Just wanted to wish everyone everywhere a Happy Eid =)

I am angry. And not only at the terrorists.

A massive truck bomb destroyed much of Islamabad’s most popular hotel this evening, killing at least 40 people, wounding at least 100 and leaving a crater more than 25 feet deep.

Officials feared the death toll would increase by dozens as rescue teams continue work at the scene.

At approximately 8 p.m. local time, an apparent suicide bomber blew himself up as his vehicle was being checked at the security gate of the luxury Marriott Hotel.

The bomb was felt as far as 15 miles away. Within 500 feet of the blast, buildings and trees were shredded by the bomb, which was believed to be the biggest in Islamabad’s history.

In the minutes after the blast, dozens of dead bodies littered what used to be the lobby of the hotel. Between the entrance and the security checkpoint, about 50 feet away, there were mounds of rubble under which more dead are feared to be buried.

It’s been seven weeks since the military launched a major campaign against militants along the border with Afghanistan.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=5846991&page=1

Google launched its browser Chrome a few days back and me being a Google followed it right till it was launched. They’re publicizing it on the main Google.com page (so everyones already seen it by now). What google did was, before launching it they made this comic explaining the need of a browser made from scratch. You can see it here.

So I got my hands on it as soon as it was launched and I’ve been using it since though I do feel a little guilt since I was all for Firefox when they launched it (or maybe I just hate Microsoft).

I like the fancy interface of Chrome but I don’t like the name ‘Chrome’, it sounds like… err chrome? Besides that I’m happy with the new features and I’ll be using it as my primary browser :)

Edit: Umm, well its got a few bugs Google really needs to fix fast. Till it does, I’m on firefox :P

A well-known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20.00 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, “Who would like this $20 bill?”

Hands started going up.

He said, “I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this. He proceeded to crumple up the $20 dollar bill. He then asked, “Who still wants it?”

Still the hands were up in the air.

Well, he replied, “What if I do this?” And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty. “Now, who still wants it?”

Still the hands went into the air.

My friends, we have all learned a very valuable lesson.
No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20.

Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value.

Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to those who DO LOVE you. The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or who we know, but by WHO WE ARE and WHOSE WE ARE.

“And remember: amateurs built the Ark .. professionals built the Titanic. **

If Allah brings you to it - He will bring you through it.

Musharraf Resigns

President Pervez Musharraf announced in a televised address to the nation Monday that he had decided to resign after nine years in power to avoid the threat of impeachment.

http://geo.tv/8-18-2008/22969.htm

Congratulations everyone, its already starting to look brighter!

Edit: The Karachi Stock Exchange jumped up 4% right after Musharraf announced he will resign.

http://www.forbes.com/afxnewslimited/feeds/afx/2008/08/18/afx5332045.html

You have to check this amazing website WhatTheFont.com (wtf). It lets you upload an image and then tells you what font was used in the text. Incredibly useful if you have printed material or sometimes when you see some image on a website and you just have to know what font they used. Do have a look!

At the time of graduation from MIT

Name: Doctor Afia Siddiqui

Age: 36

Occupation: Neuroscientist (MIT graduate)

Karachi, March 2003 Dr.Afia along with her 3 children mysteriously disappeared on her way to Karachi Airport. She was going to Rawalpindi, Punjab but never reached the Airport. According to press reports the mother of three (Dr. Afia) had been picked-up by Pakistani intelligence and handed over to FBI (American Federal Bureau of Investigation). Though her kidnapping had been denied by both the Governments but like other Pakistani Citizens who were handed over (Read: sold out) untried to the Americans by Musharraf Govt. And Dr. Afia got no special treatment like the rest of her Pakistani brothers aka The Missing People.

Read more: http://ammar.fuzedbulb.com/2008/08/06/no-country-for-pakistani-men-and-women/

I don’t even have to ask anyone to read in-between the lines - its simply apparent. Just because an FBI team accidentally coughed up an admittance on Thursday that Dr. Afia actually was confined in an American jail in Afghanistan, they now needed to supply a public alibi, how would she look tortured, battered and terrorized walking into a New York court house sporting a bullet wound in her hip. Yes they needed an elaborate story [yet stupid] combined with a few testimonials to support their claims

Dr. Afia - Tortured & Terrorised for five years, but on trial for Assaulting an Officer

You don’t really have to read this piece of crap. You can just go away.

All of this is not good. Not good at all. Everything is going down, and its taking the world down too. What goes up has to come down but what about when it goes down and keeps going down? When it keeps going down, there is nothing to lose and that makes it go up again. So then you don’t wanna go further up because that will mean losing the ‘nothing to lose’ state. That is the equilibrium point and everyone stays there until they are shaken out of their senses and everything repeats itself but with a lot more crap.

An ad hominem argument is replying to an argument or a fact by stating some characteristic or belief of the person making the argument, making people disregard that fact or argument. This is a logical fallacy because the reply doesn’t address the fact or argument, instead it targets the person making the argument. Usually used when the opponent is unable to find a fault against an argument. Used commonly and has quite an effect.

Person A makes a claim X
There is something objectionable about person A
Therefore claim X is false

An ad hominem abusive involves abusing and insulting the person making a claim. This can really belittle a claim especially when one points out flaws in the other person’s character even though they don’t have anything to do with the claims. Ad hominem abusive is used as a propaganda tool in political campaigns to influence voters.

“Person B made such a proposal but it can’t be true because he was caught cheating this many times.”

Ad hominem circumstantial involves pointing out the circumstances of the person making a claim to belittle it.

“What do you know about politics? You are too young to vote!”

Ad hominem tu quoque (you too version) is the same as “two wrongs make a right”:

Ad hominem tu quoque (inconsistency version) refers to the claim that the argument a person made is false because he made another argument inconsistent with this one:

“You say aircraft are able to fly because of the laws of physics, but this is false because twenty years ago you also said aircraft fly because of magic.”

Inverse ad hominem is when the person making an argument is praised to add support to his claim. This is the opposite of ad hominem

“The man was smartly dressed and charming, so I’ll accept his argument and vote for him”

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How often have you observed these being used in your everyday life?

A web designer sees girl of his dream on a subway train but loses her in the crowd. Later creates a website with her sketch to track her down. Whats astonishing is that he does find her and that too in 48 hours

Read on: Reuters