...

The sun rose again today
And I stood in the golden rays
The light pierced the boundary of skin
And reached the heart deep within
Seeking to illuminate a heart of gold
But that event did not unfold
As all was found was an empty space
a consequence of time laid to waste
The light shows what I wish to hide
A soul with whom sin resides
the light left me with a small gift
a little bundle of hope, a little lift

The sun rose again today
And I stood in the golden rays
And now this hope remains...
A chance to be good again.

Adding Webpages to Your iDevice's Home Screen

The alternative title would be "A brief snapshot which illustrates how Apple set themselves apart."

Enjoy.

To start with, one must find a website. As we're already here, we'll use my blog as an example (not that I have a shortcut to my own blog on my iDevice. I'm self absorbed, but not even I do that)

OK, lets visit my blog, which obviously will render awesomely on the iDevice, and look at the toolbar. (Also, click on the images to see full size)


The iPhone and iPod Touch have a small toolbar at the bottom, whereas as the iPad integrates it into the address bar. What we're looking for is the plus-shaped button, which you will see is on the bottom. Here's what happens when you press it:


And obviously, the option you want is to add to the Home Screen. Selecting that gives you an option to rename the shortcut to anything you want. The default selection is the title of the page, which in my case is "..." - the title of my blog. Let's call it Imran. Hit the "Add" button in the corner when you're done.


As with newly downloaded apps, everything always gets put on the screen after the main home screen, or if that is full, the screen after, till a space is found. I guess that may be a subliminal message about the primacy of the main home screen - it will not be altered, unless you want it to be.


Anyway, being an app-organising neatnik, I can't allow that to space to be used. I always have 12 apps or folders (+ 4 in the dock) on a screen, which leaves out a line "free", which is what I use to swipe across screens. And I don't have to tell people, either - most of the time, when I give my phone to someone else to play with, they automatically go for the empty space under all the apps when swiping between screens.

Also, this is technically a web-app, so it goes with my other web-apps.


Voila! Less than a minute, from start to end. Too easy. Also, If you have an iDevice, and you're reading this, you know what to do next ;)

In a snapshot, this is why Apple are different from everyone else. Features, yes, features are important, but more important than that is User Interface, and this is refined to near perfection on their devices. Especially important is the primacy given to how touch "feels". The screen elements respond to touch in such a way as to make it feel real. This is unbelievably important, and touchscreens that lag are losing the game. And then, once the touch is sorted, other UI elements really shine. I could talk for ages (and to some people, already have), so I'm going to stop here.

----------

Next up, a detailed description of the way all my home screens are ordered, to be followed by my top 10 apps by usage.

More Gems

This time, the book is Hugh Prather's Notes to Myself. Brilliant, timeless book. I know I've taken more than I have for the others, but I can't leave any of these out. Enjoy.

***************

Today I don't want to live for,
I want to live.

The only way for me to live is to have no way. My only habit should be to have none. Because I did it this way before is not sufficient reason to do it this way today.

If I work toward an end, meantime I am confined to a process.

There is a part of me that wants to write, a part that wants to theorise, a part that wants to sculpt, a part that wants to teach... To force myself into a single role, to decide to be just one thing in life, would kill off large parts of me.

There are no absolutes for something as relative as a human life. There are no rules for something as gentle as a heart.

My trouble is I analyse life
Instead of live it.

Eloquence is sometimes lyrical, sometimes powerful, but unless it includes love, unless the words caress the heart as well as the ear, it is a beauty that inspires but does not heal.

It's not that we fear the place of darkness but that we don't think we are worth the effort to find the place of light

Unless I accept my faults, I will unquestionably doubt my virtues.

And if I lack the grounds to feel guilty over my own emotions, how can I criticise yours?

To lie is to consciously communicate a false impression, and this can be done with words that are literally correct. What I want are words that reflect my heart, not my cleverness.

Fear is static that prevents me from hearing my own intuition.

I am not interested so much in what I do with my hands or words as what I do with my heart. I want to live from the inside out, not the outside in.

If the desire to write is not accompanied by actual writing, then the desire is not to write.

I need solitude like I need food and rest, and like eating and resting, solitude is most healing when it fits the rhythm of my needs. A rigidly scheduled aloneness does not nourish me.

The criticism that hurts the most is the one that echoes my own self-condemnation.

I have the choice of being right or being human

Interests change. Friendship based on mutual interests is doomed. Real friendship is an unshakeable faith in what was once truly seen, no matter how recently or long ago.

If I went wanting to be a friend rather than to have one, my want could not be frustrated.

An argument is always about what has been made more important than the relationship.

-----

Ideas are clean. They soar in the serene supernal. I can take them out and look at them, they fit in books, they lead me down that narrow way. And in the morning they are there. Ideas are straight–

But the world is round, and a messy mortal is my friend.

Come walk with me in the mud. . . .

[END]
The final one contains the final words of the book, and I had to separate them from the rest. So beautiful. This book goes straight into my top faves, when I get round to updating the list.

