About Me

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PhD Candidate at Purdue University, Computer Science.

Friday, August 25, 2006

New Member to EGJUG

Today I subscribed to the EGJUG (Egyptian Java Users Group)
You can visit it on http://www.egjug.org

I think it's a quite cool step, I hope it will be a healthy group.
I checked the projects proposed. Well I still have no idea whether I can contribute in one of them or not yet. It will depend basically on my time schedule and priorities.

Wt I liked...is that members look enthusiastic.

mmm, my first contribution was comment added on the sample logo they will publish for the group. I found it too crowded and fancy. Although, I liked the efforts and the spirit beyond the logo.

Pluto is an "ex-planet"

There in no Pluto Anymore.....
Bye Pluto,
Adieu.



It seems that size does matter in space, and the downgrading of Pluto to a mere "dwarf planet" has put teachers, publishers and toy manufacturers into a bit of a spin. We will all now have to adjust to the fact that our solar system has only eight official planets and not nine. This was the decision of the International Astronomical Union, meeting in Prague to reclassify Pluto and put an end to years of debate over what exactly is a planet.

Scientist Jocelyn Bell Burell said: "The recommendation is that we consider Pluto and other similar trans-Neptunian objects to be in a special class of which Pluto was the first to be discovered."

Pluto's discovery was in 1930 but the rapid development of more powerful telescopes has revealed several similar masses.

Michael Shara, curator at New York's Natural History Museum said: "This decision in fact affects the way we look at the evolution of our solar system. The reason Pluto isn't a planet is because Pluto doesn't control the gravity and the orbits of all the objects near it."

Smaller than several moons, Pluto, the dwarf planet, is due to be reached by a US unmanned spacecraft in the year 2015.

It seems that we r in the age of "ElKoosa", just because pluto is small , he couldn't defend himself. and unfortunately they pick on him... :-)

I think we still have another Pluto.......





Thursday, August 24, 2006

First Who.....Then What

The executives who ignited the transformations from good to great did not first figure out where to drive the bus and then get people to take it there. No, they first got the right people on the bus (and the wrong people off the bus) and then figured out where to drive it. They said, in essence, "Look, I don't know where we should take this bus. But I know this much: If we get the right people on the bus, the right people in the right seats, and the wrong people off the bus, then we will figure out how to take it someplace great."


This short article is based on a great book "Good to GREAT".

I found it very logic, I experienced this already…It's all about the people.


If you begin with a good mindset "the who" rather than a predefined goal you have more flexibility to adapt yourself to a changing world.

Even though someone has the wrong people, and he has a great vision and can drive in the right direction. Well, he has made it once; does this mean he can make it another time? Does this mean he finds his way to "Great"? At least he didn't invest in his team (assuming of course that he has the wrong people).

Saturday, August 19, 2006

To be "within a Party" or not to be



I think a lot of joining a political party. I thought of joining "Ikhwan" and "AlGhad", but i was hesitating.
well, why i am still hesitating in that issue. I don't know actually wt's up with me. but I have some thoughts that mayb the cause preventing me from taking this step.

My life style: I beleive very much in the dynamic style. I beleive in short period plans more than long term ones. I prefer to react based on the events I face. I call it "the on the fly reaction". If I want to talk with discuss an issue with somebody an issue, I leave the conversation leads me without preparing something.

This style makes me unlike the "party's style". It is known that the party works on predefined policy and planned attitude.

For some how, I guess I am not an easy person to fellow a leader; Although I am an easy person to be managed. I don't like to be directed in my thoughts and my ideas. I like to analyse the situations based on my mindset.

I can remember the Malcolm X biography. when he was fellowing the NOI (Nation Of Islam) leader Elijah Muhammad and he felt for some how that he doesn't agree finally with all his actions....but it was too late, he continues for some time the fellowship, although he knows he doesn't feel comfortable. It was just the fair of facing his master after all.
I feel that when someone is involved with a party, it is difficult to refresh his ideas and his culture, because in some time he will be just motivated by the "party's inertia" he got a long and long time ago.
Also, I think that the party's engagement makes the person more distracted from the real aim "the nation", because he will b busy defending his party against enemies of other parties, coordinationg his party and fighting the factions....etc

Till the moment I am not involved within a party, mayb i will b later, or i will never b. actually i don't know. i don't plan for this. If i feel the need of joining a party, i will do it. and mayb i am wrong abt my theory, and mayb i shouldn't put it as a generic case or sthg!

but this imposes a big question, are we able to be able to define our path? is each individual can be aware of the impact of his actions on the whole society? are we aware enough of the political tricks?
if the answer is no, then everyone should search how to b able to b an effective cell of the society , to be a "Self Party" or "Mono Party".

