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!
Showing posts with label karachi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label karachi. Show all posts
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
December 2009-An unmeetable obligation.
Last year, we all saw the T.V ads by the government which said that the electricity shortage and loadshedding problems would be wiped out by Decembeer 2009.
There is absolutely no way in hell they can do that!!These days the shortfall has soared, widespread loadshedding is being carried out and the industries have been crippled.
The government has managed to talk the talk, but it seems that it is failing to walk the walk. Consumption is growing at an almost exponential rate, and the gap between demand and supply is ever-widening. It has grown to over 2,500 Megawatts. This situation is unacceptable, as most of the residents of karachi are too poor to arrange or afford backup systems like generator and UPSs. As I write this, the generator in my garage yammers on and consumes expensive petrol, while the government doesn't appear to give a whit. Why should they? THEY don't have to endure 10-15 hours of loadshedding a day.
Lets see what happens. I personally don't think that we will get rid of loadshedding by December 2009.
There is absolutely no way in hell they can do that!!These days the shortfall has soared, widespread loadshedding is being carried out and the industries have been crippled.
The government has managed to talk the talk, but it seems that it is failing to walk the walk. Consumption is growing at an almost exponential rate, and the gap between demand and supply is ever-widening. It has grown to over 2,500 Megawatts. This situation is unacceptable, as most of the residents of karachi are too poor to arrange or afford backup systems like generator and UPSs. As I write this, the generator in my garage yammers on and consumes expensive petrol, while the government doesn't appear to give a whit. Why should they? THEY don't have to endure 10-15 hours of loadshedding a day.
Lets see what happens. I personally don't think that we will get rid of loadshedding by December 2009.
WiFi hotspots in karachi
Three years after buying my trusty Sony PSP, I have just discovered that IT CAN BE USED TO SURF THE 'NET!!!!! So now, I go around karachi tapping into various WiFi hotspots and getting FREE WIRELESS INTERNET in Karachi!! The WIFI hotspots i have discovered so far are:
1-Jinnah International Airport.
2-Pearl Continental hotel.
3-Sheraton Hotel.
4-Avari Towers.
5-Hotel Mehran on Sharah-e-Faisal.
6-Karachi Club. (Free but password protected)
7-Karachi Club Annexe.(Free, but password protected. The password is "Annexestaff")
8-PNSC.(That huge container terminal on your right as you go down the PIDC bridge)
9-Park Towers.(The Food Court).
10-Cafe Evolution/Purple Haze.
11-Wired Up Cafe and Gaming Zone in Zamzama.
12-Hotel Marriot.
13-IBA City Campus in Saddar.
14-Regent Plaza.
15-Dunkin Donuts. (Tipu Sultan road).
16-Cafe Espresso.
These are the WiFi hotspots I've discovered so far. If you know of any other ones feel free to comment on them and I'll include them in this post ASAP.
A major concern is obviously taking out one's laptop or PDA in the car or in any other public area. The law and order situation is bad and this is likely to get you robbed or killed. Do be careful.
1-Jinnah International Airport.
2-Pearl Continental hotel.
3-Sheraton Hotel.
4-Avari Towers.
5-Hotel Mehran on Sharah-e-Faisal.
6-Karachi Club. (Free but password protected)
7-Karachi Club Annexe.(Free, but password protected. The password is "Annexestaff")
8-PNSC.(That huge container terminal on your right as you go down the PIDC bridge)
9-Park Towers.(The Food Court).
10-Cafe Evolution/Purple Haze.
11-Wired Up Cafe and Gaming Zone in Zamzama.
12-Hotel Marriot.
13-IBA City Campus in Saddar.
14-Regent Plaza.
15-Dunkin Donuts. (Tipu Sultan road).
16-Cafe Espresso.
These are the WiFi hotspots I've discovered so far. If you know of any other ones feel free to comment on them and I'll include them in this post ASAP.
A major concern is obviously taking out one's laptop or PDA in the car or in any other public area. The law and order situation is bad and this is likely to get you robbed or killed. Do be careful.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Deaths in "Rancholain"..
