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Sunday, December 31, 2006

Happy 2007 + History in 50 Seconds!

Happy New Year Everyone.



May 2007 be the best year of your life YET.

Speaking of new year and time, it may be a good time to learn 5000 years of history in 50 seconds.

Warning: Even 50 seconds of history can be boring to some viewers, so come back after your new year parties and see this :-)

Wednesday, December 27, 2006

Enjoy this "relaxing" video!

Friday, December 01, 2006

New Look...

As you can see (unless you're reading the feeds) I have completely changed the look of the blog. This is still work in progress: the template needs to expand and I don't like all the green in the design. Your comments are welcome.

Thursday, November 23, 2006

Mermaid-like creature found in the Persian Gulf

I was told a few years back they had found a mermaid-like creature in the Persian Gulf but I couldn't find anything on the web not even a picture. Then a few days ago I found this:
Watch the Video

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Are you pissed at your boss?

- Did you get fired?
- Did you not get that raise he promised?
- Makes you do unpaid over-time?

This little Flash game might help you kick his ass!

Saturday, November 04, 2006

A picture may be worth a thousand words, BUT...

... It never hurts to add comments...

Which is why I've added comments to most of my Background Pictures, specially those taken while traveling.

Thursday, November 02, 2006

I want a Firefox Extension to ...

This site has a list of most Firefox extensions (aka addons). It's the same ones as those on Firefox's official site (and perhaps less) but the difference is you can browse them by their application.

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

8 Reasons NOT to come to Canada

This is taken from Settlement.org's discussion board (which actually took it from NotCanada.com):

8. Discriminatory and Dishonest Immigration System.
Immigration to Canada is based on a point system, obtained with your education, qualifications and job experience. Points are good enough for immigration, but in Canada, they are not good enough to get a job in your field. Amazing, how the credentials that qualify you to come to Canada are the same credentials that don't qualify you for your profession in Canada. The reason is, Canada only wants immigrants to do the labor jobs - pizza delivery, driving taxis, factory work etc.

7. Out Of Control Cost Of Living.
From rent, to utility bills, to shopping, to phone, internet and cable bills, to gas, to car insurance, to eating out, to basically anything you have to pay for or buy, the cost of living in Canada has become astronomical. Recent immigrants are astonished as to how expensive everything is. It is estimated that compared to most countries around the world, the cost of living in Canada is on average five times greater.

6. Health Care Crisis.
Practicing physicians in Canada are in a shortage, 1 in 4 Canadians cannot get a family doctor. Canadian doctors are leaving to move permanently to the United States. Statistics Canada and the Canadian Medical Association both have identified that for every 1 American doctor that moves to Canada, 19 (nineteen) Canadian doctors move to the United States! Doctors in Canada are overworked and underpaid, and there is a cap on their salaries.

5. Very High Taxes.
Yes, you have the GST, the PST, totaling 15%, on practically everything you purchase and many other taxes taken out of our weekly paycheck. You have to pay a whopping amount to the government, out of your hard earned salary, so that the government can turn around and give it to beer drinking, hockey watching welfare bums. Fair? It does not matter, it's Canada.

4. Money Hungry Government.
Canadian Embassies around the world lie to foreigners, painting this picture that Canada is Utopia, because they want them to come to Canada. Why? Because foreigners bring money! So after being deceived, these foreigners come. They must bring with them at least $10,000. Canada has an immigration quota of 250,000 per year. So please do the math, 250,000 multiplied by $10,000 each equals a whopping 2.5 Billion dollars that Canada gains from immigrants every year.

3. No Culture.
Unlike almost every other country in the world, Canada has no culture. Actually American culture is what dominates Canada. When was the last time you had some 'Canadian' food? There are no Canadian traditions and there is no national identity. What does it even mean to call yourself a 'Canadian'. . .nothing really. People living in Canada, still identify themselves with the country they 'originally' came from.

2. Worst Weather.
Yes, Canada has the worst weather conditions of any country in the world. Freezing cold temperatures, snow, ice, hail, winds, storms etc. From the Prairie provinces to the Maritimes, from the Territories to southern Ontario, the weather is so horrific and disgusting that many Canadians leave Canada simply because of this reason alone.

1. No Jobs.
Yes, coast to coast, there are no jobs. Immigrants are highly qualified (MD's, PhD's, Lawyers, Engineers etc.) but they are driving taxi cabs, delivering pizza's or working in factories. Even people with bachelors degrees from Canadian Universities cannot find jobs after graduation. This is the tragedy associated with immigration to Canada. I feel sorry for those immigrants who are stuck in Canada for the rest of their lives. It is indeed a very sad and hopeless future.

