The Word of mAn[S]o0r

This post is over from Karachi Metroblogs, along with the comment i made to it.

Getting rid of KESC woes...
posted by Khurram Farooq at 9:13 PM on April 23, 2006

As Karachi Metblog readers may know, the summer is here and we are all facing relentless loadshedding from the KESC. In our flat, we typically have an outage of 1 hour in the morning and an outage of 1 hour ni the evening. Besides this, there are sometimes outages of 15 minutes to 2 hours whenever they feel like it. An outage at 3am in the morning of course means another sleepy day at the office. Even then, I am luckier than the people who are facing 5-6 hours of loadshedding every day.

So in the end I took matters in my own hand and went out to buy a UPS + inverter. Some of you may not know what this device does so I'll give a brief explanation. What you have is a single box which acts as a UPS (an Uninterruptible Power Supply, which switches your power from the mains to the battery when the mains goes out) and an inverter (which converts DC from a battery source into AC which can be used to power the home). This device cost me 6,000rs for a 1.5KVA unit. I also bought a 140A, 12V battery which cost me 4,000rs. For a grand total of 10,000rs, I no longer have to worry about the shenanigans of KESC. During loadshedding, selected lights and fans in the house switch over to power from the UPS and I can continue doing my work happily.

In my opinion, this is a must buy for all Karachiites. There are cheaper versions available. You can buy a UPS which has less power, or is of some other cheaper company for around 3,000rs also. Mileage may vary, but it's better than sitting in the dark.

Moral: It is better to buy a UPS, than to curse the darkness ;)

Comments

Good suggestion! We recently went for a UPS for our office, since the daily outtages meant anywhere from 2 to 6 hours of lost work. But instead of an inverter, we went for a generator solution.

Before all of you start going on the UPS solution, i'd like to point out one fact. When placing a UPS, especially the car (liquid) battery, make sure its in an airy place. Not somewhere closed like a room. I repeat, make sure the battery is located in an airy place. The electrolysis process (mayb i've got the name wrong) inside the battery also produces fumes which are harmful for humans in the long run, and can cause cancer.

In our office, we went for a more expensive (but health conscious) solution of getting a dry-state UPS, since ours is placed inside.

Just puttin in my 2 rs. worth. Hopefully it'll help out someone.

P.S. If keeping it inside is inevitable, put balloons on the tops of the screws on the battery, since that is the only place the fumes escape from. Then every month (or whenever the balloon fills up) take it off, and release it outside, and replace it. May sound like extra work, but believe me, its better than even the *possibility* of cancer.

Posted by: mansoor at April 24, 2006 04:37 PM

It seems like everyone is having a corporate battle these days to make their brands come out on top. But whats even more interesting to hear is, two World reknowned companies in footwear, Adidas and Puma actually have been having this battle for more than 6 decades. Now thats a pretty long time to fight! and what more.. they have common roots. Both companies were founded by warring brothers Adolf and Rudi Dassler respectively from Herzogenaurach, Germany!!!

An excerpt from the article on the history of the two companies follows..

Born into a family of cobblers, Adolf and Rudolf Dassler were not
always at odds. In the 1920s, Adi and Rudi, as they were more commonly
known, worked happily side by side at the Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik
(Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory).

Adolf developed some studs, business boomed under the Nazis and by
the 1936 Olympics Jesse Owens was running in Dassler spikes. But by the
fall of the Third Reich the fraternal relationship was in tatters. "We
will probably never know the real reason why Adi and Rudi fell out,"
sighs Ernst Dittrich, the head of Herzogenaurach's town archive. "It
was like a marriage that goes terribly, terribly sour."

Elderly residents in this 13th century town still gossip that the
brothers split because Adi slept with Rudi's wife, that the two wives
hated each other, that Rudi fathered Adi's son and that Rudi - the less
successful entrepreneur of the pair - had his hands in the petty-cash
box.

The most likely snapping point came from a thoughtless comment made
one night in 1943 as the two brothers and their wives slept in the
family air raid shelter. "There come those pig dogs again!" raved Adi
as his brother clambered down the steps. From that moment, no one could
convince Rudi that Adi had been talking about the RAF bombers, not
about him.

