Apple's new iPod iNvisa

Ok, So we haven't had enough? The Nano, the Video the ............... It seems that Apple can't stop coming up with new models that just make your head spin and think, hey! why? is my iPod obsolete? Well, that's a question worth asking... so, here, the unveiling of the new iPod iNvisa.. and don't worry.. your iPod is not obsolete yet, not until you watch that video... :-P

Earthquake Again?

I got a couple of SMS messages from Kuwait and Dubai warning me about another Earthquake that is going to occur soon, here's what's in one of the messages: "Iygolon 3ala aljazeera wl 3arabia ina fi zilzal biseer in the next few days. Plz take care. Its 6.5" For those who can't understand arabic.. it says that Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya are reporting that an earthquake is going to hit in the next few days. I assume that the 6.5 is on the Richter Scale which is quite devistating. So I went on the web and started researching.. I found that a blog from dubai did report it.. and it says that authorities claim that the Towers in Dubai can withstand Earthquakes.. I just hope they would! read more about my earthquake experience here

Moody, the continuous Saga!

For those who don't know me... Moody is the series of Mixes I started making since I first set foot in Dubai, I felt homesick and I had nothing better to do back in 2002.. Moody started with "Moody 1" which was made on October 25th 2001.. I still listen to it till this day for it's sentimental value... and "Moody 2" following it after a long stop on April 25th, 2002, the Moody series reached Moody 60 something, then I lost count cause I switched to a new database.. So the first Moody I made this Quarter was Moody Duh! and then Moody Now! and then Moody Love which was the last before I made Moody Phil Collins after attending Phil Collins' concert earlier this month.. So I will list the contents of Moody Love that I made earlier this month here and I want you guys to tell me what you think! BTW.. the Moody series does not reflect my taste in music.. but just the phase and state I'm in at that particular moment.. You and Me, Lifehouse Stay With Me (Brass Bed), Josh Gracin Shine On, Ryan Cabrera Follow Through, Gavin DeGraw Layla (Unplugged), Eric Clapton Purify Me, India Arie (I Can't stop listening to this song) Stickwitu, The Pussycat Dolls Unbelievable, Craig David One Wish, Ray J If You Were Mine, Marcos Hernandez More Than Words (Radio Edit), Frankie J I'm Sprung, T-Pain Against All Odds, Phil Collins That's about it.. and here are some songs that might qualify to be on my next Moody.. Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off, Joe Nichols (Hillarious) Like We Never Loved at all, Faith Hill (Featuring Tim McGraw) As Good As I Once Was, Toby Keith (Worth listening to) Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight, Eric Clapton (Check out the James Taylor version as well) Are you ever gonna love me, Chris Cagle Don't Phunk With my Heart, Black Eyed Peas All I want for Christmas is You, Mariah Carey Here We go Again, Trina If It's Love that you want, Rihanna Tempted to Touch, Rupee (Requested by La3yoonak, a nice song though) Check on It, Beyonce Jesus Take The Wheel, Carrie Underwood Don't Forget About Us, Mariah Carey To Fall in love Again, Jessica Simpson Soul Survivour, Young Jeezy Don't Lie, Black Eyed Peas Belly Dancer, Akon Photograph, Nickelback Scars, Papa Roach Stupid, Sarah McLachlan Feel Good Inc., Gorillaz Do You Really Want Me, Robyn (I always laugh when I hear the Intro and chorus).. Rosie, Jackson Browne (Can't Stop listening to this) Don't Bother, Shakira Tek Tek, Ibrahim Tatlises (Requested by a special friend, You won't understand a word) Finally, Last but not least Somebody Already Broke my Heart, Sade Hope you like it.. I will keep you guys posted whenever a Moody is out.. P.S.: The picture shows the group genesis back in the 70's..

Credit for a job Well Done

Have you ever done something so good, and instead of receiving gratitude for it, you get accused of doing something wrong while doing that very great job?

Why did Cisco Systems acquire Scientific-Atlanta?

