Goodbye Blogger! Wake Up call for Google!

Dear Reader,
First of all, I would like to thank you for visiting this blog. This pit-stop is much appreciated but I have news for you!

I have moved my blog and now I have a 'proper' domain!

Why did I move? Well, the answer is simple! Blogger was a great platform but I don't know what's wrong with the Google team behind this project, they have stopped innovating here. Blogger is stuck in 2009 whereas we live in 2020!

I wanted to keep this post short as I have a bigger explanation on the 'official' blog (or call it proper blog). I will share the URL very soon!


Best,
Shoaib

My First Experience of Driving around in a Tesla Model S P85

Today's highlight: Tesla Model S test drive around New York!

Note: Towards the end of the video, you will see that even New Yorkers would take photos/videos of Model S when it stops at a signal!

Tesla Model S - in Munich

Verdict: I am not an expert of cars but I can tell you that Tesla Model S is the smoothest, quietest and fastest (acceleration) car I have ever experienced. Yes, it beats my previous best of BMW Z4 Coupe!

First impression: Car is super light. I am not just talking about the car handling (I didn't drive but dad did), I am talking about the doors, trunk and the frunk. Thanks to aluminium body!

Interior: It has a classic feel to it. High quality dashboard material, leather seats and fine sleek metal use. It has a huge 17 inches ipad-like display, pretty great for a clear navigation control. You can control almost everything from this touch screen, from the sunroof to the door locks to opening of your garage doors!

Drive: It is almost perfect smooth drive. I think the rest of the cars have a big gap to fill here. It has absolutely no sound. I literally mean NO SOUND. It is super quiet, and one wouldn't know if the Model S is "on" or "off." Model S has a crazy fast acceleration, like any sports car out there.

Downside: The car we drove is top of the line Tesla Model S P85 fully loaded, this costs 138,000 dollars but Model S starts from almost 70K dollars (still expensive!).
Second downside of this car right now is its availability. You cannot just walk into a Tesla gallery and buy one. If you are in the USA right now and place an order for Tesla Model S, you'll have to wait till December to get your hands on one!

I am a big fan of electric cars and of course, Tesla! That's why I invested in the company many months back, so my review "might" be biased.


#Tesla #ModelS #TeslaModelS

30 Best Photos of Zurich - Switzerland

 

Switzerland is a small country in the central Europe which shares its border with France, Germany, Austria and Liechtenstein. Also known as "Paradise On Earth", this place is one of the prime destinations for tourists from around the globe.  

More than a decade back, I visited Swat (a city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa). I really loved the place, it is magically beautiful but unfortunately not well known outside Pakistan. The beauty of Swat has lured many tourists including Queen Elizabeth II of England, who stayed in the White Palace in 1961 for 3 days. Swat is also referred to as "Switzerland of Pakistan" so I really wanted to see both the places and maybe compare! So few days back, I backed my bag and spent two days in the famous city of Switzerland; Zurich.

So how does Swat (in Pakistan) stand against Zurich (in Switzerland)? Well, you will have to wait for my future blog post but for now, I would like you to take a look at the 30 Best Photos of Zurich that I took during my stay. 

Electric Cars and Bikes on Display at Technical University Munich, Germany.

Last week, Technical University Munich's Informatik & Mathematik building had over a dozen of electric cars and bikes on display. It was really awesome to see new electric bikes to super sleek electric cars (including the showstopper Tesla Model S and Tesla Roadster). There was a lot of interest from students, especially electro-buff (people who love electric cars and bikes) like myself, this was probably the best day of this semester (so far)! 

There is a strong increase in the demand of electric vehicles, and Germany in particular is at the very front when it comes to the adoption of new electric technology.

Here are some of the photos that I took at "TUM's electric car & bike show":

Traveling To Frankfurt - The Financial Capital of Europe

So last week I happen to visit Frankfurt. I had to go to Pakistani Embassy in Frankfurt.

This was my first trip to Frankfurt (people here call it the "Financial Capital of Europe") so I was looking forward to the trip. This was going to be exciting tour and definitely very different than any of my previous trips.

Why different?  

Solo Trip

Firstly, this was going to be my first ever "solo trip" since I moved to Germany. All my previous tours across Europe, I have had friends with me but this time, I was going to be without any company. That also meant, I was going to take a LOT of selfies and other photos! (Check the 30 Best Photos of Frankfurt that I took during my stay or you can check 30 Best Photos of Prague, a beautiful city!).

30 Best Photos of Frankfurt - Germany's Financial Capital

So last week I happen to visit Frankfurt.

This was my first trip to Frankfurt (people here call it the "Financial Capital of Germany") so I was looking forward to the trip. This was going to be exciting tour and definitely very different than any of my previous trips.

Why different?  You can read my post HERE.

