tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50039345642065001462024-03-13T14:35:59.239-04:00Osama's BlogA blog about my interests and my point of view on things in general.Osama Sidathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14825552599093914152noreply@blogger.comBlogger63125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5003934564206500146.post-81672557617691970452016-03-09T14:36:00.002-05:002016-03-09T14:39:42.190-05:00Zucchini Noodles with Mushrooms, Black Beans & Sweet Potatoes<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i>Yesterday, I was feeling like cooking something new, but something that wouldn't require too much of a cleanup, and would leave a few leftovers for lunch. I had been reading about zucchini noodles, so I thought I'd give them a shot...</i><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Y6qwRrX9plM/VuB6owHVDjI/AAAAAAAAA5s/WiszUFaLcV0/s1600/zucchini-noodles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Y6qwRrX9plM/VuB6owHVDjI/AAAAAAAAA5s/WiszUFaLcV0/s640/zucchini-noodles.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zucchini Noodles & Friends © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
<b>Ingredients:</b><br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>1 zucchini, julienned (I used a peeler, so my zucchini strips were a bit too wide...)</li>
<li>1 medium sweet potato, cut into small chunks</li>
<li>4 white mushrooms, sliced</li>
<li>1 cup canned black beans</li>
<li>1-2 Tbsp butter</li>
<li>1 Tbsp olive oil</li>
<li>1/4 tsp coriander powder</li>
<li>1/4 tsp garlic powder</li>
<li>salt</li>
<li>paprika powder</li>
<li>black pepper</li>
<li>chilli flakes</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
<b>Method:</b><br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Preheat oven to 375°F. Put sweet potato chunks in a lined baking tray, sprinkle with a bit of oil, salt, black pepper and paprika. Bake for 30-35 minutes.</li>
<li>In a pan over medium heat, add butter, oil, coriander powder, garlic powder, paprika, pepper, salt and chilli flakes.</li>
<li>Once the spices are nicely mixed, add the zucchini and mushrooms and stir, for about 3-4 minutes</li>
<li>Add the black beans and the baked sweet potatoes, mix well. Turn stove to low, cook for another 3-5 minutes.</li>
<li>Enjoy!</li>
</ul>
<div>
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</div>
Osama Sidathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07784766574101596078noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5003934564206500146.post-9854550404778517632015-05-04T20:46:00.003-04:002015-05-04T20:47:09.664-04:00Baked Lemon-Butter Cod<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i>Loosely based on the recipe at <a href="http://www.food.com/recipe/lemon-baked-cod-135272">http://www.food.com/recipe/lemon-baked-cod-135272</a>.</i><br />
<br />
<b>Ingredients:</b><br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>0.5 lb cod (2 servings), cut into two pieces</li>
<li>2 Tbsp butter</li>
<li>1-2 Tbsp lemon juice</li>
<li>1/8-1/4 cup flour</li>
<li>1/2 tsp salt</li>
<li>1/2 tsp black pepper</li>
<li>Paprika powder</li>
</ul>
<br />
<b>Method:</b><br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Mix salt, pepper, flour and a sprinkle of paprika powder.</li>
<li>Mix butter and lemon juice.</li>
<li>Dip pieces of cod into the lemon-butter mixture.</li>
<li>Coat the cod pieces in the flour mixture. Pour any remaining lemon butter mixture over the flour-coated fish.</li>
<li>Refrigerate for 30 min - 1 hour.</li>
<li>Pre-heat oven to 350º F.</li>
<li>Place cod pieces in baking tray lined with baking paper. Sprinkle some paprika powder.</li>
<li>Bake for 25-30 minutes.</li>
<li>Enjoy!</li>
</ul>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yMYoQE2wAgc/VUgRojaV1uI/AAAAAAAAA4k/HD7GA_LRwRQ/s1600/Cod-5040001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yMYoQE2wAgc/VUgRojaV1uI/AAAAAAAAA4k/HD7GA_LRwRQ/s640/Cod-5040001.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baked Lemon-Butter Cod with Onion, Bell Pepper and Garlic Medley © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Osama Sidathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07784766574101596078noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5003934564206500146.post-72987146444565409002015-02-13T23:16:00.003-05:002015-05-04T20:47:54.405-04:00Breakfast Baked Potato with Egg, Cheese and Veggie Stuffing<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The other day, I was looking around for interesting breakfast recipes and <a href="http://ourbestbites.com/2012/02/an-idaho-sunrise-egg-stuffed-baked-potatoes/" target="_blank">this</a> caught my eye. I wanted it try it out for myself...<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZLpBAWbqNAs/VN7JK9ciuVI/AAAAAAAAA10/47-Ri5Ady68/s1600/food-2010054.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZLpBAWbqNAs/VN7JK9ciuVI/AAAAAAAAA10/47-Ri5Ady68/s1600/food-2010054.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<b>Ingredients (2 servings)</b><br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>1 large russet potato</li>
<li>2 eggs</li>
<li>1 small (or 1/2 medium) onion, finely chopped</li>
<li>1/3 large green pepper (capsicum), finely chopped</li>
<li>Shredded Cheese</li>
<li>Spring Onion, chopped</li>
<li>2 Tbsp Butter, melted</li>
<li>Salt</li>
<li>Pepper</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
<b>Method</b><br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Fully bake the potato (425°F, for about 60-90 minutes, until soft inside).</li>
<li>Cut the potato in half, and scoop out the inside, while creating a "cup" with the potato. I used a muffin tray to hold the potato cups. You can use the scooped out baked potato as a side for another meal.</li>
<li>Coat the insides of the potato cup with melted butter</li>
<li>Add onion and green pepper into the potato cup.</li>
<li>Break an egg into the potato cup; add salt and pepper to taste.</li>
<li>Top with shredded cheese and spring onion.</li>
</ul>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5i5J9YkIiPo/VN7JKdY_8XI/AAAAAAAAA1w/Egm1Trwtu5o/s1600/food-2010049.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5i5J9YkIiPo/VN7JKdY_8XI/AAAAAAAAA1w/Egm1Trwtu5o/s1600/food-2010049.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Bake at 350°F for about 30 minutes (I did it for 25, and the egg was runnier than I expected)</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
Enjoy!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yg1MFjj-uEw/VN7JFLnQDfI/AAAAAAAAA1o/dJr7Qs6s8j8/s1600/food-2010056.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yg1MFjj-uEw/VN7JFLnQDfI/AAAAAAAAA1o/dJr7Qs6s8j8/s1600/food-2010056.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<b><br /></b>
<b>Notes (or what could have been done differently):</b><br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Chopped tomatoes would be a nice addition</li>
<li>Add the spring onion after baking - will taste much better</li>
</ul>
</div>
Osama Sidathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07784766574101596078noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5003934564206500146.post-46213540684614707512015-01-01T03:20:00.002-05:002015-01-01T03:21:17.844-05:00Life in Twenty-Fourteen<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i>A recap of my life in twenty-fourteen...</i><br />
<br />
Since I started university back in 2010 (seems like eons ago), I've maintained a tradition of writing a blog post at the end of every year. This year's post has been at the back of my head for several days, but I still haven't been able to figure out what I'm going to write. And I don't think I can do monthly sections this time round... So I'll just let the words flow...<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CC-84_5VICY/VKTm2jOdasI/AAAAAAAAAxA/ehoNy7KX-ls/s1600/2014-02-23%2B22.34.23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CC-84_5VICY/VKTm2jOdasI/AAAAAAAAAxA/ehoNy7KX-ls/s1600/2014-02-23%2B22.34.23.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Random Thoughts © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b>The Desire2Learn Experience</b><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-daE3F5XbbQk/VKTnstKiaJI/AAAAAAAAAxQ/yF-vTwFviSc/s1600/2014-01-06%2B09.17.45-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-daE3F5XbbQk/VKTnstKiaJI/AAAAAAAAAxQ/yF-vTwFviSc/s1600/2014-01-06%2B09.17.45-2.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">D2L HQ © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
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The year started off solidly. My second-to-last co-op term, with <a href="http://www.d2l.com/" target="_blank">Desire2Learn (officially "D2L" now)</a>, initiated in January as a Software Developer. Work-wise, it was certainly new, exciting territory (mostly C# .NET and SQL Server, with lots of helpings of HTML, CSS and JavaScript for component redesigns, along with some Scala and AngularJS for a hackathon), with the advantage of familiarity in terms of awesome friends and a fun working environment. I'm immensely happy with the help I got, the things I was able to achieve and the people I was able to meet. A grateful "Thank You!" to my manager, my mentor, my teammates, and everyone else who contributed to my professional growth.<br />
<br />
<b>Cybernetics and Society</b><br />
<br />
During the Winter 2014 term, I also took the on-campus Cybernetics and Society course (STV 205, taught by the awesome J. A. Deman). If you're kinda geeky, or interested in the social impact of technology, and at UWaterloo, I highly recommend this course! Great in-class discussions, fun group assignments and essay (it was basically "Write about your favourite cyborg"; I wrote about Chuck from Chuck), all enabled by a highly passionate instructor.<br />
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<b>The NASA Space Apps Challenge 2014</b><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OYs77JUjj5s/VKTnD2drx7I/AAAAAAAAAxI/zPUdAWb8GKI/s1600/2014-04-12%2B10.37.43.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OYs77JUjj5s/VKTnD2drx7I/AAAAAAAAAxI/zPUdAWb8GKI/s1600/2014-04-12%2B10.37.43.jpg" height="252" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">NASA Space Apps Challenge 2014 at The Tannery Event Centre © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
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One weekend in April 2014, I participated in my first ever outside-work hackathon with three (at the time) complete strangers. We developed an asteroid prospection game using the Unity Game Engine - <a href="http://rockslasersprofit.com/" target="_blank">"Rocks! Lasers! Protfit!"</a> - check it out! A detailed account is on <a href="http://blog.osamasidat.com/the-nasa-space-apps-challenge-2014" target="_blank">my tech blog here</a> - the awesome bit was that (to our surprise) we won the Regional round, and proceeded to the global judging phase, where we came out as among the Top 5 Projects in Use of Data.<br />
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<b>Spring 2014</b><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-agTLeO5WK4M/VKTqGKDav3I/AAAAAAAAAxc/N3Gb7XmMXwA/s1600/lake-5100069.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-agTLeO5WK4M/VKTqGKDav3I/AAAAAAAAAxc/N3Gb7XmMXwA/s1600/lake-5100069.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Columbia Lake in Spring © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YpaxZRICpXA/VKTrO3kPM3I/AAAAAAAAAxk/cZpHTabZ-7w/s1600/chip-6140015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YpaxZRICpXA/VKTrO3kPM3I/AAAAAAAAAxk/cZpHTabZ-7w/s1600/chip-6140015.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chipmunk in my backyard © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
After three study terms of a lighter (four instead of five) course load, I returned to school in Spring 2014 with a full-course load. My schedule composed of CS 349 (User Interfaces), CS 341 (Algorithms), CS 360 (Introduction to Theory of Computing), HRM 200 (Intro to Human Resource Management), and, ENGL 108F (The Superhero). Outlined below are some of my thoughts about each:<br />
<br />
<i>User Interfaces:</i> To date, the best CS course I've taken, with the right amount of (useful) theory and hands-on stuff. Byron Becker did a great job with a course, and he was highly responsive to emails, even if they were about relatively unrelated content. Also, it was my first real foray into the Java programming language.<br />
<br />
<i>Algorithms:</i> Mark Petrick was a great teacher, and unlike the precursor of this course (CS 240: Data Structures), the content was quite interesting. However, rather hard exams.<br />
<br />
<i>Intro to Theory of Computing:</i> I'll admit, I took this one because everyone said it would be easy. What I didn't realize before that the content was barely, if at all, interesting for me, making the course not so easy. In retrospect, I would've been better served by taking Software Architecture or something else...<br />
<br />
<i>Human Resource Management:</i> Took this one to complete the Business Option requirements of my degree. I was taking it with a friend, else the lectures would've been incredibly boring.<br />
<br />
<i>The Superhero:</i> I accidentally found this course when I was looking for things that Deman (from STV 205) taught. In a nutshell, this course discusses Superheroes - mostly from comic books. Quite a fun course, covers Batman too... I'd recommend this one if you're ok with writing a comprehensive final essay (it was definitely interesting to analyze Superman's behaviour in Frank Miller's <i>The Dark Knight Returns</i>). As before, Deman was awesome (he has a Ph.D in comics!) - I spent an office hour with him discussing the change in Batman's depiction in the animated series throughout the 90s...<br />
<br />
Overall, a good term, can't complain too much. The JobMine process (I opted to get back in it for my sixth and last co-op term) resulted in a nicely revamped resume, over 30 job applications, 5 interviews, 1 offer and 3 ranks. I took the risk of turning down the offer and playing the numbers game with the ranks, and was placed at Akamai as a Software Developer for my Fall 2014 work term.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WywX5YQhNdg/VKTsoVLbEmI/AAAAAAAAAxw/n67GK2YMJt8/s1600/shrimp-6220025.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WywX5YQhNdg/VKTsoVLbEmI/AAAAAAAAAxw/n67GK2YMJt8/s1600/shrimp-6220025.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Experimenting with Shrimp © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
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After being in Waterloo since Winter 2013 (my longest stretch of time spent living in 'Loo), I moved to Ottawa at the end of August for my work term.<br />
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<b>The Passport Renewal Fun</b><br />
<br />
I arrived in Ottawa on Tuesday, August 19. I had made a silly assumption - since Ottawa has a Pakistani Embassy AND Ottawa is the capital - I would/should be able to get my Pakistani passport renewed there (hoping that would save me an extra trip to Toronto). Well... when I visited the Embassy next morning, I was told (in the usual, traditional, infuriating way) that the Embassy could not process or renew any modern documents (really, what purpose does the Embassy have, then?), and that I would have to go back to Toronto.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k4lNvK7AjLU/VKTt8kJNM-I/AAAAAAAAAx8/qANhjs_iRkU/s1600/2014-08-20%2B10.38.32.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k4lNvK7AjLU/VKTt8kJNM-I/AAAAAAAAAx8/qANhjs_iRkU/s1600/2014-08-20%2B10.38.32.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Embassy of Pakistan, Ottawa © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
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Eventually, later that day, I took the overnight Greyhound to Toronto, (luckily) got my passport renewed at the Consulate in York Region, and later that afternoon/evening, took a bus back to Ottawa (after waiting around the Bay Street Station for a few hours)...<br />
<br />
I don't know, but that was thoroughly exhausting...<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-siFly4trYSA/VKTuaBZdzmI/AAAAAAAAAyE/FLf8po7gZcE/s1600/2014-08-21%2B11.54.13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-siFly4trYSA/VKTuaBZdzmI/AAAAAAAAAyE/FLf8po7gZcE/s1600/2014-08-21%2B11.54.13.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seen in Toronto © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
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<br />
<b>Ottawa</b><br />
<br />
I started exploring Ottawa after returning from my passport trip...<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T3QfbBfL5GM/VKT6iyxLHaI/AAAAAAAAAyU/rs2uUo5g9M4/s1600/parliament-8220047.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T3QfbBfL5GM/VKT6iyxLHaI/AAAAAAAAAyU/rs2uUo5g9M4/s1600/parliament-8220047.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Parliament, Ottawa © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kkPGrCSqaXM/VKT6nuJVwQI/AAAAAAAAAyc/ViOZDkxyz5A/s1600/parliament-9040017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kkPGrCSqaXM/VKT6nuJVwQI/AAAAAAAAAyc/ViOZDkxyz5A/s1600/parliament-9040017.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">World War Small Weapons, Canadian War Museum © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
