Creating A Simple Button In Photoshop

Few of my friends were asking me how i manage to work in photoshop, Well i am learning on my own and consider myself as a "noob" and as far as i am concerned photoshop is not rocket science anyone can learn it provided time and effort is given.

So i thought about writing this small tutorial for a friend of mine, i will try to cover the steps to create a simple button in photoshop from scratch

Note :

1. I am NOT an expert in photoshop
2. This is roughly the way i do work, there would be dozens of other ways to reach the same effects, feel free to explore
3. The "button" or all the images were taken soley for purpose of creating this tutorial so i haven't bothered with any refiniements or any other thing, they are just to provide the user with some basic knowledge and than its upto his or her's creativity to explore. :)



I assume you already have started photoshop, for this tutorial and all the images i have used photoshop cs 2, your interface might vary with the version you are using. First thing is to create a new document, you can do this either by going to File -> New or simply press CTRL+N on Windows. A window will open looking similar to the image below, enter the dimensions as indicated by the image i.e. 300 x 300. For this exercise i had my background color as black (i love working with black or white)


When you are done click OK to proceed

Now you will be presented with a small window, we now will proceed to make the basic shape of the button, we want to be rectangular with rounded edges, so as indicated in the image below click in the toolbar and select "Rounded Rectangle" or you can use the keyboard shortcut "U"


We want to modify the settings so that our "button" will have more rounded edges for that find the setting in the top most menu bar and modify the setting for "Radius" the default value is 10 we want to make it 20, you can see it illustrated in the image below


Now go ahead drag your mouse (press left button and move the mouse) and create yourself a vague rectangular shape something like in the image below



Now the fun part starts, we will now convert this boring looking rectangle into something more "fancy". Right click on the shape layer and you will be presented with a menu



Click on "Blending Options" and you will be presented with a new window with different options, we will explore different options one by one to see their effects

First click on "Drop Shadow" and make the settings as per the image below, while you are playing around with different settings feel free to explore and learn what impact they do on the image


Next we will explore settings of "Satin" and make the settings in accordance to the image below


Now we have a general "shape" of a button, its time to give it some edges and bevel it, we will now check the settings for "Bevel And Emboss", As before try to match the settings as per image below, like i have mentioned before feel free to explore what impact different settings do to your image


Now go to Filters -> Artistic -> Plastic Wrap, PS will ask you if you want to resterize the layer blah blah blah, press okay, you will be taken to a window which will resemble something like the image below, make the settings accordingly



Now its time to add some text to the "button" press T and type something and it will look something like the image below (provided your text color is white)



Again right click on the text layer select Blending Options and give the text some drop shadow so it looks nicer like the image below



There you go a simple way to create an average looking button in photoshop, its not good or anything but at least it shows you certain ways of getting things done, hopefully it will come in use for someone out there :)

How many BAQAI's Does It Takes To Change A Light Bulb?

Okay, i admit its a lame joke, to be honest its perhaps beyond being lame, sue me for it like i care :) I was amused to giggling like a girl today (much to amusement of my wife) when i read email from Faisal Baqai, YES LADIES AND GENTLEMEN THERE ARE PEOPLE (NOT ALIENS LIKE PREVIOUSLY CLAIMED) WHO READ THIS BLOG! Okay now that i have this need of self bragging out of my system let me come to the subject.

Baqai's are known inherently as DOCTORS much credit of that goes to Dr.Fareed Baqai (Baqai Medical University fame) and Hakim Moazam Baqai (Azam Dawakhana Fame) so telling anyone that you are BAQAI and NOT from medical field mostly gets you "you are retarted" look :)

I admit i had plans of creating a website for Baqai family but Faisal beat me to it, Hat's off to you for creating a dedicate site for the Baqai family, i was limited to creating communities on facebook and orkut and now we have a official "Home Page"

Yeah Baby! Baqai's are Online Now ..... okay enough of my stupid writing go and browse http://baqaifamily.com/

Again Faisal Baqai, Hat's off to you ! It takes ONE Baqai to put light of the family online! :)

In The Name Of Father : Benazir Bhutto

Much like my fellow citizen's i was shocked to hear the news of assassination of Ms Benazir Bhutto, i was glued to the tv screen with my wife and my parents while my 10 months old was trying to break everything around totally unaware of the fact that death of a person can create so many problems for a nation.

One advantage / disadvantage of media and today's high tech world is that news travels so fast that it's really hard to do any damage control, this is what happened with Government of Pakistan that evening, much like a person caught with his pants down GOP and Law Enforcement agencies were still trying to comprehend the amount of damage done and strategy when public started havoc on the streets of different cities in the country.

