Sunday, December 18, 2005

Sharna arrived last night

A Dragon Air flight touched down the runway of ZIA at 1:10 am local time yesterday. Sharna was on that plan. After that waiting for some one half hour we got into the car and headed home. It was nice to see her in good health. Oh!! She bought a leather jacket for me which I started to use right from today :D It is brown, it fitted me well. I really liked it.

Wednesday, December 14, 2005

After a long time at M.C.C.

Yesterday, I went to my college after a long time. It was an awesome feelings. The old days was coming in front of my eyes. I met many staff who were at our times too. I met one of my math teacher too. We talked for about 20 minutes. It was a great feeling to be there. Going to my college has become lot easier now. It is 50 minutes journey from Gabtoli bus terminal. But I had to do much hardship to return because of my wrong decision. I chose the Gazipur route which costed me three extra hours.

Sunday, December 11, 2005

Sharna went to China

Sharna flew for China today for a one week training provided by Huawei. Her flight was at 0200 by Dragon Air. I went to see her off. Thanks to modern mobile communication for which we could communicate even when the plane had started running for take-off. By the grace of Allah, she should have reached Shenzhen few hours ago. I think I will hear from her soon. At home, I have lots of thing to do. We are shifting to Pallabi by the end of this month. This is a huge task. Sharna and I are also planning to tour India for five days. I have to work on it too in this week. Though, I will miss my wife greatly, I have lots of responsibilites to be busy with in this week. Sharna will be back on 17th. Hope she will be in good health and she will have a nice training.

Sunday, December 04, 2005

Surprising GRE score!!!

I just came from the exam hall. I was totally surprised to see my score, I got a 1400!!! Can you believe it? Even I can't believe it. In last two months I haven't gone through a single book on GRE exam. I studied my last word list two months ago. After a long interval, I studied some word on the day before yesterday. I have given only one mock test on that day, and today was my only second such test. Had I not been misguided by my always mercurial in nature office, I would have had a strong preparation, and who knows what I would get then!!!

I had a deep wound in my mind when I was not selected for the 2nd batch to go to Vancouver, I think Allah has today over-compensated me with this score. My heartiest gratitude to Him. I have no sorrow in my mind, I think, never in my life again, will I depend on this volatile office which also does misjudgement to its employees.

I can't state how elated I am. My heart is still pounding. I am also amazed to see my wife who is even happier than me today. She is bustling in excitement, we will go to dinner tonight. Everyone at home also went euphoric hearing my score. I think I, along with all my family members, will celebrate it thoroughly this evening.

Monday, November 28, 2005

A Frustrating Decision

To everyone's surprise, work permit for the 2nd batch has been refused. We perfectly fit in the intra-company transfer law, but only Allah knows how these high commission people work. Do they really have any concrete rationale? Do they really have any deterministic process? We are at a loss.

Sunday, November 27, 2005

Anxiously waiting for the result

Second batch is at Canadian High Commission right now. We are anxiously waiting for the result. May Allah make everything positive today. Shakhawat and I will visit the SOFT EXPO 2005 today at Bangladesh-China Friendship Convention centre. Don't know what our mood will be like after hearing the result.

Saturday, November 26, 2005

Majestic Saeed Anwar


World Cup, 2003 - India v Pakistan at Centurion, 1th March 2003

Brian Lara


Brian Lara whacks one to leg, Australia v West Indies, 3rd Test, Adelaide, 1st day, November 25, 2005.

Marvelous Feat of Brian Lara

Brian Charles Lara is my second most favourite cricketer. He is a living legend. To me, he is the best batsman ever in the history of cricket. Today, he achieved yet another milestone. He is now the leading run-scorer in tests. I always relish watching his innings, it is more beautiful than any other thing that can be shown on TV. I feel very fortunate that I am born in a time when Lara is playing. I wish he plays four more years and break all the remaining records except the highest one-day innings held by Saeed Anwar.

Monday, November 21, 2005

Chat with Lars

Today, we will chat with our new manager Lars Olof Burchard for the first time. He will introduce himself to Dhaka office. Though, I am known to him, he doesn't know others. He is a nice guy. Hope our journey together will be a nice one.

