Words from KESC Management

What the hell.... I was surprised to see this email sent from Kesc.news@kesc.com.pk address.

Dear Customers,

As you are all aware of the grave situation KESC has been facing for the past over 2 months. Hostile attacks on people and property and threats by union miscreants have crippled company’s operations.

Despite all odds KESC’s management, officers and workers have been relentlessly working day in and day out for the relief and comfort for the people of Karachi. However, we have now reached a unfortunate point where continuing field operations and repair and maintenance work, in the absence of law enforcement and protection of our people and other assets is no longer possible.

KESC has gone beyond the call of duty in the most dangerous of situations, but some of the recent incidents, especially those on July 20, 2011 suggest that our lives are gravely endangered, especially where law enforcement seems to be siding with the offender.

We would like to share our recent communication with the higher ups in the government regarding the current situation. This will give you a clear idea of the gravity of matters. Following are some of the main points covered in the letter for your knowledge;

• Law Enforcement Agencies (LEA) stand as silent spectators as KESC’s people and assets continue to get attacked by union miscreants
• Summary of the gross violations for the past 2+ months;

• The fifth attempt to gain access to central store at SITE, which contains critical material (PMTs, Cables, and Joints etc), culminated in a 12 hour long hostage situation while law enforcement assumed the role of spectators.

In view of the above and other incidents KESC has decided to discontinue its field operations and expose its people to a bunch of hooligans who are free to break the law at any time. Hence starting from today KESC has suspended all its operations till there is adequate protection for us which is our fundamental right.

On top of all this our Head office was attacked and was brought under siege and our people were made hostage. The load operations center was also disconnected today.

Our hearts go out to all our consumers who have suffered at large alongside us. We once again regret inconvenience and hope that the necessary authorities will assist us and take appropriate measures in restoring business as usual.

Regards
KESC Management

Peace TV banned in Pakistan

I read on other websites and blogs that Peace TV Urdu was banned by PEMRA in Pakistan, due to license issues. Well, I don't know what is the real reason behind it's ban, but you can continue to watch it online at http://islambox.tv/watch/Peace-TV-Urdu. This channel is free and video quality is fine (watchable).

facebook account block - This is ZION and I am NOT AFRAID!!!!!!!!

Few months ago, I deactivated my facebook account, when there were groups abount "Draw Muhammad Day". Did not use facebook for few months.

Now again, few days ago, there were another groups created with names like "Burn Quran Day". I just wanted to check these groups and re-activated my account, with no problem at all.

Then one day, I just visited few pages about "Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion". I found some pages and clicked on the links mentioned on these pages. And after few days, my account got blocked.

This makes me want to believe that facebook is also controlling the flow of information on internet media. If you visit pages like burn Quran and draw Muhammad etc, they do not care whether these pages contains insulting material about a religion and promotes hatred.

Suppose, if facebook is in favor of freedom of information, then why does it blocks account when visiting, creating or posting on groups which exposes information about the protocols of Zions....

Read Quran in English, Arabic and Urdu: http://www.quranexplorer.com/Quran/Default.aspx

Get the copy of "Protocols of Zion book": http://www.4shared.com/file/stjkjhRW/Protocols_of_the_Learned_Elder.htm (This is the scanned copy of the original book - around 58MB in size)

I am a Muslim

Installation and configuration of PHP 5 and MySQL 5 on Windows IIS

I spent almost a full day to finally install and configure PHP on my windows system. I am basically a .NET developer and used ASP.NET, C# and MS SQL Server. From that background, configuring PHP with MySQL was a hell. I even tried the installer from php.net website but when it gave the option to choose from list of servers e.g.

IIS CGI
IIS ISAPI
Apache etc etc....

I selected IIS ISAPI and it gave some omnihttpd config error and told to configure manually. A nightmare for a Microsoft tool user :P

I un-installed PHP 5 and downloaded a zip file version from http://www.php.net/. All I did was the following to fix the errors.

Let me first tell you what errors that I was facing.

