~FurSid

face2face – the coolest app I was working on

// July 7th, 2010 // No Comments » // technology

face2face for iPhone

As you might know, I have been developing/designing face2face, the mobile application that uses proximity based social networking technology to combine and organize existing social networks so we can know when our friends from social and business networks —and friends of our friends—are nearby, to connect with them in that moment.

Now that Proximate Global Inc has launched face2face in Pakistan, I wanted to encourage you to check it out, share this with your friends and family and of course feel free to post the application to your Facebook page.

Please let us know your thoughts, and of course we’ll be keeping an eye on our social networks to see if we can meet “face to face” soon :)

You can download face2face for your smartphone at http://face2face.ws/

Diya Jalaye Rakhna Hae!

// January 1st, 2009 // 2 Comments » // morality

I would like to start the new year with a few pointers for myself…

The images above instantly reminds me of the song

“Mauj barhay ya Aandhi Aaye, diya jalaye rakhna hai, ghar ki khatir sau dukh jhelain, ghar to Aakhir apna hai” [5:13s]

This is so timely and is the need of these days for all of us to be reminded of… We must not take our land for granted…

Diya Jalaye Rakhna Hae… diya, the light, the hope for peace and struggle for betterment and improvement… that goes for all of us and for every one of us as individuals for whatever we do, work or create… for all of us as a collective unit, in one direction… that ought to be progress…

.. so this can work for a new year resolution as well

Well that’s pretty much it… it’s not just it.. it’s a whole lot of it if we come to think of it… so let’s get down to business…

Happy New Year!

A (proper) Pakistani Flag!

// August 12th, 2008 // 4 Comments » // default

It’s amazingly awful to see so many different versions of the Pakistani flag that it makes me sick! Sick to the core of my soul that why we do not respect the very flag!??

I have seen many funny versions of different variations like

• Various shades of green (even pink and blue! – for god’s sake!).
• Slogans and other text with/around the crescent and star.
• Different dimensions
• Varied versions of crescent and star

I think there should only be one version that we should be using wherever we use!

Here’s what a PROPER Pakistani flag should be (technically):

“A dark green rectangular flag in the proportion of length and width 3:2 with a white vertical bar at the mast, the green portion bearing a white crescent in the centre and a five-pointed white heraldic star. The size of the white portion being one-fourth the size of the flag, nearest the mast, the remainder three-fourths being dark green. The dimensions of the crescent and star are obtained as follows:

“Draw the diagonal from the top right hand corner to the bottom left corner of the green portion. On this diagonal establish two points ‘A’ and ‘B’. Point ‘A’ at a distance equidistant from top right and bottom left hand corners of the green portion, i.e. the centre of the green portion. Point ‘B’ at a distance from the top right hand corner equal to 13/20th the width of the flag. With centre point ‘A’ and radius 1.1/4th the width of the flag describe a second arc. The enclosures made by these two arcs form the crescent. The dimensions of the five-pointed white heraldic star are determined by drawing a circle 1/10th the width of the flag. The circle surrounds the five points of the heraldic star. The star lies with one point on the diagonal at a point where the larger arc of the crescent, if completed, cuts the diagonal.”

The Interior Ministry of Pakistan provides dimensions for flags in different circumstances:

* For ceremonial occasions. 21′ x 14′, 18′ x 12′, 10′ x 6-2/3′ or 9′ x 6 1/4.
* For use over buildings. 6′ x 4′ or 3′ x 2′.
* For cars 12″ x 8″.
* For tables 10 1/4″ x 8 1/4″.

Source: Wikipedia

I’ve uploaded a proper flag in different file formats for ease of use. Feel free to download and re-distribute them:

• .SVG (Scalable Vector Grahpic/XML file format)
• .jpg (JPEG file format)
• .ai (Adobe Illustrator CS file format)
• .eps (Encapsulated PostScript file format)
• .pdf (Adobe Acrobat Reader file format)
• .swf (Shockwave Flash file format)

Who washed out the colors of my green flag?

// August 10th, 2008 // 2 Comments » // books & poetry

who washed out the colors of my green flag?
the white is smudged…
the star is shine less the crescent is dull…
it’s bruised and edgy…
it looks pale and gray…

who washed out the colors of my green flag?
the terrorists make up the new generation…
the victims are minority…
who once were the nation…

who washed out the colors of my green flag?
the flowers used to smell sweeter
the birds used to sing freer

now all i hear is noise ..
of people, TV and paper…

i see the green on my hands
i see the green on your hands

did I wash out the colors of my green flag?
did you wash out the colors of my green flag?

Something our leaders know which we don’t!

// June 24th, 2008 // No Comments » // default

Received from a friend of mine and it DID hit me hard…

I was invited to a dinner by my colleague who is a British born Pakistani. An Indian Muslim doctor was also a guest. As usual the conversation trickled towards what was happening in Pakistan.

The Indian doctor said something which made me feel very little. He said:

‘When the leaders of a country start buying properties outside the country and their children get educated and stay abroad then the people of the country should know that there is something seriously wrong with the country which the leaders know but are not telling the people of the country.’

He continued, ‘In India, it is unheard of that even the most corrupt leader has acquired any property abroad. Even mega stars like Amitabh and Shah Rukh Khan, sportsmen like Gavasker and Dhoni, singers like Lata and Asha do not any have properties or businesses outside India. You, Pakistanis, should really and seriously start asking your leadership – WHAT IS IT ABOUT PAKISTAN THAT THEY KNOW AND YOU, THE PEOPLE, DON’T? Why do they live abroad while doing politics in Pakistan ????’

While he was saying this, I was thinking of Zardari coming to meet Nawaz in his hotel in Dubai driving his Rolls Royce deciding the fate of 170 million Pakistanis and then planning to fly to London to meet another Pakistani leader living in London and leading the most literate Pakistanis from there. Most of the children of these people including the President of Pakistan live in Europe, USA and Dubai with properties across the globe…

There is something that these leaders of ours know about Pakistan which we don’t.