doodahs about not blogging

So, it's been two days since I've seen any activity on the Oman Community Blog; Sleepless In Muscat or any other blogger's blog ever since I had to be rushed back into the hospital again.

I mean, I know all of you people have lives and such, but your blogs are supposed to be a demonstration of what goes on in your lives - even if not on a daily basis - or whatever it is you tend to focus on in your blog.

But leaving it there for such a long time with nothing entered is just plain - boring, I am sorry to say. It makes people like me want to stop coming back to your blog for checking out what's new.

I guess this is a bit harsh for me to have said, but that's how I feel.

TimesofOman.com: The powerful medium

The TimesofOman.com website have finally updated their columns section with all new columnists' articles, including, that of which, is mine under the title "The powerful medium".

If you hadn't read the article before, here's your chance to read it from the website, and I have double checked my original against their published copy and nothing seems to have been censored from the entire length of the article, even though it may seem to be a little shorter.

Do enjoy reading it, and let me what you think.

Cheers

Apologies..

I apologize to everyone for the absence. I have been admitted to hospital due to high fever.



But, I assure you all that I will be back ASAP.



Thank you for understanding..

Rush Hour 3 on 28th August, 2007

Oh wow.

Like that really makes a difference. Bring in the movie a day before it's actual showtime on Gulf cinemas. Like they did with Star Wars; Spiderman.

This movie has been out, cirulated more times than a daily newspaper could ever get around the whole country - and all thanks to the internet - and by now been seen by every person whose ever been in love with the Rush Hour series of movies.

Honestly, I totally agree with Muscati - Shatti Plaza haven't a clue on how to run a professional movie theatre.

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Link: - Shatti Plaza decides to bring in Rush Hour 3 on the 28th of August instead of the 29th.

so after yesterday - what exactly happened?

Everyone was expressing a happy birthday greeting and everyone was happy, shy and so humble when they came up to me to say they wished me a great day.

I got so many SMS's and calls - even internationally - for the same occasion.

I have to say, it really did make me feel good about myself. I thought being 29 would be a drag, now I can't wait to be 30. Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha.

So what after that day? What after that glorious true momentum in the height of happiness? What happens now?

Now there's a more serious role and character to be rolled out not to the public, but unto me. For my well being. For my mental security. Pressing on the desires and needs that I want in my life; be that if I get married or not.

One of the features of turning 29 when you're a male of which I have noticed happen to me over a period of time is independency. Born a man, you have to realize a true fact of life. Woman mature at a younger age than men do. Therefore, men take their time until they reach a true moment of matureness; no matter how childish his behavior may be.

Hence, in that context, independency, is a feature of both the man & the woman's sign of maturity, i.e.: realizing they have to achieve things on their own without the help of their peers, spouses or legal guardians. But that's not to say that they steer clear away from trouble, as guidance is a necessity in all aspects of life - no matter how big or small.

To save up, to buy their own things, to not need to ask money or help when a solution is right there for them, etc. This is often sought through obtaining a medium whereby they can get the financial exchange or rewards for their services towards society, be it through a company or a governmental organization or a self employed agency.

To say that one grows wiser is about as intelligent a saying as doctors say about the elderly and how they lose their memory along the way up the 'staircase' - so to say; it just cannot be generalized.

So, back to that question.

What happens now?

We'll just have to wait & see; won't we?

29 today

Happy Birthday to me..

Happy Birthday to me...

Tralala lalalala leeee

I could've been a monkey, or a horsekey....

But I turned to be meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!


It's my 29th birthday. Wow, that's a big number. Just wait until I become 70. Then, I won't be able to talk without my dentures. But I would sure be able to break-dance. roflmao

PS: Will add video later on to this blog post - so come back to check!

its about time...

Muscat Muncipality has finally decided to come to terms to deal with waiting work needed on the roads that had been damaged in the Gonu incident that hit the Sultanate of Oman, not too long ago.

Along the named projects to be worked upon are the dual carriageway of Wadi Addai/Amerat; and the service roads of Bowshar; Amerat; Quriyat; Seeb; Muttrah; Qurum beach road that links between Qurum/Sarooj; development of the Seeb sea front road; and rehabilitation of the Muttrah Corniche road.

All the new plans and drawings have been redesigned with consideration to anti-flood resistance measures in such cases as the past storm incident in Oman. All new work should start sometime around the month of September of 2007.

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- Link:

- Muscat Muncipality draws tenders for rehabilitation of damaged roads during severe weather conditions

no way hosay

Previously, I had announced that I would stop blogging by the end of this year - 2007/2008.

But I have reconsidered my decision, because I can't just give up my writing, it would be like giving up my soul for nothing - it's in my blood.

I love writing. And if it means that I breathe my last breathe whilst writing - so be it.

Writing is the soul within the soul. The very fabric that our minds define ourselves by. Our personality grows by it. It challenges us everyday to take on new heights, new experiences, new depths. It alone holds the secret to the human mind and what makes it 'tick'.