Rudi's bitterness increased as he was shipped off to an American
prisoner of war camp and Adi carried on running the family business
without him. In 1948 Rudi returned and set up his own factory on the
other side of the river, now Puma, taking loyal staff with him.

There were varying successes on both sides as Herzogenaurach's two
shoemaking companies grew. Although Puma still claims it invented the
removable football boot stud, Adi Dassler and his Adidas company is
credited with winning the 1954 World Cup for Germany by providing the
team with them.

But Rudi scored points against his brother when Pele won the 1962 World Cup for Brazil - in Puma boots.

The pair threw ludicrous amounts of money at absurd court battles.
In 1958, Rudi Dassler and Puma took out an injunction to prevent Adi
marketing Adidas stock as "the best sports shoes in the world". The
court ruled in Rudi's favour but gave Adi a week to remove all
advertising. In the seven days he had left, Adi convinced an
Adidas-loyal fishmonger to paste the slogan on his fish van and park it
outside Rudi's office window.

The tit-for-tat ethic continued through the generations. In the
early 1980s, a young Boris Becker knocked on the door of Adidas with a
Romanian manager, hoping for a sponsorship deal. When Adidas boss,
Horst Dassler, refused, his manager, Ion Tiriac, drove straight over
the river to Puma and demanded a meeting. "Go on," he taunted Rudi's
son, Armin Dassler, who was the Puma chief. "Take on Boris. That'll
really make your cousin mad." It was all Armin needed to hear to sign
the then unknown Becker under a £100,000 advertising contract.

Read on this article for more....


Technorati Tags: adidas, puma, corporate battles, funny, interesting

One of the better sides of having a tighter control system over fedral systems is the feedback you get. This article is just an example of that. People here in Pakistan could really learn from this (and countless other) example, that in order to fully implement something good in their system, they really do need a system for followup. Maybe that'll lead to a lessor number of failed public systems rather than money down the drain.... I wonder.. just how much do we follow the 'goras' anyway...

Coming back to topic.. this post concerns anger management classes given to inmates in UK. It has been learned this sort of treatment can actually make them more violent by teaching them how to 'hide' their homicidal tendencies..

Home Office instructions say that such courses for violent offenders
who commit their crimes purposefully rather than impulsively are now
"considered wholly inappropriate". They add that it is now thought the
courses "have the potential to equip the offender with additional
control mechanisms and increase his/her capacity to manipulate a
situation to their advantage and power".

Read the rest of the story here..



Technorati Tags: anger management

Scott Adams, of the Dilbert Blog poses an interesting question.. and has gotten quite many responses to his question!

The basic theme is "how a person can believe that God spoke to Moses and not become a Muslim"

It was indeed refreshing to hear such a debate without too much obvious flaming of other religions. My own response to the question, be Tolerant and be Educated. Practise tolerance is letting followers of other religions do as their religion describes and dont hold it against them. And be eductated in religious beliefs so that u may choose the 'right' path.

Anyway, here's the rest of his post.. click here to view al the answers

Non Prophet Organization

Technorati Tags: religion, dilbert, scott adams, questions

This post just goes on to prove

1. How much junk people have lying around and want to get rid of
2. How much a single idea and some hardcore determination can help someone acheive miracles
3. How great the helping spirit of the world is actually alive! Even in this world of capitalism selfishness and everyman of himself!
   

With so many stories piling up the internet these days of the 'free spirited' people of the world, this one stands out of the crowd with its simple yet brilliant ingenuity! The summary is.. this man thought of using batering for a bigger n better things as a means of getting his own house! What started as a dream and a paperclip.. till now has gotten him one year timeshare in Pheonix Arizona!!!

Read on for more. Story appeared here first and here's the blog of the guy

Man Using Paper Clip to Barter for House

Kyle MacDonald had a red paper clip and a dream: Could he use the community power of the Internet to barter that paper clip for something better, and trade that thing for something else — and so on and so on until he had a house?

After a cross-continental trading trek involving a fish-shaped pen, a town named Yahk and the Web's astonishing ability to bestow celebrity, MacDonald is getting close. He's up to one year's free rent on a house in Phoenix.

Not a bad return on an investment of one red paper clip. Yet MacDonald, 26, vows to keep going until he crosses the threshold of his very own home, wherever that might be.