Thursday, November 17, 2005

iMesh

I am a new user of iMesh. I am very much impressed by it. The users have large collection of audio and music videos. I found few songs by iMesh which I was finding for years. Anyone looking for songs to download can give it a try.

Tuesday, November 08, 2005

Deferring the GRE test

I want to reschedule the date to the 4th of December though I am not sure what I shall achieve on that too. My preparation is awful and I know that deferring it one week won't bring much good for me, but I have to try. December will be a very busy month for me. Sharna and I want to visit Nepal in the second week. My friend Arif will come to Bangladesh, and his wedding date is fixed on the 25th. I have my marriage day on the same date too. Don't know what to do about it yet. Hope among all these events my GRE turns out to be a not bad one.

A wonderful EID

I was very tensed about the Eid when it was approaching. I was sick and I feared that I wouldn't come round before it comes. Thanks to Allah as I became OK just one day before Eid. The day seemed wonderful to me. Though I didn't meet any of my friends as most of them are abroad, I visited Sharna's friends' houses with her. We started the visits at the afternoon and returned home at 9 pm. On the next day, we went to Sirajgonj. The journey wasn't easy at all. At the bus terminal, we found it hard to get two tickets of a bus which will go to Sirajgonj or pass by it. After some frantic search, we got two tickets of a bus which would go to Naoga, and we have to pay the price for Naoga though we would travel half the distance. Once we were in Sirajgonj, it was all the fun. We had a nice time there. We visited Lisa apu's house at evening. The next day we went to a wedding ceremony far from Sirajgonj town. We availed a hired bus, the journey was a fun too. Some boys were singing and dancing in the bus all the way. The venue of the wedding, which was the bride's house, was a great place. There was many trees and a big pond at the vicinity. I roamed the area and liked being there. The food was very nice too. We missed the bou-vat yesterday as our bus to Dhaka was at 2 pm which coincided with the invitation. Oh, there is something more, Raad is becoming cuter day by day. We had a nice time with the adorable little kid. I hope that I shall post some new pics of him tomorrow.

Tuesday, November 01, 2005

Recovering slowly

I was having low fever for last few days. I couldn't go to office two days. I visited a doctor. He wanted me to have lots of pathological tests. By the grace of Allah, nothing was found in those tests. The doctor gave up. I doubt how much these Bangladeshi doctors know. However, I am gradually recuperating. Inshallah, I shall come round before Eid.

Thursday, October 27, 2005

Surprise Bonus

We have got our Eid-ul-Fitre bonus surprisingly. Earlier it was told that we won't get the bonus at this festival. This is a good news for me after so many bad and depressing ones. Wish I can take a broadband connection at home with this money :-).

Second batch has been declared

The 2nd batch that will go to VC from Dhaka has been declared. It consists of Palash and Shakeeb bhai. Congratulations to them!!! Shakeeb bhai is one of the most efficient engineers in Eyeball Dhaka. I am happy to see him selected.

Thursday, October 20, 2005

A great accumulation of knowledge

Wikipedia impressed me very much. It is a great source of knowledge. It has comprehensive knowledge of almost everything. I suggest everyone to give it a try.

Monday, October 17, 2005

Raad

Here is my cutie little cousin:


Another one, in a jovial mood this time:

Sunday, October 16, 2005

Some nice days at Sirajgonj

Just came from Sirajgonj yesterday. It was a wonderful visit there. We stayed two days. For the first time, I saw the "Puja" of the Hindu religion. The city was fabulously decorated with lighting. Streets were filled with troupes. People were dancing and merry-making. All were in jovial mood. We visited a fair too. Though the commodities were not attractive, people were thronging there. Another day, we went to a relatives house for an iftaar party. It was great. We had nice time and food there. At home, we passed time with out cute young (really young, only a few months old) cousin. His presence was really captivating. We were always busy with the adorable kid. We took many photos and shot short videos of him. When we were starting for Dhaka, we were really sad to leave him back. Inshallah, we will go to Sirajgonj again in Eid.

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

Going to Sirajgonj tomorrow

Sharna and I shall stay there for three days. Hope it will be a good break in the strenuous life I am passing at Ramadan.

