Things I want to eat when I go back home

Yes, I've already started making my lists!

Saag Gosht with Makai ki Roti (From Gawal Mandi, Lahore)
Nehari (From Waris or Mohammadi)
Haleem (Anywhere!)
Chicken Biryani (Made by my mother)
Chicken Tikka (From Afghani Tikka Shop near Bhayya's, Lahore)
Pizza (Pronta from Pizza Time)
Phalliyan Gosht (Made by my mother)
Curry (Made by my grandmother)
Paye (Made by my grandmother)
Laal Lobia (Made by my mother)
Chicken Kofta (Made by my mother)
Seekh Kebab (From Bhayya's)
Chapli Kebab (From that place in Main Market, Lahore)
Falooda (From that place near Gawal Mandi, Lahore)
Keema Katlama (From that Halwa Poori shop in Barkat Market, Lahore)
Rau Fish (From Basheer Dar-ul-Mahi)
Chicken Garlic Mayo Roll (From Hot'n'Spicy, Karachi)

The curse

The curse of Windows Live Messenger: Yes, that is what it is called now - deal with it - stop calling it MSN!

I've said this a number of times while speaking to my friends but I'll repeat it here:

I could be voice chatting with such excellent voice quality that it would seem like a normal telephone call - over Skype, or even Windows Live Messenger (WLM) itself. But when it comes to transmission of text messages (compared to packets of sound data), WLM fails. I mean, it's text! It takes the lowest amount of kilobytes to transfer! What is wrong with Live!

In comparison, Google Talk is excellent. It serves its purpose at least - it transmits text messages whenever you send or receive them, and it is done effortlessly. If it's not delivered, you're informed right away - unlike Live. It doesn't have those corny emoticons or flash animations that make WLM more popular but at least it delivers what it promises - a reliable mode of communication.

So then, why not just switch to Google Talk? In this day and age of 'Web 2.0' - that annoying buzz word - you are still unable to sign on to multiple IMs (that's Instant Message/Messenger you dorks!) using one service. And why I still use WLM is because of my extensive contact list with people I have to or need to stay in touch with. And these people don't recognize the value of a service like Google Talk. At least, not yet.

So I have to keep both services active.

But sometimes WLM's eeriness becomes a blessing in disguise. You might send a stupid message to your contact - an unthought ask-out, an enraged comment, a comment revealing your stupidity, or something of the sort - and then a split second later you would realise you didn't want to send that message - but it's too late then. Your contact would reply back, appearing to ignore your insane comment and you would begin to wonder what you need to do then... Just a few seconds later, your stupid message bounces back. You're saved! Those are the only times you can stop cussing at WLM. (Unfortunately, as per my experience, messages that are not delivered successfully are not always bounced back either, which makes two-way communication nearly impossible.)

A Flash Idea in the Desert

Cen Sen
(715-770)

Riding to the West frontier seems to the Heaven,
Since my leaving home, the full moon twice seen.
I wonder where I will be staying tonight
As the flat desert vast without human sight.

(Tr. Z. Manfield)

Another Dream Job

Interaction Designer

Yahoo! User Experience Design is looking for a bright, motivated interaction designer to join the Yahoo! Groups team. Yahoo! Groups empowers group leaders to grow, customize, and participate in global online communities. As an interaction designer you will collaborate with product management, engineering, marketing, user research and visual design to produce innovative designs that best meet customer needs.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Setting product direction and UI requirements based on business, user and brand needs
• Collaborating with product managers, engineers and research specialists to define the user experience
• Designing user interaction models, workflows and user interfaces
• Working hand in hand with visual designers, web developers and engineers to deliver the final product
• Pushing the boundaries of what's possible to create better experiences for our users

MINIMUM JOB QUALIFICATIONS:

• 5+ years of experience as a key member of a UI team through the product development cycle of several successfully launched web, mobile and/or software applications
• Bachelor's or Master's degree in HCI, product design, human factors/ergonomics or related field
• Although a business degree is not required, the candidate must have a strong affinity with business and user metrics

PREFERRED JOB QUALIFICATIONS:

• Experience building pages using HTML, DHTML, CSS, Javascript etc.
• Ability to prototype in Flash, Director or other dynamic prototyping tools
• Past experience working in an Agile/SCRUM environment

Please Apply Now by sending us a resume along with portfolio links if available.

Human Nature & Sexuality

Consider a man wearing wings designed as if to allow him to fly. But since the wings aren't designed according to the laws of aerodynamics, the pressure the wings apply on the atmosphere is not enough to lift the weight of the man himself.

