Zazablog

Montreal's melting pot

2006-05-08T23:10:00.000-04:00

This weekend, I was waiting at the "express" checkout line at the local Metro grocery store for 20 minutes. I peered aimlessly here and there until my gaze fell upon a piece of paper taped to side of the cashier's computer monitor. It was a certificate from the Office de la Langue Français, which certified that Metro satisfied all the requirements set forth by the OLF. The store was thus labelled as an "authenticated" french establishment.

I stared at the seal of approval and wondered what a kind of a weird society we live in. My thoughts raced to passages in Orwell's 1984, and things became dark and gloomy for a few moments. Where are we headed, I wondered. Why must we be assimilated? Montreal is supposed to be a mosaic, not a melting pot.

My thought bubble popped with a beeping sound as the cashier passed my croissants through the price scanner, and greeted me with bonjour.

Google JavaScript Error

2006-05-05T15:07:00.000-04:00

Now here's something you don't see every day. I went to Google today and was rudely greeting JavaScript popup error:

I reckon error might be caused by the Alexa toolbar. A peer who has the toolbar also got an error, whereas two others who don't were error free.

Conclusion: uninstall Alexa toolbar.

Habs vs. Canes, Game 3

2006-05-01T16:24:00.000-04:00

There were some french guys heckling Koivu close by me in game 3, they were booing him when he got a penalty and were shouting things like "what kind of a captain are you!". They were cheering Ribeiro, though. "let's go, ribby!!"

They threw their beer at end of the game, sparking anger and disgust in many innocent spectators several rows down.

Idiots.

The Canadiens ended up losing 2-1 in overtime.

MS shows losing attitude through IE

2006-05-01T15:45:00.000-04:00

Microsoft recently lost a legal battle with a patent holder about the way Internet Explorer displays OBJECTs and EMBEDs in webpages. Microsoft then decided to update its Internet Explorer browser with changes requiring user input to display and activate ActiveX based media. (link)

The software giant's latest IE update requires you to first click on objects like flash animations and embedded quicktime videos in order to "activate" them. If you are experienceing this problem, here is a fix:

http://capitalhead.com/articles/click-to-activate-and-use-this-control---kb912812.aspx

Alternatively, you can use the Mozilla Firefox browser, which is looking more and more like the browser of choice for many people. This latest spiteful move by Microsoft won't win them any fans.

Reflections on Cisum

2006-03-24T18:16:00.000-05:00

A friend of mine recently compiled a list entitled "The Best Songs in the World, Ever". Intrigued, I went over the list online, and found that it contained songs by the bands Alexisonfire, Minus the Bear, Foo Fighters, and Incubus. Needless to say, the list was a big disappointment.

The only songs which are worthy of being on a such a list are ones which withstand the test of time. Songs from decades ago which people are still talking about, drawing comparisons from, and which set the standard of their respective genres. Shine on you Crazy Diamond, Stairway to Heaven and Smells Like Teen Spirit come to mind.

I tried compiling a list myself, but I don't know enough songs to be a worthy judge.

Adults fighting over cartoons

2006-02-20T12:53:00.000-05:00

Yes, the cartoons were stupid and insulting. But the reaction to them is even worse. The whole situation is a disgusting display of barbarianism from both sides of the fence. You have ignorant Europeans drawing and printing the cartoons, then the perverted west who are gratified by the disturbing images and the chaos they are creating. Then you have the Muslims, who instead of defending the dignity and upholding the legacy of the holy Prophet (sal allahu alaihi wassalam), are reinforcing what the cartoons are mocking with their ugly behaviour.

Here are a few relevant quotes from the Quran, the book of Islam, the book for the guidance of all good-willed human beings:

So forgive, (O Muhammad), with a gracious forgiveness. (Hijr, 15:85)

Call to the way of your Lord with wisdom and goodly exhortation, and have disputations with them in the best manner; surely your Lord best knows those who go astray from His path, and He knows best those who follow the right way. (Nahl, 16:125)

Repel evil by what is best; We know best what they describe. (Muminoon, 23:96)

The way (to blame) is only against those who oppress men and revolt in the earth unjustly; these shall have a painful punishment. And whoever is patient and forgiving, these most surely are actions due to courage. (ash-Shura, 42:41-43)

And not alike are the good and the evil. Repel (evil) with what is best, when lo! he between whom and you was enmity would be as if he were a warm friend. (Fussilat, 41: 34)

Lo! they plot a plot (against thee, O Muhammad). And I plot a plot (against them). So give a respite to the disbelievers. Deal thou gently with them for a while. (at-Tariq, 86:15-17)

May Allah give us the ability to follow His religion as shown to us by Prophet Muhammad (sal allahu alaihi wassalam). Aameen!

Reflections on India

2006-02-12T21:58:00.000-05:00

As I was sitting in a taxi on the way to the airport in Delhi, the truck ahead of us had a dust-covered slogan painted on its rear bumper in big red letters. I read it and laughed, shaking my head.

"The Taste of Qualily!".

For me, the whole essence of India was captured in the one phrase. It was filthy, haughty, silly, and pitiful.

Iraq with an N

2006-02-05T22:05:00.000-05:00

Remember in late 2002 when the American administration was frantically accusing Iraq of having weapons of mass destruction? For months, all we read in the papers was the potential danger looming in Iraq. All we heard on the afternoon talkshows was about Saddam's sour history. All we saw on the night news were images of Saddam's ugly face and dozens of Iraqis screaming into the camera like kamikazes, wide-eyes and arms waving, protesting at who-knows-what.

It doesn't matter that UN weapons inspectors could not find any weapons of mass destruction, the damage had already been done. Americans were frightened. Iraq appeared to be an ugly, vicious monster living right next door. Iraq must be stopped. Iraq must be conquered. Iraq must be destroyed.

Now the American administration is pointing at Iran, accusing them of developing nuclear weapons. I guess you can't blame Bush for sticking to a formula that works. But when will common people wake up and smell the dead bodies?

Back on my skates / running shoes

2005-12-12T22:54:00.000-05:00

My leg has now healed enough that I can play sports again. Conveniently enough, my friend organized a mini hockey league which will last 4 weeks. We went all out on this league, with stats, referees, awards and even a league website, designed by yours truly.

Couldn't stay away from hockey

2005-12-12T22:29:00.000-05:00

When I can't play in real life, I play online.

Held back from playing weekend hockey with my friends for three months, my need for hockey was so intense that I ended up registering myself in four Yahoo! hockey pools.

If you look at the leaders on all the Yahoo head-to-head pools, every one of them has either Dominic Hasek or Mikka Kiprusoff as their main goalie, and Zdeno Chara on defence. Very telling. In one of my pools I am in first place and I have Dominic Hasek as my main goalie. Very telling, indeed.

I am politically incorrect

2005-11-19T17:36:00.000-05:00

What does "Politically Incorrect" mean anyway? Politics by nature is corrupt, so being "Politically Incorrect" is more of a virtue than a vice.

Questionable Pick

2005-11-14T18:14:00.000-05:00

I'm in a Yahoo fantasy hockey league. Someone recently acquired Nathan Horton, a move which I think is questionable. Horton is ranked quite high, yet he is nothing but an unreliable player. He's a decent guy, but I wonder why someone would would pick him up from the free agency considering his unreputable career. Horton's agent is also apparently extremely demanding and obnoxious. Big risk by the GM and not a good idea if you love your team.

Maryam

2005-11-09T18:10:00.000-05:00

I got the call just when I was preparing myself for another dedundant meeting with softwebcom.com guy. My mother and wife were on the way to the hospital and I realized that I had to get there as soon as possible also.

"I have to go now" I said.
"OK, but can you just move this image a little bit to the side?"
"No, I have to go NOW."
"What do you think, should we make this font one size bigger?"
"My wife's water broke. She's on her way to the hospital to deliver my first child."
"I think maybe we can make it one pixel bigger, no? Or maybe.... wait... Or maybe keep it the same size, but make it bit more bolder? No?"
"Bye."

