Faridinama

Surviving the PMP Exam

2012-03-07T11:36:00.000+05:00

Everyone's experience with the PMP exam is different. I'll share with you my experience and also what I suggest to others.

This is what I followed:
I took a prep course because I never had a formal project management (PM) course and needed 35 contact hours for the exam. Otherwise, this course is not required for the exam (see PMI's site for more details on the requirements). I found a study partner from the course and from then on we both met at least once a week until the exam to discuss problem areas and do a few questions together. I went through PMBoK and Rita's book. I first read a chapter from PMBoK and then the same chapter from Rita's book, followed by questions at the end of the chapter. I read through her answers and reasoning for each answer for all questions, whether I answered them right or not. Once I completed the course, I did questions from Rita's Fast Track CD and the ones from O'Reilly's Head First PMP. Then I tried repeating the course but didn't have much time so just scanned through it.

This is what I suggest to others:
0. Get PMI membership. The cost of the exam without membership is higher than the cost of the exam with membership, including the cost of membership. And the membership will get you the electronic version of PMBoK for free.

1. Go through PMBoK and Rita's book quickly, chapter by chapter, doing end of chapter questions. You can ignore the reasoning for the answers at this time.

2. Take a course. This is optional if you already have 35 PDUs and are comfortable with your PM knowledge. Good to have a study partner at this time.

3. Apply for the exam. Application is painstakingly long and so is the approval process, especially if your application is selected for audit. (Audit is very easy. All you have to do is to get your support material verified). I have created a spreadsheet to compile PM experience data for the application. You can download the spreadsheet from http://bit.ly/pmpappcalc. It will save a lot of your time. (Note: It was created for the previous version of PMBoK but I am told that it is still valid)

4. Repeat the course again, slowly this time. Do the same questions again (which means you must not mark the answers with pen the first time you took them). This will help you compare your results. This time, go through the reasoning for each answer carefully.

5. After completing the course, do Rita's Fast Track questions and any other questions you are able to find.

6. Take the exam.

There is tons of information available online. That's good and bad. Bad because its hard to decide which to go through and which to ignore. Rita's material is worth the cost. Much better if you can borrow it from someone. O'Reilly's book Head FirstPMP is also good. They give out questions and answers for free, even if you don't buy their book. I recommend Rita's book because it is easier to read and because it was written with one objective; to make you pass the exam. It tells you where to concentrate and what to ignore.

That's it. Hope this will hep you. Good luck with the preparation and the exam.

FREE Hajj Training Sessions 2011

2011-09-17T13:24:00.000+05:00

Are you going for Hajj this year?
Would you like to attend a FREE Hajj training session?

Then call now to reserve your seat at the upcoming session in Islamabad.

When: Sunday, September 25, 2011 – 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM (full day)

Where: Auditorium, FAST-National University, A.K. Brohi Road, H-11/4, Islamabad (near Police Lines and International Islamic University)

Trainer: Hafiz Muhammad Yasir – 0300 5005269 (5:15 PM to 10:00 PM)

More about the trainer and the training is available from previous year's announcement: http://bit.ly/oDZoBa

Blog often or don't blog

2011-09-02T02:03:00.000+05:00

Someone told me to refrain from starting my own blog unless I had something to say very often. I laughed at him. Looking at the dates and contents on my posts, I am sure he must be laughing at me.

The history of email and I

2011-05-27T09:42:00.001+05:00

I received an email from Yahoo! that started with: "We appreciate that you have been with Yahoo! Mail for the past 13 years." I had to stop. How long did they say? Thirteen years? Have I been using Yahoo! that long?

Then I realized that I have been with Hotmail even longer; over 14 years. I created a Hotmail address on March 29, 1997, just 8 months after it's initial release by Bhatia and Smith and 9 months before it was bought by Microsoft.

Then I remembered the good old days when I hated ccMail and Pine so wrote my own email system using Bash around mail (the Unix email client) and vi (a Unix text editor) to send emails (it managed contacts and group emails) and elm to read them. That was in 1996.

Then I remember that the first time I actually used email was on an IBM mainframe using green scary eye-soring monochrome monitors. That was in 1991.

