas.microsoft.com/cdo/configuration/smtpauthenticate"] = 1;

//Most of the times the @domain is necessary with the username
message.Fields["http://schemas.microsoft.com/cdo/configuration/sendusername"] = "username@domain.com";
message.Fields[
"http://schemas.microsoft.com/cdo/configuration/sendpassword"] = "urpassword";

//If only the server uses SSL, in this case, the smtpserverport field would be different too
message.Fields["http://schemas.microsoft.com/cdo/configuration/smtpusessl"] = true;

And that would do just fine. There you go, I just saved your time and money!

[P.S. To those whom these lines look like Greek, I must say that this post appears as a record!]

The day

2006-07-23T03:50:00.000+05:00

It inches near, slowly but confidently, until it's looming right on our faces.

I know I should be happy, *must* be happy, but I dont know. Our wishes are about to be granted, we are finally going to achieve what we're striving for the last three years, but I don't know. There's a big smile plastered across my face, but I don't know. People think I am the luckiest man on earth, but I don't know.

I wouldnt know it until I learn to overcome my shortcomings. Isnt the first step in problem-solving the identification of the problem? I have taken the first step, I need help through the rest. I dont want to feel I am trying for everything without any rewards. I dont want to be left alone.

I was an introvert, maybe somewhere deep inside I still have the tendencies, but I am trying to come out of it. I cannot be at gregarious the very next moment, it should be a gradual process.

I feel miserable, but I am shedding my skin. I am changing, and I want people to appreciate.

I accept my mistakes, and of those who are related to me. In no way I'd do anything to hurt anyone, nor I'd indirectly encourage any such activity. People have the tendency to misunderstand situations, and things do not always go exactly by our wishes.

Still, I love you, and I dont want you to feel alone.

So girl, welcome, officially, to my life. We are an irresistable team, and we will always be. Thanks for making my life technicolored!

It'll just take some time!

2006-07-03T09:27:00.000+05:00

On my player and my lips these days:

Raghav, Lets work it out

So we had another date another fight
you break down, and cry
and you swear that its over
it seems you pack your bags like every night
girl I know inside
we can be so much more
but..
everytime the smallest thing goes wrong you're out the door
you dont wanna deal with this pain anymore
why dont you understand that some things wont come so easy in life
work with me girl, it'll just take some time!

I'm not letting go
yeah girl thats for sure
wont catch me walking out
so okay, lets work it out!

at every single point you turn around
say I've let you down
that I no longer know you
how can you say to me that I've lost my way
when you're walking away

Once again here we go through that old procedure,
you scream that it's over between us
but I don't believe ya, (nah)
what you want an argument? well I aint speakin'
we come too far now, 'n i aint leaving
and if we got a problem let's get on top (of it)
we aint gotta (split), we can conquer (it)
but we gotta quit over reacting
imagine just last night we're romancing
false passion now we be clashing
i dunno what's happened, you go on a tantrum
as a man I'm making the first move,
u know i never do nuthin to blatantly hurt you,
we got a situation to work through
but patience is a virtue, well baby it takes two,
so..

I'm not letting go
yeah girl thats for sure
wont catch me walking out
so okay, lets work it out!

....

Armageddon

2006-06-30T17:48:00.000+05:00

Yes, it will be armageddon tomorrow. The final battle between truth and falsehood, the good and the bad, the bad and the ugly, the ugly and the horrifying... Uhh whatever!

Tomorrow is the last paper of my last finals. The course was called Operations Research, something that I hated with a vengeance. Well it isnt only with OR that I have a problem, but with all maths-related courses. No matter what amount of time and effort I put into practice, the final exam NEVER went well. Woh to ALLAH ka shukar hai ke I havent flunked in any of them, managed to save my face (beizzati kharab hotay hotay reh gayee bus), and my grades.

But kismat plays amazing games with our lives. Now it will be a final showdown tomorrow, my chance to have a last laugh facing my nemesis. Pray to God I be successful in my endeavour. This David should slay the Goliath tommorrow!

Wish me luck!

Worldcup funny/ridiculous jerseys award!

2006-06-21T03:19:00.000+05:00

I have been busy with my exams, and of course, the world cup. Though I am not getting enough time to follow all the matches, I usually manage to catch some of the interesting ones.
The World cup is in full swing. It is an honour for any player to wear his national colours on a world cup pitch, but hey, what were the designers of the jerseys thinking?
Here are my favourite funny/ridiculous national jerseys of teams that we see in action:

On 7th place is the 'design' of the world cup. I seriously dont have an idea of who ever came up with this design, a white looping out of the neck and burying itself somewhere in the armpits...

Next at 6th place is the Italian Away jersey. I admit it looks cool on the mannequin, but in action, the V of the neck is a little too-low, drooping like a well-worn V-neck sweater!

Whoever thought of draping Paraguay in their national colours, obviously was sleep-deprived. The jersey looks like a sleeping gown! Well-deserved for 5th place!

At number 4 is the Netherlands with their away shirts. I must say, retro is definitely not in. Seems to me they lifted the design straight out of a Boris Becker tee.

There was stiff competition for the last three places, but their are shirts more ridiculous than the ill-fitting Mexican shirts. How on earth would people feel wearing THAT shirt? The designers obviously forgot testing how the 'thing' would look on their players.

Giving a pretty hard time to the judges was the France Away jersey at No. 2. Though the base design of this jersey is pretty neat, the bold spectrum that runs on the chest makes the jersey looks like an ill-designed Flash presentation. Is it necessary to get so different as to make a mockery of yourself?
And the most funny/ridiculous World Cup jersey award goes to.....

ANGOLA!

The Home jersey bears the colours of the flag of Angola, with black representing the African nations, the red depicting the blood of the Africans that died fighting for their homelands, and the yellow stands for something in their flag. All is well, but who asked you to keep the base colour RED?

So that was the World Cup's most funny/ridiculous jerseys awards, tune in again for another set of awards soon!

Errm...

2006-06-19T05:12:00.000+05:00

Though I didnt comment, and never said anything even after you reminding me so many times, but since you know I was tangofying you the whole time means...

You were looking great!

Thanks for yet another great cake :)

The Cake Factory

2006-06-13T01:52:00.000+05:00

Check out the new Cake Factory... Konsa pasand aya? Do I want to place an order? Oh I just might, I want to order.. umm... the cake maker! ;) Thaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaanks for everything :D

Birthday Boy

2006-05-29T00:00:00.000+05:00

Indebted to all my friends and loved ones for making this birthday a really memorable one :) A large part of the day went seeing me loll around but then, what the heck? It was a good day and it always is!

