Adigapsatha

This is something that only ever dominated my daydreams. It is a dream I'd like to fulfill in Europe. Can you imagine the view of that majestic countryside? The peace and serenity that can only be achieved by being up so high? Just one word to describe it all.... wow!

Lawn Chair Balloonist Achieves His Dream BEND, Oregon. - Using his trusty BB gun to help him return to Earth, a 48-year-old gas station owner flew a lawn chair rigged with helium-filled balloons more than 200 miles across the Oregon desert Saturday, landing in a field in Idaho.
Kent Couch created a sensation in the tiny farming community of Cambridge, Idaho, where he touched down safely in a pasture and was soon greeted by dozens of people who gave him drinks of water, local plumber Mark Hetz said.
"My wife works at the City Market," Hetz said. "She called and said, 'The balloon guy in the lawn chair just flew by the market, and if you look the door you can see him.
"We go outside to look, and lo and behold, there he is. He's flying by probably 100 to 200 feet off the ground.
"He takes his BB gun and shoots some balloons to lower himself to the ground. When he hit the ground he released all the little tiny balloons. People were racing down the road with cameras. They were all talking and laughing."
235 miles in nine hoursCouch covered about 235 miles in about nine hours after lifting off at dawn from his gas station riding in a green lawn chair rigged with an array of more than 150 giant party balloons.
It began after Couch, clutching a big mug of coffee, kissed his wife and kids goodbye, then patted their shivering Chihuahua, Isabella, on the head.
After spilling off some cherry-flavored Kool-Aid that served as ballast, Couch got a push from the ground crew so he could clear light poles and soared over a coffee cart and across U.S. Highway 20 into a bright blue sky.
"If I had the time and money and people, I'd do this every weekend," Couch said before getting into the chair. "Things just look different from up there. You've moving so slowly. The best thing is the peace, the serenity.
"Originally, I wanted to do it because of boyhood dreams. I don't know about girls, but I think most guys look up in the sky and wish they could ride on a cloud."
Couch's wife, Susan, called him crazy: "It's never been a dull moment since I married him." His third flight
This was Couch's third balloon flight. He realized it would be possible after watching a TV show about the 1982 lawn chair flight over Los Angeles of truck driver Larry Walters, who gained folk hero fame but was fined $1,500 for violating air traffic rules.
In 2006, Couch had to parachute out after popping too many balloons. And last year he flew 193 miles to the sagebrush of northeastern Oregon, short of his goal.
"I'm not stopping till I get out of state," he said.
To that end, he ordered more balloons. Dozens of volunteers wearing fluorescent green T-shirts that said "Dream Big" filled latex balloons 5 feet in diameter, attached them to strings and tied clusters of six balloons each to a tiny carabiner clip.
Each balloon gives four pounds of lift. The chair was about 400 pounds, and Couch and his parachute 200 more.
"I'd go to 30,000 feet if I didn't shoot a balloon down periodically," Couch said.
For that job, he carried a Red Ryder BB gun and a blow gun equipped with steel darts. He also had a pole with a hook for pulling in balloons, a parachute in case anything went wrong, a handheld Global Positioning System device with altimeter, a satellite phone, and two GPS tracking devices. One was one for him, the other for the chair, which got away in the wind as he landed last year.
For food he carried some boiled eggs, jerky and chocolate.
Couch flew hang gliders and skydived before taking up lawn-chair flights. He estimated the rig cost about $6,000, mostly for helium. Costs were defrayed by corporate sponsors.

Its a mind throbbing question that continuously circulates any practicing Muslim's mind living in a non-Muslim country. Checking the ingredients before buying any food product has been a reflex my "foreign" mind does without thought.



I've developed double vision for bacon pebbles or strips inside my salads, sandwiches and dishes when I dine out. I really try..... we all do. But even the classiest cuisines make mistakes that could offend my religious beliefs and send me home sick because I've developed a personal illness in my head about eating pork.

