~ The 'C' word

Asalam alaikum warahmatuLLAh,

We walked beyond those steal gates into the oncology (cancer) research center_of_excellence, with thumping hearts & warm feet - after being lost in the huge specialist hospital complex.

The interview (more like an informal chit chat, me sitting inside the room to observe) went fine, except for a funny moment when on constant questioning of the american hired Director of Research to my consort as to why she got interested in research at all & not perusing clinical side after achieving much in her clinical studies... her sixer reply was;

"umm.. err.. actually.. sir.. i mean doctor saheb.. i'm done with my license exam, but i don't want to specialize & end up being a grey-headed professor for the rest of my life.."

.. too late to recognize that he himself had a grey head.. And was a professor!

ooopsy!!!

lol
But the cool guy meticulously changed the subject altogether.. haha

Needless to say that he was impressed (or depressed?) & has asked us to come later :p

After taking some suggestions from me & others on job selection, this is what she wrote;

'Thinking about professional working, investing time & exerting skills generally, I have ranked the following which I personally find most useful spending my life getting at something, making a difference & bringing a smile on a sick countenance (if i can as a clinical researcher.. or a physician).
– where 1 is most important, 8 is the least:'

Salary (Incentive, Facilities)	4
Job Satisfaction (Feeling more fulfilling in doing what I’m doing)	2
Work Environment (Leg-saving / Politics-free)	---------------------- 1
Institute’s Reputation	3
Real Research & not a ‘clap research’	5
Encouragement	6
Outcomes (Making a solid difference in lives)	3
Training	8

seeing this table, it seems one sure doesn't like people patronizing her..
hah! thats for sure ;)

Returning -
my exposure with cancer research dates back (& was largely limited to) years when we have had wholesome family dinners, after an exerting day of student life; where my father while peeling fruits would discuss about his cancer research experience & the nitty gritties of food 'carcinogens' (? or whatever he called them back then)

It went on as in..

~ An apple a day keeps you pocket-dismay

Asalam alaikum,

Q. What’s the difference between a mechanical engineer and a civil engineer?

A. Mechanical engineers build weapons. Civil engineers build targets.

And a quote one runs across in the book Operating Systems;

When an engineer builds a building, it’s very well built, but it’s so ugly that the people tear it down; when an architect builds a building, it’s very beautiful, but it falls down!

back then i heard; 'an apple a day keeps the doctor away..'
but then, since my consort ain't a dentist, i think im pretty contended with the variation in this familiar theme;
'an apple a day keeps the dentist away'
:)

so, here's my bit about the new purchase i made - thankx to mani for helping me out in placing the order online for much less infact.

its slick, its slim, its..its a supermaaan.. NOT.
:p
its air.
& its neat.

doesn't come handy though..
a bit overpriced, i dare say.. (got it much cheaper nonetheless :p)
but considering the world's slimiest AND a duo core, i thnk its worth it.

wasn't a knee jerk investment, neither a coincidence.
it was well planned & after much shuffling & reshuffling of choices, we finally landed on this piece of art err..air.

for some it dares to buck_the_trend, setting a new standard for mobile computing.
and others are annoyed & negatively reviewing, disgruntled that..

~ The Deep, the Dull & the Disturbia

Salam alaikum,

Sometimes somethings need to be dug into, there has to be a commencing point to solutions no matter how dull they initially seem or smell..
And in this short bit here, Peter is tryna come up with some nice examples concerning that.
[The guy seems to gesticulate much though.. a habit im trying to rid myself of :p ]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbwpRlEMNS0





As R.Feynman would put it;

"..nearly everything is really interesting if you go into it deeply enough."

Deeper enough or farther enough.. here is what Newton said;

"If I have seen farther than others it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants."

Later Mathematician R. W. Hamming added;

"Mathematicians stand on each other’s shoulders while computer scientists stand on each other’s toes."

Finally, computer scientist Hal Abelson quipped;

"If I have not seen farther, it is because giants were standing on my shoulders.."