Thanks abba for the excellent dinner
Thanks cb for the gelatos
Thanks to my people for filling a void, oh that was a cellphone :P
How can I forget my friends, I am lucky to have you people around me :)

- one has promised to bake a cake for me
- another wouldnt bake one for me, cuz she doesnt know how to 'cook', she put up a picture of the cake for me though
- yet another one has promised to buy me a Mclaren when she starts earning enough
- and the last one checks me up if my nose is running :P

And then thanks to the rest who wished me luck, and made my day!

PS: There's still time, if you didnt know it was my birthday, you can still wish me...

Happy Birthday :)

2006-05-28T12:05:00.000+05:00

YEEGA DEEGA DEEGA HEEGA DEEGA HOO DEEBA LEEGA HEEGA PEEGA DEEBA HOO JINGA LINGA HINGA PINGA BINGA PINGA BUU IT'S UR BIRTHDAY N I'M CUMING TO U .... :)

...

2006-05-27T02:16:00.000+05:00

Into my dreams you came

and across the soft carpet of my reverie you walked

with hobnail boots...

2006-05-23T02:50:00.000+05:00

I seriously wouldnt give a f...

Why Blogspot got banned....

2006-05-22T03:06:00.000+05:00

I was puzzled at first, but while posting a comment on Evil Dan's blog, it dawned on me just why Blogspot was banned...

Check out the Word Verification Image for proof:

:P

There you go!

2006-05-18T02:02:00.000+05:00

Abdullah :)

Vaanya - Taking pictures of herself :P

Something mischievious?

The P&G people had postponed the interviews because we were having our mids. Not that that would've made any difference to me, but some of the more parhakoo peers had protested on the interview schedule. Now the interview is scheduled on May 23, next Tuesday.

I have been offered a place at the University of Essex. Isnt that exciting?!!! The International Officer was wholly impressed by me, as, uh ofcourse, I was at my charming best *winks*

The semester starts in October. Lets see if I take it up or not. And this was one of the main reasons I wasn't interested in P&G, but lets wait and see what comes out of it. I think I am gonna discuss it with the P&G people. Or maybe not.

Oh and did I tell you I am deeply in love with Soha Ali Khan, with her most stylish dresses in Rang De Basanti. I am rarely impressed by actresses, but she scores a large one with me.

*aankhon mein heart wala emoticon*
Go Soha Go!

Wish me luck...

2006-05-09T03:37:00.000+05:00

The last mids of my Bachelors officially start tomorrow. And as always, I dont have the slightest temptation to study :(

Going back in time, I dont remember I have ever studied seriously for my mids. Maybe except for the days in the third semester, when I got kinda serious in studies. Got a nice B+ in that semester, though even that didnt motivate me enough to study harder :P

No, I couldnt be serious enough. I dont want to end up like Sherry, who has this constant expression of worry on his face about mids and marks and quizzes. He would worry even if he'd get nice marks in some quiz or mid, about the upcoming exam. Come on, why couldnt one just chill?

Oh well, I might be exaggerating. You have to excel in just one dimension of your studies to get a decent enough GPA at the end of the semester. I am well versed in tech-related courses, Sherry couldnt boast of any such thing. Maybe he is right if he is worried!

So wish me luck for the last mids of my last semester :)

The P&G people finally woke up and they have asked me to come out for an interview on Friday. Hope it goes fine, although I am not too positive I'll take up their job offer. Just to keep my options open.

Going with the flow right now...

I think, therefore I am

2006-05-08T04:32:00.000+05:00

Loitering on Faraz's Blog, I spotted Descartes' infamous phrase "I think, therefore I am" (Cogito, ergo sum). Rattled off a train of memories of the various places and events where we used this phrase :)

Oh, and I remember a joke about it:

Descartes is sitting in a bar, having a drink. The bartender asks him if he would like another. "I think not," he says, and vanishes in a puff of logic.

Blogspot unbanned?

2006-05-06T04:37:00.000+05:00

Working with Blogspot XML feeds, I just noticed that the blogs are working without the pkblogs.com prefix. Is the ban on Blogspot removed or the PTA people are sleeping with their systems turned off?

Rejoice!

Again... :\

2006-05-05T19:38:00.000+05:00

Two cell phones in two weeks, am I bound for the Guinness or what?

Last time I was kidding about the Karate classes, now I am seriously thinking of joining them. Or might enrol at the local Sector House...

The next time I ll be pooling money to buy a new, no, not a cell phone, but a gun! Contribute whatever you can to this noble cause!

What song is it? 2

2006-05-01T07:07:00.000+05:00

Jesus never let me down
You know Jesus used to show me the score
Then they put Jesus in show business
Now it's hard to get in the door

It's the stuff, its the stuff of country songs
But I guess it was something to go on

So where is the hope and where is the faith?
And the love, what's that you say to me
Does love, light up your christmas tree?
The next minute you're blowing up like a fuse
And the cartoon network turns into the news

Revelation

2006-04-29T06:00:00.000+05:00

The girl was absolutely fair, fairer than anyone I have seen before. An epitome of beauty, a symbol of perfection. The eyes were hazel, a well formed nose, high cheek bones, rosy lips complemented by the obligatory til (mole).

I got thinking, why is a til obligatory on fair faces? A horde of pure black on an otherwise fair face, what has it got to do with it, apart from completing the beauty?

And then it hit me like lightening... that those tils are necessary on those fair faces, to remind them to thank Allah for granting them such beautiful faces. If He would have deemed appropriate, the whole face could've been a huge black til....!!

Vaanya's got a baby brother!

2006-04-24T19:01:00.000+05:00

Oh well, I was so busy and so tired that I forgot to tell you guys the very important news. Yeah, I am now a chachoo to two kids! The newer one is Vaanya's little cuddly muddly brother, Abdullah :) Born on the 12th of Rabi-ul-Awwal, 1427 H MashALLAH, i.e. on April 10, 2006, in Riyadh. Pray that he'd be a source of joy, contentment and the harbringer of jannat to all of us. I'll post up the pictures in a few days. Blogger seems to be messing with me abhi!

Snatched

2006-04-23T21:06:00.000+05:00

What else it could be? Ofcourse, my cell phone got snatched. At gunpoint.

What's amazing is that the snatcher has the nerve to call up my friends!

Whoa, thats what I call nerve.

BTW the chors were in a Civic Prosmatec, just for the record. And the cell they were so intent on snatching was a SonyEricsson K700i, a cameray wala mobile! :P

I hope I was as brave (or foolish?) as Zag, I might have yelled and they'd have left me alone. Foolishness that might be, but atleast the cell would ve remained intact :(

--This post appears as a record only. But it might also serve as a warning for future chors who might be thinking that I am an easy prey. I must assure you that I am not, I have been taking Karate classes religiously. And this goes also for the current chor to stop calling up my friends. Or else...

And so I thought...!

2006-04-19T14:13:00.000+05:00

..that this was a hot blog _frequented_ by many readers..

..that I was a _celebrity_ blogger..

