It appears blogger has been having a few issues related to an extended downtime yesterday, various people are reporting that when they leave comments they get a bounce back message in their inbox. For now it’d be best to just ignore it while I try to figure out what is going on.
PS: when blogger begins acting up, you should head over to http://status.blogger.com. As you can see the downtime was planned over 4 days ago, I’ll try to keep a closer eye on the status blog and try to post any planned maintenance timings over here so people aren’t left in the dark.
10 January, 2007
Was blogger.com down?
Last two days as I tried to reply to some of the entries, the blogger page quit on me. I could open and read the UAE community blog etc, but commenting was not an option.
Did this happen to anyone else?
Did this happen to anyone else?
Burj Al Arabi
Did you catch that? Its Arabi not Arab, a new tower for Dubai in the shape of a man. Gulf News reports,
Won't the Burj Dubai satisfy that quest? I thought I'd reserve judgment until I saw the render, which I have found posted at Skyscrapercity.com.
click to enlarge
Hmm, not bad... at least it looks more like a building than a man, and the resemblance is clever. How many of you were imagining the Pillsbury Dough Boy in a gown? Waiting now for Burj Al Abaya.
The structure will in fact be a 35-storey tower designed to resemble a man dressed in traditional Gulf Arab dress yet another remarkable landmark set to hit Dubai's skyline... Mohammad Al Syoufi, chairman of Dubai-based project developers AAA Group, said he wanted to create an icon which would rival the famous Burj Al Arab.
Won't the Burj Dubai satisfy that quest? I thought I'd reserve judgment until I saw the render, which I have found posted at Skyscrapercity.com.
click to enlarge
Hmm, not bad... at least it looks more like a building than a man, and the resemblance is clever. How many of you were imagining the Pillsbury Dough Boy in a gown? Waiting now for Burj Al Abaya.
Jumeira Islamic Learning Centre
Jumeira Islamic Learning Centre invite you to attend a talk at our premises in Um Suqeim1.
Date: Thurs 11/01/2007
Title: "Contribution of Islam to Humanity"
Speaker: Professor Saif Al Islam Abdul Ahad
- an American revert and historian, teaching at Florida University
Venue : Jumeira Islamic Learning Centre.
Time : 8.00pm
More information:
Jumeira Islamic Learning Centre (JILC)
Tel & Fax : 04 394 94 61
Mail: sara_ina@yahoo.com
SMS: 050 6326937
Date: Thurs 11/01/2007
Title: "Contribution of Islam to Humanity"
Speaker: Professor Saif Al Islam Abdul Ahad
- an American revert and historian, teaching at Florida University
Venue : Jumeira Islamic Learning Centre.
Time : 8.00pm
More information:
Jumeira Islamic Learning Centre (JILC)
Tel & Fax : 04 394 94 61
Mail: sara_ina@yahoo.com
SMS: 050 6326937
Article About Dubai
A very promising looking article (which intends to explore Dubai in 5 days) with some interesting points is two days through…
(Definitely worth reading, I’d have to say this is one of the best articles about Dubai yet)
“I realize I'm late to the party: Dubai is long past its media moment. The flurry of breathless write-ups—in Sunday travel sections and glossy lifestyle magazines—has come and gone. We're on to the next destination already. (Laos. Yemen. Low-altitude space orbit.)—more here
...
The clichés begin springing to life the moment I arrive in Dubai's gleaming airport. Whirring along on the people-mover, I pass an endless stretch of ads for high-rise condos and high-tech office parks. Each promises greater swank than the last. None has been fully built yet. The ads are conceptual drawings: crosshatching sketches in the outlines of 70-story towers, newly dug harbors, bustling helipads …”
(Definitely worth reading, I’d have to say this is one of the best articles about Dubai yet)
09 January, 2007
Quality of work more important than life!
A construction site motto...
Not in Dubai, thankfully, but in Beijing, China, where workers are urged to sacrifice their lives to produce good and timely work for the 2008 Olympics.
Why not just pay them more? Why not just pay them at all? BBC, in a TV report this week entitled Inside China, reports that migrant Chinese workers at some Beijing construction sites are not paid until the project is complete.
So, Dubai's isn't the world's hardest slave market for migrant laborers. A silver lining?
More on China's workers' plight which offers food for thought regarding Dubai's issues.
