Friday, July 3, 2009

Grade A contracts for Razzaq, Yousuf


Grade A contracts for Razzaq, Yousuf



Karachi: The Pakistan cricket Board has decided to award category A central contracts to senior players Mohammad Yousuf and Abdul Razzaq, who have made a return to the national team after resigning from the rebel Indian Cricket League.

Sources in the Board said PCB Chairman Ejaz Butt had approved the contracts for the two players, who leave with the national team for the Test tour of Sri Lanka today.

"Both of them have been included in the A category while no final decision has been taken on the two other players who have resigned from the ICL, Imran Nazir and Rana Naved," one source said.

West Indies bounce back to level series

West Indies bounce back to level series










Kingston: Mahendra Singh Dhoni's defiant 95 went in vain as India suffered a humiliating eight-wicket defeat at the hands of an inspired West Indies in a lop-sided second one-day international at Sabina Park on Sunday.

After dismissing the visitors for a modest 188 in 48.2 overs, the Caribbean team rode on openers Chris Gayle (64) and Runako Morton (85) to overhaul the target in 34.1 overs and level the four match series 1-1.

Earlier, electing to bat first, Dhoni waged a lonely battle as India succumbed to a batting collapse against a ferocious pace attack lead by West Indies pacer Ravi Rampaul.

Pakistan vs Srilanka cricket series 2009 schedule

Pakistan vs Srilanka cricket series 2009 schedule

Yesterday Pakistani Cricket Squad left for Srilanka from Lahore International Airport for upcoming Cricket series between the two cricket loving nations. Earlier Pakistan defeated Srilanka in ICC T20 World cup final in England. Here is the complete schedule of the upcoming series.

Mon Jun 29 – Wed Jul 1
10:00 local | 04:30 GMT Sri Lanka Cricket XI v Pakistanis
Colts Cricket Club Ground, Colombo

Sat Jul 4 – Wed Jul 8
10:00 local | 04:30 GMT 1st Test – Sri Lanka v Pakistan
Galle International Stadium

Sun Jul 12 – Thu Jul 16
10:00 local | 04:30 GMT 2nd Test – Sri Lanka v Pakistan
P Sara Oval, Colombo

Mon Jul 20 – Fri Jul 24
10:00 local | 04:30 GMT 3rd Test – Sri Lanka v Pakistan
Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo

Mon Jul 27
10:00 local | 04:30 GMT TBC v Pakistanis
Welagedara Stadium, Kurunegala

Thu Jul 30
10:00 local | 04:30 GMT 1st ODI – Sri Lanka v Pakistan
Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium

Sat Aug 1
10:00 local | 04:30 GMT 2nd ODI – Sri Lanka v Pakistan
Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium

Mon Aug 3
10:00 local | 04:30 GMT 3rd ODI – Sri Lanka v Pakistan
Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium

Fri Aug 7 Day and Night
14:30 local | 09:00 GMT 4th ODI – Sri Lanka v Pakistan
R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

Sun Aug 9 Day and Night
14:30 local | 09:00 GMT 5th ODI – Sri Lanka v Pakistan
R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

Wed Aug 12 Day and Night
19:00 local | 13:30 GMT Only T20I – Sri Lanka v Pakistan
R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

Variables - PythonLink

VARIABLES-PYTHON LINK


AddThis
Variables. Variables are only names or you can say boxes having value in them, for example X = 1, where X is a variable having the value 1, X = 10, X is a variable having value 10, another thing variables do not change but their value can change, for example X = 1+2 will change the value of X to 3 and X will become X = 3.

So here we will learn how to work with variables in miss Python programming.

How to make a variable and assign them value, for example I want to make X with value 10, then I will do the following work in python shell.(python shell, where we type commands and get output instantly after typing commands)
command is X a space then equal to symbol then a space and the value.

>>> x = 10 <-- press enter after typing this, and It will save 10 into variable X. Then you can use X anywhere in maths programming.
Now our X has the value of 10 then we can use the X by following ways
>>> X + 5 <-- Our input (input is our/user instruction given to the computer), will add X into 5, actually will do nothing with X but with the value of X.
15 <-- output

Lets use power(exponent) thing here, X exponent 3 give us output of 10 exponent 3, because the value of our X was 10.
>>> X*3
30

Remember that our variables are case sensitive, I mean capital X and small x are different and can be used at a same time in same program.
>>> x = 5

>>> x + X <-- it will do addition with the stored values of small x which was 5 and with capital X which was 10.
15

We can store more than one variable same time.
>>>
y = 50

>>> y + x
55

We can also take the values of variables from the user using input function,

>>> a = input ("Enter the value of a: ")
Enter the value of a:
>>> b = input ("type the value of b: ")
type the value of b:

We can also get value of variable from user without any message
>>> c = input ()
<-- this empty space as output will come, it is because we did not include any message like Enter your number, Type the value of c etc. but it will also save value of c even without message.
>>> c = input ("Type the value of c: ")
Type the value of c:

Practice makes a man perfect :) try more different variables play with variables in your python now for your practice.

Ali Zafar after leaving Telenor has joined Mobilink

Ali Zafar after leaving Telenor has joined Mobilink

The race of teleco adverts has taken a new turn now. We have the on-going trend of taunting at each other in adverts but now its about acquiring over the brand ambassadors.

Ali Zafar, the renowned brand ambassador of Telenor Talkshawk has left all with a shock with his entry in the Mobilink Jazz latest promotion commercial. Talkshock!

The latest promotion is , if you haven’t used your Jazz Sim from May 20th, simply switch it on, and recharge. You will get instant Rs.30 plus 100 percent free balance on your first recharge.