Well, nice way to place the blame i guess :p
But really, deeply enough doesn't necessarily correspond to originality or perfectionism.

Leonard’s in his lil booklet Mastery quotes like so:

"...the essence of boredom is to be found in the obsessive search for novelty.
Satisfaction lies in the discovery of endless riches and subtle variations on familiar themes."

Rote application of statistics is mind-numbingly dull, yes, but statistics can be quite interesting when you dig deep down to the foundations.

Back in the day one of my supervisors used to exhort us to volunteer to teach freshman courses. Most people want to teach the more advanced courses instead, but he said that some of his best inspiration came from teaching the most foundational courses.

Focusing on depth of the basics is a jolly hard work and few people would want to do it.
People usually focus more on originality of it all..

Paul Graham in the intro to Founders at Work.

"People like the idea of innovation in the abstract, but when you present them with any specific innovation, they tend to reject it because it doesn’t fit with what they already know. … As Howard Aiken said, “Don’t worry about people stealing your ideas [plagiarism]. If your ideas are any good, you’ll have to ram them down people’s throats anyway.”

If you strive to be original, you might achieve it in some technical sense, but end up with something nobody cares about.
Strive for persistence and excellence instead, and VOILA.. you’re more likely to do something valuable.

C. S. Lewis in The Weight of Glory says;

"No man who values originality will ever be original. But try to tell the truth as you see it, try to do any bit of work as well as it can be done for the work’s sake, and what men call originality will come unsought."

Here’s an awesome quote from Twyla Tharp’s book The Creative Habit.

"Honey, it’s all been done before. Nothing’s really original. Not Homer or Shakespeare and certainly not you. Get over yourself."

Frankly, trying to be completely original is paralyzing, and not even possible.
Only the Al Mighty Creator creates ex-nihilo.
Everyone else starts with something somewhere.
Lets not try to be Al Mighty... lets try to be humans instead.

And last but not the least, speaking about the thin line between depth & the delusion; this quote from W. C. Fields is refreshing to the very bone:

"If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Then quit. No use being a damn fool about it."

heh.. im soo frigging loving the originality of this last one.
lol.

~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~

~ The Blame Game

Salam alaikum,

SubhanAllah..
i was reading this in Shaih al Bukhari (Kitaab ul A'thaan) today.
and was genuinely upset & quite taken aback actually.. for many of us, in our ignorance & casual laid back styles, are quick to blame their fellow brethren & even Noble Companions..
May Allah save us from such blatant misguidance.
And forgive our mistakes.

‏حدثنا ‏ ‏موسى ‏ ‏قال حدثنا ‏ ‏أبو عوانة ‏ ‏قال حدثنا ‏ ‏عبد الملك بن عمير ‏ ‏عن ‏ ‏جابر بن سمرة ‏ ‏قال ‏
‏شكا ‏ ‏أهل ‏ ‏الكوفة ‏ ‏سعدا ‏ ‏إلى ‏ ‏عمر ‏ ‏رضي الله عنه ‏ ‏فعزله واستعمل عليهم ‏ ‏عمارا ‏ ‏فشكوا حتى ذكروا أنه لا يحسن ‏ ‏يصلي فأرسل إليه فقال يا ‏ ‏أبا إسحاق ‏ ‏إن هؤلاء يزعمون أنك لا تحسن تصلي قال ‏ ‏أبو إسحاق ‏ ‏أما أنا والله ‏ ‏فإني كنت أصلي بهم صلاة رسول الله ‏ ‏صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏ ‏ما ‏ ‏أخرم ‏ ‏عنها أصلي صلاة العشاء ‏ ‏فأركد ‏ ‏في الأوليين وأخف في الأخريين قال ذاك الظن بك يا ‏ ‏أبا إسحاق ‏ ‏فأرسل معه رجلا أو رجالا إلى ‏ ‏الكوفة ‏ ‏فسأل عنه ‏ ‏أهل ‏ ‏الكوفة ‏ ‏ولم يدع مسجدا إلا سأل عنه ويثنون معروفا حتى دخل مسجدا ‏ ‏لبني عبس ‏ ‏فقام رجل منهم يقال له ‏ ‏أسامة بن قتادة ‏ ‏يكنى ‏ ‏أبا سعدة ‏ ‏قال أما إذ نشدتنا فإن ‏ ‏سعدا ‏ ‏كان لا يسير ‏ ‏بالسرية ‏ ‏ولا يقسم بالسوية ولا يعدل في القضية قال ‏ ‏سعد ‏ ‏أما والله لأدعون بثلاث اللهم إن كان عبدك هذا كاذبا قام رياء وسمعة فأطل عمره وأطل فقره وعرضه بالفتن وكان بعد إذا سئل يقول شيخ كبير مفتون أصابتني دعوة ‏ ‏سعد ‏
‏قال ‏ ‏عبد الملك ‏ ‏فأنا رأيته بعد قد سقط حاجباه على عينيه من الكبر وإنه ليتعرض للجواري في الطرق يغمزهن

