Whale Valley & Sandboarding

I had a blast yesterday! I went on a trip to Wadi el-hitan (The Valley of Whales). It was a trip of many first-timers. It was the first time that I went on an off-road trip in the Western desert. It was the first time I sandboarded.

It was amazing to see the flat plains just West of 6 of October city turn to rocky formations of cliffs and wind carved structures. The terrain then morphed into a flat pebble filled desert. Then we came to the valley of whales which once was home to numerous prehistoric species and the Tethys Sea. This was a feeding ground which brought together many species some 25 million years ago. The whales had scrawny legs back then! :D. Although some on the trip disliked the notion of going through all this trouble to see a pile of bones, I was lost in imagination. I could picture the water beasts and amphibious creatures of age and was astonished at how different it had become.



The day was running late as we dined on barbecued burgers and kofta. We were dreading the sun setting on us without us experiencing sandboarding. We got to a dune some time later and made our way up. OUCH! for me and my full stomach, it was 1000 times worse than the worst workout I had ever done.

The first time I went down I stubbornly insisted on sliding down with my shoes on. Unfortunately my shoes were not properly fit into the straps and so I fell like a boomerang across the face of the dune. The board was attached to my foot by a heel strap and so I couldn't get loose. I learned my lesson and did what everyone was doing. I took off my shoes. Thank goodness I was able to actually sandboard then. I didnt fall much after that until after I completed the dune and hit level pebbly sand.



The journey back to Cairo was a blast too. We sang all the way back. We sang an African camp song which Pablo (our Spanish trip-mate) taught us...:D.

I will hopefully be doing this soon isA. I look forward to it.

Ghandi's Seven Evils

Mahatma Gandhi's wisdom on "Traits Most Spiritually Perilous to Humanity"

Wealth Without Work

Pleasure Without Conscience

Science Without Humanity

Knowledge Without Character

Politics Without Principal

Commerce Without Morality

Worship Without Sacrifice


Wow, very intense words. If you think about them you'll find that they are indeed true.

New Pyramid Discovered!

Egypt truly is the land of the pyramids and hosts one of the greatest heritages man has to cherish. There have been 100+ pyramids discovered in Egypt. I'm sure there are many more buried in the dunes of time. Two alone were discovered this year - one this last month.

One clear day I went up to the Moqattam plateau in the heart of Cairo and could count about five pyramids lined up across, where the western desert meets the Nile banks. I could see the three on the Giza plateau, the Djozer stepped pyramid of Sakkara and as I recall two from the Dahshur pyramids (the bent and the red pyramids). The great pyramid of Khufu is the last remaining ancient wonder of the world. The bent and red pyramids were built for king Snefru (father of Khufu). I haven't actually been to Sakkara and Dahshur. I can't believe I haven't...hopefully soon...



I'm surprised I haven't written more about Ancient Egypt, especially since I've been deeply fascinated by it ever since I was a kid. I even contemplated doing an Egyptology major in university - that would have really changed my life! :D

The link to the latest pyramid discovery:
HERE

Speak Up!

Sometimes you speak up and express your opinion and find the whole world opposing your views and ridiculing them. This is unpleasant and sometimes hard to deal with. However hurtful it may seem it is much better than being perpetually silent and keeping yourself shut up for the fear of ridicule. As long as the words you say are carefully measured and fit between the boundaries of the context in which they are inserted then you can feel confident to speak up and be heard. Make sure that the words you speak are also hurting in anyway to anyone your listeners.



Just as a warning somethings should not be said at certain times, at particular places or to specific people. Carefully weigh your words before you say them. Remember the adage, "look before you leap" and "think before you speak". If you are speaking in the context of a meeting about a certain subject then don't hesitate to challenge others and express your point of view of course without saying anything that could be found religiously or personally offending. Keeping yourself shut up is contagious to ones self. You'll keep taking the easy way out and silencing yourself.

On another thought, some people are amazing talkers but horrible listeners. I think to make a good speaker one must possess the patience and ability to listen to others and absorb the information before reacting. Speaking and listening compliment each other. People think and speak at different speeds so adapt yourself to different types of people.

One Heck of a Documentary!

Just finished watching part II of "When We Left Earth: The NASA Missions". It was utterly breathtaking to watch every minute of it. I still haven't watched part III but definitely look forward to it.



Anyone with interest in space, technology and scientific success stories would find this documentary childishly spell-binding.

My advise -> Get it & watch it!

It shows that inspiration, aspiration, perspiration and determination can make wonders.

Seriously Breathtaking!

Some of the most unbelievable and breathtaking pictures Ive seen.

Check them out HERE

Photos that Changed the World!

