So, this is how the cookie crumbles

Today I came across an interesting article in local newspaper. It talks about a person's personality by the type of cookie or pastries he/she likes. For a while it got me thinking and I couldn't resist sharing this with you folks.

Check out the sweet delights and find out what type of person you are; 

have fun :)

aren't they yummy........

Seven Summits

Brother and sister team is set out to conquer the world. Both of them are mountaineers and belong to northern areas of Pakistan. The duo is out on a 8 month journey to climb the Seven Summits, 7 tallest mountains one on each continent. 

This feat is not new and many have done it before. But for Pakistan it is for the first time. It is very surprising that Pakistan has the Karakoram Range, a series of mountains that has Mount Everest and K2 among hundreds of tall peaks, but mountaineering is not popular at all in Pakistan.

I am very proud to share the success of Samina and Ali with you and pray that they succeed in their quest. 3 peaks down and 4 more to go.

following is the newspaper clippings of their achievements.

The Seven Summits

World Record

This is coming hot off the press. Pakistan makes world's biggest human flag by beating a record set by Bangladesh (27000 people). More than 29000 people gathered today in Lahore and created the biggest human flag and a Guinness World Record.

Congratulations Pakistan!

Precautions in the dark.

Today’s blog is in continuation with the last one (Winter Safety). Today I am sharing a note from my office colleague from Norway. Where shorter days and restricted sunlight pose a unique challenge. So, here is her view on personal safety in the dark.

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In Oslo, Norway, where I live the days are very short at this time of the year. So it is dark when I go to work and dark when I go home. I normally travel by train and have 10 minutes to walk to the train from home. My winter coat is black so you can imagine that it is hard for motorist to see me unless I wear my reflective gear.  

In wintertime it is dark when I go to work and dark when I go home. 

Oslo 20th December : sun rise at 09.17 and sun set at 15:11. 

If you wear a reflector band or vest you may reduce the probability of getting hit by a car by 85%. A person wearing a reflector band is visible at distance of 140 meters. Without a reflector band the person can only be seen by the driver within 30 meters. In fact the driver will have 10 seconds instead of 2 to evaluate the situation.

35 % of all pedestrian collisions happens at night. Norway: During the past 5 years 24 pedestrians have lost their lives and 90 persons got seriously injured.The UK: 250 deaths and serious injuries happens on the hard shoulders of the  UK’s motorways each year. Motorists at the side of the road can be seen from up to four times as far if they are wearing a high-visibility vest.

Ideally the reflector band should be worn at knee height length to absorb the most possible light from the car’s headlights. Make sure your are visible from all angles. Scratches will reduce the ability to reflect light, moreover reflector vests will loose their effect after wash. Make sure to buy new reflector gear once a year.

• For walks/runs when it is dark
• When walking your dog at night
• When you are at the shoulders of the motorways-use a vest day and night!
• When bicycling at night/evening

Make sure your dog, friends and family use appropriate reflector gear too.

Winter Safety

The company I work for focuses greatly on operational and personal safety and in all parts of the organization we share our personal safety stories. One of my colleagues in Canada shared the following note and I am reproducing it with permission.

I am sure, many of blog visitors are from countries where winter is harsh, so I think this note might be helpful in managing yourself in winter season, especially walking on snow/ice.

Here goes.......

Winter Safety:  This winter in Canada, we have had much more ice than usual on the roads and sidewalks, making it extremely hazardous to walk without falling (and to drive safely, without good snow tires).  See the attached photos of my icy sidewalk (after being treated with salt), along with other effective solutions to reduce the slippery hazards for walking outside:

Sprinkle salt on your sidewalks repeatedly over time, preferably when it warms up a bit.  This reduces and breaks down the ice.  The ice can also then be chipped away and removed more easily.  The first photo shows a product I used – the stores sell such salt products uniquely for this purpose.  The second photo shows the ‘after’ picture some days later.  If you don’t have salt, you can apply dirt and/or fine gravel which will provide traction but not reduce the ice.  One person I heard of used kitty litter, which is also something useful to keep in your car, in case your car gets stuck in the snow and ice:  you can sprinkle the kitty litter under/by the car tire wheel that is slipping, to get traction – handy to have….chains work as well.  However, only salt will reduce the ice, and it seems to disappear with it.  This is preferable than having the other options dragged into the house from people’s shoes and boots.  I’m told the salt will burn your grass when it comes time to grow, so avoid salting your icy lawns! 

For ice:  Wear special grips on your footwear, such as the “ICE Trekkers” that attach to the bottom of your shoe or boot

For snow:  The “YakTrax”  work extremely well. 

Walk like a penguin….  

 

Was this information useful? let me know,  tell me what do you think. 

I will share another similar note from an office colleague from Norway which talks about how to walk and drive safely in the dark.

Random Clippings

I am really enjoying sharing Random Clippings series with you all. This is the second episode of some pictures published in local newspapers that caught my attention. Enjoy!

 

Books, books, books

I love books and I really keep a lookout for announcements of sale. Here in Pakistan, there is only one chain of bookstore that offers a huge variety of latest books. But, the books are very expensive because their prices are connected with currency exchange rate. So, I wait for the sale announcement. 

In the meantime, I update my 'to buy' book list by reviewing the website and noting down details. My main interest is history but I am very careful in selecting the book as I loose interest if the author has not done justice with the topic.

On a recent trip to my favorite bookshop I got hold of few books that really got my attention and prices were favorable. So, the shopping made my day.

I guess, these will keep my busy for this year at least as i read slowly and enjoy the pleasure. Bookshop or book exhibition is where I love to spend my time, if I come across them, be it in Karachi or anywhere I am traveling. I love to browse through endless shelves of books.

Even though I have bought quite a few books for now, I have placed order for a few more as they are not available here in bookshops. I hope I will hear from them soon.

For the time being, I am happy that my book shelf is equipped with some very interesting titles.