Tuesday, January 10. 2006
Eid Greetings
Eid Mubarik to all, on the occassion of Eid ul Al-haa.
Monday, January 9. 2006
End of holidays
The winter break is (sadly) finally over and it is time to head back University, back to the lectures and books. This semester is going be busier than the last and there are a couple of exams littered around here and there throughout. Hopefully, it will be as fun and enjoyable as last semester.
I got back to Reading today after spending much of the entire 4 weeks off in Bristol. The train ride to Reading today was pretty much eventless. My room was freeeeeeezing when I came back, so much so that I was bothered enough to go out and shell out some money for a mini heater. It has made my room so much warmer since! The holidays could have been better but I don't really intend on complaining. I did get to settle several pressing business matters and work out some major personal dilemmas. All in all, the 4 weeks of holidays has seen me through some amazing mini-miracles that has set quite a few important things in seemingly the right direction. What more could I ask for eh?
Toodles.
I got back to Reading today after spending much of the entire 4 weeks off in Bristol. The train ride to Reading today was pretty much eventless. My room was freeeeeeezing when I came back, so much so that I was bothered enough to go out and shell out some money for a mini heater. It has made my room so much warmer since! The holidays could have been better but I don't really intend on complaining. I did get to settle several pressing business matters and work out some major personal dilemmas. All in all, the 4 weeks of holidays has seen me through some amazing mini-miracles that has set quite a few important things in seemingly the right direction. What more could I ask for eh?
Toodles.
Tuesday, January 3. 2006
SMS Sender 3.0
Here is the latest incarnation of the SMS Sender application that I had been releasing since 2001.
It lets you send SMS messages to Dhiraagu mobile users easily. Since it uses the Dhiraagu WebSMS service to dispatch the SMS messages, you need to have a registered WebSMS account. WebSMS accounts are free for all Dhiraagu Dhimobile customers.
The phone book, signature line and proxying features have been disabled in this release and probably will be reinstated in future releases. The new release, however, adds features to show the remaining number of messages in the daily allowance of 10 that Dhiraagu imposes on normal WebSMS accounts. The new release also has versions for Mac, Linux and Windows, unlike the previous releases which were targetted only for Windows.
Drop me a line if you use it, like it, have suggestions or requests. Have fun SMSing!
Download for: Windows ( 1073KB ), Linux ( 986KB ), Mac ( 1012KB )
It lets you send SMS messages to Dhiraagu mobile users easily. Since it uses the Dhiraagu WebSMS service to dispatch the SMS messages, you need to have a registered WebSMS account. WebSMS accounts are free for all Dhiraagu Dhimobile customers.
The phone book, signature line and proxying features have been disabled in this release and probably will be reinstated in future releases. The new release, however, adds features to show the remaining number of messages in the daily allowance of 10 that Dhiraagu imposes on normal WebSMS accounts. The new release also has versions for Mac, Linux and Windows, unlike the previous releases which were targetted only for Windows.
Drop me a line if you use it, like it, have suggestions or requests. Have fun SMSing!
Download for: Windows ( 1073KB ), Linux ( 986KB ), Mac ( 1012KB )
Running on Microsoft Windows
Running on Apple MacOS 10.4
Sunday, January 1. 2006
Welcome, 2006
Happy New Year to all! I had a lame new year's eve but then again it is how I chose to it be.
Looking back over 2005, it can be singled out as a period that brought dramatic and notable changes to my life. The most remarkable thing was that the year had me in a constant state of change and confusion all throughout - let me tell you; that is something quite new. I've always maintained a motley of dreams and schemes that I was quite adamant about and kept a steady sight of a future without wavering too much. The chaos delivered a serious blow to my self-confidence and general approach to life which kicked the enthusiasm for life out of me for much of the year.
My academic future was in limbo at the beginning of 2005. Much of it seemed to be beyond my control - I had no clue as to what I would be studying, where I would be studying and even when I would continue on with the ?study till death? journey. I ended up spending a good deal of time evaluating and then reevaluating the field of study, career options and then comparing it all with my forte?s and dreams. It worked out better than I expected as here I am in UK (a place I did not expected to land in), studying AI & Cybernetics (which is something I had never dreamt of) and most importantly, being satisfied with it all!
