It is evident that due to the falling value of the rupee against other currencies, people are starting to convert their money into foreign currencies. Banks are just providing what people are asking for.

Have you kept any foreign currencies?

My concern is that if you are going somewhere with a partner and some luggage, would this car offer enough space? Maybe it’s called MonoCab for a reason :) A one-person cab. It would be successful if it offers vastly reduced rates, otherwise I don’t see the logic.

MonoCab: 111-111-554

31pc hike in gas prices from July 1

By Zafar Bhutta

ISLAMABAD: Consumers will face a 28 to 31 percent hike in gas prices from July 1, as the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has allowed the two main gas utilities — the Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGCL) and the Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) — to provisionally increase the gas prices.

31 percent price increase means the price of CNG will touch Rs. 50 for the first time.

Here is a chart showing the increase in CNG prices recently

This amounts to a total increase of almost 73% in a span of less than 2.5 years!

Isn’t it about time we switched to bicycles for our commutes?

“KARACHI, May 14: Three suspected bandits were first ruthlessly beaten up by enraged people of the area and then set on fire on the main Nishtar Road as police stood by watching the crowd let the suspects being burnt to death, witnesses said.” LINK

I agree that what the bandits did was wrong, but does that mean they should be burned to death? Even the right and lawful penalty would not be death.

Living in Karachi, a major part of me says that such criminals go around unpunished without any fear of the law (since our legal system is in complete shambles), so it is about time for the citizens to take the law into their own hands. Part of me says that this is wrong. I don;t know what to think.

What are your comments?

You have the usual 24 hours…

Following the success of the previous Sufi festivals in Lahore and in Karachi, Rafi Peer Theatre Workshop (RPTW) is taking the 5th edition of the Festival on a national tour. With its main venue set in Multan for 2008, the festival will travel to Karachi, and Islamabad, with a three day showcase in Lahore. RPTW has generously offered to stage the Karachi event in aid of disabled persons of the earthquake-hit areas to benefit CHAL Network, a project of Murshid Hospital & Health Care Centre.

The four hour programme will be staged at the Beach View Garden of Carlton Hotel, DHA on 30th April 2008 at 8:00 pm.

You may obtain your Donor Invitations from Copper Kettle - Zamzama; The Second Floor (t2f); Aghas Supermarket, or by contacting CHAL Network Coordinators at 0300-269-2646 & 0321-242-1231 against a contribution of Rs 1,000 for the cause.

The Sufi Music Festival Features:

Hamid El Kasri (Morocco)

The event started at 3:00 with a screening of the movie Syrianna. After the screening, the attendees moved to a separate room for an open discussion session, where plans were discussed for how to create more visibility and awareness of Mensa in Pakistan. A session of Origami followed, where an origami expert taught the audience step-by-step how to make two different types of cranes from a single, uncut, square piece of paper. The meeting ended with certificate distribution for the people who had passed the previous test. All in all, it was an interesting evening for the attendees, who enjoyed it immensely.

DISCLAIMER: I am a member of the Managing Committee of Mensa Pakistan.

Analysts keep predicting that Karachi needs 500 more megawatts or 1000 more megawatts, whereas my belief is that what Karachi needs is a swift cleanup drive. KESC should put their act back together and get rid of all ‘kundas’ and ‘direct connections’. I know for a fact that quite a few of my neighbors are utilizing direct connections, as they have both their ACs’ on for almost 24 hours throughout the summer. And I am sure most Karachiites have seen those notorious ‘kundas’ (illegal connections) that plague the city. They are not only a safety hazard, but also result in the KESC not getting money, or worse, getting it from the wrong person.

Once all the illegal connections are gone, and people are really paying for what they are using, not only will the revenue of KESC increase, but people will be more careful of their electricity usage. Here’s to hoping that we are able to see a kunda-free Karachi in the near future!

I take a look at the wide roads which have the capacity of 4-6 lanes on each side, but they are blocked by parking and double parking, and the occasional “gadha gaari” as well as the countless “thelawalas”, in effect leaving barely enough space for one car to move. I take a look at the sidewalks which have been dug up and not been repaired, forcing people to walk on the streets, blocking the road.

I think that if only our people had more civic sense, they didn’t’ park their  cars anywhere they wanted, if they preferred to walk a couple of minutes rather than double park, if they knew how to drive carefully and civilly, maybe we wouldn’t have needed to spend so much money on flyovers and expanded roads.

Karachi has enough infrastructure, wide enough roads, adequate sidewalks. What it doesn’t have is citizens with a civic sense. What it doesn’t have is a solution for the root cause. I hope we stop treating the symptom, and focus on treating the root cause.

There is one specific PSO pump at the foot of Karsaz flyover on Shara-e-Faisal which I pass daily on the way to work. Because it is mostly empty at the time I pass it (around 7:30am), I tend to fill up if I am low on CNG. Further, I have a PSO fuel card (thanks UBL Credit Card!) which I sometimes use to pay. Today, the amount was 168.76, and the guy had charged me 169.00 (on the fuel card). When I asked him why he didn’t charge 168.76, he said something about them not having the correct system to process decimal places. I got out and showed him the decimal point on the keypad of the machine, and then he sheepishly admitted that it is their usual practice to round up. He also said that they round down if the fractional part is less than 50 paisa, but I have never seen this personally except for at a few pumps. Mostly these people just round up.

I know that after I left, they must have been wondering what a cheapskate I am to be complaining about 24 paisas, but my question is this: even though it is just a matter of a few paisas, is it right to do this? What are your thoughts?