كيف ياترى سوف يحي اهل غزة سهرة ليلة راس السنة؟
وماذا عن عواصم الدول العربية كعمان وبيروت والقاهرة ودمشق؟
وهل هنالك ما يستدعي "الاحتفال" في مثل هذة الظروف
قلوب تعتصرها الالام واخرى فرحة بقدوم فرصة للسهر ولالحتفال بالمجهول
يا جماعة الاحتفال هولمن عندة السبب للاحتفال وليس لانها عادة يجب المحافظة عليها
اما بالنسبة لي فلم يكن عندي دافع للاحتفال, ليس هذة السنة فحسب، بل كافة السنوات السابقة وكيف يكون ذلك ونحن صغيرنا وكبيرنا، غنينا وفقيرنا نعيش في حالة من الذل والهوان ، نعاصر الهزيمة تلو الاخرى ونواظب الاحتفالات براس السنة الواحده تلو الاخرى. ادعوا المحتفلين بان يتبرعوا لغزة بمبالغ تساوي المبالغ التي ستنفق على السهرة، ان كان لا بد من السهر وهذا اضعف الايمان
Monday, December 29, 2008
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Frigid cold temperature
Arctic wind is on its way to the middle east, Expect -2 , -3 temperature Wed, and Thursday. Most probably dry weather shall prevail.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Weather wise
Expect freezing cold nights in the coming two days, probably sub zero temperatures.
Cold north easterly winds, and by virtue of its origin, it shall be dry.
This will make feel like much colder as well
Cold north easterly winds, and by virtue of its origin, it shall be dry.
This will make feel like much colder as well
Let your shoes do the talking
No, I am not going to talk about the size 10 shoe that barely missed President Bush's head, nor about the dilemma that this event would cause security agents all over the world as metal detectors cannot detect your metal-free shoes. Or trying to imagine a future presidential press meeting attended by shoeless attendees on a hot summer day afternoon. I will, on the other hand, show u a joke that I received some time back
Ammar Sajdi
www.realsoft-me.com
www.e-ammar.net
Monday, December 08, 2008
كل سنة وانتم طيبين
I just cannot find anything better than what Al-mutanbi said
عيد بأي حال عدت يا عيد بما مضى آم بأمر فيك تغيير
I also must say that i am distressed about the new of the accident that claimed the life of 4 young people in Aqaba (12 graders), may their souls rest is piece and may god empower their parents and loved ones with patience.
عيد بأي حال عدت يا عيد بما مضى آم بأمر فيك تغيير
I also must say that i am distressed about the new of the accident that claimed the life of 4 young people in Aqaba (12 graders), may their souls rest is piece and may god empower their parents and loved ones with patience.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
One giant leap towards safe Driving
Car manufacturer strive fiercely to yield ever safer driving experiences. Millions of Dollars are spent in research and development towards this end. Cutting Edge technology has been currently devoted to come up with the state-of-the-art-technology in making our driving experience safer than ever. Finally, the panacea for safety, watch this seat belt in your future car
Saturday, November 22, 2008
ban on Alcohol? a myth or a reality
In many occasions, i find myself debating why i am a no-no guy when it comes to alcohol consumption. of course, to many i am just NOT COOL, BORING. lack progressive thinking! And my mind is simply rendered incapacitated by some disputable religious doctrines! in other words , i am simply متخلف.
Well in an article published today by By GREGORY KATZ, Associated Press Writer,
Britain is considering imposing restriction on alcohol drinking as drink related death is on the rise. This is mainly due to liver problems among young people and such condition is signaling a future epidemic. As a first step, a ban on HAPPY HOURS (discounted drinking hour at bars and rest) is considered. The government is also planning to spend 10 million pounds (15 Million USD) on awareness campaign and enforcement laws against under age drinking.
I would not have personally dared to be a health advocate against alcohol drinking, because, given the above perception, people would immediately think that i am being biased, and as such driven into defending my beliefs in any way. This time, it is Gregory Katz of the associated press that you need to argue with
Well in an article published today by By GREGORY KATZ, Associated Press Writer,
Britain is considering imposing restriction on alcohol drinking as drink related death is on the rise. This is mainly due to liver problems among young people and such condition is signaling a future epidemic. As a first step, a ban on HAPPY HOURS (discounted drinking hour at bars and rest) is considered. The government is also planning to spend 10 million pounds (15 Million USD) on awareness campaign and enforcement laws against under age drinking.
I would not have personally dared to be a health advocate against alcohol drinking, because, given the above perception, people would immediately think that i am being biased, and as such driven into defending my beliefs in any way. This time, it is Gregory Katz of the associated press that you need to argue with
Friday, November 14, 2008
Cool
Jennifer Aniston,on Oprah Show was cool
the charming 50 years old Michelle Pfeiffer in "I could never be your woman was also cool"
the charming 50 years old Michelle Pfeiffer in "I could never be your woman was also cool"
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Engineers of Jihad
Which academic pursuit has been the most prevalent among Islamic Jihadis?
An interesting article appeared in IEEE spectrum magazine September issue Volume 45 number 9 which exactly answers this question
Steffen Hertog and Diego Gambetta studied files of 404 people Jihad activist from 30 countries, only to find that the most prevalent academic pursuit is ENGINEERING.
out of the 404 people, the study could only confirm the academic standing of 178 people. 44% were engineers - most of them Electrical , Civil and Computer Engineers.
The paper submitted by these two gentlemen (no 2007-10, University of Oxford) revealed the following figure for fields of study
Engineers 78
Islamic Studies 34
Medicine 14
Business/Economics 12
Education 5
others 28
Subject Unknown 18
Interesting!
Ammar Sajdi
www.e-ammar.com
www.realsoft-me.com
An interesting article appeared in IEEE spectrum magazine September issue Volume 45 number 9 which exactly answers this question
Steffen Hertog and Diego Gambetta studied files of 404 people Jihad activist from 30 countries, only to find that the most prevalent academic pursuit is ENGINEERING.
out of the 404 people, the study could only confirm the academic standing of 178 people. 44% were engineers - most of them Electrical , Civil and Computer Engineers.
The paper submitted by these two gentlemen (no 2007-10, University of Oxford) revealed the following figure for fields of study
Engineers 78
Islamic Studies 34
Medicine 14
Business/Economics 12
Education 5
others 28
Subject Unknown 18
Interesting!
Ammar Sajdi
www.e-ammar.com
www.realsoft-me.com
Sunday, November 02, 2008
وشهد شاهد من اهلة
A best seller written by the Jewish historian and a professor at Tel Aviv University shlomo sand, aserting that the Jewish people as we know them now do not necesserly descent from the origial jewish people who lived in the Kingdom of Jerusalem. This URL links you to an article in Haaretz newspaper
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/966952.html
this is also an article wrote by Jonathan Cook
http://www.thenational.ae/article/20081006/FOREIGN/279853798
Copied and pasted below, these two article are very important as they are written by a Jewish shcolar and therefore, it cannot be taken as biased.
Book refuting Jewish taboo on Israel’s bestseller list
Jonathan Cook, Foreign Correspondent
Last Updated: October 06. 2008 10:38PM UAE / October 6. 2008 6:38PM GMT
TEL AVIV // No one is more surprised than Shlomo Sand that his latest academic work has spent 19 weeks on Israel’s bestseller list – and that success has come to the history professor despite his book challenging Israel’s biggest taboo.
Dr Sand argues that the idea of a Jewish nation – whose need for a safe haven was originally used to justify the founding of the state of Israel – is a myth invented little more than a century ago. An expert on European history at Tel Aviv University, Dr Sand drew on extensive historical and archaeological research to support not only this claim but several more – all equally controversial.In addition, he argues that the Jews were never exiled from the Holy Land, that most of today’s Jews have no historical connection to the land called Israel and that the only political solution to the country’s conflict with the Palestinians is to abolish the Jewish state.
The success of When and How Was the Jewish People Invented? looks likely to be repeated around the world. A French edition, launched last month, is selling so fast that it has already had three print runs.Translations are under way into a dozen languages, including Arabic and English. But he predicted a rough ride from the pro-Israel lobby when the book is launched by his English publisher, Verso, in the United States next year. In contrast, he said Israelis had been, if not exactly supportive, at least curious about his argument. Tom Segev, one of the country’s leading journalists, has called the book “fascinating and challenging”.
Surprisingly, Dr Sand said, most of his academic colleagues in Israel have shied away from tackling his arguments. One exception is Israel Bartal, a professor of Jewish history at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Writing in Haaretz, the Israeli daily newspaper, Dr Bartal made little effort to rebut Dr Sand’s claims. Paradoxically, he dedicated much of his article instead to defending his profession. He suggested that Israeli historians were not as ignorant about the invented nature of Jewish history as Dr Sand contends.
The idea for the book had come to him many years ago, Dr Sand said, but he waited until recently to start working on it. “I cannot claim to be particularly courageous in publishing the book now,” he said. “I waited until I was a full professor. There is a price to be paid in Israeli academia for expressing views of this sort.”Dr Sand’s main argument is that until little more than a century ago, Jews thought of themselves as Jews only because they shared a common religion. At the turn of the 20th century, he said, Zionist Jews challenged this idea and started creating a national history by inventing the idea that Jews existed as a people separate from their religion.
Equally, the modern Zionist idea of Jews being obligated to return from exile to the Promised Land was entirely alien to Judaism, he added.“Zionism changed the idea of Jerusalem. Before, the holy places were seen as places to long for, not to be lived in. For 2,000 years Jews stayed away from Jerusalem not because they could not return but because their religion forbade them from returning until the messiah came.”
The biggest surprise during his research came when he started looking at the archaeological evidence from the biblical era.“I was not raised as a Zionist, but like all other Israelis I took it for granted that the Jews were a people living in Judea and that they were exiled by the Romans in 70AD.“But once I started looking at the evidence, I discovered that the kingdoms of David and Solomon were legends. “Similarly with the exile. In fact, you can’t explain Jewishness without exile. But when I started to look for history books describing the events of this exile, I couldn’t find any. Not one.
“That was because the Romans did not exile people. In fact, Jews in Palestine were overwhelming peasants and all the evidence suggests they stayed on their lands.” Instead, he believes an alternative theory is more plausible: the exile was a myth promoted by early Christians to recruit Jews to the new faith. “Christians wanted later generations of Jews to believe that their ancestors had been exiled as a punishment from God.”
So if there was no exile, how is it that so many Jews ended up scattered around the globe before the modern state of Israel began encouraging them to “return”?Dr Sand said that, in the centuries immediately preceding and following the Christian era, Judaism was a proselytising religion, desperate for converts. “This is mentioned in the Roman literature of the time.”Jews travelled to other regions seeking converts, particularly in Yemen and among the Berber tribes of North Africa. Centuries later, the people of the Khazar kingdom in what is today south Russia, would convert en masse to Judaism, becoming the genesis of the Ashkenazi Jews of central and eastern Europe.
Dr Sand pointed to the strange state of denial in which most Israelis live, noting that papers offered extensive coverage recently to the discovery of the capital of the Khazar kingdom next to the Caspian Sea. Ynet, the website of Israel’s most popular newspaper, Yedioth Ahronoth, headlined the story: “Russian archaeologists find long-lost Jewish capital.” And yet none of the papers, he added, had considered the significance of this find to standard accounts of Jewish history.
