So.. very.. tired...

Too many boxes.. too many clothes.. too many shoes.. too much being thrown..

Have bubbled wrapped everything in sight. There is no end.

Break over. Must pack more boxes.

Her sister's coming in the morning. Ding dong the bells are gonna chime.

Why is it that regardless of the culinary options available to Americans, they will still flock to McDonald's?

So like, I'm at O'Hare. Now, I don't know if you remember the last time you were at O'Hare but it's cooler now. I'll tell you exactly how in a minute but lets start with the book I was reading on the flight here.

Tip: When you have a 6 am flight, don't leave the house at 5 am. You get to the airport and they close counters on you and you have to run and apologize a lot. But they were nice about it. Melvyn Menezes was on the same flight in first class. They have hot breakfasts there you know. We should travel first class more often. It is fun.

I finished the book I had borrowed from Em - The Romantics by Pankaj Mishra. It started out engaging enough but then it dragged on a bit and now that I've finished it, I have mixed feelings about it. People's quest for serenity always baffle me. I can't relate to that. On one hand, I think there's someting to be said for the search for peace but on the other hand, if all we had was peace, wouldn't life be a bit boring?

So anyway. The coolness of O'Hare. They now have these huge screens which is nice but then they have the Accenture Interactive Network. It's a giant touchscreen that gives the news, weather, sports headlines etc. Tres cool. This is the sort of thing we should have for the ASF conference. Sadly, while they have wifi, it's not free so I can't dig up pictures or the website.

I've just bought Che Guevara's Motorcycle Diaries and I shall now get some egg rolls from Manchu wok for breakfast, settle in a corner, cover myself with my stolen American Airlines blanket and read.

Flight leaves in 2 hours. See you in Little Rock.

I've discovered a wonderful concoction

Brew cup of coffee with Dark Roast Columbian k-cup. Add one sachet of instant hot chocolate mix. Stir. Enjoy. Take heartburn pill. Repeat whenever feeling sleepy. Eat two mints. Provides the appropriate amount of caffiene and sugar with good taste to stay alert for at least 4 hours. I call it the emergency mocha.

Flying to Little Rock tomorrow and then driving to NYC

Black Cobra: I'm very excited you're coming.
Wolfe: Yes.
Black Cobra: Are you bringing your laptop?
Wolfe: Of course.
Black Cobra: Good good. We can look up directions along the way if we get lost.
Wolfe: How?
Black Cobra: With your laptop. And also we can look up cool things to see along the way.
Wolfe: Yes, you keep saying that, but how?
Black Cobra: Wirelessly.
Wolfe: Along the highways of America? There is wireless internet connectivity available?
Black Cobra: Yes. Isn't there?
Wolfe: I don't know. Is the moon broadcasting a network as a satellite that encompasses the earth?
Black Cobra: *giggle*
Wolfe: Look listen, you need an ISP to have wireless connectivity. It's not just randomly available you know.
Black Cobra: Why don't we have connection wherever we go?
Wolfe: Because we don't live in a Sim world. Yet.
Black Cobra: I don't know how these computers work. I just called to say 'yay'.
Wolfe: Yay.

*click*

Go buy yourself some indobundee happiness

And while you're there, get me this one and this one and this one.

Go see Hadid at the Guggenheim if you're in NYC

She designed the Dancing Towers in Dubai dontcha know. Besides, we don't see enough Middle Eastern arhitects out there.

I know this image is not related to this post

I just thought it was funny.

Hamza Mustafa, GM of The World said, "Sir Richard Branson symbolizes the best of British and is the ideal person today to plant the Union Jack on Great Britain."

In context...

They say it's my birthday...

... doo doo doo doo dooooooo..

is it your birthday toooo?

I don't understand a single word of this but it sounds so cool, I just had to share it.

Explaining the product, glass bubbles, in detail, Arco said, "The hollow glass spheres are microscopic particles used to decrease the density of cement slurries."

The same weight reduction technology also finds applications in the construction of buoyancy modules and as a thermal insulation component for flow assurance in offshore operations. The hollow glass spheres represent apparently a simple, efficient and effective way to deal with density reduction.

Arco also sees the product as being environmentally inert and very safe compared to alternative methods to lighten cement slurries that involve energised gases and the associated handling and safety problems with these systems.

