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My App Picks for Windows Phone (Sept 2012)

Posted by aaaboulmagd on September 25, 2012
Posted in: Technology. 5 Comments

Below are some of the Local Egypt Apps that I really like. Some of them I know the developer some I don’t. Click on the Picture of the Logo go to the marketplace to install

App Logo Developer Description
Face Recognizer

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Ahmed Abd El Mageed (Megii) Face Recognizer is an simple application to locate the Face of every person inside a picture , to show how to select the faces inside a picture , download it and see if he can find your face or not .
SnakeMobile

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Ahmed Abd El Mageed (Megii) SnakeMobile is a new Designed Snake Game for windows phone 7 , it provide you playing with the classic snake game , with some adding features as time for player , score for every one , pause and continue the play , setting to change the mode , and you have option to continue the game after close the application .
CityScout

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ITWorx CityScout is a free Windows Phone 7 application that allows citizens to view real-time information about their daily driving routes. Using a Facebook or twitter ID login, users can view traffic updates and submit incident reports, on road accidents, medical emergencies, broken cars or similar, by pointing, capturing and publishing. Courtesy of Microsoft Bing Maps, the application provides a detailed map with indicative colors and icons showing the status of different roads. Users can find out more about incidents by clicking on them and loading further details, including pictures.
Dalilakfemasr image Mohamed Koueider Dalilak is your best guide to the most popular phone numbers in Egypt. Including fastfood , Transportaion , Emergency , Banks.
Travel.Egypt image Abdallah We Wait You ^_^
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Jumping in Sydneyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

Posted by aaaboulmagd on August 16, 2012
Posted in: Thoughts. 2 Comments

How, What, Why

Most of us have it on our bucket list, we want to do it at least once in our lives that may or may not happen. There are all kinds of things running thought you head mainly giving you excuses not to do it. Should I, shouldn’t I? Is it too much money, or is it worth it? Is it safe or is it too dangers?

It all starts with booking the jump at the agency. It was in my head for about 2 years, I didn’t have the time last year and the year before is when it popped in my head. Therefore before I went on my trip this year I told myself; I AM going to do this no matter what (anywhere; either in Australia or in the US). So when I asked about Skydiving at the agency, it was easy to make the financial choice to book the jump and buy the video and pictures.

The bus would leave either at 6 am or 11 am, I choose the earlier one so I would have the rest of the day to do something else after. Believe me it did not matter what I did after 😉 So I get up at 5 surprisingly energetic and excited given the fact I was still jet lagged from traveling half way around the world from Egypt to Australia and also staying up late working the 6 or 7 days before it. I get dressed and go down thinking that in a big city like Sydney would have a place opened where I can get breakfast. I found Nothing the streets were deserted. By chance I saw this little place, Can’t remember the name, where I got some coffee and a sandwich.  For those of you who know me you know how important food is to me.

The First Step

Finally I get to the skydiving office where the bus will pick us up (not the same place as the agency). There were about 11 of us and there were 2 guys there who were experienced jumpers that just needed a ride to the jump site. The rest of us had to sign forms both in a computer and paper. For me the scariest part of this whole experience was reading and signing these papers. I was reading everything so carefully. In my head I was “should you really do this”, “hell ya you should”, “it seems dangerous”, “it is once in a life time”, “do it”, “don’t” “do it”, “don’t” “do it”, “don’t”, until I told myself you’re doing this so you might as well just stop reading the forms and sign them.

I get on the bus and we start out on hour bus ride to the jump site. Now keep in mind Australia’s winter is in July so it was kind of chilly in Sydney but it was cold at the jump site. When we go to the site they checked us in and we had to wait for our names to be called because I think they match up the instructors with the students (that is what the form I signed called us) based on weight and height so I had to wait a while for my guy because I think he was already jumping with some else. The others went ahead without me so I was with different group that were not on the bus. This did not bother me as I made friends with these 2 university students studying abroad and got to see them land from the ground. I happened to run into them at the airport when I was leaving Sydney, I thought that was cool.

