Thought Clouds The Digital Bender

خمسة قيم أساسية و مستقبل حكومة البخيت

2011-03-08T10:40:00.001+02:00

بعد قراءة هذا المقال المنشور في عمون يبدو لي للأسف أن رئيس الوزراء مستمر في سياسات الحكومة الخاطئة ومنجر وراء الحاجة لارضاء الراي العام بدل من إجراء اصلاحات حقيقية.

بداية الحكومة بحاجة الى اعادة النظر في الوظائف الحكومية الموجودة حاليا ومحاسبة المسيئين لاستعمال السلطه والفاسدين بالاضافة الى المتمتعين بضرائب الناس عن طريق الوظائف الحكومية "المستحدثة" والتي يشغلها أناس غير أكفاء وفي مواقع ليس لها داعي اساسا ولم تكن لتستحدث لولا أن فلان "بيمون".

كذلك يجب على الحكومة التركيز على الوضع الاقتصادي والتنافسي للمملكة والتركيز على زيادة فرص الاستثمار للمشاريع الصغيرة وتسهيل الدخول عليها من خلال:

استحداث مشاريع صغيرة ومتوسطة على شكل فرص استثمارية في المجالات التنموية التي تحتاج اليها المملكة وتماشيا مع خطة طويلة المدى تضمن تنمية مستدامة واقتصادا يبني على المعرفة ويضمن استغلال أدمغة الأردنين في بناء المعرفة وتطويرها بدلا من تحضير الكفاءات لكي تكون مجرد خدمات اجرائية عالية الجودة. وفي ذلك شرح كثير

توفير رؤؤس الاموال للمشاريع الصغيرة عن طريق قروض صغيرة للكفاءات والخبرات التي تستطيع أن تثبت مقدرتها على انشاء وانجاح المشروع. المحاذير هنا معروفة وأهمها انو ابو فلان "بيزبط" فلان أو فلانة بنت عم علنتان صاحب ابن عمه

توفير المعلومات للجميع عن المشاريع وتفاصيلها وكيفية الاستثمار فيها وتوفير التدريب للمهارات الأساسية الضرورية لانجاح مثل هذه المشاريع عند الحاجة

الشفافية والحرية في التعبير بحيث يتسنى للجميع متابعة استثمارات الحكومة في هذا المجال ومختلف المجالات بطريقة تسمح بفهم عمل الحكومة ومراقبتها وكشف أعمال اسائة استعمال المال العام سواء من فساد أو اهمال أو نقص في الكفاءة

تحقيق العدالة او على الأقل عملية أصيلة غير زائفة ومستدامه في هذا الاتجاه وذلك عن طريق الاسراع في استحداث وتعديل وتطبيق القوانين وتنفيذها القوانين وتطبيقها بطريقة تتحرى العدالة ولا تسمح للخوض في معارك اجرائية ومماحكات حول نص القانون وروح القانون

هذه القيم هي قيم أساسية على من يريد اصلاحا أن يعمل بها. فاذا اراد معالي البخيت اصلاحا حقيقيا في المملكة يخدم كافة الاردنيين ولا يكون جهويا أو شماليا أو جنوبيا أو مسترضيا لهذا أو ذاك فان عليه ان يعمل بهذه المبادئ بدون خوف على منصب أو استحياء من أقارب أو استرضاء لرأي عام.

وانني أشك في قدرة معالي البخيت على القيام بهذا وفي رغبته باجراء اصلاحات حقيقية على الاقل مقارنة برغبته في استرضاء الرأي العام والرأي الجهوي والراي العشائري ... الخ

Review of Gigabyte Technology NVIDIA GeForce GT 240 512 MB

2010-11-05T17:47:00.001+02:00

If you are buying this kind of card, meaning one that has good performance for the money, then you must have done your homework. So I won't get into that side of things and discuss performance and benchmarks. Instead, I will talk about aspects you do not see in the typical benchmark reviews and what it is like to own this card.

First off, when you open the package and see the device you immediately notice that it is a quality product and not cheap piece of hardware. It feels well made and that feeling is only reenforced by the shape and size of the fan. It is definitely the bulkiest and most sci-fi looking I've installed in my machine.

More pleasantness comes in when you install it and setup the drivers, which is a synch on Windows. Even on my Hackint0sh OS X 86 running Snow Leopard 10.6, it was picked up and was immediately running with acceleration without the need for KEXT changes.

In addition, when you see your games running smoothly (I upgraded from an ATI 2600 XT) you feel you made the right decision buying this.

Now the cons.

I can't help but notice and be disappointed by two things in contrast to my aging ATI 2600 XT.

First, there is only one DVI port and another VGA port. So if you have two LCDs you will be disappointed that one has to connect through VGA. I know I can buy an HDMI to DVI adapter and use the HDMI port, but I didn't need to do that on my old ATI card.

Second, the lack of the pleasant anisotropic mipmap filtering for minification. This definitely made a demo I was making look significantly more jagged in the distance. It was surprising to me that the old ATI 2600 XT would be doing a much better job at making everything smoother, especially in the distance.

One other thing that was annoying (though expected) was the noise. The fan is in fact noisy. You will not notice it and you cannot put it in the living room as a home theater machine.

In conclusion, I do not regret my decision. It is great value meaning good performance for the money, and it made my Snow Leopard look pretty again. So no regrets.

The Google Android Tablet with HTC

2010-09-21T11:45:00.000+03:00

Just a quick post to pin in time the thought that an Android tablet needs to win, and capture the market at this time.

iPad is an excellent device, but still has the shortcomings of iOS (e.g. Steve Jobs decides whats good for you, multitasking "like" ...etc).

To succeed, An Android tablet should:

Be cheaper, or at worst only slightly more expensive iPad at similar configurations (i.e. 3G, Storage size)
Not be limited to a market. Be available worldwide
Have a very nice, and very smooth interface (Android 3.0 Gingerbread ... this is your holy grail)

Failing any of these points, will result in anything between a modest success to a lingering failure.

Just saying #justsaying

I exist!

2010-03-29T15:07:00.001+03:00

This is a bloglet just to prove that I still exist.

Here is a little story about my iPhone and fixing it. I broke my iPhone and fixed it a couple of times, until at one point I couldn't anymore.

I made the mistake of assuming that the connector on the main board was broken, when in fact it was the LCD and it just happened that the two LCDs I tested were already bad. But thats not the story.

I went to a local shop to replace the connector, and they quickly tried an LCD that they knew was good and it worked. And I bought that LCD.And that is still not the story. The story so far sounds like a story of good service and unexpected expenditure.The story however is that of deep disappointment and once again shot down expectations.

Bad attitude would be an upgrade for the guys at M3 7th Circle, they are definitely rude and a possibly a little stupid.

The worst part is that there is no business oportunity there. My opening a shop there with a better quality of service and better representatives services no purpose at all, as the average customers cares only about the financial bottom line and not at all about the quality of the experience, in my opinion.
What to do?

Windows Phone 7 is really cool

2010-02-16T10:04:00.001+02:00

I was just looking at the announcement of Windows Phone 7. I remembered a conversation I had with a Microsoft Project Director a while back.

She protested jokingly on my using the iPhone, to which I replied seriously that if they give me a Zune HD type device that also does phone, then I would not use the iPhone.

I am quite certain that it is this conversation that lead to the development of Windows Phone 7. :-D .. just kidding.

What I want to say is Microsoft really delivered. Can't wait to get my hands on one of these devices.

People should really know this ضروري الكل يعرف هالحكي

2010-02-15T10:16:00.000+02:00

ثبت عنه صلى الله عليه وسلم (( أنه لعن آكل الربا وموكله وكاتبه وشاهديه وقال : " هم سواء " )) أخرجه مسلم في صحيحه

cursed the accepter of usury and its payer, and one who records it, and the two witnesses, and he said: They are all equal

Hitler responds to the iPad

2010-01-31T14:05:00.001+02:00

This is epic grade comedy!

