Wednesday, November 30, 2005
"Oh, bother"
I had just composed a lengthy post when KESC decided to switch off the electricity. Five minutes later, it's back on. A further five minutes later, gone again, and so on for the better part of half an hour. As a lover of my various gadgets, and especially fond of my PC, this equals cold blooded genocide. It isn't enough that nature is conspiring against me, causing all things metallic to rust in an untimely fashion, but now Man has joined in.
The next five days are going to be horrible, thanks to the sadistic minds who schedule final exams and projects with zero gaps between them. Oh, and it would seem people using Firefox are unable to enjoy the white-spacy goodness that is my new template. Will fix that soon, with a little help, of course.
Oh, and for anyone wondering, the title of this post reflects my happiness at the weather being chilly enough for me to break out my Winnie the Pooh sweatshirt. :)
Misha
at Wednesday, November 30, 2005
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Tuesday, November 29, 2005
New Skin!
Procrastination leads to a new skin at last! :)
Misha
at Tuesday, November 29, 2005
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Shift
I am dying under this workload. I am slowly being buried under it all. Let it never be said that education can't hurt you.
All that's keeping me going right now is the sheer glee of awaiting my new Video iPod coming in courtesy of W's family travelling to khi.
Oh, yeah, strange news that should break some of those stereotypes of females in Pakistan not being subjected to security measures because they're "lay-diss":
50-Year old Women Loot House in Nazimabad
Beware the Granny Bandits! :P
Misha
at Tuesday, November 29, 2005
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Sunday, November 27, 2005
Waiting
Procrastination at its finest. I would rather lie back and listen to the clock ticking the seconds away and stare at the non-activity of a sunday morning outside the window than actually get down to studying. Focus, dammit, focus.
So now I'm doing a silent countdown till my major exam, trying to inspire some form of alarm, ANYTHING to get me out of this indifferent funk. Almost exactly 24 hours to go, and I haven't studied anything much at all.
Even now, I'm blogging about procrastinating as a means of procrastination while I try to bring my attention back to logical circuits.
Oh, and as a follow-up on my post about Torrents, I found a great private tracker, Pakistan based, and always full of goodies. Private trackers, as opposed to public ones are more controlled, which means everyone has to contribute to stay afloat and people who leech instead of seeding can be thrown out. If anyone's interested, check it out and you know where to email if you want an invite.
Misha
at Sunday, November 27, 2005
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Saturday, November 26, 2005
Exam stress
Two down, four to go.
The results for one of my exams came in, A+, woo=hoo! =D
Just one more week and I can have a peaceful sleep without time checks everytime my eyes pop open, in a panic because I might miss my exam timings.
One more effing week. *sigh*
Misha
at Saturday, November 26, 2005
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BRB
Final exams. Be back soon.
Misha
at Saturday, November 26, 2005
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Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Insomnia
I can't sleep, my mind's too full of doubts.
That's what you get for not wearing yourself out all day so that you're so tired by the end of it that all you want to do is go to sleep as soon as your head hits the pillow. Now is so not the time to start thinking about everything that could possibly go wrong, the possibilities for disaster are endless, and my imagination is tireless.
So here I am, focusing all my energy on video games. Killing baddies is fun and can take your attention away from the fact that there's a very good chance that you could screw up everything you've worked for in just a second. So there we have it, videogame therapy until I can't keep my eyes open, and THEN... sleep. Busy is good.
Misha
at Wednesday, November 23, 2005
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Monday, November 21, 2005
love is...
Apparently, my punishment for being a cynical ass is to be surrounded with friends who find their soulmates right off the bat and will live happily ever after. I think I may make a half-decent third wheel, given the chance.
Misha
at Monday, November 21, 2005
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Post of the day:
It's a Magical World - Saady
Misha
at Monday, November 21, 2005
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car art
I love seeing cars with people's names and various filmi phrases phrases etched on the rear window. It implies an inherent lack of anything better to worry about and a wonderful form of carefreeness. Everyone should be so lucky.
