Lost in Dreams....

Moving...

2008-05-05T16:35:00.004+04:00

For the regular readers and visitors of my blog, I have moved to blogging at http://blog.arulns.com and http://tech.arulns.com

So see you all there...

For the readers who have subscribed to my feed, please visit the above link and add the feed address.
RSS Feed : http://blog.arulns.com/feed/ and also http://tech.arulns.com/feed

Theology Exam

2007-10-16T09:27:00.000+04:00

Below is an article from http://www.ebonmusings.org/atheism/guestessays/religion101.html

Religion 101: Final Exam
by Terrence Kaye

Which of the following is the most compelling evidence for the existence of an intelligent and loving Designer?

A Caribbean sunset
The screams of a baby seal as it is torn apart by a shark
The first time your perfect new baby smiles at you
The speed of the Ebola virus converting an African child's organs into liquid

A deeply devout Catholic couple has just returned from their fiftieth anniversary celebration, when suddenly the husband falls to the ground, clutching his chest. What is the most productive action for the wife to take?

Call 911
Put him in the car and race to the hospital herself
Administer CPR
Fall on her knees and pray to the Lord to spare his life

You are a product tester and frequently bring your work home. Yesterday, while dressed in a flame resistant suit (up to 3,000 degrees) and carrying the latest model fire extinguisher, you discover your neighbor's house is on fire. As the flames quickly spread, you stand and watch your neighbor's new baby burn to death. Which of the following best describes your behavior?

All-powerful
All-knowing
All-loving
Mysterious

One day while jogging in the park, you see a maniac with a butcher knife about to attack a six-year old girl. Which would be the most morally proper action to take?

Grab the nearest rock and beat off the attacker
Call the police on your cell phone
Yell "POLICE!" and run toward the attacker in a threatening manner
Calmly walk away, because God works in mysterious ways, and what appears "evil" to our finite human mind, may in fact be part of a vaster plan in God's infinite mind, so it's best not to interfere

You are the incarnated Son of the all-powerful and all-loving Creator of the universe. What would be a good way to demonstrate your compassion and power?

Cure cancer forever
Cause all the earth's deserts to bloom with food crops
Unite the world with a common language and an end to poverty
Conjure up a jug of wine and follow it up by walking on water

Since we can never "know" whether or not a God exists - it is fundamentally a matter of "faith" - it's best to be a believer since you have nothing to lose, but everything to lose if your disbelief is incorrect. Keeping in mind that the fate of your soul depends on the right choice, in which God should you place your belief? For extra credit, include a brief essay justifying your choice, along with the reasons why you reject the other three.

Zeus
Quetzalcoatl
Vishnu
The Holy Trinity

(*Note: Choice D assumes you were born around 400 A.D. or later, after the invention of the Trinity)

You are the Creator of the universe. Your chosen people are a tribe of nomadic herdsmen, presently in bondage on one of the millions of your planets. Their ruler is being quite obstinate. Keeping in mind that you possess not only infinite power but also infinite love, your best course of action would be to:

Cause the ruler to drop dead of a heart attack
Cause the ruler to fall off a cliff
Visit the ruler in a dream and persuade him to let your people go
Slaughter a great number of innocent babies who had nothing to do with the ruler's policies

You are a Starfleet Federation explorer in the process of cataloging two newly discovered planets. The majority of the inhabitants of each planet believe in a deity, but they are two different deities. Deity "X" is said to be not only all-powerful, all-loving, and all-knowing, but the designer of a marvelously complex and ordered world. Deity "Y" is said to be indifferent, absent, unconcerned with the affairs of his planet, and some even say evil. Which god rules over which planet?

Planet A: Has apparently achieved a state of advanced benign equilibrium in which there are no viruses or diseases, and only a very small number of natural disasters, which, when they do strike, always eliminate only the sinful and evil. The inhabitants, both plant and animal, have learned to maintain their existence through photosynthesis, and thus do not have to kill and eat each other in order to survive. There are no "birth defects;" every inhabitant comes into existence perfectly formed and equipped for a long and productive life.
Deity X_____
Deity Y_____

Planet B: Adorned with many examples of beauty and order, it is also constantly beset by hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, volcanoes, lightning bolts, viruses, disfiguring diseases, parasites, leeches, flies, crop-destroying pests and many other phenomena which afflict both the innocent and the evil. Every life form on the planet can only sustain its existence through the destruction and consumption of other life forms. Some of the inhabitants are born with a crippling condition called a "birth defect", which condemns them to living extremely limited, short, or painful lives.
Deity X_____
Deity Y_____
What is the number of children born without arms or legs that have been miraculously restored by a visit to the shrine at Lourdes, France?

Too many to count
Over 1,000
Several dozen
Zero, but only because their faith was not strong enough

As we all know, there is only one true religion. What is the one true religion in each of the following circumstances?