I informed my boss of the situation and that I had to leave immediately. I didn't have a car on that day because I left my Mazda3 at home for my mom to take my wife to the hospital. Luckily softwebcom.com guy was nice enough to offer me a lift to the hospital, which is about 20 km from my office. I knew he had to be good for something!

At 2:23 the next morning (Sept. 30), my wife gave birth to a beautiful and healthy baby girl who we already named Maryam. The name was unanimous among family and friends: everyone we proposed the name to agreed that it was a beautiful name.

I had two weeks off of work, so I can do... well, whatever needs to be done once you become a father. Mainly it was to be there with my daughter (still gotta get used to saying that) and my wife. Being there helps, even if you don't actually do anything. Same thing when my wife was in labour. My presence was technically useless, all I did was just watch her crying and groaning in pain. But holding her hand and to say a few encourage words makes a huge difference. And to witness the birth of your own child is obviously not something to miss out on.

Now, after the forms have been mailed, appointments have been made, handbooks have been read, animals have been sacrificed, hairs have been cut, necessary items have been bought, and relatives have been over, we can settle down a little and just enjoy the little baby. Holding her. Tickling her toes. Patting her back softly. Singing to her. Even changing her diaper is enjoyable, because it strengthens our relationship.

One thing which I will not do is speak and act like a clown in an attempt to communicate with a baby. I just find it so silly. When I see one of these clown-talk episodes taking place I always wonder what's going on in the baby's mind. I can only imagine that the toddler is wondering why this person is acting like a moron. Yes, speak in layman's terms... but waving your arms around and making funny faces while saying "goo-goo" is not the way to get your child to listen to you. In my humble opinion, of course.

Maryam is now over 1 month old and has started developing a personality. Most significantly, we discovered that Maryam seldom cries. Sometimes she won't cry the whole day. Sometimes she won't cry the whole night. She is quiet and patient. Not surprising, since those are to adjectives which people would use to describe my wife and myself.

I cannot end this post without praising and thanking Allah for blessing us with a healthy, wonderful and beautiful daughter. SubhanAllah wa bi Hamdih, SubhaAllah il Adheem.

My time is getting expensive

2005-09-14T21:21:00.000-04:00

The next 30 or so days may very well be the busiest days of my life. I'm been so overwhelmed at work lately. Ramadan starts on October 5th, and I need to practice for taraweeh. My wife is expecting on October 10th. And it doesn't help that I have to deal with a broken fibula at the same time.

I've been programming non-stop the past two weeks in hopes to finish my current projects by September 30th. I want to take time off so I can be there for my wife during this critical stage. In the process, I can spend time revising the Quran in preparation for taraweeh.

In related news, my boss increased the hourly rate of my work.

Man gets "pwned" by video game

2005-08-11T14:32:00.000-04:00

One of my MSN contacts recently had the word "pwning" in his display name. This isn't the first time I've seen that word - it's all over messageboards and avatars on gaming sites: "I pwn u!", "total pwnage!!", or "Pwn4g3!!". This nonsense started when someone made an error while typing the word "own". Gamers believe the typo was the coolest thing since X-Box, and it has become commonplace the gaming culture lingo, Leetspeak.

Nationwide seminars were held soon thereafter to discuss the "pwn" phenomena and other gaming topics. Courses included were Leetspeak: pronounciation and derivatives, unlocking costumes, post-pwnage syndrome, polygon passion, maximizing gaming time, dealing with family advice, pros and cons of exercise, dangers of human interaction, welcoming depression, and introduction to toothpaste. Rumors have it that the meetings were held in the Pearl Harbour area.

In unrelated news, a man who quit his job to play more video games died from heart failure stemming from exhaustion.

Salaam Cup weekend: not so peaceful

2005-08-10T23:40:00.000-04:00

I was offered a spot on the Montréal team for the Salaam Cup, a country-wide Muslim hockey tournament held in Toronto, just 2 days before the tourney.

It was difficult to decide if I wanted to go or not. Obviously, a chance to represent your city is exciting and doesn't come too often. However, playing in the tournament will mean dealing with the highly competetive and tough play once again, which I was expecting to avoid for at least a year.

After much debate with myself and those close to me, I finally decided that I will go.

The tournament was very well organized and very professional. The Salaam Cup actually exists... they have a beautiful trophy which looks a bit like the Calder Memorial Trophy, but taller. Some of the best Muslim ball-hockey players in Canada were present. Our team did a great job by finishing the round-robin 3-1-0. We won our quarter-finals game (against my cousin's team), but unfortunately lost in the semi-finals against the Mujahideen.

What sucks even more is that I got injured again. I fractured my fibula in my right leg when I collided with another player in a race for the ball.

I drive home the same night with the broken leg and went to work the next morning for a 9:30 AM meeting.

To make matters worse, Mehndi.com's harddrive failed at 9:00 PM that night, and my boss and I were up until 12:30 trying to get the site back up and running. We had to restore a backup from that morning and we lost 12 hours of data.

I'm going to be in crutches for the next two weeks, which means that I might have to go to the dredg concert like this. Hopefully I'll make a quick recovery though.

Eliminated from the playoffs, hockey

2005-07-28T11:25:00.000-04:00

My hockey team, Silent But Deadly (6th place), was eliminated from the DMBHL playoffs yesterday after losing in shootouts against Usual Suspects (3rd place). We dominated the game, and were winning until they scored with about 6 minutes left in the second half. The game then went to a 10-minute sudden death overtime period. No one ended up scoring in overtime, so we went to shootouts, in which they outscored us 2-0.

Overall, the season wasn't too good for me. I got injured a lot and our team didn't do well.

I am considering retiring from these highly competetive leagues. I play hockey for fun and for exercise, not to collect trophies and medals. And it's not like I'm making millions of dollars a year playing professional hockey. It isn't worth risking getting injured over, especially now that I am married and soon going to be a father.

When I was young and naive, I used to think that I would be playing hockey until I'm 40.

Then life happened.

Where do you want to go today?

2005-07-26T20:26:00.000-04:00

Most people have seen satellite imagery of popular North American cities on Google Maps. Recently Google updated their program by adding high resolution imagery of popular cities across the globe. Check out the following samples:

The Pyramids in Cairo, Egypt

Masjid Nabawi in Medina, Saudi Arabia

Burj-al-Arab in Dubai, UAE

Google also has created a hybrid of the map and satellite features so you can see the satellite images with state borders and road outlines. Remember Microsoft's old slogan, Where Do You Want To Go Today? That would be more appropriate here.

P.S.: If you can pinpoint other landmarks outside North America, I'd love to see them.

That's the date, genius

2005-07-26T17:13:00.000-04:00

It seems people really are getting dumber.

Recently we got a complaint from a user on Qiran.com which read: "I've been registered on your site for over 2 weeks now, and you still haven't found me a wife. What's going on?"

The other day, a co-worker, S, came to me and asked me where a certain link goes. All she had to go was click on the link to find out.

Another co-worker of mine said, "You approved an image that has the member's phone number on it". I looked up the image again to see if he was right. "That's the date, genius."

Ironically, we also recently got an email from a Qiran member saying that he doesn't understand what we mean by "12/18/2005" in the sentence "Your membership will expire on 12/18/2005". It's the date, genius.

Luckily, S no longer works for our company. She quit on Friday. She's a nice person, but unfortunately no one wanted to work with her because she knew nothing about programming and internet. She didn't speak any French and could hardly speak English so she couldn't even do secretary work properly.

In other news, My wife turned 26 last week and I bought her a digital camera. Yay.

The politics of fear wage on

2005-07-08T20:11:00.000-04:00

If 9/11 hadn't happened, it would have been harder for USA to go into Afghanistan to build the pipeline they've wanted for 20 years. It would have been harder for them to go into Iraq to control their oil like they've wanted for 20 years. So whoever was responsible for 9/11 was doing George Bush a huge favor.