One further question is prompted by Dr Sand’s account, as he himself notes: if most Jews never left the Holy Land, what became of them?“It is not taught in Israeli schools but most of the early Zionist leaders, including David Ben Gurion [Israel’s first prime minister], believed that the Palestinians were the descendants of the area’s original Jews. They believed the Jews had later converted to Islam.”
Dr Sand attributed his colleagues’ reticence to engage with him to an implicit acknowledgement by many that the whole edifice of “Jewish history” taught at Israeli universities is built like a house of cards. The problem with the teaching of history in Israel, Dr Sand said, dates to a decision in the 1930s to separate history into two disciplines: general history and Jewish history. Jewish history was assumed to need its own field of study because Jewish experience was considered unique.
“There’s no Jewish department of politics or sociology at the universities. Only history is taught in this way, and it has allowed specialists in Jewish history to live in a very insular and conservative world where they are not touched by modern developments in historical research. “I’ve been criticised in Israel for writing about Jewish history when European history is my specialty. But a book like this needed a historian who is familiar with the standard concepts of historical inquiry used by academia in the rest of the world.”
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/966952.html
this is also an article wrote by Jonathan Cook
http://www.thenational.ae/article/20081006/FOREIGN/279853798
Copied and pasted below, these two article are very important as they are written by a Jewish shcolar and therefore, it cannot be taken as biased.
Book refuting Jewish taboo on Israel’s bestseller list
Jonathan Cook, Foreign Correspondent
Last Updated: October 06. 2008 10:38PM UAE / October 6. 2008 6:38PM GMT
TEL AVIV // No one is more surprised than Shlomo Sand that his latest academic work has spent 19 weeks on Israel’s bestseller list – and that success has come to the history professor despite his book challenging Israel’s biggest taboo.
Dr Sand argues that the idea of a Jewish nation – whose need for a safe haven was originally used to justify the founding of the state of Israel – is a myth invented little more than a century ago. An expert on European history at Tel Aviv University, Dr Sand drew on extensive historical and archaeological research to support not only this claim but several more – all equally controversial.In addition, he argues that the Jews were never exiled from the Holy Land, that most of today’s Jews have no historical connection to the land called Israel and that the only political solution to the country’s conflict with the Palestinians is to abolish the Jewish state.
The success of When and How Was the Jewish People Invented? looks likely to be repeated around the world. A French edition, launched last month, is selling so fast that it has already had three print runs.Translations are under way into a dozen languages, including Arabic and English. But he predicted a rough ride from the pro-Israel lobby when the book is launched by his English publisher, Verso, in the United States next year. In contrast, he said Israelis had been, if not exactly supportive, at least curious about his argument. Tom Segev, one of the country’s leading journalists, has called the book “fascinating and challenging”.
Surprisingly, Dr Sand said, most of his academic colleagues in Israel have shied away from tackling his arguments. One exception is Israel Bartal, a professor of Jewish history at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Writing in Haaretz, the Israeli daily newspaper, Dr Bartal made little effort to rebut Dr Sand’s claims. Paradoxically, he dedicated much of his article instead to defending his profession. He suggested that Israeli historians were not as ignorant about the invented nature of Jewish history as Dr Sand contends.
The idea for the book had come to him many years ago, Dr Sand said, but he waited until recently to start working on it. “I cannot claim to be particularly courageous in publishing the book now,” he said. “I waited until I was a full professor. There is a price to be paid in Israeli academia for expressing views of this sort.”Dr Sand’s main argument is that until little more than a century ago, Jews thought of themselves as Jews only because they shared a common religion. At the turn of the 20th century, he said, Zionist Jews challenged this idea and started creating a national history by inventing the idea that Jews existed as a people separate from their religion.
Equally, the modern Zionist idea of Jews being obligated to return from exile to the Promised Land was entirely alien to Judaism, he added.“Zionism changed the idea of Jerusalem. Before, the holy places were seen as places to long for, not to be lived in. For 2,000 years Jews stayed away from Jerusalem not because they could not return but because their religion forbade them from returning until the messiah came.”
The biggest surprise during his research came when he started looking at the archaeological evidence from the biblical era.“I was not raised as a Zionist, but like all other Israelis I took it for granted that the Jews were a people living in Judea and that they were exiled by the Romans in 70AD.“But once I started looking at the evidence, I discovered that the kingdoms of David and Solomon were legends. “Similarly with the exile. In fact, you can’t explain Jewishness without exile. But when I started to look for history books describing the events of this exile, I couldn’t find any. Not one.
“That was because the Romans did not exile people. In fact, Jews in Palestine were overwhelming peasants and all the evidence suggests they stayed on their lands.” Instead, he believes an alternative theory is more plausible: the exile was a myth promoted by early Christians to recruit Jews to the new faith. “Christians wanted later generations of Jews to believe that their ancestors had been exiled as a punishment from God.”
So if there was no exile, how is it that so many Jews ended up scattered around the globe before the modern state of Israel began encouraging them to “return”?Dr Sand said that, in the centuries immediately preceding and following the Christian era, Judaism was a proselytising religion, desperate for converts. “This is mentioned in the Roman literature of the time.”Jews travelled to other regions seeking converts, particularly in Yemen and among the Berber tribes of North Africa. Centuries later, the people of the Khazar kingdom in what is today south Russia, would convert en masse to Judaism, becoming the genesis of the Ashkenazi Jews of central and eastern Europe.
Dr Sand pointed to the strange state of denial in which most Israelis live, noting that papers offered extensive coverage recently to the discovery of the capital of the Khazar kingdom next to the Caspian Sea. Ynet, the website of Israel’s most popular newspaper, Yedioth Ahronoth, headlined the story: “Russian archaeologists find long-lost Jewish capital.” And yet none of the papers, he added, had considered the significance of this find to standard accounts of Jewish history.
One further question is prompted by Dr Sand’s account, as he himself notes: if most Jews never left the Holy Land, what became of them?“It is not taught in Israeli schools but most of the early Zionist leaders, including David Ben Gurion [Israel’s first prime minister], believed that the Palestinians were the descendants of the area’s original Jews. They believed the Jews had later converted to Islam.”
Dr Sand attributed his colleagues’ reticence to engage with him to an implicit acknowledgement by many that the whole edifice of “Jewish history” taught at Israeli universities is built like a house of cards. The problem with the teaching of history in Israel, Dr Sand said, dates to a decision in the 1930s to separate history into two disciplines: general history and Jewish history. Jewish history was assumed to need its own field of study because Jewish experience was considered unique.
“There’s no Jewish department of politics or sociology at the universities. Only history is taught in this way, and it has allowed specialists in Jewish history to live in a very insular and conservative world where they are not touched by modern developments in historical research. “I’ve been criticised in Israel for writing about Jewish history when European history is my specialty. But a book like this needed a historian who is familiar with the standard concepts of historical inquiry used by academia in the rest of the world.”
Friday, October 31, 2008
Arabic Calligraphy
Today shall mark the end of the Arabic Calligraphy workshop that i have been attending for the last 3 weeks. It is a short workshop that meets once a week on Saturday at wild Jordan. We spend two hours learning about the different types of Arabic handwriting. I am a big fan of Arabic Calligraphy, and after attending the workshop, i am more determined than ever to pursue my quest to mastering the Diwany style, which truly captivated my sentiments.
Lots of talents coupled with a superb sense of brilliance is embedded in the scripts; coherence, harmony, and symmetry which are the prime features of this art, render an unprecedented new dimension of aesthetics to my repository of splendor.
Note: i was mistaken, there are three more sessions to go.
Lots of talents coupled with a superb sense of brilliance is embedded in the scripts; coherence, harmony, and symmetry which are the prime features of this art, render an unprecedented new dimension of aesthetics to my repository of splendor.
Note: i was mistaken, there are three more sessions to go.
Emergence of a Poet
Last night, I witnessed the emergence of the next generation of poets. The 30-year chap, Tamim Barghouthy who is the sun of a Palestinian father and an Egyptian mother, is currently a political science assistant professor at Washington University. The event was held by Jerusalem Forum and the Welfare Corporation at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Amman. The Ballroom was filled with about 700 attendees and all proceeds went to the children of Gaza.
The Guy is a natural, who can write in colloquial Egyptian, and other local dialects as well as in well-formatted formal poetry.
He possesses a stunning talent of recitals and a superb ability to write captivating collections of harmonious series of words we call POETRY
That was my first real encounter with Tamim, even though; he appeared on TV many times before. I guess, however, that his star is shining like never before.
During the function, people generously donated money for the children of Gaza. The session ended by a book signing and I was privileged to have his signature on two of his published poetry books
The Guy is a natural, who can write in colloquial Egyptian, and other local dialects as well as in well-formatted formal poetry.
He possesses a stunning talent of recitals and a superb ability to write captivating collections of harmonious series of words we call POETRY
That was my first real encounter with Tamim, even though; he appeared on TV many times before. I guess, however, that his star is shining like never before.
During the function, people generously donated money for the children of Gaza. The session ended by a book signing and I was privileged to have his signature on two of his published poetry books
Ammar Sajdi
www.realsoft-me.com
www.e-ammar.net
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Gitex is over and we are all back after 5 straight day in what i feel inclined to call Computer 7esbeh. A few positive things :-
I was really impressed by the care that the Jordanian consulate in UAE showed The commercial attaché : Mr. Al-Hakam Al-Taleb (who happened to be a classmate of mine visited the Jordanian Booth almost everyday
The consulate of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan invited us for lunch at the MovenPick hotel and the consular attended the lunch
Mr Altaleb arranged for 1 hour TV show, where one of my colleagues and I were the host in a program called Sa3et Wafa through a satellite station called Decision Makers (NileSat). It is something similar to Yes3ed Saba7ak. At the end they gave us a CD recording of the episode.
The show itself is a just an networking oppurtunity and a way to say, we are here! There are lots of people and lots of companies, and as such, there is a bit of focus distraction.
I was really impressed by the care that the Jordanian consulate in UAE showed The commercial attaché : Mr. Al-Hakam Al-Taleb (who happened to be a classmate of mine visited the Jordanian Booth almost everyday
The consulate of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan invited us for lunch at the MovenPick hotel and the consular attended the lunch
Mr Altaleb arranged for 1 hour TV show, where one of my colleagues and I were the host in a program called Sa3et Wafa through a satellite station called Decision Makers (NileSat). It is something similar to Yes3ed Saba7ak. At the end they gave us a CD recording of the episode.
The show itself is a just an networking oppurtunity and a way to say, we are here! There are lots of people and lots of companies, and as such, there is a bit of focus distraction.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
This is the third day @Gitex. Nothing extra ordinary, Just the usual, People coming and going making things look busy. Yesterday I invited some people for late lunch to an Iranian restaurant, and i was not able to make it back to the convention center due to traffic.Last time i was here i suffered to problems with finding a Taxi. This time i rented a car to overcome Taxi availability issue, only to encounter yet another problem. Availability of Parking!
It more of a social event that it is a business expo, I met a guy who was a classmate of mine. It was nice seeing him after those so many years. He works as the commercial attaché for the Jordanian Embassy in the UAE.