You are born in Karnak in 3000 B.C.
You are born in Bombay in 300 B.C.
You are born in Baghdad in 900 A.D.
You are born in Mexico City in 1956 A.D.

Although you are new at golf, you have just hit a beautiful 200-yard drive and your ball has landed on a blade of grass near the cup at Hole 3. The green contains ten million blades of grass. The odds of your ball landing on that blade of grass are 10,000,000 to one against, too improbable to have happened by mere chance. What's the explanation?

The wind guided it
Your muscles guided it
There is no need for an explanation
You consciously designed your shot to land on that particular blade

Which of the following is most likely to be true, and why?

Romulus was the son of God, born to a mortal human virgin
Dionysus turned water into wine
Apollonius of Tyana raised a girl from the dead
Jesus Christ was the son of God, born to a mortal virgin, turned water into wine, and raised a man from the dead

Conceding that torture is permissible under certain conditions, which of the following would be the best justification?

Your prisoner is the only one who knows the date and time of an assassination attempt on the Pope
Your prisoner is the only one who knows where a nuclear device has been planted in Washington, D.C.
Your prisoner is the only one who knows where a vial of nerve gas has been placed in the London water supply system
Your prisoner has announced that the earth revolves around the sun

We know that Christianity is true because the Gospel writers, inspired by God who can make no error, recorded the founding events. For example, on the first Easter morning, the visitors to the tomb were greeted by which of the following:

A young man (Mark 16:5)
No, no, it was no man, it was an angel (Matthew 28:2-5)
You're both wrong, it was two men (Luke 24:4)
Damn it, there was nobody there (John 20:1-2)

According to inerrant Scripture, the Savior prayed alone in the garden while the three disciples who accompanied him had fallen asleep. How did the gospel writer know the words of that prayer?

Jesus left them written down under a rock
They were recorded on a primitive taping device
The gospel writer was psychic
The three disciples were later hypnotized and asked to recall the prayer

According to at least one sainted church father, one of the pleasures of the saved will be to behold the agony of the damned. What would be the best time of day in heaven for a mother to behold the agony of her only son?

Early in the morning before it gets too crowded
Mid-day when she can compare notes and share the celebration with other mothers
Late at night when she can enjoy the flames in starker contrast

In the Judeo-Christian tradition, we always look to the Bible as a guide. In this example, your teenage son has returned home from the prom intoxicated. The Bible's instruction is:

Sit him down for a heart to heart talk
Enroll him in AA
Take away his driving privilege for one month
Smash his head in with rocks

In this example, your son-in-law, returned from his honeymoon, has just told you he suspects your daughter was not a virgin on their wedding night. Wishing to abide by God's holy rules as laid out in the Bible, you should:

Ask him if he was a virgin before you do anything
Advise him to forgive her
Talk to your daughter
Go find those rocks

You are eating lunch at a crowded fast food restaurant, occupied mostly by children, when suddenly a gunman bursts in, screams "Do not question or test me," and sprays the room with bullets. Ten people are killed instantly, many more grievously wounded, but somehow you escape unharmed. His ammunition expended, the gunman collapses to the floor. What should you do?

Call the police and wait for them to arrive
Call the police and leave
Risk death by asking the gunman why he did it, even though he told you not to
Fall on your knees and give thanks and praise to the gunman for sparing your life

Why did God show his backside to Moses, as described in Holy Scripture, Ex.33:23?

He invented everything, and this was simply the first mooning
He was really ticked off when Moses dropped the tablets
He was piqued, having just discovered His almighty powers were useless against chariots of iron (Judges I:19)
Moses was too serious and needed to lighten up a little

Jesus was God, and God knows all things, including all the medical knowledge that will ever be known. Why did Jesus blame demons for the case of epilepsy he cured?

He was suffering from a temporary case of "brain freeze"
The Aramaic word for "demon" is the same as the word for "cranial malfunction"
Neurology was not his specialty
In first-century Palestine, demons really did cause epilepsy. This affliction only began to be caused by electrochemical brain activity after about 1850 A.D.

This morning's paper carries a story about a suburban father who became so enraged with his disobedient children that he carried them both to the backyard pool where he drowned them, along with their puppy, their kitten, and their hamster. How should this father be treated?

He should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law
He should be banished from the town
He should be lynched to save the taxpayers' money
The townspeople should gather together to sing hymns of praise to him

This morning I started my day by insulting my mother in public, then punched out my father, my brother, and my sister. Then I gathered up all my clothes, sold them to a second-hand store, and with the proceeds bought a used Uzi and 50 rounds of ammunition. Next, I went down to the animal shelter and injected all the dogs with a drug that caused them to go insane and dive into the nearby canal where they all drowned. By this time I was hungry, so I went over to my neighbor's apple orchard and burned it down, because I wanted an orange and there weren't any. On the way home, I stopped at the local steel mill to discuss my philosophy of life with some of the guys. They laughed at me and said to stow it, so I tossed them all into the blast furnace. That night I discovered my son looking at a copy of Playboy. Concerned for his future welfare, I cut off his right hand. What historical character did my activities today most resemble?