• No Input file error while opening php page in a browser
• MY SQL 5 was not detected when I was trying to install PHPBB3
• When I executed a test.php file with code, the information screen said that php.ini path is c:\windows and no php.ini file is currently loaded

So, I did the following fix above

• UnZip php5 in some folder. It is recommended not to uses spaces in folder names. I unzipped in X:\Data\Web\php\php folder.
• Set user permissions: Give "Everyone" user the "Read and Execute" permissions in C:\windows, the php unzip folder and all of your php virtual directories. Just right click on the folder, select Security, Add user "Everyone" and give "Read and Execute" rights.
• Set the path of unzip php folder in you system variables path. Right click on "My Computer", go to "Properties", then "Advanced", then "Environment Variables". In "System variables" tab, find "Path" variable and edit it. Append the php path at the end. The paths must be split by semicolons.
• Copy the php.ini file to c:\windows folder. Now, php will use this as its configuration file.
• Open php.ini from c:\windows folder and comment the line "doc_root="
• In php.ini file, set "extension_dir" variable to your "ext" subfolder of php folder. I have set this as extension_dir = "X:\Data\Web\php\php\ext"
• Set your virtual directory to run php files. Open IIS --> Default Website --> Your PHP virtual directory. This would contain your web application or the php pages that you want to run. Right click the virtual directory, go to "properties", then "Configuration". In "Mappings" tab, press "Add" button. In"Executable" browse for php5isapi.dll from your php unzip folder. In "Extension", give ".php". Remove the double quotes in both text fields, if there are any
• Restart IIS. A short way of doing is to Start --> Run. Type iisreset.

Don't FORGET to Reset the IIS services.

After performing all the above steps, I executed test.php which has the phpinfo(); function call in it showed the php information screen and showed that php.ini path is c:\windows and currently loaded php.ini file is c:\windows\php.ini.

All this effort just to configure the php correctly........

Now, to configure this for MY SQL 5.0, I did the following steps:

• In c:\windows\php.ini file, set extensions_dir to your extensions folder. Mine is extension_dir = "E:\Data\Web\php\php\ext"
• By default, all the extensions in php.ini file are commented. So, uncomment the following 2 lines for MY SQL 5
• extension=php_mysql.dll
• extension=php_mysqli.dll
• Be sure to download the php connectors dlls from http://dev.mysql.com/downloads/connector/php/ and copy them in your php extensions folder. The default ones did not work in my case. Download both MYSQL and MYSQLI and unzip in the extensions folder. My extensions folder in this case is E:\Data\Web\php\php\ext
• Make sure that MY SQL 5.0 is installed. Download the My SQL Administrator tool to verify that the server is installed and the services are also running
• Save the php.ini file and reset the IIS services. Use either iisreset command or IIS management console.

After performing the above steps, the phpbb3 install was showing MY SQL and MY SQL with My SQLI extensions both available.

Man!!!! I was so happy to see that green available word.

I thought to post the solution to all the forums that I visited for help, but I forgot which forums I visited. I remember google as the search engine... lolz...

Finally, I thought to post a blog for it for my own records, when I need it later in case of problems. All the best to googlers if you find it and fix your configuration issues.

Naruto - My new craze

As long as movies and TV are concerned, I was first addicted to Friends seasons. Now, a friend of mine gave me some episodes of Naruto, a japanese animation series. It seemed stupid first that the characters are talking in japanese and English translation is showing at the bottom. But the story is so great that I am watching it non-stop. One of the best resource for downloading the series is http://www.narutocentral.com/.

Below are the 2 main characters from the animation series.

A must watch if you are a fan of martial arts or ninja. Below is the whole team of the Konoha villiage

Desert bikes riding on Hatta track

One of the thrilling adventure that can be done in Dubai is the desert motor bike riding. There are several tracks in Hatta for desert safari and motor bikes riding. We did not try the safari yet but enjoyed the riding on bikes alot.

We had to buy the ticket for the driving. Following were the rates and bikes configurations as on August 26, 2007.

1. 250 cc - Automatic - Dhs 200

2. 350 cc - Manual - Dhs 250

There was a special track with boundary for driving the bikes. But we were also allowed to take the bikes outside the boundary area in the desert. We were 4 friends and we rented 2 bikes, 1 manual and 1 automatic. The automatic was very easy to drive. For manual, some motorbike experience is needed. The shifting of gears was similar to the sports bike.

