Eid Mubarak & Happy New Year 2007

Happy Eid to everyone... I hope it was a great and blessed one for you all... And Happy New Year 2007... I wish you all an amazing new year, may it be full of happiness and success for every single one of you and your families... The year 2006 was a very mixed year for my wife and I, not an easy one, full of change and with its fair share of ups and downs, but I guess what we'll both remember it for is the greatest thing that has happened to us in our entire lives, the birth of...

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Everything Is Urgent At Work

Isn't it so amazing how everything is always urgent at work? Urgent is to the say the least, as it's always preceded and followed with a bunch of superlative adjectives. The alert levels are always up! This is extra high priority and can't wait because it's extremely urgent. That is so urgent the client is breathing down our necks, literally. The other is even more urgent the boss is bordering on a heart attack. You'd think we work in a nuclear facility that is about to melt down or that we have a really important and powerful job, but then...

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Astrology Is Not A Science!

I don't believe in Astrology, not one tiny bit, I think it's total crap and nonsense, but I don't care if others around me do, and I don't give them a hard time for it. Everyone is free to believe whatever they want to believe, right? But what does piss me off is when some of the people who believe in Astrology start talking like they're so damn sure of it, analyzing and judging me, foreseeing my future, while claiming that it's a well-founded science. Well it's not! Astronomy is a science, but not Astrology; Astrology is a group of...

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Top Ten Myths About Iraq 2006

Juan Cole compiles a list of the top 10 myths about Iraq, which goes as follows: 1. The U.S. can still win in Iraq. 2. US military sweeps of neighborhoods can drive the guerrillas out. 3. The United States is best off throwing all its support behind the Iraqi Shiites. 4. Iraq is not in a civil war 5. The second Lancet study showing 600,000 excess deaths from political and criminal violence since the US invasion is somehow flawed. 6. Most deaths in Iraq are from bombings. 7. Baghdad and environs are especially violent but the death rate is lower...

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Iraq War Deaths Exceed 9/11 Toll

As the attacks on Iraqi civilians and U.S. military go on daily in Iraq, the AP reports the following... The latest U.S. deaths brought the number of members of the U.S. military killed since the start of the Iraq war in March 2003 to at least 2,978 — five more than the number killed in the Sept. 11 attacks in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. President Bush has said the Iraq war is part of the United States' post-Sept. 11 approach to threats abroad. Going on the offense against enemies before they could harm Americans meant removing the Taliban from...

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News Bytes From Tunisia

While doing my regular round of the news this morning, I came across a number of interesting news from Tunisia, so I thought I'd post a little round-up of these news, and who knows, I might start doing this regularly. Starting January 1st, 2007; Tunisian mothers, with one child or more who wish to devote time to raising a family while retaining their job, will be able to work half time for two thirds of their salary. The Progressive Democratic Party (PDP), one of Tunisia's main opposition parties, has elected a woman, Maya El Jeribi, as its leader, making her...

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R.I.P James Brown

James Brown, the "Godfather of Soul", the legendary R&B artist, the singer and songwriter who defined funk and inspired rap, died yesterday at Atlanta's Emory Crawford Long Hospital of congestive heart failure at the age of 73. Brown's last words were to his manager Charles Bobbit, and they were: "I'm going away tonight." James Brown is one of the few music legends who will live on forever through their art and through the way they affected and revolutionized the music scene. His influence was broad and deep, and so much of the music we hear nowadays has it's roots...

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links for 2006-12-22

Adobe's New Application Icons The new icons for Adobe's range of products are out. Personally not impressed. (tags: adobe icons applications products iconography design cs3) Woodpixel Create your own pixel art... from wood. Really cool. (tags: woodpixel pixel art wood cool) Ask X Where Ask.com are testing their new user interface. Pretty nice. (tags: AskX ask searchengine ajax web search beta web2.0) A Technical Guide to Anonymous Blogging Security measures for hiding your identity online, by Ethan Zuckerman. (tags: privacy blogging technology security Anonymous blog) Heineken Announces Joint Venture in Tunisia Heineken acquires of 49.99% of Tunisian company SPDB;...

