Abstract colors

Matrah/Muscat

Crazy Machines

Phat Says:

I have never lost my geeky passion to video games like I did in 2008. It makes me really sad for I got super busy with university work and just started drifting away majorly. I needed something to refill the energy I had for video games since I absolutely miss the feeling when you wake up tired yet hyper to know what will happen if you accomplished the next step of the game you are playing. Unlike the usual, I've decided to not go for the typical me and buy new RPG games that I would last forever to finish, but I decided to enter the time machine where it takes me back to the gaming phase, which disappeared, that included chess, first person shooter games and puzzles.
Yes, it sure sounds odd for a MMORPG, RPG and a MGS maniac. Not mentioning getting fed up with constantly playing versus games and family games like wii sport, super smash brawl and naruto: ultimate hero.
I'm still there, in WoW, with my desperate restoration shaman still trying to get to level 70, in which I was supposed to reach 3 months ago.

I have three games on my list, I've only started with one.

1. Crazy Machines [which I will introduce now] - Puzzles
2. Timeshit - FPS-Stars-Type
3. Soldier of Fortune 2 - FPS-War-Type






My friend downloaded this game randomly from some forum, and it drew my attention as I saw him freezing infront of his laptop's screen confused for around 10 minutes while I was playing WoW. The game consists of 102 stages full of tricks, where in each stage gravity will be disabled and the items placed, depending on the mission of the stage, will free-fall according to their positions. You are given random machines at each stage to use in order to achieve the required task in the stage. The machines can be built to rotate gears, pull levers, and more to build a unique contraption. including robots, explosives, electricity, batteries...etc.


I'm currenlty stuck at level 53, I have a hot dog to grill and around 10 machines given.
Here is a youtube video from level 1-1- showing you the gameplay:



and here is the download link to the game from zshare.com:
Crazy Machines 1

There are two more edition of this game, Crazy Machine 1.5 and 2.

Oscars

My mother bought Tiger Oscars for the fish tank downstairs.

They are incredibly beautiful creatures!

Also rather intelligent, They were very aware of me and watched as I took photos of them,

The white ones are Albino Oscars while the darker ones are Tiger Oscars.

CBS 60 minutes on Israel

Turkish PM Erdogan Slams Shimon Peres For Israeli Killings And Walks Off Stage

Translation of Erdogan:
One minute! One minute! Mr.Peres, you're older than me. Your voice is coming too loud. I know that the reason of your voice's coming this loud is a guiltiness psychology. My voice won't come this loud, know that so. When it comes to kill, you know how to kill very well. I know how you shot, how you killed the children on plages, very well. Two people who had been prime minister in your country made important statements to me. You have prime ministers who said that "When i get in to Palestine on tanks, i feel myself a different kind of happy." And you're giving me numbers. I can give you names. You may be wonder. I also condemn who acclaims to this grimness. Because i suppose acclaiming the people who killed those children, those people, is another humanity crime. Look, we can not edge out a reality here. I keep a lot of notes here, but i don't have a chance to reply all here. But i only say two words from here. First, - Please don't interrupt me!
First, The Torah says in the sixth topic that "You are not going to kill!". There is killing here.
This is also interesting too - Gilad Atzmon: Israel barbarism is on the further side of fiendishness - a Jewish. Oxford University International Communications Proffessor who is soldiering in Israil army, Avi Shalom give a talk to the English newspaper Guardian that - (The Davos moderator wants to interrupt Erdogan) I thank you too. From now on Davos is done to me. I don't come Davos again. Know that so! You don't let me talk. He talked about 25 minutes, you gave me 12 minutes.

Fair Use Policy, Source: World Economic Forum

The Turkish prime minister has stormed out of a heated debate at the World Economic Forum in Davos over Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan walked out of the televised debate on Thursday, after the moderator refused to allow him to rebut the Israeli president's justification about the war that left about 1,300 Gazans dead.

Before storming out, Erdogan told Shimon Peres, the Israeli president: "You are killing people."

Peres told Erdogan during the heated panel discussion that he would have acted in the same manner if rockets had been falling on Istanbul.

Moderator David Ignatius, a Washington Post columnist, then told Erdogan that he had "only a minute" to respond to a lengthy monologe by Pires.