We are Avatar

2010-01-13T23:44:00.000+02:00

So just came back from Avatar 3D. Recommend you go watch it ASAP.

Avatar is Pocahontas in that it addresses the immoral more powerful civilization destroying another civilization to get the resources which they sit on top off!

It is also the concept of Gaia, in that everything is energy and all life forms are only brief manifestations of that energy.

Avatar also has the best 3D graphics known to man. I loved it and I am not impressed easily with graphics anymore. That however is an old story.

And the acting. 3D models did a much better job of acting than the actual actors. The voice acting didn't feel like voice overs, and emotions felt genuine and impassioned.

Now for the real point.

Standing there after the movie and looking at my tweep friends, I couldn't help but notice the analogy. We are the real world humans that met in the twitter world. We knew each other although we really just met. We are Avatars.

I wonder if anyone else noticed this.

The Apple tablet

2009-12-25T12:23:00.004+02:00

So Apple computers is about to change the game once more.

Now, it is going to be a computer that is like a giant iPhone with the same touch capabilities. It will fashion enhanced tilt and bump detection. Both of which will be part of how you interact with it.

We also be seeing a lot more than pinch and zoom with the multitouch interface. Thinking 3 or more fingers to do various actions.

PS: May be called iSlate and be unveiled in a few weeks.

UPDATE: Its called the iPad which is such a horrible name.

So Carrefoure Amman has a time machine

2009-06-01T03:48:00.002+03:00

Yesterday, or rather last night, the 31st of May 2009, I realized that a time machine has been invented sometime ago (or sometime in the future :-) ? ) and has been in use in Carrefoure Amman.

I was checking out the chicken breast offers that they had, and I noticed that the items on offer looked a bit old, so I took a glance at the production date, and realized it was made today 1st of June 2009. And since it wasn't today yet, as it was still last night, I was shocked.

I decided to check that I am looking at the production, not expiry date. Of course, this is because I really want to make sure the date was correct and hence the deduction of the use of a time machine.

And to my shock, it was indeed 1st of June 2009.

Of course I was so excited, I nearly peed my pants (or at least thats what I say). I told everyone I know that there is going to be time travel soon, and made all kinds of predictions about how its going to be "when would you like to go today?" instead of "where would you like to go?".

Everyone thought I was being funny, and I am not. I took offense of course.

All this excitement kept me up AALLL night, and I am now writing this because of a stupid thought that had occurred to me. And I want to hear what you guys think. I need your help.

Is it possible that the employees at carrefoure were fudging the numbers? I mean they actually made the chicken breasts on the morning of 31st of May, or may be even before that, and then printed the label to say 1st of June 2009 to get one day more out of the sales window?

If that is not the case, and I think its not. Why would they use something so great as a time machine to do something so simple as produce chicken breasts one day ahead into the future? Why would they do that to something so insignificant as chicken breasts? Or is there more to chicken breast than meats the mouth???

Anyways, please, if anyone has any logical explanation of why/how or when this is done, please let me know ASAP, I can't stand the excitement.

Jason Plato demonstrates superiorority of Fifth Gears driving to Top Gear

2009-04-07T10:16:00.002+03:00

Always thought he was a brilliant driver. Behold.

Some shots from Amman this morning

2009-03-29T18:52:00.002+03:00

The lot next door, originally uploaded by LotusGem.

I took these shots this morning. The weather changed in 20 minutes from (I should go back, its probably a snow day) to (Clear blue spring day)

Elizabeth Gilbert is retarded

2009-03-01T22:04:00.003+02:00

I was just watching Elizabeth Gilbert give a talk in TED.

The premise of the talk was that Genius was a thing that comes to the artist or the creative person as opposed to a part of ones character or mental ability.

Which is fine.

She then goes on to say that this Genius thing is God. And says that in North Africa a spiritual dancer, on rare occasions, transcends his mortal being and becomes something more than mortal. And everyone would start chanting Allah Allah. Because they knew what that was.

Now how retarded is that?

Let me tell you something Gilbert. In North Africa they say Allah when they eat a good meal of "Molokhiah Bil Aranib". Not because they thing that this Molokhieh is God, but because they say the name of God when they impressed with something.

In fact, most if not all Arabs do that.

So stop being retarded and check your sources next time. Good advice for a writer.

The financial crisis is affecting everyone

2009-02-16T08:23:00.002+02:00

Looking around in Jordanian businesses, it would seem that everything is alright and its all business as usual to the untrained eye. And things become so much clearer when you inspect the detail.

A few of my friends are having trouble collecting on payments already owed, others are having trouble making a sale as more and more products and services fall behind the nessary line and into luxury territory.

I my self am having trouble making sales, which is to be expected for a new business. But it seems to me that things are a lot more difficult and will take a lot more time than I originally planned.

I guess the vacation I planned for the next summer hangs in the balance now. :)

What to do? Need advice

2009-02-09T14:35:00.004+02:00

I seek everyone's advice.

Im in a situation where I am working on a project and I have a partner in that project. We both share the vision of the goal, and we are both unsure how exactly we are going to do it.

However, my team partner doesn't want to stick to the rules. He always finds ways to break them and workaround them. Although I am very sure that he understands why the rules are there, and understands that we can only get to what we need if we stick to the rules.

I've talked a lot to my friend here to make sure we do stick to the rules. Every time I do this he agrees and we go back to sticking strictly to the rules. But only for a few weeks, at best.

I think he does this because the rules are difficult and its easier to break the rules. And to that we have a huge project to accomplish, one that requires dedication and work. Why would the rules be easy? It only makes sense that they would be difficult.

It seems my friend needs to decide. Either stick with the project and its rules, or find another project with easier rules.

5 minutes into the summit and its back to the original agenda

2009-01-19T11:39:00.003+02:00

So after 5 minutes of kicking off the Arab summit in Kuwait, which was supposed to discuss the Gaza issue first, it switched to the original financial agenda.

Good work guys.

The Unilateral cease fire has been breeched unilaterally

2009-01-18T02:41:00.003+02:00

A White Phosphorus attack on Bait Lahia has taken place well after the unilateral ceasefire was in effect.

Any one else not surprised?

Palm pre

2009-01-12T15:46:00.001+02:00

Take a good look at this phone. You'll be hearing a lot about it in
2009.

The Palm pre.

White Phosphorus - Israel is clearly desparate

2009-01-12T14:08:00.005+02:00

Israel is now using White Phosphorus in Gaza.

White Phosphorus is not an illegal weapon. It is however, to be used under very strict regulations. The most relevant of these is that it is not to be used on personnel. This includes the prohibition of use against military combatants as well as civilians.

A person coming in contact with this substance will suffer horrific burns, and the heat will peal the skin from the bone.

Having bombed UNRWA schools, hospitals, and ambulances, it is clear that Israel is intentionally targeting civilians. And now its clear they are even doing this with illegally used weaponry.

It is also clear that Israel is targeting the civilians in order to scare them and scare Hamas into a submissive ceasefire that guarantees Israeli presence in Gaza.

Israel however, is getting no where, and its at the end of its rope.

I yesterday saw a 12 year old girl who had both her legs amputated at the knee due to severe burns that reached the bone. The girl was in the hospital with her two new stumps, and she was saying "thank God, other people have it worse".

Israel does not realize (or may be it does) that those people do NOT fear death, or horror. They see this life as only a temporary life, one that will end for everyone at some point. What matters is that you do the right thing and prepare for the after life.

May God ease their suffering and strengthen their will even further. Amen.