Then I realized I am getting old.

Need a Change

2011-04-14T11:58:00.000+05:00

I am Pakistan

2011-03-31T09:16:00.000+05:00

Appropriate Communication

2011-03-16T08:46:00.000+05:00

"Communication is the key to success"

We all have heard this before and – probably – believe in it too. In the age of information overload, however, communication can itself become a problem. A lot has been written and said on how to communicate. I won’t bother you with my rant on that. I just want to reflect on the appropriateness of the method used in any communication.

So, what are the methods of communication anyway?

Business communication revolves around the following communication methods:

Face-to-Face Talk
Telephone Call
Instant Message
SMS
Email
Letter

Face-to-Face Talk: Use this method when the matter is urgent or grave. This method results in an immediate response but is intrusive. Use it carefully. For example, when informing management about a project delay or when terminating an employee. Removing access to the office building without first informing the employee is not an effective communication method.

Telephone Call: Use this method when face-to-face talk isn’t possible or when the matter is urgent but not grave. While less intrusive than a face-to-face talk (receiver can choose not to take the call), it also results in an immediate response (if your call goes through, that is). For example, when cancelling an important meeting or when calling in sick (see SMS for more on calling in sick).

Instant Messaging (IM): Use this method for quick, short, and informal communication. For example, when asking a colleague if they are ready for lunch.

SMS: This method is losing its importance in the corporate world because of BlackBerries (meaning free instant messages and cheaper telephone calls). This method is used for all the same reasons when IM is used but when IM isn’t an option. Note: Don’t call in sick by sending an SMS to a friend so they can inform your boss. That’s inappropriate.

Email: This method is probably the most abused method in the history of communication. Use it carefully. Don’t treat it like an IM or a face-to-face talk (meaning neither they should be shrt msg tht r hrd 2 undrstnd nor in long comprehensive stories that demand considerable time of the reader).This method must not be used when immediate response is needed, even if the receiver has a BlackBerry device. Unless it is absolutely urgent and important, never write an email and then call to check if your email has been read.

Letter: While you might think letters are non-existent these days, they in fact aren’t. Use this method for all communication that requires royal formality, documentation, and is not time bound. For example, when writing to a government official or when serving a legal notice.

All methods, except the first two, are asynchronous. You must not expect to get a reply immediately, even if you know the message has been delivered and read.

Irrespective of the method used, always think before you communicate. Failing to communicate appropriately will result in a failure.

I think it’s about time that we rephrase the original quote.

"Appropriate communication is the key to success"

The Egyptian Revolution and the Askari Bakery

2011-03-14T08:56:00.000+05:00

Egypt has recently gone through another revolution (has it, really?). The pace with which the change happened (was there a real change?) has encourage other oppressed nations in the Arab world. They too are struggling for a change.

I was reading an article on HBR that reflected upon the Egyptian Revolution and stopped at the following two sentences:

"In Egypt, little has changed with Mubarak's ouster by the military, which plays a major role in the Egyptian economy. A third of the economy is under military control — military activities range from bakeries to appliance factories."

The first sentence shows that even after such a "big change" in Egypt, nothing has changed -- at least yet. So long for the hopes?

The second sentence reminded me of something similar back home in Pakistan. Askari Bakery!

Both scary.

Don't Jump to a Solution

2011-02-20T14:42:00.000+05:00

Problem solving requires patience. Patience requires time. Time is something we tend to have the least these days. So when confronted with a problem, we tend to jump to a solution, quickly. That almost always results in us solving the symptoms instead. Before we solve a problem, we must understand what the problem really is. This is not an easy task. It requires that we dig into the problem and keep digging until we get to the root of the problem.

So how do we do that?

We use 5-Whys.

Developed by Sakichi Toyoda and perfected by Toyota Motor Corporation, 5-Whys is a technique that helps you to get to the root of a problem. This technique involves looking at any problem and asking: "Why?" and "What caused this problem?" Very often, the answer to the first "why" will prompt another "why" and the answer to the second "why" will prompt another and so on until we get to the root of the problem.

Then we solve the newly discovered root of the problem.

