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Pakistan Flood 2010 – Flood Relief Camps in Karachi
Pakistan Flood 2010 – Flood Relief Camps in Karachi
13 Million People already affected by the floods in the Northern Areas as well in Sindh with fresh warnings for flood given by the Met Office. It’s about time we did something.
I asked myself where can I find a reliable flood relief camp in Karachi or a trustworthy organization to give money to help the flood victims. Following is a list of NGO’s I compiled through the help of many friends through which we can provide our support to the people affected by floods by dropping off relief goods or monetary donations:
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EDHI Foundation
Drop-off Point 1: Edhi Head Office, Sarafa Bazar, Boulton Market, Mithadar, Karachi.
Website: www.edhi.org or www.edhifoundation.com
Call: 021-2413232
Drop-off Point 2: Zonal Office Karachi, Near Merewether Tower, Kharadar, Karachi.
Call: 021-2201261, 021-2201262
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The Citizen Foundation (TCF)
Donate through Pay Order, Cheque or Online Payment
Website: http://thecitizensfoundation.org/floodrelief.html
Call: 111-823-823, 0312-8233823, 0312-8234823, 0312-8236823, 0312-8237823, 0312-8239823
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Faith Foundation
Drop-Off Point: Next to Gul Ahmed Ideas near Schon Circle
Website: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Faith-Foundation/104834606240370
Call: 021-99250265, 0315-2095953
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Pehla Qadam
Drop-Off Point: Royal Rodale, Main Khayaban-e-Sehar, DHA, Phase VI, Karachi
Timings: 12:00 Noon to 5:00 PM and 9:00 PM to 12:00 Midnite
Call: 0334-3376321, 0334-3450751
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UM Healthcare (Healthcare of Rural Pakistan)
Donate through Online Payment
Website: http://umtrust.org/
Call: 051-2106304
Check here for Supplies Needed: http://tinyurl.com/umrelief
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Karachi Relief Trust
Drop-Off Point: Gulistan Club, Shaheed-e-Millat Road, Karachi
Website: http://www.karachirelief.org/
Call: 0343-8200333, 0333-3557874
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Pakistan Red Crescent Society
Drop-Off Point: PRCS Sindh Provincial Branch, Hilal-e Ahmar House, Main Clifton Road, Karachi.
Website: http://www.prcs.org.pk/help.asp
Call: 021-5833973, 021-5836281, 021-5875798
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UNHCR
Donate through Online Payment
Website: http://www.unhcr.org/emergency/pakistan/global_landing.html
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Amongst the things required most include
- Clothes
- Food (dry and packed)
- Water
- Blankets and Covers
- Tents and Medicine
- Volunteers
- Contact people to make them aware of this calamity through Facebook, Email, SMS etc.
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Learning Foreign Languages in Karachi
I always wanted to learn foreign languages but never had enough time or the resources to do so. A few days ago I found a sign in Defence promoting regular language classes at the Defence Central Library (DCL).
After some investigation on their website http://www.dclkarachi.com/ and through visits, I found out that every so often DCL holds foriegn language classes from professional teachers. The languages they offer are learning Arabic, French, English and Chinese. The course duration is variable and ranges between 3000 to 5000 for the entire course.
Due to my interest to learn Arabic, I found several other institutes in the region that teach arabic courses. For example the famous Berlitz institute (www.berlitz.com.pk) takes upto a mammoth Rs.60,000 per course. However, they are an international franchise and their brand name justifies their cost. A desi type of a arabic language institute is located at Khadda Market called ANAARABI (www.anaarabi.org). Their website is quite pathetic though it provides the user with their phone numbers to the institute. They have a class format of teaching Arabic while they also provide home-tutions for learning the language at around Rs.5000 for a 2 month course. The Society for the Promotion of Arabic (http://www.arabic.edu.pk) is one of the best sources in my opinion for information regarding the language and it is located near NIPA.
Learning French is also quite popular amongst the youth and there is no better facility than Allianz Fraincs (www.afkarachi.com) at 3 Talwar (Near Chartered Accountant Avenue). Even the Defence Central Library contracts their French language course from Alliance Française at about Rs.4000.
Universities in Karachi like IBA, CBM, Szabist and KU all have language courses and provides a great opportunity for students to learn the language in a class room environment.
I’m unable to find where foreign language courses for Spanish, German, Italian etc. can be learnt, so if anybody has some information in this regard, please do contribute.
