to all the millions of my readers :), i am on vacation till the new year... for the first time since i started work
hopefully i'll be back with some great pictures of the great city of lahore.... cheers!!
meanwhile, check out these fantabulous pix by the guy at ddoi - if only peter jackson had him for art director - LOTR would have looked half-decent....
Friday, December 16, 2005
Friday, December 09, 2005
linus the creator
Linus almost sounds like Calvin when he makes a snowman but in the end, he shows he really is Linus...
Calvin is very active in the winters - this site is a testament to his creativity - read and enjoy
For those unaware of it, Calvin and Hobbes were two real life people from the 16th and 17th centuries whose philosophy about life is mirorred in the characters by their creator Bill Waterson
Wikipedia links to John Calvin, Thomas Hobbes and Calvin & Hobbes, the comic strip
Calvin is very active in the winters - this site is a testament to his creativity - read and enjoy
For those unaware of it, Calvin and Hobbes were two real life people from the 16th and 17th centuries whose philosophy about life is mirorred in the characters by their creator Bill Waterson
Wikipedia links to John Calvin, Thomas Hobbes and Calvin & Hobbes, the comic strip
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
new hotmail
hotmail, following the footsteps of gmail are using ajax to run their service
I received an email telling me that being a "VIP" hotmail member, I am invited to use their service - dunno what made me a VIP - maybe they are aware that we have many status-conscious people in Pakistan - yes, I am in Pakistan, only I set my location to USA to try one of those tricks for increasing mailbox storage
The service is nice and slick with an outlook like interface drag/drop for moving messages to folders and right-click context menus
In a clear "inspiration" from gmail, they have added auto-complete in the mailto address bar, their news about this feature is well worth a read:
"Start typing a name and—pow!—up pops a list of possible recipients from your contact list. Click on the one you want and you're done."
It's the "pow!" that converted me.... (sarcasm)
I received an email telling me that being a "VIP" hotmail member, I am invited to use their service - dunno what made me a VIP - maybe they are aware that we have many status-conscious people in Pakistan - yes, I am in Pakistan, only I set my location to USA to try one of those tricks for increasing mailbox storage
The service is nice and slick with an outlook like interface drag/drop for moving messages to folders and right-click context menus
In a clear "inspiration" from gmail, they have added auto-complete in the mailto address bar, their news about this feature is well worth a read:
"Start typing a name and—pow!—up pops a list of possible recipients from your contact list. Click on the one you want and you're done."
It's the "pow!" that converted me.... (sarcasm)
Monday, December 05, 2005
tv shows from too long ago
I remember very vaguely a few TV shows from the early 80's when I was in pre-school
Back in those days, there was only one channel, PTV, which showed (as far I remember) just one English TV show per week - since there was (and still is) a strict censorship policy in place, the shows hacked in places to make them kid-friendly
I was reminiscing with friends about them and was amazed to find they remembered almost all of them
If you grew up in Pakistan in the 80's, you might remember them too, being primary TV viewing for kids, in addition to Nazia, Zoheb songs
These are listed in the order I remember them being played on PTV, I am sorry I cannot find better links to the shows
1. Chips
2. The Man from Atlantis
3. Tales of the Golden Monkey
4. Voyagers
5. The Powers of Matthew Star
6. The Fall Guy
7. Airwolf
8. Knight Rider
Back in those days, there was only one channel, PTV, which showed (as far I remember) just one English TV show per week - since there was (and still is) a strict censorship policy in place, the shows hacked in places to make them kid-friendly
I was reminiscing with friends about them and was amazed to find they remembered almost all of them
If you grew up in Pakistan in the 80's, you might remember them too, being primary TV viewing for kids, in addition to Nazia, Zoheb songs
These are listed in the order I remember them being played on PTV, I am sorry I cannot find better links to the shows
1. Chips
2. The Man from Atlantis
3. Tales of the Golden Monkey
4. Voyagers
5. The Powers of Matthew Star
6. The Fall Guy
7. Airwolf
8. Knight Rider
follow-up on the mess-up
[Update:
. Bob responds to the controversy
. USAID's page about education reforms in PK
. Congressional Research Service Report (CSR) on education reforms in PK]
My last post was about a poem that is now part of the 11th Year curriculum for Pakistani students - the first letter of each verse of the poem reads the name of the US President
After a ruckus was raised in the Pakistani newspapers, the Education Ministry has announced that it will withdraw the poem from the textbook from next year - of course, no heads will roll, "it was an honest mistake", "our intentions were clean" - these are the words we will hear - a simple google search for one verse of the poem would have clarified the source - but who uses computers in the Ministry? They are certainly nothing more than decoration pieces for them
Of course, the real reason is that the poem must have had the stamp of approval of the Education Ministry and now lowly book editor would dare to raise his voice, even if he could
For those unaware of this, the US government is funnelling in money to "help improve" Pakistani education currculum - the Pakistani government (and all its predecessors) being more loyal than the king, fall head over heels to appease the Americans whenever they can and hence this poem
I imagine it went something like this in the funding agency's office:
Some guy in USAID: Dude, let's play a trick on these Pakis and send them this poem - bet you 10 bucks they will publish it without reading it
Another guy in USAID: Bet you 20 bucks they will publish it even after they read it
It must be said that USAID is doing a lot for education in the country - even the MBA programs in our top business schools are fully funded (tuition & living expenses) - see the info on financial aid at LUMS
I emailed the gentleman who wrote the poem, probably in 2003 - he was kind enough to write back in a very positive way - I really appreciate him for doing this - the response is produced below:
Dear Sami,
If I'm correct in assuming that your blog is Sami's Place, I must say
it's a very nice blog. You keep it updated much better than I do mine.