Genghis Khan
Charles Manson
Adolph Hitler
Jesus Christ

Down through the ages, who has been most responsible for the medical discoveries that have relieved untold amounts of suffering and pain, and extended the length of that most sacred of creations, human life?

Medical doctors
Research biologists
Chemists
The Catholic Church

A great sadness has come into your life which you feel you cannot bear. A friend informs you of a free counseling service which has never failed to aid and comfort many others. You call the counselor; the phone rings and rings with no answer; you finally hang up. What is the most likely explanation?

The counselor is sitting by the phone but not answering in order to test your faith in him
The counselor always stands ready to hear your pleas for help, but sometimes the answer is "no"
The counselor will not answer because he wants you to profit by the spiritual strength that only comes through suffering
The counselor is not home

God Made Me....

2007-09-08T09:18:00.000+04:00

UAE - Justice

2007-04-25T09:36:00.000+04:00

Attempt murder - three months
Beat up your wife - six months
Molest a child - one year
Steal from charity - one year
Drink, drive, kill - one year
Slash four women - two years
Torture your maid - three years
Rape a woman - three years

Smoke cannabis outside the UAE - four years

Abu Dhabi: A teenager who smoked a cigarette containing hashish while he was in Egypt will serve four years in jail followed by deportation, the Federal Supreme Court has confirmed.

The boy, 18, an Egyptian identified as E.M., smoked a cigarette containing hashish with his friends in Egypt. He smoked it one day before he flew to the UAE.

via [Secret Dubai Diary]

السلام عليكم

2007-04-05T23:59:00.000+04:00

Finally I completed my Arabic classes. I missed only one class out of 40..... That is an achievement in itself compared to others (the people I know)

Now don't ask me what I learnt... Ask me what I didn't..... I never came to understand how a language could be so complex and so nice at the same time... Somedays I just felt like running away from the class... and on some other days it was a cultural awakening...

So when I came out of the last class... I tried to recall the ordeals I went through for past 2 months... Rushing from office or site to the class and then dinner at odd places and then trying to convincing the taxi's to drop me to nowhere and coming home at midnight and sleeping the moment you hit the bed... and waking up next day late for office and this cycle continued for nearly 2 months....

In case anybody wondered what is the status of my Arabic.. For now i can try to read and my chances of getting it right is around 60%.... I can speak a little....Can surely tell "No it was not me"..... Have decided to give up trying to write Arabic.... It's just not working out...
At the end of the day even though I might not be able to speak Arabic, I am happy to have know abt this culture and a lot more exists to it than just the common notion that the entire stuff is around their religion....

Ma' Salama

Best Personal Defects

2007-03-12T23:11:00.000+04:00

I was reading this post by Scott Adams - Best Personal Defects where he tells that the best personal defects one could have are the ones that other people notice in you while you can't notice them.

Even though I know how cruel I have been to people around me, I never knew the gravity. Now I know!!! But not anymore guilty....

Only reminds me of two instances....
I remember a once when people tried to jump off the roof to prevent me talking any more and once my office colleague offering his Dad's sweater to put over my shirt before leaving to a party.

My Visual DNA

2007-03-12T23:01:00.000+04:00

This is supposed to be my Visual DNA... I wonder what happened to all my biological ones....

Adblock

Read my VisualDNA™

Windows VISTA Patch

2007-03-07T11:42:00.000+04:00

Self Explanatory .........

[via Geek Culture]

Anti-"Anti Piracry" Ad Poster

2007-03-06T23:01:00.000+04:00

You don't get to see these kind of posters very often.... But there is some truth in them too... When you go to a shop and buy a DVD instead of picking it off from a Pirate, you expect something better for the extra value that you are paying.... And not seeing a Anti Piracy Ad everytime you pop in the disc in your player...

[via Boing Boing]

Micro$oft Sued Again... :-)

2007-03-06T11:40:00.000+04:00

Micro$oft has been sued... I know this wouldn't generally make headlines because it happens every other day...... But this time it has been sued by a Gun Wielding Porno Lover....

According to Inquirer, a guy who was arrested by FBI for some gun sale issue had his computers looked upon and FBI happened to get his Electronic history from it and his love for pornography.... So now that guy sitting inside Jail decided to sue Micro$oft because its OS is so insecure that FBI was able to dig into it....

I am just imagining a guy sitting in a Prison, using his "Call" and talking to his attorney...
"Hey man, lets go for Micor$oft for selling me that Windows which was supposed to secure my porn stash... and also lets sue Compaq and Circuit City for selling me that shit... "

More here

Only in India...

