Bug Vanquisher: Personal

To Celebrate

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 15:26:40 GMT

The 61^st independence day in exactly 2 hours and 34 minutes.

To reflect the colors of our flag as closely as possible.

Prophecy

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 17:03:31 GMT

It will happen at mid-night.....

I'll be 24 in just an hour.

Posted through Cell Phone's Modem

Sat, 10 May 2008 18:01:44 GMT

That's all. :)

exit( 0 );

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 14:50:51 GMT

I upgraded [it]s project to VS 2008 format, only three days before the semi-official end (on Wednesday, if I remember correctly) of development. Only to find that VS 2008 does not play too well with only 1 GB memory.

We Won!

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 17:05:45 GMT

We Won!

MQM won from my NA and SA seats! Results went out about 7 minutes ago.

Rocks!

Renovation Week Begins

Sun, 13 Jan 2008 14:41:55 GMT

Actually, it began four hours ago when I finally decided to get a hair cut ~~after four months~~. ~~Your can imagine how unhappy the barber would be right now.~~

And after a confessional sort of phone call with Faisal | Usman (& wouldn't work, they have so little in common), some other matters were sorted out, new decisions were made. We discussed a lot of things.

The problem(s) began some six month ago as far as I can think. I am becoming the laziest kid on the block all this time. My computer sort of stinks with tons of dirt inside because one side is open ever since I bought it. My glasses need changing and eye-sight re-evaluation for three years now. I still haven't got my degree issued yet. My mouse ~~double~~ triple clicks every time for an year now. Faisal keeps telling me to buy a decent microphone for the last month. I have become the most irritable person in immediate family, reacting the slightest noise in the most obnoxious manner. The list goes on and on.

Considering this list, the first line and the title should make sense now. It is one down, some to go sort of thing. I'll keep posting these ~~frequent losses of rationality~~ confessions over the next two weeks as things get done.

[It] is Done

Tue, 18 Dec 2007 22:34:17 GMT

It is too late for me to be writing anything this late (3:30 A.M.). But, [it] is shipping later today in the afternoon.

What is [it]? It [it] is something I have been working on for the whole year. I'll talk about [it] later someday. It [It] is repeated and in [ ] because [it] is not the pronoun, it is [it].

[Update: 20/12/2007. [It] did not ship yesterday due to some issues with [them]. And I feel sorry for those who hate nested [ ]. Yep, I just did that again. [:)] ]

++Family.Count

Sat, 15 Dec 2007 14:37:36 GMT

Introducing Ali, my youngest nephew! Just 1 day, 9 hour and 57 minutes old at the time of posting.

Again, An Obscure Bit of Information

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 08:18:55 GMT

These are the blog statistics of how many hits I got over a month, people who used RSS feeds, comments someone wrote or else clicked from the ping back links I left at various places.

What interests me most are the two peaks which show three times normal traffic for almost five days and I think I know what the reason is, apart from him, him, him and him.

Out of the Fire, into the Frying Pan 2

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 07:48:56 GMT

A few days ago, I posted about how I got 3.89 out of 5. That piece of information was not there, leading people to ask what the overall rating was.

While I have no objections to that 3.89, I do have a little to say about the procedure. At my company, a TL reviews each and every member of his/her team. After that review, the formalized review forms stream up the food chain (higher management).

Then, someone normalizes the results. By normalizing it means that rankings are pulled back a little if the TL is known to be lenient or added up a little if he/she is very strict. Then, things happen, all sorts of tantrums, shoutings, yelling hoarsely or walking out (just kidding, nothing of that sort ever happened).

If you are following the theme about one specific data structure I praise above all, you may have already spotted the trouble spot. It is the normalization process. What a TL does to his/her team is done again with his team by an even larger/bigger predator (no offense if anyone from my company reads it :) ). If a TL has a very dim view with the predators, his team is going to pay the price, if a very bright view kudos to all.

عیدالفطر مبارک

Sun, 14 Oct 2007 18:28:54 GMT

Totally Pointless

Fri, 12 Oct 2007 16:48:01 GMT

Sharing a bit of performance review for the first six months of my professional life.

I received 5/5 on being 'Innovative'.

Hope vs Faith

Mon, 20 Aug 2007 10:47:29 GMT

This has nothing to do with 'Hope and Faith', but about 'Hope' and 'Faith'. Though, I got the idea from the sitcom. The word goes like:

"Never be anyone's hope, be their faith. They are like proof and belief. Hopes aren't meant to last, but faiths last forever."

So, lets begin the argument of which is stronger. Why is the collision between science and religion so intense (especially from the 1600s)? One requires proof and one is based on belief. One demands events to be repeatable, verifiable and measurable, the other requires only that you believe. One promises you materialistic advancements, one gives you character refinement, way of living (at least for complete religions quite unlike Christianity or Buddhism), spiritual basis, etc. Of course, your faith in God is only meaningful if you believe and don't want proof of existence. You may ask God to show you how He creates from nothing, but that is not proof for your faith in Him, it is just out of interest.

One of the greatest problems with proof is that you cannot disprove anything unless you exhaust all possibilities. Second law of thermodynamics cannot be proven because it is 'negative'. Same goes for some parts of theory of relativity. But if you believe them to be true, you won't be searching for counter-examples. Similarly, proofs walk a very fine distance from being proven wrong.