It more of a social event that it is a business expo, I met a guy who was a classmate of mine. It was nice seeing him after those so many years. He works as the commercial attaché for the Jordanian Embassy in the UAE.
Friday, October 17, 2008
See you at G6-40
Hall 6 Stand G6-40 is where you can find us exhibiting our Flagship BI Data Warehousing Solution, GIS, statistical and survey system, banking and telco solutions.
@GITEX 2008, Thanks to Jordan Enterprise Development Corporation (JEDCO)
and INTAJ that made this participation possible.
http://www.realsoft-me.com/
About REALSOFT
@GITEX 2008, Thanks to Jordan Enterprise Development Corporation (JEDCO)
and INTAJ that made this participation possible.
http://www.realsoft-me.com/
About REALSOFT
- REALSOFT is a leading Jordanian IT company with a registered branch office in Oman. The establishment of REALSOFT has accelerated the growth of business and depth of support in the field of programming solutions and system integrations. REALSOFT now employs 40+ people operating in 8 countries. Expert programmers, Quality Engineer, Marketing and service teams are working together closely to ensure the highest levels of customer satisfaction in this high technology industry. REALSOFT has a full company organization designed to make it flexible and adaptive to the changing and developing requirements of customers. Our portfolio of businesses is aligned with enduring, global growth drivers, and our employees bring extraordinary focus to meeting the needs of the people who buy and use our products and services in all the markets we serve. REALSOFT is a trusted provider of mission-critical products and services that support both local and regional needs utilizing cutting edge state-of-the-art software platforms and technologies
Software offerings - The design, development, implementation and support of E-services based state-of-the-art Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) paradigm
- The design, development, implementation, licensing and support of End-to-End of a new generation of paperless, PDA based statistical census and survey solutions.
- Enterprise Business Intelligence and Data warehouse services; data mining, data migration, data consolidation, data synchronization and data quality.
Industry verticals:
· J2EE web based Telco Customer Service Management System (CSMS) – CRM
· General Banking Risk Reserve / Credit facilities
· Customs Authorities Business Intelligence BI solution based on ASYCUDA system
· Social Funding Information System
· Higher Education Business Intelligence (BI) solution
· Banking Risk Management Operational Data Store (ODS)
· Statistical packages:-
§ Household Income and Expenditure System
§ Consumer Price Index (CPI)
§ Electronic Population Census (PDA based)
§ Electronic Agricultural Census (PDA based)
§ Labor Force Survey
§ Social and Economic Indicators Dashboard
Success Story
REALSOFT was the first company worldwide to deliver PDA based population census solution back in 2003, integrated with a GIS layer for data visualization and dissemination. The solution was first deployed in Oman through the Ministry of National Economy - Muscat
Exhibitions
· CeBIT 2005 – Germany
· Gitex 2008
Prizes
First prize winner for the Jordan Telecom most innovative project competition in the ICT sector - 2005
BI And Data warehousing:
REALSOFT has an extensive experience in this field. It can provide both consultation and implementation of end-to-end solutions
· Build and design Data Warehouses both ROLAP and MOLAP using Oracle OLAP server
· ETL using Oracle Warehouse Builder and Oracle Data Integrator and IBM data stage
· Build and design analysis and reporting solutions using the Oracle Business Intelligence Suite—delivers a full range of BI capabilities including interactive dashboards, ad hoc reporting, proactive intelligence and alerts, Enterprise reporting and distribution
Oracle ADF application development framework for J2EE
· ADF J2EE consultation and development.
· ADF business components (BC4J).
· Using Jdeveloper to build JSF based Application.
· integration with Oracle OID (LDAP)
Integration Services
As a result of REALSOFT Wide exposure to numerous projects, it gained a solid experience in integrating Oracle environment with others platforms
· Seamless integration with IBM MQSeries messaging system
· Oracle Integration with IBM DB400 through DRDA
· Flat files, XML, TCP/IP, Excel, ODBC, SQL Server, MySQL, ORACLE Heterogeneous Services
Geographic Information System (GIS)
Visualization is becoming an important part of software solutions. REALSOFT integrates several of its solution with a GIS based visual layers. We utilize several tools to satisfy this need.
· Oracle locator and Spatial Engine
· Oracle java based Map Viewer
· ESRI Suite of products
Oracle Classical Technologies
REALSOFT employees have enormous experience in Oracle Core technology and products.
· Oracle Internet Developer suite, Oracle Forms and Reports Designer (100% generation), Oracle HeadStart, Discoverer, Jdeveloper etc..
· Oracle Custom Development Method (CDM)
Saturday, October 04, 2008
الخط العربـي
لطالما غدوت معجبا باشكال الخط العربي لا وبل باؤلائك الذين يتقنون فنونة. لقد برع العرب عبر غابر الزمان بالكتابة وظهر نتيجة لذلك عدة انواع من الخطوط والتي لا يمكن وصفها الا انها من الروعة بمكان
ومنذ صغري وانا اقف محدقا امام كلمات مصفوفة مكتوبة بخطوط عربية غير ابه بمعانيها بل هائما في الابعاد الجمالية لتلك القطع الفنية الرائعة محدقا بالاشكال القابعة امامي مستمتعا بما تحوية من مخزون جمالي منقطع النظير مقدرا الموهبة العالية لهذا النمط من الفن
وما اثلج صدري واشعل قريحتي مؤخرا هو موقع يعلن عن دروس في الخط العربي
http://www.khtt.net/artefact-7037-en.html
ومنذ صغري وانا اقف محدقا امام كلمات مصفوفة مكتوبة بخطوط عربية غير ابه بمعانيها بل هائما في الابعاد الجمالية لتلك القطع الفنية الرائعة محدقا بالاشكال القابعة امامي مستمتعا بما تحوية من مخزون جمالي منقطع النظير مقدرا الموهبة العالية لهذا النمط من الفن
وما اثلج صدري واشعل قريحتي مؤخرا هو موقع يعلن عن دروس في الخط العربي
http://www.khtt.net/artefact-7037-en.html
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
Books@cafe stunning reaction
BooksATcafe was closed for serving alcohol during Ramadan, I am stunned as to why people are shocked. http://www.7iber.com/blog/2008/09/18/closing-of-bookscafe/
ever since i was a kid, i see all liquor stores close down, but the gay-centric community of books@cafe is appalled? Out of respect, ya gam3et elkair you could have shown solidarity with the vast majority of the nation and the country where you are living and respected their feeling by excersing your inclination in secrecy. Defiance shall take you no where.
Sorry, but your idiology stems from different background and different culture which obviously is not prevelent in this part of the world nor is easily accepted by your fellow citizins (and apparently government officials).
In the end, Jordan is part of the Arab and Islamic world where Ramdan is seriously observed. Any expilict lack of respect to Ramadan and values of Ramadan shall not taken lightly by the commnity at large. if you want to drink alcohol in Ramadan, it does not have to be in public
i am sorry again, but to criticize Jordan, the rule and regulation for such a cause is, from my point of view, is a silly thing. There are lots of other things that are far more valid if you want to criticise.
Actually, i have a contrary view on drinking alcohol in Jordan. I studied in the US back in the 80's and then, there were strict rules and regulation with regards to alcohol.
Drinking age is 21 ( Here you can buy and drink during your infency)
No liquor store is licensed if it is within 1-2 miles from a school (here in Amman look across Wahbee Tamaree kindergarten and tell me what you see)
Drinking and Driving is a felony (Never heard anybody tested for driving while drinking in Jordan)
And you ppl are getting too mad if you were asked to observe the holliness of the month of Ramadan
ever since i was a kid, i see all liquor stores close down, but the gay-centric community of books@cafe is appalled? Out of respect, ya gam3et elkair you could have shown solidarity with the vast majority of the nation and the country where you are living and respected their feeling by excersing your inclination in secrecy. Defiance shall take you no where.
Sorry, but your idiology stems from different background and different culture which obviously is not prevelent in this part of the world nor is easily accepted by your fellow citizins (and apparently government officials).
In the end, Jordan is part of the Arab and Islamic world where Ramdan is seriously observed. Any expilict lack of respect to Ramadan and values of Ramadan shall not taken lightly by the commnity at large. if you want to drink alcohol in Ramadan, it does not have to be in public
اذا ابتليتم فاستتروا
i am sorry again, but to criticize Jordan, the rule and regulation for such a cause is, from my point of view, is a silly thing. There are lots of other things that are far more valid if you want to criticise.
Actually, i have a contrary view on drinking alcohol in Jordan. I studied in the US back in the 80's and then, there were strict rules and regulation with regards to alcohol.
Drinking age is 21 ( Here you can buy and drink during your infency)
No liquor store is licensed if it is within 1-2 miles from a school (here in Amman look across Wahbee Tamaree kindergarten and tell me what you see)
Drinking and Driving is a felony (Never heard anybody tested for driving while drinking in Jordan)
And you ppl are getting too mad if you were asked to observe the holliness of the month of Ramadan
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Eid -- Déjà Vu
Yesterday, when eid was announced i felt that i have this moment again -- الافطار اليوم غلط
http://oraclejo.blogspot.com/2007/10/eid-tomorrow-it-is-only-politically.html
Egypt, Algeria, Syria, Yemen and others continued fasting today, and they were correct about it
Is it really that difficult to unify such occasion?
I am really disappointed that Muslim countries still cannot accept the declaration of new lunar month astronomically! I cannot understand the rational behind it
Regardless, it was a very very beautiful days weather wise today
http://oraclejo.blogspot.com/2007/10/eid-tomorrow-it-is-only-politically.html
Egypt, Algeria, Syria, Yemen and others continued fasting today, and they were correct about it
Is it really that difficult to unify such occasion?
I am really disappointed that Muslim countries still cannot accept the declaration of new lunar month astronomically! I cannot understand the rational behind it
Regardless, it was a very very beautiful days weather wise today
Monday, September 29, 2008
bailout rejected احلوت اللعبة
the collapse of the soviet union stunned the world’s population as it was not easy to comprehend how a super power could end.
The financial system in the US seems to be collapsing in a shocking manner. Something I could not have believed if I were not living the moments.
Is this a proof that capitalism is bound to fail, and that we are just witnessing the start of the its decline?
What about Free Economy? The US government proposed to bailout the financial institutions for a staggering amount of 700 Billion USD. Such intervention, I believe, is really a step in the opposite direction of what Free Economy is all about!
An Immediate reaction for the rejection of the bailout plan was record drop in the Dow and Nasdaq in addition to a drastic drop in Oil prices.
What is the future going to bring us, how are the current crises going to affect us in the Middle East? Allay yostor and this is yet to be seen
What is puzzling me the most is how have this all happened? It is not easy to believe that western economists graduating from Harvard and Yale and supposedly the brightest among the economists of the world, those behind building companies that invented INTEL, AMD CPU, those behind building MAC O/S and Windows, those behind Oracle Database and IBM websphere, those behind conquering the outside space, those behind VMWARE software. those behind building FORD and Boeing , the federal bank, the world bank, Financial regulatory bodies all the CPAs the CFAs , CMAs. It is giants like Morgan Stanley, Leeman Brothers that we are talking about!!!!
