Sheikh Naveed Zafar

Harry Potter and the Poignant End

2007-08-07T22:30:00.000-07:00

"Avada Kedavra"

By these words I mark the end of Harry Potter as I finished the seventh book in the series. Unexpectedly, the last line came with a strange emotional feeling starting from the heart, travelling throughout the body and ending somewhere in the brain. It was like waving the last goodbye to a very close friend.

Who could have thought of such a mysteriuos yet beautiful character of Severus Snape? I never imagined him being declared as the most brave wizard by Harry himself. Dumbeldore had always been an adorable character and he lived upto the expectations. George living without Fred sounded wierd but then Rowling had to kill someone and I think Percy would have been a better choice. Ginny didn't have anything to do in this book which came to me as a surprise. Nevile's courage was admireable and Luna played her role beautifully. Dobby's return was right at time and his end unforgettable. He managed to win everyone's heart. Kreacher was never supposed to be helping for any good cause yet the turn of the events related to him were well managed.

The manner in which the author shaped the story of the Deathly Hallows needs applause. The scene at Godric Hollows needs to be mentioned. It was the most dramatic scene of the search for the Horcruxes. The way Harry smelled the whole story whily burying Dobby was carved emphatatically. On the whole, the story kept rolling; always persuading you to keep reading till the end.

The last chapter was a well-thought finish to something that was rumored to have a sad ending. For those who don't know, the rumor was that Harry would die so that no one else can continue with Harry's life. The current end served the purpose as well as keeping the audience in a mood that would have a long lasting impact.

I would like to end this post with something that would keep you safe from Dementors -- "Expecto Petronum"

Microsoft Campus Expansion

2007-04-05T20:23:00.000-07:00

Microsoft is going to announce one of the largest real estate deal in the history of Bellevue, Washington. Microsoft has signed a Letter of Intent to lease 1.3 million square feet of prime office space to accommodate 4,514 people. It would help giving separate offices to our 8,800 employees who are sharing offices right now.

Some steps have already been taken for the expansion plan including

11 new leased spaces near Redmond Campus
Microsoft has purchased SAFECO's campus, comprising of 5 buildings, adjacent to Microsoft Campus and has opened the first building.

Starting from June 07, Microsoft has plans to expand in Bellevue, Redmond Town Center and Microsoft West Campus and expected to be completed in Novermber 07. There would be one new building in Microsoft Main Campus and one in the West Campus as well.

Keep looking for further developments here

How to Change your country in Google Adsense

2007-03-02T18:10:00.000-08:00

Can anyone tell me how to change my country on Google's Adsense Account?????

I have shifted to US from Pakistan a couple of months ago. Now that I could find a little bit of time, I checked my Google Adsense account and tried to change my address. To my surprise, the country field was disabled there. I went to Adsense Help and there I read that I have to send an email to the adsense team in order to change my country. But at which address? I couldn't find any customer support email address on their site.

Help Required...

Can you smell the snow here??

2007-03-01T17:59:00.000-08:00

Well!! my goodness... its whiteness everywhere.. yeah.. it is snow.. yesterday night I got out of my apartment to find everything covered in snow. I immediately took my wife, piked up my camera and left for a late-night-family-shoot. It was fun. You can have a look as well and feel the cold snow at my MSN Space.

First day at Microsoft

2007-01-22T21:55:00.000-08:00

Remember your first day at school or college or university. Well! I don't remember anything about the school but I certainly have many pleasant memories of my first days in university. With same hopes, I entered Microsoft Campus today but could not find any parking in the visitors area. It took me around 10 minutes to find the way to the other parking and guess what ... there was no parking as well. I started thinking would it be as memorable a day as the first day in university. Anyways, I found a parking spot and hurried towards the orientation hall. I had my NEO (New Employee Orientation) in building 43. As I entered the building, I was asked to fill out a form regarding my car so that they can issue a parking pass. "What is my car's registration number", I thought for moment and then rushed to the parking to find the answer. At this point, I was pretty sure that I would forget this day as soon as it ends.

The next 6 hours were probably one of the best time I had. "Microsoft is a BIG company" a known fact to me since childhood; and here this fact was a reality in front of my eyes. My previous employer had 125 employees in the company and here around 200 people were attending NEO and joining Microsoft in a single day. We were given description about the company, the people, the products. I made new friends, one from Canada and one from Mississippi, had my first lunch in Microsoft's Campus and then got a congratulations card which had Bill Gates signatures. That card was enough for making my day. But it wasn't the end, we were given a long list of benefits we would get as a Microsoft Employee.

That was my first day at Microsoft, had a rough start but proved to be a memorable day.

