ICC should adopt a new policy of not allowing the umpires whose countries have reached the semi final to umpire in the other semi final. So if four countries have reached the semi finals, then none of the umpires from these 4 countries be allowed to umpire in the semi finals.
Umpires are also human and sometimes favortism and preferences might creep in when making a decision.
This might have also been the case in the Pakistan's semi final against NewZealand. No doubt Simon Taufel is an excellend umpire, but at times umpires may make a decision to favor their own team ?
Monday, October 5, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
How Many mobile Connections are Issued against Your CNIC ?
Following service has been launched by PTA. Through this you can get to know number of connections registered in your name with different mobile operators. In case the number of connections is more than you have in mind, then its better to contact the Service Center of the concerned mobile operator, and get the number blocked, to save yourself from any unpleasnt surprise in future.
A well wanted service is being introduced by PTA in collaboration with all companies. Now you can know the amount of connections issued against your CNIC.
Simply write your CNIC (without dashes) and send it to 668
For instance
Write 3749127299334 and send it to 668.
You will get a reply with number of connections issued against this CNIC for 6 companies (Mobilink, Warid, Zong, Telenor, SCO and Ufone).
Service won’t tell you cell numbers, instead it will actually tell you amount of numbers –
for instance, Mobilink 3,
Ufone 3,
Telenor 2,
SCO 0,
Warid 0
Total 8.
A well wanted service is being introduced by PTA in collaboration with all companies. Now you can know the amount of connections issued against your CNIC.
Simply write your CNIC (without dashes) and send it to 668
For instance
Write 3749127299334 and send it to 668.
You will get a reply with number of connections issued against this CNIC for 6 companies (Mobilink, Warid, Zong, Telenor, SCO and Ufone).
Service won’t tell you cell numbers, instead it will actually tell you amount of numbers –
for instance, Mobilink 3,
Ufone 3,
Telenor 2,
SCO 0,
Warid 0
Total 8.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
DHA Infrastructure Charges
Recently DHA has imposed infrastructure charges on its residents on the pretext of laying new storm water drain, claiming to have spent millions of Ruppees on laying new storm water drains.
DHA has not mentioned the loss its residents had to face when they were putting down these drains.
When DHA started to put the storm water drain in our street ( Q street), the digging and drilling staff was unmindful of the underground utilities like electricity wires, gas. sewerage and water line and kept on digging without caring for the damage the digging would cause to the underground utility. Also the crane and drilling machines was inconsiderate about the overhead electricity and phone wires.
As soon as they started digging the road with the help of the machines, our underground electricity wire was damaged. Just a few meters away from the electricity wires was the gas pipe line which was uprooted. Just overhead was our telephone and cable tv wires, which were being badly stretched and pulled by the elbow / arm of the crane.
The road digging staff was without an engineer and did not have any idea of the under ground utilities that they may damage thru their mindless digging.
It was soon the neighbors intervened that the digging was stopped and the labour was forced to stop work, as they were about to damage every cable and every gas line if they continued to do so.
Till today, my underground electricity is damaged and urepaired, and I have been give a temporary overhead connection by the KESC , and to have a regular over head connection I have to submit a new application with the KESC and have to pay charges for wire and pole which would amount to approximately Rs. 25000.
One of my telephone is still out of order and unrepaired till todate.
Our family had to go thru severe mental torture as result of damaged electricity cable, damaged gas line and damaged phone line.
Who is going to pay for the losses which we have gone thru both financially and mentally ?
DHA has not mentioned the loss its residents had to face when they were putting down these drains.
When DHA started to put the storm water drain in our street ( Q street), the digging and drilling staff was unmindful of the underground utilities like electricity wires, gas. sewerage and water line and kept on digging without caring for the damage the digging would cause to the underground utility. Also the crane and drilling machines was inconsiderate about the overhead electricity and phone wires.
As soon as they started digging the road with the help of the machines, our underground electricity wire was damaged. Just a few meters away from the electricity wires was the gas pipe line which was uprooted. Just overhead was our telephone and cable tv wires, which were being badly stretched and pulled by the elbow / arm of the crane.
The road digging staff was without an engineer and did not have any idea of the under ground utilities that they may damage thru their mindless digging.
It was soon the neighbors intervened that the digging was stopped and the labour was forced to stop work, as they were about to damage every cable and every gas line if they continued to do so.
Till today, my underground electricity is damaged and urepaired, and I have been give a temporary overhead connection by the KESC , and to have a regular over head connection I have to submit a new application with the KESC and have to pay charges for wire and pole which would amount to approximately Rs. 25000.
One of my telephone is still out of order and unrepaired till todate.
