Monty says: Invitation to test MariaDB 5.1 release candidate

Here comes the Drop in Replacement of MySql, Thanks to all those who made it possible.

"MariaDB 5.1 is based on MySQL 5.1 codebase, which has been GA for a year now. Most of the things we have included in addition to the vanilla 5.1 code upstream from Sun/MySQL (more on this below) have also been available in the community for quite a long time, so we are quite confident that this is a very stable release; however, being conservative we have had a four month Beta cycle before now going to RC.

I would now like to invite everyone in the community to download and test this release, and if the feedback is good will we then rapidly release a Final release."
Monty says: Invitation to test MariaDB 5.1 release candidate

Posted using ShareThis

It is the perception that matters

Here is an article about the record revenue at box office by "Avatar". The author shows that when this record is viewed from another perspective "Avatar ranks as the 26th highest grossing film in the U.S., according to Box Office Mojo."

With no film on the near horizon poised to challenge "Avatar"'s dominance, the film is sure to continue to mint money. But it's got a way's to go to catch up with a classic like "Gone With The Wind."


Forbes.com: Is Avatar Really King Of The Box Office?

Posted using ShareThis

Apple - iPad - Tablet PC

My dream is about to come true but there shall be a long wait until I get hold of my dream. I always yearn to read book on an ebook reader while lying on my bed in a resting mood but still not able to do so. I have to sit in front of my LCD to read a book. But I hope that with the proliferation of Tablet PC, I shall be able to read my favorite books the way I like to read. Let's wait for that time, hopefully not too far from now.

Apple - iPad - Features - The best device for web, email & photos.

Posted using ShareThis

Free Market is an Illusion

"There is much to be said for markets. When working efficiently they engender competition thus forcing producers to pass on value to consumers. A good illustration is the Pakistani mobile phone market, perhaps one of the most competitive in the world. Despite the many virtues of markets, however, it is not necessary that they serve everyone all the time.

The reasoning is simple. Markets are blind and allocate on the basis of effective demand, i.e. demand backed up by purchasing power. Thus, if Demi Moore, say, wishes to take a milk bath every day, the market will ensure delivery of sufficient milk to her, even if it means that 100 African children, who cannot afford the price, go without a drop.

Amartya Sen who won a Nobel Prize in economics pointed out how many of the world’s worst famines were actually caused by unfettered market forces."

DAWN.COM | Business | Sugar crisis and free markets

The Story of Sugar Crisis in Pakistan

It is the free market system that has created all the confusion or rather provided an opportunity to some to make huge money. Here is the excerpt from an article on the subject.

"In the 1980s, the ministry of industries used to calculate sugar prices on the basis of cane support price. Dr Mahboob-ul-Haq, the then minister for commerce and industries, passed on this responsibility to the APCom. Until recently, sugar prices were determined by it.

While sugarcane prices were approved by the cabinet, these were fixed by the ECC presided over by the finance minister. The system was working satisfactorily till such time the so-called ‘free market’ system was adopted under the influence of international financial institutions.

This system has created confusion in marketing of sugar/sugarcane, wheat, rice/paddy, cotton, etc. Such decisions should be left to local experts who are equally, if not better, than their foreign counterparts."

Pakissan.com; Pakistan's Largest Agri web portal, Connecting Agri
Community for Better Farming

Detailed NRO Judgement by Supreme Court

A land mark judgement in the history of Pakistan. May Allah (SWT) accepts this effort and change the destiny of people of Pakistan to a better future. Here is a link to download the detailed judgement.

Detailed NRO Judgement by Supreme Court

Posted using ShareThis

DAWN.COM | Columnists | Burnt dreams

I like to read Dr. Ayesha Siddiqa. Whenever, she writes, I find time to read her. She is eloquent, comprehensible and does not hide behind thin veil of something else. She says what she has to say or what she feels. I came to know her when she published her controversial book "Military Inc." Since then I have been following her writings. I wish that she may publish her columns someday so that her fans can enjoy reading without waiting. I also wish that she may sometime in future decide to write blog. Here is her latest column:

"the path for normative feudalism was prepared intellectually as well. A large portion of literature, especially in Urdu, which was read in the largest province, did not challenge the feudal authoritarianism particularly exercised by the new feudals, such as the military in power. In fact, numerous intellectuals became conduits for military regimes trading their souls for land, money or cushy positions.
Some of them even manipulated religion and converted the discourse to the advantage of authoritarian military rulers. So, most tragically youngsters at that time like me saw the edifice of neo-feudalism being built through encouraging intellectual dishonesty. The Zia years were among the darkest in our national history. Personally I saw Lahore, a city I was born and grew up in, and which was known for its intellectual shine, capitulate to dictatorial rule. Things would never be the same again."