The rest of the time we spend trying to contact our loved one's, confused,puzzled,angry (at the mob destroying properties and robbing shops etc) and helpless. It was time which reminded me of the days of Karachi Operations when riots and burning tyres was for a regular routine. By late night we were hearing from our relatives and their stories, the damage they had to take and hell out on the streets of Karachi. I think nobody was sleeping or was able to sleep that night.

Of course Government Of Pakistan had to give an explanation and they had to clam things down, much to our amusement the statement given by GOP for the assassination was changing from the initial reports and it seemed rather impossible to most of the people. It was a mistake on Government's part and later on denials came but damage was done to credibility of Government.

For three days we were forced to sit inside our house like we had committed a sin and were being punished for it, if we tried to move out of our house due to some emergency we were subject to constant danger of being mugged and deprived of anything we were carrying, the events followed by Ms Bhutto's death were a dream come true scenario for all the thugs around the country and they took full advantage of the situation. Our own family was saved on the third day in night when we had to go to a nearby store to buy some medicines for our kid and to get some grocceries and few people decided that we don't have right to do that and opened fire in the area forcing the shops to closed down, Rangers were close by and came to the rescue but damage had been done, shops were closed again and customers were rushing back to the safety of their homes.

On the first working day we were relieved to be back to our normal lives and were busy trying to cover up the pending work when the dreadful news of riots starting came, DAMN NOT AGAIN followed by HOW WILL I REACH HOME and IS MY FAMILY SAFE were the immediate thoughts, Cell phone was constantly ringing and panic was wide spread in very little time much credit of that goes to few rumors which spread (Like i said above this is disadvantage of news traveling fast that anyone can spread rumors and create havoc). Finally took a big gulp and left the office for home. Driving in such situation is a unique and horrible experience, everyone looks like a person coming for you, any traffic congestion ahead on the road and you will slow down the car thinking some riot is taking place. Took me more than an hour to reach home safe and sound much to relieve of my family. Again spend the whole day calling friends and relatives to find out if they were okay.

Now after the fifth day of assassination of Ms.Bhutto i am forced to ask myself few questions

1. She was a great leader for many in this country and also very popular internationally, but all the riots and mobbing was she worth it?

I personally don't think so, Muhammed Ali Jinnah passed out everyone was shattered but back than nobody took it out on public property, Liaqut Ali Khan was shot down but nothing like this happened, JFK was assassinated while he was the President (not Ex Prime Minster like in case of Ms.Bhutto) and nothing like this happened, why?

I don't blame PPP leadership or PPP workers totally for the situation in the country, they were a huge factor but i personally believe there were other foreign interests involved trying to disrupt the peace of the Country and when they saw (and perhaps even encouraged) PPP workers coming out on streets and showing their frustrating and anger they joined the ranks and had their goals achieved.

2. When she knew she was on target list than why did she had to pop her head out of the sunroof?

This is where my mind boggles, she was a highly educated person, she was again and again warned not only by local agencies but from international agencies about possible attacks on her, she was told to follow security protocol which she didn't, Having a bullet/bomb proof car and wearing a bullet proof vest is not going to do any wonders if you stick your unprotected head out of the sunroof in clear view for any person with ill intentions. People say she liked to be close to her supporters but i guess in this case it was Too Close For Comfort.

3. Where do Shireen Rehman gets her news from?

Laser guided bullets and smart weapons? damn either i need what ever she is on or she tells me which author she likes to read, she was seen roaming around wearing a neck strainer thingie while she seemed to be moving her neck without any problems.

4. Why poke your nose into other people's business?

Seems to me that western media is having a field day covering the events followed by Ms Bhutto's assassination, Presidential candidates coming and talking about situation in Pakistan when they should really be talking about their own situation in Iraq. They are trying to teach us how to handle our affairs when they were not able to manage disaster recovery in case of Katrina. They just need any excuse to bad mouth us and much to my disgust Geo is following their footsteps being local Fox News.

5. Practice what you preech?

PPP announced Bilawal "Bhutto" Zardari (Bhutto was added to his name much like a callsign), a 19 years old student to be the chairperson of the party, this atleast to be is absurd, i was hoping to see Makhdoom Amin Fahim coming up and taking the charge of the party, but i guess Chairperson of PPP has to be from Bhutto family making it a family inheritance. Makes me question if political parties can't have democracy within their own structure how can they advocate and promise democracy for the nation? PML (N) is again an example with Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif being the leaders and they would be followed by son or nephew or family relative. This is a system which needs to be changed before we ATTEMPT to achieve democracy.

Democracy Is The Best Revenge, were the ending statement of young Mr.Bilawal and that sends a negative vibe to many of the listeners.