Nokia GPS Maps for Karachi
Most new mobiles these days have GPS in-built and it is only fair that we get to utilize this amazing technology. And to do so freely!
For Nokia Symbian (S60) phones, we can now install a software that will navigate us in Karachi free of cost. However, this system uses an unauthorized cracked software but what the hell….we never cared about genuine software, why should we worry now?
Currently for our S60 phones, we can download the Google Maps application and use it. Even though using GPS is free, Google makes us utilize our GPRS connection to regularly update the map which costs a bulk load of money. There is no way, we can download the whole map for karachi for Google.
A software called Garmin XT allows us to downloads maps and utilize free GPS reception. The maps for bigger cities of Pakistan are available from Pkmaps.freeforums.org and Naqsha.net. I however prefer Pkmaps.
The installation of this software is simple. Notice the Box on the lower right corner, download the zip file from there and extract it. The zip file contains an installation guide, the setup file and a key-generator. Install the software with the help of the guide. Run Garmin Mobile XT. Click on “Begin Free Trial” and just cancel it. Then you’ll see 4 options (Purchase & Go!, Begin Free Trial, Enter Product Key and Connect to a Garmin GPS), click on Connect to a Garmin GPS. Then it will try to search for a GPS device. Cancel any requests for a GPS unit as this will not work until you have unlocked the software.
Open the key-generator and create the key in the upper portion by copying the Card ID from the Garmin Sofware on your mobile by going into SETTINGS -> ABOUT and the clicking generate. Now this is important. Copy the generated number and paste it in a notepad file. Save the file as sw.unl and save file type as All Files. This step is important since if you don’t, a text file will be created with the name of sw.unl.txt which won’t work.
Now log-on to pkmaps.freeforums.org and download the maps for Karachi. The maps versions are updated frequently so keep on checking the website. Now copy the sw.unl file and the map file GMAPSUPP.IMG into the root folder of the Garmin folder of your mobile.
Now Start up Garmin Mobile XT and navigate to SETTINGS -> SYSTEM -> REMOTE GPS. You should now have the ability to change this to internal GPS if you have a handset which has this feature. And thats it. Navigate to Tools->Manage My Data->Map Sets to see the map of Karachi in your Symbian mobile.
Play around with the device. Remember that Garmin takes about 2-3 minutes to catch the reception of the GPS signal so you have to wait.
If you are unclear about anything, leave a comment. Also check http://www.noeman.org/gsm/tools-speedcams-voices/60401-simple-guide-setting-up-garmin-mobile-xt-s60-wm.html from where I have taken the information above and simplified it for Karachi users.
Musical Instruments in Karachi
Around four years ago when I first got the fever for playing music myself, I looked out for places where I can get my first guitar and finally impress the ladies…well the latter never actually quite happened but nevertheless I found some nice shops where musical instruments were available in all shapes and sizes. Well Karachi is a big city and musical instrument shops were not easy to find. So where can you find musical instruments in Karachi? Some of the shops that I have discovered over the years are listed below with their reviews.
Sohail Music Palace – Bought my first Pakistani made guitar from there for around Rs. 2000. Was a pathetic piece of junk but I loved it. This shop is located in Saddar near Chullu Subhani Kabab House. Exact location is hard to define but its near Lucky Star. The shop is a little dingy from the outside but they keep lots of instruments there. I also purchased a Flute from there and a Harmonica. The good thing about this place is that they’ll give you the best prices in all of Karachi. The rest are all “Al Haaj Lootu Khan” as I like to call them.
V-Sel Music – Probably one of the most fashionable locations for musical instruments located in Khaada Market Defence. I have been to this shop many times to get the strings changed for my guitar and on most occasions I have seen some local rock stars. The owner (or manager) himself plays for some band. The popular guitarist from Karavan (Asad) is there most of the times. Anyways the good thing about this shop is that they keep alot genuine instruments however the prices are really high. If you can pay for it, then rest assured that you’ll get a good quality instrument.
Pakistan Electronics Saddar – Located right in the heart of mobile market at abduallah haroon road, this shop has been there for quite a while. They are located on the first floor which you have to reach via a paan-ke-peekh laden miniscule stairway. The shop is actually divided into two portions, one where they display and the other where they store. The display looks quite old and when I went there to buy my second guitar (a Tansen Semi-Acoustic for Rs.8000), the place was decked with dust. Nevertheless the prices of instruments here are satisactory and well worth a visit for market research.