I am never going back on this decision unless it's a life or death matter.

Hopefully, it won't come to that - he he.

tied up

Right now I am very busy with a schedule of mock exams and two final exams to be prepared. That is why you don't see me publish a lot posts on my blog here, but you can still find me on the Oman Community Blog along with the other contributers posting about several other things that are either happening in the Sultanate of Oman or even just discussing issues of relevance between us all.

In any case, I wish I could sort out the kind of thoughts that are going through my mind right now because I have developed a slight case of insomniac that keeps me awake throughout the night until predawn timings plus I have been getting a lot of nightmares that don't make sense whatsoever.

I hope it all passes away very soon.

Transformers director vows not to direct sequel - part 2

It seems Michael Bay has been bought by the Paramount cash cow after posting on his blog that he is going back on his decision to direct Transformers 2 and supporting the HD-DVD camp 100%.

As he states:

'...I think I might be back on to do Transformers 2!'

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Link:
- Michael Bay "drinks the kool Aid," now supports HD-DVD

Transformers director vows not to direct sequel

Everyone has something on their mind these days that they want to achieve saying that if it isn't then they want nothing at all. They forgive nothing - not even themselves; nor even the people who - in the past - supported them.

This is the case with Michael Bay who along with Paramount brought the childhood heroes Transformers from a bunch of child's play toys in the 80's to the big screen spectacular that hit the cinemas this year all across the globe, grossing more than $600 million dollars in just a few days and making it the most successful movie that Hollywood has come up with since Independence Day and Pearl Harbor.

But, since the next generation industry has been in sway moves for the past two years over which side to support - be it the HD-DVD or Blu-Ray, a lot of studios have had a tough decision to come up with a winner; which until now is still an unprcendeted move that the entire entertainment industry awaits over who will topple who.

Now, Paramount & Dreamworks have decided to pullout their support for both formats and push it all the way for the HD-DVD. Stating that since the HD-DVD is lower in manufacturing costs it will be easier to supply to the consumer industry.

Having said that, Michael Bay the director of the Transformers movie epic, vowed not to direct the sequel by responding on his blog;

'

I want people to see my movies in the best formats possible. For them to deny people who have Blu-ray sucks! They were progressive by having two formats. No Transformers 2 for me!

'.

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Links:

- Michael responds to Paramount's abandonment of Blu-Ray: 'No Transformers for me!'

- Paramount, Dreamworks dropping Blu-Ray in favor of HD-DVD exclusivity

OCB suggestions

If you're a contributer of the Oman Community Blog (or you used to be but got removed for one reason or another) then this post would be somewhat important to you.

I have just update the OCB with a new post under the title 'Hands up, please...' regarding the recent comments due to the new amendments that I had tried to enforce on the blog, asking that the bloggers make their voices heard about this issue.

If you would like to participate in the blog's post, please click here.

Also, if you aren't currently a contributer to the blog, you can send your email address to me through this link so that I may add you to the list of contributers.

Thank you all...

proposed article in TimesofOman.com

Below you will find the newest article that was supposed to see it's way to being published on today's online edition of TimesofOman.com. But, unfortunately, it did not for a reason to which I do not know.

Please review it, and tell me your thoughts about the subject of the subject being discussed.

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Media Censorship

I used to be a very big supporter towards stopping censorship of different media news such as the news we see in the newspapers, TV, and even radio. And although I maintain my own private views with discretion over such issues locally and internationally, I have come to understand that some certain topics do actually require censorship to stop a waterfall effect that would prove negative directly and indirectly on other third parties.

I was always told to stay away – in matters of conversation – on topics about religion, politics and economics. As those were the three most topics that would otherwise cause a conflict in relationships, friendships and otherwise because of the clash of ideas, and perspectives.

As it stands, the Sultanate of Oman is still considered as a developing country, in the physical and mental sense. Since that it is still trying to catch up with everyone else in the world by bringing in modern technology, updating its cultural databases, and setting itself as a major international tourist hotspot for people across the globe. Along with that, there is also the matter of how our country's population constitutes of more than 75% people – male and female – under the age of 40 years. Something that stands as a challenge to develop the mental attributes of one's nation.

Therefore, being the most powerful medium into the minds of the people of the nation, it also carries a large burden on it's shoulders to uphold the responsibility of reporting true, justified facts along with setting the right momentum to pick the right time and place to hold a news headline that would not cause chaos unto the population that it stays in touch with.

I guess what I am trying to get at here is that I appreciate the freedoms that I have been given in Oman as a local as opposed to seeing the amount of chaos that could happen from an overload of freedom in the world outside the borders of my country

CCC gradually coming back to life

I was going through the Qurum area today and decided to drive through, if I could, the Capital Commercial Centre's parking lot.

The gates were finally lifted and everything was just breathing in life all over again. 2nd Cup had installed new windows, the other restaurants next to it were still left as they were after the Gonu incident; this is including: Nando's; Bollywood Chaat; and Pizza Hut.