Being a software veteran, I was and still is involved in complex data mining software based on neural networks, fuzzy logic, experts systems that made possible the creation of software system like Risk Managements, Credit scoring, Anti Money laundering and others that is capable of raising so many alerts before the financial situation of a bank comes even close to exposure posing risk to banks operations. Let alone, software solution that we created here locally that monitors local bank Credit facilities classification and impairment provisions based on tough instruction put forward by the Central Bank of Jordan. Such software monitors and audits the banks credit facilities to ensure that banks have enough reserves against bad debts. Don’t tell me that such software systems do not exist in the States. And where did Basel II regulations taking us!
What am I trying to imply?
Conspiracy theory?
Is this a way to suck in the extra Oil money that oil producing countries made?
How much did governments and investors of Kuwait, KSA, UAE etc.. Lose?
Is this an epidemic that is going to sweep the entire world?
Well, after reading this, I am sure many people will tell me
الاسلام هو الحل
The financial system in the US seems to be collapsing in a shocking manner. Something I could not have believed if I were not living the moments.
Is this a proof that capitalism is bound to fail, and that we are just witnessing the start of the its decline?
What about Free Economy? The US government proposed to bailout the financial institutions for a staggering amount of 700 Billion USD. Such intervention, I believe, is really a step in the opposite direction of what Free Economy is all about!
An Immediate reaction for the rejection of the bailout plan was record drop in the Dow and Nasdaq in addition to a drastic drop in Oil prices.
What is the future going to bring us, how are the current crises going to affect us in the Middle East? Allay yostor and this is yet to be seen
What is puzzling me the most is how have this all happened? It is not easy to believe that western economists graduating from Harvard and Yale and supposedly the brightest among the economists of the world, those behind building companies that invented INTEL, AMD CPU, those behind building MAC O/S and Windows, those behind Oracle Database and IBM websphere, those behind conquering the outside space, those behind VMWARE software. those behind building FORD and Boeing , the federal bank, the world bank, Financial regulatory bodies all the CPAs the CFAs , CMAs. It is giants like Morgan Stanley, Leeman Brothers that we are talking about!!!!
Being a software veteran, I was and still is involved in complex data mining software based on neural networks, fuzzy logic, experts systems that made possible the creation of software system like Risk Managements, Credit scoring, Anti Money laundering and others that is capable of raising so many alerts before the financial situation of a bank comes even close to exposure posing risk to banks operations. Let alone, software solution that we created here locally that monitors local bank Credit facilities classification and impairment provisions based on tough instruction put forward by the Central Bank of Jordan. Such software monitors and audits the banks credit facilities to ensure that banks have enough reserves against bad debts. Don’t tell me that such software systems do not exist in the States. And where did Basel II regulations taking us!
What am I trying to imply?
Conspiracy theory?
Is this a way to suck in the extra Oil money that oil producing countries made?
How much did governments and investors of Kuwait, KSA, UAE etc.. Lose?
Is this an epidemic that is going to sweep the entire world?
Well, after reading this, I am sure many people will tell me
الاسلام هو الحل
Monday, September 22, 2008
يا فرحة ما تمت
In my last post about The world's largest atom smasher at CERN, I obviously failed to hide my excessive excitement and enormous joy about the commencement of the 27-kilometer circular tunnel housing the Large Hadron Collider LHC under the Swiss-French border.
I Guess Newton’s third law rules supreme; "For every action there is a reaction, equal in magnitude but opposite in direction". Well currently, the same immense feelings still overwhelm me, however, and in accordance with Newton third law (opposite in direction), it is a feeling of disappointment. It has recently come to my knowledge that the smasher has gone out of commission due to a faulty electrical connection, and as such it will need at least 2 more months to be fixed.
The $10 billion LHC particle collider, in the design and construction stages for more than two decades, is the world's largest atom smasher. It fires beams of protons from the nuclei of atoms around the tunnels at nearly the speed of light.It then causes the protons to collide, revealing how the tiniest particles were first created after the "big bang," which many theorize was the massive explosion that formed the stars, planets and everything.
There is a reason why it going to take long to fix the fault. To increase the efficiency, the smasher operates at near absolute zero (for those who are scientifically inclined, it is Zero Kelvin or -273). Warming up the environment and cooling it down again simply takes time!
ammar
I Guess Newton’s third law rules supreme; "For every action there is a reaction, equal in magnitude but opposite in direction". Well currently, the same immense feelings still overwhelm me, however, and in accordance with Newton third law (opposite in direction), it is a feeling of disappointment. It has recently come to my knowledge that the smasher has gone out of commission due to a faulty electrical connection, and as such it will need at least 2 more months to be fixed.
The $10 billion LHC particle collider, in the design and construction stages for more than two decades, is the world's largest atom smasher. It fires beams of protons from the nuclei of atoms around the tunnels at nearly the speed of light.It then causes the protons to collide, revealing how the tiniest particles were first created after the "big bang," which many theorize was the massive explosion that formed the stars, planets and everything.
There is a reason why it going to take long to fix the fault. To increase the efficiency, the smasher operates at near absolute zero (for those who are scientifically inclined, it is Zero Kelvin or -273). Warming up the environment and cooling it down again simply takes time!
ammar
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
End of World
Are we going to witness the end of the world anytime soon?The Large Hadron Collider LHC -- a $9 billion particle accelerator designed to simulate conditions of the Big Bang that created the physical Universe -- was switched on at 0732 GMT at CERN, Switzerland. Today Sept 10th might be a day that history shall remember (or not quite so) for generations to come Scientist shall experiment the effect of collisions of Protons being fired around 27Km tunnel in opposite direction. Some scientists fear that such experiment may lead to the creation of Black Holes. So What? Ok, Blacks holes are very small particles with huge mass with gravitational forces so great that can swallow anything around it, even light (and hence the name Black). Well if this is true, then such energy is capable of swallowing planet earth and as such would mark the end of the world. If such a thread exists, then why physicists are massively excited about such an experiment
-Confirm theories that physicists have been studying including the existence of an extra dimension.
-The detection of a particle called Higgs Boson which is assumed to exist but never detected. Such particle is also known God particle. If LHC experiments prove the existence of Higgs Boson, the reason why matter has mass is revealed.
-Experiments will recreate the conditions of less than a millionth of a second after the Big Bang and therefore, try to confirm or reestablish how the world evolved.
-Explain why is the universe is ever expanding at an accelerating rate?
-Explain How gravity works?
I am sure there is more, but this is enough for an inquisitive mind to get keyed up for a new era of knowledge discovery. Despite its vast and complex appearance, Our universe is actually ORDERED , RATIONAL and ELEGENT. It is this fact finding experiments that show that the cosmos conforms to mathematical equations so symmetrical and satisfying, they can only be described as beautiful. No wonder Einstein said God does not play dice with the universe.
Can you people imagine that never anybody during the course of history of humanity endeavored for an experimental project that big before
I cannot wait
Amman Sept 10th , 2008
Ramadan 10, 1429
Ammar Sajdi
http://www.e-ammar.com/
-Confirm theories that physicists have been studying including the existence of an extra dimension.
-The detection of a particle called Higgs Boson which is assumed to exist but never detected. Such particle is also known God particle. If LHC experiments prove the existence of Higgs Boson, the reason why matter has mass is revealed.
-Experiments will recreate the conditions of less than a millionth of a second after the Big Bang and therefore, try to confirm or reestablish how the world evolved.
-Explain why is the universe is ever expanding at an accelerating rate?
-Explain How gravity works?
I am sure there is more, but this is enough for an inquisitive mind to get keyed up for a new era of knowledge discovery. Despite its vast and complex appearance, Our universe is actually ORDERED , RATIONAL and ELEGENT. It is this fact finding experiments that show that the cosmos conforms to mathematical equations so symmetrical and satisfying, they can only be described as beautiful. No wonder Einstein said God does not play dice with the universe.
Can you people imagine that never anybody during the course of history of humanity endeavored for an experimental project that big before
I cannot wait
Amman Sept 10th , 2008
Ramadan 10, 1429
Ammar Sajdi
http://www.e-ammar.com/
Saturday, September 06, 2008
My first website - a primitive one
When I first felt like having a presence on the Web, Life was simple for me then. I did not know about HTML, Front page or any of the known Web authoring tools. Therefore, I decided to use an intuitive approach with ubiquitous methods.
The apparatus:
Pen
Paper
Scanner
The first web site consisted of only one page with the following components (of course the layout of the original website - which never saw the light- had a phenomenal asthetic dimesnion to it, for its time, and the components you see are just isolated individual component laid out randomly ) :-
Weather Corner
Wafayat
Tahanee Corner
Exit button
Home Button
technology corner
Friday, September 05, 2008
Head to Head
Google is a declaring a serious confrontation in the arena of web browser with the introduction of its CHROME browser. I cannot hide the fact that i am a firm believer in Google and as such, i downloaded the product on the same day it was announced. Already, news about security holes are looming, but remember this in only a BETA version. One nice thing about CHROME is that in the URL address field, you can either type a real URL or a search clause.
Is CHROME yet another browser? Is the world really in need for another browser? In fact, Google claims that that CHROME is not another simple browser, it is a platform to run web applications!Is this the start of a "head to head" competition with Microsoft? Not to forget, that Microsoft tried to buy Yahoo (45 Billion USD offer) that Yahoo turned down last may. Yahoo then signed an agreement with Google to share advertisement space. Microsoft seems to be seriously interested in invading the Web space through the acquisition of yahoo! and google does not just want to watch.
As a matter of fact, if CHROME succeeds in becoming the hub of a web based cloud computing model that necessarily obviates the need for Windows, MAC etc..
Is CHROME yet another browser? Is the world really in need for another browser? In fact, Google claims that that CHROME is not another simple browser, it is a platform to run web applications!Is this the start of a "head to head" competition with Microsoft? Not to forget, that Microsoft tried to buy Yahoo (45 Billion USD offer) that Yahoo turned down last may. Yahoo then signed an agreement with Google to share advertisement space. Microsoft seems to be seriously interested in invading the Web space through the acquisition of yahoo! and google does not just want to watch.
As a matter of fact, if CHROME succeeds in becoming the hub of a web based cloud computing model that necessarily obviates the need for Windows, MAC etc..
81 Years old letter
من عبق التاريخ
Back in 1927 an earthquake hit the eastern Mediterranean region. It affected many areas in Palestine and Jordan. But one of the most hardly hit was the city of Nablus. Obviously, I was there at that time, but my grandfather (Who passed away a long time ago) told me about it on several occasion because he was working for the public works at that time. Anyway, the letter on the left is an interesting historical peace that is worth publishing. Until today, a customer answer for certain question that asks about things in the deep past, would be “Sanet il hazzeh” The year of the quake.
Histroy has special taste to it
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Smile
A smile in the face can make you content if you were angry and vice versa.
Smile, it comes at no extra cost
rgds
Smile, it comes at no extra cost
rgds
It is R rated
Sex and the City is a movie that i watched this evening at home. It is a silly movie with quite a bit of naughty scenes. If it were not for such exposed scenaries, it would fit for teangers as well.
It is akin to Old Eygptian movies, where the actors exhibt a conspicious tendency towards exaggeration in their acting. However a phenomenal charactersitic in Eygptian movies is the fact that during the 2 hours everthing goes wrong, and all of a suddent, and towards the last few moments of the movie, things seem to turn out for the best (happy ending).
I like such twists in those movies, because i live real life moments every minute I breath and as such when i watch a movie i look for something different, and i do not want to be reminded of real life situation then.