In Pictures - Jews for Palestine

2009-01-09T19:17:00.003+02:00

From Jews for Palestine

Hamas starts its response

2009-01-04T10:13:00.003+02:00

So Hamas already announced capturing two solders, Qassam brigades also announced capturing one. This of course not counting the solders injured and dead.

As time goes we will see destroyed and disabled tanks and more captured solders.

You know, there is a reason Israel left Gaza in the first place. In short, its 300 Square KMs that has around 1.5 million people in it.

Let me make this clear. Palestine will win this war. And the next one and every war from this point on until the one that will force a solution on Israel.

قتلانا في الجنة وقتلاهم في النار، والحرب سجال

[Pics] Amman's Demonstration against Israel 29th December, 2008

2008-12-30T00:53:00.002+02:00

From Gaza Demonstration in Amman 29th December 2008

Israeli land incursion into Gaza of Palestine imminent

2008-12-29T00:23:00.004+02:00

I say let them. Its been more than two years since they got their behind handed to them.

They ran away from the North, and now bullying the South. They will soon realize who stupid this decision is.

الله يعزك يا غزة

A modern day holocaust

2008-12-28T08:19:00.005+02:00

This is not a blog post. It is not an entertainment piece or an opinion piece. It is not a product review, or best of 2008.

This is a piece to bear witness, an article of evidence that you will read and understand and then make a choice. This is so you could not claim ignorance.

Yesterday, 27th of December 2008. American airplanes bought for Israel with American money, were flown over crowded locations over the Gaza strip of Palestine and carried out a massacre against helpless people in their own open-air prison.

Hundreds killed, maimed, orphaned and burned alive. The word Holocaust comes to mind.

The official statement from Israel, and the general media push is that Hamas is the target, as if Hamas is a discrete round target in a shooting range that you can safely shoot and leave when you are done.

For those who do not know Gaza, please take a look. It is so crowded, you couldn't sneeze there without spraying a few people, let alone target a Hamas member with a bomb that takes two blocks at a time.

The truth is that Israel is waging a war against the resistance. The Palestinian resistance. A resistance that has been there since 1948 before there was Hamas and before there was PLO, a resistance that will continue to be, as long as the land of Palestine is under occupation.

So far, the bombing killed 228 people. All with bombs and collapsing buildings. Note that this bombing started while school children are in schools and the parent's are scrambling to get the children back home or flee. The streets crowded with cars, schools crowded with children, and Israel would have us believe that their Bombs are landing on Hamas.

Thinking back to the American war on Afghanistan, and the latest American war on Iraq. And the unexpectedly large number of friendly fire casualties. I tend to not believe that somehow Israeli bombs are that selective. I don't buy that the same American bombs that were falling on friendly targets in Iraq and Afghanistan are so selective today as to kill Hamas members only, in a city more crowded on a normal day than a toy store on Eid morning.

A mosque was targeted and bombed this morning. A mosque is a holy place of worship that holds utmost respect with all Muslims everywhere. Muslims do not go into it wearing shoes. They would not speak loudly while inside it. It is not a place of war, and the Islamic disposed Hamas certainly knows it.

Israel claims the mosque was being used for storing weapons. As if there were weapons to store to begin with. Note that Israel has been claiming that Hamas has been burrowing tunnels miles under the ground between Palestine and Egypt to smuggle weapons. And we've all seen the cow they smuggled in those tunnels which may be an atomic cow -- but I digress.

Israel would have us believe that the people who are burrowing these miles long tunnels, are using a Mosque (in a hospital by the way) to store weapons. Instead of somewhere underground or in a tool shed in a more accessible and less public place than a mosque in a hospital. Think about it. Given the choice, assuming you have one, would you store your stash in an underground secret location or a publicly accessible by everyone place of holy worship to God.

So that's the situation with the official Israel. One of continued American sponsored terrorism and slaughter of civilians backed by a strong spin team and an ignorant world.

What about Israel the people?

While I acknowledge that some Israelis are aware of the lies and outright terrorism of their government, I also acknowledge that those people forma minority if anything at all.

In Jaffa, which is at the heart of Israeli controlled territory near Tel-Aviv the capital of the occupying army, a mosque was daubed with 'Mohammed is a pig,' and 'Death to Arabs'. Clearly not the doing of the Israeli army. People of Israel did this. People who decided to go out and do it, and make public their hatred to Islam and Arabs.

Meanwhile, the world is watching a month by month review of 2008, best bloopers of 2008 and Geraldo at large.

And it goes on, with Morons calling for issuing statements and arguing about semantics. I am sure those brand new orphans will thank you for that piece of paper.

By the way, between the time I started writing this, and now nearly 50 more people died and hundreds others injured and made homeless.

If this -- people unarmed, surrounded with an impenetrable wall, being bombed with million dollar weapons with no where to run or hide -- is not terrorism. If this is not holocaust, nothing else is!

What's happeing in Gaza is this

2008-12-27T15:40:00.003+02:00

Israel is using American weapons bought with American loans to bomb from the sky school children running around in the streets and their parents -- also running around in the streets.

The children are guilty, of course, of throwing stones AND guilty that some 5 people made a pipe that directs metal balls with gun poweder attached to its end, that they built in their toolshed. Catapolting watermealons may be more effective, but still. There's gun poweder involved. Must bomb the children.

Here is my message to Arab leaders and the Palestinians: "Save your breath". The world does not hear you. The world will not come to rescue you.

REALITY

Palestine is a country under occupation by Israel, the most over armed gang in the history of the world. And that is it! The only thing to do is fight it. Its the only thing we can do.

Alternatively, we can just sit there and accept it becoming one of the many people in history that welcomed its aggressor and accepted is invaders. UNLIKLEY!

اكلت يوم اكل الثور الابيض

2008-12-27T15:12:00.001+02:00

Here we go again. I wonder who is next?

re: The URL

Photo of Yelsmin at 7 Years

2008-12-10T22:35:00.001+02:00

Yelsmin at 7 Years, originally uploaded by LotusGem.

Geri's chess game

2008-12-04T21:33:00.002+02:00

A brilliant animation from Pixar.

Note the music. Reminds me a bit of ratatouille's.

Also, note a shot where you see both sides of the character in the same shot. The hand making a move in the foreground and in the background a breathless and shocked Geri.

For the birds (Pixar animation studios)

2008-12-01T09:18:00.002+02:00

Fun clip of the day

Pic of fuzzy logic

2008-10-29T00:22:00.001+03:00

Fuzzy Logic, originally uploaded by LotusGem.

Is it just me, or is this beautiful.

I take that back Wi-Tribe. UMAX Sucks

2008-10-28T23:35:00.002+03:00

So I was wrong. I can see that now.

In a previous post, I had declared that Wi-tribe which I was using at the time sucked a bit. Thought Clouds - The Digital Bender: Why Wi-Tribe may not be your best bet

I can see now after nearly two months of using UMAX that Wi-Tribe, was BRILLIANT. And that it is UMAX that sucks.

With the exception of a few good sales people, and one good engineer. I have had no pleasant experience with UMAX whatsoever.

The connection was very unreliable, the signal often bad, speed never reached 1mbps except in one isolated moment, support is reluctant and rigid.

Dear Wi-Tribe, I apologize, I made a mistake. I love you and I'm coming back to you.