..that people would _miss_ me so much they ll _inundate_ my inbox with requests to come back..

THAT I had friends who'd be trouble by my absence!!!

Ah well.. merey sapnon ka mahal dharam say neechay agira!!!

Never mind, I have been busy shifting the house, and the fact that the phone system is a little edgy at the new place doesnt help much! Plus, the Procom thing, its keeping me busy as hell! Thank God its scheduled for this weekend, ie Friday 21st and Saturday 22nd April 2006.. I ll be faarigh after that :) and back to blogging business!!!

Meanwhile you can check out my (team) work at http://khi.nu.edu.pk/procom.

Make me happy :(

Moving!

2006-03-31T13:28:00.000+05:00

So we are moving, no, not moving the world, but shifting to another place. Dont worry, it is in Karachi, and it is VERY near to where I currently live. I presume the absence would not be felt very strongly though :P (as if I wasnt absent long enough)!!!

Have fun guys!

Sorry for inconvenience

2006-03-21T23:14:00.000+05:00

yahan, in Pakistan we are ubale to use this stupid blog for some stupid reason ..... isliyeh ho sakta hai meri site nahi chalai aur agar chali bhi to us pe koi new post nahi hogi kuch arsai k liyeh jab tak pak mai yeh prob fix nahi hojati :) abhi luckily its working so m posting :P MISS ME buddies :)

What song is it?

2006-02-27T04:53:00.000+05:00

And still those voices are calling from far away

Wake you up in the middle of the night

Just to hear them say...

..................................

Mirrors on the ceiling

The pink champagne on ice

And she said 'We are all just prisoners here, Of our own device'

And in the master's chambers

They gathered for the feast

They stabbed it with their steely knives

But they just cant kill the beast

Last thing I remember

I was running for the door

I had to find the passage back

To the place I was before

'Relax', said the night man

We are programmed to receive

You can check out anytime you like

But you can never leave!

I soooo love Pakistan :D

2006-02-21T23:04:00.000+05:00

Well yes, I do. Seriously. No kidding. No sarcasm either.

I love Pakistan :)

Realized it last Saturday after the uncourteous man behind the counter didnt tell me the exact documents to be attached with the form, and rudely asked me to come back on Monday.

Realized it when the "Information Desk" person was more interested in hearing the grievances of the fairer sex.

Realized when the issuer of the document unashamedly asks for 300 bucks upfront for an "urgent" issuance.

Realized it when the two-hour long wait in the queue (throw in the sweltering heat for a good measure) was offered to be cut short for only a meagre Rs. 100, and the submission promised to be completed in only 5 minutes.

Hate myself for succumbing to the offer, and dishing out 200 bucks to get my stuff done.

Guess thats life...

Razr-mania hits again!

2006-02-19T18:29:00.000+05:00

Yeah, its back. The Moto V3 Razr is back in the market. Umm, not exactly in the market, but with me :) But dunno why I dont feel that elated :( The old and faithful Nokia 3220 is on for a little rest. For those who dont know what the heck I am talking about, can read this, this and this.

Tagged and Tagging

2006-02-18T14:33:00.000+05:00

Succumbing to the insistence of mayya, here is the tag that she bestowed upon me...

Four Jobs I've had in my life

Oh well, I am not particularly a kaam-wala banda, more interested in extra curricular activities :P but still, there are a few ;)

1. QA Manager at Nadra, Karachi

2. Teaching stints at various times

3. Software Engineer

4. Tour organizer (if that classifies as a job)

Four Movies I could watch over and over

Umm, it is a girlie tag if it asks that, isn't it? But lets see...

1. DDLJ

2. Dil Chahta Hai

3. American Wedding (oh)

4. The Chronicles of Narnia/Charlie and the Chocolate Factory/Monsters Inc/Finding Nemo :)

Four Places I have lived

1. Karachi

2. Karachi

3. Karachi (this makes it three places I ve lived permanently since my birth :P)

4. Naran/Chilas/Sost/Islamabad/Lahore

Four TV Shows I love(d) to watch

Grrrr! Again?!

1. Dexter's Laboratory

2. MTV Select

3. F.R.I.E.N.D.S

4. Who wants to be a millionaire/Top Gear/Johnny Quest/The Mask/Any thing else thats of my interest :P

Four Websites I visit daily

1. Hotmail

2. My university's webmail

3. The Procom site, since I am building it :P

4. Blogs/MSDN Forums (got an idea what is it?)

Four Places I'd rather be right now

1. There

2. Here

3. Where?

4. Nothing rhymes with it anymore :P

People I tag:

I dont know, everybody seems to have done this. So if YOU havent done it, I tag you.

mayya, ab khush? Waisay you can go through my previous tags if you want more of em :P

Happy Valentine's Day :)

2006-02-14T23:37:00.000+05:00

Luv ya :)

Prediction of Mohammad (SAW) in Hindu scriptures, Part II

2006-02-14T00:24:00.000+05:00

Continuing the discussion that has ensued as the result of my previous post, while many people think that this is a controversial topic, I have a few reservations of my own.

Iranian Premier Ahmedinejad might say that this is a conspiracy of Israel, but we need to get a few of the facts straight(but I hope I wouldnt be offensive to any Hindu readers).

Most of the religions in the world worship ultimately one God. Although the Hindus ultimately believe in Brahma (the creator of the universe), they worship Vishnu (the preserver of the universe) and Shiva (the ultimate destroyer).

According to the mythology, this is the age of Vishnu, and since Brahma's duty is done and Shiva's era not yet arrived, they worship Vishnu.

Vishnu visits the earth often when there is much lawlessness, and restores the order of justice. When he has to do a really impressive deed, he gets into the form of an avatar, and there are 12 avatars in all, the last one being the Kalki Avatar that has caused all this furore.

You can read about the avatars here.

Although the first avatar story bears a strong resemblance to that of Prophet Noah (AS), it is, indeed, a very distorted view of it. If we take the view that they think of prophets as avatars, we cannot help but wonder why the prophets should appear in the guise of animals (naouzubillah). And that also a boar?

The origins might have been straight, but the Kalki avatar comes after the delibrations of 10 intermediate avatars (if we assume that they have distorted Hazrat Noah's (AS) story). None of this I found very credible, but they were indeed interesting.

But then, interesting are the myths of Greece too, and that of Romans, or the people of Oceania, or wherever.

The Kalki avatar is believed to be a "machine-man". I have no idea what a machine-man is, and what I think it means, never fits accurately to our prophets. All of our prophets were (thanks to God), human beings.

All of this was a case of adapting a personality to a pre-held notion. Like the recent blasphemer in Larkana that made people believe that he is actually Imam Mehdi. He forgot about the seal, and is languishing in jail with a death penalty on his head.

Regarding this whole thing as true (not discarding it in its entirety), is a case of accepting the present form of Hinduism as a true religion. Tantamount to that of thinking the Greeks were on the right path...