The link below displays some of the most famous and controversial pictures. Some of them are horrifying so please be warned.

www.photosthatchangedtheworld.com

Obama's Historical Acceptance Speech

This morning I watched the rerun of the acceptance speech by Barack Obama at day 4 of the DNC. It was held in a Denver football stadium which hosted about 80,000 people. The mood and atmosphere was ecstatic and movie-like. There was everything from fireworks, confetti and roaring crowds to an exceedingly well delivered speech. There was theme music that made you feel the depth of the moment like when your watching the end of a historical movie like "The Patriot" or "Braveheart". Even the ties of Obama and Joe Biden represented the blue and red of the American colors. The background stage just behind the podium had a window design that reminded me of the white house windows and appeared as he spoke and greeted his family and vice. It was all meant to look like he was standing on the white house lawn.



This speech was a historical moment for many Americans as it coincided with the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech. Some of the audience were in tears because of the meaning of the moment. It represented what Martin Luther dreamed of; a United States that knew no discrimination and segregation. This dream was solidified and materialized into that moment as a black American of Kenyan descent stood as the Democratic Presidential nominee.

Barack's speech as many of his previous was outstandingly constructed. It went from the official show-biz kind of acceptance to describing his proposed policies (domestic and foreign) to how he would finance his plans to attacking his opponent to getting personal by talking about his family and life. It was a comprehensive and well prepared speech. He was not reading from a paper or anything of the sort...wow...wish I could do that!

The Republicans only fighting card now is to attack Obama's inexperience. They say McCain is the true changer. He is the only one with enough experience in politics to battle for the changes America needs. It was a clever move from Obama's campaign to select Joe Biden as his running mate. Joe Biden is an aggressive debater and a well experienced member of the political arena. I believe in the end it is the policies that dictate the debate. Inexperience is one thing to consider, but you have to look at the broader perspective of policies each candidate puts forth. It is true that McCain has stood next to Bush in his decisions 90% of the time and voted 23 times against the bill to support renewable energy. Obama said, "It's not that McCain does not care, it's that he does not know" how health care has failed Americans, how war veterans are homeless, how people are loosing their homes, how people can't afford proper education...etc. I hope Barack wins because he plans to increase research funding at universities in the US and I know I want to do my PHD sometime in the future, isA.

Anywayz I look forward to seeing the clashes and dramatic debates between the two and November 4th awaits to be seen...

ps: You can see the video of the speech on Youtube

Green Concrete

A new German invention....air-purifying concrete....CLICK HERE

Catalytical Confidence

Just a thought...

Confidence is a catalyst of the human character. It enhances workmanship and skill and allows a person to express his/her opinion, views and emotions untainted by the fear of sarcastic feedback.

Some people have it at birth, others acquire it naturally from their environment, some acquire it through hardship and few never possess it.

Confidence is a worthy trait to have so don't take it lightly and try to gain it if you lack it.

But remember not to be over-confident, because humbleness is also a virtue.

Confidence must be softened by humbleness and the ability to accept other points of views. Balance these characteristics carefully because a tilt to either extreme may destroy both.

LOL, I sound like a preacher....was just thinking out loud...

Galleria!

Click on the images for the real experience!

king Pigeon



Silhouette



Who's There?



Silent Red



Intrusion



Star

Photo Frenzy

I can honestly say I'm now an official addict of photography. I'm legally obsessed with the world of still-image capturing. :D

It's quite distracting actually. I'm still learning to control its power over me. I'm getting the hang of it!!!

I was actually selected as "Best of 2008 Photography" by an online competition @ www.photolaureates.org. My picture will be published in a coffee-table anthology along with other privileged photographers. I have been selected as a finalist for the grand prize of $6500. I doubt I'll win that because the picture I took (which you can see below) is not really a winner. It was an experiment and it turned our quite colorful and crisp but it isn't really that strange or awesome enough to win, or so I hope not....hehe.

Here's the pic:



Now I dream of what I may be able to do if I had a DSLR and a flight to an exotic destination...:D

Cheers!

Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

For the very first time, I played on a Wii and absolutely loved it. Its one hell of a revolutionary gaming console. It just needs better graphics and will be sure to occupy the majority of the market if no other vendor catches up with this technology which has been around for a while.

I played Wii sports; boxing, tennis and bowling. I also played Rockband which is utterly amazing. I'm best on the drums when things don't get to messy and offbeat...:D and singing believe it or not. I scored 100% on a couple of songs and was labeled "Serious Skill" numerous times with scores in the 90s.

My arm is aching from the tennis. I hit the ball so hard. Although the ball doesn't move that accurately relative to my stroke its enjoyable all the same. Its more like doing the right gesture that the console interprets as a stroke which in reality is nothing like it.

Can't wait to check out Zelda and the rest of the games...

Night Shots

I've always adored the night's sky. So here's a bunch of pix I took with long exposure. Note: you got to click on each pic to see the stars!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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.