Why Wi-Tribe may not be your best bet - UPDATED

2008-09-04T14:50:00.003+03:00

UPDATED - Oct 28, 2008 - Here

I've been connected through Wi-Tribe during the past month and a half. And here is the verdict:

Coverage in my area was good, as long as the modem was near or outside a window. I live in Al-Jubeiha Area
Bandwidth was near the amount I paid for but always less
Torrent traffic is shaped, don't expect anything above 32KB
After forgetting a couple of torrents uploading at full speed for a few days, I found out that I was getting around 56kbps, about the same speed a quick dial up phone connection
If you reach around 20GB of total upload+download in a month, you will be dropped down to 128kbps, but you will be really getting around 56kbps

On support

Calling support is a hit and miss deal. Meaning that you may or may not get through
Getting through to support is a hit and miss deal. Meaning that you may or may not get help
In reality, I was always shown a caring attitude but never got any results
One funny thing. I called to complain about the speed, and the helpful representitive said she will take it up with the techincal department and call me back. A day later she calls back to inform me about a late invoice to tell me that the account will be disconnected.

All in all, I do not recommend wi-tribe. I'm switching to UMAX at the end of the billing period.

A couple of pictures I've taken in Jordan

2008-08-13T16:45:00.004+03:00

Great looking rock buildings in Jordan

Who knows what this is called

Whirlified

2008-07-08T16:35:00.004+03:00

So here I am back in Jordan, and I find my self immediately adapted to the moods of living here.

Crazy is the new definition of oil prices in Jordan. But these prices lead me to believe that Jordanians are complaining more out of habit than anything else. I mean people are still driving their cars and scooters/bikes are no where to be seen.

One positive side to this oil crisis is that my trusty old Toyota Tercel is now worth significantly more than it did 5 years ago.

Thanks be to God, it seems I am making money on everything these days. Even by accident.

I will start looking for work/job soon.

Due to a long bumpy road from Doha to Amman, my furniture is in dire need of a good carpenter. Once that is sorted out I need to sit down and think about Wi-Tribe, UMAX, Zain DSL, Orange ADSL ...etc.

Until then, I will try to keep these nuggets of blog posts coming through for my few loyal fans. (bas balash).

PS: The problem with driving in Jordan is not that traffic laws are too lenient. It's that traffic officers with the pointy helmets and the round ones, don't seem to know the laws exist. Except for speeding and not wearing a seatbelt. JUST ENFORCE THE LAW AS IT IS.

Jordan, Driving, The move, Doha,

Back in Jordan

2008-07-01T12:30:00.001+03:00

I am back in Jordan now.

Safely back at home and happy about it.

Leaving Qatar

2008-06-30T16:11:00.000+03:00

I am leaving Qatar.

NOW.

Going dark soon

2008-06-22T02:06:00.003+03:00

So.

I will most probably go off the DRADIS during the next few days, and will remain off until further notice.

I will be disconnecting the comms in my HQ (house) tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. Which means I will have no access to the net until I am in Jordan.

I need all of your recommendations on the best ISP in Jordan. I need:

Mobile number
Wireless Internet Access (3G, Wifi or WiMax???)
DSL or ADSL2 or faster connection

Please let me know your opinions and recommendations on the ISPs and their performance in Jordan.

There is a need for a new way

2008-06-20T15:41:00.002+03:00

There is a need for a way to manage what I am going through.

Normally, I manage everything with ease. Taking decisions take just a little more time than is required to gather the information. I manage projects, communicate effectively, identify and manage risks and issues. But now, I am helpless.

I am trying to move to Jordan. There are 100 interdependent issues of selling the cars, the ACs, disconnecting the services, turning the house over to the landlord, making the deal with the transportation company and finishing the packing, finishing the paper work required for the borders, canceling my residence permit, finishing the paper work with my employer ....etc.

Each of the things strung together in a specific order can make a neat time line which you can base your plans on. Complexities happen once you realize that any change to any of these tasks, means a change to most others, in terms of dependencies, probably of risk becoming an issue and time line.

How do you manage this? Work streams and WBSs are rigid and stale. This needs to be fluid and dynamic.

All I am doing now is keep all these things floating in my brain while I just run around doing the thing I feel most anxious about.

Any one can think of a better way?

Movie review: The happening

2008-06-19T19:54:00.003+03:00

I am about to see the movie review from the Totally Rad Show guys, but before I do that I want to put on paper what I think of this movie.

This movie is retarded.

M Shamalamananihnih sucks, he should change his career to cinematography or something that is not director.

I've better performances (FAR BETTER) for the actors in other movies, and the only reason they come across overacting and stupid in my opinion is the director.

The story is primitive and immature, and feels like how a 10 yearold would tell the story.

The premise, however, is interesting, and it feels like the story telling and the direction spoiled what could've been a really good movie.

Bottom line, the movie is crap. Don't pay money for it. Just let someone tell what it is about and you will have a better experience than what they had.

PS: Go see the movie if you like watching people killing themselves.

Are cylons muslims?

2008-06-16T20:37:00.005+03:00

So the Cylons are saying this and I quote:

"There is no God but God" which literally translates to لا اله الا الله

"There is no such thing as coincidence, God wills the universe according to his desire" which translates to لا يوجد شيء اسمه صدفه، انما يدبر الله الكون كيف يشاء

"There are no Gods, there is only one God" translates to لا يوجد آلهة، انما هو اله واحد

Picture by immolation scene.

All of these themes are at the core of the Muslim faith. And the literal translation translates into verses commonly used by Muslims everyday. The first one is what you HAVE to believe as the basis for Islam.

I would assume that the writer(s) of BattleStar Galactica probably knew about this, and is(are) making Cylons talk like Muslims.

The question is why?

Mitch Hedberg 2004 Just For Laughs gala

2008-06-13T11:03:00.000+03:00

Recent published photo

2008-06-12T16:50:00.003+03:00

Here is a link,
ictQatar Borchure

Go to page 2 and check the bottom left side. The whole background photo is one of mine, and I one a photo competition in Qatar a while back with this same photo.

I have a hard copy of the brochure and I must say that I could have done a better job at printing it, though the direction and design is amazing.

Here is another of your favorites.

All I can think of when I saw this was ..

2008-06-10T22:47:00.001+03:00

EPIC!!! *LOL*

'Warcraft' Sequel Lets Gamers Play A Character Playing 'Warcraft'

Elevator stuff

2008-06-09T09:30:00.003+03:00

It's the little things that get to me.

Here is a bit of education. I know most of you already know that, so this is targeted to the 1% of you who do not know it and insist on using the elevators I use EVERY TIME!

If you want to go up, you press up only. If you want to go down, you press down. Failure to do so gives me the right to tell you off.
If you want to go into the elevator, you should wait for whoever wants to get out before you go in. Failure to do so, gives me the right to walk through you.
If you want to get out of the elevator, and someone is waiting to go in, they are waiting for you to leave. Hesitation only makes you look stupid. You should leave the moment the door is open.
If I am waiting in the bottom floor for the elevator, and after a long wait I find you in the elevator taking the trip down and up, looking stupid and smelly, don't be surprised if I give you the evil eye.

SCREW! LOST Spoilers

2008-06-01T18:26:00.003+03:00

So

The Island disappears,
and people have different names,
Jack's father appears to whats his name... and says its time to go home or something as stupid as that
Hurley as playing chess with echo ...
Lock is dead, but is not really Lock.
And climactic music when John Lock finds out about the time travel capabilities of the Island. Did they forget they spent around 3 episodes of the season talking about it?!!! May be they did during the strike.

Who cares any more. WHAT IS THIS SHOW ABOUT ANYWAYS?!! I really forgot, what are we thinking about? What are we trying to figure out?!

Seriously.

I mean it is ALL questions now. There is nothing happening. Only more weird stuff that cannot be explained and can only more question marks.

And there are more uninteresting and insignificant twists. And many many useless fillers that we can all do without, especially when sitting through two full episodes.

But I cant stop watching. Not now.

Next season is ALL answers. HAS to be ALL answers .... now the question is no longer what is the Island, or WHEN is the Island, its now WHERE is the Island, and soon to be WHO and WHY is the Island!!

