A.Sajjad Zaidi's Blog
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Juicy mosquitoes in October 
October is on its last breaths. Halloween is near. And things are peaceful and quiet for once. Yet the mosquito is still happily feasting on its helpless victims. In fact, these parasites are fatter and meaner than ever. How utterly disgusting it is to squish one and be smeared with drops of your own precious ..... Read more A.Sajjad Zaidi's Blog, 2008-10-27 04:42:50
October is on its last breaths. Halloween is near. And things are peaceful and quiet for once. Yet the mosquito is still happily feasting on its helpless victims. In fact, these parasites are fatter and meaner than ever. How utterly disgusting it is to squish one and be smeared with drops of your own precious ..... Read more A.Sajjad Zaidi's Blog, 2008-10-27 04:42:50
Back to the stone age
Pakistan has been suffering from a severe power shortage for almost a whole year. The electricity outages subsided in September during the holy month of Ramadan, but now they are back. This time with a vengeance. Islamabad, the capital, is probably the least troubled by the shortage, but "least" is a relative ..... Read more A.Sajjad Zaidi's Blog, 2008-10-20 03:42:16
Pakistan has been suffering from a severe power shortage for almost a whole year. The electricity outages subsided in September during the holy month of Ramadan, but now they are back. This time with a vengeance. Islamabad, the capital, is probably the least troubled by the shortage, but "least" is a relative ..... Read more A.Sajjad Zaidi's Blog, 2008-10-20 03:42:16
Taming the Microblogging clutter
In the movie Back to the Future, the future Marty McFly loses his job and printouts of "YOU'RE FIRED" start popping up in all sorts of places around the house. One of these is seen by his wife from the past and acts as a prop later on in the movie. Maybe it was the movie's way of foretelling the microblogging scene..... Read more A.Sajjad Zaidi's Blog, 2008-10-13 03:40:30
In the movie Back to the Future, the future Marty McFly loses his job and printouts of "YOU'RE FIRED" start popping up in all sorts of places around the house. One of these is seen by his wife from the past and acts as a prop later on in the movie. Maybe it was the movie's way of foretelling the microblogging scene..... Read more A.Sajjad Zaidi's Blog, 2008-10-13 03:40:30
Eid Mubarak without the network
It's been one of those controversial Eid celebrations with new announcements at the eleventh hour (literally). With so many Muslim countries relying on scientific data and avoiding the pitfalls of human error, it's frustrating to have to go through this so often. On the positive side, at least the whole country ..... Read more A.Sajjad Zaidi's Blog, 2008-10-06 03:40:47
It's been one of those controversial Eid celebrations with new announcements at the eleventh hour (literally). With so many Muslim countries relying on scientific data and avoiding the pitfalls of human error, it's frustrating to have to go through this so often. On the positive side, at least the whole country ..... Read more A.Sajjad Zaidi's Blog, 2008-10-06 03:40:47
PTCL IPTV and Broadband
Some say it is the world's biggest telco. Others agree that even if it isn't, it definitely is Pakistan's biggest. Also the largest Internet Service Provider, PTCL (or Pakistan Telecommunications Company Limited) has come a long way from the days when it was an entirely government-owned, bureaucratic monolith. Getting a phone line installed is usually a matter of a couple of days. Subscribing to additional services is as simple as calling the helpline and asking for it. No more hassles of dealing with multiple bills or rude technical staff. Prices have come down to reasonable levels and we are now starting to see services that nobody even dreamed of before. PTCL is transforming itself in such a way that the whole country's technology roadmap is looking very bright. Like the price ..... Read more A.Sajjad Zaidi's Blog, 2008-09-22 03:40:34