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This was the first time I was travelling to Ottawa. I definitely loved the architecture, especially in the downtown area. I was able the catch Mosaika 2014 on its last night. The museums were great, especially the War Museum and the Diefenbunker. The Rideau Canal is quite lovely and the Hintonburg area (or "Hipsterburg", as a friend calls it!) is pretty neat with it's quaint little shops.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zU1VI1zhH_Y/VKUAIvJz0PI/AAAAAAAAAzc/AnlwrXiZMy4/s1600/rideau-9060023.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zU1VI1zhH_Y/VKUAIvJz0PI/AAAAAAAAAzc/AnlwrXiZMy4/s1600/rideau-9060023.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Locks at Rideau Canal © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6xNMqPqUCXM/VKT_3ZfXY9I/AAAAAAAAAzU/3nLPp2CmrTY/s1600/parliament-9060232.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6xNMqPqUCXM/VKT_3ZfXY9I/AAAAAAAAAzU/3nLPp2CmrTY/s1600/parliament-9060232.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mosaika on the Parliament Centre Block © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
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I also went kayaking with a friend on Dow's Lake - it was immense fun!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VA8x3lRJroA/VKT8Eed9PyI/AAAAAAAAAyo/dhWDnaoIRFo/s1600/2014-08-23%2B14.43.48%2BHDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VA8x3lRJroA/VKT8Eed9PyI/AAAAAAAAAyo/dhWDnaoIRFo/s1600/2014-08-23%2B14.43.48%2BHDR.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kayaking © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Lots of food places in Ottawa. Shawarma Palace has some of the best beef shawarma I've had, to date. I also tried SuzyQ's fancy doughnuts and Flapjack's thick pancakes; delicious stuff!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-V7i9N7bC1Q4/VKT8F7ogCWI/AAAAAAAAAyw/PJOw_vevRLU/s1600/2014-12-06%2B11.50.45.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-V7i9N7bC1Q4/VKT8F7ogCWI/AAAAAAAAAyw/PJOw_vevRLU/s1600/2014-12-06%2B11.50.45.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SuzyQ's Doughnuts © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ww3EsgFPT8o/VKT8GgppK-I/AAAAAAAAAy0/YV2MFLLQjoc/s1600/2014-10-19%2B11.07.16%2BHDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ww3EsgFPT8o/VKT8GgppK-I/AAAAAAAAAy0/YV2MFLLQjoc/s1600/2014-10-19%2B11.07.16%2BHDR.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Flapjack's Truck in Westboro © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I visited the Ottawa Humane Society and the Ottawa Cat Show - both full of cute felines!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_G2AJ8bGm8k/VKT9c8b-bxI/AAAAAAAAAzI/zGskJ75VZUo/s1600/2014-10-12%2B12.38.47.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_G2AJ8bGm8k/VKT9c8b-bxI/AAAAAAAAAzI/zGskJ75VZUo/s1600/2014-10-12%2B12.38.47.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Selfie with a kitty © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
As for the city, Ottawa is quite widespread (unlike the main Toronto city, which is kinda tightly packed). Traffic is moderate (though still quite significant, compared to Kitchener-Waterloo). Buses on the Transitway are nice and speedy, but transit times of buses on the main roads (Carling, for instance) can vary by time of day and by the traffic on the roads. I was living about 35-40 minutes from my work in Little Italy (not too bad, but I'd prefer closer if I were to return in the future).<br />
<br />
I maintained a one-or-more photo a day throughout my days in Ottawa - check it out on <a href="http://instagram.com/osamasidat/" target="_blank">my Instagram</a>!<br />
<br />
<b>The Akamai Experience</b><br />
<br />
Had a great time working at Akamai! I was working on tools for internal use using Ruby on Rails or NodeJS. Was able to get a good insight into how the web works through web requests and responses.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bAwoMB7J12M/VKT89JiriBI/AAAAAAAAAzA/n9j_GA7ch8s/s1600/2014-08-25%2B16.48.06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bAwoMB7J12M/VKT89JiriBI/AAAAAAAAAzA/n9j_GA7ch8s/s1600/2014-08-25%2B16.48.06.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Akamai Gear © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I had the opportunity to do a fair amount of solo development, which taught me a lot about taking a project from an initial idea to deployment. A big "Thank You!" to my team at Akamai which allowed me to experiment on my own, but were ready to help out if I got stuck on a problem!<br />
<br />
<b>The Trip Back Home</b><br />
<br />
Last time I was home in Karachi, it was August-September 2012. A visit was long overdue...<br />
<br />
I finished up at Akamai on Friday, December 19, travelled back to Waterloo from Ottawa the next day to dump my stuff and repack, and took the PIA flight to Karachi on Sunday evening. Even though my visit is short, I'm thankful for the opportunity to see family and friends.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7ik7Lfm6Qq8/VKUCLmJb9-I/AAAAAAAAAzo/KwOhYdxXi2E/s1600/rideau-300014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7ik7Lfm6Qq8/VKUCLmJb9-I/AAAAAAAAAzo/KwOhYdxXi2E/s1600/rideau-300014.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Calico Queen © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EdQxVWo9vbg/VKTmAIDwsJI/AAAAAAAAAw4/ZBzQyQTthkI/s1600/Astro-.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EdQxVWo9vbg/VKTmAIDwsJI/AAAAAAAAAw4/ZBzQyQTthkI/s1600/Astro-.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stargazing with Abba - The Orion Nebula © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<b>The Next Year?</b><br />
<br />
InshaAllah, I'll be starting my last term at UWaterloo on January 5, 2015, expecting to graduate the following April. I'm currently working my way through the job application and interview process for post-grad work.<br />
<br />
Alhamdolillah, this year has been interesting for me professionally and academically.<br />
<br />
And finally,<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Dear Allah, </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
On This New Year, And The Years To Come,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Grant Us The Serenity,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
To Accept The Things We Cannot Change;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The Courage, To Change The Things We Can;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
And The Wisdom, To Know The Difference.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
A'ameen</div>
<br />
<br /></div>
Osama Sidathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07784766574101596078noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5003934564206500146.post-2142053955248656232014-10-05T15:13:00.000-04:002015-05-04T20:48:23.660-04:00Tuna Steak<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I saw <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8liwbhzihU4" target="_blank">Jamie Oliver's video</a> the other day and really wanted to try out his way of cooking tuna steak... I didn't have the seasoning ingredients that he used, so I used a mix of what I had on hand...<br />
<br />
<b>Ingredients:</b><br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Tuna steak (slice thickness of 2cm or more)</li>
<li>Olive oil</li>
<li>Fajita seasoning</li>
<li>Italian seasoning</li>
<li>Salt</li>
<li>Pepper</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
<b>Method:</b><br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Mix the fajita and Italian seasonings, along with some salt and pepper. Rub on both sides of the steak</li>
<li>Drizzle some olive oil and rub into the steak</li>
<li>Set frying pan on medium heat</li>
<li>Cook both sides of the steak for 2-3 minutes each. Don't let it cook all the way through (the middle part should be less cooked than the outside, otherwise you'll get a rather dry steak).</li>
<li>Take the steak off the pan and rub some olive oil in it.</li>
<li>Enjoy!</li>
</ul>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-axKaF2ATaeQ/VDGYDNrhsII/AAAAAAAAAv4/cJIuLoaf_H0/s1600/Tuna-040127.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-axKaF2ATaeQ/VDGYDNrhsII/AAAAAAAAAv4/cJIuLoaf_H0/s1600/Tuna-040127.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tuna Steak and Mashed Potatoes © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
Osama Sidathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07784766574101596078noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5003934564206500146.post-37644297464832834232014-06-22T20:58:00.001-04:002015-05-04T20:48:41.724-04:00Shrimp & Sauce<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
A few days ago, a friend gave me a recipe that sounded interesting. I decided to give it a shot...<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xPLK5gH7F80/U6d7S9xpZnI/AAAAAAAAAuw/bUUG9jBKCms/s1600/Shrimp-6220025.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xPLK5gH7F80/U6d7S9xpZnI/AAAAAAAAAuw/bUUG9jBKCms/s1600/Shrimp-6220025.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shrimp, Onions, and Bell Peppers, in a Sauce</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<b>Ingredients:</b><br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>1 package shrimp (around 350g, I think) - cooked, peeled, and de-tailed</li>
<li>2 Bell Peppers (Red, Yellow)</li>
<li>1 Medium Onion</li>
<li>2-3 cloves garlic</li>
<li>2-3 Tbsp butter</li>
<li>1 Tbsp Sambal Oelak (chili garlic sauce)</li>
<li>1-1.5 tsp garlic paste</li>
<li>1/4 tsp chili powder</li>
<li>Soy Sauce</li>
<li>Barbecue Sauce</li>
<li>Salt</li>
<li>Pepper</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
<b>Method:</b><br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Melt the butter in a dish. Marinate the shrimps in the butter</li>
<li>Heat oil in a wok, medium heat. Add onions, garlic, and sambal oelak. Sauteed for a bit.</li>
<li>Add garlic paste, salt, pepper, bell peppers, soy sauce and garlic sauce. (I don't have exact measurements for the latter two, maybe 1/4-1/3 cup each...)</li>
<li>Let the sauce and veggies cook for a while.</li>
<li>Once the sauce starts to bubble, add the shrimp to the wok. Toss well. Set stove to low-medium heat.</li>
<li>Serve! I made mine with spaghetti!</li>
</ul>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zkQ3IkerozA/U6d7S17cvXI/AAAAAAAAAus/VYHcV62inZY/s1600/Shrimp-6220022.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zkQ3IkerozA/U6d7S17cvXI/AAAAAAAAAus/VYHcV62inZY/s1600/Shrimp-6220022.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shrimp with Spaghetti</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<br />
<br /></div>
Osama Sidathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07784766574101596078noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5003934564206500146.post-2407593966726505242014-04-29T14:28:00.004-04:002014-04-29T14:28:50.679-04:00Beef & Potato Kebabs<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
A couple of days ago, my Mom gave me an interesting recipe that I tweaked based on ingredient availability and instinct. The results were pretty good, even if I say so myself.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uu63t4rkk8A/U1_mBsbfmhI/AAAAAAAAAsA/0OhOiEPhecA/s1600/BeefKebab-4280007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uu63t4rkk8A/U1_mBsbfmhI/AAAAAAAAAsA/0OhOiEPhecA/s1600/BeefKebab-4280007.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<b>Ingredients</b><br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>1 lb. beef stew (chopped into small chunks)</li>
<li>1 large potato, boiled and mashed</li>
<li>1 small onion</li>
<li>1 egg</li>
<li>1-2 cups water</li>
<li>1/4 - 1/3 cup oil</li>
<li>1 Tbsp soy sauce</li>
<li>1 Tbsp green onion (chopped)</li>
<li>1 tsp Garam Masala</li>
<li>1 tsp black pepper</li>
<li>1/2 - 1 tsp salt</li>
<li>1/2 tsp chilli powder</li>
<li>1/2 tsp ginger powder</li>
<li>1/2 tsp garlic powder</li>
</ul>
<br />
<b>Method</b><br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Mix together pepper, chilli powder, garlic powder, ginger powder, salt and soy sauce in a bowl.</li>
<li>In a pot, add beef, 3/4 of the chopped onion, spices and water. Boil the beef over a steady heat until beef is tender and water has dried out.</li>
<li>Mash the boiled beef. Throughly mix it with potato, egg, and green onion and the remaining onion.</li>
<li>Form kebabs from the mixture. I was able to get 8, your mileage may vary based on thickness and length of the kebabs.</li>
<li>Brush the kebabs with oil.</li>
</ul>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-U819Y6j3jxY/U1_uXlVSRaI/AAAAAAAAAsQ/RZ-IU9kWaVc/s1600/BeefKebab-4280002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-U819Y6j3jxY/U1_uXlVSRaI/AAAAAAAAAsQ/RZ-IU9kWaVc/s1600/BeefKebab-4280002.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Heat the remaining oil in a skillet. Fry kebabs until light brown. I was able to fry 4 at a time, 5-7 minutes each.</li>
<li>Serve with parathas!</li>
</ul>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u0eqWaEahJM/U1_ug1H1fDI/AAAAAAAAAsY/5xOfXB8a09Y/s1600/BeefKebab-4280009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u0eqWaEahJM/U1_ug1H1fDI/AAAAAAAAAsY/5xOfXB8a09Y/s1600/BeefKebab-4280009.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />
Enjoy!<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Osama Sidathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07784766574101596078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5003934564206500146.post-5907923619362935572014-04-24T11:51:00.001-04:002014-04-24T11:51:29.753-04:00New Tech Blog!I just started a new blog at <a href="http://svbtle.com/" target="_blank">Svbtle</a>, primarily for my tech thoughts. It has an overall cleaner interface that allows the blogger to focus more on the text content than the formatting of the post. I will continue to maintain this blog for my personal stories and cooking experiments, but my tech thoughts can be checked out at <a href="http://osamasidat.svbtle.com/">osamasidat.svbtle.com</a>, at least until I get a different subdomain up and running.<br />
<br />
Cheers!<br />
<br />
<br />Osama Sidathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14825552599093914152noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5003934564206500146.post-76013761421896623782013-12-31T00:38:00.000-05:002013-12-31T00:38:59.082-05:00Life in Twenty-Thirteen<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i>It's that time of a year again... time for a summary of my life in 2013...</i><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1izsjriArCM/UsJTPLwZbvI/AAAAAAAAArQ/D_OQ3xn3z6w/s1600/IMAG1856_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1izsjriArCM/UsJTPLwZbvI/AAAAAAAAArQ/D_OQ3xn3z6w/s640/IMAG1856_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Doodles, 'cuz.. why not? © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
January: The start of the year was followed by a move to Cardill Crescent, about 15 minutes of a walk away from University. It was a fairly nice place, with some awesome house-mates!<br />
<br />
I started the year with a full course load, consisting of three core Computer Science courses, an Applied Cryptography course and a business course at Wilfred Laurier.<br />
<br />
Also, since I was aiming for a more Computer Science - related job for my next term, I started going through the nuisances (there's no other way to put it, UWaterloo folks understand this!) of JobMine!<br />
<br />
February: We saw a massive amount of snow one Friday... caused a snow day (my first at UWaterloo... ) I remember the day especially because I had an interview scheduled that day, which got cancelled...<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lZnhZrWFdSI/UsINW5TldAI/AAAAAAAAAn0/JgkDbzyrUV0/s1600/IMAG1327-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lZnhZrWFdSI/UsINW5TldAI/AAAAAAAAAn0/JgkDbzyrUV0/s640/IMAG1327-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snow on the Patio © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Nevertheless, a few interviews (IBM, Zynga, Desire2Learn, BlackBerry, and Kaleidescape, as far as I can recall) happened in the following few weeks... some went well, some were okay...<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tauc3eOROlo/UsIOb-06-tI/AAAAAAAAAoI/PYzgy8YMXlw/s1600/IMAG1382-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tauc3eOROlo/UsIOb-06-tI/AAAAAAAAAoI/PYzgy8YMXlw/s640/IMAG1382-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Interview Season © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Soon came Reading Week, a much needed break from the tough academic schedule... Since I stayed back in Waterloo, I participated in tubing and skiing, awesomely fun snow activities!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QWQF5n-ELjI/UsIKpkSXMEI/AAAAAAAAAns/vOJXewbdoxo/s1600/IMAG1395-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QWQF5n-ELjI/UsIKpkSXMEI/AAAAAAAAAns/vOJXewbdoxo/s640/IMAG1395-1.jpg" width="360" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me, with a friend's GoPro strapped to the head, ready to go downhill © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GnCB5frux2g/UsIPqD-0dPI/AAAAAAAAAoY/gbvwqu3oX0o/s1600/IMAG1430-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GnCB5frux2g/UsIPqD-0dPI/AAAAAAAAAoY/gbvwqu3oX0o/s640/IMAG1430-1.jpg" width="360" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Skis Strapped On © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