713 ,صحيح البخاري, الأذان, وجوب القراءة للإمام والمأموم في الصلوات كلها في الحضر

Narrated Companion Jabir bin Samura (May Allah be pleased with him):
The People of Kufa complained against [governor] Sa'd (radiAllah) to Caliph 'Umar (radiAllah) and the latter dismissed him and appointed 'Ammar as their chief. They lodged many complaints against Sa'd and they even alleged that he did not pray properly.
'Umar (radiAllah) sent for him and said, "O Aba Ishaq! (surname of Sa'd) These people claim that you do not pray properly."
Abu Ishaq (radiAllah) replied; "By Allah, I used to pray with them a prayer similar to that of Allah's Apostle and I never reduced anything of it. I used to prolong the first two Rakat of 'Isha prayer and shorten the last two Rakat."
To which 'Umar said, "O Aba Ishaq, this was what I thought about you."
And then he sent one or more persons with him (back) to Kufa so as to ask the people (testimony) about him. So they went there and did not leave any Masjid without asking about him.
All the people praised him till they came to the Mosque of the tribe of Bani 'Abs; one of the men called Usama bin Qatada with a surname of Aba Sa'da stood up and said; "As you have put us under an oath; I am bound to tell you that Sa'd never went himself with the army and never distributed (the war booty) equally and never did justice in legal verdicts."
(On hearing it) Noble comapnion Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) said; "I pray to Allah for three things: O Allah! If this slave of yours is a liar and got up for showing off, give him a long life, increase his poverty and put him to trials."
(And so it happened).
Later on when that person was asked how he was, he used to reply that he was an old man in trial as the result of Sa'd's dua. 'Abdul Malik, the sub narrator, said that he had seen him afterwards and his eyebrows were over-hanging his eyes owing to old age and he used to tease and assault the small girls in the way.

[Sahih al Bukhari, Book of Call to Prayers, Hadith 713]

~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~

~ The Woody

Salam alaikum,

aahh..
Sometimes I so feel like that woodpecker Seth talks about in The Dip; tapping on a thousand trees..staying busy but getting nowhere :/

He quotes on a starving woodpecker like so;

"A woodpecker can tap twenty times on a thousand trees and get nowhere, but stay busy. Or he can tap twenty thousand times on one tree and get dinner."

Lets see now, where to place the blame for this incessant inability in persistence :p
ahaa yes..
I think part of it is to be blamed on multitasking.
The F-state to be precise.

E.Hallowell coined two great terms in his work Crazy Busy;
C-state and F-state.

C-state is clear, calm, cool, collected, consistent, concentrated, convivial, careful, curious, creative, courteous, and coordinated.

F-state fractures focus, is frenzied, feckless, flailing, fearful, forgetful, flustered, furious, fractious, feverish, and frantic.