Now we had to witness the unfortunate events of July 7, 2005. Why did it happen? Who was responsible? These questions will likely never be answered. But in the coming months and years, we will see exactly who benefits. And my bet is on George Bush and his pawn, Tony Blair.
Support for Blair was at an all-time low because of his insistance to free (kill) the Iraqis, but now he is somewhat vindicated. Once again, an invisible enemy commits an act of terror which will propel the victim nation into a towering rage of revenge. The blame is already being aimed at radical Islamic groups, as was with 9/11. That translates to the possibility of the "kill all Arabs" chant resurfacing.

Both Bush and Blair have been using 9/11 as a excuse to justify every stupid thing they do. The excuse is old and warn out, but now they have 7/7 to back them up. How convenient.

One thing is for sure: the families of those responsible for 9/11 and 7/7 must be getting a lot of money.

Apostrophe costs Quebec man $786

2005-06-30T13:13:00.000-04:00

The Office de la Langue Francaise reaches a new low.

"It then took more than a week of telephone calls to Quebec government offices to discover that someone had complained about his apostrophe ... he had to pay a $599 fine and a $187 delivery charge within a week or have his Ford F-350 pickup truck, farm tractor and Chevrolet Cavalier sold at an auction in his yard on July 6... "

http://www.canada.com/ottawa/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=ce533b7f-31ba-4d42-abb8-c4dabc8bb658

You can argue that it isn't racism, but you cannot argue that it isn't incredibly stupid.

Garbled smashers flee fees like fleas

2005-06-28T14:03:00.000-04:00

The insidious and gallant Bargle Gooz, known to gazarble inner turbulence of green radios and skeptical sandwiches, has announced the proclamation of the declaration of the mega cool zoopers... again. The devastating and catastrophic impact of this devastating and catastrophic event need not be emphasized.

However, like any regular platoon bafoon would normally do on a blazing cold Sunday afternoon after vigorously gnawing at dry glue and Oreo crumbs while wearing a fax machine earring, Mr. Gooz went to sleep chanting "you blue, me eleven" to his counterparts, socks, and MSN chat partners.

After feeding gas to his pet Cheerios, he hid behind a lamp post, where he met an elephant named Gator Goat. The two stood there staring at each other and lived happily ever after.

Billionaire's cash did nothing for him

2005-06-28T10:39:00.000-04:00

This is good reminder for all of us that our first pursuit in life should be to please Allah and prepare for the next life rather than engrossing ourselves in worldly affairs. Death can come at any time, and money, power or status can are useless when it comes.

O ye who believe! Let not your wealth nor your children distract you from the remembrance of Allah. Those who do so, they are the losers.

And spend of that wherewith We have provided you before death cometh unto one of you and he saith: My Lord! If only thou wouldst reprieve me for a little while, then I would give alms and be among the righteous.

But Allah reprieveth no soul when its term cometh, and Allah is Informed of what ye do.

Quran 63:9 - 63:11

Pass the nail cutter, please

2005-06-18T19:39:00.000-04:00

During Jumu'ah, somehow I always end up next to or behind a person with the nastiest toe nails. It's uncanny. Almost every week I have to witness the grotesque result of peoples' neglect of toe manicure. Crooked. Dirty. Chipped. Deformed. Smelly. Uncut for months.

I often see toe nails which seemed to be cut with scissors. Sometimes only one side is snipped, leaving other side lethally sharp. Honestly, can't these people spend one dollar to buy a proper nail cutter? At least, spend another 20 seconds and cut the other side of the toe nail.

The sad part is that they're always the same type of person: those 50-ish clean shaven Arab men whose voice is so deep it would make Amrish Puri scurry in fear. Those 250 pound Arab guys you never see anywhere except for at Jumu'ah, reclining comfortably against the Masjid walls in dress pants and a tightly tucked in dress shirt. Yes, I know you know that type of person.

Yesterday was exceptionally disturbing as the guy in front of me actually had the audacity to pick at his toe nails during the khutbah and discard whatever came out of there onto the Masjid floor. Will somebody please slap this guy in the face?

Lying on the hospital bed

2005-05-20T00:45:00.000-04:00

My brother and father accompanied me to the hospital. As we waited, my brother tried to keep me entertained with sarcastic remarks and funny jokes. Unfortunately, my lip hurt whenever I smiled and laughed.

The doctor who was examining my lip was getting grossed out so he called on a colleague to relieve him of this job. Obviously the guy was new and wasn't confident that he can do a proper job stitching me up. Good decision.

I had gotten stitches on my toes a few years back. It was incredibly painful. I wondered how painful this will be, with the injury being in a very sensitive area. Dr. Tom placed a paper mask over my face with a hole to expose the mouth though which he can operate. Interesting.

I'm going to freeze your lip now. This will hurt.

Oh joy. I hate it when doctors say that. But I guess they have no choice but to warn you of the reality. And man, did it ever hurt. I was groaning in pain with the syringe deep inside my cut lip.

I decided to do dhikr to alleviate the situation, but the pain was so intense that I couldn't concentrate. I felt a hot teardrop run over my temple and onto my ear. I tried to think of other things to keep my mind off the pain. Dhikr. Teardrops. Ouch. Baby. Dream Theater. Ouuuch. It wasn't helping.

Hmm. You have some teeth shards lodged in your lips. I'm gonna have to take those out before stitching.

Though my lip was numb, I could feel the tweezers pulling at my lip. The tooth bits came out relatively easily. The doctor showed the pieces to my brother who was also beginning to get grossed out.

Then as I was lying there numb yet in pain, not able to see or speak, I suddenly realized I was in a familiar predicament. For a moment I imagined that I was Joe from Johnny Got His Gun. I fiddled my toes and clenched my fists. This isn't so bad, I thought. I mean, when you think of it, I have a lot to be thankful for.

At least this hardship I am dealing with right now will be a means for purifying my soul. Erase some of my sins. I'd rather feel the pain in this world than in the next. When I came into this frame of mind, everything was much easier to deal with.

The numbing probably helped too, though.

Adding insult to injury

2005-05-19T23:25:00.000-04:00

We rush into the closest dressing room. There's a team already in there but this is an emergency. I wash my hands and face and look in the mirror and see that my top lip has a deep cut right in the middle. The sight is almost as painful as the injury itself. The tears which I held back for the past 20 minutes begin trickling down my cheeks. It feels good to cry a little, it seems to relieve the pain. I wash my eyes and my face again.

Some people in the dressing room asked what happened. I tried to explain, but I could just mumble. Then, apparently amused with my inarticulate speech, began asking me a plethora of stupid questions:

"Did it hurt?"
"Did the guy get a penalty?"
"Do you want the rest of my beer?"

One guy seemed to have a heart:

"I don't think the guy can really talk now, people"

We go into the first aid room of the arena. As I'm trying to stop the bleeding, I hear the crowd roar... the other team just scored to tie the game at 2. C'mon, guys you have to beat these goons.

Now I'm ready to leave and realize that I've left my stick at the rink. I decide to go get it and see that there's only 15 seconds left in the game. I grab my stick and walk away, disappointed with the tie.

Seconds later, the opposing team scores to win the game 3-2. Talk about adding insult to injury. What a terrible loss.

On my knees in a pool of blood

2005-05-19T23:05:00.000-04:00

Some idiot got his hockey stick up into my face... hard. My two front teeth are broken. I'm bleeding profusely. No way. I'm going to have a baby girl. There's a big party at my house this weekend. This can't be happening now. At least my wife didn't come to watch my game today. I wouldn't want her to see me in this miserable condition.

My blood is all over the place. Can someone get me a towel? I'm losing blood quickly. Is someone even going to help me up? My teeth are broken... I wonder how I'm going to get those fixed. This might be a serious problem. Hello, is anyone here? Does anyone even notice that I'm in need of assistance?

Here comes our team captain. God bless him. As I'm being escorted to the dressing room, I feel dozens of eyes on me and hear people asking if I'm okay. I mumble something back. Crap, I can't speak.

It's going to be a girl!

