Google Wonders!

Those of you who are familiar with Google Earth and have kept abreast with updates of this exceptional program will be aware that views of Lebanon and surrounding countries are now at a much higher resolution than they were when Google Earth was first released to the unwary public.

Those of you who are not familiar with this program, or are not aware of it, are in for a very pleasant surprise when you download it. It works best with high speed DSL or Broadband internet, although it does work, albeit very slowly, on dial-up. Be prepared to spend hours cruising, at high and low altitude, all over the world and checking out places you wish you could visit.

Here’s a snapshot of the BHS campus to whet your appetite:

Some people may wonder why I have Google Answers linked to this blog. Google Answers is a service provided by Google where researchers answer questions on any topic for a fee.

There are approximately 500 researchers contracted by Google around the world, the majority of which are located in the USA. Google no longer take applications for becoming a researcher.

Linda applied to become a researcher in 2002 and was accepted. She works under the pseudonym Rainbow and she is the only Google Researcher in the Middle East. Throughout her career she has answered 1265 questions and has made numerous comments on other questions. She is rated as one of the top ten Google researchers. What’s more, she does this work as a hobby!

For those of you who are not aware, another very useful facility that Google have in their repertoire is Google Alerts. Google Alerts are email updates of latest relevant Google results, whether on the web, news, blogs, groups etc. based on your choice of query or topic.

For example, if you want to be alerted on anything that is mentioned, when it is actually mentioned, about Brummana, you create an alert for Brummana, and you’ll be notified by email of the mention, and provided with the link to the page where the mention occurs.

A tip to keep in mind: If you want to create an alert for Brummana make sure that you create a separate alert for each spelling of the word. Cover all eventualities by creating alerts for Brummana, Broumana, Broummana, etc.

Also, if you want to create an alert for an individual, make sure to insert the full name in quotations, e.g. “Average Joe Bloggs”. Otherwise you’ll get an alert every time average, Joe, or Bloggs gets mentioned on the ‘net.

Back from Damascus

I just came back from a visit to Damascus. My sister Hamsa had also come over for a visit from Finland. I hadn’t been to see my family since the war in Lebanon ended, so it was great to see them again. Linda wasn’t able to accompany me this time.

In the picture. Front: Mum, Solhi, Diala. Back: Me, Maria (Diala's eldest daughter), Hamsa, Rama (Diala's youngest daughter).

I'm getting the hang of blogging, although I still have a lot to learn. We’re delighted with the response to the first posting, thank you all for the encouragement. In due course I will be writing about almost anything of interest. I know many are keen to hear news about Brummana and BHS. Many will be following our family news. I guess quite a few will want to know how my father Solhi is doing following the brain hemorrhage he had in April 2002. He’s suffering from a bout of diarrhea currently accompanied by a slight fever. It’s that time of year when the weather is changing. He’d put some weight on, but with this illness we expect him to lose some weight.

Linda’s sister Nancy is over from Dubai for a few days, moving house. She’s managed to do quite a lot. She’s traveling back to Dubai on Sunday, but her, David and Stephie will be back for Xmas. Just before Xmas, on 22nd December, Linda and I will celebrate our first wedding anniversary.

My stepdaughter Karina wants me to tell blogosphere and the world that she is now practicing calligraphy. Actually she’s quite good at it. I broke her pen, which was originally Linda’s from her school days when she used to do calligraphy. She asked me to change the nib which had been in the pen for the last 30 years. So I’ve promised her that I’d get her a new, better set. A visit to Bliss Street in Beirut should take care of that.

Last month my son Dahi broke his leg in a couple of places playing football, he also twisted his ankle. He sent me a picture of it and it looked horrible. This was a result of a late tackle. He’s now recovering at home in Port Talbot. The cast doesn’t come off for another 3 weeks.

Our cat Sir Timothy (Timmy for short) is growing up fast and is becoming a handful. He makes up for his lack of ability to meow by being extremely hyperactive. He’ll be getting his second injection tomorrow.

Linda’s just came back from the dentist, she doesn’t seem happy.

Hit The Ground Running

Not before time, I think I now have a pretty good idea what a blog is. (The summer war in Lebanon helped!) The next trick was to learn how to run one, if that’s the right expression. First think of a title, so here we are, Sarmad and Linda. Share the success if it turns out successful, and share the failure if it fails. My name deliberately put up first to apportion the bigger share of the responsibility either way.

I’m grappling with photos now to check how posting them works. Like everything else it’s a process of trial and error. Linda will probably want to do the editing, as she always does with almost everything I write.

So here goes, our first posting, and hoping that we hit the ground running.