Just saw that deaths have been caused due to firing in some area of Karachi called "Rancholain". First time I'm hearing of that area. Watch ARY OneWorld for more info.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Donkey parking available!!
It seems that the Utility Stores Corporation, which was established by the government to provide goods at subsidized prices to the masses has started to provide parking for those created it. Yes, it seems that the parking at all the police stations and government-owned hospitals has run out and donkeys are now being parked at the Utility Stores. Have a look at this picture from the well-known Jang daily.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
ATM robbery in Karachi
There have been a string of ATM robberies in Karachi recently. As usual, our police has been unable to arrest or even identify the culprits involved even though you can see their faces easily in the video and the videos are circulating all over the 'Net.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
If they don't care, why should we?
I was just going to some place the other day and I saw this car pull up right in front of me at the signal. And I thought, "If this guy is a member of the National Assembly, then shouldn't he be actually aware of laws banning tinted windows and customized plates?". So I took this picture to prove that even the rulers don't actually giva a shit here in Pakistan. And by the way, this picture will be shown on Dawn News as part of their Citizen Journalist programme every hour on Sunday, January the 25th.
An original pictue by Faiz Khalil.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Representative isn't it??
I was going to Dreamworld last sunday and right off the highway, I saw this sign. It made me think off hte state of our police force and how representative the donkey really is.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Where’s the rest of them dummies?
This was a photograph I snapped outside a store on Zamzama, whilst trying to navigate my way through the one-way streets. The lower portions of these dummies were just standing around, quite freaky until I realized how they were probably just waiting to be picked up… ;-)
Friday, December 19, 2008
Useful Site of the Day: Karachi Metro
Here’s a useful site I came across today for people of Karachi. It’s called Karachi Metro and tagline says “The simple way to find that restaurant’s number.”
While it won’t be able to compete against a comprehensive directory such as Karachi Snob, but from the looks of it, that’s not what the site owner is aiming for. But, where Karachi Snob gives you many different options and layers and layers of information, this site feels like Google of Karachi’s restaurant directory, simple and to the point. According to the person running this site, “Karachi Metro came about in 2005 when I got tired of calling PTCL “17″ to get a restaurant’s number. They never seem to have any of them! Kmetro is a simple, clean space where you can find phone numbers to popular spots in Karachi. Get in, get your number, order your meal. Really helps during lunch time at the office, too.”
The main page shows all the restaurants’ phone numbers sorted alphabetically along with a tag for whether the restaurant delivers or not and in some cases a link to an online copy of their menu. On top there is a search box where you can quickly search for a restaurant if you know the name. Then there is a list of categories which will quickly show only those restaurants which fit a particular category such as, Chinese, Italian, Fast Food etc. There’s also “I am craving” button if you can’t decide and want to go by author’s favorite restaurants in different categories.
It’s really simple and fast, however, it will only work if it’s updated regularly.
While it won’t be able to compete against a comprehensive directory such as Karachi Snob, but from the looks of it, that’s not what the site owner is aiming for. But, where Karachi Snob gives you many different options and layers and layers of information, this site feels like Google of Karachi’s restaurant directory, simple and to the point. According to the person running this site, “Karachi Metro came about in 2005 when I got tired of calling PTCL “17″ to get a restaurant’s number. They never seem to have any of them! Kmetro is a simple, clean space where you can find phone numbers to popular spots in Karachi. Get in, get your number, order your meal. Really helps during lunch time at the office, too.”
The main page shows all the restaurants’ phone numbers sorted alphabetically along with a tag for whether the restaurant delivers or not and in some cases a link to an online copy of their menu. On top there is a search box where you can quickly search for a restaurant if you know the name. Then there is a list of categories which will quickly show only those restaurants which fit a particular category such as, Chinese, Italian, Fast Food etc. There’s also “I am craving” button if you can’t decide and want to go by author’s favorite restaurants in different categories.