And if it indeed is ALL answers; the next seasons's answers better be good and well thought out and NOT simple.
THEY HAVE TO BE COMPLEX!!!
SHEESH, AM I PISSED!

I quit my job

2008-05-14T09:55:00.004+03:00

Image via WikipediaAfter 5 years in Qatar, with career progress well below my market-aware expectations, and less the perfect living conditions. I've finally decided to go back to Jordan and end my 5 years of good-fortune-bringing presence in Qatar.

I quit my job and should be in Jordan in time for the summer, which is perfect for my fig addiction.

I had quite a few blog readers from Jordan and hope to finally link the emails and avatars to actual physical people.

If you are reading this, and you are in Jordan, you have the following tasks:

Start looking for a job for me
Make your self available for a physical meeting under my patronage*

* Ugly people and children are not welcome

Great car

2008-04-27T12:55:00.000+03:00

Guess which car this is?

A picture of

2008-04-26T02:47:00.001+03:00

Public park in Sweileh, originally uploaded by LotusGem.

A public park in Sweileh

A Great Big Robot From Outerspace Ate My Homework (VFS)

2008-04-23T10:25:00.001+03:00

Why do they do that!? Baa! Baa! No Video!

2008-04-11T15:16:00.003+03:00

I've received an invitation on flickr to join a group called "We say no to videos on flickr".

Any one else find this shocking? Why would any one oppose something like that?

Seems to me the only reason for someone to not want such a new feature on flickr is that they're rigid dinosaurs pretty much stuck in their ways and will reject anything or anyone that is new or different.

Here is a tutorial on how to solve this problem on flickr if you don't want to see the videos.

You click on a flickr link that takes you to the page with the evil video on it
Don't click to play the evil video on the page
Problem solved. Videos, when not moving, are really only pictures

Could it be that some people are afraid they wouldn't get as much attention to their photos when there are prettier pictures that move? If so, those attention h***s need help.

What is more shocking though is that it seems the majority of people who join these groups are just sheep and cows Baaing and mooing along just because someone sent them an invitation and they feel special being "in" and belonging. So sad.

10 things TAG!!!

2008-04-08T20:54:00.004+03:00

I don't like tags, and I do not do them. However, this one is entertaining to me. So I will make it entertaining for you too.

I will list the 10 things but some of them might not be true. Here we go:

I get red-in-the-face-seething-mad at things people usually find merely annoying *such as someone not waiting in line*, and could care less about things people find seethe worthy *such as "I'm better than you" type people*. I mean, who cares??
I am vocal (sometimes nasty) when letting people know that they should wait in line, or clean after themselves or drive like a human being
I've never driven a car without wearing a seat belt
I started driving at 9 years
I wrote my first program at 10 and first game at 14
I can save money like chipmunks saving nuts for winter
I can spend money like there is no tomorrow (depends on the mood)
I once played a 2 on 1 half court basketball game in college. And Won.
I developed an online banking framework from white page to fully tested in 3 days
If I have food in my hand or on my plate, don't come near it! MINE! (see point 1 for more info)

I tag the people who tagged me.

Tale of Two Brains

2008-04-07T12:29:00.002+03:00

Take that Mac users!

2008-04-04T19:43:00.001+03:00

Awesome MacBook Air Parody.

By the way, I used it the other day ( The Macbook Air ) and it gets a firm two thumbs up.

A picture of

2008-03-29T22:30:00.001+03:00

Panorama of Doha Corniche, originally uploaded by LotusGem.

Doha corniche .

A group of 4 photos were merged together for this one gigantic one.

I am thinking this may be a very nice photo if taken around sunset.

Large size

Mercedes vs Lexus

2008-03-27T22:05:00.004+02:00

Source: WikipediaAs a Lexus owner, I always thought people who buy Mercedes were, well, Chumps!

They are chumps in that they Multi-overpay.

They over pay for the car, as in no car should cost that much.

They overpay for the name, as in Mercedes is not what it used to be, especially in reliability.

They overpay for running cost, as in Mercedes parts are very costly the world over and running cost is way above average.

You can get a much better car from any similarly priced Lexus. Of course, I speak as a person who had the pleasure of owning a couple Lexus cars for a long time and had enough using a Mercedes to know what I am talking about.

Plus the numbers support it. TCO numbers from edmunds.com and reliability reports from JDPower should give a good reading.

Go here to see JDPower's ratings per brand

Check this for TCO of Merecedes S Class compared to average

I mean, if you have the money, you cannot go wrong with the Lexus LS 460. There is simply no better car.

Watch these scary robots

2008-03-27T08:36:00.001+02:00

ABB FlexPicker Robots

You took a bank loan? YOU ARE GUILTY

2008-03-23T11:42:00.003+02:00

I dont know how people can justify it, and by people I mean people who are Muslim, say things like "boycott American/Danish products", and act all holy and righteous.

Those people would always patronize and take the high ground, yet, you find out they are taking usury loans from banks usury banks.

I don't know how they can justify Riba? Is it possible that they do not know how sinful this is? Or may be they do but they "really needed the money to buy a 2008 car".

Hypocrites!

يقول أكرم الخلق سيدنا محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم

لعن الله آكل الربا ومؤكله وشاهديه وكاتبه
رواه أحمد، وأبو داود، والترمذي وصححه، والنسائي، وابن ماجة

Arthur Benjamin: Lightning calculation and other

2008-03-17T11:26:00.001+02:00

Talk about an amazing talent that is rendered useless by a 15$ calculator

A death and a birth in one week, puts blogging about Jordan in the queue

2008-03-13T20:26:00.002+02:00

I was torn between extreme happiness and utter sorrow as my son came into this life and my father in law left this life with no more than 7 days between them.

This combo event put thing in perspective and I have hopefully taken the lesson learned and using it to better center my self in this life.

A side effect of this is that blog about Jordan day dropped from a very important event to an insignificant and short lived blimp on my radar.

ifone4arab.com Arabic iPhone

2008-02-27T10:12:00.001+02:00

Looks like good Arabization

Blogging on Blogger from the iPhone

2008-02-22T09:20:00.003+02:00

I just found this out and thought it may be useful for iPhone users.

Most of us already know of the blogger.com feature where you can setup an email address @blogger.com where you can send an email to that address and blogger would either publish it immediately or save it as a draft post for further review.

This can be found under Settings>Email>Mail-To-Blogger Address.

I found out that if you use your Yahoo email account on your iPhone as your default sending account you cannot properly post images. You will get a tag that says "img src="cid:" and blogger fails to display the image you attached.

I solved this by using gmail as my default sending account.

To do this, go to mail>sending>default account, and choose your gmail account.

From this point I could just click a photo, send it as email and add my text, hit send and I find it on my blogger.

This this post was done through sending an email in the manner described above.

Testing blogging

2008-02-21T23:48:00.001+02:00

Sent from my iPhone

Believe in yourself

2008-02-17T10:15:00.001+02:00

Inspirational video of the day.

Flight Of The Conchords - Jenny

2008-02-10T23:15:00.001+02:00

WHY?! are these guys not more famous than Spears' drug problems?

iPhone epiphany

2008-02-06T09:31:00.000+02:00

I take it back.

The iPhone is an amazing device, and is a reinvention of the telephone.

Why the sudden change of heart you ask? Well, I used one. And let me tell you, I am definitely getting one soon.

I mean the interface doesn't make you wait, it does what you want, and when you want it. Everything is easy, quick, fun and beautiful. Why cant other OSs do that? WHY MUST I HAVE TO WAIT TO GO TO PHONE?!

And why do I have to worry about rotating the screen or setting the brightness or turning off the screen when I am not using it?!!!! Get the phone to do that for you.

Am I finding my self aligned with the Apple way of thinking? Seem so.

