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Submitted by zozo2k3 on Tue, 2006-01-24 18:20.
Art on the Apratheid Wall
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This one of my favourite photo finds online [via Coffee Beans]
I have a feeling Roba is gonna like these

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قلب يعود للعمل بعد 10 سنوات من الراحة
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This is amazing, a girl's heart comes back to life after 10 years. Initially she had problems with her heart, she then got a transplant.
Have you ever wondered?
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I’ll start off with vans. Have you noticed how some vans have a “Sport” edition? There’s the Grand Caravan Sport, the Freestar Sport and the list goes on. What’s sporty about a van? Are car makers hoping that subliminally people will think the van is sporty and thus cool?

First trip of the year... How does London sound?
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As I mentioned earlier I’m almost done my work term and I’ll be returning back to school for the summer. Usually the university allows at least one week between work and school, but since the winter term is short, this time we only get a weekend separating school from work. I managed to get one week off, but the rest of my friends are stuck working until the end. Usually when we have a week off, we plan a road trip somewhere, but this time a road trip was not an option.

So… I was complaining to my parents on how the one week “vacation” will be extremely boring, with nothing to do and nowhere to go, then suddenly my dad said “why don’t you go to England?” And that was it! I was sold on the idea right away. Today I got my plane tickets, and two weeks from now I will be on a plane heading towards London. The closest I’ve been to London was Heathrow airport. Every time we landed there, I admired the city from the sky, but never got the opportunity to actually see it up-close. This will be an experience to remember.

The Ultimate Gadget
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In case you're wondering, these are not mine! :(

I’m still waiting for the ultimate gadget. A gadget that will combine the features and functionality of all of an mp3/video player (40 GB), storage device, voice recorder, FM radio, digital camera (at least 3 MP), software running capability, and of course a cell phone. It’s pretty much the marriage of an iPod and a PDA, on drugs. That’s not all. I expect the gadget to be lightweight, with a long battery life, and memory expandability. Oh yeah, and all this without exceeding 8 cm X 4 cm X 2 cm.

I want to be Ronalidnho
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In three weeks I will be finishing my work term and returning to school. Yes, returning to school for the summer. This will be my last summer term, and as you can imagine there are the benefits and the drawbacks. Main benefit is that I will be able to enjoy the weather outside more, since I won’t be trapped in an office for 9 hours a day. Main drawback is that I will be feeling guilty while enjoying the weather, since not much studying is going to get done.

Interesting Science Studies
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The latest collection of interesting research happening around the globe..

Device warns you if you're boring or irritating

Jerusalem Keychain
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I had been looking for this keychain for the longest time, and I finally found it. Behold, my favourite keychain of all time.

Update: This keychain has been hanging around for over 30 years.
On Drunk Stories...
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Why does everybody need to share their drinking stories with me, or anyone else for that matter? This is something that I find extremely annoying, and dumb. Some people come up to you and say "man, we got so trashed last night, it wasn't even funny." Then they start bragging at the amount of drinks they downed, "I had like 6 beers, 4 shots of tequila, 2 shots of Vodka… and then Joe came by with a huge bottle of rum, which we finished just between the two of us… It was freakin' awesome!" Is it really? I think you're a loser who wants to justify that you're cool, by telling me that you party hard. I'm saying ‘he’ here, but there are a lot of she's who shared similar stories with me.

It doesn’t stop there. People also give details of how their head was in the toilet all night, and how they fell down the stairs, and how they puked on the lawn, and how they made out with a chick who was so ugly she might have been a guy. All those stories are said with a sense of pride. Like these losers actually achieved something! And there’s always the confused guy who says “oh so that’s what happened that night.. I can’t remember I was totally hammered”

The Evolution of Love
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In the survival show post, I noted how amazed I was at seeing how far parents will go to ensure their children’s survival. This ‘phenomenon’ can be easily attributed to the love between parent and child, a love that we as being natural.


But why is it so natural? Why is it that in a time of life and death we choose to lag behind and save those close to us? I’m going to attempt to answer these questions in this post.

The Evolution of Love
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In the survival show post, I noted how amazed I was at seeing how far parents will go to ensure their children’s survival. This ‘phenomenon’ can be easily attributed to the love between parent and child, a love that we as being natural.


But why is it so natural? Why is it that in a time of life and death we choose to lag behind and save those close to us? I’m going to attempt to answer these questions in this post.

Can't I just get an oil change?
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My car was 50 KM overdue for an oil change, so during my lunch hour I hopped to the closest Jiffy Lube for some fresh lubricant. So I go straight in, the guy there directs to the proper place, and jumps to open my door. Next thing I know he’s firing his memorized “ hi sir, are you here for our ‘signature service Quaker State’ oil change, or would you rather get the 100 K 5W30 oil this time”.

What? Is he trying to confuse me with letter-number combinations to the point where I’ll say “me no get it, you change thing” Well, I wasn’t going to give up that easily. I said to him “so what does the 100K oil do?” He says “it’s for cars with mileage over 100K.” Hmm, that explains it. At this point I’m starting to get skeptical here, so I say “no thanks I’ll stick to just regular oil this time.” A disappointed look was showing on his face.