It’s really simple and fast, however, it will only work if it’s updated regularly.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Arizona Grill…. we absolutely make sure you’ll love our food
The service levels of Arizona Grill have really gone down the tubes. It seems like they are having trouble handling the success that they’ve had. Although the quality of the food is still superb, especially the steaks are to die for, but to wait for 50 minutes for the steak to arrive is absolutely pathetic, considering that you have already had to wait 25-30 minutes to get the seat because of the “No reservation over the weekend” policy.
Hmmm…. maybe that is why the steak tastes so good, because they starve you beforehand..
Hmmm…. maybe that is why the steak tastes so good, because they starve you beforehand..
Passport office Trip
I was dreading going to renew my passport this whole week. My passport is about to expire so I thought I better get it renewed in case I need it in an emergency, but my previous experience when I went with a friend to have his passport renewed was enough to make me put it off.
Today I finally decided that enough was enough and went to Awami Markaz for the renewal and surprisingly it took me less than half an hour to get everything done, and I didn’t even had to hire an agent. The NADRA system is efficient and has finally managed to get rid of the agent culture that used to be part and parcel of getting anything done at passport office before. Now you can do everything on your own and don’t even need any documents or photographs, just keep your original NIC and passport and you’ll be done in a jiffy. Now if they can do the same things with the driving license office, it’ll be wonderful as my license will expire next year and I will have to go thru that hassle again. Maybe till then the system would’ve changed. Who knows.
Today I finally decided that enough was enough and went to Awami Markaz for the renewal and surprisingly it took me less than half an hour to get everything done, and I didn’t even had to hire an agent. The NADRA system is efficient and has finally managed to get rid of the agent culture that used to be part and parcel of getting anything done at passport office before. Now you can do everything on your own and don’t even need any documents or photographs, just keep your original NIC and passport and you’ll be done in a jiffy. Now if they can do the same things with the driving license office, it’ll be wonderful as my license will expire next year and I will have to go thru that hassle again. Maybe till then the system would’ve changed. Who knows.
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.
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.
Where to get your reading fix in karachi
Since I am into books, I thought why not write a post about the places where I go to buy these books. I’ve searched on the net trying to find some good bookstores besides the ones that I go to, but sadly, there isn’t much information about them considering the size of the city that we live in. I don’t know whether it’s the lack of interest in reading or the lack of interest of these small bookshop owners into using the net as a marketing avenue. Anyway, here goes, the list of places where I go to satisfy my craving for books. Note that I mostly read fiction, so this list is based on that:
First of all, there’s Liberty Books, the best place to go to buy any book you need, because of their huge collection and helpful staff, although sometimes they are overzealous in their helpfulness and end up chasing the customer away. Of course you have to pay the top buck to get your books from there as not only are they the most expensive, but they don’t usually offer discounts at their stores either. They do have a bargain basement at their Clifton shop near BBQ Tonight, but the books that they have there are just not worth the trip. But if you want something that you can’t find anywhere else, you will probably find it Liberty. Just be ready to pay the top price for it.
Another way to go is to shop at Liberty’s online store, where you get free delivery anywhere in Karachi and you get 20% off on each and every item. The good thing about shopping online is that you can shop at your pace, 24 hrs a day, 7 days a week, without any pushy sales guy giving you advice on which books you should buy. You can check out the ratings of the books on other websites, read reviews, before making the purchase and if you are on their mailing list you will get regular emails of the new arrivals which you can purchase with a few clicks while sitting in your home/office. Although there are a few kinks in their site, for instance while browsing thru the books, you get three options for sorting the books, i.e., by price, by newest arrival and by title, but these don’t work out the way it should as they only sort out the 12-15 books that are displayed on that particular page and not the entire category.
Another draw back is their delivery times, I’ve ordered books that have been delivered the very next day and for some I’ve had to wait for over a week, sometimes even two to three. This you don’t know when you order, however from my experience I’ve realized that it’s best to order in small lots. If you order one or two books and those too from the new arrivals, you will get the fastest delivery times. If you go for 8 to 10 books in an order and they are mixture of new arrivals and published previously then you better be ready to wait for your delivery.
