Energize

So yesterday the orders came out that the government would be taking drastic measures to reduce the loadshedding in various parts of the country. These measures were

- Close commercial centers by 8PM
- Govt officials below grade 20 will not be allowed to use air-conditioners in the office
- Billboard lights to be reduced
- Saturday and Sunday to be official government holidays

So I was thinking....what more proof do we need that our government officials are actually illiterate and constantly high? How can they make such ludicris statements?

Lets examine the first measure:

Close commercial centers by 8PM....yeah right! Do they realize that in our country, where tourism is obviously non-existent, most of the shopping by the local population is done after 7 PM. This is not usually by choice but by the nature of the working hours that the men of the households have to endure everyday. The usual scenario would be that once the husband arrives from office he takes his family out shopping. Now lets discuss this impact on the hard working shop owners. How will the shop owners, especially those who have rented expensive shops in large commercial centers, be able to earn and pay their rent when the husbands with their credit cards are not going to be able to come and spend?? The traders have just announced that this decision is unacceptable and the traders will be going on a 48-hour shutter down strike.This certainly was not thought out.

-Source : Dawn News

We are assuming that the government offices and officials would be willing to work in the heat which is quite fantastic...much like shrek, or alice in wonderland. I wonder will the Nadra offices, license offices, tax offices, passport offices etc turn their air-conditioners off? I THINK NOT!!

Billboard lights to be reduced....good step....but now our roads will be in total darkness, since the billboards were what used to light up the road for the traffic in the first place...besides, how will companies react to this since they have paid advertisers in advance for the billboard space.

Saturday and Sunday to be official government holidays. Thats just great...so now if I need to get any work done, pay my taxes or asset transfer I need to take a leave from office. Oh....how about I come to office in the morning...sign-in and then leave for my personal work....and then come back later in the evening to sign-out?? Thank you government for forcing me to be un-ethical.

So like I was saying....what are these people smoking??

Oh and the best statement was that the government is going to inject 116 Billion Rupees into the energy sector of Pakistan to reduce the circular debt by June this year. How in blazing are we going to do that when the budget deficit is already off the mark by a huge amount and we cannot subsidize since IMF will not allow us to do so?

As you can tell by my writing style...I am quite angry with how the government is handling our energy needs. We need some direction, we need some educated decisions...we need a revolution!

BBA, Hobbies and Friends

Everone seems to have some defining moment in their life when they realize that they are capable of something much more. That moment enables them to strive for perfection, creativity and an overall sense of responsibility dawns upon them to be the trend setters. Such a moment came in my life while I was a student in one of the best universities in Pakistan; SZABIST. This moment not only changed my life, but had a deep impact in 5 of my very close friends.
It was during an introductory course of marketing when me and five other guys came together as a group and made history happen. We were given the task to launch a brand new product and since all us friends loved to play video games, we decided to launch GTA: Karachi. I cannot explain the level of synergy we displayed in executing our project. We used each other's strengths to achieve what no other group had done so in the history of SZABIST. What did we do, you might ask?

1) Shot a complete introductory video of 5 mins which included authentic police chase scenes, arrested, in-game graphical amendments to read "GTA: Karachi"
2) Booked the multimedia room and invited the dean, and administration
3) Dressed up with leather jackets and chains
4) Took permission and brought a smoke machine so that it can be used to introduce the group at the start of the presentation
5) and finally, we launched RIDGE STUDIOS

Ridge studios was a brain child of all 6 of us. It stood for Receptive, Innovative, Distinctive Graphical Entertainment. We were a group that wanted to give ourselves a brand name. This brand name was to represent us as exceptionally talented directors, editors, animators, presenters and writers. We stood by each other during every challenge.
It was after this presentation that RIDGE Studios became a group of people who were known for being highly creative and highly loyal to the group. Every presentation made by any or all of the 6 friends was branded as RIDGE Studios. Please check the links below to view some of the videos made by us :

RIDGE STUDIOS INTRO
CTRACK
FAIR AND LOVELY
MENTOS
PEPSI
RED BULL
BLOOPERS

Looking back at our time spent together, I feel that this initiative made us the confident individuals we are today. I urge all my readers to be inspired by this and leap forward. Studies can be fun, if you make them into a hobby and enjoy it with friends. I wish Basit, Faizan, Hamza, Quresh and Zahid the best of luck and hope we remain the friends we were when we launched GTA: Karachi.