Anyways back to the jump. My name gets called and I go to the staging area where I put on gloves, that blue suite, which was tight, and the harness, which was TIGHTER. I can’t get into any more details without getting graphic. The instructor gave me a few safety instructions and off we went to the plane. The plain is a small propeller plane with a small cockpit/cargo hold so when I tried to climb in, the harness made it a little difficult. I finally get in the plain and I watch as the others get in. As the last person gets in which was an instructor he sees that the parashoot of another instructor was hanging out a little, so he stuffs it back in the backpack. I was thinking hmmm that’s not a good sign, but I just assumed that it was ok because they do this all the time and they did not seem worried. Later I found out that there main parashoot did not open and they had to land using the reserve. As much excitement as I had I am sure the other person had more if he even noticed. Anyways, the plane took off..

This whole time my instructor was filming me with this special camera that is hooked on to his hand. It takes video and then they pull out some frames that are the pictures you guys are seeing. We get up to 14,000 feet (4.27 Km, 2.65 mi) which is the max they are allowed to take us. This is about half the altitude that commercial planes fly at. Keep in mind this is not a commercial plain so it is really LOUD, windy, and cold. I was sitting next to the door so I was in charge of this cushion thing that we stuffed in between the glass door to stop some of the wind rushing into the plain and muffle some of the sound.  When we were about to open the door I was in charge of tying it and putting it away, as silly as it sounds I felt like I was one of the professional instructors because I was responsible for this thing 😛 

At this point I am still cool and not comprehending what is going on completely. I get hooked on to my instructor and this is when I see the first person with his instructor jump out of the plane. I say jump but it is more like fall. I can’t describe what it is like to see someone fall out of a plain. They just fell. One second they are there the other ooowp falling away. It is surreal.

Here we GOOOOOOOoooooooo….

Now its my turn, my instructor gives me my goggles and a few last minute instructions. One of which is not to put my feet on the platform, I will get to this in a minute. We are tied together at this point so we have to move together to the door. It is harder than it sounds. It is awkward and strange to have someone on you back and try to manager in a small area and have to be careful not to fall out just yet. Remember the instructor told me not to put my feet on the platform for safety reasons. So when we make it to the door (as one) I am latterly just dangling outside of the plane attached to this guy who is on the outside of a plan on a platform with my feet on nothing and looking below and all around me thinking WOW THIS IS INCREADABLE. I did not feel the cold or the wind or anything at this point. I was not scared as well for some reason, I felt like I was on top of the world, almost like when superman flies way up and is just floating there looking down at metropolis.  This all happens very quickly but seems much longer in my head.

“ARE YOU READY” I hear my instructor say as he points the camera in my face. “READYYYYYYYYY”  I said back….

Free fall begins. My instructor does this amazing thing where he does a flip, YA A FLIP!!!; To get a view of the airplane falling away from us and as he rotated and we were still gaining speed going head first all I could think of is YAAAAAAAAAAAAA. Those first 10 seconds were like no other. The best way I can describe it is if you ever fell asleep sitting up and were spoken up by the feeling that you were falling for a split second you kind of know what it feels like but it lasts much longer. Looking back now I think to myself that is how it feels like to fly.  We finally level out and all I feel is the air pressure on my entire body. Like when you sick you hand out of a moving car but more extreme. As I was enjoying the sensation of falling all that is going through my head at this point was what an amazing view and this is so awesome. That day it was a clear day but there were a few clouds. So as you are falling you still feel it but the only visual indication is the lay of clouds below you and to the right start to be rise above you as you break through the layer of cloud. Then all of a sudden I found my feet flying forward and us slowing down, my instructor has pulled the cord and the Parashoot opened. Which for some reason I never really worked about because I was so into the moment. Looking back now, I wonder if I jumped by myself would I remember to pull the cord 😛 The whole thing takes about a minute (60 Seconds) and about 5 minutes to float down. The float down was increasable as well. Besides the beautiful view, the sensation of floating really takes you over. After the extreme rush of falling out of a plan and falling at 9.8 m/s squared (the geeks in my noticed that later on in the day) you can’t help but be taken over by the peace and tranquility of floating on top of the earth like that.

