As I was leaving for work this morning, a small bird* swooped down in front of my car and picked up a bright yellow flower from the ground. It then flew up and spiraled around one of the trees in the garden chasing after another bird (possibly female?)
It was a clear and stark sky, the light blue offset by the bright yellow flower and fluttering brown wings, the sun was blazing but it wasn't hot yet, the old trees of our rustic garden indicating a gentle breeze from their slight sway, framing the scene and leaving a very crisp and refreshing image in my mind that I just wanted to share...
* best as I can figure, it was either an Isabelline Wheatear, a Rufus Bushchat or a common house sparrow...
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Monday, March 03, 2008
Song Charts
Some of these are hit and miss, but others really strike a chord...check out the rest of them on the Flickr Group
Friday, February 22, 2008
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
hang on a minute...
A fourth cable has been cut in less than one week? Considering how many ships travel these waterways, the coincidence of all of these anchors being dropped directly on top of an undersea cable severing connections to the world wide web for entire regions (with some of the highest internet penetration rates in the world too) is a bit amazing. You'd think they would mark these things in the age of global positioning systems to avoid exactly this kind of thing. But hey, lighting can strike more than once i suppose...and there go all those Arabs with their silly conspiracy theories again... link
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
Baby, you know I do...
I'm not sure much needs be said...this is beyond brilliant...
Thanks to K for infecting me with this...I can't stop singing it...I guess it makes up for times ago buy sos loly...
Thanks to K for infecting me with this...I can't stop singing it...I guess it makes up for times ago buy sos loly...
Saturday, November 24, 2007
The greatest weapon ever?
Hmmm, not so sure about this analysis...I would have like to see a more scientific methodology applied...perhaps a segregation between comics, video games and movies...I can easily think of 5 or 6 off the top of my head that they have missed...Does anyone else notice any glaring omissions?
Ultimate Weapons
Ultimate Weapons
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Batelco bashing
A necessary rant...
I am a small business user at Yahoo where I host my website and email servers. For the past week, I have been unable to get through to my inbox due to a server error. I have contacted Yahoo 4 times who have assured me (in writing) that there is no problems on their end. My system administrator is at a loss to explain what is going on and Batelco have repeatedly told me that there is no issue with their service and that the problem lays with Yahoo.
My first issue with this is that instead of trying to help a customer, they are passing the buck onto someone else. This just leaves a bad taste in my mouth and does not make me feel like my concerns and issues as a customer are being addressed or even cared about.
My second issue was sparked last night when a friend who also uses Yahoo said he had absolutely no problem accessing his mail. I immediately got on his laptop, typed in the url and sure enough...there was my inbox. I opened messages and even forwarded some mails I needed to gmail so I could do some work. The reason it worked? He was using the MTC Go wireless usb thingy to access the internet instead of Batelco. Therein ensued more feverish testing to see what would and wouldn't work. To sum it all up, MTC works and Batelco doesn't...I don't know why, but I can empirically prove it with a little usb thingy...
Now this raises a whole raft of issues which to be honest, I cannot be coherent about as my blood is boiling. All I can say is that Batelco is completely and utterly useless. They make ridiculous profits year on year, but they cannot provide a simple service in a relatively small and dense location? My ADSL connection at homes drops regularly which is a pain when surfing the net and a much bigger one when it happens as you are downloading something. The solution is to simply install more nodes to carry the service better to the various neighborhoods that are too far away from the central node. Instead, they want to spend 4 billion dollars on international acquisitions.
What about all those customers who have being paying overinflated rates for umpteen years that have gotten you to the position where you can tout such a war chest? Maybe they have recognized that they have already lost their own market and are therefore setting their sights on new pastures? I, for one, say good riddance.
I am a small business user at Yahoo where I host my website and email servers. For the past week, I have been unable to get through to my inbox due to a server error. I have contacted Yahoo 4 times who have assured me (in writing) that there is no problems on their end. My system administrator is at a loss to explain what is going on and Batelco have repeatedly told me that there is no issue with their service and that the problem lays with Yahoo.