Learn by doing

2011-01-11T09:58:00.000+05:00

Every Tuesday at exactly 6:30 pm we all rise and recite the following mantra to start a meeting of Islamabad Toastmasters Club:

For better listening, for better thinking, for better speaking, we learn by doing

There are two valuable lessons to learn from this statement:

1. We must speak only after we have listened to and pondered upon the topic; and
2. We can only learn by doing things ourselves.

We procrastinate in doing but hasten in speaking. Let's start doing it in reverse.

Communication Tips from Children

2010-11-22T10:23:00.000+05:00

Are you afraid of public speaking? Don't be shy, you are not alone. Studies have shown that fear of public speaking ranks up there with the fear of death. Yes, that's d-e-a-t-h as in "end of life."

But is it really because we can't speak well or is our unwillingness to try the culprit? We did so well speaking in front of any audience when we were children. What happened now?

Whatever happened, it's time that we learn back from our children.

"We can learn a lot from a child", says Garr Raynolds, a well known writer on multimedia presentation skills. "Plenty of adults engage in childish behavior, but not enough adults allow themselves to truly become childlike and exhibit an approach and display behaviors that exemplify the very best of what being a child is all about."

Garr gives us 13 communication and life tips that we can learn from our children:

(1) Be completely present in the moment
(2) Allow for spontaneity
(3) Move your body!
(4) Play and be playful
(5 ) Make mistakes
(6) Do not concern yourself with impressing people
(7) Show your enthusiasm
(8) Remain open to possibilities and "crazy" ideas
(9) Be insanely curious, ask loads of question
(10) Know that you are a creative being
(11) Smile, laugh, enjoy
(12) Slow down
(13) Encourage others

I particularly like the 11th. Don't make your presentations boring. Kick them up a notch and may be you will get your point across.

Which one do you like?

Read the original article here.

Are you Auditing or Checking?

2010-11-02T22:04:00.000+05:00

"It is prudent to have an occasional audit to everyone's expense accounts to be sure people are not unwittingly erring in reporting, or are up to date on tax regulations, or are properly coding re-billable expenses. But checking expense accounts is a waste of time. Checking expense accounts signals mistrust, or undermines trust. Having to check expense accounts means you have the wrong people" -- Jeffrey J. Fox

Know the difference between auditing and checking. Hire the right people and trust them.

Dengue in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

2010-10-29T22:22:00.002+05:00

It's good to warn people of the dangers of Dengue Fever that is haunting Pakistan these days but was this the right place to put blood and (not the right) mosquito?

Facebook Knows Your Future

2010-10-24T12:06:00.001+05:00

I have turned on a Facebook feature called Login Notifications. This feature informs you, through email and, optionally, through SMS, whenever your Facebook account is accessed from an unapproved device. Last night I accessed Facebook through my iPod and got the following message:

Looks like Facebook isn't adjusting to timezones.

Who is a Better Muslim?

2010-10-11T13:14:00.004+05:00

We are opinionated when it comes to religion. While that might be right thing to do -- and that is why we follow our set of rules --, a discussion on such a topic almost always ends up in a heated debate over who is right instead of what is right.

I recently posted such a question on Facebook that resulted in a healthy discussion. I am summarizing the discussion here – without any biases, hopefully – to generate more discussion.

Would you like to participate?

This was the original question: Who is a better Muslim, the one who reads Quran every day but doesn't mind placing it on a shoe rack or the one who reads it rarely but places it in a colorful sleeve and on a high, wall-mounted rack?

Most of the people replied that neither is a good Muslim. Of course, we all know that an ideal Muslim is the one who reads Quran regularly and follows it closely. But the question didn’t ask for an ideal Muslim; it presented two common, modern day Muslims and asked, without giving any further details, which one was better. Yes, it is true that only Allah decides who is a better Muslim but I posted this question to improve my understanding of Islam and what it expects from a Muslim.

I then rephrased the question for better understanding: There are two Muslims. One who respects Quran by reading it regularly but disrespects it by placing it on a shoe rack and the other who respects it by placing it in a respectable place but disrespects it by not reading it regularly. Which one of them is better?