Not in Dubai, thankfully, but in Beijing, China, where workers are urged to sacrifice their lives to produce good and timely work for the 2008 Olympics.
Why not just pay them more? Why not just pay them at all? BBC, in a TV report this week entitled Inside China, reports that migrant Chinese workers at some Beijing construction sites are not paid until the project is complete.
So, Dubai's isn't the world's hardest slave market for migrant laborers. A silver lining?
More on China's workers' plight which offers food for thought regarding Dubai's issues.
Ridesharing with a friend haram in Dubai?
In an earlier post below, samuraisam brought to our attention ridesharing.ae.
Several commenters remembered reading a recent story in the Gulf News that suggested this practice was illegal in Dubai, but could not find the article. I also looked via a search of the Gulf News archives and via Google (which often works better in searching for Gulf News articles), and was unsuccessful.
I did, however, find this at The Dubai Life blog. An extract:
A similar earlier article was linked to by samuraisam over at his blog onebigconstructionsite. An extract of that Gulf News article (my emphasis):
Sharjah and Dubai, of course, both have their own authorized taxi companies. That neither permits the other to pick up passengers in their emirate is a continued sign of a lack of cooperation between them. And it contributes directly to the congestion problem because taxis are forced to return empty after driving a passenger to the other emirate. It's not too surprising either that drivers can be surly about taking you from one emirate to the other. They get compensated according the number of paying rides they complete. Come to think of it the restrictions that force returning empty only push the drivers to work more hours to stay ahead. And overworked drivers are a safety issue.
Several commenters remembered reading a recent story in the Gulf News that suggested this practice was illegal in Dubai, but could not find the article. I also looked via a search of the Gulf News archives and via Google (which often works better in searching for Gulf News articles), and was unsuccessful.
I did, however, find this at The Dubai Life blog. An extract:
A Driver in Dubai who gave his friend a lift was fined Dhs 2000 ($544) for running an illegal taxi service, reports the Gulf News today.If you manage to find the Gulf News article archived or cached please provide the link in the comments. UPDATE: In the comments poo provides the Gulf News link. Thank you.
Thomas Mathew who gave his friend a lift to the post office from his home and was subsequently handed this stupid fine by the Roads Traffic Authority (RTA) commented:
"I was going to the post office and he asked whether I could drop him at his workplace. We live across the street and I thought it would not be out of my way," said the Indian accountant, who refuses to pay the fine.
Thomas even has photos to prove that he is DOES actually know his friend and not as a passenger, not sure why he would need to provide photos just to justify giving a lift to someone.
. . .
With Dubai's roads as they are in permanent jam and chaos I welcome people car sharing as it will help save the planet, stop the smog and reduce the number of cars on the roads, this is a view shared by Thani Saeed Al Falasi, Director of the Licensing and Quality Control Department at the Roads and Transport Authority who said:
"There are no restrictions on friends sharing a car without paying any money,"
But how often have you shared your car for a week going to and from work with colleagues and payed your share for the petrol is he now saying this is illegal?
Posted by Waseem Aslam on 12/01 at 11:01 PM
A similar earlier article was linked to by samuraisam over at his blog onebigconstructionsite. An extract of that Gulf News article (my emphasis):
Al Falasi said that illegal taxis are popular because they are cheaper. "There are two kinds of illegal taxis. Some people drive around the city in their private cars and provide illegal taxi service while some people offer organised car-lifts or car-pooling services taking passengers from their homes to work on a regular basis. They charge passengers on weekly or monthly basis," he said. He clarified that both types of service are illegal.Blocking entry into the taxi market protects the profits of authorized taxi companies. The pretense of public safety is only partially plausible.
"There are no restrictions on friends sharing a car without paying any money," he said.
He said that the department's inspectors were experienced enough to know whether passengers are using car-lift or just sharing with a friend.
For illegal taxi operators, he said, the inspectors stop such cars while picking a passenger.
Illegal taxis or car-lifts are more popular with passengers coming from Sharjah to Dubai. "We don't have any problem if they bring passengers from Sharjah but we do not allow an illegal taxi to pick up passengers in Dubai," Al Falasi clarified.
Sharjah and Dubai, of course, both have their own authorized taxi companies. That neither permits the other to pick up passengers in their emirate is a continued sign of a lack of cooperation between them. And it contributes directly to the congestion problem because taxis are forced to return empty after driving a passenger to the other emirate. It's not too surprising either that drivers can be surly about taking you from one emirate to the other. They get compensated according the number of paying rides they complete. Come to think of it the restrictions that force returning empty only push the drivers to work more hours to stay ahead. And overworked drivers are a safety issue.