DAWN.COM | Columnists | Burnt dreams

Posted using ShareThis

Financial crisis: Downturn shows we were too slow to fix world's debt addiction - Telegraph

"He may yet have to. Banks have been faced with three problems throughout the crisis, and while one has been solved, the other two are still just as pressing.

The first is that financial institutions have been severely undercapitalised. As investors pulled cash out of the banks, their capital ratios dropped to dangerous levels, leaving many of them not just beyond the acceptable limits laid down by Basel but close to outright insolvency."

The financial institutions were playing on other people's money.

Financial crisis: Downturn shows we were too slow to fix world's debt addiction - Telegraph

Posted using ShareThis

The Capital Structure Decisions of New Firms

"Outside debt (financing through credit cards, credit lines, bank loans, etc.) was the most important type of financing for new firms, followed closely by owner equity. These two sources accounted for about 75 percent of startup capital."


Why so? May be because the owner does not want to share his profits or may be that he could not find a partner.

The Capital Structure Decisions of New Firms


Posted using ShareThis

Deleveraging: Now the hard part

Every research into finding the causes of recent financial crisis leads to one point that debt is the cause, yet there is blindness and deafness. What could be said about this phenomenon other than that 


"As to those who reject Faith, it is the same to them whether thou warn them or do not warn them; they will not believe."
"Allah hath set a seal on their hearts and on their hearing, and on their eyes is a veil; great is the penalty they (incur)."
(Aya 6 & 7 of Sura Al-Baqara)


Here is an excerpt from Mackinsey Global Institute research report.


"Even as signals multiply that a global economic recovery is underway, government and business leaders face uncertainty over its durability and how to manage the lengthy process of debt reduction—or deleveraging—that will weigh on growth after the bursting of the great global credit bubble.

New McKinsey research shows that the challenge of reducing total debt levels relative to GDP is a global problem that is only just getting started. Leverage is still very high in some sectors of several countries, including the United States. History also shows that deleveraging episodes are painful—on average lasting six to seven years—and exert a significant drag on GDP growth in the early stages." 

Facebook | McKinsey Quarterly: Deleveraging: Now the hard part

Posted using ShareThis

There are no free lunches in this world

"The hypothesis that actual prices reflect fundamental values is the Efficient Markets Hypothesis (EMH). Put simply, under this hypothesis, “prices are right,” in that they are set by agents who understand Bayes’s law and have sensible preferences. In an efficient market, there is “no free lunch”: no investment strategy can earn excess risk-adjusted average returns, or average returns greater than are warranted for its risk."

The "no free lunch" slogan is not restricted to the EMH as above. It is omnipresent. Here is an excerpt from an interesting article.

"My father used to tell me, "There's no such thing as a free lunch, son." One day, when I was feeling clever, I thanked my dad for the "free" lunch he had just bought me. He replied, "This lunch isn't free, son … you have to sit here and listen to me while you eat it, don't you?" Point taken."

The Hidden Costs of Free Software - Small Business Software - Entrepreneur.com


Posted using ShareThis

Intel’s Bet on Future

Future is an uncertain entity, anything can happen. Future projections are at best probabilities. Here is an excerpt from an article about Intel's bet on future. The future is what you think and have faith in.

"With the global economy reeling, businesses and consumers had pulled way back on their typical technology spending, and sales of personal computers had started to decline at their steepest rates in history. The major two-year investment was a matter of faith — in an economic recovery and in the Internet continuing to drive a long-term increase in demand for computers, smartphones and other devices with chips inside."

Intel’s Bet on Innovation Pays Off in Faster Chips - NYTimes.com

Posted using ShareThis

Investment in Stock Market and Gambling is Identical

Here is an excerpt from an interesting article "How Poker can Make You a Better Investor".

Ever watch professional poker players calculating the odds, then coolly dissecting their opponents? Many of the same skills the top players use can help you be a better investor. Success at both investing and gambling, it turns out, has much to do with controlling emotions. And playing a little poker can help you recognize, and avoid, emotional traps that endanger your most important stack of chips -- your portfolio. But you need to know what to look for.

The psychological issues that drive investing and gambling decisions aren’t merely similar. They are “identical,” says Andrew Lo, director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Laboratory for Financial Engineering and one of the leaders in the field of behavioral finance. It’s easy to find investment professionals and professional poker players who agree. Says poker pro Daniel Negreanu, who holds four World Series of Poker bracelets and two World Poker Tour Championship titles: “Having emotional stability and emotional control is key to both investing and poker.”