6. What was Government doing?

Opposition or not, She was one of the biggest name in local politics in current times, i was disapponted to see that no one from the government or political parties went to her Namaz-e-Janaza. It would had shown a very polite gesture (which again can be taken as a sign of weekness, and we know politics is all about who has bigger balls right?) and perhaps had cooled down the situation. Maybe it was due to the angry crowd consideration at the tadfeen?

7. International Investigation?

This really cracked me up, Mr Zardari apparently stopped the autopsy to take place, maybe its because of family values or what ever maybe the reason. He has announced that he has no faith in Government investigations (much due to blunders made by them which i discussed before) and he wants to get international investigation teams to conduct investigation. I think they will conduct an autopsy too so DUH!!

Secondly, we are calling the same people who in all these years are unable to find one person which in their opinion is the world's biggest menace and whose name this War On Terrorism was started, There is still controversy about JFK assassination and they are going to come here and solve our problems?

8. What's next?

Nothing, i had enough typing for a day and i am going to end it here only! Our nation lost a leader in a tragic event, people may had liked her or not, supporters or not, but we have to admit that she had a strong public support and to many she would be remembered as a Hero. She spend whole of her life in the name of her father and followed his fate.

A Practical Joke For Office

Got this from another place so won't be taking the credit for the first one, the second prank is quiet popular too but i did it on my own :p

1. On your mark's computer, go to the Desktop and make a new folder.
2. Rename the new folder to e.g. “Porn” or "XXX" or What ever title that will grab attention
   
3. Make a screenshot
4. Delete the folder that you’d just created
5. Install the screenshot image as a Desktop wallpaper
6. Enjoy!

Another trick i loved to play is

1. Take a screen shot of the desktop
2. Hide all the icons
3. Move the taskbar from down to another position and hide it
4. Make the screen shot as the wall paper
5. Enjoy especially if the victim is your average windows user :p

Ubuntu Solving The Problem Of Disappearing Disc Space

For past few days i was puzzled by this problem that i kept deleting files but there was no difference in the hard drive space, so by searching and reading i figured out a way to solve this problem,I thought about writing this small tip/guide for newbies like me

Problem / Symptom

I delete files from my hard drive (it can be linux partition or it can be NTFS partiont) yet the space on hard drive remains the same as it was before deleting the files.

Solution

What happens when you delete a file in GUI is that Linux moves the files to a Trash folder instead of actually deleting the file,

For Linux Partition i would suggest you open the terminal go to

Code:

cd /home//.Trash

Replace the with your user name e..g

Code:

cd /home/baqai/.Trash

now to see if you have any hidden files in the directory

Code:

ls -a

this will show you all the hidden / non hidden files in the directory

now for deleting the files

Code:

rm 

If you want to remove a directory than use

Code:

rm -R 

For Windows Partition

Say you have a windows partition mounted and the volume of that drive is "Downloads" you can follow the same principals as above with slight twist

First lets go to your partition

Code:

cd /media/Downloads

Now lets find those files which you deleted

Code:

cd .Trash-

e.g. in my case i typed

Code:

cd .Trash-baqai

Now you will enter a new directory

Code:

ls -a

You will be again shown a list of files, now you can follow the steps above to get rid of the files once and for all and can recover your hard drive space.

On windows partitions you will also have another directory by name of .Trash-root which you should also check just in case you deleted some files by your root account and they are there, For most of the new users like me it should not be a case normally

Fixing the Desktop Resolution in Ubuntu Linux

This is one of the lessons i learned on my own by screwing up the display configuration of my GUI of Ubuntu (Linux). So what happened is that i changed the refresh rate and resolution to match my TV (It's a HDTV which supports VGA) and everything was messed up, here is what i did

I suggest you backup your display settings before making any changes otherwise you will be sitting like an idiot like me :P

1. Either boot in recovery mode OR you can simply press CTRL+F1 to go in the CLI (Command Line Interface)

2. go to /etc/X11

[code]cd /etc/X11[/code]

3. Baclup your config file

[code]sudo cp xorg.conf xorg.conf.backup[/code]

4. Fortunately for me ubuntu had already kept my last configuration file so all i had to do was to over write the current one

[code]sudo cp xorg.conf.1 xorg.conf[/code]

5. Than had to reboot the machine [code]sudo reboot[/code]

there were couple of backup configurations in the folder so it was trial and error procedure till i found the configuration which was working for me

this was a hap hazard way of describing things but what the heck, hopefully it will help someone out or perhaps me in the future to recall my footsteps to solve the problem :P

Communication Problems :P

A man spoke frantically into the phone, "My wife is pregnant and her contractions are only two minutes apart!" "Is this her first child?" the doctor asked. "No, you idiot!" the man shouted. "This is her husband!"

In The Men's Room

Found this HILARIOUS joke

I was barely sitting down when I heard a voice from the other stall saying,
"Hi, how are you?"

