tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58158742087725347802024-02-21T00:05:19.242+04:00Ashish Panjabi - Blogging sans Training WheelsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger103125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5815874208772534780.post-84208931225316609482014-10-18T19:01:00.003+04:002014-10-18T19:01:54.274+04:00#ShareYourSameness<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Every once in a while we all look for a little inspiration and today was my day.<br />
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I was asked by my wife to join her for an appreciation activity called <a href="http://www.thesamenessproject.com/" target="_blank">The [Sameness] Project</a> which asks volunteers to help distribute water and handkerchiefs to those working out in the outdoors, whether it be construction workers, gardeners, garbage collection people or basically anyone who sits and toils in the heat to make life better for us in the UAE.<br />
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When thinking about those who we helped out today, it gave a chance to reflect upon what they do. Often, we consider them to be poor but I don't think most of them would see themselves that way. Just because they accept a free meal, supplies, clothes or water from a complete stranger doesn't make them poor. How many of us have accepted an invitation for a free meal? Chances are, if you offer it, most people will accept it.<br />
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They have come here for different parts of the world to improve the life of their loved ones. With the money they earn working in the UAE, they manage to build a house, educate their kids or help the wedding of a family member. Many of these workers would know people who are poorer than them at home because they wouldn't have had to opportunity to do what these workers have done for their families.<br />
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What I liked about the <a href="http://www.thesamenessproject.com/" target="_blank">The [Sameness] Project</a> was that they encouraged you to hand out the bottles of water and handkerchiefs to the workers yourself and to make sure you personally thank them. For many of them, it is a much needed impromptu break and to see the smiles on their faces helps you know you made their day a little better. I never realized the value of a handkerchief till now as many of them were happier to receive this than the bottle of water. I came home drenched in sweat and changed my t-shirt but all I did was hand out bottles of water. These people work in the heat and humidity all day so a clean handkerchief was an unexpected surprise for them.<br />
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I'd encourage as many of you to get involved with the project. I was able to pick up the bottles of water and handerchiefs at the Collegiate American School near Al Manara Road in Umm Suqiem on a Satuday morning at 10am but you could follow their social media links to find out if they are indeed available at more locations or times. They distibuted about 10,000 bottles of water the day on the day I went and they have a chart that shows you where they need volunteers to deliver the bottles of water.<br />
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Follow them at the following places:<br />
<b>Facebook</b> - <a href="http://www.facebook.com/thesamenessproject">www.facebook.com/thesamenessproject</a><br />
<b>Twitter </b>- <a href="http://www.twitter.com/samenessproject" target="_blank">@samenessproject</a><br />
<b>E-mail</b> - home@thesamenessproject.com<br />
<b>Instagram</b> - <a href="http://instagram.com/thesamenessproject" target="_blank">@thesamenessproject </a><br />
<b>Hashtag</b> - <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23thesamenessproject&src=typd" target="_blank">#thesamenessproject</a> or #<a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23shareyoursameness&src=typd" target="_blank">shareyoursameness</a><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5815874208772534780.post-38844610731463464842014-07-24T09:56:00.003+04:002014-07-24T09:56:45.912+04:00I refuse to accept despair<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I normally listen to podcasts in my car while driving and started listening to one yesterday from the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/docarchive" target="_blank">BBC Documentaries</a> series called "<a href="http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/worldservice/docarchive/docarchive_20140712-0806a.mp3" target="_blank">No Destination</a>" which is a recount of the journey of Satish Kumar, a Gandhian, who fifty years ago walked for peace from New Delhi to Moscow, Paris, London and Washington DC when the threat of nuclear tensions was at its highest. Kumar's journey was that of peace and he went to convey that message to the respective heads of state of the four major capitals he visited.<div>
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Right at the end of the documentary though, there was an excerpt from a Martin Luther King Jr. speech that resonated with me in light of the current political climate. Most of us have heard King's "I have a Dream" speech but his "I refuse to accept despair" speech is probably not as well known but read it (or listen to it if you can, I couldn't find a proper website that had it) and share this message of peace with those around you. I hope it resonates as strongly with you as it did with me.</div>
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<a href="http://miscellanyblue.com/post/2794666005" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #111111; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: “I Refuse to Accept Despair”</a></h3>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image Source:<br />http://blogs.nd.edu/msps/tag/martin-luther-king-jr/</td></tr>
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I refuse to accept despair as the final response to the ambiguities of history. I refuse to accept the idea that the “isness” of man’s present nature makes him morally incapable of reaching up for the eternal “oughtness” that forever confronts him. I refuse to accept the idea that man is mere flotsom and jetsom in the river of life, unable to influence the unfolding events which surround him. I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality.</div>
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I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right temporarily defeated is stronger than evil triumphant. I believe that even amid today’s mortar bursts and whining bullets, there is still hope for a brighter tomorrow. I believe that wounded justice, lying prostrate on the blood-flowing streets of our nations, can be lifted from this dust of shame to reign supreme among the children of men.</div>
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—<a href="http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1964/king-acceptance.html" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #0066cc; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.</a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5815874208772534780.post-86064796255807077672014-05-28T08:52:00.000+04:002014-05-28T08:53:47.126+04:00"Face" up to Depression<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
A few weeks ago, many of us in the UAE came across a story that aroused all sorts of emotions. It was the case of sixteen year old Abhimanyu Sadasivan's suicide. Abhimanyu for those of you who are not aware of the case, was a student at the Indian High School in Dubai and lived in Sharjah. On March 2, 2014, he jumped off his building's roof and took his own life. What had stirred up even more emotions was the fact that he had written a suicide note when taking his chemistry exam on February 25, 2014.<br />
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There was uproar as many thought the school should have realized earlier. There was uproar as many thought it was something that had happened in their school / community / city / country. There was uproar because there was an underlying feeling of guilt most people probably felt but were too ashamed to talk about as they realized it could've happened in their own home.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Abhimanyu Sadasivan. Picture: The National.</td></tr>
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<b>Depression kills. </b></div>
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It is as simple as that but it is something we as a society don't like to talk about.</div>
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I don't know Abhimanyu, his family, his friends or anyone who knew him personally but to blame the school solely is wrong. The school has a part to play, but so does everyone know was associated with Abhimanyu as it seems he was depressed and with a support system, may have overcome his depression.</div>
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The uproar or guilty feeling many people felt in the aftermath of Abhimanyu's demise is related to the fact that most of us probably know someone who is depressed. Most of us avoid bringing it up or talking about it because we are in a society that values "face" and the image of the "face." I assume most of would rather be the person who saved a life than who preserved a "face" and as difficult as that may be a task to manage, it can start by talking a little emote openly about depression.</div>
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I'm not subject matter expert and I'm sure there are many people who could do a far better job in explaining the symptoms of depression, the types of depression and how to help someone deal with depression but we have to be receptive to educating ourselves about it. To do that, we should have the courage to discuss depression.</div>
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To those of you in the media, I'd implore you to start writing more about it. <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/may/27/-sp-washington-mental-illness-legislation-elliot-rodger" target="_blank">This editorial</a> in the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/may/27/-sp-washington-mental-illness-legislation-elliot-rodger" target="_blank">Guardian</a> about the Elliot Rodger case should serves as a basis to start. You have the power to educate us in saving or transforming a person's life.</div>
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To the rest of you, take a look around. Guilt is something you feel after something tragic has happened, satisfaction is something you feel when you know you've done a job well. If you see an opportunity to change a guilty moment into one of satisfaction for both yourself and those around you, why hesitate. </div>
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It's sad when we lose young people in our community but instead of passing blame, let's see what are lessons learned that can avoid a tragedy like this from happening again. In this particular, instance, let's talk depression and "face" up to the fact that we can defeat it.</div>
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<i>Thank you Bindu Rai (<a href="https://twitter.com/bindurai" target="_blank">@bindurai</a> on Twitter) for your back and forth exchange on this topic with me when I had first posted the link about Abhimanyu's demise. It helped clear my mind and create a the context for this post. </i></div>
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<i>The National had a series of articles on Abhimanyu and can be read at the links below.</i></div>
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<a href="http://www.thenational.ae/uae/indian-schools/20140508/teenager-wrote-suicide-note-on-exam-paper" target="_blank">Teenager wrote suicide note on Exam Paper </a></div>
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<a href="http://www.thenational.ae/uae/education/dubai-school-apologises-after-asking-parents-of-student-who-took-his-own-life-to-pay-fees" target="_blank">Dubai School Apologizes after asking parents of student who took his own life to pay school fees</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.thenational.ae/uae/education/parents-of-suicide-teenager-get-to-see-sons-final-words-on-chemistry-exam-paper" target="_blank">Parents of suicide teenager get to see son's final words on chemistry exam paper</a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5815874208772534780.post-32951632182304113472014-05-27T11:40:00.000+04:002014-05-27T11:40:27.035+04:00Sony: Should I stay or should I go? <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image: http://www.fairviewpolice.org</td></tr>
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Should I stay or should I go? <br />
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Ever felt like you've been at a party longer than you should've stayed? There is that awkward feeling that creeps in and then you realize, you should have left much earlier but now that you're here, why don't you stay till the end? Then you start thinking again and realize, actually, why do you need to stay till the end.<br />