2005-05-19T10:00:00.000-04:00

My wife just had her ultrasound test in which it was determined that our baby will be a girl. Seeing the developing fetus in the monitor thru the x-ray scanner was quite the moving experience. The nurse was pointing out the different parts of the baby's body, like the face, hands, elbows and spine. The moment of truth went something like this:

Nurse: here are the two legs... there's nothing in between, so I guess it's a girl.

Yup, I guess. So I'm going to have a baby girl. Honestly, I couldn't be happier - having a baby girl will be a new exciting experience in my life and I'm definately looking forward to it.

Flash makes animation easy, you idiot

2005-05-17T13:46:00.000-04:00

For the past couple of weeks, I've been familiarizing myself with Flash MX 2004 by reading tutorials, watching videos and above all, trial and error. It isn't a very hard program to use if you understand the basic principles of animation. In fact, I believe the hardest part of creating stunning animations is coming up with innovative ideas.

Here's something I put together in a few hours.

Nowhere near the quality of the sites which inspired me, but hey - it's a start.

One thing I was stumped on, to the point where I lost several hours of sleep over it, was shape-tweening symbols. It seems like an easy task until Flash pops up the error message informing you that it cannot shape-tween layers with symbols or grouped objects. After many hours of frustration, I went to Google and finally learned that symbols need to be broken apart before they can be shape tweened.

From a technical perspective, it seemed to make sense. Shapes created with Flash's shape tools are vector images and can therefore be shaped to your heart's content. However, symbols which are imported onto the stage are seen as raster graphics, which don't enjoy the same set of properties. You need to "break apart" the symbols to vectorize them.

A simple solution, but it makes me wonder why Macromedia didn't just add "To shape-tween symbols, you must first break them apart" to the error message.

With Adobe acquiring Macromedia, I'm hoping to see easier integration of Photoshop into Flash, without compromising Flash's efficiency, robustness and quick rendering time.

Bringing myself to the next level

2005-05-06T11:10:00.000-04:00

The past couple of weeks I didn't post anything on my blog because I was doing more important things. I made a schedule for myself to try and organize my evenings better. It included reading Quran daily, running 3 times a week, working out 3 times a week, and playing hockey once a week.

There's another thing I want to shape up on, that is graphic design. I have some basic knowledge when it comes to image editing, but I want to take my skills to the next level and create something innovative and spectacular. I've started learning Flash (which is long overdue considering my profession), plus I'm looking into other software like Sony SoundForge and Adobe Illustrator. Right now I'm just experimenting with Flash and looking for inspiration across the internet. I also want to get a digital camera and do some photography. Nature is a great source of inspiration.

In other news, I raced my boss home twice this week. He has an BMW X5. He won the race earlier this week, but I beat him yesterday with some nifty maneuvering. There was also an Audi A4 who decided to join the race, and he destroyed both of us. It might have been an Audi S4, actually.

Speaking of cars, I read yesterday that the Mazda RX-8 broke an endurance record by driving for 24 hours straight at an average speed of 132 miles per hour (212 km/h).

Insanity.

I'm just a brown guy with a beard

2005-05-03T19:06:00.000-04:00

I was on my way downtown yesterday to attend a birthday dinner for my brother, when this souped up Acura RSX starts tailgating me. Being one to not turn down a good hearted drag race, I shifted to 3rd gear and floored it. I was able to stay ahead of him for a good 10 seconds, until I settled at 180 km/h. Then he crept by me with his exhaust buzzing like a furious little bee. Anyway, I didn't want to go any faster considering my wife, sister in law and nephews were all in my car at the time. I'm crazy, not insane.

The good news is that I got an update on my driving record: I'm demerit points free! Meaning, I haven't gotten a ticket in the past two years and my driving record is now cleared. At one point I was at 13 points (out of 15) thanks to 3 speeding tickets in my Mustang (2x 5 pts, 1x 3 pts). I haven't gotten a ticket in my Mazda... that's probably not a complete coincidence. Not only is the Mustang very fast and smooth at high speeds, it just has a knack of attracting attention.

Police used to eye my in my Mustang as if I was driving naked or something. I know what they must be thinking: a brown guy with a beard... in a Mustang? When I got my first ticket, the officer ordered me out of the car at gunpoint, pushed me against the fence along the highway and frisked me, saying that he was going to arrest me for speeding. I've never heard of people getting arrested for speeding before. Maybe he was threatening to arrest me because I'm a brown guy with a beard. I've heard of that before.

On another occasion, I got pulled over by a cop when I was driving 50 in a 50 zone, due to suspicion. It was suspicious because, after all, don't brown guys usually drive Hondas?

Maybe he wanted to check if I was really brown.

An idea for sadaqa jaariyah

2005-04-17T17:16:00.000-04:00

I was thinking of making a new website to organize mosque donations. You register your mosque on the site, and everyone in the world can donate. Or, the way it can work is that all the registered mosques get an equal share of donations to the site. There's a lot of people who want to donate to mosques, and there's a lot of mosques that need monetary help. This will help bring these two people together.

I've been informed that this concept has been thought up before but never really materialized. Currently I'm trying to gather information and opinions about this idea... the pros and cons, the problems which may arise. Obviously I'd like to gather as much information as possible before embarking on such a project, to see if it can actually work.

So far people haven't been too enthused by the idea. Apparently, mosques cringe at the notion of muslims using credit cards to donate, even though it is permissible by shari'a. Also, such an organization is sure to draw the ever suspicious eyes of Intelligence agencies. Plus, there is the uncertaintly of the hearts of people... you never know when greed will catch you and twist your intentions.

In the end, I am considering this only for the pleasure of Allah, with the hopes that I may continue to accumulate good deeds after I am six feet under.

No protection for the heart

2005-04-11T14:53:00.000-04:00

I was feeling pretty depressed on Sunday because my hockey stick broke. Yes, my amazing new hockey stick which I was raving about on and off my blog like a fanatic is busted. It took an awkward hit against the wall and the blade broke right in two. I played the rest of the game with my regular stick, but my heart was not in the game at all. I was just thinking about how unfulfilling and disappointing my experience with the Vapor XX was. It's like buying a BMW M3 and then totalling it a week later in a crash.

At home my wife sympathized then asked me, 'you didn't get hurt today though, did you?' I answered no, but the irony hit me: I wore eye protection, leg protection, hand protection and I even taped my stick - but there's no available protection for the heart. The blow of losing my hockey stick is greater than any physical injury I've sustained while playing hockey in recent history. Bruises, scrapes and cuts will heal within a week, but this will linger on for a long time.

I finished reading Johnny Got His Gun on Saturday morning. Though written over 50 years ago, the novel has significance today and even tomorrow, the bleak implication being that war will continue to the end of time. Commonfolk will continue destroy themselves over ambiguous terms such as democracy, liberty, freedom and justice, while the elite overlook from ivory towers. Fathers, brothers, sons and husbands are turning into murderers, only to kill other fathers, brothers, sons and husbands. More people should become aware, more people should read, more people should reflect. More people should think like human beings before acting like barbarians.

To the warmongers: put your pride and your brainwashed views aside for one second and answer: are you willing to die for your government?

Nothing is real but pain now

2005-04-07T12:50:00.000-04:00

I had a terrible stomache ache when I arrived at work today. I'm not sure if it's because I drank chocolate milk before running this morning, or because I didn't sleep after running, or because I read chapter 5 of Johnny Got His Gun before going to work. It's probably a little bit of all three.

I cried while reading that fifth chapter. It wasn't crying, really - I wasn't short of breath, my heart did not ache, nor did any part of my body - actually I was reclining on my bed quite comfortably. I was simply shedding tears. Tears of sympathy for the protagonist. I thought I knew what to expect, thanks to an amazing Metallica song which is based on the novel. But as usual, the book drives the reality home more than anything.

"We defy anyone to remain unmoved by this book" is written on the back cover. A challenge which proved itself to yet another individual.