Can you gain that control at a poker table? Aaron Brown is among many who think so. Brown is a onetime finance professor and former portfolio manager for Prudential Securities who is now a risk manager for hedge funds. He’s also the author of The Poker Face of Wall Street(Wiley, $17). Says Brown: “People tell me playing poker is risky. Investing for a financial lifetime without playing poker is risky. I’d much rather make these mistakes at the table.”

And by mistakes, Brown means the common emotional errors that plague investors. The burgeoning fields of investor psychology and behavioral finance are uncovering more about these errors all the time, and they are the subject of a year-long series co-produced byKiplinger’s and Nightly Business Report on PBS.

By playing some poker, “you can find out your tendencies to make emotional mistakes, and then you can guard against them,” says Frank Murtha, a behavioral-finance consultant with a PhD in counseling psychology (his dissertation explored the effect of psychological errors in gambling). Murtha helps clients from investment banks, financial-services companies and trading firms to avoid making psychological errors.

He’s also co-founder of MarketPsych, which offers psychological-training services to traders and money managers and which offers a number of online tests that any investor can take to better understand his or her own psychological makeup.

Most investors make few investment decisions over a year, or even over a lifetime. But experts agree that just a few hours of playing poker will take you through literally dozens of financial decisions -- potentially a lifetime’s worth if you were making those decisions about your portfolio. By playing poker while keeping in mind the psychological errors that are also common to investing, you can get a lifetime’s worth of training in one evening.

What are these errors? We’ve picked five of the most common, and all can be found both in investing and in gambling. Click on each one below to learn how they appear in poker and investing and to find out how you can use poker to help train yourself not to make these errors.

Greed
Overconfidence
Regret
Seeing patterns
Holding on to losers

Interview with Eugene Fama: Rational Irrationality : The New Yorker

Eugene Fama theorized "efficient markets hypothesis" that says prices of financial assets accurately reflect all of the available information about economic fundamentals. When asked about solution to present financial crisis, he reluctantly said that solution lies in equity financing. Here is an excerpt from his interview.

"So what is the solution that problem?

The simple solution is to make sure these firms have a lot more equity capital—not a little more, but a lot more, so they are not playing with other people’s money. There are other people here who think that leverage is an important part of they system. I am not sure I agree with them. You talk to Doug Diamond or Raghu Rajan, and they have theories for why leverage in financial institutions has real uses. I just don’t think that those effects are as important as they think they are."

Interview with Eugene Fama: Rational Irrationality : The New Yorker

Posted using ShareThis

Too big to fail fail?

Leverage is the cause of financial crisis. Paul Krugman says that. Here is a link to his blog post.

"The point is that breaking up the big players is neither necessary nor sufficient to protect us against financial crises. That’s why my focus is on reducing leverage."

Too big to fail fail? - Paul Krugman Blog - NYTimes.com

Posted using ShareThis

Islamic Finance is Different

Islamic Finance as the name suggests is finance according to the Law, Rules & Regulations of Allah (SWT) and His Messenger Muhammad (PBUH). It is not just Arabic names of conventional banking products. It is also not just Riba free. It is to accept, surrender or submit to the will of Allah (SWT).

Dr. El- Gamal posted an eye opener, which states ""Islamic finance" started with a suggestion that the "Islamic economics" philosophy rests on sharing in profits and losses through partnership (i.e. equity) finance. In practice, of course, the industry moved toward debt finance, where the only risk is default risk. Now, they want to insure against credit risk as well, which is of course possible, but defeats the entire purpose."

In Islamic teachings, according to the Quran, an insolvent person should be allowed time to be able to pay out his debt. This is recorded in the Quran's second chapter (Sura Al-Baqara), Verse 280, which notes: "If the debtor is in a difficulty, grant him time till it is easy for him to repay. But if ye remit it by way of charity, that is best for you if ye only knew."

Narrated Abu Huraira


The Prophet said, "There was a merchant who used to lend the people, and whenever his debtor was in straitened circumstances, he would say to his employees, 'Forgive him so that Allah may forgive us.' So, Allah forgave him." Sahih Al-Bukhari 3.292

After clear instructions from Allah (SWT) and His Messenger Muhammad (PBUH), we still want our debt to be secured by Takaful and yet claim to be practicing Islamic Banking & Finance.


