Year: 2005

Paying Fines, A Bureaucracy Nightmare

This morning, I had to go pay a fine for passing the due date to pay the road tax. Actually the fine wasn’t for that, it was for being caught 😛
Anyway, it was a bureaucracy disaster.

I had to go to an office of the Ministry of Finance in Sidi Bashir, one of the most crowded places in downtown Tunis. There they gave me a piece of paper and told me to go to “Rue d’Angleterre (England Road)” to pay the fine and then come back to them.
On foot, that’s like a quarter hour walk away, and in car it takes longer because you’d have to drive around all of busy downtown Tunis to get there.
So I curse the hell out of the police man who gave me the fine on my way there, pay the fine, then go back to the office where I started. There they give me back my car papers and tell me to go back to “Rue d’Angleterre” to pay the road tax. Aaaarrrggghhh!

Continue reading Paying Fines, A Bureaucracy Nightmare

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow

Last night I watched “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow“.
Now, I have to say that I totally pre-judged this movie. I saw the trailer and I didn’t like it, and I rented the movie sure that it would be a bad boring movie and a waste of money. The only reason I rented it is to see how bad Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie could get 😛
But, I have to admit it turned out better than I thought, not that much better, but still better.

The movie takes another direction, visually speaking, than the rest of the movies coming out these days. It’s very 1930’s Art Deco with bits of Neo-Futurism and uses a mostly digital backdrop.
I liked the visual effects and work put into this movie although I’m not a big fan of the 1930’s feel.

It’s a Sci-Fi Adventure movie and the story starts after New York City receives a series of attacks from giant flying robots. A reporter teams up with a pilot in search of their origin, as well as the reason for the disappearances of famous scientists around the world.

All in all, I think it’s an ok movie. The kind I’d only see once.
Anyway, if you’re into sci-fi adventure movies that feel like they’re from the 1930’s, then this should be your cup of tea.

I give it a score of: 5/10.

AOL: No Privacy For You On AIM

AOL have changed their Terms of service for AIM (AOL Instance Messenger), and the changes are pretty crazy and unbelievable:

… AOL owns all right, title and interest in any compilation, collective work or other derivative work created by AOL using or incorporating this Content. In addition, by posting Content on an AIM Product, you grant AOL, its parent, affiliates, subsidiaries, assigns, agents and licensees the irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide right to reproduce, display, perform, distribute, adapt and promote this Content in any medium. You waive any right to privacy. You waive any right to inspect or approve uses of the Content or to be compensated for any such uses.

Even though the possibility of someone hacking into an AIM session always exists, the idea of AOL openly violating it’s users’ privacy and using their private discussions without their consent is totally unacceptable.

I only used AIM for a short while in the past, but with this I’m sure I’ll never use it again.

[Via: Thrashing Through Cyberspace]

43 Things

Sometime ago I found 43Things, a website where you can make a list of your goals and the stuff that you want to do in your life.

Other than putting in your own list, you can also see what other people all around the world want to do.

You can also find people who want to do the same stuff as you or who have already done it, who can tell you how it was like and give you advice.

I think it’s a really cool and fun idea.
I’ve started putting in my list of stuff, which you can find here.

Try it out yourself and post what you think of it as well as a link to your list in the comments.

Saddam Hussein Capture Was Fabricated

Nothing surprises me anymore…

A former U.S. Marine who participated in capturing ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein said the public version of his capture was fabricated.

“… we found him in a modest home in a small village and not in a hole as announced,” Abou Rabeh said.

“We captured him after fierce resistance during which a Marine of Sudanese origin was killed,” he said.

“Later on, a military production team fabricated the film of Saddam’s capture in a hole, which was in fact a deserted well,” Abou Rabeh said.

[Read full article]

[Via: Pourquoi Pas?, Je Blog]

That Time Of Year Again

It’s the beginning of spring, my favourite season of the year. The weather is beautiful, the sky is clear and blue, the sun is shining, the breeze is nice and cool, the birds are chirping, the flowers are blooming and everything is just perfect.
Oh and it’s also my birthday 😉

Yep, on a day like today, 26 years ago, I was born into this insane world.

How does it feel being 26?
To me, it’s just the same as 25, 24, 23, …etc. It’s just a number really. How much we obsess about it is what makes the difference, lol.

What are my plans?
Well, a nice lunch with my wife and then a little celebration with the family at home 🙂

How can you be part of it all?
Hmmm, well if you really need to, here’s my Amazon wishlist. You figure out the rest, lol 😛

Lablabi, Fast Food

Lablabi

Tonight, we felt like going to Halfaouine in Les Berges du Lac for some yummy Lablabi.

Lablabi is a Tunisian fast food made up of bread crumbs, boiled chick peas, eggs, tuna, harissa (hot Tunisian chilli sauce), capers, cumin, olive oil and a little bit of garlic.

It’s a weird mix, but it’s great 🙂
If you ever visit Tunisia, make sure you try it out.

The photo should give you an idea of how it looks.
Yummy…

Tunisie/Blogs

Thanks to Houssein, at last Tunisian blogs have an aggregator: Tunisie/Blogs.

I’ve been thinking about this for a while and emailed Houssein with my thoughts a while after he started TN-Blogs, the Tunisian blog directory. It’s great to see the mixture of our ideas come to life 🙂

The blogs are mainly in French and English with occasional posts in Arabic.

This, I think, is a really important and cool development for the Tunisian blogosphere.

Do check it out: Tunisie/Blogs.

My Confessions

Inspired by Roba, here are my confessions, the ones I can publish that is 😛

1. I’m quite anti-social most of the time. I’d rather stay at home alone than go out and see people.
2. I got my driving license in Jordan from the first time, even though I nearly had an accident in the exam, by bribing the examiner. I gave a friend of mine 20JDs to take him out for a mansaf dinner and whatever else at Jabri 😛 But I am a really good driver, honestly.
3. I hate the French language.
4. I always say that I never regret any decision I’ve ever taken but deep inside of me I sometimes do.
5. I have a problem carrying cups/mugs/containers with liquids in them. I keep spilling the damn stuff.
6. I’m a movie addict. I could watch movies all day long and still want more.
7. I’m a professional liar although it seems I’m getting worse at it now with lack of practice.
8. Fate has it that bad things happen to people who are bad to me. Without me doing anything or even wishing for it. So for your own sake, be nice to me, lol.
9. Sometimes, and on certain issues, I get so divided between the liberal and the conservative inside of me that I don’t know what to think about it.
10. I’m one of the laziest people in the universe.