I would like to wish all of those in Bahrain and the rest of the world a happy Eid. For those with Fridays and Saturdays off, enjoy the extended weekend and stay safe 
!
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Summer Updates
It has been quite some time since my last post (3 weeks or so) due to me being busy studying for some IT certifications (starting off with the basics with CompTIA's A+) and of course slacking on the blogging.
One big difference to all of us at the moment, or at least those in Bahrain is that the summer heat is starting to creep upon us. This was more evident when some of our ACs weren't upto speed and it took a few weeks from the time we called for maintenance to the time they came over (hint: service your ACs in winter).
I do have something that I never take advantage of in summer, a swimming pool at home. I believe I last swam in it last summer and only once! It's funny when you have something but you don't take advantage in using it, like a saying in Brazil (roughly translated): "Blacksmith's home, wooden spit" (spit as in the thing you stick through meat to BBQ). I know some people with club memberships that go to the pool every single day or those that visit the water park more than once a week.
Now for some site updates: I have removed the Chromium Portable page, a better project can be found in SourceForge under the Chromium Portable name (not mine). In the next few weeks I may add an Android section with apps I am working on, but this page will come up once I publish one of them. Finally I am thinking of including a sort of FAQ section. I noticed many search queries coming to my blog are in the form of questions, and the post taking visitors probably have the question somewhere within the post. So the sections may be: What is…? How to…? Where is…? and under each a bunch of questions and answers (Ctrl + F will be your friend 
).
That's all for now, hopefully I will pull myself out of the daily routine and blog as often as before.
A Tranquil Birthday
Yesterday was a Saturday, just like any other Saturday. I woke up at the usual 5 AM (shocking huh?), fed the cat, started the coffee machine and turned on my computer. The usual routine. An hour or so later my dad comes in and gives me a present, a few minutes later its my mom giving me a present. The difference of this Saturday from the others? It was my birthday.
Birthdays, everyone has one. Even things have birthdays, except they are called "production date" or "manufactured on". In my younger years I loved birthday parties, except for one thing: singing happy birthday. I remember that no matter whose birthday it was (mine or others), when it came to the cake and singing I would hide under the table in fear. Until this day I still don't know why and never bothered trying to find out. My birthdays then transitioned to the "invite all your friends to McDonald's" style of birthdays. The good thing is that you get to see everyone, but just a bit noisy. The parties then transitioned to those where you only invite your closest of friends and just hang out. Then at some point, I decided to enjoy my birthday as a regular day. I get the usual calls, messages and emails from family and friends. I hang out with friends if it's on the day's schedule. Other than that, my birthday is a regular day like no other.
Birthdays do have their perks. People treat you extra special that day, the food is different, the atmosphere is jolly and of course there is the cake!
Or what's left of it !
When the Moon and Planets Align
I took this photo a couple of nights ago of the moon (it was a bit windy and my tripod (aka arms) were a bit wobbly). If you look closely (hint: click for full size) you will notice that it is not just the moon in the frame, but two "stars" above and below it. The stars are the planets Venus and Jupiter aligning in sky along with the Earth's moon. It seems like this beautiful sight will grace our skies for a week, enjoy it while it lasts !
The Pomodoro Technique
Over the weekend, during my studies I was surfing the Internet during my break. I must say that I usually go studying for an hour or two before taking a slightly long break (30 minutes or an hour ). I happened to come across an interesting technique for time management and being productive, known as the Pomodoro Technique. Pomodoro is "tomato" in Italian by the way.
The technique is quite interesting in that you work in what seems to be small shifts, known as pomodoros. First you decide what you want to do, followed by your shifts. Usually they are 25 minutes each. In between pomodoros you take a short break (usually 5 minutes). After the fourth pomodoro you take a longer break (15 minutes). Rinse and repeat as long as required. Apparently it is commonly used in programming tasks, and thinking about it I used to do pomodoros whenever I programmed. For example, I would program for 30 minutes or so and by then lose myself in lines, requiring me to take a short break before restarting.
I decided to give it a try during the weekend for my linear algebra studies. At first it seemed weird, since 25 minutes seems like nothing, but you would be surprised how much work can be done in such a short period of time! Did it work with my studies? Maybe, I didn't feel fatigued like I sometimes do after studying straight for an hour. I did feel more confident in the exam, although I can't say if it is related to the pomodoro technique or just the fact I studied earlier than usual.
Looks like I will be trying out this technique in other common tasks and see how it goes. I don't know how this would work in the world expected by employers. Would your boss find it weird if you got up every 25 minutes for a 5 minutes break and then eventually for 15 minutes of break?