Erdogan said: "I find it very sad that people applaud what you said. There have been many people killed. And I think that it is very wrong and it is not humanitarian."

Ignatius twice attempted to finish the debate, saying, "We really do need to get people to dinner."

Erdogan then said: "Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. I don't think I will come back to Davos after this."

*claps*

Marwan Khoury - Kel El Asayed (All the poems)

I very rarely like Arabic songs, because they all sound the same to me lyrically and music wise, not to mention alot of them (not all!) are pure crap xD

This song is different. When I first heared it, I was going through my punk and alternative rock phase with music and LOATHED anything not punk or alternative rock. However, I really liked this song. Like really REALLY liked it. I guess you could say it's one of my favourite arabic songs ever.

The lyrics are incredible. Simple and really heartfelt. Even though it has been translated to English subtitles in the video, the beauty of the words are kinda lost, you can just get a gist of it.

The melody and the music however, is what makes the song so good in my opinion. It starts out so desolate, so sad, speaking of heartache. Then the tone picks up, it becomes happy and so sweet! As he starts explaining the depth of his love for her. (I am really weak when it comes to the Piano, it can literally make me laugh from happiness or cry from sadness xD)

Also, the entire song, lyrics and music was written by the singer, which is rather rare in the arabic music world.

The video of the song still sucks though.

Woe ...

Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil, that put darkness for light, and light for darkness, that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter

CLICK

Immortal Jelly Fish!

The method in which it makes itself immortal is making me giggle. It resonates rather closely with the many philosphies and ideologies from around the world that explore the divinity of sex.

The Turritopsis Nutricula is able to revert back to a juvenile form once it mates after becoming sexually mature.

Marine biologists say the jellyfish numbers are rocketing because they need not die.

Dr Maria Miglietta of the Smithsonian Tropical Marine Institute said: "We are looking at a worldwide silent invasion."

The jellyfish are originally from the Caribbean but have spread all over the world.

Turritopsis Nutricula is technically known as a hydrozoan and is the only known animal that is capable of reverting completely to its younger self.

It does this through the cell development process of transdifferentiation.

Scientists believe the cycle can repeat indefinitely, rendering it potentially immortal.

While most members of the jellyfish family usually die after propagating, the Turritopsis nutricula has developed the unique ability to return to a polyp state.

Having stumbled upon the font of eternal youth, this tiny creature which is just 5mm long is the focus of many intricate studies by marine biologists and geneticists to see exactly how it manages to literally reverse its aging process.

Source

Israel’s Gaza Massacre: We Will Never Forget

An excellent video montage clip of Israeli's Gaza Massacre during Operation Cast Lead. It showcases notable media moments during Israeli's bloodthirsty assault. The world is finally waking up and having enough of this madness. Please watch the entire clip (9 mins)

Gadget Mastery

Three days of nothing, but crack jokes, continuous online/non gaming, walking with no destination, eating like a pig, watching movies, solving puzzles and farting on each other. That's the life me and my stupid best friend have, I really needed something like since I longed for it thanks to being chocked by I'm-not-letting-you-go electrotype Unipenis multiple non stop attack.

ok ... a random pic of why I love my own cave 'room'. You should conclude why by looking at it:

MWAHAHAH!

Wired Spider web! This is only like ... a corner of my room, I LOVE YOU! MY EVERYTHING.

Yes... you are smart, I'm multi-tasking. No, Infact I'm RULING Every Milli-Ampere Transferred Within These Wires to give me.. no. thing. but. pleasure.

On a side note, I got a box filled with useless stuff like a mouse pad, time watch, files etc. But I found something that is also useless to many, but amazingly beautiful. Like a pure bloodstone.

This:

...........

I know what you are thinking.. its a pen.... wow shiny pen....


take a better look at this



"FF victory song appears"

Its a PEN! that holds a 4GB Flash Memory in it! NOW you will save space in your pocket, instead of putting the flash drive that is 4 cm's long! You will just have to take care of the pen and probably the irritating feeling when you sit on and press on extra space in your pocket!
(pen+flash memory) = robotic geeky sex.
THIS INVENTION IS FUCKING GENIUS!!!

