Weeds Season 3.... pre-air preview

Well another show for the fall season that has made its way to the layman's network. Is this the latest in viral marketing and buzz engineering ?
Weeds is back for another season of our lovely suburban community, with Nancy Botwin(Mary-Louise Parker) with the cliff hanger ending of last season its anyone's guess how this one will start and frankly no need for that just go watch it.
The plot in a nut shell is the struggle of Nancy, a single mother of 2 boys, trying to make ends meet by becoming a weed dealer in the suburban community of Agrestic.

One of the things to look forward to is the inclusion of Mary-Kate Olson as an evangelist that is the new love interest of Nancy's eldest son, Silas.

The allure of this series is not just the theme, or how close to reality the depiction of the story is. It is the top notch acting by Parker along with a great assembly of actors that do this story justice.

The series will premiere officially on August 14th.

Now practicing on cats was fine to celebrate the return of dexter (though it will mean the stray cat population in Jordanian streets will drop drastically by September 14th), I wonder how I should celebrate the return of this series appropriately ..... HMMM

Weeds S1
Weeds S2
Weeds S3E1 Pre-air
Weeds S3E2 Pre-air

Weeds S3E3 Pre-air

ENJOY
After thought 1: I think I should start adding weekly what to watch list since I do view alot of things during a week
After thought 2: I think I should lay off the filler posts of a while, haven't had a meaty post in a long time and i know exactly what would do the job.

Edit:Episode 3 has been added thanks to severus.

Dexter season 2 ... pre-air dvds are out !

THIS ONE !

If you are emotionless, and the word "emotion" means to you that its just an opening to exploit other people. Plus it is too much of an effort having to fake all those emotions that others demands but if you plan to get away with murder you gatts to conform.
Simply put go watch it ......
Dexter S2 E1
Dexter S2 E2
Dexter S1
I'll go practice on some stray cats ...

"Ever wondered what a heart attack tastes like ?"

Pizza hut's "double dip"...With a honey maple syrup dip for your cheese stuffed crust

Pizza Hut's "australian meat pie pizza" - Yummy looks like something I left in the WC last night

Idaho special - Mayo, potato, bacon bits, corn and parsley (why don't we combine an entree with salad hmm..)

I can't wait till they announce the latest creation of pizza hut Amman, Mansaf Pizza & yalanji stuffed crust filling

ENJOY!

ps. trolly I wonder if you are smart enough to highlight the white text and read this. You are the most wonderful rabbid troll i ever stepped on

drogato, drogué, φάρμακο, droga, 薬... My take on it

During the weekend I opened the newspaper (which is a rare event these days), and got interested in a report of a Awareness campaign by the 2amn 3am(Jordanian security service?!) . What I find amazing in those reports is that they haven't really changed, EVER !

They are always making progress in their fight, that abuse is virtually non-existent, that we are a transitional country and not a user country, and that we should commend our security forces for protecting us from this evil that causes moral corruption , & lewd behavior.

Now I am pretty familiar with legislative history regarding this issue in a number of countries, what I am ashamed of is that I can't say the same regarding my country. Who was it that decreed that we need to invest in this area of security.

In the case that we actually take ourselves seriously regarding this issue can we please ground our selves in reality !
Drug use among the Jordanian population is actually rampant, let us not ignore the huge plantations that are spread across the country only because they are protected with a larger arsenal than the one that the security forces possess and for honesty sakes let us not fudge every bust that the security forces make (4 million pills for instance ).

Why I think it is pointless worldwide to invest in a war on drugs:

• Culturally speaking, the people who are going to use and abuse drugs will get their hands on it regardless of laws and regulations.
  
• No country will be able to thwart a product that sells for 1700% of its original price
• The war created a much more dangerous activity which is money laundering, it is practically much harder to move around the cash that is earned through illicit means than it is to move around the drugs.
• There will always people willing to take on the risk if the profit is high enough. When you legalize the drug, the price will drop and the cartels will not find it profitable to market that drug. That way the supply will diminish
  
• Technically speaking there was no laws or regulation, religious or not pre- 1900 that demonises drugs. To the contrary it has always been part of popular culture and in certain places it still is.
  
