Generators

A few days ago, on ATV in the program Khwaja Online. A caller complained out power outages and how the political rallies consumed so much electrical power. Khawaja replied that rallies were powered by generators and not the national grid. That reminded me of something I learnt a couple of years back while organizing an IEEE conference.
When you invite a government official to an event, a side benefit is that the local electric supply company - KESC or LESCO, for instance - is informed about the event timings and told that they should ensure power during the event. So, the event organizers dont have to arrange generators. The electric power providing company, on the other hand, has to. So, where does the expense of that generator go if KESC/LESCO bears it?

"Main aap say kena chaata hoon...."

Read a few reports published in Pakistani newspapers referenced by BBC.

This is part of an email by Vadim Antonov on an emailing list to discuss computer networking related issues:

(BTW, one of the most popular little toys I made was a thingie which did domain name-based e-mail routing over UUCP - not by tracking global topology maps a la pathalias, but by insertion of the next hop lookup step at every transit point. No more stuck e-mail trying to get along a precomputed path which has one hop down. That thingie was a smash hit in the place where phone lines used to be so notoriously flaky that every rain caused a singificant portion of them to get so bad that modems couldn't connect.)

Notice that he is referring to a long back time and the fact that we still have that problem in Pakistan every so often, whether or not it rains. Modems fail to connect. So, what have our elders, incharge of PTCL, for instance, for so many decades been doing? Why is that despite posting revenues, despite overcharging us consumers and trunk connection customers, they were unable to deploy a useful POTS?

The mentality of a government employee, ingrained deep in the brain is how to use facilities, how to use the rules and regulations to their benefit and against the poor person on the other side of the window. If and when they are held accountable, they are suspended from duty, with full pay, and asked to do nothing all day, but sit at a certain place in the office while the inquiry is conducted. At the end, they are patted on the back and returned to active duty at the same or different place. Wouldnt that person be encouraged to continue?

Goe TV website hacked

BEWARE: Uses abusive language in Urdu
Cool, haan?
Let me know if you cant see it anymore. I might upload the snapshot of the page.

Peter doesnt answer

Go to www.peteranswers.com. It's a great scam. A wonderful way of fooling people like those who believed in the phone virus scam, which includes most people in Pakistan, so you're in luck. Go there, Type "Peter, please answer the following question:" followed by a question, such as "Who is standing to my right?" and hit enter. You'll get an answer. Now do the following: When typing "Peter, please answer the following:" type "." followed by the correct answer, followed by "." and then continue typing the rest of "Peter, please answer the following question:" Then ask the question. For example, if Atif is standing to my right, I'd do:
Peter, please.Atif.er the following question:
You would see in the textbox:
Peter, please answer the following question:
Followed by:
Who is standing to my right?
Then hit enter and see what happens. If you have quick typing speed, you can fool almost anyone.

Advertisement twists

Twisting a couple of TV advertisements, one for KASB bank and the other for a tea brand. Try saying it you'll like it:
"KASB Bank! Takhleek karay aisee banking, jo laga THAAAA ker kay"
Translation: KASB Bank creates banking that hits with a bang.