Islamic investing in the US

Don't see articles such as these on yahoo very often. I have also been putting my 401k into Amaana. Everything aside, the 10 year returns it boasts are quite phenomenal

Link

Rohail Hyatt has done it again

If you are a paki music fan, you are likely to appreciate this production from Rohail Hyatt:
http://www.cokestudio.com.pk

Pretty cool concept, this guy knows how to produce and fuse high qulity music/talent.

Chilling article

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8119446.stm

As he stood eye to eye with the bomber, he asked him if he had done this before.

"He got the joke," Officer Khan said. "He smiled and said you can only do this once."

Bruno is coming !

Freak hilarious LINK

Excellent discussion with Imran Khan

Really enjoyed watching this:

http://www.pakpoint.com/imran-khan-on-taliban-issue-in-pakistan/5996/

Pakistani cricket random fact

Mohammed Aamer was not born when we won the last world cup

Dear Taliban...

Dear Taliban,

So Pakistan are the ICC T20 World Champions. The country has erupted in celebration. There is dancing in the streets. There are men and women celebrating together. There is idolization of human individuals, and the near-worship of a trophy. Songs are being played in all public squares. Fireworks, sweets, chants - all in celebration around an event with no relation whatsoever to religion (rather, as you would see it, around a relic of evil, western, colonial oppression).

Yes Taliban, that is Pakistan right now. It's not the shithole of blind religious following that you wanted to see. You assholes wanted to take Pakistani society and culture back many centuries. You wanted burqa and beards all around, with nothing but prayers being read in public squares, and nothing to consume our lives but closed-minded worship.

Well you know what? That ain't gonna happen. Never will. You can keep attacking our shrines, our music, our sports, our people, our institutions, our livelihoods. We will suffer, but we will fight back. We are no longer fooled by your ignorance and hypocrisy. We have developed an enviably rich culture over hundreds (even thousands) of years, and we aren't about to lose it to a bunch of uneducated zealots.

Pakistan's win is extremely symbolic. Because it has not only reminded us of what it was like to hold a cricket trophy 17 years ago, but also what our society was like at that time; it was peaceful and moderate - two words completely alien to you, we know. But that's what Pakistan has always been, and that's what we will strive to be.

You are merely a blip in our country's timeline. Your backward and violent ways have no place in our society. The country is united against you. Our brave Army is working to destroy you physically, and our re-ignited psyche is working to destroy you psychologically.

So as a gift on this great occasion of Pakistan's victory, please accept this united one-finger salute from Pakistanis everywhere:



With no regards to you or yours,

Pakistanis everywhere!

Redemption and Defiance

I write regularly for a cricket blog - Well Pitched.

I was recently asked by another blog (Bored Cricket Crazy Indians...and Pakistanis) to guest blog for them. Here's the article I wrote:

Redemption and Defiance

Here's an excerpt:

So, will this Sunday be the day that Pakistan finally redeems itself, and puts to rest the shame and embarrassment of a decade ago. As a Pakistan cricket fan, I certainly hope so. However, I think a winner will be decided well before anyone lifts the cup - cricket will be the winner as soon as the two teams take the field.

...

I will watch this final in anticipation of a great contest, and with the tremendous desire to see Pakistan hold a major trophy for the first time in 17 years. But, most importantly, I will watch it in memory of those who were killed in Lahore. And also in the hope that, regardless of result, millions of people in South Asia will forget about their daily miseries for at least a few hours.

Check it out when you get a chance.

A chuckle at the Apple store

So I finally went iPhone. Got hooked up with the new 3GS that was released today.

I got to the Apple store at around 8:15 AM. Not too bad a line, maybe 20 mins at most. Store had been open since 7 AM.

Process was pretty smooth. Nothing too exciting to note. Just a lot of nice people with high energy. Oh, and they had water/coffee/muffins for people waiting in line - a nice touch.

So the guy who was assigned to me had his mobile scanner/register to process my order. I told him how cool it would be if they developed an iPhone app that would do the entire activation and payment, rather than use these bulky scanners.

He admitted it would be great for many reasons, especially one big reason. He then turned the machine around and showed me the label at the back of the scanner - "Windows Mobile"!!!

Chuckles all around, and then we went back to the business of completing the transaction.

Culture-Condoms-Wedding night....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZScv6npywTo

This is possibly the most interesting condom advertisement I have seen out of South Asia. Mostly because of the subtle realities it addresses in its content. I wish the Pakistani government could take a lesson from them.

