Visa extension

We extended our 10 day visa an extra 20 days, obviously when getting the Letter of Invitation (LOI) it is better to add additional days just in case it is needed, add additional common cities to the itinerary, even if you don’t plan on visiting them. Nobody ever checked our itinerary, I don’t even think there is a way to check it.

Secondly, if you do need to extend your visa, it isn’t recommended to do it in Tehran, from what I have read it is a lot easier to do it in any of the touristy cities, Shiraz, Yazd or Esfahan. Tehran is extremely crowded with Afghani and Turkmens sorting out their visas.

Now if it comes to extending in Tehran, it should take one day, and it may even take the same day, if you are unlucky like us, and go after Nuorez (the Persian New Year holiday), try four to five days.

The visa extension office has three rooms, on entrance;

• the first room on the right is for photocopies, passport photos, and bag/phone storage and body-search for females,
• the second room on the right is the bag/phone storage and body-search for males, and
• the main room on the left is for form collection, initial form screening and form submission.

The steps are very straight forward;

• Purchase the two copies of paper work for about 1000 Rial each, they may even ask you to photocopy one form yourself, if they do, fill it in first.
• Photocopy your Iran visa (the Iran visa needs to have the entry date visible) and photo copy your passport both of these twice.
• Purchase passport photos if needed (40,000 Rial), important, women must be wearing a headscarf in the photos.
• Pay 300,000 Rial at the Melli bank located walking distance, important, this bank does not change USD.
• Once you have all of the above items, take them to the initial form screener at the entrance to the main room, he will let you know if everything is okay, staple it all, and then direct you to the next window (window 5 in our case).
• At the next window you will be directed to speak to the senior approver, he simply confirmed the number of days extension and signed the forms. I am guessing he may ask another questions related to the extension.
• Take the signed form back to the window and submit it, if it is not very busy you may be asked to wait while it is processed, for us we were given a ticket and asked to come back in five days.
• Collect the passport after the required waiting period, important, it doesn’t look like you can collect on behalf of someone else, we watched a man get rejected trying to collect his wife’s, even though he had the ticket.

1. Visa extension office (N35 43.519 E51 26.754)
2. Approximate location of Melli bank (N35 43.547 E51 26.636)

Uzbekistan Visa

This is as straight forward as it gets. Make sure you have organised a Letter of Invitation (LOI) previously and have the reference number. We used StanTours who were extremely easy to use.

Note there is an Uzbekistan Embassy and Uzbekistan Consulate in Tehran, all given addresses are usually the Uzbekistan Embassy, but you need to go to the Uzbekistan Consulate.

Opening times are 9:30am to 11:30am, but if there is a long queue, it will stay open till everyone is finished processing, we arrived at about 11am and it stayed open till 12pm.

Items you need;

• Two passport copies
• Two completed Uzbekistan visa application forms,
• Two passport photos,
• Your passport,
• $60 USD,
• A copy of the LOI reference number (optional, but recommended)

On arrival press the third button on the intercom and let the person know you are here for a visa, the first thing they will ask is if you have an LOI. They will open the gate and let you through, or if there is a queue ask you to wait, make sure you workout who is at the end of the queue and make any people arriving after aware of your queue position.

The embassy does not do photocopying, photocopying is sometimes available in the street newsstands and should cost 1000 Rial.

1. Uzbekistan Consulate (N35 48.267 E51 28.534)

Turkmenistan Transit Visa

The most frustrating visa to obtain. It takes five days to complete, but they do not take your passport, if you hand it in on Sunday, it will be available the following Sunday, not Thursday.

There are two parts, and I would strongly recommending doing it this way,

1. Apply for authorisation in Tehran,
2. Collect transit visa in Mashhad five days later.

The reason is, nobody wants to be stuck in Tehran (or Mashhad) for five days, you will also most likely use the border crossing near Mashhad. Once submitted in Tehran, follow the Caspian sea for five days, Dizin for skiing, Gorgon for amazing forests before reaching Mashhad to collect the visa and onwards travel to Turkmenistan.

