The World Ends In 2012

People these days love making up theories. In fact, most of the time when something bad happens they will put the blame on something supernatural when in reality it is themselves. They would be the worst hypocrites ever yet they believe in envy, luck, spells, curses, genies, etc.

There has been a rumor on the internet that people speculate the world will end in 2012. This is due to the fact that the Aztec calender ends on December 21st of that year. People have been so interested in this doomsday theory, someone decided to make a movie out of it.

Whats strange about these peoples trust in this event is that no one winds back the clock, and remembers what happened a few years ago, in the year 2000. To everyone, that year was doomsday, the absolute end of the world. People made up theories as to how the world would not be able to go past two millenniums and such.

Probably the only reasonable thing people had to worry about was the Y2K virus. Everyone was so scared because the date of computers would go terribly wrong and they thought everything would blow up. On new years eve, banks printed out entire pages of all their databases on paper and hoped for the worst. The next day the only major fault was the date turning back to 1900.

So citizens of earth, calm down. The day earth will end is not known on purpose so people will take it into themselves to believe in God. If everyone knew the day because an Aztec calender ran out of rock to scribble onto, what would the point be? Anyway, that's my take on the story. Care to share yours?

One Laptop Per Child

Left: Professor Nicholas Negroponte, a man behind the idea of a $100 laptop
Right: The laptop being tried out in a school in a developing country

The man has a conscience and that's why he felt he had to do something to help the children in the poor countries of the world catch up with their peers in the developed world. How on earth are their countries going to move forward if they can't afford the very basics of modern technology?

I think this is such an inspired idea & I really hope it will be successful & spread though out the world. But it seems some people don't share this vision. The mega rich companies Microsoft & Intel are not 'convinced' that the project is good enough!

Microsoft's chairman, Bill Gates, has questioned the need for the Linux-based laptop and doubted the suitability of Negroponte's OLPC concept for the developing world.

Anyway, as I said I think this is a great idea & it's been piloted in a few schools around the world, so hopefully we'll see it in action soon.


$100 laptop founder saying he ignores the critisim

The laptop itself is designed specially for its purpose. It's lighter than a lunchbox, and about the size of a textbox. The stylus is huge, the keyboard is from rubber, and contains no toxic materials. You can charge the laptop not just by the mains, but by solar panels or by cranking it up. About one minute of cranking will give you about ten minutes of computer activity. It's designed to withstand wear and tear, so the machine's body is 2mm thick, which is more than the standard for laptops.

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In order to keep this laptop as cheap as possible, and as close to the $100 target, the XO laptop is a lot different from ordinary desktops and laptops. This computer has no CD, DVD or even a hard drive. Instead, it uses a 1GB flash memory drive to run on, as well as a few USB slots in case of external data. It uses a 433mHz AMD processor, and only 256MB of SDRAM (memory).

The memory can be expanded using an SD memory card slot underneath the screen or by plugging in peripheral devices through the USB ports. Files can also be backed up on to a "school server" - a larger computer installed in a classroom - or via an online system provided by search giant Google.
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The off-the-shelf processor is designed to be energy efficient. Unlike a standard chip, which remains active even when nothing changes on screen, the AMD processor is able to shut itself down, only waking when it is needed. It has an inbuilt graphics card.

Not only does the laptop support regular wireless network, but it also supports mesh network. This means you can turn on your computer and automatically see and connect to anyone who has a similar laptop. This would allow sharing documents, video conferencing (think of a teacher finally able to talk to illiterate parents face-to-face) and is extremely well suited for class (or village environment). Furthermore, if even one computer in the mesh connects to the internet, the rest can share that connection. The more laptops connected, the better the bandwidth.

The laptops are "a blessing from God", says Mrs Okonkwo, the school headteacher.

Two Schools, Two Worlds

My first day at school in Jordan was horrible. In my mind,I had compared it to schools in London and thought they would be the same. Foolish assumptions. I had mostly enjoyed Jordan because I only came in summer, and at that time there was no school and I assumed that being in school would be the same.

I was shocked at how old fashioned the classes were. You see, in my school in London, our classroom had a projector & an "interactive white board". This school had chalk boards, and even worse than that, the teachers were angry all the time & just shouted at us. And the teachers were a whole other story.

The following days were no better. I was made to read in front of the class, then laughed at by the students and teacher, even though my mum had told the teachers over & over that my Arabic wasn't that good. I was sent out of the class once because I hadn't done my homework, even though I had told him I didn't know what I had to do. After crying my eyes out at the head teacher's office, they finally let me go.

At exam times I would study for days & my mum would get very angry with me for not remembering a word that the teacher said in class. The exam time would come and I'd start panicking when I saw the paper, full of definitions to fill in and lists to complete. After all the sweat I put in, the absolute maximum I would reach was 15, and sometimes I'd fail in the subject.

In London I was always in the top group in class. We also didn't get tested in stuff that we had to memorize! We did have tests, but they were only at the end of the school year & were meant to test our understanding of the topics.

Then there was the 'shahada', the monthly torment. The torment that came after it was at my grandmothers house.

"How much did you get, Khaled?" my grandmother would ask.
"Ummmm....ummmm.....82%" I would whisper.
"82%?!?! WHAT???!!!"

Gasps & shock appear on every body's face like I said a bad word. They were followed by scowls and 'advice', and my parents would wish they had a secret trapdoor button to quickly get out of sight.

Finally, I transferred to another school to study the British Curriculum (IGCSE), where the teachers are more human like! I'm doing so much better & most importantly, I am enjoying school again & feel like I am learning something. And the best thing: my grandmother has recovered from her previous trauma & is happy with my marks again :)

Hip hip, Hooray!

9th November, And Other Days

Bombs In Jordan

Two years ago on this date 3 hotels were targeted by suicide bombers causing the death of many innocent people. We'd only been living in Jordan for 3 months then, so I really didn't know were the hotels where and how close or far they were from our house. The following day there was no school, but when we returned school was bustling with gossip of what had happened, and because the Iraqis were blamed for the bombings, any Iraqi boy at school was laughed at and discriminated against. That day I remembered quite alot of other bombings, and I am posting to tell them to you.

Explosions In London

The incident brought back memories of the London bus & train bombings the year before. I was in 6th Grade at the time & our headteacher came to the class & said that everything was alright, except that people going home by bus had to contact their parents. Many innocent people died on that day, including Muslims. All days later were frightening, and whenever I got onto a bus or train, I was always terrified. I really hope that a day will come when we all feel safe in our houses & schools, but I guess that day will never come.

Gunfire In Palestine

I was in Nablus visiting my grandmother 3 years ago. I went with my uncle to his office, which was in the heart of the city, also know as 'al-Balad'. People who have visited the place know that its the most place gunfire is likely to be. I looked from the balcony, down onto the street which was supposed to be full and bustling with life. Instead I saw shop owners throwing, and I mean throwing, everything back into the shop. Cloth racks were crammed inside the shop and containers of clothes were hurled inside. At first I thought the guy was closing, but then I saw everyone on the street doing the same thing. The shop owners then got inside their shops and locked up. I asked my uncle what was happening, and he said that the army is coming. He seemed so normal saying that, I started shaking. A few minutes later, quite immense gunfire sounded. It was like on TV, just much louder. Sound bombs followed, then silence, then more gunfire and sound bombs. At the end of what seemed years, we left the building and went back home.

That's all I have about my experience with terror, but I think that's more than enough! Now, tell me about your experiences and comment!