My crude driving fundas/tips...

Ashfaque's driving fundas
1. Accelerator is meant to increase/decrease speed.
2. Gears are meant to change speed (or facilitate #1) (lower gears @ lower speed; higher gears @ higher speed)
3. Brake is meant to slow down or stop.
4. Clutch is meant for 
   (i) Full clutch - change gears
   (ii) Half clutch - to keep the engine running in slow speeds
5. Pressing full clutch is like taking car in neutral. 

Ashfaque's driving tips
1. Remember - ABC (Accelerator/Break/Clutch). 
2. Gears are in the form of character "H"/ "H-|"
3. To start car in 1st gear. Do a lot of practice, as it's most important.
4. Gear shifting
   Keep the palm on the lateral surface of the gear lever. Face the middle of your palm towards the side of the gear. (Ex: If you want to put reverse gear, face the palm towards the driver side) Push the knob towards that side.
5. Keep toes on the accelerator to get good control. ( Keeping the foot gives lesser control)
6. Keep foot on the break.
7. Steering Control
   (i) Drive in zig zag roads (shape of 8, curvy roads, etc)
   (ii) Drive on roads with potholes (once you are comfortable with good road driving)
   (iii) Drive with 1 hand on steering (once you are comfortable driving with 2 hands on steering)
8. Driving on an incline
   (i) Use "half-clutch" funda
   (ii) Use hand brakes, whenever in doubt (i.e. you are not sure that you are not comfortable with "half-clutch")
   (iii) Be in appropriate gear. Do not put in neutral (or press full clutch)
9. Reverse driving 
    Look back for correct angle. Remember there are a few *blind spots* that you can't see in rear-view mirrors.
10. Do a lot of practice. 
11. Read some driving manuals (ex: California Driving Manual), where minute details are mentioned pertaining to driving. (Ignore the USA traffic rules for the moment)

• Watch for blindspots while driving
  
• Turn tyres towards pavements when you park the car
  
• Apply hand brakes 
  
• Use fog lights when it's foggy
  
• Pull over, and use emergency lights before opening the bonnet
  
• And, lot's more
  

  

Vrroooom …vvvvrrrrrooooooommmmm… Happy driving!!

 

Cool Movies on Islam/Muslims

Just thought of putting some links here for quick reference:

1. The Message (Perhaps the only movie made on Muhammed)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gsJv6Kus6A

Mohammad, Messenger of God (retitled The Message for U.S. release) is a 1977 film directed by Moustapha Akkad, chronicling the life and times of the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad. Released in both the Arabic language and the English language (Arabic name is الرسالة--English: Ar Risalah), Mohammad, Messenger of God serves as an introduction to early Islamic history.

The film follows the years in which Muhammad is actively pursuing his role as the Prophet of Islam starting with the early years in Mecca in which the Muslims were persecuted, the exodus to Medina and ending with the Muslims' triumphant return to Mecca. A number of crucial events, such as the Battle of Badr and Battle of Uhud are depicted, and the majority of the story is told from the point-of-view of peripheral individuals such asHamza ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib (Muhammad's uncle), Abu Sufyan (the leader of Mecca) and Hind bint Utbah (an enemy of Islam).

 

2. Saint Mary - The English Movie (Muslim's view. Made by Iranians)

    http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=150025365641904314

or

    In 11 parts

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDCnzwgw8XE

Saint Mary is a 2007 Iranian film, from Islamic Republic of Iran, by Iranian director Shahriar Bahrani or Shahriar Bohrani, depicting the life of Mary mother of Jesus from classical Islamic readings.

It was filmed in Persian but has been dubbed into English^[1] and there is also another version with English subtitles^[2].

3. Muhammad the Last Prophet (Kids Cartoon)

http://islambase.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=461&Itemid=183

Comments are welcome. 

Why Muslims "rant"?

God is ONE. Muslims are monotheists. Allah is the Almighty, Creator and Sustainer of the universe, Who is similar to nothing and nothing is comparable to Him. Muhammad(pbuh) is the Messenger of Allah. Jesus(pbuh) is also a Messenger of Allah, just like Adam(pbuh), Moses(pbuh) or Mohammed(pbuh). Islam is the only TRUE religion. Islam is the FASTEST GROWING religion in the world. Whew!

- Show quoted text -

And, then they go on with their another favorite lines - Litmus test for theology, or the core message of Islam. Here's the snip

*. Surah Ikhlas is the Touchstone of Theology.