Consider parsing, their are two general methods, top-down and bottom-up. In top-down parsing, one of the most well understood method is LL(k) parsing. In bottom-up parsing, LR(k) parsing is the strongest (generally! :) ). LL parsing is more restrictive, LR parsing imposes minimal constraints on the parser. Therefore, LR parsers recognize a larger class of grammars than LL parsers.

Turning to personal examples, I watched many class-mates having mounds of different (actually indifferent) certifications. They always told me that everyone cared about how much certifications you had, but I had faith in myself that I will be able to prove myself without such supports, which turned out to be true. An expectation I would never have to nerve to fulfil if I had hoped to get a good professional position.

I don't believe in panspermia, unless I have seen proof. I believe in creation of everything by a Higher being. If you follow the logical conclusion, you will appreciate the proof that Adam and Eve lie at the top of human hierarchy and they must have been created specially. But again, if you believe in panspermia, this proof should not shift your opinion. And, I must add, we are only humans because we have the ability to leap beyond logic which boils down to believing and not wanting proof as not everything can be proven even by science.

You can always clearly see the difference among the people who hope and who have faith in their goals. Those who hope rarely achieve, those having faith often twist the circumstances to their benefit.

Priceless Devotion!

Mon, 13 Aug 2007 04:46:07 GMT

Who wouldn't?

A Tale of Late Hour Working

Tue, 07 Aug 2007 11:17:12 GMT

Last night, I was working quite late at office. Well, not that late but late by my usual standards. I leave office at 6:30 P.M. - 7:30 P.M. every day. But yesterday was different. I had one critical use case to complete. Therefore, I stayed late till 9:30 P.M.

Guess what, outside, it was a whole new world waiting for me. The roads which are brimming with vehicles at evening was nearly empty. Not that much traffic. The markets which are full to the last footstep were being closed, their shops shuttered down. Karachi is 'The awaking city' (راتوں کا شہر), but it seemed like the patient hinged to the last drop of life, like empty eyes with something suddenly lost in their depths. The building looked like they were haunted. People looking like ghosts. Streets and highways which have bright street lights were dark, with only sources of light from the oncoming buses and cars. Not a single waft of wind blew. Sky was full of clouds, dark clouds which make everything appear hazy.

Just kidding, I was very sleepy when I left office. That patient thing was me failing to see the full details through my half closed eyes. And what do you suppose people to do at 10:30 P.M., turn on all lights in their houses? No wonder the buildings were dark. It is really very nice weather these days, sky was full of clouds but not that much.

Tonight, I'll fight my last battle!

Thu, 26 Jul 2007 13:57:30 GMT

I am the one born with the mark, the chosen one. I am the 'Boy who lived'. The only one ever to survive the killing curse. A prophecy set in motion the chain of event which lead to the current state of affairs. A lightening bolt on my forehead is the only witness of my first encounter with him. He, who terrorized the atmosphere for 50 years, crumbled to pieces when he tried to kill me while I got just a scratch. No one knew at the moment what had made this curse fail. No possible explanation existed, except for one person.

Growing up with my formidable aunt and uncle, I bear the marks of ignorance. They may not love me, may treat me furiously, may have took me grudgingly, but they took me and in that act closed the charm placed upon all of us. The charm which prevents any further harm to me while I can still call that place home where my mother's blood dwells.

Everyone has come to almost worship me as their savior. This fact dawns on me when I first came to Hogwarts. In my first year, I face many new challenges, two nice complementary replacements to Lord Voldemort spring up, in ascending order of nastiness, Draco Malfoy and Severus Snape. The loathing I feel for Snape is only matched by his hatred for me.

During my first year, I make two extra ordinary friends, who put everything else aside when it comes to standing beside me. We plough together towards philosopher's stone, overcoming many obstacles, until one by one they meet challenges too insurmountable for them and I am left alone. Then, alone I fight Lord Voldemort and prevent acquisition of philosopher's stone.

In the second year, a strange sequence of event leave me as the one everyone thinks as Heir of Slytherin. Because of the powers transferred to me at the night of attack, I am able to talk to and understand snakes' language. People are getting petrified. Finally, I get to kill the basilisk and face the youth of Lord Voldemort. After some confrontation, he gives way to lost amidst the mist of time immemorial.

Next year, we are informed that a mass murderer has escaped Azkaban. I discover that he was the one who betrayed my parents whereabouts to Lord Voldemort, otherwise, there was no way he would have found out about us even if he was looking through the window of room we were sitting in. Such was the power of Fidelius charm, unless the secret keeper himself chose to divulge the secret, it was impossible to find in any other way. Later on, I discovered that the secret keeper was changed at the last moment to someone whom no one would ever expect to be trusted which such a task. It turned out he was a traitor and betrayed that secret.

Fourth year at Hogwarts comes as a surprise when my name comes out of the goblet entirely unexpectedly. Together with three other competitors I face three daunting challenges. During the last challenge, the winning trophy has been turned into a portkey by a death eater. I am transported to a grave yard with a congregation of people ready to kill me. Lord Voldemort awaits my arrival to give himself a new body with the ingredients: bone of father, flesh of servant and blood of enemy; ensure the regeneration of a body. Then, we fight a duel and since our wands share the core they don't work properly. I manage to escape and tell Dumbledore of his resurrection. Dumbledore announces to everyone about this at once and recalls members of the Order of Phoenix.

