Crow's Nest...

Leiden Centraal IV    when you are up for more than 48 hours (include my pre departure hours full of glee and expectations) it is not usual to go see the city instantaneously. My case differs_it differs in many other ways too that you don't want to know. First things first I went to the registration desk, which was closed. Had to dump my baggage at the hotel so I did that as quickly as I could. The urge to get out and see around over took the sleep deprived centres of brain that wanted to lullaby me into sleep.    Leiden is a student city just like the ones you are so accustomed to in America. But it is not a large city just like most of the European cities. I almost traversed the two corners of the city within 3 hours of my strolling on the cold windy streets of the city. The first thing that impresses me is the architecture of the place. Truly domesticated yet touch of modernity. Traditional in its own right yet subtle touches of fast track. Ea...

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Four     Hatim al Assam , "I have chosen four things to know and have discarded all the knowledge in the world besides." "One", he answered, "is this: I know that my daily bread is apportioned to me, and will neither be increased nor diminshed; consequently I have ceased to seek to augment it. Secondly I know that I owe to God a debt which no other person can pay instead of me; therefore I am occupied with paying it. Thirdly, I know that there is one pursuing me( i.e. death) from whom I can't escape; accordingly I have prepared myself to meet him. Fourthly, I know that God is observing me; therefore I am ashamed to do what I ought not."

Eid Milad un Nabi Mabrook

Open access Articles.    For students like myself who are not able to afford exorbitantly high subscription rates of scientific journals open access journals is the way to go. The idea that high costs prevent some of the people from accessing published research is forwarded by the proponents of open access policy. On the other hand however the opponents argue that if open access is promoted this might lead to decrease in the quality of research thus published. This could probably be due to many reasons. Journals pay the reviewers to review articles. They are incentive driven. Capital competition is present even in this field. Thus readers must pay for what they read.    I have a different idea. I believe that no one has a birth right to knowledge. And that the benefits of research are in essence derived from access to research results. If the lot is not able to find out what you have done what is the purpose of what you have done in the first plac...

Leiden Centraal III.    Not that I am feeling really great and in top form these days but still I have to write for those wandering visitors and continue what I started two posts earlier. The Schipol airport, as it is called, is a pretty big one especially for a new comer like me. But even then it doesn't deny you the same feeling that all other international airports in the western world provide you with. I haven't been to many, I must admit, yet to those where I have been I could see the stark sidelining of the third world airliners into one part of the airport. This time around the area was to be the part of airport called docking bay E. My plane landed and docked at E04. After disembarking the plane the very first thing that I did was get some change for the rest of my journey, which wasn't difficult to get on the airport. The immigration officer took extra time screening a young student travelling from one of the most notorious Muslim countries in the world. ...

A short pause before i resume from tomorrow with my tale.

So here it goes_yes the story of my odyssey (not really. nothing seemed to rhyme better). After long hours of waiting on the airport at the Jinnah terminal Karachi I boarded a plane for the city of Abu Dhabi; right at the eastern edge of the Arabian peninsula. The flight was comfortable and took three odd hours. As soon we became airborne food and refreshments were served; much to the disappointment of my fellow travellers who just wanted the taste of the prohibited. Anyways we landed at the airport, which was not very impressive, in the night. The building is designed to be a big tent with a central pillar. There was lot of hush hush on the airport. I needed a transfer to my next flight which I got after some na noo. I had about 4 hours before my flight for Amsterdam left the airport so I wandered around, in the airport of course.    The duty free shop is quite big and there were mostly people from the Subcontinent roaming about. Picking a thing or two from her...

I have just returned home from a student congress in Leiden, The Netherlands, after 5 days. A very interesting visit full of stories that i would finally like to share with my readers. So stay put and be around as the tacit fingers will type what descriptive mind dictates as seen by the observant eye. tada!

After a long time, since this useless rotation has started, that I was going through the editorial section of the newspapers, today, and came across an editorial based on a very disappointing piece of news. The story goes that our Speaker of the National Assembly has ordered a Rs. 11 million mercedes limousine for himself. The decision was taken in the committee which was being chaired by the above mentioned looser. When defending his own decision to have such an expensive car the speaker is said to have reasoned that if his counterpart in Iran can have a jet to his service why can't he afford a limousine for himself. I have occasional chances of listening to this sucker speak. He is the most unimpressive, illiterate, uneducated, ignoramus, obtrusive, often sniffling and dishevelled creature walking this earth and polluting the already corrupted National Assembly of this country. He even has a board erected right on the main road to the street leading to his house in Lahore....

Blog Marathon. They say better late than never. So here i am for all of you to read and enjoy...well not really but then those who pass by must read atleast few lines.