Reading, Learning, Observing, Thinking.......
These are not conventions we use only just to pass the exams and get certificates.

Friday, August 18, 2006

Dilemma

it's clear now that a lot of the ppl i love arround me are involved in the same dilemma.
I wish i could help them getting out off this. but.....

Anyway, i will do my best.

Sunday, August 13, 2006

A Walk through Self Managed Team

:) i have to start blogging this post by smiling and laughing for the few weeks i spent in a new model adopted by my company.
what is making me smiling is that the team was broken mainly by the definition and the key words!!!
i will tell that in details later.

for good luck, i was selected as a small lab among my company to launch smaller teams working as "Self Managed Teams". we were assigned to the product team, handling the SalesBuzz product.

Without going in deep details abt the salesbuzz and its value in the Middle East market, I can refer to this later in another post talking abt my working experience during the last year.

The mission wasn't so simple, I have to confess. In the same time I have to say that I was enjoying the experiment very much, and I would happily continue it.

To be honest, I took the adventure as it is. So I didn't try to read abt self managed teams. But now for documentation purposes I will write down some of the definition and the advantages and the pitfalls from my point of view.

Self-Managed Team: A group of people working together in their own ways toward a common goal which is defined outside the team. And this is so far wt happened with our experiment. We had to work as a group of four, to achieve some goal predefined to us. All we had to do is to decide whether we can fit to these targets or not.

1-The SMT adds some enthusiasm to the team members.

2-Knowledge share.

3-Ownership.

Well I can c a lot of benefits in this model. But I won't go so deep in this. I think it's clear enough.

I remember one of the team members saying "I like the SMT, it gives me ownership, and I perform better when I feel the ownership".

Another one: "it helps me achieving my dream and my career path".

I can highlight some notes I think they r very important in forming ur first team.

1- When u want to develop this model for the first time in ur organization on a sample of ur employees; it will b better to do it with a familiar team. Members already feel comfortable together and understand each other. In this case success of the self managed team is guaranteed with higher probabilities. Then u can make profit from this team success because it will give a push for the other teams to start this experiment. The other teams will b motivated by the first team success. Otherwise u will find a group of unfamiliar and unmotivated people destroying themselves under the work load.

2- Try to listen carefully and periodically to the team status. Listen to the team members and their ideas and their feelings. Don't neglect their complaints.

3- Picking the people to fulfill the model must be based on prehistoric analysis. Try to select the people having the leadership skills, ownership, risks takers and learners. Otherwise, believe me u will b losing ur money and ur time.

4- The teammates must be close to each other in the technical side. Otherwise the most skillful member will b overloaded and u will find him always suffering. Also he will feel boring from dealing with the team.

5- Keep the load balanced between all the team members.

I believe that this experiment gave me a lot of things.

Although, I believed that the team had to have a team leader.

Thursday, August 10, 2006

أقوال لا أفعال

النهاردة آمنت بمشكلتنا خلاص.

احنا أجدع ناس تتكلم و تجعجع و ترمى المسئولية على غيرها.

ممكن يبقى الواحد قاعد مع واحد صحبو بيشوف الأخبار، و لتكن أخبار لبنان: تسمع كلام زى الدهب و آراء سياسية و شتيمة فى الحكام العرب و الأمريكان الملاعين و اليهود الللى يستهلو الحرق.

حبة حبة الكلام يبقى دخان. و أول ماتقلب قناة الجزيرة...قشطة يا معلم، كان كلام الواحد بيفك بيه نفسه.

طب أنا عايز اسأل سؤال: لو اليهود يستهلو الحرق، مين اللى حيحرقهم؟!

و وقت الجد مابتلاقيش حد جنبك. أى حد مننا عمل ايه للبنان و لا فلسطين ولا الناس اللى غرقوا فى العبارة و لا ولا ولا......؟

خلاصة الكلام احنا بنحب نشتكى عالفاضى وعالمليان، بس المشكلة اننا عمرنا مابنفكر ازاى نغير وضعنا ده.

احنا حالتنا بتدهور وماحدش يستخق الحرق غيرنا لأننا اللى سايبنهم يبهدلونا.