BBC = Biased Broadcasting Corporation

Incase you've missed it, BBC has been exposed as a Zionist "independent" news corporation.



The BBC’s director-general, Mark Thompson, refused to air the appeal due to risking compromising it's impartilaity. Well that explanation totally blew up in his face. Thompson is a long time friend of the Israeli Zionists. He met up with Ariel Sharon back in 2005 in order to build bridges between Israel and the BBC.

That Mark Thompson has been supporting Zionist leaders is no secret. In fact, Mark Thompson’s wife, Jane, is Jewish and a fanatic supporter of Zionist policies. Is Mark simply trying to appease his wife? If he is, then this has to be one of the most outrageous acts in the history of British media. The glaring disregard for human suffering, however, can only be explained by Mark Thompson’s close relationship with Israeli leaders. In 2005, Mr. Thompson broke all rules of independent journalism when he travelled to Jerusalem and met former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in order to “build bridges” between the BBC and Israel. This unprecedented move was not covered by Western media, but the Israeli press gave it significant importance

Shame really, the reputation of the BBC has been hit pretty hard by this incedent. Just another biased independent media outlet.

50 MPs and thousands of British Citzens (including Archbishop of York and Canterbury) complained and demanded for the BBC to air the appeal, but it's still a no go.

Here's the appeal that risked compromising the BBC's impartiality (or more like risk making Tzipi Livni statement of there being no Humanatrian Crisis in Gaza totall bullshit)

Random Snaps ...

... of my Palestinian Kofyeh, Sprite the the Goldfish and Kami the Tortoise (you can kinda see Dagon in Sprite's snapshots. He just would not get out of the way! Every photo of Sprite has Dagon in it xD)

Gods of Wind (uncomplete)

First and foremost, I know that's not the right way to spell the word (uncomplete) according to the English Dictionary but I DONT CARE! Am not gonna conform to THE MAN (in this case, the English Dictionary). Uncomplete sounds cuter anyway =P

Ok, rant done.

Started this drawing yesterday, and slowly getting it done while juggling other stuff at the same time.

The idea was in my mind for quite a while now, of drawing the Wind Gods, but I just couldnt figure out the right way to embody them perfectly. Yesterday morning, while laying in bed feeling rather ill, I finally realized that the way I was picturing the Wind Gods in my mind's eye was totally wrong! I imagined them to be floating in the air, the wind blowing about their attire and hair. It never did feel right, and that is why my numerous attempts at drawing them in that fashion never got completed (my sketchbook is full of the attempts lol)

Instead, this is how I drew them:



I am so incredibly jelous of the Wind Goddess' hair ...

Mind you, the drawing is not complete yet. Lots of white space to fill, not to mention the background needs to be done. I just read a tutorial on how to create kimono patterns using photoshop, and that's gonna be my next step with the drawing, adding patterns to the Goddess' kimono =)

Skillet - Those Nights

Just goes to show how one person in your life can make all the difference in the world.

Dedicated to Phat

How the hell does he do it? xD

I mean I can kinda do the farting noises with my hands, but not create actual musical high notes and crap xD

Most awesome thing --> The look of refinement on his face throughout the whole thing.

Jumpie Jumpie!

It's Thursday. All the kids come over to our house on Thursday. I took photos of them while they were playing on the trampolene in our garden during the afternoon. Gonna share a few photos from the bunch.

The first bunch of photos are pretty normal, just grabbed a clear and clean shot of them while in the air, each improvising their own move.












The second set is a little different, in where the kids are blurred while everything else is not (read a tutorial in the morning on the right way to achieve to this effect). My take on it is not that good btw lol.














It's pretty noticable one particular kid was the star of this photoshoot (my cousin)

I had a go as well, and my sister managed to grab a shot of me doing Trinity's Angel of Death move from the Matrix series =P

HA! Dodge this!!

Dagon isn't feeling well =(

A few days ago, while watching him swim around his tank, I noticed a little tear at the end of Dagon's tail. I was a little mystefied as to how he came to injur himself, as there are no other fishes in the the tank, nor any sharp objects for him to cut himself open, nor any trap areas of any kind.

I dismissed the tear and thought that it would heal by time, since there didn't seem to be any kind of infection surrounding it, not to mention Dagon was as vigorous as ever, swimming and digging all over the tank.