March: The JobMine round finally came to an end, and I was offered a role as Quality Assurance Analyst at Desire2Learn, a provider of learning solutions, head-quartered in downtown Kitchener! I was extremely thankful that I got a job in the first round!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-It3clE7eJDs/UsISfEsupAI/AAAAAAAAAok/h_95BaraVyg/s1600/IMAG1499_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-It3clE7eJDs/UsISfEsupAI/AAAAAAAAAok/h_95BaraVyg/s640/IMAG1499_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Desire2Learn © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Unfortunately, on the academic front, I wasn't faring very well with Crypto. Based on the prof's advice, I dropped the course, and I hope to get a shot at it again next year...<br />
<br />
Random note: Paintball is an amazing sport!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-83sj1RtuGeg/UsIWGX6Fu-I/AAAAAAAAAo0/Qe7CnM0gQho/s1600/IMAG1595_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-83sj1RtuGeg/UsIWGX6Fu-I/AAAAAAAAAo0/Qe7CnM0gQho/s640/IMAG1595_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Headshot! © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
April: The month brought with it...<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3WPRPkqGErE/UsIX1F3cqHI/AAAAAAAAApA/9rxQKCGdKDY/s1600/IMAG1708_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3WPRPkqGErE/UsIX1F3cqHI/AAAAAAAAApA/9rxQKCGdKDY/s640/IMAG1708_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Freezing Rain... © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BOv4NT7o7lM/UsIYOnYomnI/AAAAAAAAApI/cZyWSERlxsM/s1600/IMAG1730_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BOv4NT7o7lM/UsIYOnYomnI/AAAAAAAAApI/cZyWSERlxsM/s640/IMAG1730_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Studying... © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jRxYsj4ikKc/UsIYuNEEWaI/AAAAAAAAApQ/dfyS0Wcn4wo/s1600/IMAG1732_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="358" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jRxYsj4ikKc/UsIYuNEEWaI/AAAAAAAAApQ/dfyS0Wcn4wo/s640/IMAG1732_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">... and exams at the PAC © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Exams went okay, meaning I passed all of my courses... although if I were given another chance, I would not bother with BU111 at Laurier... I'd possibly look for an alternative...<br />
<br />
May: Yet another move at the end of April and beginning of May... this time to Erb Street, 15-20 minutes south of campus...<br />
<br />
I started work on May 6th. It was definitely a beginning of a different experience, compared to my past work terms... It was my first exposure to Agile software development. And boy, there was a whole lot of co-ops working for Desire2Learn in summer - lots of new friends and acquaintances!<br />
<br />
Also started a Legal Studies 101 online course. To anyone planning on taking this course, it's fairly boring. I listened to the lectures while engrossed in other stuff, and didn't bother with most of the readings... I did, though, start watching <i>Suits</i> :P .<br />
<br />
Since it was the work term, I found a lot more time for cooking and experimenting in the kitchen.. I even started a recipe section on the blog to make sure I could replicate my experiments in the future...<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-V0HV1iqd3Io/UsIj_qtjoWI/AAAAAAAAApg/LXvZwJXvSWY/s1600/IMAG1886_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-V0HV1iqd3Io/UsIj_qtjoWI/AAAAAAAAApg/LXvZwJXvSWY/s640/IMAG1886_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tuna Sandwich © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
June: Work started becoming more interesting, especially since I understood more of what I was doing.<br />
<br />
I got a chance to visit Victoria Park in Kitchener. Nice place, got some awesome shots, and I did discover that benches and bridges are two of my favourite subjects..<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BWEfm1ufctw/UsIpbDJBvxI/AAAAAAAAApw/K_OaG5dYkps/s1600/bench.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BWEfm1ufctw/UsIpbDJBvxI/AAAAAAAAApw/K_OaG5dYkps/s640/bench.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bench in Victoria Park © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
My <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.4205599148230.2174797.1532445712&type=1&l=229dcd37d7" target="_blank">Project 365</a> finally came to an end... my HTC One S served me faithfully throughout the year...<br />
<br />
July: Ramadan started. Also, I found a new place for Fall and forward...<br />
<br />
August: Started wrapping up the work term. Found a part time Dev/Analyst role with my company for the Fall term, since my schedule for classes was constrained to Tuesday and Thursday...<br />
<br />
The Legal Studies course exam was fun... I just prepared using the course notes in about 6-8 hours... It had been a while since I wrote an exam involving essays... given the effort I put in the course, the exam went fairly well...<br />
<br />
Welcomed my brother to Waterloo (finally, I have another test subject, other than myself, to try out my cooking!)... and made another move, just down the street!<br />
<br />
I also got an offer from my team to come back in Winter as a Developer, which I happily accepted.<br />
<br />
September: Started the term, this time with Operating Systems, and Databases, with a couple of electives, Physics of How Things Work, and Public Speaking.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ppA39dWc4Zg/UsI4LW3PL-I/AAAAAAAAAqQ/xM7SyemFkiU/s1600/toast.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ppA39dWc4Zg/UsI4LW3PL-I/AAAAAAAAAqQ/xM7SyemFkiU/s640/toast.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yet more experimentation - Nutella-Cinnamon French Toast © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Since my cellular contract with Fido was up for renewal, I called them up for a better plan combination, with the new iPhone 5S... Got a great promised plan, but... more on this later...<br />
<br />
October: Started learning why Operating Systems is considered hard... Luckily, I had a good team to work with...<br />
<br />
Went out on an astrophotography trip with the UW Photo Club, got my first "good" images of the Milky Way...<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-v0b4ZFENIiY/UsJB2SOoXoI/AAAAAAAAAqg/qe-S_TVW80c/s1600/stars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="492" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-v0b4ZFENIiY/UsJB2SOoXoI/AAAAAAAAAqg/qe-S_TVW80c/s640/stars.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Milky Way © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
So a week before my iPhone was to be delivered (right before the weekend before Thanksgiving), and I was on a phone call with a customer service rep, I was told that the plan that Fido agreed to give me a few weeks ago was no longer valid. For a moment, I was livid (I haven't needed to call KESC or Worldcall in a long time now!). Three CSRs later, Fido refused to budge - whatever they offered me was lesser in features and greater in price compared to my original offer...<br />
<br />
At some point on the weekend, I got fed up, and took to social media to explain my problem... Fido's social media specialists reached out to me... a week of negotiation, twenty email exchanges, and some well-reasoned arguments later, my plan was set back to the original offer Fido made to me, my phone was shipped and the matter was resolved. The ordeal was certainly a little frustrating, but it taught me a fair bit about dealing with cellular companies in Canada...<br />
<br />
By the way, if anyone's interested in some <a href="http://blog.osamasidat.net/2013/10/hunter-beef.html" target="_blank">Pakistani Hunter Beef</a>, I think I'm qualified to make some now...<br />
<br />
November: Crazy busy week, full of late- and all-nighters. Along with my team, this cool dude helped one day:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7460/11361703644_21f60e3767_h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7460/11361703644_21f60e3767_h.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tofu © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
In any case, we made it at the end. Piece of advice to folks taking OS: start early, work on it continuously.<br />
<br />
Also, SPCOM 223 and SCI 206 are extremely fun, highly recommended courses. If you're at UWaterloo, take 'em if you get the chance.<br />
<br />
December: I finished up with exams pretty early this term (since my physics prof was kind enough to schedule an alternative final exam; the original exam was on the last slot of the last day of the exam period). Spent until the end of my contract working full-time in my part-time role... the last two weeks of work were definitely more fulfilling than the first three-ish months. There's this thing about part-time when part of an active team - you can rarely finish off what you start...<br />
<br />
Just before the holiday week, we had an icestorm in Ontario... everything just froze...<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5483/11521426666_f098397ee2_h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5483/11521426666_f098397ee2_h.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Frozen Twigs © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
On Boxing Day, went to watch my first hockey game at Air Canada Centre...<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sWAR1Swxsrw/UsJNtuWTYyI/AAAAAAAAArA/Nw1Z_uzYLnA/s1600/2013-12-26+12.44.03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="326" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sWAR1Swxsrw/UsJNtuWTYyI/AAAAAAAAArA/Nw1Z_uzYLnA/s640/2013-12-26+12.44.03.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Toronto Marlies vs Hamilton Bulldogs © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
All in all, an interesting year. Learned a great many things, met some awesome people and had a number of new experiences. Based on current calculations, I am now two work terms and three academic terms away from completing undergrad.<br />
<br />
Next week, I'm back on co-op, this time as a Developer at Desire2Learn. I look forward to the challenge.<br />
<br />
By the way, I've started posting photos on <a href="http://instagram.com/osamasidat" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, if any of you peruse that platform...<br />
<br />
Finally,<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Dear Allah, </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
On This New Year, And The Years To Come,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Grant Us The Serenity,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
To Accept The Things We Cannot Change;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The Courage, To Change The Things We Can;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
And The Wisdom, To Know The Difference.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
A'ameen</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Osama Sidathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07784766574101596078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5003934564206500146.post-12275066154977483482013-10-18T23:11:00.000-04:002013-10-18T23:12:44.500-04:00Hunter Beef<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Hunter beef is a delicacy from Pakistan. Since I started cooking, I had always wanted to replicate it, and, finally, last weekend, right before Eid-ul-Adha, I was able to experiment... There are lots of variations one could make, here's the recipe I got from my Mom, and tried to follow to the letter...<br />
<br />
<b>Ingredients:</b><br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>3 lb. (1.5 kg) boneless beef (I asked the butcher for a log-shaped piece to roast/bake)</li>
<li>1 cup plain yogurt</li>
<li>8-10 cloves garlic, minced</li>
<li>1/2 pkt (~ 25g) Shaan Bihari Kabab Masala</li>
<li>1 Tbsp meat tenderizer</li>
<li>1 tsp paprika powder</li>
<li>1/2 tsp salt</li>
<li>4 Tbsp lemon juice</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
<b>Method:</b><br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Create a marinade by mixing yogurt, garlic, lemon juice and all the spices.</li>
<li>Make about 3/4 to 1-inch deep cuts, about one to two inches apart, across the length of the beef log. Use the tip of your knife to prick in random places. This is to ensure maximum absorption of the marinade.</li>
<li>Thoroughly rub the marinade into the beef, ensuring that it gets spread evenly, including on the inside of the cuts made earlier.</li>
<li>Place the beef in a dish, cover with plastic, and place it in the refrigerator for 1-2 days. (I prepared it on Saturday, took it out temporarily on Sunday to re-rub the marinade that had flowed off, and cooked it on Monday).</li>
<li>Before cooking, take the meat out at least two hours earlier, to make sure that it reaches room temperature.</li>
<li>Preheat oven by setting it at 450°F (230°C).</li>
<li>Place the meat in a covered dish, suitable for baking. I used a roasting pan with a lid. Put it in the oven.</li>
<li>After 30 minutes, take out the baking dish. Turn over the meat, and place it back inside the oven again.</li>
<li>Total cooking time will vary based on cut and size of beef. I took out the meat every 20 minutes after the first 30, and checked "doneness" using a meat thermometer (according to mine, "well-done" is at 170°C - that is the internal temperature of the meat). When I finally took it out for the last time, the total cooking time was around 1 hour 20 minutes (and the meat thermometer registered slightly higher than "well-done" - I should have taken it out slightly earlier)</li>
<li>After taking it out of the oven, remove the beef from baking dish, and cover it with a dishcloth. Allow it to cool before slicing.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VkBdwZfPUzU/UmH3TCACtkI/AAAAAAAAAm8/s_AaXrYDPxo/s1600/HunterBeef-142226.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VkBdwZfPUzU/UmH3TCACtkI/AAAAAAAAAm8/s_AaXrYDPxo/s640/HunterBeef-142226.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YUqLBikakeU/UmH3SgmxVCI/AAAAAAAAAnA/1E8C7b99ohg/s1600/HunterBeef-142229.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YUqLBikakeU/UmH3SgmxVCI/AAAAAAAAAnA/1E8C7b99ohg/s640/HunterBeef-142229.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Enjoy!</div>
Osama Sidathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07784766574101596078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5003934564206500146.post-71507329378479339052013-09-08T17:46:00.000-04:002013-09-08T17:47:33.632-04:00French Toast Stuffed With Nutella and Blueberry<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The other day, I picked up a couple of boxes of blueberries that were on sale at Zehrs. Since I don't normally get blueberries, I had no idea what to do with 'em - I wanted to do something interesting, and not just scarf them down! The french toast idea seemed quick and extremely appealing...<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jprApHDU7Rs/UiztFfnfGdI/AAAAAAAAAk8/rA8SfzhdNtU/s1600/FrenchToast-9082084.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jprApHDU7Rs/UiztFfnfGdI/AAAAAAAAAk8/rA8SfzhdNtU/s640/FrenchToast-9082084.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Yummy-ness Oozing Out!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<b>Ingredients:</b><br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>1 Egg</li>
<li>1 tsp sugar</li>
<li>1/6-1/4 cup milk</li>
<li>2 slices bread</li>
<li>Nutella</li>
<li>Blueberries</li>
<li>2-3 Tbsp butter</li>
<li>1-2 Tbsp Oil</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
<b>Method:</b><br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>In a bowl, whisk together the egg, sugar and milk with a fork.</li>
<li>Slather Nutella on both slices of bread and arrange blueberries on one of the slices. Sandwich the slices together.</li>
</ul>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T55pUA6gp5U/UiztJEVW-eI/AAAAAAAAAlQ/wHicHVgyccE/s1600/FrenchToast-9082070.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T55pUA6gp5U/UiztJEVW-eI/AAAAAAAAAlQ/wHicHVgyccE/s640/FrenchToast-9082070.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Slathered in Nutella, Covered in Blueberries...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Pour egg mixture over the sandwich. Ensure both sides of the sandwich are well coated.</li>
<li>In a frying pan, heat butter and oil. Fry both sides of the sandwich until they are nicely golden brown (or browner, if that is how you like it!)</li>
</ul>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QH4Sw1Z4s3I/UiztJJZDTiI/AAAAAAAAAlM/71ssqqtkS1w/s1600/FrenchToast-9082075.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QH4Sw1Z4s3I/UiztJJZDTiI/AAAAAAAAAlM/71ssqqtkS1w/s640/FrenchToast-9082075.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looks like an ordinary French toast on the outside... until you cut it open!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Enjoy!</div>
Osama Sidathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07784766574101596078noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5003934564206500146.post-58088734229911370672013-06-16T21:27:00.000-04:002013-09-08T17:51:32.198-04:00Garlic Roasted Chicken<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
A fairly simple recipe, pretty much a variant of <a href="http://southernfood.about.com/od/bakedchicken/r/r90315f.htm" target="_blank">this recipe here</a>, with a few modifications of my own, particularly the spice-to-chicken ratio.<br />
<br />
<b>Ingredients:</b><br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>2 chicken leg quarters</li>
<li>4 cloves garlic, minced</li>
