A Tech-y Post

So this post is one of its first kind I guess. A colleague passed on this Tech Magazine called "Tech". Apparently its Oman's Only Technology Magazine...well that's what it says on the cover anyways. I read it yesterday during a free period and I came across a couple of interesting tech's.

~The Duo

Apparently, the Inspiron Duo (by Dell) has just recently been made available to the public and I think it just looks fab.

It's really cool how you can flip the screen a complete 180 degrees which kind of transforms it into a tablet. Really like the idea!

~MS. Touch Mouse

This next one is probably my favorite out of the reads through the magazine. This touch mouse has been specifically designed for Windows 7 and as it says in the magazine "Fun and easy to use". It looks like it!
This touch mouse lets you click, flick, scroll and swipe. The design is pretty flash and it looks comfy to use too. The really cool bit is it supports use with either hand. The matrix on the top of the Touch Mouse is made of "capacitive touch-sensitive electrodes" (??) to help the mouse track the position of your fingertips along the surface. Seriously, this mouse is cool! It costs like OMR 30.800 though ....

~Dolphin on the Road

Well that's what the title the magazine gave for this next bit. It actually talks about a car; the Volkswagen XL1. Well here it is:

So this car, what's so...let's say "different" about it is that it consumes just 0.9L/100km of fuel. We gotta admit that that is pretty impressive, more like EXTREMELY impressive. I mean fossil fuels aren't easily obtainable these days plus, well not here in the M.E. , but everywhere else fuel prices are increasing. So this is a good start!

What I thought was cool about this car though is, there are no side mirrors. How (?) one may ask. Well can you see that thing at the front on the side door that might look like a door handle, THAT's actually a camera (on each door) which sends images of the surroundings behind the car to a display inside the car (as can be seen in the second shot).

When I first saw a picture of the car, I seriously started imagining the future with flying cars just like in "The Fifth Element" (the movie). Look at it's design! It's absolutely...hideous! YUP! I'm sorry to say but I really hate the design. The only thing I like about it is the windows and the front (especially the lights).

~NGP (Next Generation Portable)

So this is the name given to the PSP2? It's going to be equipped with a couple of cool things; dual analogue sticks (that's actually going to be useful), Wi-Fi and 3G network connectivity and with a number of applications...it sounds like an I-pod Touch if you ask me. No price has been confirmed yet but Sony did say they "will shoot for an affordable price that's appropriate for the handheld gaming space".

There you go. Yes! I do have a Tech-y side =P

Maher Zain - Freedom

Dedicated to all the people struggling for freedom and dignity in the world.

Maher's Zain new music video, inspired by the revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and across the Arab world.

Absolutely beautiful! ♥

Did He Just Play A Trance Song On A Guitar?!

Did he?! =O

Love the outfit...Mortal Combat much?! Pure awesomeness.

This was actually shared by Phat'hi via twitter, and I just had to post it here.

It was unintentional

This post is dedicated to being a teacher.

You know when you're mad, and that's it, the fun, and the atmosphere is ruined. When you could have a smooth and chilled out lesson, instead it's just...scary? One kid somehow, unintentionally, manages to flip the negativity of the room just by saying the simplest and silliest thing...unintentionally. I could start laughing my head off right in the middle of explaining something.

Many occasions with my students have reminded me of something that I had done, unintentionally, during my school days. I was grade 10 and one early morning, I decided to tidy up our HUGE shelve (which was the width of the whole back wall) at the back of the class. I was such a super duper neat freak it wasn't healthy xD Anyways, our English teacher had given each of us the task of filling up a jar with new words that we learn through out the week. We kept all the jars in a corner, and being the neat freak I was, I just didn't like them there so I moved them to the center of the shelve lol

Come English lesson, our teacher entered the class in what seemed to be the mother of all worst moods possible. It was obvious the lesson isn't going to be its usual, and well, he's a scary person when angry (but one of the favorites). We started out the lesson and as expected, he got mad at any little thing. Suddenly he blurts out:

Eng. Teacher: "I'm really disappointed grade 10...(stuff I can't remember) .... and look at the jars, they haven't been moved, they're still at the same place."

Okay! So I took the words "moved" and "place" by their literal meaning when he actually meant that they haven't been filled, and just that morning I had "moved" and "placed" those jars in the center of the shelve, I raised my hand up nervously. Teacher pauses and looks at me.

Z&Z: "Sir, I moved the jars this morning. They were in the corner and I moved them to the center...."

He stares at me for a while, gobsmacked by what I had said, then his lips made a slow transformation from pursed lips to a smile. Classmates and the teacher started laughing by this useless comment I had just blurted, while I just sat there wondering what had happened. Yup! Even back then I was slow xD took about 10 seconds to realize what I had said...I went into a fit of laughter and a shade of tomato red.

It was unintentional.

Something is happening...