Suprisingly, the CCC/Qurum branch for Mcdonald's had it's drive-thru opened up for customers but there wasn't anyone waiting in line.

Coming back to the haunting memories of seeing this place being over-flooded by rainfall was a dreadful memory to remember. But thank God, that no one was in the store at that time, since the country declared an emergency state of affairs.

Everything else was closed down, but it seems that work is afoot to have everything back to normal by the time Ramadhan would loom over the Sultanate.

Hopefully, it will.

haven't they had enough, already?

There's been word circulating around that New Line Cinema & Bret Ratner are willing to push further and make another Rush Hour movie - this time, setting the scene for Jackie Chan's & Chris Tucker's characters to be set loose in Moscow.

It's bad enough as it is that Rush Hour 3, although it has cleared the box race up until this moment, was (or rather is) one lousy movie made to up the hype of the cinema that has no brains whatsoever for originality.

That's not the only sad case of a movie franchise not put to bed, there's also some murmuring around for a Men In Black 3, Bourne 4, M:I-4, Spiderman 4, Die Hard 5, Pirates of the Carribean 4 and one last Resident Evil.

It's no wonder nobody wants to watch American movies anymore, they've lost their touch with what the audience really wants to see or clearly the audience's tastes ain't what it used to be.

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Link:

- Rush Hour 4 is set in Moscow at WorstPreviews

CBFS: no joytime for Eid holidays

That's right.

We got word today that our final exams, which are due by the 16th or 17th of October, 2007 will still be carried on, even if it means that they have to issue them right after the Eid Al Fitr holidays.

So this would mean we would break for Eid holidays, have our exams, after which there are two weeks holidays until sometime in November, 2007 (approx. 4th or 5th of November).

Did I mention that I hate studying?

this is new..

Well, it seems some people high up in the 'food chain' are pretty pissed off because of a report made by the US State Department on illegal human trafficking and how the Sultanate of Oman has been ranked the 3rd in that alleged list.

Sure the report was full of contradictions, but were they all truly 'baseless' as the Oman Tribune reports? After all, we all remember the start of negotiations between the Sultanate of Oman and the United States of America federal government on the ongoing process of agreeing to what norms must be followed regarding the Free Trade Agreement between the two countries. Where, the US 'attacked' Oman saying that there was no legal rights given unto the foreign workers as they are in the United States. Something, that the US was truly bent on having done.

The US-FTA was also an entrance towards the World Trade Organization for the Sultanate of Oman to help Oman gain international standards and status in free trade - as it did with the European Union.

Although, there are no known public cases of inhumane experiences provided for the foreign workforce, it does not mean that there are no cases. For we never hear of cases of murder, rape, theft, and drug abuse unless they hit the headline news provided by the Royal Oman Police's public relations department but there are definitely plenty of them out there. This - however - does not mean that there are any cases of such human torture and trafficking in the Sultanate of Oman because I wouldn't know where to begin to look.

Maybe the whole report was made by some wreckless employee who wanted to get finished with his day job for the day to come back home to his wife and children. Maybe it is the truth. All I can say is that there is a need to look further deeper into this situation before blindly defending those who are guilty.

You can read the whole article through this link.

insomnia

Couldn't sleep at all this night, which is maybe due to the fact that I have been sleeping at very late timings (sometimes 9am) just because I am on the Internet blogging posts.

Oh, well..

Lethal Weapon 5

Unlike the Rush Hour movie series, Lethal Weapon is a mingle between comedy and mayhem between two buddy officers ever since they were put together in the epic that shot them both to stardom in the first movie.

Now, Richard Donner, the director of the movie series wants to put the whole series to bed by doing the final installment dubbed respectively; Lethal Weapon 5.

Everyone wants back in, but Mel Gibson is in hesitation because he wants to be absolutely sure that he can do his stunts with the athleticism that is much needed and Donner won't do it unless Mel says 'Yes.'

Considering that we haven't had a good action/comedy movie that displays such 'buddyness', it will be great to see this movie a reality.

Consumer Protection Agency .. my foot

Ever since the Consumer Protection Agency has become a solid and known organization in the Sultanate of Oman, we have not heard nor seen any development in the scene of curbing the prices of consumer products like FMCGs (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) and yet the Central Bank of Oman releases a new weather report on the local economy saying that due to high product prices, the country's inflation has risen by more than 62% to more than 4%, all within a year's time period.

That's not to mention that high rising prices of houses, rents, raw materials and people's desperation to secure for themselves a roof over their head is still an issue to be solved although there has been an announcement that the government is in fact importing cement to help bring down the prices and offer a temporary solution to the problematic situation in Oman right now.

This is all due to the decreasing exchange price of the pegged Omani currency to the US Dollar, the increase of number of projects at one time here in Oman and our enforced agreement of the WTO that includes a sole rule that states that there should be no governmental interference into local trade competition - except in this case; there is only one company that supplies such raw materials, in the sense of the word: monopolization.

So then, in this case, what is the point of a consumer protection agency if it has no authority and cannot do anything except lead by speeches and such?