The best part of the commercial is “Aaj hi join kia hai, dusari company se aye hain”

New commercial



Braintel Is Back In Business - Again.


LinkLink

Braintel has completed a full circle regarding its fight with PTA. A few weeks ago Braintel sent an email to its customers with an attachment which showed that the services have been restored based on a decision by the High Court. That is good news for expat Pakistanis. However the letter also asked customers to make changes to their account setting. I am sharing the process of getting your Braintel line working again:

  1. On the device settings, you need to change UserID and AuthID so that 210, the first three digits of the ID are changed to 1001 (four digits). That is, 210-#### changes to 1001-####.
  2. Call customer service (2100786 from braintel. 0092-42-2100786 or 0044-1785-800786 otherwise) and make sure that your number is provisioned properly. It may take a while for the change to become effective.
  3. Use the call back procedure explained here.

For those who use Linksys PAP2 device, see the setting changes in the screenshot below.

Rates at the time of this post are reasonable - probably the main reason why tens of thousands of customers put up with the service instability and changes!

  • Lahore Local: Rs 0.90+Taxes
  • Fixed Line and WLL Nation Wide: Rs 2.0+Taxes
  • Local and Nation Wide mobile network: Rs 2.75+Taxes

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Terraforming - life beyond earth

Terraforming - life beyond earth

With approximately 6.7 billion humans inhabiting the Earth today and as I think of the global warming hoopla it’s apparent that dry space here on our planet is running thin. Land reclamation is an option but that can only go so far. At the rate that our seas are rising, more drastic steps must ensure the survival of our species. The recent advances in space exploration has kept my hopes up that perhaps terraforming can eventually solve that problem.

Terraforming

What is terraforming? Terraforming, in a nutshell, means turning planets, moons and other heavenly bodies with harsh environments into places similar to Earth where humans can live. It is, at best, a hypothetical concept yet to be proved feasible. Carl Sagan, the guy who wrote the book ‘Contact’ (the one made into a Jodie Foster movie), first came up with the crazy idea of seeding Venus’ atmosphere with algae to improve its atmosphere. Algae?! Sagan pointed out that Earth was in fact a planet similar to Venus — it was laced with carbon dioxide that not one UFO dared tread it (ok that’s another story right there). But thanks to algae and that scientific process called water evaporation, Earth’s atmosphere is now a wonderful mix of oxygen and nitrogen gas. Fascinating, eh?

Terraform

Now, all signs are pointing to Mars as the most viable target for terraforming. Surface exploration by land rovers reveal that Mars once had water and possibly harbored life, and later photos show that river channels are awash with water to this day. But Mars’ atmosphere, just like Venus, is made up of mostly carbon dioxide (95%) and only traces of oxygen and nitrogen. A two-fold approach to warming the planet involves shooting rockets containing CFC’s (yes, those dreaded chemicals that are ruining our planet) on to Mars’ polar caps followed by introducing algae and bacteria on the melted ice. A series of chemical reactions will result to a warmer climate, but it may take hundreds of years before it becomes suitable for human occupation. Apart from Venus and Mars, the moon Europa is also a candidate, but extreme radiation coming from Jupiter and its sheer distance from the Earth makes that practically impossible.

Yeah, it’s all wishful thinking. But what I would do to be around when the first man lands on the planet Mars. That would be the single-most important step to making my terraforming dreams a reality. For all the mistakes we’ve made here on Earth, I believe we can all make up for in Mars.

To infinity and beyond!

Samsung i8510 INNOV8 Review

Samsung i8510 INNOV8 Review

Samsung i8510

Perhaps the exuberance is comparable to the one that swept of American handgun enthusiasts off their feet; the sensation the Beretta Cougar created way back in the late 90s. However, that’s for us hard nuts but even the people on the softer side have an equal right to enjoy sensations. So, out came the first mobile phone from Samsung, with a 8Mega Pixel camera. Question remains on its performance and acceptability.

Operating on a Symbian 9.3 / S60 v3.2 OS, the i8510 has a big brain that you may extend to 16 GBs and the best part is, you don’t require a hell lot a room for the memory card; being a microSD, it cuddles up in a corner of the main casing. However, to music buffs, even 16 GB gets spent like kilobytes; therefore, if you are just looking for a mobile phone to talk and to listen to music, buy the gadgets separately; it shall work out cheaper. However, you can’t achieve two separate gadgets within 136 grams.

Samsung i8510 (Innov8) Unboxing : -

But to the people targeting the Nokia N95, the i8510 is a smarter choice. Chunky and black with just double the memory of the N95, it’s also a lot tougher than what inspired it barring the bottom. The mere plastic seems to be retiring if it somehow hits the ground.

Now, let’s talk about the feature that’s responsible for creating the sensation i.e. the 8MP camera. Surprisingly, it looks like a real digi-cam and even features a lens cover that opens and shuts automatically upon activation/deactivation. However, cell phone freaks might consider themselves at par with the Cougar owners since this one also doesn’t have any inbuilt system to assist extensively in the dark; the dual LED light merely serves the purpose. But it’s a killer when daylight is available, more so because of the panoramic views it helps achieving. And oh, of course, it supports heavy usage; even ladies who live by the phone won’t be able to get the battery conked before they speak to their hearts’ content. Would love to see someone talking for 500 minutes at a stretch.

Optical joystick, browser, and apps

The regular features do not need a mention; there’s Web, GPS and all the others that have now become a staple. But then again, this one stands out from the rest in the Samsung range; despite a wobbly optical mouse controller, the i8510 INNOV8 is definitely a stellar creation.

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