I took the manual one first and took it outside the boundary area. But was not successfull due to the sand. The bike stuck in the sand and the watchers came to help me out. I took it inside the area. There were dunes in the area as well. You can either drive on the straight desert track or have some funs on the dunes. But its dangerous for beginners because if the speed is low, the bike stucks in the sand. And if the speed is high, we experience a free fall after jumping over the dune. It feels like we are flying in the air while jumping. So, you have to be very careful while doing such stunts. Because, I saw a person that fell from the bike and he was not able to stand by himself due to some injury. 3 of us fell too :P. But no serious injuries. Just there were scrathces on the leg. If the bike gets out of control, its much better not to regain its control. Because its in speed and you can fall seriously and roll with the bike. Its better to leave the bike and let it go. Less scratches will come :).

Some precautions and advice:

-- Wear jeans. Dont wear shorts. Because in case of falling, jeans will save your legs from scratches.

-- Get extra piece of cloth. Because after the drive, you will get alot of sand on your body and cloths. There is no facility to shower, so your car can get dirty.

-- Always wear the helmet.

-- Make sure that there is no one on the other side of the dune, in case you are jumping.

-- Ride on manual 350 cc only if you have experience of riding bikes. Its better to check out the automatic bike first and then try out the manual one. Because the manual is so powerfull and it can get out of control easily.

-- Lower the speed when near to the bikes parking area. Because there are people who are taking pictures and some people are starting their bikes to get in the track.

Doing just the acting of falling :P in the above picture.

It was great fun. This was out first time with the desert bikes. 1 hour was more than enough. We felt tired. The wrists felt little pain after riding, because while jumping and doing corners, there is much pressure on the wrists and hands. And there is pressure on the right thumb all the time because we have to use the thumb for accelerator instead of twisting the handle.

Certainly, its one of the best entertainment you can get in Dubai, if you are fond of adventure.

Harry Potter

One day i was bored sitting in my home on a holiday and then visited a book shop and bought Harry Potter and the Philosopher's stone from J K Rowling. She is such a good writer that she really arouse interest while reading the book. I was so impressed with this first book that I bought all the seven books of Harry Potter series and also the DVD movies. Last weekend, I saw Harry Potter 5 on cinema which was released recently. It was cool but compared to the book, its nothing. Personally, I like reading books more than watching movies.

Lal Masjid (Red Mosque) Friday prayers

Faithful people refused to offer jumma (friday) prayers in lal masjid when new khateeb Maula Ashfaq reached there. They enchanted slogans against the government. They wanted to bring back the previous khateeb Maulana Abdul Aziz.

The new Maulana was very dissappointed and refused to accept the imamat of Friday prayers. He also said that he will never lead prayers in lal masjid.

Snooker in F-8 markaz Islamabad

Since I have got a bad habbit of playing billiards with my friends while my stay in UAE, I start searching for some nice billiards or snooker clubs in Islamabad. Then, I came over to a nice snooker club in F-8 Markaz. Although, I played billiards in UAE, but I played snooker there with my cousine. Its harder than billiards but more fun.

Goodbye to table tennis. I also had purchased the table for table tennis, but now I want snooker table in my house.......

Back to Pakistan

Finally, after official tour of 3 months, I came back to Islamabad, Pakistan on July 15, 2007. The trip was very successful and I had alot of fun there. Credit goes to my friends Imran, Sameer and Arslan. I had very enjoyable moments playing billiards, going to cinema to watch movies, visiting places, shopping malls, eating food at popular places, sheesha, playing cards (I still dont know how to play), beaches, wild wadi, aqua park, alt of gossips and watching Friends seasons when we had nothing to do.

Anyways, after having alot of fun, I am back in Pakistan, my homeland. There is no better place than your home, wherever you go in the whole world.

A visit to Dreamland Aqua Park in UAE

In summers, me and some friends visited Dreamland Aqua park http://www.dreamlanduae.com/. Its in Umm al Quwain state of UAE alongside a long beach. No doubt, its one of the most amazing family water park with full of fun rides and slides.