The fifth year starts with two dementors attacking me. Then, the Order comes to take me to the headquarters where I'll be spending my vacations. I spend about two months there culminating to my trail and get freed of all charges. On my way back I meet Lucius Malfoy who doesn't seem very pleased with me getting off without a charge. Later, we discover that he had bewitched a member of Order to do his bidding. I arrive at Hogwarts where I am surprised to see that no one thinks me sane, thanks to Rita Skeeter (the complete cow). The Daily Prophet projects me as the tragic little hero who is touched in the head. Then, there is the appointment of Dolores Umbridge by the ministry of magic. She is a nasty piece of work and issue week long detention in her first class, uses man-handling in that detention and gets quite pleased to see me suffer. I begin to act as an antenna to Lord Voldemort's mood and nothing helps. To fight Umbridge, I found a society for studying DADA. We make great progress, Hermione perform Protean charm to amaze all those Ravenclaws. In my dreams, I am constantly visiting the corridor outside department of mysteries without realizing what it means. The information has been kept from me on Dumbledore's orders. One night I share Lord Voldemort's body and possess a snake that strikes Arthur Weasley. This alert him to the access I have to his thoughts and mind and the stakes he can exploit in return. Occlumency classes are arranged in hurry with Snape but they don't help a bit. The order keeps talking about some weapon, which I think they use to refer to me. Cho's friend sells us out by telling Umbridge about us. Dumbledore leaves the school trying to protect me and everyone else and Umbridge is made headmistress. O.W.Ls arrive and during the last exam I have visions of Sirius being trapped in department of mysteries with Lord Voldemort. We leave for the ministry only to find that those visions were planted in my head to lure me to ministry. I lift a prophecy with my name on it. Death eaters apparate, we fight and everyone gets injured. Dumbledore arrives at the ministry to save to day. Sirius gets killed in the action. I leave after Bellatrix to avenge his death. She asks me to give her the prophecy and she may spare my life. I tell her it has been destroyed. Pain shots across my head. Lord Voldmort arrives at ministry too. Dumbledore fights with him and he flees after brief possession of me. Dumbledore then explains everything to me. Telling me that the prophecy that was destroyed was only one record kept by ministry and it was made to someone (him) and that person has the means to recall it perfectly. Trelawney rises in the pensive:

"The One with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies.... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies..."

Next year, Dumbledore arranges private lessons with me to show me the past of Tom Riddle. How he grew up, his sole weakness, the ways he used to be as immortal as humanly possible. Someone is trying to kill a person at Hogwarts. Katie Bell gets cursed and admitted to Saint Mungo's Hospital, Ron gets poisoned over Christmas. When we go to destroy one known Horcrux, Dumbledore drinks potion that makes him immensely weak. We arrive back only to find Hogwarts has the Dark Mark hanging over it. Death eaters are inside the school and Snape kills Dumbledore to save his own neck.

Who am I telling you this story? I am Harry Potter. The Boy who Lived. The Chosen One. The One with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord!

Tonight, I'll fight the last battle!

Thu, 26 Jul 2007 08:32:39 GMT

The years of my ascent to power are marked with countless people sacrificing themselves for my cause. I, whose goal is to defeat death, who has gone further on the path to immortality than any other human before, am the most powerful dark wizard of all times, descending from the bloodline of Salazar Slytherin. My name is the mask I created at the age of 16 from the name my muggle father gave me, an anagram of 'Tom Marvolo Riddle', a name I knew every wizard will fear one day. I used to control the children I lived with at the orphanage I grew up. It was very unusual for someone to have that much control as I had at the age. Continuing this fashion, I have a dedicated band of wizards to follow my commands, called death eaters.

I do not agree with the theory of the muggle loving fool, they say the only one I ever feared, about love. I offered him my services to better exam the conflicts about the theory between us, for no place was better than the school I feel so attached to start with, but I was denied that chance.

After my 50 year long reign of terror, I encounter the one whole will prove my downfall. Acting on the prophecy,

"The One with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies...."

Two candidates rose before me. I did not consider the pure blood a threat. It is the half blood one in whom I see myself. When my faithful servant betrays the whereabouts of this boy to me, I go to finish the matter once and for all. It proves to be a fatal mistake on my part as the prophecy delivered to me was incomplete.

and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies..."

His mother dies trying to shield him and when I perform Avada Kedavra on him, it rebounds on me, stripping me of all my powers. Thanks to my efforts to evade death (Horcruxes), six parts of my soul remain earthly bound. This marks my first downfall.

Thirteen years pass, I possess another wizard and get to the school where that threat is taught magical knowledge. I face him once again, trying to grab mortal life but is made to flee. In the effort, philosopher's stone gets destroyed. In the meantime, another prophecy is made in my favor.

"The Dark Lord lies alone and friendless, abandoned by his followers. His servant has been chained these twelve years. Tonight, before midnight ... the Servant will break free and set out to rejoin his Master. The Dark Lord will rise again with his servant's aid, greater and more terrible that ever he was. Tonight ... before midnight ... the servant will set out to rejoin his Master..."