During my two-day trip, I took lot of photos but here is a list of my personal 30 Best Photos of Frankfurt.

A Student's Diary From 1973 - Future of Space Science

Today is 15th May, 1973. Tuesday.

I am sitting in the canteen of Physics Department, at Government College Lahore. This is my regular spot in the University not just because the chai here is famous but it is a good place to meet students from other departments.

Today, I am here to see Dr. Abdus Salam. I have been told that he is visiting our department and since he is also a big fan of doodh patti so in all likelihood, I have a solid chance of catching him here.  Dr. Abdus Salam is a world renowned Physicist and also happens to be an alumni of Government College Lahore. Three years ago, I attended a talk given by Dr. Salam. The lecture was arranged by Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission, which is Pakistan's version of NASA, and during the lecture Dr. Salam shared his vision of "future of space science." It was a short talk with lot of interesting details and prediction but back then all of his predictions seemed dubious. He had predicted that that US will put "world's first space station in orbit within next 5 years." I was very skeptical about Dr. Salam's prediction that US (or USSR) will be able to put a space station in orbit within 5 years but last night, in the 9 PM khabar nama on PTV News I was really baffled to see the images of world's first space station called "Sky Lab." And as predicted, it was launched by the United States of America!

Putting a space station in Earth's orbit is a remarkable feat. Unlike any satellite, "Sky Lab" can house humans for many weeks! This space station, according to the news, weighs about 80,000 kilograms and would orbit our planet once every 90 minutes! I am so glad that we, humans, have finally done it! I know this is just the start and we have a long way to go and that makes me really excited!

Almost a little more than a decades ago, going to space was not possible in the wildest dreams of even the most adventurous but today it is very much a reality. I still remember reading the newspaper that carried the headline: "Sputnik 1: The First Man Made Object In Space." Sputnik was put in space in 1957 by USSR and in a short span of next 5 years, they were able to send first living thing in space, first man in space and first woman in space! But it took humans almost 12 years from Sputnik 1 to truly conquer "a new world." I am talking about the single most important even of 1960s, when, on the 20th July 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first person to set foot on the surface of moon! It was for the first time ever in our entire history that a human was setting foot on another planet, and it was surely "a one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." 

It took us almost 15 years from Sputnik to Apollo to Sky Lab.

Now imagine 15 years into the future. Year 1988 A.D.  I am sure that we will have new space rockets, much faster and a lot more safe for human travel. We will have many satellites orbiting earth and of course, we will also have many space stations (much bigger and better) hundreds of miles above earth. Humans will explore moon, have hundreds of lunar mission and probably a base on the moon!

Now imagine 30 years into the future! A totally different world. Year 2003 A.D.  See, even the digits that represent the year are completely different. No more "1900s", it will be "2000s." In next 30 years, it is very much possible that the space stations will be our "future holiday destinations". People will go up to spend a week or even a month in the orbit. It will have a permanent base (or bases) on moon that will house many people and "space vehicles" to explore the lunar surface. I also think that we will have human missions to planet Mars. We will also send satellites and robots to many other planets for exploration. 

I can go on and speculate about the future of space science but I know, that the only thing certain about future is the uncertainty of future. 

I think that's Dr. Salam entering the canteen. Better go now. 

Is TeleTeaching Tool (TTT) at Technical University Munich really helping students?

Like many of my peers at TUM's Informatics department, I have to rely on online resources. Yes, after my Monday's 8:00 AM lecture on "Data Mining and Knowledge Discovery", I find it really helpful to go on YouTube and listen to Dr. S. Srinath from IIT Bangalore, India, in order to get a clearer understanding of the subject (and also to get my assignments done).

This is nothing new. In fact, the whole education sector around the world is witnessing the trend of "class flipping." If you don't know what class flipping means, in simple words it is the paradigm shift from traditional "class based lectures" to students taking lectures online (at home or at mountain top) and going to university to interact with their fellow students and teachers to get an indepth understanding of the topic.

When we talk about "class flip" we usually think of online education resources like the Khan Academy and Udacity but many well established and prestigious universities like Stanford and MIT are also shifting from the traditional "class-lecture" model. In fact, these universities are using platforms like YouTube and Facebook to educate the next generation of students from around the globe.

So when I asked my fellows at Technical University Munich, which is consistently ranked as Germany's best engineering university, about "our" answer to MIT's OpenCourseWare, I was directed to THIS site. Yes, that's our TeleteachingTool homepage.

30 Most Amazing Bruce Lee Quotes To Apply In Life.

I am Bruce Lee fan.

For most of Bruce Lee fans, he is "The King of Martial Arts" but for me, Bruce Lee represents more than just martial arts. He was a deep philosopher, a master-student and a true person.