Any person or candidate who is called God cannot be accepted as the true God without verifying him with the touchstone. The touchstone of theology, that is study of God, is Surah Ikhlas chapter 112 of the Holy Qur'an which says:

"Say, 'He is Allah, The One and Only; Allah, The Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not Nor is He begotten; and there is none like unto Him.''' [Al-Qur'an 112:14]

*. Any candidate who passes the Acid test can be called God.

Any candidate who claims to be God and fits in this four line definition, passes the Acid test, is entitled to be called God and worshipped as God.

Suppose a lunatic says that Muhammad (pbuh) is God, (God forbid). Let's put him to the test of Surah Ikhlas.

i. "Qul hu allah hu ahad" - Say He is Allah, The One and Only;

Is Muhammad (pbuh) one and only? No! he was not the only messenger. There were many other messengers.

ii. "Allah hus Samad" - Allah, The Eternal, Absolute;

We know that Muhammad (pbuh) had to undergo many hardships. Though he was the mightiest messenger of God, he died at the age of 63 and was buried in Madeenah.

iii. "Lam ya lid wa lam yulad" - He begetteth not Nor is He begotten;

We know that he was born in Makkah and his parents were Abdullah and Aaminah. He even had several children e.g. Fatimah, Ibrahim (may Allah be pleased with them), etc.


iv. "Wa lam ya kullahu kufuwan ahad" - And there is none like unto Him.

Though all the Muslims love and revere the Prophet (pbuh) and are supposed to follow each and every of his commandments, yet you will not find a single Muslim in the whole world, who in his senses will ever say that Muhammad (pbuh) is God. The Islamic Creed is, "La ilaha illallah Muhammadur Rasoolullah", which means that there is no god but Allah, and Muhammad (pbuh) is the messenger of Allah. This is repeated five times a day during the call for prayer, so that the Muslims are reminded daily that although they respect and obey him, he is only a Messenger and servant of God, and not God Himself.


*. Verify the Gods you worship.

Now that we have explained to you how to use the touchstone of theology it is the duty of everyone to verify with this touchstone, whether the gods that they worship are true or false.



Whew! Whew! Whew!

Endless ranting by Muslims on this would have really gotten on your nerves, eh.

Do *only* Muslims rant?
Not really. Christians, Buddhists, and others also rant a lot. In fact, i would rate Christians above Muslims. The adherents of Buddhism, Christianity, Islam - always keeps claiming that their religion is th fastest growing. Muslims send a few statistics, so do Christians. Hare Krishna Movement is also one of these kind.

Why do the Muslims rant so much?
Ans is simple - as a Muslim it's mandatory for them to convey the message of Uniqueness and Oneness of God. If a person has means and knowledge - it is obligatory for them Muslims to give the message.

Do they rant always?
Well, this questions depends on the questions being asked. They do try to give message about Islam in whatever way is possible.

Point to be noted - they just don't stand in the corner and call people with pamphlets. They don't talk to people over radio/TV/traffic signals. They don't bribe them with money, food, shelter, magic, etc and fool them into coming into the religion. They

Sometimes, it starts with silly questions like -
Why do Muslims abuse non-Muslims by calling them 'Kafirs'?
How can Islam be called the religion of peace when it was spread by the sword?
Why are most of the Muslims fundamentalists and terrorists?
Why does Islam degrade women by keeping them behind the veil?

After ranting so much about the "Muslim rant", let me put forth what according to me is "right".

What's wrong?
What's wrong if a Muslim, or a Christian, or a Hindu(Read as Hare Krishna folks) want to *advertise* their religion? You don't have to really buy all the products that are advertised on TV/RADIO/Magazines/Newspapers/Hoardings/etc. What the hell is wrong if they want to advertise what they think is "right"?

Are they "converting" or "conveying"?

Do not consider them to be forcing something on you. They are just trying to convey a message. How could they force? I could give the analogy of this to a "message passing" module. Some module keeps passing messages, and it has to do it obligatorily. You could handle the message or simply ignore it.

Isn't he trying to be your friend?
If a Muslim friend of yours doesn't tell you about Islam, he isn't your *true* friend, as he is hiding from you what he thinks is best. Essentially, he is trying to *convey a message*, which he thinks is best for him.
ex:-

If you feel that the ice-cream/coffee/apartment

/deal/*/whatever is good, won't you wanna tell about it to your friend? Would you mind if he rants? It's one of the "child-like" behaviors exhibited them.

Are they gonna stop anytime?
I am really skeptical about this. If you know that it's mandatory for them to convey the message of their religions, do you think they would? So, happy listening to them (Muslims, Christians, and others).

Why don't you rant too?

