Goal of the year

Daily readers of my blog know that I am a huge hockey fan. Last week I saw one of the best goals of the year. A fellow Bramptonite, Jason Spezza of the Ottawa Senators scored an unbelievable goal against the Montreal Canadians. Below are instructions to view the goal:

1. Click this link.
2. Under related info, click on Highlights: MON-OTT.
3. You will need to login to access the site, click on this link for a username and password.
4. You will need to wait 1 minute and 20 seconds before you see the goal.

Enjoy, and let me know what you think.

Clock turner extraordinaire

Daylight saving time ends tonight in most parts of North America. We move our clocks back one hour to switch back to standard time.

The rationale behind moving our clocks forward an hour in the summer is to have more sunlight during the summer days. Since peak energy (mostly electricity) consumption occurs in the evenings, by artificially moving our clocks ahead one hour means the sun sets later, saving an extra hour of energy. No additional energy consumptions occurs in the morning since the sun has already risen when people usually wake up regardless of whether we move ahead an hour or not. We change our clocks back an hour in winter because the energy savings of moving ahead an hour is offset by the sun rising later in the morning.

Supporters of daylight saving time argue that the increased daylight helps the economy because it leads to increase shopping, greater outdoor activities and less crime because of darkness.

I have always disliked daylight saving time, especially this year because it occurs in Ramadan. Since the suhoor and iftar times are changed, my biological clock will require a few days to adjust. The amount of clocks that I need to change in my house is time-consuming and painful. It is easy to move ahead an hour, but moving back an hour requires you to change the clock forward all the way around. Then there are those clocks that no one knows how to change, they remain with the incorrect time all year.

Starting in 2007, the United States wants to start daylight saving time earlier and end later. Since the Canadian economy depends heavily on the United States economy, the Ontario government has also decided to follow suit. This decision means an extra headache and inconvenience for everyone.

On a positive note, since most desi people are always late for everything, at least for one day, we can all use daylight saving time as an excuse for being late.

Muslim athletes in the news

I always dreamed of becoming the first Canadian Muslim athlete to play in a professional sports league such as the NHL or NBA, but that did not work out due partly to my lack of skill and the fact that I was not getting any taller. I always had a keen interest in Muslim athletes playing in professional sports league. Hakeem Olajuwon is likely the greatest Muslim athlete to play in any sports league, he was voted as one of the top 50 greatest players ever to play in the NBA.

The most popular Muslim athlete in the news today is Sania Mirza. However, her popularity does not stem from her rise in the world tennis ranking, rather the attire she wears as a Muslim. A recent article in the Toronto Star talks about this issue. I had a previous post about Sania Mirza, so I do not want to repeat myself again. However, I did want to bring-up the following amusing quote from this article:

"It's not about showing skin. That has nothing to do with it," Fatah said. "The same people who were appalled at a woman leading prayers are the same people who are upset at a young woman playing tennis.

"It's contempt and fear of women in a leadership position," he said. "Sania Mirza is the ultimate nightmare for the fundamentalist Muslim because she represents the
empowerment of women and is a success story."

These types of quotes get published because they are provocative. I think most people would agree the opinion expressed above does not represent the majority of Muslims.

It is surprising that she has been getting so much attention for playing tennis in a cricket-crazy country (India). I have never been a cricket fan, I just know enough about the game so that I can converse with my fellow Indian software developers. However, this article sparked my interest in that it talks about an upcoming cricket game being played in Pakistan that hopes to lift the spirits of the earthquake victims. I found the following quote to be amusing:

One of the world's top cricket players who also has been referred to by Musharraf as a "weapon of mass destruction'' for his ability to bowl at speeds exceeding 100 miles an hour [Shoaib Akhtar]

I can just picture Pervez Musharraf sitting with his army buddies when they came up with this nickname:

Pervez Musharraf: Shoaib Akhtar bowling is "weapon of mass destruction" (with accent ofcourse)
Army buddies: va vay va, Mr. Bush would love that nickname.

Even the less fortunate have standards

I spent Saturday afternoon volunteering at a local community organization sorting donations to send to the Pakistan earthquake victims. I was appalled to see some of the items that were being donated. People have taken the opportunity to do some house cleaning by dropping off their old and un-hygienic clothes. I find this action totally disgusting. If you personally would not wear a set of clothes, do not donate them either. These unwanted donations waste everyone’s time because volunteers need to spend extra time sorting items and if sent, volunteers receiving these donations need to spend time looking for acceptable items.