Two days ago, I noticed that his other tail was torn as well. Infact, his tail was really frayed, and there were red spots on the end!

I quickly googled the symptoms, and it turns out that Dagon has a bacterial infection called Tail Rot or Fin Rot, where his tail and fins are slowly being eaten away by bacteria. One of the causes of Tail Rot is a sudden harsh change in temperature, be it hot or cold. Well, there has been an incredibly cold front in Oman recently, and that was about the time I noticed the first tear in Dagon's tail.

Tail Rot can easily be treated using a special water treatment medicine. I finally managed to find the right medicine today (petshops in Oman are mysteriously under stocked), took out 50% of his tank's water, replaced it with fresh clean water and added the medicine.

The medicine colored the tank's water a BRIGHT GREEN! It looks so cool lol. And Dagon is swimming around the tank more and also digging again! I hope he'll recover soon inshallah =) The Medicine doesn't affect the other inhabitants of the tank (Bean, the water turtle, in this case) but it could have a negative effect on my plants =(

Some pictures:

Tears Untold

Two days ago as I was bored sitting, happy about changing my guitar strings playing randomly on it, without learning something useful and I came up with something....really simple yet has a tune to it. Its something really lame and I laughed at myself because I just spent an hour playing till I got this.. I wish I was more active. Anyway, thats why I decided 'hopefully' to be a bit more active.. learn more stuff, scales, chords, blableblo. I tried recording what I made around three times but its hard since my acoustic guitar doesn't have a plug in wire, so I made a version on guitar pro and uploaded it to check what people say. Regarding the name, I wanted to call it porn of the pain, but ended up naming it this because its the first thing appeared in my head lol?

The so called song:

Conjugater - Tears Untold (and oh btw, the funny thing is its not even a minute LOL)





I LOVE TABOULEH!

When I grow up ...

I wanna be a crazy cat lady. Seriously.



UPDATE:

Ok on a more serious note, I googled animal hoarding to read more about this weird habit in some people. Picked the mental health issue side of it from wiki:

"Mental health issues

Though it has not been firmly linked to any specific psychological disorder, evidence suggests that there is “a strong mental health component” in animal hoarding.^[14] Models that have been projected to explain animal hoarding include delusional disorder, attachment disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and various others, but more study is required before definitive explanations or diagnoses can be made.

Delusional Disorder

Animal hoarders display symptoms of delusional disorder in that they have a “belief system out of touch with reality”.^[14] Virtually all hoarders lack insight into the extent of deterioration in their habitations and on the health of their animals, refusing to acknowledge that anything is wrong.^[13] Further, hoarders may believe they have “a special ability to communicate and/or empathize with animals,”^[20] rejecting any offers of assistance. Delusional disorder is an effective model in that it offers an explanation of hoarder’s apparent blindness to the realities of their situations.

Attachment Disorder

Another model that has been suggested to explain animal hoarding is attachment disorder. Attachment disorder, which is primarily caused by poor parent-child relationships during childhood, is characterized by an inability to form “close relationships in adulthood”.^[20] As a result, those suffering from attachment disorder may turn to possessions, such as animals, to fill their need for a loving relationship. Interviews with animal hoarders have revealed that often hoarders experienced domestic trauma in childhood, providing evidence for this model.^[20]

Obsessive-compulsive Disorder

Perhaps the strongest psychological model put forward to explain animal hoarding is obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) 5. An overwhelming sense of responsibility for something is characteristic of OCD patients, who then take unrealistic measures to fulfill their perceived duty. Animal hoarders often feel a strong sense of responsibility to take care of and protect animals, and their solution—that of acquiring as many animals as they possibly can—is clearly unrealistic.^[20] Further, the hoarding of inanimate objects, practiced by a majority of animal hoarders^[13], is a fairly common occurrence in OCD patients.^[20] These connections between animal hoarding and obsessive-compulsive disorder suggest that OCD may be a useful model in explaining animal hoarding behavior.^[20]

Cat hoarding and "Cat Ladies"

Recently, there has been speculation in popular media that the widespread incidence of cat hoarding may be related to infection with the Toxoplasma gondii parasite ^[21] Unlike ordinary animal hoarding, which is often caused by obsessive compulsive disorder, it has been speculated that one of the effects of Toxoplasma gondii could render the infected host attracted to, or at least not offended by, the scent of cat urine.