Journey to Seattle

2007-01-20T18:07:00.000-08:00

15th January 2007 is the date when everything in my life changed (except my wife, offcourse). I left my house for the flight at about 11 along with my family, my in-laws and half a dozen of friends. The emotional link I had with my home was forcing me not to go.. but I had to.

So, I left for Bangkok airport through Thai Air. The flight was OK but had no personal TV screens and therefore, no video-on-demand. Finally, we reached the Bangkok Airport, where, the journey took a wild turn.

People going to Thailand are highly recommended to take a Thai Language course 'coz people there couldnt understand what you try to say. One man even start running on the opposite side when I asked him where can I get a hotel for stay. Anyways, the airport is as long as Einstein's telescope and you have to rent a bike to have a full round of it. After a 9-hour long killing stay there, we boarder our next flight to Tokyo, Japan.

Northwest Airline proved to be much more better than Thai Air. But this doesn't mean that things got better for us. The plane did not have any Muslim/Vegetarian meal so we had to pass the long 6.5 hours only with Juices. The plane had personal screens so we enjoyed a couple of desi movies, and it was fun.

2 hour stay at Tokyo Airport was no fun as well. We had to rush for the other terminal to catch our next flight. On our way, I exchanged $20 for Japanese Yen and believe me, I got around 1100 Yens and ... the most amazing part is that all of them were coins.

9 hour flight to seattle was very comfotable with all the Muslim/Vegetarian Meals, Personal TV Screens, a spare seat to keep my legs for relaxation and hence proving to be the most comfortable flight of the entire long journey.

After a total of 30 hours of travelling, we finally reached seattle. All of the tiredness was gone when I saw snow falling outside through one of the very large windows that the Seattle Airport has all around. After all of the Customs and Immigration Process, I got out at about 9 in the morning to see a 2 feet layer of snow all around with cold breez blowing. It was a scene worth watching.

In a nutshell, although the trip started not as expected but in the end proved to be a fascinating one. With all the memories of my past, my family and my friends with me, I entered into a new realm of my life that seems to be more charming, more fascinating and more challenging.

Casino Royale

2006-12-18T18:03:00.000-08:00

15th December 2006, Premiere of Casino Royale in Pakistan. Some of the enthusiasts, including me, booked the seats two days ahead of the show. Pumped up for all the action, we reached Sozo World (so far the best cinema in Lahore, Pakistan) but …
The movie starts with an exhilirating action sequence, making an impression that the rest of the journey would be as fascinating as this scene, but as the movie progresses, it starts feeling that the starting sequence is there just for the sake of the popular saying “First impression is the last impression”.
The whole movie seems to be a stunning game of gambling in which luck is with Mr.Bond (very predictable). Though, the climax has a twist but not worth mentioning.
On the whole, the movie does not give what was promised and leave the audience unimpressed

Google releases Customized IE 7.0

2006-12-18T18:00:00.000-08:00

Astonishing.. haaann… but its true .. Google has released a customized version of Internet Explorer 7.0 (a product of Microsoft) in which Google is the default search engine instead of Windows Live Search. In addition, google has also provided the users with free Google Toolbar and a home page solely customizable for google user’s.
You think Microsoft in not aware of it.. arghhhh!! wrong.. Microsoft Group Program Manager Tony has posted on Microsoft IE Blogs that this customization feature is being provided by Microsoft so that the software developers can customize IE, hence giving full flexibility to the users.
This customized version is available for download at google’s website.

Recipe for Resume

2006-11-23T17:48:00.000-08:00

Applying for Microsoft? Have you reviewed your resume? Well!! A good resume always has the brightest chance to get you shortlisted for the interviews. Here are few tips for you to follow

Keep your resume as textual as possible avoiding rich formating such as tables and bullets. Microsoft dumps your resume in their database eleminating the formatting, making it very likely that they distort your necessary information.
Be sure that whatever you write is short, simple and to the point.
Instead of giving details of the whole project, try to specify your responsibilities and contributions.
Highlight the projects in which you were the main source of success.
Specify each and every technology you know, even if that tool is not required for the position you are applying for. Avoid specifying outdated tools and technologies. Give a bit of detail of how you used the technology for some fruitful purposes.
Do remember to specify Microsoft Technologies e.g. SQL Server, Dot Net.
Do specify all the different platforms you have worked for.
Microsoft is interested in your technical abilities, so try to mention out about that as much as possible instead of writing about your age, gender and other personal information.
Do provide different mode for contact e.g. email address (most important), phone number and postal address.
Last but not the least, Ask someone to have a final review of your resume.