I'm not the type to start a conversation in the men's restroom, but I don't
know what got into me, so I answered, somewhat embarrassed,
"Doin' just fine!"

And the other guy says,
"So what are you up to?"

What kind of question is that? At this point, I'm thinking this is too
bizarre so I say,
"Uhhh, I'm like you, just traveling!"

At this point I am just trying to get out as fast as I can, when I hear
another question.
"Can I come over?"

Ok, this question is just too weird for me, but I figured I could just
be polite and end the convesation. I tell him,
"No......I'm a little busy right now!!!"

The i hear the guy say nervously...

"Listen, I'll have to call you back. There's an idiot in the other stall
who keeps answering all my questions!!!"

Ebay Funnies !!!! :-)

Following are some of very funny and absurd replies / feedbacks on ebay ! :)


POSITIVE: Item shipped quickly, have been having erotic dreams about seller. Thanks!

POSITIVE: Thanks for great Rainbow Brite lunchbox. Should shrunken head be inside?

NEUTRAL: Excellent communication, but should've poked holes in box before shipping the kitten. Refunded.

NEGATIVE: Despite indication in listing, I could not fit item into any of my body cavities.

NEGATIVE: Honda R-Type sticker did not add horsepower as advertised.

NEUTRAL: Item shipped promptly and in good condition, but I should not have to bid on birthday presents from my parents.

POSITIVE: I don't really remember what I ordered. But I've been sitting in the box it came in all day, and it's great!

NEGATIVE: Product didn't work, possibly broken. I woke up this morning and was disappointed to find I still believe in Jesus Christ our Savior. :(

POSITIVE: Excellent Buyer. A++++++. Thrilled by the quartz movement of the "Rolex". HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

NEGATIVE: Should have been clearer that seller only accepts payment in Bhats via Eastern Union Moneygram.

POSITIVE: Plain brown packaging seemed to fool my wife. Thanks!

NEGATIVE: The dog won't hunt.

NEGATIVE: Very nice monkey mascot costume, but it's a size 34, not a 63 as advertised.

NEGATIVE: Lederhosen not as pink as the picture led me to believe.

POSITIVE: A+++++. Items are exactly as described. Best case of kalashnikovs I've ever bought. Allah Akbar!

NEGATIVE: This is clearly the ninth, NOT THE SIXTH, repackaging of Mad Super Special #24.

POSITIVE: One of the scents mixed in with the packing peanuts remind me of a passionate weekend in Rio... was that you?

POSITIVE: The way you wrote my zip-code makes me weak in the knees. Such smooth strokes. A+!

NEGATIVE: Though you did nothing wrong, I am giving you this negative feedback to teach you that the universe is arbitrary and unfair.

NEGATIVE: Buying this Space 1999 Lunchbox did not fill the void in my empty life for as long as I'd hoped.

Some Wierd Yet Amazing Facts

1) In the 1400's a law was set forth that a man was not allowed to beat his wife with a stick no thicker than his thumb. Hence we have "the rule of thumb".

2) Many years ago in Scotland, a new game was invented. It was ruled "Gentlemen Only... Ladies Forbidden"... and thus the word GOLF entered into the English language.

3) Men can read smaller print than women can; women can hear better.

4) It is impossible to lick your elbow.

5) Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.

6) Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king in history:
Spades - King David
Hearts - Charlemagne
Clubs - Alexander, the Great
Diamonds - Julius Caesar

7) 111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321

8) Question: If you were to spell out numbers, how far would you have to go until you would find the letter "A"?

Answer: One thousand

9) In Shakespeare's time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes. When you pulled on the ropes the mattress tightened, making the bed firmer to sleep on. Hence the phrase... "goodnight, sleep tight."

10) It was the accepted practice in Babylon 4,000 years ago that for a month after the wedding, the bride's father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer and because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the honey month, which we know today as the honeymoon.

11) In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts... So in old England, when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them "Mind your pints and quarts, and settle down." It's where we get the phrase "mind your P's and Q's"

12) Many years ago in England, pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim, or handle, of their ceramic cups. When they needed a refill, they used the whistle to get some service. "Wet your whistle" is the phrase inspired by this practice.

13) This is pretty sick. I can read it actually!

I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdgnieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

Amazing huh?

Call Of Duty 4 : Modern Warfare Review

Note : This post is dedicated to Nomi (Maskman) :P

Well, honestly i didn't felt like putting down the controller but

• My son was crying
• My wife was ticked off again at my xbox :P
• Playing on hardest difficulty was granting me endless deaths on one spot so i took a break

So here is my small hand's on experience with this awesome game

GUI

It's not every day that you boot up a game and GUI comes and you KNOW that its going to rock, the main menu sets the mood of an action flick ready to unfold by you, all the transactions during the mission (briefing) are done in a very eye catching / breath taking cinematics which will make you believe that you are watching a superb war movie till the game kicks in and you are ready for action, superbly done, yes there is difference between cinematics and actual game play graphics at times but none the less infinity ward managed to set the mood, 10/10

Graphics

I guess when they said next gen this was one of the games they had in mind, the graphics are simply superb and to top it all it runs without a frame drop on 1080p. Surroundings are according to the map and mission, the first map cargo ship reminded me of good ol counter strike map with the same name hehe!