Pretty neat, init?

So, multitasking leads to F-state and activates different parts of the brain than C-state.
Just giving F-state a name and being aware of it helps to back out of it.

Countless articles tell a tale how multitasking makes us..

~ Only in there

Asalam alaikum warahmatuLLAh,

Only in Madinah Tayyibah..

~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~

~ Youm e Jum'ah

Salam alaikum warahmatuLLAh,

It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah and Hudhayfah (may Allaah be pleased with them both) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:

“Allaah led those who came before us away from Friday. The Jews had Saturday, and the Christians had Sunday. Then Allaah brought us and Allaah guided us to Friday. So there is Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and thus they will follow us on the Day of Resurrection. We are the last of the people of this world but we will be the first on the Day of Resurrection, and we will be dealt with before all others.”

[Sahih Muslim, Hadith #856]

It was narrated that Abu Lubaabah ibn ‘Abd al-Mundhir said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:

“Friday is the master of days, and the greatest of them before Allaah. It is greater before Allaah than the day of al-Adha and the day of al-Fitr. It has five characteristics: on this day Allaah created Adam, on it He sent Adam down to the earth, on it Allaah caused Adam to die, on it there is a time when a person does not ask Allaah for anything but He gives it to him, so long as he does not ask for anything haraam, and on it the Hour will begin. There is no angel who is close to Allaah, no heaven, no earth, no wind, no mountain and no sea that does not fear Friday.”

[Narrated by Ibn Maajah, 1084; classed as hasan by Shaykh al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami’, #2279]

The virtues of this day include the following:

1 – On it is Salaat al-Jumu’ah (Friday prayer), which is the best of prayer.

Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“O you who believe (Muslims)! When the call is proclaimed for the Salaah (prayer) on Friday (Jumu‘ah prayer), come to the remembrance of Allaah [Jumu‘ah religious talk (Khutbah) and Salaah (prayer)] and leave off business (and every other thing). That is better for you if you did but know!”

[Surah al-Jumu’ah, Chapter 62, ayah 9]

Narrated Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:

“The five daily prayers and from one Jumu’ah to the next is an expiation for whatever sins come in between them, so long as one does not commit a major sin.”

[Sahih Muslim, Hadith #233]

It was narrated from ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Umar and Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with them both) that they heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say on the minbar:

“Let people stop neglecting Jumu’ah, or Allaah will place a seal on their hearts, then they will be among those who are neglectful.”

[Sahih Muslim, Hadith # 865]

~ Awesome

Asalam alaikum warahmatuLLAh,

Simply awesome recitation

~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~

~ Thin line between Calm & Panic

Asalam alaikum,

At times it so happens that we get besieged by situations seeminlgy taking control over us.

Thoughts are overwhelmed by fear, senses numbed, and actions simply falling apart.

This can happen virtually any where, any time, & at any place; a small unexpected event can trigger a surge of fear inside us, and if not addressed properly could precipitate a panic attack.

A tough question from the audience and phoof! all the points to present are gone!

An unforced error, and suddenly the seasoned player starts acting like a novice!

A slight variation in waves and the experienced swimmer finds himself haplessly helpless, a few poor performances and the batsman looses his touch.

A famous tennis star who just won her first set with a 40-love & a triple set point; a small unforced error took the best of her & she got so overwhelmed that there followed a trail of errors & the situation worsened till her defeat.

Panic reduced a giant of tennis star into a naive novice.

A world champion swimmer once got caught in the current just as he swam beyond the surf, he found himself being pulled out into the sea & started fighting the water..

It was then he realized recalling the basic rule that if he keeps his calm he could just float..

& he did exactly that saving his energies & ultimately his life..

Sometimes life's testing tides are to be kept as such.. just let them pass, keeping your calm & your patience.

Once the panic sets in, therez only Allah's help to bring you back.

In testing times just bank_on_the_instincts and move_back_to_basics.