<li>2 Tbsp oil</li>
<li>1 tsp chili powder</li>
<li>1 tsp Italian seasoning (oregano, basil, thyme, etc.)</li>
<li>1/2 tsp salt</li>
<li>1/4 tsp cumin powder</li>
<li>1/4 tsp black pepper</li>
<li>1 tsp soy sauce</li>
<li>1/8 cup water</li>
</ul>
<br />
<b>Method:</b><br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Mix chili powder, Italian seasoning, cumin, salt and pepper with oil.</li>
<li>Add minced garlic and mix under it takes the form of a "paste".</li>
<li>Using a knife, add shallow cuts/slits to the chicken quarters to improve the marination process.</li>
<li>Rub the marinade onto the chicken quarters (I marinated the chicken about 2-3 hours before cooking).</li>
<li>Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a baking tray with aluminum foil. Place the chicken quarters onto the tray.</li>
<li>Mix the water and soy sauce and pour over the chicken quarters in the baking tray.</li>
<li>Bake for about 30-40 minutes.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
There are endless sides that could be chosen with the Garlic Roasted Chicken; for tonight's dinner, I chose baked potato, cherry tomatoes and assorted veggies.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Gu8mW46fwTg/Ub5lsWMQhAI/AAAAAAAAAkA/wtwmh33URMA/s1600/GRC-6161527.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Gu8mW46fwTg/Ub5lsWMQhAI/AAAAAAAAAkA/wtwmh33URMA/s640/GRC-6161527.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
Osama Sidathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07784766574101596078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5003934564206500146.post-8295940745146302742013-06-15T23:00:00.000-04:002013-06-15T23:00:11.723-04:00Chicken & Vegetables in Sweet & Sour Sauce<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Last weekend, I asked my Mom to share her recipe of Sweet & Sour Sauce, and decided to try my hand at it. The result was surprisingly similar to what I had in my memories...<br />
<br />
I replaced the traditional fried chicken chunks in the original recipe with chicken chunks prepared in "Spicy Shake & Bake" - This was done in order to "parallelize" the cooking process...<br />
<br />
<b>Ingredients:</b><br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>1/2 lb boneless chicken breast, chopped in chunks</li>
<li>1 pkg Spicy Shake & Bake <i>(won't be using the entire pack, only enough for the amount of chicken used)</i></li>
<li>1 capsicum/green pepper, chopped</li>
<li>1 onion, chopped</li>
<li>250-300g frozen vegetables (carrots, lima beans, cauliflower) <i>(optional)</i></li>
<li>3-4 cloves pressed garlic</li>
<li>1 Cup ketchup</li>
<li>1 Cup water</li>
<li>1 Tbsp Sambal Oelek (chili paste)</li>
<li>2 Tbsp soy sauce</li>
<li>2 Tbsp sugar</li>
<li>1 Tbsp cornflour</li>
<li>1 tsp black pepper</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
<b>Method:</b><br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Boil the frozen vegetables for about 2-3 minutes (over-boiling will make the vegies too soft). Heat one tablespoon of oil in a wok. Stir fry the vegetables for a few minutes. Remove from wok.</li>
<li>Heat one tablespoon of oil in the wok. Add chopped onions and green peppers. Stir fry for a few minutes. Remove from wok.</li>
<li>Mix ketchup, soy sauce, sugar, chili paste and black pepper in a bowl.</li>
<li>Heat one tablespoon of oil in the wok. Add garlic and sauteed for a few minutes.</li>
<li>Turn stove to medium heat, and add the ketchup mixture to the work. Mix thoroughly.</li>
<li>After a few minutes of cooking, add a cup of water to the wok. Stir. Once bubbles appear, turn the heat to low, continue stirring every now and then.</li>
<li>Prepare the chicken chunks by following instructions on the Shake & Bake package. For me, this involved coating the chicken in the Shake & Bake mixture, placing on an aluminum-foil-covered baking tray and baking for about 20-22 minutes.</li>
<li>When the chicken is almost ready, turn up the heat on the wok with the sauce mixture. Add a tablespoon of cornflour to thicken it, and stir. Add the vegetables, onions and green peppers to the sauce.</li>
<li>Remove chicken from oven and add to the sauce.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nU_GFqT0G_A/Ub0pKGw9gnI/AAAAAAAAAjs/j8aTDKCyKXU/s1600/S%2526SS-6091509.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nU_GFqT0G_A/Ub0pKGw9gnI/AAAAAAAAAjs/j8aTDKCyKXU/s640/S%2526SS-6091509.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Voila! The Sweet & Sour Sauce is ready!<br />
<br />
Serve with boiled or fried rice...<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yi6cFDZAUlI/Ub0pK7l3eNI/AAAAAAAAAj0/VGCz3gjnRtE/s1600/S%2526SS-6091512.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yi6cFDZAUlI/Ub0pK7l3eNI/AAAAAAAAAj0/VGCz3gjnRtE/s640/S%2526SS-6091512.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chicken & Vegetables in Sweet & Sour Sauce with Boiled Brown Rice</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Questions/Comments?</div>
Osama Sidathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07784766574101596078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5003934564206500146.post-44988785683803117582013-05-25T20:41:00.001-04:002013-06-01T20:21:57.694-04:00Spicy Meat Sauce<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Nothing too fancy here, just a meat sauce I made today to have alongside pasta, although I believe it wouldn't be too bad with some form of bread or rice...<br />
<br />
<b>Ingredients:</b><br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>1 pound (~ 500g) Ground Beef</li>
<li>500ml (about 2 cups) Pasta Sauce with Mushrooms</li>
<li>1 medium or large onion, chopped</li>
<li>4-5 cloves garlic, pressed</li>
<li>2 bell peppers (I used about 2/3 of each, green and orange), diced</li>
<li>2-3 Tbsp Sambal Oelek (chili paste)</li>
<li>1 Tbsp Italian Seasoning (oregano, basil, thyme, etc.)</li>
<li>1 Tbsp butter</li>
<li>1 tsp Chili Powder</li>
<li>1 tsp Coriander Powder</li>
<li>Dried parsley flakes</li>
<li>Salt</li>
<li>Pepper</li>
<li>Cooking oil</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
<b>Method:</b><br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>In a wok, add butter and a bit of cooking oil. Turn stove on medium heat. Add chopped onions. Remove onions from wok when they start to brown.</li>
<li>With wok on medium heat, add the ground beef and allow to cook.</li>
<li>Once the beef starts losing its reddish color, add salt, pepper (to taste), garlic, chili powder, coriander powder and Italian seasoning.</li>
<li>Once the meat starts to brown, add 2 Tbsp sambal oelek and mix thoroughly.</li>
<li>Add the onions back into the wok. Add the bell peppers and allow to cook on low-medium heat.</li>
<li>After the meat has lost all of its pinkish color, stir in the pasta sauce. <i>(Optional: Add 1 Tbsp of sambal oelek and mix, if you, like me, think that the pasta sauce is way too sweet and should be spicier.)</i></li>
<li>Allow the sauce to rise to a simmer. I allowed the meat sauce to cook on low heat for about 20-25 minutes (could have been more, time flies when you're in the kitchen...).</li>
<li>Sprinkle parsley flakes before serving.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
Serve with spaghetti (just a suggestion!).<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ArLBhm-Vzzc/UaFZZGeMaXI/AAAAAAAAAjY/l52NdF1-HVM/s1600/MeatSauce-5251369.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ArLBhm-Vzzc/UaFZZGeMaXI/AAAAAAAAAjY/l52NdF1-HVM/s640/MeatSauce-5251369.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Questions/comments are welcome!<br />
<br />
<i>Notes: Possible addition of shredded cheese to make the sauce richer (and heavier, for the calorie conscious folks!).</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Update: Leftover meat sauce folded inside an omelette makes for an awesome meal!</i></div>
Osama Sidathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07784766574101596078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5003934564206500146.post-17628246525008197462013-05-11T18:59:00.001-04:002013-05-11T22:08:20.818-04:00Salmon in Lemon Butter Sauce<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Yesterday, I decided to experiment a bit with salmon, something I hadn't cooked myself before. Fairly quick to prepare and cook. Turned out pretty well, even if I say so myself...<br />
<br />
<b>Ingredients:</b><br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>1/3-1/2 lbs salmon</li>
<li>2 Tbsp chopped cilantro (alternative: parsley)</li>
<li>2 cloves garlic, finely chopped (or pressed)</li>
<li>2 Tbsp lemon juice</li>
<li>Lemon slice (optional)</li>
<li>1 Tbsp butter</li>
<li>1 Tbsp cooking oil (olive oil will probably be better, I just used whatever I had on hand)</li>
<li>Salt and Pepper to taste</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
<b>Method:</b><br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Prepare a marinade by mixing the cilantro, lemon juice, salt, pepper, butter and oil.</li>
<li>Cut the salmon however you like. I had 3 smallish slices.</li>
<li>Preheat oven to 450 °F.</li>
<li>Place the salmon on a foil lined baking tray, skin-side down (the foil prevents the fish from sticking to the tray, and consequently, helps you avoid the intense scrubbing required to clean the baking tray).</li>
<li>Pour and spread the marinade over the salmon. Make sure to also apply it on the sides of the salmon pieces. Place the lemon slice on top of the salmon</li>
<li>Place in oven for about 10-15 minutes. Do not over-cook - salmon is awesome even if slightly under-cooked.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gBcUPMu5MZM/UY7MaOqMiUI/AAAAAAAAAi4/8Okc78LDvMk/s1600/Salmon-5101145.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gBcUPMu5MZM/UY7MaOqMiUI/AAAAAAAAAi4/8Okc78LDvMk/s640/Salmon-5101145.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Enjoy with a side of veggies, mashed potatoes, boiled rice, or even on its own!<br />
<br />
<i>Tonight, I'm going test it out with a spicier marinade. May make a new post, or just add to this one...</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<b><i>Update:</i></b> The spicier marinade was a lot more interesting. Made the following modifications:<br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Replaced 1 Tbsp oil with a bit of extra butter and 1 Tbsp of Sambal Oelek (chili paste).</li>
<li>Sprinkled a bit of paprika powder just before baking.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
Here's the modified version, with a side of couscous:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_fq9Ea4hxb0/UY75N4eD-tI/AAAAAAAAAjI/F7SVTENUO0E/s1600/Salmon-5111151.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_fq9Ea4hxb0/UY75N4eD-tI/AAAAAAAAAjI/F7SVTENUO0E/s640/Salmon-5111151.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br /></div>
Osama Sidathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07784766574101596078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5003934564206500146.post-7487775209162463782013-04-17T00:10:00.001-04:002013-04-17T00:13:12.937-04:00Vegetable and Egg Fried Rice<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Over the past year, I've made few variations of fried rice, using whatever was available to me. Made some this weekend. Allow your creativity to take over...<br />
<br />
Note: This recipe is devoid of any "proper" measurements, since I cannot attribute a measurable quantity to the rice (I was basically emptying my bag of rice...) - the boiled rice by itself would amount to about 1 serving. Adjust other ingredients based on your amount of rice.<br />
<br />
<b>Ingredients:</b><br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Boiled Rice (1-2 days old cooked rice will do just fine)</li>
<li>2 Eggs</li>
<li>Vegetable Oil</li>
<li>Frozen Vegetables (mix of peas, carrots, corn, green beans and lima beans) (slightly less than the amount of rice, in terms of volume...)</li>
<li>2-3 cloves garlic, chopped/minced</li>
<li>2-3 Tbsp Soy Sauce (feel free to increase or decrease the quantity)</li>
<li>Paprika powder</li>
<li>Mustard paste</li>
<li>Salt</li>
<li>Pepper</li>
</ul>
<br />
<i>Possible additions/modifications: chopped spring onion, cooked tuna.</i><br />
<br />
<b>Method:</b><br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>In a bowl, crack the eggs. Add mustard paste, salt and pepper. Whisk the eggs. Add 1 tablespoon of oil into a pan. Add the egg mixture to the pan and cook over medium heat. "Scramble" the eggs and remove from pan once a creamy consistency is reached. tl;dr: Make <b><i>scrambled eggs</i></b>.</li>
<li>Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the frozen vegetables. Remove and strain the vegetables after about 6 minutes.</li>
<li>Add about 2 tablespoons of oil to the pan. Set stove to medium-high. Add garlic and sauteed for about 2-3 minutes.</li>
<li>Add the vegetables to the pan. Sauteed for about 1-2 minutes and then move the vegetables to a side of the pan.</li>
<li>Add the boiled rice to the pan. Stir in the scrambled eggs and soy sauce and mix with the rice.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-niNPkf7-4A0/UW4fOaqwVHI/AAAAAAAAAhM/AU9kD0k94SY/s1600/FriedRice-4141108.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-niNPkf7-4A0/UW4fOaqwVHI/AAAAAAAAAhM/AU9kD0k94SY/s640/FriedRice-4141108.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Mix the rice and the vegetables.</li>
<li>Sprinkle a bit of paprika powder on top of the rice (optional).</li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w0rfOzelp5U/UW4fPoj37VI/AAAAAAAAAhY/gcs3bN07k5o/s1600/FriedRice-4141118.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w0rfOzelp5U/UW4fPoj37VI/AAAAAAAAAhY/gcs3bN07k5o/s640/FriedRice-4141118.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Enjoy!<br />
<br /></div>
Osama Sidathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07784766574101596078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5003934564206500146.post-33410095759671851662013-04-08T22:37:00.001-04:002013-04-17T00:12:03.382-04:00Shepherd's Pie<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Shepherd's Pie - a dish I had only read about in what I remember to be Enid Blyton's story books (probably the <i>Famous Five</i> or one of the many other adventure books and series she wrote). A month or so back, I wanted to do something creative with the ground beef I had in my freezer, and decided to experiment with Shepherd's Pie, described by Wikipedia as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shepherd%27s_Pie" target="_blank">"a meat pie with a crust of mashed potato"</a>.<br />
<br />
Outlined below is my version of the Shepherd's Pie - the basics were developed by following <a href="http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/easy_shepherds_pie/" target="_blank">the recipe here</a>. This was my second attempt at it - the success of the first attempt encouraged me to give it another shot and add a bit more flavor to the meat.<br />
<br />
<i>Note: Any measurements are approximations, or could possibly be totally erroneous (especially when it comes to adding cooking oil or spices), since I pay very little attention to how much I'm putting in of each thing...</i><br />
<br />
Without further ado,<br />
<br />
<b>Ingredients (for the meat):</b><br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>1/2 lbs. ground beef</li>
<li>1 Onion, chopped</li>
<li>3-4 Cloves of Garlic, chopped</li>
<li>1/2 - 1 tsp Paprika powder</li>
<li>1/2 tsp Red Chili powder</li>
<li>1/2 - 1 tsp Coriander powder</li>
<li>1/2 - 1 tsp Black pepper</li>
<li>1/2 Tbsp Italian seasoning (oregano, thyme, basil, rosemary, etc.)</li>
<li>Salt</li>
<li>300-350g Frozen Vegetables (mix of peas, carrots, corn, green beans and lima beans)</li>
<li>Cooking oil</li>
<li>Butter</li>
</ul>
<br />
<b>Ingredients (for the mashed potato topping):</b><br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>1 large potato, peeled, chopped and boiled</li>
<li>Cream Cheese (I used Roasted Garlic and Herb Cheese)</li>
<li>Butter</li>
<li>Milk</li>
<li>Pepper</li>
<li>Shredded cheese</li>
</ul>
<br />
<b>Method:</b><br />
<i>Doing the mashed potatoes and the ground beef simultaneously saves a lot of time, compared to doing one and then the other...</i><br />
<br />
<b><i>The meat base:</i></b><br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>In a frying pan, add cooking oil and about a tablespoon of butter. Sauteed the chopped onions and garlic, until slightly brown. Remove from stove.</li>
<li>In a cooking pot/pan (I used a wok... ), add about 2-3 table spoons of oil. Add the meat, and starting cooking over medium heat. Break up the ground beef (with a wooden spoon) to prevent any lumps from forming.</li>
<li>Add salt, paprika, red chili, coriander and pepper to the meat. Then add the sauteed garlic and onions. Finally, add the Italian seasoning. Keep cooking over medium heat until the ground beef loses its pinkishness. Turn the stove to low heat once it starts to brown.</li>
<li>In a pot, add the frozen vegetables and enough water to cover them. Put on the stove on high heat. About 6 minutes after the water reaches a boil, remove the vegetables and pass through a sieve to strain any water. Add the vegetables to the meat. (I kept my wok containing the meat on the stove on low heat until I was ready to progress to the baking stage).</li>
</ul>
<br />
<b><i>The mashed potatoes:</i></b><br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>In a bowl, thoroughly mash the boiled potatoes with pepper, cream cheese, butter and milk (until it forms a creamy texture).</li>