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

A. Ansari on Opera

A must see: Video of Anoushe Ansari on Opera.
Fun experience... to bad I'm 60 million $s short!

My European Sailing Ship!

Here's a picture of a little European sailing ship I assembled the other day. I wasn't sure if it would make a nice background or not so I put it here rather than my background pictures section.


Sunday, October 15, 2006

Narges Cartoons (Persian)

There's hardly anyone in Iran you hasn't seen the popular TV show Narges (which is now playing on Jaam-e-Jam network). If you have you might like these cartoons as well:
Narges Cartoons

Monday, October 09, 2006

Behind the Waterfall



I finally managed to go behind a waterfall, one of my lifelong dreams (OK maybe one of the smaller dreams). A unique and fun as the experience was, I can't share it with you using pictures. But you can check out the view of the waterfall. Actually, this is a different waterfall, the picture of I one I'm talking about is in pictures.

Enjoy!

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

New pictures of Iran and Amsterdam are up!



I finally got a chance to put my new pictures on the web:
Pictures of Iran (mainly of northern Iran, coast of the Caspian sea)
Pictures of Amsterdam (city, canals and Amsterdam North)
All Pictures

Wednesday, May 31, 2006

I am Iranian

I'm leaving for Iran in a day (which could also mean this blog will not be updated for a while)...

Since that's all I have to say in this post, I'll post this old but funny Persian version of the famous Molson Canadian commercial from a few years ago...



I am Iranian

O, I am not a terrorist nor a wife beater, I don't live in a tent in a desert and camels are not our way of transportation (we drive cool European cars like Peugeot 206).

I speak Farsi, not Arabic (they don't even have the same roots)

Iran is pronounced "EERAUN" and not "I - ran" (it's not track & field, got that pisses me off)

News flash: Iran and Iraq are two different countries; Middle East is a region and NOT a continent (it's all in Asia).

Belly dancers are NOT strippers (no sex in the Champaign room; anyways, belly dancing is an Arabic dance, it never came from Iran! although they do hire Arab dancers in Persian restaurants in Canada).

Each time you play a game of chess to improve your intellect, keep in mind that it was Persians who gave you your game.

Iranian women are just as outspoken (if not more) and liberal as the European women (and more than North American women).

And what the hell is "soccer"?? We also call it Football like every one in the word (except Americans).

Cyrus the great is the one who started "Human Rights"

Allow me to introduce myself:

I AM A PERSIAN. MY LAND IS IRAN!

--- THE END ---

Related links:
- Tehran like you've never seen it before...
- Pictures of Iran (2005)

Sunday, May 21, 2006

Escher-like paintings...

These paintings are very much like paintings by Dutch artist M. C. Escher. If you don't know Escher, it's ok, just take a look I'm sure they'll mess with your mind just the same :-).

Saturday, May 13, 2006

Facts

The liquid inside young coconuts can be used as a substitute for Blood plasma.

No piece of paper can be folded in half more than seven (7) times.

Donkeys kill more people annually than plane crashes.

You burn more calories sleeping than you do watching television.

Oak trees do not produce acorns until they are fifty (50) years of age or older.

The first product to have a bar code was Wrigley's gum.

The King of Hearts is the only king WITHOUT A MOUSTACHE

American Airlines saved $40,000 in 1987 by eliminating one (1) olive from each salad served in first-class.

Venus is the only planet that rotates clockwise. (Probably why Venus is normally associated with women!)

Apples, not caffeine, are more efficient at waking you up in the morning.

Most dust particles in your house are made from DEAD SKIN!

The first owner of the Marlboro Company died of lung cancer. So did the first "Marlboro Man."

Walt Disney was afraid OF MICE!

PEARLS MELT IN VINEGAR!

The three most valuable brand names on earth: Marlboro, Coca Cola, and Budweiser, in that order.

It is possible to lead a cow upstairs... but, not downstairs.

A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why.

Saturday, May 06, 2006

Spring's arrived in Toronto - with 45 days delay!

45 days is pretty long time to look at dead trees waiting for flowers to show up while in many other places in the world people have been enjoying the beauty of spring since 20th of March. On the bright side, they've lost all the pretty flowers by now and we have fresh flowers in Toronto. I've posted a few pictures of spring including this widescreen background:


Enjoy!

P.S. Did you know these yellow flowers actually have medical purposes? Wish I remembered the name to post some info on that but if anyone knows the name, please help me out!