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That's probably the question Sony should be asking themselves when it comes to their television business and <a href="http://on.ft.com/1kF9ED7" target="_blank">this</a> last paragraph from a <a href="http://on.ft.com/1kF9ED7" target="_blank">Financial Times</a> story, nails it!<br />
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Have a read if you can, it is worth it.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5815874208772534780.post-15046730412237831922014-05-27T11:05:00.000+04:002014-05-27T11:05:40.784+04:00Amazon's Barriers to Entry in India, Middle East & China<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It's been fascinating in the last few months to see how valuations for e-commerce sites have shot through the roof not only in developed markets like the United States and Europe but across emerging markets like India, the Middle East and China.<br />
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In India, we keep hearing about Flipkart, which this week raised US$ 210,000,000 after an investment vehicle owned Russian investor Yuri Milner reaffirmed their faith in India's burgeoning e-commerce market. As Flipkart's CEO said in <a href="http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/bba14126-e4b7-11e3-9b2b-00144feabdc0.html?ftcamp=crm/email/2014527/nbe/ConsumerIndustries/product#axzz32nL4CApZ" target="_blank">this</a> Financial Times article, it is a "vote of confidence" as Milner was an early investor in Facebook, Twitter and Spotify. We also heard this week of a merger in India between Flipkart and fashion e-tailer Myntra.<br />
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<a href="http://www.profitpath.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/barriers-to-entry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.profitpath.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/barriers-to-entry.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></div>
In the Middle East, Souq.com has probably ruled the roost as far as headlines and funding has gone. They are the largest e-commerce site based in the region and recently received US$ 75,000,000 in funding from South African investment house, Naspers (read more about it <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2014/03/24/dubai-e-commerce-site-souq-com-gets-75-million-investment-from-naspers/" target="_blank">here</a>). Souq have invested in creating local logistics, warehousing, procurement and payment gateways across most of the Middle East and a few years ago, Souq swallowed up it's sister concern, fashion e-tailer, Sukar.com (again, you can read about this <a href="http://www.thenational.ae/blogs/plugged-in/souqcom-bags-fashion-website" target="_blank">here</a>).<br />
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China is another market that has taken a fair share of the headlines in the e-commerce space. Names like Alibaba and Tencent are becoming more familiar outside of China and stories of the success that smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi have had with their online go to market route have had their fair share of coverage in the international press. I don't know whether it is true to say that Alibaba has grabbed 80% of the e-commerce market in China as <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2014/05/08/how-did-alibaba-capture-80-of-chinese-e-commerce/" target="_blank">one headline claimed</a>, but it is fair to say, the local e-commerce brands have prospered.<br />
<br />
Which brings me back to the point raised in my headline. Amazon has been the incumbent behemoth of the e-commerce trade. We've heard and read about e-commerce crossing borders. We've been told we're in a global marketplace. However, for Amazon to say they want to grow, they need to be in markets like India, China and the Middle East in the long term. At the moment, the only way for them to be anything more than a bit player is to make a significant acquisition in each of these regions as these are not easy markets to do business in and they're a little late to the party. It can be argued that none of these e-commerce players other than Amazon are truly profitable but you get a sense they are all holding in for long term. <br />
<br />
Amazon has received a fair amount of heat this week for their predatory practices when they made it difficult to pre-order J.K. Rowling's new book due to a <a href="http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-book-battle-20140527-story.html" target="_blank">dispute with the publisher</a>, but this is just a sign of things to come. There seems to be no shortage of cash from investors at this stage and if we are to see a Walmart-type effect in the online arena, Amazon will probably have to dig deep, pay out to buy their piece of the action and then we could start to see the real predator in action. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5815874208772534780.post-34602758181209834292013-12-16T10:07:00.000+04:002013-12-16T10:07:02.714+04:00Time to start fueling the Expo fire<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Dubai has done well to get the Expo 2020 but it irks me when I see people trying to take advantage of the situation with sensationalist headlines. Case in point in a story that appeared on <a href="http://arabianbusiness.com/">ArabianBusiness.com</a> today about property developer Damac entitled "<a href="http://www.arabianbusiness.com/apartments-serve-dubai-expo-go-on-sale-530895.html" target="_blank">Apartments to serve Dubai Expo go on sale</a>."<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.rovingjay.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/crash-and-burn-money.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="284" src="http://www.rovingjay.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/crash-and-burn-money.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image: www.rovingjay.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The Expo is a six-month event that will take a few years to plan. These apartments are there for a much longer term one would assume but to make it sound like this is something that can be used and disposed in the headline only adds to the speculation that created the last recession we had in the UAE a few years ago.<br />
<br />
The apartments are located near the new Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai World Central, where amongst many things, the Expo site will be. The apartments will no doubt benefit those working on the Expo project but in the longer term will be of greater benefit to those working in Dubai World Central, the new airport or any of the other projects that will take shape in that part of town in the long term.<br />
<br />
The Expo is great for Dubai but we need to think what else after the Expo. There is a lot going for Dubai in the longer term and I just wish advertisers, media outlets, developers and anyone else involved would communicate that. The only reason to advertise or publicize accommodation for the Expo would be if you're building labour camps for workers that you'll dismantle once the Expo is over but if you're only USP is the Expo, then you're not part of the solution, you're probably the reason for another recession.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5815874208772534780.post-49178137378898528822013-11-16T12:20:00.001+04:002013-11-16T12:20:34.202+04:00#ThankYouSachin<p dir="ltr">Modesty is a quality we don't see enough of today. Sachin Tendulkar has humbled us all over the years and did so once again. It was action and not words that defined him. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Thank You Sachin for all you've done to inspire billions of people around the globe for over two decades and somewhere I hope we'll see another set of modest role models emerge because of you. </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAVXNIE78eRAPTROO1DyAl7f3WBd-0rKYn9C0WmUJNBIxuxRFKzLNZgmIKfRWqXgxr1n-_hTDRJIk4Odt3a5OIZ0n830tNsDH4NIhyg5o5YTvGKCsYk8y5lLGwsholW-65n-zG0rlVew-Y/s1600/BZLB8MhCcAAgEne.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAVXNIE78eRAPTROO1DyAl7f3WBd-0rKYn9C0WmUJNBIxuxRFKzLNZgmIKfRWqXgxr1n-_hTDRJIk4Odt3a5OIZ0n830tNsDH4NIhyg5o5YTvGKCsYk8y5lLGwsholW-65n-zG0rlVew-Y/s640/BZLB8MhCcAAgEne.jpg"> </a> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5815874208772534780.post-35739495153908258022013-11-10T12:23:00.000+04:002013-11-10T12:23:20.207+04:00Movember: Male Menopause?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b>Can men suffer from menopause (or as some might call it, man-o-pause)?</b><br />
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The answer is yes and no. Men can suffer from something called <i><b>Andropause</b></i> which is often called male menopause but this isn't quite the same as female menopause.<br />
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I'd read an article in the <a href="http://gulfnews.com/life-style/health/why-men-suffer-from-andropause-1.1252126" target="_blank">Gulf News</a> Health section about this last week and decided to educate myself further given the fact that this is Movember and I should learn as much about men's health issues as I can.<br />
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<b>What causes Andropause?</b><br />
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Basically, as men, we tend to gradually start suffering from what is called an <b><i>a</i></b><i><b>ndrogen deficiency</b></i>, which is when we start having lower than normal levels of male hormones as we get older. The primary hormone that typically triggers this is testosterone. Unlike women where the drop in sex hormone production can drop suddenly, in men this happens gradually over a number of years, typically starting from the age of 30. Thus, andropause and menopause somewhat different.<br />
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<b>What do we get from Androgens?</b><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://fritzssalon.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/manolantern.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="130" src="http://fritzssalon.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/manolantern.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Androgens give you your hairy chest.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Androgens are what typically give you a lot of your male characteristics such as sexual and reproductive functions. Androgens also play a part in changes during puberty such as facial hair <i>(apt for Movember)</i>, body hair, muscle development, change in your voice <i>(and that freaky period when your voice is high and low in the same sentence until you've finally found your adult voice)</i>, development of your mojo <i>(in Austin Powers terms)</i>, prostate function and sperm production.<br />
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<b>What happens when Androgen levels drop?</b><br />
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I saw a whole list of symptoms of what happens when androgen levels drop but before I list it out, <i><b>I wanted to highlight the fact that many of these symptoms could be related to other diseases or deficiencies</b></i> such as diabetes, lack of exercise, a poor diet or a whole host other things so make sure you investigate further with your doctor before convincing yourself if you're suffering from andropause. <br />
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The symptoms I came across were:<br />
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><b>Dropping levels of sexual desire</b></li>
<li><b>Hot flushes and sweating</b> <i>(again this can have many other reasons as to why you'd suffer from this)</i></li>
<li><b>Breast development </b><i>(if you've not done so, read my <a href="http://ashishpanjabi.blogspot.ae/2013/11/movember-men-can-get-breast-cancer.html" target="_blank">Movember post on breast cancer in men</a>).</i></li>
<li><b>Depression </b><i>(you can be depressed for other reasons as well) </i></li>
<li><b>Lethargy and Fatigue</b> <i>(lack of sleep, lack of exercise, a poor diet or diabetes can also be reasons for this)</i></li>
<li><b>Reduced muscle mass and strength</b> <i>(a general rule of thumb is you lose about a half kilo of muscle mass every year as you get older and this is why you should mix up your gym routine with some strength training alongside your cardio workouts)</i></li>
<li><b>Increased body fat</b>, especially around the abdomen <i>(too much beer can also be a cause of this)</i></li>
<li><b>Reduced sexual function</b></li>
<li><b>Loss of body hair </b><i>(I'm not expert here but may be changing the type of shampoo you use as you get older could help slightly reduce the rate of hair loss).</i></li>