I believe that Cisco Systems' move to acquire Scientific-Atlanta the maker of Set Top Boxes (STB) is so wise even though it cost them $6.9 Billion.. Alot of people have not realized that the world is moving towards IP convergence.. The Treo!.. The Net/Telephones/TV who can't live without them now adays? Cisco's core business is Networking.. and it embarked into the IP Telephony scene a few years back.. and I remember having a conversation with someone from Nortel, the world leading communication equipment company, about the move of companies like Cisco and 3Com into their turf, and he was telling me that everyone is trying to get a piece of the pie. even those who had no experience in the Telephone business.. Well, at that time.. it was understandable that Cisco had nothing to do with telephony.. but IP telephony was a different case.. The whole idea behind the convergence of the 3 services is that you will be getting your Internet/Phone/TV from 1 source.. 1 fiber optic cable!.. so there is no need to have multiple cables everywhere and no co-ax cables to be seen in homes or offices no more.. Now, after Cisco's acquisition of Scientific-Atlanta.. Cisco is gearing itself to be one of the leaders in convergence solutions since it has all 3 elements of the deal which are Networking/VoIP/IPTV... and that in my own opinion the reason that they acquired Scientific-Atlanta.. and this is my reply to what news agencies have been reporting that Cisco is venturing outside it's core business... but that infact is it's core business from now on. How to be the dominant convergence solutions provider. IPTV is basically TV over Internet Protocol which means that you will be getting your TV channels through your internet connection.. which means better control on what you see.. and real time video on demand, interactive TV, your own showtimes, and many other options that are only possible with the power of the internet.

i wish it was last week...

The pain is too much to bear; I ask myself why did our paths ever cross?!?! I cherish every moment, remember every detail. My five senses are highly alert. Each whisper will forever echo, every touch is engraved, all visions are cached, aromas circle me and my taste buds aren’t the same. A sixth sense has developed, an internal feeling which feels like a combination of: your lungs suddenly collapsing, your heart is being squeezed, and, stomach crunches while sitting up straight… I wish it was last week, where my pain would’ve been less now. Never cried so much, never thought so much, and never did my heart ache as much. I ask myself is it the end of a chapter? Or sister fate enjoyed the whole scenario so much and is just preparing for a better and stronger come back? Running short of breath, I bite my lower lip, take a deep breath and forget everything for a minute. Only it comes back all over again, much stronger this time, in five minutes….

Earthquake!? What?

Something wrong happened.... Everyone heard about the earthquake that hit Southern Iran and affected parts of the UAE Right? OK.. The tower where I live in was evacuated... but I was sleeping during the evacuation!!!! I live on a very high floor 250 Meters above ground level! and the building staff failed to notify me of the evacuation! They just set off the Fire alarm and sent messages through the hallway speakers.. but that's not enough to wake someone who is sleeping in his Sound Proof room! What's happening? what if the building collapsed and some people were still inside? who's fault would it be?

my experince...

I bet everyone in Dubai is now blogging their earthquake experience. Me, being a Dubain as well, would like to write a piece. As the office started to spin, making me think it was a weird headache, the sirens in my building went off (or on could be both), I was pulling myself away from some office work but got caught on the sun glare on my monitor , it made my head spin even more. I lifted my head everybody was running towards the fire exit. Calmly I picked my bag and walked down the stairs with them. All I could think about how I wished they were here; my loved ones. This was the moment that I wanted to share and experience with them. I reached the ground floor left the building and looked around; knowing for a fact they wont be there but still I looked left and right. Hoping that some external power eliminated the Khor and pulled the two Burs together. With shakey knees (I don’t know why) I stared at the horizon, and hearing nothing but blissful silence despite the chaotic situation around me, my phone rang. Thanks Mom for calling me.

Amazon.com Recommends

Amazon.com sent me the first 'Amazon.com Recommends' that is really close to become tailor made to my taste since I started shopping with them in 1996.. other than the 2 items that weren't really my type.. I got 6 that are good enough to be hand picked by me... so I decided to share it with you guys.. The two items that aren't even remotely close to my taste are I-Robot and National Treasure.. but all the rest is.. click to enlarge.. it amazes me how the list gets finer year after year.. Amazon is doing a great job tailoring their recommendation based on whatever you bought in the past. Click to picture to enlarge

Co-Workers - The Dilemma!

Most of us agree that there's an imperishable bound between Co-Workers.. but after reading Sublime Nymph's post about Changing Jobs.. and speaking to another friend about their Co-Workers and job atmosphere to only find out how annoyed he was.. I consulted the Wise Dogbert and this is the solution he came up with... Click on the Comic Strip to Enlarge.

Claim Back the Net!