Sunday, October 09, 2005

Zunnun bhai

Yesterday, Zunnun bhai came to the office for the last time before departing for Vancouver. We all bathed him farewell. May be it is the last time I am meeting him. I wish him success in Vancouver.

Thursday, October 06, 2005

Our new team leader

Shakeeb bhai has been appointed our new team leader. He is a very nice guy. We are very happy to get him as our new team leader. He is very pious and honest. You can view his photo here.

First batch got visa

Our first batch to go to Vancouver has got visa from high commission. It was much coveted. Shantanu, Zunnun bhai and Manjur bhai are going in the first batch. Today is kind of rehearsal of doing office without them. All of them are absent though only Shantanu is on leave. The office is very quiet. There is no hassle of lunch today as we all are fasting.

Ramadan has begun

Today is the first of Ramadan. As usual, I am fasting. I drank lots of glass of water but am thirsty now. I am hungry from the moment I wake up at morning. Our office time has not been changed officially. But in this month, I plan to come early and leave early. I shall try come before 9 am and leave not later than 4 pm. But today I shall leave at 3 :D.

Thursday, September 29, 2005

Shakhu's Trickery

Oh!!! I forgot to tell about Shakhawat chicanery!! :D
While ordering, we decided to share the Rejala. When it came, we found that there is two piece of mutton and an egg. The dish was near Shakhawat, he could see what was in there. From my place I asked him to take one piece and pass me the dish. When I got it, I found that the one which I thought as a piece of mutton is a big potato!!!! I was astounded!!!!! Shakhawat then told that he too thought as me. Only God knows!!! (Just kidding, actually Shakhawat didn't do it intentionally.)

A Treat To Remember

Oh!!! I won't forget the day. Our dear friend cum colleague Shantanu took Shakhawat, Palash and me to hotel Star at Thataribazar. Hotel Star is well-known among gourmands. Anyone who doesn't know that place is considered as a fool by food connoisseurs. We went there at noon but the meal must be called a dinner. There was virtually no restriction to place orders. I went there after a long days, so I was particularly impressed by the new segment with air conditioning units and air curtains. The place is wonderful now. However, we washed our hands and took our seats. Palash became the first to order something. To my amazement, he ordered for plain rice. I was not particularly aware of the fact that apart from Kachchi Biriani, plain rice with various dishes are also very delicious here. As usual for me, I ordered for Kachchi Biriani. Shakhawat and Shantanu were also ignorant like me, so they also followed me quickly. Then, aggrandizing our astonishment, Palash ordered for Hilsha fish eggs and Rupchanda fish. When these things came, we, excluding Palash, quickly realised how fool we were. Though we had mutton, egg and Jali kebab in our Kachchi Biriani, we were totally defeated by Palash's dishes in elegance, pulchritude and delicacy. We wanted to recover quickly, so on went our ordering. We asked for Rejala, Jhal Fry, Rupchanda fish and Shrimp Corma. The competition turned hot on that very moment. We were gorging quickly. The waiter, who we were calling "Mama" adoringly, was dazed to see us gobbling. A big two litre bottle of Coke was accompanying us all the time. After finishing main courses, it was time for dessert. We were behaving as gluttonously as before. We ordered Lachchi, Falluda, Curd and Pudding. After paying the bill, we had no strength to move our bodies from that table :D. We dragged ourselves out of the hotel clumsily and after much hassle we got a cab to return to office. It was a great meal to remember. Truly, I would cherish this memory forever. A big thanks go to dear friend Shantanu. Hail to Shantanu!!!

Monday, September 26, 2005

Deep trouble with OpenSSL EVP API's

I was totally flabbergasted with a piece of code today. I was trying to calculate MD5 hash with EVP API's of OpenSSL library. The API's worked fine to calculate the hash but somehow by completely out of my knowledge it was garbling a std::string. Later I replaced the code with some C functions and computed the hash myself. It took me one hour to find the culprit code snippet and then it took me two hours to believe that it is actually the well-known OpenSSL library which is causing the mess. Here is the code I was using:

                const EVP_MD *pMd(NULL);
                unsigned char puchKey[EVP_MAX_MD_SIZE];
                unsigned int uiKeyLen(0);
                EVP_MD_CTX MDContext;
                OpenSSL_add_all_digests();
                // Check if MD5 is available