<li><b>Reduce bone mass putting you at risk for osteoporosis</b> <i>(having enough Vitamin D and taking calcium supplements as you get older is highly recommended. Despite living in a sunny environment in the UAE, most of us suffer from Vitamin D deficiency and the best way to get your dose of Vitamin D is simply opening the window in the morning and enjoying the sun's rays).</i></li>
</ul>
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<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Checking for Andropause and Treating it?</b></div>
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I'd highly recommend you speak to your doctor about this. The internet can be a treasure trove of misinformation when it comes to medial treatments. If you are over the age of 30, I'd recommend you do a check up once a year where you can get questions like this answer. If you're hitting 40 and living in the UAE, I'd suggest you start doing this annually.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/images/2010/hormone-balance-andropause-journey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="182" src="http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/images/2010/hormone-balance-andropause-journey.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image: <a href="http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/hormone-balance-andropause-journey.htm">http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/hormone-balance-andropause-journey.htm</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
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<div>
<b>What have I learned?</b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So one thing I learned during this month of Movember is that many conditions that we thought were unique to women such as breast cancer or menopause actually exist in men as well. The other thing I learned is that you can't blame things on andropause. I read quite a few stories on the Internet about how people have overcome this so don't use it as an excuse. Use it as a means to help get yourself back on track. If you see someone who looks like they're suffering from it, encourage them and help steer them in the right direction.</div>
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The purpose of Movember is to highlight men's health issues and I hope blog posts like this do help educate you and your loved ones.</div>
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<div>
I'd also like to credit the <a href="http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Androgen_deficiency" target="_blank">Better Health Channel</a> which was one of the better websites on <a href="http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Androgen_deficiency" target="_blank">androgen deficiencies</a> I found. I'd suggest you visit the <a href="http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Androgen_deficiency" target="_blank">link</a> to learn more about the condition.</div>
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<i style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">P.S. I'm supporting Movember to raise awareness for men's health issues. To find out more, please visit my <a href="http://ashishpanjabi.blogspot.ae/p/movember.html" style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Movember</a> page on my blog. If you'd like to donate to the cause, then please visit the <a href="http://ex.movember.com/team/998581" style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">donation page</a> of the <a href="http://ex.movember.com/team/998581" style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">#Mustachepreneurs</a> and any contributions will be graciously accepted.</i></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5815874208772534780.post-4799247092670444642013-11-05T08:30:00.000+04:002013-11-05T08:30:00.782+04:00Movember: Mustaches are serious business<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://indulgy.net/LC/y7/83/238479742737618656TXBJZI2Bc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://indulgy.net/LC/y7/83/238479742737618656TXBJZI2Bc.jpg" width="192" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image:<br /><a href="http://indulgy.com/post/58dn9nUIE1/list-of-mustache-types">http://indulgy.com/post/58dn9nUIE1/list-of-mustache-types</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
For those of you growing your Mo for Movember, you know it ain't all plain sailing. Growing a mustache is actually hard work and it's fair easier to keep yourself clean shaven than to grow facial hair.<br />
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For example, during the first few days of Movember, I have to make sure I'm extra alert while shaving as my facial hair is still not distinct enough to my bleary eyes in the early hours of the morning and one swipe, it can all disappear!<br />
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When your mustache does tend to take shape, then you need to make sure you shave around your mustache carefully. One over aggressive swoop and you have an imbalanced mustache on your face. A little too conservative and it starts to look like shrubs sprouting where they shouldn't be.<br />
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Deciding on a style to adopt is also hard work. Do you go for the Fu Manchu, the toothbrush, handlebars, walrus or just stick to the plain vanilla pencil mustache? If in case you're confused which style to follow, I've got a great <a href="http://www.mustachesandbeards.com/different-types-styles-of-mustaches/" target="_blank">link</a> that shows just what type of mustache would suit you and which has got some history on different types of mustaches.<br />
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Trimming is not an option during Movember, but if you did decide to do that, what scissors do you use? If you don't normally sport a mustache or a beard, you may not have the right trimming scissors at home and a sharp instrument in the hand of a man when used on his face is just a recipe for disaster! After all, we men don't like to ask for directions when driving, so why would we ask for them when grooming? We're also the same men who don't look to spend too long looking at ourselves in a mirror so quick and easy is normally the only option.<br />
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If you do want to learn though how to trim your mustache, then I've found a <a href="http://www.mustachesandbeards.com/how-to-trim-a-mustache/" target="_blank">link</a> that can help you do this. Emergency Rooms around the world are best advised to have print outs of this kept in their waiting rooms during Movember.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zIkv_Y2EoC8/UVJg5oFU5ZI/AAAAAAAAAHE/H1gQFRCJ_uQ/s1600/33032_got-milk-wallpaper_jpge60ad76f7e15a0c1e71e02cd20926fec1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="256" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zIkv_Y2EoC8/UVJg5oFU5ZI/AAAAAAAAAHE/H1gQFRCJ_uQ/s320/33032_got-milk-wallpaper_jpge60ad76f7e15a0c1e71e02cd20926fec1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Remember, you are not Superman. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Ice cream. This is just a recipe for disaster. Once your mustache has formed and you look like you've made a mark that's noticeable, you go out for an ice cream and you find that your hand and mouth co-ordination isn't all that you thought it was. If you've got young kids, your best advised to have any ice cream only when they're around you as you can blend in with them. If you're out on a date, AVOID ice cream for dessert. Trying to convince your date your trying to imitate the Got Milk? campaign just won't do it.<br />
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The most confusing part of the month though is do you spell it Mustache or Moustache? I spent Movember last year calling it a Moustache and have switched to Mustache this year because I'm a part of the <a href="http://ex.movember.com/team/998581" target="_blank">#Mustachepreneurs</a> this year for Movember. Since the spelling of the group was done by Patrick Brady, our esteemed Director for the <a href="http://www.eonetwork.org/" target="_blank">Entrepreneur's Organizatio</a>n EMEA region, I've changed the spelling I'm using this year. I did however do some research on this and Mustache is actually the American spelling, Moustache is the spelling the rest of the world uses. The Italians though have got something called a Mustachio which is a variation used for a luxuriant mustache. For more on this fascinating topic, click <a href="http://grammarist.com/spelling/mustache-moustache-mustachio/" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
So that's some of what happens behind the scenes in Movember. In case you see someone who is growing a mustache, take a moment to sympathize with them as it ain't as easy as it looks!<br />
<br />
<i style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">P.S. I'm supporting Movember to raise awareness for men's health issues. To find out more, please visit my <a href="http://ashishpanjabi.blogspot.ae/p/movember.html" style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Movember</a> page on my blog. If you'd like to donate to the cause, then please visit the <a href="http://ex.movember.com/team/998581" style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">donation page</a> of the <a href="http://ex.movember.com/team/998581" style="color: #4d469c; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">#Mustachepreneurs</a> and any contributions will be graciously accepted.</i><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5815874208772534780.post-37349780912715145562013-11-03T09:39:00.000+04:002013-11-03T09:39:46.557+04:00Movember: 30 Days Exercise Routine<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Whether you're growing your mustache this Movember or not, whether you're male or female, we all have to look after ourselves.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://neilarey.com/images/challenges/cardio/cardio.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://neilarey.com/images/challenges/cardio/cardio.jpg" width="281" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image: <a href="http://neilarey.com/challenges/cardio.html">http://neilarey.com/challenges/cardio.html</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I came across <a href="http://neilarey.com/challenges/cardio.html" target="_blank">this great guide</a> last night on a 30-day cardio routine that you can do at home (or in your hotel room if you're a frequent traveller) for the 30 days of Movember. It's fairly basic and builds up in intensity over the 30 day period so if you know someone that needs a bit of a push, try this with them and hopefully it gets all of you moving in the right direction.<br />
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I'd also encourage you to visit the <a href="http://neilarey.com/" target="_blank">www.neilarey.com </a>as they've got many more great 30 day programs on there as well.<br />
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<i>P.S. I'm supporting Movember to raise awareness for men's health issues. To find out more, please visit my <a href="http://ashishpanjabi.blogspot.ae/p/movember.html" target="_blank">Movember</a> page on my blog. If you'd like to donate to the cause, then please visit the <a href="http://ex.movember.com/team/998581" target="_blank">donation page</a> of the <a href="http://ex.movember.com/team/998581" target="_blank">#Mustachepreneurs</a> and any contributions will be graciously accepted.</i><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5815874208772534780.post-32847144242583487372013-11-01T17:47:00.000+04:002013-11-03T09:39:58.084+04:00Movember: Men can get breast cancer<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Being the month of Movember where I blog about men's health issues, I had to talk about this. In a recent report that appeared in the <a href="http://www.khaleejtimes.com/kt-article-display-1.asp?xfile=data/nationhealth/2013/October/nationhealth_October31.xml&section=nationhealth" target="_blank">Khaleej Times</a>, it seems men are are also affected by breast cancer. <br />
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October is normally the month where breast cancer awareness is highlighted and we've seen lots of initaiatives including the Burjuman Pink Walkathon (which was this year on 1st November) so fits in nicely with Movember where it should be a walk for men as well.<br />