We reinstalled windows today

2005-04-05T22:21:00.000-04:00

I came home from work today to find the house in total disarray. The sofas, tables, shelves and blinds were all scattered around, while new white-framed windows seemed to boast grandeur in each of the upstairs rooms. Yes, we finally had our windows reinstalled. This was a necessary upgrade, since our old version was full of security issues and air leaks which caused power inefficiency. And who knows how many spiders were crawling around and spying on us while we innocently browsed the neighborhood life though its glass.

I ran at about 7:00 this morning and finished my usual route in 9 minutes, even though I walked for about 30 seconds of it. There's a considerable incline on one of the streets, Lafford, which is where I really drain a lot of energy. I was running faster than usual this time, and by the time I reached the end of the uphill stretch, I decided to catch my breath and give my body a break. There were some high school students several yards ahead of me who were walking to their bus stop, which suddenly helped me find my energy and I continued running until I reached home about 3 minutes later.

Everyone tries a little harder when they know they're being watched.

Just say no to Nigerian scammers

2005-04-03T21:07:00.000-04:00

We don't allow Nigerians to register an email address at Wapda due to the incredible amount of spam and scam artists which originate from that area. On Friday we got an email from a Nigerain accusing us of being racist and likened our attitude towards Nigerians to the Nazi's attitude towards Jews. Dude, you are way out of line. Denying someone the right to an email address cannot be compared to mass murder. Regardless, when over 60% of credit card frauds and scam emails originate from Nigeria and surrounding areas, it's the only logical solution. If you want an email address, there are plently of other options available. We are not demonizing your country, you have your own immoral citizens to blame for that. Because of them, most people in North America just consider you a disease on the internet. Don't blame us for your own stupidity.

This morning I finally got to use my hockey stick in a game. It didn't improve the velocity of my slapshot as I thought it would, but it did enhance my wristshots, stickhandling and, unexpectantly, poke-checking as well. The stick's durability was a concern for me, but it seems to have proved itself after surviving several devastating slashes. I admit that my heart raced a bit when my stick took some of nasty whacks. The problem with having an expensive hockey stick, or any expensive belonging for that matter, is that you become overly concious about it. Today I spent about half an hour taping my stick just right to give it added protection. I don't usually tape my hockey stick but I don't want to take any chances with this one. Putting tape on a stick is like a putting a sock on a foot: it doesn't hurt as much when it gets hit.

Yesterday I went to see the old-timers hockey game in the Verdun auditorium. I wasn't too exciting, but it was great to see guys like Guy Lafleur and Kirk Muller play. Dale Hawerchuk stood out as well. Unfortunately, the players were just playing for the fun of it; there was practically no intensity in the game at all. We left early as it was getting redundant by the third period, but at least I managed to see one hockey game this year.

My brother came back from Hajj yesterday, you can read about his experience on his blog. It's good to have some more people in the house, as the past two months have been pretty quiet. Tomorrow my other brother and his family are coming back from India... I'm definately looking forward to seeing my nephews again.

Johnny Got His XX

2005-03-31T16:24:00.000-05:00

I've come to realize that on a five hour drive, indian music is more enjoyable than rock. With rock and heavy metal, the guitar distortion gets muffled out by the car's engine at 4000 rpms. All I hear is noise with some incomprehensible singing in background. The only rock music I was able to listen to without getting a headeache was Remy Zero. I have to remember to make a long-journey CD, with some Remy Zero, Radiohead, Dredg, Pink Floyd, and Loreena McKennitt... basically anything which sounds great but keeps distortion guitars to a minimum. Who knows, maybe I'll even add some Eminem.

Lately I've been feeling kinda intelligent. My friend was giving me a summary of the novel he's planning to write and when he had difficulty articulating certain themes and ideas, I was there to fill in the blanks with fancy words. Speaking of which, I've given up on Don Quixote, and looking to read other books such as All Quiet on the Western Front or Johnny Got His Gun.

Today I discovered that David Duchovny has a blog. Being a celebrity certainly hasn't made the man lose his humbleness, nor his sense of humor. The film he is currently directing underscores his humanity - while other directors are looking to cash in on bare skin and big explosions, Duchovny tells a simple yet sad tale of one boy's life. If only all celebrities were as cool as he was.

I finally got my Vapor XX hockey stick. I couldn't resist using it right away and started taking wrist-shots against the sofa in my basement. Nothing broke. The stick is a gem, I can't wait to use it this Sunday.

More random happenings: tomorrow my mom and brother are coming back from India, it was 14°C today, I got the DVD player fixed, I bought Tangents on a whim, and absolutely nothing is happening at work these days.

No. Absolutely not. Never. Okay, yes.

2005-03-28T18:39:00.000-05:00

I had Friday off due to Easter, and I went to Toronto with my wife and father to visit my cousins. We played hockey with his group of friends on Saturday night. I played alright defensively, but I had a horrible offensive game. My three slapshots from the point were not even close to hitting the net. Fortunately, I can blame this on the rubbery playing surface and the deteriorating blade of my hockey stick.

I hurt the heel of my foot by stopping to quickly and thus won't be able to run for another couple of days. It's been a week now since I last ran.

I stupidly violated one of my own shopping rules on Saturday. I bought a very nice jacket for 31 dollars, even though I didn't need it. It is a very nice jacket and it was on sale for $31 down from $175... but rules are rules: don't buy anything unless you really need it, no matter how enticing and/or inexpensive it is. Later that night I bought ball-hockey gloves for $69, although I was told by several people that I paid too much.

This brings to light the different types of shopping attitudes: which was a better buy, the cheap jacket which I don't need or the expensive gloves which I need very badly? I say the latter.

Of all the Bollywood movies I've seen, the one I watched Friday night probably takes the cake for worst ending ever. The inevitable guy-loves-girl-but-parents-don't-approve theme was ever apparent, with the angry father (Amrish Puri, as usual) almost losing his sanity every time the topic of marriage presented itself. He was opposed to his son ever getting married, let alone marrying a girl from a rival family. After drudging 3 hours of his stubborness and his son's pleading for approval, the conflict was finally resolved with a sudden change of heart: he turns around and says "come, my child!", smiling flamboyantly and holding his arms out ready to embrace him. Everyone starts celebrating and 30 seconds later the movie is over.

Spring cleaning... finally

2005-03-21T13:16:00.000-05:00

One thing which is honestly very satisfying is to see the fruit of your labor, whether it be in work or in play. I ran on Saturday morning, the same route as usual, but I finished in 10 minutes, instead of the 15 minutes it took me last time. In fact, I felt like I could even run some more, but I didn't want to risk being sore for Sunday's hockey. If I keep running 3 times a week, I figure I'll be in great shape for May.

Lately my hair has been pretty unmanagable. I even resorted to using Alberto hair gel to avoid having a bad hair day... the same gel which was the catalyst for my hair loss. I had enough of my hair disagreeing with my hairbrush, so I shaved my head Saturday afternoon.

My brother came over on that evening and we were supposed to clean out the garage, but he ended up doing all the work while I played with his son. I can't figure out why we keep so much junk in our garage. It's not like we (or anyone else) will wear our smelly shoes from 7 years ago. And I don't think that light bulb which fused 6 months ago is going to start working anytime soon.

Montreal has been having great weather recently - sunny and a few degrees above zero. I love this time of year because the filth of winter is being washed away by the melting snow, and you know that soon everything will be fresh and clean. It's like the light at the end of a long, dark, cold tunnel.

On Sunday I was really hyped for hockey, since I was in good shape. I warmed up by taking slap shots on the empty net, after which someone informed me that he'd never seen my shot so powerful and so accurate before. Just wait until I get my new hockey stick. :)

Remembering my injury from last time, I accordingly wore my squash goggles for eye protection. I figure what's the point of wearing eye protection after losing an eye? Anyway, my team disappointingly lost two games 10-4 and we tied the last game 11-11.

We're past March 20th, it's sunny and above zero this whole week, people are cleaning house, and I shaved my head... yes, Spring is finally here!