Apply for authorisation in Tehran

Items you need;

• Uzbekistan visa photocopy
• Iran visa photocopy (the entry date stamp does seem to be a requirement)
• Passport visa photocopy

Again photocopying is not available.

Arrive at the Turkmenistan embassy Tehran, as early as possible, opening time is 9:30am to 11:30am, but they may open earlier. Submit the paperwork and inform them you want express service, pickup from Mashhad and confirm when it will be available.

1. Turkmenistan Embassy Tehran (N35 48.269 E51 27.148)

Collect transit visa in Mashhad five days later.

In Mashhad you will need to arrange the visa application, for 20,000 a photocopying shop will fill in the form, make photocopies of your passport, if needed take passport photos (for an additional cost) and staple is all together. They say an Uzbekistan photocopy is not required, which makes sense as they should have the details when you submitted it in Tehran, but it doesn’t hurt to take it.

Arrive at the Turkmenistan embassy in Mashhad as early as possible, whilst it opens from 9:00am to 11:30am, a line can start as early as 8:00am. Submit $55 USD in pristine notes, the form and your passport, and with any luck you shall receive the transit visa there and then.

Note you can chose between the either the Bajgiran-Ashgabat or Sarakhs-Saraghs entry, but you will always receive the Farab-Karakul exit.

1. Turkmenistan Embassy Mashhad (N36 17.049 E59 35.958)
2. Approximate location of copy shop for forms (N36 17.056 E59 35.875)

Good luck!

To remove blank pages of a non-scanned PDF, Scan Optimizer is very straight forward to use, but if you have scanned PDFs which may have some grey shades on the blank pages, it may require a bit of tweaking to get right.

Once you have “Turned On” the Delete Blank Pages option click Settings to bring up the options.

Though the help is non-existent for the Delete Blank Pages settings, there are two main settings to change and these are used to determine if a page is considered blank;

• Black\white value – grey scale images have 256 shades of grey (0 being black and 255 being white), this setting sets the threshold to determine what should be black and what should be white, a setting of 128 means half the greys shades are white and half are black. If there are slight grey shades on your blank pages, this should be set so that you can no longer see them on the preview.
• Threshold value – now that the image is black and white only, what is the faction of acceptable black on the page to still consider the page blank. This is useful if there are black specs on the pages. A value of 0.001 means 0.1% of the page can have black on it and still be considered blank. Set this high enough so that you get a result of “blank”.

Since my PDFs all originated from a digital source, I set them to the extreme settings of 255 and 0.00001. Click Optimize and Save As, the Scan Optimizer will batch process the list of PDFs and log which pages were deleted.

Firstly, why the need to install Roundcube in the first place, don’t many hosting companies already provide it built into cPanel? Yes, they do, but the benefit to hosting it yourself is plugins! There are hundreds of plugins that allow you to do pretty much anything. The main reason for me for moving to a self-hosted Roundcube was the plugin Accounts, which allows multiple IMAP accounts from the single interface.

Let’s begin. For the below example, I am going to use the required configuration for Hostgator shared hosting, it maybe different with a different host.

Install Roundcube

Download a copy of Roundcube from roundcube.net, and extract it to the desired location, i.e. mydomain.com/mail (which you could then create a subdomain mail.mydomain.com pointing to it).

In Firefox navigate to mydomain.com/mail/installer for the Roundcube Webmail Installer, click Start Installation and make sure you meet the server environment requirements.

Database setup

Login to cPanel phpMyAdmin and create a new MySQL database called roundcubemail or similar, create a new user and assign it full access privileges to the new database.  Fill the Database setup section with user and password details.

