Since a picture is worth a thousand words and words alone cannot describe the experience, enjoy this photo essay describing the experience of visiting the tallest man made structure on earth, Burj Khalifa.

Click on an image to view full size.

One of the early blogging tips I received was that you are not supposed to apologize or make any explanations to your readers for not blogging. Just start blogging again as that’s what the readers want to see.

But in my case I have nothing but reasons and explanations, excuses and apologies, for not blogging.

Time (or lack thereof) is the biggest issue here. More often than not I find myself juggling between work and family, consequently the blog suffers the most.

But obviously I couldn’t have left it alone like this forever.

Since 2010 is the year of consolidation, I am planning to consolidate my widespread blogging activities.

Here is the initial plan.

I have decided to kill my photoblog. I am not spending anytime whatsoever on photography so there is no use keeping a full fledged website on it. I shall be sharing new pics through facebook where I already have a large number of connections.

My parenting blog is also as deserted as this one but I am keeping it. It’s a joy being a father and I can share so much from my experience. Soon I will start posting on the father’s diary again.

And this very blog will of course remain alive and active. I still can’t promise daily or weekly updates, but I will try my best to write as frequently as possible.

So here’s to a new era of blogging during the peak of my career and family life, trying to find balance in everything.

Maybe taking a nap, a hiatus, if you will, but definitely not dead.

I am going through the busiest time of my life. Work is crazy, traveling is unavoidable, and family life is demanding. As a result my blogs are suffering the most. I haven’t been able to update any of my blogs for months.

But my blog is not dead. I am, in my mind, going through a plan of how to streamline my blogging activities. I know I will have to kill one or two of my other blogs to do justice with more important blogs. But in the end I will have a process to guarantee a smooth blogging schedule.

In the meanwhile, lots of things have happened in Dubai.

I move into a new apartment in Jumeirah Lake Towers, which is just 10 minutes away from my office. So now I don’t have to drive for hours everyday just to commute from home to work and back. This has significantly changed my lifestyle as I am able to explore Dubai with a new vigor.

I was there at the opening ceremony of Burj Dubai, renamed to Burj Khalifa. It was one of the most amazing and breathtaking display of fireworks I have ever seen. The dancing fountain was synchronized with the fireworks which made the show even more mesmerizing.

And last week I went on a road-trip to Musandam, Oman. It turned out to be one of the best one-day outings ever.

I will post about each and every experience in detail along with the pictures. So stay subscribed (or subscribe if you are not already) and stay in touch.

The best of this blog is yet to come.

I couldn’t have let an entire month pass by without a single post on my blog.

I do admit that things have been tough over last few weeks and I have been tied up with work and family, among other things. Due to financial crisis we are expected to work twice as hard to bring in more money to the company. As a result I am unable to give any time to my blog and other online activities. I had a great year 2009, and I will write about it soon. I hope your year was as good as mine (or better) and I wish all my readers all the happiness and prosperity for the year 2010.

Staying Connected in the Information Driven World

It is no secret that in today’s information driven world staying connected is highly critical. New data is released on the internet every passing moment and if you are not in touch, somebody else will take advantage of it before you even get a chance.

The Shift in Technology

The technology, as a result, has adapted and started focusing on products that make it easier for you to connect to your information source and stay connected for the longest of times.

Although mobile phone industry is moving at a very fast pace, the real power of mobile computing still lies within laptop computers. The technology behind the portable computers has advanced exponentially by introduction of processors such as centrino, core 2 duo, and atom. Gone are the days when laptops used to be bulky and heavy. Now they are light and can fit in your pocket. Even the high-end models are optimized to consume minimum resources and last longer on batteries.

Samsung X460

I got a chance to review X460, Samsung’s latest laptop computer, and after playing with it in my labs for a week, I was highly impressed.

Samsung X460 is a high-end laptop for serious computing. Priced at AED 5,000 (US$ 1,370), it is not the cheapest laptop available in the market, but with all the features packed in it, the price is worth it.

Basic Specs

So let’s look at some basic specs before anything else…

Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor P8600 (2.40GHz, 1066MHz, 3MB)
3GB Memory (DDR3 / 1GB x 1 + 2GB x 1 )
LCD 14.1″ Flat-LED WXGA (1280 x 800) Gloss Displau
Graphic Memory 256MB GDDR3 (Ext. Graphic)
Graphic Processor nVIDIA GeForce Go 9200M GS (Ext. Graphic)
HD (High Definition) Audio
EDS (Enhanced Digital Sound) Effect
Integrated Camera 1.3MP Web Camera
HDD 250GB (5,400rpm S-ATA) Storage

The Power Within

So this little beast has a fast processor, plenty of memory, powerful graphics and ample storage capacity. But that’s not it. All of these are nicely packed into a slim and sleek design which makes it lightweight and easy to carry around. The 14.1″ display looks great and is probably the best I have seen in laptops.

The Stamina

But the feature I like the most is the long battery life. A fully charged battery can last over 6 hours if used normally. Of course more resource intensive tasks will drain the battery faster but on the average you should get around 6 hours of unplugged use. This is the feature that enables you to stay connected for the longest of times.

Add all of that to standard nifty features like fingerprint reader and integrated webcam, and it becomes a leader in its category.

Conclusion

So if you are a road warrior who doesn’t want to compromise on features then Samsung X460 is for you. To bad my employer bought me a new laptop just a few months ago otherwise I would have certainly gone for it.

It’s available in all the major electronic stores in Dubai. Go get one before it runs out of stock!

Click here for full image gallery of Samsung X460

Almost 14 months ago I was blessed with a beautiful baby girl. That marked the beginning of a new phase of my life. I stepped into the world of parenthood, or fatherhood to be more accurate.

Since then each day of my life is filled up with precious moments and memories. Memories that I will cherish forever.

In order to capture those memories in a cookie jar, I started a new blog on my experiences as a father. The intention was to document notable expressions and create a memoir for future reference.

For over an year I kept it low profile. But now time has come to make it official.

So without further adieu, I invite you all to visit A Father’s Diary.

I know there is not much there at the moment, but with the passage of time it can become a good read for parents. Thanks for visiting and subscribing to my new blog.

I am sure you have heard and read phrases like “successful people start their day early”, “wake up early to make your day longer”, and the timeless “early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy wealthy and wise”.

I do believe in waking up early and personally know people who wake up before sun rise and are quite successful in their life. (not necessarily because of waking up early but surely its one of the factors).

In my case i wake up just a few minutes before i have to leave for work after which the race against time begins. Ideally i would want to start my day at least a couple of hours before leaving for work, get some workout and a healthy breakfast, plan my day with peace of mind, and commute to work without worrying about speeding fines.

But it’s easy said than done.

I am not very fond of sleeping but once i go to sleep it’s hard for me to wake up, specially in the mornings. So i don’t know if i will ever be able to follow the trait of successful people. Occasionally when i do start early i do feel really good about myself and notice myself performing better through the day so i know its not just a theory. The formula actually works.

The problem is how to get myself to wake up early morning. It’s not that I haven’t tried. I have tried to set up multiple alarms, tried to sleep early at night (not always possible but I have tried it), avoided caffeine, prayed, and what not. But nothing works consistently. So currently I have given up my efforts of starting my day early, but from time to time the desire pinches me.

So enough about me. Tell me about yourself. Do you believe in waking up early? What time do you start your day? How do you use the extra time in the mornings? How do you make sure to wake up on time every day? Any tips and tricks?

The comments section is all yours.