Second map was mix or urban and jungle environment and most of the times i died because i was admiring one thing or the other, you have to rescue an informant here

You start the game as SAS and than move to Marine Core operations and the first mission reminds you of none other than Black Hawk Dawn, if you are playing on Veteran than you really can't help but question yourself "shit can it be so freaking hard for real?"

Cinematics

Although i have praised the cinematics before but honestly they deserve a section of their own, Till now i thought the intro movie was breath taking and than i was slapped with another awesome fmv in which you see yourself being dragged in a car and than pushed in the back of the car and drove around the city and than ....... maybe you should watch it on your own to enjoy it :)

Game play

Honestly FPS have nothing unique to offer recently, its all old school, run from point A to B go behind a cover (very much necessary if you want to servive) shoot, move ahead. What makes COD4 a little bit exception is all the "action" going around you, shots are being fired, RPG's flying over your head, grenades coming right to your feet when you go in a cover, damn you really can't stay in a place for a long time without dying :P

I would like to mention this one instance in which i shot an enemy point blank as he came out of corner, as he was falling down he fired his RPG and it went swooshing right besides me hit the wall behind me and i died, i was like stunned for a moment, so yeah getting killed in this game can be fun and unique too

Sound

For the sound track till the point i have played i would love to give it 20/10 (Yes, Twenty out of Ten, its not a typo) it very much sets the mood for you.

Sound effects other than the music are crisp and room comes to life if you have decent set of 5.1, bullets flying, grenades exploding, your team mates yelling, its insane, its fun ! :)

Multiplayer

I haven't tried playing on live as yet, but my experience of Beta is superb i have posted it some place here i believe, will post once i have a go at it

Overall

Overall, honestly if i had to buy this game (which i am by the way) i would go for the regular version of the game, not the collectors version but than again that's just me

Are We Loooosers !

Are we loosers? well we can use the question for my parts of life but i this case i am talking about the results of Twenty Twenty worldcup, for those dorks who have been living under some rock or just got up from hibernation the game i am refering to is cricket.

So India won, congratulations to them, In my opinion Pakistan and Pakistani team cannot be refered as Loosers, we certainly have came a long way from where we were, winning from teams like Australia, Srilanka and Newzeland.

I simply adore Misbah-ul-Haq and his courage and talent, lot of people are taunting the poor chap for the stroke he played on which he got out, hey give the guy a break atleast it was much better stroke than what Afridi "Boom Boom" played so a big DOH!

I am in a mix emotional state (especially after that Indian Idol result, Parshant you fucking suck, Amit Paul you rock) but i am not "that" sad on loosing i honestly believe that our team (very few though) gave it their best shot and i am looking forward to see some brilliant captaincy from Shoaib and excellent batting and nerves of steel from Misbah.

Indian Idol 3 The Dilema

Gosh! I never thought i would be addicted to a "desi" program, but yeah i have to admit that courtesy of a friend (who got me hooked to watching Indian Idol) i regularly follow Indian Idol 3. The main reason being was my interest in music and secondly the awesome talent which entertained with their melodies voices every week. Week after week candidates were going, but i didn't cared because i watched Indian Idol 3 because of two voices; 1. Amit Paul 2. Emon

And yesterday was the grand finale and much like our elections it was rigged up to a motherfucking level (excuse my language but its far less damage than i did to my television set after watching the finale), I won't say that i wasn't expecting the results, Parshant was climbing the ladder without that much of a problem and even he would admit that the reason he is II3 is because of Voting (Commerical & Revenue VS Talent)

I am not making any sense and that's because it's been quiet some time i have felt angry at something i have watched on TV (i used to curse at villians in beloved Airwolf and Knight Rider) but all i can say is that Parshant may be INDIAN IDOL but Amit Paul managed to get much more national and international fan base and is more than just "Indian" Idol, he in my opinion in Global Idol because of his awesome voice ....