IMAP Settings

The IMAP Settings for Hostgator shared hosting are;

default_host – the primary domain name, in my case it is thydzik.info

default_port – remains at port 143

username_domain – this is the IMAP email address, in my case it is something@thydzik.com

SMTP Settings

The SMTP Settings for Hostgator shared hosting are;

smtp_server – mail.mydomain.com, in my case it is mail.thydzik.com

smtp_port – remains at port 25

smtp_user – the IMAP email address, in my case it is something@thydzik.com

smtp_pass – the IMAP email address password

Click create config, then download the two files main.inc.php and db.inc.php and upload them to mydomain.com/mail/config.

Click continue and Test IMAP config to make sure everything is working. Delete the installer folder.

Installing Webmail Notifier Roundcube plugin

Download the Roundcube Plugins pack from MyRoundcube and copy the plugin folder webmail_notifier to mydomain.com/mail/plugins/webmail_notifier. Change the file name of mydomain.com/mail/plugins/webmail_notifier/config.inc.php.dist to config.inc.php.

Edit the file mydomain.com/mail/config/main.inc.php and add webmail_notifier to the list of plugins, similar to;

// List of active plugins (in plugins/ directory)
$rcmail_config['plugins'] = array('someotherplugin', 'webmail_notifier');

Login to Roundcube and navigate to the Settings (top right corner), Navigate to section Mailbox View, there will be a new section New Message, download the script from the Get Firefox Webmail Notifier Script download icon.

Installing the Firefox WebMail Notifier plugin

From the same Mailbox View section you can navigate to the Firefox WebMail Notifier plugin page using the Get Firefox Webmail Notifier Addon download icon. Install the plugin and restart Firefox, a grey envelope should appear in the Add-on Bar. Right-click the envelope and select Options,  click the Scripts button, then Add and select the localhost.js previously downloaded from the Get Firefox Webmail Notifier Script.

In WebMail Notifier configure a new account, using the localhost script, enter the IMAP details as previously detailed;

Username – this is the IMAP email address, in my case it is something@thydzik.com

Password – this is the IMAP email address passpword

If everything was successful you should now see a Roundcube icon and be notified of all new emails.

The first time trying to stop my USB hard-disk-drive I get the following “Could not find any processes locking USB device!”, great, the one program that advertises as “an enhanced and hassle-free replacement for Windows safe removal tool” doesn’t even work.

Back to directly unplugging the drive.

I chose Procion over Acid Dye due to being a little cheaper, and the specific Procion type I bought was Procion MX, a cold water dye, what I didn’t realise was a fixer/setter is also required in this case sodium carbonate (soda ash) as this added to the price.

Both items can be purchased from eBay seller prothree and including shipping cost $6 for the Procion (25g) and $5.50 for the Soda Ash (200g).  Acid dye (10g) can be purchased for $7.

The procedure to dye fabrics with Procion MX is fairly straight forward, what I planned to dye black was a pink top and grey skirt.

Procedure

1. First fill a container with about ten litres of water, add the Procion MX dye and stir to make sure everything is dissolved and mixed evenly.
2. Immense the cloths in the dye bath and stir for thirty minutes to make sure cloths are evenly dyed.
3. Add the soda ash and again stir for thirty minutes to make sure soda ash is dissolved and mixed evenly.
4. Remove cloths from dye bath and rinse with clean water to remove excess dye.
5. Once the majority of dye is removed, it can be machine washed to remove any traces.

Enjoy the newly coloured clothes.

Head over to viamini-itxebook.com to read about it and many other cool mods.

It all started September 2010, we got married and decided we must have a reception next year.  We browsed through a number of well known venue brochures, Matilda Bay Restaurant, Fraser’s Restaurant, Old Brewery and off course Tawarri.

They were all in nice locations, overlooking the Swan River, but what drew us to Tawarri was the classic venue that our parents had at least once been to, but even more so, the price.