 

Its time to land, landing is an experience in its self as well as the instructor needs to speed up before he does something to the parashoot to make use slow down. So if you can imagine it is the last few feet and you are not floating anymore and actually gaining speed at the same time you have to lift your legs up so you can come to a sliding stop. It was over I got up and if you noticed in the video I can barely stand from the rush that I am still going through. After all that excitement but bus ride back to Sydney was a sleepy one 🙂

  

Leanings:

We often go through our experiences without getting the most out of them. What I like to do is to reflect on what happened and if there are any observations or things I learned along the way that I might have missed. However, when I got back to Sydney I automatically got the most out of the experience. I felt unstoppable, partly from the jump it’s self but mainly from the fact that I wanted to do it for the longest time and made a choice to did it. I knew and felt that I am in charge of this world and nothing can stop me. By world I mean my life. While I always knew deep down inside that nothing is out of my reach and I can do anything this confirmed it. While this experience made the term “skys the limit” have a new meaning I believe it is in all of us to reach for the Skys and be in charge of our own worlds, all you need to do is take… that…first…..step.

Video

Growing 28

Posted by aaaboulmagd on April 16, 2012
Posted in: Thoughts. 1 Comment

It just hit me yesterday that my birthday is going to be in two weeks. I’m going to be turning 28 this year. This is usually a normal occurrence for me; for some reason I don’t realize my birthday is coming until a few days before it, and, like every year, I am shocked that I am one year older and the feeling of impending doom towards turning 30 lingers with me for a few days. However, this year was slightly different. Although I was shocked, I accepted the fact that I am turning 28 within a few days. In fact, I’m considering myself 28 years old two weeks early!

Now, I’m usually a goofball and, for better or worse, I act like a little kid no mater what age I am. So in these rare moments of maturity, let me try to explain why I think I accepted 28 so fast. I think it’s because I had a nice talk with my parents, and I woke up to the fact that things have changed and it’s OKAY. I finally got back the feeling that nothing can stop me and everything is in my control.

I had a really good talk with my parents that very day, which made me take a look at things I already knew from before (like my last two points) but was not really acknowledged. It was more or less the same talk we always have every few months about life, growing up and/or responsibilities. However, while talking to them I realized what kind of effect I have on them and how much they love me and are trying to make me happy. I believe once you realize that what your parents really want for you is to be happy, you start to take a step back and realize why they do the things they do. From there, you can start managing your relationship and their expectations better.

That very same day, I somehow realized that most of my friends are married or engaged and my best friend is no longer in the country (this is after he left about a year or so ago ). I started thinking about my career differently, however, I myself seem to not change and I’m holding onto something without even knowing it. We often think things in our lives that things are constant while everything is always naturally changing. Think about it. Your town does not look the same as it did 5 or 10 years ago, your maturity and thought process is not the same, you may not have the same friends or your relationship with your friends is not the same (maybe better or maybe worse). Now here is the important part. IT…IS…OKAY. Accepting the fact that things in your life WILL CHANGE is one of the best things you can do. Once you do, you can start living and enjoying it instead of fighting it. Guess what? It’s natural to fight change because we tend to stay in our comfort zone where nothing bad can happen to us. However, your comfort zone is where nothing good happens to you as well. Don’t get me wrong, a comfort zone is a great thing to have but that does not mean your comfort zone itself can’t change. You never know, it may change into something better.