It turned out that those who considered the first one as a better Muslim outnumbered by 5:1 those who considered otherwise. That means the majority of the people – my friends, that is – believe that it is less respectful to not read Quran regularly than to place it on a shoe rack.

Who do you think is a better Muslim?

---
Interested in reading English translation of Quran or listen to its verses in a number of different recitations? Try out my page on The Noble Quran.

Five Powers that Get Ideas off the Ground

2010-09-23T17:13:00.002+05:00

Five Powers that Get Ideas off the Ground

1. Showing up - the power of presence
2. Speaking up - the power of voice
3. Teaming up - the power of partnering
4. Looking up - the power of values
5. No giving up - the power of persistence

Continue reading here.

Taking a nap at work? Good.

2010-09-21T10:02:00.001+05:00

Just finished reading "Why Companies Should Insist that Employees Take Naps" on HBR's site. The article claims that taking a 20 or 30 min nap between 1 and 3 pm can boost your productivity upto two or three times.

Don't laugh. I did the same when I first noticed an oriental colleague taking a nap at work. At first I thought that he was shirking (not to be confused with Arabic shirk). Realizing that his ancestors had a few thousand years head-start on us, I decided to give it a try myself. I can't tell you how much productivity I was able to increase but believe me my evenings were much better on the days I took even a 15 min head-on-the-table nap. But others weren't so accommodative so I had to stop at the experiment only.

Now with HBR on our side, its time that we bell the cat. Its time that we recommend to our companies the Google-style napping pods (can be purchased from here).

But who will do that?

Somebody should cause "napping won't begin to take hold in companies until leaders recognizae that it's not the number of hours people work that determines the value they create, but rather the energy they're capable of bringing to whatever hours they work."

I'll wait for the first drop of rain.

Taking a nap at work? Good. Just make sure you are not working for this employer.

FREE Hajj Training Sessions

2010-09-20T13:59:00.004+05:00

Are you going for Hajj this year?

Would you like to attend a FREE Hajj training session?

Then call now to reserve your seat at the upcoming session in Islamabad.

When: Sunday, September 26, 2010 – 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM (full day)

Where: Conference Hall, ICMAP (Institute of Cost Management Accounting) behind NUML (National University of Modern Languages), Plot #16, H-9, Islamabad.

Trainer: Hafiz Muhammad Yasir – 0300 5005269

About the session:

Comfort adds passion and dedication in the performance of Hajj. More you are familiar with the aspects of this holy journey, more will you be comfortable. Free training sessions are being conducted in Rawalpindi / Islamabad for the intended Hajis who are planning to perform Hajj this year (November 2010).

Salient features of the session:

• Designed for the complete orientation of this holy journey
• Independent of any caste / maslak of Islam. It is for every Muslim
• Covers administrative and logistical matters of Hajj including religious / masael aspects
• Complete audio visual aided session
• Separate sitting for ladies and gents
• A whole day session with FREE lunch and refreshments
• By an experienced master trainer who has been involved in Hajj trainings for the last 8 years

All interested are requested to please register your availability latest by September 23, 2010. Seats are limited, so please confirm timely.

These sessions can also be arranged on request in other cities. Please contact the trainer for details.
Hafiz Muhammad Yasir – 0300 5005269

The Ides of March - The colorful history of the modern calendar

2010-09-17T09:38:00.002+05:00

Note: This writeup is my fifth Competent Communication speech project that I delivered at Islamabad Toastmasters Club on March 3, 2009.

Julius Caesar by Shakespeare
Act 1
Somewhere in the middle of Scene II...

Soothsayer: Beware the ides of March
Caesar: What man is that?
Brutus: A soothsayer bids you beware the ides of March

Fellow toastmasters, good evening to you all. The topic of my speech today is the ides of March. Today, I will take you to a journey through the complex history of the Gregorian calendar.

Our lives are bound up with the calendar. We use it to plan our meetings, appointments, holidays, and all of the other events in life. While the dates seem to be just numbers, we know instinctively that they are much more than that. Each event, public or personal, great or small, has a day and a month and a year which fixes its place in time. We take the calendar for granted because it's always been there.