Three years later, I use his blood to revive myself and gain a body. This ensures that I share the protection his mother gave him at her death.

Who am I? I am Lord Voldemort!

In case a reader is wondering how can this brief account of 'The Dark Lord''s life mean fighting the last battle tonight. I am finally getting my hands at the last book of Harry Potter series, 'Harry Potter and the deathly hallows', today. A separate account of events from Harry's point of view is coming.

بڑی مشکل سے ہوتا ہے چمن میں دیدہ ور پیدا

Tue, 10 Jul 2007 04:09:50 GMT

[Disclaimer: Whatever I say in this article is purely my own opinion. No one else on earth should be accountable for them if ever the need arises.]

آج صبح سے اسلام آباد میں 'اسلام' کے نام پر جو کھیل جاری ہے امید ہے کہ بہت سے افراد نے دیکھا ہوگا- جو ہوا اور جو ہو رہا ہے دونوں برے ہیں، مگر سوال یہ ہے کہ ہم جو کر رہے ہیں وہ کس حد تک درست ہے- کیا مہذب دنیا میں یہی ہوتا ہے کہ جو ہم سے متفق نہ ہو اسے ہم صفحہء ہستی سے مٹا دیں- ایک دفعہ اگر یہ مان بھی لیا جاۓ کہ جو کچھـ غازی عبدالرشید نے کیا وہ غلط تھا تو کیا وہ اس سلوک کہ مستحق ٹھہرتے ہیں؟

اگر ہم اپنی تاریخ کا جائزہ لیں تو یہ بات سامنے آۓ گی کہ ہم نے اس سے بڑے بڑے مجرموں کو معافی دی ہے- ہمارے نوے کی دہائی کے سارے سیاست دان آج ملک سے باہر ہیں اور کسی نے ان کے خلاف کچھـ نہ کیا حالانکہ جرم ثابت بھی ہو چکے ہیں ـ لیاقت علی خان کو شہید کیا گیا، سزا وار کون ہوا؟ ضیاءالحق کا طیارہ گرا، ہم تے کس کو پکڑا؟ مرتضی بھٹو مرا، پیپلز پارٹی نے کس کو مجرم ٹھہرایا؟

اپنے ملک کو چھوڑیں(جس سے مثال دیتے شرم آۓ)، تاریخ اٹھا کر دیکھـ لیں، حضرت محمد صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم نے تو اس شخص کو معاف کر دیا تھا جس نے آپ صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم کے چچا حضرت حمزہ رضی اللہ تعالی عنہ کو شہید کر دیا تھا، بس اتنا کہا تھا کہ تم میرے سامنے نہ انا، تمہیں دیکھـ کر مجھے وہ یاد آجاتے ہیں ـ

غلطیاں ہر دور میں ہوئی ہیں اور ہر کسی سے ہوئی ہیں-ایسا کوئي نہیں جو فطرت انسانی سے مبرا ہو، گر ہوتا تو فرشتہ کہلاتا انسان نہ ہوتاـ غلطی تو مسلمانوں سے غزوہء احد میں بھی ہوئی تھی اور ایسی تھی کہ مدد خدا نہ ہوتی، جذبہء ایمانی نہ ہوتا تو کوئی نام لیوا نہ بچتا-مگر کیا اس غلطی کے بعد ذمہ داروں کو موت کے گھاٹ اتار دیا گیا؟

معاشرتی نقطہء نظر سے بھی مجھے تو کوئي غلط بات نہ ملی- اگر کسی طوائف کا اڈا بند کرا دیا تو کیا غلط کیا؟ فحاشی کے ذرائع بند ہو گۓ تو کس کو موت آ گئی؟ مساجد منہدم کرانے پر کوئی احتجاج کرے تو آج کے پاکستان میں اس کا یہ حشر ہوتا ہے- جو ملک اسلام کے تام پر حاصل کیا گیا تھا آج وہاں اسلام کا نام لینے والوں کی زندگی اجیرن کی جا رہی ہے- صدر صاحب کی دلی خواہشوں میں سے ایک پاکستان کو ترکی کے نقش قدم پر چلانا ہے، یعنی بے دینی، بے راہ روی اور آوارگی کی راہ اختیار کرنا- جس طرح کمال اتا ترک نے ترکی کو لادین بنا دیا، آج وہاں اسلام کیا کسی مذہب کی بھی اچھی نگاہ سے نہیں دیکھا جاتا، وہی حال ہماری حکومت ہمارا کرتے چلی ہےـ

صدر صاحب کی کتاب پڑھیں تو پتا چلتا ہے کہ ان کی تربیت میں بے دینی کا کتنا بڑا ہاتھـ ہے، انکو اپنی دلی خواہش کو تو لوگوں کے اعتراض پر واضح کرنا پڑا تھا، مگر جو قلم لکھـ چکا اس کو کوئي ذہنوں سے نہیں مٹا سکتاـ ہم نے اپنی زندگی کا مقصد اغیار کی خشنودی بنا لیا ہے، جو ہم پر مسلط ہیں انہیں خوف خدا نہیں، ہر صحیح غلط جائز ہے کیوں کہ کر سکتے ہیں ـ

I wonder

Wed, 04 Jul 2007 08:05:24 GMT

I wonder when will people understand the difference between freedom fighters in Palestine and Kashmir and what US (and cronies) are doing to Muslim world in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Adi Oltean wrote on his blog in May 2005

Palestinian Terrorists

In September 1999, the Palestinian West Bank was on daylight saving time while Israel had just switched back to standard time. West Bank Palestinians prepared time bombs and smuggled them to Arab Israelis, who misunderstood the time on the bombs. As the bombs were being planted, they exploded—one hour too early—killing three terrorists instead of two busloads of people, the intended victims.