Prediction of Mohammad (SAW) in Hindu scriptures

2006-02-10T16:23:00.000+05:00

I got the following mail a few days ago:

Pundit Vedaprakash Upadhyay, a Hindu professor, in his stunning book claims that the description of the" Avatar" found in the Holy books of the Hindu religion, matches the Holy Prophet Mohammed (PBUH). Recently in India, a fact-revealing book has been published. The Book has been the topic of discussion and gossip all over the country.The author of this book, Pundit Vedaprakash Upadhyay, is a learned and famous Hindu professor. The book is Kalki Avatar. Pundit Vedaprakash Upadhyay is a Hindu Brahmin of Bengali origin. He is a research scholar at Allahabad University. After years of research, he published this book, and no less than eight pundits have endorsed and certified his points of argument as authentic. According to Hindu belief, the Hindu world awaits "the guide and leader", named Kalki Avatar. However, the description as given in the holy scriptures of the Hindu points only to the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) of Arabia.Therefore, the Hindus of the whole world should not wait any longer for the arrival of Kalki Avatar (the spirit) and should readily accept Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) as Kalki Avatar. These are the FACTS verified and supported by eight other eminent pundits. What the author says is that Hindus, who are still anxiously awaiting the arrival of Kalki Avatar, are simply subjecting themselves to never ending pain. Because, such a great messenger has already arrived and departed from this world fourteen centuries ago. The author produces the following sound evidences from the Vedas and other holy books of the Hindu religion in support of his claim: 1. In the Puranas (Hindu scriptures), it is stated that Kalki Avatar would be the last messenger of God in this world. He would be for guidance of the whole world and all human beings. 2. According to a Hindu religion prediction the birth of Kalki Avatar would take place in an isle, which again according to Hindu religion is Arab Region. 3. In books of Hindus, the names of the father and the mother of Kalki Avatar are given as VISHNUBHAGAT and SUMAANI respectively. If we examine the meaning of these names we shall come to some very interesting conclusion. VISHNU (meaning God) + BHAGAT (meaning Slave). Slave of God = ABDULLAH (in Arabic) is the name of Prophet's (PBUH) Father. SUMAANI (meaning peace or calmness).Aamenah (in Arabic means peace) is the name of Prophet's (PBUH) Mother. 4. In the religious books of Hindus, it is mentioned that the staple food of Kalki Avatar would be dates and olives and he would be the most honest and truthful person in the region. Without any doubt the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) is acclaimed to possess these qualities. 5. It is stated in Vedas (holy book of Hindu Religion) that the birth of Kalki Avatar would take place in an honorable clan. This perfectly fits the Quraysh where Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) belonged to. 6. God would teach Kalki Avatar through His messenger (angel) in a cave. Allah taught Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) through His messenger Jibraeel (Gabriel), in a cave known as Ghaar-e-Hira. 7. God would provide Kalki Avatar with a very speedy horse to ride and travel the whole world and the seven skies. Indication of burraq (Horse) and Me'raaj (the night when Prophet [PBUH] travelled the seven skies). 8. God would provide Kalki Avatar with divine help. This was particularly proved in the Battle of Uhud. 9. Another dazzling account given about Kalki Avatar was that he would be born on the 12th of a month. Whereas the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) was born on the 12th of Rabbi ul Awwal (Hijra Calendar). 10. Kalki Avatar would be an excellent horse rider and a swordsman. The author here draws the attention of Hindus that the real days of horses and swords have gone and the present time of guns and missiles. So it would be foolish on the part of those who still expect Kalki Avatar, who should be an excellent rider and swordsman to come. In fact, the divine book, the Holy Qur'an, contains qualities and signs attributed to Kalki Avatar reflecting on the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH)

The author has made a convincing case out of it, but there are various discrepancies. For one, if you decide to believe it, you are indirectly asserting that Hinduism is a true religion, and that their books are infact on the same level as Bible or Torah or Quran.

This proves to be the single most disconcerting thing that puts one off. And this is how, it proves itself to be a hoax. For more information, please read this.

If you get a similar mail, please avoid forwarding it in your Islamic euphoria. Islam is the greatest religion, and it doesnt need substantiating claims from Pagan Scriptures.

Blogger blues!

2006-02-06T02:23:00.000+05:00

I am sorry but I can see there is something acutely terrible going on with Blogger. The last post isn't showing up in the Dashboard, and that's why the comments window won't open. I hope this post shows up fine, and all of those, who wanted to comment on the previous post, can comment here :)

Save your Good Moments with KODAK! :)

2006-02-02T21:56:00.000+05:00

Another Book to Read n Learn

2006-02-01T17:44:00.000+05:00

Now a days am also trying to prepare for the GRE test . God just help me out in finding my way out, I need your help badly :) and friends I need your wishes too, so pray for me :)

I don�t know which university to enter or which country to enter for my Masters ,so these days am only searching for my best future :)

The epitome of tennis-beauty

2006-01-31T22:47:00.000+05:00

And I thought Hingis was it!

Now its Compiler Time! :s

2006-01-29T01:47:00.001+05:00

A compiler is a program that reads a program written in one language - the source language - and translates it into an equivalent program in another language. As an important part of this translation process, the compiler reports to its user the presence of errors in the source program. In addition to a compiler, several other programs may be required to create an executable. Structure of a Compiler is in Red Colour: My bad luck .... even after my finals, am stucked with my compiler project and my group members!!! aaaahhhhh ..... i hate them .... they are not even interested!!! ...... have to summit it on Monday, so lets pray k ..... all alone, i can make it till Monday!!! :(

Party TimEeEeEeeEeee .......

2006-01-24T20:09:00.000+05:00

Diversity?

2006-01-22T16:57:00.000+05:00

In the country, where 60% of the population doesn't know how to read and write even in their mother language, there is a sufficient number of people that makes two institutions hold the IELTS thrice a month in almost 10 cities across the country!

I just hope I get a decent score. The test went absolutely fine, but I think I might've screwed up on the writing test. The Speaking Test gets held on Thursday, where I get to show off my speaking skills! :D

Bring it onnnnnnn!

You know when...

2006-01-20T05:03:00.000+05:00

You know you've become an expert at typing when you can type the weird "Verification Words" on the comments window without looking at the keyboard :P

My "new" New Year Resolution

2006-01-17T19:48:00.000+05:00

Although its a little late, but since the original resolution was broken, I have decided on a new resolution.

My new year's resolution is: 1024 x 768.

I hope I stick to my resolution. Pray that I do.

A milestone

2006-01-14T18:33:00.000+05:00

Did I tell you that my blog has crossed the 200 posts mark? And this one, actually, is the 210th!! Ah, I think its high time I should write a letter to my blog ;)

My second-last finals of the bachelors!