Facebook Etiquettes

"Driving to the market ", "Heading up the ladder", "Falling down", "Just came back from the washroom". These are some of the weird Facebook status updates that one gets to read every now and then. I myself very rarely keep a status on my Facebook since I believe it is primarily used to highlight some major discovery or event on one’s life or used as a gentle reminder to all your connected friends that you are alive and well.

Facebook is rapidly become one of the most visited websites in the world today, feeding a society hungry for social connecting. It caters to the young as a perfect method to remain in touch with their friends. It allows career oriented individuals to increase their networking circle, and the elderly to remain connected with their long lost relatives/school friends. Some people have faced security breaches and suffered "hacked" profiles, "fake" profiles and defamation attempts though this has not thwarted addicted users.

Facebook is a perfect tool to interact and build a strong social network that helps a person remain connected to all of their family and friends. But one must understand that continuously misusing this tool by posting juvenile status updates, astrology readings, quiz answers and application announcements makes 80% of the wall content to be useless and does not deserve a glance.

Let’s start becoming a little bit more responsible....please!! I want to look at my wall and actually pay attention to the content!! Don't you??

Do we even have roads?

There are quite a few theories behind what would qualify a city to be called a metropolitan city but it is safe to say that Karachi passes through flying colors to be given the prestigious right of being in this ever expanding list. According to a table I found on Wikipedia, Karachi is ranked the 20th most populated city in the world having a population density of 10,727 (people/km2). Even if these figures are not accurate, this shows that Karachi is no small city by any definition. Then why does our infrastructure foster riots, dissatisfaction, insecurity and a general feeling of dread?

METROPOLITAN CITY RANKINGS

One cannot deny the fact that our latest city nazim made dramatic improvements within our beloved city, most notably in our transportation system. But shouldn't have all these upgrades and new roads been a constant endeavor of our government? Many people may argue that we are on the right track but then answer me this, why now and what will ensure that we do not lose our track again?

Roads, traffic, water, electricity, security, cooking gas, sewerage...name one utility in Karachi that is not suffering. Why? Simply because we choose to keep sleeping till it became an absolute necessary...the government woke up when it realized that there was no gas in their mansions to heat their teas, or water to take their baths (I predict it's a monthly activity).

No area, no income class, no education class is safe from the horrors of Karachi. The prestigious DHA can be better called Destructive Housing Authority with roads being dug up because they have nothing better to do. Malir has water shortages and Gulistan-E-Johar has no electricity.

Though our generation has very little hand in the predicament we are in, this attitude will keep us from progressing. So how about we try saving some electricity by not turning on excessive lights or fans, how about using water wisely and lets try to dispose our waste properly rather than dropping it in an open sewage.

I sincerely believe that we are a very hardworking and intelligent nation that can achieve anything that we set our minds too. I just hope we open our eyes before it is too late.

Experience SZABIST !

Social networking sites are usually littered with updates on what applications people are using or astrological signs and meanings but once in a while something useful, something unique catches the eye and makes you follow it with fervor.

When Experience SZABIST started their pre-hype on Facebook, I took little notice of it due to the lack of knowledge I had on their event as well as unattractive posters which loosely hinted on some sporting event. This made it the same as past events which drowned my curiosity and I became complacent to this beast. But as soon as I saw the pre-hype video and official posters, I understood that this was a different event.