No more 'maids' in Dubai
What a great example of the pretentiousness of so many expats in Dubai.
From today's front page 'story' in 7Days, a family refers to their maid as..."our lovely Filipino resident house assistant."
I fell off my chair when I read it.
From today's front page 'story' in 7Days, a family refers to their maid as..."our lovely Filipino resident house assistant."
I fell off my chair when I read it.
Protests and the Louvre
"a civil liberty group Sunday demonstrated against the visit of Dubai World chairman Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem whose firm is planning a port development project in West Bengal.-- more here
Paschim Banga Khet Mazdoor Samity (PBKMS) members led by its president Anuradha Talwar protested at the gate of the at Taj Bengal hotel where the Dubai World chairman had put up.
"
"PARIS (Reuters) - Plans to export a version of France's most famous museum, the Louvre, to a resort in the oil-rich city of Abu Dhabi have sparked accusations the government is sacrificing cultural standards for profit.-- more here
The plan, backed by the Ministry of Culture, is part of a drive by the United Arab Emirates to create a luxury tourist destination and the contract to bring the Louvre to the Gulf is reported by French newspapers to be worth over 500 million euros ($655.2 million)."
08 January, 2007
Macworld Expo meetup in Dubai
For anyone interested in what Apple CEO Steve Jobs is going to reveal at his keynote tomorrow at Macworld Expo, EmiratesMac User Group is arranging a meetup at the Crown Plaza on SZR at 7pm (keynote starts at 9pm). Among the more frequent rumors is that Apple will launch some kind of combined mobile phone and iPod device. This is definitely something that even non Apple-fanatics will want to follow.
More information here.
More information here.
ARRGH! I Got me a deal!
-- begin rant ---
You have heard of the AIDS victims, now hear about an ADS victim. Yes, I fell victim to the DSF mania when I went ahead and bought something I totally did not need and will not use! :)
The advertisements screaming out the once-in-a-lifetime deals made me feel sick with worry that if I dont take advantage of one of these 'great deals' now, I will have to wait One Whole Year before the next DSF is here.
-- End rant ---
Now I wonder about the wisdom of the old saying: "A fool and his money...." LOL
You have heard of the AIDS victims, now hear about an ADS victim. Yes, I fell victim to the DSF mania when I went ahead and bought something I totally did not need and will not use! :)
The advertisements screaming out the once-in-a-lifetime deals made me feel sick with worry that if I dont take advantage of one of these 'great deals' now, I will have to wait One Whole Year before the next DSF is here.
-- End rant ---
Now I wonder about the wisdom of the old saying: "A fool and his money...." LOL
Famous Last Words
"I couldn't believe it. I said, what's he going to do? Air-condition the beach to make it cooler in the summer? I didn't take him seriously."
Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Chairman of DP World on Sheikh Mohammed's vision of making Dubai a leading tourist destination back in 1987.
Around 6.6 million tourists visited UAE last year and an estimated 3 million tourists are expected during DSF alone this year.
Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Chairman of DP World on Sheikh Mohammed's vision of making Dubai a leading tourist destination back in 1987.
Around 6.6 million tourists visited UAE last year and an estimated 3 million tourists are expected during DSF alone this year.
07 January, 2007
Ashtray pram
Last weekend in TFI Fridays at Mall of the Emirates, I saw a woman sit down at a table with a pram, light up a cigarette, then look over into her pram and blow her smoke into it.
Now am I missing an exciting new hot fashion trend for portable pram-shaped ashtrays, or was this foul woman actually wilfully poisoning her infant's lungs?
Either way, why in hell doesn't this place ban public smoking like Europe and the US are doing? Given how anal they are about medicine like panadeine, you would think protecting little children from tar and nicotine might be slightly more prominent in their Vision.
Now am I missing an exciting new hot fashion trend for portable pram-shaped ashtrays, or was this foul woman actually wilfully poisoning her infant's lungs?
Either way, why in hell doesn't this place ban public smoking like Europe and the US are doing? Given how anal they are about medicine like panadeine, you would think protecting little children from tar and nicotine might be slightly more prominent in their Vision.
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