The Best Survival Show on TV
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Last Sunday on Discovery channel I watched the best survival show I have ever seen, called “I shouldn’t be alive.” I saw two different stories, one of them was a story of a family of three, husband, wife, and young baby stuck in the snow in the middle of nowhere.
Extensive Experience
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The other day I was doing some online research when I came across this company. I was impressed by their experience and I thought I wou
Office Talk
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You know what show is awesome? The Office, haven’t seen the American version yet, but the British version is great. The Office, along with Office Space, are the best depiction of the type of people, and behaviour people that work in offices see everyday.

Part of what makes an office is “office talk,” which is made up of typical phrases, or conversation starters that seem to be repeated in every office. I’ll give you an example. The other day I walked into the washroom to see a person looking in the mirror, yawning with arms stretched wide. I myself yawn all the time, and I expect people to yawn as well. This person though, felt like he had to explain why he was yawning by saying (a very typical office phrase) “Ahh, it’s sleepy Monday”. I’m usually not an ass, but I smiled and said “Today’s actually Tuesday”. He then replied saying (another typical phrase) “Oh yeah, time passes by so fast.”

Dollars and Cents - Solution to today's stupid economy
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Who hasn’t heard any of these?

Back in the day bread cost 50 cents.

Observations From a Manufacturing Facility
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Before I started work this term I didn’t know what to expect to see. This was my first job in the manufacturing sector, and I was looking forward to seeing the dynamic of the industry. The company I work at specializes in designing and manufacturing plastic components for the automotive industry, which means it’s a fast paced high output facility. In this post I will tell you about some of my observations of working at a manufacturing facility.

The first thing that struck me as I was walking around the plant for the first time was the number of women that work there. Since it’s a factory, I expected to see a lot of men on the floor. Since, although stereotypical, I associate factory employees with men. I estimate that 90% of the people on the floor are women. Their job doesn’t require any heavy lifting or strenuous work and this may be the reason behind the large number of women. One engineer casually mentioned to me that women are proven to have better hand-eye coordination, and since most of their work is assembly related they make a perfect match with the job.

How to rank #1 on Google..
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As I was going through my daily blog stat check I saw this very interesting search inquiry that lead to my blog.
The Cost of a Canadian Education Just Got Higher
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Today the tuition freeze set by the Liberal party 2 years ago was lifted by the ministry of Ontario's colleges and universities. Beginning next fall tuitions across Ontario will see an average rise of 5% for science and arts programs, and 8% for professional programs. Engineering, medicine, law and accounting are all classified under “professional programs.”

Allow me to give you an inside look into the amount of money spent by and engineering undergrad. When I entered university the tuition was roughly $4200 per term, which means you had to pay $8400 per school year, not including books, food, residence, parking etc. If you do the math you will find out that I will be paying roughly $10,000 for my last year with the new increase. And I’m actually quite lucky. Why you ask? Well I don’t have to live on residence and my program has an incorporated cooperative education program, which lets us work between school terms. But what about the other students? How will they be able to afford an education this expensive? I personally haven’t seen a 5% wage increase for working students over the years, and figures published yearly by the university support my observations. Furthermore, coop students are pretty much denied any OSAP funding (an interest free loan while you study) since they are seen as being well off by the university. So combining an 8% increase in tuition payment, with a constant income, and minus any financial assistance, shows how screwed some of us will be in the upcoming years.

On reading multiple books, and visiting the doctor
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About a week or two ago I got a book which I’ve been waiting to read for a long time, 1984. When I got the book, I was still in the process of finishing off ‘Tis, so I couldn’t start reading it right away.

So on Friday I started 1984, and my initial reaction was “wow, this books is sweet!” But before I got too far in the book, my “bestest” friend got me The Davinci Code. Me being me, I couldn’t help it but read the first few pages of Davinci, and that was all it took to draw me in. Plus while watching the Oscars, there was a commercial for the Davinci Code movie coming out in May, giving me more reason to the read the book first. I have tried reading two books at once before, but things got a bit confusing, so I wont try that this time.

Tag 5 - Not Exactly As Shown
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Omar may not be exactly as shown... but pretty damn close (see below)

Q: Who’s the 4th person on your received call list?
A: Chris

Q: What’s your main ringtone on your phone?
A: Continental (just a classic ring


Q: What were you doing at midnight last night?

A: Talking to some guests that were over

Q: What did the last text message on your cell phone
say
A: New offer from Rogers wireless……

Q: Whose bed did you sleep in last night?
A: My own

Q: What color shirt are you wearing?
A: White


Q: Most recent movie that you watched?
A: I re-watched Wedding Crashers

Q: Name 3 things that you have on you at all times?
A: Wallet, keys, cell

Q: What's the color of your bedsheets?
A: Navy blue

Q: How much cash do you have on you right now?
A: $40.

Q: What is your favorite part of the chicken?
A: Breast.

Q: What's your favorite town/city?
A: Montreal.

Q: I can't wait to (til)...?
A: I visit Syria.