"It's totally overwhelming, I'm not going to lie," he said by phone from Montreal, where he and his girlfriend, Dominique Dupuis, live with two roommates. "But I'm still trading for that house. It's this obsessive thing."

The story begins last July.

MacDonald had spent years backpacking, delivering pizzas and working other part-time jobs, suiting his jack-of-all-trades, restless nature. He paid his $300 share of the rent by occasionally promoting products at trade shows.

But he yearned for one piece of settled-down adulthood: a house, which he knew he could not afford.

It's clear, however, that MacDonald has a knack for promotion. Asked what he had talked up at all those trade shows, MacDonald slipped right into his spiel for the employer, TableShox.com. "You ever sat at a wobbly table at a restaurant?" he said.

Beyond a gift for advertising table stabilizers, he's a geography buff, keeps a blog and writes short stories. Random interactions with strangers and the rich kitsch of North Americana provide his favorite material.

Put it all together, and you have the outline of MacDonald's quest.

He advertised it in the barter section of Craigslist.org, the Web site teeming with city-specific listings for everything from job openings to apartment rentals. At first, MacDonald said merely that he wanted something bigger or better for his red paper clip. No mention of a house — he feared seeming flaky.

While he was visiting his hometown of Vancouver, British Columbia, two women gave him a fish-shaped pen for the paper clip.

Later that day, MacDonald headed to Seattle to catch a ballgame and a flight home. Before the airport, though, he stopped to see Annie Robbins, an artist who had just stumbled upon the Craigslist barter section. She admired its anticonsumerist vibe, she said, so she answered MacDonald's posting "on a lark."

MacDonald left her home the proud owner of a small ceramic doorknob with a smiley face, made by the son of an artist Robbins knows.

Next up was Shawn Sparks, who was packing up to move from Amherst, Mass., to Alexandria, Va. Sparks, 35, is a huge fan of Craigslist barters, having acquired his 1993 Chevy Blazer in a trade for a used laptop.

Sparks offered MacDonald a Coleman camping stove. Sparks had two, and didn't want to lug both on his move. And he needed a new knob for his espresso machine.

Done. The men celebrated with a barbecue at Sparks' house.

MacDonald gave the camping stove to a Marine sergeant at Camp Pendleton, Calif., getting a generator in return.

East again. MacDonald swapped the generator for an "instant party package" — an empty beer keg, a neon Budweiser sign and a promise to fill the keg — proferred by a young man in Queens, New York City.

Before the trade, MacDonald left the generator in storage in his hotel. When he went to claim it, he was told it had been confiscated by the fire department because it was leaking gas.

"If there was ever a movie based on all that, that would be the closest to losing it all," he said, recalling his anguish.

But more on movies later.

MacDonald reclaimed the generator by tracking it to a firehouse in lower Manhattan, where he got a Tootsie Pop from the crew and petted their Dalmatian.

The beer package went to a Montreal disc jockey, in exchange for a snowmobile.

Here's where the project's grassroots purity may have gotten compromised. MacDonald's blog, http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com, was attracting attention, and MacDonald was invited onto Canadian television. Our wandering man was asked if there was anywhere he wouldn't go to trade the snowmobile.

An obscure place came to mind, so he spit it out: Yahk, a hamlet in the Canadian Rockies.

Some publicity-seeking ensued. A snowmobiling magazine offered an expense-paid trip to Yahk in exchange for the snowmobile. The trip went to Bruno Taillefer, Quebec manager for the supply company Cintas Corp. He got headquarters to let him give MacDonald a 1995 Cintas van that he had been planning to sell.

MacDonald gave the van — stripped of Cintas logos — to a musician seeking to haul gear. In turn, the musician, who works at a Toronto recording studio, arranged a recording contract, with studio time and a promise to pitch the finished product to music executives.

MacDonald handed the contract to Jody Gnant, a singer in Phoenix who owns a duplex.

And that is how Kyle MacDonald has turned a paper clip into a year of shelter in the desert.

Where it goes now, who knows. He says he has offers from Hollywood studios to turn his story into a film.

But he pledges not to accept gifts or overly lopsided trades that would undermine the peer-to-peer joy that he says has animated his journey. Asked what he has learned from all this, he responded:

"If you say you're going to do something and you start to do it, and people enjoy it or respect it or are entertained by it, people will step up and help you."

