Showing posts with label Books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Books. Show all posts

Sunday, May 12, 2013

کنڈل ٹچ عرف شکر

خدا ہر شکر خورے کو شکر دیتا ہے، اور وہ بھی اس کے پسندیدہ برانڈ کی۔ تو مجھے بھی میری شکر مل ہی گئی۔ اب لامحدود خوشی کے لیے کوئی تحفہ دینا چاہے تو کم کم آپشنز باقی ہیں۔ ایف پی جی اے یا ٹھیک چھ انچ ہیل کے جوتے۔





اس میں اردو کے حروف کچھ ایسے دکھائی دیتے ہیں:۔

 اپڈیٹ: اس میں اردو کی ٹیکسٹ فائلیں بھی بالکل درست دکھائی دیتی ہیں، اگر ان کو درست فارمیٹ میں تبدیل کر لیا جائے۔
میرا ایک پرانا خواب تھا، ایک ایسی کتاب کے بارے میں جو کبھی ختم نہیں ہوتی۔ دراصل زیادہ کہانیاں پڑھنے سے ، پڑھنے کی رفتار وہاں تک جا پہنچتی ہے کہ ضخیم سے ضخیم ترین کتاب بھی اس کا ساتھ نہیں دے پاتی۔ ڈھونڈنے پر بھی ایسی کتاب نہ ملی۔
خیر یہ تو پرانی بات تھی۔ اب کچھ عرصہ پہلے خیال آیا کہ کتابیں تو دنیا میں لامحدود ہیں، اصل باٹل نیک انسان کی پہنچ اور استطاعت ہے۔ پھر اندازہ ہوا کہ اس قدر کتابیں ایک عدد زندگی میں نہیں پڑھی جا سکتیں۔ کس قدر پریشان کن اور وحشت ناک خیا ل ہے!۔
جب کچھ عرصہ موبائل کی چمکدار سکرین پر کتابیں پڑھ پڑھ کر آنکھیں پھوڑ لیں تو فیصلہ ہوا کہ کوئی  بہتر متبادل تلاش کرنا چاہیے۔ اب امیدوار دو رہ گئے تھے، ٹیبلٹ اور ای ریڈر۔ ٹیبلٹس کی خوبی یہ ہے کہ یہ بڑے سائز میں بھی دستیاب ہیں۔ ان پر اردو کی سکین شدہ کتابیں بہتر طریقے سے پڑھی جا سکتی ہیں۔ ان کے لیے بہت سی ایپس دستیاب ہیں۔ رنگینی کا عنصر بھی ٹیبلٹس میں ہی موجود ہے۔
لیکن مجھے چونکہ بنیادی طور پر صرف کتابیں پڑھنی ہیں اس لیے ای ریڈر کا انتخاب کیا۔ اس کی ای انک ٹیکنالوجی آنکھوں پر بوجھ نہیں بنتی اور ڈسپلے میں بہت کم پاور استعمال ہوتی ہے۔ روز روز بیٹری کون چارج کرتا پھرے۔
امیزون کا کنڈل ٹچ میری توقع سے بہتر نکلا، یہاں تک کہ دیکھنے میں بھی۔اس میں صفحہ پلٹتے ہوئے ایک جھماکہ ہوتا ہے، جسے پہلی بار دیکھنے پر میں بہت خائف ہوئی۔ لیکن اس کی آدھے گھنٹے میں ہی عادت ہو جاتی ہے۔
اردو کی کتابوں کا مسئلہ ہم اردو والوں کی طرح ذرا ٹیڑھا ہے۔ سکین شدہ پی ڈی ایف کو نوے درجے پر گھما کر یعنی پورٹریٹ موڈ میں پڑھنا پڑتا ہے۔ اور ایک صفحہ بہت سے ٹکڑوں میں بٹ جاتا ہے۔ اب مجھے شاید اس حقیقت کو تسلیم کرنا پڑے گا کہ اردو پر ہنوز ٹیبلٹس کی اجارہ داری ہے۔ شاید کوئی پی ڈی ایف ایڈیٹر ڈھونڈ ڈھانڈ کر خود ان فائلوں کی کاٹ چھانٹ کرنی پڑے۔
ایک دلچسپ بات یہ ہے کہ اردو کی ٹیکسٹ فائل بڑے مزے سے کھل جاتی ہے۔ فانٹ بھی دلکش ہے، بہ نسبت اس بھیانک پچکے ہوئے فانٹ کے جس میں اردو عام کمپیوٹرز میں دکھائی دیتی ہے۔ فانٹ کو بخوبی چھوٹا بڑا کیا جا سکتا ہے۔
بیٹری ٹائم ابھی تو کافی خوش کن ہے۔بارہ چودہ گھنٹے کے آف لائن استعمال کے باوجود اس کے بیٹری آئکن کا صرف ایک سیل کم ہوا ہے۔ اگر یہ لگاتار چار دن میرے پڑھنے کا ساتھ دے سکے تو کیا ہی بات ہو۔ اگر ایک ہفتہ چل گیا تو اس پر بیعت ہونا پڑے گا۔ امیزون والے اشتہار میں بڑا بڑا لکھتے ہیں :' بیٹری ٹائم، دو مہینے' نیچے منحنی سے فانٹ میں لکھا ہے: 'روزانہ آدھے گھنٹے کے آف لائن استعمال کی بنیاد پر' ۔ حد ہو گئی بھئی۔ کیا پریشر ککر ہے کہ روزانہ صرف آدھا گھنٹا استعمال ہو گا۔
کنڈل ہے تو اسے روٹ بھی کیا جائے گا، کبھی نہ کبھی۔ فی الحال یہ نیا ہے اور اس کا معاشرے میں ایک مقام ہے۔ چھوٹے بچوں کو اسے ہاتھ لگانے کی اجازت نہیں، وہ صرف اسے دور دور سے دیکھ سکتے ہیں۔
ملا تو یہ پاس آؤٹ ہونے کے تحفے کے طور پر ہے مگر اب پاس ہونا ذرا مشکوک ہے، خصوصاََ کنٹرولز میں۔ خدا خیر کرے اور تمام نالائق بچوں کو ان کی اماں کی دعاؤں کے طفیل پاس کرے، آمین۔ ویسے یہاں شک پہلے بھی تھا، سمسٹر کے پہلے دو ہفتوں سے۔ اب جب کہ بی ایس ختم ہونے والا ہے تو اندازہ ہو رہا ہے کہ امتحان اور ٹیسٹ دینے اور اسائنمنٹس بنانے کے لیے مجھے نہیں بنایا گیا۔ جب سے یہ میرے ہاتھ لگا ہے اس وقت سے دنیا کے تمام کار ہائے نمایاں و غیر نمایاں ٹھپ پڑے ہیں۔ مثال کے طور پر ایک چیز جسے فائنل ائیر پراجیکٹ کہتے ہیں، کھانا کھانا، رات کا کھانا پکانا بلکہ رات کو اشیائے خوردونوش کا ستیاناس کرنا وغیرہ وغیرہ۔ اس کو کہانیاں بھی نہیں سنائی جا سکتیں۔ اس پر کہانیاں پڑھنے سے فرصت ملے ، تو نا :۔
تھا جی میں کہ دشوارئ ہجر اس سے کہیں گے
پر جب ملے ، کچھ رنج و محن یاد نہ آیا