Our family had to go thru severe mental torture as result of damaged electricity cable, damaged gas line and damaged phone line.
Who is going to pay for the losses which we have gone thru both financially and mentally ?
kesc and tax due date
The recent electricity bill's due date is 19th September 2009.
This would be the last working day before Eid. It is observed that banks are over crowded and over loaded on the last working day before eid. Also the bank timings are very short during the month of ramzan.
KESC is requested to increase the due date by at least 10 days.
Further, the last date for filing income tax return is 30th September 2009.
Since many people perform umrah, sit in atekaf, and have to offer prayers at night in laila tul qadr
its becoming tedious to file income tax return.
Like last year FBR should increase the date by 15 days to allow effeciently filing of tax.
This would be the last working day before Eid. It is observed that banks are over crowded and over loaded on the last working day before eid. Also the bank timings are very short during the month of ramzan.
KESC is requested to increase the due date by at least 10 days.
Further, the last date for filing income tax return is 30th September 2009.
Since many people perform umrah, sit in atekaf, and have to offer prayers at night in laila tul qadr
its becoming tedious to file income tax return.
Like last year FBR should increase the date by 15 days to allow effeciently filing of tax.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Control of KESC should be given to the government ?
For all of those people who are the supporters for handing over KESC to the government so that its performance improves should think twice.
How many government run companies and organizations do we know that are being run effeciently by the government machinery ?
Pakistan Steel Mills, Pakistan Railways, Pakistan International Airline (recently privitized) - all are making massive losses and are as good as being bankrupt.
So how can we expect the government to perform any thing extra ordinary to KESC ?
Just like all other government run organizations, KESC, if taken over by the government, could face the same fate after a little while.
How many government run companies and organizations do we know that are being run effeciently by the government machinery ?
Pakistan Steel Mills, Pakistan Railways, Pakistan International Airline (recently privitized) - all are making massive losses and are as good as being bankrupt.
So how can we expect the government to perform any thing extra ordinary to KESC ?
Just like all other government run organizations, KESC, if taken over by the government, could face the same fate after a little while.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Haj - First timer experience
Haj is a spritual journey, which every muslim should perform at least once in his lifetime, providing he can bear the expenses and has the physical strength.
Almost 3 million people perform Haj every year - which is performed between 8th to 12th Zilhaj of the Islamic Calendar.
I had the honour and privilege of performing Haj in the year 2008.
To be honest I was not so excited and was a bit worried as to how the things will go and how i will be able to cope up among the crowd of 3 million people coming from almost from every part of the world with various backgrounds.
The logistics, the transport, the hotels, the people I will have to cope up with.
The time and duration it will take to perform certain tasks as i would be in a crowd
of 3 million people performing the same task at the same time. The tawaf, the Saii, and all other religious duties.
I was to land in Madina , and from there had to go to Mekkah to perform Haj and then back to the country.
I have heard many stories from people who have already performed Haj and Umrah about the problems they faced and delays and people they have encountered.
This added more to my woes, being a first time visitor to the hold place of Mekkah and Medina.
AS i landed In madina, all the things I have heard and listened seemed to be stories only.
ARRIVAL IN MADINA
I was told that as we will land in madina airport, we would have to wait at least 6hours for the immigration and customs and to reach our hotel destination.
This turned to be otherway.
The only wait we had to do was in the immigration line , which was very much usual and normal - the way we would have to wait in any other country -
It took around an hour to clear the immigration process.
After clearing that we were out of the airport , caliming our baggage and waiting for our bus and to board on it.
From landing to reaching our hotel it took almost around 3 hours -
But all the wait was usual and normal - and perhaps we would have to wait the same amount of time , if we were to visit any other country.
The ride from the airport to our hotel in madina was about 25 minutes. Again this was a smooth ride and the city was not showing any hectic sign as at this time around in madina it was estimated to have around 1.5 million people.
We reached our hotel , which was next to haram - movenpick anwarul madinah , which was just next door to haram / masjid e nabwi.
As like in any other country , facing high toruist season with lots of check ins and check outs hapenning every time - WE face the same situation.
As we were in a group of 52 people - and many more people were to check in at the same time - It took us another 30 minutes to check in -
Once we were in our hotel room , it was like anyother 5 star hotel room anywhere in the world - with every thing in order and fixed.
Normally you would experience not so good service in the hotels which are having high toursit season, and at times some fixtures in the room not in order .
But that was not the case - Hotels and rooms were in top mint condition and in order - clean.
Accomodation was one of my big concern , and I was very releaved to have a good nice cozy room, with access to haram just less than 2 minutes walk.