I read this in the iPhone User Guide. And it struck me that Steve Jobs understands why I want.

Check if you can spot the epiphany-triggering-words.

iPhone User Guide excerpt

"Use the polishing cloth that came with iPhone to gently wipe the glass screen and the case.
You can also use a soft, slightly damp, lint-free cloth."

iPhone, Nuvi Phone, Android

2008-02-01T16:34:00.000+02:00

Hmm ... I sense disturbance in the force.

This is pretty much a place holder. For the future.

I want to be able to see I told you so, or I told you so sort of.

There is something happening behind the seens, and it involves iPhone, Android and Garmin's upcoming Nuvifone. ....

Possibly others. (Dell soon?)

Fascinating crabs

2008-02-01T12:17:00.000+02:00

Go here for the video on metacafe

I am the proverbial swiss army knife

2008-01-31T12:50:00.000+02:00

During a recent development in one of the projects at work, I saw me -- as my friends did, in a different light.

I was all over the place. I mean networking, applications, DB, authentication, registration, even in deep detail. And was up to it.

I think this is the first time people in this work place realized my swiss-army-knifness. And it is a beautiful and welcome reminder of what I once was.

For those who don't know, I no longer have a technical title. I spend my time reviewing schedules and documents. Everyone thought I was an old timer who once had great digital bending powers but no more. Even I though that a bit.

But I AM BACK!

On games and NPDs

2008-01-24T06:55:00.000+02:00

First some background.

Qwaider made the following comment on a previous post
.....
On a side note, have you seen the reports on games?
WII beat everyone for December, followed by Xbox36 then PS2 and finally PS3! Looks like Sony might be losing this one if their 5 year old console STILL beats their flagship console

December Console NPDs are as follows:

Nintendo DS - 2.47 mil
Wii - 1.35 mil
Xbox 360 - 1.26 mil
PlayStation 2 - 1.1 mil
PSP - 1.06 mil
PlayStation 3 - 797,600

It is quite obvious that XBOX 360 is giving the Wii a run for it's money. And that Sony is struggling with getting people to embrace their next gen PS3. And there is no reason for that to change except for one tiny thing.

Hollywood seems to have dumped HD-DVD in favor of Blu-ray, and that is guaranteed to drive up demand for the Blu-ray devices. Of which, PS3 is the most famous and sought after model.

People who have been waiting for the format wars to end are now likely to go the PS3 route and get a gaming console as a bonus on top of their Blu-ray player.

I expect that January NPDs will tell a significantly different story for PS3. And looking at MGS4 down the line as one potential juggernaut for the PS3, it is likely that we will see a tipping in the scales in favor of Sony in 2008.

That's of course unless Microsoft introduces a Blu-ray add-on to the XBOX 360. Making this add-on the most cost effective player for people about to step to HD movies.

Islam: Blind Student Reciting Qur'an

2008-01-23T19:17:00.001+02:00

I don't know the context of this clip. But it's an excellent recitation of Al Rahman.

I wonder if nonmuslims feel the power and warmth I (we) feel when we listen to this?

Amazing Funny Kids 2008

2008-01-23T07:41:00.001+02:00

Why the XBOX 360 is so different

2008-01-07T13:29:00.000+02:00

Online community.

This is the big difference between the XBOX 360 and any other gaming platform. And I am not talking about being able to play with your friends online, only.

I am talking about that unique ability to turn on your XBOX 360, see who of your friends is online and what they are playing, and playing with them, or at least start voice chatting with them while you watch a movie or play another game.

Some of the best times I've had in gaming is when I could hear the bellowing screams of anguish as I crush my friends in Halo 3, or the hollow accusations of the losers as I pass them by in my lesser car blasting down a stretch of road in the Nurnburgring. "YOU ARE CHEATING!!" They would say, knowing that cheating is not possible on XBOX Live.

Add to that the availability of MSN Messenger support and you have a the full experience.

I wish more of my friends would pick up and XBOX 360 and "Jump in".

CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS??

2008-01-02T22:30:00.001+02:00

I can now go out and buy a card that can render a human that does NOT exist. Imagine what is now available for multi-billion dollar organizations.

This is called "NVIDIA's Human Head Demo"

Remembering Jordan

2007-12-31T07:52:00.001+02:00

Khobezeh, originally uploaded by LotusGem.

Long time no post.

This is one photo I took back in 06. I feel better when I look at this photo.

Drifting in space

2007-11-23T20:42:00.000+02:00

I changed my screen saver to star field on my XP machine, which has a descent size LCD.

Try this if you do have one. Turn off the lights, and watch that star field, and you will have the sensation that you are flying through space.

It's a nice feeling, and in fact reminds me of one lucid dream I had.

NBC Direct service and ads

2007-11-12T07:46:00.000+02:00

I was just looking at the recently launched NBC direct service, which is a YouTube equivalent of NBC's shows, only really annoying.

I say that because every show I tried watching would play a long ad before it begins, and then tell me "this show is not available for your location" or something of the sort.

Now I have no problem with content being locale sensitive. It's the right of the content owners to decide on that, but what I do have a problem with is making me sit through the whole of a number ads repeatedly and then telling me I can't watch the content.

How I am dealing with it? I watched a few more, just to see the ads, and now Dove, Oreos, and Careerbuilder are on my no-more list.

Thank you NBC for annoying the customers of your advertisers.

Update: Looks like this blogger had the same experience.

Mother's Day

2007-11-08T19:53:00.001+02:00

I just discovered these guys.

As far as I am concerned, these guys are the funniest thing to watch on the net.

Why I'm not buying HD movies

2007-11-05T07:12:00.000+02:00

I bought the HD-DVD add-on for the XBOX 360 a while back, and got "King Kong" in the box. I also bought the documentary "Planet Earth", which is nothing short of absolutely amazing. And got "Happy Feet" for my and my family's benefit, especially my daughter who likes to skip around like Mumble.

This was about 6 months ago, and I have not been able to buy any more, and here is why.

There really isn't anything compelling enough about the movie lineup to pay $12 for a hi-def "experience", which is for most movies only marginally better than DVD.

I mean, if you see "Anchor Man" in DVD, then you've seen it in HD-DVD because the extra pixels will probably not add any more enjoyment or appreciation.

And fan boys. I am not saying that BlueRay lineup is better. It's just that the whole concept of paying $12 extra on the average for a movie that looks nearly as good on DVD is not a very attractive concept.

Come to think of it, only "Lord of the Rings" trilogy , "300" and "Ratatouille" may be worth the extra money, because they are very "visual", but I cannot think of many others that are.

Can you? Please recommend something.

And PS: I don't think the trilogy is out on HD-DVD yet.

Yelsmin Grunge

2007-10-31T21:35:00.001+02:00

Yelsmin Grunge, originally uploaded by LotusGem.

This is my daughter Yelsmin.

I was not looking through the camera when I took this, I was talking to Yelsmin and resting the camera on my hand to get a more natural expression from Yelsmin.

It's post processed in Photoshop for a grunge effect.

I found this lying around in my e-Folders and decided to play around with it and publish it.

I got the frame a number of tips from spraguelab.blogspot.com/2006/05/come-chat-tonight.html

Norah Jones - My Dear Country

2007-10-29T23:12:00.001+02:00

Beautiful song, lyrics below. Enjoy.

'Twas Halloween and the ghosts were out,
And everywhere they'd go, they'd shout,
And though I covered my eyes I knew,
They'd go away.

But fear's the only thing I saw,
And three days later 'twas clear to all,
That nothing is as scary as election day.

But the day after is darker,
And darker and darker it goes,
Who knows, maybe the plans will change,
Who knows, maybe he's not deranged.

The news men know what they know, but they,
Know even less than what they say,
And I don't know who I can trust,
For they come what may.