• Drug abuse also includes abuse of pharmaceutical drugs, which is actually more dangerous (synthetic alternatives of a drug are much more potent than their natural sources). This is in fact the easiest type of drug to acquire in Jordan, and hence the most popular among users.
  
• Regulating the market will be much more cost effective than it is to remain on prohibition terms with it. With regulation you will raise the average age of hard drug users (here) that incidentally means that the gate way theory of drugs is not true, and the allure of moving to higher drugs is reduced. Also it means that there are less new users in the population which is exactly what you want to achieve but was never able to.
• You will reduce the innovation in the field of drugs, the demand for stronger and harder drugs causes the innovation in the field. take out the demand by legalizing softer drugs.
• The legal system will have to shoulder alot less of the burden due to criminalization that pose no danger to the society, the money saved from this and other drug drains of the budget could be applied to strengthen health and education programs.
• I hate to add this point, but there is a great amount of money and revenue that could be earned in this area.
• Regarding Addiction, tobacco is proven to be the most addictive drug. In general tobacco is more damaging to the health too.
  
• If you allow tobacco and alcohol to be consumed even though they are not exactly socially tolerable (atleast not until 10 or so years ago) , why is it that you single out soft drugs.
• I am in no way advocating total free market with regard to drug control, but actually having governmental oversight which is a much better tool than prohibition. That applies mainly to soft drugs but that doesn't say that it is an ineffective tool against all drugs.
• The best way to combat a side effect of drugs, i.e. the cartels, is to reduce the price to a point where it is no longer feasible to invest in the business that is the bottom line. They are in it for the money.(I repeated that point again)
  

One last favor i have been looking to find a single fatwa or hadeeth that dates before the 1900's that classifies drug use as "haram", since it was prevalent during that time but only alcohol was mentioned. I am just wondering regarding that since I can't find the link between the hashasheen and where we are now.

Kids remember drugs & Alcohol are bad for you, unless you take them under the supervision of an authorized adult :P

ENJOY!
ps. I hope my lil' Egyptian troll gives his blessing to this post too
pps. I wonder how many slanders i will get for this. yes i can be blamed for troll baiting.

Troll Hunting ... a spectator sport

troll² (trōl)
n.

A supernatural creature of Scandinavian folklore, variously portrayed as a friendly or mischievous dwarf or as a giant, that lives in caves, in the hills, or under bridges.

or

Trolls are recognizable by the fact that they have no real interest in learning about the topic at hand - they simply want to utter flame bait. Like the ugly creatures they are named after, they exhibit no redeeming characteristics, and as such, they are recognized as a lower form of life on the net, as in, “Oh, ignore him, he's just a troll.”

We all had our share of those! It is one of the best spectator sports that the internet has delivered to us. There is a certain pleasure to be drawn out of having the playing fields so skewed that a person devolves into a troll.
It is a pet peeve of mine to "feed the troll" it is just too amusing to see him creatively spew out one hateful post after another Amre El-Abyad, he is definitely a special breed(he is not an anon) that I want immortalize with post. Amre please visit and leave a comment if you read this.

Here are some of the gems (I apologize for his limited lexicons, he just has the urge for revert to cuss words);

no angels I know that you are low-but why do you like to interfere with your masters the Egyptians????? is it out of Jealouy piece of $$$$ or what.

if i get to see you gace to face i will put on the ground and crush that dirty head of yours with my foot

why do you care so much about Jews in Egypt? If you like crap then that is your own business, but everytime you insert your tongue inside your $$$$ ### you end up spewing your $$$$ on us.

Keep your dirty hands off Egypt low dirty freak

Now people usually delete those and forget about them, for who likes to re-read this ? I on the other hand like to keep a troll list so that in case I come across them again I would quote them and then move on with the discussion. Now what caused him to say all that about me ?
this comment on here

actually the ones that moved to israel are still pretty much iranian.
As for Egyptian jews whether you like it or not they [had] a great influence in early Egyptian cinema,

What is funny is that as soon as I mentioned "Hets mot folkgrupp" (which is the hate speech law in sweden where he lives) he was muted, what a shame...