The Sleeping Giant Strikes back! Some of you remember AIM back in the 90's where it had sovereignty over all Instant Messaging programs.. Now AOL launched AIM Triton.. A new beginning for a new era. A fresh start with a version tagged 1.0! Now everything is integrated within the software... Video Chat, Voice Chat and VoIP, IM, Games and much much more.. Ok... now that's one thing I wanted to tell everyone about.. but the more important news is not just that!... AOL is Back with a vengeance! After it's acquisition of Weblogs Inc. and their redesigning of their AOL.com Portal... they Skinned an Internet Explorer and called it AOL Explorer... AOL Explorer is the most powerful Web Browser that I had ever used so far.. and I'll sum it up in some points until you get to try it out yourself when you download your version of AIM Triton or just the standalone AOL Explorer. Point 1: Tabbed Browsing! Just like FireFox and Opera but the good thing is... It's based on Internet Explorer... Point 2: Tab Re-Arrangement.. unlike other browsers where you can't move the tabs in your Tabs bar.. In AOL Explorer you can move them and reorder them based on your preference. Part 3: Image Snap Shot of the window. Just move the mouse over the tab you want and it'll show you a thumbnail of what it contains! that's a feature I loved.. Part 4: Tab Explorer, by pressing F8.. you can explore each and every tab you opened.. just click on any of them and trace back in thumbnails of previous pages you viewed in that tab!... just like clicking the Back Pull down menu where it just shows you the title of the previous pages... this shows you thumbnails! it makes you identify the page you want to move back to easily.. I bow in respect to whoever thought of this! it made my life easier.. Part 5: Start Up Folder, Ok this needs a little more elaboration.. ok.. have you ever started your web browser and wished that it opened your GMail, Hotmail, Your blog and your favorite Portal all at once in different tabs? well.... that's exactly what the start up folder does.. just add a page to your favorites and choose to save it in the start up folder.. and voila! Whenever you start up AOL Explorer.. it'll open the pages you have there in tabs! I LOVED THIS!!! Part 6: Power Browsing, Right click anywhere in the page and go to Power Browsing and you'll get a bunch of options... Like, Who owns this website where it takes you to AOL's Whois registry and you get the whois information of that particular website you're on, and there are a few options where it shows or highlights URLs on the page and differentiate between links to pages within the same domain or to another website... AND MUCH MUCH MUCH More... and there are options just for fun.. like... "I Need Glasses", "I Need A Mirror" and "Flip My Monitor Over" You have to try them for yourself.. Part 7: Feeds and Mail integrated on the side of the screen.. just click on them and they come in focus.. and the skin is so nice that you just want to sit and stare! Part 8: OK, this might come in handy for some of you.. right click on a tab.. and tear it off! it will open in it's own window! Cool? you haven't seen a thing until you try it yourself! These are just a few of the options. You have to explore the rest! I'm sure you will be amazed by how powerful this broswer is! As of today, I'm back to AOL... I set my default browser as AOL Explorer.. so hurry up and download it!

XBox 360 Smashed!

Ok, this is not to report the Crash that people were complaining about when they first got their Xbox 360s.. it was reported that a certain percentage of them were defective and just crash while playing a game.. I'm not sure if Microsoft is recalling them back. Anyway.. that's not the case.. While I was searching for a solution for the crashes of the Xbox 360 I came across this weird phenoemnon that has been happening for a while now.. a bunch of guys, create a website where the collect donations to buy a certain Gaming/Audio gadget just to smash it infront of the rows of fanatics waiting in line to get their long awaited gadget and all of that is pictured on film.. The guys were behind Smash my Ipod And now, They Smashed the Xbox 360... and they are raising donations to smash a Sony PS3, and a Nintendo Revolution... Don't forget to watch the videos on their websites..

Weird Bikes!