The first picture is the view of the hotel buidlings from inside in the haram - And was taken at sunrise - one of my favorite photograph.
Acessing haram was easy - just walk down the hotel and you are there in the haram - Just a few more steps and you are inside masjid e nabwi.
Finding a nice place in masjid e nabwi is tricky. As people tend to occupy the first available space as soon as they enter the masjid.
This leave the middle section of the masjib empty. So when you enter the masjid, you might find it occupied and filled -this is mainly because majority of the people take their place as soon as they enter the masjid.
So in order to have a nice place for your self , just start walking inside the mosque, as as you will find and feel that you are in the mosque you would be able to locate lots of empty places. So take a nice place for your self -
I had a few difficulties in finding agood place for my self for the same reason , but as i explored more , I was able to find a suitable place for myself.
Just a word of caution is to take an extra ja-e-namaz (prayer mat) in case you still cannot find a place, you can occupy the lobbies.
The market around haram is developed and spacious - you can find every thing you require, from food to medicine to mobile cards and road side shopping.
Since we were in all paid for tour , we did not have to que or wait for lunch and dinner and were provided pre packed lunch / diunner boxes - so this saved us a lot of time from standing in que for lunch and dinners -
Madina has well developed malls which cater all type of items from jewellery , perfumes, itar , dresses etc - so in case you get some time out from prayers - you might want to check the malls which are just next to haram and majority of them in the hotel building.
Madinah it self is stunning, spectacular views, very peaceful.
And yes, once you starts adjusting you will know that it is not very difficult to adjust your self in a crowd of so many , as they are there for the same purpose as you are - and tend to have a soft corner for every one - which makes life very much simpler and easier.
You are easily accomodated in the saf / prayer area - people offering you to sit next to them - Everyone seemed to patient and at ease - it felt as if i was not in the same world :)
The same thing could be seen in the markets and bazars and about -
Madina it self seemed and felt very peaceful and quiet.
Coming up next - Mekkah and Haj Days
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Published in Dawn - 26th April 2009
A post of mine, which I also sent to Dawn Newspaper got published on 26th Apirl 2009.
The link for that blog post is :
http://waqas.com.pk/blog//index.php/2009/04/22/pakistan-stripped-of-cricket-world-cup-a
The link for my post, published in dawn newspaper is :
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/letters-to-the-editor/plea-to-include-icl-players-in-pakistan-squad
The link for that blog post is :
http://waqas.com.pk/blog//index.php/2009/04/22/pakistan-stripped-of-cricket-world-cup-a
The link for my post, published in dawn newspaper is :
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/letters-to-the-editor/plea-to-include-icl-players-in-pakistan-squad
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Doctor's Number 1 Choice ?
A soap brand which says to guard us from 5 types of germs or illness, claims to be doctors' number 1 choice.
The study they say was conducted among 1000 doctors in Pakistan.
According to the website of Pakistan Medical and Dental Council's statistics, till March 2009 there are 145960 registered doctors in Pakistan.
In a population of 18 crore people, one can easily find 1000 doctors in a small region of Karachi, let alone in the whole Pakistan.
Can the product be termed as number one choice by just conducting a survery study among 1000 doctors which are not even 1% of the total doctors' population of Pakistan ?
If this trend is followed, every product of Pakistan will become a number one choice.
The study they say was conducted among 1000 doctors in Pakistan.
According to the website of Pakistan Medical and Dental Council's statistics, till March 2009 there are 145960 registered doctors in Pakistan.
In a population of 18 crore people, one can easily find 1000 doctors in a small region of Karachi, let alone in the whole Pakistan.
Can the product be termed as number one choice by just conducting a survery study among 1000 doctors which are not even 1% of the total doctors' population of Pakistan ?
If this trend is followed, every product of Pakistan will become a number one choice.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Car AC not working when stuck in traffic jam, traffic signal or idle
Recently I faced a strange and unique problem with my car AC.
IT seems to be working fine when at speed, but when I got stuck in traffic jams or at traffic signal or if the car is just idle, the AC would stop working and would blow warm / normal air and not chilled air. Also, I noticed that the RPM would start to increase it self.
I took it to the AC tehnician and he said that it was related to AC service, and I should have the car ac serviced, which I did.
Even after ac service the problem remained there. I visited him again, and he told me that I should visit him as and when the problem occurs.
I then visited him as and when the error occured. On inspecting further, he told me that it is related to some MAGNET under the compressor of the AC. So when the magnet heats up , it stops working and which in turn causes the compressor to stop working.
So I had that MAGENT repaired and the AC seems to be working fine.
So next time when your car AC stops working, may be its not the time to service the AC but to have its magent checked.