Basic idea of the subject in question will give a clue to the presenter stuck with blanks.

Well, easier said than done.. specially when i've to conduct & present a mind storming 4 hour long bla bla tomorrow.

baaah!!

~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~

~ Dust is my Bed

Salam alaikum warahmatuLLAh,

Lets value life & all the blessings Allah has blessed us with as human beings...

Nasheed 'Dust is my bed' by Mishary Al-Arada.

Translation;
Dust is my bed, embracing me & is my cover now,
The sand surrounds me, enveloping me from over & above.

And the grave presents darkness in its isolation,
And the Guidance was elucidated in His Book
but I forgot my meeting with Him……
oh I forgot my meeting with Him……

And the family.. where is their sympathy?
they sold my loyalty..
And the companions..where is their companionship?
they relinquished my brotherhood..oh my brotherhood

And the wealth.. where is its joy?
it was left behind
oh it was left behind..
And the reputation..where is its shine?
between praises

This is my end..this is my bed..

-Repeats-
oh I forgot my meeting with Him……

And love farewells its longing..my eulogizing wailed
And the tears went dry after the crying.
oh the tears went dry..

The universe became narrow in its expanse and so was my space,
The grave became my earth and my sky.

This is my end..
Dust is my bed

-Repeats-
oh I forgot my meeting with Him……

Fear fills my estrangement and grief is my ailment
I hope firmness and I swear it’s my cure

And to Allah i call faithfully; You are my hope !
Allah! I desire heaven, in it is bliss

And to Allah i call faithfully; You are my hope !
Allah! I desire heaven, in it is bliss

~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~

~ Simply put

Salam alaikum warahmatuLLAh,

Qari Mishary Rashid Al Afasy's Nasheed.
"Ana Al-'Abd" meaning "I am the Slave".
Poetry by Ibn 'Abdil Qawiyy.
Translated & subtitled by Awakening Visions Productions.

Positively beautiful containing a beneficial theme for all of us, inshaAllah.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OMXWrI8Nd4

~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~

~ All Roads Lead to Madinah

SallaLLahu alehi wa alihi wassalam..

O beloved !..
I'm hesitant to say something lest it should cross the limits..
and am unable to hold back what words fail me to express..

Lowing lamps flicker;

entire galaxies

madly float

in hearts brimming

with adulation.

tears spill in the Garden

oh that they mingle

where his blessed tears

fell as raindrops

where his wise counseling

was a melodious river

where his numinous light

still illuminates even the most wretched

where scent still rises

from his every footprint

where pillars still yearn

for his embrace

where the earth still sighs

from the touch of his muddied forehead

where his smile still dances in the air

where his stroke

subdued the wildest ego

snuffed the flames of disbelief

united warring fractions

and harmony was finally defined

Praised and Praiseworthy..

Muhammed - salaLLAhu alehi  wa alihi wassalam

our darood & our salaams

are meek compared to your esteem

our salutations

sullied

within a darkened stupor

our only hope

is the hope from Allah's Mercy

that dazzles

from yearning to drink

from your hands

on Kauthar

- inshAllah

إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ ۚ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا

"Allah sends His Salat (Graces, Honours, Blessings, Mercy) on the Prophet (Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم), and also His angels (ask Allah to bless and forgive him). O you who believe! Send your Salat on (ask Allah to bless) him, and greet (salute) him with the Islamic way of greeting (i.e. As-Salamu 'Alaikum )."

(سورہ الاحزاب; The Coalition, Chapter 33: Ayah 56-57)

... All roads lead to Madinah

~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~

~ Search Again

Salam alaikum,

"I worked on a similar kind of shiite during my Ph.D., & trust me no one's gonna read it except yourself & your poor poor supervisor.
Just so you know..
oh btw, its been more than a decade & was until recently still trying to solve 'that bit' i wrote in my thesis.. until i gave up all hope!"

I was left breathless.. well almost.

