Ashish Patel

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Researchers at North Carolina State University have developed a dynamic heart system that pumps fluid through a removed pig heart so that it functions in a realistic way. The machine saves researchers time and money by allowing them to test new surgical technologies before moving to animal or clinical trials.

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Background on patel.com and patel.net and why I think the owner is guilty of cyber-squatting….

Current owner
Pravin Patel (as per whois listing) from San Jose

Initial contact (Dec 2005)
E-mails show willingness to speak over phone. Owner requests that I call his phone number (408-499-6677).

Initial Discussion (Dec 2005)
Owner discloses the fact that he has 20yrs of telco experience. Owner indicates desire to make money from these domains. Wishes to start up a Skype/VoIP type of service, but has failed numerous times. Offers to form partnership with myself if I can basically build his telco service for him and make him rich, when asked what he would be doing the answer is merely a dismal silence (aka. nothing). Bad vibe already, and since I only want to buy the domains and no interest in his failed telco dream I do not follow up.

Follow-up (Jan 2009)
E-mail sent to owner asking if he is willing to speak about selling these domains. I receive a reply, Feb 1, 2009, asking me to call the same number I called in 2005.

Follow-up Discussion (2009)
Almost verbatim from our 2005 discussion, the owner repeats his speech: (1) 20 yrs telco experience (2) failed at starting telco (3) can you do it for me and make me rich.
At this point, I’m thinking “give it up, your cyber-squatting and its obvious, didn’t even try changing up the story from last time!” I mention to the owner that I spoke to him in 2005 and he gave me the same story. I ask the owner if he is using the domains for any purpose since 2005 and the owner clearly answers “no”. I follow-up and ask the owner “since you are clearly not using the domains would you be willing to sell the domain”. The answer is “yes” this time, but he says “I can give you a subspace, like patel.com/” — so really what he meant was “I’ll give you some storage online and not sell the domain”. Now, I know he is just playing games, so I asked “what will it take for you to sell these domains”, he replies “I want to start a telco and need help”…so I reply “I can find you help to do that and in exchange you will give me ownership of the domains?” – his answer is “no”. So basically even if anyone helped this guy build a telco and make him rich he isn’t even willing to budge for a return on the domain…what a greedy fellow.

At this point, I asked him if he understood was cyber-squatting is doing and clearly mention to him that he’s just playing games and trying to hold the domains for no purpose.

I later find out that there are several others, one specifically from NJ and TX, United states, who have also contacted him. So given that there is some sort of demand for these domains, who agrees with me that this guy is playing games and could potentially be illegally pulling our chains?

Why I wrote this entry: I don’t mean to be bringing any patel-on-patel challenges, but rather that anyone holding onto a domain where somone else wants to purchase it (ie. do an exchange for a good/service with payment as the returning favour) should be allowed to — especially if the domain is just sitting idle and not serving any meaningful purpose.

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Amazing Glass ! – The best bloopers are a click away

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I found this really interesting a few years ago and made a PDF of it. I got it from here but it seems its been removed.

CHIDANAND RAJGHATTA

TIMES NEWS NETWORK [ MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 2005 01:16:52 AM]

Scientists have mapped the rice genome. Researchers have devised drugs aimed at a specific ethnic population (BiDil, a drug for congestive heart failure, works exclusively on Blacks).

Somewhere between these developments I began to wonder if they will start studying the make up of ethnic types or communities renowned for specific skills — such as entrepreneurship.

My own favourites are Patels, a clan I am increasingly fascinated by and about whom I boned up a little bit recently following their remarkable success in East Africa, UK and now the US.

The name Patel, I gather, derives from ‘patedar’, the record-keeper named by princely rulers of Gujarat to keep track of crops,‘pat’ being a parcel of land. So obviously, they are good at numbers, but their area of interest now extends far beyond land. Infact, it appears to extend in almost every sphere of human endeavour.

According to the year 2000 census, there were 49,740 Patels in the US. The Patel surname ranked 591 in the list of most common last names, ahead of such notables as Dalton, Roth, and Nixon, and ahead of the Singh, which one would assume would be more common (there are only 22,383 Singhs in the US).

A majority of the Patels are entrepreneurial types, mostly in hotel, convenience store, and fast food franchise businesses. Of the 52,000 hotels and motels in America, roughly 18,000, nearly one-third, are owned by Indians, a majority by Gujaratis, and a majority among them Patels (hence the term Patel Motel). They are also muscling into gas stations, convenience stores, and liquor store business.

What gives here? Well, one if of course their legendary sense of clannishness (they are, after all, said to be descendants ofRam’s sons Lav and Kush). So one Patel brings his brother, who brings his brother-in-law, who brings his cousin etc. The result– low attrition, low overheads, no overtimes, no hand in till etc.

But Patels are also blessed with an extraordinary business sense. I now know of many Patels, including successful physicians, who are diversifying into other business (hotels, restaurants, real estate, packaged food etc), and the reason is not the high rate of medical malpractice insurance (which is driving other physicians out of private practice).