BMW M3 Spotted

I admit, being a evolution fan i can be biased from time to time and can under rate any other vehicle, but i always had this deep respect for BMW M series of vehicles, a friend of mine spotted this sexy BMW M3 outside his garage and both of us just can't stop drooling over it, so without wasting any time let me share some pictures of the beauty with all of you

All Credit For The Following Pictures Goes to Shaukat

30,000 Leagues Under The Sea

Everyone has fond memories from the time when they were growing up, i am no exception, i still remember anxiously anticipating the Library period in grade 4 (or was it 5 or 6? who cares, its from time when i was in school and a long way back) so that we can watch the movie 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, The movie was part of the corresponding book by author Jules Verne, which was part of our course in the English class. The book was about a crazy billionaire who goes by the name of Captain Nemo and his submarine Nautilus which was a city beneath the sea. It was an exceptionally well written book even by today's standards.

So come back to present time, i came across this movie 30,000 Leagues Under The Sea, it was supposed to be based on the book by Jules Verne, I instantly went back to my childhood memories and damn i HAD to see the movie, I had to convince my wife to sit with me and watch the movie (and make popcorns and bring the cans of Coke from fridge too). After watching the movie i

1. Have deep respect for Pakistani movies and i truly believe that our industry does not make the crappiest movies on the face of this earth.
2. Feel sorry for Jules Verne, he must be turning in his grave with agony.

I am angry and i am frustrated, both at the fact that this so called MOVIE literally RAPPED (excuse me for my choice of words) an exceptionally well written book, and secondly for all the taunts i had to hear from my wife (it was not easy going through the movie trust me)

For those of you who don't know anything about the book and want to learn and even for those who want to revisit their childhood memories i suggest you take a look at the following page

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty_Thousand_Leagues_Under_the_Sea

Chevrolet Joy 1000 Km Review

So my car has gone for it's first 1000 free checkup and i thought about writing this review so that people who might be interesting in this vehicle may know the pros and cons of this particular car, i must mention before hand that i found the community at pakwheels (www.pakwheels.com) to be very supportive and my decision making was made very easy courtesy of all the informative posts there, so if you haven't checked their site out what are you waiting for, guide your browser to www.pakwheels.com right NOW!

Showing Off The Shine

Exterior

Honestly, the car doesn't scores that much as far as the exterior looks are concerned, i often get to hear that its a female car (much to my annoyance) and it does looks very small from outside, the looks of this car are like love and hate relationship, either you will love it or you will hate it, myself i am living with it and growing fond of it day by day, but than again i didn't bought the car for its looks in the first place :)

Interior

Dry would be the word which comes to mind in the first place, second thing which will come to your mind would be PRACTICAL, i found everything i need to be within hand's reach and layout is very practical, the only annoying thing is the placement of indicators and wipers, they are opposite of what we are used to (indicators and lights work from left and wipers work from right)
I do miss having a rev/rpm in the car, i know its not a performance car but still would be nice to have a rpm meter showing me the revs i am pulling.

One thing i simply LOVE about the car is its A/C God Damn i haven't seen such a chilling A/C in any car, first time in my life i had to turn it off because i was feeling cold, this is 6 in the evening i am talking about not 1 in the night when atmosphere is relatively colder than that of the day, In 30 seconds flat even in the hottest climate the car manages to make a cosy atmosphere which in hot climate of Karachi is a blessing.

Drive

Now before you start making judgment let me tell you before hand that i personally have a Toyota Vitz and Suzuki Cultus VXL apart from this car so i would be making good amount of comparisons to those cars.

Drive is pleasant and enjoyable, what i don't like is the gear ratios, it took me some time to get used to changing gear very frequently, on the same distance i cover in cultus in second gear i have to shift to third in joy (i am talking about by the book shifts according to speed limits per gear)

The rear shocks in my opinion are able to take good beating but still Karachi potholes manage to give them a hard time, i often get to hear a loud CLANG if my car is overloaded and there is a nasty pothole i ended up in, other than that the car handles the potholes in a splendid manner, lesson to learn here is not to (a) overload your car (b) avoid those potholes don't drive like a blind bat (like i do from time to time)

Power Steering is a disappointment to me, It's still on par with the Cultus power steering but Vitz power steering is way better, After driving Vitz the power steering on Joy feels like a Semi Power Steering, i wish it was more fluid.

Problems

The problems which i jotted down for the showroom people to fix are as follows,

• Passenger seat making sqeeking sounds
• Fuel Average
• Gear Ratios

Passenger seat for some odd reasons make these squeeking sounds which is annoying like anything, i think so its a loose spring or some screw nothing major but none the less i hate the sound and i want it removed from the car, Lets hope they fix the damn problem

Fuel Average is nothing to write home about, The dealer claims an average of around 12km/l in city traffic with A/C, i am having mix readings between 8-9 km/l with A/C. The dealer have told me that after the first service and tuning the average will improve so lets see. If i was paying for the fuel from my own pocket i would be bothered a lot but since my company pays for the fuel i am one happy guy.

Gear Ratios, as i discussed above the car needs to be driven with gears being changed constantly, you start the car from a scratch and before you know you are in top gear, i wish the gear ratios was something like other cars, its not a big deal but its different from other vehicles.

