scorpioxy

user wrote I would be, Australia is like my backup plan. But I keep hearing they hate Lebanese which is why I keep getting discouraged.

Everybody hates the Lebanese. Even the Lebanese hate themselves. Anyhow, this isn't true.

They have a points-based system that was modified two years ago to make it a bit harder to get into because of the changing economy here(previous mining boom). But you get the points, you get a visa. Unless you were involved in some nasty business in Lebanon then you'll find them welcoming. And it's the same process as the Canadian system. I don't want to hijack this thread but we can open up a new thread if anyone wants to ask questions.

rtp, I'm glad that you've made it there.

If anyone is interested in information about Australian immigration, I'll be happy to share my experience. I had to go through it by myself so I'd like to help other people who are interested.

I am not sure why this thread is full of negative experiences, mine certainly wasn't.

Had it done around 5 years ago. Last checkup was last year by request from the physician and I was told my vision is still around 20/20. I recommend it if eyeglasses bother you. It isn't permanent, then again in life nothing is. But if you have to wear glasses within 10 years of your operation then something isn't right. My doctor told me that sometimes they have to do a corrective procedure after the first one. The risk of that increases with age.

I did suffer from dryness and blurry vision(especially night vision) for around 2-3 months after the procedure. More than other people definitely but my own research showed that this might happen and the risk increases with your astigmatism. I was not informed of this by my doctor but it went away eventually. I had to do the older form of the procedure which takes several weeks to heal. That was due to the anatomy of my eye.

I'm in Chouaifat region and I have a DSL connection from Ogero. Connection quality depends a lot on where you are in the region. I only have one option in terms of speed, the 1MB plan. Changing plans will get you the bigger quota, but not the speed. Latency is mostly good but sometimes you can't skype or do anything real time. Also lots of disconnections.(I don't bother with calling support) My subjective view is that it's not very good but it's as good as it gets around here.

It's been a while since I read parts of it but yes, it does say that any "legal" company must give its employees all government mandated public holidays. Off the top of my head, I believe it was 12 days split between religious holidays and other misc ones. And it doesn't matter what you sign via your contract, no employment contract can override the law of the land. They can make you sign your first born and force you to work 24/7 but that doesn't mean that it is legal. But there are special cases such as shift work and emergency services. I once worked at a hospital and service was essential and couldn't be disrupted so we were free to choose between taking the day off or taking it another day, all done with approval from your supervisor of course to ensure continuity of operations. In this case, you are still getting the legally required time off but under special circumstances.

Having said that; this is Lebanon so what is legal is not necessarily what is being done. But if you think that the company you work for is doing something illegal, especially as it relates to social security, you can report it to the ministry of Labor. You will probably lose your job, but the complaints are taken seriously.

Please be aware that some Lebanese bosses try to intimidate their employees with "the law". Simply because work is hard to find in this country and some people are just evil and try to take advantage of others. If in doubt, consult a lawyer.

Well then a wiki might be the best choice for you. The infrastructure bit was because mediawiki is php-based and after seeing many horrors, I never assume anything about an existing infrastructure.

The more information statement is due to what I said in my message. It can mean different things. But it doesn't look like you need anything complex.

There's not enough information in your post to suggest anything specific. But usually, the easiest to manage and implement this is through a wiki and some access control. There are many out there, obviously the most popular one is the mediawiki engine which runs wikipedia itself. The choice of engine has a lot to do with what your infrastructure is.

Having said that, the term "knowledge base" can mean a lot of different things so i might be way off.

I wouldn't bother if I were you. If you do find any, they would either be incredibly expensive or incredibly outdated(and expensive). That has been my experience when I was looking anyhow.

You can order books from Amazon. They would get delivered to your home. There are no customs on books so you just pay for the international shipping. It takes about 3 weeks to get to you. You can also go for the Aramex service(or other similar services), you'll get those sooner(around a week) but obviously a bit more expensive. Do the calculations and check which is cheaper for any order. For the Aramex service, be sure to count the free shipping option since it's a domestic order.

Just chiming in because I read that you wanted a Linux box with a visual interface. It's not a good idea to have a desktop environment on a server. So if you're not comfortable with a Linux command line then you're better off with a windows server. It'll be a bit more expensive since the provider needs to pay for a license but you'll probably be more comfortable in a familiar environment.