The above referred Aya consists of two parts. First part, "If the debtor is in a difficulty grant him time till it is easy for him to repay." Second part, "if ye remit if by way of charity that is best for you if ye only knew." As far as I have researched and obvious from the tone, the first part of the verse is an order from Allah (SWT) and is a mandatory, it has to be obeyed. Second part of the verse is more like a recommendation of best practice, one may adopt it or not.

Should not there be a clause in every debt based Islamic Banking contract so as to incorporate the above mentioned order of Allah(SWT)?

Poverty Alleviation - Quran and Sunnah

Abu Huraira (Radi Allah Anhu) reported Allah's Messenger (sal-allahu-alleihi-wasallam)as saying:


"He who alleviates the suffering of a brother out of the sufferings of the world, Allah would alleviate his suffering from the sufferings of the Day of Resurrection, and he who finds relief for one who is hard pressed, Allah would make things easy for him in the Hereafter, and he who conceals (the faults) of a Muslim, Allah would conceal his faults in the world and in the Hereafter. Allah is at the back of a servant so long as the servant is at the back of his brother, and he who treads the path in search of know- ledge, Allah would make that path easy, leading to Paradise for him and those persons who assemble in the house among the houses of Allah (mosques) and recite the Book of Allah and they learn and teach the Qur'an (among themselves) there would descend upon them the tranquility and mercy would cover them and the angels would surround them and Allah makes a mention of them in the presence of those near Him, and he who is slow-paced in doing good deeds, his (high) descent does not make him go ahead."

[Sahih Muslim : Book 35 Kitab Al-Dhikr, Number 6518]

From reading of the above, one gets an impression that it is to our own benefit to

1. alleviate the suffering of a brother out of the sufferings of the world
2. find relief for one who is hard pressed
3. conceal (the faults) of a Muslim
4. be at the back of his brother
5. tread the path in search of knowledge
6. assemble in the house among the houses of Allah (mosques) and recite the Book of Allah
7. learn and teach the Qur'an (among themselves)

All the above mentioned points are inter linked, however, when focused too narrowly on poverty alleviation first 4 points are of utmost importance. Dr. Mohammad Obaidullah has very rightly pointed out that

1. Charity is scarce.
2. For-profit funds are more easily available.
3. What we need is a change in mindset of people if the destitute and the poorest of the poor are to be helped out of hunger and poverty.

To my understanding of the mindset towards which he points is "The Evil One threatens you with poverty and bids you to conduct unseemly. Allah promiseth you His forgiveness and bounties and Allah careth for all and He knoweth all things." (Aya 268 Sura Al-Baqara).

This threat of poverty leads us to think in terms of everything profit oriented "Micro" even if we want to help "destitute and the poorest of the poor". Then we follow the advise of "Evil One" and forget what Allah (SWT) says "O ye who believe!
1. give of the good things which ye have (honorably) earned
2. and of the fruits of the earth which We have produced for you
3. and do not even aim at getting anything which is bad in order that out of it ye may give away something when ye yourselves would not receive it except with closed eyes.
4. And know that Allah is free of all wants and worthy of all praise." (Aya 267 Sura Al-Baqara)

There is very specific mention of the strata of population for whom the charity is

"(Charity is) for
1. those in need
2. who in Allah's cause are restricted (from travel) and cannot move about in the land seeking (for trade or work).
3. The ignorant man thinks because of their modesty that they are free from want. Thou shalt know them by their (unfailing) mark: they beg not importunately from all and sundry.
4. And whatever of good ye give be assured Allah knoweth it well." (Aya 273 Sura Al-Baqara)

In response to deeds of charity by Muslims, Allah (SWT) has declared "Those who (in charity) spend of their goods by night and by day in secret and in public have their reward with their Lord: on them shall be no fear nor
shall they grieve." (Aya 274 Sura Al-Baqara)

What else we, the Muslims in particular, need than no fear and no grief whatsoever the nature may be here and hereafter. That tranquillity is ours, the condition is only one.

We have to believe in Allah (SWT).

Poverty Alleviation

Kind words and the covering of faults are better than charity followed by injury. Allah is free of all wants and he is Most Forbearing.


O ye who believe! cancel not your charity by reminders of your generosity or by injury like those who spend their substance to be seen of men but believe neither in Allah nor in the last day. They are in Parable like a hard barren rock on which is a little soil; on it falls heavy rain which leaves it (just) a bare stone. They will be able to do nothing with aught they have earned. And Allah guideth not those who reject faith.

And the likeness of those who spend their substance seeking to please Allah and to strengthen their souls is as a garden high and fertile: heavy rain falls on it but makes it yield a double increase of harvest and if it receives not heavy rain light moisture sufficeth it. Allah seeth well whatever ye do. 


