An Egyptian Owl

It was a hot, static, full moonlit night. I was sitting out in the garden with some relatives. I caught sight of a flutter of wings and something big landing on an exposed branch further down the garden. I instantly recognized the peculiar shape in the dim light. It was an owl. It was the first time I and all my relatives who have been living in Egypt all their lives witnessed the freakishness, yet awesome presence of such a clandestine bird of prey.

Here it is,



I got pretty darn close to it. I was standing right under it and it looked down at me with those huge freaky black eyes. It was like an alien perched up on the branch thinking, "what is that idiot human staring at?".



Call us superstitious morons, but we could not help not feeling the bad omen. Owls are known in some parts of the world to be bad omens. Some parts of the world believe the eared owls represent wisdom and the ear-less owls are harbingers of death. Rabena yostor isA.

The Ancient Egyptians drew their hieroglyphics owl symbol with a broken leg as to prevent it from coming to life and bringing evil.

Quite an interesting incident...

A One Day Kitten Named Java

I had a kitten again for the first time in ages last night. A friend of mine brought it to work to see if any one wanted to adopt it. I took it home for one night but had to give it back the next day.

Here is Java - a darn cute, fun, jovial, mischievous fluff ball.



Loved the night she spent pooping on my bed and spreading a trail of excretion across my sheets. Enjoyed every moment of it :D



Will miss you Java,

Can you spot the spider?

The picture below has a camouflaged spider in it. It is a tiny very pale green spider that just happened to be in the path of my lens.



You can't actually see all of the spider. Its hidden behind the petals. I wish I could have gotten a better shot of it especially when it spun a thread of silk and descended into the grass. I lost it at that point. Well you can just make out the leg of the spider sticking out of the lower right side of the flower.

Here's another interesting pictures. I love the colors in this one. There are no spiders here...

Obama 6 superdelegates away from clinching the nomination!

Currently Obama stands 6 delegates away from the "magic number" needed to win the democratic nomination. That number is 2118. The super delegates are voting for who they want to lead the party in the presidential elections. The number is rising as we speak on yet another Super Tuesday! A few minutes ago he was at 2108...he just won 4 super delegates. On the other hand Clinton is still at 1912 and has already said she is open to become Obama's number 2.

There is still lots to be done by Obama. He is still very low in the blue-collar, non-college degree voters. He has to win over these voters to beat the republicans.

Let's see what unfolds...

Oh he just won one more!!! Now he stands at 2113

Computer Vision Vs. Image Processing

Computer vision is different to image processing.

Image processing tends to focus on 2D images. It look at how to transform one image to another by pixel-wise operations such as contrast enhancement, local operations such as edge extraction or noise removal, or geometrical transformations such as rotating the image. This characterization implies that image processing neither require assumptions nor produce interpretations about the image content. Computer vision tends to focus on the 3D scene projected onto one or several images, e.g., how to reconstruct structure or other information about the 3D scene from one or several images. Computer vision often relies on more or less complex assumptions about the scene depicted in an image.

How bad does it make you feel?

I was driving to work today and found two well-dressed guys in an elegant black car. The guy in the passenger's seat rolled down his window half-way and threw out a crumpled up bag of crisps.

My jaw dropped in disgust. I hate it when I see that!!!!!

Is the element of cleanliness and littering oblivious in the educational system of Egypt? I was taught at school as far back as I can remember, never to litter and the effects of rubbish on the environment...etc. I was brought up in an environment where littering was frowned upon.

I really hate seeing people littering, let alone decent-looking people who I assume to be educated.

Who is to blame? Part II

I was driving along today and saw a micro-bus swerve to the "side" to drop off some passengers. In actual fact the micro-bus driver's definition of "side" was quite distorted. He stopped one lane left of the right side of the road. There was one whole lane to the right of him. He did not bother to stop on the side of the road, so essentially he had stopped somewhat in the middle of the road. There was no excuse for this.

I started thinking and discovered there was another element in the equation of system breakdown which I described in part one of this post.

The other element is apathy, laziness and lack of manners and etiquette thrown in together to produce a mixed characteristic. The driver of the mini-bus was not bothered to think about the hordes of cars behind him. He felt that it was his right to stop there as he did in the middle of the road and drop some passengers off, even though he stopped one lane short of the right place to stop. Could it be due to the fact that there was a second row of cars parked in the lane that he should have stopped in. The second row of cars was further up the road so he could have still parked to the side, dropped off the passengers and not bothered the cars behind him. This is besides the fact that People are too lazy to look for a real parking place so they park in a second row next to the first row of parked cars. Anywayz this does not change the fact that the micro-bus was ill-mannered.