I couldn't help not to laugh out loud when I saw these weird alterations to some inventions! I can't believe how people come up with these bizarre ideas! For starters... an organization called Bike Forest that states on it's website that it aims for promoting Bicycles and other human powered vehicles as means of transportation.. Well we all agree that it's better for the environment not to pollute, and excercise is good for our health.. and I'm a supporter of such causes to some extent.. But what really caught my attention was these 3 bikes... The first is the Couch Bike, Where two "bikers" sit on a couch and pedal, only one of them gets to steer.. and it has space at the back for your stuff.. so don't worry if you're going grocery shopping.. The Second, is the the Hula Bike, which "uses an eccentrically laced rear wheel. Because the hub is offset from the centre of the rim, the bike can be propelled by hopping up and down with the right rhythm. You may not get far on the Hula bike, but you'll have fun trying." You can watch a video on how it works on it's page The Third one.. and my favorite! is the Treadmill Bike... Ok, how do you promote walking or jogging? Add wheels to it.. You may ask, But you can walk like other normal people!? but this invention is not just walking.. the treadmill is tilted upwards so it gives you more results than walking.. and, you get clean shoes since you're only stepping on the treadmill.. so don't worry about stepping on a chewing gum. You can watch a video of the Treadmill Bike on it's page I really Loved your projects, Bicycle Forest. But I can't imagine myself on one of them.. and I know for a fact that they are real head turners especially on Jumeirah Beach Road or Safa Park... Images Source

People & their Pets

One of my closest friends, Rana Al-Omani from Kuwait have always loved cats.. I've known her since I was 13, she have been adopting cats ever since I've known her.. her love for cats have brought attention to her, and Arab Times a Kuwaiti daily newspaper approached her to write this article about her Cats.. I hope you like it.. My first pet entered my life on my 14th birthday (I’m 28 now), when I got my first Toota as a present from a dear family friend. Then my mom bought us Alberto (Siamese) in the following year to keep Toota company, but they never got along up to this day! Well then came the rest. We adopted Ricky from the street, a lovely tabby-long-haired cat that was simply irresistible. Ricky and Toota fell in love, and then came Cuddly, Cutie-Pie and Ricky Jr. unfortunately Ricky (the father) got hit by a car right in front of our house, and died in my arms. I still remember every minute of that day! So keep on counting, we got 5 cats in the house as of now, of course the kitties grew up fast and they too started having their own small families. We were forced to giveaway some of them for adoption (you know how moms love having pets in the house) but we struggled to keep few of them, Miss Pooh and Silvy were the only two that we kept, but again we lost Silvy in another car accident. She was so young. Miss Pooh grew and she also gave birth to two short-haired tabby kitten named Cleo and Petra. As a male, Cleo decided to live his own life out in the streets, but we still got Petra here with us, and since she’s still young, we decided to semi-adopt Tiggy from the street, a cute little naughty white cat. We let him in the house when mom is not around! So are you still counting? Cuddly also passed away last year, she got caught with some kidney infection and she couldn’t come through it! We also had Gizmo (another Siamese) that I bought from the Friday Market. Once when I was there, my heart was broken when I saw him in the small cage and he was just calling for me to take him home, which I did with the help of a dear friend Steve (‘cos I didn’t have KD 20 in my pocket). Gizmo had an amazing personality, a cat that ate everything, and I mean everything! Less than 6 months since we got him, he was also hit by a car in front of our house!! We always try to remember that we gave him the best 6 months of his life. So the total now is 6, yes 6 cats that range from 14 yrs old (human years) to about 1 year old, not to mention the cats that live outside the house (believe me you don’t want to get into that chapter). We love all our cats with a passion, each with different character and a story to remember for a lifetime. Mom always tells us “I hope one day you’ll take care of your own kids as much as you take care of those cats!” I would like to end this story with a small word of advice: Please watch out for cats crossing roads when you drive! The Cats Are: The first Image, the Black cat with pink highlights is Miss Pooh The 2nd Image, The tabby is Petra The 3rd Image, The Siamese is Gizmo The 4th Image, The Black Persian Cat is Toota

A Piece on Kuwait

I was reading other blogs today, and I stumbled upon this well written piece On Kuwait by a fellow blogger by the nickname Moryarti in his blog Dubai Consumer Mirror. The blogger is based in Dubai and was visiting Kuwait during the Eid Holiday and that's when he got all nostalgic and wrote this worth reading post.. I hope you all like it! and don't forget to read the comments he got.. and post your thoughts... There is another post by him about his dining experience during the eid holiday.. Thank you Moryarti for bringing back good memories to all of us who miss Kuwait.. While we're still talking about Kuwait.. if you haven't read my post about my trip to Kuwait.. here's the link..