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According to the <a href="http://www.khaleejtimes.com/kt-article-display-1.asp?xfile=data/nationhealth/2013/October/nationhealth_October31.xml&section=nationhealth" target="_blank">Khaleej Times</a> report, a 48-year old Emirati man was found to have had a malignant form of breast cancer that went undetected for six years. After several tests, the man had to have a mastectomy. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.virtualmedicalcentre.com/uploads/VMC/DiseaseImages/1278_Breast_Cancer_Male.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="250" src="http://www.virtualmedicalcentre.com/uploads/VMC/DiseaseImages/1278_Breast_Cancer_Male.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image source:<a href="http://www.virtualmedicalcentre.com/diseases/male-breast-cancer-male-breast-carcinoma/829" target="_blank"> http://www.virtualmedicalcentre.com/diseases/male-breast-cancer-male-breast-carcinoma/829</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Dr. Sawsan Al Mahdi, the Secretary General for Friends of Cancer Patients (FoCP) charitable society and head of Pink Caravan told Khaleej Times, "<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">“Although men have significantly less breast tissue, therefore lowering their chances of developing breast cancer, the downside is that breast tumours in men have a higher tendency to spread to nearby areas, such as the skin covering the breast or the muscles under the breast, therefore increasing the risk of the cancer reaching the metastatic phase.”</span><br />
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Early detection remains the best cure and for most men, they should be undergoing an annual medical check-up in any case. The next time you're getting this done, ask your doctor to run a quick ultrasound over your chest (I know my doctor normally does an abdominal scan) and it's better to be safe than sorry.<br />
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To learn more about male breast cancer, visit this <a href="http://www.virtualmedicalcentre.com/diseases/male-breast-cancer-male-breast-carcinoma/829" target="_blank">link</a> on the Virtual Medical Centre website.<br />
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Spread the word and let's make sure we care not only for ourselves but our loved ones always.<br />
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<i>P.S. I'm supporting Movember to raise awareness for men's health issues. To find out more, please visit my <a href="http://ashishpanjabi.blogspot.ae/p/movember.html" target="_blank">Movember</a> page on my blog. If you'd like to donate to the cause, then please visit the <a href="http://ex.movember.com/team/998581" target="_blank">donation page</a> of the <a href="http://ex.movember.com/team/998581" target="_blank">#Mustachepreneurs</a> and any contributions will be graciously accepted.</i></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5815874208772534780.post-66471975227996043152013-10-29T16:19:00.002+04:002013-10-29T16:19:24.411+04:00What is an Expo?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Expo 2020.<br />
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We've all heard about it, we all know Dubai is bidding for it and in less than a month, we'll all know whether Dubai gets it. We've been told that if Dubai gets the Expo, it'll be great for our future, property will boom, hotels will be built, entertainment facilities will be required, infrastructure developments will happen and all in all, we'll be a happier bunch.<br />
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I don't doubt this. The Expo is a good thing for Dubai but as good a job as Dubai has done in marketing its bid for the Expo 2020, it's done a rather poor job of actually telling us what is an Expo.<br />
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I've asked a lot of people of late, the following few questions and in most cases have received no answers. The questions are:<br />
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<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li><b>What is an Expo?</b></li>
<li><b>Where was the last Expo?</b></li>
<li><b>Who do they know that visited an Expo?</b></li>
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The fact is, most of us, including myself, aren't fully clear about this. It would be nice if the bid committee in Dubai had educated on this but since they haven't, I've taken a stab at it.</div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">What is an Expo?</span></b></div>
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The Expo is called by various names such as the World Fair, World Exposition or Universal Exposition. It is an exhibition that moves around the world every few years and serves today as a mean of national showcasing. I've never been to an Expo but I would assume it is like the Global Village we have in Dubai every year where each country has their own national pavilion. There would be some sort of theme and hopefully this helps unite us.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://static.neatorama.com/images/2009-01/rabbit-macau-pavillion-shanghai-world-expo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="286" src="http://static.neatorama.com/images/2009-01/rabbit-macau-pavillion-shanghai-world-expo.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Macau Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo in 2010.<br />Image - http://www.neatorama.com</td></tr>
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According to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World's_fair" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a>, the Expo went through three stages, the first was Industrialization (1851-1938), the second was Cultural Exchange (1939 - 1987) and the third is Nation Branding (1988 to present). There is more about this on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World's_fair" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a> and I suggest you have a read through it there.</div>
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<span style="color: red;"><b>Where was the last Expo?</b></span></div>
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I thought the last Expo was in Shanghai in 2010 as I had visited the city shortly after the Expo had finished but it seems the last Expo was in Yeosu (South Korea) in 2012. The next one will be in Milan in 2015 and Astana (Kazakstan) in 2017.</div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">What does the Expo mean for us?</span></b></div>
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Dubai is clearly a city that knows how to host major events. The fact most of us probably have never been to an Expo or have ever known anyone who went to an Expo doesn't mean it doesn't deserve to be compared to major events like hosting an Olympics Games or hosting a FIFA World Cup. </div>
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<a href="http://www.mohesr.gov.ae/Ar/MediaCenter/PublishingImages/Arabic%20Expo%202020%20Logo%206.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="143" src="http://www.mohesr.gov.ae/Ar/MediaCenter/PublishingImages/Arabic%20Expo%202020%20Logo%206.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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What Dubai does know really well is how to market an event. We've done it for years with the Dubai Shopping Festival, the Dubai Summer Surprises and Eid in Dubai. We've hosted major exhibitions whether it be Gulf Food, Gitex Technology Week or Arab Health. We've hosted major musical events. We've got a fantastic set of airports, airlines and hotel brands. We've got top class shopping malls. </div>
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We've got an audience that is able to visit Dubai with all the tourism initiatives the city has had so unlike most countries that have hosted an Expo till date, I'm sure we'll make this an event will be memorable as we've got a marketing engine that'll make the world know that we're hosting the Expo.</div>
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Wikipedia probably won't be what most people will have to refer going forward to educate themselves about the Expo. <i>Good luck Dubai and I'm sure you'll do a good job of it!</i></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5815874208772534780.post-89880552441808599392013-08-17T18:14:00.000+04:002013-08-18T10:22:56.534+04:00Kutcher and Jobs. The Comparison Continues.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Ashton Kutcher, who plays Steve Jobs in the movie "Jobs" has started to eerily look, sound and talk more like Steve Jobs. I don't know whether it is part of his act while he's trying to promote the movie but just as Steve Jobs had his Stanford University Commencement Speech moment back in 2005, Ashton Kutcher had his while accepting an award at the Teen Choice Awards earlier this week.<br />
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It may seem bizarre to compare the two speeches but listen to Kutcher and you start to see the similarities (click <a href="http://youtu.be/zuBSRC1zpHw?t=1m8s" target="_blank">here</a> to see the video). </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cdn.newsday.com/polopoly_fs/1.5876719.1376326249!/httpImage/image.JPG_gen/derivatives/display_600/image.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="231" src="http://cdn.newsday.com/polopoly_fs/1.5876719.1376326249!/httpImage/image.JPG_gen/derivatives/display_600/image.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kutcher at the Teen Choice Awards.<br />
Image: newsday.com</td></tr>
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While at Stanford, Jobs spoke to university students who were graduating from one of the world's premier educational institutions. In his speech, he mentioned three stories from his life. The first was about connecting the dots where he talks about destiny. The second story was about love and loss. He spoke about how he got fired from Apple when he thought he was the peak of his career, how he went on to found NeXT and then Pixar. He spoke of perseverance and about sticking it out for the long term battle. The third story Jobs spoke about was death. Here he spoke about living each day as if it was your last and what his bout with cancer had taught him at the time.</div>
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Ashton Kutcher in his speech was addressing teenagers at an awards ceremony and decided to lecture them on life lessons he had learned. Again, like Jobs, he had three stories. The first is about opportunity. Kutcher speaks of the stepping stones to getting where he did by jobs that may have appeared dead end jobs. He talks about never quitting his job until he had his next job. The second is about being sexy. His definition of the sexiest thing in the entire world is about smart, thoughtful, generous. He goes onto to say that everything else is "crap." The third story is based on what he learned while making the Jobs movie. He said it is about setting your own boundaries and not necessarily accepting the status quo. It is about building your life, not living one. <i>(Update: a clip of Jobs that Kutcher referenced can be found <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvEiSa6_EPA&sns=tw" target="_blank">here</a>).</i></div>
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This speech may have been staged given that Kutcher is in full flow with the promotion of the movie but it's re-assuring to see nonetheless a positive message made out to kids who are impressionable. Just as I know I tend to watch Steve Jobs giving his speech at Stanford every once in a while, Kutcher's viral acceptance speech may have the same appeal to teenagers who are looking for direction.</div>
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Well done Ashton and hope you've managed to guide some people to the right side of the road.</div>
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<i>P.S. If you've never heard Jobs give his speech at Stanford, you can <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc#at=291" target="_blank">watch it at this link</a> or <a href="http://news.stanford.edu/news/2005/june15/jobs-061505.html" target="_blank">read the transcript at this link</a>.</i></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5815874208772534780.post-18693935604910353172013-07-20T12:52:00.003+04:002013-07-20T14:37:30.074+04:00Speaking with a Clear Conscience<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"><b>"Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago." </b>- President Obama</span></div>
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I must admit I wasn't one of those that was following the George Zimmerman-Trayvon Martin case or reacted when a verdict was reached because all too often the media tends to sensationalize matters. Having lived in the United States when the O.J. Simpson trial happened in the 1990's, I've seen just the real issues can get missed out and how the media circus takes over.<div>
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In the Zimmerman-Martin case though, the media was clearing looking for a reaction from President Obama the moment a verdict was reached because this was probably the first landmark case related to race that has happened while he was President. We've been used to seeing stalwarts like Rev. Jessie Jackson speak up over the decades but having a sitting President of African-American descent meant the stakes were higher this time.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ronepraisedc.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/obama-zimmerman-trial.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="184" src="http://ronepraisedc.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/obama-zimmerman-trial.jpg" width="320"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image: www.praisedc.com</td></tr>