Most people here start to rationalize. "I didn't know, I didn't see... and I said Bismillah... God will forgive me!" Its not that simple. If I continue to blame my mistakes of not being cautious on the chef and the service, I will never eat right because in all honesty, its not in their concern.

So how to take the extra steps to a more Halalified food? It's basically being different and making people get out of their way for your service. It isn't easy and needs personality and strength to do. A Muslim person becomes a demanding one on a table of any party.
Does it have any pork/bacon?
Can you please use a separate clean knife to cut my food?
Can you clean your grill?
Can you change your gloves to a new pair that haven't touched other foods?
Can you make it Kosher?!?!

I'm picky, im concerned and I need to be understood. It is my right... I'm paying AND tipping.
But it doesn't end here. Even though, I've tried my best to keep my dish as Halal as I could make it. I know for a fact, Kosher food isn't slaughtered with a "Bismillah" starting it nor following any other Muslim guidelines to slaughtering an animal.

This means, I need to ONLY dine at Arabic, Turkish or any other Muslim country cuisine because only then I could special request for Halal meat/food and possibly pay double the amount. But it is sooo worth it.

And you think the problem is solved here?... nah. Even Muslim cuisines here provide alcohol. Alcohol isn't cleansed and washed off with water and soap. So here I am using the same glassware, forks, knifes and spoons that someone who was drinking alcohol used before me. Is your head throbbing like mine yet?!?! Ya! You could choose to eat with disposable utensils :)

Eating Halal food is basically a step closer to doing something good for my religion. If its not going to concern me then I've started to lose control of my religion and I'm washing off and going into the societal trend I'm living in. Being different is being beautiful indeed and there's nothing wrong with that.

Bon Apetite!

منذ الأزل حتى الأبد، تبقى ثقافة وتاريخ الإنسان متعلقتان برغبة لم تتراجع في إختراق حاجز الزمن. المئات من الروايات والتجارب العلمية والأفلام السينمائية حاولت إستكشاف كيف يمكن للإنسان العودة إلى الماضي. علماء كبار تحدثوا عن البعد الرابع الذي يجمع ما بين الزمان والمكان وتحدثوا عن الثقب الأسود في المجرات والذي يمكن أن يجعل الإنسان يعود إلى الزمن الغابر ويحقق أحد أهم أولويات الخيال العلمي. كل هذا ما عاد... [اقرأ المزيد]

تبين لي في الأيام القليلة الماضية أن على الإنسانة أن تعتمد على ذاتها كلياً إن هي أرادت أن تحقق ما تحلم به, و ليست هذه الفكرة جديدة طبعاً و لا أنا اخترعتها, بل اضطررت أن أتبين صدقها بنفسي بعد محاولتي أن أسلك طريقاً ملتوياً لأحقق أحد الأمور المهمة جداً بالنسبة إلي. حاولت أن أوفق بين ما يريده المجتمع متمثلاً بعائلتي و ما أريده أنا شخصياً, و هما أمران على طرفي نقيض تقريباً أو لنقل أن أحدهما يود لو يلغي الآخر. حاولت أن أحلل الأمور و أن أتفاوض مع نفسي و مع المجتمع لأصل إلى الحل الأمثل, لكنني إلى الآن لم أستطع الوصول إليه. هل يكون الصراع شرطاً لتحقيق الأحلام؟ هل يكون التنازل عن شيء مهم طريقاً للوصول إلى شيء آخر مهم؟ من يصنع هذه المفارقات؟