If words cost money, then they should just keep their silence.

who would you choose to be?

What is beauty without a form? What is an intiative without taking the risk of losing the definitive?

The role of life surrounds many themes. Some trust their instincts. Others trust nothing but themselves. Others just take the flow as it is and think nothing of it.

The cherished desires that we all hold deep in our hearts, our very souls are the ones that drive us to where we would meet with the true calling of our nature: destiny. It is not destiny that put us into this world. It is not destiny that makes us believe that we should take one path or another.

But, like the devil, destiny chooses to play the non-existent role playing module that surround us with it's willful yet intangible power that could the glass of time and water flow of the space itself.

What we choose to be is of our own nature.

Which path we choose to live is also of our own desire and ability to control such a nature.

But what holds us between the two is nothing more of circumstance, reason and doubt and a little emotion.

Who would you choose to be?

Ramadhan 13th September .. astronomically speaking

It's been announced that Ramadhan would fall on Thursday, 13th September of this year according to astronomical bearings taken by scientists.

Hopefully, this time around we would stick to one date across the whole Arab & Islamic world instead of fooling ourselves and then stating that we 'never saw the crescent'.

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Link:
- Al Shabiba: astronomically 13th September first of Ramadhan

Rush Hour 3 released in Muscat 29th August

Ok, so I made a hell of a commotion about this movie to the point where it became absolutely pathetic. But, honestly, it was all a matter of having to see the movie at the same time that the whole world sees it.

Rush Hour 3 now has a release date on Al Shatti Plaza - the 29th of August, 2007.

But this time I got to see the movie upfront through a download and, seriously, it sucked - big time. Just remember, this is coming from a guy who always loved funny/stupid movies that made and poked fun out of anything.

If they couldn't make a good story, why make one at all? And what's worse is that it's leading the US box office this week.

You can all judge for yourselves when it comes out here.

ironical measures

It is so ironic to see slogans being shouted out to bring down the bad habit of families rising up with the rates of Mahr that the groom-to-be has to pay in order to get married to his beloved wife-to-be. It is also a shame that there's a supposed law of a ceiling of no more than 2,000 Omani Riyals that no one in the entire country adheres to, to allow marriages to flow freely as possible without financial entanglements.

But what really takes the piss out of this situation is the fact that not one person in an authoritative position is really doing anything about it. In fact, if anything, they are increasing the pressure on the remaining male and females genders of the society that wish to get married with such things such as rising prices of getting a home, lands, services, and even the banks have joined in by offering loans to 'make dream marriages come true'.

When two people come together for a marriage they expect to take life's difficulties one pace at a time, and not all in one go, and especially not through facilitating marriage loans that offer you to payback the installments in long-term installments with interest.

One such bank is BankMuscat. I am not saying that BankMuscat is the only bank that is wrong in increasing pressure but it is one of the major players in the banking industry.

I ask that the authorities concerned should take an proactive movement in such a long life dilemma to the utmost consideration lest they want to see the number of single people arising in a country that drives on depending on a population that is less than 40 years old by 75%.

Horizon newsletter update

For those who have been waiting to hear any updates about the Horizon newsletter at the Sultan Qaboos University or about my articles in the said newsletter; it would seem your wait is going to be a long one since I had been informed yesterday (Monday) that this month's issue would carry students' works in total.

That would mean that my articles would probably only get published by sometime in September, 2007. There are now 2 articles in the waiting list and they have been agreed to publishing but only initially. The last decision lies withe newsletter's editor.

Hopefully, everything will work out fine.

Thank you for your patience.

mock test

Today would be our first mock test after finishing the first syllabus for IF1.

We'll be questioned in the Legal Insurance Contracts & Utmost Good Faith.

Hopefully, this will be a nice and easy test.

Next after this is the one on Saturday which would be in IF2 in Properties & Combined Policies.
Wish me luck everyone..

Omani inflation rises to 4.7%

According to the TimesofOman.com, there has been a 62% increase in consumer inflation here in the Sultanate of Oman compared to the last record of 2.9% back in June 2006.

As it stated;

“Increase in rent can be attributed to the arrival of expatriate workers in large numbers. As at the end of June 2007, the number of expatriates working in the private sector stood at 570,226 as against 510,713 in December 2006. The private sector recruited more 59,000 expatriates in six months,” sources said.

Meaning which, that, due to the Omani Currency - the Omani Riyal - being pegged to the US Dollar, there would be a great depreciation in prices of items bought and sold, & imported and exported between Oman and other countries of the world.

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Link:

- TimesofOman.com: Inflation hits 4.7 per cent on rising prices

less than four months to go

As I had announced in an earlier post on Sleepless In Muscat, I will cease and desist from blogging from the moment that it is the 1st of January, 2008.

That leaves me with 3 months, 17 days left to that moment.

I have had wonderful and fond memories that I shall keep forevermore.

For those who didn't know me, I guess there's always the real world - and for those who have, ermmm, there's still the real world to see me in.