Q: When was the last time you saw your mom?
A: 10 minutes ago.

Q: When was the last time you saw your dad?

A: 1 hour ago.

Q: When was the last time you talked to them?
A: Mom: 1 hour ago, Dad: 1 hour ago.

Q: What did you have for dinner last night?
A: kousa ou bitinjan ma7shi.

Q: How long have you been at your current job?
A: 2 months.

Q: Look to your left. What's there?
A: a bookcase and a printer, and a huge mess of stuff including anything from headphones to a calcluator.


Q: Who is the last person you spent over $50 on?
A: Some kid in Africa.

Q: Whats the last piece of clothing you borrowed from someone?
A: socks, after a water fight at university (I never return
ed them :D)

Q: What website(s) do you visit the most during the day?
A: Google.

Q: Do you have an air freshener in your car?
A: Two, one soccer ball and one of those maple leafs. The soccer ball is mainly for looks, since it died 10 minutes after I opened it

Q: Do you have plants in your room?
A: No but I’d like some.

Q: Does anything hurt on your body right now?
A: Yes, my shins, forehead and wrist, all from yesterday’s soccer game.

Q: What city was your last taxi cab ride in?
A: Mississauga, and the guy floored it !!

Q: Do you own a camera phone?

A: Yes

Q: What's your favorite starbucks drink?
A: Never been there, but generally speaking, cappuccino

Q: Recent time you were really upset?
A: last weekend.


Q: Have you been in love with anyone?
A: you know it

Q: Who do you think will repost this?
A: No one, hopefully

3enak, 3enak!
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Quick Update and Commerical Bashing
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Oh boy, so we’ll start with some breaking news, and then move on to commercial criticism…

First of all, I’m going to have less time to blog since I have decided to enter a design competition. I contacted some of the people I know/worked with at my previous coop job and so far we have a team of 4. The project involves the design of a sustainable/energy efficient community in a city in British Columbia. The main objective behind the design is to make the buildings, houses, schools in the area as energy efficient and environmentally friendly as possible, by using new technologies and innovative ideas. I didn’t know about the competition until a week ago, so we’re already 2 months behind, and we have 3 months to complete the design. So I will be concentrating my efforts during my free time on this project. The project is definitely a challenge since it’s geared towards civil engineers, and architects rather than mechanical engineers, so my main focus on this project will be to come up with some crazy ideas to save energy, and use renewable resources. BTW if you’re an architecture student and want to join comment or drop an e-mail..

For Every Government There's an Equal and Opposite Government
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The image says it best

Newton’s Third Law: for every action there’s an equal and opposite reaction.

How Arabs Say Goodbye on the Phone
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The tet on top is the way Arabs say goodbye on the phone. The English on the bottom is the way everybody else says g
Wise and Humbling Words
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This quote is taken from one of my favourite books, Pale Blue Dot. I posted the quote earlier on my blog, but my readership then wasn't as large as it is now, and hence I felt the quote didn't get the attention it deserves. So here it is again...

“... Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there - on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.
The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors, so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds. Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light.
Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.
The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand.
It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known. “

Carl Sagan
About the image:
The shiny object in the centre is earth. A pale blue dot as seen from Voyager. The picture is humbling, as it shows how insignificant we are, in the large scheme of things.

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Interesting Science Studies 2
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Everynow and then I come across cool science stories that really interest me, here are a few:

Teens gain valuable social skills online

Powerful Picture - the reality behind Palestinians' living conditions
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ORIGINAL PHOTO: unknown newswire, found on the flickr of /ishmais, a young Paletsinian living in Khan Younis Refugee Camp, Israeli-Occupied Gaza Strip.

The picture almost brought tears to my eyes…

I saw the picture on anomalous’ flickr page, who altered the original image found here. The description under the photo went on to say:

“In Israeli-Occupied Palestine there is a human catastrophe underway. The level of malnutrition in Gaza is the same as that of the poorest sub-Saharan Countries. Let me quote some figures: 22% of children under five years old suffer malnutrition and 15.6% of them suffer from anemia, which for many of them will cause permanent physical and mental damage. The majority of families eat once a day and often only some tea and bread. Today the number of poor has tripled since 2000. 60% of the Palestinians – 75% in Gaza, 50% in the West Bank – live under a regimen of extreme poverty; the per capita income has halved in terms of two years ago; the survival of more than half of the Palestinian population depends exclusively on humanitarian aid. And it often happens that the aid cannot be distributed by the OGN because the delivery trucks are blocked by the Israeli army, tons of food supplies remain stationary for days until the food becomes unusable. It is because of the conflict in progress that these conditions prevail, certainly, but underneath there is a political design. By international legislation Israel, in that it is an occupying power, has the obligation to ensure the survival of the population. Instead the continuous closures, the curfew, the military incursions do not allow the people to receive the necessary sustenance. The hindrance of movement is not only a limitation of freedom, but the effective privation of the right to be nourished and the right to health. Because of the occupation of the Territories the Palestinian people are at starvation point.”

--UN Special rapporteur on the right to food Jean Ziegler

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