Having said that, for VPS I host with Linode on 2 gig instances. Excellent service. AWS might be an option for you. You pay hourly and they have Linux and Windows machines.

These were not the kind of books I was referring to. I got rid of books about php and mysql and writing ecomercse sites and one about plsql. These were obsolete to me because I work with different things now - to keep it brief. The other topics that you've described I kept until I get a chance to deal with them. I have the TCP/IP books by Stevens for example, those are classics.

I'm afraid that wouldn't be very useful. Turns out there was more talk than action. So I ended up getting rid of obsolete technical books(frameworks, Oracle...) and kept the rest stashed away pending some other solution. The ones I got rid of were put next to obsolete electronics of mine near my old place so probably ended up in the garbage. Sad and a waste of hard-earned money but I didn't have many options.

Selling a used Lenovo 433835U TP MiniDock Plus Series 3 170W Docking Station.

Bought it from Amazon and used it for around 3 months. Condition is still excellent. And included is a US-plug 170W adapter. The reason I am selling it is that I bought a T440p laptop and this doesn't support it. I was using it before on a W530 so I believe it supports the whole Xx30 series but check Lenovo page for confirmation.

Prices on Amazon are sky-high currently but, full-disclosure, bought it new for $215 so make me an offer. PM if you need to see pictures or ask for details.

Not to hijack the thread, but squatting saves me from a lot of pain. According to the doctors, I needed pain-meds for the rest of my life and not to lift anything heavy. Instead I started strength training and it is what is saving my body from a profession that is meant to slowly destory it.

But back to topic; An ergonomic chair is meant to be more comfortable but won't help in the long run. Also, there's no definition for ergonomic other than fits the natural tendency of the body and expensive. But not much science behind it yet. Other than my own extrapolated definition of "we have no idea how this is supposed to work". A standing desk won't help you if you have bad posture, a treadmill desk won't help you if your endurance sucks...

To be more exact, I know of two places with chairs that might fit your criteria, Sleep Comfort where I got mine and Office Supplies. I suggest you drop by and try out a few.

Thanks for the input. I was expecting more to reply, I guess everyone agrees that they all suck. I am not happy with Mobi especially since it's not exactly cheap but there is a signal over 60% at a specific location in the apartment. I am worried about risking it with WISE that they might not actually have better coverage.

I will be getting the desktop modem($250) from them to connect to my router and I read that it has better reception. I hope that's true. The signal seems to jump up and down a lot; at one time it's 90% and another 40% without moving. And you know how it's not affected by the weather? Yeah right...

I got mine at Sleep Comfort after an unsuccessful search for an Aeron(tyical funny story involving Lebanese dealers, I can fill a book with those). Even with a discount, it was going for $800. Definitely not cheap and not exactly what i was going for but it was the best i can find at the time. I had a requirement that it needed to be mesh texture on the back and the seat to increase airflow and decrease pressure on the buttocks due to extended seating times. That immediately ruled out the cheaper chairs and put me in the luxury products category according to the Lebanese shops.

Word of advice; don't ask for office chairs over the phone, the people doing the selling do not understand what they're selling. Go there and try it out.

I don't want to get a DSL subscription for my current rental and so I am stuck choosing between the different wireless services available. Mobi works here if you put it in one corner of the apartment and raise your left foot and stick out your tongue.

Seriously though, the connection is only stable at a specfic location. So I thought maybe a different service would be better. I am in the choueifat area. The "cable-guy internet" service works 3 out of every 5 days and only on specific sites. 3G service is good but kinda expensive for my needs. 15GB quota should be enough.

So what do you guys recommend from the different providers out there? I don't care about specific ISPs.

Thanks! Someone will also put me in touch with people at the national library who said they would be interested in my donation. I will gather my options and decide on the best route.

Great. Know of any?

Hello folks,

So I am moving and want to get rid of most of my small library. My reading over the past 5 years has mostly been in ebook form using a tablet so no sense in lugging around huge tomes. So my question is; how do you guys get rid of older books? Do you know of any place that accepts book donations?

I basically have a mix of university books(computer science, business and CS used by AUB). Also a bunch of technical books that are not outdated but that I'd probably never touch again(java, php...). A few more types but I can't classify them. They might be old but I take care of them so they're in good shape. Also, I am not interested in selling just finding them a new home. Seems like a shame to throw them away but I am always disappointed by the interest in books by other Lebanese people.