My first issue with this is that instead of trying to help a customer, they are passing the buck onto someone else. This just leaves a bad taste in my mouth and does not make me feel like my concerns and issues as a customer are being addressed or even cared about.
My second issue was sparked last night when a friend who also uses Yahoo said he had absolutely no problem accessing his mail. I immediately got on his laptop, typed in the url and sure enough...there was my inbox. I opened messages and even forwarded some mails I needed to gmail so I could do some work. The reason it worked? He was using the MTC Go wireless usb thingy to access the internet instead of Batelco. Therein ensued more feverish testing to see what would and wouldn't work. To sum it all up, MTC works and Batelco doesn't...I don't know why, but I can empirically prove it with a little usb thingy...
Now this raises a whole raft of issues which to be honest, I cannot be coherent about as my blood is boiling. All I can say is that Batelco is completely and utterly useless. They make ridiculous profits year on year, but they cannot provide a simple service in a relatively small and dense location? My ADSL connection at homes drops regularly which is a pain when surfing the net and a much bigger one when it happens as you are downloading something. The solution is to simply install more nodes to carry the service better to the various neighborhoods that are too far away from the central node. Instead, they want to spend 4 billion dollars on international acquisitions.
What about all those customers who have being paying overinflated rates for umpteen years that have gotten you to the position where you can tout such a war chest? Maybe they have recognized that they have already lost their own market and are therefore setting their sights on new pastures? I, for one, say good riddance.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Pots and Kettles
While everyone continues to speculate about what actually happened in Dayr az-Zawr (I personally believe they were testing out alternative storylines for the new Bond movie), THIS story quietly passed with barely a snort from newsreaders...
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Master Chief
We actually got it yesterday, but I only saw it this morning during a break from work...Graphics are generally better, gameplay and options have definitely been upgraded, weapons are a lot cooler...all in all, a throughly enjoyable romp...
In response to all the media furore
In response to all the media furore
Saturday, August 18, 2007
"His Heart Whirs Anew"
I found this article by Jo el Garreau very interesting...as was the inclusion of Tupac Shakur in the quotes...
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Sunday, August 05, 2007
Thursday, August 02, 2007
all taped up
This past week of my life has been dominated entirely by the not-so-smart card.
This whole thing started on Sunday because of an issue with a visa I had applied for, I was required to get a smart card issued to solve the problem. So I left the Immigrations directorate and made an appointment at Central Informatics, arrived on time as was promptly made to wait for an hour. Once my number came up, I got to the desk and was told I needed to get something added to my electricity bill and return, so off to the Municipality I go. I came back to be told that I needed to have all documents for my entire family with me in order to affect the change, so I tried to explain that this was simply not possible since my newborn was only 2 weeks old and because of issues with translation, I still did not have a birth certificate issued, let alone a passport. Never mind that, there was another bigger issue with my Commercial Registration which needed to be resolved. So I was bounced around in the Ministry of Commerce and made to go through a series of paperwork gymnastics to satisfy their various requirements (of course, there where more than one). As of today (one entire working week), I am still waiting for them to clear the note on the system that would allow me to have my smart card issued.
I have not decided whether the system is silly or if it just works a bit too well and will reserve judgment until it actually gets resolved. And what was the change that I wanted to have reflected in my information that caused this entire not-so-merry-go-round, you ask? I wanted to change my address to the current house I am actually living in.
This whole thing started on Sunday because of an issue with a visa I had applied for, I was required to get a smart card issued to solve the problem. So I left the Immigrations directorate and made an appointment at Central Informatics, arrived on time as was promptly made to wait for an hour. Once my number came up, I got to the desk and was told I needed to get something added to my electricity bill and return, so off to the Municipality I go. I came back to be told that I needed to have all documents for my entire family with me in order to affect the change, so I tried to explain that this was simply not possible since my newborn was only 2 weeks old and because of issues with translation, I still did not have a birth certificate issued, let alone a passport. Never mind that, there was another bigger issue with my Commercial Registration which needed to be resolved. So I was bounced around in the Ministry of Commerce and made to go through a series of paperwork gymnastics to satisfy their various requirements (of course, there where more than one). As of today (one entire working week), I am still waiting for them to clear the note on the system that would allow me to have my smart card issued.