                if(NULL == (pMd = EVP_get_digestbyname("md5")))
                {
                        LOGL(2, "Digest md5 not found");
                        return sMessageIntegrity;
                }
                // Compute key with MD5 hash
                EVP_DigestInit(&MDContext, EVP_md5());//pMd);
                std::ostringstream ossBuffer;
                ossBuffer << p_rsUsername << ':' << p_rsRealm << ':' << p_rsPassword;
                std::string sTemp(ossBuffer.str());
                EVP_DigestUpdate(&MDContext, static_cast<const void*> (sTemp.data()), static_cast<unsigned int> (sTemp.size()));
                EVP_DigestFinal(&MDContext, puchKey, &uiKeyLen);

It was garbling a member std::string of the class. Can someone tell me what is wrong with the code???

Saturday, September 24, 2005

Another Saturday in office

I don't know whether we will be given holiday on Saturday or not at all. I don't like this temporizing.

Thursday, September 22, 2005

A nice sleep


What a nice job!!! The Best Job In Bangladesh!!!

Computer based IELTS

I have bought the cd today. It only contained a single test but cost me 800/=. I met the exam administrator. He tried to encourage me a lot. I am also interested in it but the next available date the 7th October is too soon for me. The date after that is the 11th November, which is a very late date for me. I am confused. I haven't prepared a bit for the exam. :-(

Wednesday, September 21, 2005

Bought an Bluetooth USB Adapter

Though it was cheap and I doubt its longevity, I liked it. I was thrilled to communicate with my mobile (NOKIA 6230). I copied the photos I took with it to hard disk. The nokia pc suite failed but the software which came with the adapter made it easily. I wish I will do some fun programming with this adapter. I saw some projects in codeprojects which communicated with bluetooth device. I think I can follow them :-).

Sunday, September 18, 2005

My dressing habit has to be changed

I think I should wear panjabis more often now. I also need a sky blue shirt and a "Kolapuri" sandal. Oh, one more thing, I must have a jeans pant. This will be my dress in the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitre. :-)

Saturday, September 17, 2005

Strategy Page

It is a great site for military news.

CBT IELTS

I am thoroughly confused about it. The CBT form is introduced very recently. It is out for only two months. Very few examinees are opting for it. The test is also being taken less frequently, only once per month. There is no sample exam cd's in the market. I have to buy one from British Council. The cd costs 800 taka, which is very high. It seems B.C. is trying to make a profit out of selling the cd's too. I don't know whether I should go for a paper based test or a computer based one. I am confused. The new form seems to be untested and not widely known yet. The next available date is 7th October. Time is running out if I choose the CBT. :-(

Coming office on Saturday

It is very disappointing. The whole country is enjoying the weekly holiday but we have to come in office. I don't know how much motivated people will be in their work. I don't find it an apt decision to work on this day. Hope the authority will choose the right path.

Thursday, September 15, 2005

Great BLOG search tool by GOOGLE

I liked it. When I searched with keyword "russoue", I was elated to see all my blogs in the result. Hope people will find my blogs when they search with various keywords. :-)

Tuesday, September 13, 2005

TOEFL

At last, my TOEFL is over. If I have to tell my feelings, I have to go section by section. In listening, I am happy. I made three mistakes. It is the best performance I have made in mock tests. In reading comprehension, I took my time. I gave my best to it. I made three mistakes. About structure, I will not forget it ever. While I was answering the last but one question, I thought it to be the last. When only 5 seconds were left, I confirmed my answer and saw that one was remaining. My heart started pounding. 5 seconds whisked away. I am still regreting for it. However, my range is 220 - 277. The score distribution is 27, 12 - 29, 27. My composition was not well in the written part. Now, I can only hope for the best. Final score is supposed to come home within two weeks by mail.

Saturday, September 10, 2005

TOEFL tomorrow

Oh, I am feeling nervous. I don't know how I shall fare. I am not confident in listening and reading comprehension. Amazingly, reading comprehension is giving me some troubles, actually the questions where I have to educe something. May Allah help me.