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

A Call For Action

Today I started the donnations Campaign for the Lebanon.
I regret i didn't start it a long time ago, But thanks Allah.
i sent an email to my friends, and i wish they forward it to their friends as well. the email was as following:
"
Salamo Alekom we Ra7mato Allah we Barakato;


Lebanon's infrastructure was targeted and hundreds of Lebanese civilians were massacred. Over 700,000 civilians [20% of Lebanonï؟½s population] were forced to find refuge in Beirut and the North.Israel has imposed a sea, air and land blockade on Lebanon.
I feel shame for the Arab not showing any kind of solidarity.
I beleive that Our aim is to provide help and relief to the refugees who fled the regions under attack as well as to strengthen solidarity between the Arab citizens regardless of political or religious affiliations. We may try to maintain a steady flow of supplies to families in need, thanks to the financial support of Lebanese, Arab and international contributors. There are already many contacts for organizations inside Lebanon who can offer the support from inside.

i was in a discussion lately with one of my friends abt wt we can do for Lebanon. Specially that Hassan Nassr-Allah announced that they need political support more than money and food. but in my opinion this statement was directed to the leaders, the leaders who attacked Huzab-Allah. and from other point, our reaction toward a lebanon can be interpreted as political support.

we need donnation for Lebanon, we gather money for their relief.
u can donnate through the "international federation of red cross and red crescent societies" (http://www.ifrc.org/)
or u can contact me and i will take the donnations to transfer them insha2allah.
this is at least wt we can do

thx very much for ur time and ur contribution helping our brothers.
they deeply need our support.
waiting for ur call.

salamo alekom we ra7mato allah we barakato.

------
best regards,

Ahmed Abd-ElHaffiez
0101326486
"

May Allah enlarge our effect for Lebanon.

Friday, August 04, 2006

S’il fallait tout donner..Je le donne sans hésiter


S’il fallait tout donner

De ma modeste gloire

Pour éviter les larmes

Et le feu et le sang

Et pouvoir écrire

Quelque année d’histoire

Je donnerais tout sans hésite un instant

S’il fallait rester rien

Une vie toute entière

A jamais appliquer

Toutes mes ambitions

Moi je ne ferai rien

Jusqu'à aussi me tienne

Si la vie revenait

A tous mes compagnons


Mais bien sûr

On se perds

Dans le grand tourbions

Des folies, des erreurs

Des crimes et des passions


On s'est perdu bien sûr

Ou été la raison

Et le regrée demeure

Au-delà des chansons

Mais pouvoir tout donner

De ma modeste vie

Pour proscrire a jamais

Et le feu et le sang

Et pouvoir effacer

Ses années de folies

Oui je donnerai tous

Oui tous a cet instant


S’il fallait rester rien

Une vie toute entière

A jamais appliquer

Toutes mes ambitions

Moi je ne ferai rien

Jusqu'à aussi me tienne

Si la vie revenait

A tous mes compagnons


Mais bien sûr

Je le sais

On n’y peu rien changer

Le vérité est tirée

Il a fallu l'accepté

Sur la route aujourd’hui

Il faut se retrouver

Pour y croire a nouveau

Et puis toujours y croire


S’il fallait rester rien

Une vie toute entière

A jamais appliquer

Toutes mes ambitions

Moi je ne ferai rien

Jusqu'à aussi me tienne

Si la vie revenait

A tous mes compagnons

Si la vie revenait

A tous mes compagnonnnnnnnnnns

Les Rois du Monde

Les rois du monde vivent au sommet
Ils ont la plus belle vue mais y a un mais
Ils ne savent pas ce qu'on pense d'eux en bas
Ils ne savent pas qu'ici c'est nous les rois

Les rois du monde font tout ce qu'ils veulent
Ils ont du monde autour d'eux mais ils sont seuls
Dans leurs châteaux là-haut, ils s'ennuient
Pendant qu'en bas nous on danse toute la nuit

Nous on fait l'amour on vit la vie
Jour après jour nuit après nuit
A quoi ça sert d'être sur la terre
Si c'est pour faire nos vies à genoux
On sait que le temps c'est comme le vent
De vivre y a que ça d'important
On se fout pas mal de la morale
On sait bien qu'on fait pas de mal

Les rois du monde ont peur de tout
C'est qu'ils confondent les chiens et les loups
Ils font des pièges où ils tomberont un jour
Ils se protègent de tout même de l'amour

Les rois du monde se battent entre eux
C'est qu'y a de la place, mais pour un pas pour deux
Et nous en bas leur guerre on la fera pas
On sait même pas pourquoi tout ça c'est jeux de rois