Woopra Invitations on eBay???
How should we react? There’s nothing we can do about it since we don’t know which invitation codes the seller has. Is it that bad? I think it’s cool :). This shows the enthusiasm of the Woopers! As I’m writing this post, the last bid is 15$. Let’s see where it stops. LT & 3Tera to feed Woopra 100 Grid-ServersHey buddies! What an exciting news! Layered Technologies & 3Tera are providing Woopra 100 Grid-Servers. It has been spreading all over the news since yesterday (Yahoo, Forbes, BusinessWire, WallStreet, EuroInvestor, Morning Star, TMCnet, pr-inside, StreetInsider and much more…). It’s definitely true that Woopra is one of the fastest growing startups this year.
Woopra! That was really fast…Errr… I dunno how to start!
After getting to a point where we felt the application was nearing a point for launch, we made the strategic decision to seek out a partner who could help us with financing, marketing, and general business structure. John Pozadzides seemed like a natural fit, because of his experience as a Director and Vice President in two major multi-national corporations (SAVVIS and Cable & Wireless) as well as his experience as Chief Marketing Officer for Layered Technologies. The fact that he is also a well known celebrity blogger and has an impeccable reputation is bonus. During the Dallas WordCamp 2008 event, John Pozadzides has revealed Woopra to the public. People admired the idea. Tens of thousands of bloggers and webmasters have signed up and added their websites that are being approved on daily basis. We are trying to make it available for everyone, so it’s gonna take time to have an EXTREMELY scalable and STABLE system in order to have millions of webmasters using Woopra. Cali Lewis from GeekBrief.tv has interviewed John and they went through some of Woopra features: It’s amazing to see woopra climbing so fast to the top in the world of web tracking and analytics. For those who don’t know what is woopra, here’s how others have described it:
Oh by the way, check out Woopra. Photoshop Tutorial: Text Reflection on a Shiny FloorIn this tutorial, I will explain how to draw a simple text reflection on a shiny floor. We’ll be going through important techniques that I use frequently like patterns. By the end of this tutorial, we will have the following result:
Let’s start: Abstract Shine Animation with Photoshop and ImageReadyFew days ago, I was playing with Photoshop and ImageReady, and I came up with something really delicious :). I was trying to make an animated Display Picture or Avatar for Windows Live Messenger 9 (which supports recently animated avatars). So I mastered an amazing technique that I’m going over step by step below. Note that this is an advanced tutorial because it involves the usage of Pen Tool, Layer Mask and Tween (ImageReady). Here’s what we’ll be working on  Let’s start: EKhoury.com 2007’s Blog Analytics This is gonna be the last Google Analytics screenshots! Working With Patterns Photoshop TutorialWorking with patterns can be very easy, yet, very important in the world of web design. Whether you want to create a forum signature, a website header or logo or maybe digitalizing an image, patterns will help you create amazing effects with few clicks. I’ll start by showing you some examples:     Let’s start by defining patterns: Day 9 - Transfer of Power
After only few years spent as head of First Aid Teams, Kattar had already set solid organizational foundations as well as advanced training programs for team and sector leaders. The young leaders’ program comprised courses on problem solving, decision making, leadership, negotiation, communication, group dynamics, organization and planning, in addition to Red-Cross humanitarian principles. Kattar used to deliver this course personally over a full weekend seminar. That’s how many volunteers got to know him better in the late eighties. With his high stature and imposing presence, Kattar was generous in sharing his knowledge with everyone. His exceptional charisma commands respect. His attention to the response of participants made him unveil the potentials of the young benevolent members and prepare them for higher responsibilities. Kattar wanted all participants to know that if they are selected to assume a leadership role, that doesn’t mean they will keep this role forever. At the end of every seminar he used to write on the board:  That very same sentence is engraved today at the entrance of “Grand Serail”, the siege of Lebanon’s Prime Minister. In the early nineties, Damien had to hand-over his responsibilities to another qualified volunteer as he was getting ready for a professional career path abroad. He was mainly concerned about preparing qualified trainees to continue disseminating the leadership program he had developed. All seven people selected for this mission had the opportunity to get to know Damien much better as a mentor, a role model and a leader by example. Few years later, and after climbing the echelons of hierarchy in private enterprises, Kattar chose to come back to Lebanon. Before leaving the organization he had successfully grown and developed he made sure one more time to secure a smooth transition over several months. At that stage of