Are you entertained !
ps. here i start the Troll watch anyone who wants to contribute is welcome

Just in case... Begging

With the recent passing of the law by GAM that bans beggars and begging from areas of Amman, which I find absolutely reprehensible since they are not exactly providing a realistic alternative.
The apathetic attitude they carry on that the majority of beggars are already rich and are exploiting the kindness of people is a joke, yes there are exceptions but the majority of them are really in need of a source of income.

What baffles me even more is the fact that this spreads to the "guerrilla shops" that open up around mosques, these people are doing a legitimate thing since they are not provided with a vibrant farmer's market they created their own. I am not sure if they were included or not but they disappeared from infront of the mosque next to my home.

Even though I am against the passing of the law but I have enough trust in their incompetence to not be able to enforce it effectively.

So just in case I fall into that situation myself, here are a few ideas that occured to me on how I would show my "micro entrepreneurialship":

• carry a bag, and a broom going around cleaning the streets and any of the offices or shops and do it with out verbally asking for money. Having a sign on my back that states my purpose and that makes it fall under donations and not begging (a guy in Canada does that and thats where I got the idea)
  
• Stand near crowded areas and guide people to the closest parking spot. (also with a sign to avoid run-ins with the law, and to allow people to identify your use and need)
  

These two are the things that occur to me readily that require the smallest skill set, doesn't involve hassling people for money, and actually benefit the society :D
Of course street performers are about as colorful a cultural icona as can be and they do fall under that class, the idea is that not all begging is "2ate3 eedo 2o bish7ad 3aleyha (he cuts his hand and begs)". Begging is a cultural reflection of society, how well you treat the "untouchables" of your society is a reflection of how civil your society is.

Would love to add any suggestions anyone might have

ENJOY!

UTUBE hopping

Just some crazy videos on utube that are worth revisiting later on...

A whole bunch of Haruhi otakus dancing in the street till the cops break them off (talk about choreography)


Remember the test when stimulants were given to spiders to observe their web building... this is what really happened


More crazy asians dancing


Something that might happen one day, although am not sure on which end I will stand it in


Finally some squirrel skeet


I just had to take my mind of the little girls video that has been making rounds around the blogs lately, I have no clue how I would be of any help (translates to not enough contacts in the medical field for me to make a difference) hope justice gets served.

Edit Missed one:


ENJOY!

Jordanian work enviroment... the gorillas and elephants in the room

File this under rants, not exactly a list but observations on why productivity in the Jordanian work environment might be just around 5 hours a week(observational but i think it is a pretty close average) !

• HR departments should be better labeled as personal administration: Human resources should lay down the ground work for how work flows in the company, they are responsible for objective hiring, and they are the architects to make the employees productivity achieve maximum efficiency. They are not the ladies that sit down all day on the phone discussing cooking recipes, waste half the day hassling the IT guys for problems they created. Adding to that making your life a living hell for getting the days off that you are entitled to.
  