The tilt of the head

2005-03-18T15:48:00.000-05:00

When I'm greeted by people I don't know very well, I respond politely but with a very neutral facial expression. The kind of expression you typically see on passport photographs. People sometimes take it negatively that I don't respond with a smile, but I don't like faking being happy. And honestly - I'm not happy to see you. I'm not sad to see you either. You're just not very important in my life.

It's usually older people who get offended, but this is where the head-tilt comes in handy. I always though the head-tilt was silly, but it came into use today.

The tilting of the head is a common gesture during desi greetings. When someone asks "how are you?", you respond with by slightly tilting your head for a second. This means you are doing fine and is considered humble and courteous.

Today at the mosque after jumua'a prayer, I made eye contact with some uncle who knows my dad, and he enthousiastically stuck his hand out to greet me. I responded neutrally as usual and there was a hint of confusion in his eyes (like he expects me to jump for joy when I see him?). To avoid seeming rude, I tilted my head to the right slightly and the then uncle smiled in instant appreciation.

In other news, my legs were sore this morning so I didn't go running. Maybe tomorrow.

Fresh air, fresh content, rotten NHL

2005-03-17T16:20:00.000-05:00

I've actually been working out regularly for the past week. This morning I even went for a run after fajr. It felt great, even though I was cold and exhausted after just 15 minutes (it was around -5°C). Hopefully I'll be able to run for 40 minutes as I get into practice and as the days get warmer.

When I came home I could actually see my abs when I flexed - a phenomena I hadn't witnessed for a few years now. This good omen strengthened my resolve to get in shape.

Whenever my determination wavers, I think of this.

One of my friends on my hockey team was somewhat disappointed to find out that I was working out at home, and asked why I had not joined a gym. I joined a gym once, but it totally sucked. Most of the exercises one does at the gym can be done in the comfort of your own home as well, provided you have hand weights.

I've been a lot working on Wapda recently. Now that I've finally found an ASP RSS reader, free, fresh content is so much easier to attain. We're (read: I'm) adding a movie channel and a weather channel. The weather is done actually (some excellent hacking was involved) but it's not up yet - I would have to change the layout of the homepage to accomodate the new channels. The movies in particular is kinda hard to figure out. What should I put on the front page? Upcoming movies? Last week's box office results? A camera still from a movie now playing in theaters? Movie news? I want to put enough information to get people interested, but not too much to make the site look crammed or overbearing with info and links. Most importantly, it has to look fresh and clean and add some flavor to the overall look. I'm constantly brainstorming about these things.

I invited my friend over to play MTG a few days ago. We played one game and got fed up after we kept on drawing land cards. By the time we called it quits I had 50 life, 2 Phyrexian Arenas, Words of Worship and he had nothing but lands out. It was only a matter of time before I played an Orim's Chant insured Desolation Angel to kill him off. I had a Zuran Orb to top it off. There was no way he could have won.

My friend is actually writing a novel, and the characters are going to based on his friends. He asked me what type of character I wanted to be and I said I didn't mind, as long as I'm not the guy that everybody hates. Fortunately, he informed me that spot is reserved for someone else.

Finally, about the dismal NHL - I don't like the blue ice idea. Not because I'm opposed to change but because I'm opposed to useless changes. The NHL is in a serious crisis right now which has yet to be resolved, and what are they thinking about? Blue ice and orange lines. Whether it will attract more fans or not, I have no idea. But the color of the ice surface is the least of their problems right now.

Besides, calling defencemen orange-liners just doesn't sound right.

Another October baby

2005-03-09T20:35:00.000-05:00

Today it was confirmed that my wife is expecting in October, the exact date being October 10th. My three adorable nephews were born in October as well - in 2000, 2001 and 2003. It's something worth mentioning, but I really don't what to say about it.

In other news, registration has begun for the Dollard Montreal Ball Hockey League. I was debating whether to play or not, but realized that indecision was due to pure laziness. Inshallah, I will play. Last year was very successful: we ranked 3rd overall during the regular season, and we won the championship. To top it off, I and two other players on my team were on the all-star team.

This year our team is moving up from the N league to the K league, so the competition should be a lot tighter. I intend to start working out a little bit at home so by May I should be in decent shape. Plus I intend on buying an amazing hockey stick.

Yesterday I watched the X-Files episode entitled The Field Where I Died. Mulder learns of his past life through the mind of another lady, who while under hypnosis, spoke of Mulder as her husband. The episode was very much like Scenes From A Memory, where Nicholas learns of how he died in his past life.

Uncanny, strange deja-vu.

American soldiers are sub-human

2005-03-07T21:04:00.000-05:00

Today I spent most of my work day reading articles about Iraq and the atrocities of the American soldiers against the Iraqi population. It was a good reminder for me, as I've been lost in my own world of useless pursuits and petty grievances for the past while, and not remembering my brothers and sisters who are suffering.

The world should know that the American soldiers are sub-human. They are lower than scum. I say this without any hesitation or remorse. When they kill for the fun of it, when they knowingly kill civilians without any justification, when they target and gun down children, and repeatedly gang rape the women, they rank as the vilest of creatures.

I have also read insider reports that America's next terrorist action is scheduled in June 2005 against Iran. Part of me hopes this is true, because if it happens, the Americans will be crushed. They cannot defeat Iran.

Bollywood meets Montreal

2005-03-06T17:58:00.000-05:00

I saw Bewafaa with my wife yesterday. Yet another Bollywood movie in which the actors try to act as cool as real North Americans, but fail miserably. The interesting thing about this flick is that a lot of it was shot in good ol' Montreal. Not only that is was shot Montreal, but they made a point to show off some of Montreal's most beautiful areas. Although I don't like Bollywood movies, there was a certain pride I got by seeing Sushmita Sen, Akshay Kumar and Kareena Kapoor dancing with the Canadian and Quebecois flags waving in the background.

Anyway, the movie sucked as usual. I don't like any of the aforementioned actors or actresses, so I didn't expect anything decent anyway.

Today I played hockey and got hit hard in the face with the butt end of someone's stick. I got a nasty cut right under my left eye. I was very lucky that I didn't get hit directly in the eye, or else I would probably be in the hospital right now. Anyway, I cleaned up the blood, applied some ice and then a bandaid and 15 minutes later I was back in the game.

Tonight I'm planning to play Magic the Gathering with my buddies for the first time several months. Actually I think it's the first time in 2005.

And the moral of the story is...?

2005-03-05T22:42:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I watched Million Dollar Baby at the Colisée Kirkland. It brought to light a great disease which is in the world today, which is people's infatuation with money. They are so obsessed with money that it takes precedance over friendships, relationships, family and even life itself. Other than that, I guess the moral of the story is that there's no point in trying to be the best because you won't make it anyway. I don't like depressing movies, but at least this one was much better than Mystic River.

On a lighter note, I began reading Don Quixote. Pretty funny so far, but the story is moving along slowly.

Another success, another failure

2005-03-03T21:49:00.000-05:00

For the past three days, the majority of my working hours were spent programming and perfecting the new chat for Mehndi.com. Today I finally put it live, and shortly thereafter people were happily chatting away.

The chat is a complex mixture of ASP and JavaScript, which results in real time screen updates without refreshing the page. Because it is browser-based, the speed greatly depends on your internet connection and computer's processing power. It will never be as fast as the MSN or Yahoo messengers, but it is one of the fastest ASP chats I've ever used. I'm pretty happy with what I've accomplished.

I was testing the chat from home tonight and while chatting with a girl, I found out that she is engaged, having met her fiance on Qiran.com. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised. That's 4 success stories I've heard in the past 2 weeks.

Tomorrow we're having a small party at work to celebrate Mehndi.com's first anniversary.

I downloaded Apocalyptica's new album, which has no apparent title, and is only known as Apocalyptica. Aren't they done copying Metallica? I listened to the whole album last night, and my initial impression of it is not too great. It sounds way too much like their previous release Reflections. With a full drum set added, Apocalyptica suddenly became a typical metal band. Long gone are brilliant pieces such as Toreador, Inquisition Symphony, Kaamos, Hope and Pray... songs which portray the musicians as talented celloists who enjoy heavy metal, rather than metalists who know how to play a cello. In Apocalyptica, the bands seems unsure of themselves; lead cello seems tentative, as if not knowing whether to go to a high note, or hit a low note. The result is an uninspired riff which doesn't go anywhere interesting.

