I have a confession to make…….
Im addicted…. to playing “Midnight Pool” on my mobile phone! Even though the version i have is in German!
How do i know im addicted? I woke up today at 6 AM to goto the washroom, took my mobile phone with me, started it up, played (and won!!!) two games, came back to my room and slept again! (And to think i used to make fun of a friend who used to wake up in the middle of the night for a smoke :S)
I’ve heard frequent calling card horror stories from people around me, and therefore decided to keep my sanity and start using my mobile phone for all calls. Atleast they connect easily (unless ofcourse, if you have Mobilink).
So there i was, sitting in front of the machine, calling card in hand, thinking that it would just be a 5 minute thing… i dialed the number “1254″…… and got a busy tone. No matter, maybe its just a temp thing (the optimistic voice inside my head told me). Dialed again….. still busy.. hmm.. maybe the horror stories did hold some truth after all. After repeatedly hitting the redial key for around 15 times, i finally got through!! yaay! or so i thought :S I was so much into “hang-up / redial” routine, that when i finally realized i had their system on the other line… i had hung up already! aarrghh!
Once again, i started the routine… waiting to get through, and finally did after the 10th or 12th try. This time keeping my senses about, not wanting a repeat of the previous event. A pleasant(?) voice answered on the other end, asking me to dial in the card number… being restless after so much dialing… i started entering the number even before the voice was finished….. when i finally pressed ‘#’…. it said “incorrect card number”! Now i was sure i had entered the right number…. but what the hey… we all make mistakes.. so tried again. Again the voice said “Incorrect card number”…. and hung up~! WTF !!!!!
Again dialed, waiting to get through…. got through (took another couple of tries..) and waited for the recording to finish, before punching in the card number… pressed ‘#’ very sure that i had entered the correct card number… after a brief (10 second:S) delay (during which i feared that my call was disconnected) i got a playback that i had rs 100 in the card balance! yayy! phase one complete! Then i was to enter the destination number… somehow missed the double zero in the front of the number…. and entered only one zero. The voice informed me i had 2 hours for this call, and i was pretty surprised as i wasnt expecting more than 15 minutes. Infact very surprised at how cheap international calls were now.
Then it happened… I heard “your number is being dialed” and finally “aap ka milaya hua number durst nahi” in such a rude tone i almost sat up with a start.. and the line got disconnected..WTF!!!
since then, i’ve tried about 5 times to send the fax.. each time a new error popping up… “Connection Error”, “Paper Jammed”, “Connection Timeout” and what not!!!
The rs 100 card is down to rs. 44, and i STILL havent sent the fax! I dont think ARY service supports sending faxes! So there u have it folks…. Now i have one of my own calling card horror(humor?) story!
On a side note…. ARY is powered by Wateen Telecom… if this is the level of service they’re providing…. i shudder at how the WiMax network they’re bringing up all over the country will run 
One of the discussions going on a blog i frequent, is being able to blog from the office. The number one problem in doing this, is leaving behind trail’s for the office staff to view (if your computer is unsecured). This could lead a negative performance review or in extreme cases, even firing of the individual. For people having secure access to their systems at work, this is ofcourse no issue.
So what should one do in such cases? Two things…
1. Do NOT blog from the office. (but where’s the fun in that?)
2. Clean your tracks before leaving the office (yes! dat sounds like more fun)
So i searched around, and found two utilities that would enable you to clean your tracks (if your using Internet Explorer).
Evidence Cleaner (Recommended) – http://www.evidence-cleaner.net/
and
Xp-Tools - http://www.xptools.net/ietracks.htm
Check them out, and leave feedback on how they work. If you decide to keep them, let me know and we’ll find a way for you to keep on using them after the trail period.
mAn[S]o0r – Spreading blogging in the workplace!
Proxy7.com Browse Internet Securely & Anonymously
Every so often, you come across the need to visit some website where either you dont want to leave a trail. or some government body doesnt want you to go !
For me… apprently, the govt. doesnt want me to access my blog :S ! i havent been able to access any websites on www.blogspot.com from Pakistan.. and its not just me.. its QUITE a lot of people as i learned through Karachi Metroblogs… so for all of you who dont wanna let anyone stop you.. use this site. It accesses the website on your behalf, and delivers the info to you, so neither the website, nor govt. knows where you are actually from.
Anyone else having any interesting usages of tech in daily language.
ZDNet Australia: Blogs: Tech and the City
Think techBy Ella Morton, ZDNet Australia
28 February 2006 11:39 AMMy mother once called in sick to work so that she could stay home and play Prince of Persia. Over 10 years later, she still refers to it as “one of the funnest days of my life”.
Computer games allow you to immerse yourself in a world where the rules of real life no longer apply. What I find interesting about them is not so much their addictive nature (although I have spent many a late night tending to a sprawling Sim City metropolis or trying to guess codes in Myst) as the way they affect your way of thinking.
When The Sims first came out, I began to think of the world in Sim terms. I’d make a mental note to call a friend I hadn’t spoken to in a while, so that our relationship score would improve. I’d look around the house at all the furniture and catalogue each item, just like Edward Norton does in Fight Club.
Tech affects our thinking in other ways, too. For example, a few weeks ago, a fellow Zedder sent me this instant message:
Geeky? Of course. But also a succinct and amusing way of expressing a relatable sentiment.
I’d also wager that many among us have prefaced a long-winded e-mail with , or even harked back to IRC days by using /me.
What I long for is a way of flagging sarcasm or irony in a text-based medium without resorting to overt, humour-killing methods such as tacking “Just kidding!” on the end of every joke. E-mail and instant messaging are incapable of conveying nuances of speech, which is very frustrating when you are trying to be a bit witty but uncertain whether it’s worth the gamble of insulting the person on the other end. While you may read a shrewdly observed jibe in your mind with the voice of Rowan Atkinson as Blackadder, the recipient may have a far more literal interpretation.
For further (scientifically backed) musings on sarcasm in e-mail, take a look at this link.
World’s largest Windows error message | NetworkWorld.com Community