The weekend Alas

It’s the weekend already. YEEEAAAH!!! I cant believe that my last blog written last Saturday with my usual “Saturday –dark cloud- Gloom” feels like yesterday, when back then (yes Saturday) I felt like the weekend is never coming... I have an 40 mins to go @ work and I am free as a bird. I thought I’ll write my weekends piece with a few wishes, and come back on Saturday and see what I have accomplished. My wishes for the weekend: I wish for Happiness, Fun and Excitement all week long I wish I clean my room I wish I spend some quality time with my parents I wish I find an ultra chic/cool overcoat for a reasonable price I wish I do all my beauty pampering over the weekend (they are four different tasks) I wish to go and buy my friends their birthday gifts I wish my mother agrees me to go camping for my friends b-day I wish I manage my check book to buy the new pair of shoes and bag I have set my eyes on I wish they have the dress on display in my size and within my price range I wish for a weekend misery and (nakaaad) free I wish my emotional needs get full-filled I wish…… I think enough wishes to keep my schedule busy for the weekend. Guys wish me a cheerful happy weekend that will fill up my emotional needs…. Cheers…

Back from Kuwait!

I'm back.. it was an amazing holiday.. The weather was amazing in Kuwait... it was so cold.. below 15 degrees pretty good for mid November, and I wasn't feeling like coming back to this hot and humid weather, when I left it was 18 degrees Celsius and raining at around 6 PM.. and when I reached Dubai at 9 PM it was 26 degrees and was a bit humid.. pretty big difference.. A lot is happening back home in Kuwait... A lot of new projects and buildings.. more than what I can keep count of.. When I was leaving Qortuba towards Al-Riyadh Road I saw 5 new towers that rise high enough to be clearly visible from over 15 kilometers away, they weren't even there last year which is astonishing.. but I have one comment.. I hated the Municipality's New Tower... I can't believe them, they built this tall tower that looks just fine... but why did they do this terrible mistake at the top of the tower? Well you expect this from anyone but not the municipality.. I'm sure the roof tanks are not going to be like that forever.. and that they're going to do something about them... When I drove down on Ahmed Al-Jaber Street towards Dasman from Fahad Al-Salem Street.. I couldn't help but look around me and count how many new towers are completed that weren't there last year! on Ahmed Al-Jaber and it's surrounding area there were at least 10 new skyscrapers ready.. but too bad I didn't take any pictures.. they were all design marvels except for one that I didn't like.. The following day.. I was talking to my friend about what I have seen.. and it happens that he's on the board of one of the companies that are building one of the tallest towers in Kuwait.. So he drove me around town and showed me more stuff.. stuff that I didn't even think are going to happen in the old town!... not in my lifetime at least.. I'm so excited... the shape of the new city is going to show in 3 years... 4 towers are waiting for their 100 storey approvals with the designs ready for implementation... and I can tell you from what I've seen that they're amazing.. Drove down on Khaleej Road late at night.. and I saw the new buildings and hotels forming on the left bank of the road when driving towards the City from Al-Bada'a.. my friend was telling me about the rents of the residential towers on the road and to be honest... they're high.. compared to anywhere else.. but you have to pay a premium to live in a high rise sea facing tower. The new Waterfront is pretty well organized and I'm sure it was well spent on... I felt like getting a bike or roller blades, trust me that never happens except if it's something worth seeing... maybe next time.. I saw the new HSBC in Kuwait City, behind the Catholic Church and the Old Houses (Gezz District) and I was so delighted to see foreign banks infiltrate the Old City after almost a 60 year siege! I heard that BNP Paribas is on Ahmed Al-Jaber but I couldn't find it.. maybe cause I wasn't looking :-P I'm sure there are more malls and cinema screens in Kuwait than any other place in the world! wherever you go there's a mall! I've never seen this much malls anywhere! it's crazy how Kuwaiti's love shopping even Residential Area Co-Ops turned into Mini-Malls.. Not mini really.. like the huge Yarmouk Co-Op Complex.. I heard that some residential areas are going to have their own Cinema Screens I'm not sure if that's true.. Please tell me about that.. Of course a trip is not complete without a visit to Bnaider (bnaider is beach houses strip 60-80 kilometers to the south of Kuwait)... I don't know why I felt like it was deserted last weekend.. probably cause it's midterm's week for KU and other Universities... I didn't have any heavy clothing with me.. and even though I was wearing summer clothes I couldn't help watching a Quad Bike parked in the chalet so I decided to take it for a ride... my friends were all wearing Bshoot (Bisht) and heavy jackets cause it was way cold in the south... my expedition of Exit 258 (Bnaider) lasted for 5 minutes only.. my ears and nose were freezing so I decided to go back to the chalet.. and call it a night.. And of course I have to mention this! My flight to and from Kuwait was on the new Jazeera Airways... The airline staff and the Aircraft itself are Great! it's the first time I've been in a Public Aircraft that has leather seats outside of North America. The brand new aircraft is so cozy... that you want to go back on it again and again.. I really think that it's not a Low-Cost airline..... it's too good to be a low-cost airline.. the aircraft is so nice and it has 2 classes of travel... Jazeera Plus and Jazeera... the only difference is that there's a table between the Jazeera Plus seats and the food and headsets are free plus ofcourse you get to use the lounge at the airport.. I'm sure I missed a lot of things I wanted to talk about.. so my next trip is going to be documented.. Check out the skyscrapers in Kuwait