Technorati Tags: paper clip, endurance, ideas

I am shocked beyond words! Shocked and crazed ! How can parents be so wrong to their own kids? or even to kids in general?? What sort of inhuman trait do these people have! what the hell is wrong with them??!!

For once, im thankful for the Child Services group in America.. we should have similar departments here in Pakistan as well !! Children (no matter how pesky they are) are the future! Nurture them, Love them and give them all !

Parents charged in North Side house of filth - PittsburghLIVE.com

A North Side couple face the charge of child endangerment after police
found two girls living in their home among rotting food and feces.

Joanne and Terry Gipe, 34 and 40, were arraigned last night after police arrested them at their Atmore Street home.

The girls, who are under the reported care of the couple. are ages 7 and 9.

Officials say that someone called the Office of Children, Youth
and Families claiming that Terry Gipe had struck one girl and that his
home was unlivable.

Police said that when they visited the address yesterday, a strong
smell of urine, feces and rotten food wafted out of the house; when
they entered the house, there were piles of spoiled food and garbage
strewn throughout the front room of the house, dog feces on the girls'
bedroom floor and roaches living in the mattress. Police said that a
soaked pillow smelling of urine sat at the food of the bed that the
girls shared.

A court date for the couple is expected this week.

Technorati Tags: child torture, shocking news

I took a test forward by a friend of mine on Tickle, about who's your movie star double, and here's the result. Not Bad! Kinda like it! lOl

Mansoor, your movie star double is Benjamin Bratt!

Benjamin Bratt Benjamin Bratt A magnetic man like you needs to be played by someone who knows how to get an audience's attention — and keep it. That's why Benjamin Bratt would be a great leading man in the movie of your life. Underneath your sometimes quieter demeanor, there's an undeniable attraction that draws people to you, your thoughts, and your ideals. There's just something about you that has people screaming for more. But that's a good thing since you probably thrive when you're being social, promoting your causes and getting out and about to see the world.

You've just got that celebrity quality that makes people applaud, whatever you do. Even if you don't match Benjamin's lady-melting looks, his mega-star glow will help translate your charisma to the silver screen.

Now im beginning to think search engines are NOT totally useless... they actually can be a source for fun !! Read this link.. its TOO GOOD

SatireWire | Feature: Interview with the Search Engine

INTERVIEW WITH THE SEARCH ENGINE

EMERYVILLE, CAL. (SatireWire.com) —

As random as they are relevant, enigmatic as they are enlightening, search engines have earned a slightly sullied reputation as a necessary evil. But it is a one-sided assessment. The search engines have not been able to explain themselves. Until now.



Thanks to its sophisticated program, which answers questions with phrases or sentences, Jeeves of AskJeeves.com granted SatireWire Editor Treat Warland the opportunity to actually interview a search engine. There were many important questions to ask. Unfortunately, he never got to most of them.

Technorati Tags: humor, satire, ask jeeves, search engines

Reading through on different blogs n urban legands i came across this story, and it was just TOO GOOD not to share! Read through to the end.. trust me! its worth it !!

Dear Friends,

My wife Toni is fond of saying
that my last words on this earth will be something akin to, “hey y’all,
hold my beer and watch this!” Well, I have outdone myself once again.
No doubt you will see this true story chronicled in a LifeTime movie in
the near future. Here goes.

Last weekend I spied something at
Larry’s Pistol and Pawn that tickled my fancy. (Note: Keep in mind that
my “fancy” is easily tickled). I bought something really cool for Toni.
The occasion was our 22nd anniversary and I was looking for a little
something extra for my sweet girl. What I came across was a
100,000-volt, pocket/purse-sized Tazer gun with a clip. For those of
you who are not familiar with this product, it is a less-than-lethal
stun gun with two metal prongs designed to incapacitate an assailant
with a shock of high-voltage, low amperage electricity while you flee
to safety. The effects are supposed to be short lived, with no
long-term adverse affect on your assailant, but allowing you adequate
time to retreat to safety. You simply jab the prongs into your 250 lb.
Tattooed assailant, push the button, and it will render him a
slobbering, goggle-eyed, muscle-twitching, whimpering, pencil-neck
geek. If you’ve never seen one of these things in action, then you’re
truly missing out—way too cool!