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President Obama though took this case in his own stride and let the hype die down a bit before making his own heartfelt comments on the case. As we've seen on more than one occasion, President Obama hasn't looked to sensationalize matters when the iron has hot but has always let the dust settle before talking. His approach has been pragmatic, often frustrating those around him.</div>
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I do appreciate the fact that when President Obama has spoken, it's been with a clear conscience. He spoke yesterday with a handwritten statement where he spoke from his heart. The impact of this is always greater and instead of politicizing an issue further as many others would, he put things in perspective. I've not taken sides in the American political arena but appreciate it when a person in a position such as that of President Obama where to draw the line as to what is politics and what isn't.</div>
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If you haven't read or heard President Obama's speech, the following paragraph from the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/20/us/in-wake-of-zimmerman-verdict-obama-makes-extensive-statement-on-race-in-america.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_ee_20130720&_r=0&pagewanted=all" target="_blank">New York Times</a> summarizes what he said in a nutshell.</div>
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<i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">But in the most expansive remarks he has made about race since becoming president, Mr. Obama offered three examples of the humiliations borne by young black men in America: being followed while shopping in a department store, hearing the click of car doors locking as they cross a street, or watching as women clutch their purses nervously when they step onto an elevator. The first two experiences, he said, had happened to him.</span> </i>(source: <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/20/us/in-wake-of-zimmerman-verdict-obama-makes-extensive-statement-on-race-in-america.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_ee_20130720&_r=0&pagewanted=all" target="_blank">New York Times</a>).</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5815874208772534780.post-5296429238038723722013-07-18T12:00:00.000+04:002013-07-18T12:00:09.593+04:00Taking Pictures & Videos in the UAE - A Cultural Issue<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
There's been an uproar in the UAE in the last few days with regards an incident where an Emirati man was recorded on video attacking another driver. The Emirati says he attacked the man because he drove after a minor accident and once he caught up to him, he did what he did and a lot of us saw it on YouTube with a video recorded by another motorist.<br />
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The motorist as it turns out has now been arrested for recording a video without knowledge of the Emirati man and this is against the law in the UAE. The contention of Dubai Police is that the motorist who recorded the video shouldn't have shared it publicly, rather he should have given it directly to the police. <br />
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In this post, I'm not debate the merits of the case or passing any judgement here but rather talking about sensitivities that exist in this region with regards taking pictures or videos. I've managed a photo studio and a business that distributed minilab equipment to other studios so I've been how culturally sensitive the topic of photo and video can be.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.el3mentsofwellness.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/NO.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="269" src="http://www.el3mentsofwellness.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/NO.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image: el3mentsofwellness.com</td></tr>
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In the studio business that I used to manage, we used to do a lot of event photography and video recording. When it came to doing events which were women-only, we had to ensure we used female photographers. We also used women to do the editing and post processing of videos and pictures. Even in our own studio where we had our own minilabs installed, we had to ensure that any screens, monitors or printers we had were positioned in such a way that no one other than our staff could view it.<br />
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Even at events where there were men or men and women, we've had to be sensitive as to which pictures were being taken as someone people are clearly not comfortable being photographed. We have the respect the culture we're in and why this can become an issue.<br />
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For the minilab equiment business I ran, I remember we contemplated distributing photo kiosks that could be used within retail establishments or other public areas. The problem that we could never get our head around was how do we supply this and yet protect the privacy of the person who is using the kiosk. It is very easy for a passerby to see what was on the screen of the kiosk or what was being printed. In short, we decided not to actively pursue this business.<br />
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I can understand why the laws state that taking pictures or videos without permission is illegal if seen from a cultural stand point. There are though a whole host of cases where the validity of this law may be challenged as in this case. We've all got our own opinions as to whether this is valid and while I'm not saying whether I support it or not, I just think we need to see both sides of the argument before passing judgement.<br />
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<i>In case you're not aware of this case, this <a href="http://alexofarabia.com/2013/07/17/citizen-journalist-beware-the-perils-of-shooting-video-in-dubai/" target="_blank">post </a>from Alex Malouf nicely explains some of the background to this incident. </i></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5815874208772534780.post-57264664713405569742013-07-13T13:07:00.001+04:002013-07-13T13:09:57.700+04:00Malala Yousufzai: Inspiring, Courageous, Victortorious.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="color: purple;"><i>I remember that there was a boy in our school who was asked by a journalist, “Why are the Taliban against education?” He answered very simply. By pointing to his book he said, “A Talib doesn't know what is written inside this book.” - Malala Yousufzai</i></span></span></blockquote>
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A weekend day in Ramadan can be very slow when you're living in a part of the world when most people observe the fast. Often you end up watching TV, reading or getting your spring cleaning done (in the summer).<br />
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So on a lazy Friday afternoon, I was flipping channels on my TV when Malala Yousufzai was about to address the youth wing of the United Nations. Sitting in to listen to her was the United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon and ex-British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown who is currently a UN Special Envoy for Education. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ndtv.com/news/images/malala-yousafzai-at-un-295.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.ndtv.com/news/images/malala-yousafzai-at-un-295.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Malala Yousufzai at the UN, wearing a shawl belong to Benazir Bhutto.<br />
Image: ndtv.com</td></tr>
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Little did I know how much I would be moved by this sixteen year-old who had just nine months survived a gun shut to her head fired by a Talib. The maturity with which she addressed the audience would put most grown people to shame but after surviving an attack the way Malala did, she's probably reflected and pondered on what the value of her life is and what she can do with it.<br />
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There were so many great quotes from Malala's speech and I'd highly recommend you <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5X70VyjU0g" target="_blank">watch</a> the video on <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5X70VyjU0g" target="_blank">YouTube</a> if you can or <a href="https://secure.aworldatschool.org/page/content/the-text-of-malala-yousafzais-speech-at-the-united-nations/" target="_blank">read</a> the speech in full. <br />
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Mother Theresa and Nelson Mandela are the humanitarians that this generation knows best but it is inspiring to know that there is another generation of humanitarians emerging. Malala is just one shining example who managed to give a speech that tore down all the boundaries across religion, culture and other biases we keep in our minds. No doubt she will do more than just give speeches in the future and she may be the reason we see more great humanitarians emerge.<br />
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Ramadan is a month of reflection. No matter what your religion is, hearing words like this from Malala, makes you realize how petty we can be and how much more we could be doing. If a sixteen year old girl from the Swat Valley in Pakistan can survive a gun shot and then come back nine months later to speak of what she can do for others who don't have access to education, why can't we make a change? <br />
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I was fortunate enough to watch Malala speak yesterday while my seven year old daughter sat at my side. My daughter had a moment when the speech ended when she realized how lucky she is but how many more aren't quite as fortunate as her. <br />
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Malala, my blessings are with you in your cause and thank you for showing me what more we can be doing.<br />
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I've extracted below a few passages from Malala's speech yesterday but highly recommend you <a href="https://secure.aworldatschool.org/page/content/the-text-of-malala-yousafzais-speech-at-the-united-nations/" target="_blank">read</a> or <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5X70VyjU0g" target="_blank">listen</a> to the full speech.<br />
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<i><span style="color: purple;">Dear Friends, on the 9th of October 2012, the Taliban shot me on the left side of my forehead. They shot my friends too. They thought that the bullets would silence us. But they failed. And then, out of that silence came, thousands of voices. The terrorists thought that they would change our aims and stop our ambitions but nothing changed in my life except this: Weakness, fear and hopelessness died. Strength, power and courage was born. I am the same Malala. My ambitions are the same. My hopes are the same. My dreams are the same.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: purple;">Dear sisters and brothers, I am not against anyone. Neither am I here to speak in terms of personal revenge against the Taliban or any other terrorists group. I am here to speak up for the right of education of every child. I want education for the sons and the daughters of all the extremists especially the Taliban.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: purple;">I do not even hate the Talib who shot me. Even if there is a gun in my hand and he stands in front of me. I would not shoot him. This is the compassion that I have learnt from Muhammad-the prophet of mercy, Jesus christ and Lord Buddha. This is the legacy of change that I have inherited from Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela and Muhammad Ali Jinnah. This is the philosophy of non-violence that I have learnt from Gandhi Jee, Bacha Khan and Mother Teresa. And this is the forgiveness that I have learnt from my mother and father. This is what my soul is telling me, be peaceful and love everyone.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: purple;">Dear sisters and brothers, we realise the importance of light when we see darkness. We realise the importance of our voice when we are silenced. In the same way, when we were in Swat, the north of Pakistan, we realised the importance of pens and books when we saw the guns.</span></i></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5815874208772534780.post-34702208782987435962013-06-16T19:49:00.001+04:002013-06-16T19:49:55.425+04:00Bill Gates: The Quintessential Humanitarian<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