Thursday, September 08, 2005

A GREAT LOSS

Yesterday, my grandmother-in-law passed away. She was 70+ years old. For several months she was completely bedridden because of serious illness. Sharna and I rushed to Sirajgonj yesterday afternoon. We both were very very sad. Though her funeral will be held today, I had to come back because of my TOEFL preparation. Sharna will be back on Saturday. May Allah rest her soul in peace.

Tuesday, September 06, 2005

Hooray!!!

Bangladesh government has announced today that from 9th September there will be two days weekly holiday on Friday and Saturday. A news couldn't be better than this. We, all of our colleagues, are thoroughly excited. But we are also fearing about what our company will decide. Will it go against the decision? We are just praying that they abide by the rule.

Monday, September 05, 2005

Washing the pen drive

Yes, my pen drive has been washed today. It was in a pocket of my pant. Our domestic help took the pant and without checking the pockets started to wash it. It was discovered some times later but water with soap has already entered it by then. At this moment I did the most foolish thing, I inserted the drive to my USB port and tried to check it immediately. Thus I diminished the slightest hope of getting it back. I should wait for 2 days to let it dry up. But now the damage is done. I have to buy another one. :-(

Sunday, September 04, 2005

Still not improving

Yesterday, I took one sample exam by Powerprep's software. My listening is still awful. Though I am continuing to ameliorate my reading comprehension skill, I am not improving in structure section. I am dissatisfied with my preparation. Though I knew that TOEFL exam will not be a piece of cake, I thought it not to be hard either. The software has primitive interface. It switches to very low resolution and reminds me the days when I used to play with some DOS games. There are only two sample tests. I think I don't have the latest version, but may be the latest one is not free of charge.

Saturday, September 03, 2005

Disappointed with my performance

I took two sample test exams from Barron's sample test CD. My performance was poor. I was most disappointed in listening section. Seems that after hearing the conversation clearly, I couldn't deduce what was implied. It is shocking because I had no problem with the main test of listening that is to understand clearly what was told but I fail to educe the implications. I have to work hard in this area. In the two structural test, I fared bad. One of my reading test was terrible with 9 mistakes out of 45. But in the second one, I managed to improve my performance, I only made one mistake.

Wednesday, August 31, 2005

At last got the confirmation

I just got my TOEFL confirmation mail. My exam is on 11th September at 8 a.m. I am asked to report to the Prometric test centre at least 30 minutes earlier. I have to take a valid passport with me. Though I am relieved now, it would be better if my exam date was after one more week. Being anxious about the confirmation, I was not able to start preparation. Now I have got only 11 days. I have to hurry.

Monday, August 29, 2005

Yummy yummy!!!


Manjur bhai entered the restaurant, rushed to the dishes and brought this plate :D, and guess what, it was not his last one :D.

A memorable night

Busy at Emanuelles

Afzal's farewell party

It was an awesome great party. We enjoyed every bit of it. At first, we took him to some shops in the afternoon. After ransacking them, he chose a shirt. It was a nice one, Afzal was looking great when he came out of the trial room. He looked happy with the shirt. As we had surplus in our budget, we took him to another emporium and bought him a t-shirt for casual wear.

Then we entered Emanuelles (a famous restaurant for buffet dinner), we had a booking for eight people's dinner at 7 p.m. It was 7:15 when we took our seat. As all of us had not arrived yet, we started chattering. After some time, when others arrived, we went to the dishes to get the food. In the first round, we had the appetizers as usual. As everyone of us has visited this restaurant few times before, we were pretty experienced and had devised our own plan to rip the maximum :-). By the time we finished our second round, the people we found sitting when we came left. After that, we took some rest. There were two reasons, Manjur Bhai still hadn't arrived, we wanted to actively accompany him while he eats, and to regain some vigor to devour more :-). About 20 minutes later, we started third round. It was the time the waiters started being astonished. Another batch of people left by this time. The food was excellent. Most of the dishes were of meats. Though I like fishes more, I took all the meat dishes too. The red snapper fish, a fish fry (I forgot the name), moussaka and barbecues were among the most delectable dishes. Zunnun bhai, a renowned gourmet, was the quickest among us to engorge. Manjur bhai came, and guess what, we started the fourth round :D. The waiters were dumbfounded. We gobbled as if we have taken nothing before :D. When we rushed towards the dessert, we were fearing that we won't find anything in the dishes, as many people came and left in the mean time. We were relieved to see the desserts still there, though small in quantity. We had two rounds of desserts. The yummy pudding and caramel custard were our favourites.

