WHY can I never access Buzzvines???

HELP!!!I just saw an article on Bloggers.Pk posted on Buzzvines that I really want to read but as usual I cannot open up Buzzvines. Someone help me!!

The best Iftar deals in town!

Come Ramzan and you'll be able to see hordes of hungry people clam,ouring for food around 8.00 PM. No, this is isn't a scene at sone langar or soup kitchen, but what happens at fashionable restaraunts and eateries throughout Karachi. In Ramzan.
Anyway, I'll be publishing a whole series of guides (I hope) on the best places to eat and drink in Ramazan for Iftar, Sehri and dinner.
So, the first guide I've written is tentatively called "The Best All You Can Eat for Iftar Buffets". Enjoy.
Note: It'll be published in a later post.

Ramazan comes to town!

And so, the first week of Ramzan ends. However, I still have to see the traditional Ramazan spirit of tolerance, piety and peace among the general public, who are still enthusiastically cursing their way through town.
I'll be publishing a definitive guide on Iftar and Sehri deals in town soon....Stay tuned!

My Life Is Desi.

Thanks to some random friend on Facebook, today I discovered a website called My Life Is Desi. Apparently, its a spoof of F My Life but its still hilarious. On it, Desi people post their real life experiences regarding Desiness. Here's a few quotes:

"Today, my mom told me to steal some chopsticks from the chinese restaraunt because she wanted to use them to make seekh kebabs for the guests coming over tomorrow."

"Today, we were eating and I spilled my drink and I asked my mom for some napkins and she hands me napkins you would find at any McDonald's."

"Today, my mom threw an impromptu chai (tea) party. She threw it not to see her friends, but to finish the milk that expired yesterday."

"Today, my cousin wouldn't let my mom FedEx some cloth directly to her in New York from Houston. Instead, she is having my Khala (aunt) take it on her trip to Karachi and then have her friend pick it up and bring it on her way to New York."

"Today, my mom came home and told me she got makeup for me. it turned out to be chai-flavoured lip gloss."

"Today my dad proudly wore my brother's T-shirt which says "jackass" on the front because he accidentally thought it said "jhakaas" and he showed it to all his friends."

Real Smart.

A friend of mine posted a link to this picture on facebook. Its a problem posted by a boy on some site where you post a question and someone answers it. Well worth reading!

Twitter!

I finally signed up for Twitter!!!Follow me at www.twitter.com/faizkhalil.

Awesome partying.

After Pakistan won the T20 WOrld Cup, spontaneous celebrations started in Islamabad. I was there at the Jinnah Super market along with fellow swimmers from the Sindh and NWFP swimming teams and we just got carried away. Dancing and shouting slogans in the streets, we tired ourselves out. Here are a few videos of the celebrations which took place at Jinnah Super. I think me and my mates are somewhere in there. Enjoyed it a lot..:D

Pakistan have indeed made a come back..

After facing a long run of defeats, Pakistan beat Sri Lanka and claimed their first ever Twenty20 World Cup on Sunday night. I was in Islamabd at the time representing Sindh at the 49th National Swimming Championships and I saw the end of the match on a small public TV in the middle of Aabpara market. And I can say that I have never before seen the enthusiasm amongst the populace which I saw after Pakistan won the T20 World Cup. I was part of the spontaneous celebrations at the Jinnah Super market which continued late into the night and the level of enthusiasm and suport there among the people surprised me.

I am SO back.

The last post I published was on the 9th of May, 2009. Its been over a month since I posted anything on my blog. In that time, I've given 3 O Level exams, been to Islamabad, Lahore and then Islamabad again, participated in the National Swimming Championships and been invited to swim for WAPDA. And I also partied my butt off at the celebrations in Islamabad after Pakistan won the T20 World Cup. And I can say, it was FUN!!!

Sorry ppl...

Hey guys, sorry for the lack of updates recently.My O Levels are about to start soon and I'm swamped by studies.
Anyway, I'll be back soon with new stuff....

Im baaackk...

I have been busy like crazy for the last two weeks cuz I was studying like crazy for my mocks and signing up for Second Life. But I am SO back....

World Cup 2011 matches cancelled....CRAP!!

Just heard that the Cricket World Cup matches due to be held in Pakistan in 2011 will not be played in Pakistan. The ICC has announced at a press conference in Dubai that due to the present security concerns about Pakistan, no World Cup matches will be played.