his life, Dimyanos Kattar felt it was time to start an academic and public service mission while continuing to provide economic and private business consultations on selected projects as a mean to maintain a respectable living standard for his family. New challenges, managing change, diversity and sense of duty are the driving forces of Kattar. As he has declared publicly on several occasions, the role of competent individuals in any organization should be specific and time bound. The day individuals in the public or private sectors start thinking of maintaining their jobs and positions, they loose all their capability to produce change, reform and make a difference. This is the last topic in the series of “Dimyanos Kattar Daily Topic”. At the eve of presidential elections, May all the goodwill and good intentions of citizens all over Lebanon who believe in this nation, act silently and peacefully to bring to an end all the tensions we have been going through for months and years. On behalf of all your friends and supporters: “Good Luck Damien…” Hady Nassif Day 8 - Consumer Protection and Consumer RightsFrom mid-April to mid-July 2005, Dimyanos Kattar was serving as Minister of Finance as well as Minister of Economy and Trade in the Mikati government. Despite the heavy load of the various political and economic responsibilities he had to fulfill. Kattar found the time to promote After few days in office, and with the help of the highly qualified General Manager of the Ministry of Economy and Trade, Kattar had already promoted a positive team spirit among the various employees and consultants working at the Ministry. The whole team was engaged in putting together a consumer awareness campaign that was on the TV screens and billboards within few weeks. The impact was remarkable. Lebanese consumers became conscious about their basic rights. They felt for the first time in years that their State was there to protect their privileges as buyers. A small booklet was issued and distributed massively. There was a phone Sellers quickly understood that by enhancing the value of the goods they are offering, they would be gaining faithful customers on the long run. Traders, that were looking at the Lebanese market as a dump yard for items that are rejected elsewhere in the world, had to change their approach and give the Lebanese consumers more consideration. Local manufacturers of quality products were rewarded as their home market was not longer subject to unfaithful competition. Day 7 - Family: Lebanon’s safety netIt is remarkable how Dimyanos Kattar always refers to examples from family life in most of his speeches. By doing so he illustrates the ideas he is trying to convey especially when he addresses himself to the young generations. In many talks and debates he recognizes the important role of his mother and father in forging the principles and value system he has followed. Kattar is 47, married and the father of four children. He met his wife during the years of benevolent service at the Lebanese Red Cross – First Aid Teams. They were both dedicated to humanitarian and relief labor for many years. They still are in many ways. In one of the conferences on “How to Become a Leader” in February 2006, Kattar started his speech by quoting his own son: A leader “is someone good and nice and works a lot,” who is “able to accomplish things, which depend on self-discipline and empowering others”. When asked why he gives that much importance to family, he replied that the Lebanese family is practically the only social ring that was kept intact during and after the years of war. Despite the tremendous pressures and suffering that every Lebanese family had to go through, Lebanese families remained bonded together. There is probably not a single family that did not loose a dear member during the days of violence. In every neighborhood, you can find persons living with permanent disabilities; they are supported by their families. In every household you will find one or more member that had to separate from their family homes seeking employment abroad in order to preserve their families’ standard of living. All those families have a story to tell to their children and grand-children. They are all ready to sacrifice for giving their children better education and better days. They all care to build bridges with other families and communities. For Kattar, family is indeed the safety net for all Lebanese communities and for Lebanon as a nation. As long as Lebanese families remain united and rooted for better and for worse, and as long family values are well preserved, there is no threat on Lebanon’s future. |
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I woke up minutes ago, and logged in to the 
It has been a year since we started working on a Live tracking and analytics service. After uncountable days and nights of massive work and brainstorming, me and Jad Younan (co-founders) came up with this new service that remained a top secret until this month. 
During his years at the Lebanese Red-Cross, Dimyanos Kattar (Damien) developed a structure for national emergency and first aid action. He gave a special attention to the quality of volunteer recruits, their selection and training.