I only hope that I don't regret this decision, one day.

distracted

I think my compass is way off.

After watching Freedom Writers, I was so impressed and moved by the movie that I have decided on this: I am going to take a notebook around with me and start writing an actual story. Maybe I would merge between what I have done up until now with my poetry along with it to create a unique experience.

I swear, it's like my mind looks for distractions such as these in moments of intense mental stress like the ones coming up this Tuesday and the coming Saturday.

What am I talking about?

My insurance tests - that's what.

My mind is everywhere right except where it should be. I have to focus. I have to focus. I have to focus. I have to focus.

I have to get me a Coca Cola to help me focus.

God.

Royal Oman Police - Part 2: all the king's women & all the king's men

It's now been about 5 months since the Royal Oman Police had implemented the simplified procedures of whereby if you have a simple accident that you go straight to the insurance company to get a claim based upon whose fault it is.

But you still see the people of Oman oblivious to this fact.

More than 4 accidents have happened in 3 day period and all occurring without any human loss whatsoever. Yet the drivers leave the vehicles on the public road as they are and stand aside as traffic is at a bottleneck whether it is to see what has happened to cause all this commotion or because of traffic peak during the day.

The fact of the matter, that even though the ROP states that it has cut down dramatically on the number of traffic accidents due to these mishappenings, there still seems to be a minority that wants to clutch onto that part of the past for the sake of assurance that 'justice has it's rewards'.

More importantly, you still see people speeding by you like they were in a race for life or death against time even when the road ahead of them is paved with passing speed-o-monitors.

Yet you can be glad about one thing, though, that the authorities are trying to cut back on the number of people they award their licenses to but only if they are under the age of 21 years.

Maybe this time around, they'll also re-implement the fines they established in the beginning and bring back the good old times of where you can have a nice, fun, and safe driving experience on the roads of Oman.

Freedom Writers

First off, I would like to thank Meticulousness for providing the torrent file for this movie on his new blog by the name of The Movie Theater. Some of the movies that I found there are of excellent quality and I had missed out on them so finding them was an opportunity not to be missed.

Back to this post, now.

Freedom Writers is a movie about a new teacher who wants to fulfill her obligations beyond what is the calling towards a group of students who, although always being put in detention and punishment for doing the worst deeds anyone could ever come up with, they still have the potential to be someone better no matter what anyone can say or do to stop them.

Along the way, she loses her marriage, someone gets shot at, others want to give up.

Now, there's a point that I would stop at here in the movie: it shows the suffering of the Holocaust victims back in World War II when there was a genocide of 6 million Jews by the Nazis back then.

In all manners of respect, the world recognizes that such a thing happened. I don't know whether it did or not. But what matters in the movie is that the students relate to it individually because it calls out for solidarity in a time of violence and epic warfare between minorities of different races and colors when they should unified by what their goals are in the not-so-distant future.

I simply loved the movie because I believe it delivers a message to everyone out there and I would recommend it to everyone, especially families. Even though it carries themes of violence, it's the ending that matters.

Believe me, you will never regret getting this movie.

Personally, I am going to get the book that this book is based on. If you're interested, it's by Erin Gruwell.

You can also view the movie's trailer on YouTube, here.

Al Araimi Complex partially open

I don't know if any of you know this, but I am going to publish this anyhow. The Al Araimi Complex has started operating back with it's ground and upper floors after the Gonu incident had hit the Sultanate of Oman.

It is - however - unknown, when they restarted their operations but it seems for quite some time as the underground level is fully covered and inaccessible to any visitors of the complex. Sources have said that it could take some 2 months to get it back into full swing.

One thing you do notice once you enter the commercial building is that the air-conditioners are not working in full capacity for some reason. Perhaps this is one of the after-effects of the flood that had hit the complex (refer: shocking Al Araimi footage - Gonu Relief Blog).

Everything else in the mall looks fine side from the fact that most of the shops are closed down for some reason even in the upper floor.

It seems the management of the commercial complex are planning to reopen it in style as I had also noticed that there are two new shops inside; Splash and Baskin Robbins both on the upper and ground floor, respectively. Whilst some other shops on the ground floor have closed down and moved out although their trademark logo can still be seen on the top before you enter into it.

So, I guess it's a wait and see game from hereon.

Heroes - Season Two

After the cliffhanger ending in Season 1 of Heroes; the thrilling drama of a group an unknown 'ordinary but extraordinary' heroes come back for Season Two starting September 24th, 2007 on NBC.

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Link:

- VIDEO: Heroes and The Office Sneak Peek on NBC's Primetime Preview

proposed new Horizon newsletter article

Below is the proposed new article that I had sent off to the Sultan Qaboos University's Horizon newsletter to be published.

It probably won't come out until maybe Sunday or Monday. But I am hoping it would get accepted.

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Inspirative Society

It is known that education is an important and integral part of the developing mind in order to come to a certain level that would push forth the creative and practical purpose of mankind to rise up the sophistication of human kind the world over in certain period of time.