Well, Eyptians lead the way in movies they produced in the 40's, 50's and 60's and now the Americans are catching up with a manifestation called Sex and the City.
It is akin to Old Eygptian movies, where the actors exhibt a conspicious tendency towards exaggeration in their acting. However a phenomenal charactersitic in Eygptian movies is the fact that during the 2 hours everthing goes wrong, and all of a suddent, and towards the last few moments of the movie, things seem to turn out for the best (happy ending).
I like such twists in those movies, because i live real life moments every minute I breath and as such when i watch a movie i look for something different, and i do not want to be reminded of real life situation then.
Well, Eyptians lead the way in movies they produced in the 40's, 50's and 60's and now the Americans are catching up with a manifestation called Sex and the City.
Mystery solved
Olympic diving is one of my favorite sports activities to watch. In the past few days i was wondering why divers shower between each dive.
I check yahoo main page for two reasons (almost daily) to check on main news and to check out the finanical market. While i was doing that just now, the main featured news on the main page of http://www.yahoo.com/ was Why showers always shower? (corrrection: Why Divers always shower?) I was really excited to question something and find the answer on yahoo main page.
According to the featured article http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/blog/fourth_place_medal/post/The-mystery-of-the-showering-divers?urn=oly,100472
"Divers shower in between each dive to keep their muscles warm after getting out of the pool. The temperature of the pool water and the air are usually different (the pool is usually around 80 degrees, with the air temperature between 68 and 72 degrees). This difference can cause muscle tightness. To combat this, divers warm up in either the showers or a hot tub."
ammar
I check yahoo main page for two reasons (almost daily) to check on main news and to check out the finanical market. While i was doing that just now, the main featured news on the main page of http://www.yahoo.com/ was Why showers always shower? (corrrection: Why Divers always shower?) I was really excited to question something and find the answer on yahoo main page.
According to the featured article http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/blog/fourth_place_medal/post/The-mystery-of-the-showering-divers?urn=oly,100472
"Divers shower in between each dive to keep their muscles warm after getting out of the pool. The temperature of the pool water and the air are usually different (the pool is usually around 80 degrees, with the air temperature between 68 and 72 degrees). This difference can cause muscle tightness. To combat this, divers warm up in either the showers or a hot tub."
ammar
Mystery solved
Olympic diving is one of my favorite sports activities to watch. In the past few days i was wondering why
Sunday, August 10, 2008
moments of anguish
It was early this morning that I received sorrowful news about the loss of a contemporary voice whose words transcended beyond the frontiers of his homeland Palestine to the entire world.
A poet who leaves an eternal legacy of legendary masterpieces that simply pierced through ears, minds and hearts of the masses
A great loss of an unprecedented talent that will definitely leave a vacuum so hard to be refilled.
Mohamoud Darweesh passed away yesterday Aug 9th, 2008
Ammar Sajdi
Aug 10th, 2008
A poet who leaves an eternal legacy of legendary masterpieces that simply pierced through ears, minds and hearts of the masses
A great loss of an unprecedented talent that will definitely leave a vacuum so hard to be refilled.
Mohamoud Darweesh passed away yesterday Aug 9th, 2008
Ammar Sajdi
Aug 10th, 2008
www.realsoft-me.com
www.e-ammar.net
www.palco-me.com
Saturday, August 09, 2008
THE ATOMIC BOMBING OF NAGASAKI August 9, 1945
At 11:02 a.m., at an altitude of 1,650 feet, Fat Man exploded over Nagasaki. The yield of the explosion was later estimated at 21 kilotons, 40 percent greater than that of the Hiroshima bomb.
Although the destruction at Nagasaki has generally received less worldwide attention than that at Hiroshima, it was extensive nonetheless. Almost everything up to half a mile from ground zero was completely destroyed, including even the earthquake-hardened concrete structures that had sometimes survived at comparable distances at Hiroshima. According to a Nagasaki Prefectural report "men and animals died almost instantly" within 1 kilometer (0.62 miles) of the point of detonation. Almost all homes within a mile and a half were destroyed, and dry, combustible materials such as paper instantly burst into flames as far away as 10,000 feet from ground zero. Of the 52,000 homes in Nagasaki, 14,000 were destroyed and 5,400 more seriously damaged. Only 12 percent of the homes escaped unscathed
source:Office of History and resources US dept of energy
The atomic bomb resulted from research intially carried out in Germany and then moved to the USA. The following is an letter written by Albert Einstine to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt urging the US government to support research in this area before the German Government leads the way in building an exteremely powerful bomb (later known as the Manhattan project).
note: double click to read the letter clearly
Friday, August 08, 2008
human digital billboard
This is how to descirbe the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympics games at Beijing. Thounsands of human bodies harmonized to illumiate a simulation of an electronic billboard.
It was nothing less than spectacular, while firework exploded over the national stadium.
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
A Car in Amman
This is the 2008 model, but when i coincidently spotted the older model yesterday evening in the street of amman, i would immensly argue and assert that it is looking as good as ever and there is little differernce (if any) i could glimps compared to a year ago. Pitete as it may look, but certainly spacious in heart. While mostly pleasent, it demonstrates unforegivingly monsterous reactions at times. . A little hickup though, do not try to out performe its natural limits, because then, you cannot foresee what you are getting yourself into,; it could simply as well let you down. Therefore, one should not compare to others, but suffice it to say; it shines out brightly in its class. In case you are wandering, I never owned it and probably never will. Obviously, because what i own , albiet classical, stands out as the ultimate of its class. Additionally, these generation appeared rather recent, at which time, intricate decisions had already been properly taken.
Verdict: Modern, stylish, attractive and fun, but fragile in handling the demanding ruggedness required in this part of the world
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Business as usual
Driving up hill was definitely a daunting task, but hell, it was well worth it
The hotel is overlooking the sea as you can see, the other side of the hotel overlooks green valleys and high mountains.
Down at the beach it feels really humid, but up here, it was really nice. The hotel is a 5 star hotel, but strangely, the service was not!!!!
The real view is breath taking; this picture has got its resolution reduced to decrease its size, but still it gives the impression.
Sun Set at the beach
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Vacation time
Starting tomorrow, i will be on a 5 days vacation.
Why tomorrow specifically? because i thought tomorrow is a day off due to Isra2 and Mi3raj occasion. Right? Worng!
Yes it is Isra2 occasion, but it is no longer a holiday.
Reservation was made two weeks back, and as such, Vacation goes on!
Will report back to work next monday Aug 3rd, until then, nothing related to databases, j2ee, ETL, OLAP or bits and bytes please
Why tomorrow specifically? because i thought tomorrow is a day off due to Isra2 and Mi3raj occasion. Right? Worng!
Yes it is Isra2 occasion, but it is no longer a holiday.
Reservation was made two weeks back, and as such, Vacation goes on!
Will report back to work next monday Aug 3rd, until then, nothing related to databases, j2ee, ETL, OLAP or bits and bytes please
A Memoir of Moods and Madness
An unquiet mind, this paperback book is authored by Kay Redfield Jamison
I ordered the book and i will receive it anytime soon.
I ordered the book and i will receive it anytime soon.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Sunday, July 20, 2008
The house of your dreams
On Thursday July 10th, we held school re-union for many of the pre-historic school friends. The venue was the house of my grandmother, the late Abdul Raheem Jardaneh - Jabal Amman. The house was built in 1935 at a street previously known as Mango Str, or Asfoor Str, but formally Omar Ibn Al-Khatab just 100 meter before Books@cafe. The house was renovated and decorated by my aunte Zaha Jardaneh Mango who posses a natural talent in interior design. The first invited guest walked in and then out thinking that they were entering a museum and not a house. The weather was magnificent and the setting nothing less than magical. I took a few pictures to explain why
A Warm Welcom
A little bit of History
One day back in 2003, 2004 I used this room as a study room while discussing Final projects for a group of students
a miniature dining room (this room was one an office ). Please note the floor
Same room but zooming at one of the walls where a full size painting of Jerusalem fills the entire wall
looking inside the same room from the Garden
looking outside from the main entrance
This is a picture taking at a low altitude. The ceramics are the original 1935
Beautiful formation
This is a Radio bought in 1937. This is Pre Transistor Radio, meaning that this Radio was built before the invention of the Transistor (probably using Vaccum Tube technology)
Part of the Garden
Also in the Garden
Some of the Guest: Nadia, Lara, Lama, Ghadeer, Maha and Ni3mat
There is also an old library and could not but take a few shots of some books that emanate history
look at the date on which this book was purchased (21/12/1920)
This book was published in 1895 (some 113 years ago) and is as good as new
So, you think you can read Arabic, read on, it is an Organic Chemstry book. By the way, my grandfather was a pharmacist
Read the following section as well
Read the following section as well
Friday, July 18, 2008
Congratulations
and Welcome back!
It is home coming season; People graduating from colleges, expats coming for summer vacation, however, foremost among those coming back are the Lebanese heroes who were held captive in Israeli jails. And foremost among those, is Sameer Qintar. Sameer was caught in Nahariya while executing a heroic mission way back then (1979). He was 17. Sameer was sentenced for over than 500 years. He was back to Lebanon as part of the Hizbulallah - Israel prisoners swap.
The IRONY is the following
Jordan and Egypt signed peace treaties with Israel long time ago and as we speak there are still Jordanian and Egyptian prisoners in Israeli jails. Lebanon on the other hand, did not sign and peace treaty and got its prisoners Free! Any lessons learned?
It is home coming season; People graduating from colleges, expats coming for summer vacation, however, foremost among those coming back are the Lebanese heroes who were held captive in Israeli jails. And foremost among those, is Sameer Qintar. Sameer was caught in Nahariya while executing a heroic mission way back then (1979). He was 17. Sameer was sentenced for over than 500 years. He was back to Lebanon as part of the Hizbulallah - Israel prisoners swap.
The IRONY is the following
Jordan and Egypt signed peace treaties with Israel long time ago and as we speak there are still Jordanian and Egyptian prisoners in Israeli jails. Lebanon on the other hand, did not sign and peace treaty and got its prisoners Free! Any lessons learned?
Friday, July 11, 2008
Saturday, July 05, 2008
Travelling again
I am on my way to Muscat - Oman for two nights then another two nights at Manama Bahrain before i am back to Amman.
I have not been traveling lately. My last trip was a 2 day visit to Dubai on May 13th.
Business trips are no longer exciting to me at all. I try to avoid them when i can. However, they are inevitable.
what to exepct! well High temperature, high humidity, high hotel prices~
I have not been traveling lately. My last trip was a 2 day visit to Dubai on May 13th.
Business trips are no longer exciting to me at all. I try to avoid them when i can. However, they are inevitable.
what to exepct! well High temperature, high humidity, high hotel prices~
Friday, July 04, 2008
Pollution
This time i mean INFORMATION POLLUTION. I was hit by it. I can be diagnosed with new form of Illness. I am informationally polluted. OR, as some may like to call it. I am suffering from Information Overload.
When i first thought of it, it was kind of a humerous gesture on my side. But when i searched the net, i found a lot being written on this subject.
Its toll is becoming obvious on me. Even today, when i wanted to jot a few words on this blog, i had difficulty remebering how to login. Yes, i have not been in the best of my moods to write anything lately, but it has not been that long of a time to wonder how to login.