The reason that I have been able to come up with is that they don’t have a central stocking warehouse or if they do, it doesn’t have the entire collection. Therefore they ask their various bookstores to send them the books and once they have all the books they will send them to you. Also, while ordering they won’t tell you whether the book you are ordering are in or out of stock. My last order, which compromised of 9 books, was delivered after over a week and that too after I’ve called them two or three times, in two batches. Out of nine two of the books weren’t delivered. When I called them up about it, I was told that they are out of stock so I can either order some alternate books or ask for refund. If they can work out these kinks, they’ll be one of the best option for a bookie like me.
Third stop is the Paramount Books, located in PECHS, they are famous for their annual book fair in August every year where they offer big discounts on all their wares. I only go to their annual book fair so I don’t know what kind of discounts if any they offer. They also have an online book store, but navigating thru the site is so tedious that I’ve never bothered to order any book online thru them.
Next up, we have Time Books and Stationers, located near National Stadium, next to Time Medico. This is an excellent stop and has recently become my number one shop for books. Reason being that their prices are below Liberty in most of the cases plus the owner will give you 8-10% discount, but you’ll have to ask for it. So lets say The Bourne Identity, which I was browsing at Liberty Online was priced at Rs425 and after 20% discount it will come down to Rs336. I found the same book at Time Books priced at Rs375, and after 10% discount I was able to get it for Rs340. But you’ll have to be careful because some of the books, for instance A Case of Exploding Mangoes by Mohammad Hanif, are priced at same rate here as at Liberty so for those you’ll be better off getting from Liberty Online and get 20% off rather than 10% at Times. Needless to say it’s better to come here rather than going to the Liberty’s brick and mortar stores, where prices are fixed. If you can’t find something here then go to Liberty.
These are the only places I go to buy new books. However more than half of the times I buy used books in order to avoid a big dent on my wallet. My most frequented hangout for used books during my school days used to be Khori Garden. It had the most amazing collection at the most amazing prices and in the most amazing condition. Almost all of the books there used to be in brand spanking new condition at throw away prices. However after coming back to Karachi, I haven’t been able to go there because of the traffic congestion in that area, lack of parking places, lack of time needed to go there during weekdays.
Nowadays, I think the best option for used books has to be the Sunday Bazar in DHA. You get tons and tons of books there, the only problem is that it’s only on Sunday and if you don’t live in that area, then it’s a long ride to and from and parking is a mess!! But it’s all worth it when you can get 3-4 books for the price of one that you’ll buy at Liberty or other places.
So what do you do if you want to buy used books during weekdays?? Well, if you in Clifton/Defence area, there are a few used book shops in Khadda Market, plus one at Boat Basin. And if you are on the other side of the bridge, then you cannot go wrong by going to the University Road, next to Bank Al-Falah and opposite Bait-ul-Mukarram Masjid, where you’ll see different book walas selling their books on thellas on an empty plot. You can get a paperback here anywhere from Rs20 to a maximum of Rs100 in very good condition and if you sister or wife likes to read Archie comics, then check out these prices, Rs25 for singles and Rs50 for doubles.
There are two ways to go around shopping here. You can either spend time to go thru the entire collection of each and every thellay wala and find the stuff that you like, or, you can fix a price with someone, give them a list of books that you want, and he’ll arrange them within a day or two. You can come back, check the condition of the books that he has arranged, take what you like, and leave what you don’t. Personally I prefer this method as it saves a lot of time.
So there, I think that about sums it up for the places I go to take care of my fix for reading. If anyone who reads this and thinks that I have missed some stops, feel free to post them in the comments section.
First of all, there’s Liberty Books, the best place to go to buy any book you need, because of their huge collection and helpful staff, although sometimes they are overzealous in their helpfulness and end up chasing the customer away. Of course you have to pay the top buck to get your books from there as not only are they the most expensive, but they don’t usually offer discounts at their stores either. They do have a bargain basement at their Clifton shop near BBQ Tonight, but the books that they have there are just not worth the trip. But if you want something that you can’t find anywhere else, you will probably find it Liberty. Just be ready to pay the top price for it.