Need it be told that they are not terrorists in any sense? Try grabbing someone's territory and see how they behave for an example. When 'The King' planted Jews from all over the world into the heart of Islamic world, they were the true terrorists and intruders. Uncle Sam is doing the same today to Afghanistan and Iraq.

It is a fault that Muslim world's media has failed to project the true image of what is going on over there. Why doesn't anyone try shattering the image of 'Muslim == Terrorist' western media has build over the years?

In the same vein, what happened yesterday in Pakistan is truly lamentable. I won't provide links to any of it as I don't want another example of in-house Muslim terrorism teaming on the net.

Technorati tags: Decontamination, Rent vs Vent

My stupidity score

Wed, 04 Jul 2007 06:24:55 GMT

Nothing more to say after this.

Choices

Sat, 16 Jun 2007 04:44:46 GMT

I wrote previously that I refused last outstanding job offer here. Turns out, my decision was well timed and exactly what I would have done two weeks later if I had chosen to join them.

I say this because another friend who waited for them for four months and finally appointed left them two weeks ago because he did not like it that much. Work pace was slow and we did not get the upper hand on the required knowledge in university and actually working on that field necessitated that you already knew most of the things. Now, he is working for the company who offered me a job back in January. Meanwhile, those who made their choices six months earlier have six months of experience and no one will ever raise and eye-brow on five months of unemployment and two jobs in such a short period of time.

I'll be paying dear old university a visit in a couple of days and I'll make it known to those well connected what a horrible course we had for verilog. The main reason my friend did not have much experience in practical things is due to him. Now that he is teaching a compulsory course, it is rumored that he leave classroom when students even so much as 'try to become out of control'. Not a very good excuse for final year!

A matter of different opinions

Tue, 29 May 2007 06:14:27 GMT

Robert McLaws, of Windows-Now.com wrote a patriotic post, which I find pretty absurd. To save you the trouble of going to that link, here is the replica:

"To All American Troops, Past and Future: Thank You!

Today, May 29, 2007, 10 hours ago | Robert McLaws

Just wanted to take a minute and say "thanks" to all the individuals who have given their lives in the service of the United States military. Their sacrifices enable the freedoms that I enjoy, including the ability to say whatever I want on my blog. For that, I am most grateful. I'm off to spend time with my family today, so everyone have a safe and happy holiday!"

However, I find this thanks message delusional. He talks of the 'sacrifices' which are actually an act of terrorism committed by invaders. The freedom he enjoys is founded on the false ideas of wide-spread Islam phobia in the western world. And there is no need to remind that the accusations of WMD in Iraq were incorrect and boldly projected to the world to secure control to one of the biggest oil resources in the world. Moreover, it is not only the Americans who died in Iraq.

Those who died should have thanked their killers that their misery in Iraq ended earlier than the ones still surviving. On Sunday, I was watching JAG on StartWorld. It hosted a story of a military psychiatrist, she was under pressure from the work load of consulting and advising the invaders. Eventually, their nightmares and horrors infested her mind too. They became her own. Now, the reason they gave at the end was increased work load because more invaders were facing front line battle than ever before, support services were given to civil contractors with a resulting decline in quality. I bet even Vietnam seems a vacation resort to all invaders now.

But in the end, I also feel sorry for all those who died. It shouldn't have been their fate to have war imposed on them so mercilessly. I request when you say your prayers for the invaders who died, please keep in mind the countless innocent victims of Iraq who have their whole lives devastated. Remember the Afghanis. Remember the women who lost their husbands, the children whose joy of life was snatched from them. Remember the virgins whose greatest wealth was either forcibly taken in the name of home searches or they were forced to sell it for 'only' $5 in order to survive another day. Don't forget the prisoners of Guantanamo Bay or Abu-Gharib prison. Or The suicide bombers who give their lives to make the difference.

مقدور ہو تو ساتھـ رکھوں نوحہ گر کو میں

Wed, 09 May 2007 17:34:33 GMT

آللہ نے اسے بنایا، پہلے ہمیں بنایا، جانے کس چیز کی سزا دی کہ دونوں کو ایک ساتھـ‏‌ اس جہاں میں بھیج دیا- اگر الگ رکھتا تو وہ تو نہ بھگتنا پڑتا جو ستم ہفتہ میں دس دفعہ ہوتا ہے- پانچ دفعہ صبح کے وقت اور پانچ دفعہ شام کو- نکلے بھی اس کی وجہ سے تھے، ایک اپنے ساتھ چار کو لے بھی جاۓ گی-