After we gorged ourselves enough, we eased ourselves and started chatting again. Everyone was immersed with a sad feeling. We realized that we will miss Afzal very much. We had an excellent year together. Throughout this time, we were like friends and brothers. We were much more than colleagues. This was the first break in our team. We all vented our griefs. In the valedictory, Afzal said that he will miss us too, he will remember this one year forever, he will cherish the time he shared with us.

We came out of the restaurant at 10 p.m. and started for home. I am certain that everyone of us will remember this night. We will treasure the memory forever.

Sunday, August 28, 2005

A nice interview of Mikhail Simonov

Mikhail Simonov is the designer of aerodynamics of the legendary aircraft Su-27 (my favourite combat aircraft). Here is a very interesting interview of him. He describes some of his thoughts behind the super-maneuverability. It sheds some light on the Russian doctrine of air combat tactics also.

Saturday, August 27, 2005

Afzal's farewell today

We, the employees of Eyeball's Dhaka office are going to give Afzal a farewell today. The venue is Emanuelles, a renowned buffet restaurant. Shantanu, Palash and I are going to gift him something this evening. We will take him to the shops and let him choose something, may be some kind of clothing. He will come to the office tomorrow for the last time :-(.

Haven't got TOEFL registration mail yet

I am very tensed. I called the guy I gave money to use his credit card, he is telling me again and again that I will get the mail. I am being anxious.

A busy day

Yesterday was a very busy day for me. In the morning, I went to a family program, had a savory lunch, came back home at the afternoon. I missed the Jummah prayer. One of my cousins need to visit a doctor as she was very weak. At the evening, I met her in a hospital. She was advised to take a bag of saline immediately. I brought her home and called a paramedic. The saline was still not finished when I started for office this morning.

Thursday, August 25, 2005

More disappointment from Google Talk

For last few hours, it cannot even log in to server. I am sure that it is no user's desideratum. I am losing heart in it.

Google Talk

I installed Google Talk beta. It fell short of my expectation by a mile. The audio quality was not very good, though I was talking in a LAN. I also found trouble to get the audio conversation both way. In my first attempts to talk to one of my colleagues, he could hear my voice but I couldn't hear his. The text chatting window is primordial. There is no emoticon, no file transfer, no games or imvironments. I understand that it is just a beta, these very simple features should have been included. Though all google products fascinate me, this one has a long way to go to bedazzle me.

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

Stuck at office

It is raining torrentially, but I wanted to go home now :-((. I have to go to the tailor's shop on my way home. I doubt I can do it. My wife is sick at home. When shall I be able to see her?

Viewed my blog through mobile

Yesterday, I viewed my blog through my mobile. It was very exciting. I could see the whole page exactly as I see in my browser. I was thrilled. I think I will visit my blog through GPRS quite often.

Sharna is still sick

Though she is not having fever from last night, it cannot be said that she will not have fever again. She is weak now and lost her appetite. She has not called on any doctor yet. Inshallah, she will recuperate soon.

Tuesday, August 23, 2005

My wife is sick

She has got fever, now her temperature is 101 fahrenheit. I must go home now but I have a lot of works to do in office :-( Anyway, I will leave now. Hope she comes round soon.

Met an old friend

After 8 long months I have met Omar, one of my closest friends, today. We had a chat for 3 hours. I took him to lunch. Though our chat was not fully a retrospective one, we recalled some of our old memories. Omar has been my bosom buddy for about 9 years. He is now working in a great software firm, he is enjoying his work. We exchanged our views to future. We conferred on our future plans. The lunch was great, we had vuna-khichuri with chicken and salad. We also had two Sprites. I relished the time with him.