Does any of you wish that he should have a garden with date-palms and vines and streams flowing underneath and all kinds of fruit while he is stricken with old age and his children are not strong (enough to look after themselves) that it should be caught in a whirlwind with fire therein and be burnt up? Thus doth Allah make clear to you (His) signs; that ye may consider. 


O ye who believe! give of the good things which ye have (honorably) earned and of the fruits of the earth which We have produced for you and do not even aim at getting anything which is bad in order that out of it ye may give away something when ye yourselves would not receive it except with closed eyes. And know that Allah is free of all wants and worthy of all praise. 

The Evil One threatens you with poverty and bids you to conduct unseemly. Allah promiseth you His forgiveness and bounties and Allah careth for all and He knoweth all things. 

He granteth wisdom to whom He pleaseth; and he to whom wisdom is granted receiveth indeed a benefit overflowing; but none will grasp the message but men of understanding. 

And whatever ye spend in charity or devotion be sure Allah knows it all. But the wrong-doers have no helpers. 


If ye disclose (acts of) charity even so it is well but if ye conceal them and make them reach those (really) in need that is best for you: it will remove from you some of your (stains of) evil. And Allah is well acquainted with what ye do.

It is not required of thee (O Apostles) to set them on the right path but Allah sets on the right path whom He pleaseth. Whatever of good ye give benefits your own souls and ye shall only do so seeking the "Face" of Allah. Whatever good ye give, shall be rendered back to you and ye shall not be dealt with unjustly.

(Charity is) for those in need who in Allah's cause are restricted (from travel) and cannot move about in the land seeking (for trade or work). The ignorant man thinks because of their modesty that they are free from want. Thou shalt know them by their (unfailing) mark: they beg not importunately from all and sundry. And whatever of good ye give be assured Allah knoweth it well.

Those who (in charity) spend of their goods by night and by day in secret and in public have their reward with their Lord: on them shall be no fear nor shall they grieve.

Those who devour usury will not stand except as stands one whom the Evil One by his touch hath driven to madness. That is because they say: "Trade is like usury but Allah hath permitted trade and forbidden usury. Those who after receiving direction from their Lord desist shall be pardoned for the past; their case is for Allah (to judge); but those who repeat (the offense) are companions of the fire: they will abide therein (for ever).

Allah will deprive usury of all blessing but will give increase for deeds of charity: for He loveth not creatures ungrateful and wicked. 

Quran Sura Al-Baqara Ayat 263 - 276


Abu Huraira (Radi Allah Anhu) reported Allah's Messenger (sal-allahu-alleihi-wasallam)as saying: 

"He who alleviates the suffering of a brother out of the sufferings of the world, Allah would alleviate his suffering from the sufferings of the Day of Resurrection, and he who finds relief for one who is hard pressed, Allah would make things easy for him in the Hereafter, and he who conceals (the faults) of a Muslim, Allah would conceal his faults in the world and in the Hereafter. Allah is at the back of a servant so long as the servant is at the back of his brother, and he who treads the path in search of know- ledge, Allah would make that path easy, leading to Paradise for him and those persons who assemble in the house among the houses of Allah (mosques) and recite the Book of Allah and they learn and teach the Qur'an (among themselves) there would descend upon them the tranquility and mercy would cover them and the angels would surround them and Allah makes a mention of them in the presence of those near Him, and he who is slow-paced in doing good deeds, his (high) descent does not make him go ahead."

[Sahih Muslim : Book 35 Kitab Al-Dhikr, Number 6518]

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.

Chinese Proverb

You must give some time to your fellow men. Even if it's a little thing, do something for others - something for which you get no pay but the privilege of doing it.


Albert Schweitzer
French philosopher & physician (1875 - 1965)

Charity sees the need not the cause.

German Proverb

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.

Margaret Mead

US anthropologist & popularizer of anthropology (1901 - 1978)

Plans are only good intentions unless they immediately degenerate into hard work.

Peter Drucker

American (Austrian-born) management writer (1909 - 2005)

Six Social Media Trends for 2010 - The Conversation - Harvard Business Review

Whenever, we talk about social media like "Facebook" or "Twitter" etc. one thing is common and is always in the back of mind that we are sharing something whether it be our thoughts, an interesting article or a video clip to name a few things. The beauty of the sharing is that it brings more people together. Social media like "Facebook", "Twitter" or "Blogger" etc. just facilitate such sharing and are rendezvous.

Here is an excellent blog that overview social media in 2009 and predicts for trends in 2010.

Six Social Media Trends for 2010 - The Conversation - Harvard Business Review

Posted using ShareThis