IT seems to be working fine when at speed, but when I got stuck in traffic jams or at traffic signal or if the car is just idle, the AC would stop working and would blow warm / normal air and not chilled air. Also, I noticed that the RPM would start to increase it self.
I took it to the AC tehnician and he said that it was related to AC service, and I should have the car ac serviced, which I did.
Even after ac service the problem remained there. I visited him again, and he told me that I should visit him as and when the problem occurs.
I then visited him as and when the error occured. On inspecting further, he told me that it is related to some MAGNET under the compressor of the AC. So when the magnet heats up , it stops working and which in turn causes the compressor to stop working.
So I had that MAGENT repaired and the AC seems to be working fine.
So next time when your car AC stops working, may be its not the time to service the AC but to have its magent checked.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
What is the future of technology and IT business in Pakistan ?
Being in the IT business for more than a decade, I am often confonted with the question if the IT business is really worth it in Pakistan ?
I am running a small web development , designing and hosting business for about a decade now.
Looking back i think i have come a long way, but looking again makes me feel i have gone no where.
I have seen many IT business come and go. I have seen many portals and ISP who came , who saw, who conquered and then they disappeared.
I have seen big IT businesses coming in with a bang with much fan fare and disappearing with a blink of an eye.
I have seen many programmers and developers spending sleepless nights to complete their codings and projects, only to find it that the client did not like their concept or the product that they delivered.
I my self have spent long hour with the client to make sure that the design is as per his requirement and wishes. However, at many occassions client seemed unsatisfied with any thing i would deliver.
Web designing and hosting business is still seen by many as having no potential of income or growth. At times i have defied that , but as the time is progressing it makes me sink into the thought tht may be people are right and it has no potential ?
I have seen so many Pakistani isps failing.
There was a time in Pakistan that a new isp was emerging every new week, coming with lot of fan fare and techological gimmicks. And then again I have seen them fail and disappear, a few of them in such a manner that their internet users were left stranded and employees shocked.
Some of the isps i have seen failing or closed down are :
compunet
zoom net
hi net
breeze net
sat net
a few others who did not make it big, but failed big.
Then there was a time when people started having portals, offering online contents, information and even online shopping in Pakistan , at a time when being online was not an essential and people would turn to tv or other international websites for information rather than a local website.
I have seen portals who came with much promises but they then failed miserably.
The Pakistani online advertisement sector was very much in its infancy and untested. People would rather advertise on tv and print, but not on the internet. Those times have changed now and since 2008 we can see many pakistani companies advertising online on yahoo, msn and other website. Google adwords is the catalyst for change for many, as it has delivered the right content to the right user with a fraction of the cost. The adword sector may be covered later.
So there was a time when Pakistani portals failed miserably.
etaleem
sawmwonline
hi star / hi mall
and many such portals came into being but could not deliver , or may be they came earlier in the market, at a time when the market was raw.
I once went to give a job interview for a portal manager and I was asked a question if having portal in pakistan was really worth it ?
My instant answer was NO !
What followed next was a series of question, who would ask me all sorts of question regarding online trends of pakistani, pakistani online population / users, e-commerce spend of pakistan, web traffic of various website of pakistan like geo and jang, web traffice for various international websites.
All in all the prospective employer was impressing upon me that online web / portal business has potential and any new portal would be a hit.
I am still waiting to see that portal come online. May be it has, but i dont know about it.
Though I could not answer any of it, but still my real answer to a operating a portal in Pakistan was NO !
The reason for my answer being seeing so many pakistani isp's and portals failing over the period of time.
Over the period of time, I have seen some very small portal which have made big in Pakistan. These are developed and maintained by young studnets, who started it as a hobby and started making big money from it. They have not marketed their portal with much advertisement, all they have achieved is thru word of mouth.
So of the portals which are doing good are :
apniisp.com
funmaza.com
ejunoon.com
and many such small portals, which have taken a lot of resources and time of these developers.
They have contents ranging from dictionary, translation ,mp3 songs, sms, poetry and muslim names databases.
These sites are doing wonders to these young people, who are just fresh out of school and bagging handsome amounts thru advertisements.
Surely google adsense is the king when it comes to getting advertisements and these people do not have to go any where for advertisements. All they need to do is put a google adsense code, and advertisements start displaying on the website.
As per my information these people are making around US$ 200 / month from their portal.
Then there are some midsized portals, which have huge backings and can sustain, as they are being financed by their parent company.
A few of these are :
apnakarachi.com
hamariweb.com
These are sites which are backed by their principal parent company and have put a lot of effort to market their portal, backed by good contents.