• Manager that they misunderstand leadership for how high you can scream in an argument: Putting aside the fact that managers are the ones that wasted 18 years of their life slaving for the company so they feel they are entitled to the thrown, or the alternative that came about the position by pure nepotism. those types aside you are left with the less than confident manager that tries to take as little risk in decision making and accountability so that he will fly under the radar of upper management. those types are frustrating since they never take the steps required to get the job done since it will put them under the heat of upper management.
• Team leaders that have no management skills: these are the introverts that have serious social deficiency that the management thinks they are able to do project management because they are good at getting the job done, and usually when giving projects that require actual management they withdraw in the corner and let nature take its course.
• Co-workers that are just furniture laying around the office making annoying squeaking sounds: these are the ones that are just frustrated by how things are run but they never take a stand to change things, and usually are pretty comfortable with doing the satisfactory minimum.
• The Ass-licker: These are usually the future managers (the 18 year variety) they seem to pull days off out of their ass, manage to get the highest salaries and best bonuses. Similar to effect of having a high heal applied to your nether region is when you realize they are absolute knob heads that really don't know what they are doing but they excel at getting others doing their tasks for them.
• The fresh grad with the optimistic outlook and faith in the system: usually lasts about 2 weeks before he realizes the reality of the inferno that he is going to be in for the rest of his life. He starts looking for a mentor a good element that he can rely on a learn from, but gives up after being back stabbed (not given credit for his work) and turned in a slave grunt.
• The pawn from hell: This is the honest person that was a believer in the system and tried to rectify it with all his might, but naturally he failed. He used to over perform and looked forward to being recognized for his efforts, that did more than what he was assigned to and helped in departments that he had no business in doing their work for them.
  Alas no one noticed, he screamed in agony. Alas no one heard ! So he started a crusade on the system, he will perform on the level of his peers. He will make the life of his peers a living hell when dealing with him. You know the manager that was cryptic in his delegation of task, he does what was asked of him verbatim.
  For either he is not getting compensated for his extra effort, hell not even for his half-assed effort right now. He just had it !
  

So essentially these are the core units that I see at work every day, and in every organization i had intimate relationship with. From the multinational, to the region leader, to the biggest local business. They are dysfunctional with no accountability, never able to manage project so their schedules spiral out of control.
Essentially there is a general gap in management that is trickling down to the bottom that is causing everyone to be frustrated.
So ya I bet one of the replies i'll get since you seem to know better why didn't you start your own business ? don't let me start on that one is my reply.

JOY!

An excellent Brief on US post WWII foreign policy

Noam Chomsky is certainly a great at highlighting critical points clearly and breaking a convoluted world of politics into key areas that require full comprehension by the people.
This article is very interesting, no brilliant disclosures nothing that was not evident but the fact that it ties in alot of the nuances of politics and economics is what made me reference it in here.

The knot that ties this article together, in my opinion, is this paragraph
We might note that these events illustrate the actual meaning of the “Wilsonian idealism” admired by Western intellectual culture, and also provide the real meaning of “free trade” and the “open door.” Sometimes that is even officially acknowledged. When the post-Second World War global order was being shaped in Washington, a State Department memorandum on U.S. petroleum policy called for preserving absolute U.S. control of Western hemisphere resources “coupled with insistence upon the Open Door principle of equal opportunity for United States companies in new areas.”9 That is a useful illustration of “really existing free market doctrine”: What we have, we keep, closing the door to others; what we do not yet have, we take, under the principle of the Open Door. All of this illustrates the one really significant theory of international relations, the maxim of Thucydides: the strong do as they can, and the weak suffer as they must.

We as a region need to be fully aware of what the IMF, and WTO are meant to achieve and who they really are. We should take heed of the steps taken in South America with Venezuela spear-heading the efforts of reform.
The tipping of the scales is upon us and the way things are right now it seems like we are riding the titanic and enjoying that we made it just in time to earn a ticket for the ship

To read the full article click here

JOY!
ps. if you were surprised by the use of the word brief on a lengthy article it is because that information could easily go on for volumes and volumes to get a clearer picture but that is just the basics to start understanding the situations we are faced with today

How to utilize the internet at work when you have an Admin from hell (watashi desu) and other quirky tools

Well network administrators are a tough bread, a person whose job is to be annoyed by imbeciles. So naturally he fights back by closing up all their sources of fun at work.

Now the funny thing is that most of those thing can be by passed by a whole slew of options and tricks.