مابدولت کی نازک سی جان اپنے حصے کی روزی (انگریزی والی نہیں، اگلے کئی تک سال ایسا کوئی حادثہ نہیں ہونے والا) کمانے نکلتی ہے- بس میں وہ بھی ساتھـ ہوتی ہیں اور تھوک کے بھاؤ ہوتی ہیں، جی ہاں صحیح سمجھے، بچیاں، لڑکیاں اور عورتیں- ہر اسٹاپ پر چند چڑھتی ہیں، چند اترتی ہیں اور میرا خون کھولا جاتی ہیں- اب اس کا کیا کیا جاۓ کہ ہر چیز میں مرد عورت برابر مگر بسوں میں چڑھیں گی تو پوری بس نواب زادی کے انتظار میں رکے- اتریں تو 'ہاۓ اللہ'، چڑھیں تو جان نکلے- ارے بھائی اگر اتنا ہی شوق ہے تو اپنے چونچلے تو چاردیواری کے اندر چھوڑ آؤ-

جاتے وقت پہنچنے کی جلدی، آتے وقت آنے کی، ایسے میں ہر جگہ گاڑیوں کا اژدہام- ہر اسٹاپ پر نازک مزاجی کا مظاہرہ بھی ضرور ہوگا- ڈرائیور سے بھی بھائی کا رشتہ قائم کرنا ہے، ساتھـ جو بچوں کی فوج ہے وہ بھی نہ کھوۓ- چار دمیں جو چھوٹی بہن یا دوست کے نام پر ساتھ لٹک گئی ہیں ان کی بھی ناز برداریاں- بس بھی اپنی پسند کی جگہ رکوائیں گی اور جب تک دفع نہ ہو گئیں، یا اندر نہ آگئیں رکنا بھی ضروری ہے- جی تو چاہتا ہے کہ آگے جا کر ایک لات ماروں، اب اترو بھی، دوسروں کا وقت تو نہ برباد ہو-

شاہراہ فیصل پر جناح اسپتال کا سگنل دس منٹ بند ہوتا ہے، ایک منٹ کیلۓ کھلا، انجن اسٹارٹ بھی نہ ہوا تھا کہ پھر بند، ایسے میں اگر کسی عورت کو بھی اترنا یا چڑھنا ہے تو سمجھ لیجیے کہ یہ دس منٹ، آدھا گھنٹہ بن گۓ ہیں- اگلا اسٹاپ ہے، NICVD، دل کی بیماریوں کا اسپتال، میرا بس چلے تو اس مخلوق کو ہی داخل کرا دوں، رہتی انسانیت احسان مانے گی- پھر آتا ہے، جناح اسپتال اور یونیورسٹی، یہاں بھی ایک غول بس کی جان چھوڑتا ہے- اول تو محترما‎ؤں کو اترنا ہی یاد نہیں رہتا، اگر اتفاق سے دماغ پر زور دے بھی لیا تو دس منٹ لگا دیں گی- آج ایک چڑھیں اور پھر ڈرائیور سے لڑنے لگیں کہ اس نے بتایا کیوں نہیں کہ وہ غلط بس میں چڑھ گئیں ہیں، یعنی قصور کس کا ہوا؟

آفس سے گھر تک کے سفر میں، جو کہ suffer بھی بن جاتا ہے، پندرہ منٹ ایسے ضائع ہوتے ہیں- اگر اختیار ہوتا تو میں عورتوں کی بسیں الگ کروا دیتا کہ اب ان میں آرام سے سوسو کر جانا- آدمیوں کی جان چھوٹتی-

Technorati tags: Fun

/W4

Fri, 04 May 2007 18:37:57 GMT

A word of warning. I am experencing a mode swing to the philosophical side for quite a few days. Be prepared to be bored.

The cost of friendship

Wed, 28 Mar 2007 17:52:21 GMT

Dedicated to Faisal Nasim and Usman Ghani

One wonders what is the cost of friendship? Can it even exist?

Let me tell another story to show you there really is a cost associated with having friends. It began in mid 2001, when I encountered the most intriguing person in my maths class, named Usman Ghani. He is an absolute wonder; no one I have saw had achieved so many things and excels at so many things as him. In him, I found the force that taught me more than half of what I know today and helped me become what I am today. Our friendship started with mutually transfer of mathematical knowledge and very soon grew to include things like physics, chemistry and of course, computer science and hardware. He helped re-kindle the flame that had sparked in my life two years ago, when I saw in a cartoon what computers could do. It was he behind my back that taught me almost everything about computers and the reason how I knew things before 98% of my classmates. We discussed many things in the long summer afternoons on phone, sometimes forgetting altogether that we are really talking on phone, not sitting in the same room. Can you imagine we discussed Riemann geometry, Schwarzschild radii, tachyons, things like that?

Fast-forward 18 months, university started. Usman introduced me many of his college friends. One of them is Faisal Nasim. Another wonder of creativity. Nothing escapes his grasp, done things one has not heard of before. It was rumored that ShellExecute was his suggestion, the function that opens a file in correct program when you type its name in Run dialog box. Together, they formed the perfect dream team, much like Harry Potter, Ron Wesley and Hermione Granger. Their first year project, an RDBMS, written entirely in C++ threatened open source RDBMS systems. A blockbuster hit! Second year project, the popular snake game on a LED screen barely 25X25 using a microcontroller. Only shows their ability to achieve the goal no matter how limited the resources. Third year, wireless video broadcast. Fourth year, a robo-camera that can target interesting objects in field of vision and lock on to them.