Misha
at Monday, November 21, 2005
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Sunday, November 20, 2005
*woof*
One may wonder, given the recent spatterings of photos added to my posts that are mostly irrelevant to the subject matter, what the relevance is. It seems Blogger and Worldcall certainly do not get along, and up untill a couple of days ago, I thought it was just me, but Sam's [see sidebar] recent post about the same problem has enlightened me. Anyhow, given that more often than not a post ends up in digital heaven when posted at blogger directly, I've had to take more roundabout ways to getting my posts through. Flickr is one of them. However, I first have to do a quick photo search to see if there is any photo I can possibly relate to the subject matter. In this particular post, I searched for a puppy and selected the first cute one I came across. Does it even matter what the illustration is, in the long run?
Anyway, the subject of my anger today is overachiver drama queens who start bawling at the drop of a hat (or Grade Point). Get over it already, so your perfect A-average is brought down a notch, that's no reason to burst into tears and require people with other things on their minds to have to go after you because everyone else happens to be male and so eliminated from the task of comforting distraught females by virtue of their gender. Bah. Luckily, I found said person surrounded by a small audience of friends attempting to hang on to her sputtering attempt to tell them the story behind the waterworks. Excellent, that means I'm not needed, since I can barely control rolling my eyes at such blatantly public displays of emotion anyway. Grow up, people, you're in Grad school now! When faced with a problem, either go off and brood until your mood brightens up enough to make you worthy of social contact again or force yourself to be social anyway.
I like to think of myself as a fairly broody person. A friend commented upon this to her significant other, who, unfortunately, associated the word "brood" exclusively with hens laying eggs and found himself confused as to how exactly I was "brooding". Guys are so ridiculously silly sometimes, it's enough to force you to start laughing again.
Anyhow, so I'm going to start brooding again because the midnight hour is approaching, and that means soon it will be time to drive mum and sis to the airport. They like to pretend they'll be back in a month, maybe two, but I'm not exactly holding my breath here. When someone's travelling as far as the US for tests, I'm willing to bet they'll choose to stay for whatever treatment needs to be dished out as well, rather than return and make the whole trip all over again.
Misha
at Sunday, November 20, 2005
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alone again, alone again, jiggity jog
Everyone I know leaves in the end.
I'm sorry if that sounds like I'm wallowing in self pity or something, because that's not true. The fact that you have to rely on yourself for a lot of things, in fact, for most things, is inevitable, and the sooner the message hits home the better.
I could be sitting here feeling abandoned because parent #2 must now bail, at least temporarily, but I have better things to do. Then again, at least she did one smart thing before leaving: she got me and my brother to make our own little secluded sanctuaries in our new rooms. Now, if I'm lucky, I'll be shut up in here any and all times that I'm at home since it's got all that I need. The other day, as I lounged around on my ultra-comfy air couch and watched a movie, I started wondering why it was that despite having pretty much everything I could want in my room, I wasn't happy.
Call me emotionally immature, but having my mom around sort of gives me that feeling of security. I don't want to enter the adult world, and while she's around, I know she'll work something out no matter what happens. I'm so not ready to be that person for someone else right now. In fact, I'm pretty sure I'll be more like my dad, self-absorbed to the point of oblivion for anyone else's needs. They should have a selective breeding program, a way of testing to see if you're even fit to be a half decent parent. Wonder if my dad would have passed. Wonder if I could've passed?
Misha
at Sunday, November 20, 2005
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Friday, November 18, 2005
Torrential
For anyone wanting to learn the basics of Bittorrents, check out
Slyck's Guide to Bittorrents. Normally, you don't get very good speeds in Pakistan (stating the obvious) but if you're looking for something that's not very easily available, either because it's really old or brand new, checking out various torrent hosts is a good bet. The Worldcall users actually started up an official Torrent host called Go4Bytes. Unfortunately, due to people leeching (downloading files and not pitching in to let others upload from them in turn), that idea is bust. However, if you're on Worldcall, you can check out a couple of Trackers created and maintained by other WC users, using which you can get pretty decent speeds.
The first step is to download one of the many Bittorrent Clients out there. I use Yet
Another Bittorrent Client (ABC), but googling can get to any number of others that work just as well.