Read it all here.

Something tells me this is not exactly Etisalat's cup of tea

Rather than being simply a cleaner and perhaps more obedient pet, the robodog will actually be an integral part of the residence's communications.

"It acts as a surveillance camera." Should your apartment be burgled, the dog is designed to take a photo of the person who has broken in and send it to the police. It also reads out your e-mails. "So when you come home it will say 'master, you have two e-mails,' and then read them out. It will also play music. You can ask it questions, such as 'what is the weather like in London?' It will be connected to WiFi so it can find the information and read it out to you." Apparently it is possible to select either a male or female voice for the creature, but having got used to a robotic animal speaking at all, it is unlikely the gender is terribly important.

Read more...

Ek Khatarnak Khwatoon ki Jung

Hah, I get to work from home tomorrow. And I've just ordered greasy Chinese food from Quan's Kitchen (eggplant in spicy sauce with egg fried rice for Mingus Khan and beef with broccoli and pork lo mein and a veggie spring roll for me). Soon I shall change into Em's hideously soft t-shirts and veg out in front of his newly installed cable and life will be good.

So like, Black Cobra is graduating tomorrow (all rise!) and she has been secretly planning to start a political party very aptly named "Khatarnak Khwatoono ki Jung". Remember to contribute to the fund. She has also very much lost her mind and all sense of familial responsibility because she claims that she told me about her graduation whereas in fact she did not. Oh there's no point denying it BC, we all know you don't love us no more. Don't want us at your graduation wearing summer dresses with white sandals and wide-brimmed hats dabbing at our eyes with crumpled tissues. That's ok. No problem. We'll live.

But if you think you're going to get out of coming to my graduation, you are sorely mistaken. Your arse better be solidly planted in a seat watching me walk or else. Or you could stand and clap madly at my genius too. I wouldn't mind.

Ok. Motivate karo. Or as BC would say, Moti vate kam karo. I shall get into jammies now.

Tiddy boom baby. Tiddy boom.

ثقب is the word of the day

Hello darlings, sorry I haven't written in ages. I had only just gotten over Spring term when the rains came in. DelicateRed came to visit from M'ke and we had lots of fun traipsing around town in our boots and raincoats visiting museums and the like and then when she left summer intensives started and then it was three weeks of IT geekiness with systems architecture and telecom and networking and then just one short weekend and it was back to work.

Yes, you heard me. Work. As in the paying kind. Got me an internship for the summer didn't I. Working for the Hive to deliver a technology platform for the Arab Strategic Forum 2006 in Dubai dontcha know. Fun times my friends. Fun times.

But it is that time of year again and so I give you, once again, Garfield in all his awesome wonder -


So like, the Hive is an interesting place. Very much like Spin Group. President looks like a mild-mannered Vin Diesel and is very much like the Wong. Maybe all small business web services company owners are the same. Also, I hate cubicles. Granted mine is a large open one but still. It's a stupid idea. Although it is nice to be able to stick things up on the walls.

I also cannot sit still for 8 hours a day at a desk. It's too much to ask a girl to stay put. I treated myself to lunch out every day last week (in sheer glee of getting paid) (rather preemptively since I haven't been paid yet). Souper Salad makes a brilliant salad. Or soup. Whichever you're in the mood for. But soon, I shall Ramen Noodle for lunch. You know, the complicated kind. Like a stir-fry with beans.

Aaaaaand now I'm hungry.

Back to work. Have to figure out how to search Arabic text in an Oracle database. Do you know how?

P.S. Do you like my little joke with the ثقب ? You know, as in, it is hard to translated from English to Arabic literally. Get it? Get it?

I'm back!

Boom baby! Intensives are over. I'm done with school for the summer. Now all I have is back-breaking long hours of work but that's almost normal. So you know wot that means. Yes, that's right, you guessed it chickie-poos - more blogging!

Miss Marple solves a Sleeping Mystery on GBH2 on June 11. Remind me to watch it.

The annual congressional picnic is on. Bet it's not raining there. It's raining here.

I bought a Troy book from a thrift store today and the curtains are finally up in my room. Crazypsychobitchhousemate has left and new one has moved in. I shall now begin reading my 312 emails and clean up my inbox. Stay tuned.