Disease

Not sure why, but I am addicted to this song nowadays. Catchy tune, feel like I had been under-appreciating matchbox 20 so far.

Racism in Australia

Interesting article on racism in Australia.

New Intel commercial - Freaking hilarious

Interesting insights into "patel culture"

In 2000, the Rich List database threw up the interesting idea that you're seven times more likely to be a millionaire if you're called Patel than if you're called Smith. Which may be one reason they like to stick together.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8095032.stm

More Aaroh appreciation - Ajnabi

and also..

Aaroh rocks

Pretty good paki rock (ignore the first 15 seconds of cheesy synthesizer intro). I think this band has tremendous potential.

The path to bankruptcy is paved with good intentions!

Sigh, poor daughter! I guess she bought the most expensive mattress in history! But the mom should have also realized the risk of this strange savings scheme. A bank account wouldn't have been an entirely bad thing. Especially for someone who is making enough money to save $1 million over her lifetime. Then again, banks could collapse and the money could be lost.

I hope they find the money!

A woman in Tel Aviv, Israel, gave her elderly mother a new mattress as a surprise gift, throwing out the old tattered bed her mother had slept on for decades. The gesture ended up bankrupting Annat's mother, who had stuffed her savings of nearly $1 million inside her old bed for decades, Annat told Israel Army Radio.

Annat...woke up early Sunday to get a good deal on a new mattress as a surprise for her mother.

She fell asleep that night, exhausted after lugging up the new mattress and hauling down the old one to be taken out with the trash.

When her mother realized the next day what her daughter had done, she told her that she had been using the mattress to stash away her life savings and had nearly $1 million padding the inside of the worn-out mattress.

Annat ran downstairs, but it was too late. The garbage truck had already taken away the money-stuffed mattress.

Annat alerted the two major dump sites in the Israeli city in an effort to locate the bed, but so far she has had no luck. Yitchak Burba, one of the dump site managers, told Army Radio that he and his men are working relentlessly to try to help Annat find the million-dollar mattress among the tons of garbage at the landfill. [LINK]

Portable Lota

Apparently this is a real product. Props to the inventor, but I'm not sure why the bottle itself is not good enough.

I guess some people are just picky - need a pinpoint accurate delivery method. Or maybe they get their kicks in weird ways!!!

Link: http://www.furqaanbookstore.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=2283

Such bad press for Georgia Tech

This crap brings out brand down...

Presenting Mr. Nawaz Sharif Zardari

a potential candidate for the next Pakistani election? Perhaps.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/06/02/new.york.robber.mercy/index.html?iref=hpmostpop

Such a tragedy !

LINK

Go visit a National Park this summer

All 147 National Park Service sites that charge entry fees will waive them for June 20 and 21, July 18 and 19, and August 15 and 16. Those fees range from $3 to $25.
LINK

Chocolate Milk - the ultimate recovery drink?

I've been running a fair bit in the recent past. With running, I've been drinking lots of Gatorade. Good for energy and thirst-quenching before/during/after the run, but doesn't help in muscle building and recovery.

You need to consume protein for that. People who work muscles out a lot (e.g. heavy weight training) drink protein shakes, which are 100% protein, or close to that.

But for runners, cyclists, etc, it has been determined that a 3:1 to 4:1 ratio of carbs to protein is the ideal ratio for recovery and muscle building after vigorous exercise. There are some sports drinks like Accelerade and Endurox out there that have this ratio, but apparently they taste disgusting and are expensive.

A cheap, tasty, and convenient alternative is good ol' chocolate milk! It just happens to have the right ratio and is excellent for recovery. Click here for the study that came up with this determination. Yes, it only involved 9 cyclists, and yes it was partially funded by the dairy industry (conflict of interest, anyone???). But I've tried it for myself, and it works!

I've started drinking a cup of chocolate milk right after I go for a run, and it has made a huge difference! My muscle soreness has dropped big time, and I find I'm ready for another run much, much quicker.

The downside is that there's a bit of fat in milk, but it's pretty low (I get reduced fat Nesquik chocolate milk) and your hypercharged body helps absorb/convert it quicker than normal.

Give it a shot. But remember - don't consume protein while exercising, since it's more difficult to break down for immediate energy needs. Take it immediately after.

latest excuse for my sad career

If you drunk it in school, here is your early retirement opportunity.