Next, look around for some torrents that catch your fancy. There are a couple of websites I use pretty regularly for my own downloads listed in the sidebar. Once you find what you need, download the tiny torrent file (a few Kb at the most) and double click on it and turn to your Bittorent Client' window, where a dialogue box should have popped up asking you where you would like to save the file you are downloading. This location is worth remembering since if you should ever happen to accidentally delete your download while it is in progress, all you need to do is open up the tiny torrent file again and direct it to the same directory and it will automatically resume your download.
So now you're all set. Check in on the Client's window to monitor the speeds you're getting. Locally, you'd get anywhere from 8-12 kbps on a good day, and if you're on a faster connection somewhere outside Pakistan, you're probably getting several Mbps. A general practice among leechers is to set uploads on the absolute minimum limit allowed for the download. The trouble is that just as you're getting the file transferred to you from any number of people's hard drives directly, whatever percentage of your download is on your PC now is being sent to others downloading as well. By leeching, you're taking files off other people, but not allowing others to copy off yours and you're an inconsiderate jackass. Also, once your download is complete, a good practice is to not delete it from your client window so that the file continues to be shared from your PC to others who are still downloading. I know it seems like a pain in the ass to share and sacrifice some of your own bandwidth when others are leeching mercilessly, but be nice. The more people who are seeding, the faster everyone else is getting the file.
That's all for today, folks, happy sharing!
Misha
at Friday, November 18, 2005
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Thursday, November 17, 2005
Finals have commenced! First one down, could be a possible A, six to go.
The sad news, for fellow
Worldcall users, is that the unofficial FTP server, filled to the brim with goodies like games, movies, TV shows and miscellaneous other items, is now nearly down for good. If you've heard a WC user bragging about how they can download the latest Lost espisodes off the FTP server in fifteen minutes flat while you slave for days download it off a torrent, now's the time to start gloating. Without the VAS, I'm not sure how many people will be opting for Worldcall as opposed to Cybernet or Multinet's DSL. :(
Misha
at Thursday, November 17, 2005
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Tuesday, November 15, 2005
You know you're tired when:
- You realise you're swaying on your feet and there's not a hint of music playing anywhere near you.
- You're having a tough time spelling ordinary words like "rope".
- Your head feels like it's twice its size and throwing off your body's balance, much like a lollipop would feel if it could walk.
- You have to make an active effort to resist the urge to just lie down on any comfortably cold surface.
Misha
at Tuesday, November 15, 2005
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Bombs again
At least six killed in blast at US food chain in Karachi KARACHI, Nov 15 (AFP) - At least six people were killed and several were wounded in a blast outside an outlet of a fast food chain in Pakistan's largest city Karachi, rescue workers said Tuesday."We have shifted six bodies from KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) to hospital on our ambulances," Muhammad Sabri, a senior official at Edhi Welfare Trust rescue group, told AFP. (Updated @ 09:23 PST)
Sigh. How much more can this poor city take? I know the people who live here are really strong and can handle anything from earthquake aftershocks to bomb blasts, but what of the general projection of Karachi and, by extension, Pakistan? Reading news tickers that state the glaringly obvious like "President, PM condemn bombings" pisses me off. Isn't it obvious that they wouldn't exactly be condoning acts like this? Can't they or we or anyone actually do anything to make sure this senseless violence stops besides make PR-friendly remarks to be used as sound bites and reassure people that investigations are ongoing?
For constantly updated news, as always, check out the Karachi Metroblog.
Misha
at Tuesday, November 15, 2005
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Sunday, November 13, 2005
Obsessing Again
I've come full circle. In this picture, the leftmost (and chunkiest) model is the one I currently own. The one to the far right (color and all) shall soon be mine! *bwahahaha*
A few issues, though. The new Video iPods have much smaller wheel areas than my old one. I'm not sure what that means for fingerspane space, but it can't be too comfortable for people with larger thumbs.
Additionally, Apple stopped providing power charging adapters and cables included in the packing since the Minis, so you have to put in some extra cash to get it. Apparently, in the US, only about 19% of all Pod users actually use a power adapter for charing. I'm not sure what the case is in Pakistan, but a seperate charger is always handy to have around for those overnight charging sessions.
Also, one thing that really bugged me was how come the black ipods don't come with black accessories to match instead of white. Even the ear bud earphones included in the package are white with black foam covers.