At the time, Tawarri advertised a three course sit-down meal for $79 per person off-peak, which included a five hour beverage package of wine and spirits, it all sounded too good to be true. We checked out the venue, met with Malcolm Fernandez, who was already keen on sharing his wedding ideas, and paid the $1000 deposit.

We didn’t do too much till early next year, where the missus and I started bouncing ideas for the general ‘theme’, invitations and guest list. We decided that the invitations should tie-in with the final reception.

Invitations

Having decided on the invitation font, design and wording, time to purchase the materials;

• 100x 6” square white envelopes $20 AUD
• 100x 12” square Bazzill embossed cardstock $120 USD

By late May material had arrived, and by June approximately 80 invitations posted.

I also made a simple online paperless invitation, which mimicked the real invitations.

Wedding Website and Online RSVP

In parallel to the invitations, an Online RSVP form was made and a basic Wedding Website.

Package Update

On May 2011, Lee-ann from Tawarri sent through an update reception package brochure, our original sit-down meal for off-peak had increased from $79 per person to $84 per person, a 6.33% increase. Note; the Australia consumer price index (CPI) from September 2010 to June 2011 was only 3%.

From May 2011 was when the real reception planning started, it was amazing how little information Tawarri provided in their reception package brochure, we asked many questions, here are a list of key items that were discussed leading up to the reception, most are relevant to Tawarri, but for completeness, I have still shared those that are not.

Chair Covers

Tawarri was able to provide chair covers with sashes for $5.50 per person plus a $1.00 per person set up fee. The least expensive I could find chair cover only in Perth was $4.50 per person. Looking at other options, there is a “universal’ chair cover available that fits on all chairs and ties neatly behind the back of the chair, so no sash is required. I managed to located satin universal chair covers for $3.60 (including postage) to purchase from a seller on Alibaba (contact Jean Zhu; elegancetextile002@gmail.com)

Bottled Beers

Tawarri’s standard beverage consumption was jugs of Carlton Draft and Carlton Mid-Strength, now when I think of beer jugs, I think of my university days, not something I want at a wedding reception, so I thought bottled beers were the way to go. Tawarri do offer a bottled beer package for an extra $15 per person, with “conditions apply”. In a separate document which you have to request, the first paragraph states the following;

“our experience with alcohol service has indicated a dangerous trend of binge drinking at functions resulting in unsavoury behaviour and incidents that jeopardise the safety of staff and guests. Bottled beers will not entirely replace jugs of draught beer and will be served in addition to the standard option”

Here’s an interesting fact Carlton Draft contains 4.6% alcohol content, Corona also contains 4.6% alcohol content, the difference is one is served in a 1136mL jug, the other in a 330mL bottle.

Wedding Cake Service

At our first meeting with Malcolm, he informed us of Tawarri complimentary wedding cake service, on questioning later, it turned out it was merely cutting the cake up to finger size pieces and serving it on a platter in the middle of the table. This was still nicer then what some of the other venues would charge for this service, and we decide to go with this option.

Beverages

Included in the standard package were Hardy’s Cabernet Merlot and Hardy’s Chardonnay  wine, Carlton Drought and Carlton Midstrength beer and soft drinks.

I was against having jugs of beer at our tables, I didn’t think they were appropriate for a wedding. Unfortunately, there was no option to remove them, and the bottle beer package wasn’t a substitute, but added more to the table.

Bar Tab

It is common for venues to have a bar with can either be guest paid or prepaid for the night. Tawarri had this, on May they provided us with current bar prices, again in a separate document. On July they informed us of revised prices for spirits and bottled beers, a slight fifty cents increase.

I decided to go with an unadvertised open bar, except for three drinks on the menus, Coronas, Johnny Walker Black and Gin and Tonic. One of the ideas was a Vodka and Cranberry juice in a Martini glass, which Tawarri was very obliging to provide.

I provided the Moet & Chandon for dinner only, so also decided to allow Hardy’s Champaign during the 30 minute pre-dinner drinks.