PIA is taking these donations to Pakistan on their regularly scheduled flights. Extra amount of jet fuel will be required due to increased weight of the aircraft. If the goods we send are not satisfactory, money is being wasted by transporting these goods. My advice is that if you want to help with the relief efforts, you should donate money to relief organizations, so that they can buy the supplies required. If you would like to send something other than clothes, you should go to the mall and purchase tents and blankets.

This experience reminded me of a Seinfeld episode where Elaine dropped off the bottoms of muffins to the homeless. The following dialogue summarizes this situation:

Rebecca: Excuse me, I'm Rebecca Demore from the homeless shelter.
Elaine: Oh, hi.
Rebecca: Are you the ones leaving the muffing pieces behind our shelter?
Elaine: You been enjoying them?
Rebecca: They're just stumps.
Elaine: Well they're perfectly edible.
Rebecca: Oh, so you just assume that the homeless will eat them, they'll eat anything?
Mr. Lippman: No no, we just thought...
Rebecca: I know what you thought. They don't have homes, they don't have jobs, what do they need the top of a muffin for? They're lucky to get the stumps.
Elaine: If the homeless don't like them the homeless don't have to eat them.
Rebecca: The homeless don't like them.
Elaine: Fine.
Rebecca: We've never gotten so many complaints. Every two minutes, "Where is the top of this muffin? Who ate the rest of this?"
Elaine: We were just trying to help.
Rebecca: Why don't you just drop off some chicken skins and lobster shells?
Elaine: I think I might.

Counting sheep does not work

I have had sleeping problems for the past few years, never been able to get a consistent 8-10 hours on sleep even on the weekends. I would consider myself a sensitive sleeper; almost any sound during the night would wake me up and anyone could easily wake me up. During Ramadan, it has become even more difficult to get a decent number of hours of sleep, since suhoor is late enough in the morning that I cannot go back to sleep before work starts and evening prayers go late into the night. Fasting has also caused me to give up coffee during the day, which I heavily depend on to do any serious thinking.

The mornings at my house are not the best sleeping environment for anyone. I get woken up daily from my dad talking on the phone. Whenever my dad talks on the phone, we can hear him anywhere in the house. When he calls overseas to talk to my cousins, his phone volume increase even more. As loud as he talks, I don't think they need a phone to hear him :).

Even the smallest sounds can wake me up. You would think that there was a thunderstorm happening after hearing my dad or brother sneeze. I admit to also having inherited this loud sneezing. I have noticed that all desi's inherit the loud or unique sneeze. As you grow older, so does the sound of your sneeze.

Recently, I have been coming home late, hanging out and playing games with friends from my university days. Since the next day is the weekend, I am able to sleep-in, but my mom has always got mad at me for sleeping-in too late; due to my fear, I end up waking up early with little sleep even though I have the opportunity to sleep-in.

I have read that there are may health risks if you do not get enough sleep, so I am starting to worry about it much more. My lack of sleep could also be an indication of my lifestyle; working long hours and stressing too much. I should probably stop worrying about my problems and relax. This quote could be the solution to my sleeping problem.

Nice guys finish last, but we get to sleep in [Evan Davis]

I am Canadian!!!

"I am Canadian" was a successful series of commercials that aired a few years ago advertising the Molson Canadian beer slogan "I am Canadian", which interestingly has been retired in favor of "It starts here". This commercial consisted of an average Canadian named Joe, giving a speech on what it meant to be Canadian and clarifying common stereotypes of Canadians, especially certain aspects that are confused with American culture. This commercial spawned many copy-cat, but also ignited a reserved sense of patriotism in Canadians.

Now, before you go off and tell your friends that I have become corrupt since I am talking about beer on my blog ... RELAX!!!. Keep eating your somosa and chutney and let me get to the point.

Hockey is a part of Canada culture, growing up in Canada you cannot avoid talking, playing or watching hockey. The National Hockey League (NHL) recently came back from a one year lockout to the amusement of many Canadian hockey fans. As angry as we were during the lockout, we were all happy to have hockey back. To improve the quality of the game, the NHL introduced new rule changes to increase scoring and add more excitement. It has definitely made a difference as I am enjoying hockey like never before. The most exciting part of this NHL season for me is going to be watching Sidney Crosby.


Sidney Crosby nicknamed "Sid the kid" is the most anticipated rookie player in recent memory. This 18 year-old will be a player to watch for many years and teaming up with the legendary Mario Lemieux for the Pittsburgh Penguins should help him make the ease into super-stardom. If your not a sports fan and only know the popular athletes like Michael Jordan and Wayne Gretzky, I recommend you also add Sidney Crosby to that list, eh.