Saturday'z

7:20: the alarm went off, it goes on snooze. 7:37: I thought the alarm was on snooze but only to find out it wasn’t. 7:40: I struggle to find my way out of my bed, to the bathroom for a quick hot/cold shower. - dont wanna jinx it but i somtimes suprise myself how quick i can get ready. 7:50: blow drying my hair, getting ready wearing my clothes. I thank god again for the bless of the Abaya on an early morning. - dont wanna jinx it again but once again i suprise myself how quick i can get ready and look more than presentable. (time management i gss) 8:05: Over excited, my car is in the repairs the driver has to take me to work. i just gained 20 mins of quality time with myself. arooj adds 20 points to my dialy notebook. 8:25: I arrive almost 30 mins late to work. 0 points 9:30: its still 9:30? - 5 points 10:15: what a slooow day. - 10 points 12:30: its noon already? + 10 points 1:00: my lunch buddies ditch me, finding new buddies in some floor in the building. (negative vibes all over, everybody can sense the vibes from me) - 60 points suddenly 1:30: Alas Lunch. + 10 points 5:30: Day is over. Positive vibes are surrounding me, I thank my stars. 80% of the week remaining. + 70 points end the day with a good ol' 35 points... its a goodish day i gss.

So Disappointed!

Guys.. give me a break....!!!! no one could solve that? it's so easy... Foooshy tried it last night and he got the correct answers in less than an hour.. but he can't get the prize cause he's part of the team... so hurry up.. the clock is ticking.. i'm sure somone out there can get it.. click here to read about the contest and the rules.. Good luck everyone..

Guess Which Book genesis is Reading! (Contest)

This is the First Contest.... and the prize would be A $25 Amazon.com Gift Certificate for the first person to find out where are we quoting this page from by answering the following questions... 1- Which Book 2- The Author 3- The Year Published 4- The name of the Female character ---- Begin ---- But [She] had disappeared and left clues that were visible only to me, as if it were a secret message: I'm leaving. Why? Is that a question worth answering? No. Because hidden in the answer is my own inability to keep the woman I love by my side. Is it worth finding her and persuading her to come back? Begging and imploring her to give our [..] another chance? That seems ridiculous: it would be better merely to suffer as I had in the past, when other people I loved had left me. It would be better just to lick my wounds, as I had also done in the past. For a while, I'll think obsessively about her, I'll become embittered, I'll bore my friends because all I ever talk about is my [..] leaving me. I'll try to justify what happened, spend days and nights reviewing every moment spent by her side, I'll conclude that she was too hard on me, even though I always tried to do my best. I'll find other women who could be her. I'll suffer day and night, night and day. This could take weeks, months, possibly a year or more. Until one morning, I'll wake up and find I'm thinking about something else, and then I'll know the worst is over. My heart might be bruised, but it will recover, and become capable of seeing the beauty of life once more. It's happened before, it will happen again, I'm sure. When someone leaves, it's because someone else is about to arrive - I'll find love again. For a moment, I savour the idea of my new state: single and a millionaire. I can go out in broad daylight with whomever I want. I can behave at parties in a way I haven't behaved in years. The news will travel fast, and soon all kinds of women, the young and the not so young, the rich and the not as rich as they would like to be, the intelligent and those trained to say only what they think I would like to hear, will all come knocking at my door. I Want to believe that it is wonderful to be free. Free again. Ready to find my one true love, who is waiting for me and who will never allow me to experience such humiliation again. ---- End ----- This is our first I'm on a Plane contest.. boring as some may think, but it's for the thinkers out there.. :) The first person to find out which Book, Author, the Year it was published, and the Female Character's name before midnight today Dubai's Time that is GMT +4 will be the lucky winner... Good Luck Everyone.. --- Update -- Since no one could figure out... I will double the time period until Mid-day Saturday the 19th.. but that would be the final extension!... good luck everyone.. The Fine Print: All I'm On A Plane Team and their relatives are not allowed to participate in this contest! Deadline: 23:59:59 GMT+4, November17th, 2005 Answers should be submitted as comments to this post and not as e-mails, e-mails won't be entertained. Each Person is allowed to submit (1) Comment.