I do respect your feelings in the "Shameful" post. I don't recall
authorizing the reprint in the Pakistani educational textbook. To be
fair, I sometimes e-mail permission for limited copying without paying
too much attention to details, so I'm not sure.
While I still admire GWB, I have learned since I wrote "The Leader"
that he certainly has some shortcomings in the leadership role. The
vertical spelling of the president's name is, of course, intentional.
Even at the time I published it, along with the questions on the
worksheet, there were included these notes to the teacher in the
answer keys:
The Leader
Best answered in discussion format:
1. Student should refer to text when putting a characteristic in his own
words.
2.Answers may vary.
3. There is a clue in addition to inference: The name is spelled out
down the left column. Respect any opinion if student backs it with a
reason or reasons.
4. Answers may vary.
In other words, no brainwashing intended!
Thanks for writing and good luck with your blog.
Bob (RHL)
Please note the the author does not hide the fact that the name of George W Bush is hidden in the poem (link)
. Bob responds to the controversy
. USAID's page about education reforms in PK
. Congressional Research Service Report (CSR) on education reforms in PK]
My last post was about a poem that is now part of the 11th Year curriculum for Pakistani students - the first letter of each verse of the poem reads the name of the US President
After a ruckus was raised in the Pakistani newspapers, the Education Ministry has announced that it will withdraw the poem from the textbook from next year - of course, no heads will roll, "it was an honest mistake", "our intentions were clean" - these are the words we will hear - a simple google search for one verse of the poem would have clarified the source - but who uses computers in the Ministry? They are certainly nothing more than decoration pieces for them
Of course, the real reason is that the poem must have had the stamp of approval of the Education Ministry and now lowly book editor would dare to raise his voice, even if he could
For those unaware of this, the US government is funnelling in money to "help improve" Pakistani education currculum - the Pakistani government (and all its predecessors) being more loyal than the king, fall head over heels to appease the Americans whenever they can and hence this poem
I imagine it went something like this in the funding agency's office:
Some guy in USAID: Dude, let's play a trick on these Pakis and send them this poem - bet you 10 bucks they will publish it without reading it
Another guy in USAID: Bet you 20 bucks they will publish it even after they read it
It must be said that USAID is doing a lot for education in the country - even the MBA programs in our top business schools are fully funded (tuition & living expenses) - see the info on financial aid at LUMS
I emailed the gentleman who wrote the poem, probably in 2003 - he was kind enough to write back in a very positive way - I really appreciate him for doing this - the response is produced below:
Dear Sami,
If I'm correct in assuming that your blog is Sami's Place, I must say
it's a very nice blog. You keep it updated much better than I do mine.
I do respect your feelings in the "Shameful" post. I don't recall
authorizing the reprint in the Pakistani educational textbook. To be
fair, I sometimes e-mail permission for limited copying without paying
too much attention to details, so I'm not sure.
While I still admire GWB, I have learned since I wrote "The Leader"
that he certainly has some shortcomings in the leadership role. The
vertical spelling of the president's name is, of course, intentional.
Even at the time I published it, along with the questions on the
worksheet, there were included these notes to the teacher in the
answer keys:
The Leader
Best answered in discussion format:
1. Student should refer to text when putting a characteristic in his own
words.
2.Answers may vary.
3. There is a clue in addition to inference: The name is spelled out
down the left column. Respect any opinion if student backs it with a
reason or reasons.
4. Answers may vary.
In other words, no brainwashing intended!
Thanks for writing and good luck with your blog.
Bob (RHL)
Please note the the author does not hide the fact that the name of George W Bush is hidden in the poem (link)
Friday, December 02, 2005
shameful
What a dark day for Pakistan and for the students of Pakistan... this poem is now a part of the high-school syllabus for all Pakistani students
link to bbcurdu story
If you cannot read the above, don't worry - it was lifted from another source, read it in its full glory here - do check out the questionnaire at the end of the poem
Who does this remind you of? Read just the first letter of each verse and see what it all spells...
What a bloddy sovereign country we are... I wonder which picture now hangs in the Education Minstry where Jinnah's used to be?
(I wanted this blog to be apolitical - unfortunately, that's getting tough so I will start posting some news related to "politics" or "international relations" as I see fit - be assured, it will be interesting....)
link to bbcurdu story
If you cannot read the above, don't worry - it was lifted from another source, read it in its full glory here - do check out the questionnaire at the end of the poem
Who does this remind you of? Read just the first letter of each verse and see what it all spells...
What a bloddy sovereign country we are... I wonder which picture now hangs in the Education Minstry where Jinnah's used to be?
(I wanted this blog to be apolitical - unfortunately, that's getting tough so I will start posting some news related to "politics" or "international relations" as I see fit - be assured, it will be interesting....)
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