And then there are news portals which are being owned and operated by newspapers and have been instrumental in providing up to the minute online news to the users.
dawn.com and jang.com.pk being the most frequented sites by online users wanting instant access to the news.
However, yet still web designers and developers do not seem to be getting the worth they should be, and web development still seems under prviliged job, where a lot of people ask questions like
Is it really good job ?
is it a good income ?
does it have a potential ?
For years i have been confronted with questions like these and have made me think and re-think.
Either i have been under performing or the general business trend has been.
I am running a small web development , designing and hosting business for about a decade now.
Looking back i think i have come a long way, but looking again makes me feel i have gone no where.
I have seen many IT business come and go. I have seen many portals and ISP who came , who saw, who conquered and then they disappeared.
I have seen big IT businesses coming in with a bang with much fan fare and disappearing with a blink of an eye.
I have seen many programmers and developers spending sleepless nights to complete their codings and projects, only to find it that the client did not like their concept or the product that they delivered.
I my self have spent long hour with the client to make sure that the design is as per his requirement and wishes. However, at many occassions client seemed unsatisfied with any thing i would deliver.
Web designing and hosting business is still seen by many as having no potential of income or growth. At times i have defied that , but as the time is progressing it makes me sink into the thought tht may be people are right and it has no potential ?
I have seen so many Pakistani isps failing.
There was a time in Pakistan that a new isp was emerging every new week, coming with lot of fan fare and techological gimmicks. And then again I have seen them fail and disappear, a few of them in such a manner that their internet users were left stranded and employees shocked.
Some of the isps i have seen failing or closed down are :
compunet
zoom net
hi net
breeze net
sat net
a few others who did not make it big, but failed big.
Then there was a time when people started having portals, offering online contents, information and even online shopping in Pakistan , at a time when being online was not an essential and people would turn to tv or other international websites for information rather than a local website.
I have seen portals who came with much promises but they then failed miserably.
The Pakistani online advertisement sector was very much in its infancy and untested. People would rather advertise on tv and print, but not on the internet. Those times have changed now and since 2008 we can see many pakistani companies advertising online on yahoo, msn and other website. Google adwords is the catalyst for change for many, as it has delivered the right content to the right user with a fraction of the cost. The adword sector may be covered later.
So there was a time when Pakistani portals failed miserably.
etaleem
sawmwonline
hi star / hi mall
and many such portals came into being but could not deliver , or may be they came earlier in the market, at a time when the market was raw.
I once went to give a job interview for a portal manager and I was asked a question if having portal in pakistan was really worth it ?
My instant answer was NO !
What followed next was a series of question, who would ask me all sorts of question regarding online trends of pakistani, pakistani online population / users, e-commerce spend of pakistan, web traffic of various website of pakistan like geo and jang, web traffice for various international websites.
All in all the prospective employer was impressing upon me that online web / portal business has potential and any new portal would be a hit.
I am still waiting to see that portal come online. May be it has, but i dont know about it.
Though I could not answer any of it, but still my real answer to a operating a portal in Pakistan was NO !
The reason for my answer being seeing so many pakistani isp's and portals failing over the period of time.
Over the period of time, I have seen some very small portal which have made big in Pakistan. These are developed and maintained by young studnets, who started it as a hobby and started making big money from it. They have not marketed their portal with much advertisement, all they have achieved is thru word of mouth.
So of the portals which are doing good are :
apniisp.com
funmaza.com
ejunoon.com
and many such small portals, which have taken a lot of resources and time of these developers.
They have contents ranging from dictionary, translation ,mp3 songs, sms, poetry and muslim names databases.
These sites are doing wonders to these young people, who are just fresh out of school and bagging handsome amounts thru advertisements.
Surely google adsense is the king when it comes to getting advertisements and these people do not have to go any where for advertisements. All they need to do is put a google adsense code, and advertisements start displaying on the website.
As per my information these people are making around US$ 200 / month from their portal.
Then there are some midsized portals, which have huge backings and can sustain, as they are being financed by their parent company.
A few of these are :
apnakarachi.com
hamariweb.com
These are sites which are backed by their principal parent company and have put a lot of effort to market their portal, backed by good contents.
And then there are news portals which are being owned and operated by newspapers and have been instrumental in providing up to the minute online news to the users.
dawn.com and jang.com.pk being the most frequented sites by online users wanting instant access to the news.
However, yet still web designers and developers do not seem to be getting the worth they should be, and web development still seems under prviliged job, where a lot of people ask questions like
Is it really good job ?
is it a good income ?
does it have a potential ?
For years i have been confronted with questions like these and have made me think and re-think.
Either i have been under performing or the general business trend has been.
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