The acceleration at which information channels are filled and refilled is nothing but amazing. Needless to say, people like me, working in the field of information technology suffer the most. Without going into details, 16 years back, ORACLE corp owned around 16 products ( i could at that time list them along with their prices). One Oracle reporesentative told me last week that, as we speak, there are about 10,000 products. I do not know how true this is, but let us assume that there are about 1000. Just thinking of this immedaitely instigates a sense of loss, distraction and frustration being a person ambitious to maintain a goold level of knowledge about them. Well this is going to be a dauting and an impossible task. Trying to abandon them is just as stressful.
To get a feel that i am not kidding, this is an extract from "http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/chinneg.html" than can shed some light
"The acceleration of change is accompanied by an increase in the information needed to keep up with all these developments. This too leads to psychological, physical and social problems. A world-wide survey (Reuters, 1996) found that two thirds of managers suffer from increased tension and one third from ill-health because of information overload. The psychologist David Lewis, who analysed the findings of this survey, proposed the term "Information Fatigue Syndrome" to describe the resulting symptoms. Other effects of too much information include anxiety, poor decision-making, difficulties in memorizing and remembering, and reduced attention span (Reuters, 1996; Shenk, 1997). These effects merely add to the stress caused by the need to constantly adapt to a changing situation"
When i first thought of it, it was kind of a humerous gesture on my side. But when i searched the net, i found a lot being written on this subject.
Its toll is becoming obvious on me. Even today, when i wanted to jot a few words on this blog, i had difficulty remebering how to login. Yes, i have not been in the best of my moods to write anything lately, but it has not been that long of a time to wonder how to login.
The acceleration at which information channels are filled and refilled is nothing but amazing. Needless to say, people like me, working in the field of information technology suffer the most. Without going into details, 16 years back, ORACLE corp owned around 16 products ( i could at that time list them along with their prices). One Oracle reporesentative told me last week that, as we speak, there are about 10,000 products. I do not know how true this is, but let us assume that there are about 1000. Just thinking of this immedaitely instigates a sense of loss, distraction and frustration being a person ambitious to maintain a goold level of knowledge about them. Well this is going to be a dauting and an impossible task. Trying to abandon them is just as stressful.
To get a feel that i am not kidding, this is an extract from "http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/chinneg.html" than can shed some light
"The acceleration of change is accompanied by an increase in the information needed to keep up with all these developments. This too leads to psychological, physical and social problems. A world-wide survey (Reuters, 1996) found that two thirds of managers suffer from increased tension and one third from ill-health because of information overload. The psychologist David Lewis, who analysed the findings of this survey, proposed the term "Information Fatigue Syndrome" to describe the resulting symptoms. Other effects of too much information include anxiety, poor decision-making, difficulties in memorizing and remembering, and reduced attention span (Reuters, 1996; Shenk, 1997). These effects merely add to the stress caused by the need to constantly adapt to a changing situation"
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Find the Lost History
Even if you must go all the way to China, said the prophet, “Seek Knowledge”
In an era when the relationship between Islam and the West seems fraught with misunderstanding, how many of us realize that Muslim intellectual achievement was once envy of the world? In magnificent centers of learning, from Damascus to Baghdad and Cairo, mathematicians and a thousand year ago developed, algorithms, and trigonometry- the foundations upon which modern technology is build. Inventors devised the crankshaft and early versions of the torpedo and the parachute. Physicians’ techniques ranged from orthodontia to asthma care to tracheotomy. And Muslim astronomers calculated our planet’s diameter and circumference t a remarkable degree of accuracy- at a time when Europeans thought the Earth was flat
If you liked what you have just read, you shall enjoy more reading the book. It is called “Lost History, the enduring legacy of Muslim Scientists, Thinkers and Artists.
You will find the above paragraph on the leaflet.
The book is authored by Michael Hamilton Morgan, and forwarded by His majesty Kind Abdulla second of Jordan.
My mother asked me to order it for her through Amazon, and I ordered two.
It is valuable book indeed. A must have
Ammar Sajdi
In an era when the relationship between Islam and the West seems fraught with misunderstanding, how many of us realize that Muslim intellectual achievement was once envy of the world? In magnificent centers of learning, from Damascus to Baghdad and Cairo, mathematicians and a thousand year ago developed, algorithms, and trigonometry- the foundations upon which modern technology is build. Inventors devised the crankshaft and early versions of the torpedo and the parachute. Physicians’ techniques ranged from orthodontia to asthma care to tracheotomy. And Muslim astronomers calculated our planet’s diameter and circumference t a remarkable degree of accuracy- at a time when Europeans thought the Earth was flat
If you liked what you have just read, you shall enjoy more reading the book. It is called “Lost History, the enduring legacy of Muslim Scientists, Thinkers and Artists.
You will find the above paragraph on the leaflet.
The book is authored by Michael Hamilton Morgan, and forwarded by His majesty Kind Abdulla second of Jordan.
My mother asked me to order it for her through Amazon, and I ordered two.
It is valuable book indeed. A must have
Ammar Sajdi
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
When it come to this, i hate suspence
spontaneity, suspense could spice up one's life. However, when it comes to traveling, this kind of suspense really stresses me immensely. Yesterday, i received a call from Dubai summoning upon me to be present their as of this evening, and therefore, you need to make last minute cancellation to your meeting and do last minutes formidable hotel and flight booking, not knowing whether you will make it on time or not. After I made all the arrangements, I received last minute cancellations as well. Quite honestly, i was relieved. Home sweet Home
Ammar
Ammar
In your spare time
When i am not practicing work related hoppies, i am spending some of my spare time playing around with a google software product called sketchup. As its name implies, it is a productivity tool in the domain of computer sketching. You will like it, download and enjoy.
I am also falling in love with another freeware product called DotProject. This latter product shall make a grand entry to our REALSOFT enviornment pretty soon. It is a web enabled tasks oriented project management tool which will help all of us montior project management tasks as well as bug tracking via the internet. You can check this product out (www.dotproject.net). Finally, this product can integrate to our open source bug tracking system called mantis
I am also falling in love with another freeware product called DotProject. This latter product shall make a grand entry to our REALSOFT enviornment pretty soon. It is a web enabled tasks oriented project management tool which will help all of us montior project management tasks as well as bug tracking via the internet. You can check this product out (www.dotproject.net). Finally, this product can integrate to our open source bug tracking system called mantis
Global Warming
Records reveal that Britain is witnessing the warmest weather for the first two weeks of May, 2008 since 1772. Additonally, some scientists speculate that in 100 years you can kiss London good by, unless, of course, you can afford a submarine.
Ammar sajdi
Ammar sajdi
Born Again
This week i was introduced to the world of MUMPS. No it is not the epidemic that hit you when you were young (Painful swelling of the salivary glands caused by viral disease) a.k.a Abu Dhgaim. Rather it is MUMPS (Massachusetts General Hospital Utility Multi-Programming System), or alternatively M, is a programming language created in the late 1960s, originally for use in the healthcare industry. Since i spent almost every day of may career life working, reading, training and practicing Oracle and Oracle derivatives software and services, I became so overwhelmed by ORACLE to an extent that i feel that the world evolves around it. Well, and obviously, there is a lot more going around the world. There are communities, project, mission critical applications developed by the MUMPS language over MUMPS database. Such application are both in health and financial sectors. As of today, there are numerous sites that are running mumps. For example Bank of England and Barclays Bank, also it is used by Ameritrade, the largest online trading service in the US with over 12 billion transactions per day.
I know of no installation in Jordan, but something seems to be coming soon as there is a Jordanian tender calling for HIMS package called Vista (MUMPS based) http://www.rss2go.net/topic/national_healthcare (Bad news for local HIMS companies)
I came to know about MUMPS when a customer is Saudi Arabia was asking us if we can build a Data Warehouse solution for a health care system which is running MUMPS! my initial feedback was SAY WHAT? I know about a lot of things in this domain, but not this one. In the World of vista i am only three days old. I downloaded the product on Linux, built a database, and ran the Hello world example. If we take the project, i guess, my i will extend my MUMPS life and may even celebrate MUMPS birthdays, if not, my MUMPS life might as well just nostalgically evade
I know of no installation in Jordan, but something seems to be coming soon as there is a Jordanian tender calling for HIMS package called Vista (MUMPS based) http://www.rss2go.net/topic/national_healthcare (Bad news for local HIMS companies)
I came to know about MUMPS when a customer is Saudi Arabia was asking us if we can build a Data Warehouse solution for a health care system which is running MUMPS! my initial feedback was SAY WHAT? I know about a lot of things in this domain, but not this one. In the World of vista i am only three days old. I downloaded the product on Linux, built a database, and ran the Hello world example. If we take the project, i guess, my i will extend my MUMPS life and may even celebrate MUMPS birthdays, if not, my MUMPS life might as well just nostalgically evade
Friday, May 09, 2008
14 degrees at 12 pm
Since it is May and it has been feeling really cool the past two days, some people may think that weather conditions are not normal. in Reality, it is quite normal to wintess a couple of rather cloudy and cool days in May. Light rain is also normal. It did not rain in Amman, but it did in Jerusalem and Beirut during the past two days
Oracle BI Enterprise Edition
Yesterday, we finished an interesting 5 days session with Oracle, where we were introduced to Oracle's BI solution called BI EE. This suite is actually what Oracle inherited from its acquistion of Siebel. I must say that the functionalityies are not new to me, however, the user experience and look and feel are impressive. Especially, when it comes to Bi Answers and BI dashboard products. Soon, we shall also be exposed to IBM congnos after discussing IBM request to expand thier Software Operation in the area.
I have obtained a VM-WARE Oracle BI ready installation, and i am looking forward to examining the product even further this week-end. Another product that we were introduced to is Oracle Data Integrator (ODI) ,which is also a result of an acquistion from Synopsis. This product is ELT tool rather than ETL tool. When compared to OWB (Oracle Warehouse Builder), there are certain advantages especially in its capability with working with several different data sources and its capablity to do some transformation at the sources.
In the end, I have come to the conclusion to the fact that neither OWB nor Oracle discoverer superior products but at the same time , do not fall short of the other new products
I have obtained a VM-WARE Oracle BI ready installation, and i am looking forward to examining the product even further this week-end. Another product that we were introduced to is Oracle Data Integrator (ODI) ,which is also a result of an acquistion from Synopsis. This product is ELT tool rather than ETL tool. When compared to OWB (Oracle Warehouse Builder), there are certain advantages especially in its capability with working with several different data sources and its capablity to do some transformation at the sources.
In the end, I have come to the conclusion to the fact that neither OWB nor Oracle discoverer superior products but at the same time , do not fall short of the other new products
Saturday, May 03, 2008
Quran and Science
قال تعالى
والشمس تجري لمستقر لها ذلك تقدير العزيز الحكيم
سورة يس الاية 38
The Quran sura 36 verse 38
In translation: The Sun runs its course to a settled place.
Scientifically, please refer to the Book Observational Astronomy (by Scott Bireny , Guillermo Gonzalez and David Oesper, P73 which says:-
"The point on the sky towards which the sun (and therefore the solar system) moves is called the solar Apex"
Modern Science has therefore, ascertain, that there is indeed a point towards which the sun settles. This is in perfect harmony with the revelation of the holy Quran.