However, every person – due their societal, environmental, and behavioral differences – perceive the level education in their own way. Some may think that studying a major that is irrelevant to their environment is waste of time, effort and money. Others like to see it as an extra benefit to them and their society. It is perception that holds us back or pushes us forth into accepting or rejecting the true purpose of a subject – whether we, as individuals, like it or not.

The true purpose of education, therefore, lies within the secret that it is a reform of the individual mind. Correcting and perhaps building upon existing data that we had already learnt in past years.

Education is also a tool of empowerment; not just towards seeking employment at a company or a governmental ministry, but also towards building a new generation with new, creative ideas on how to solve problems, reverse faults and after effects and help the current community grasp and endure what it is lagging behind.

In short, education can be seen as a tool towards building an inspirative society. One that would inspire other future generations to build upon the mechanism of a fundamentally strong society with sustainable growth and development

rasing money for the needy - part 2

This post is in reference to the post that I mentioned about a kiosk being in the Muscat City Centre that was selling off merchandise to help raise money for the families that needed money to re-establish their lives and homes again.

I am posting here to update everyone that I was told by the attendee of the kiosk that today (Friday) was the last day for him in Muscat City Centre and that he and the kiosk will be relocating to the Jawharat Al Shatti complex.

Help the needy people of Sultanate of Oman.

For more information on how you could also help you could also visit the Gonu Relief Blog.

Your help would be very much appreciated.

'Net Neautrality

Although this would only apply to consumers and customers in the United States, people of worldwide geographical status would share the same opinions and ask the same of their organizations such as the TRA here in Oman along with OmanTel and Nawras.

SAVE THE INTERNET

The Bourne Ultimatum

The final episode in the Bourne trilogy has come to a thrilling end.

Filled with fighting action sequences, smart alec jokes, and car chases galore, you get everything you should have gotten in Mission: Impossible - 3.

I won't give off the ending and what becomes of Bourne. But I will tell you that you will be satisfied of the outcome and how the director handled carefully the story and what becomes of the character.

The Bourne Ultimatum is now playing at Al Shatti Plaza.

You can view the trailer on YouTube, here.

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Link:
- The Bourne Ultimatum - Official Website

raising money for the needy

I don't know if anyone out there knows of this or not, but, I stumbled upon a kiosk in City Centre, Muscat selling off t-shirts and caps to raise money for Gonu affected families in the Sultanate of Oman.

The t-shirts are being sold for 3 Rials a piece while the caps are being sold at 1 Rial each. You can also make a cash donation to the cause in any amount you can.

This kiosk represents Dar Al Atta's service to help the affected families in their struggle to a normal life.

It would be appreciated if you could make a donation in any form through that kiosk.

Royal Oman Police

Today was the day that I had my ID card renewed at the Royal Oman Police in Seeb.

To me, everything was being fare and just in all manners of dicipline and behavior - or maybe that is what I perceived. However, noticing the large numbers of non-Omanis around me at the renewal centre, I also noticed a few other things, too.

Most of the Indian nationals were being treated with hostility and were being shouted out by fellow Police officers behind the desks when they couldn't understand what it was was being communicated to them. They were run around in circles simply because they had to do extra paperwork considering the fact that they were foreigners.

To me, the Police system might be considered as a subsiadary of the milatery system but it still should treat people with respect since they are the first in line (in that specific centre and anywhere else possible) in touch with the people on the road, on the job and under the direct supervision of the public.

Being shouted at is not something nice, whether it was the person's fault or not. Question is, did these Policemen even bother asking themselves if they were communicating in the right way? Ill treatment in any other country is liable for prosecution that recognizes the citizen's rights to be respected at all times, even when under investigation or prosecution.

So what did these free people do to acquire such hostile behavior?

AGCC meeting to be held in Doha instead of Muscat

This puzzles me.

There's been an article in both the TimesofOman.com and Al Shabiba about how the Sultanate of Oman had personally asked the Qatar Emir to hold the 28th AGCC meeting in Doha instead of having it held in Muscat as scheduled before.

Is the place not ready?

Do they have some kind of problem?

It was said in the article that:

"Yousuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, minister responsible for foreign affairs, had conveyed a written message from His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said to the Emir of Qatar, His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani. The message had included the Sultanate’s request to transfer the venue of the summit to Doha. The shifting of the summit venue came in the context of the government’s involvement in the reconstruction and renovation work following the unusual weather conditions that prevailed in the Sultanate recently."

But there was no reason as to why.

Would anyone out there have a possible answer?

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Links:

- TimesofOman.com: 28th AGCC summet venue shifted to Doha

- Shabiba: By request of the Sultanate and Gulf leadership approval .. 28th AGCC summit shifted from Muscat to Doha (Arabic)

studying sucks

Our study plan layout was presented to us today at the College.

We had a test on the 14th and 18th of August, 2007 on both IF1 & IF2, respectively. After which we would be finishing the syllabus by the end of August and starting revision classes during September where we would have some mock final tests to ensure that we have understood everything to date.