Another way to go is to shop at Liberty’s online store, where you get free delivery anywhere in Karachi and you get 20% off on each and every item. The good thing about shopping online is that you can shop at your pace, 24 hrs a day, 7 days a week, without any pushy sales guy giving you advice on which books you should buy. You can check out the ratings of the books on other websites, read reviews, before making the purchase and if you are on their mailing list you will get regular emails of the new arrivals which you can purchase with a few clicks while sitting in your home/office. Although there are a few kinks in their site, for instance while browsing thru the books, you get three options for sorting the books, i.e., by price, by newest arrival and by title, but these don’t work out the way it should as they only sort out the 12-15 books that are displayed on that particular page and not the entire category.
Another draw back is their delivery times, I’ve ordered books that have been delivered the very next day and for some I’ve had to wait for over a week, sometimes even two to three. This you don’t know when you order, however from my experience I’ve realized that it’s best to order in small lots. If you order one or two books and those too from the new arrivals, you will get the fastest delivery times. If you go for 8 to 10 books in an order and they are mixture of new arrivals and published previously then you better be ready to wait for your delivery.
The reason that I have been able to come up with is that they don’t have a central stocking warehouse or if they do, it doesn’t have the entire collection. Therefore they ask their various bookstores to send them the books and once they have all the books they will send them to you. Also, while ordering they won’t tell you whether the book you are ordering are in or out of stock. My last order, which compromised of 9 books, was delivered after over a week and that too after I’ve called them two or three times, in two batches. Out of nine two of the books weren’t delivered. When I called them up about it, I was told that they are out of stock so I can either order some alternate books or ask for refund. If they can work out these kinks, they’ll be one of the best option for a bookie like me.
Third stop is the Paramount Books, located in PECHS, they are famous for their annual book fair in August every year where they offer big discounts on all their wares. I only go to their annual book fair so I don’t know what kind of discounts if any they offer. They also have an online book store, but navigating thru the site is so tedious that I’ve never bothered to order any book online thru them.
Next up, we have Time Books and Stationers, located near National Stadium, next to Time Medico. This is an excellent stop and has recently become my number one shop for books. Reason being that their prices are below Liberty in most of the cases plus the owner will give you 8-10% discount, but you’ll have to ask for it. So lets say The Bourne Identity, which I was browsing at Liberty Online was priced at Rs425 and after 20% discount it will come down to Rs336. I found the same book at Time Books priced at Rs375, and after 10% discount I was able to get it for Rs340. But you’ll have to be careful because some of the books, for instance A Case of Exploding Mangoes by Mohammad Hanif, are priced at same rate here as at Liberty so for those you’ll be better off getting from Liberty Online and get 20% off rather than 10% at Times. Needless to say it’s better to come here rather than going to the Liberty’s brick and mortar stores, where prices are fixed. If you can’t find something here then go to Liberty.
These are the only places I go to buy new books. However more than half of the times I buy used books in order to avoid a big dent on my wallet. My most frequented hangout for used books during my school days used to be Khori Garden. It had the most amazing collection at the most amazing prices and in the most amazing condition. Almost all of the books there used to be in brand spanking new condition at throw away prices. However after coming back to Karachi, I haven’t been able to go there because of the traffic congestion in that area, lack of parking places, lack of time needed to go there during weekdays.
Nowadays, I think the best option for used books has to be the Sunday Bazar in DHA. You get tons and tons of books there, the only problem is that it’s only on Sunday and if you don’t live in that area, then it’s a long ride to and from and parking is a mess!! But it’s all worth it when you can get 3-4 books for the price of one that you’ll buy at Liberty or other places.
So what do you do if you want to buy used books during weekdays?? Well, if you in Clifton/Defence area, there are a few used book shops in Khadda Market, plus one at Boat Basin. And if you are on the other side of the bridge, then you cannot go wrong by going to the University Road, next to Bank Al-Falah and opposite Bait-ul-Mukarram Masjid, where you’ll see different book walas selling their books on thellas on an empty plot. You can get a paperback here anywhere from Rs20 to a maximum of Rs100 in very good condition and if you sister or wife likes to read Archie comics, then check out these prices, Rs25 for singles and Rs50 for doubles.
