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.

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.

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All about the Iphone...

The Iphone, released some time back by Apple, is one of a new generation of touch-screen smartphones. anyway, this good friend of mine, Shayan Tejani, has started a great blog in which he writes all about the Iphone, including how to get free Itunes as well as how to get free Iphone applications. Visit shayantj.blogspot.com or just click here.

The World Challenge-an international ray of hope.

For the last five years, an international competition called The World Challenge has, in association with Shell, Newsweek and the BBC, found projects and small businesses from around the world which show enterprise and innovation at a grassroots level. The winner each year gets a substantial grant.

The World Challenge winner in 2008 was the Plan Bee Project, ruin by the Hashoo foundation, which is run by the Hashwani family, the hotel tycoons of Pakistan. The Hashoo foundation encourages female beekeepers of the remote Gilgit region, which is traditionally male dominated, to keep bees and harvest their premium honey. The Hashoo Foundation processes and packages their honey and sells it in luxury hotels at premium prices. The profits go directly back to the female beekeepers of the remote region. The Hashoo Foundation's Sarah Hashwani explains, "We're not interested in just helping them earn more money - we want to see that their children are better educated, that they have access to healthcare, that the have better sanitation in the houses and that they have better nutrition."

Visit the Hashoo Foundation here.

Visit the World Challenge website here.

The Plan Bee Project:

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.

Taliban marriage bureau

Looks like even the Taliban in the Swat Valley have had to become modernized. According to the BBC Urdu Service, the Taliban have opened up a sort of marriage bureau called "Shuba-i-Aroosat", headed by Taliban commander Abu Ammad. It arranges love marriages for couples denied marriages of their choice by their families. Taliban spokesman, Muslim Khan has said "The love marriage aspirants contact the bureau on a fixed telephone number. The Taliban collect their particulars and then contact their familites to arrange these choice marriages,” he said, adding that Islam allows every adult to get marry according to his/her own choice.

He said, “Most of the girls, or their families, who contacted us wish to marry ‘militant’ Taliban.”

It is claimed that they have already gotten 11 couples married, while more than 300 boys and girls wait for their turn.
Amazing!