Its worth to spend the whole day there. If you get tired with the rides, go to the relaxation pool. There is also a bar in the middle of the pool. Various kinds of drinks and sheesha is available there. KFC and some other food places are also there.

Below is the picture taken during the trip.






From the left: Sameer, Arslan and Me. Imran cannot be seen because he was taking the picture.



This is a must see place if you are visiting Dubai or any other state of UAE. The park is about 60 kms from Dubai, but die to the large traffic, it may take 1 to 2 hours to reach there.

Check out all the pictures at http://www.esnips.com/web/saqibrazzaq-Pictures/.

Quran with Urdu translation

http://www.esnips.com/web/Quran-with-Urdu-Translation

Check out the above link for whole Quran with Urdu translation. The files are zipped on the basis of para number. Each zip file of a para contains the scanned images of the Quran. These files are originally from www.asanquran.com. The Urdu translation is in two colors for easy understanding of the arabic words. The arabic text and the translation goes side by side on a page.

The idea was proposed by Maulana Syed Shabbir Ahmed in 1988 and he founded an organization (Quran Asan Tehrik http://www.quranasan.org) for this purpose.

Some pictures of me and my friends

http://www.esnips.com/web/saqibrazzaq-Pictures

this is a public folder that contains some pictures of me and my friends.

Traffic in Dubai

Traffic is the biggest problem that people are facing in Dubai. During office start and close timings the roads become like parking places. Very slow moving. I live in an apartment in Karama and my office is in Jebel Ali Free Zone. It around 40 km distance but it takes 1.5 hours to reach the office. And its even worse around 5 pm in the evening.

Now the government has planned to collect toll tax from the people that travel via sheikh zaid road (a popular road). It will be 4 dirhams per entry. A card will be attached on the car wind screen and the cameras will automatically deduct the amount when you pass by it.

Parking is also big problem. Commercial areas have paid parking, but there are some free parking areas as well. My apartment has a parking place but I dont have car :P because I am here temporarily for just 3 months.

Getting a car is easy. You can even get a reasonable second hand car in 4000 dirhams but getting the license is difficult. 40 driving classes before you enter the test. And there is already a waiting period of 2 months.

Anyways, I travel by bus, The Limousine Lorry Lease, so I dont have to worry about the license, parking and toll fee. But to visit places, car is a MUST, because taxi is very costly here.

My visit to Dubai, UAE

I came to Dubai, UAE on 22nd of April, 2007. It was an official visit. I was appointed at Komatsu Middle East, Jebel Ali Free Zone Area, UAE as a Project Consultant. My job here was to deploy the distribution software (PDX), train the people how to use it and support for 3 months.

It was a wonderful visit here. Dubai is really a cool place full of shopping malls, beaches and alot other worth seeing places.

During my stay here, I visited Wild Wadi (http://www.wildwadi.com), Mall of the Emirates (http://www.malloftheemirates.com) and Ibne Batuta mall.

Wild Wadi is THE place to visit. Its a nice place to kill the summer hotness and enjoy the water rides there. It has one of the world's fastest water slide (Jumeira Sceira). The swimming pool is also very cool with un-announced water waves.

And I was also surprised with the Dubai Skii (http://www.skidxb.com/) that they built in the Emirates Mall. Outside, it was 48 C hot and inside the skii, it was freezing and people were enjoying the artificial snow.

Next weekend, I am planning to visit the whole city by the Big Bus (http://www.bigbus.co.uk/dub/html/dub_our_tours.html). Its a double decker bus and covers almost the whole city. You can also enjoy a dhow cruise too. It covers beautiful shopping malls and places including Mall of the Emirates, Jumeira Mosque, Wafi City, City Center, Jumeira Beach Park, Burj al Arab and Dubai Museum.

Saqib Razzaq - Software Engineer

My name is Saqib Razzaq. I am a software engineer by profession. I live in Model Town, Islamabad, Pakistan. did my BS from Bahria University and currently working as a software engineer in Komatsu Pakistan Soft (Pvt) Ltd., a Japan based organization. I also worked with (MTBC), a New Jersey, US based Medical Billing Company.

I like to read books, listen to music and hang out with friends.

Check out my website: http://www.saqibrazzaq.com