But has it always been like that?

The ancient Roman calendar is believed to have been a lunar calendar invented by Romulus, the founder of Rome, in 753BC. Unlike us, the Romans counted dates from three fixed points in the months; the Kalends, the Nones, and the Ides. The Kalends was the first day of the month, and this is the origin of the word “calendar”. Depending on the length of the month, the Nones was either the 5th or the 7th day and the Ides was either the 13th or the 15th day. The ides of March is the 15th of March, the day when Julius Caesar was killed.

Do you know the significance of the date ante diem V Nonas Martias?

That translates to day 5 before the Nones of March, which it today, the 3rd of March.

The earliest known version of Roman calendar contained ten months and it started from Martius, followed by Aprilis, Maius, Junius, Quintilis, Sextilis, September, October, November, and December. The calendar year lasted 304 days and about two months of winter that did not fall within the calendar at all. Intercalary or inter-calendar month was added occasionally to adjust the calendar with the solar year.

Romans considered odd numbers to be lucky and even numbers unlucky. This superstition influenced the first reform of the calendar by Numa Pompilius, the second king of Rome. He wanted each month and also the year to have an odd number so he brought the length of the calendar year up to 355 days, took one day from each 30-day month, and added January and February. February came out to be even so it was split into two parts, each with an odd number of days. The first part ended on the 23rd; this was considered the end of the religious year. The five remaining days formed the second part. Intercalary month was added occasionally at the end of February to adjust the calendar with the solar year.

There was no defined rule to add the intercalary month so by the time Julius Caesar became Pontifex Maximus or the grand priest, the calendar had slipped by almost three months with respect to the solar year. This error influenced the second reform to the calendar by Julius Caesar. He added 3 months to the year 46 BC, brought the year to 365 days, and set the lengths of the months to the values that still hold today. A simple four-year cycle of leap years was also introduced to regularize the adjustment with the solar year. Quintilis and Sextilis were later renamed July and August in honor of Julius and Augustus Caesars. From this time onwards, the Roman calendar was known and the Julian calendar.

While the Julian calendar attempted to make the adjustment easier, it still lagged the solar year by 11 minutes 15 seconds. It may not seem very long – around two speeches probably – but the discrepancy started building up. Every 128 years, the seasons begin a day earlier in the calendar. While this didn’t bother the Romans, the Christians had a different problem. They calculated Easter using lunar dates and as the calendar moved against the solar calendar, so did the Easter. Successive Popes studied the problem but didn’t act. When Pope Gregory XIII decided to correct the error in 1582, it had accumulated to 10 days. First, he omitted 10 days from 1582. Second, he augmented the leap year rule by omitting three leap years in every four centuries. After this change, Julian calendar became the Gregorian calendar, as we know it today.

To sum it up quickly, the Romans started with a lunar calendar, then they decided to change the number of days because they didn’t like the even numbers, then they completely abolished the lunar calendar, and then came the Christians who wanted a way to calculate Easter. So while all the changes were indeed made within the bounds of mathematics and astronomy, the intentions were completely unscientific.

By-the-way, while these changes have made the Gregorian calendar closer to the solar year, it is still 26.8 seconds longer. This discrepancy, however, will only amount to one day in 3200 years which is still not due until 49th Century AD. We can safely live through our lives without having to worry about this extra day.

Mr. Toastmaster.

Note: Some historical events mentioned in this article are considered myths by some historians. I am not a student of history and I simply used the information most commonly available on the Internet.

Happy Holidays - A discussion on the number of holidays in Pakistan

2010-09-13T20:58:00.004+05:00

Note: This writeup is my fourth Competent Communication speech project that I delivered at Islamabad Toastmasters Club on January 27, 2009.

Productivity suffers because there are more than the normally accepted holidays per year in Pakistan.

Fellow Toastmasters,

The topic of my speech today is Happy Holidays. The speech outlines my argument against reducing the number of holidays in hopes for more productivity. Holidays are declared so we can celebrate occasions, festivals or to just have a break from our daily hectic schedule. Reducing them would not improve productivity. In fact, I believe, it will hamper it.