Sent fax for TOEFL registration

Today, I sent a fax to ets for my toefl registration. My preferred date is 11th September. I am yet to receive any mail. I have bought a book and some cd's containing sample exams, though I haven't opened them yet. I am not finding the vigor to start preparation. Hope the confirmation mail will ignite me :-)

Another good friend is going

Afzal has got the visa of Germany. He has got a scholarship from European union. He will go to Germany first and then Scotland to complete a double masters degree. Afzal was my colleague also. We worked together for last one year. Actually, it is the time when our friendship flourished. We, along with three other friends, had a great time in Eyeball in last one year. We will seriously miss him. His company will be ever memorable to me. We shared many unforgettable events here. I will treasure all his memories till the last day of my life, I am sure. Hope he has a prosperous and successful life.

Saturday, August 20, 2005

Had to come at office

Though I am against strikes in principle, I don't hate to take their advantage :-) (Is it a double-standard of mine?). Our office is open in every strike day, so I have to come. But many of my friends' offices are closed, that's what I envy. Had I been at home today .........

Strike

There is a full-day strike all over the country. It is in protest of the bomb blasts called by all the opposition parties. But, these strikes are nothing good, actually they are very detrimental for the economy of our country. I am fed up to see the asinine behaviours of the two major parties of the country. Instead of investigating the incidents, they are blaming each other and letting the original perpetrators escape. When will they leave this hypocrisy?

Thursday, August 18, 2005

Command & Conquer Generals

This is a fantastic game. I just completed the three campaigns. Those were excellent. Now, I am playing the skirmishes setting the difficulty level to highest. But this seems to be very difficult (:-)) to me. The computer plays so quickly that I cannot cope with it. Most of the time, I am being wiped out before I can build a formidable force. I think all the strategy game players will love it.

Wednesday, August 17, 2005

I am sick :-(

I have been suffering from a chronic stomach infection. It is recurring every now and then. Yesterday, I couldn't go to office, I was having high fever. Today, I am feeling better as my temperature is still normal but I think the problem in my stomach is still there. However, I managed to get tonsillitis also :P. My wife is angry with me.

Monday, August 15, 2005

Found two great bengali song site

I am wowed by two sites www.amarshonarbangla.com and www.amadergaan.com. The sites have a plethora of bengali mp3 songs in their collection. The quality of the songs are great too. I suggest anyone looking for a bengali mp3 visit this sites first.

Sunday, August 14, 2005

My first use of infrared

I just used infrared to receive a file from my colleague. I, once again, got a puerile joy. The transfer took split second, I was amazed to see the easy use of this stupendous technology. I think I will make fun with it frequently :-)

The Motorcycle Diaries

I have seen this movie "The Motorcycle Diaries" two days ago. An excellent movie on Che Guevara's historic motorcycle journey. A must see for everyone. It nicely delineates how the young doctor's thought changed on the journey. I have seen a Spanish version with English subtitle. If I could have an English version, it would be better.

Sengg98

I joined a yahoo group Sengg98 created by my friend Arbab. The group's ultimate intent is to gather all the s/w engineers of B.U.E.T. working all around the world. But, in this incipient stage, memberships are only limited to people of 98 batch. The group will eventually become very active communication center. People will help each other here in every professional aspect. We will hold a dinner in every first sunday of a month. As it is just in inchoation, not all the activities are planned. We have to have some brainstorming sessions to figure out what activities should be done/allowed in the group.

Friends' departure

Two of my closest friends, Mehedi and Eimon who are also married couple, have left Bangladesh today. Mehedi is going to pursue Ph.D. in UIUC. I wish them every success in life. I went their house today morning to bid them goodbye. I was in a melancholy mood. Though, in this modern world we can easily keep in touch by emails and instant messaging, the thought that I will not be able to see them for quite a long time overwhelmed me. They were supportive to me all the time during our friendship. In many of my crises, they were beside me, they came forward and tried to help me out. I am grateful to them for many many things. We shared a very good intimate relation. I am certainly going to miss them in the coming days :-(

Saturday, August 13, 2005

A cool pic of Soyuz.
Here is my mobile:

Bought new mobile :-)

At long last, after ransacking the markets for many days, I bought a mobile. It's Nokia 6230. After buying this I was in a puerile mood, exploring and playing with my new mobile. I can't wait to show it to Sharna. It is a very good looking slender mobile with a VGA camera. Still pictures and short movies (length depending on the memory) can be shot by it. Its display is 128 x 128 pixel with 65536 colors. MP3's can be played and loaded to it. Lots of other cool features are there e.g. EDGE, BLUETOOTH, pc connectivity. I love my mobile, I must say :-)

Friday, August 12, 2005

Lonely at home

I am feeling too much lonely at home. Sharna is at Sirajgonj. She went to a cinema today. I went to two of my closest friends house. They are leaving Bangladesh day after tomorrow. I shall visit them tomorrow also. Though in last few months we have been in very little contact, I am going to miss them certainly. I am yet searching for a model of mobile which I shall buy. I have to go to market tomorrow too.