Long story short, I bought the
device and brought it home. I loaded two triple-a batteries in the darn
thing and pushed the button. Nothing! I was so disappointed. Upon
reading the directions (we don’t need no stinkin’ directions), I found
much to my chagrin that this particular model would not create an arch
between the prongs. How disappointing! I do love fire for effect. I
learned that if I pushed the button, however, and pressed it against a
metal surface that I’d get the blue arch of electricity darting back
and forth between the prongs that I was so looking forward to. I did
so. Awesome!!! Sparks, a blue arch of electricity, and a loud pop!!!

Yipeeeeee
. . I’m easily amused, just for your information, but I have yet to
explain to Toni what that burn spot is on the face of her microwave.

Okay,
so I was home alone with this new toy, thinking to myself that it
couldn’t be all that bad with only two triple-a batteries, etc., etc.
There I sat in my recliner, my cat Gracie looking on intently (trusting
little soul), reading the directions (that would be me, not Gracie) and
thinking that I really needed to try this thing out on a flesh and
blood target. I must admit I thought about zapping Gracie for a
fraction of a second and thought better of it. She is such a sweet
kitty, after all. But, if I was going to give this thing to Toni to
protect herself against a mugger, I did want some assurance that it
would work as advertised. Am I wrong? Was I wrong to think that? Seemed
reasonable to me at the time. . .

So, there I sat in a pair of
shorts and a tank top with my reading glasses perched delicately on the
bridge of my nose, directions in one hand, Tazer in another. The
directions said that a one-second burst would shock and disorient your
assailant; a two-second burst was supposed to cause muscle spasms and a
loss of bodily control; a three-second burst would purportedly make
your assailant flop on the ground like a fish out of water.

All
the while I’m looking at this little device (measuring about 5″ long,
less than 3/4 inch in circumference, pretty cute really, and loaded
with two itsy, bitsy triple-a batteries) thinking to myself, “no
friggin’ way!”

Friggin’ way—trust me, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

What
happened next is almost beyond description, but I’ll do my best. Those
of you who know me well have got a pretty good idea of what followed.
I’m sitting there alone, Gracie looking on with her head cocked to one
side as to say, “don’t do it buddy,” reasoning that a one-second burst
from such a tiny lil’ ole thing couldn’t hurt all that bad (sound,
rational thinking under the circumstances, wouldn’t you agree?). I
decided to give myself a one-second burst just for the hell of it.
(Note: You know, a bad decision is like hindsight—always twenty-twenty.
It is so obvious that it was a bad decision after the fact, even though
it seemed so right at the time. Don’t ya hate that?)

I touched the prongs to my naked thigh, pushed the button, and HOLY SHIT!

DAaaaauuuuuuMN!!!
I’m pretty sure that Jessie Ventura ran in through the front door,
picked me up out of that recliner, then body slammed me on the carpet
over and over again. I vaguely recall waking up on my side in the fetal
position, nipples on fire, testicles nowhere to be found, soaking wet,
with my left arm tucked under my body in the oddest position. Gracie
was standing over me making meowing sounds I had never heard before,
licking my face, undoubtedly thinking to herself, “do it again, do it
again!” (Note: if you ever feel compelled to mug yourself with a Tazer,
one note of caution. There is no such thing as a one-second burst when
you zap yourself. You’re not going to let go of that thing until it is
dislodged from your hand by a violent thrashing about on the floor.
Then, if you’re lucky, you won’t dislodge one of the prongs 1/4″ deep
in your thigh like yours truly.) SON-OF-A-BITCH that hurt! A minute or
so later (I can’t be sure, as time was a relative thing at this point),
I collected my wits (what little I had left), sat up and surveyed the
landscape. My reading glasses were on the mantel of the fireplace. How
did they get there??? My triceps, right thigh and both titties were
still twitching. My face felt like it had been shot up with Novocain,
as my bottom lip weighed 88 lbs. give or take an ounce or two, I’m
pretty sure.

Film at eleven….

Technorati Tags: funny, urban legand, tazer

As is done by so many nowadays in Pakistan, i was discussing the latest ad campaigns of the mobile service providers here.... and well... where we have UFone (absolutely LOVE IT) and Telenor (with their Djuice.. which doesnt really do justice to it..) we also have Paktel...