As anyone who knows me, I've been an Apple fanboy and even on my blog, I've often written and referred to the legacy of Steve Jobs. The man was no doubt brilliant and the comparison has often been made between Jobs and Bill Gates.<br />
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The more time I've spent thinking about it though, my respect for Gates has grown. Steve Jobs may have re-invented Apple and made us re-think how businesses work but Bill Gates was a revolutionary in that he brought personal computing mainstream before deciding he wanted to do more by making the world a better place for generations more.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.gatesfoundation.org/~/media/GFO/Who%20We%20Are/cochairs_LeeHighSchool_296x310.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.gatesfoundation.org/~/media/GFO/Who%20We%20Are/cochairs_LeeHighSchool_296x310.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bill and Melinda Gates</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Back in May of this year, I was watching Bill Gates interview on <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50146679n" target="_blank">60 Minutes with Charlie Rose</a> where Gates spoke with humility about what he was doing to help those in need. Gates, together with his wife Melinda have worked tirelessly to focus on issues like poverty, healthcare in lesser developed countries and education (watch is<a href="http://www.ted.com/talks/bill_gates_teachers_need_real_feedback.html" target="_blank"> TED talk</a> on education also from May of this year). With all the resources at his fingertips though, Gates has remained fairly hands on in his quest to change the world.<br />
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Even the<a href="http://www.gatesfoundation.org/Who-We-Are/General-Information/Letter-from-Bill-and-Melinda-Gates" target="_blank"> letter</a> Bill and Melinda Gates on their<a href="http://www.gatesfoundation.org/Who-We-Are/General-Information/Letter-from-Bill-and-Melinda-Gates" target="_blank"> foundation's website</a> acknowledges the entrepreneurial flair they've instilled in their foundation. They start by saying "<span style="background-color: #f1efec; color: #1b1b1b; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">Our friend and co-trustee Warren Buffett once gave us some great advice about philanthropy: “Don’t just go for safe projects,” he said. “Take on the really tough problems.”"</span><br />
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They continue on by saying "<span style="background-color: #f1efec; color: #1b1b1b; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"> </span><span style="background-color: #f1efec; color: #1b1b1b; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">Some of the projects we fund will fail. We not only accept that, we expect it—because we think an essential role of philanthropy is to make bets on promising solutions that governments and businesses can’t afford to make. As we learn which bets pay off, we have to adjust our strategies and share the results so everyone can benefit."</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f1efec; color: #1b1b1b; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><br /></span>
If Gates succeeds in his mission of eradicating<a href="http://www.gatesfoundation.org/What-We-Do/Global-Health/Malaria" target="_blank"> malaria</a> and<a href="http://www.gatesfoundation.org/What-We-Do/Global-Development/Polio" target="_blank"> polio</a> by ensuring the world's poorest have access to<a href="http://www.gatesfoundation.org/What-We-Do/Global-Development/Water-Sanitation-and-Hygiene" target="_blank"> proper sanitation facilities</a>, he would have done more for humanity than could have ever been envisioned when he was dropping out of Harvard to co-found Microsoft.<br />
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I'm not saying that everyone can expect to do what Bill Gates has done in his lifetime but if you do wake up tomorrow wondering what you can do in your life, I hope you will take away a nugget of inspiration from what Bill Gates has set out to do.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5815874208772534780.post-22413646075023768872013-04-20T15:11:00.000+04:002013-04-27T18:25:12.963+04:00President Obama & Sunil Tripathi: Social Media Lessons<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Following the drama we've seen in Boston this week, the role and power of social media to inform and misinform has once again been highlighted. I had written about this earlier in the week <a href="http://ashishpanjabi.blogspot.ae/2013/04/lessons-from-boston-and-dubai-tremors.html" target="_blank">(Lessons from Boston and the Dubai Tremors)</a> but it was refreshing to see President Obama address the issue head on in his comments following the capture of Suspect #2.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirbOm37s3NcMVHCFQhKpes2LVkvMK4pIgCLn2iFIRPw7mExTD1ckQ7L25H74pvIg-x2ct2HyzF3G_WPufT815p8cNapel4gKhnpwTKRhq6fhy0odtjab9aaHvt_0lAQT8EIR25dh-BWqlD/s1600/usa-obama-boston-marathon-interfaith-service.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirbOm37s3NcMVHCFQhKpes2LVkvMK4pIgCLn2iFIRPw7mExTD1ckQ7L25H74pvIg-x2ct2HyzF3G_WPufT815p8cNapel4gKhnpwTKRhq6fhy0odtjab9aaHvt_0lAQT8EIR25dh-BWqlD/s200/usa-obama-boston-marathon-interfaith-service.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">President Obama at the inter-faith service in Boston.<br />
Image: www.nydailynews.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
He said as follows:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #424242; font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;"><b>In this age of instant reporting and tweets and blogs, there's a temptation to latch on to any bit of information, sometimes to jump to conclusions.</b> But when a tragedy like this happens, with public safety at risk and the stakes so high, it's important that we do this right. That's why we have investigations. That's why we relentlessly gather the facts. That's why we have courts. And <b>that's why we take care not to rush to judgment -- not about the motivations of these individuals; certainly not about entire groups of people.</b></span></blockquote>
(To read his full statement, click <a href="http://www.sentinel-standard.com/article/20130419/NEWS/130419351/1001/NEWS" target="_blank">here</a>).<br />
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It is very easy to jump to conclusions and fuel a rumour mill with misinformation. I know I was guilty of this earlier this week when I started mentioning to people Suspect #2 was Sunil Tripathi. I got this information from what I thought were reliable social media feeds and was gutted to find out an innocent man who has been missing was being wrongly mistaken as a bomber. You have to feel for his family in such times and when I saw the video his family posted on <a href="http://youtu.be/t12tfTJ10bU" target="_blank">YouTube</a> for his return, you feel even worse. If you haven't seen the video, click on it below.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/t12tfTJ10bU?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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Some sections of the media got it right. They held back in giving names, ethnic backgrounds and further details of the suspects when it seemed everyone was talking about it. I now understand and respect those sections of the media that did. It is not only about first to market but about being respectful about the fact that you are dealing with people, families, emotions and reputations. <br />
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There is a Facebook page for Sunil Tripathi also and if you can, please do<a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Help-Us-Find-Sunil-Tripathi/403275636436466?fref=ts" target="_blank"> follow</a> it (<a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Help-Us-Find-Sunil-Tripathi/403275636436466?fref=ts">http://www.facebook.com/pages/Help-Us-Find-Sunil-Tripathi/403275636436466?fref=ts</a>)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9mL7IeuvyxpwwwC7UvAgN0vuYc8vbM_mMCwvuHGow2xnVw8Eothlc6cYB3X6Af8hBaA7xL3-O4c-vvvQ3HQeAeakYj0wluxCNeYUfWJsjuqPnIiguuUCimFEi7cCRTUyYsiT83QuSaomt/s1600/missing-person-tripathi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9mL7IeuvyxpwwwC7UvAgN0vuYc8vbM_mMCwvuHGow2xnVw8Eothlc6cYB3X6Af8hBaA7xL3-O4c-vvvQ3HQeAeakYj0wluxCNeYUfWJsjuqPnIiguuUCimFEi7cCRTUyYsiT83QuSaomt/s320/missing-person-tripathi.jpg" width="253" /></a></div>
I don't know Sunil Tripathi but hope his family has a sense of closure one way or another. I'm sure the video only shows glimpses of how they've missed him and how important he has been to them. We've seen the role of people in helping capture the two Boston bombing suspects, I just hope the same people can also help bring Sunil (or <i>Sunny </i>as his family calls him) home. <br />
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<b>Update (21 April, 2013):</b> Sunny Tripathi's siblings spoke to a media outlet in an interview shortly after their brother's name was cleared. Have a look at that <a href="http://www.wpxi.com/videos/news/family-of-missing-student-sunil-tripathi-speaks/vyYXZ/" target="_blank">link</a> here. The <a href="https://twitter.com/findingsunny" target="_blank">Twitter</a> account setup to post updates is <a href="https://twitter.com/findingsunny" target="_blank">@findingsunny</a>.<br />
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<b>Update (27 April, 2013):</b> Sunil Tripathi's body was recovered in the waters off Providence, Rhode Island. My condolences are with the family during their time of grief and hope his soul rests in peace. Losing a loved one is never easy but not having any closure can be more difficult I'd imagine. RIP Sunny.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5815874208772534780.post-80470673135238553072013-04-16T17:15:00.001+04:002013-04-16T17:15:50.659+04:00Lessons from Boston and the Dubai Tremors<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
In less than twenty-four hours, two major events have stood out on my social media feed: the Boston Marathon tragedy and the tremors we felt here in Dubai.<div>
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Both impacted me. I went to university in Boston and lived there for three wonderful years and I loved the spirit of the city. In the case of the tremors we felt in Dubai today, I like most of the city felt the ground shake and there is natural concern that you have for the safety of your dear ones after events like this.</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEFX30yKOV1SWP7mMPk58J6ZoEc-6XNZpmXLuDgmceHDbUcGiREHp8O54jNVW5krdhPz8D1MJw8uPOMo0DNxGMTKrM-zstfSFm2NehHkrLKdKw3_xJqa7Hwz6c8JUAe6B0crM4eDSLsXux/s1600/Panic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEFX30yKOV1SWP7mMPk58J6ZoEc-6XNZpmXLuDgmceHDbUcGiREHp8O54jNVW5krdhPz8D1MJw8uPOMo0DNxGMTKrM-zstfSFm2NehHkrLKdKw3_xJqa7Hwz6c8JUAe6B0crM4eDSLsXux/s320/Panic.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image: http://godhungry.org</td></tr>
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In both cases, I saw Twitter and Facebook explode. In both cases, I saw concern, sorrow and fear. </div>
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In both cases though, I saw people intentionally or unintentionally take advantage of the situation or jump to dangerous conclusions on social media. </div>
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<b>For those who took advantage of the situation, shame on you</b>. This is not a time to promote your brand or product with earth-shattering offers. </div>
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<b>For those who started jumping to conclusions that weren't fully thought out, remember, just because you can think it, doesn't mean you need to type it. </b>If you are going to type it, think about it and ask yourself would feel comfortable saying what you're about to type in front of a larger gathering. If you think you wouldn't be comfortable talking about it in a larger forum, then don't type it.</div>
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Social media is powerful. Understanding the power it holds and applying it aptly though is something many of us tend to forget when we're excited. Take a deep breath, think through what you're doing and remember, it's not always about being first to express your thoughts but about being thoughtful in what you express. </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5815874208772534780.post-23763196661154230682013-04-10T14:30:00.002+04:002013-04-10T14:30:50.139+04:00My Experience with Paywalls<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Back in March 2011, I wrote two blog posts about the <a href="http://ashishpanjabi.blogspot.ae/2011/03/new-york-times-its-paywall.html" target="_blank">New York Times wanting to introduce a Paywall</a> <i>(if you don't know what a Paywall is, click on the <a href="http://ashishpanjabi.blogspot.ae/2011/03/new-york-times-its-paywall.html" target="_blank">link of the NY Times</a> story</i>) and <a href="http://ashishpanjabi.blogspot.ae/2011/03/if-you-pay-for-content-you-know-its.html" target="_blank">whether if you paid for content, did you then know it was true</a>?<br />