Calling All ImOnAPlane Readers

I just came across this amazing mapping service called Frappr! and I have created a page for ImOnAPlane so that all our readers can send us Shout Outs and show us where they hail from.. We love you all, so please place a map pin on our map! by the way, there is no need to create an account with frappr you can easily place a pin by clicking on the link and send your shout out, make sure you uncheck the "Create a Frappr Account for me" button if you don't want to create an account...

Paulo Coelho in DUBAI!

Paulo Coelho the renowned Brazilian Novelist is visiting Dubai Tomorrow.... he will be signing books at Virgin Megastore in Mercato between 6-8 PM Wednesday the 16th... most of you might know him from the Alchemist. And here is a list of his novels and books: 1987: The Pilgrimage: A Contemporary Quest for Ancient Wisdom 1988: The Alchemist: A Fable About Following Your Dream 1990: Brida 1991: The Gift 1992: The Valkyries 1994: By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept Maktub (Biblioteca Paulo Coelho) 1996: The Fifth Mountain 1997: Warrior of the Light : A Manual Love Letters from a Prophet 1998: Veronika Decides to Die 1999: Paulo Coelho: Confessions of a Pilgrim by Juan Arias 2000: The Devil and Miss Prym 2003: Eleven Minutes : A Novel 2005: The Zahir : A Novel of Obsession I can't write anything about him, for a writer of his status is hard to describe.. so I will quote his website: Paulo Coelho, seen by some as an alchemist of words and, by others, as a mass culture phenomenon, is the most influential author of the present century. Readers from over 150 countries, irrespective of their creed and culture, have turned him into a reference author of our time. His books, translated into 56 languages, have not only topped the bestseller lists, but have gone on to become the subject of social and cultural debate. The ideas, philosophy and subject matter covered in his books touch the aspirations of millions of readers searching for their own path and for new ways of understanding the world. Too Bad for me I won't be able to attend because I'm leaving to Kuwait tomorrow... :( It'll be lovely if I got a signed copy of the Alchemist..

Stood Up

When you get stood up for a “casual” luncheon with someone that you have had more than your enough share of "heated discussions" during the past 2 weeks, how do you react? - throw a tantrum - silent treatment - act sad, but fake a smile and say “its ok, I am fine” hoping to make them feel guilty… ....and I am running out of things to do, what to do?

Frustration of The i-pod’s

Scene 1: just over a year ago I bought my pink mini i-pod.. over excited I used to carry it everywhere. True the battery time life was frustrating, but what the heck i love my i-pod. Now I year later. I discover that 2 GB is not enough to carry all my songs, more attractive models have come out, and now the “Nano”… The ultra sleek new baby from apple. Scene 2: sitting on a friends computer, loving the songs they have. Dying to download it to me mini; I can’t!!!!! Scene 3: have my i-tunes on, a friend next to me and another in the car behind me, all listening to my mini. Showing off with the exclusive songs I have on my i-pod, I cannot transfer or send them any songs. Scene 4: battery life. After these four scenes, I wish apple would create less models in a year, increase the battery life (even if its after a year), ease the song transfer process from: computer to i-pod, i-pod to i-pod, and i-pod to computer. urs truly arooj

