Halloween Costume Ideas

It’s the time of the year again, where every young boy gets to dress as his favourite superhero, every little girl dresses as a princess (girls always want to be princesses, even at age 20!), and Omar tries to think of another dumb costume to wear.

Well, costume is probably not the right word. I usually end up wearing stuff anybody can find at home, but with a little modification. The archetypal example of such a costume, is the classic ghost costume. A friend of mine actually went out as a ghost one year, for his costume we used a white bed sheet, poked holes into it for eyes, and attached a tongue to it… you know, for comic relief. To help you picture the way he looked, just imagine a 180 pound guy, about 5’7”, with a bed sheet over his head. I have really classy friends :)

One year I was a mobster, I worse dress pants, a vest, grew funky facial hair, slicked my hair back and put some baby-powder on it, to give my self the old “wise guy” look, and the icing on the cake was the cigar I had my dad buy for me, as I was under age at the time. That was a sweet costume. The year after that I was an undercover agent, along with 3 of my friends. We won the “best group costume” category with the help of a hundred cheering girls. The prize… 6 large fries from New York Fries.

This year, the university pub is hosting a Halloween party. If I can get my hands on some tickets, I’ll be sure to attend with a weird costume. So far I have three options:

A grape – buy purple balloons and stick them over my shirt and pants in layers, so I end up looking like a nice, ripe grape. I took this idea from a friend of mine… no, not the same one with the ghost costume.

God’s gift to women – wrap myself in gift wrap, add a few ribbons here and there, and a nice little gift card on the front that says “God’s gift to women.” I have seen someone do this once before, and it looked awesome. So it’s definitely an option.

A Pervert on My Space – This one I came up with the other day. I would wear a “wife-beater” stain it with some mustard and ketchup, mess up my hair and throw some baby power on it, and get a fake belly. My wife-beater would say “I’m 18, single, and sexy… on MY SPACE!” I might go to the party with a friend of mine dressed as a catholic school girl (kilt and white shirt), wouldn’t that be a great reenactment of every My Space encounter EVER!?

technorati tags: Halloween, Party, Costume, Ideas, pervert, grape, ghost

Cool Science!

Here are some recently published science studies, that I thought you may like

Sexiest parents deliver average offspring

Sexy males sire dowdy daughters and attractive females bear insipid sons – in fruit flies, that is – raising questions over the human battle-of-the-sexes

Hitch hike to Mars inside an asteroid

Burrowing inside an asteroid that travels past both the Earth and Mars could shield astronauts from radiation on their way to the Red Planet

Working invisibility cloak created at last

The device works by steering microwave light around a central object, making it appear to an observer as if it were not there at all

Tensions rise at space elevator challenge

Three of four teams were disqualified at a competition to test the strength of tethers for use in space elevators, while the fourth lost out to the "house" tether

technorati tags: science, studies, publications

Blame it on Firday the 13th

My sister has been looking for a job lately. She has been applying relentlessly to all kinds of places and no one replied. So I suggested to her that she drops by my old workplace, a grocery store chain, and try her luck. The manager there really liked me, and I figured it just might be the needed connection to get her foot in the door. As odd as it seems, connections are very important in getting even a simple part time job.

So she went to drop off her resume earlier last week. She met the manager and told him who she was, and that she wanted a job. He told her that he’ll keep her in mind next time he hires. That was the end of that, until a few days ago when he called to set up and interview with her. On Thursday after school, she went for her interview. She said that he gave her mixed messages, and at the end of the interview he said “if you’re hired we’ll call you tomorrow.”

Friday, at about 3 o’clock at work I was thinking “just about now, she should be getting her call.” I got home around 6ish thinking that the mood in the house will be a happy one, but to my surprise it wasn’t. The manager hadn’t called yet, and my sister’s patience was running low. Every time the phone rang, we’d all be anxious to see who it, only to be disappointed. My sister started saying goodbye to her dreams of buying all the clothes she wanted, iPOD accessories, car…. you name it. By 9 o’clock she knew she wasn’t going to get the call, since that’s when store closes.

This morning, she got up early in the morning determined to find a job. I was at the mall and told her about a few places who were hiring, so she got ready, printed off resumes and started applying. By the time she got back from the mall, she told me that she had won an interview at a place in the mall. A few minutes later the phone rang…

It was the manager of the grocery store, calling to tell her that she’s been hired. Apparently the manager said to her “sorry I didn’t call you yesterday, but you know, it was Friday the 13^th….”

Go figure!