<li>Add Italian seasoning and paprika (optional).</li>
</ul>
<br />
<b><i>The baking stage:</i></b><br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Preheat oven to 400°F. </li>
<li>Grease a baking tray or dish. I use a 9-inch square baking tray.</li>
<li>Add the meat and vegetable mixture to the tray, and press down with spoon/spatula.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-z9T0ul_X1ls/UWN7edlSRKI/AAAAAAAAAgg/kstGJkWFAx8/s1600/ShepPie-4071096.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-z9T0ul_X1ls/UWN7edlSRKI/AAAAAAAAAgg/kstGJkWFAx8/s640/ShepPie-4071096.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Spread the mashed potatoes on top of the ground beef. Add some shredded cheese (optional).</li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9RkvFT6xpyU/UWN7hJxP1ZI/AAAAAAAAAgw/RC9gOLaN5yA/s1600/ShepPie-4071099.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9RkvFT6xpyU/UWN7hJxP1ZI/AAAAAAAAAgw/RC9gOLaN5yA/s640/ShepPie-4071099.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Put the tray in the oven. Bake for about 40 minutes (until the potato starts to brown).</li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nCZ0jJPpFSg/UWN7g9TD7RI/AAAAAAAAAgo/YADjuptUhvg/s1600/ShepPie-4071101.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nCZ0jJPpFSg/UWN7g9TD7RI/AAAAAAAAAgo/YADjuptUhvg/s640/ShepPie-4071101.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Cut into six or eight pieces (or more, depending on tray/dish size).</li>
<li>Serve/Eat. Enjoy!</li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lknBNrjURrM/UWN7iBUbjoI/AAAAAAAAAg4/KdYoRNiapzg/s1600/ShepPie-4071105.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lknBNrjURrM/UWN7iBUbjoI/AAAAAAAAAg4/KdYoRNiapzg/s640/ShepPie-4071105.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Questions are welcome!<br />
<br /></div>
Osama Sidathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07784766574101596078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5003934564206500146.post-20261345497650404412013-03-30T00:00:00.003-04:002013-04-17T00:11:45.654-04:00Baked Chicken<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Created this recipe about last weekend. Sources included asking my Mom, and incessantly Googling "baked chicken".<br />
<br />
<i>Note: Any measurements are approximations, or could be totally erroneous, since I'm recalling this from memory...</i><br />
<br />
<b>Ingredients (for the chicken):</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>1/2 lbs. boneless chicken breast (sliced into 3 separate, palm-sized pieces, in my case)</li>
<li>2 Tbsp chili paste (I use a Chinese brand that comes in a green-lidded plastic jar)</li>
<li>1 Tbsp mustard paste</li>
<li>1 Tbsp soya sauce</li>
<li>1 Tbsp barbeque sauce</li>
<li>1/2 Tbsp black pepper</li>
<li>1/2 Tbsp salt</li>
<li>1 Tbsp Italian seasoning (a mix of oregano, thyme, rosemary, basil, oregano, etc.)</li>
<li>1 Tbsp butter</li>
<li>2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped</li>
</ul>
<i><br /></i>
<i>(possible addition: Worcestershire Sauce)</i><br />
<br />
<b>Method:</b><br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>Mix the chili paste, mustard, the sauces, salt, pepper, butter, garlic and seasoning to form a marinade.</li>
<li>With a knife, slightly mark the surface of the chicken pieces with lines (don't cut too deep!); I am told this improves the absorption of the marinade.</li>
<li>Marinate the chicken pieces, ensuring that both sides are properly covered.</li>
<li>Place in glass bowl, covered with plastic. Place it in the refrigerator. (The first two pieces were taken out after 4 hours, the last piece was left marinated for about a day and a half.)</li>
<li>Preheat the oven to 375 °F.</li>
<li>Place chicken pieces in a baking tray and bake until chicken is cooked*. Turn the chicken pieces to ensure evenly baked pieces.</li>
</ol>
* I baked the first two pieces for about 30 minutes on the central grill in the oven (15 minutes for each side of chicken piece) and then for 10 minutes on the upper grill - result was pretty dry. The last piece was baked for 20 minutes on the central grill (10 minutes for each side) and on the upper grill for about 5-7 minutes - result was comparatively juicier.<br />
<br />
Optional: Serve with potato wedges, cucumber and vegies.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6dxaqOaD6XI/UVZiv2NezsI/AAAAAAAAAgM/yX6oIW5-LXI/s1600/IMAG1585_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6dxaqOaD6XI/UVZiv2NezsI/AAAAAAAAAgM/yX6oIW5-LXI/s640/IMAG1585_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baked Chicken with Potato Wedges, Cucumber Slices and Other Vegies</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
Osama Sidathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07784766574101596078noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5003934564206500146.post-82089368876320491692013-03-29T23:13:00.002-04:002013-03-30T00:05:02.600-04:00A New Section - Cooking!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Since I started university, at times I have found joy in cooking. As a student, I am the sole subject of my culinary experiments, so I can be rather liberal with my experimentation<br />
<br />
Most of my recipes are combinations of recipes found on the Internet, along with additions/subtractions of my own. I thought it might be a good idea to document some of them, so amateur cooks like myself can get an insight into the wonderful world of cooking. Hence, I'm starting a new section in my blog, titled "Culinary Experiments".<br />
<br />
Cheers!<br />
<br />
<i>Disclaimer: Follow recipes at your own risk. There is a lot of hand waving involved, since most (read: all) of the time, I'm not very precise with my measurements.</i></div>
Osama Sidathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07784766574101596078noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5003934564206500146.post-23842838368916378142013-01-01T00:21:00.000-05:002013-01-01T12:20:02.547-05:00Life in Twenty-Twelve<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
A summary of my life in 2012...<br />
<br />
Time is a mysterious thing. At times, memories created years ago are as if they occurred yesterday. At other times, events from mere months or even weeks before seem ages apart.<br />
<br />
Since I started this blog, my <a href="http://blog.osamasidat.net/2010/12/life-in-twenty-ten.html" target="_blank">Life in Twenty-Ten</a> and <a href="http://blog.osamasidat.net/2011/12/life-in-twenty-eleven.html" target="_blank">Life in Twenty-Eleven</a> posts have not only served as something for me to write about, but have also allowed me the opportunity to look back upon the passed year, and reflect on instances that are now memories. So, without further ado, let me step back into time...<br />
<br />
January: The New Year started off with a continuation of my search for suitable accommodation for the Winter 2012 Co-op work term.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--I0jqBe_4Gs/UOJ0LDcs9YI/AAAAAAAABig/HS9dKd5SS84/s1600/newyear.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--I0jqBe_4Gs/UOJ0LDcs9YI/AAAAAAAABig/HS9dKd5SS84/s640/newyear.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2012, Day 2 © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
On January 3, 2012, I joined Loblaw Inc. as the SAP Organizational Change Management <strike>Co-op</strike> Integration Analyst. The first day was basically an orientation about Loblaw in general and its SAP program in particular, an introduction to a few individuals, followed by a short tour of the building. We (that is myself and the other co-ops) were provided with the laptops we would be using, and were asked to initiate the setup of our email accounts, plus other related "stuff". Meanwhile, I waited for my boss to "collect" me and provide further instructions.<br />
<br />
The rest of the day went by pretty rapidly; met my boss, had lunch and conversation with him (trying to get a feel for what it was that I would be doing). He showed me to my desk, provided me with relevant documents and showed me a few things that I could work on.<br />
<br />
My assigned desk wasn't exactly permanent (and it was separate from the rest of my team), so I spent the next few weeks switching seats, in order to be closest to the people I would be working with. Some may have found this to be an annoyance; I actually enjoyed it as it prevented monotony from creeping up and also gave me the opportunity to interact various people in the team.<br />
<br />
I was assigned a few daily/weekly tasks (nothing that caused any grief). I spent the month mostly tinkering with Excel VBA and investigating ways to automate the data analysis processes from surveys.<br />
<br />
Starting from my third week, I was assigned as a tester/guide/overwatch for an Access developer, who was called in for a short term contract to fix a database tool that we used...<br />
<br />
I was able to find a room a short bus ride away from my workplace. Best part about the place? There was a cat!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4B9xk2mnPW4/UOHuMN3kFLI/AAAAAAAABeo/HTAAjSKV3_g/s1600/AMtheCat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="427" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4B9xk2mnPW4/UOHuMN3kFLI/AAAAAAAABeo/HTAAjSKV3_g/s640/AMtheCat.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Am the Cat © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sjZYPi0IqKQ/UOH1aopL2_I/AAAAAAAABfI/DiKIyMrIGoY/s1600/mystreet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sjZYPi0IqKQ/UOH1aopL2_I/AAAAAAAABfI/DiKIyMrIGoY/s640/mystreet.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Street in Brampton © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
February: By this time, I started liking work life a whole lot better than university life. The best part about it was not having to worry about work after getting back home. Another thing about it was the sense of accomplishment after successfully completing a task or side project... something that is absent from most university assignments/exams.<br />
<br />
By the end of the month, the developer had left. The question of whether the goals of the contract were completed remain debatable to this day. In any case, my previous experience with Access helped me assume administrative responsibilities of the database (along with the responsibility of "fixing" the "fixes"!)<br />
<br />
I found that a co-op term is a pretty good time to experiment with photography projects that had been on the back-burner, such as <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3332652285104.2159127.1532445712&type=1&l=d939737a56" target="_blank">this</a>:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ocN4WYwM7F8/UOHxSRoPF7I/AAAAAAAABe4/LSVCPvfGMpc/s1600/WaterInGlass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ocN4WYwM7F8/UOHxSRoPF7I/AAAAAAAABe4/LSVCPvfGMpc/s640/WaterInGlass.jpg" width="427" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Water in Glass © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Visited the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3401377843200.2160360.1532445712&type=1&l=dac637160f" target="_blank">Toronto AUTO Show</a> - quite an awesome experience! Would definitely try to check out the show whenever it happens next (equipped with more camera gear, of course!).<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_kAOKol4xt4/UOIFNnswt4I/AAAAAAAABfw/l6sxFlF5df8/s1600/car.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="427" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_kAOKol4xt4/UOIFNnswt4I/AAAAAAAABfw/l6sxFlF5df8/s640/car.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Piece of History © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
March: Sometime during March, some of my colleagues started calling me "The Overlord". I have no idea what triggered it (I'd love to know!).<br />
<br />
A couple of my cooking experiments from then:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xix59GAj6MA/UOIB2LMN9GI/AAAAAAAABfg/Dfdk23VjSR0/s1600/spaghetti.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xix59GAj6MA/UOIB2LMN9GI/AAAAAAAABfg/Dfdk23VjSR0/s640/spaghetti.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chicken & Mushroom Spaghetti © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jarJC8jGU68/UOIBpPnu1dI/AAAAAAAABfY/0xTgV15sjNw/s1600/pasta.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jarJC8jGU68/UOIBpPnu1dI/AAAAAAAABfY/0xTgV15sjNw/s640/pasta.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pasta with Ground Beef © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
April: Couldn't believe that the co-op term had reached its final month! Started the preparations for the return to Waterloo...<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3998883380465.2171027.1532445712&type=1&l=456cf9ec62" target="_blank">Ludwig</a> dropped by for a visit. Who's Ludwig? This gorgeous fellow:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IuQIyvDDlOs/UOIGfaBs9ZI/AAAAAAAABgA/FkKqStWkOBg/s1600/ludwig.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IuQIyvDDlOs/UOIGfaBs9ZI/AAAAAAAABgA/FkKqStWkOBg/s640/ludwig.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ludwig © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The term concluded on a happy note, with a great evaluation from my boss. I also signed up to come back in Fall 2012 (at this point in time, I wasn't exactly sure about continuing with Actuarial Science, my original career path since I started off at Waterloo).<br />
<br />
My work term ended on Friday, April 27, 2012. Packed up my room overnight and moved to Waterloo over the weekend.<br />
<br />
May: The school term started off on May 3. Had little time to get my bearings straight.<br />
<br />
In Spring 2012, I took up Intro to Actuarial Mathematics, Intro to Combinatorics & Optimization, Linear Algebra II, as well as two Computer Science courses, Logic & Computation and Object-Oriented Software Development.<br />
<br />
My schedule during the term was fairly spread out. Really busy Mondays, fairly busy Wednesdays and Fridays, really busy Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. Rather challenging weekly or fortnightly assignments, as one should expect at the end of the second year.<br />
<br />
Won myself a delayed birthday present... an HTC One S from <a href="http://www.techvibes.com/" target="_blank">Techvibes</a>! Embarked on a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.4205599148230.2174797.1532445712&type=1&l=7f7a9d1c4a" target="_blank">Project 365</a> using the phone soon after.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GsnynRyBeEU/UOIepBT7_nI/AAAAAAAABgQ/GWDtopSm3-A/s1600/htc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GsnynRyBeEU/UOIepBT7_nI/AAAAAAAABgQ/GWDtopSm3-A/s640/htc.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">HTC One S © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
June: By mid-June, midterms were under way. Most of them were pretty challenging, but none more so than Linear Algebra. Despite being in class for every single minute of the lectures, the material seemed totally foreign to me. Ended up dropping the course to avoid further damage.<br />
<br />
I finally made the decision to switch from Actuarial Science to Computer Science. My interest in ActSci was declining rapidly, whereas I found CS fun and enjoyable. In the end, the decision was logical, and in my head, the right path to follow.<br />
<br />
Towards the end of June, FEDS Waterloo arranged a visit to Canada's Wonderland. What a thrilling experience!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SOiAsqkHNNU/UOIkgknolcI/AAAAAAAABgg/C9rHQs3M_1o/s1600/mewonderland.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SOiAsqkHNNU/UOIkgknolcI/AAAAAAAABgg/C9rHQs3M_1o/s640/mewonderland.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me at Wonderland © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
My first ride: The Leviathan, a roller coaster, which has a highest drop of 306 ft. and a maximum speed of 148 km/h. Everything else seemed tame after that...<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9eOfEHCsU6M/UOIoOEIkjnI/AAAAAAAABgw/832fINltqik/s1600/leviathan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9eOfEHCsU6M/UOIoOEIkjnI/AAAAAAAABgw/832fINltqik/s640/leviathan.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leviathan - The First Climb © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
July: Spent Canada Day in Waterloo - witnessed a pretty impressive <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.4336632543983.2177487.1532445712&type=1&l=7bef80acc0" target="_blank">fireworks show over Columbia Lake</a>.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YpM6gOueCoE/UOIqEUot2tI/AAAAAAAABhA/22NzLH_am_c/s1600/fireworks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YpM6gOueCoE/UOIqEUot2tI/AAAAAAAABhA/22NzLH_am_c/s640/fireworks.jpg" width="428" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Over Columbia Lake © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The rest of July was spent pursuing the end-of-term CS project along with the preparation for exams. This also marked the first Ramadan I actively spent in Waterloo - a completely different Ramadan from the ones I've experienced all my life.<br />
<br />
August: The exam frenzy started off... Looking back now, given the way the exams went, I feel lucky that I was able to clear 'em.<br />
<br />