Friday, April 28, 2006

A great tool to avoid RSI

After reading Official Google Blog: Avoiding RSI I started looking for a good tool to avoid RSI (aka Repetitive strain injury, a disorder affecting bone and muscle from repetitive movements) and found Workrave. Now I can't stop using it:
It has 3 break timers:
1. Micro Breaks (asking your to stop and rest for a few seconds)
2. Rest Breaks (A few exercises follow by a few minutes away from the computer)
3. Daily Limit (Tells you when to stop working for the day)
All of the above are fully customizable and optional. If you spend a few hours or more on your computer you should try this great tool. It makes a big difference.

Thursday, April 20, 2006

Tehran like you've never seen it before...

Tehran - Mega Capital of IRAN has great pictures of the Tehran that you won't get to see on TV, not in North America anyway.

Monday, April 17, 2006

Tech: The Ultimate Proxy Guide

The Ultimate Proxy Guide is a guide to existing proxy servers, finding new proxy servers at any time using Google and starting your very own proxy server!
(BTW Proxy servers are those sites that allow you to by-pass internet filters and access blocked web sites... in case you didn't know.)

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

Create your own South Park character!

South Park Studio is a little tool that lets you create your very own South Park character. I don't wantch South Park but these are cute, definitly check it out. Here's mine:

Saturday, April 01, 2006

Watch out for fake Paypal e-mails!

This is nothing new, but since it's a clever one, I thought I post it to the world!

Here's how it goes:
- Mr X receives an email from a Paypal email address telling him about an unauthorized access to his account.
- He freaks out, and clicks on the login icon to fix the issue ASAP without checking where the link points to is not paypal.com. One of the links even reads "https://www.paypal.com/us/" but if you move the mouse over the actual link, of course it's not paypal.com.
- They ask him for his Paypal login (which of course, they store and use later to take money out of his account!)
- Then they log him in and ask for his credit card info: Credit card number, expiry and even The PIN and the security code. Now at this point Mr X should realize what has happened and change his Paypal password ASAP. But if he's stupid enough to give his PIN to a company (you shouldn't even give your PIN to the bank) then he really deserves what's coming!
- Finally they log him in to the real Paypal web site. Since Mr X typed in his real PayPal login, he's now logged into PayPal. Once he's into his normal PayPal page he looks up sees the PayPal domain on top of the browser and doesn't even know what hit him until the credit card statements come in!

Here's a copy of the e-mail itself (Paypal's really fast in taking these fake sites down, so don't expect the links in this sample to work):


----- Forwarded Message ----
From: "service@paypal.com" <service@paypal.com>
Sent: Friday, March 31, 2006 8:57:52 AM
Subject: PayPal Notification: Re: Unauthorized Use of Your PayPal Account !

PayPal

Unauthorized access to your PayPal account!


We recently noticed more attempts to log in to your PayPal account from a foreign IP address.

If you accessed your account while traveling, the unusual log in attempts may have been initiated by you. However, if you are the rightfull holder of the account, please visit Paypal as soon as possible to verify your identity:

Click here to verify your account



You can also verify your account by logging into your PayPal account at https://www.paypal.com/us/.

If you choose to ignore our request, you leave us no choise but to temporaly suspend your account.

We ask that you allow at least 72 hours for the case to be investigated and we strongly recommend to verify your account in that time.

Thank you for using PayPal!
The PayPal Team


Please do not reply to this email. This mailbox is not monitored and you will not receive a response. For assistance, log in to your PayPal account and choose the Help link located in the top right corner of any PayPal page.

To receive email notifications in plain text instead of HTML, update your preferences here.




PayPal Email ID PP468

Sunday, March 26, 2006

"Shahre Moosh Ha" on Google Video!

I just found out the you can Watch Shahre Moosh Ha on Google Video! The quality's not too good if you're watching it on your computer screen but if have TV out, it'll look much better. Enjoy!

Thursday, March 23, 2006

Pictures and Videos of Norouz Festivals in Toronto & New York

BBC Persian has Videos of Under the Azure Dome Festival that took place in Toronto Harbourfront Centre.

A little further down in New York there was a huge Persian parade like no other: Pictures of Iranian New Year Parade in New York

Speaking of Norouz and Toronto, there's a great web site with information about Norouz and Iranian New Year traditions: Norooz.ca

Friday, March 17, 2006

Under The Azure Dome starts Today!

Under The Azure Dome Under the Azure Dome - A program to celebrate Norouz (Persian New Year) at Harbourfront Centre, Toronto will take place from today (March 17) until March 19, 2006.
Today there will be a concert but on Saturday and Sunday there will be lots of programs such as dance, comedy, movies and more concert.
This is supposed to be the biggest Persian event in Toronto yet so don't miss it!