2007-03-01T09:39:00.001+04:00

If I remember correct I used to drive in this traffic once upon a time.... But arriving here I guess I must have lost that art.... When I look into this video I am worried whether when I go back would i be able to do it ??

Best Tamil Remix Seen Till Date....

2007-02-24T23:58:00.000+04:00

Lately I have been watching some of the You Tube Links that people have been sending me or blogged about... Will try to share some of the best ones down here in the course of time..

One such video is the best tamil remix song that i have heard or seen...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbBsDOzxZlU
It's a remix of an tamil song.... by Illayaraja..... Remixed by Yogi B & Nachathira group.... It carries a powerful mix of the classical tamil and local Chennai Slangs too.... Worth watching and enjoying...

2007-02-03T15:00:00.000+04:00

You can check out this in ABC news... The direct link is here

Dark Side of Dubai's Boomtown

Dubai may be the boomtown of the Middle East, but is it being built on the backs of exploited foreign workers? Read Brian Ross' 20/20 script.

By BRIAN ROSS AND JILL RACKMILL

November 17, 2006— - In the world of thoroughbred racing, the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohamed, has spared no expense in making himself a big man.

Jason Levine: It is the sport of kings. He's one of the few people in the game that treats it that way.

The Sheik's personal 747 is a familiar sight in Kentucky, especially around the time of the country's premier Keeneland horse sale.

That's Sheikh Mohamed, without his robes, in the midst of a royal spending spree. He and his brother spent more than $70 million on horses in just two days.

And once back in Dubai, the horses will live in royal splendor in his majesty's stables.

Jason Levine: Money talks, and in his case, he's happy to throw it around.

The sheikh's taking the same no expense spared approach to promoting Dubai around the world.

Prominent figures, including former President Bill Clinton, have been paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to speak, or act as consultants.

President Bush's brother Neil was a guest of the royal family last year.

The sheikh and his ministers say Dubai is a shining example of what can go right in the Middle East.

Dr. Anwar Gargash: Dubai is slowly becoming a cosmopolitan global city here in the Middle East in the Arab world.

And as Dubai grows from desert town to boomtown, again, no expense is being spared.

Just putting up the world's tallest building isn't enough.

Mohammed Ali Alabbar: I think we'd like to be not only the tallest in the world, but the best quality building every built by man.

The building will be twice this height when completed next year.

One hundred sixty floors of the most luxurious apartments and offices the world has ever seen.

All being built, it turns out, by workers who on average make less than a dollar an hour.

Sarah Leah: It's clear that workers are being abused. They're working for virtual slave wages.

Behind the glitzy world of Dubai are some 500,000 foreign workers who human rights groups say live in virtual enslavement.

Sarah Leah: That is how these new, fancy buildings are being built.

A report out just this week from the group Human Rights Watch concludes workers putting up Dubai's soaring towers are being systematically cheated and abused, with the sheikh's government looking the other way.

Hadi Ghaemi and Sarah Leah Whitson prepared the report.

Sarah Leah: You are working in a system where you are not really free to leave your job. You actually need employers' consent to change jobs. You're working in a system where your passport is withheld. And really, if you displease your employer, you are going to find yourself on a plane right back to Sri Lanka or Bangladesh or India.

Most of the workers live in labor camps an hour outside the city in the desert, in a place called Sonapaur, which means city of gold.

There's little gold to be found here.

The men putting up the world's finest buildings live six to eight, sometimes 12, to a room, rooms smaller that the horse stalls in the Sheikh's royal stables.

When we arrived, the men said it was one of the few times outsiders with cameras had been in the camps.

And we wanted to know if his royal highness Sheikh Mohamed had ever been here.

Dr. Anwar Gargash: I cannot confirm that he has or has not.

Brian Ross: I think he would find that his horses have better living conditions than those men.

Dr. Anwar Gargash: I think that's not a fair comment.

Dr. Anwar Gargash, the one and only government official provided to speak with 20/20, says Dubai and the sheikh are doing the best they can.

Dr. Anwar Gargash: I have been to more than one labor camp in Sonapur.

Brian Ross: Would you want to live that way?

Dr. Anwar Gargash: I think that some that are bad and some that are not so bad.

Brian Ross: We were at camps this week that are described as pretty good, and they're quite squalid.

Dr. Anwar Gargash: Okay.

Brian Ross: 8, 12 men in a room, working 12 hour days.

Dr. Anwar Gargash: Okay.

Brian Ross: Is Dubai proud of that?

Dr. Anwar Gargash: No, of course not.

Brian Ross: Then why do you allow it to continue?

Dr. Anwar Gargash: Because, the pace of growth has outstripped our ability. I think like any other city, any other country, we, of course, have growing pains.