The year also saw my bank accounts hitting rock bottom. My income via my then business venture had gone stale and somehow things all seemed to head downhill on the business front. Finally, around mid year, I resigned from the company forfeiting the 44% shares I owned of the company. That really was a hard call to make since we had been running the business for almost 5 years and my partners in business were long-time best buddies, however, it was a necessary step. The resignation left me all alone (and broke) for quite a while - much of which I spent in thought and planning. I shot an arrow into the dark soon after, by gathering a few not-so-close-friends and convincing them of joining up with me for a business operation. Thus, ?Technova? was born early in the latter half of the year. The road has been rocky but the business is improving. My new partners have become my closest of friends and are people I deem trustworthy and reliable. They?ve had a good influence on my life and I thank them for it.
My love life was a mess in 2005. The slow death of a 4 year relationship had me crippled emotionally. We said good-byes, walked away peacefully and as good friends. I had to turn down a tempting and lucrative offer from a girl I liked while I was in the relationship. Sadly, the offer wasn?t on by the time the long term relationship was bid adios. Additionally, as I had mentioned in my blog recently, the time I made a move on a girl last month also resulted in zilch. So as 2005 ended, romance seems to have gotten as far as getting rid of the old but not replacing the old with new. Hopefully, 2006 would see this facet of life smoothen out too.
I do not usually bother celebrating new years but I have many a dream for the coming days and wish that this human created time-marker serves to signal the beginning of a lot of positive changes I wish to be brought to myself and life. I hope the New Year brings in a whole lot of happiness and joy to all of you too. Enjoy!
Looking back over 2005, it can be singled out as a period that brought dramatic and notable changes to my life. The most remarkable thing was that the year had me in a constant state of change and confusion all throughout - let me tell you; that is something quite new. I've always maintained a motley of dreams and schemes that I was quite adamant about and kept a steady sight of a future without wavering too much. The chaos delivered a serious blow to my self-confidence and general approach to life which kicked the enthusiasm for life out of me for much of the year.
My academic future was in limbo at the beginning of 2005. Much of it seemed to be beyond my control - I had no clue as to what I would be studying, where I would be studying and even when I would continue on with the ?study till death? journey. I ended up spending a good deal of time evaluating and then reevaluating the field of study, career options and then comparing it all with my forte?s and dreams. It worked out better than I expected as here I am in UK (a place I did not expected to land in), studying AI & Cybernetics (which is something I had never dreamt of) and most importantly, being satisfied with it all!
The year also saw my bank accounts hitting rock bottom. My income via my then business venture had gone stale and somehow things all seemed to head downhill on the business front. Finally, around mid year, I resigned from the company forfeiting the 44% shares I owned of the company. That really was a hard call to make since we had been running the business for almost 5 years and my partners in business were long-time best buddies, however, it was a necessary step. The resignation left me all alone (and broke) for quite a while - much of which I spent in thought and planning. I shot an arrow into the dark soon after, by gathering a few not-so-close-friends and convincing them of joining up with me for a business operation. Thus, ?Technova? was born early in the latter half of the year. The road has been rocky but the business is improving. My new partners have become my closest of friends and are people I deem trustworthy and reliable. They?ve had a good influence on my life and I thank them for it.
My love life was a mess in 2005. The slow death of a 4 year relationship had me crippled emotionally. We said good-byes, walked away peacefully and as good friends. I had to turn down a tempting and lucrative offer from a girl I liked while I was in the relationship. Sadly, the offer wasn?t on by the time the long term relationship was bid adios. Additionally, as I had mentioned in my blog recently, the time I made a move on a girl last month also resulted in zilch. So as 2005 ended, romance seems to have gotten as far as getting rid of the old but not replacing the old with new. Hopefully, 2006 would see this facet of life smoothen out too.
I do not usually bother celebrating new years but I have many a dream for the coming days and wish that this human created time-marker serves to signal the beginning of a lot of positive changes I wish to be brought to myself and life. I hope the New Year brings in a whole lot of happiness and joy to all of you too. Enjoy!
Thursday, December 29. 2005
Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom: The astrological portrait
Today is supposed to be the birthday of Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom, who happens to be known by many popular aliases such as The President of Maldives, The President, His Excellency, Zaeemu, Al-Usthaaz (or rather *the*usthaaz), MAG, Maanu, Maumoonu and lately more famous under the monikers The Dictator, The Oppressor and Golhaaboa. I am sure you all know him. First and foremost, let me wish him: happy birthday Maumoon!