Others

Other models have also been suggested, including zoophilia, dementia, and addiction, although there is little direct evidence to support these.^[20]

Further research and study is needed before any psychological models of animal hoarding can be firmly established.^[13]"

WTF xD Crazy cat ladies are attracted to the smell of cat's urine!!? But let's be fair, the reason why they are attracted to the smell of cat's urine is due to them being a host to the parasite T. gondii. Check this out:

"T. gondii infections have the ability to change the behavior of rats and mice, making them drawn to rather than fearful of the scent of cats. This effect is advantageous to the parasite, which will be able to sexually reproduce if its host is eaten by a cat. ^[8] The infection is almost surgical in its precision, as it does not affect a rat's other fears such as the fear of open spaces or of unfamiliar smelling food. There has been speculation that human behavior may also be affected in some ways, and correlations have been found between latent Toxoplasma infections and various characteristics such as decreased novelty-seeking behavior, slower reactions, feelings of insecurity, and neuroticism.^[9]

Several independent pieces of evidence point towards a possible role of Toxoplasma infection in some cases of schizophrenia and paranoia, but this theory does not seem to account for many cases.^[10] A recent study has indicated toxoplasmosis is also correlated strongly with an increase in boy births in humans, leading to an alteration of the human sex ratio.^[11] According to the researchers, "depending on the antibody concentration, the probability of the birth of a boy can increase up to a value of 0.72 " The study also notes a mean rate of 0.60 to 0.65 (as opposed to the normal 0.51) for Toxoplasma positive mothers.

One study suggests that a possible behavior modification is that people not infected with the parasite found women with toxoplasma more attractive than women who don't have toxoplasma.^[12] Another study performed in the Czech Republic suggests individuals with latent toxoplasmosis had a 2.65 times higher risk of traffic accidents than noninfected subjects; and concludes "that 'asymptomatic' acquired toxoplasmosis might in fact represent a serious and highly underestimated public health problem, as well as an economic problem."^[13]

The prevalence of human infection by Toxoplasma varies greatly between countries. Factors that influence infection rates include diet (prevalence is possibly higher where there is a preference for less-cooked meat) and proximity to cats."

Ok ... this is getting a little disturbing now. I'll need some time to digest all this. It reminds me of this series of books I read when I was younger, called "Animorphs". Basically the story is of 6 teenagers in an epic battle against an alien parasite species called Yeerk, that infest the body through the ear canal, making the creature their host and also being able to control them.

I think I read science fiction too much.

Coraline

I've been following this movie's news for a quite a while now, and I am happy to say the time to it being released to the public is coming sooner and sooner! It's ranked as high as the movie 9 in my MUST SEE MUST SEE MUST SEE MUST SEE movies.

The story of the movie is adapted from a book with a similar title. Although, I severly disaprove of movies whom were first introduced to the world on a different medium, be it a novel or a video game, Coraline is an exception simply for it being 100% hand-made. What I mean by that is everything you see in the movie has been created by hand, nothing has been digitally rendered.

Offical Trailer



Do not for one second be fooled by the whimsical and happy feel of the charecters and movies, Coraline was adapted from a horror novel =P

From the book's wiki:

"Coraline is a horror novella by British author Neil Gaiman, published in 2002 by Bloomsbury and Harper Collins. It was awarded the 2003 Hugo Award for Best Novella, the 2003 Nebula Award for Best Novella, and the 2002 Bram Stoker Award for Best Work for Young Readers. It has been compared to Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland because of its surrealism and plot based in an alternate-reality."

From the film's wiki:

"Coraline is an animated stop-motion horror fantasy film based on Neil Gaiman's novella of the same name. Directed by Henry Selick, it is scheduled to be released in theaters on February 6, 2009. It is rated PG for thematic elements, scary images, some language, and suggestive humor.