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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Author JK Rowling has finally revealed the title of the seventh and final Harry Potter book. It will be called "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows", she announced on her official website. Speculation about the plot has surrounded the book after Rowling admitted two characters will die - some think it could be Harry Potter himself. The book's publication date is not known yet, but as usual, it is expected to be a really big seller, just like its predecessors. Sales of all Harry Potter titles now total more than 52 million worldwide. » Harry Potter Books...

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links for 2006-12-21

Architectural Wonders 2006 The past year's marvels of architecture. (tags: architecture design photos 2006 gallery) 10 must haves in IE Next 10 feature must haves in the next version of Microsoft's Internet Explorer. (tags: ie browser microsoft web internet explorer) 7 Computer Mice You Can't Buy 7 cool computer mice that were custom built by individuals and are unavailable to buy. (tags: computer mice mouse cool custom pc hack Hardware) Animator vs. Animation A really cool and funny flash animation where an animator's creation turns against him. (tags: cool flash animation animator fighter funny humour) Animator vs. Animation 2...

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Barack Obama And Anti-Muslim Paranoia

In a December 18 blog post headlined "Barack Hussein Obama: Once a Muslim, Always A Muslim", right-wing pundit Debbie Schlussel argued that because Sen. Barack Obama's middle name is Hussein, his late, estranged father was of Muslim descent, and he has shown interest in his father's Kenyan heritage, Obama's "loyalties" must be called into question as he emerges as a possible Democratic presidential candidate. In the column, Schlussel asked: "So, even if he identifies strongly as a Christian ... is a man who Muslims think is a Muslim, who feels some sort of psychological need to prove himself to his...

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links for 2006-12-20

Usability in the Movies -- Top 10 Bloopers Jakob Nielsen lists the top 10 usability bloopers in movies nowadays. (tags: Usability movies UI funny humour humor lists mistakes Cinema) 5 Things That Went From Buzz to Bust TIME lists the 5 things that went from buzz to bust in 2006. The PS3 is on the list of course. (tags: time buzz bust list 2006) OldVersion.com A site that offers older versions of software, because newer is not always better. Really good idea and very uiseful. (tags: old version software download programs) 50 Beautiful CSS-Based Web-Designs in 2006 Some of...

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This Eid Ul-Adha, You Can Sacrifice Animals Online

Eid Ul-Adha is just around the corner and will be coinciding with the end of the year this time around. This Eid marks the end of the Hajj (pilgrimage) each year to Mecca and is known as the feast of sacrifice. Muslims who can afford it buy and slaughter animals and distribute the meat among the poor and relatives. However, many Muslims in Western countries are unable to perform the ritual because of the laws of the countries they live in. A number of Pakistani groups are offering these Muslims a "solution": they can now buy an animal over the...

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Esata, A New Language

While surfing around the net, I came across this new language called Esata. Esata is a newly designed 'constructed language', developed by Pafu. It is a bare bones version of the English language, which has also been internationalized to a high degree. In the target language, Esata is a 'phrase word' meaning 'know (how to) speak.' In Esata a compromise is being sought between the now globally dominant English, and the rest of the world's major languages. There are several features of Esata that should interest researchers in the area of artificial languages. It is regular and highly compact, with...

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From Kofi Annan's U.N. Farewell Address

Some interestings bits and quotes from Kofi Annan's farewell address to the United Nations: "...in today’s world, the security of every one of us is linked to that of everyone else. That was already true in Truman’s time. The man who in 1945 gave the order for nuclear weapons to be used – for the first, and let us hope the only, time in history – understood that security for some could never again be achieved at the price of insecurity for others." Respect for human rights and the rule of law can be advanced only "if America remains true...

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Making A Living From World of Warcraft Gold Trade

Wow... This is incredible... "... an astounding half million Chinese now make a living - about $100 a month - from the acquisition and sale of WoW (World of Warcraft) gold to US and EU gamers. Why is this is the future of work online? Consider the numbers, youth, and low wages of the gold farmers, and the growing interest in outsourcing tasks online. [...] ... these gold farms indicate that the game platform has the potential to engage more people in Internet-driven economy. The gaming workers in China don’t have skills like English, software or graphic design to participate...