Research is pretty much a whole new search of virtually anything you're interested in - as long as you have enough time & funds for that matter :)

And if you're ready to do it without time or funds; then your research morphs into passion.
Much like the case with my brazilian professor, who was still solving a problem 11 years down the line.. & curiously he still smiles :p

The research strategy has usually three main pillars. Together they create an environment which ensures that good ideas can pass as rapidly as possible from a lab to a stage where they are of real social (or economic) benefit.


The first pillar is the basic and fundamental research.
It takes place in dark dedicated dungeons (err..labs) inside concrete campuses, behind closed doors & up in our heads somewhere..

~ 8 Gates

Asalam alaikum,

After 500 interviews & some 7 long years, he presented his results by churning down a 2 hour presentation into a lil over 3 minutes tidbit here.

The outline:

~ Passion - do it for love, money will come anyway.
~ Work - don't be a workaholic, be a 'workafrolic'.
~ Good - practice practice practice.
~ Focus - on one thing at a time.
~ Push - thanks Allah who made mothers :) & then spouses.
~ Serve - "Best Muslim is who benefits his brother"
~ Ideas - be curious, a good listener & a good observer
~ Persist - thru failiure, thru crap.

Pretty neat.. eh?

~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~

~ Shift Happens the Paradigm way

Salam alaikum,

It snowed furiously the night before I left over for my new found love.

It was mid-November, so the snow was wet and slushy, not dry enough to stick. But the moisture stained the soft soil at the trailhead a dove gray, and spiced the air with the scent of ponderosa pine.

On the proviso that I would return sooner, my grey-headed professor lemme go. But then the condition wasn't much of a *my way or the highway* sort, so i changed my mind & stayed instead.

Just a wee while ago, someone asked me - again - why i came over to reside here? And I started recapitulating the almost natural move.

The work environment back there was cool & so were the...

~ The Dithering Dichotomy

Salam alaikum,

Years ago someone told me that he never learned algebra & has never had a need for it.
But I’ve learned algebra and used it constantly.
It’s a lucky thing I was the one who learned algebra since I ended up needing it.
But of course it’s not 'being lucky' per se, since I'd not have had any use for it either, had I not learned it :/

Broadly speaking there are two types of thinking processes;
The straight thinking & the lateral thinking. [more on it laterz inshAllah]

Just like that there are two types of learning behaviors we can spot in our daily lives out there;
First one, is the more traditional school based learning approach. We learn something with a hope that it'll be needed in future someday; this is to learn just_in_case.

The other one, is learning only when we need to learn; thats just_in_time learning.

Its a perfect dichotomy i dare say, & we all have our own experiences of both types of learnings..



In general, we learn things in school just...

~ The Configurable Cognizant

Asalam alaikum,

So, are you in your elements?
Yeah, you ! the one reading this :p

First, he gave a tedster talk back in 06' that led to his writing 'The Element'.

Ken Robinson’s catch phrase pretty much is;

"Don’t standardize education, personalize it."




Here are a couple quotes from his book concerning standardized education..

~ حافظ صاحب اور ہم

"
اللہ کا شُکر ہے میری تو تیاری ہو گئ ہے۔ ۔ کوئ سوال مُشکل ہو تو مجھے بھی بلا لینا ۔ ۔ ویسے تاش ہے؟ ۔ ۔ کھیلیں "؟

یہ حافظ صاحب بھی کمال ہی تھے۔ ۔

ہم لوگ امتحان سے ایک رات پہلے سخت ٹینشن میں پڑھ رہے ہوتے تھے۔

اور حافط صاحب کہیں سے سیٹی بجاتے نمودار ہوتے، تو ہماری سڑ جاتی کہ ایک ہم ہیں اور ایک یہ حافط ہے۔

وقت کی مُنصفانہ تقسیم کے اتنے پابند ہیں؛

کہ امتحان کے دن بھی انکے ناول پڑھنے کا ٹایم نہیں بدلے گا ۔

one of the best time managers i've...