I have not decided whether the system is silly or if it just works a bit too well and will reserve judgment until it actually gets resolved. And what was the change that I wanted to have reflected in my information that caused this entire not-so-merry-go-round, you ask? I wanted to change my address to the current house I am actually living in.
Monday, July 30, 2007
not quite sure of the maths...
So we have to buy $20 billion worth and they just get $30 billion? [link]
Thursday, July 26, 2007
dances with wasps
An update on my previous post entitled Crouching Fatman Hidden Wasp:
As I sat immobile, nursing my swollen feet, my mind was left to ponder how I was supposed to react to this. Here I am trying to commune with the universe and find some inner peace and along comes this wasp and violently (it really hurt) disrupts my exercise. I mean, sure, I was stepping on his home and blocking him from getting out, but I certainly wasn't being Israeli about it. After all, I pay exorbitantly for the privilege of trampling on that grass. Couldn't he wait until I was done?
The thing is, once you do tai chi outside, it is a totally different experience from practicing inside. It really does feel different (the expression that described the difference best: practicing outside was like eating off fine bone china after having eaten off paper plates). I guess my choice of metaphor kinda explains my waistline.
So, I had to find another place to be outside. But there is something about the proximity of the water, the swaying palms and dancing reeds, and the genteel nature of the Ritz where people elegantly ignore you that gave me little alternative but to go back.
At first, I tried to choose where I practiced carefully, looking for telltale mounds where the wasps had burrowed underground. Then I tried different times of day when I thought they might either be at sleep or out and about taking care of they waspy chores. Eventually, I got so tired of watching the wasps that I gave up and just went out, not caring too much what would happen. And that was when it started to change for me.
The wasps would circle around me so I tried to keep extra still, my feet became lighter on the ground cause I was overly careful about any wasps underneath and I was always watchful of what was happening around me, which took my mind off my form and helped me relax about the movements I was making. All in all, my tai chi improved tremendously and I enjoyed my practice more than ever and I have been given the Native Indian name: dances with wasps
happy ending...
As I sat immobile, nursing my swollen feet, my mind was left to ponder how I was supposed to react to this. Here I am trying to commune with the universe and find some inner peace and along comes this wasp and violently (it really hurt) disrupts my exercise. I mean, sure, I was stepping on his home and blocking him from getting out, but I certainly wasn't being Israeli about it. After all, I pay exorbitantly for the privilege of trampling on that grass. Couldn't he wait until I was done?
The thing is, once you do tai chi outside, it is a totally different experience from practicing inside. It really does feel different (the expression that described the difference best: practicing outside was like eating off fine bone china after having eaten off paper plates). I guess my choice of metaphor kinda explains my waistline.
So, I had to find another place to be outside. But there is something about the proximity of the water, the swaying palms and dancing reeds, and the genteel nature of the Ritz where people elegantly ignore you that gave me little alternative but to go back.
At first, I tried to choose where I practiced carefully, looking for telltale mounds where the wasps had burrowed underground. Then I tried different times of day when I thought they might either be at sleep or out and about taking care of they waspy chores. Eventually, I got so tired of watching the wasps that I gave up and just went out, not caring too much what would happen. And that was when it started to change for me.
The wasps would circle around me so I tried to keep extra still, my feet became lighter on the ground cause I was overly careful about any wasps underneath and I was always watchful of what was happening around me, which took my mind off my form and helped me relax about the movements I was making. All in all, my tai chi improved tremendously and I enjoyed my practice more than ever and I have been given the Native Indian name: dances with wasps
happy ending...
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
OMG they're gonna shut down facebook!!
And the real pisser is that they have all your information already...
update: the founder is being sued for fraud and they have lodged an injunction trying to shut down the site until the case is heard. Here is a link from the BBC. Here is another link on how to close down your account.
I guess the histrionic nature of the title had the desired effect, eh?
update: the founder is being sued for fraud and they have lodged an injunction trying to shut down the site until the case is heard. Here is a link from the BBC. Here is another link on how to close down your account.
I guess the histrionic nature of the title had the desired effect, eh?
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