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I will admit, I was a bit of a skeptic. If you can get all the news you want for free and if you've got Apps like Flipboard or Zite, why would you go out of your way to pay for digital news content? <span style="color: purple;">About two years later, I've realized the answer: you pay for quality</span>.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCQygjF6sGr2nF8VQAd8g9ZgJIHI6L4jfGnN0gfxRvY6u62IKNmd6akLTRD3EJcxgbJd309v4oxniPEyy_pOQWTwfI4WPTIYMlJrTretSt4PV3btHw6B5VAUs5Dfy3aR1ECl1AJ0F2Uo7-/s1600/new-york-times-paywall.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCQygjF6sGr2nF8VQAd8g9ZgJIHI6L4jfGnN0gfxRvY6u62IKNmd6akLTRD3EJcxgbJd309v4oxniPEyy_pOQWTwfI4WPTIYMlJrTretSt4PV3btHw6B5VAUs5Dfy3aR1ECl1AJ0F2Uo7-/s320/new-york-times-paywall.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image: digitaltrends.com</td></tr>
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A little over a month ago, I subscribed to the Wall Street Journal. Not the print edition which I occasionally used to get free copies of delivered to my doorstep (and which I never went through) but the digital edition which allowed me access the Wall Street Journal's content via it's website, iPhone / Android App and iPad App. The Wall Street Journal has come great content and often times I'd find certain stories were only available to subscribers and one day I gave in to the temptation and put myself down for a trial subscription. <br />
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Nothing is ever free and even though the offer from the Wall Street Journal offered some freebies, it still meant I had to give them my credit card details and pay for their minimum period digital subscription. The first time I tried this, the transaction didn't go through. I tried a second and a third time till I was lucky the fourth time around. The only thing I didn't realize the fourth time was that I subscribed to a one year subscription. I was still unsure what to do but a few days into it, I realized, this subscription was one of the best investments I've made for a very long time.<br />
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Apart from the news stories, they've got some good video content on there which is great when you don't want to read through an entire news story or want some extra analysis. The iPad and iPhone Apps aren't the best to use but with the newsletters you get from the Journal, you're flooded with more content than you can imagine.<br />
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Then yesterday, after a brief coffee with Narain Jashanmal of Jashanmal Bookstores, I started talking about my paywall experience and he brought up the topic of the New York Times paywall and how this had done well for the newspaper publisher. I then found myself subscribing to this as well last night (though I made sure to sign up for a four-week plan this time around). It is only when I came to writing this post, I realized I went full circle on the issue of the New York Times Paywall.<br />
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As an outlay, I've found paywalls will cost you about USD 200-250 per year. This may be a difficult pill to swallow for those of us who are used to getting newspapers for close to nothing in UAE given the fact that most newspapers give you back discount vouchers or free gifts with your subscription but it is an investment you'll appreciate. <br />
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I know I end up sharing a lot of the content I've read on the Wall Street Journal on platforms like Twitter or Facebook but more importantly, I've shared a lot of this content with my colleagues in the office as well. My online reading habits may have changed slightly but given that you have so many places you could find content, it's always easier to have it formatted in a format you're used to. With the Wall Street Journal (and maybe in future the New York Times), the same has become something that I've gotten used to and yes, I do believe there is a future for Paywalls.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5815874208772534780.post-74979285151006009882012-12-30T16:56:00.001+04:002012-12-30T16:56:29.657+04:00India, Mind your Language<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Setting an example. This is what it all boils down to. After the recent public outpouring we've seen in India, questions of morality and societal functions have been raised.<div>
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It's been a blame game. Do we blame the police, politicians, families of victims, lawyers, judges, corrupt systems, the media or Bollywood? </div>
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The fact is we're talking about respecting women. Anyone who is from India knows that when cursing someone, mothers and sisters are what are referred to in a derogatory fashion<span style="color: purple;">.</span> If you want to talk about respect, it starts with cleaning up your language. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjII4Q5VjFs_DOBTQgjbrah236WBIhGgBen-aE_t92van4nebImjnLSwYwLzDy1t3wngxYNO_Y16emWOs_O-z9VM4s8ggJDAFbZ0vc0VjhBU3RZhrkrjij731hHg4gZzlozik0VH1ghmdwn/s1600/F-You_Logo-1024x616.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="120" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjII4Q5VjFs_DOBTQgjbrah236WBIhGgBen-aE_t92van4nebImjnLSwYwLzDy1t3wngxYNO_Y16emWOs_O-z9VM4s8ggJDAFbZ0vc0VjhBU3RZhrkrjij731hHg4gZzlozik0VH1ghmdwn/s200/F-You_Logo-1024x616.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image: themanifesto.ca</td></tr>
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The next time you swear or hear someone swear, make them aware of the fact. There is no need to involve anyone's mother or sister. </div>
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It may not sound like much, but if society has to change, these small changes are a first step we can make.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5815874208772534780.post-74943264725875362122012-12-30T08:29:00.002+04:002012-12-30T08:32:33.703+04:00India: Give a Voice to the Rest of the World<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Say what you may, but the uprising seen around India in the last week or so following the gruesome rape and subsequent death of the 23-year female medical student has helped bring to the forefront some of the issues that we face in society today.<br />
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What worries me though is that the people making the headlines in light of this are doing so for their own personal gain or image. I'd put a tweet and Facebook comment yesterday that said the following:</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: purple;"><i>Values are what we're taught at home not by lawyers and politicians. We need to realize that when reflecting on what happened in Delhi.</i></span></span></div>
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Having Bollywood stars, politicians, media personnel, lawyers and sports stars talking now isn't the solution. They've got their own motives in most cases for showing up publicly. This isn't to say that these people can't be effective in helping bring about a long term solution. Actions speak louder than words and there is a way for them to use vehicles that speak to the people more effectively.</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2FOJQjDXovqyr8ejhdK3jnj2wIwqZzbEiuEWaiei8DNeLOE7VOeQwy5kFmzuoB9NY4gD4eFno9yAX4xdmwLaSFxILLRsWxNu7p4CqvcTSA1bosWpsXsKPfIEz9LOqs1JoO3u74m0Enr8_/s1600/images.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2FOJQjDXovqyr8ejhdK3jnj2wIwqZzbEiuEWaiei8DNeLOE7VOeQwy5kFmzuoB9NY4gD4eFno9yAX4xdmwLaSFxILLRsWxNu7p4CqvcTSA1bosWpsXsKPfIEz9LOqs1JoO3u74m0Enr8_/s1600/images.jpeg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Social activists like Kiran Bedi<br />
are at least willing to act and speak.<br />
She's offered to help train police <br />
forces into how to handle rape cases.</td></tr>
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<b>Bollywood stars</b> - concentrate on making movies that address the moral and ethical issues that have been raised by incidents like this. Let your art form be what raises awareness.</div>
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<b>Media folk </b>- focus on documentaries or news pieces that investigate, name and shame. If a Bollywood star like Aamir Khan can headline a prime time TV show that does just this, why can't you.</div>
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<b>Lawyers </b>- work to get the legal system moving more swiftly. Offer more pro bono time to the classes whose voices are never heard because they're too afraid or too poor to pay for legal representation.</div>
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<b>Politicians -</b> the laws are there but you have to lead by example. How often do we hear about cases about an abuse of power at your level. </div>
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<b>Sports Stars</b> - take advantage of your individual brand value and make visits to schools, colleges, community gatherings all over India and talk about these issues in your spare time. I'm sure your sponsors would help fund you for your travels and collectively you could be seen to be involved in a CSR activity.</div>
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The unfortunate case is that when you have incidents like this that come to the forefront, there may be a few worthy people coming forward to highlight the issues without any personal agenda (e.g. Anna Hazare), but there are far too many who are out to grab a headline by taking advantage of an issue (e.g. Baba Ramdev). </div>
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Being out on the streets and protesting has its merits but if we have to see a change in our society, we need to see if we're willing to commit to an issue and pursue it through whatever channels we have. If not, save everyone's time and stay out of the picture.</div>
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India has a chance here to show the world that it is serious about tackling such issues and lead the world in creating a voice for the masses whose voices are never heard. Take advantage of this and do us proud!</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5815874208772534780.post-42597293740119555712012-12-04T12:44:00.004+04:002012-12-04T12:44:56.503+04:00Movember Rain<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
So Movember is now and truly over. <div>
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I'm clean shaven. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvdFKUXLQaD82DlC3XV3L5B9-GiKq-nvy14-ovlxNPs3kWB7rcjAawOuZ3w_OuVZ3JWAF020LhaKwKYytVp5chdkwBlLFKIFc82_0oWtwGH9seb_KgyKoHA-UiSFQx7faLzDngoYp1bncs/s1600/Screenshot_2012-11-24-21-37-37.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvdFKUXLQaD82DlC3XV3L5B9-GiKq-nvy14-ovlxNPs3kWB7rcjAawOuZ3w_OuVZ3JWAF020LhaKwKYytVp5chdkwBlLFKIFc82_0oWtwGH9seb_KgyKoHA-UiSFQx7faLzDngoYp1bncs/s200/Screenshot_2012-11-24-21-37-37.png" width="148" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I feel like I should be in a <br />Daniel Pearl movie</td></tr>
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I look ten years younger (or so I've been told). </div>
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I don't need to worry about accidentally shaving off bits of hair above my lip. </div>
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I can finally enjoy soup without having to keep a pack of tissues nearby. </div>
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People don't tell me that they'd be scared to see me in an alleyway.</div>
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I'm not mistaken for a movie star from the 1980's anymore.</div>
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I'm not told I've got black fungus growing on my face (though there were a few grey strands in there as well).</div>
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I enjoyed the moustache for the month but am glad I only had to keep it on for a month.</div>
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Will I do it next year? Probably.</div>
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Did I raise much money? No, but that was never my motivation. I wanted to increase awareness for men's health issues.</div>