I guess I'll give it a few more listens to try to let it grow on me.

What are the odds?

2005-02-28T11:25:00.000-05:00

Part I:

I was invited to my friend's birthday dinner on Tuesday at Tehran restaurant. I reached the restaurant at 7:25 PM (the invitation time was 7:30ish), and no one from my group of friends was there. I sat down at a table and waited, and realized I was in the same situation as the last dinner I went to with my friends, as I was the first one to arrive then as well. While lost in thought, I noticed a small Muslim family eating their meal three tables away from where I was. The man of the family looked vaguely familiar, though I could only see the back of his head. I started glancing at the other members of the family, there were two women and a baby. I could not recognize them, until the baby finally made eye contact with me and then started pointing at me and smiling.

It was my nephew. Flabbergasted, I got up, and clumsily made my way through the maze of chairs. By this time, my brother, his wife and his wife's younger sister turned to see me walking towards them as my nephew let out babyish sounds of joy.

My brother lives South Shore, while I live in the West Island. What are the odds of meeting him and his family at a restaurant in the middle of the city?

Part II:

On Saturday night I watched the final episode of season 3 of the X-Files. Usually my wife and I watch one episode every night, but since I did not have season 4, we just ended up flipping the TV channels on Sunday night. I never watch TV, so to my surpise, X-Files was coming on one of the channels. And guess which episode it was? The final episode of season 3.

...

On Saturday evening I watch the Bollywood Film Fare with my wife. It is the equivalent to the Hollywood Oscars. Shahrukh Khan ended up winning the "Power" award for most influencial person in Bollywood. His acceptance speech was somewhat political, as he spoke about people who command respect, and those who try but fail miserably. He mentioned "Amitab Bachan in a black suit" as the former, and George Bush, "someone who gets re-elected after trying his hardest to blow the heads off half the world", as the latter. At this he was applauded by the immense crowd.

Honestly, when you think of it, about 90% of the world hates George Bush.

It's the time to learn English

2005-02-21T18:45:00.000-05:00

I'm back from the world of non-blogging. Time to settle down and share what's been going on in my life.

Firstly, most people know now, so I might as well blurt it out in public - my wife is going to have a baby! I found out that she was pregnant last Monday (Valentine's Day - coincidence?), and slowly have been telling those who are close to me... and those who are very far. Anyway, I'm going to be a father! Wow. Initially my emotions were torn between elated and terrified... elated, for obvious reasons, but terrified because it profoundly hit me that my life will never be the same. Let's face it, raising a kid is not easy. People say I'm very good with kids, as I have been the 'favorite uncle' for my nephews. But it's easy to be good with other people's kids - all you have to do it play with them and love them. You don't have to change their diapers. You don't have to wake up in the middle of the night when they're crying.

Anyway, now my emotions are simmered down a bit... between happy and nervous. I really don't know what to expect.

In other news, I went out with my wife to Place Vertu, just for ghooming. Ghooming comes from the Urdu word ghoom, which means to roam about without any fixed plan or direction. I ended up buying Dream Theater's album entitled Metropolis pt 2: Scenes From a Memory. It's a good album, but not as good as I would have hoped. I had heard three brilliant songs from it before, namely Fatal Tragedy, The Dance of Eternity and Overture 1928. Unfortunately, those 3 are only brilliant songs on the album in my opinion. Home has some beautiful moments and can be hailed as an excellent song also, but the other tracks are very filler. I'm not down with the whining and wailing guitars anymore. Yes, you can play guitar. Just because it's fast, it doesn't mean its good. Not only that, there are moments which way are too similar to Pink Floyd's The Wall and Dark Side of the Moon to be coincidental. It doesn't sound bad, but it just bothers me whenever I listen to it.

My friends tell me that Constantine is a horrible movie. It's a good thing I stayed home and watched Kal Ho Na Ho with my wife instead, which was not half bad. However, it did have that song which I cannot stand, It's the Time to Disco... Ugh! I mean, you're trying to sound English while sporting an indian accent. It just doesn't work. Secondly, "it's the time to disco" is not even proper English. For one, "disco" is not a proper verb. You can say dance. You can say boogie. But you cannot say disco. A disco is a public dance hall, not a dance movement. It's like saying "it's the time to movie". It's just wrong. Further, "the" should not be in the chorus. "It's time to disco" is more appropriate. Or rather, "It's time to boogie".

Even after these vital corrections are made, we're left with a song entitled "It's time to boogie". God help us.

It's official: NHL cancels season

2005-02-16T20:34:00.000-05:00

After 1,500 league games went down the drain due to labour disputes (read: money disputes), the NHL finally annouced today that the 2004-2005 season would be cancelled. It's only the second time that the NHL has cancelled a season, and the first since 1919.

Personally, I think it's incredibly sad that Gary Bettman could cancel the season over money disputes, while the previous generations of executives managed to keep the season going through both World Wars and the Great Depression.

Most people will automatically blame Bettman for everything, but the NHLPA's (Bob Goodenow) final offer wasn't exactly enticing. With the average payroll of NHL teams at $44 million, having a cap at $49 million would not have solved much... the teams with higher payrolls (NYR, DET, PHI) would trade off their players to teams who could afford them. Basically, the teams would become more even. Of course, not every team will be hitting the $49 million barrier. The resolution would have helped a bit, but not enough to to lower the average players salaries to a reasonable amount.

The problem started when the NHL added teams teams like Nashville, Atlanta, Columbus and Florida... cities that don't know a hockey puck from a banana peel. We're talking about at least $120 million going to waste on market which just wasn't meant for hockey.

Anyway, no point lamenting on the past. Bettman caused the problem, but at least now he's trying to fix it. Give him credit for sticking to his position on negotations. The real culprit now is Goodenow, the filthy and greedy pig, could not settle for anything less than $49 million.

Reminds me of the pigs on Animal Farm...

softwebcom.com guy strikes again

2005-02-15T22:54:00.000-05:00

It's good that I took yesterday very easy, because today I was well enough to work and catch up with whatever put off due to my cold. I got a lot done for my 2 major clients, plus our inhouse project.

I spent an hour on the phone today trying to explain the concept of random to one of my clients. On his website he wants to show banner advertisements, so I added a few samples, which changed randomly with every page refresh. As he was navigating, he noticed that the same banner appeared on two pages. I told him that it's random.

"What do you mean by random?"

I mean, sometimes the page might display banner A, sometimes it might display banner B. It's completely random.

"But which one is going to show more often?"

I have no idea! It's random!

By that point I was raising my voice in frustration, which does not happen often. I even had to explain the difference between opening the link in a new window and opening the link in the same window. What part of new window do you not understand?

It would be okay if this was the end user we're talking about, but this guy is trying to run a software company...

3 hours later...

2005-02-14T22:44:00.000-05:00

I left work early today because of my splitting headache, despite the fact that I had a lot of work to do. My health is more important, although my clients seem to think otherwise. Once again, got a call from a client asking for a progress update just 3 hours after he gave me an assignment. When I told him that I hadn't started, he went into one of his temper tantrums.

There a number of reasons why I'm sick right now: the unpredictable Montreal weather, the fact that our house heating was not working for 2 days, and an overload of work.

Next week my boss is coming back from vacation, so that should lighten my work burden. Right now I'm trying to manage my work and half of his workload at the same time... it's not that easy, especially when you have to answer technical support questions for a site which has 180,000 users, most of whom are foreign and have no clue how to use the internet... not to mention that they can barely speak english.

I kid you not, today I actually got a tech support question of simply "I need help". I wanted to reply "Yes, you do." But of course, I have to be courteous and my response ended up being something like "Please explain the problem in detail."

Or how about this for a tech support question: "Why did (this user) not accept my contact?"

Well, maybe because you're a moron.