Happy New Year American Samoa!
Happy New Year American Samoa!
One of the last countries to welcome the new year! Its area is slightly larger than Washington, D.C. Its largest export is canned Tuna to the US. Since it is part of the US, it has its own ZIP code of 96799 (the only code).
Happy New Year Bahrain!
Happy New Year Bahrain!
What makes this place special? I was born and have lived here 99% of my life! WIshing everyone in Bahrain a Happy New Year. I should hopefully be up by the time this gets posted (I slept through last new year 
). If I remember correctly, the ships at port honk their horns when it hits mid night on new year's. Hopefully I can hear it this time 
!
Happy New Year Tokelau!
My Worst Habit: Procrastination
Let's face it, we are all humans, we do good we do bad and we are not perfect. We also all have habits. Good habits (in my case arriving early), in between habits (working under pressure, might not be healthy but needs to be done) and bad habits.
My worst habit is the all famous one known as "procrastination" which according to the Merriam Webster dictionary is "to put off intentionally the doing of something that should be done". At some point, I can say with confidence, we all procrastinate somehow. Which reminds me, I used to hear the word "procrastinate" ever since I started to pick up English and at first I thought it was something to do with religion (don't ask me why!). Anyways (see what I did?), I've just started to realize how much I procrastinate.
Let's see what's on my to do list: finalize draft of a conference paper, work on a final year project and work on a math project. I have a week off to do all these things and I am someway through them progress wise. However, every morning I convince myself to finish them and enjoy my days off, but for some reason that never happens. What happens instead? At the time I "scheduled" to start I go online, check my emails, watch a bit of TV and worst of all, do nothing sometimes! Even my first Android app (update 2) suffered from delayed development (I thought about it for months, but only recently started to work on it!).
It's only recently that I realized what happens in mind during procrastination. You see, I see these things as tedious and boring and as a result I end up being lazy and putting it off. The result is whatever else I do is also boring (like doing nothing, watching TV, visiting the last page on the Internet). But I believe I have found the solution, it is simple, it is what they say you should do: just do it! If you got something to do, just do it, don't leave it regardless what your mind says.
I have applied "just do it" by scheduling right after I wake up (6am) what I need to do. I put down the time I will start (usually 10am), and until then I take my time with breakfast, play a bit of PS3, go online, basically have fun. Once the clock hits 10, I stop whatever I am doing, sit on my desk and start working. I let nothing interrupt me (I need the TV for the random noise, usually a news channel works). And for some reason, I end up enjoying whatever I am doing, surprisingly as it sounds.
So if you suffer from procrastination, try "just do it" and see if it works with you. It's sad I decided to try this out now after almost a 1/3 of the average lifespan of humans passing by…
5 Things I’m Waiting For in 2012
Here is yet another one of those list like posts you find in almost every other blog or website! Here are just a few of the things I am waiting for this coming year 2012.
1. Year 2012
This is more like two-in-one thing. I am waiting for 2012 to come, lately I have been thinking about life and stuff at a deeper level and the thought of someone being alive today and dead tomorrow (or the next second). Life is something many take for granted, until you tell them you have only one chance at it . I am also waiting to see what happens on, specifically, December 21, 2012. It has been over hyped, I would love to see the looks on people's faces when it turns out to be just another day on this lovely planet.
2. Getting my hands on a tablet
I am eagerly waiting to get a tablet (the computer kind, not in pills form). But not any tablet, not the "OMG iPad2" (or 3?). Instead I have my eyes on the Asus Transformer Prime. Although it will be out in just a few days, no one is taking pre-orders anymore due to demand and problems with WiFi on some units. I think I will wait until next year until they clear out hardware bugs.
3. The big thing of 2012
Year 2011 was the year marked by protests, revolutions, overthrowing of leaders, political leaks and other things not seen in recent years. I wonder what will be next? The cure for AIDS? A bit doubtful. Another war? By the looks of things (especially all these revolutions) that might be a possibility. Will it be between the 2Is (two-eyes), I certainly hope not, given how close I live to one of them!
4. What will be of me?
I am on my last semester in university, I have no idea what things will be like once I'm out. Will I be self-employed? Or am I going to be looking for a job in the market? I consider myself very fortunate for my accomplishments this past year, no matter how small they may be. I guess only time will tell…
5. There is no 5
So many things, yet number 4 what I'm really looking forward to seeing (and probably experiencing). I'm really craving for some toast right now…
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