Then you start to think of the driver and the background that he has come from. Is he to blame? Or is it the medium in which he was brought up in. Is the educational system to blame? Is it due to lack of awareness? Should there be ways of making the masses aware through the media like TV, radio...etc. Should there be awareness programs to try and help the common people? I'm afraid to say the system has failed again. The reasons for this are many and complicated. Some of them include poverty, backwardness, development...etc.

I wish things would change overnight. There is always a first step to be taken. I hope its taken soon.

Can't talk to them until they...

Sometimes some of the greatest and most developed countries and peoples in the world speak words of bull****.

When a fight breaks up between two entities over money and the entity that claims the money says,

"We won't negotiate until you pay me the money!"

Depending on the circumstances of course - in most cases the whole quarrel is based on the money, so you cannot demand the money before negotiating. What you must do is sit down and discuss the problematic issue (which is the money!) and then come to a monetary conclusion or settle on a financial agreement.

I just found this synonymous to the fact that the current US administration and the British prime minister say that they won't talk to Hamas until Hamas recognizes the state of Israel.

The whole issue here is that Hamas does not recognize Israel because it sees it as the occupier of their land. The whole problem of peace in the middle east is based on this. The US is refusing to talk to Hamas until they "recognize the state of Israel". You cannot ask one party in any quarrel to first obey the opposing party and then be eligible to negotiate. Its absolute lunacy!

Thank goodness Obama sees this. He has criticized the current ruling administration and said many times: you cannot refuse to open dialogs with one of the fundamental parties in the middle east unrest. He believes that Bush junior's policies of silence has not brought anything but a downside in the reputation of the US and has made things worse and worse. He believes that settling any problem means sitting down and conversing with the opposition. I believe this to be the correct attitude...hope he wins...

Glory Glory Man United!!!

Again they prove themselves to be the best in the world...
My blood is in that club. Many of my friends know this. My grandfather played for Manchester United back in 1925. Recently I got hold of a letter inviting my grandfather to the centennial celebration of MANU club!!!


Anywayz...Manchester United came back again to be Premier league winners and Champions league champions!!!



Here's the Manchester United anthem:

Glory, glory, Man United,
Glory, glory, Man United,
Glory, glory, Man United,
As the reds go marching on, on, on.

Just like the Busby Babes in Days gone by
We’ll keep the Red Flags flying high
You’ve got to see yourself from far and wide
You’ve got to hear the masses sing with pride

United! Man United!
We’re the boys in Red and we’re on our way to Wem-be-ly
Wem-be-ly! Wem-be-ly!
We’re the famous Man United and we’re going to Wem-ber-ly
Wem-be-ly! Wem-ber-ly!
We’re the famous Man United and we’re going to Wem-ber-ly

In Seventy-Seven it was Docherty
Atkinson will make it Eighty-Three
And everyone will know just who we are
They’ll be singing ‘Que Sera Sera’

United! Man United!
We’re the boys in Red and we’re on our way to Wem-ber-ly
Wem-be-ly! Wem-ber-ly!
We’re the famous Man United and we’re going to Wem-ber-ly
Wem-be-ly! Wem-ber-ly!
We’re the famous Man United and we’re going to Wem-ber-ly

Glory Glory Man United
Glory Glory Man United
Glory Glory Man United
As the Reds Go Marching On! On! On! (3x)

:D

Glory Glory Man United

Busy Bee

I must say being busy is a blessing. Very often I find myself tormented under the stress and pressure of deadlines and workload. Although mentally I am getting battered and battered by work and more work, I feel a sense of accomplishment far more valuable than lazing around in free time. After a long hard week of work, the wonderful weekend arrives and you are able to finally unlock the shackles of strain and bath in your own time...:D. Unfortunately when you have masters work too then you don't really have a weekend of free time...hehe. You get battered and battered in another dimension, especially if your doing your thesis!!!

I guess the most important thing is to balance your life out between work, studying, your own time, your family and friends, SPORTS and the mashaweer (chores) you just have to do. Its hard some times, but if you keep on complaining that there is no time then you wont end up accomplishing any of it.

So quit the complaining!!!!

There is one simple principle: "When you sit down to do something...do it!"

Who is to blame?

Very often I find myself in a puzzle. I was driving one day with a friend of mine and a public transport bus stopped in the middle of the road. He cut off one of the lanes of the two-lane corniche road. He did not give a signal, no hazard lights...nothing - just stopped to pick up passengers. My friend reached across and punched the horn down to express our anger and frustration. The bus driver simply stuck out his left arm out the window and gestured with an open palm to go ahead and use the free lane he hadn't blocked. Call him cold-blooded, call him ignorant, call him what you will. I signaled left and overtook the bus. He shouted out the window. I couldn't hear what he said and I decided not to bark back.

Afterwards I started thinking...