This has come following a decision last year deciding not to play the Champions Cup 2008 in Pakistan. Also, I have been hearing that the 2nd South Asian Swimming Championship, in which I was supposed to participate, has been cancelled. It was supposed to be held in August 2009.

Following the ICC's decision, public feeling has that been of resentment. Also, people like Nasim akhtar (former Chairman Pakistan Cricket Board) and Ramiz Raja (former skipper of the national cricket team) have said that the ICC rushed its decision. The populace feels the same.

I believe that, what the people fail to realize is that Pakistan is seen internationally as a volatile tionderbox ready to catch fire at any point. It is obvious that despite assuring "foolproof plans" to ensure the security of the Sri Lankan cricket and them having them ambushed in the heart of lahore, NO sane cricket-playing nation will send its team to play within our borders. Until we actually improve the situation in this godforsakens hitpile e call a nation, we can be rest assured of being deprived of international teams and delegates visiting us. Instead of making false promises (like Zardari did today in Japan at the Friends of Pakistan conference) we need to be truly committed to actually doing something. Only then will we actualy do something.

How to loose potential customers………………… the Zong way

First up, open up only one customer service center for a city as big as Karachi. This will make sure that the entire center is jam packed so that when the customer who books their favorite number online and goes to pick it up gets daunted and returns without getting the connection. If this doesn’t deter the customer, he will try to go back to the website to edit his booking and have the SIM delivered to his home for an additional charge, only to find out that once you have booked the SIM there is no way to go back and edit it, meaning if you made a mistake, that’s it, you are screwed.
If the customer still really wants that number and decides to come back and brave the crowd to finally get to the counter after waiting in the line, tell him he can only get one connection per NIC. When the customer asks for the reason given the website states that each customer can book up to ten connections per NIC, tell him you can book 10 but get only 1!!!!!
After that when the customer finally selects one number from the multiple numbers that he has booked, tell him he cannot get this number because “we have sent it to our franchise to sell it out.” When the customer blows his fuse and asks how can you sell it when he already has it booked since the last 3 days, tell him that it is still booked under his name but “we have sent it out to our franchise to sell it out.”
When you see that the customer is getting really angry and will not leave without getting his number give him the SIM that you just told him a minute ago that you have sent it to a franchise.
This, ladies and gentlemen, is the great Chinese strategy to capture the market and become its leading player.

V-Track-No we don't.

It seems like I have been little harsh on Trakker (a local vehicle tracking company). So what if their customer service reps were a little off when it came to the initial setup, at least they haven’t caused any gaffe afterwards.
I was thanking my lucky stars that I went with them after my experience with another tracking company named V-Track, who had installed their system in my friend’s car. A couple of weeks ago, I was roaming around with my friends on a Saturday night. Since it was just the four of us, we decided against playing cards or go bowling because they are more fun when there are more people involved. One of my friends hadn’t seen the Lyari Expressway yet so we decided to head over there. On the way we called V-Track’s hotline and asked them whether Lyari Expressway was one of their no-go areas (they shut down the car if it goes outside Karachi) and were informed that since this is within Karachi limits its okay to travel on it without informing them. Fair enough, we got on the expressway. Half way through, we got a call from V-Track (same representative) asking us our current location, which was really weird because they are supposed to be tracking the car and should know where we are. Anyway, after confirming everything is okay and giving us detailed information about their 7 exit points where they shut down the car, he hung up.
We got off the expressway and headed towards the Mai Kolachi Road. As we were passing the Lyari area our car was shut down. It shouldn’t have been a big deal if it weren’t 2 o’clock in the morning and all those news headlines about Arshad Pappu and Rehman Dakait’s gang war started flashing in our minds. We immediately got out of the car and started walking towards a chai ka dhabba which was a few meters away. Once we got there, my friend started calling the V-Track’s rep and literally started abusing him for shutting down the car even though he was told twice not to do that. Even then it took them a good 15 to 20 minutes to turn the car on.
During this period a couple of policewala on motorbike stopped by and after inquiring that the car belongs to us, asked us to move it as this is not a safe area and then sped off themselves.
Later on my friend told us this is the third time this has happened and the other two locations were near Mazar-e-Quaid and Bahadurabad. Imagine if this would have happened if my friend’s wife was with him. We told him that he should take this thing off as this is really dangerous especially in a city like Karachi, but according to him, it’s his company’s policy to have the tracking device installed by V-Track and he is helpless about it.