Final Verdict

Am i happy with the car? Yes i am if i compare it with my Cultus, Joy is much better car than Cultus but i can't simply imagine comparing Joy with Vitz, Vitz is hands down a better vehicle.

Going to England - The RIGHT Way

What would be the right way to go to England? I would like to give example of one of my ex-collegue who choose the right way to go to England for his studies, he saved up, day and night, some sources even suggest that he was saving even before his birth, we will let the picture do all the talking after all a picture can say a thousand words

My Love For This Vehicle

Many people have dreams of driving a Ferrari or Porsche, surprisingly i do like those car's but my love for one particular vehicle is just overwhelming, honestly if i am given a choice between this vehicle and an exotic it would take me some time to decide. The vehicle i am talking about is Mitsubishi Evolution, Yeah just a small 2 liter rocket which i respect and adore from the bottom of my heart! Inshallah i will be buying one of these beauties soon! :)

Not every 4 door saloon owner can show the "birdie" to a Corvette

Few mouth watering pictures which i keep swapping on my desktop! :)

Call Of Duty 4 Beta Impressions

Well after i reached home from office today i anxiously checked to see if the COD4 Beta download is completed or not, it was, honestly for couple of seconds i didnt knew what to do, being an explorer i am i decided to check out the beta being offline so i could get the hang of things :P i guess people at Infinity Ward are well aware of my kind of people and they have made it compulsory for everyone to learn the beta the hardway i.e. play,kill or be get killed method.



First thing i noticed was joining a multiplayer game was different from any other game i have ever played, from what i have learned the game matches your skill level and connection to available games and puts you in a suitable game, pretty neat i must say but i would love to have an option of making a game and let my friends join it by selecting it from a list.



At the start of your "career" you are limited to three classes and things start unlocking as you progress through the game, i love this system and i love the fact that there are no multiplayer achievements in this game :D

I have to admit that it took me some time to get used to things and i conveniently got owned couple of times, much of that has to be blammed on the fact that i was learning the map and to play, by the end of my first game i had four kills, not bad for a n00b! :)



There were 16 players in the game but lag was barely noticeable atleast for me, i presume mostly they were either from Germany or from France because their language seemed like oga laga shaka laka to me, my local desi friends can easily compare what i was hearing to the feeling of listening couple of pathan's talk in pushto!

The "perks" system is pretty neat, it basically gives you a special ability, there are three slots and at any given time you can only selecty one perk for each slot, thus it makes the game more challening since you don't know what other person would be using, from deep penetrating bullets to fast sprinting your enemy can be using any combination of perks according to his or her playing style



I will update this post once i am back, my urge to play more isn't fullfilled ! :D

Farewell At Office Of Tabish And Imran Chd

Well today was a sad thing in a way, two of our dear colleagues are leaving and today we gave them their farewell at Arizona Grill, what can i say about both of them

Tabish, well he is a nice chap, very jolly and a big heart, he takes all the verbal and practical jokes we at the office play at him and keep on smiling on them, his only weak point is his Harmonium AKA Laptop he bought for himself, if you say anything against it he will get offended hehe!

Imran Chd, one word to describe him would be GENTLEMEN, very soft spoken and always willing to help you out, we will definately miss our Dear Key Manager, Go RSA!!!

Anyways here are the pictures from the farewell

Most of us agreed that Rafay looks like a PIMP in this picture


Rafay Again, He has this certain politician's way of talking on the phone


Sajid is in hurry to eat while Qamar trying to teach him some manners

Imran Chaudhry, We are going to miss him and his British accent! :-)

Vaqar and Shoaib, One is happy eating and the other is happy being in office


Arsalan (We all miss our dear ol HR Manager) and Vaqar (He honestly didn't cared about the camera that day he was busy munching away, Especially coz Ahmed was paying :D


Shoaib getting sick at me cracking jokes at him, Honestly he is one gem of a person

Mubarak insisted on having an exclusive picture taken, so there you go!


Me, Not one of my best shots but than again this is how they usually come *grumble*

Tabish and Sheheryar, Validation team members thoroughly missing Yaseen

Well that's about it with pictures, hope you guys enjoyed them, we are going to miss Tabish and Imran.C from our office, Especially after Tabish left there is a huge absence felt during lunch time.... I pray all the best for your future ... stay happy folks

Got Selected For Call Of Duty 4 Beta

Woooohoooooo!!!!! i love those peeps at infinity ward, i never thought i would get in the beta but i did, now i can't wait till the download finishes and i get a chance to play the beta ! :D

Car Tints, What's The Problem?