My 5-year Sony Alpha was showing signs of aging. Instead of continuing with a new camera from the Alpha line, I decided that this would be a good opportunity to downsize, by switching systems. After a few months of research and comparison between the Sony NEX and the Micro Four Thirds Systems, I decided to go with the latter, starting off with the Olympus OMD E-M5 as the camera. Based on the system-building lessons learnt over the past five years, I am now able to start afresh, taking a slightly different approach by focusing on quality rather than quantity of gear. So far, any cons of switching systems have been overshadowed by the pros.<br />
<br />
Since term ended early and I wasn't due to start work until September 4, I moved all my stuff to Brampton as soon as the exams ended and then flew back home to spend Eid with family. Had quite a long flight (via Lahore) but it was definitely worth it.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7nJ9PgL9dOE/UOJsFV7OjEI/AAAAAAAABhw/UnIPVPcHCk0/s1600/home.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7nJ9PgL9dOE/UOJsFV7OjEI/AAAAAAAABhw/UnIPVPcHCk0/s640/home.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Home © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Watched The Dark Knight Rises... an awesome and deserving finale to the trilogy...<br />
<br />
September: Flew back to Canada on the 2nd... the troubles I had at the Karachi Airport this time round made me seriously doubt the wisdom of flying with PIA in the future. Moved into the familiar accommodation from last term and returned to Loblaw as the <strike>Overlord</strike> OCM Integration Analyst - for a second time.<br />
<br />
It was nice to see Am again - no Ludwig, since he had gone back to whoever owned him.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eA6wrsKni94/UOJqfPqHbcI/AAAAAAAABhQ/USSim5pqnt4/s1600/sqr1-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eA6wrsKni94/UOJqfPqHbcI/AAAAAAAABhQ/USSim5pqnt4/s640/sqr1-2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Majestic © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Earlier, my role was quite small. However, since we were in a major phase of the program, my role inherited (according to my observation) around three times as many responsibilities - not necessarily a bad thing. Thanks to my boss, I was able to keep my working hours in check, would've definitely gone overboard had it not been for his reminders.<br />
<br />
October & November: Nothing of much significance, other than routine work, and a bit of photography here and there. Oh, and I got my G2 driving license - street legal now!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NF1FJc_GtYo/UOJqpO8iefI/AAAAAAAABhY/JrfpniyqxGU/s1600/sqr1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NF1FJc_GtYo/UOJqpO8iefI/AAAAAAAABhY/JrfpniyqxGU/s640/sqr1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Square One Mall, Mississauga © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XTVqCRCymzg/UOJtXhlatPI/AAAAAAAABiA/riApiI0rdYI/s1600/geese.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XTVqCRCymzg/UOJtXhlatPI/AAAAAAAABiA/riApiI0rdYI/s640/geese.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Gaggle of Geese, Fletcher's Creek, Brampton © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
December: Started wrapping up my projects, since I was getting a week off at the end of my scheduled co-op term. Handover of responsibilities was smooth (or as smooth as can be).<br />
<br />
On my last day, my team presented me with a fitting poster - something that should definitely be up here, part of this post. Unfortunately, to date, I have not been able to get a scan of it... I'll definitely put it here sometime soon.<br />
<br />
A shout of thanks to all the people I worked with, especially my team and particularly my boss. My great experience at work wouldn't have been the same without all of your contribution, and your roles in the initial stages of my career shall never be forgotten.<br />
<br />
Now: spending the holidays peacefully (read: lazily), until I jump into the fight again, 7 days from today.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5r2CbVRTwW4/UOJx_jnm5HI/AAAAAAAABiQ/grQbYNnxfP8/s1600/ipad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5r2CbVRTwW4/UOJx_jnm5HI/AAAAAAAABiQ/grQbYNnxfP8/s640/ipad.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Sight I Wake Up To! © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Looking back now, I have a feeling that this year was an important one. Not that any year was/is unimportant... it just feels that this year was a tad bit more...<br />
<br />
Just like last year, I'll end this year with the following prayer:<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Dear Allah, </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
On This New Year, And The Years To Come,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Grant Us The Serenity,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
To Accept The Things We Cannot Change;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The Courage, To Change The Things We Can;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
And The Wisdom, To Know The Difference.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
A'ameen</div>
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Osama Sidathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14825552599093914152noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5003934564206500146.post-55518535105987968712012-11-04T00:20:00.001-04:002013-04-23T03:05:37.903-04:00Cameras: An Incomplete Introduction<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AYuP0WYZVAA/UXYyhmZ_b8I/AAAAAAAAAhk/rEEXQACZZlU/s1600/WhichCamera.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="286" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AYuP0WYZVAA/UXYyhmZ_b8I/AAAAAAAAAhk/rEEXQACZZlU/s400/WhichCamera.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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A few days back, a friend asked me for a bit of advice on selecting a new camera as a means to get into the art of photography. In my opinion, it was a question that could not be answered without (obviously!) asking a few questions of my own. I've had similar requests before, and I think it is about time I write down a basic introduction to cameras and related gear, so that I can use it for my own reference, as well as point others to it.<br />
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Please note that this article is simply the way I view the different cameras out there and how I would possibly use them. Also note that this is written from an enthusiast photographer's perspective. I'll keep updating this post from time to time. Feel free to point out any corrections. If you have anything to contribute to this post, let me know and I'll consider adding it in.<br />
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Some terms used in this article may not make sense unless the reader is acquainted with photography terminology. Questions are more than welcome, ask in the comments section!<br />
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So without further ado, let us get started...<br />
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Cameras can be classified into two main groups, Fixed-Lens cameras and Interchangeable-Lens cameras. The former group, as the name implies, have lenses that cannot be detached/changed/replaced, while the latter group enjoys the flexibility of using a variety of lenses for different purposes.<br />
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The Fixed-Lens group can be divided into three further groups: Basic Point & Shoot, Bridge/Prosumer and Advanced Compact.<br />
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<b>Basic Point & Shoot Cameras</b><br />
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These cameras offer the user the most basic of photo-taking features. Most are small, light, and easily pocketable. Besides a number of effects presets and scene modes, these cameras offer the user few manual options, if any. A few are outfitted with special features, such as water and shock proofing.<br />
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P&S cameras are usually equipped with a zoom lens within a 24-150mm (35mm equivalent) range. They may have a minimum focus distance as low as 2cm (5cm seems to be the norm, according to the random camera specs I checked). Prices are usually $65 and above, depending on features.<br />
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If you have a decent camera-phone, a Point & Shoot can potentially give you a better lens with optical zoom, but does not offer major image quality improvements (unless you start pixel peeping). I used to be a firm believer in the idea that camera-phones could not match dedicated cameras - until I got an HTC One S. Now my Panasonic Lumix FX150 barely sees any use, unless I need it for some of its special talents.<br />
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There is a rather large variety of P&S cameras to choose from. Examples would include the budget <a href="http://www.dpreview.com/products/sony/compacts/sony_dscwx50" target="_blank">Sony Cybershot WX50</a> and the water-and-shock-proof <a href="http://www.dpreview.com/products/olympus/compacts/oly_tg1" target="_blank">Olympus Tough TG-1 iHS</a>. There are also other cameras which sit on the fence and may have enough features to stray into the bridge camera or the advanced compact territory (such as the <a href="http://www.dpreview.com/products/panasonic/compacts/panasonic_dmcsz1" target="_blank">Panasonic Lumix DMC-SZ1</a> or the <a href="http://www.dpreview.com/products/canon/compacts/canon_s110" target="_blank">Canon Powershot S110</a>).<br />
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<b>Bridge (aka Prosumer) Cameras</b><br />
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Bridge (also known as prosumer) cameras occupy the ground between P&S cameras and interchangeable lens systems (hence the name, bridge). They are sized accordingly; most are smaller than traditional DSLRs. Generally, these cameras offer the user more than a fair bit of manual control over exposure (aperture, shutter, ISO), and higher-end models may offer extra customization options and controls.<br />
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Bridge cameras usually offer an all-rounder lens with both wide-angle and telephoto features. Some are known as "ultra-zooms" since they are equipped with lenses having a very wide focal length range (optical zoom). To my knowledge, the <a href="http://www.dpreview.com/products/canon/compacts/canon_sx50hs" target="_blank">Canon Powershot SX50 HS</a> currently offers the highest zoom ratio; a 24-1200mm (35mm equivalent) lens, 50X. Such high zoom ratios are achieved by using smaller sensors (the digital equivalent of film) compared to most interchangeable lens systems.<br />
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In my opinion, bridge cameras were more relevant in the days when there was little variety among DSLRs (not to mention that they were super expensive). However, with the advent of cheap entry-level DSLRs (and lenses), I would recommend bridge cameras for people not interested in investing in a system and want a camera that can (in general) cater to all occasions.<br />
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A few bridge cameras in the market today: <a href="http://www.dpreview.com/products/sony/compacts/sony_dschx200v" target="_blank">Sony Cybershot HX200V</a>, <a href="http://www.dpreview.com/products/panasonic/compacts/panasonic_dmclz20" target="_blank">Panasonic Lumix LZ20</a>, <a href="http://www.dpreview.com/products/nikon/compacts/nikon_cpp510" target="_blank">Nikon Coolpix P510</a>.<br />
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<b>Advanced Compacts</b><br />
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Of all the fixed lens cameras, advanced compacts are my personal favorite. What makes them so enticing is their (often) larger sensors, abundant manual controls, and, relatively fast lenses, all inside a compact and flat package. Most (if not all) can shoot in a RAW format, which allows for more flexibility and control in the editing process.<br />
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Advanced compacts are mostly equipped with a fast zoom lens, such as the <a href="http://www.dpreview.com/products/canon/compacts/canon_g15" target="_blank">Canon Powershot G15</a> with its (35mm equivalent) 28-140mm f/1.8-2.8 lens. A few specialized cameras have fixed focal length lenses, like the new <a href="http://www.dpreview.com/products/sony/compacts/sony_dscrx1" target="_blank">Sony Cybershot RX1</a> or the <a href="http://www.dpreview.com/products/sigma/compacts/sigma_dp1m" target="_blank">Sigma DP1 Merrill</a>. Some of them are also equipped with a hotshoe for accessories such as flash units or wireless flash triggers.<br />
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When looking for an advanced compact, the main feature I would ponder over is the size of the sensor. To give an idea, here's a picture of sensor sizes overlaid, courtesy of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image_sensor_format" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a>. To put things in a bit of a perspective, most P&S and bridge cameras have a 1/2.3" sensor.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-H0uuYuxC58c/UKA7a5RvwmI/AAAAAAAABeA/281I0YoUobI/s1600/SensorSizes.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="326" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-H0uuYuxC58c/UKA7a5RvwmI/AAAAAAAABeA/281I0YoUobI/s400/SensorSizes.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sensor Size Comparison - Courtesy of Wikipedia</td></tr>
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Some time ago, the advanced compact category was dominated by the Canon G-Series, with the only other option (as I recall) being one of the Panasonic LX cameras. However, the past couple of years have seen more manufacturers jumping in the fray, so now, there are quite a few options to choose from Some advanced compacts and their sensor sizes (sorted by ascending Sensor Size):<br />
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<a href="http://www.dpreview.com/products/canon/compacts/canon_s110" target="_blank">Canon Powershot S110</a> - 1/1.7"<br />
<a href="http://www.dpreview.com/products/canon/compacts/canon_g15" target="_blank">Canon Powershot G15</a> - 1/1.7"<br />
<a href="http://www.dpreview.com/products/nikon/compacts/nikon_cpp7700" target="_blank">Nikon Coolpix P7700</a> - 1/1.7"<br />
<a href="http://www.dpreview.com/products/panasonic/compacts/panasonic_dmclx7" target="_blank">Panasonic Lumix LX7</a> - 1/1.7"<br />
<a href="http://www.dpreview.com/products/olympus/compacts/oly_xz2" target="_blank">Olympus XZ-2 iHS</a> - 1/1.7"<br />
<a href="http://www.dpreview.com/products/fujifilm/compacts/fujifilm_x10" target="_blank">Fujifilm X10</a> - 2/3"<br />
<a href="http://www.dpreview.com/products/sony/compacts/sony_dscrx100/overview" target="_blank">Sony Cybershot RX100</a> - 1"<br />
<a href="http://www.dpreview.com/products/canon/compacts/canon_g1x">Canon Powershot G1X</a> - APS-C<br />
<a href="http://www.dpreview.com/products/fujifilm/compacts/fujifilm_x100" target="_blank">Fujifilm X100</a> - APS-C<br />
<a href="http://www.dpreview.com/products/sigma/compacts/sigma_dp1m" target="_blank">Sigma DP1 Merrill</a> - APS-C<br />
<a href="http://www.dpreview.com/products/sony/compacts/sony_dscrx1">Sony Cybershot RX1</a> - Full Frame<br />
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With the plethora of features available to them, advanced compacts can generally handle most photographic scenarios within the "normal" focal length range. In my opinion, they are best for enthusiasts looking for high-end features in a compact package, or system camera users looking for a backup camera (for those events where <i>you just can't lug around your camera gear!</i>)<br />
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<b>DSLRs</b><br />
(Coming Soon)<br />
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<b>Mirrorless Cameras</b><br />
(Coming Soon)<br />
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Osama Sidathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14825552599093914152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5003934564206500146.post-83971005556075198062012-10-21T15:06:00.001-04:002012-10-27T21:26:43.300-04:00What's up? Not MuchHello there folks! It's been quite a while since my last post, hasn't it? Didn't really have much on my hands today, so felt like it was a good time for an update...<br />
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You may have noticed a few changes to the general layout of the blog. Added in some extra stuff, such as being able to account for multiple screen resolutions, and a newer social media widget (still needs a bit of tweaking). Post summaries (snippets) are now on the main page for easier scanning. Removed some stuff from the sidebar that didn't add much to the blog. Hoping to add some dedicated photography-based content to the main flow of things.</div>
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I am still in the redesign process, so expect to see some changes in the upcoming days. Like it, hate it? Let me know in the comments.</div>
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So... on with the story of my life within the past 3 months...</div>