2006-01-13T01:06:00.000+05:00

And they have officially started!

I have been through Compiler and Psychology, only Marketing and Software Engineering II remain!

We have reached to the conclusion that the person teaching us Compiler does not know a thing about exams, how should they be structured, what topics to cover etc.

Psychology wholly sucked, not because I am a sucker at it, but because all the Eid preparation and then the nikah, and the various shadis preceding it... But then I think considering my mids marks, I would get a decent grade in it :)

Haan I attempted it like a logical paper, so you dont have to show off on me :P

Baqi logon ko eid mubarak phir say, aur gosht kha kha kar gosht mat ban jana, thora ghareebon k liye bhi baant dena!!!

BakraEid Mubarak

2006-01-11T01:44:00.000+05:00

So my all dear friends .... I hope u had fun with your bakras :) and now its the time to cut them n miss them forever because on the next Eid you will buy another bakra, who will be your friend for a week or so and then same story will repeat until you are alive :)

Lado sabun, Gaye sabun, Baboo Berii, Mughal Steel, Coca Cola, MetroMilan agarbatti, Hashmi surma, Tibet cold cream, Roohafza, Shan Masaleh aur meri taraf say tamam karamfarmaaon ko dili eid mubarak!

Pukaar

2006-01-10T04:19:00.000+05:00

Tere bina, zindagi laagey ek saza

Tera saath ho, yeh saza laagey ek jaza

To barhtey jaayein

Rastey saaray.....

Duniya peechay

Hum hain aagay....

Dil haray, pukaray tujhay

Man ja re, mana ley mujhay

Sun pyarey, laga le galay

Kho ja re, tu gaa re sang re....

Aankhon Se,

Atif Aslam, Jal Pari

Resolutions

2006-01-07T21:44:00.000+05:00

On the last day of the first week of the first month of the new year, the first and most important resolution gets broken. Ah well, as they say, resolutions are made to be broken. I know I am an introvert, an extremely lethargic person, with no interest whatsoever in things around me. But what made me that? I wasn't so. I was a fun-loving, outgoing, extremely cheerful chap. And these sudden change of events? Blame me. You are exonerated. The fault isn't yours.

Guriyia Rani ...

2006-01-01T21:45:00.000+05:00

..... must b waiting for her bublo!!! ;)

Happy New Year!!

2006-01-01T03:38:00.000+05:00

New Year has started with a clean slate and someone says: "Tomorrow is always fresh, with no mistakes in it." so stop crying and regretting ..... because it is over and smile for good things which had happened, because it happened!!! :)

err?

2005-12-31T03:13:00.000+05:00

Of dominating friends and indifferent strangers

2005-12-29T02:08:00.000+05:00

I am really sick and tired of friends trying to act cheesy but infact dominating people. I mean, get a life. You possibly cant influence other's decisions, and you possibly cant go around spewing shit and think it would make an impact. Look, its not really very hard for normal people to fathom why email passwords are exchanged. Its not about privilege, and its not being abused. If couples do exchange their passwords, its a sign of trust. Sorry if you never had such privilege bestowed upon you, I tell you, you're missing a whole lot of fun! And that doesnt come as a surprise... I just hope you never have had a male friend, if you think that female friends only console their male friends because they want to be the next in line. Just think for a moment who has the chipori zehniat here? I sincerely advise you against making male friends in the future too! She wouldnt care? She dumped him? She cringes everytime she thinks she went out with him? Actually, you're right, people are so full of themselves that it IS beyond stupid! The next moment you talk about "friends" and "acquaintances"... Girl, first get a hold on what you want to say! If she would have been so disgusted that she was going out with him, she wouldnt have been frequenting this blog... Stop twisting the crap. To the ex: We talked and quit like decent people, none of us wanted the shit to hit the fan. But as it has, I have to clean myself out. I so wish you stop being subservient to other people's whims and wringle your way out of domination! To the friend: If he asked her out, there must be something in her. There are girls who have never been asked out, and now I know why! And I thought I was being stupid!

A reason - for me?

2005-12-26T17:26:00.000+05:00

I'm not a perfect person
as many things I wish I didn't do
but I continue learning
I never meant to do those things to you
and so I have to say before I go
that I just want you to know

I've found a reason for me
to change who I used to be
a reason to start over new
and the reason is you

I'm sorry that I hurt you
it's something I must live with everyday
and all the pain I put you through
I wish that I could take it all away
and be the one who catches all your tears
that's why I need you to hear

I've found a reason for me
to change who I used to be
a reason to start over new
and the reason is you

I'm not a perfect person
I never meant to do those things to you
and so I have to say before I go
that I just want you to know

I've found a reason for me
to change who I used to be
a reason to start over new
and the reason is you

I've found a reason to show
a side of me you didn't know
a reason for all that I do
and the reason is you

The Reason
The Reason, Hoobastank

Bang bang!

2005-12-23T02:06:00.000+05:00

I feel like banging my head repeatedly against a wall!!

Allah, give me strength to bear with these hard times, and grant me forgiveness! I truly repent!

Vaanya's BACK!

2005-12-21T23:07:00.000+05:00

So it's been insanely COOL that Vaanya's coming back home!!!! TOMORROW! Yummmmmmmyyyy... I am looking forward to her visit, oh I so adore this little girl! Meanwhile let's make do with her pictures. And great ones at that =)

I am comfortable with cell phones since my birth *snooty*

And that's soooooooooo funny! The *Geek* Vaanya, like her uncle (minus the glasses) Hmmm, the food looks good here, lemme check what I want to eat... And Vaanya at Masjid-e-Nabvi

And now she'll be back for more than a MONTH! I am sooo delighted :) We'll have FUN all day round!!

:)))))))))

Fast Turtle

2005-12-21T11:07:00.000+05:00

You may know that the snail was one of God's slowest and oddest creations ever. They probably serve some purpose, but it's hard to imagine what. But do you know what the snail said when it got on the turtle's back? "Wheeeeeeeee!"

Sari Rat Jaga

2005-12-17T21:00:00.000+05:00

So its officially been two days since I am awake. Matlab I havent slept a wink. Okay, you dont count various dozes as sleep.

Finally got through the FYP Presentation and demo, with the examiners, Mr. AA and Ms. AA (they are two totally unrelated persons, except perhaps they were our examiners) smiling and joking and generally kidding, rushing their way through the whole prez. Oh, and they weren't particularly stumped by our project, they liked it though, but no marks for guessing...

Mr. AA even said the best part of the whole affair was my little piece of work in Flash (prez. that is), and that he could spend his time looking at the movie only... How cool is that :P

Umm now I am not too positive he is too impressed, and that means, I'll have to pay a visit to him. No marks for guessing the purpose of the visit ;)

Khairrrrrrrrrr, thanks for bearing with my incoherent (and possibly unlinked) rambling, I need to sleep badly, and I am going to do that right now.