Will Farrell meets Bear Grylls

This has to be the funniest shit ever..
WIll Farrell is plugging his new movie by coming on an episode of Discovery's Man Vs Wild on June 2nd. Dont miss it !
Here is the trailer

Laughable Stupidity

So there are these two Urdu articles going around the web about some 15-year old Pakistani computer genius from Okara named Ammar Afzal.

One article talks about how he made a world record by scoring 4.99/5 in an Oracle 9i exam - the highest score ever on the world's toughest computer exam! Arey vow yaar! Aarakal genius!

The second story is about how there was a worldwide ATM problem and banks were losing millions. The top scientists and engineers of the world were asked to solve the problem, but no one could. So a British university chancellor called the son of a sabzi mandi employee in Okara - none other than Ammar Afzal of course. Lo and behold, this great genius solved the problem by getting the sfotware code from the chancellor and solving the problem within a few minutes! You go boy!!!

Now, anyone with 1% of a brain can tell that this story is pretty much a fake. More holes than Swiss cheese. For us geeks, the Oracle 9i references are hilarious in themselves (9i is old news, and is it really the most difficult exam???)! There are various other claims as well - he now works in England for 25k pounds/month, he was offered to move to the US but refused because he is too patriotic, etc.

The funny part is that lots of Pakistanis on the Net think it's true. The praise ranges from "what a genius" to "this shows the greatness of Allah, and the West will suppress news of his success because they hate Pakistan and Islam, blah blah".

But the best part is this video. I have no clue who this guy is. But just listen to the way he talks and the stuff he mentions (Oracle "i9", etc). This is comedy gold if you ever saw it:



Here are some links to discussion forums about this Ammar story. Read the comments - they are awesome. Very entertaining stuff. You can also check the comments from the youtube video above (double click it to go to the actual youtube page).

http://www.pakwheels.com/forumreply_az_TopicID!105985~ForumID!23~pw.html


http://www.propakistani.com/2009/05/13/ammar-afzal-yet-another-world-record-holder-from-okara/

http://thecurrentaffairs.com/index.php/ammar-afzal-pakistani-student-makes-a-world-record-in-winning-a-software-course/

Archie Grows Up!

I absolutely loved Archie comics when I was a kid. Up till high school I was an avid reader, and still consider Archie comics an essential part of my youth.

But I hadn't heard about Archie for a very long time. I didn't even know they were still in business. So I just saw this article on CNN which took me by surprise. Archie getting married???

Archie Andrews -- who spent decades in high school, flirting with girl-next-door Betty Cooper and heiress-next-door Veronica Lodge -- is getting married.

"I am so excited, I am getting Married to Archie. There is so much to do, so many plans to make. I wonder if Betty wants to be my Maid of Honor? I bet she is so happy for me!" Veronica writes on her blog.

Yup, Archie is marrying Veronica, breaking Betty's heart.

"I am so sad, I don't even know what to say," Betty writes on her blog.

Betty has months to dry her tears. The marriage issue is due to arrive at comic stores in August and on newsstands in September, according to publisher Archie Comic Publications (archiecomics.com).

"It's the milestone 600th issue and we're serving up the Archie story of the century as Archie marries Veronica!!!" the publisher says on its Web site. [LINK]

IMO, Archie is making a bad choice - should have been Betty all the way dude!

Great comics. Wonderful memories of reading them - at home, on trips, during recess, etc. Might just be tempted to buy this 600th issue.

Waterboarded

A psycho conservative radio host, Mancow Muller, decided to try out waterboarding because he felt it wasn't that big a deal.

He thought he could last 30 seconds, but gave up in around 5-6 seconds. At the end, he easily agrees that waterboarding is torture (though he admits he hates to accept that fact). Here's the video:



Also, Christopher Hitchens (another nutcase, but sometimes an entertaining one) tried it last year. I think Hitchens was always against waterboarding in the first place:



Now if that idiot Sean Hannity would live up to his pledge of offering to be waterboarded, that would just be awesome! Pay-per-view material right there!

Sucky Drivers

No surprise for Georgia, New York and MA. LINK

"MISSING LINK" FOUND: New Fossil Links Humans, Lemurs?

Did you guys see Google today?

link

Excerpt:

The fossil, he says, bridges the evolutionary split between higher primates such as monkeys, apes, and humans and their more distant relatives such as lemurs.

"This is the first link to all humans," Hurum, of the Natural History Museum in Oslo, Norway, said in a statement. Ida represents "the closest thing we can get to a direct ancestor."
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What does this mean to you?