Who was to blame? The bus stopped in the middle of the road because he couldn't really stop any closer to the pavement because there were hordes of people standing on the road struggling to get a chance to ride. Are the people to blame for standing on the road? The pavement as far as I remember was too narrow and the bus stop was unable to accommodate all those people. It was basically survival of the fittest. The fastest would get to ride first and take the place of the slower less fortunate. Who designed the bus stop? Was he to blame? I dont think anybody actually designed the bus stop. Who designed the road with no off-road area for the bus to pick up passengers? Who designed the road with no hard-shoulder? Was he to blame? What about the inefficient public transport system? Did anybody design anything? Was it designed a long time ago and cannot be enhanced or adapted?

I believe it is the whole system that has failed and fallen apart. Scalability is among key design features for any system. Learning from previous mistakes is also a virtue. Learning from entities with more experience is another way of learning. Still new cities are being built with nothing being learned. 6th October is becoming more and more like down town and Madinat Nasr (places of extreme traffic jams and crowded streets). The streets are still narrow and are usually taken up by a row of parked cars and in many cases a second parallel row. Is there any foresight? When you build something - shouldnt you think of the consequences of building it? Shouldnt you think of trying to accomodate as many people as possible? Are there places to park? ...etc...etc

There are just so many situations where you see people pointing fingers and barking at each other. Its a constant factor in big cities in developing nations. People are always frustrated at others.

Another incident happened to me as I was riding with a friend. The friend was over-speeding on a highway. Again this was on a two-lane road. There was a slower car driving along in the fast lane. I can't really remember if the right lane was occupied or free. My friend slowed down suddenly meters away from the car in front and flashed the lights and beeped the horn several times until the car swerved aside to allow us passage. My friend cursed the other driver and went on going. I find myself in both situations. I find myself the speeder who gets frustrated at the slower car in the fast lane even though the other car is driving within the speed limits and I'm over speeding. I also find myself in the fast lane confident that I'm driving exactly as fast as the speed limit and I find pleasure in keeping to the fast lane as a car behind me barks and barks :D.

Who is wrong here? Is it the speed limit :)? Is is the speeder? Is it the slower car keeping to the speed limit in the fast lane? Is it the highway designer? Is it the lack of awareness and driving ethics?

Again - Who is to blame?

PS: One thing I do know is that speeding kills

War Everywhere!

What is it about Arabs and inner conflicts? As I write this entry there is fighting between the Sudanese government and rebels, Lebanese army and HezbAllah, Fatah and Hamas in Palestine, Iraqi government against militia and religious sect militias against each other.

Why is this happening in this region of the world? What is the link between this region and the enraging and devastating wars? Is it due to ignorance and lack of education? Is it due to one of the seven sins of humans -> Greed? Is it hatred? Maybe the insidious evil nature of mankind? Maybe corruption?

Well nothings black and white, it could be due to all the reasons above. Could be due to none. I don't know anymore. I just hope things get better...:(

Obama!

If I was an american, I would support Obama all the way. Naturally I would hate to see another Republican president after the disastrous Bush junior.
All the same, this US presidential election is very different. It has the oldest contender, the first female runner and the first African American candidate. For the first time I've found myself obsessed with the US campaign trail. I remember I was also into the Bush I vs. Clinton I and then Al Gore vs. Bush II. I remember the happiness when there were false claims that Al Gore had won over the controversy that took place in Florida state. I remember the sadness as Bush II won again and went on to another period of being the worst president in the history of the US.

Just this morning North Carolina was declared an Obama state by a large margin of 56 to 42 percent. In the Indy primary unfortunately Obama lost by a narrow 2 percent.

Obama's origin, character and of course his policies are what makes him different. He is the son of a Kenyan man and a white American. He is exceedingly charismatic - "Yes we can!" :). His speeches were turned into clips on youtube and music videos. I've never seen a presidential candidate speak like I saw Obama speak after the first incident with his former reverend. He speaks down to earth and charismatically feels like the basketball coach down the road...hehe.



He opposes war. He wants to open dialogs with foreign countries. He is active in the international arena. His health care policies is beneficial for the US people - "I believe that the millions of Americans who can't take their children to a doctor when they get sick have that right...". He has foresight in the energy crisis with his energy & environment plans. His policies should increase investments in infrastructure, energy independence, education and R&D. He also wants to modernize and simplify taxation and implement trade policies that benefit the US and also increase the export of American goods.

I think he should be the next US president. He'll cleanup the rubbish of his predecessor. If you think otherwise, let me know...

Clusty

An interesting search engine which clusters results into categories.

Try it here

Whats wrong with the Toktok?

Many people have been talking about the toktok and how its not a civilized approach to transportation. I hate it when people use the corresponding Arabic words for "not civilized". To be honest this country lacks many aspects of civilization. All we care about is looking civilized when in actual fact we are years behind.