So lets go to sleep. Going. Gone!

__________________________________________________
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Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
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bahhh!

2005-12-14T18:16:00.000+05:00

Just when you get the PDA...

And travel in the bus with it neatly tucked in your bag... You miss three calls from a potential employer : Screw you cell-phone snatchers!!!

Face of the Decade, Vaanya. Part 1 Act 1.

2005-12-09T20:35:00.000+05:00

Okay. Looks like I am a little late presenting this thing up. But then, all good things are late. This one goes even better :P So lets cut the crap, and get on with the show. To all the relatively new readers of my blog, Vaanya is my sweetie janu. She used to feature prominently on this place, but several complications resulted in her choosing to discontinue the limelight. But, she has very graciously agreed to make a star appearance every now and then, to keep us all amused, and a few of us, satuated. Now lets find out what she is upto now!

I am sooooooo sweeet!

Presenting the *new* Shower Gel :P

Nobody could punish me, I am so cute

Who said mafioso were only Italian?

Okay, the mafioso are tired, they need to sleep

More mischiefs are on the way, keep hooked!

Presenting Face of the Decade - Part 1

2005-12-08T01:47:00.000+05:00

The LifeDotCom proudly presents: Face of the Decade - Vaanya. Part 1.

Exclusively for two days. Friday, December 09, and Saturday December 10, 2005.

Find out what the dame is up to this time. Get amazed. Fall in love.

Just dont miss it.

Pakistan burst England's Ashes bubble!

2005-12-03T13:57:00.000+05:00

Whoa! What a performance!

Shoaib ripped and Kaneria spinned through England's pride. This is what demolition is like!

Okay so comprehensive review will come later. I didnt get to watch the match on TV! ;)

GET Results

2005-12-02T04:16:00.000+05:00

s!d: Read about the GET results on the GET post, The LifeDotCom offers a special* appearance. Find out, get amazed.

Edit: Read the results here.

*Not so special anyways

Grand Finale 05

2005-11-30T01:07:00.000+05:00

Sportics presents: Grand Finale 05! Catch the excitement as it soars, watch your favourite teams in action! Football, Volleyball, Cricket, Basketball and Table Tennis. Cheer for your mates, get into the groove! Dont miss it, there are no bytes this time around!

Jeenay ke liye

2005-11-29T03:07:00.000+05:00

Gulshan ki faqat, pholoon say nahin
Kaanton say bhi zeenat hoti hai

Jeenay ke liye iss duniya mein
Gham ki bhi zaroorat hoti hai

[The beauty of the garden is not only from roses, thorns are equally beautiful
To survive in this world, sorrow is important too]

Ponder, ponder.

Why, oh why!

2005-11-28T03:17:00.000+05:00

TallGuy, you might be a close friend of mine. You might have supported me in countless endeavours, endured my constant bitching, advised me through the messes i usually create, and generally proven to be someone called a friend. I have no doubt in agreeing to it.

But, I am sorry, when it comes to it, you must leave my work to me. Everybody in this world is not perfect in everything, and when there is someone perfect (or part thereof) in something, let him do that. You can try your hand in it, I dont mind, but here it is a matter of professionalism. After we make the presentation, after we hand over the project, you can do all of the tweaks and revamps you want, but not before it.

Just think of the impression it'll give when they'll be holding something else and watching something else, all the professional approach will pop with a loud BANG!

So please, stop being a jerk. You can go make the ERD and leave these things to me. Please!

GET 2005

2005-11-25T23:00:00.000+05:00

Okay so the title would probably sound like the title of an earlier post, or that I am going to preach something or the other about how to get the better of you or how to conquer time etc, its not that. Its GET time again! The coolest event about FAST! (Well, not so cool, but cool nonetheless) Here is the logo: So the Gaming Extreme Tournament (GET) officially opened today for the intra-university matches. The inter-university matches will take place tomorrow. Coupla universities are sending their teams in to claim domination in Counter-Strike. They include CBM, SZABIST, IBA, NED, SSUET, TIP, CAMS and PAF-KIET. The intra-university matches included Fifa and Need for Speed: Underground as well. And there are 2 (or possibly 3) teams from FAST itself that shall take part in the inter-uni. So its gonna be totally cool and totally hip event, we even get to show the matches LIVE on wide screen at the auditorium :P How cool could it get :) So those who can accompany their respective teams tomorrow, do so! You dont wanna miss this!

Get Original!

2005-11-25T16:24:00.000+05:00

Okay, so I know I haven't come up with something original for the last couple of days. But that's primarily because there seems to be a lull in the blogosphere, and the few people that I read regularly are either sleeping or have taken a sabbatical from blogging. That said, I had another reason not to post, that being the Compiler Construction Project Phase II - Syntax Analysis. To all those not-so-geeky around here, a compiler is a software that recognizes and translates programs written in a particular language to stuff that the operating system can understand. We're making a compiler for a subset of Pascal, that doesnt have anything with pointers and the original types are only integer and real :) That done, yesterday, when the program was supposed to work fine (in front of the TA), it just wouldnt recognize constants placed in it! Murphy Murphy... where art thou?! Damn. The TA asked us to fix the problem and that he'll be back in a few minutes and will continue thenceforth. But what the heck. It was Jia's birthday and we had a plan to eat out, so we ate out. Matlab leaving the TA wondering where on the earth are we. Matlab pestering the TA again tomorrow or on Monday to have a look at the project. Matlab having ultimate fun with Chicken Makhnie Handi and Chicken Green Tikka at Tandoori Hut at 4 pm :P Oh, and the Gelato Affair's Ghareeb wali icecream without the money, and the drinks that were never chilled. And how can I forget the 500 wala note that the TH people thought was fake, or it wouldnt be accepted or something like that. All in all, it was a great day :) Thankyou, all of my friends.

Happy Budddddaaaaayyyyy Jia!

2005-11-24T15:58:00.000+05:00

Keep happy and keep us all smiling The undoubted Gossip Queen :)

Raaz

2005-11-23T02:13:00.000+05:00

Samay yunhi chalta hai Sama rang badalta hai Chupa chupa rehta hai Meri yaadon mein koi Din ke saray pehron mein Shaam ki udaasi mein Raat ke andheron mein Yaad ata hai koi Jhuki jhuki aankhon mein Ruki ruki saanson mein Kaisay janoon yaar pyaar ke kaisay kaisay rang raag hain... Chahta hoon pochoon ke Tu kaun hai kya naam hai Khwabon mein jo ati hai Mujhsay tera kya kaam hai Teri aankhon mein jo raaz hai Merey dil ne us ko paa lia Tere hontoon pe nahin kyoon aya Wohi geet jo meinay ga lia Jhuki jhuki aankhon mein Ruki ruki saanson mein Kaisay jaanoon yaar pyaar ke kaisay kaisay rang raag hain Jhuki Jhuki Jhuki Jhuki Shiraz Uppal

Kiss the new father!