All these achievements, not to mention many programming competitions they participated in and won one of the top three prizes, culminating in first position at Softec 2005. These things aside, both are very good at their academics too.

Faisal is leaving tomorrow for US for a job at that dreadful place, Microsoft. Usman's visa is due in a few days. You see, I have depended almost entirely on them for technical stuff and the way to do things. They have been a source of knowledge for me. Usman is the only person whom I can call a close friend. The only compatible person who can understand my weird, crazy ideas and make them better. Almost same goes for Faisal, though the impedance matching is little lower. Sometimes, they are even the goals I set for myself.

Now, on to the cost thing. The cost I will have to pay is many faceted.

Seven seas (metaphorically) between us.
The only person whom I claim to understand my ideas will be too far away from me.
Two very good friends will no longer be there to shoulder me in time of need.

Note: In case someone laughs behind my back after reading this, they will be amused to know that I do not even care. It is my words, I choose the idea they convey.

My rantings on Pakistani cricket

Fri, 23 Mar 2007 17:04:47 GMT

Pakistani cricket team should be shot, stabbed in heart, hanged till death, burned alive and feed to hungry lions for the abysmal performance they continue to display at international one-day and test series.

Of course, I am talking about ICC World Cup 2007. This was one of those rare occasions where my team again managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of a possibility of victory. They lost to Scotts! Can you imagine, "The legendary Scotts"!, as in the jokes. :)

The coach managed to die and redeem some respect in the eyes of fellow nationals, I wish PCB itself dies of shame.

A chapter closed

Mon, 19 Mar 2007 12:12:13 GMT

Only an hour ago, I refused the last of still outstanding job offers, as I am not willing to let go my current one. That job was a good one, even much better than the current S/W development I am doing now, in the long run.

It remains to be seen what will be the effects of this decision on my career.

The end of the end

Sat, 03 Mar 2007 15:13:47 GMT

What began as lovely almost 20 years of education on 3rd May 1987 ends tomorrow at 12:45 PM, 8th March 2007. The journey which gave me knowledge, some priceless friends, countless tools, a "PR" and things which I cannot even put into words.

It starts on a warm summer day, May has just arrived and the year is 1987. I got admitted to nursery. Two or three years pass and I encounter chick-pox, no big deal, it gets cured in a couple of days. Results are always very good, for tests, exams, extra-curricular etc. Then, in class 2, I face a fiasco created by three gits as a result of which my section gets changed. Also, I am diagnosed of myopia and have to wear glasses till this day.

We enter 1993 and I skip class 3 to make for my lost year in KG-1. Nothing special happens in class 4 except that I got made head prefect and got second position in one exam instead of getting one.

Then, the most curious thing happens in class 5 and I fail to pass an English test. About time when I started paying attention to my languages. During this year, I also develop the habit of skimming any book I can get my hands on. This means mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, anything at all. Also, I forgot to mention, during these past two years, I have learnt almost every kind of embroidery done in Pakistan, except one.

In class 6, we get a horrible English teacher who knows the only solution to every problem; beat the offender! This none the less improves my English by loads. I lose my father in a heart attack after fighting a losing battle of life and death for three days.

Next year, I get elected as the chief prefect over the entire school because of my spectacular performance and discipline. I also learn when to trust and whom to trust by learning a very good lesson. Two persons who were supposed to my best friends betray me in two entirely different ways and I close those holes in my defense wall forever.

Another year passes; I get top grades in 8th class, scoring 92% highest in entire school and choose biology as the elective subject in 9th class. It is "annus horribilis" for me. I get only "39" marks out of 75 in my Sindhi paper, ruining any hopes of getting into the best intermediate college and adversely affecting my aggregate percentage. Teachers prove to be worthless, I already know more than what they will ever learn in their life. I encounter typhoid, again no big deal, clears off in about a month, with the glorious comments by a class mate:

"Tanveer people usually look pale after recovery but you seem you were on your honey moon and look even healthier than before".

This year, I finish completely Electrical Technology by B.L. Theraja and also some basic physics and chemistry books.

At last, it is the final year in my school where I recognize the true value of most friends and teachers. Only some prove to be worth remembering. On the academic side, I scrap off enough marks off Pakistan Studies to make up for abysmal Sindhi marks (39). I manage to get A-one grade almost by luck and only 5 marks missing the boundary on low side. This year the new book on my read books list is Human Physiology by Guyton. My mother dies of congestive heart failure, just six days before I could find out my marks.

I am faced with a choice. Having known almost everything subject offered at intermediate level by now, I find it impossible to select which field to pursue on my own. Should it be pre-engineering or shall I become a doctor. Why not choose ICS and go on to BCS? Select commerce and live life as a chartered accountant!

Now, it is time to severe old friendships and form new ones; Seek new teachers, take new subjects, live life in an entirely new universe, named: D.J. Sindh Government Science College. These two years in the college pass as a blur. I get 84% marks in first year, 5th position in my college. In the second year, again grades are deficient as usual and overall percentage falls to 82.58%, putting me at 167th rank in Karachi board.