Anyhow, minor bitching aside, an iPod that can play the latest Lost and Veronica Mard episodes, display my photos AND play all the music I've got is a brilliant idea. Now if only that darn screen was larger...
Misha
at Sunday, November 13, 2005
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I'm exhausted and PMS-y and every second muscle hurts from moving large bits of furniture around for little brother's room. I want to lie down in a dark corner somewhere and sleep the day away, but my own room is occupied by painters and carpenters and workers who, for lack of anything better to do until the cement supplies arrive, are sprawled on my tile floor.
There has to be a couch unoccupied somewhere in the damn house...
Misha
at Sunday, November 13, 2005
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Which one's worse, exclusively wanting that which is explicitly unavailable and being interested only as long as it is unavailable, or knowing full well you only want something because you can't have it as you continue to persue it?
Misha
at Sunday, November 13, 2005
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Saturday, November 12, 2005
Early One Morning
Early this morning...
Misha
at Saturday, November 12, 2005
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Thursday, November 10, 2005
The horror!
I had thought, when I left for a measly three hours to attend my class after supervising the painters all day, that I had given them a reasonable impression of exactly the color I wanted, and repeatedly so. Three hours later, upon returning to my room, I was literally dazzled by the display of sheer pinkness in my room. Apparently, I have managed to find the only colorblind painters in Karachi to paint my room for me. :S
Misha
at Thursday, November 10, 2005
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Tuesday, November 08, 2005
RE4
If you've got a PS2, or even a GameCube, you must get Resident Evil 4. Granted, it's not too difficult, after all, if a sloppy player like me can complete 60% of the game in four hours of continuous gameplay, how hard could it be? Otherwise, brilliant game, highly recommended!
Misha
at Tuesday, November 08, 2005
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Updates
So many changes, so little time.
My room's being renovated, should be almost unrecognizable if I have anything to say about it. As a result the painters and I are locking horns all day. I insist the work's not being carried out fast enough with the men rushing off to frolic in the garden for a "break" at every opportunity. Additionally, even after carefully pointing out multiple times the exact color I want my room to be painted, I'm still plagued by lingering suspicions that the idiot will end up painting it "Spring Lavender" or "Pretty Pink" (I kid you not, these are actual colors in the ICI catalogue). Why is it stock colors happen to be washed out shades of delicate pinks, greens and blues? To prevent me from supervising (read "yelling at") the painters, mum insisted on dropping me off at the university with a list of important things that must be emailed to various people in preperation for her trip.
Oh yeah, and I'm finally getting a new PC. I was getting a second opinion on the specs I'd gotten from a guy I used to play LAN Games with years ago and he was shocked to learn that I still had that old "bag of crap". Thankfully, with dad and aunt being extra generous, I can get a decent computer at last.
Rounding off the gadget list nicely is the new
iPod Video which I shall be purchasing early next month. 30 Gigs of music, photos and video - I can't think of a better way to spend my money.
Mum and sis are off to the US for a month or two of intensive testing. Sis is busy saying goodbye to all her friends and eating desi food like there's no tomorrow for fear of not getting any for a while in NJ. Mum's happily busy sorting some of the chaos that has ensued from the renovations and the packing frenzy. I'm just looking forward to the finals so that I can get my peace of mind back.
Misha
at Tuesday, November 08, 2005
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Monday, November 07, 2005
Eid!
Eid minus the Internet, who'd have thought it possible? Every Eid, I take great pleasure in waking up early and checking out who's online and wishing them a "happy eid mubarak" :P Unfortunately, just as the powers that be declared that we would have a four day public holiday weekend this time (a cause of joy to all), my PC died on me. Therefore, for four days, I sat huddled in a corner like a crack addict cruelly deprived of my drug of choice. Since I was officially deprived of my PC, I warmed to the annual Dinner one or the other of my relatives throws every Eid so that everyone can gather in one place to exchange compliments about their new clothes and conveniently dispense of the Eidee. The lack of a PC and the horrible Eid Programmed on TV made me more cheerful about being mauled by relatives than is customary, which is just as well since I made a record sweep this year.
More on the Eid proceedings later when PC is finally fixed. Hope you all had a fun Eid too! :) |
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Misha
at Monday, November 07, 2005
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