Friday, March 10, 2006

Persian Festival of Fires (Chaharshanbe Soori)

This year Chaharshanbe Soori (Persian Festival of Fires on March 14) will take place at two locations: in addition to the usual Sunnybrook Park, it will take place at Mel Lastman Sq. at 5100 Yonge Street (North York).

The program at Mel Lastman is completely different and is planned to have DJs, Music, Food and of course fireworks...

Update: Initially I thought the even is taking place at Mel Lastman only, but according to ShahreMa TV (Sun March 12) the even at Sunnybrook park is still on and like last year there will be buses to commute between the park and the free parking locations at Eglinton/Leslie. I'm actually glad, Mel Lastman is nice but Sunnybrook is old-fashioned and I really prefer to keep the jump-over-the-fire tradition... But nevertheless Mel Lastman sounds good too and it sponsored by more people...

Update2: I went to Mel Lastman Sq. They tried to do a good program but it just didn't feel like Chahar Shanbe Soori. I mean no jumping over the fire and even worse they even banned sparklers! I really hope next year we do it at Sunnybrook Park again or I'm done with Toronto!


Once again,
Time: March 14, 2006 6:30-9:30pm
Location: Mel Lastman Sq. (5100 Yonge St, North York)
Info: (416) 938-3373 and (416) 428-6024
More info (Farsi)

Also don't miss Under the Azure Dome, Persian New Year Celebrations (March 17-19) at the Harbourfront Centre, Toronto.

Tech: Google Interview Questions

Q: "You are shrunk to the height of a nickel and your mass is proportionally reduced so as to maintain your original density. You are then thrown into an empty glass blender. The blades will start moving in 60 seconds. What do you do?"

Q: "How would you find out if a machine's stack grows up or down in memory?"

Q: "Explain a database in three sentences to your eight-year-old nephew."

Q: "How many gas stations would you say there are in the United States?"

Sunday, March 05, 2006

How to Make a Goldfish Live for Decades - WikiHow

Last week I read in an article that a goldfish should live for 10 to 25 years or longer if it's given the proper care!

The Guinness Book of World Records cites a goldfish named Tish that lived 43 years after being won at a fair in England in 1956!

I'm lucky if one of the fish I buy on Persian new year make it to day 13!

Saturday, February 25, 2006

How (not) to ask for a raise!

This is the transcript of an employee's letter to his boss asking for a raise...

Dear Bo$$

In thi$ life, we all need $ome thing mo$t de$perately. I
think you $hould be under $tanding of the need$ of u$ worker$ who have
given $o much $upport including $weat and $ervice to your company.

I am $ure you will gue$$ what I mean and re$pond $oon.

Your$ $incerely,

Norman $oh


The next day, the employee recieved this letter of reply :

Dear NOrman,

I kNOw you have been working very hard. NOwadays, NOthing much
has changed. You must have NOticed that our company is NOt doing
NOticeably well..

NOw the newspapers are saying the world`s leading ecoNOmists are
NOt sure if the United States may go into aNOther recession. After the
NOvember presidential elections things may turn bad.

I have NOthing more to add NOw. You kNOw what I mean.

Regards...

Sunday, February 19, 2006

Tune-up your Windows XP computer

I believe it has been over 3 years since I last published a Windows tip but the Windows XP 15 Minute Tune-Up is not to be missed by Windows users, so have a look. Many of the tips are those I've done myself for years and simple as they may seem, they really do make a difference in your computer's speed.

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

Zoom In!

Secret Worlds: The Universe Within will take you from a view of the Milky Way at 10 million light years from the Earth into subatomic particles in seconds.
Very cool!

Saturday, February 04, 2006

Museum of Hoaxes

Museum of Hoaxes is an interesting (and I must add: huge) collection of hoaxes. You find just about everything from retouched photos you've already seen in your inbox to April Fool's Day jokes from centuries ago.

Sunday, January 29, 2006

Miss your favorite classic games?

Remember those simple but fun games you used to play in DOS?
DOS Games Online has collection of free DOS games to download.

Come from the Commodore 64 era? You can even play your favorite Commodore 64 Games online!

Sunday, January 08, 2006

Tech: Free Online Computer Courses (Beginner to Advanced)

At the HP Learning Center you will find lots of computer courses from Microsoft Office or Linux Administration. One of the best learning resources I've found online so far.

Sunday, January 01, 2006

New Year Tech Tip 2006!

First, H a p p y N e w Y e a r!

Here's a quick tech tip to protect you in the new year: You might receive emails from Yahoo! or other big name companies about your account. With some of these there's really no way to tell real email from virus. Except you should know, these companies never send you any information as an attachment. So if the email's professional and has an attachment there's a 99% chance that it's a virus. In fact don't ever open attachments until you can absolutely be sure that they come with a private message from people you know.