These two years handed me four very good friends and a very knowledgeable person in the form of my physics teacher. By now, I have read enough mathematics to last a life time, already know how to program in C, C++, know many things about pharmaceutics, things as complicated as particle physics, biochemistry, molecular biology, plant physiology (more than my sister who has a PhD in it) and human physiology. These also teach me where the boundary of selfless friendship lies and if you cross it you are only hurting yourself.

The last act of this educational drama is about to unfold, the university. I am waiting for my intermediate result, hoping I manage to get enough marks to make into some computer-major department simply because private universities were off-limits and not at all up to my personal standard. 3rd August arrives and my aptitude test result tells me that I am getting one seat confirmed at NED. The best minds at college life score less than me because the test was objective, not something you could learn by repeated reading. Then, on 14th November, history repeats itself and I have to select between CISD and BCIT. I choose where all of my friends were going, CISD, a worthy choice now as I see it.

We enter first year of university, freedom in new shapes and unrecognizable forms. Almost all of my college friends are here, both in my department and loads of others too. Lots of new friendships to form, some of them enter my terminate friendship after university list in the first month. By now, there isn't a new subject for me. C language course teaches me only two new things in the whole year:

Why compiler does not require passing dimension for one dimensional arrays in function declarations and some complications about function pointers.

I amaze my chemistry teacher by answering almost every question before anyone had the chance to even understand what was being said, which makes her ask me whether I spend my earlier years in Pakistan or was taught in some western country.

Results come out and I get 76.66% marks. Most of the teachers in the second year are ignorant of their subject to the point of being horribly wrong. A crucial course (data-structures) is taken up by an idiot who messes up it and some friends still blame it on him as being the reason they lost interest in programming in the first place. This does not affect me at all, because by now I have already read next year's books too and data-structures were something of a worry only last year. I also perfect my skills in Computer Architecture and Organization in the first two months of this year and Parallel Processing by June.

Again the boring exams and waiting for results, which this time turns out to be exactly 76%. Third year of engineering is the second "annus horribilis" of my life. Every subject belongs to Electrical majors and we are treated like second degree citizens. Databases and Management Systems turns out to be a joke, taught by the same idiot who messed up DS. I have isolated myself by reading C.J. Date's excellent book on DBMS earlier than he could affect my thinking process. Digital Electronics proves to be a thrilling subject taught by a very able teacher.

Waiting for the results of third year, we arrive at the final year. A year a whole realm unto itself. A project, grand one, 200 marks. Two subjects taught by our feeble chairperson. Third year results surprise me as I am the only one in 140 students who gets grace marks in microprocessor based system design. Whole 3 marks! What an honor! I pray for that teacher to rot in hell forever, for staining my career.

Final year project turns out to be the greatest fiasco I have faced so far. The project is an off-shore project. "Design and implementation of 64 bit SIMD microprocessor". A project by Avieon. The person who invited us to this project bails out just two days before we have to submit our final project report, saying that he never intended verilog source code to be released. By the way, I still have an NDA about it that clearly says that whatever was acquired before signing it can be released without anyone permissions. Some of the interesting instructions implemented in that processor involved a dot product instruction, saturating arithmetic, special instructions to perform 2 point FFT, an instruction to permute data bytes. If anyone is interested, drop me a line and have that source code for free :)!

During all this hassle, I apply for a job at Microsoft, get through the usual process of phone interview and four interviews in a day by their PMs and get rejected with no apparent reason.

We manage to build our own processor within a month, barely meeting all the deadlines about project submission and presentation. Exams pass in a blur along with their accompanying viva.

Before project's presentation, I apply for job at many places, receive some replies and select a few worthy ones, whom I give the signal for interview. Before entering January, 2007, I have three job offers waiting at my desk, one from well reputed Software house in Pakistan, Techlogix. Another from a hardware designing local company working in verilog and another from an air force mentored company. I select Techlogix, as their offer is the best, Software is my life and I would have to forget my life if I select that offer from air force mentored company. By the time I receive their offer letter, another company phones me and I refuse their offer by saying I have already been employed. Too late for them.

Now, it is 7th March 2007. The last day of my academic life. By noon tomorrow, I shall cease to be a student.

A day (mostly) wasted!

Sun, 25 Feb 2007 08:02:05 GMT

Yesterday, I decided to have a visit to my university. First one since I graduated from there. I planned to meet some of my teachers to discuss life as a professional, have their views about how to go about your job, higher studies, applying for a faculty position at the university and so on. Also, there was the matter of looming convocation, ever getting closer and tons of official documents I had to acquire and some clearance fees to pay.

What I expected was a warm response from them, pleased to see that one of their students still remembered them. However, I couldn't have been more wrong on this account. They turned a cold shoulder, not at all the kind of response I was expecting.

One teacher was, with whom I am on very good terms, one of the best students his career and having decided a time to meet had another student from 1999 batch and kept asking me if there was something else I wanted to discuss and kept hinting if I didn't mind I should rather leave right away. Besides, this whole thing happened after he had asked me if I could come 30 minutes later.

Another one had much more important things on his mind, so I had to come up with a stupid reason for why I was there. Even there, I was one of the twelve students who choose his subject as an elective.

I didn't dare risk my ego by trying to visit other teachers and found some friends who were there and went to a fast-food resturant to evaporate my feeling of let-down and insult.