From what i understand, it was acquired by Milcomm (Instaphone's parent company) recently, and provides the GPRS service from that group.. it has a very small market share here (about 2 to 3 percent.. but i could be wrong)..

Now i know the reason for it! its AD campaigns! A colleague said today, it took me a while 2 understand their ad's about per second billing, where they show two people, one with paktel n one with some other service, making calls... till one of them runs out and asks for the other's mobile.... hence, they failed to get their message across... In their second ad.. about 'Hi Tunes', when i mentioned it took me a while to understand what it was all about.... a colleage pitched in that its a background music being played while your having a conversation with a person with a paktel phone! Unfortunately.. that wasnt it.. it was replacement of the 'Ringing tone' u get when the other person's phone is ringing.....

I think if they even want to make a 'dent' in the market... they should fire whoever's marketting their services and get a fresh new team!

and lastly.... a note to all marketing related people... when targetting radio listeners... atleast make the effort of making sure your ad is RIGHT for the radio!!!! This message goes out to ALL marketing people of Telenor and Paktel, who are, as i write, running the sound track of their TV ad on the radio... it just doesnt work that way, cuz i dont know what your trying to sell..

i'll make a case in point... the Djuice ad for 'send sms to any number in Pakistan for 20 paisas' starts of with a tone of (probably) a mobile RECIEVING an sms... then a lady comes on sayin the above line, ending it with 'djuice.. your welcome'. ? Its just not right ! USE THE MEDIUM ppl!!!!!!

Take ufone ads for example... they have a soundtrack which is essentially a song, which they supplement with their tv ad.. its good 2 hear (and the new one even delivers the message) on the radio as well as watch on TV. KUDO's to whoever thought of them !

Now i'll end my rant.. i've been wanting to get this off my chest for a long time now !! Let me know what u think about it... leave a comment..


Technorati Tags: ad campaigns, ufone, telenor, pakistan, paktel

I was going through the web, and came across this great article from Larry Osterman about Nathan Myhrvold and his 4 Laws of Software, as explained from background in theoritical physics. Read the article to get more.. but here are the laws in short

Law 1. "Software is a Gas !"
It will keep on expanding (with new features on every release) to fill every available space (CPU cycles, disk space).

Law 2. "Software grows until it becomes limited by Moore's Law"
It will keep expanding till there is no PC powerful enuff to run a more bloated software.....

Law 3. ""Software growth makes Moore's Law possible"
Essentially saying that if it wasnt for large, bloated sofwares.... we wouldnt have the need for faster PC's! (Now that is worth a laugh! Actually, my father n me have been discussing this point for quite sometime now... didnt know someone actually made it into a law!!)

and finally
Law 4. "Software is only limited by human ambition and expectation."
Very true..... a good programmer can make software do anything.. and a computer user would want a computer to do everything... such a lovely mix and match !!

For a more detailed version of these laws.. visit the site Larry Osterman's WebLog : Nathan's laws of software




Technorati Tags: moore's law, nathans laws, 4 laws of software, software engineering, programming

My next mobile phone is going to be non other than the Motorola RAZR V3i ! I've heard such good things about it... that now i just gotta have it~ Motorola's recently launched the V3i.. which has a megapixel camera, and.... wait for it......... MEMORY CHIP!!!! yaayy !! lol ! that was the V3's biggest drawback.. only 6 MB of memory... being the memory hog that i am... it was kinda off putting.. but now.. all is good! Now just waiting for some cash... or someone 2 read this and decide to GIFT (hint hint) it to me. LOL!~


It's a RAZR World - Yahoo! News

There's nothing quite like a Motorola RAZR in American consumers' eyes, two research firms told PC Magazine as the year's big cell-phone trade show, CTIA Wireless, opens in Las Vegas.


"Bafflingly enough, the hottest, most popular phone of 2005 is a phone from 2004, the RAZR V3," said Miro Kazakoff, senior associate at Compete, a firm which tracks shoppers' browsing habits. "The big thing we saw [in 2005] was this triumph of form over features."



Both Compete, which tracks "mind share" for phones, and Telephia, another research firm that tracks retail sales, have followed the RAZR's popularity. The RAZR grabbed 6.2% of U.S. phone sales in the fourth quarter of 2005, almost double the share of the next-most-popular handset, according to Telephia's Maria Baumatay.