2005-11-21T04:22:00.000+05:00

We Won!

2005-11-16T14:20:00.000+05:00

Image Copyright: AFP, Modified Copyright: LifeDotCom

So Pakistan won, finally. By a *huge* margin of 22 runs. Everybody deserves strong thumps on their backs. Yayyy! It was sizzling to see Shoaib in action, and Kaneria spinning the ball magically. Even Inzi was diving enthusiastically... Talk about team spirit. :)

Only for JonyDada :P

2005-11-13T20:11:00.000+05:00

And you there. If you dont know who he is, visit his blog here, and look what I am talking about, here. :P

Happy Blogiversary

2005-11-13T17:06:00.000+05:00

Well, so it marks a year now since this blog was estabilished. I am not gonna rue on how much I've lost, or wasted my time thinking about all the frivolous things I have written here. No. I am content with what I have done. I have made many friends in this short span, through this teeny-weeny piece of the large pie called the Internet. I have discovered buried friendships, reinforced my affection, and turned out to be a better person. So thats it. Wish you my bloggy, a happy wappy birthday :) [This post was supposed to be published on November 11, 2005]

:\

2005-11-11T02:39:00.000+05:00

Encountered at a pc at office today:

"Error 305: Keyboard error or no keyboard present, Press F1 to Continue"

Priceless!

That's hilarious!

2005-11-09T04:21:00.000+05:00

Got the link from Kirna's blog. Found them immensely laughable. Brought back memories and the fine time that was spent on IRC 6-8 years back.

Ahh, those were the days!

Check them out here:

#12431 + (4619)- [X]

<Hiroe> he was dressed as a big fuckin devil
<Hiroe> like, HUGE costume
<Hiroe> 8-foot lizard wings, giant horns on the head
<Hiroe> at some anime con in california
<Hiroe> they were double booked with a southern Baptist group in the same hotel
<Hiroe> he's riding the elevator down to the con space
<Hiroe> doors open, little old baptist woman standing there
<Hiroe> he just says "Going Down" in his best evil voice

#462310 + (4786)- [X]

< robT> Name ONE thing that your windows comp can do that my MAC cant
< bawss> Right click.

#367896 +(4812)- [X]

<Fashykekes> Capitalization is the difference between "I had to help my uncle Jack off a horse.." and "I had to help my uncle jack off a horse.."

#139697 +(4844)- [X]

<frank> can you help me install GTA3?
<knightmare> first, shut down all programs you aren't using
frank has quit IRC. (Quit)
<knightmare> ...

#400459 +(4886)- [X]

<Sonium> someone speak python here?
<lucky> HHHHHSSSSSHSSS
<lucky> SSSSS
<Sonium> the programming language

#14207 + (4951)- [X]

<h|tler> HOW THE FUCK CAN YOU TELL THAT I'M 13 BY LOOKING AT WHAT I'M WRITEING?????????????????????????????????????????????????????

#329292 +(4954)- [X]

<Batty> Euch, rap is just missing one letter. c.
<zeep> rapc?
<Batty> ...
<Batty> Crap you idiot. you put the c on the other end
<zeep> oic
<Batty> Though you could also say it's missing an e
<zeep> wtf is erap?
* Batty bangs his head repeatedly against a wall

#365072 +(5103)- [X]

<xxxGirlygirlxxx> Thank you for listening to me.
<xxxGirlygirlxxx> You know your a really good listener.
<xxxGirlygirlxxx> Sweety please say something.
<Sandaedar> Ok I'm back.

#6460 + (5254)- [X]

<studdud> what the fuck is wtf

#262353 +(5927)- [X]

<MooseOnDaLoose> Hey Mike
<goatboy> what?
<MooseOnDaLoose> Pussy.
<goatboy> er?
<MooseOnDaLoose> Pussy.
<goatboy> and?
<MooseOnDaLoose> Pussy.
<goatboy> ...
<MooseOnDaLoose> Pussy.
<goatboy> i dont get it
<MooseOnDaLoose> AND YOU NEVER WILL.
<goatboy> bastard

#434593 +(5977)- [X]

*** Topic in #doghouse is 'Our hearts are extended to the 17 victims of the recent internet fraud'
* Anubis has joined #doghouse
<Anubis> what fraud?
<Kadmium> You haven't heard about it?
<Anubis> no?
<Kadmium> You can read the full story at http://www.tubgirl.com
<Anubis> omg wtf!
*** Kadmium changes topic to 'Our hearts are extended to the 18 victims of the recent internet fraud'

#125283 +(6902)- [X]

<Jeedo> hey baby, whats up?
<Indidge> umm....nothing?
<Jeedo> So....want me to like come over today so we can fuck?
<Indidge> Wait....did you want to speak to my daughter?
<Jeedo> Yes Mrs.Miller.. :-/

And the best:

#349567 +(7194)- [X]

Rabidplaybunny87: Okay, so my neighbors officially hate me
GarbageStan23: why?
Rabidplaybunny87: Well, me, david and andrew were having a bonfire in the backyard, and we were making s'mores and all... and suddenly we here sirens, and see a firetruck turn into the street in front of us.
Rabidplaybunny87: So we all went running to see what was up, and our neigbor's house was on fire!
GarbageStan23: oh shit!
Rabidplaybunny87: Yeah, and when we got there, the wife was crying into her husbands arms, and we were just kinda standing there, and then she saw us, and then like for 10 seconds, gave us the dirtiest look ever
Rabidplaybunny87: Turns out, we were still holding our sticks with marshmallows on it, watching the fire....
Rabidplaybunny87: talk about bad timing...

Now who has got a running nose here???

2005-11-08T03:17:00.000+05:00

If you listen to Strings' "Sar kiye yeh pahar" really attentively, you can hear someone sniffing constantly in the background throughout the song.

Weird. Now that's what I call art!

Kya shaandaar naak payee hai aapney hazrat!

Oh! And here is more!

2005-11-06T03:53:00.000+05:00

Whoops, did I forget? Thats really, weally stupid of me. I am so sorry, guys, blame my overworked mind!

To phir Eid Mubarak to you, and you there, and holla, to you too!! EM2u all then :P

Allah aap ko apnay hifzoaman mein rakhay n bless you with lots and lots of more happy eids with hordes of sheer khurma and shahi tukray :) [this is what I sent as a msg ;)]

Ab to koi maray ga nahin na mujhay? :P

No

2005-11-04T21:20:00.000+05:00

No I am not ghussa. I am sad, and heartbroken, and possibly upset.

I hate myself for not being clear enough. I am sorry. I need therapy.