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Did I generate the sort of awareness I wanted to? Honestly speaking, probably not. I'd probably spend more time in the future researching the material as this was my big issue this time around. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4ADU3A2x-Ji7NQ67qgV1Rtk1F1RGm9OHpxExOHPLz0u4RMcwTeEY_V7mBCpZEQijJX9ERKttbsrfheSi7Wq4ehicIU6Dr_rQTH0jaYqpzPspDQRwsVOssWbGC04mn1YTjt0VqV6a4GZq9/s1600/20121201_131248.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4ADU3A2x-Ji7NQ67qgV1Rtk1F1RGm9OHpxExOHPLz0u4RMcwTeEY_V7mBCpZEQijJX9ERKttbsrfheSi7Wq4ehicIU6Dr_rQTH0jaYqpzPspDQRwsVOssWbGC04mn1YTjt0VqV6a4GZq9/s320/20121201_131248.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happy to be clean shaven again.</td></tr>
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Am I thankful? Yes, I had some good friends including Nameer Al-Durrah, John Martin St. Valery, James Piecowye and Saket Burman (who decided to join us midway through the month) who also grew a Mo. </div>
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Am I thankful? Yes, because I had a lot of people who helped amplify the cause whether be in the press, social media or friends or family who spoke about it.</div>
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Am I thankful? Yes, because I had a wife and kids that tolerated the moustache for the month and still continued to feed me or go out with me.</div>
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My only regret this Movember was that the day it rained in Dubai, I wasn't in town so missed my opportunity to enjoy some Movember Rain.</div>
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For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, here's a <a href="http://ashishpanjabi.blogspot.com/p/movember.html" target="_blank">link</a> to my dedicated <a href="http://ashishpanjabi.blogspot.com/p/movember.html" target="_blank">Movember</a> page.</div>
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Thank you all for your support during Movember and I hope to see more of you sporting a Mo next year.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5815874208772534780.post-86168737913902583752012-11-20T08:51:00.000+04:002012-11-20T08:51:39.587+04:00Movember Discussion: What to Check<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Movember, Movember, Movember. It's been a recurring theme on my blog, my tweets and my social media feeds this month. Some of it has been serious, some of it has been scary and some of it has been just plain fun.<div>
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The whole purpose of Movember has been to promote men's health overall and even though the focus tends to be on prostate cancer, there are many other ailments men must look out for.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-b6hf4dlUUNhIMccqdDDWP3jWKqFNQxno1uNm18TV3NIMHTSlNLu6GExtPVaTHNCMThzAW2_GY7Bb6Nhe1NkLRyCAp8ZwLUzxMHH3FbYbfHbzjrvNubjJsbcyW7C_PrAStd502aRRad-o/s1600/checkUP.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-b6hf4dlUUNhIMccqdDDWP3jWKqFNQxno1uNm18TV3NIMHTSlNLu6GExtPVaTHNCMThzAW2_GY7Bb6Nhe1NkLRyCAp8ZwLUzxMHH3FbYbfHbzjrvNubjJsbcyW7C_PrAStd502aRRad-o/s1600/checkUP.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image: http://www.istanbultipmerkezi.com.tr</td></tr>
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The fact is, many men get lazy when it comes to getting check-ups done. This is why it was interesting when I was browsing through the Movember site this morning that I saw a checklist of what men should get checked at different age brackets.</div>
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There is a lot of controversy regarding this checklist on the Internet with several people claiming it is misguiding or misleading people thinking that they should just check for the bare minimum but isn't it better to at least check for the bare minimum than to check for nothing at all?</div>
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For example, if you are in your 20's or 30's, this is what the checklist says you should check for:</div>
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<span style="color: #e06666;"><strong style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">BLOOD PRESSURE</strong><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"> Every 2 years or annually if high/low</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">FASTING CHOLESTEROL</strong><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"> Every 5 years or more frequently</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">with an abnormal test result</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">DENTAL HEALTH</strong><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"> Annual check up</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">EYE HEALTH</strong><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"> Every 2 years or as doctor recommends</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">IMMUNIZATIONS</strong><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"> Tetanus-diphtheria at age 19 and annual</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">flu vaccine</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES</strong><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"> Regular Checks and HPV vaccine if appropriate</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">SKIN CANCER </strong><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">Look for marks or changes on your skin and have a doctor do an annual skin check</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">TESTICULAR CANCER</strong><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"> Monthly self-exam, especially</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">if there is a family history</span></span></div>
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As you get into your 40's, it's then about checking for diabetes, prostate cancer and other conditions that tend to develop as you get older. Living in the United Arab Emirates where the rates of diabetes are extremely high as a percentage of the population, I would recommend checking for diabetes in your 30's.</div>
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To see the entire checklist on the Movember site, please do click <a href="http://us.movember.com/mens-health/health-checklist/" target="_blank">here</a>. I also wrote a post on diabetes for my Movember series and that can be seen by clicking <a href="http://ashishpanjabi.blogspot.com/2012/11/movember-discussion-diabetes.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
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Get yourself a check-up. It's not a matter of it you can take the time out, it's a matter of planning when you will take the time out to go down to your doctor or medical facility and get these things checked. Wives, girlfriends, mothers - you need to start nagging now onwards and make sure your loved one does get themselves checked soon. There's no point putting it off...</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5815874208772534780.post-33504729436552705162012-11-07T14:39:00.000+04:002012-11-07T14:39:02.466+04:00Movember Discussion: Diabetes<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Diabetes is a disease that affects both men and women but keeping in line with the Movember theme that I've decided to adopt on my blog this month, I decided to do a little research and dig into how diabetes affects men.<br />
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The information I got was scary. <br />
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<b><span style="color: #a64d79;">Risks</span></b><br />
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Most of us know that Type-II Diabetes is something that can be controlled if we take care of ourselves, watch our diet, get plenty of exercise, control our weight, be aware of any hereditary risk factors and manage our stress levels. The risks associated with diabetes can include cardiovascular disease, kidney damage, loss of vision and nerve damage (<a href="http://www.quickmedical.com/health_information/diabetes/facts_consequences.html" target="_blank">Health Information and Consequences of Diabetes</a>).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEied9qbY5y3Lr_a7pqFOFta7wFAulR3loSrSBMChd_tPQ53xsAJ3LkrJy04euO4VmVyp2VipULJ7INURifOPIa0K-rXGVAD4MSD5QywNJyF1OBRzG99bzaJrO0pnaVKAVS4euILfd6he5A0/s1600/diabetes_symptoms-copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEied9qbY5y3Lr_a7pqFOFta7wFAulR3loSrSBMChd_tPQ53xsAJ3LkrJy04euO4VmVyp2VipULJ7INURifOPIa0K-rXGVAD4MSD5QywNJyF1OBRzG99bzaJrO0pnaVKAVS4euILfd6he5A0/s400/diabetes_symptoms-copy.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image: <a href="http://www.healthytimesblog.com/2011/02/diabetes-your-food-plan/">http://www.healthytimesblog.com/2011/02/diabetes-your-food-plan/</a></td></tr>
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<b><span style="color: #a64d79;">Diabetes in the UAE</span></b><br />
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The stats are scary in the UAE. With the country prospering and the weather being as uncomfortable as it is during the winter, the UAE has gotten heavier, to the point that obesity has become a major concern. This coupled with the food and sedentary lifestyle that many of us are used to has meant that <i><span style="color: #a64d79;">a staggering <b>25% of the population in the United Arab Emirates is diabetic.</b></span></i> This is one of the highest percentages that you'll find and it means that one out of four people reading my blog in the UAE could be diabetic, many of them probably realize it but many may not (<a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Health/DiabetesResource/story?id=4044952&page=1#.UJo0yKXFRgs" target="_blank">UAE and Diabetes: One in Four Has It</a>).<br />
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<b><span style="color: #a64d79;">Men, Watch Out</span></b><br />
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Men face several additional risks if they are diabetic when compared to women.<br />
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Men who develop diabetes before the age of 30, have greater risks of <i><span style="color: #a64d79;">vision impairment </span></i>as compared to women. Couple this with the fact that we have so many obese children in the UAE, it worries you even more.</li>
<li>Men are more likely to suffer from p<i><span style="color: #a64d79;">ain in thigh, calf or buttocks while exercising</span></i>; suffer from cramps or changes in temperature; have swelling that is linked to a<i><span style="color: #a64d79;"> two-to-three fold increase risk of coronary heart disease or stroke</span></i>.</li>
<li><i><span style="color: #a64d79;">Amputation risks</span></i> are 1.4 to 2.7 times higher in men than women with diabetes.</li>
<li>Up to 50% of men can suffer from a <i><span style="color: #a64d79;">loss of sexual desire </span></i>or sexual problems if they are diabetic. This is twice that for women. Almost 33% of men with diabetes suffer from <i><span style="color: #a64d79;">erectile dysfunction</span></i>.</li>
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There could probably be more information I could dig up if I researched into this more, but to see more, visit both the links I used to get this information (<a href="http://www.dlife.com/diabetes/lifestyle/diabetes-men" target="_blank">Men & Diabetes</a> and <a href="http://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes-and-sex.html" target="_blank">Diabetes & Sex</a>).</div>
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<span style="color: #a64d79;"><b>Movember meets Diabetes</b></span></div>
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November isn't just about talking men's health in Movember but also Diabetes Awareness Month. This topic is therefore perfect as it's important for men especially to be aware of all the health risks they face and there would be many resources that may come across during November that could give them further information on diabetes in particular. This <a href="http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/health/november-is-diabetes-awareness-month-1.1096520" target="_blank">Gulf News link</a> has more information.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #a64d79;">Diabetic Children</span></b></div>
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What scares me more is what impact this is going to have on the younger or future generations. Are we setting the right example for them with what we eat, with our lifestyle or the attention we pay towards our own health? Popping pills isn't a solution to control diabetes, changing our mindset is. We live in a part of the world where we are more likely to suffer from diabetes and it is up to us to make sure we take control of the situation.</div>
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Months like Movember are a good opportunity to share knowledge and talk about these issues. Take advantage of it and if you have loved one who you feel is at risk, talk to them about it and help them. A little moral support can go a long way to making us all a healthier community.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com