I got interested in this subject when I received an email through a mailing list which has who’s who of Pakistan’s IT industry. Someone on the list suggested that the IT industry should recommend its own set of holidays instead of following whatever is thrown at us by the government. The email then claimed that “productivity suffers because there are more than the normally accepted holidays per year.” Do you agree with this statement? I am sure you have heard of this complaint before. Last time it was discussed on the national level it ended up seriously reducing the number of public holidays in Pakistan. Are we more productive now? Do you really believe productivity is inversely proportional to the number of public holidays?

Let’s look at what’s happening around the world.

The West is far ahead of us so let’s look at it first. There are 11 federally suggested holidays in the US although most of the companies give around nine. If, however, a holiday falls on a weekend, it is observed on either the preceding Friday or the following Monday, ensuring that the number of holidays in a year is fixed. And there is something much more interesting: a paternity leave for soon-to-be-fathers, for a whole month. Three in Canada! How cool is that?

There are only 8 bank holidays in the UK, but then it is a known fact that UK is quite pathetically endowed when it comes to public holidays.

May be West is too far ahead of us and we shouldn’t compare ourselves to them. Let’s look at the Far East then.

How about Japan?

Do you know that they have Age-of-Majority Day for the people who have reached the age of 20 and a Respect-for-the-Aged Day to, well, respect the elders? They even have Health and Sports Day just so people take their butts out and lose some fat. While the official total for the number of public holidays in Japan is 18, they still move holidays that fall on weekends to weekdays. And you know what is more interesting? When there is a single day between two national holidays, Japanese take it as a holiday as well. Now who can beat that?

Well, Chinese do.

They are preparing for Chinese New Year celebrations that will last for a whole week at the end of this month. Their total? A whopping 27 in 2009. And that is still two days less than in 2008. Even with that high number, they also move holidays falling on weekends to weekdays. Do you know of a Project Manager’s job in China? Let me know if you find one.

Even though Chinese woke up much later than we did, let’s not compare ourselves with them. Let’s find someone else. Someone closer to us. How about India? They celebrate all kinds of religious holidays so their total is for 2009 is 20. But you know what? Indians have also complained about the multitude of religious holidays? They aren’t too different from us, are they? Actually, they are. They aren’t asking a simple reduction in numbers to improve productivity. They are asking adjustments so Hindus don’t have to take off on Eid and Muslims could skip Diwali if they wanted to. Their solution is much more elegant; give eight what they call Restricted Holidays so people can use them for festivals of their choice. This will give control to the people and will also save a few holidays.

Do you know how many public holidays we will have in Pakistan in 2009? 14. Out of which three holidays will fall on a weekend, leaving the total to 11. And this figure includes Ashura which will occur twice this year, once in January and then again in December. There were 11 holidays in 2008 as well. Is 11 really that big a figure against the 18 in Japan, 20 in India, and 27 in China, all much more prosperous nations than us?

I don’t think so.

What about you? Do you still think that by reducing the number of public holidays we can improve productivity? Did we improve productivity when we reduced the number last time? If productivity was indeed inversely proportional to the number of holidays then China would have been at the bottom of the list of nations with India and Japan following closely. They are in fact at the higher end and rising.

Our problem is not the number of holidays. It is our unwillingness to work on even the workdays.

Acronyms Can Be Funny

2010-09-01T13:31:00.000+05:00

Acronyms can really be funny.

When the State of Iowa’s Department of Elder Affairs decided to change its name to Department of Aging, they probably didn’t realize the pun in the acronym of the name. The acronym, DOA, is, ironically, also the hospital code for Dead on Arrival. The department was quickly renamed, yet again, to IDA or Iowa Department on Aging.

I used to pass through Chaklala Cantonment in a company van on my way to work. One day, we noticed a rather unusual sign at the gate of a previously unnamed military facility. It was now called ASS Chaklala. They realized their mistake fairly quickly as the signed was “updated” within a couple of days to A.S.S Chaklala. The incident amused us for a few days although we could never figure out what ASS stood for.