Before Eid Al Fitr, sometime in mid October we would have our final exams and have two weeks holiday until the end of the Eid holidays whereby we come back after that to start the second semester programme.

I've always hated studying, but entering this programme would enable me to have a student life all over again, plus trying for a part time job someplace and at the end a permanent job in the insurance industry in Oman.

enquiry made to Film City Oman

Last night, before the havoc of disruptive Internet services that had the whole online nation at a standstill, I had sent an enquiry to the Film City Oman - the owners behind Al Shatti Plaza through their email contact on their website, asking about whether they would be able to bring Rush Hour 3 by this week.

I got the reply today in the following format (names have been erased to protect the identities):

Dear Mr. [censored],

Kindly note that "Rush Hour" will be releasing by the end of this month at
Al Shatti Plaza. We shall post the exact date on the website in a week's
time.

Regards
management

TimesofOman.com: What next?

Below is the newest article written by me published online on the TimesofOman.com website.

I do hope the subject will be a matter of good debate.

----------------------

What Next?

So, now, we are back at this point. The point of having to try to ask back everything bad that we had ever done in our lives. The point of whereby we ask God that we could have another chance at bringing back things to what they were before everything.

Unfortunately, that is not the case, here. In the sense that we cannot ask to have everything back as it used to be.

Gonu came and went, and probably had been the worst nightmare anyone in the Sultanate had ever dreamt of experiencing. But it did happen. It happened, though, with the least amount of human fatalities ever known. It destroyed commercial areas in Qurum where most of the Omani folks in Muscat do their shopping for many various occasions. It is unknown when all the establishments in that part of Oman will be back to normal working order. But it definitely won't be anytime soon from the looks of it.

Would this have a bearing on the purchasing power of the Omani consumer? I don’t think so. Even though there are many different projects on the roll to shake up the private sector here in Oman; just waiting to see the watery mouths of the investors to inject into the industry is enough proof that Oman's economy is doing extremely well besides all these catastrophic events.

But when Ramadhan looms over Oman this year sometime in September – and loom, it will – where will everyone go for their daily shopping? Where would all go and enjoy the few nights that they get together as families (which is perhaps maybe twice or three times a year) for a nice Iftar? What about the beach road cafes and the road networks there?

There are many questions that are going through my mind at the moment. Main question that has to be double underlined here is –– Gonu has come and gone, but what happens now?

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Edit: This article has been edited from it's original appearance.

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Link:

- TimesofOman.com: What next?

Lions for Lambs

This one looks like a great movie. It seems so intense, so dramatic. So, .. my type.

Comes 9th November, 2007.

long overdue

I suppose everyone in Oman knows of this by now but they don't know the exact timing of it.

It has been confirmed that Oman Mobile and Oman Telecommunications Company will be both re-merged into one company withing a few weeks from now. The move behind this is that the company (i.e.: OmanTel) has been discussing and evaluating its business and come to the conclusion that their biggest selling product/service was their mobile communications unit which we come to know as Oman Mobile.

The drive to split up the company in the beginning was because Nawras had argued that it cannot compete with OmanTel as a startup mobile telecommunications company with the government pushing it onwards with a tremendous budget. So the Capital Market Authority had ordered the the company to split up into two.

The reason behind delaying the announcement was to wait for an appropriate time when everyone came back from their holidays to get everything on a roll. So that by the time the investors come back the price of the shares will be driven sky high all over again over the movement.

It is also interesting to know that before the end of this year, two new competitors will also be entering the market in the fixed line and Internet businesses. And the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority will also be making an important announcement about the possibility of both OmanTel and Nawras to invest in both those fields as they desire without a need for a new license.

By 2009, assuming the penetration hits above the past 33% average before Nawras had come into the market, a new license will also be awarded in the field of mobile telecommunications to a new and much stronger competitor by the TRA.

This information was provided by an anonymous but reliable source.

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Links:

- OmanTel

- Oman Mobile

- Nawras

- Captial Market Authority (CMA)

- Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA)

the very best of the best

Well, I'm sorry to say that I am not an American. Neither am I in any way affiliated with the city of Minnesota. But what I have in relevance to this picture is the fact that I had scored a great 76 out of 100 in my Information Technology test that I took before the holidays.

It's the highest grade in the entire Insurance course two batches and only me and a friend of mine had scored the same grade.
Wonderful, isn't it?

take the kids to see this..

Underdog is the new superhero adventure being 'unleashed' by Disney for the children segment of the movie society worldwide.

I know I wouldn't go watch it because it sounds too corny; but I am definite that anyone's child would enjoy this movie.

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Link:

- Underdog - The official movie website

a change in the outline?

A lot of the bloggers have gone offline now in the sense that they have stopped posting on their blogs.

But does this mean that the trend of Omani blogging is at a decrease or this is merely a temporary state that only exists in the summer?

Some bloggers have promised to come back online quite soon because they are under pressure from work or life issues or perhaps even marriage and the commitment they hold to such a relationship whilst keeping it a reality.