Actually, the inspiration of the idea came to me from a book called The Bible, the Quran and science by Maurice Bucaille that introduced me to the term solar Apex. I searched the net and found the scientific reference described above
Ammar Sajdi
والشمس تجري لمستقر لها ذلك تقدير العزيز الحكيم
سورة يس الاية 38
The Quran sura 36 verse 38
In translation: The Sun runs its course to a settled place.
Scientifically, please refer to the Book Observational Astronomy (by Scott Bireny , Guillermo Gonzalez and David Oesper, P73 which says:-
"The point on the sky towards which the sun (and therefore the solar system) moves is called the solar Apex"
Modern Science has therefore, ascertain, that there is indeed a point towards which the sun settles. This is in perfect harmony with the revelation of the holy Quran.
Actually, the inspiration of the idea came to me from a book called The Bible, the Quran and science by Maurice Bucaille that introduced me to the term solar Apex. I searched the net and found the scientific reference described above
Ammar Sajdi
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Conservation of Gravity
Mankind is constantly trying to conserver resources to sustain life. But are we doing enough
We are trying to conserve consumption of oil, and in fact scientists are keenly seeking alternative sources of energy. We are trying to conserve electricity consumption. We are trying to conserve Water consumption and trying to desalinate Sea water.
The intersting part: Can anybody deny that Gravity is a force that keeps us tied to ground? And if we try to defy that force by climbing a mountain, we get tiered? Since it is always acting on us, we ought to be consuming it. Can we persume that eventually this force will be used up like oil, water, TIME, age etc..
Can you imagine how life will be when (or if) Gravity is consumed?
for example, when we eat, how can food then move toward our stomach?
If you feel that life without gravity would not be plausible, then wouldn't that warrent a movement for the conservation of Gravity?
The more interesting question is How can then we conserve gravity?
sample suggestion
1) Live in Ground floors
2)Park your car Down hill
3)keep you bed a close as possible to the floor, or better yet, sleep on the floor
4) Avoid using elevators
5) Actively lose weight
...
Public awareness campaign are required to alter citizens about the catastrophic consequences of using up a valuable resource such as Gravity. Public attention is geared towards Ozone layer, global warmer, while conservation of gravity is total ignored.
I just want to mention that this idea has not just poped into my mind; it has, in fact, been a concern of my for quite sometime now.
Ammar
Friday, April 25, 2008
An Apt in Aqaba - Jordan
last year on April 13, i posted a blog about an unscheduled trip to Aqaba http://oraclejo.blogspot.com/2007/04/spontaneity.html
This firday, we did the same with some difference
1) We decided to go on Thursday (one day advance notice) rathat than on the same day
2) We got the keys for our apt at Aqaba Talay Bay (www.talabay.jo), rather than watching construction
3) It was so hot (also in Amman)
4) We left at 9:30 rather than 11:30
5) We were back by 8:15 rather than 9:15
6) I bought a pair of Adidas shoes rather than Clarks
everything else, pretty the same.
Now that we have an appartment is Aqaba, are we going to go often??? Big Question
Ammar Sajdi
This firday, we did the same with some difference
1) We decided to go on Thursday (one day advance notice) rathat than on the same day
2) We got the keys for our apt at Aqaba Talay Bay (www.talabay.jo), rather than watching construction
3) It was so hot (also in Amman)
4) We left at 9:30 rather than 11:30
5) We were back by 8:15 rather than 9:15
6) I bought a pair of Adidas shoes rather than Clarks
everything else, pretty the same.
Now that we have an appartment is Aqaba, are we going to go often??? Big Question
Ammar Sajdi
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Do you really think you can "do database Design"
Software industry in Jordan is pretty progressive with, however, about 90% of of software system involving in a way or another the usage of some database system. Graduates of Jordanian Unviersities specializing in Computer Science related dept are barely exposed to database concepts. Obviously this is due to the fact that the Educational System and the Industry are completely decoupled. My personal opinion, the Jordanian computer science graduate barely knows the ABC's of Database concepts. This is catastrophic because he/she shall be spending alsmost the entirty of their office hours writing applications that heavily depend on databases.
while interviewing new employees, i tend to ask basic questions about basic database questions, like defining the second normal form, explaining what concurrency and consistency is, the basics meaning of a transaction, Types of Joins etc. To my surprise initially, but otherwise lately, very, very few understand Normal Forms, or yet, what precisely a relation means in a Relational Database Management System.
My fears and paranoia continues till after employment, becuase, I have reasons to believe that many of those graduates deliver system while still do not have clear, precise and scientific understanding about topics that they spend a large portion of their career working with.
Current, previous and future IT emplyess should read the following series of articles to ensure that they are equipped with what is necessary to carry out your job correctly. Read on and assess yourself
http://database-programmer.blogspot.com/2007/12/database-skills-complete-contents.html
Ammar Sajdi
while interviewing new employees, i tend to ask basic questions about basic database questions, like defining the second normal form, explaining what concurrency and consistency is, the basics meaning of a transaction, Types of Joins etc. To my surprise initially, but otherwise lately, very, very few understand Normal Forms, or yet, what precisely a relation means in a Relational Database Management System.
My fears and paranoia continues till after employment, becuase, I have reasons to believe that many of those graduates deliver system while still do not have clear, precise and scientific understanding about topics that they spend a large portion of their career working with.
Current, previous and future IT emplyess should read the following series of articles to ensure that they are equipped with what is necessary to carry out your job correctly. Read on and assess yourself
http://database-programmer.blogspot.com/2007/12/database-skills-complete-contents.html
Ammar Sajdi
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Towards a computerized methodology for computerization
We build software solution that run on computers to help people better run their businesses. We use computers to build these software solutions. Yet, computers help us to better run or computer enablement business (it is a vicious circle). But i am excited about some advances that will help us manage building software solutions using computers.
During testing, we find bugs, when the system becomes big and the no of developers grows, it is not easy to follow up on bugs. A couple of year ago, we started using a software tool called Mantis. It is an open source bug tracking software than runs PHP, Apache and MySQL (The LAMP combination, you know). It is a very helpful tool, where developers are assigned tasks to solve bugs. Unsurprisingly, we also use software like MS Project to follow up our project plan. There are Open Source Project planning software like DotProject. Not very exciting so far. What is more exciting however is the fact that you can integrate Mantis with DotProject. This will effectively link bug fixing task with your project plan. In other words, once a bug is fed into Mantis and assigned to a developer. The project plan shall immediately reflect this as a new task in the project plan and shall also reflect this task in terms of time plan in your project plan (Gantt Chart)
You have no clue how much joy is brought to my soul whenever an attempt is made towards reaching a Chaos free software development endeavor.
Mantis is already implemented in our office. DotProject is not, neither is the integration between both. Any volunteers?
During testing, we find bugs, when the system becomes big and the no of developers grows, it is not easy to follow up on bugs. A couple of year ago, we started using a software tool called Mantis. It is an open source bug tracking software than runs PHP, Apache and MySQL (The LAMP combination, you know). It is a very helpful tool, where developers are assigned tasks to solve bugs. Unsurprisingly, we also use software like MS Project to follow up our project plan. There are Open Source Project planning software like DotProject. Not very exciting so far. What is more exciting however is the fact that you can integrate Mantis with DotProject. This will effectively link bug fixing task with your project plan. In other words, once a bug is fed into Mantis and assigned to a developer. The project plan shall immediately reflect this as a new task in the project plan and shall also reflect this task in terms of time plan in your project plan (Gantt Chart)
You have no clue how much joy is brought to my soul whenever an attempt is made towards reaching a Chaos free software development endeavor.
Mantis is already implemented in our office. DotProject is not, neither is the integration between both. Any volunteers?
Monday, April 14, 2008
Dubai, what has changed
It has been a while since my last visit to Dubai. To be exact my last visit was some 15 months back. What has changed since?
If you looked in the skyline before, you would see hight rise. Now , you would see high rise, and more high rise
If you drove on Shiek Zaied Road, you would be stuck in traffic Jams. Now, you would be stuck in traffic jams, and more traffic jams.
If you booked in a hotel, you would spend big money. Now you spend big money and bigger money (A five star hotel is 300 USD easy - Per night + taxes)
other than that nothing has changed except of course with the high rise, traffic more people are found around.
But to be fair, i found the weather more pleasant that expected for this time of the year
I came yesterday very late at night, and leaving tomorrow morning to Bahrain. Bahrain is still more reasonable.
If you looked in the skyline before, you would see hight rise. Now , you would see high rise, and more high rise
If you drove on Shiek Zaied Road, you would be stuck in traffic Jams. Now, you would be stuck in traffic jams, and more traffic jams.
If you booked in a hotel, you would spend big money. Now you spend big money and bigger money (A five star hotel is 300 USD easy - Per night + taxes)
other than that nothing has changed except of course with the high rise, traffic more people are found around.
But to be fair, i found the weather more pleasant that expected for this time of the year
I came yesterday very late at night, and leaving tomorrow morning to Bahrain. Bahrain is still more reasonable.
Monday, April 07, 2008
Snow in London
April Snow in London is not common, neither is the fact that Jordan witnessed no Rain during the entire month of March. Year 2008 is going to be a tough year for everybody in Jordan. Oil prices jumped ridiculously (Diesel doubled and selling at around 88 cent / liter), water is scarce, rent is sky rocketing, electricity tariffs increased and I am afraid that Humous and Falafel meal shall soon become “a delicacy”
ammar
ammar
Saturday, April 05, 2008
Mohammad Rateb Nabulsi
I was at dinner party two days back where the guest of honor was Dr. Mohammad Rateb Nabulsi, a Syrian scholar. Even though i was not feeling well due to severe cold conditions, but i have to say that i enjoyed Dr. Nabulsi interpretation of many controversial issues in religion domain. He is very elaborate, yet concise with a wealth of information that is barely surpassed by the most prominent scholars of the world. Adding to pthe leasure of listening to him was his eloquent language and organized logic.
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
backup your computer data
undoubtedly, we all have important data residing on our computers. That may include emails, important documents , financial sheets, digital photos, database files etc..
data can get lost: your hard disk can break down, a virus can wipe out your files, your laptop can be stolen, let alone fire, water floods etc
having said that, backup strategy is your insurance against a tragedy.
Human tend to fall in to the following categories backup - wise
1- Do not understand the need for backup
2- Understand the need for backup, but always look at the bright side and as such can dispel any backup related obsessions or flashes
3- Understand the need but either lazy or incapable of performing it
4- Understand the need, and are taking it religiously
Well, one day a disaster will take place and you will loose what can be indispensable data. Taking regular backup can be a daunting and not to mention a very boring process. I searched the internet and found some user friendly tools that should prove very helpful in assisting you to create an effective backup strategy. Most of these tools can allow you to take incremental backup. An incremental backup only take the changes between your last backup and the current one , thus making your backup much faster
Anyway, i will name a few products, and you can search the net and by using the following search words for more tools
file duplicator, File synchronize, File mirror, Mirror Disk
you will find tools that are prices from a few bucks to several hundreds.
