Archive for July, 2007

Eight Weird or Random Facts about Yourself

Monday, July 23rd, 2007

That dervish lady tagged me, so here goes: :-)

1. Every morning, I have everything laid out and done the exact same way, otherwise I’ll forget stuff. My wallet, mobile phone, shoes, etc. are always in the same place. I also always leave about 15 minutes earlier than I need to. And I get up at the same time everyday, even on the weekends.

2. When I read parts of my book, I have no recollection of writing it, as though something possessed me and wrote it for me. I swear I’m not even really a good writer.

3. If it weren’t for my wife and kids interrupting me, I’d spend hours in front of the computer and forget to eat, sleep, and other important things. I would break for the bathroom and prayer, which leads to my next one.

4. If I miss a prayer, I actually feel it physically. It’s as though it makes me sick. Missing a meal has little effect on me.

5. I don’t use any Microsoft products. I have five computers in my house, and all of them run flavors of GNU/Linux.

6. I hate gum. I hate chewing it and hate listening to other people chew it. I think it’s disgusting.

7. When I was a child, I always wore socks, even in bed.

8. I like to take things apart (and sometimes fix things too)…you know gadgets, computers, houses. I recently halved my humongous desk so that I could have more space in my office. I also cannibalize old parts, a bit like MacGuyver.

Hmmm…let’s see. I tag: SoulElixir, IzzyMo, and Planet Grenada…oh yeah, and Dervish (no just kidding. That would perpetuate the cycle of violence).

[Note: I just tried to spell-check this post and couldn't figure out why it was saying that everything, even words like "that" and "lady" were misspelled. Then I realized I had the Arabic spellchecker on from the last thing I typed. Good thing I wasn't typing a book -- If there was a #9, it would be that I cannot survive without spell check].

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My daughter has a boyfriend

Saturday, July 21st, 2007

Pixel from Lazy TownI prayed this day would never come. Not only did it come, but years sooner than I ever imagined! My three-year-old daughter has a boyfriend…ahem, well, he’s a boy who happens to be her friend…er, OK, and he’s imaginary, but still!

Yes, sweet little Zahra has entered the world of imaginary friends. This one is from a TV show called Lazy Town, but apparently, he’s now bumming off of us in our own house. The nerve!

“Don’t sit there mommy! Pixel’s sitting there.”

Pixel. What kind of name is Pixel?

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Sicko

Monday, July 16th, 2007

Sicko promo posterIf you have any concern about healthcare in the US (and if you live in the U.S. you definitely should), and you haven’t seen Sicko yet, you need to…now!

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Compiz-Fusion: 3D desktop future?

Saturday, July 14th, 2007

Screenshot of BerylIf you have been following the 3D desktop revolution, by now you know that the Beryl Project and the Compiz project are merging back together not long after Beryl first forked from Compiz.

I was one who originally left Compiz with the Beryl crowd. It was just more exciting: more plugins, better community support, and eventually it developed into something more polished and easy to use (handy configuration utility, including a tray icon for easy starting and stopping).

Compiz-Fusion is intended to eventually blend the best of both worlds, and there have been many people on the web already singing its praises. So, I decided to give it a try on my Kubuntu Feisty box.

Needless to say, I was very disappointed. Many of the problems that plagued compiz when I used it over a year ago are still present. It’s still much slower than Beryl, and, worst of all, there is still no fool-proof system tray icon. To top it all off, it’s still largely Gnome-centered.

So, I’ve decided to stay with Beryl until at least October. Why October you ask? By then, we might have a seriously working beta or release candidate of KDE4, which will hopefully ship with a new native KWIN composite system. At that time, I will kiss Beryl and Compiz goodbye, God willing.

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Return to Geexbox

Tuesday, July 10th, 2007

Geexbox boot screenWhen I first started my HTPC project, Geexbox was my distro of choice. But when we got a widescreen TV, Geexbox, which didn’t use X.Org at all, could not display widescreen resolutions. In that interval, I tried both Freevo and MythTV (running on Ubuntu), but things have never run as smoothly and easily as they did on Geexbox.

After waiting for many months for high definition support, geexbox has made an unofficial release, which I have tried and am very pleased. It’s like coming home after a long journey.

If you haven’t tried Geexbox (a LiveCD and installable home media center operating system), give a whirl. You can burn their preconfigured ISO to CD or use their simple ISO generator to add features and customize your version. You won’t be disappointed.

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Write down your knowledge

Monday, July 9th, 2007

It has been related that the Messenger of God (may God bless him and grant him and his family peace) said:

“If a believer after death leaves even one paper which has religious knowledge, then that paper will become a curtain between him and Hell, and for each letter that is written on the paper, Allah (highly glorified and exalted) will give the writer one city which will be seven times broader than a city in this world.”

Bihar al-Anwar, Vol 2, pg. 144.

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Man’s true nature

Friday, July 6th, 2007

The master of traditions, Muhammad ibn Ya’qub al-Kulayni (may Allah make his grave fragrant) reported that Zurarah said:

“I asked Abu `Abd Allah (al-’Imam al Sadiq) (peace be upon him) regarding the words of God, `God’s creation (fitrah) upon which He originated mankind‘ (Qur’an 30:30).

The Imam(peace be upon him) answered: `He originated mankind upon tawhid (unity, singularity, oneness of being).”‘

–Al-Kulayni, al-Kafi 2, 12, hadith No.2.

In his commentary, Imam Khumayni, may Allah sanctify him, explains:

“Let it be known that among God-given instincts one is the belief in the existence of the Sacred and Sublime Source of everything; the second is the belief in It’s Unity, i.e. tawhid; the third is the innate belief that that Sacred Being encompasses all perfection; the fourth is the instinctive belief in the Day of Resurrection; and the fifth is the innate faith in nubuwwah (prophethood); the sixth is the instinctive belief in the existence of angels, of holy spirits, in the revelation of scriptures and the path of Divine guidance. Some of the above-mentioned are laws of nature and some others are their necessary corollaries. The faith in God, the belief in angels, the belief in the revelation of Scriptures, in God-sent Apostles, in the Day of Resurrection, and in the Din-which is firm, stable and straight-is a truth which underlines the entire life of the human species…”

– Khumayni, Ruhullah al-Musawi, An exposition of 40 ahadith narrated through the Prophet and his Ahl al-bayt.

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