How many and how much?

How many years do we have to waste to realize we already have what we need?

How many precious moments must we miss to realize we did not make the wisest of choices?

How many friends do we have to lose to realize we really need one another?

How much money do we need to squander to chase away the emptiness deep inside?

How many signs do we have to ignore before finally heeding the voice of truth inside us?

And...
How much courage do we need to unleash that hero within?

Stop hating Microsoft

"Hey, check this out!"
"What's that?"
"My new OS; it's totally secure, and guess what?"
"What?"
"It's free, dude; it's free!"

Haven't you at one time or another had a similar conversation with a friend of yours?

Chances are you probably did. With new open-source OS and different distributions of each Unix/Linus system coming out every couple of months, maybe every couple of weeks even, you probably did.

The idea is ok; I mean who doesn't want to have a cost-free operating system that is virtually untouchable by viruses, worms, or trojans? Plus, you get to run a whole bunch of applications on it. It's a good deal, no doubt about that.

I myself used Red Had and Mandrake for a while two years ago, and two months earlier I installed Ubuntu on my laptop and it proved to be pretty good.

What really pisses me off are hardcore Linux maniacs who keep attacking Microsoft software! It's really a turn-off to see someone attacking software that has been serving people for a solid decade claiming that Microsoft...

...is all about money. "I hate 'em, dude. They have a price tag for everything."

Really?! Well, that's news! When was the last time you ever got something for free? Look around you; no, don't; just ask yourself if you got the shirt or T-shirt or whatever you're wearing for free. I bet you paid for it. Software costs more than clothes.

...produces programs that suck! "The system is really slow, it's full of bugs!"

Ummm. That's a tough one, or so you think! Count how many machines run Windows and MS Office worldwide and then find out how many crashes happen. Compare the two and you'll find that the number of crashes compared to the total number of machines running Windows is getting smaller, and smaller, and smaller!

Open source is such a great idea and I like it, but I don't let myself get carried away and start wining about software that I've been using for more than 13 years (with rock-solid performance by the way) just because it's geeky and cool to hate Microsoft.

Just remember that not all people are tech-savvys like you guys. That's not too hard for you to grasp, or is it?

Mystery Illness After Meteor Hits Earth

This news piece really stirred a couple of questions I gave up answering several months ago.

You know all that hype about UFOs and short, large-headed Martians? Yes, that's in the center of what I was thinking.

Just add one and one, and let's see where we go from there:

1. A meteor hits a remote village in Peru
2. Soon afterwards, the villagers suffer an unidentified illness
3. Policemen are dispatched, six suffer from the same illness and they're hospitalized.

Is there a possibility, even a teeny-tiny one, that the meteor had some form of virus or living organism?

If that turned out to be true, then imagine the endless possibilities that may follow:

1. We're not alone in this universe

2. The often laughed-about stories - of UFO sightings, or even the more serious and documented hackings of that British guy to NASA networks (which he did allegedly to find proof of extra terrestrial life that he thinks NASA is hiding under wraps), or the testimony of an American engineer who claimed in the early 1990s that he worked with other scientists for the US government in an undisclosed location to reverse-engineer a vehicle whose mechanics or physics or whatever they call it "resembles nothing on Earth" - are not that far-fetched.

I know that this point is not proven here: For even if there were living organisms that caused the mysterious illness, that doesn't prove that there is intelligent life out there. But hey, at least there's life in the first place.

Another question is: Have the governments been lying about not finding any proof of intelligence outside Earth for all these years?

I ran out of ideas right now.

Anyhow, think about it; make your own mind.

_______________________

By the way, I got that photo from NineMSN.com

See news piece on Reuters.com about the same. There's a video file there, too.

Your Seven Seas

The sun shines in your eyes,
The sky weeps in your tears.
The clouds shade your presence,
The wind whispers to your ears.

Day after day, I wait in silence,
Crushed lies my heart.
Time passes, my love far from decadence,
Paralyzed is my start.



Still...

You are my shining sun,
You are my sweet breeze.
When all is said and done,
My heart will sail in your seven seas.

Rejuvenation

Don't you sometimes feel down? There's nothing wrong, but you're just tired of doing the same things at the same time, day in and day out. I guess that's it -- boredom.

It's easy to feel bored; the bright side is that it's easy to feel not bored!

Indulging in fantasy worlds (in novels, movies, or even your very own invented ones) is a popular way of getting over this feeling. Being in another place in another time has proved to be a great way of coping with life and, better yet, feeling happy.

Imagine scuba diving near a 15th-century sunken ship, or protecting an endangered species against poachers and hunters in the wilderness.

Not creative, right?

OK, then. What about going on a trip to Antarctica? The trick is that you won't have access to any of the high-tech gadgets we use every day as if they were there since the beginning of time! Try visualizing life there: With no TV, you'll miss your favorite sitcom and action drama shows. With no MP3 player, you won't listen to your favorite music. With no laptop, you'll neither play your favorite video games nor chat. Did I forget anything? Oh yes, with no cell phone, you won't call your friends that often; actually, you won't be able to call one another at all. Now we're talking! You'll live in an igloo and feed on fish through most of your stay.

Would you be happy that way? I guess not.

That makes me wonder: How many blessings around us do we fail to appreciate? Kind family members, friends who are there when we need them, and supportive colleagues at work, who else? There must be a lot more blessings, but let's just stick to these now.

I'll rejuvenate by spending more time with them; at least for now!

Want a Flat in Cairo? No Problem!

Tonight I went with a couple of my pals from work to a prearranged presentation about one of those nouveau suburbs that are popping around Cairo (the Cairo that's in Egypt, people!). The new suburb is a closed community - kind of posh actually - saved for "the elite." By those, I mean people with fat wallets!

I went with my mind set on getting a cozy 100-meter flat and starting a new phase of my life there. I knew of course that the meter would cost about 3,000 Egyptian Pounds (EGP), which is extremely expensive compared to the prices in the real-estate market in Egypt. Anyway, we went there, kept waiting for the representative for about 10 minutes, and listened to the different modules the apartments come in and their corresponding payment plans.

My idea was quite simple: A 100-meter flat * 3,000 EGP = 300,000 EGP. This is way beyond my financial limits, but hey, I could afford it if there's a really good installments plan.

This idea proved really simple or rather simplistic!

We were in for one big surprise. The 100-meter flat will cost you about 440,000 EGP. Yes, folks, you got it right the first time. That's four hundred and forty thousand Egyptian pounds, nearly half a million. I can live a whole lifetime and wouldn't be able to amass that kind of money! And guess what? I'm a professional with a pretty good monthly paycheck compared to other professionals here in Egypt.

Depressed? Naaah, let's say I'm just starting to realize the reality of the real-estate entrepreneurs in Egypt: They'll bleed you dry, man!

Terrorists of the World, Unite!

We have been shot at in Iraq, slain in Afghanistan, arrested in the UK, detained in Australia, humiliated in Abu Ghraib, ridiculed in Denmark, and looked upon with doubt almost everywhere.

The very mentioning of us causes uneasiness for many, let alone sheer hostility in others.

You know who I'm talking about, don't you?

Nope, not terrorists; they don't blog -- they bomb!

Muslims, people; I'm talking about us.

Isn't that sad? Even we confuse ourselves with terrorists!

Wake up ... you, too, need a reality check.

By the way, sorry for the bogus title, but it did get you this far. ha ha ha

A New Blogger Is Born!

There was always something about Russia, or the Russian language, or the whole former USSR experience that drives me to be an Eastern-European Mideast Arab!

I proudly present ... Kaledovic!