لمداواة المشكلة مؤقتاً انصرفت إلى القراءة, فأنا الآن في إجازتي السنوية التي انتزعتها انتزاعاً من رئيسي في العمل و الذي كان يريد أن يقسطها لي أسبوعاً أسبوعاً. قرأت في الشهر الماضي خمس كتب أربعة منها لناشطات نسويات عربيات: نوال السعداوي (أوراقي…حياتي بأجزائه الثلاث) و فاطمة المرنيسي (هل أنتم محصنون ضد الحريم؟), و كتاب أيريك فروم “فن الوجود” , مما حدا بأختي أن تعلن أن فكري متحيز و موجه. أظنها تعني أنني أركز في الفترة الحالية على قراءة ما يثري معرفتي عن أوضاع و شؤون المرأة و بالأخص المرأة العربية. أين العيب في ذلك؟ لماذا تعتبر أختي أن فكري “متحيز” لأنني أريد أن أتعلم ما يخصني و يخصها بالدرجة الأولى كوننا نساء عربيات؟ لم لا تريد الكثير من النساء معرفة موضع الخلل في الواقع المؤلم الذي يعشنه يومياً و يفضلن أن يتذمرن, أو لا يتذمرن و هو الأخطر ؟

لا أفهم هذا الأسلوب في التفكير, فبالنسبة لي العلم بالشيء خير من الجهل فيه, حتى لو كان العلم يزيد حياتي صعوبة فأصيح نزقة و لا أحب التعاطي مع من لا يستطيعون أن يقيموا أفكارهم على أسس مقنعة و دلائلية. أصبحت أقاطع شيوخ التلفاز و أفراد العائلة و الأصدقاء عندما يخص النقاش المرأة التي يتكلم الجميع باسمها إلا هي, و ينتهي الأمر بي أحياناً أن أسمع بعض الكلمات غير اللطيفة لإسكاتي. لكنني لا أمانع بل أحب ذلك لأنه يثبت لي أن حديثي لا بد و أنه قد أراهم جانباً من الحقيقة لم يألفوه, و المقاومة في هذه الحالة أمر طبيعي..أو ربما أخذتني العزة بالإثم فتوهمت ذلك. لا يهم.

أنا لست متحيزة و لا فكري موجه, أنا بكل بساطة أحاول أن أفهم واقعي اعتمادأ على المعطيات التي لا يمكن تجاهلها: أنني امرأة, أنني أفكر, أنني أعيش في بلد عربي اسمه الأردن, أنني مزيج من حضارتين إحداهما عربية و الأخرى شركسية تتعاملان مع الأمور باختلاف واضح مما يشكل أزمة لي للتوفيق بينهما, و أنني لا أحب التعصب و أنني أعاني من نظرة المجتمع لي و تعاطيه معي على أساس أنني امرأة و لست إنساناً مجرداً, فلو توقف المجتمع عن النظر إلي بمنظار ضيق و جنسي كهذا لما كان هناك سبب يدعوني للتركيز على قضايا المرأة, و التي هي نصف قضايا الإنسانية. أين اللامعقول في ذلك؟ لم يرفض السواد الأعظم من الناس هذا الموقف مع أنه مبرر جداً لا بل ضروري و طبيعي؟

حظي بلهوا… أعشق أنا الغريبة…

ما ينفعني الدوا… إلا عناق الحبيبة…

حظي بلهوا… أعشق أنا الغريبة…

ما ينفعني الدوا… إلا عناق الحبيبة…

صبر قلبي سنه… و ما يزيدها يومين…

 

يقطع الزهق و سنينو… لول

"And the beast shall be made legion. Its numbers shall be increased a thousand thousand fold. The din of a million keyboards like unto a great storm shall cover the earth, and the followers of Mammon shall tremble." -from The Book of Mozilla, 3:31 Firefox download day (18th June) was a huge ...

First off, this movie is not for minors, so if you have minors around, or if you are a minor, don't watch it. Having said that, The onion movie revolves primarily around stereotyping through a string of satirical skits and fake news that involve Blacks, Whites, Arabs, Pop musicians, Steven Segal ...

And this is the "proof": I don't care what anybody says, this can't be good. And if you doubt the authenticity of this video, just search youtube for "cell phone popcorn" you'll find tons of 'em.ShareThis

Concept cars give automotive designers a chance to let their imaginations run wild, often with outlandish results. But even by that measure, BMW has come up with something as strange as it is innovative -- a shape-shifting car covered with fabric. Instead of steel, aluminum or even carbon fiber, the GINA ...