Visual Studio .Net 2003 Blues (and greens)

2005-11-03T21:14:00.000+05:00

So there, it had to be. Murphy has to intrude everywhere. He and his stupid law; I am fed up of them both. How I wish I could get my hands on his neck... But then, I should get my hands on the necks of all the greats out there, including Newton, Einstein, Archimedes, Galileo etc, and that makes a long list. Mein to thak jaaonga! So the problem now happens with the execution of Visual Studio. It would build the programs, but wouldnt run it. There was a stupid error that something went wrong in the FPU, and its mask was reset (if it all feels Greek to you, please bear with me). The (stupid) error said: An unhandled exception of type 'System.ArithmeticException' occurred in system.drawing.dll Additional information: Overflow or underflow in the arithmetic operation. And nothing else. So I searched around, and came across Aaron's* (somebody at Microsoft) blog. I fired him a mail explaining my plethora and asked him for help. Poor guy, even his angels didnt know of such error. And he wrote to me: "I've done some searches on the internet and in some Microsoft discussion aliases and couldn't find any info that I thought would be helpful in this scenario. Any steps I suggest to you to try to fix this would end up being guess work and I'm afraid they may not work and would end up wasting time." OMG! If you guys cant, then who will? Ahh, I knew I had to do it myself. So I made my search extensive, and then stumbled across the solution!!! Fired a mail to Aaron again (this was the wicked me): Dear Aaron, I am surprised, but not disappointed. I searched through, and finally discovered that this kind of error would occur due to some malfunctioning device driver/program. In my case, it was Yahoo! Messenger's latest version. I uninstalled it and installed an older version, and now VS works fine.

I got to learn from it. Hope this would have been enlightening to you too.

Regards uXuf

LOL. I am sorry Aaron. I couldnt be sarcastic enough!

*Names are changed to protect privacy

Cheesy!

2005-11-03T06:10:00.000+05:00

Please bear with my NEW header image. Ofcourse this is a transient phase and the good ol image would be back again. I just couldnt stop laughing at this funny quirk and had to communicate it to all :) So what do you think of it?

Tag

2005-11-02T22:18:00.000+05:00

Okay, so I found this thing on Samar's blog pretty interesting. But I had no plan to do it on my blog. Khair, I have been tagged for it, so guess I have to do it! What I had to do: Go to Google, and search for "my_name needs". And post the results obtained. Principle one: The results should be hilarious. Principle two: No madeup results. Principle three: In doubt? See principles one and two... Here is what I need: Yousuf needs to be careful of the following (follows a long list of gibberish) Yousuf needs to be treated with respect. Yousuf needs an opening pair to provide a platform. Mr. Yousuf needs to get more of his colleagues involved in his plans to establish rule of law in Somalia. (???) Yousuf needs to stay there the whole way for us to have a chance. (Really!) Yousuf needs knowledge to reach these lofty goals. Yousuf needs 154 runs more to reach the 4000 Test runs mark. Yousuf needs another 2 catches to reach the 50 Test catches milestone. (I didnt know I played Test Cricket!) Yousuf needs fresh ideas for guests. Yousuf needs to work on that. Yousuf's garment needs to fit like a glove. (sheesh!) Yousuf needs the judiciary to be free from any kind of discrimination! Yousuf needs a snack & drink. Yousuf needs to flaunt the latest. Yousuf needs the water bottle to stand out. Yousuf doesnt need your permission. And the best: Yousuf. For all your shopping needs. I am tagging: s!d Raheel Extiinct (hey, u werent tagged! :P) Gul And everyone else :)

I am hooked

2005-11-01T19:41:00.000+05:00

My house is being repainted. And I am drifting in the sweet aroma.

Looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong gone! ~

Disclaimer

2005-10-31T07:28:00.000+05:00

This is to inform all of you that from now on, this blog might contain explicit contents. They may range from sub-standard, sub-human things to expletives. The author could not be held responsible for any trauma arising out of such views. What you read is your choice, and you can leave the blog any time. Finally I decided to show the real me, as Samar says that all blogs portray the nice sides of the bloggers. So here I am, all in my glory, in my real self, nice as well as evil. I am finally shedding the be-good posture that I have been wearing all my life. Bear with me if you can, or bid me adios. P.S. did I tell you I was a Gemini?

Weird

2005-10-29T03:21:00.000+05:00

If listening to Mar Dala from Devdas is weird, then I am exactly that!!!!

Matlab, I have started liking that song. It's got that odd feeling, that touches something deep inside.. strikes some long forgotten chords.. makes stuff well up again that were long deemed drowned!

Sometimes such songs help forget the miseries of the present. Living in the past is not necessarily a good thing, but then, it isnt worse either. That way atleast you get to ponder over your mistakes, if any, and shayad, somehow, you'll resolve never to repeat them!

Its great, and for a good measure, throw in a couple of MHB songs, and you can have a serene (and nostalgic) evening!

To those this might concern

2005-10-26T21:27:00.000+05:00

There is no such thing as full scape papers. There are only fool's cap papers, or you can call them foolscap. That's it. Please!
Refrain from wearing too-revealing clothes, atleast while its Ramadan. You know, us guys' rozas go down the drain!!
People will look whenever the show is on. So dont make a show!
The prefix 'www' in a domain name is only needed for the top level domains. No need of using them in subdomains. Save your time by striking out the 'www' from 'www.someone.blogspot.com'. It would work as fine.
My nick is supposed to be u'X'uf, not 'U'xuf. So please?

More of them coming, had loads to share but couldnt place the things now that I am here :P

Aur haan! My friends, the DC (disciplinary committee) meeting was initiated for the tour. Ya know, the joke is on... "TC ki DC!"...

Dont know yet what those people have decided, but I am positive it won't be too harsh. Only if we d have known that they will treat us like this when we get back, we'd have given the students a raw deal!

But, life goes on...

The firsts!

2005-10-25T22:04:00.000+05:00

Subject:   Disciplinary Meeting
From:   "Abdul Saeed"
Date:   Mon, October 24, 2005 6:25 am
To:   "S2057"
"S2035"
"S1836"
"S1863"
"S1885"
"S2114"
"S2071"
"S1871"
Cc:   "Hasina Khatoon"

Dear Students,

You are advised to appear before the Disciplinary Committee on Tuesday
i.e. October 25, 2005 at 11:00 AM.

Abdul Saeed

From Director's Office

I'm bored!

2005-10-24T23:34:00.000+05:00

Got nothing to do these days, everything is, umm, boring. I'm bored of university, of office, of home. What I need to get me back into the mainstream "fun" is a substantial project. Yeah, I know I sound odd, but I need to work! Naah, study is not work for me. Infact I am bored of studies as well... Got any ideas? And did I tell you, I've got this nasty cut on the fore-side of my palm, that occurred when I was disembarking from my point? Well, its not that nasty!! But its cool! Talk about guys nursing nasty cuts just to show people how brawly they are ;)