When the man jumps off a cliff, he can feel the pressure on himself. He can feel the pressure on his wings. For a few minutes the man sees the ground below him far away. He thinks he is flying. But in the end he is subject to the laws of gravity. That is when he comes crashing down – realizing too late that he was, indeed, not flying.

Our society is sliding into ruin, and it is sliding fast. I don't mean to preach, or act like one of the preachers. But this is also exactly what the preachers say as well (using “God said” as an argument instead).

Sodomy is undoubtedly the first step. It is the reason why I will not condone homosexuality (in general). I wouldn't condone sodomy even amongst heterosexuals or bisexuals for that matter.

Before, society was more reserved. They say the time of Sigmund Freud was that of "sexual repression" when they covered a table with a table-cloth to conceal its "naked” legs. Today, such thinking would be deemed backwards.

Today, sex is everywhere. Entertainment, advertising, shops… PDAs (public-displays-of-affection) are more than a common sighting now. Society, today, has developed a tolerance for sex.

In fact, sex is so 'normal' now, that there are other behaviors that are becoming more and more tolerable. Take homosexuality, for instance. After all, it's just a "sexual preference" or "orientation" for any individual; why should anyone else even bother?

This April, when the movie "Zoo" was released, there was much debate over it. The Traditional Values Coalition denounced the movie because they say it is an attempt "to normalize bestiality as simply another sexual orientation." Even the American Family Association has threatened to boycott any company that promotes it.


Zoo is about zoophiles – people who eroticize animals. Unlike homosexuality, which society in general has become very lenient towards, zoophilia (which is not bestiality) probably has a few decades more to go before it becomes an acceptable behaviour or even "orientation".

Borrowing the language of gay liberation, Philip Buble, a zoophile, said, "I'm the first out-of-the-closet 'zoo' to be attacked because of my sexual orientation." While speaking to the Bangor Daily News, Buble says the "relationship" between man and beast "can develop to be a sexual one."

If sexual liberation didn't occur overnight; if homosexuality wasn't deemed acceptable overnight; if the barriers on pederasty came down in the 1960s after being around since the 800s; then why would zoophilia be acceptable overnight? All it needs now is time.

You are probably shaking your head now and thinking, "No! Never!"

Let me tell you, people did that both with sex and homosexuality in the recent past. In fact, a huge population still denies their acceptableness - for good reason too.

Most of us have already witnessed polygamy and pedophilia in this era. Sadomasochism is also acceptable to many nowadays. We know it's out there and it's happening. Gay marriages are being allowed by more and more states - so much so that even incest stands a chance to be legalized.

Yes, incest.

Scientists claim that sex between a brother and sister is “icky” or disgusting because the notion of sex with a sibling correlates with how long they have cohabited with that sibling and watched their mother care for him or her. Incest aversion correlates more to experiential factors than the belief of the sibling being genetically related. Simply put, if you weren’t brought up with your siblings, you might want to have sex with them.

The famous brother-sister couple from Germany, Patrick Stuebing and Susan Karolewski, were separated as kids and when the brother, aged 23, met his sister, they both fell in love. They have had four children out of which one has epilepsy and two are 'special'.

The couple has received a lot of support from friends and neighbors and when they walk in the supermarket, people recognize them and tell them they support their legal challenge. A ruling is expected in the next few months once a "fundamental discussion" is held about this issue in Germany.

So what is my stance or my argument when I put all these things together? Our society is like the man with wings trying to defy nature in trying to fly. Sooner or later, our society will come crashing down.

How do we avoid that? Homophobia? Incest aversion? Banishment of zoosexuality and zoo sadism? I don't think so. Clearly, acceptance of all these traits is not the answer either.

We need to put sex back in the closet. What goes on in a dark room ought to remain in there. What you do in your private time is none of my business; or anyone else's for that matter.

If you are a guy, you could be groping your woman in public, groping your man in public, your animal or even your sister. But it is none of my business. So keep it to yourself.

Please don't do it in public. Please don't do it in the media. Don't file petitions, try to make headlines, or apply for legislation of your sexual acts. No one is going to come and check on what you do in the middle of the night.

Let’s save our society from going into ruins. We are not flying. It’s time to take a step back and examine the situation. No one wants to fall flat on the ground. Nature wasn’t designed for us to.

Disclaimer: I am not a homophobe. I respect the uniqueness of homosexuals and trust their good intentions. In fact, I have tons of friends who are homosexual or bisexual, and we get along pretty well. But I am against homosexuality in general - not homosexuality in particular; but in general.