Pains being felt by these men, trapped in indentured servitude.

They told us they were deeply in debt because they were forced to pay recruiters in their home countries large fees to get their jobs in Dubai, something that is supposed to be illegal.

And once here, they said, they found they would be making only half the wages they had been promised.

Workers: 600, 600 dirhams, about $163 dollars, a month. On average, less than a dollar an hour.

And even that, Human Rights Watch found, is routinely withheld months at a time.

Sarah Leah: It's considered a way to make sure your worker doesn't run away so you kind of owe him money to keep him on a short leash.

The work in Dubai goes on day and night, usually two, twelve hour shifts, six days a week. A pace Human Rights Watch says has led to a huge death toll.

Hadi Ghaemi: Hundreds are dying, especially falling from these high rises every year.

Brian Ross: You are saying hundreds are dying?

Hadi Ghaemi: Hundreds are dying.

And under the law in Dubai and the entire United Arab Emirates, there are no unions allowed, strikes are illegal, strikers can be fired and sent home.

Sarah Leah: So you basically, you better shut up and do your work and not complain.

But earlier this year, at the site of what will be the world's tallest building, workers went on strike anyway, for two days.

It was a rare, bold protest in front of the building Sheikh Mohamed wants to be the best building ever built by man.

The man in charge says he warned the contractors to improve conditions at the site, but that still, some of the strike ringleaders may have been fired for misbehaving.

Mohammed Ali Alabbar: There's one or two or three got fired because of that, I'm not aware, I'm not really aware of that.

Brian Ross: Is that fair?

Mohammed Ali Alabbar: Well, you know, what Brian, I could lose my job tomorrow, as well.

Brian Ross: You're not making four dollars a day.

Mohammed Ali Alabbar: Well, basically anyone, any level of job who can also get fired if they don't behave.

While Sheikh Mohamed has been busy with his horses and his skyscrapers and his fantasy islands, Human Rights Watch says he and the government of the United Arab Emirates have done little or nothing to protect workers rights.

Brian Ross: You talk about setting high standards. Where are the high standards for the workers?

Dr. Anwar Gargash: We realize very well that we are actually in a state of transition. So to come and say we have a problem, of course we do.

Brian Ross: As it stands today, are they receiving fair treatment?

Dr. Anwar Gargash: I think we have problem. I think we have a problem

Brian Ross: You admit it.

Dr. Anwar Gargash: I think we have a problem, but it's not like we're not doing anything about it.

In fact, just days after we left Dubai, the royal public relations machine was in high-gear, announcing new efforts to enforce labor laws and improve conditions at labor camps.

At long last Dubai's impoverished workers may finally be getting the same attention as the Sheikh's skyscrapers and famed racehorses.

Shawarma...

2007-01-23T22:02:00.000+04:00

Shawarma...(I expect the ninety-nine percent of my readers not to know this word a bit… in case it’s the opposite then it’s my pure ignorance on play)

Whatz so special abt this word…. This wouldn’t be of any significance for me if it didn’t happen to be my dinner for past 1 week... I have been surviving on this for last 7 days….

This happens to be an Arabic dish (I think one of the best things that they gave to this world)… Its origin is from Turkey and its cousins across the globe are Greek Gyros and Mexican Taco (I haven’t tasted those yet)…

It’s got slices of grilled chicken meat or lamb (have heard that beef variants are also available) with tomato, cucumber, lettuce dressed with garlic sauce. Some people also include potato fries in between to build it up... this is all wrapped up in a Arabic bread (locally called Kubhoz or pita)… The meat is grilled in a vertical flame cooker… With this they also give some cucumber and chili seasoned in vinegar.

Whoa this combi is heavenly and a must for every food lover (non-veg)… some people may not like the rawness of the meat the first time but somehow I have learned to bypass that part…

The taste here differs from each countries restaurants... Turkish, Egyptian, Lebanese, Syrian…..

The best part is that you (actually I) don’t have to go to hi fi restaurants to have this... u have lot of street corner shops serving this… so that saves u a lot of time and money and stares…

Coming to the last part “the stares”…. Being an expatriate here in an Arabic country where your ethnic race overtakes the local native population (the demographic ratio is little unbalanced here), u have to sustain these stares…

Sometimes when I go to these Arabic Restaurants, u find heads turning... (sometimes 180 degrees) and looking at u… (that typical “what the heck” kind of stuff)…. I somehow manage to convey across the counter what I need and get it with a broad smile on my face… most of the guys who served wore a puzzled look….