Tuesday, September 11, 2012

The minimal path problem

Finding the minimum path in a graph is a problem that occurs frequently in different situations. A well known algorithm for solving this problem is Dijkstra's algorithm.
To get an understanding of this algorithm, I tried watching a couple of lectures and reading some descriptions on a number of sites. The most detailed and easy-to-understand material I found was a sample question, explained thoroughly at Dijkstra's Algorithm example . Before stumbling across it, I did have some idea about this algorithm, but it did not have much to do with the real thing. (Update: this link doesn't seem to be working any longer.Pity)
I was introduced to Wodehouse by a friend while in school and I have been an avid fan since. The Jeeves books are the best of all, but I have not been able to find all of them in the local bookshops I usualy haunt.
Incidentlly, I was also introduced to Agatha Christie by the same friend. Now there are a number of her books that I have seen in every bookshop in Saddar, my usual resource, and none besides. When I had finished all the available ones, I searched for others and recognized the pattern. There are some including Black Coffee, 4:50 from Paddington, Nemesis that one can find in every shop.
Talking of books that one can find in every bookshop, there is sometimes a book-of-the-time that every shop offers you. Some time ago, it used to be the twilight series. The last time I went, there were A Song of Ice and Fire books in the most noticeable places. There was some other vampire series too, vampire diaries I guess, that had glossy black covers.The covers were nice.

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Some more reviews and the spring

Life goes on, like it always does, and leaves sleepyheads snoring behind.
But personally, I cannot think of one reason why one shouldn't spend one's life snoring while the world sprints on.
It steers you clear of a lot of quite unnecessary hassle.You also save up on a lot of energy, which you can use for some more hours of blessed ignorance of the world around you.
If the world wants to go on, let it go on. I do not want to go on, and that is the most important thing.
But I must not get carried away, as I promised to reduce the level of pointlessness that I carry around with me all the time.
So there are some books that I'd like to recommend to anyone who wants to read them:

  • 'The Physics of Impossible' and 'Hyperspace' by Michio Kaku. I came across the former , liked it a lot, and read the latter. It was even better. Kaku is really good at explaining things and has an interesting style.
  • 'A Song of Ice and Fire' series by George R. R. Martin. Based in a fictional world, it has some excellent, multidimensional characters and a gripping plot. It is still incomplete, five books have come out so far.For some people, it may be too long. (I am re-reading it nowadays, and praying that the next book comes soon).
  • Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley, a story that depicts a future world. Huxley is a favorite writer, and I wish for some soma  from time to time. Brave New World Revisited is a collection of his essays, equally liked.
  • 'Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions' by Edwin Abbott Abbott, the satirical  narrative of a 2-dimensional being. (Women were a separate and markedly lower class even there.sigh.)
  • 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' series, consisting of 3 books. Detective fiction at a fast pace, though it gets rather predictable as the series moves along,but I like Lisbeth Salander.
  •  'The Taliban Shuffle' by Kim Barker, an American journalist's account of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Recommended.
  • Brideshead Revisited
  • A Room with a View
  • The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
  • Daisy Miller
There is no kindle fire in the near future for me, I am afraid. A sad existence mine is, indeed.
There was a discussion with a friend about showing off, and I argued that one must have something to show off. I don't even have a Sandy Bridge i7 (which I dream about), what can I possibly show off? Or something with Ice Cream Sandwich, which I'd really love to have.
Sad,isn't it?
One day, when I will be rich, may God have mercy on all things beautiful and fast and slim and symmetric and with processors.
Right now, it is difficult to be sad for a long span of time. Yesterday morning, when I stepped out of the house, a gust of cool air greeted me. The sky was a beautiful grey, neither too dark nor too light to be as plain as daylight,but a metallic shade. For a moment, I stood looking at the tree in the yard, which had its leaves waving merrily along with the wind. The sun had not yet climbed high on the sky and was a nice shade of pale yellow.
Somehow, when I boarded the bus to my college, I couldn't find it in my heart to be as gloomy and cynical as usual.Rather, I thought of forests and valleys with streams and waterfalls and tall green firs and dew-covered grass in the morning to walk upon and a clear, star-studded sky at night.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

A few reviews

Even though the semester has ended, the workload has not.There is still a project, and I have no idea where to begin.
As someone so aptly put it, this project is a way for us to recognize the might of the subject that we call antenna.
Not that I am even begging to differ.
Iqbal comes to my mind:
وہی میری کم نصیبی، وہی تیری بے نیازی
میرے کام کچھ نہ آیا یہ   کمال  نے نوازی

There are some books that I thought I may want to review.
  • The Silence of the Lambs, by Thomas Harris. The story transports you to the world of Clarice Starling, a trainee at the FBI Academy. She is portrayed as a determined and courageous woman and is assigned with the task of interviewing a man charged with cannibalism, who also happens to be a noteworthy psychologist, to help the police in what may be another case of a cannibalism.  
  • Rebecca,by Daphne Du Maurier. The writer has a distinguishing style, a blend of the mellow and the melancholy,with some unexpected twists in the plot thrown in at places where you do not expect them. Basically, it is the story of a young,poor girl who meets a middle-aged rich widower and marries him, to find out that their life is constantly haunted by ghosts of the past. Throughout the story, you cannot help feeling sorry for the lack of self confidence and the childish innocence of the heroine, who, interestingly, remains anonymous till the end of the story (and even after it).
  •  The Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame. It is a story for children. A very good story, nonetheless, of some animals who, of course, live in their respective homes. Some of the animals it features are a mole, a rat (called ratty) and a very conceited toad, who composed a poem in his own honour:
              ' The world has held great Heroes,
               As history-books have showed;
               But never a name to go down to fame
               Compared with that of Toad!'

  • The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, by F. Scott Fitzgerald. It is definitely a very curious case and a good read, though a short one. The (short) story of a man who was somehow traveling backward along the time axis.
  •  A Damsel in Distress, by P. G. Wodehouse. One can always trust Wodehouse for some hours of sheer delight. This book describes one of his high-spirited heroines and the adventures she had, defying her family.
  •  Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck. A sad and disturbing tale of two field workers looking for work, a sharp yet unsuccessful man and his friend with very limited mental capabilities.
  •  Something Wicked this Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury. Science fiction, fantasy and horror. It discusses some of the deepest, most well-hidden desires in almost every mortal being. The desire to live forever, and to be young forever, and the lengths to which human beings can go to get what they want.

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

The game is done! I've won,I've won!

Quoth she, and whistles thrice.
Except for the fact that the game is not done. In the least.
This is something I might have mentioned before, but I'll say it again,anyways:Winter is a time to sleep 16 hours a day.
Besides, a winter without rain is-not the right winter.
As things-to-do pile up, my mind wanders at random to Ancient Mariner lines and I keep thinking of a number of completely unrelated things.
I am waiting for someone's post, it is supposed to be a happy one.
Still waiting for it.
For some time, I have been intending to read Ghulam Bagh, for I have heard a lot about it.
I came across the song of ice and fire series and started reading it. At first,i was not impressed. But further reading took me deep in the world of Starks, Lannisters and Targaryens. Then I watched the entire season of A Game of Thrones, and now I am waiting for ACOK. Despite knowing the entire story beforehand (or as much of it as has been revealed to date, till A Dance with Dragons), it was a nice watch. The way the season stays true to the real story is nice,too.


The Wall is such an interesting place


Friday, March 18, 2011

An unexpected treat

When a book turns out to be better then your expectations, it is just like a feast.
Or an oasis. When you reach it in stark sunlight. Amid scorching sand.
I somehow had the notion that The Lord of The Flies was a light book.
So far, it has turned out to be just the type of literature that deserves to be called true literature. I have not completed it yet. Once I have, I may consider writing some sort of review.