Pakistan Electronics Defence – The defence version of Pakistan Electronics is located opposite Jimmy Studios at Khadda Market again on the first floor of the building. This place has been there for ever as I can recall and its pretty decent place. They are fully stocked with various instruments and its a nice place to look around although the prices at this branch are higher than the Saddar’s branch. The good thing about this shop is that the manager there teaches musical instruments as well (Guitar and Keyboard as i recall).
A shop at Tariq Road near Lavish Mall – A few months ago I discovered this place whose name I cannot recall. According to the manager, their shop is one of the oldest in Karachi. The manager seemed to have quite a bit of knowledge about the instruments (or maybe he was just a good salesman) and liked to talk alot. Anyways he almost convinced me to purchase an old American Guitar, a popular brand which I forgot. Incidently he also told me that a few years ago they imported Tansen guitars (same as mine) for about Rs. 5000 meaning i got ripped off when Ibouhgt my Tansen. Anyways this shop had alot of guitar….I mean alot. They were hanging from the ceiling, piled on the floor and everywhere. So this is one location you should definetly look into if you want to purchase a guitar. They also keep other instruments and accessories.
A shop in Gulshan – I have seen a shop while passing the gulshan area but never stopped to take a peak inside.
A shop at Burns Road – I have heard alot about this mystery shop at BurnsRoad which i could never find myself. Rumor has it that this shop’s owner supplies instruments to most musical instruments in Karachi. But its only a rumor.
A shop behind Zainub Market – A shop used to be located near the Levi’s Factory Outlet but this closed down pretty soon and I know why. They were the ultimate Lootairaas.
An area in Saddar – There is an area in Saddar near Regal Market where you can get second hand musical accessories. Have heard that they keep real nifty Amps there, though never bought anything from there.
Beatles Center – Its a shop located near Jheel Park in the Bahadurabad area.
Hard Rock – This shop located in defence phase 5 gizri area is one of the oldest shops in the area and considers itself a very popular spot for aspiring muscians.
Guitar Lab – This shop is located in again in defence phase 5 but in the Tauheed Commercial zone on the 25th street.
I have collected this information from personal experience over the years. If anybody knows anyother shops, then please do let me know and I’ll review them as well. Hope this information was useful for the future musicians of Pakistan!
PTCL TCP_Error on Broadband
About 2 weeks ago (after an uninterrupted internet service of over 2 months) i started receiving tcp_error on Gmail and Youtube. My first reaction was maybe one of my website creation utilities (visual basic, .net framework, local server) have finally done ‘panga’ with the network. Reading some jackass’s advice on the net I took to re-installing Windows and viola it did work…..but not for long. Making me happy for a little while, the agony truck again with the fateful message below
====================================================================================================
Network Error (tcp_error)
A communication error occurred: “Operation timed out”
The Web Server may be down, too busy, or experiencing other problems preventing it from responding to requests. You may wish to try again at a later time.
For assistance, contact your network support team.
====================================================================================================
Lol at the network support team since PTCL doesnt seem to have any.
Well friends this TCP error is not a localized problem rather its a problem with PTCL’s servers. Don’t blame your computer and forgod’s sake don’t go messing around with your computer’s network settings. Some of you would have heard about DNS (Domain Name Servers) and this is the problem.
Solution: Since PTCL wouldn’t be solving this problem themselves, a simple solution is to change your DNS in your computers. Follow the steps below to change your DNS settings.
Click on Start–>Connect To–>Right Click on Your PTCL connection–>Click on Properties–>Select Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and click properties and you should see this. Essentially you need to navigate to PTCL’s Network Connection and go into its properties.
Leave the upper portion blank if you are not port forwarding (for most users).
In the lower portion use any of these combination of DNS. Im providing a list of DNS that can be used.
PTCL’s own servers are:
PTCL
202.125.132.9
202.125.132.12
203.99.163.240
203.99.163.243
4.2.2.2
4.2.2.3
External servers from Open DNS are:
208.67.222.222
208.67.220.220
Everynow and then these servers fail me so then I change to a different one. However I would recommend the use of the first DNS by PTCL as it has been working problem free for quite a while now.
I hope this post was helpful to PTCL broadband users who have been facing TCP errors on the network.
Karachi Digest
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