This usually used to deter me from going to treat myself with some extra calories… but this thing changed some time back… I happen to go to this Egyptian restaurant and asked for the Shawarma… even though the guy was new, the look was the age old one… but the difference was this guy spoke… he knew a little English(that’s strange) and little Hindi(that’s not very strange in this part of the world or at least where I reside)…

He asked me “u Indian?” (with his chin going quite narrow and wide eyes)

I said with a made up smile “yeah…” and to myself “is that a problem”

He says to me “I joined (this) place 2 weeks (back)… you the first one who comes here…” (as though I was one of those little zombie things walking)

Oh Boy…. this guy is sure to make my sandwich cold… but for courtesy sake I just reply that “I happen to like the taste….”

Then he gives a even more wide smile… “That’s strange...seriously strange...”

Then I quiz him “whatz strange abt that”

With a broad smile he tells me, “u not like other Indians, u talk nicely too” (if he had continued a bit more I bet he would have got what is to talk to a guy who is half dead out of hunger)

Baggage Check !!!

2007-01-19T15:47:00.000+04:00

One more reason to opt out of IE !!!

2007-01-18T00:11:00.000+04:00

if you had noted that Micro$oft's Internet Explorer is not displaying my blog properly...

U don't get the lists, smilies, empty paras, etc etc... Its time to look for alternatives like Firefox, Mozilla, Opera, Netscape...

Support Open Sauce...

Web filter glitch slows down internet service...

2007-01-17T23:41:00.000+04:00

This article was in the front page of my newspaper today…

Web filter glitch slows down internet service
Dubai: The slow internet service experienced this week stemmed from technical problems over the web filter that blocks inappropriate content throughout the Gulf, UAE's telecom regulator said on Tuesday.
Since Sunday, web users throughout the GCC have endured slow connections and inconsistent service, with some users unable to access mainstream sites like Google or Yahoo.
xxxxxx, director-general of the yyyyyyy Authority , said early reports suggest a software program became incompatible with the proxy filter.
zzzzz officials informed xxxxxx the problem was resolved as of Tuesday afternoon, when telecom operators in the region jointly completed a system upgrade.
Service was wholly unaffected for du's internet subscribers in Dubai's free zones, however, which is not covered by the proxy.

I would like some explanations regarding this article (obliviously I cannot write to the editor :-) )

What do they mean by inappropriate content?? Does Google Web accelerator, skype, public proxy servers, orkut(till recently) fall into these categories
If it’s slow now…. Excuse what do u term the situation before ? “Fast” ?
Does the director general know the difference between the software program (leave alone proxy filter) and his TV remote.
Its Wednesday night I am writing this and still the situation is same… so what do they mean by Tuesday afternoon ?
So does the immoral and inappropriate content not affect the Dubai’s free zone… why are they not covered by the proxy

In case I don’t blog in future then you can all guess what happened to me… :-(

It was nice knowing all of you...

“Letters to the Editor” or is it “Thanks to the Editor”??

2007-01-14T22:49:00.000+04:00

The other day when Baba was in town we were discussing the quality of newspapers back at home and here… I certainly do miss “The Hindu” and its editorial. I literally grew up reading it up every morning till I came here. After ending up here, I have given up reading and even forgot what actual editorials are supposed to be. How many decades have to pass before these gulf newspapers get some balls to be a critic of the governments here? Instead of calling themselves as newspapers it would be better off if they said they were just press releases of govts. Forget even reporting, the kind of letters to the editor you get here is sometimes unbelievable. Usually it’s a thanks letter to government (it seems for keeping all happy) or somebody.

A typical one that appeared today…

City with a heart

I had finished my grocery shopping and the cart was heavy. I was pushing it across the car park. There were many speed bumps along the pathway. I managed to negotiate a few. And then came a colossal one. I hauled and heaved no avail. As I gave it a second try, an old man walking past quickly stopped and helped me pull it over.
Once the cart was over the speed bump, he turned and walked away. I barely had enough time to say a “thank you”. It may not have been much, but it was a random act of kindness, which showed me that Dubai has its heart in the right place.
From
Name withheld by request
Dubai

I won’t mind these kind of letters once in a while but certainly not daily… the typical letter subjects -- “A true story”, “Dubai police to the rescue”, “Bold Initiative”, “Awesome idea” --- these are the subjects are from a single day :-)

I am thinking of writing a thankful letter to the editor tomorrow thanking for publishing the paper and delivering to my home and I have a gut feeling that it would get published (and of course my name would be withheld by request)

Truly IT

2007-01-05T08:03:00.000+04:00

I am bloggin from Chennai Airport... Thanks to BSNL's free wi-fi.... believe me guys we have a good connection in midst of all the same old bureaucratic hassles and broken chairs and leaking taps....
In one side there is a billboard for CRY and next to it Free Wifi board....

Ok now on the way back to work.. After all the great time for past 2 weeks with the gang....

Rest of the bloggin from AUH

Service Industry

2006-12-16T01:24:00.000+04:00

“We Serve”… That sentence seemed far from truth to my friend and me who had a field day today in the Dubai International Airport… Airlines or for that matter any service industry is losing their core theme which happens to be the service to the people….

