Saif Spot

In writing about entertaining activities and off-beat news items, I often neglect serious activities that occur in the world. While sober ongoings in the world probably have a much larger affect on our lives, comical stories just seem to be easier to discuss. After all, we have our own daily issues to get through - we don't need anything else to damper our spirits. Nonetheless, I recently read a couple of articles that really got me thinking about one of the controversial topics in society today. The Globe and Mail published an article describing a meeting that the Canadian Prime Minister, Paul Martin, held with 19 Muslim imams on Thursday, July 28th, 2005. This meeting was organized for Muslim leaders to commend the Canadian leadership for staying out of Iraq, and condemn the terrorist activities that have taken place by Muslim extremists. Although long overdue, statements from this meeting could be significant in helping the wider Canadian population understand the position of p...

So, let me get this straight about O.J. Simpson. OJ can win a Heisman Trophy in college. OJ can play 11 years in the NFL, and rush for 11,236 yards. OJ can be the first RB in the NFL's history to top 2,000 yards in a season. OJ can be involved in low-speed car chase in a white Ford Bronco. OJ can hire F. Lee Bailey, Robert Shapiro and Johnnie Cochran to defend him in his wife's murder trial. OJ can beat the murder rap because "if the glove doesn't fit, you must acquit." OJ can win custody of his children after all this. But OJ gets busted for stealing satellite TV. Gotta love America. Well, with no TV, at least now he'll have more time to find the "real killers." Until next time, Saif's out!

Ahh yes, the famous words spoken by many moms... and no, they weren't talking about me. Actually, did anyone notice this story yesterday? To summarize, it's about Microsoft releasing a free software over the weekend that lets users view the map of the world via satellite pictures, and zoom in close enough to see buildings from a bird's-eye view. I guess it's somewhat similar to maps.google.com. Anyway, so in this product, when a user tries to zoom into Apple Computer's Headquarters, all they see is a warehouse and a parking lot. In reality, Apple's HQ is a campus containing 11 modern buildings! I think this is hilarious! I know, I know, Apple fans will say that this is all wrong, and MS is cheating its customer group, blah, blah, blah. But, from a completely unbiased view -- I don't like or dislike either -- this has got to be pretty amusing. I mean, basically MS decided to pick on one of their rivals by wiping them off the face of the Earth! (C'mon, li...

I know, I know, I'm late to the game. It turns out that while the rest of the world began blogging years ago, I was probably still trying to figure out whether to use online banking. So, thanks to those of you who have welcomed me into this century with open arms (yes, both of you!). Here's the thing: As far as I can remember (which is usually only a few minutes back, but in this case a little longer), the blogs that I have read always seemed to have some depth. The one I used to read semi-regularly was by a friend of mine, who wrote on planetroxy.com (interesting topics, good delivery, knowledgeable... have a look). All the good blogs hinted that the writer had put some thought into it, researched some information, and ran spell-check. Most blogs that I read on the web were even written by people who knew what they were talking about. I couldn't promise that I'd do the same. And then I met Demetri Martin. Ok, I exaggerate. I didn't actually meet the dude, just ran...