First off for blocked websites:
need to access one of the social websites or some other news website that is normally blocked ? even by pass a countries proxy server ? No facebook, blogger fix?
use one of those sites to browse:
http://www.hidemyass.com/
http://www.unlockweb.org/
https://proxify.com/
(there are so many of those that it is impractical to ban them manually, but if he is a smart admin he will block them based on usage, so alternate them often enough so they meld into the log)

They Don't allow us to use an IM at work:
No problem, there are two favorites in this category. This is perfect if you want to log on to an IM and you don't want to install it on the machine.
You can access yahoo messenger, msn, gtalk, AIM, ICQ, and jabber.
http://wwwl.meebo.com/(my personal favourite)
http://www.ebuddy.com/

or install
Need To get that [song, video, clip] that you want and P2P's are blocked:
you can download bittorrent, and go to one of those sites and search for it (warning is to limit the download and upload limit so that you won't get busted)
http://www.isohunt.com/
http://www.mininova.org/
(for copy right enforced countries it is important to use Peer gaurdian 2, safe peer, or ipfilter.dat to block snooping RIAA IP's, also this summarizes it pretty sufficiently )

Or if it is a quick song that you really want then you can use
Then just use google to find it and locate open ftp locations, here is a site that does it for you.
http://g2p.org/

Files that you want to download are blocked
hmm so far this is the most manual of all tasks, just ask a friend over IM to download it and send it to you.

Can't utilize your profile on your local computer the way you want to
just use you webOS, although these are still in infancy but they are shaping up quite nicely
https://www.youos.com/
http://eyeos.org/

Laws were made to be bent
ENJOY!

Draw-in.. ichinen mai, and a quasi question tag

Well this occurred to me since someone has clicked on the Draw-in tag and I only have a few of my drawings there... not that I scanned many of my recent ones but it was worth adding.
Now I mostly like to draw cartoonish anime stuff, but started doing some portraits about a year ago so here are a few :D

And I came across this which I found pretty interesting; they asked 8 people(3 writers, 3 scientists, and 2 broadcasters) six questions in science.

Can you Answer them ? (btw I got 4.5/6)

Q: Why does salt dissolve in water?
Q: Roughly how old is the earth?
Q: What happens when you turn on a light?
Q: Is a clone the same as a twin?
Q: Why is the sky blue?
Q: What is the Second Law of Thermodynamics?

answers in the link above

ENJOY!



This is not my drawing but my coloring only

Facebook sold my soul to the devil

Well close enough, I wonder how long it will take for us to realize it's not a smart idea to put so much personal information for any preying eye to see.
It is funny how much information you can find online about anybody, ranging from views, how they look like, where they live, how much they make, their CV's, down to what they have under their bed.

For someone nosy that can develop into an obsession. We all heard the stories about the firings and scandals due to your avatar being too much of a free spirit.
What is scary is that unlike real life where crappy human memory aids in forgetting mistakes the internet never forgets !
Posted something that you want to take back ? no chance, you can manipulate google search results in some scary ways !

Referring to 7aki's talk about toppers, those are actually the most fun type of people online. There are so many quirky details about them, and quotes that someone needs to start a company to do collect them and release a "best of" collection.
Funny its that exactly those type of people that say there is nothing that could be found.

Now does that mean to cocoon, and became a distanced observer ? no not really. Just be careful on what you disclose, how and where. Seriously it makes little to no difference what you say about your self or what your name is, its just how people react to what you say.
I guess it helps to have a multiple personality disorder to maintain everything separately and neatly.

What you do is just absorb as many aliases for different situations, I think only a couple of people here know my three major aliases (no you don't get a prize for disclosure) , with 3 sets of passwords to maintain security for those accounts. Plus i register my nick on the 3 services to make sure there is no mix up :D

Thats the tip of the iceberg, maybe i'll need to revisit that one day. I'm happy am not attractive enough for mobile paparazzis *hehe* cause I don't know how you'll be able to stop that short of a fight. One final thought, veil, head, and a mobile phone that records video is about the worse that could happen *mwahahaha*

Ok I know pointless post sounded like a good idea(more like i like the title), but whatever the real intention here is that the playlist is updated and I really like those songs listen to them :D
(imogen Heap - Hide & Seek, Out of Phase - Desire, Yokko Kano - final vision, Ani DeFranco -F*** U, Control Machete - Amores Perros, Primitive Radio Gods - Standing Outside A Broken Phone Booth With Money In My Hand)

ENJOY! (am gonna trade mark this now that I noticed it becoming popular, and earn my royalties)

Coming up next:
How to utilize the internet at work when you have an Admin from hell (watashi desu) and other quirky tools