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Muhammad Yunus' Nobel Peace Prize

Economist Muhammad Yunus accepted the Nobel Peace Prize yesterday for his breakthrough program to lift the poor through tiny loans, saying he hoped the award would inspire "bold initiatives" to eradicate a problem at the root of terrorism. Yunus shared the award with his Grameen Bank, which for more than two decades has helped impoverished people start businesses by providing small, usually unsecured loans known as microcredit. He is the first and so far only Bangladeshi to win the prestigious award. The award also marked a shift away from the conventions by awarding it to someone who worked to promote...

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Another Bookworm Tag

So another bookworm tag is making the rounds; I've been tagged by Reflect Upon. Tag rules: Grab the closest book to you, open page 123, scroll down to the 5th sentence, post the next 3 sentences on your blog, name the book and author, then tag 3 people. So here goes... "They came to a low room with a sloping roof (a penthouse, it seemed, built on to the north end of the house). Its walls were of clean stone, but they were mostly covered with green hanging mats and yellow curtains." -- The Lord Of The Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien...

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France 24: Beyond The News

France 24, the new French 24-hour international satellite news channel has just gone live in two languages: English and French, with an Arabic channel launching soon and a Spanish one later. The channel started broadcasting online yesterday though. France 24 wants to characterize itself by respect for diversity and attention to political and cultural differences and identities. It's goal is to offer an in-depth analysis of current events, aiming to uncover what lies beneath the surface and reveal what the public is not used to seeing, knowing or understanding. It will also be giving special attention to culture and lifestyle....

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The World's 40 Best Directors

The Guardian compiles a list of the world's 40 best directors. Personally, I don't fully agree with their list, and there are many cited directors whose works I'm not familiar with, but here's how it goes according to them: 1. David Lynch 2. Martin Scorsese 3. Joel and Ethan Coen 4. Steven Soderbergh 5. Terrence Malick 6. Abbas Kiarostami 7. Errol Morris 8. Hayao Miyazaki 9. David Cronenberg 10. Terence Davies...

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Believing In God

Some people believe in God... You can't but respect their beliefs even if they don't coincide with yours... Some people don't believe in God... You can't but respect their right to believe what they think is fact... And then there are some people who don't want to believe in God... Meaning, they believe in God, but they don't want to... They try to convince themselves that God doesn't exist... For different reasons... Mainly not to feel guilty for whatever wrong they're doing... People like that simply can't earn your respect......

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The 10 Best Books of 2006

A list of the 10 best books of 2006 compiled by the NY Times: - Absurdistan (Gary Shteyngart) - The Collected Stories of Amy Hempel (Amy Hempel) - The Emperor's Children (Claire Messud) - The Lay of the Land (Richard Ford) - Special Topics in Calamity Physics (Marisha Pessl) - Falling Through the Earth: A Memoir (Danielle Trussoni) - The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 (Lawrence Wright) - Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War (Nathaniel Philbrick) - The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals (Michael Pollan) - The Places In Between (Rory Stewart)...

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Casino Royale & James Bond

I must be one of the biggest James Bond fans; I grew up watching and enjoying James Bond movies, and have seen every single one of them multiple times. My favourite Bond remains to this very day Sean Connery, followed by Pierce Brosnan; I think they embodied the character better than all the others. My worst Bond was George Lazenby, I think a lot of people agree with me on that, the guy was just plain boring. With "Casino Royale", a new Bond is introduced to us, and the story takes us back to the beginnings of James Bond, just...

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George W. Bush Only Fifth Worst US President

So, believe it or not, there were worse presidents in the US... It's unfair to claim that George W. Bush is the worst president of all time. He's merely the fifth worst. In the White House Hall of Shame, Bush comes behind four other Oval Officers whose policies were even more disastrous: James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, Richard M. Nixon and James Madison. [...] ... he will be remembered for the Iraq conflict for generations, long after tax-cut-driven deficits, No Child Left Behind and comprehensive immigration reform are forgotten. The fact that Bush followed the invasion of Afghanistan, which had sheltered...

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Heaven On Earth

I remember when I was a child, at that age when we start to think about the world around us and analyze the different things we're taught without any limits or taboos to restrict us; one of my thoughts was about heaven, which we learn is this perfect happy place, somewhere up in the skies, where people who do good deeds go. I thought: what if heaven isn't a place somewhere up there? What if heaven doesn't exist yet? What if heaven is what this earth will become when we all start caring and thinking about each other, trying to...

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