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For more on Friday the 13^th visit this old post of mine

technorati tags: friday, 13th, superstition, interview, job

Experiences with car salesmen

Warning this is a rant.

Car salesmen are dumb! Of course not all of them are, but the ones I have had to deal with lately certainly tend to prove my statement.

As part of my job I have to occasionally do some market research, or benchmarking to be specific. Say we’re about to design a cup holder for a vehicle. The first that we need to know is what’s out there in terms of quality, design, materials etc. After benchmarking we start brainstorming design ideas, and then actually start the design.

Long story short, I had to do some benchmarking today. So I picked some dealership which had cars that have certain features I was looking for. I took a pad of paper, a pen, and camera, all standard equipment for a benchmarking study. Here are some of my (more interesting) encounters:

Cadillac Dealership:

Me: “Hi, I’m here from…. Doing some benchmarking for Toyota…. And I was wondering if it was ok if I took a look at ….”

Salesman: “So you want to show Toyota our design so they can take it?”

Nissan Dealership:

Me: “Hi, I’m here from…. Doing some benchmarking for Toyota…. And I was wondering if it was ok if I took a look at ….”

Salesman: calls another salesman and says “listen to this guy, he’s here to benchmark for Toyota. Isn’t that another name for corporate espionage”

I have to wait for the manager to finish a phone a call before they take his opinion.

Manager: “Oh yeah that’s cool.” Tells salesman “this is pretty normal”

As I was leaving another salesman comes up to me and says “these guys don’t know shit, I’ve had tons of people come to benchmark when I worked at GM.”

So by now, figured maybe I should just say I’m benchmarking without the Toyota bit.

Chevy Dealership:

Me: “Hi, I’m here from…. Doing some benchmarking some interior parts…. And I was wondering if it was ok if I took a look at ….”

Salesman: “Sorry was this arranged ahead of time?”

Me: “No, I do all the work my self. I have been going to dealerships all afternoon without any arrangements.”

Salesman getting offensive “Oh!.. so you’re saying we have to let you do this”

Me: “No, I’m asking you if it’s ok”

Salesman: “Can I see a card?”

Me: “I have some in the car”

Salesman: “Can you get me one?.”

Two minutes later I was done benchmarking the incredibly ugly HHR. If you’re curious, it was probably the worst car I saw that day.

So why are these salesmen dumb? Well apart from being ignorant of the way business is done in the automotive industry, they seem to be incapable of using simple logic.

I could have gone into every car dealership, sat in any car I wanted, and even took some for a test drive and that would have been totally ok. Since everything I mentioned falls within the realm of their job description. But when I approach nicely, explain what I’m doing professionally, they all seem to get suspicious, as if I was a spy of some sort. What difference is it if I took pictures and made some written notes rather than taken mental pictures and notes?

Since when are car salesman the protectors of intellectual property?

Is it really corporate espionage to take pictures of a car that’s on the market? If Toyota really wanted to steal an idea from, say, a shitty Chevy, wouldn’t they just buy the car and disassemble it part by part?

For that “let-me-see-your-card-salesman” does he really think that a young guy like me, likes to go around to a Chevy dealership, ask to see a car that wasn’t even designed for my age group, and take notes and pictures, just for fun? Is taking pictures of cars in dealerships a new "bad ass" thing to do that I’m not aware of?

Having said all that, there were some really nice salesmen as well. Ironically enough, the BMW sales manager welcomed me in, and we even had a friendly short conversation. Out of all the car dealerships, I would have understood it if I wasn’t welcomed in a BMW dealership. After all who wouldn’t want to take a closer look at a BMW.

technorati tags: salesman, car, dealership, chevy, Nissan, Toyota, Automotive, Cadillac, stupidity

Course Picking Time

As engineering students, we are forced to take courses in other departments to give us some non-technical education. While I find artsy courses extremely interesting (unlike our typically dry courses) I always have trouble with which courses to pick. My criteria for a good arts course are as follows:

a) I have to like the subject (no problem for me, since I’m easily amused)

b) The timing of course has to fit well within my schedule (no night courses)

c) The professor teaching has to have a good reputation (multiple choice exams, easy, and interested in teaching)

d) The course requires no essay writing (time consuming, and frankly a weakness of mine)

Taking all that into account, and filtering through the list of the courses that we are allowed to choose from (not all courses are open to satisfy our graduation requirement) I ended up with these three.