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The last few weeks of Spring 2012 were pretty crazy. Hot weather, assignments, projects and finally, the exams. Particularly the final exams. In terms of academics, there are few feelings worse than getting bulldozed by an exam of a course that was your best/favorite of the term. Anyways, I pulled through, though my overall average definitely took a hit...</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-b4Fl1P6lB8o/UIQ-ZYGOi6I/AAAAAAAABc4/q6LLb86Y9VQ/s1600/p365_057.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-b4Fl1P6lB8o/UIQ-ZYGOi6I/AAAAAAAABc4/q6LLb86Y9VQ/s640/p365_057.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An Excerpt from CS246 Course Notes. And a Kinder Rhino © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
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After the exhausting term, I definitely needed a vacation. I was able to fly back home for Eid-ul-Fitr! Never has a two-week break been that welcome...</div>
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Got back to Canada on September 2, started work at Loblaw 2 days later. It was kind of same, yet way too different at the same time. I was able to hit the ground running due to my past experience, but because of all the ongoing action in my project, at times it feels like being airdropped in the midst of battle... Nevertheless, I like my work life way more than my academic life...</div>
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My Project 365 is still going pretty strong... I may have stated earlier, the HTC One S produces pretty good results, as far as lighting is good. My Panasonic Lumix compact is rarely seeing any action these days...</div>
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Here are some of my Project 365 shots. Check out the rest <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.4205599148230.2174797.1532445712&type=1&l=7f7a9d1c4a" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Q7ouSM5-EUw/UIREf7aOYpI/AAAAAAAABdM/m8M8GjRKrvU/s1600/p365_049.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="358" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Q7ouSM5-EUw/UIREf7aOYpI/AAAAAAAABdM/m8M8GjRKrvU/s640/p365_049.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Banks of Laurel Creek © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cVze8OEDj-8/UIREjFOk-fI/AAAAAAAABdU/kzyVPXAGdXY/s1600/p365_072.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cVze8OEDj-8/UIREjFOk-fI/AAAAAAAABdU/kzyVPXAGdXY/s640/p365_072.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mom's Marzipan Cake © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tiPnKc6KQY4/UIRElQwLK3I/AAAAAAAABdc/16mUWxo_TWs/s1600/p365_081.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tiPnKc6KQY4/UIRElQwLK3I/AAAAAAAABdc/16mUWxo_TWs/s640/p365_081.jpg" width="360" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rubik's Cube © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UhR9nrc7IkY/UIREqZSPElI/AAAAAAAABdk/rzgvbmbuTk4/s1600/p365_092.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UhR9nrc7IkY/UIREqZSPElI/AAAAAAAABdk/rzgvbmbuTk4/s640/p365_092.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Loblaw Inc. © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
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Speaking of photography, I recently upgraded my camera system, since my beloved 5-year old Sony Alpha was starting to show its age. Will do a write-up about this in a later post... probably... Here's a sneak peek:</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-o5KRDR7rc6w/UIRGG-9qmwI/AAAAAAAABds/6sVWMR2XIf4/s1600/p365_071.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-o5KRDR7rc6w/UIRGG-9qmwI/AAAAAAAABds/6sVWMR2XIf4/s640/p365_071.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The New Star © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
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... and a link of photos: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.4764648044103.2188148.1532445712&type=1&l=8ed6b9b6d0" target="_blank">The New Star</a>.</div>
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I guess thats all for now. Until next time...</div>
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Take Care.</div>
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<br /></div>Osama Sidathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14825552599093914152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5003934564206500146.post-87170261158008171692012-06-30T19:45:00.002-04:002012-10-20T11:14:58.345-04:00Summer in Waterloo<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
In my last post, I detailed my life during the my work term. I just realized that almost two months have passed by since then, and I am roughly 4 weeks away from the end of lectures for the Spring 2012 term.<br />
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Since I have already arranged to go back to Loblaw for my next work term, this term I did not have to go through the usual pain endured by UWaterloo co-op students, commonly known as JobMine. That move, I believe, was for the best, since my current courses do not appear to be pulling back any punches.<br />
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Academically speaking, this term might turn out to be my most turbulent yet. Started off with a standard set of five courses, Linear Algebra II (that I had been trying to avoid so far), Intro to Actuarial Mathematics, Intro to Combinatorics, and two computer science courses covering Logic & Computation and Software Abstraction and Specification.<br />
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The actuarial science course started off well. The instructor pointed out that only those who find this course interesting should ideally continue on the path of an actuary. Truth be told, the content in the first couple of weeks or so was fairly interesting. However, the number of formulas kept increasing and the content steadily started becoming more boring...<br />
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Meanwhile, Linear Algebra II... now this one was a constant thorn in my side. I wouldn't blame the instructor... the content just flew way over my head. Went into the midterm having little to no idea about I would fare in the exam... Saw the math adviser afterwards, and agreed with his idea that the best course of action would be to drop the course, to avoid taking any hits to my average...<br />
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Combinatorics has some neat applications (especially when thinking in terms of CS), interesting enough that the proofs and computations were bearable. The Logic course was something that I had been dreading (due to nightmarish stories by former students of the course) but it turned out to be better than the others, mostly because we have an excellent instructor (compared to profs who usually teach this course). The programming course remains my favorite to date. I accept that it has its high-stress moments, but there is this unique sense of achievement when you complete a CS246 assignment, unlike my other courses...<br />
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The way I saw it, CS steadily became more appealing to me while my interest in actuarial science declined. Not the best idea to pursue a career in which I am not interested. Therefore I decided that some important decisions were in order.<br />
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Here's how it goes: I started off pursuing Actuarial Science. In the 2A term, I turned towards a Joint ActSci-CS. Finally, 2B, I decided to let go of ActSci, and put my efforts into pursuing CS. Let's see how things go from this point forward.<br />
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Enough about academics. On to happier stuff.<br />
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Recently (well, not really recently) I have started actively following all sorts of tech developments, especially in terms of consumer products (phones, tablets, PCs and the like). I've found that <a href="http://twitter.com/SammSid" target="_blank">Twitter</a> is an excellent platform for this type of thing. I've been following a Canadian tech blog, <a href="http://www.techvibes.com/" target="_blank">Techvibes</a>, which held a giveaway for an HTC One S. And I won!<br />
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Here are some pictures of my new phone (close-up shots since I have no inclination to show off the clutter on my desk!)<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qqVwKoSrb9E/T--FhjblGkI/AAAAAAAAAT8/O81jTf_R7Cw/s1600/HTCONES-1040161.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qqVwKoSrb9E/T--FhjblGkI/AAAAAAAAAT8/O81jTf_R7Cw/s400/HTCONES-1040161.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">HTC One S - The Box</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cmLLgNE63JM/T--GLx0dfWI/AAAAAAAAAUE/9oJr27OAqpk/s1600/HTCONES-1040252.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cmLLgNE63JM/T--GLx0dfWI/AAAAAAAAAUE/9oJr27OAqpk/s640/HTCONES-1040252.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">HTC One S - The Front I</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8bZ1_gqG1rc/T--HCmtReTI/AAAAAAAAAUM/NtnaOd1ej2o/s1600/HTCONES-1040256.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8bZ1_gqG1rc/T--HCmtReTI/AAAAAAAAAUM/NtnaOd1ej2o/s640/HTCONES-1040256.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">HTC One S - The Front II</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-C4qXgSeeCZU/T--HmSD1qZI/AAAAAAAAAUU/3aSQYdzrQ_g/s1600/HTCONES-1040257.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-C4qXgSeeCZU/T--HmSD1qZI/AAAAAAAAAUU/3aSQYdzrQ_g/s400/HTCONES-1040257.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">HTC One S - The Back I</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-r2MbB-TebEk/T--IGAEfFZI/AAAAAAAAAUc/Xm4ragAQoP4/s1600/HTCONES-1040258.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-r2MbB-TebEk/T--IGAEfFZI/AAAAAAAAAUc/Xm4ragAQoP4/s400/HTCONES-1040258.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">HTC One S - The Back II</td></tr>
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The HTC One S currently has Android 4.0.x Ice Cream Sandwich installed, with HTC's Sense 4.0 UI. Initially, the phone was locked to Telus (I am on contract with Fido). Took me a few hours to root it and extract the unlock code (didn't feel like paying for it), thanks to a few excellent tutorials online. See the end of post for links to the tutorials I used.<br />
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So far, using Android has been a rather enjoyable experience, especially compared to my older BlackBerry Curve. Compared to iOS, it is highly customizable, but I feel that there is a certain "roughness" about it, something not really present in iOS. Currently, I have multiple operating systems co-existing across different devices... really enjoying the variety.<br />
<br />
The camera on the HTC One S is awesome! Plus, it has a pretty decent built-in photo editing app. I recently started a Project 365 with the phone.<br />
<br />
Here a few shots from the project, the rest of which can be followed <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.4205599148230.2174797.1532445712&type=3&l=7f7a9d1c4a" target="_blank">here</a><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a auto="auto" center="center" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qtd1rg9D0F8/T9keREm-uaI/AAAAAAAAAPc/g-G7QSdgz4c/s1600/p365_002" imageanchor="1" margin-left:="" margin-right:="" text-align:=""><img border="0" height="355" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qtd1rg9D0F8/T9keREm-uaI/AAAAAAAAAPc/g-G7QSdgz4c/s640/p365_002" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Biology Buildings, UWaterloo © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ntvLjePwDAY/T96A4zSpJCI/AAAAAAAAASI/KLwEvMgJO7U/s1600/p365_006" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ntvLjePwDAY/T96A4zSpJCI/AAAAAAAAASI/KLwEvMgJO7U/s640/p365_006" width="579" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Apple Stabbed © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I just hope that HTC provides an Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update for the One S soon.<br />
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Went to Canada's Wonderland last Saturday. Had a awesome time! Rode the Leviathan, Canada's tallest and fastest roller-coaster<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mZH_5ToF_mY/T--OXZQlv-I/AAAAAAAAAVg/YvPN1_SaZlQ/s1600/p365_012" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="380" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mZH_5ToF_mY/T--OXZQlv-I/AAAAAAAAAVg/YvPN1_SaZlQ/s640/p365_012" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Leviathan at Canada's Wonderland © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The weather is pretty hot these days (I know, I know, 36 degrees isn't exactly <i>that</i> hot, but still, coming from a negative 20, it is). Recently replaced my stand fan... the new one's much more powerful, and blows around every bit of paper (or any lightweight thing, for that matter) in the room. Fun...<br />
<br />
Well, I guess that's all I have for this post. Can't think of anything else to write here.<br />
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Until next time...<br />
<br />
Take Care.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>------------------------------------------------------------------------</b><br />
<b><i>Links for HTC One S Rooting and Unlocking:</i></b><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><a href="http://htcdev.com/bootloader/" target="_blank">Unlocking the bootloader (HTCdev)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1583427" target="_blank">Unlocking bootloader and installing ClockworkMod Recovery (XDA dev forum)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.redmondpie.com/root-htc-one-s-on-android-4.0.3-ice-cream-sandwich-how-to/" target="_blank">Root Instructions for Linux</a></li>
<li><a href="http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1693491" target="_blank">HTC SIM Unlock</a></li>
</ul>
<i><br /></i>
<i>Thanks to all of the authors of the instructions in the links above!</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>I used a combination of all of the above instructions, additionally Googling whenever I got stuck (or when something did not appear to work). Bear in mind that you risk bricking your phone.</i><br />
<i>Note 1: For some reason, I had to root the phone twice before it was properly rooted.</i><br />
<i>Note 2: In the last link, the author uses the Terminal Emulator within the phone. I was not able to use that, so I used an alternative method which involved connecting the phone via USB to my netbook, and executing the relevant commands through the Linux shell terminal. Unfortunately, I did not document the exact procedure.</i></div>
Osama Sidathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07784766574101596078noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5003934564206500146.post-20549722911603639812012-05-02T01:23:00.002-04:002012-10-19T01:13:00.466-04:00Life during the Winter 2012 Work Term<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It's been quite a while since my last post. Not that I was totally busy or anything... just far too lazy to sit down and write something!<br />
<br />
Last time, I mentioned that I would be starting work in the following week. Started off in Loblaw on January 3 (from what i remember). Honestly, in the beginning, I was unsure of the role I would be playing in the team I was part of. In the early days, I moved around quite bit. First week, frequently changed seats on the main floor, next few weeks in the basement, and then back up again. To most, this would be an annoyance, as it would require moving your stuff to a new place every other day. I kinda liked it, since it gave me the chance to meet different people on the project, and also kept my work from getting monotonous... Over time, things became clearer, and I was able to see how the stuff I worked on impacted others within and outside my team.<br />
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Working in such an environment felt quite new to me. No more fretting about course assignments or midterms on a 24 hours a day, 7 days a week basis. Sure, some tasks at work were more grilling than others. But the best part was being able to leave work at the workplace at the end of the day, and being free of anything to do with work until the next morning.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SuR79xNvuv4/T6C6CHcggOI/AAAAAAAAAKE/VmwIphnUrVs/s1600/Blog-1040017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SuR79xNvuv4/T6C6CHcggOI/AAAAAAAAAKE/VmwIphnUrVs/s400/Blog-1040017.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Mug of Hot Chocolate © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
A significant part of my experience was that I was blessed with an awesome boss and a great team! They were able to challenge my skills, and help me improve upon them, each in their own way. I learned a lot! If they are reading this (they know who they are), this is for all of them: I really appreciate all you did :)<br />
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Whenever I was during a thinking process at work (or feeling a bit bored), I worked on this doodle. It grew over time...<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yHV_KnaxeMY/T6C6Ey-oyEI/AAAAAAAAAKM/Jn3E8qrOTAg/s1600/Blog-1040063.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yHV_KnaxeMY/T6C6Ey-oyEI/AAAAAAAAAKM/Jn3E8qrOTAg/s400/Blog-1040063.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Epic Doodle!