I tried the following two products
ViseVersa http://www.tgrmn.com
Titan Backup http://www.neobytesolutions.com/
You should not know have an excuse for loosing data. Please remeber that it is not enough to take your backup to a different hard disk within your computer, it should be taken to an external device and stored in a safe place
Happy backing-up (or backup-ing)
Ammar sajdi
data can get lost: your hard disk can break down, a virus can wipe out your files, your laptop can be stolen, let alone fire, water floods etc
having said that, backup strategy is your insurance against a tragedy.
Human tend to fall in to the following categories backup - wise
1- Do not understand the need for backup
2- Understand the need for backup, but always look at the bright side and as such can dispel any backup related obsessions or flashes
3- Understand the need but either lazy or incapable of performing it
4- Understand the need, and are taking it religiously
Well, one day a disaster will take place and you will loose what can be indispensable data. Taking regular backup can be a daunting and not to mention a very boring process. I searched the internet and found some user friendly tools that should prove very helpful in assisting you to create an effective backup strategy. Most of these tools can allow you to take incremental backup. An incremental backup only take the changes between your last backup and the current one , thus making your backup much faster
Anyway, i will name a few products, and you can search the net and by using the following search words for more tools
file duplicator, File synchronize, File mirror, Mirror Disk
you will find tools that are prices from a few bucks to several hundreds.
I tried the following two products
ViseVersa http://www.tgrmn.com
Titan Backup http://www.neobytesolutions.com/
You should not know have an excuse for loosing data. Please remeber that it is not enough to take your backup to a different hard disk within your computer, it should be taken to an external device and stored in a safe place
Happy backing-up (or backup-ing)
Ammar sajdi
Sunday, March 30, 2008
We never cease to learn - Cadre
The word كادر is a common word that is used in the Arabic language to describe a team of people to deliver a certain job. Before today, i would have sworn my life that it is a word of Arabic origin. Today i have received from a customer a request for a quotation. Within the document i came across the following
RealSoft shall p0rovide a capable technical cadre to be on call to correct any breakdowns ...
Not that i am a linguistic wiz, but it was the first time that i read this usage. Wikipedia came to the rescue with the following
"Cadre (from the French; pronounced /ˈkɑːdreɪ/) are the backbone of an organization, usually a political organization ..... The term is also commonly used in other venues to indicate an "original" or "leadership" group, i.e. the "first set" of users of a system who then will act as the seed-group who gain initial experience with a system, in order to facilitate its later use by a more general population"
Amazing!, i added a new easy work to my English vocabulary
RealSoft shall p0rovide a capable technical cadre to be on call to correct any breakdowns ...
Not that i am a linguistic wiz, but it was the first time that i read this usage. Wikipedia came to the rescue with the following
"Cadre (from the French; pronounced /ˈkɑːdreɪ/) are the backbone of an organization, usually a political organization ..... The term is also commonly used in other venues to indicate an "original" or "leadership" group, i.e. the "first set" of users of a system who then will act as the seed-group who gain initial experience with a system, in order to facilitate its later use by a more general population"
Amazing!, i added a new easy work to my English vocabulary
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Just for the Fun of It
Test your personality
visit the site http://www.kisa.ca/personality/
my results
Introverted (I) 57% Extraverted (E) 43%
Intuitive (N) 68% Sensing (S) 32%
Thinking (T) 65% Feeling (F) 35%
Judging (J) 95% Perceiving (P) 5%
visit the site http://www.kisa.ca/personality/
my results
Introverted (I) 57% Extraverted (E) 43%
Intuitive (N) 68% Sensing (S) 32%
Thinking (T) 65% Feeling (F) 35%
Judging (J) 95% Perceiving (P) 5%
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Monday, March 17, 2008
Arab Bank and an attempt to abandon the dark ages
This is not the first time, as a company we closed most of our accounts in the Arab bank due to the fact that Arab Bank thinks that we have nothing to do in this world but spend all of our time finishing up transaction with the bank. Unfortunately, i still have a personal account.
Last week I received a call from Arab Bank telling me that they renewed my Credit Card and that i should be receiving a new credit card with Aramex. Within a couple of day, i received it. I ended up with two cards, the old card that expires at End of March, 2008 and the new Card expires 2010. Today, i went to the Swiefieh Branch at 8:30 sharp in order to cancel the old one and activate the new one. The women was helpful enough to explain that I need to call customer service center in order to activate the Credit Card. She gave me the phone no. Still i could not understand why activating the card cannot be done in person. The reason why i showed up in person was because the Arab Bank built a culture in me that I could not do business with them over the phone; in other words, you have to do the walking and you cannot make your fingers do the walking. They always ask you to come in person, present IDs, and several other documents including, but not limited to, your Electricity Bill.
It was a joyful moment to me as i thought no more parking issue, or queue up, the Arab bank finally realized that channels are open! And finally we are out of the dark ages
I called the customer service no
A lady politely answered, and as you would expect, she talks like a recorder. Nothing surprising there, since during my career, I developed a customer service management system and i know that scripts are created to dictate how the customer service agent talks
I told her that i received a new credit card and i wanted to activate it. She immediately barraged me with huge amount of question
Your name
Your birthday
Your Credit Card no
Your account no
and the killer question: what is your current balance?
I answered politely that i could not remember the balance! She said that she cannot do anything, because she needs the balance ( I suspect, the balance is needed as a means of authenticating me)
As part of my profession, we develop web solutions; some of them involve making money transaction over the net. I understand what Secure Socket Layer (SSL) is , i know what public key encryption is! I fully understand what authentication, authorization and non repudiation is!. I read about most of the available means and mechanism of establishing one's identify, but this new Arab-bank innovative what-is-your-balance identity management technology is quite new to me. I want to ask the arabbank not to bother to patent its new invention; since I seriously doubt that security sensitive institutions would be particularly keen in using this new identity technology
Fine, maybe the Arabbank has pioneered technology that i am still short of understanding, but surely, i can still understand instruction.
When i first received a call to tell me that i would be receiving my new card, the lady did not give me instructions that when i call their customer service center, i need to memorize my current balance
When i received the Card, no written instruction exists in the envelop telling me that i needed to memorize my current balance when i call the customer care center
Finally, and most annoyingly, when i walked in Face to Face to the Swiefieh Branch, the lady, who gave me the customer care phone no also did not tell me that since i was already in the bank, I might as well inquire about my balance before calling them.
I asked the lady what to do, she told me that I need to login to the internet and inquire about my balance – That was no solution as I was not connected nor did I have the password ready. The other solution she offered is for me to go to an ATM machine and inquire about my account. Back to the Dark ages!!!!
Drive your car that is coasting 1 USD/Liter, find your way in the busy streets, find an ATM machine, find a parking and inquire about your account. Then call back,, we are 24 x 7 service.
The Arab bank seems to be still living in the 60's when the streets were empty and used to take you at most 10 minutes to go from one side of Amman to the other... When parking was never an issue, when you had only one account (if any). When you could spare the entire day to visit the bank! and most importantly, when no body was constantly claiming that the investment climate in Jordan is advancing, when plans on top level are been made to encourage foreign investment.
This requires no Einstein to foresee, nor a noble prize winner to realize that, No Foreign Investment shall be seen, because as things stand, Local investment shall seize.
If Arab bank wants to dictate its regulation, this is absolutely fine with me, on one condition, not to expect us to be fortune tellers, but at least make the instructions clear
Finally, Arab bank does not really have to bother with this. Further discussion with Arab bank shall be to no avail. Arab bank has made a record 1 Billion USD in profit and can surely sustain business without the disarray that I m causing. The best solution is to close the account and cancel the Credit Card, I am sure it is an easier process that activating the damn credit card
Ammar Sajdi
Last week I received a call from Arab Bank telling me that they renewed my Credit Card and that i should be receiving a new credit card with Aramex. Within a couple of day, i received it. I ended up with two cards, the old card that expires at End of March, 2008 and the new Card expires 2010. Today, i went to the Swiefieh Branch at 8:30 sharp in order to cancel the old one and activate the new one. The women was helpful enough to explain that I need to call customer service center in order to activate the Credit Card. She gave me the phone no. Still i could not understand why activating the card cannot be done in person. The reason why i showed up in person was because the Arab Bank built a culture in me that I could not do business with them over the phone; in other words, you have to do the walking and you cannot make your fingers do the walking. They always ask you to come in person, present IDs, and several other documents including, but not limited to, your Electricity Bill.
It was a joyful moment to me as i thought no more parking issue, or queue up, the Arab bank finally realized that channels are open! And finally we are out of the dark ages
I called the customer service no
A lady politely answered, and as you would expect, she talks like a recorder. Nothing surprising there, since during my career, I developed a customer service management system and i know that scripts are created to dictate how the customer service agent talks
I told her that i received a new credit card and i wanted to activate it. She immediately barraged me with huge amount of question
Your name
Your birthday
Your Credit Card no
Your account no
and the killer question: what is your current balance?
I answered politely that i could not remember the balance! She said that she cannot do anything, because she needs the balance ( I suspect, the balance is needed as a means of authenticating me)
As part of my profession, we develop web solutions; some of them involve making money transaction over the net. I understand what Secure Socket Layer (SSL) is , i know what public key encryption is! I fully understand what authentication, authorization and non repudiation is!. I read about most of the available means and mechanism of establishing one's identify, but this new Arab-bank innovative what-is-your-balance identity management technology is quite new to me. I want to ask the arabbank not to bother to patent its new invention; since I seriously doubt that security sensitive institutions would be particularly keen in using this new identity technology
Fine, maybe the Arabbank has pioneered technology that i am still short of understanding, but surely, i can still understand instruction.
When i first received a call to tell me that i would be receiving my new card, the lady did not give me instructions that when i call their customer service center, i need to memorize my current balance
When i received the Card, no written instruction exists in the envelop telling me that i needed to memorize my current balance when i call the customer care center
Finally, and most annoyingly, when i walked in Face to Face to the Swiefieh Branch, the lady, who gave me the customer care phone no also did not tell me that since i was already in the bank, I might as well inquire about my balance before calling them.
I asked the lady what to do, she told me that I need to login to the internet and inquire about my balance – That was no solution as I was not connected nor did I have the password ready. The other solution she offered is for me to go to an ATM machine and inquire about my account. Back to the Dark ages!!!!
Drive your car that is coasting 1 USD/Liter, find your way in the busy streets, find an ATM machine, find a parking and inquire about your account. Then call back,, we are 24 x 7 service.
The Arab bank seems to be still living in the 60's when the streets were empty and used to take you at most 10 minutes to go from one side of Amman to the other... When parking was never an issue, when you had only one account (if any). When you could spare the entire day to visit the bank! and most importantly, when no body was constantly claiming that the investment climate in Jordan is advancing, when plans on top level are been made to encourage foreign investment.
This requires no Einstein to foresee, nor a noble prize winner to realize that, No Foreign Investment shall be seen, because as things stand, Local investment shall seize.
If Arab bank wants to dictate its regulation, this is absolutely fine with me, on one condition, not to expect us to be fortune tellers, but at least make the instructions clear
Finally, Arab bank does not really have to bother with this. Further discussion with Arab bank shall be to no avail. Arab bank has made a record 1 Billion USD in profit and can surely sustain business without the disarray that I m causing. The best solution is to close the account and cancel the Credit Card, I am sure it is an easier process that activating the damn credit card
Ammar Sajdi
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