Sajjad's Blog

Just isn't my time. I left for my office last night after having the iftari (evening post-fast meal) and as soon as I got on the main road, a truck hit the side of my car from behind. Yes, one of those tall, colorful trucks that so amuse you foreigners, but are probably the most dangerous thing on Pakistani roads.

The car spun around, hit the kerb and flipped over while the truck didn't even bother to slow down and escaped. I had to crawl out of the shattered side window, but luckily didn't get so much as a scratch on me (or my suit). Thank God for that.

In these situations, I have to say that Pakistanis are extremely helpful. Passers-by noted the truck's number and notified the police. Later they also turned the car right side up. Almost all my close friends arrived right away and got to doing the required legal paperwork. Thanks guys.

I have no ideas what the damages will amount to or if the truck driver will ever be caught, but it really hurts to know that this happened right after I had spend a huge sum of money and lots of time getting the car in a proper shape.

Posted at 13:19pm PKT Comments(5) | ¶

The holy month of Ramadan started on Saturday. Our (official) office timings have been reduced to just 7 hours a day (5 hours on Fridays) and the weather has suddenly gotten much cooler. I've also come up with an office anti-virus policy which fines offenders one breakfast meal per offence. Should be a fun month. :)

Posted at 15:03pm PKT Comments(14) | ¶

Starting off with a Monty Python reference, this article on the Beeb lists some of the achievements of American scientists and researchers. It points out how in this area, Americans are still in the lead:

Posted at 13:38pm PKT Comments(1) | ¶

Due to an error while trying to renew my 'zaidi.jp' domain, it has been suspended till the end of the month. I was using it for my primary email address which would explain why your emails to me have been bouncing and why I must have been unsubscribed from lots of mailing lists.

From what I can gather, the problem probably occurred because some Japanese companies make a test charge of 1 yen for credit card transactions before charging the full amount. Since that is too small for a lot of foreign banks, it doesn't get through. That still doesn't justify suspending the account for a whole month. I can't even register it as a new user. Bummer.

For the time being, you can use one of my other addresses. 'sajjad at  iinix.com' is working. So is 'sajjad   at sajjadzaidi.com'.

Posted at 21:44pm PKT Comments(2) | ¶

The Political Compass runs a test where you are asked sets of questions about your political and social leanings. After that, a grid is generated showing where you stand. This is where I am.

Compared to other famous (and infamous) personalities, I'm in the same quadrant as Nelson Mandela, the Dalai Lama and Gandhi, though more towards the center. Michael Moore is also somewhere nearby.

Give it a try here.

Posted at 16:29pm PKT Comments(4) | ¶

Paul Graham, the author of Hackers & Painters, has published an article about the dotcom bubble and has some interesting insights on it:

Too bad that things work in a totally different way in Pakistan. Firstly, the concept of VCs is alien to most people and you'll be hard-pressed to find many "26 year old" entrepreneurs (hey, I'm one of them ). Most businesses are started and run with personal savings after years of work or with the help of rich parents for the lucky few that have them. That's another reason why it's so tough to do business here without "powerful connections".

Secondly, IPOs are quite rare and happen only after a company has been profitable for many years and has at least a few hundred employees. That pretty much rules out stock options as an incentive to work for a startup.

As for technology, it consists mainly of redoing or improving on what has already been done elsewhere. There is little in the way of new ideas and innovations. I see the same mistakes being made here that were common in the US and other technology centers a couple of years ago. Maybe it's because people are too busy worrying about putting food on the table and other short-term problems.

The one point I really liked in the article was how what we've seen of the Internet is nothing compared to what's coming. The medium is still in its infancy so this isn't surprising. Just look at how much things have changed since the bubble burst. I think we are only now beginning to see the real advantages and these should increase as it matures.

Posted at 02:54am PKT Comments(17) | ¶