I really fail to understand why religion should be kept a private affair. I also fail to understand why a few groups keep their religion as if it's some secret (ex: Jews, Hindus, Parsis). Why don't they also rant? Not fun, eh. When you could take endless ranting of advertisers, newsreaders, marketing folks, why do you tend to take this differently. Weigh this on the same scale. I think "ranting" is a fundamental right of every marketing fella. So, "take and give" or "give and take". It's that simple.
ex:
Whenever a Christian comes to convey a message, I feel good. I listen to whatever they have to say (read as "rant"), I take their pamphlets, booklets, etc. I assure them that I will read (I have read almost everything that they have given me so far), and then, I rant. I give them booklets, etc. I request them to read the booklets.

Why don't you read about 'em?
It seems really cool when you know whatever the advertiser is telling you. He would be shocked, surprised, and he would also admire you for the knowledge. Treat Muslim/Christian/other missionaries as some advertisers, listen to their business. Remember this business is pretty serious.
ex:-
An advertiser wants to sell TV. You learn about the TV he wants to sell. Ask him questions; get clarifications (Remember the one liner - Ask a question and you're a fool for three minutes; do not ask a question and you're a fool for the rest of your life). Tell him what you know about it.

Moral:
Chill madi, listen madi. Muslims are trying to tell what they "seem" to be best. Don't mind their endless ranting.

Wanna do more reading?

Who is Allah?
http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/tawheed/conceptofgod.html
How should we call people to Islam?
http://www.islamqa.com/index.php?ref=12376&ln=eng
A Brief Illustrated Guide to Understanding Islam
http://www.islam-guide.com/
FAQs
http://www.islamqa.com/index.php?ln=eng
http://www.irf.net/irf/faqonislam/index.htm

Happy reading! Happy listening! And, happy conveying!

Surname Tangles

Did you every ponder over this - Why do you have that surname(last name, or family name)? Have you ever wondered why you got your surname? Have you asked a question like - Why am I Khan? Why am I Bush? Why am I Gowda? Why am I Hu? Why am I Pai? Why Butt? Why Lele? Why Daruwale? Why? Why? Why? (Alright, enough of rhetoric now).

Try searching for funny surnames, and you might get millions of hits.

I feel that great grandfather/grandfather/father discover their surname, when people start calling them with some name. In India people often got the surnames based on the place from where they hail from, or probably their professions(Gheewale/Rotiwale

/Jhungoor/Gadiwale/....), or because of the stature(Raja/Thakur/...). Some people have surnames as Khan - though they did not come from Afghanistan. Some are called Qureish - though they do not belong to Mohammed(pbuh)'s family. Why? Some people have Hanafi. Why Hanafi? Why Bush? Why Reddy? Why? Why?

In the good old days, I am assuming, people did not try be more creative/innovative. Of late, they could find more topics - Computerwale, Softwarewale, Bappo(from BPO), Mophonawale(from phones), Plananwale,...or maybe Bangli/Deloru(half stay in Bangalore, and half in Delhi), Che-muh-kol-de(who spends a quarter in every metro). How about MyBang(half stay in Bangalore, and half in Mysore)? There would be innumerable combinations here, if one starts adding favorite numbers too (Dosa - people who is back from SA).

Why do some people change surnames?
If someone looks like an alien with his surname, he/she is better-off taking it off altogether, or maybe just use the *rename* option. I strongly feel that - one shouldn't lose one's identity. If the surname causes one to lose his/her identity - it's better to change it. Some people link surnames to existing surnames, if any. Try to be a little innovative this time. Pick something of your own, rather than people screw it up again.

Having said all this, I really wonder how people cope when their surnames have names of places(ex: Bangalore, Mysore, etc), and the names of the places get changed (Bengaluru, Mysooru). It would seem weird to post a letter to Mr.X Bangalore, who stays in Bengaluru. Won't it?

What are you Mr/Ms. xyz?
Ever wondered how you got your own surname? Don't do it buddy. :)). I feel it's like asking "Chlormint kyon?". Answer is "Doobara poochna nahin". tche!tche!tche!

Moral:
Never get into 'surname tangles'... not even your own. :)

India poised?

India poised campaign seems to be over-hyped.

The campaigners opine that it's time to stop the whining and complaining, and start doing. I feel that complaining and whining about injustice is a decent sign of trying to seek justice (having faith in justice too). We cannot keep "adjusting" everywhere. Why focus only on traffic and roads only? Why can't people in armchair do anything?

On one hand India is making strides in the global arena in various areas - takeovers, growing as an emerging economy, space capsule returning to earth, catching up well in sports, IT, BT, BPO, etc. On the other hand, there are unruly elements spoiling the fragile fabric of India - murderers, carnage administrators, rioters & umpteen kind of law breakers - most of them freely roaming. Moreover, there are millions of downtrodden people, who struggle to find basic amenities like food, water and shelter.