It was different from every other event that I have been to or conducted myself. Yes, I humbly submit to the fact that the instructor and class must be given full credit of bringing creativity to SZABIST in a interactive and fun manner like no other has done before. Though this concept has been replicated in quite a few countries and commercials, no one had the vision to replicate it in our beloved country....until now.

The latest video causes the heartbeat to increase, the expectations to soar and a sense of pride clouds all doubt that SZABIST is a institute of creative and proactive students who aim for the sky and reach the stars. I wish them the best for this project and all future endeavours. By the way...Guinness World Record anyone??

EXPERIENCE SZABIST VIDEO LINK

Local or Import?

Just the other day I was involved in a detailed discussion on how expensive cars have become in Pakistan and surprisingly the majority of complaints were coming from automobile manufacturers and assemblers present in Pakistan. The likes of Honda, Toyota and Suzuki keep increasing prices as rapidly without any check on quality or if those price increases have been justified. The automobile lobby seems to have no sense of checks and balances as we recently saw another price increase for all three automobile assemblers by approx Rs 10,000 - Rs 25,000.

Please take a look at the price list (Courtesy Pakwheels.com): New Car Prices in Pakistan

It has come to the point where purchasing an import becomes more feasible than investing money in a locally assembled car. What has become more embarrassing is that these car assemblers have had plenty of time to become self-sufficient in developing manufacturing and assembling capabilities. Let's take India or Malaysia for example. Both these countries are now manufacturing and assembling automobiles which has greatly helped the economy as well as boosted employment opportunities.

So when is the government going to take some measures against this lobby of automobile manufacturers? When will the public realize that they are being blackmailed and held hostage by these companies? I just cannot find it justifiable to pay over 18 Lakh Rupees for a Civic VTi Oriel Prosmatec Transmission.

Shoaib and Sania

It has been quite some time since my last post on my forum, but the latest escapades being televised, showcased and mocked by our critics has forced me to come out of hibernation and vent my frustration. Today I read an article written in the sports section of The News by another blogger which roused my anger towards critical writing such as hers. I could have accepted her 'opinion' if it was only restricted to her blog, but by publishing it in a national newspaper, both the newspaper and the writer should be held responsible for being non-judgemental.

I would like to quote the blogger when she wrote the following :

"The big question on everyone’s mind is this: Shoaib Malik may have finally gotten his dream of marrying an Indian girl (he is allegedly already married to the Hyderabad-based Ayesha Siddiqui) but what’s in this deal for Sania? Either the 24 year old knows that her tennis career is already close to being over (she has been ranked at 92 this year) or love truly is blind! There could be no other explanation for her to risk her career, popularity and nationality for one Shoaib Malik. If it were Imran Khan we would completely understand but this is Malik, who faces a one year ban from the Pakistan Cricket Board."

-Source : Somethinghaute

I hope my readers can understand the point I am trying to make here. How can this blogger write such an insulting article and then agree to publish it for the nation to read and formalize opinions in line with her opinion?? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder...is it not?? Or is this blogger a model herself?? I think not!!

But lets not target just this critic. I would now like to turn your attention to the harressing news reporters and news packages being aired regarding this union between two sport celebrities.
Various channels quite blatantly showcase this marriage with cheap music in order to mock one of the most happiest moments in Shoaib's life.

How many times has he won matches for us?? How many times has he faced ricicule due to the lack of performance on the field?

Yes, he is facing a one year ban, and yes, he has admitted that he 'knew' an Ayesha Siddiqui. So what? Havent we all been at fault at some time or the other?? Would Hamid Mir and Kamran Khan appreciate it if their private lifes are turned upside down the way Shoaib and Sania's life is being scrutinized at the moment?

This video just shows how low we have sunk and how we excel is showcasing ourselves as uneducated and destructive people to the world.

GEO VIDEO SHOWCASING UNETHICAL NEWS CONTENT

I would just like to close by pointing out that this union should be encouraged and supported since this brings two countries closer at a crucial time in history. This is another excuse for both India and Pakistan to join hands and throw a wedding of not two people but two countries.