The film is about a young girl, Coraline (Dakota Fanning), who unlocks a mysterious door in her new home and enters into a parallel reality, a fantastical and thrilling imitation of her own dull life. In this world, Coraline finds a new version of her real mother (Teri Hatcher) and father (John Hodgman), her off-kilter neighbors, Miss Forcible (Dawn French), Miss Spink (Jennifer Saunders) and Mr. Bobinsky (Ian MacShane), and the Cat (Keith David). However, this other world soon begins to unravel and she becomes a prisoner to her Other Mother and must count on her resourcefulness, determination, and bravery to get back home."

Ofcourse, the book sounds a million times better. But common, it's stop motion animation, my love, MY PASSION! Sounds rather hypocritical, but meh =P

As I went though Coraline's official youtube channel, which btw has lots of behind the scenes videos on construction of the puppets and the animation process, I felt a huge longing to be one of those animator, building the tree, or animating one of the puppets *cries*

Maseera!

Oman is the champion of the 19th Gulf Cup. For the first time in it's history, and after reaching the finals for the third time in a row, the Omani team finally managed to keep a hold of it's nerves and WIN! =D

Oh the last few moments were so incredibly tense. Both Oman and KSA, the team that qualified to the final as well, didnt manage to score in the normal time and golden time of the match. Oman managed to attack KSA more, some attacks were really dangerous, but no goals were scored.

So it went down to penalties. Everytime Oman would score a penalty, a huge feeling of relief would go through my body, until KSA scores a penalty as well xD This kept going 5 times, until the 6th time, when KSA DID NOT SCORE!

That's when the whole of Oman was literally breathing with one breath, hearts beating with one pulse. The Omani captain picked up the ball and calmly walked unto the pitch and towards the goal post. If he scores, it will be history in the making. If he misses, he will have the guilt of letting the Gulf Cup slip from Oman for a third time in a row.

My two aunts, my sister and I were in the living room of my uncle's house. My mother and two uncles were watching the match in garden's tv screen. I covered my eyes, not being able to handle the pressure. But then I uncovered them, saw the Omani team captain kick the ball, and it was a goal!

I suddenly found myself screaming at the top of my lungs and jumping all around the room. I could hear other people screaming, many other people screaming, but I didnt know who it was, coz I was so HAPPY, although I did notice my uncle's cat pouncing off the couch and running out of the room at super fast speed xD! I just kept screaming "WE WON WE WON!! WE DID IT!!"

I then realized what I was doing and collapsed into the chair behind me, laughing and at the same time trying real hard not to cry from happiness. I looked around the room, coz everyone else was still screaming and jumping around. I heared my baby sister crying in the garden. Turns out all of us screaming, including my mother out in the garden, terrified her. It took a while to calm her down xD

We could hear noises from houses in the neighbourhood, fireworks and yells of victory. We watched the boys recieve their medals and the Gulf Cup on TV, and it was incredible, they really deserve it after all their hard work!

After the ceremony, we started hearing the cars outside. People were going out for the maseera (kind of like a parade but not exactly). We all got into two cars and left the house at 10pm, in order to check out the celebrations in the street. Got home at 2 am xD It was AWESOME!!

The following are some photos I took during the maseera. I didnt take many photos coz I was too busy watching all the people dance and scream and celebrate lol. Even the foreigners joined in the fun! Sorry about the quality, am not good with night shots =(


All Ready for the Maseera






We stopped at the petrol station to fill up incase we get stuck in traffic and found these guys =P




POSE!!






I missed the shot of the cute little kid next to the guy in the blue shirt while waving at us =( But at least I got this shot ^_^




A huge crowd of old ladies standing on the side of the street holding the Omani
flag up




People performing the Omani Lewa dance in celebration of the win




Monster Fan




Huge teddy bear wearing the Oman team t-shirt. The guy saw me trying to grab a photo of the teddy bear and reversed his car in order for me to get a better shot ^_^ This is the best photo out of the bunch lol




We are the champions!




Dancing on the street






Pimped up ride




The Omani guy suddenly grabbed the Pakastani dude and started yelling "OMAN NAFR WA7ED!" and both posed for a photo lol. (note: the logo of the Omani team this Gulf Cup was "Oman nabth wa7d" which means "Oman one pulse". It somehow got morphed into "Oman nafr wa7d" which means "Oman one person". People who usually use the word "nafr" to refer to a person are Pakastani's and indians who can speak arabic)