Everybody understands that the people serving us at these places undergo various stress levels because the people they encounter are diversified. But that’s no reason to be arrogant or “Do I care?” stance.

Today happened to be my weekend and as usual I was sleeping dead when suddenly at mid day I get a call from Dubai and in half sleep I hear the familiar voice of Baba... Now that jolts me to reality... He is not calling to tell a HI during a normal transit flight… He is stranded in the airport…

The reasons for his plight were

He thought of going home for winter vacation (Next time try to go on 9/11... ur sure to find the flights empty and bookings easier…)
He took a transit flight (As far as possible try take a straight one… but in case the bucks really matter then former is acceptable)
He took EMIRATES, which takes the transit via Middle East i.e., Dubai (Buddy taking a transit via Europe is fine… u get to see chicks... but middle east… did u think u can catch a glimpse of future osama?)
He carried some 100 bucks with him (Rule 314 of Air Travel: Carry sufficient cash… And if taking a transit always take an amount with which you can always book another flight and leave that goddamned place)
He smiles a lot and tries to be polite with all… (I guess its time u saw some American movies and all those great cowboy westerns to deal with people who are not polite with u)
He is still single… in spite of all the charm and the great “Baba” smile (Can’t tell much on this aspect since the whole gang expect a few are still in this status… Many people have not yet realized that u can sometimes even get a F117 jet to drop you at the South Pole if you have a good girl standing beside you…)

He boarded the EMIRATES flight yesterday from the great United States of America and landed in Dubai today morning... His connecting flight was in the night and he expected to have a good time in Airport till then… Alas it worked the other way around. To his astonishment he finds that his outbound ticket to India stands cancelled. So that meant that he was standing in an airport with no visa to enter the country and no ticket to take him to this destination. It was an alien nation and the only person I guess he knew in that country was me. So there comes the call to wake me up from my Friday slumber…

He asked whether it was possible for me to arrange for a visa or a ticket… The issue was that it was Friday and a public holiday and till Sunday it was not possible to arrange for a visa from my side. The other issue was that I was staying in Abu Dhabi, which is some 170 kms away from Dubai. Just grabbed a jean and T-shirt and called up some people at my office who were kind enough to arrange for a car to take me to Dubai because it was Friday and midday… The country kind of shuts down because of the Friday prayers…. My driver who happened to be from Oman missed his holy prayers and took me to Dubai at an incredible speed. We finally reached the airport and there starts my adventure
The only way my friend and me could speak was that he could call to my mobile from a booth inside. So when I reached there I needed to inform somehow that I have reached and he needed to call me now… For that I first went to some “Marabha” service available there. They were the guys to whom you pay and they take care of your people inside. Usually used for old, disabled, young people who are traveling. I went and contacted them stating the situation. The lady at the front desk smiling said I cannot help you maybe you can fill up that form and stand in that queue for the enquiry. I was bonkers and asked another “kind” gentleman. He was “kind” enough to direct me to the passport information counter.

There was a similar “kind” gentleman who was having a good chat with somebody in the phone and after I were standing there for some good 5 minutes showing no intention of moving out he turned to us asking “kindly” with a great “smile” in his face “what do u want?” Even before I could finish he told us that he cannot help us and asked us to contact us the customer service in the Civil Aviation counter. I asked him the directions and he seemed to have not heard us. So getting the directions from other people I finally landed up there.

Thankfully I really had one person who helped us out… He arranged to have a public announcement asking to contact the help desk. He also told that he might not be able to help us and only the airlines can arrange for a visa.

So I went to EMIRATES ticketing counter. I met the best gentleman of the whole day. Sitting there he had a grin and an expression on his face as if something was stuck up in his arse. He said no tickets available. He cannot arrange for a visa. He cannot provide accommodation. He smiling gave a look, which asked “Do I Care?”. So I went to my crescendo shouting at that ass. I made it clear to him that an airline cannot pick up a passenger and drop him in a country where he does not have a visa and also not provide him with an outbound ticket. If they were to do that they should not have boarded him in the first place. Finally somebody who seemed to be little more polite came down. He too had the same look but still he was little good mannered to say that he will look into it and see what he can do. He said if I can get a hotel booking and an airline ticket then my friend would be able to get a transit visa. This info had been already communicated to him inside. So went to the customer service made another announcement and finally he called.