But there aren't enough Omani bloggers around to change that much of a scene, in the sense of that they blog from the Sultanate of Oman and only because they would mostly be Omani. I could enlist a huge list of people who have stopped the habit of posting on their blogs voluntarily and without announcement but that would be unethical as I hardly known any of them let alone to feature them without their permission.

But the online trend in the Omani lifestyle is set to grow at an unprecentended rate in the future sooner or later because there is rise in awareness of how I.T. can be used to the advantage of our population which mostly is under the age of 40 years old.

So, I ask again - is this what we should expect in terms of bloggers from now on or will there a change in outline?

Atlantis

It's been said that there was a lost advanced civilization some 11,000 years ago. It existed - according to the Philosopher Plato - in between Africa and the Americas; somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean. Hence, the name: Atlantis.

This civilization had everything going it's way, two harvests in a year, major trade and commerce between them and other different civilizations and all the fruits of nature.

Up until here this is where things get a bit interesting.

It's said that the Greek God of Gods - Zeus - had seen the immortality of the Atlantians and was discussing amongst the other Gods what sort of punishment to bestow upon them because they had started to worship a statue of Poseiden - God of the seas - in a specially built temple along with the manifestation of corruption and greed for more power in the ancient civilization.

Thus, punishing them by sinking their ancient continent into the sea forevermore.

Since I am a man who believes in Islam, I have an interesting theory about this that I would like to share with you here.

It is said that God - Allah Almighty - had sent a Prophet to an ancient civilization to return them to the path of faith and The One. They had everything they ever wanted that God ever gave to a civilization such as theirs. But they also carried out the filthiest of sins: men were in love with men and women were in love with women because neither wanted the other. God had told them that they are carrying out a sin that neither anyone of this world or the one that we cannot see of the Jin had ever committed, so how could they?

But still they carried on.

God told his Messenger that He would turn their land upside down had they not stopped carrying out the ill-manner of living.

But still no one answered him.

God did as He said He would. And the world has been invisible for ayons now.

It is in my opinion that this civilization that had angered God was that of Atlantis. How else would anyone explain of a civilization that existed on Earth but vanished in 1 day and 1 night? There is no other civilization known to man that has had the same punishment.

What do you all think?

YouTube closure

Freedom of speech is a right we seldom use in Oman to the point that we allow ourselves to be compromised by other options to take in as 2nd choices. Unfortunately, it seems that even that itself is going to be taken away from us if there isn't act too soon to regulate the ill-use of teenagers and children alike of websites and what parents and school teachers should be doing about monitoring their use of the world wide web.

As in a report by the Times of Oman, a petition has been backed up in London, UK to push forward closing down the world's largest video sharing website that came to be established by the year 1995. This petition has been moved to stop the growing scene of cyber-bullying on the Internet such as threats through videos posted on the site to teachers and school staff or even faculty and students.

As far as Catriona Tait of Dundee, Scotland - UK, she says:

"Nobody should be subjected to such humiliation anywhere, let alone in their place of work," she said, demanding the closure of sites "encouraging this irresponsible use of technology."

But does YouTube really encourage cyber-bullying?

YouTube is really a means to reach out to the millions of people with Internet linked computers, something which mostly comes positively onto the lives of many people all over the world and as a spokesman for YouTube states;

"It's also used by organisations such as Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth to reach people on a range of important issues. Sadly as with any form of communication, there is a tiny minority of people who try to break the rules."

So is it really fair to condemn a website to group punishment when you should aim at the source?

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Links: - YouTube - TimesofOman.com: British teacher's union calls for YouTube closure

Resident Evil: Extinction

Warning: This movie trailer is not for the faint of heart. I am not responsible for any health consequences should you proceed to watch this trailer.

This is the trailer for Resident Evil: Extinction. The last - supposedly - of a horror and gore trilogy about a world infected by the T-virus that was developed by the secret Umbrella Corporation.

The answer - this time - lies within Alice, one of the sole survivors of the infection and apocalypse time periods of Racoon City. She must trace her own roots back to where everything began and try to figure out what to do and do it before it's too late.

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Link:

- Resident Evil: Extinction - Official Site

update on new Horizon article

I've been very busy with getting back to college and doing other chores for me and the house while my parents were away - which they aren't anymore - that I didn't get anytime to sit and actually think about what to write for the new Horizon newsletter's article.

So what happened then?

I didn't submit anything and called up apologizing for the inconvience asking to submit a new original work by the next submission date.

That new date would be 10th August, 2007.

apologies

I have to apologize to every single one out there for giving out false information which I thought was genuine at the moment of receive.

I had posted earlier that the proposed holiday for the Islami celebration of Al Israa' Wal Mi3raj was going to be this Saturday. Therefore, giving hope based upon false pretences.

Hence, I ask that you forgive me for this errata that I have made and I would - in turn - be more careful to what news I bring onto my blog.

Again, my sincerest apologies..