GEOG 101 Geography and Human Habitat

An introduction to human geography through a survey of some of the concepts, methods, techniques and applications of geographic analysis to the human cultural environment. Directed towards people-land and location analysis themes.

ANTH 102 Introduction to Social and Cultural Anthropology

The dynamic nature of socio-cultural systems is examined. Topics include language, technology, social organization, economics, politics, and religion. Data are drawn from a broad ethnographic base, including both 'primitive' cultures and modern, developed societies.

MSCI 311 LEC Organizational Design and Technology

The focus of this course is on the procedures and variables involved in the design and redesign of organizations. Issues such as departmentation, differentiation, integration, internal politics, innovation, authority and control are discussed in the context of the underlying technology of the organization. Emphasis will be placed on how one designs both the technical and the organizational systems to ensure their compatibility, noting the effects that one has on the other.

This is where you come I, which one do you think I should take and why? Have you taken a similar course before and found interesting? Boring?

Should I print out a copy of these three and throw a dart at them while blindfolded, and pick the one the dart is closest to?

Yaser and Lilly's Tag

These are in no particular order, it’s just a list of my favourite “things” that popped into my mind first when I was writing this post..

- touring new places
- Tea
- Syria
- Documentaries
- Books
- Soccer
- Earth to Omar
- meeting cool, smart people (bloggers)
- day dreaming
- Family
- Internet
- Middle Eastern music
- M C Escher drawings
- talking with close friends
- planning ahead

The Power of Nightmares

In the past, politicians promised to create a better world. They had different ways of achieving this, but their power and authority came from the optimistic visions they offered their people. Those dreams failed and today people lost faith in ideologies. Increasingly, politicians are seen simply as managers of public life. But now, they have discovered a new role that restored their power and authority. Instead of delivering dreams, politicians now promise to protect us…from nightmares.

They say that they will rescue us from dreadful dangers that we cannot see, and do not understand. And the greatest danger of all, is international terrorism. A powerful and sinister network, with sleeper cells in countries across the world, a threat that needs to be fought by war on terror. But much of this threat is a fantasy which has been exaggerated and distorted by politicians. It’s a dark illusion that has spread unquestioned through governments around the world, security services and the international media…

At the heart of the story are two groups the American neoconservatives, and the radical Islamists.

That’s how each episode of the 3 part documentary “The Power of Nightmares” starts. The documentary looks back into the beginnings of the radical Islamist movement, and neo-conservatism. It links the two together, and shows how they each benefit each other. The neo-cons essentially created Al Qaeda, transforming it from an Osama Bin Laden, and his LIMITED group of followers, to an international ideology, adopted by racial Muslims everywhere. In return, the conservatives get to excute their agenda under the “War on Terror” banner. I greatly recommend the documentary to anyone interested in how, and why the world we’re currently living in is the way it is right now.

Here's a link to a video clip of the intro, if you're interested

technorati tags: terrorism, war, USA, Osama, Qaeda, neoconservatives, neocons, documentary, power, of, nightmares

Mouneh Time..... مونة تايم

My mom kicks it into high gear this time of year (no rhyme intended). In typical Arab fashion mom’s preparing this year’s “mouneh” so it can last us during the long Canadian winter. Mouneh, for those who are unfamiliar with the term, is the preparation of certain foods/vegetables in a certain way, such that they are preserved over the winter months. Mouneh goes back centuries into Arab culture, and it is still practiced today, even in Canada!

Typical mouneh items include but certainly not limited to:

Mloukhieh: the main ingredient in a very popular Egyptian/Levantine dish.

Magdous: Eggplants stuffed with walnuts, red pepper, preserved in olive oil over the winter months.

Kousa (Zuchini): an important player in the mahashi category, which consists of vegetables such as eggplants, and red peppers stuffed with spiced rice and ground beef/lamb.

Pickles: although pickles are available year round in grocery stores, the taste is not the same as homemade pickles, plus can you even buy “lifit” pickles from here?

Flefleh hamra (red peppers): For use in mana`eesh and other reciepied, it’s usually dried in the sun, and placed in the freezer for the rest of the winter

Then there is all the garden herbs that mom dries such as thyme, rosemary, and mint.

All this talk about food got me hungry, I’m off to make ‘aasha (the last meal of the day, usually eaten around 9 o’clock, consisting mainly of TEA, labneh, magdous, cheese, olives and every dairy product known to man)

Magdous

Kousa (Zuchini)

Various pickles

Post Dedication: To mom, who works so hard to make us feel at home

technorati tags: arab, culture, magdous, mouneh, pickles