I have to admit that Maumoon is probably one of the most interesting figures in Maldivian history. I am impressed by what he has achieved - though I shall take liberty in not being too specific in what I think he actually achieved. He has suppressed (and thus defeated) all opponents for 27 years. He has ruled (and manipulated) the populace of a country for longer than I have been alive. His oratory and literary abilities have captivated much of the population. His presence is respected by many. He has maintained a solid image to the world. He even managed to get a writer to immortalize him by beautifully sculpting a impressive image of himself in a book titled "A Man for all Islands". The name of the book, chosen by him of course, goes a long way in hinting at the sort of person he is. All in all, he seems to have played most cards right.
Anyway, to celebrate the day I decided to share the horoscope of the man himself. I do not know the accuracy of the birth details used to generate the report and thus I do not claim this to be a valid astrological representation of him. All I can vouch for is that this is a professional software-generated astrological report in its original form and that it makes for a very interesting reading. Jump to page 29 of the document to begin reading the chart interpretation texts.
Click here to download the horoscope report for Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom.
I have to admit that Maumoon is probably one of the most interesting figures in Maldivian history. I am impressed by what he has achieved - though I shall take liberty in not being too specific in what I think he actually achieved. He has suppressed (and thus defeated) all opponents for 27 years. He has ruled (and manipulated) the populace of a country for longer than I have been alive. His oratory and literary abilities have captivated much of the population. His presence is respected by many. He has maintained a solid image to the world. He even managed to get a writer to immortalize him by beautifully sculpting a impressive image of himself in a book titled "A Man for all Islands". The name of the book, chosen by him of course, goes a long way in hinting at the sort of person he is. All in all, he seems to have played most cards right.
Anyway, to celebrate the day I decided to share the horoscope of the man himself. I do not know the accuracy of the birth details used to generate the report and thus I do not claim this to be a valid astrological representation of him. All I can vouch for is that this is a professional software-generated astrological report in its original form and that it makes for a very interesting reading. Jump to page 29 of the document to begin reading the chart interpretation texts.
Click here to download the horoscope report for Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom.
Sunday, December 25. 2005
Trippy photos
These photos were taken a few nights back when I went around Bristol city with a few mates. They looked so trippy that I just had to share them. If only real life looked as colorful as this, always (sigh). 
Outside Bristol Industrial Museum
Orange light has a mysterious allure (well, to me atleast!).
I love thisssssss.
Across the river.
Another random blurry photo.
The city - as seen from high afar.
Water fountains.
Water jump: water frozen in air!
Outside Bristol Industrial Museum
Orange light has a mysterious allure (well, to me atleast!).
I love thisssssss.
Across the river.
Another random blurry photo.
The city - as seen from high afar.
Water fountains.
Water jump: water frozen in air!
Friday, December 23. 2005
WebSMS for phpBB
In the wee hours of this morning, in a moment of boredom, I wrote up (yet another) little script to send SMS via the Dhiraagu WebSMS facility. This particular one integrates into phpBB forums. I have been bugged for quite some time by several people to write them such a script, so finally here it is!
The script is the result of a quick and dirty job but is decent enough to be used without any problems. There are no configuration options that need to be setup and the script creates the necessary database tables upon first run. The user interface and back-end code has been mixed up into one file to make matters simpler. I may add features in the future to let it be skinned using separate phpBB style templates.
The installation is as simple as placing it in the root phpBB folder and accessing it via a browser. Refer to the "readme.txt" file included for step-by-step install and setup instructions. The script is free for use on your forums/portals. Please keep the credits intact or alternatively add a link to my blog on your site. Enjoy!
Download WebSMS 4 phpBB Version 0.1 (5Kb Zip file)
The script is the result of a quick and dirty job but is decent enough to be used without any problems. There are no configuration options that need to be setup and the script creates the necessary database tables upon first run. The user interface and back-end code has been mixed up into one file to make matters simpler. I may add features in the future to let it be skinned using separate phpBB style templates.
The installation is as simple as placing it in the root phpBB folder and accessing it via a browser. Refer to the "readme.txt" file included for step-by-step install and setup instructions. The script is free for use on your forums/portals. Please keep the credits intact or alternatively add a link to my blog on your site. Enjoy!
Download WebSMS 4 phpBB Version 0.1 (5Kb Zip file)