When I graduated college I was like any other early 20s, young adult, who felt like he can take on the world and nothing can stop him. With me, however, I always thought it was more than just that. If I wanted to travel, I could have. If I wanted to be an astronaut, I could have been. If I wanted a burger for dinner, I can make it happen and nothing can stop me. I felt that anything I wanted would happen because it always did. There was always a path to what I wanted, I just had to find it. Then, after a while something happened. I forgot how to want. I always knew what I needed (the basics) but did not know what I wanted. The worst part is that I did not realize that this was happening until I lost a special relationship with someone simply because I did not know that I wanted it. This was a very difficult time of my life as well because I almost died in a car accident and was trying to deal with that as well. So, what happened to make me learn how to want? To tell you the truth, I saw how miserable people were. If you asked them if they were happy they would either say no or “I guess”, while they have no reason as to why they feel that way. So, I started to observe a little closer. I came to the conclusion that most people believe there is only one path based on choices they have made like to get married or not, Job A or Job B, to move to a different country or not. Although they are not upset with the path they took, they often wish they could have more than one path or certain things from other paths. So I thought to myself, “Am I just like them? Do I want other paths? Did I even choose to want the path I am on?” Then all of a sudden I stopped thinking. What the hell is stopping me from creating my own path? Who says, just because you’re married you need to be boring and not travel if you wanted? Who says Job A is batter than Job B (or vice versa)? Job B can be what you make it, and you can make it 10 times better than Job A whether it is or not! Who says you can’t have kids and run a marathon? Who says A + B is the best way to C? NO ONE!. YOU LIVE YOUR LIFE THE WAY YOU WANT TO LIVE IT! Whatever that entails! This is what gives me comfort, nothing can stop me because nothing really can. There is always a way if you don’t think of your life as segments. All the examples I gave are real. There are people who take there children sailing around the world for a year. There are moms that run triathlons, there are billionaires that started their companies that have not finished school. Create and shape your path for the better.

So what my final thought is: simply, only love those who love you back, shit will happen and so will changes just try to look at is positively. Live before it is too late (nothing can stop you)! As for turning 28, I have a friend that always asks me, on any given day, how old are you today? I think today I will be…

Windows 8 (Customer Release)

Posted by aaaboulmagd on March 9, 2012
Posted in: Technology. Leave a comment

Windows 8 customer release just came out and I am loving it. I only wish I had a touch enabled PC to really get the sense of the whole operating system. I tried some slates at work and they are awesome. I cant wait until the RTM comes out.

I love the docking features, I love the mootness. I love the new ribbon of the normal windows we are used to. Although it is doing something weird, it seems to be syncing with something and I cant copy from one partition to another. I sill love it and will figure it out.

One thing to be carful with, when you are installing BACK UP EVERYTHING. When you install windows it, it formats your whole hard disk, including any and all partitions.

Air Filter

Posted by aaaboulmagd on January 16, 2012
Posted in: Cars.

There are lots of filters, fluids and parts that you will not hear about in basic Car Maintenance. This is just a note for later if you decide to get into cars more.

Lets get started:

Checking your air filter.

One of the easiest thing to find is your Air Filter. it is normally a black plastic box located in the upper right or upper left corner (most likely upper right) with a big hose coming out of it and leading to the engine (mettle thing in the middle). Don’t confuse this with the fuse box which now a days is almost the same sizes and is also plastic. if you open the cover and you see different colors, those are fuses in the fuse box not the air filter. In older cars the filter looked like

In newer cars the filter looks something similar to this. If you are replacing not just cleaning your filter make sure you get the correct one for the make and model of your car. Just for your info you might see filters like the one on the right these are high performance filters you can get that will make your car sound louder and will improve your car’s intake slightly.


Step 1: un-hook the clips

Step 2: remove filter

Step 3: Clean filter with air pressure at a gas station or you vacuum at home or I find slamming it on the ground while keeping the filter parallel to it works perfectly.

Step 4: Put filter back and reattach the clips

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