'cause we believed in our candidate,
But even more it's the one we hate,
I needed someone I could shake,
On election day.

But the day after is darker,
And deeper and deeper we go,
Who knows, maybe it's all a dream,
Who knows if I'll wake up and scream.

I love the things that you've given me,
I cherish you my dear country,
But sometimes I don't understand,
The way we play.

I love the things that you've given me,
And most of all that I am free,
To have a song that I can sing,
On election day

Doha 2016 Bid fireworks (PICS)

2007-10-27T18:44:00.001+02:00

A flickr toys mosaic of the set, originally uploaded by LotusGem.

These are four of the pictures I took last night while enjoying the Fireworks.

This was during the unveiling ceremony of Doha's logo for the 2016 Olympics bid.

I read it. THERE IS NO WAY!

2007-10-25T11:05:00.000+03:00

Just pissed at some work people.

How can someone claim to have read 10 technical documents between 30-100 pages each in one work day?!!

ITS NOT A NEWSPAPER!! You need to understand what you are reading!!

Robot Chicken 1776 Spoof on 300

2007-10-24T15:16:00.001+03:00

Brilliant, enjoy.

Just something to keep the blog alive (PIC)

2007-10-24T12:20:00.001+03:00

Difficult red, originally uploaded by LotusGem.

5 minutes introduction to islam

2007-10-08T09:21:00.001+03:00

Naryat wrote this on my wall in Facebook.

Thank you.

أغرب الفتاوى - 21 رمضان 1428

2007-10-03T10:33:00.000+03:00

س: ماذا تقول في رجل أصاب ملابسه شىء طاهر والزمناه بغسله؟

هذا في حق المحرم يلزمه ان يغسل ما يقع على ملابس إحرامه من طيب

س: ما تقول في شيء طاهر يجوز أكله ولا يجوز بيعه؟

هو لحم الأضحية فله اكله واهداؤه والصدقة به ولا يجوز بيعه أو إبداله

منقول من جريدة الراية الرمضانية

Blogsphere is sleeping

2007-10-03T10:31:00.001+03:00

The Jordanian blogging community seems to be asleep. I am hoping that this is good news and that bloggers are seeing time spent on worship in Ramadan to be more useful than time spent blogging.

PS: I hope it doesn't have much to do with the new printing laws in Jordan.

7 minute drive in 50

2007-09-24T08:54:00.001+03:00

It's summer of 2000. June in fact.

I am in Doha, and I am calling my manager at the time (Sadek) about an anomaly in the server software. But that's not the point.

The point is, it was about 1:30pm, which is lunch/rush hour, and I am cruising on the D-Ring road taking one roundabout after the other effortlessly.

Skip ahead 7 years a few months to today.

I just drove my daughter to school, and spent 50 minutes is a traffic jam. The drive in normal traffic takes about 7 minutes.

No body is happier than I am about the progress happening in Qatar. This side of the progress is depressing.

Answering a Tag from Gardenia

2007-09-24T08:43:00.000+03:00

The smells I like the most are:

Lemon Balm (ريحان)
Jasmine
Lemons
Mint
Babies
Burning wood (certain kinds of dry wood)

Not neccessarily in that order.

I tag no one ... I am a leaf. I am the place where tags go to die.

Outlandish - Callin' U (2007)

2007-09-03T10:48:00.001+03:00

Not sure why I like this song. I really do.

Wainakh in Jerash 2007

2007-08-20T19:00:00.001+03:00

Wainakh 2007, originally uploaded by LotusGem.

I had the pleasure of attending the Wainakh performance in this years Jerash festival.

Needless to say, the theater was packed, and it seemed like Sukhnah, Zarqa and Sweileh has migrated to Jerash.

It was great watching the performers do their thing. I think they are some of the best performers in the world.

And in a twist of good luck, I had the pleasure of going behind the stage and meet the performers.

Enjoy the photos, and visit the full gallery.

The best Chechen dancer in existence

2007-08-13T00:32:00.001+03:00

I found this great Chechen dancer. I expect great things to come.

Enjoy!

Sari in Da House, and he dont like it!

2007-08-05T19:41:00.000+03:00

I arrived in a Jordan a couple of days back, and was immediately immersed in post election celebrations (btw, my father won).

In any case, putting everything I love about Jordan aside now. Here are things that have deteriorated shockingly since last time I was here:

NUMBER 1 problem: Driving. I do not know how neglectful and incompetent the new police chief is, but this is ridiculous. It doesn't seem like there are rules any more, except for the red traffic light, everything else is fair game. You get to do what every you want.

Car prices: Cars cost an arm and a leg. It is beyond sad.

Fuel prices: a C200 costing nearly 29 34 JDs a week is a crime.

The number of people who are sick. I have found the diherea, vomit and feaver is running rampant in Amman and Al-Salt. Just visit any clinic or hospital and you will SEE what I am talking about.

I blame you ma3roof il ba'7eet. You have failed us, and you have failed your King. I suggest you behave as responsibly as your ministers and submit your resignation and let someone who can do something take the lead.

Picture I took of The Elephant

2007-07-24T12:24:00.001+03:00

Elephant, originally uploaded by LotusGem.

I was surprised with this elephant in the parking lot yesterday. It was parked in the space next to my parking space.

That parking space has been empty a long while, eversince my neighbour in apartment 665 moved out.

Of course, seeing an elephant there makes you think of a few things and make a few assumptions. For instance, I assumed that the apartment next to me has been taken by someone. And I assumed that that some one is an Indian, because he drives an elephant.

Turns out I was wrong. The guy is Yemeni. He is from Yemen. I didn't know they had that model in Yemen.

I thought I would post this picture here for you to meet my new car neighbour.

A picture I took of

2007-07-21T21:16:00.001+03:00

Pipe dream, originally uploaded by LotusGem.

Pipes.

I call this "Pipe dream".

One of my favorites.

I don't know which category of photography this falls under. But I'm guessing abstract is probably the closest.

UPDATE

What is a pipe dream?

A pipe dream is a fantastic hope or plan that is generally regarded as being nearly impossible to achieve. The term derives from the opium pipe, and dates to the late nineteenth century when opium smoking was common in the United States. More specifically, the term derives from the euphoric optimism that is one of the effects of smoking high quality opium. Depending on how much opium is smoked, intoxication may last from eight to twelve hours. During this time smokers go through a period of euphoria followed by a more relaxed state of contentment and well being. Beginning in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, popular literature and music began using the term "pipe dream" to describe any idea or plan whose probable outcome would never reach initial expectations.

Source, wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pipe_dream

The Prestige

2007-07-14T21:47:00.000+03:00

If you love movies that make you think through out. If you enjoy finding out that you were wrong that you had figured out this movie, and was pleasantly surprise. If you like the last moment of the movie to shock you and keep you staring at the scrolling credits for minutes.

Watch "The Prestige"

Guaranteed bit of fun.

Burned up

2007-07-12T08:15:00.000+03:00

I spent last Saturday having all sorts of aquatic fun in the Sheraton with a friend, and I did a very stupid thing. In fact, I did a series of things that edge on total deliberate idiocy.

I spent the hours between 11AM and 2:30PM under the sun, with degrees around 40-45c. In and out of the water, laying on my chair and floating on a mattress in the sea. Needless to say I was starting to feel a little heat beneath my skin, in the flesh, so I decided to spend sometime in the Jacuzzi, which now I know isn't a very good idea. Not that I was clueless before doing it, which puts “deliberate idiocy” above in context.

Towards the late afternoon, I moved under the shaded area near the pool which wasn't as bad. But I could feel the heat of the sun roasting my shoulders and legs through the holes in the canopy above. And though it wasn’t really doing that, but in my mind here is it what it all looked like: A blindingly bright laser penetrating through my skin and scorching the flesh and making “fizzzz” sounds as it moves slowly leaving a line of destroyed human flesh in its wake.