If 'India poised' campaign is beefing up, 'India abused' campaign is growing in strength too. Some people are working on both the categories with increasing results. We cannot play down the 'India abused' campaign, because 'India poised' will never gain momentum when the other isn't terminating.

Future plans of "India poised" campaigns like - successfully launching next generation satellites, takeovers, etc. - are gaining momentum. So are the future plans of "India abused" - new scams, innovative ways of corruption, administering fresh riots & carnages, increasing aids and polio cases, etc., to name a few. Which campaign gains more momentum - only time will tell. Apathy of the general public to the abuse of India is very much evident from the fact that they are not keen in voting, lowering voices against unruly elements & accepting the unlawful activities as a way of life. If a person of certain affiliation has committed a crime, the whole group is targeted. When the group wants justice, they are maligned as unsocial, who are not willing to move on in life. How could people move on when justice seems to be far-off.

Last but not least, the media is creating a large hype over the 'India poised' campaign. They try to create a *hype* around the news they get, and try to give *judgments*. Cauvery verdict is an example for the irresponsible behavior of stirring up the emotions of the people by concluding it as injustice or justice. Do the media care to even read the judgment reports? Does the media intend to act as another law-body? Quite often the "breaking" news, is only "head breaking" news.

So is it - 'India poised to rise' or 'India poised to dive'? Hope, it is the former.

Do! With due respects, and also support, to the people behind this campaign, what are they asking us to do? Do some voodoo? Do the dew?

Bottom line: I'm not being a pessimist; just trying to be anti-hoopla. Let's focus on providing some basic facilities - like water, food, shelter to every citizen. Let's not forget about giving security to the majority and minority. Let's not bask in the 'glory of the past', and also not play down the 'gory of the past'. JFK's quote, "Don't ask what the country can do for you; ask what you can do for the country" was meant to be taken in the "right" spirit. Along with changing self, let's also change the corrupt people.

KIT syndrome

Hi there,

This is my first tryst in writing a blog. To be frank, I've only daydreamt of writing a diary - never intended to write it though. I felt, it was only for the boring, reclusive and snobby ones. Alright, I changed my opinion now. So, "swalpa adjust madi". :)

Since a pretty long time, this is one of the topics that I wanted to delve on - KIT syndrome. Well, what am I talking about? Read on...

They say - "Man is a social animal". Does it make it sound like - a woman is a social beast or creature too? Well, I don't know. Every person wants his/her friends to keep in touch(KIT). KIT syndrome is something that has a few salient characteristics - it is complex, global, it is one-way, failure in the recognition software of the brain, ever changing, etc. ("etc" is a wonderful word coined by the linguists. Use it when you are struggling for words).

Complex
How life takes turns, twists, & again U-turns & untwists - one never knows. A few persons have become marketing gurus, a few code gurus, a few real gurus. Can you believe that? Won't it sound weird when - Guru has a guru, whose name is again Guru. :)

Global
"Globalisation" appears to be a word that could be used globally, without even bothering to know if it really suits the topic. So, the same applies here. KIT syndrome happens to a lot of people. I've seen it happen to people who have moved to other countries. Therefore, it only makes sense to call it global - whichever way you wanna take it.

1-way
It's not only the Bangalore/Bengaluru traffic that's one-way. One of the salient characteristics of KIT is it's quite often one-way. Believe it or not, friends wants me to keep in touch with them, while they seem to forget that they also need to keep in touch with me. How does one reach from "breaking the ice" to "breaking the head" to KIT or not to KIT? No one knows.

Recognition software fails
There are lot of changes in the GUI(read as appearances) of most people. One wouldn't recognize people after they got their tummies pumped up, hair lines receding , pompous attitudes, blah-blah. Most guys(girls too) are too busy to even send a silly mail. This results in the software(brain) removing the LRU (Least Recently Used) entries from it's database. New friends keep adding, while the old ones reduce KIT. I wonder how long this phenomena can continue. Maybe till one hits Alzheimer or just pretend to have one when some acquaintance turns up.

Every changing and evolving
I always wonder how quickly things keep changing. Off late, they seem to be changing at a very rapid rate. We've social networking sites like orkut/facebook, to professional networking sites like linkedin/brijj. Where is this taking us? We use cell phone more often than we use the landlines. Calls reduced and turned to quickie messages like SMS.

As usual, I like to summarize. If you see another symptom of the KIT syndrome, take a chill pill. It's just the usual, normal stuff.

Well, let me stop here lest it becomes draggy.

Whew! The "rhymie roomy" says - With the blog, it was my first rendezvous; Only now is it open for review.