So after speaking to him I went to a ticket sales counter and managed to get tickets to India through Thai Airways and Srilankan Airlines. The ticket sales counter guy said that he can give me the ticket and my friend inside can collect it or I can arrange for some delivery. So after blocking the tickets, I went back to airport information desk and they with lot of reluctance that I can contact the airport police in this regard and I did that. Having an Arabic driver helped me in this regard because that cop didn’t understand one word of English I spoke. Thanks to my driver he said that he might be able to help. He told that in such a way that it looked as if I was not standing there at all and he was just waving at the air. (But I can’t shout at him unless I wanted to take free Briyani for rest of my life). Then went to the EMIRATES counter to check up the status up there. But they still maintained the same stand and we got into another bout of loud shouts… Asking him to try again I decided to wait.

So everything arranged I just needed him to call me up now to give him the details. And the wait was quite long. So I went twice to that customer service guy who made the announcement. I doubt whether my friend actually heard any of them. After a long wait he called up and told that he made a little breakthrough with EMIRATES. He was been put up in priority for the Indian flight. I also told him about the backup booking. After 30 minutes he called up again telling me that he finally got the EMIRATES to give him a ticket and he’s flying to India at 9 pm flight… J

That settled… with a little disappointment that I won’t be spending the next two days with him here in UAE, I said I would be seeing him on next Friday (if nothing of this sort happens to me in Colombo).

Before leaving the airport went to thank the two guys who helped me in this ordeal, the customer service guy in the civil aviation counter (when he saw me approach he was just shaking his head as if he won’t make another announcement) and the other guy at the ticket sales counter.

So we finally hit the road and were stuck up in the evening traffic of Dubai and cursing everybody we hit the expressway to Abu Dhabi…

The problem with the service industry is not just here in UAE, India but everywhere. I don’t know what is the reason for this degradation of service. Is it the huge growing crowd or is it humans are just losing the touch of kindness. Are we just going to be just inhumane to other people’s sufferings? This is not the problem just in airports and train stations but everywhere in hospitals, governmental offices, police stations, shops, taxis….

What happened to the golden smile and the helping hand? Have the hearts shrinked with the world?

Enjoyin Ur Work

2006-12-12T23:51:00.000+04:00

I have stuck this following strip in my office cabin... From then I have been receiving a look and a pat from my colleagues at work... It's a kind of a silent approval from the people but not openly admitted...

ps: "Dilbert" and the above strip is copyrighted to Scott Adams and distributed by UFS Inc. Scott Adams regularly blogs here (Dilbert.Blog)

Hitting 1 Gig....

2006-12-07T15:42:00.000+04:00

Finally the day I turned 25, I also managed to touch another mark.... Now I have 1GB of personal data in GMail.... From May 2004 to Dec 2006.... Now was somebody talking abt privacy and Google not going to delete the data....

Open Doors....

2006-12-05T23:31:00.000+04:00

For the unknown, I live in Abu Dhabi, UAE...
I live in a flat in the third floor in this city... There is one more colleague of mine from my office who shares the flat with me. He has gone on vacation back to his country for one month and expected back only by 2007. So I am the king of the jungle for December. I leave to office by 8-30 in the morning and usually come by 7.. But today i happened to visit another colleague of mine and had dinner with his family and came back home only by 11..

I received the shock of my life to find the door unlocked and partly open. With caution I opened the door and went inside, switched on all lights, checked all the closets, balcony, cabinets... I couldn't find anybody with a club or baseball bat or knife... With a sign of relief i closed the doors and was trying to recall what exactly happened... In my hurry to go to the office I must have forgot to latch the door and lock it. Now my door has been kept open for nearly 15 hours and now I started to wonder whether anything was missing. I explored the entire house and found that everything was intact. If somebody had tried to rob me, they did a poor job of leaving my surround system, digital camera and all my travel cash lying around the table.

When I came to this country, I was told that this was a safe place and all those stories of people finding their own purses in public parks even after two days, then I was thinking all those to be crap and hype... Now I have realized that humans living down here have foregone their natural instincts for whatsoever reason that can be imagined..
Some say it is because of the nature of punishment and according to some its a culture down here... Whatever it might be I just like it for the single reason that my stuff is still intact and I can have a peaceful sleep tonite...

Display Albums in Blogger

2006-12-05T13:31:00.000+04:00

Thanks to Kirk, now Googles' Picasa users can display their photos in Blogger..
All you got to do is get hold of your RSS feed URL and enter it in the widget creator and other stuff you want and "oooh lah" there you get the code which you need to enter in your layout of the blog...

For more explanations and how to do it visit Kirk's article (Blogger Beta Widget for Picasa Web Albums)

For people who want to give it a try straight here is the link to the Widget Creator...
Widget Creator for Picasa Web Albums and Blogger in Beta

ps: To use all these features you need to have some pictures of your own and uploaded to your picasa album and have a blog with Blogger... :)

Redesign...

2006-11-28T17:33:00.000+04:00

After a long silence lasting 6 months, I finally blogged...
Went in for Blogger Beta... Looks cool.. Drag and drop layouts and easy addition of elements in the blog....
Will try to keep up the bloggin