...to the Middle East. The people are stepping up and fighting for their freedom, showing the world that we are more than that, and we shall not be silenced when it comes to our Freedom!

For the past month or two chaos and rage have broken out in (first) Tunisia and (second) Egypt, whom we are very proud of, where the people have finally woken up and vowed for a Revolution, a change in regime and a better way of life...in other words, a voice, freedom. Thanks to God, the brave people won without the help of any foreign country, but that was exactly what the goal was. Despite the victory, there have been some serious loses. From buildings, homes and places to the valuable life of a human soul. Many men and woman (old, young, and children) have lost their lives (Martyrs) for the protection of their country, right and voice. They shall not be forgotten for their act of bravery and honor.

I managed to follow the full Egyptian Revolution from day one, January 25th, and I cannot begin to describe how it touched my heart deeply. From crying, to anger, to hate, to shock, to disappointment, to being worried and then happy...the world got to see as the Egyptian people, our people, rose up to the greatest revolution of our time. Egypt, you truly made us proud! You showed the world!

We will not be silenced! Whether you are a Christian, whether your Muslim, whether your an Atheist! You will demand your goddamn rights and we will have our rights one way or the other! We Will NEVER Be Silenced!

Our brothers and sisters are currently fighting in Bahrain, Libya and Yemen for their revolution. Our prayers and hearts are with them!


What a start to 2011. History is being made and I get to witness it!

Thank you, I'm proud!

Just some randoms.

~ I had one pressurized week at work and imagine, there were no students yet. School officially starts on the 18th and yet I got swamped with loads of work. I was craving for a holiday immediately and I'm so glad we got a week off for Eid...it's more like a charging week before the battle. The week mainly consisted of preparations (so much of it for me) and creating posters for each class we're going to teach this year (eyes pop-out , I have 27 different classes this year, 30 hours of teaching per week). The higher ups wanted to get all this work done before we officially start and they don't want us to slack off apparently. Meh! I'm going to be teaching grades 3 through 11 this year...possibly grade 12, though I'm dreading grade 12 since they study Java...who likes Java?!!! Sadly, no more grade 2 for me. I LOVED grade 2's. They are so cute and said the sweetest things.

No but seriously, I can't wait to see my students. I do miss them! I saw 3 or 4 of them during the week and they sure made me smile.

Highlight of the week: I was saying hello to my to-be grade 9 student who was standing with her mother.

The Mother: "Who's this? Zameeltich*?"
Student: "Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaam! She's my computing teacher!"
The Mother: "La wallah?! But look at her she has a baby-face!"

All I was doing was giggling like an idiot and thanking her hahaha

* Zameeltich = You're classmate


~ I was daydreaming about New Zealand 2 days ago. How much I miss it. How my University life was so interesting, weird and fun. How much I miss *real* sushi...Bongo cafe! The kind and peaceful people....and here's where I remembered one disappointing incident that happened to Mama.

This is how mama told it:

Mama was at a vegetable shop buying, well you guessed it, vegetables, when she noticed one Maori man giving her an unfriendly look. She had a feeling that he was going to 'drop a bomb', either swear at her in which she'd reply "You're mama" (hahaha) or call her terrorist. It was the latter. As she approached the tomato section (Mama can't live without tomatoes...she's a tomato herself haha), where the man was standing...she prepared herself for what's to come.

Man: "Terrorist!"
Mama looks at him in a disgusted yet I'm going to reply to that way and says,
Mama: "Thank you. I'm proud!"

The section had started to get crowded and he was too shocked to say anything back. Mama got her tomatoes and left happily.

She came to tell us this story that night, we laughed our heads off but we were so sad to know about this situation which has never happened to any of us before, ever. She said she didn't know what to reply with except for that...it worked didn't it?

But seriously, no one can generalize a whole people according to the actions of one person. We still love and miss New Zealand even after remembering that.

~ Oh! And here's what I did this shot for a Photography competition on English Sabla...the theme was Ramadan.

Before

After

There might not be a great difference, but it did make it look better. I used Diablo's tutorial so thanks Diablo! That's one awesome tut.

I won the competition...woooot!


Happy Eid ya'all!

Eid Mubarak 2010

Eid Mubarak Everyone!!
Hope all is having a wonderful time and enjoying it to the fullest. Isn't it weird to eat again haha, I still feel I should be fasting.

Anyways, have a good one and may Allah bring us another beautiful month of Ramadan and Eid insha'Allah!

Gone Arabic

~ What a wonderful Ramadan this has been! Thanks to Allah. We've finally reached the final 10 days of this holy month and those should be used even more wisely. I hope that everyone has been benefiting greatly from this beautiful month, in every single aspect. I know I have and I plan to continue insha'Allah!

~ I've been reading two books lately and what can I say, they've been such a fantastic read that I strongly recommend them! The first book is called Stories of the Prophets (from Adam to Mohammad) by Ahmed Bahgat. It gave me goosebumps, brought me to tears and made me smile and chuckle. Just amazing!