Phil Collins' Concert

It was AMAZING!!! I witnessed him in concert!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the Autodrome was rumbling, people were stumping their feet to the rhythm and............... Phil Collins was on stage... he started with Something Happened on the way to Heaven and ended the concert around 3 hours later with Take Me Home... The performance and the crowd were amazing!!! Daryl Stuermer from genesis' concert band was on the Guitars and Chester Thompson from genesis as well, was on the Drums along with Phil Collins... and other well known guitarists and drummers, plus a couple of vocalists who sang Seperate Lives with Phil... IT WAS AMAZING!!!! Phil sang Inivisible Touch which is a genesis song, that was something I wasn't expecting... but it sounded as if Mike and Tony were playing with him... but too bad they weren't.. Ofcourse, through out the concert Phil and everyone else did the genesis walk which made me smile!! I was so excited... and everyone else around me was... his voice is still ringing in my ears! But the best song performance I've seen was when he sang "Wear my hat"! .... Phil was all over the place.. wearing a hat after the other and the band were wearing goofy hats... and when he went on top of the stairs and this guy was asking him to write his name on a piece of paper (from the song's lyrics) Phil ran across the stage, it was so hillarious... amazing performance... I loved it.. THE CONCERT WAS THE BEST CONCERT THAT I HAD EVER ATTENDED!!!! 15,000 people from all over the world! ofcourse with that much people... it took me a little over an hour and a half to cross 4 kilometers to the Autodrome... but it was worth every minute to see him on stage!

10,000 Visits!

10,000 Visits and over 140 Posts in less than 3 months! We started on August 13th and we began counting our visitors a little over a week later.. and since we started counting on the 21st of August we received over 10,000 Visits today, 3 days before our First Quarter ends. We've gone a long way... and we have you to thank.. We're so grateful for all of you who support us...

Webchat!

Finally, Webchat for I'm On A Plane! Remember the old Tag Board we had 2 months ago? well this is nothing like it!... On the top of the right Side bar you will find a new addition to our blog.. the new userplane webchat... Now, all our visitors can Video/Audio/IM chat in 1 place.. Click on the sign up link to create your personal account where you can add stuff about yourself and a personal image.. or just sign in as a guest... I'm sure most of you will love it! Talk to you there :)

Phil Collins, TONIGHT!

Phil Collins is in TOWN!!! "I can feel it in the air tonight", Dubai Autodrome is going to get flooded with people from all over the world to witness Phil Collins in his First Final Farewell Tour (Part 3) Concert... All tickets have been sold out days ago... but you might be lucky enough to get a ticket from someone who has an extra ticket. There are 26 concerts across Europe and the Middle East in this part of the farewell tour, 8 of them after tonight... and 4 of the 8 remaining concerts are already sold out.. so hurry up if you miss tonight.. cause there won't be another chance to get to see this part of the tour.. and who knows this might be the last part of the tour.. This is the status on the remaining concerts, updated november 6th, not including the 2 Charity Concerts in Düsseldorf, Germany which are sold out already: 16.11.2005 Dublin The Point Ireland 17.11.2005 Belfast Odyssey Arena UK (Northern Ireland) 19.11.2005 Glasgow SECC - sold out UK 20.11.2005 Glasgow SECC UK 23.11.2005 Prague Sazka Arena - sold out Czechia 24.11.2005 Prague Sazka Arena Czechia Good luck on getting tickets :) Categories: genesis, music

Saudi Arabia's WTO Accession

It was a historic day when the major trading nations approved Saudi Arabia's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). It marks the beginning of a new era for the Saudi Economy, and the GCC region as a whole. The 28th of October marks the day which all major trading nations welcomed Saudi Arabia as part of the WTO body... The acceptance of Saudi's package must be endorsed by the General Council (during the special session that is going to be held on the 11th of November) which most officials say that it's a foregone conclusion. I personally can't wait till I hear it on Friday, when Pascal Lamy welcomes The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as part of the WTO. it is a step that has been long overdue 12 years to be exact when Saudi Arabia submitted it's documents to join the predecessor of the WTO, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). and now is the time for everyone to be rewarded. Most Saudi's believe in the market mechanism and after signing the Trade Agreement with the United States last month, it was obvious that this decision was coming sooner than later, so congratulations to Saudi, Saudis and the rest of the trading nations on the approval of the accession documents of Saudi Arabia.

Back!

We're Back in Town, I haven't checked the blog in a while, and I guess Huh kept you guys busy with his non-stop stop motion post stops try saying that 5 times ..

when do u feel those butterflies...

When do you feel those butterflies flying around in your belly? - First day of School - just before going on a long trip - before an important meeting - getting ready for a first date - waiting for that first phone call after the first date - waiting for a job interview - your wedding night - approaching the fun fair from a distance - on your way to meet old friends - on the plane on your way back to your homeland - births - revisiting childhood memories - going back to your high school - right before your event - .... and more .... what makes your butterflies move around?!?!