Growth

A thought experiment, if you will, based on six questions. They come in two two sets of three:

- Are you a better person than you were 6 weeks ago?
- Are you a better person than you were 6 months ago?
- Are you a better person than you were 6 years ago?

I really, really don't want to answer these, because I know the answers are not good. But, lets go through them anyway. 6 weeks...hmm...I don't think much can have changed in six weeks, but I think, seeing as six weeks ago the Holy Month of Ramadhan was just ending, and I've regressed since, I probably was a better person six weeks ago than I am today. Shocking, I know. 6 months is tougher to tell, as it's kind in the middle distance, and with these one is better of noting what 6 months ago was (April 2010), and coming back later to look at it. However, if I can't with any certainty say right now that I am better than I was six months ago, then I can only conclude that I have stagnated, or am worse. 6 years is odd. A lot happened in 6 years. I got my A-Levels (awesome grades), got a degree (not so awesome, but still good), learned so much in terms of religion as well as other stuff, and started writing poetry and art, both of which have been well received (still a mystery to me). But, I had less sins to my name. A lot less. Taking that into account, I'd say I probably was a better person 6 years ago than I was today.

Intriguing. There is a Hadith stating that if someone has not improved themselves within two days, that death is better for them. Ouch.

Ok, the other three project into the future:

- Will you be a better person in 6 weeks time?
- Will you be a better person in 6 months time?
- Will you be a better person in 6 years time?

These are tough. I'll lend you my magic 8 ball, once I'm done using it - point being, no way of knowing, and nor should there be. I think asking these gives you perspective on where your life is heading, and whether you want to continue down that path. There is a lot that can be done in any of these timeframes.

The possibilities really are endless. (good article, but for the purposes of this post, I'm linking to the list only, with the caveat that some of the items on that list aren't quite Islamically compatible...)

What is clear, is that growth comes by taking action, instead of sitting behind a screen talking about it. And the most important, rewarding growth comes from actions that push you and take place outside your comfort zone. I've had one such experience over the last weekend, and have at times fretted, been excited about, and over-thought it, but in the end, just doing it was its own reward. I wasn't super-awesome, but it's not as bad as it could have turned out, and I'm cautiously coming round to the optimistic point of view that it actually might have gone well.

More of the same, please.

...

In your distant expression
And furrowed brow
I see those cogs turning
And I'm proud of you
You're about to reject
The received wisdom
And societal mores
And come up with something
Something beautiful,
Something original,
Something that is you.
And I want to help you
But I have to leave you
And let you do it on your own
And so you ask the right questions
And answer them yourself
And I watch only instead
As what you create on your own
And how you made it
You'll never forget

On Where I am Home...

In bringing it under your control
with one touch

In seeing the ball fly like an arrow
the result of a perfect hit

In playing under floodlights
on astroturf as smooth as carpet

In the hypnotic rhythm of the great teams
control - touch - pass - move
control - touch - pass - move
mesmerising
as they combine perfect passing,
intelligent off-the-ball movement,
and positional awareness
exquisite, living, breathing, geometry
to open the tightest defences

In the perfect combination
of individual skill
and collective will

In explosions of pace,
and displays of perfect technique
and one-v-one battles across the pitch

In histories, and random geography
and team colours, and pageantry

In it's purest form,
less of a sport
more of an art

In all of this
and more besides
I am home

Ahhhhhhhhhh

how to make you know
how much I love this?

know, dear one
of the things of this world
only four make me genuinely happy

a book in my hands
a ball at my feet
a child in my arms

and

your hand in mine*

---------------

*Don't get too excited - I have no idea who I'm saying this to. It just fit.

Like This and Like That

like this I proclaim to have lofty intentions
like that my actions point in other directions

Observe:

like this I feel energised after prayer
like that I sin again minutes later

like this I want to reach for the best
like that I'll settle for not being the worst

like this I wash away the sins of old
like that under pressure I'll again fold

like this I'll do good acts in plain sight
like that in private I won't worry about right

like this I have good acts linked with my name
like that alone I turn off any sense of shame

like this I reflect on mistakes of the past
like that I'll again see my actions recast

like this I want to my Lord belong
like that I still end up doing wrong

Conclusion:

like this I accept the self-accusing soul
like that I reject its most important role

Layers

I hide my soul under layers
Ostensibly to protect it,
Though you and I both know
It's to hide behind instead
For in hiding is no exertion
No risk, no getting hurt
And then it's easy to focus
On the layers, than on my core
Films, books, poetry, tech,
Science, philosophy, art.
Let's discuss these, and more besides
A swift brain, a quicker tongue helping...
The ability to shape words aiding...
Me to hide behind various selves
And talk about everything and nothing

And those who want to know the real me?
The layers are the key
Pass through each to get to the next
A long, arduous, journey
I won't help, but I will watch
Just to see who comes close
Who actually wants to come close
Though then the true dilemma is revealed
After all those layers-
After all those words-
There is nothing left of me...