This story starts with me getting stopped and than given a challan for a tinted car, the funny part is that i was driving a Toyota Vitz which originally comes with tinted windows i.e. i didn't had that after market black paper

WHY WHY WHY and WHY aren't car tints allowed in our country? it makes no sense to me what so ever, we live in a country where sun screws with our skin majority of the time in a year, we get challan if we have our car's tinted and i see no logic behind it. Law enforcement agencies think that "terrorists" or "mobile snatchers" or "thieves" or "decoits" uses tinted vehicles to do their activities, i find this kind of ironic because most of such activities are done bikes and i have yet to see a "tinted bike"

The second intresting fact is that his law is only for people who don't have any "contacts" yes if you know someone in goverment or in law enforcement agencies than you are excused from following this law, If you are reading this blog and know some higher ups than kindly do let me know so i can get away with police stopping me :)

Goverment should allow medium tints and tinted cars should be subject to checkpoint stops and other police check points yes that would make life miserable for people with tints but i rather have that than not having my car tints in this hot humid climate

Traffic In Karachi, Who Is Responsible

Hmmm, my my, where should i start from, Just to give you all an idea of what i go through every day, my office is located on I.I.Chundrigar Road, now if anyone of you had the idea or experience of coming or going from this particular road in past few months know how horrible the traffic conditions are, I just love the people who sit and abuse and accuse Mr.Mustafa Kamal for it.

I salute Mr.Mustafa Kamal for his work, that guy is bloody brilliant apart from being workoholic, i swear i can't understand where he gets all the energy from? Mr.Mustafa Kamal if you EVER happen to read my blog (by some conincidence or miracle) than do email me and let me know your secret.

Anyways coming to the point, yes the roads are dug and are being repaired but they are for our own good in the long run so i can't and won't comment on that, problem in my own opinion is not the conditions of the road but the conditions of people especially there mental state

People apparatenly are always in hurry and they will use and abuse any small inch or cm of space on the road to move ahead, if it means going wrong way than hell they will do it, at times i feel like getting out of my car and slapping the bastards (which i can't do because i am weak and don't have any "back") because eventually what these people end up doing is blocking more traffic and creating congestion, and than these very same people call up the media (they are media whores to get cheap publicity and our media is also thirsty for "juicy news" so this gay relationship works well in our country) and complain about goverment and system, they conveniently forget to mention how much of an asshole they are and how much problem they give to the system on their own.

I feel sorry for the poor traffic police people who stand in all kind of weather conditions trying to fix a problem which they can't because the root of all evil is nothing else than our own mentality and our thirst to twist the law in our favor

I won't dine at Salatin again

Okay i am not a picky SOB who creates fuss about anything and everything, infact if you ask my colleagues and friends they will tell you that i am a very down to earth perosn who respects anyone and everyone. Around a week or so back we went to Salatin (self claimed resturant, one of many modified DHABA's if you want my honest opinion) the food was average but the experience in the end left me speechless and i made a promise to myself that i won't go to that place ever again.

In the end the waiter brought us the bill and gave him 15 Rs tip, well to many that may sound too vague but the bastard refused to take it and insulted me, well that was a new one for me, as i believe that giving tip to any waiter is a personal matter and i don't think so i "owe" them any obligation for tip, anyways i offered him Rs 50 out of frustration and he refused to take that even, i blew my fuse and i told him to fuck off (excuse my language) he can shove his ego up his ass for all i care and coz of my own personal ego i ain't gonna recommend that place to anyone ever again nor i am going to dine there anymore

Khuda Kay Liye

Well yesterday night i took a plunge and decided to check what was all the hype about, yes i am talking about the controversial movie by Mr.Shoaib Mansoor by the name of KHUDA KAY LIYE also known as IN THE NAME OF GOD.

To set the record straight i couldn't find the dvd of the movie and theaters were all booked so i did what i do normally, yes i downloaded the movie and watched it .... yeah call me bastard pirate but that's what i did, to credit of Mr Mansoor i have to say that next week i am taking my family to theater to watch the movie AND i am going to purchase a copy of the DVD, i guess that's says a lot about movie (if you are coming from "watching movies for free via downloading" frame set of mind)

The movie was stunning from the start to the end, Shaan performed exceptionally well and i personally believe if the poor chap is given good directors,writers and producers he can get more fame than mr SK of Bollywood, yeah the guy have potential its just coz of our crappy movie makers we are not getting the fame we should be getting, Hat's off to Mr.Naseer-Uddin Shah, i guess his role was for around last 20 so minutes of the movie but he put a totally NEW life in the movie

I won't spoil the movie story for others (you must have heard it from zillions others but not from me, i can be a pirate bastard but i can't stand the title of spoiler bastard along with it :p ) just go and watch the darn movie with your family its worth watching and kudos to Mr Mansoor again (i know i am repeating myself) for creating such a master piece