The second book is Falastine...Al Tareekh Al Mussawar (History of Palestine in picture) by Dr. Tariq Al Suwaydani. It's very simple with a lot of well illustrated pictures, many dating back in those ages. This beautiful book has benefited me in so many ways that I'm so happy with it! It's in Arabic, and Arabic books are not 'my thing' since I'm so and so with the language itself. So hopefully it'll be a way to improve my Arabic insha'Allah. Secondly and most importantly, I've been living in the dark when it came to my own country' history and basically this wonderful book has opened my eyes to this old, old and beautiful history. So thanks to Allah that I'm gaining this important knowledge!

~ Khawatir 6. Have you guys been watching this show? What an amazing show and I just have to bring up yesterday's episode which is my current favorite right now. Check out the episode, it'll tell you everything you need to know.

"I am white, I am English and the struggle of the Palestinians is my struggle too" - by a protesting British Woman for Gaza

"I am Jewish and I loath by what the Israeli's stand" - by a protesting Jewish man for Gaza

...and the impressive, The Crocodile Tears of Norman Finkelstein:

What a truly amazing man!

~ Lastly, I start work on Saturday. Meh! Mixed feelings about that to be honest. I've turned into a lazy monster, just sitting here comfortably, waking up as late as I want, sleeping whatever time I want...so in other words a very unhealthy lifestyle. I look forward to going back to school for many reasons, but mainly for the sake of getting back to my daily and healthy routine. I've missed the kids as well...all of them, so it should be nice to see them when school officially starts. I'm planning to make a few changes so I hope all goes well! Plus I miss driving my car *cries*

Wohoo updated! :D

The Amazing Qur'an by Gary Miller

I just finished reading this wonderful article in which not only was it interesting and informative even for me as a Muslim but it amazed me and made me smile and laugh because of how truly amazing the Qur'an is!

It is a very long article but one that cannot be missed!! I have quoted only the first few paragraphs but as you read on, it just gets better and better.

Calling the Qur'an amazing is not something done only by Muslims, who have an appreciation for the book and who are pleased with it; it has been labeled amazing by non-Muslims as well. In fact, even people who hate Islam very much have still called it amazing.

One thing which surprises non_muslims who are examining the book very closely is that the Qur'an does not appear to them to be what they expected. What they assume is that they have an old book which came fourteen centuries ago from the Arabian desert; and they expect that the book should look something like that - an old book from the desert. And then they find out that it does not resemble what they expected at all. Additionally, one of the first things that some people assume is that because it is an old book which comes from the desert, it should talk about the desert. Well the Qur'an does talk about the desert - some of its imagery describes the desert; but it also talks about the sea - what it's like to be in a storm on the sea.

Some years ago, the story came to us in Toronto about a man who was in the merchant marine and made his living on the sea. A Muslim gave him a translation of the Qur'an to read. The merchant marine knew nothing about the history of Islam but was interested in reading the Qur'an. When he finished reading it, he brought it back to the Muslim and asked, "This Muhammed, was he a sailor?" He was impressed at how accurately the Qur'an describes a storm on a sea. When he was told, "No as a matter of fact, Muhammed lived in the desert," that was enough for him. He embraced Islam on the spot. He was so impressed with the Qur'an's description because he had been in a storm on the sea, and he knew that whoever had written that description had also been in a storm on the sea. The description of "a wave, over it a wave, over it clouds" was not what someone imagining a storm on a sea to be like would have written; rather, it was written by someone who knew what a storm on the sea was like. This is one example of how the Qur'an is not tied to a certain place and time. Certainly, the scientific ideas expressed in it also do not seem to originate from the desert fourteen centuries ago.

It goes on about how some people perceive that the Qur'an was sent by the devil :dev: and/or Prophet Mohammed is the Author and the time he came up with the Qur'an and when he claimed he was a Prophet he was crazy and/or a liar. But all of these assumptions and what these people believed are proven wrong through this article.

Continue Article - A MUST READ!!!!

Gather round

...cos I've got a thing or two to share.

First, I'd like to start of by saying I hope that everyone's Ramadan is going beautifully and smoothly, that it has been a blessing for all and a strong month of worship for you in the path for becoming a stronger and better Muslim! ^^

Second, I would like to introduce this new blog, خطوة | A Step, in which I'll be contributing in with two other fantastic ladies, my dearest friends FAITH and Spot. It's still fresh and plans and ideas for خطوة | A Step are under way. So please do check it out and insha'Allah it will be informative and an eye-opener.

This blog is a drop in the silence sea of the world...in which we believe that if it happens and intensifies with other drops; they'd change something...someday!

And that's my 50bz lol

May Allah (swt) accept our fasting and may our Iftar be delicious! Ameen.