Some say it is the world's biggest telco. Others agree that even if it isn't, it definitely is Pakistan's biggest. Also the largest Internet Service Provider, PTCL (or Pakistan Telecommunications Company Limited) has come a long way from the days when it was an entirely government-owned, bureaucratic monolith. Getting a phone line installed is usually a matter of a couple of days. Subscribing to additional services is as simple as calling the helpline and asking for it. No more hassles of dealing with multiple bills or rude technical staff. Prices have come down to reasonable levels and we are now starting to see services that nobody even dreamed of before. PTCL is transforming itself in such a way that the whole country's technology roadmap is looking very bright. Like the price ..... Read more A.Sajjad Zaidi's Blog, 2008-09-22 03:40:34
Dubai Ziggurat to house 1 million people
This is one mega-structure that I would love to see completed. Dubai is planning a pyramid-shaped building that will house a million people while having a minimal carbon footprint. Living in a massive single structure may sound claustrophobic, but various experimental techniques have succeeded in creating an ..... Read more A.Sajjad Zaidi's Blog, 2008-09-22 03:40:34
This is one mega-structure that I would love to see completed. Dubai is planning a pyramid-shaped building that will house a million people while having a minimal carbon footprint. Living in a massive single structure may sound claustrophobic, but various experimental techniques have succeeded in creating an ..... Read more A.Sajjad Zaidi's Blog, 2008-09-22 03:40:34
Pakistan Daylight Savings Time extended
Daylight savings time in Pakistan, which was initially planned to be in effect till the 31st of August, has been extended for another two months. This means that the clocks will now be reverted back an hour on the 1st of November instead of the 1st of September. DST hasn't resulted in any noticeable lowering of ..... Read more A.Sajjad Zaidi's Blog, 2008-09-22 03:40:34
Daylight savings time in Pakistan, which was initially planned to be in effect till the 31st of August, has been extended for another two months. This means that the clocks will now be reverted back an hour on the 1st of November instead of the 1st of September. DST hasn't resulted in any noticeable lowering of ..... Read more A.Sajjad Zaidi's Blog, 2008-09-22 03:40:34
Start of Ramadan fasting
As of yesterday, the Islamic month of Ramadan has started in Pakistan (there is a difference of a couple of days for the sighting of the new moon in different regions) which marks the start of a month of prayers and fasting. Best wishes to all in this blessed month. Things tend to slow down a lot in this month so..... Read more A.Sajjad Zaidi's Blog, 2008-09-22 03:40:34
As of yesterday, the Islamic month of Ramadan has started in Pakistan (there is a difference of a couple of days for the sighting of the new moon in different regions) which marks the start of a month of prayers and fasting. Best wishes to all in this blessed month. Things tend to slow down a lot in this month so..... Read more A.Sajjad Zaidi's Blog, 2008-09-22 03:40:34
Recovering data from a shredded hard disk
Ever since I got into system administration, hardware security to narrow it down, I have been led to believe that virtually any data written on a hard disk drive can be easily recovered, even if the bits have been overwritten. This is the reason many organizations destroy their old, perfectly good hard drives ..... Read more A.Sajjad Zaidi's Blog, 2008-09-22 03:40:34
Ever since I got into system administration, hardware security to narrow it down, I have been led to believe that virtually any data written on a hard disk drive can be easily recovered, even if the bits have been overwritten. This is the reason many organizations destroy their old, perfectly good hard drives ..... Read more A.Sajjad Zaidi's Blog, 2008-09-22 03:40:34
Huge bomb blast in Islamabad
Was shaken by a huge explosion a few minutes back. Felt like the building was about to come down, but initial reports indicate the bomb blast was at least a couple kilometers from where I am, around the Marriot Hotel area. Must be a really big one to be felt so badly at such a distance and I hope the damage wasn't..... Read more A.Sajjad Zaidi's Blog, 2008-09-22 03:40:34
Was shaken by a huge explosion a few minutes back. Felt like the building was about to come down, but initial reports indicate the bomb blast was at least a couple kilometers from where I am, around the Marriot Hotel area. Must be a really big one to be felt so badly at such a distance and I hope the damage wasn't..... Read more A.Sajjad Zaidi's Blog, 2008-09-22 03:40:34