You would think I would make sure I was under a well shaded area, or at least retire home, which is what a normal sane person would’ve done. But not me, I was being “Deliberately idiotic”.

What I did was spend about 15 minutes between steam and sauna. My recommendation for anyone in this situation is this: DON’T DO THAT.

I blame YOU Tareq Batal. I blame you for my burns and blame you for your body's complete lack of reaction to the sun.

Of course I was so red that night that I was glowing in the dark. Literally. No Really!

I turned off the lights and I could see my body pulsating with a red glow. I was like a just-put-out match stick with that fading red glow. And I could smell steak. I’m not saying it was me. Could’ve been my neighbors cooking something, but I’m just saying.

Felt horrible, couldn't sleep at all that night. I applied a small cow’s worth of daily yogurt production on the "glowy" areas, tried burn creams from the Dr. and even regular deep moisturizers. But nothing seems to help; it took a few days before I could sleep with any comfort.

All this reminded me of the martial arts concept: "Best defense is not be there".

The Photography competition I won

2007-07-04T11:01:00.000+03:00

In a previous post I complained about not having much to do this summer and that it will be a lonely and boring time. This turned out to be untrue.

A comment on the post changed that.

Mr. Mohammad posted that I should come to a local photo shoot for a competition organized by members of a local online community on http://www.qatarliving.com/. I went that day, met a lot of nice people and took a few photos.

I joined the group when I went home and submitted a few of my photos, some old and some new. And surprise surprise, I won.

They gave a Pro flickr account and the responsibility to organize and judge the next competition. Which gives something to worry about outside working hours.

If any of you reading this are in Qatar. Please go to http://www.qatarliving.com/ and join the team, and lets see you in the next photo shoot. It really is not a cutthroat competition, its more of a social gathering.

Here we go again

2007-06-21T02:58:00.000+03:00

This is the time of year people flee for vacations. My family will go to Jordan before me as usual. Which means I will have significantly more time on my hands.

This year however its a little different, I have no one leaving the country and wants live with me until then. I have no single friends who prefer to live in my house than theirs ... etc.

This means that this year I will be lonely. Alone. One is the loneliest number.

The plus side is you will be seeing a whole lot more from me in terms of photographs, blog posts and online matches (for those who know me on XBOX Live).

I need to start on a useful project to help put the time to good use. Which I know I will plan but never do, and will end up so bored before my vacation that reading the dictionary would pass as entertainment.

Please all, recommend good books.

Jordanian's are among the happeist?!!

2007-06-18T15:17:00.001+03:00

In a recent study published June 6th 2007, the Jordanian people were found to be among the happiest people in the world. Which contradicts the general stereo type Jordanians are filed under.

For those of you who do not know, Jordanians (my self included) are considered to be frown-prone at all times with timid smiles appearing every once in a long while and in response occasions commanding extreme happiness (think winning the lottery).

So for this reputable institution to publish its "Gross International Happiness Study" ranking Jordan right below Sweden and above all other regional and international countries is quite surprising, if not shocking.

Apparently, the main drivers for happiness in Jordan are:

Democracy and free speech: The "Blog without fear" initiative in Jordan "دون بلا خوف", which promises bloggers absolute freedom to speak their minds has clearly paid off and is considered a catalyst for driving uptake of "freedom of speech" in Jordan.

Justice and equality: The abolishment of all forms of favoritism under the government sponsered program "F for Fair not Favoritism" "واو من وجع يخلع نيعك وليس من واسطه".

Apparently Jordanians want their government services without having to resort to being someone's 3rd cousin or meeting everyone in a wedding.

Who knew?!!

Economical development: The recent economical boom driven by the adoption of R&D as a source of income and the numerous incubators the government is funding, has resulted in an influx of money and investments unparalleled and unprecedented in the region.

Unemployment rates are at an all time minimum and consumer confidence is sky rocketing especially after the reduction of Taxes and allowing cars and consumer products to come into the country with no double taxation and in some cases even no taxation at all. What a wonderful life.

Traffic improvements: The launch of the subway train system in and between major cities in Jordan -- which is affectionately know as "the tubes" "المواسير", and the accompanying launch of the "better driving" "سوق زي العالم" campaign lead by the traffic department, which focuses for the first time on sane driving in ADDITION to wearing your seat built and driving below the speed limit.

It's been rumored that even diwan cars are subject to the new traffic law and enforcement, but that remains to be confirmed at this stage

Finally, on the political front, the introduction of the mandatory 3 month training for representatives of the Jordanian parliament named "صحصح واوعى تنام" prior to engaging them in any real decision making. This has resulted in the reps understanding what they are there for, and was the real driver behind all of the above.

Clearly there is very little difference between competent and incompetent; in this case, only 3 months of training.

In closure, I would like to say that I was busy in April. I still am, somewhat busy. So happy belated April's fool. (قال يعني لسا ما وصلت).

Fake nooz!

Thought Clouds The Digital Bender

خمسة قيم أساسية و مستقبل حكومة البخيت

Review of Gigabyte Technology NVIDIA GeForce GT 240 512 MB

The Google Android Tablet with HTC

I exist!

Windows Phone 7 is really cool

People should really know this ضروري الكل يعرف هالحكي

Hitler responds to the iPad

We are Avatar

The Apple tablet

So Carrefoure Amman has a time machine

Jason Plato demonstrates superiorority of Fifth Gears driving to Top Gear

Some shots from Amman this morning

Elizabeth Gilbert is retarded

The financial crisis is affecting everyone

What to do? Need advice

5 minutes into the summit and its back to the original agenda

The Unilateral cease fire has been breeched unilaterally

Palm pre

White Phosphorus - Israel is clearly desparate

In Pictures - Jews for Palestine

Hamas starts its response

[Pics] Amman's Demonstration against Israel 29th December, 2008

Israeli land incursion into Gaza of Palestine imminent

A modern day holocaust

What's happeing in Gaza is this

اكلت يوم اكل الثور الابيض

Photo of Yelsmin at 7 Years

Geri's chess game

For the birds (Pixar animation studios)

Pic of fuzzy logic

I take that back Wi-Tribe. UMAX Sucks

Why Wi-Tribe may not be your best bet - UPDATED

A couple of pictures I've taken in Jordan

Whirlified

Back in Jordan

Leaving Qatar

Going dark soon

There is a need for a new way

Movie review: The happening

Are cylons muslims?

Mitch Hedberg 2004 Just For Laughs gala

Recent published photo

All I can think of when I saw this was ..

Elevator stuff

SCREW! LOST *Spoilers*

I quit my job

Great car

A picture of

A Great Big Robot From Outerspace Ate My Homework (VFS)

Why do they do that!? Baa! Baa! No Video!

10 things TAG!!!

Tale of Two Brains

Take that Mac users!

A picture of

Mercedes vs Lexus

Watch these scary robots

You took a bank loan? YOU ARE GUILTY

Arthur Benjamin: Lightning calculation and other

A death and a birth in one week, puts blogging about Jordan in the queue

ifone4arab.com Arabic iPhone

Blogging on Blogger from the iPhone

Testing blogging

Believe in yourself

Flight Of The Conchords - Jenny

iPhone epiphany

iPhone, Nuvi Phone, Android

Fascinating crabs

I am the proverbial swiss army knife

On games and NPDs

Islam: Blind Student Reciting Qur'an

Amazing Funny Kids 2008

Why the XBOX 360 is so different

CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS??

Remembering Jordan

Drifting in space

NBC Direct service and ads

Mother's Day

Why I'm not buying HD movies

Yelsmin Grunge

SCREW! LOST Spoilers