© Osama Sidat</td></tr>
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Got a pretty decent place to live in Brampton. Nice house-mates, and by far, the cleanest place I've lived in, in my four terms here in Canada.<br />
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Since I had a greater arsenal of cooking utensils available at my disposal, I was able to experiment a bit...<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UUpDGh3AT30/T6C57LmbseI/AAAAAAAAAJs/mobqh6csa70/s1600/Blog-1030921.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UUpDGh3AT30/T6C57LmbseI/AAAAAAAAAJs/mobqh6csa70/s400/Blog-1030921.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cutting Up a Green Pepper
© Osama Sidat</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sGHwKFBNQJI/T6C5-PDyPcI/AAAAAAAAAJ0/euNdyK3bcPA/s1600/Blog-1030998.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sGHwKFBNQJI/T6C5-PDyPcI/AAAAAAAAAJ0/euNdyK3bcPA/s400/Blog-1030998.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Penne Pasta with Meat Sauce
© Osama Sidat </td></tr>
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Finally restarted gaming on my PC by getting myself Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3. Got through the single-player within 12 hours of buying the game... now just working my way through the multiplayer... (Though it seems that my gaming hours will be drastically cut short, now that I'm back in university.)<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-E5vQ7VAMamY/T6C6AdE-GfI/AAAAAAAAAJ8/9qF4VupJZ6Q/s1600/Blog-1040015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-E5vQ7VAMamY/T6C6AdE-GfI/AAAAAAAAAJ8/9qF4VupJZ6Q/s400/Blog-1040015.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">COD MW3
© Osama Sidat</td></tr>
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Photography during the term was not as frequent. I did experiment with water splashing in a glass. This was made possible by using the glass table-top of my writing table, and borrowing a couple of glasses from the kitchen...<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JEzhq0Iv6xc/T6C5yBLFPiI/AAAAAAAAAJM/ReWXMHEPB7E/s1600/Blog-03676.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JEzhq0Iv6xc/T6C5yBLFPiI/AAAAAAAAAJM/ReWXMHEPB7E/s400/Blog-03676.JPG" width="267" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Glass in Water
© Osama Sidat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Also got a chance to visit the Toronto AUTO Show. Really wanted to see a Porsche, which unfortunately wasn't there. Of the whole lot, my favorite was the concept showed off by BMW:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vvhDgnmS9vE/T6DDiJunxGI/AAAAAAAAAKY/PuViR1hdhXk/s1600/Blog-03849.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vvhDgnmS9vE/T6DDiJunxGI/AAAAAAAAAKY/PuViR1hdhXk/s640/Blog-03849.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BMW Concept Car © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
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Lately, I've been experimenting with low angle shots with my Panasonic FX-150...<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dbLigGYpXmY/T6C52HneiPI/AAAAAAAAAJc/4RrLvMaCtr8/s1600/Blog-1030869.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dbLigGYpXmY/T6C52HneiPI/AAAAAAAAAJc/4RrLvMaCtr8/s400/Blog-1030869.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Steeles Avenue, Near Shoppers World, Brampton
© Osama Sidat</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c16xd7W6VsI/T6C54ndOHgI/AAAAAAAAAJk/JZeEKpaz8E8/s1600/Blog-1030911.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c16xd7W6VsI/T6C54ndOHgI/AAAAAAAAAJk/JZeEKpaz8E8/s400/Blog-1030911.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Returning from Work
© Osama Sidat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Oh, and did I mention I was sharing the house with not one, but two cats? Never expected that to happen, I thought I had to bury my love of cats for a long time when I left the ones back home...<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c0lZQ2RrvGI/T6C5xKE4asI/AAAAAAAAAJE/Pfx3fUh13M4/s1600/Blog-03550.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c0lZQ2RrvGI/T6C5xKE4asI/AAAAAAAAAJE/Pfx3fUh13M4/s400/Blog-03550.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Am
© Osama Sidat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lTOm5GCj9fI/T6C5zgveKvI/AAAAAAAAAJU/9t2NcecwcSA/s1600/Blog-03922.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lTOm5GCj9fI/T6C5zgveKvI/AAAAAAAAAJU/9t2NcecwcSA/s640/Blog-03922.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ludwig
© Osama Sidat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Ludwig was lots of fun... Quite often, I'd find him curled up on my room's windowsill, soaking up the evening rays of sunlight.<br />
<br />
Last night I was there, the cats held a meowing competition outside my door at 1.30 a.m., presumably to say goodbye or something...<br />
<br />
All in all, it was a wonderful term... Can't wait to go back in September...<br />
<br />
As of now, I'm back in Waterloo. Just moved in on Sunday. Had my first classes of the term today. So far, the weather has been a bit rainy and overcast. Will put up a post about my new place and classes and all in a couple of weeks... probably once I've taken some pictures of the room and house, and had a better feel of all my current courses...<br />
<br />
I guess this is all for now. Hopefully, I'll have another post up here in a few days (or weeks, hopefully not months this time).<br />
<br />
Good Night (or Day)<br />
<br />
<i><b><br /></b></i><br />
<i><b>More of my cooking <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2565008614492.2144683.1532445712&type=3&l=d41a0a180c" target="_blank">here</a></b></i><br />
<i><b>For more photos of the water in glass project, check <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3332652285104.2159127.1532445712&type=3&l=d939737a56" target="_blank">this</a></b></i><br />
<i><b>To check out other shots from my low-perspective photo project, see <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3692485480709.2166238.1532445712&type=3&l=25e37e9601" target="_blank">this</a></b></i><br />
<i><b>Toronto AUTO Show pictures <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3401377843200.2160360.1532445712&type=3&l=dac637160f" target="_blank">here</a></b></i><br />
<i><b><br /></b></i><br />
<i><b>More pictures of Ludwig will be up as soon as I'm done with the processing. Keep an eye out on my <a href="https://www.facebook.com/osama.sidat" target="_blank">Facebook</a> photos (or my <a href="http://twitter.com/SammSid" target="_blank">Twitter</a> feed)</b></i><br />
<i><b><br /></b></i><br />
<b><i>Update: Ludwig's photos have been uploaded! See them <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3998883380465.2171027.1532445712&type=1&l=456cf9ec62" target="_blank">here</a> or <a href="https://plus.google.com/photos/111864109537700719846/albums/5741532132592581713" target="_blank">here</a>.</i></b><br />
<br /></div>Osama Sidathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07784766574101596078noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5003934564206500146.post-60633207496319515762011-12-31T22:45:00.000-05:002012-10-19T01:13:00.502-04:00Life In Twenty-Eleven<i>A summary of my life in 2011...</i><br />
<br />
A year ago, I started this blog. One of my first main pieces of writing was <a href="http://oosidat.blogspot.com/2010/12/life-in-twenty-ten.html">Life in Twenty-Ten</a>. This post is similar, a flashback of the events of the year that is almost over now...<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cR_EWisynIc/Tv-qlHIxO7I/AAAAAAAABaQ/GffjVkLrQqk/s1600/blog-00539.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cR_EWisynIc/Tv-qlHIxO7I/AAAAAAAABaQ/GffjVkLrQqk/s320/blog-00539.JPG" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walking on the frozen lake...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
January: Started the year with a visit to Toronto. It was a pretty overcast day, but nevertheless, got some good photos.<br />
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Despite having a snow-less New Year's Eve, my return to Waterloo was followed by a fresh bout of snowfall. Spent some time of my first weekend at Columbia Lake, which is at the north side of UW.<br />
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Started off the term with Calculus II, Linear Algebra I, Macroeconomics, Computer Science and Probability, along with the accursed PD2. Sometime by the middle of this month, I initiated my efforts to find work for the upcoming work term...<br />
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February: The job hunt continued. Despite a fair number of applications, I was only called for a couple of interviews, neither of which had any fruitful results. The academic workload increased steadily, nothing out of the ordinary...<br />
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Had the Reading Week at the end of this month, just after a midterm. Did nothing much over my week off, except relaxing a bit and trying to take some creative shots...<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JLfl9OZzBZI/Tv-vXs7DXCI/AAAAAAAABac/pxFhZStu9Kg/s1600/blog-01155.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="285" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JLfl9OZzBZI/Tv-vXs7DXCI/AAAAAAAABac/pxFhZStu9Kg/s400/blog-01155.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Toonie © Osama Sidat
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VMXXFuh-wV8/Tv-vm2c6FeI/AAAAAAAABaw/Q4ignyR4fSo/s1600/blog-01314.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VMXXFuh-wV8/Tv-vm2c6FeI/AAAAAAAABaw/Q4ignyR4fSo/s400/blog-01314.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Old Sunglasses © Osama Sidat
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<div style="text-align: center;">
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March: This month brought along more job applications, and subsequently, more rejections. Along with a whole bunch-load of midterms. Not fun.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OYlsyT0fnJQ/Tv-zSw0KvCI/AAAAAAAABa8/ppiak3M1J7k/s1600/blog-01841.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OYlsyT0fnJQ/Tv-zSw0KvCI/AAAAAAAABa8/ppiak3M1J7k/s320/blog-01841.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The US side of the Niagara Falls
© Osama Sidat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
April: Along came the final exams for Winter 2011. My anxiety levels about getting a co-op job took an exponential rise. At this point, I started looking at all available options that I could consider to rescue my summer work term.<br />
<br />
Exams weren't too bad. As soon as they were done with I packed up my stuff and abandoned my abode at the time (since I had absolutely no idea where I would be based in the summer term). Job hopes were kept barely alive by daily newcomer postings on JobMine...<br />
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In the last week of April, I visited Niagara Falls for the first time... Awesome Experience!<br />
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May: Had my first birthday away from home. Thankfully, I was with family at Brampton... had an awesome barbecue dinner!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-skEkEY44MnA/Tv-2t73KGsI/AAAAAAAABbI/qc4RtGmhozg/s1600/blog-1030041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-skEkEY44MnA/Tv-2t73KGsI/AAAAAAAABbI/qc4RtGmhozg/s320/blog-1030041.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Birthday Cake!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Since CECS allowed a minimum of 12 weeks of co-op work, I waited out the majority of this month, applying here and there, attending interviews and visiting job fairs. It was rather frustrating. In the end, I called up the career advisor, and asked her if I could put my backup plan into effect (going back home for an internship). She agreed, since I was running out of time...<br />
<br />
After a couple of days running around town, getting stuff for loved ones back home, I embarked on a 14-hour long flight... to home...<br />
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June & July: The feeling of seeing family again after almost 9 months is indescribable... Looking back now, not getting a job in Canada and coming back home for the summer was all worth it...<br />
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Can't believe how much I missed bothering this guy...<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qax6hRpE-KU/Tv-5fYnS06I/AAAAAAAABbU/cRNl-0Ze_UQ/s1600/blog-1030166.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qax6hRpE-KU/Tv-5fYnS06I/AAAAAAAABbU/cRNl-0Ze_UQ/s320/blog-1030166.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Lil Bro!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Had a haircut the very next day of my arrival... 'Twas the longest I had ever kept it... Couldn't bear it in the Karachi heat!<br />
<br />
A large majority of these months consisted of spending time with family, experimenting with new tricks at work, and preparing for the Actuarial Science Probability Exam (which was thankfully successful in the very first try).<br />
<br />
August: Ramadan and preparation for the trip back to Canada started almost simultaneously... Successfully ended my co-op term and sent the evaluation to CECS...<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QdeEfBTpm_Y/Tv_C61QhZgI/AAAAAAAABbg/1v312bFylWc/s1600/blog-1030280.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QdeEfBTpm_Y/Tv_C61QhZgI/AAAAAAAABbg/1v312bFylWc/s320/blog-1030280.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My room in Fall 2011</td></tr>
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September: Spent Eid with family. Almost immediately after, for the second time, left my home and family behind...<br />
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I was rather lucky to get a room at my old residence, after making more than a dozen calls... Commenced Fall 2011...<br />
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This term, I had Calculus III, Financial Mathematics, Statistics, Financial Accounting and Computer Science...<br />
<br />
October: By now, it was apparent that the 2A term would be quite different, and a lot more tough compared to previous terms. Every day brought along new challenges. The problems were compounded by the less-than-adept profs for Stats and ACTSC.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lq3PcNDXXBA/Tv_Sj_0HhsI/AAAAAAAABcE/3iPBFbbF9Oo/s1600/blog-1030520.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lq3PcNDXXBA/Tv_Sj_0HhsI/AAAAAAAABcE/3iPBFbbF9Oo/s320/blog-1030520.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cooking Experiment: Egg-in-a-Basket</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I had also started applying for jobs for the Winter 2012 co-op term, this time a lot more aggressively. Got my first interview with ManuLife Financial; rejected...<br />
<br />
November: After 102 applications, and 3 interviews, I was finally employed for my next co-op term: Organizational Change Management Co-op at Loblaw.<br />
<br />
December: Classes ended in the first week, closely followed by the final exams... most of which were a nightmare, with the exception of Financial Accounting. The worst was ACTSC 231, which was a real killer... In any case, I was really glad to get over with the exams...<br />
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Results came out just around December 23-25... Not pretty at all, making it a really bad term as far as academics were concerned...<br />
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Enough about the exams...<br />
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Got a chance to photograph the CN Tower while out with family at Toronto earlier this week...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HvI4BBpUOb4/Tv_NiKXYiFI/AAAAAAAABb4/ICm2rvvJmwk/s1600/blog-03364.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HvI4BBpUOb4/Tv_NiKXYiFI/AAAAAAAABb4/ICm2rvvJmwk/s400/blog-03364.JPG" width="267" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The CN Tower, Toronto ON © Osama Sidat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Coincidence: Just like the first day of the year, visited Toronto (once again, twice in this past week) on the last day of this year...<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0FzoPSi6gYY/Tv_K6lJJqFI/AAAAAAAABbs/jWUYYVsU5Bw/s1600/blog-1030741.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0FzoPSi6gYY/Tv_K6lJJqFI/AAAAAAAABbs/jWUYYVsU5Bw/s400/blog-1030741.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The GO Terminal at Union Station, Toronto
© Osama Sidat </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I am really looking forward to starting work from next Tuesday. Hopefully, it will all turn out well...</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I will end this year with the following prayer:</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="text-align: center;">
Dear Allah, </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
On This New Year, And The Years To Come,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Grant Us The Serenity,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
To Accept The Things We Cannot Change;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The Courage, To Change The Things We Can;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
And The Wisdom, To Know The Difference.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
A'ameen</div>
</blockquote>
</div>Osama Sidathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14825552599093914152noreply@blogger.com0