Well, now it's time to educate you on what good music is like. My song of the week is Of The Room by Dredg. If you haven't heard it then you must hate yourself.

I continued listening to that crappy Neil Young CD recently (for some odd reason), and I could not bare the horridness of it by the time I got past a song called Piece of Crap. I don't think I need to say anything else about the song.

So, stay away from Neil Young's Sleeps With Angels and do your utmost to get your hands on an original copy of Dredg's El Cielo.

Speaking of which, Dredg's new album was supposed to be released in January, and it's still not out yet. Which I believe is a good sign. They work hard to make every song unique and perfect, so I'll gladly wait a few more months to receive another masterpiece of an album.

Zazablog: Left Justified Kangaroos

2005-02-14T14:24:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I was balancing my favorite paperclips on a toad, when suddenly I realized I was stuck in traffic. Feeling irate and clumsy, I jumped onto the furthest kangaroo, which was not an easy task. Three pigeons then landed on my head and asked, "how do I get to the ground?". Accordingly, I pulled my cellphone out of my ear and tickled it until an ambiguious Simpsons character came up to me and offered me sixteen staples. I laughed heartedly, then fell asleep as a train passed by.

Four legs good, Two legs bad.

2005-02-14T13:29:00.000-05:00

On Saturday I went down to Ottawa to visit my cousins, whose grandmother passed away. Surprisingly, the hot topic of conversation was my cell phone and downloading TV shows.

I also finally got my hands on a book to read; I borrowed Animal Farm and Cervantes from my cousins. I started reading Animal Farm on Sunday, and got engrossed in it right away. Which was a relief, because I had read 1984 also, but found myself to be drudging along at a slow pace... so much so that I couldn't bring myself to finish the book, albeit being only 150 pages long. Animal Farm is a lot more colorful than 1984. I began new chapters with a sense of excitement, rather than dread. After reading, I felt like sharing what I read with others, instead of having a hatred of the world.

In short, Animal Farm is a good read, so if you have not read it yet, do so. I would have finished the book in one day had I not fallen sick on Saturday night...

The lunatics are in my hall.

2005-02-11T17:09:00.000-05:00

Mouth full of crackers and cracker crumbs on his mustache, Frank mumbled "wmt (crunch) wnt sm (crunch) cmmckmms (crunch)?" to Nizaar, holding out both hands cupped together, overflowing with 1 year old crackers.

Frank, going to fill the water for the humidifier, walked across the room with the empty water container while monotonously repeating the words "empty... empty... empty...", until his voice faded out by the time he reached the kitchen. Moments later he walks by again, container full of water, monotonously repeating the words "full... full... full... ", until his voice faded out as he reached the server room.

Pink Floyd, anyone?

I posted on my website today. That place feels like home when I'm posting. Ideas and opinions come naturally to me... my posts are much better than over here. Probably because I know who the general audience is, whereas here... I don't have an audience.

Hi.

2005-02-10T19:04:00.000-05:00

I got my caller display problem fixed. Now I can see who I'm hanging up on :)

More pix from my phone:

Finagle

2005-02-10T18:37:00.000-05:00

I'm creating my own themes for my T616, it's pretty cool. I already have 3 unfinished works: and Ayane (from DOA2) theme, an X-Files theme, and an Islamic theme. I probably won't finish them any time soon.

I really should have been working on onlybatteries.com and montrealhotspots.com, though. Luckily I finagled my clients that the work was coming along.

Pusher is good at finagling.

I hate snow.

Annoying Clients

2005-02-08T17:24:00.000-05:00

They call me multiple times a day minutes asking if there's any progress on their work. When I tell them I haven't started it, they yell and complain "I told you about this over 2 hours ago!"

Give me a break! I have other work to do also. And when they give me work it's like:

That shouldn't take more than 2 hours. It so simple. All you have to do is

"IF this EQUALS something THEN do this".

Okay genius, if you know how to program, why don't you do it yourself! When I tell them it took me 4 hours to complete (even though it took me 5 hours) they freak out and say "but isn't it just: if this, then that?"

Argh.

Change your mind

2005-02-08T17:02:00.000-05:00

I was bored yesterday so I picked up a Neil Young CD which was lying around in the basement and gave it a listen. I don't know what possessed my brother to buy this CD. It's utter trash! Okay, fine, there was one good song: Change Your Mind. I have definately heard this song before sometime in the unconscience years of my childhood. Anyway, I almost automatically like a song which is over 10 minutes long, so that's a good thing too.

In other news, Mehndi.com is having a terrible day.

Something is weird about my new phone (T616): whenever I get a call, the caller display is always 'Unknown'... even if I have the number in my phonebook! This stinks. I'm going to call my guy tomorrow and ask him what's up with that.

Speaking of my phone, here's a nice pic of my nephews I took with my phone:

They're so cute.

Now you've waited too long

2005-02-07T14:39:00.000-05:00

Thought you was right, cuz I knew I was wrong.

I was introduced to another good band recently, Remy Zero. Actually, they're not that good, but their album The Golden Hum is one of those albums were all the songs are great. So I bought it off eBay for 4.99 (plus shipping).

See, (enter crappy band name here)! That's how you prevent people from downloading your music. Put out a worthy album, where the majority of the songs are excellent. People will buy it!

I guess that means I should buy The Bends now, though...

Sana and I just watched Nisei and 731 this past Friday. Awesomeness.

Yesterday we watched Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. I don't know how people could like this mediocre fantasy more than Lord of the Rings. We only watched the first half, in which almost nothing happens. The flying car thing is not cool (we've seen it before in Back to the Future), Doby is very annoying (reminds me of Jar Jar Binks), and the acting was sub-par. Nothing too interesting at all.

History

2004-09-23T10:18:00.000-04:00

09/22/04
I watched the first episode of Season 2, Little Green Men. I downloaded X-Files season 1 today. Have yet to watch it.

09/21/04
I downloaded X-Files season 2 today. Have yet to watch it.

09/19/04
Played hockey Sunday morning. 3-on-3. It was fun.

09/18/04
In Toronto, played hockey in the morning at ICCO. Lots of people showed up, so I didn't get as much playing time as I would have liked. Also the teams were unfair. Nomi shows me BitTorrent and Suprnova later in the day. We went to a wedding at night.

09/17/04
Drive to Toronto with Sana, Abba and Tahir.

09/16/04
I get bored of listening to the same playlist all the time at work, so I searched for some live radio playlist broadcasts. I found some good ones, namely:

WOXY: the future of rock and roll - they play some prog rock music which I am not familiar with, but most of the stuff is good. Haven't heard any Pink Floyd or Porcupine Tree.
Club 977: the 80's channel - they play all the popular stuff from the 80's - Banarama, R.E.M., The Cure, Pet Shop Boys, Madonna, Def Leppard, Poison, etc... Good station.
BrainGell - they play metal and rock. I don't recognize most of the stuff they play, but I have heard some good songs
DainBramage - they play pop and rock
other stations include Aural Moon (spacey music), The Edge (rock), Wazee (Alternative Rock)

09/01/04
I went to the Canada vs. Slovakia game at the Bell Centre with Saud. Canada won 5-1. We had great seats. After watching a game from the lower bowl, I don't think I can go back to the upper bowl.

08/31/04
Canada vs. U.S.A. @ Bell Centre, Montreal. Went with Sana. Canada won 2-1. Good game. Great experience.

17/08/04
Silent But Deadly wins the DMBHL championship by defeating #1 seeded Killer Tomatoes 1-0, at Westwood arena. (N League)

04/27/04
Sana arrives enters Canada for the first time.

09/12/02
Sana and I get married in India.

03/16/97
Eid-ul-Adha. I performed Hajj this year. There was a big fire in Mina, thousands died.

07/19/79
Sana Ahmad is born in Lucknow, India.

06/08/77
I am born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Zazablog - Introduction

2004-09-23T09:58:00.000-04:00

So I finally did something about Zazablog. If you're reading this, you're probably wondering what zazablog is.

Well, it's the name of my blog. That's pretty much all it is.