Apparently being dumb does not disqualify you from becoming a U.S president. "Putin is the President of Germany"? "Deliver bottled hot water to dehydrated babies"? Apparently, McCain also still doesn't exactly know how to use a teleprompter, or even read from a sheet of paper for that matter: And of course, McCain is ...

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The Official Google Blog explains the reasons behind changing the favicon, it also states that the icon were are seeing right now is infact not the final version. and people can even send in their ideas, feedback and suggestions: You may have noticed that Google has a new favicon, the small ...

يعجبني يرنامج العاشرة مساء الذي تبثه قناة دريم الثانية الفضائية، ومع أن البرنامج هو مصري خالص ويهتم بشكل أساسي بمتابعة قضايا الشارع المصري إلا انني أحرص على متابعته قدر ما أستطيع وذلك لجرأة البرنامج والمذيعة المثقفة الذكية منى الشاذلي في طرح ومعالجة المواضيع والمشاكل والهموم بطريقة مباشرة وصريحة وبدون مراوغة ...

A very important episode of the Dutch documentary program "Tegenlicht" about the Israel lobby in the United States of America. This documentary (Aired April 2007) was created as a result of the controversy created by Mearsheimer and Walt's "The Israel Lobby" article. Featuring interviews with Mearsheimer, geostrategist Lawrence Wikerson, ...

From McCain's speech to AIPAC (America's Pro-Israel Lobby): "The threats to Israel's security are large and growing, and America's commitment must grow as well. I strongly support the increase in military aid to Israel, scheduled to begin in October. I am committed to making certain Israel maintains its qualitative military edge. ...

بطاقة تعريف بالقرشاي   قبل إلإبحار في رحلتنا اللغوية لاستكشاف لغة القرشاي نرى أنه من الواجب أن نقدم لمحة سريعة عن متكلمي هذه اللغة، إلى أي عرق ينتمون؟ أين يسكنون؟ ما هي مميزاتهم؟ إلى أية عائلة لغوية تنتسب لغة القرشاي؟ ما هي خصائصها ومميزاتها؟ ...الخ. ‏المصطلح عليه اليوم بين العلماء أن القرشاي ولغتهم ينتمون إلى عائلة اللغات التركية. إلا أن هذا الرأي غير دقيق، وهو مجرد فرضية تنقصها الكثير من الأدلة،... [اقرأ المزيد]

What a boring night, especially the new trainee will be with me starting from tomorrw… the new trainees in support department… new people to join us to make our life easier… but because of the big number we have to be devided into shifts… he3

Anyways what to say but Masa el Ward…

صحيح أنني كتبت مقالين سياسيين بعد أن أعلنت توبتي عن الكتابة السياسية، ولكن هذا لا يعني أنني تراجعت. كل ما هنالك أنني أقوم بتفريغ كل ما تبقى من بوح سياسي لا بد من قوله، وربما كانت هناك بعض المقالات السياسية الأخرى التي تتلو هذه ولكن قراري بالتوقف عن الكتابة السياسية لم ينته، بل بات أكثر رسوخا مع كل حماقة إرتكبها في الصباح في قراءة بعض المقالات ومتابعة بعض التغطيات السياسية في الصحافة الأردنية، المطبوعة... [اقرأ المزيد]

I am enjoying reading the fascinating book written by Jordan's former Minister of Foreign Affairs and deputy Prime Minister for reform Dr Marwan Mouasher entitled "The Arab Center: the Promise of Moderation". Although the main theme of this book is a sound description of the justification and potential of Arab moderation with a documented history of the betrayal of the Arab moderation vision by various... [read more]

Human Rights Watch got it right this time. Instead of campaigning for the sake of Al Qaeda terrorists held in Jordan the HRW has finally tackled the real issues that are necessary for creating a civilised and modern political society in Jordan by criticising the regressive drafts of the public assembly and non governmental organizations laws currently discussed by the Parliament. I agree and... [read more]