I have proudly owned all kind of vehicles during my student life, none of which was fully functional (one had half-broken axel, no emergency brakes, wipers controls that required, literally, hand holding, and broken seats). My first fully functional car was a red 1992 Toyota Tercel which I bought in 1996 when I got my first professional job. I wanted to be unique so I applied for a personalized car tag (or number plate as we call it here in Pakistan). Being a computer professional, my first choice was FOOBAR. The terms FOOBAR, FOO, and BAR are commonly used as placeholder names in the programming world. My request was denied as obscene. While FOOBAR isn’t obscene itself, Alabama DMV was among those who believed that the term was derived from the military acronym FUBAR, the really obscene term that I can’t spell here.

Thought these stories were amusing, eh? There is more.

Let me share with you text from a letter from Deputy Director (Admin) of Motor Registration Wing, Karachi, to his colleague managing the computer assignment of car tags (or number plates). You judge the awkwardness in the situation this poor guy found himself in.

Subject: REQUEST FOR HOLD OF REGISTRATION AGAINST SERIAL # ASS

“In public interest and to avoid hue and cry of motorists it has been decided that the series ASS may immediately be stopped/hold due to its unwanted meanings and vehicles approaching for registration be registered against the next series.”

And you thought your job was tough, eh? Don't believe me? Here is the scanned image of the letter.

So, can you think of some who really deserves “ASS 001”? I have someone in my mind but I am better off keeping it to myself.

Concept of Gambling in Pakistan

2010-08-25T20:13:00.000+05:00

We have become a very confused nation lately; but, there seems to be a lot more confusion in our understanding of gambling than in other matters.

Here is an offer I received today from Mobilink.

From: 5555
Sent: Aug 25, 2010 4:28 PM
Subject: Ramadan Kareem, Mobilink ke saath!

Ramadan Kareem, Mobilink ke saath! Jazz ke customers 12 lakh RS ki Eidi
jeet sakte hain sirf 1 SMS se!Abhi R likh kar 5555 per bhejein! (Rs8+t/SMS)

Just in case you haven't noticed, they are greeting me on the holy month of Ramadan and offering me to play lottery.

Dear Mobilink, if you want to play lottery, just play lottery. Why bring in religion in the middle? Oh, I get it. You are trying to make it look halal. Good job. Most of us got in the trap.

Telenor's Auto Location No More

2010-08-10T03:31:00.000+05:00

Telenor was the first mobile operator to provide Cell Info Display or, as they called it, Auto Location service, in Pakistan. If supported and turned on, this service allows you to know which cell tower you are connected to. Since the name also contains the location, it works like a "personal navigator", letting you know where you are at at any time. It is extremely helpful if your phone doesn't support maps (meaning it is dirt cheap like the one I have) and you are travelling.

Not any more. The service has recently been taken over by their marketing department and now, instead of telling you where you are, they are telling you what more you can buy from them. My phone is telling me to Call230forSmartTune. Does that tell you where I live?

Oh well. I am turning my cell info off. Lemme know when their service is back.

Rawal Lake on July 17, 2010

2010-07-22T02:53:00.000+05:00

Have you been to the Rawal Lake lately?

Well, I have, but, I wish I hadn't. I went to the lake to relax and enjoy the windy evening. What I saw was shocking and sickening. Do you know that now you have to walk for a full 10 minutes from the place where the water used to be to get to where the water is now? Most of the lake has dried.

Here are a few snaps of the lake.

This is where the lake was:

A sign reminding the visitors that swimming isn't allowed in the lake. It fails to explain "what lake?"

This is where the lake "was". Boats are now there for dogs to sleep in:

More boats, more dog houses:

Here is the walkway to where the remains of the lake. This walkway was underwater just a few days ago:

Oh look, there is some water there:

And there is hope, always:

May God bless Pakistan.

Why We (Shouldn't) Hate HR

2010-06-11T14:16:00.000+05:00

"So the next time you, as an employee, get frustrated with HR, or you, as an HR executive, get frustrated with your role inside the company, stop sweating the small stuff and start asking the big questions: Why would great people want to be part of your organization in the first place?"

http://bit.ly/c6IHmH