I believe recently the authorities have decided to banish the toktok from Egyptian sands. I see this as a foolish decision. When you decide on something, you must think of the consequences to yourself and the others who will be affected by this decision. The toktok is an excellent means of transportation over short distances in remote areas of Cairo. If you take this away many people will suffer. Find another cheap solution before you take this away. Think about the people. That is being civilized.

Another problem we face in West Cairo is the "highway" called the Mehwar. There was no maintenance done to the highway throughout its lifetime. Now they are in the process of redoing it and still they yet to learn that there is something called a hard shoulder which is an empty lane reserved for broken down cars...etc. They also want to stop the micro-buses from stopping on the highway. This again is the black and white decision making of the authorities. What will people who live around the highway do? They will have no easy means of transportation. They will surely suffer. Wouldn't it be better if we offered them another solution, if we thought about them for a second, if we thought about their rights as citizens in Greater Cairo.

Te2ool lee meen? ("Who do you tell?" - an Arabic expression of hopelessness)

Masr Om El Donia!!! ("Egypt - the mother of the world")

:D

Telescope? Did I order a telescope? Oh yes...

Ah yes...now I remember! I ordered a telescope in December of last year.
Have I received it?
Nope. The customs put me through hell. So I was forced to forfeit it.
Why?
Because they believe a telescope is associated with explosives, weapons and ammunition.
What the hell?
Yes, its true. They offered me a choice though. Which was very good of them :).
I could either go ahead with the transaction and pay taxes equal in amount to the price of the telescope and then pay a further pricey fee for a metaphysical test on the telescope which would then dictate whether or not this type of telescope was banned.
The other option was to disown it and donate it to the government. The last option which I initially decided to go with, was to reship it out. I though of shipping it to my family in the UK...but NOOO!!! It has to be shipped to the same country from which it came from or otherwise they will think I was trading telescopes. Then I discovered that to reship it out to the US alone would cost a considerable sum, let alone shipping it later to the UK.

It seems there is a lack of understanding. Everybody told us something different. A guy in customs told us to ship it to the US and on the way instruct the courier service to change destination at Heathrow airport and then ship it to a location in UK. This was complete bullocks. The courier service said to just leave the telescope at customs and forget about it. It would go to the government in the end. The official responsible for weapons and ammunition told us that the government will not leave it alone. They will charge us money for the space the telescope is taking up in the warehouse.

Its a complex world it seems. I'm still trying to ask to give up the telescope and disown it altogether. I'm glad the ordeal is coming to an end...isA

It was an unwise decision to order that telescope. Let this be a warning to anyone who wants to order something from abroad to Egypt.

Reflection()

I've been doing some programming using reflection recently and when I thought about the term I was unable to put together a formal definition, so here it is...

Reflection in computer science is: "Reflection allows code to discover information about the fields, methods and constructors of loaded classes and to dynamically invoke them. It basically entails reaching into the JVM (if in JAVA) and grabbing out information about loaded classes at runtime"

The Revolution of the Google App Engine

As they have done before, Google are revolutionizing the way we deal with the Web. For developers like myself, they have created a whole new scheme of things to come. Google has announced Google App Engine which provides developers with a means of instantaneous web publishing. You can create a website through Python (the first supported language) and using the SDKs provided test it and debug it and then publish it within minutes.
This will revolutionize web dev. I think this is damn innovative stuff...



"Google App Engine lets you run your web applications on Google's infrastructure. App Engine applications are easy to build, easy to maintain, and easy to scale as your traffic and data storage needs grow. With App Engine, there are no servers to maintain: You just upload your application, and it's ready to serve your users.

You can serve your app using a free domain name on the appspot.com domain, or use Google Apps to serve it from your own domain. You can share your application with the world, or limit access to members of your organization."


App Engine is free!!! You get 500MB of storage and enough CPU power and bandwidth for about 5,000,000 page views a month

Simply beautiful...

I tried to get the preview release but it was only being given to the first 10,000 developers to register. I was obviously too late.

The SDK is available for download...so anyone interested go ahead! There is also documentation. But there is still no space to register for publishing on the production environment...

Soon...my friends...soon :D

Backronyms

Never knew there was a word to describe this. An acronym is a abbreviation. A backronym on the other hand is a phrase constructed from a previously existing word or abbreviation.

An example: A Spool in computers is a buffer area used for data transmission between a computer and a peripheral of lower speed. People constructed the phrase Simultaneous Peripheral Operations On-Line based on the believed-to-be acronym Spool. Its the inverse (the reverse direction) of developing an acronym.

I thought this was quite interesting...

Google Alerts

Just came across Google Alerts. This is darn kool. It'll allow me to keep up to date with issues. Check it out...