From time to time I share his quotes so I thought it would be a great idea to compile some of my favourite Bruce Lee quotes.

The Question of Questions - Argument One

Disclaimer:
The following text comes from an email that I wrote some time back. The thoughts reflected in the following email represent my opinion at that particular time and may change over the course of time. I am not publishing the full content of the email but may share the remaining part in a future date. 
Also, I encourage you to share your thoughts on the subject (you can leave a comment), it may help in the greater understanding of this interesting topic.   

"Dear *****,
You know, I spend good amount of time thinking about things that are bigger than my life. I ponder how the world will be next 10 or 20 or 100 or 1000 years. How technology and science will change our humanity. How human knowledge will transform the world? 

Lately, I have been thinking about something that really got me stuck. I am usually stuck at many things but this particular thought seems like a "full stop" to me. I cannot just ease myself around the question. 

We are studying and learning things to make our lives better, right? Humanity is in search of knowledge to solve the problems that we face. Solutions to the problems. We have problems of war, food shortage, health issues, cancer, social problems etc. So what we are trying to do today is find solutions to these problems, right? This seems to be the purpose of human quest in the understanding of the world.

Now, let's imagine you live in far future. A hyper connected world, with a technology million times more efficient and science that is far more advance than what we have today. Imagine, humans have found cure to all diseases. Imagine humans have colonized other planets and have space colonies. Imagine there are robots working in the fields and there is excess of food. There is availability of clean water to everyone. Every human is educated and has access to all human literature. Imagine we know everything about black holes, matter & energy. Imagine we have 3D teleportation, which enables humans to travel throughout universe in a fraction of second. Imagine, we can meet/see and talk to anybody anywhere. Imagine we have a Theory of Everything (ToE). In simple words, imagine EVERYTHING IS PERFECT.

Now the question is, at this point in time what will be the purpose of human quest of knowledge? What will be our purpose? What should this future-human pursue anymore? Understand the universe where everything is understood by humans?

The question that haunts me is, "Is knowledge finite?"

I have been thinking about this for sometime and to find the answer to the question I tried to look at the basic question, "What is knowledge?" and "what's the source of knowledge?" Like most of the people who think about these things, I had few answers but I wasn't satisfied. 

Today, a random thought struck me. . . "

p.s. Please excuse my casual error prone writing. I didn't write this as a post but was rather a casual discussion. I didn't edit it, wanted to keep it original.

Interesting Facts about the Astronomical Tower in Prague, Czech Republic.

Prague is full of Gothic buildings and you are sure to find an interesting story associated with each one of these buildings. Well, same is true about the Astronomical Tower in Prague. 

Here is one interesting story that I heard about this tower.

The locals claim that when the mechanical figures were created, town officials had the clockmaker blinded so that he would never duplicate his masterpiece. In vengeance, the blind man climbed the tower and stopped his creation. The clock remained silent for more than fifty years. Centuries later, during dreary decades of communist domination, the legend of the blinded clockmaker became a Metaphor for thwarted creativity.

Also, this story is very similar to that of Taj Mahal. You don't know the story? Well, here is the short version.

Mughal emperor Shah Jahan ordered his chief architect, ustaad Ahmad Lahori, to build a magnificent tomb for his most beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal, who died in her early 30s. The emperor wanted to build two tombs. First tomb was built for his deceased wife. After completing the work on the white marbled tomb, the emperor was so impressed by the work of his 20,000 men that he ordered to get their hands cut so that they couldn't replicate it for someone else! (and you thought your boss was bad!)

Shah Jahan's son didn't think that building a second tomb, a replica of the Taj Mahal but build in complete back marble, was not a cool idea so only one was constructed.

Anyway, enough of Taj Mahal.

World's oldest working Astronomical Tower.

30 Best Photos of Prague - The Beautiful.

Prague is beautiful.

So the day after my last exam of my first semester, I was on a train. Destination was Prague. Traveling from Munich to Prague in a Deutsche Bahn was unexpectedly fun. I was in a cabin with some students from Pakistan studying here at Technical University Munich and during the 5 hours (almost) multi-stop journey, the taught me how to play "Bridge." 

I was in the capital of Czech Republic for the whole weekend so got to see many historical buildings, famous tourist spots and took a boat ride on the Prague River. 

I will write a detailed post on this beautiful city but for now, all you need to know is that Prague is definitely a place you should visit!

Just to add here, I took the following photos using my iPhone 4s.

Vltava‎ - Prague River and the Charles Bridge

Why My 2014 Won't be Like 2014?

I want to make this year, the year 2014, a different year!

What is a "different" year?

For many years now, I have been a "one thing per year" sort of person. Some people like this attitude and call it "being focused", others may describe it in a whole different way. For me, I really don't know yet but it has worked out fine hitherto.

Let me quickly recap my last 5 years.