Thursday, August 11, 2005

Filter: OpenSSL's best feature

I am immensely impressed by filters of OpenSSL. I just can't wait to use my first filter. Filters form a chain which is the best thing a programmer can want while doing cryptographic programming. The easiness to use a filter or a chain amazed me most. At the end of a chain resides a source or a sink. A source, as its name suggests, supplies data to be read. You can write data to a sink. To build a chain, you attach one or more filters with a source or a sink. Filters can do many things e.g. encryption, decryption, encoding, decoding etc. You just set up a chain according to your need, invoke the head of the chain, data will be read or written accordingly. For example, if you want to write some data in encrypted and encoded form, build a chain of this order EncryptionFilter->EncodingFilter->Sink and then write to the EncryptionFilter. Things are as simple as that.

Sharna went to Sirajgonj

I just came from the bus terminal. My wife, Sharna, and my sister-in-law started for Sirajgonj. Sharna will return on day after tomorrow. I may also go there tomorrow as it is our govermnet holiday, if I can get a leave on day after tomorrow. I will be anxious about their journey untill they reach there safely.

Wednesday, August 10, 2005

I will miss my wife


My lovely wife is going to her home district tomorrow. I am afraid about how I will pass time without her :-( I will miss her seriously.

Fell in a perilous situation

My boss asked me to provide a comprehensive documentation about a topic of which I am completely ingnorant. At first, I became seriously flustered. I did some hard work for 3 hours with little help of some colleagues and then finally created the document. I just sent it now, waiting for my boss's response :-). I guess I recovered well.

Tuesday, August 09, 2005


My Workspace :-) Posted by Picasa

www.hello.com

I just installed "hello from picasa" from www.hello.com. I thought I could add a photo to my profile, instead it sent my photo as a new post :P Isn't it possible to add a photo without using an url? I am trying to find a way.

This is Me Posted by Picasa

Shame on spammers

I just found that www.weblogs.com is used by many for advertising products. Shame on them. I just hate these spammer guys. I vowed to myself that I would never buy anything inspired by any spam mail.

Why isn't OpenSSL in C++?

I wish OpenSSL library were written in C++. It would have been much nicer than what it is now. Although it is excellent now, using classes are even more easier. I wish I could write one :-)

Colleague's prank

I was just fooled by one my colleague cum friend. He was masquerading our boss in yahoo messenger. We had a long time chat. At the end, he even approved my leave application. But after sometimes, when he confessed to me, we bursted into laugh. He might have enjoyed it more than me, but I also enjoyed it very much.

Monday, August 08, 2005

Network Security with OpenSSL

I am reading this book now. It is excellent. Some chapters are for developers, some are for administrators and some are for both :-) The first chapter is a succinct introduction to cryptography to someone who is new to this field. I think I will finish the book within next few days. The book is written by Pravir Chandra, Matt Messier and John Viega and published by O'Reilly.

The TLS Protocol Version 1.0

I was trying to read RFC 2246. It is very hard to go through it thoroughly. I will try to find some easy tutorial now. I think I will peruse it in some later time.

Exordium

Hi, this is my first blog. I am very much interested in blogging but fear thinking about what problems I would face if my employer finds anything that breaches the N.D.A. I even fear that whether they would allow anything related to my work published in the blogs in case they come to know about it. I don't have any intention to reveal anything sensitive to my company. Lets see what happens.

Here is me:


I am software engineer in Eyeball Networks Inc. I love coding and very much fond of C++ language. I am a server programmer in my company. I am a computer science and engineering (C.S.E.) graduate from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (B.U.E.T.). Hope to give more information about me in future.