Some Wounds Cannot be Healed

The images from the earthquake in northwest Pakistan I have seen in the newspaper and on the news in the past few days are heart-breaking. Generation of families have been lost and the conditions for the living are getting worse.

I talked to my relatives in Pakistan who live in Islamabad and Rawalpindi and they relayed a similar message of devastation and heartbreak in northwest Pakistan. They talked about how young men in their neighborhood would pack their cars with clothes and tents to take to the people effected. However, roads to the effected cities are blocked. There is a feeling of helplessness felt by local residents, which we all feel around the world.

The World has experienced 3 huge natural disasters in the past year. From the devastation caused by the Tsunami last year in Indonesia, Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans a few months ago, and now the earthquake in northwest Pakistan. These natural disasters all share in common the fact that most of the effected people are poor. Throughout all of the pain and suffering of these people, they remarkably possess gratefulness.

We thank Allah, it could have been much worse. Do pray for us. [Survivor]

We can all learn from this disaster. Too often in our lives we take so much for granted in this world and become focused on our material goals. But, it can all be taken away in a heart-beat, as we have seen this past year. Please help support the relief efforts by donating to a relief organization.

Huge Earthquake Hits South Asia

Early this morning in South Asia, a powerful 7.6-magnitude earthquake hit near the Pakistan-India border.

Alhumdulillah, I talked to my relatives living in Islamabad and they are doing fine. However, there continues to be aftershocks and fear still remains among everyone. While talking to my family, they told us that the ground was still shaking.

I pray that anyone who has family in that region is doing alright. My prayers and condolences go out to everyone who is suffering.

No Food for you!!! (Atleast when the sun is out)

Today is the first day of Ramadan. So Happy Ramadan/Ramadan Mubarak/Ramadan Kareem to everyone who is celebrating this blessed month. My friends who do not celebrate Ramadan usually feel sorry for me during this month, since I cannot eat or drink anything from sunrise to sunset.

Friend: What's that sound?
Ozair: Ohh, that is my stomach growling.
Friend: Why don't you eat now?
Ozair: Cannot, I am fasting today.
Friend: So you cannot eat anything, wow that is rough, just drink a lot of water while your fasting.
Ozair: Cannot drink water either when fasting
Friend: Really ? Man, that is tough, I feel sorry for you.

So yes, when Muslims are fasting, they cannot eat or DRINK from sunrise to sunset. I don't see fasting as a burden, I think of it as more of an opportunity to become more conscience of God, do good deeds, and forget about our worldly problems. I think most Muslims agree that they suffer from the y=-x^2 imaan problem. Let me illustrate this point with the following graph. If you recall your basic grade 12 Math, you should notice this graph is an upside down parabola. It describes my imaan problem.
The y-axis represents my imaan level, and the x-axis represents the months in the year starting from the month of Ramadan. The first point on this graph represents my faith level level right-before Ramadan. As I progress through Ramadan, my faith level increases quadratically, until it hits its maximum level at the center of the graph when Ramadan ends. After Ramadan, my imaan level drops back down until Ramadan occurs again in the following year.
Inshallah (God-willing), I will take advantage of this month, do the good stuff and keep it up for the rest of the year. Who knows maybe next year I will use a different graph to illustrate my imaan level.

Can't We All Just Get Along?

A recent BBC report rated Toronto as one of the top 10 cities to live in the world. I personally agree that Toronto is a world class city, but the violence that has occurred this summer is one we would all like to forget. The evening news was filled with stories of countless drive-by shootings, gang-related violence and random acts of violence. Most of the people involved were young males in their late teens and early 20's. There has been discussion within the community on how to solve the problem with gun violence and fighting in-between gangs, but not much progress has been made. Others like to blame our problems on the United States and their relaxed gun laws. In Canada, it is very difficult to own a gun, so many gangs resort to smuggling guns in from the United States.

I do not have a solution to this issue, but I believe that there are factors that contribute to this problem. I believe one of those factors is the rap music industry. Although, this opinion may sound like it is coming from left-field, let me further clarify.

In high-school, the friends whom you have share a common interest in Music would typically become your crew. I would remember seeing different groups like the rockers, goths, desis's who listened to Bollywood music and hip-hoppers. The group of hip-hoppers would present themselves similar to rappers who produce rap music. From the way they dress to the way they talk. I am not stating here that rap music is a direct cause of violence in Toronto, but the culture it presents through it's lyrics does influence youths. I am also not saying all rap music is bad, but it seems like the popular artists among the youth are the ones that boast about pimping, drinking and violence. Will eliminating rap music solve all our problems ? Probably not, but I do think it deserves some of the blame.