This is just TOO good !! again, off the dilbert blog...

You may often be correct,
but you'll never be right again.

lol ! and then people wonder why so many guys get cold feet when thinkin about marriage... lol !

This entry i got off from Scott Adam's Dilbert Blog, and this story was just too good not to share! Makes you wonder what human spirit is capable of.... if we just have the motivation. Even in movies, ever wonder why its always when the hero has to go after the girl, or the family does he win.... otherwise, they would just fade away... some people have that motivation (the girl) and then some have others......... read on !

The Dilbert Blog: Winning

Recently
there was a tennis tournament in Indian Wells. It’s one of the biggest
tournaments not counting the four “Grand Slam” events. Because tennis
is an individual sport, there are always great stories within the game.
This year’s biggest story was James Blake’s comeback.

If you don’t follow the game, let me give you some background. Blake
is the son of an African-American dad and an English mom. He was raised
in Connecticut and had to wear a back brace for years when he was a
kid. He took up tennis, excelled, and went to Harvard for two years
before going pro. He looked promising, along with a number of other
young Americans, but not top 10 material. He was most noted for his sex
appeal and great personality.

I became a fan after watching him play Lleyton Hewitt a few years
ago. After some calls that went against Hewitt, the Aussie singled out
an African-American linesperson and complained to the chair umpire.
Hewitt used a poor choice of words that led observers to think he was
complaining of racial favoritism. Hewitt says he didn’t mean it that
way, but nonetheless it became the story. And the media tried hard to
get Blake to bite. They wanted him to complain about racism, maybe get
a little mad about it. That’s good TV. But Blake didn’t take the bait.
He politely pointed out that people say things in the heat of the
moment, and whatever Hewitt said was Hewitt’s problem, not his. It
seemed to me the perfect response. Sometimes trivializing is the best
strategy.

Blake’s ranking bobbed up and down, peaking at 22 in the world. He
shaved his dreadlocks and gave up his sex symbol image along with
millions in potential endorsements. (I’m guessing his hair was
prematurely thinning.) Then in 2004 he had the year from Hell. He ran
into a tennis net post and broke his neck. Then he got a shingles virus
in his face that paralyzed it on one side. Then his dad died.

There was some doubt that Blake would ever play tennis again. He
watched the major tournaments from his couch and wondered about his
future. In time, his body recovered, and he felt that he had been given
a second chance. He grabbed it by the neck.

I don’t know what kind of training he did, but oh-my-god. I watched
him play in person during the first week of the Indian Wells tournament
and thought it couldn’t be the same guy. There was ferocity to his
strokes. He wasn’t just hitting the ball, he was punishing it. His
court speed was breathtaking. His shot selection was brilliant. His
backhand, previously a weakness, had become a rocket.

You only needed to listen to the court sounds to know that Blake was
heading deep into the tournament. When a tennis racket strikes a ball
perfectly, it creates a sound wave that spectators can feel in their
entire bodies. If you play tennis yourself, you can practically close
your eyes and know who is winning.

Blake blasted through the field of world-class tennis players and
found himself in an unlikely semi-final with a Spanish force of nature
named Rafael Nadal. Nadal is the #2 player in the world. He hits with
brutal topspin. It’s a relentless attack that less than a handful of
elite players have been able to withstand in the past year.

Nadal brought his best, but Blake blew past with a combination of
game and gamesmanship that surprised almost everyone, not the least
Nadal himself.

Now it was time for the championship match against Roger Federer,
the best player in the world. Correction – make that the best tennis
player who has ever lived. That’s not just my opinion. He already has
seven Grand Slam wins. If he stays healthy, many people expect him to
hold every important record in tennis.

Against all odds, Blake blazed to a 4-1 first set advantage against
the all-time greatest player on earth. It seemed as though nothing
could stop him.

And then something happened. The momentum shifted. The rest of the
match was all Federer. Blake seemed to fade away, settling for
runner-up, but his effort that week was enough to put him in the top
ten in the world.

At the trophy ceremony, Blake spoke to the crowd. He said that in
2004, when he was in the hospital with a broken neck, only one tennis
player sent him a note to wish him well. It was Roger Federer.

I wanted Blake to win that match, yet somehow, by losing he found perfection.