I initially prepaid $1000 on the tab, the tab ended up as $1400, with totals as;

• 77x Johnny Walker Black
• 8x Corona
• 48x Gin and Tonic
• 8x Hardy’s Champaign

The Gin and Tonic quantity also included any other drinks guests ordered. I was surprised in 30 minutes, 100 guests could consume 8 bottles of Champaign.

Sound System

Tawarri only provides a basic PA system (single microphone and single powered speaker), we used Matrix Productions to hire two self powered speakers which we connected to a mixer and wireless microphones.

Music

I decided to go with self mixing a pre-recorded ‘set’ and playing that on the night. Mixing software called MixMeister made it extremely easy.

Download the wedding music here (170mb).

Child meals

A baby under two years old was not charged and provided a high chair. A kids meal (under twelve years old) was available for $50 per child, teenagers where discounted to $70 per head, due to non-consumption of alcoholic beverages.

Venue Hire Extension

Tawarri allowed for the extension of the venue hire by one hour for $250 extra. This was a great deal, the issue with extending the hire (for all venues) was what to do with the beverages. Tawarri happily gave us many choices,

• 1 hour venue extension only for an additional $250
• 1 hour venue and standard beverage package extension for an additional $250 and $10 per person.
• 1 hour venue, standard and bottled beverage package extension for an additional $250 and $25 per person.

We happily chose the venue extension only, unfortunately, due to licensing we couldn’t keep the bar open past 11pm.

Tables and Settings

Tawarri provided 10 person round tables, two 12 person round tables, a cake table and gift table. All linen was provided. They even offered to help with the table settings.

Champagne

Tawarri offers a number of options for Champagne,

• $2.50 per person for toasting only, or
• $2.50 per person for pre-dinner only, or
• $6.00 per person through out the night

They surprised us and even allowed us to supply our pre-purchased Moet & Chandon for a minimal $5 corkage fee per bottle (which even included ice-buckets). We had two toasting sessions through out the night and Tawarri even refilled the glasses both times.

Pre-reception setup

As long as there is no other functions prior to yours during the day, Tawarri will allow for setup on the prior day. This was really a blessing, on the Friday prior we managed to setup the chair covers, cake, audio system and table settings in three hours.

Payment with cash

Tawarri offers a 2.5% discount if payment is made in cash, which was also a nice surprise.

Flowers

We decided to arrange the flower centrepieces ourselves, we sourced white Ranunculus from the florists in Mt Lawley, Perth. Bunches of approximately 10 stems were $6, we picked up 40 bunches for our 13 tables. Plain white vases were purchased from IKEA.

Cake

After a successful cake the previous year at our ceremony, we decided to again go with Perth’s Sugar and Spice Patisserie. And again we weren’t disappointed. We added Ranunculus onto the cake ourselves.

Bonbonnieres

After much thought, we found a lovely four-piece chocolate Bianca Boxes from Bateel. Mohammad Bagher Pashmi from the Bateel Dubai Mall was very helpful and professional placing the order via email. Unfortunately, discounts aren’t available for orders less than 5000 AED (approximately $1300 USD).

Food

The pre-dinner drinks appetiser was a let down, advertised as “Chef’s choice of cocktail items”, was only fried finger food.

Tawarri made available a vegetarian meal at no additional charge.

Tawarri offered a ‘chose two’ for the mains as part of the standard package. Orders were not taken throughout the night, but instead both dishes brought to the guests to chose. Whilst this isn’t dining etiquette, it didn’t make it easier for our non-English speaking relatives to chose.

Tea and Coffee

Tawarri’s advertised tea and coffee was a self-service table located outside the main room in the foyer.

Recently, I needed an online RSVP system for a reception I was hosting, all the options out there didn’t meet my requirements;

• Customisable and able to self-host
• No need for tracking codes/numbers to be sent with invitation
• Able to RSVP additional guests
• Able to modify an existing RSVP

Implementation