There are two ways to go around shopping here. You can either spend time to go thru the entire collection of each and every thellay wala and find the stuff that you like, or, you can fix a price with someone, give them a list of books that you want, and he’ll arrange them within a day or two. You can come back, check the condition of the books that he has arranged, take what you like, and leave what you don’t. Personally I prefer this method as it saves a lot of time.
So there, I think that about sums it up for the places I go to take care of my fix for reading. If anyone who reads this and thinks that I have missed some stops, feel free to post them in the comments section.
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.
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?
“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?
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
15 great ways to get revenge
The Internet is a great tool. If you are screwed over by someone, you now only have to Google the best way to get back at them…. here is a sample of the things you can do to get even.
1. Revenge on a dirty roommate - using a hairdryer blow flour or powder under their door to give everything an awesome white coat…
2. Revenge on a neighbor - write a nasty message on your target’s lawn in weed killer, they’ll never get rid of the bald patches…
3. Revenge on anyone who doesn’t live with you - put gelatin down your target’s toilet, in a few days it’ll get solid…
4. When your roommate goes away, water his/her carpet and sow mustard and cress seeds for a lush shag pile…
5. Revenge on a neighbor - replace weed killer with plant food - they’ll curse their green fingers…
6. Float unwrapped chocolate bars and toilet paper in your neighbor’s pool…
7. Get as many alarm clocks as possible, set them for different times throughout the night and hide them on your roommate’s room…
8. Fill your coworker’s umbrella or coat hood with hole-punch waster, or even better four for a sudden blizzard…
9. Take your friend’s bike, get a ladder and raise it over a lamppost so that it passes through the whole in the middle of the bike frame. Hide and witness their frustration…
10. Take your boyfriend’s favorite clubbing shirt and use an ultraviolet pen and write what’s on your mind, under any black light your message will appear…
11. Revenge on golfers - put dog crap in golf holes…
12. Make up elaborate flyers for a wild party at your enemy’s home and wait for the guests to arrive…
13. Place a singles ad with your ex’s phone number in newspapers and websites…
14. Subscribe your enemy to every form of junk mail you can lay your hands on, the more embarrassing the better…
15. Subscribe your ex to all sorts of weird sex magazines but send them to his neighbor’s…
1. Revenge on a dirty roommate - using a hairdryer blow flour or powder under their door to give everything an awesome white coat…
2. Revenge on a neighbor - write a nasty message on your target’s lawn in weed killer, they’ll never get rid of the bald patches…
3. Revenge on anyone who doesn’t live with you - put gelatin down your target’s toilet, in a few days it’ll get solid…
4. When your roommate goes away, water his/her carpet and sow mustard and cress seeds for a lush shag pile…
5. Revenge on a neighbor - replace weed killer with plant food - they’ll curse their green fingers…
6. Float unwrapped chocolate bars and toilet paper in your neighbor’s pool…
7. Get as many alarm clocks as possible, set them for different times throughout the night and hide them on your roommate’s room…
8. Fill your coworker’s umbrella or coat hood with hole-punch waster, or even better four for a sudden blizzard…
9. Take your friend’s bike, get a ladder and raise it over a lamppost so that it passes through the whole in the middle of the bike frame. Hide and witness their frustration…
10. Take your boyfriend’s favorite clubbing shirt and use an ultraviolet pen and write what’s on your mind, under any black light your message will appear…
11. Revenge on golfers - put dog crap in golf holes…
12. Make up elaborate flyers for a wild party at your enemy’s home and wait for the guests to arrive…
13. Place a singles ad with your ex’s phone number in newspapers and websites…
14. Subscribe your enemy to every form of junk mail you can lay your hands on, the more embarrassing the better…
15. Subscribe your ex to all sorts of weird sex magazines but send them to his neighbor’s…
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.
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.
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