Spiralling downwards

This occurred with an acquaintance a couple of weeks back, and shows the true form of “jis ki lathi, uss ki bhens!”(the cow belongs to whoever has the stick). Here’s how he puts the entire event in his own words:
“I was driving back home when a car came 2 a sudden halt in front of me near the commercial area. The guy stood there 4about a minute not being able to decide where to go. I simply honked at him couple of times….guess that’s what annoyed him. He followed me and while I was entering my home, he came n slightly bumped my car from behind which sent me in a fit of rage. I followed him n blocked his car a few 100 yards from my house and got out of the car to bash him up or give him a few slaps, the next thing I know he fired three shots at me one of which pierced my knee n put me through an agonizing ordeal to recover from”
Guess nowadays, you can’t even correct anyone…..
This reminded me of a similar incident that happened with me earlier this year. I was going to pick up my son from his school with my wife. The person ahead of me, in a vehicle that had government number plate was crawling at slow speed blocking the road up ahead. I honked the horn to which he moved a little giving me space to squeeze by him. After a minute, I noticed he was speeding up behind me, honking his horn, making me wonder what the hell is wrong with this asshole. When I gave him way to over take my car, he slowed down next to me and asked me “Why were you honking your horn at me?” The question took me by surprise and I replied, “Cuz you were blocking the way”.
At that point he picked up a gun and pointed it to my face and told me there was a pothole on the road that’s why he had to slow down. The exact thought going thru my mind was “How the fuck was I supposed to see what was in front of your car, you asshole” but thankfully the barrel of the gun staring down at me made me keep my mouth shut. Then he told me if I ever do that again, he’s going to shoot me (WTF!!) and drove away.
What is happening to us? Have we really forgotten that one day we have to answer for whatever we do in this world?

Mobilink GPRS and Sony Ericsson GC79 connect card

Onwards with my quest to be connected all the time, every time, I’ve taken another step. After the failed experiment of the VPTCL, which neither gave constant speed, and nor was it true wireless, because you have to carry the huge set around with you, and the battery wasn’t that good either.
The only option at my disposal was to setup a Wifi network at my place and have either the regular dial-up, or DSL. Setting up the Wifi itself is expensive, add to that the huge amount the ISPs are charging for DSL every month, and I had to scratch that option.
The last resort, came in the form of a company that I love to hate. Mobilink, or as is popularly known here, Maybe-link. After being frustrated by their “Network Busy” messages, I threw away the cell phone connection I had and switched over to Ufone, vowing never to return to it, no matter what.
But after it’s launching of GPRS and being the only company in Pakistan that gives the option of unlimited GPRS for a fixed monthly amount, I had to give in and return to its customer service for a new connection. I was intrigued by their offer especially when it came with a GPRS connect card that would make my laptop connected to the net, wherever I go. I collected all the details and then started doing my research, which was a good thing because it saved me from being ripped off.
Mobilink are offering their GPRS connect card, which is basically Sony Ericsson’s GC75 card with a Mobilink sticker on it for Rs. 12,700 (inc of taxes). If you go to any mobile store in Karachi, you can get SE’s GC79 card for around Rs. 8,000. When I asked the Mobilink representative about this difference, he made up a story of how the card that they are offering is compatible and if I buy the card from outside, I will have problems with the settings and it won’t work. It sounded like a lot of BS so I decided to buy the GC79. I bought it from a Sony Ericsson shop in Clifton Center, and bought a zero line rent Mobilink Indigo post paid connection with GPRS activated.
The installation was simple, you install the software and plug in the card, it asks you the APN of the service provider and the username and password. I checked out Mobilink’s site and the APN was there. For post paid users, the APN is “connect.mobilinkworld.com”. The site said to leave the username and password blank. I did just that and guess what, it didn’t work. I called the helpline and asked for the username and password to which I was told it is “mobilink” for both fields. I didn’t argue as to why it was stated blank on the website because I was in a hurry to see the results.
After putting in the right information, I was immediately connected and ready to surf. The speed isn’t that bad, it is almost 75% of what I get with the Cyber Hi Speed that I use at home, which is not bad, plus I get the freedom to roam around anywhere without wires.
However, I tried it again last night and it wouldn’t connect to the network, same result this morning. But right now I am connected and everything seems okay. I am giving mobilink the benefit of the doubt as this might be a one off problem. Will try again tonight and see if it works.
Hopefully this will end better than the VPTCL experiment and this could be it for my search to wireless connectivity until the government decides to reduce the DSL rates.