The most famous example is of course Florida cardiologist Dr Kiran Patel who parlayed a modest practice into a billion dollarhealthcare empire with interests so wide and varied that some months back he gave a $18.5 million donation to a little-known university to establish a centre for global solutions (that came on top of $5 million he gave for an arts centre.)

Last week, I came across another intriguing example of an entrepreneurial push by a professional Patel. Michigan physician Dr Asha Patel, from all accounts, has a successful internal medicine practice near Detroit. She and her psychiatrist husband Hiten Patel have two small kids, and lead a busy life.

Not busy enough, it seems. Inspired by a passion for food, and what she says are her ‘Patel genes’, she has just kicked off asha Foods, starting with a modest line of curry sauces which she herself delivered to some 40 stores.

In no time, it attracted the attention of the local Detroit Free Press, and a subsequent article by the paper’s food writer (under the headline ‘Curry in a Hurry’, which is fast becoming a fashionable name for new restaurants) has sparked off even more interest (the local TV station called next, Dr Patel said).

It won’t surprise me to see Asha’s Tasha on my supermarket shelf in Washington DC in a few weeks time because the good doctor is already set on growing her business — without giving up her medical practice. She’s banking on her family experience in the spice trade (they have been exporting for a century) and her own knowledge of medicine to crank up healthy sauces with less calories and less salt that what are currently on the shelves.

More importantly, she has vision. “Forty years ago, there were no pasta sauces in the US,” she told me over the phone. “Look now…there are dozens. The same thing is going to happen with curry sauce.” Yes, only if she can sell beyond Indian grocery stores, I remarked, recalling the growing Asian food section, including many curry sauces, in my local Whole Foods, which caters to mainly to Americans.

But Doc Patel was already on the ball. Among her first sales call was on Detroit’s Papa Joe, who bought into the product — which means it soon go out to the Average Joe, and not just the Desi Joe. I guess we can safely add another Patelite to the Indian business constellation.

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Human’s can put man on moon, but human’s still haven’t invented a microwave that is long lasting…  The other day my Panasonic Inverter microwave NN H665WF “died”.  You know how when a microwave turns on, it starts off with a low-speed fan sound then jumps up to a high-speed fan noise?  Well with my oven now, it starts off at a low-speed and stays there….that’s it! This is our family’s 4th Panasonic oven and we’re now ready to try something else!

I called Futureshop, where I purchased the oven back in August 2005, they told me the warranty was for 1 year from Panasonic – so tough luck.  In consideration that I may just end up getting a new oven if the repair costs were outrageous, I asked the fellow if he knows which oven has the lowest after-purchase claims; but I got no answer from the guy…useless.  Here I am talking to a Futureshop “warranty” expert and he apparently isn’t an expert.  My next question to him was if he could recommend any repair shops in Toronto where I could take the oven.  He tells me there aren’t any!  At this point he’s already earned a status lower than “idiot” and “jerk” whatever that may be – perhaps the opposite of “genius”?

At this point I decide to check out Panasonic’s website.  In 5 seconds I load up a list of 5 repair shops in my area using their customer support webpage!  I start off by calling each one.  The first one I get a Chinese lady who doesn’t apparently understand my English, so I tell her I’ll call back some other time.  The second person I call, I try to explain my problem but I get the feeling they aren’t listening to me because the fellow keeps saying “just bring it in, we’ll look at it”.  I get suspicious and ask him “is there a cost to just look at the oven?”.  The fellow says “$16″.  I’m thinking “gotcha, bugger”! The next, and last place I call, the lady on the phone explains to me that she’s seen the problem before and its about $40-60 to fix.  I mention to her that I might as well get a new one, she laughs and says “yeah, its probably a better idea”!  Now that I got her on my good side, I ask her what the Futureshop expert couldn’t answer, “is there any brand that you recommend I try other than Panasonic”.  She mentions that she’s had a General Electric (GE) microwave oven for over 7 years and she’s never had a problem!  I’m thinking bingo!  I search up GE microwaves on Futureshop, Bestbuy, Sears, and Wal-mart’s websites.  Futureshop and Bestbuy don’t carry anything other than Panasonic and Danby.  Sears carries some GE, but they appear to be high-end models.  Wal-mart has exactly what I’m looking for, 1.1 cu ft with 1100 watts and its ol sale for $85!

I just picked up the GE oven and we’ll see how it compares to the Panasonic over the next few weeks!

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Around the world amazing things have happened, from historic monuments to once-in-a-lifetime astronomical events. We are definitely witnessing a historical monument here in Toronto. On Highway 427 and Finch Avenue, a Swaminarayan Mandir is nearly complete. In basic english terms a Mandir is a temple and Swaminarayan is one who is a devotee of Bhagwan Swaminarayan. I love architecture because its amazing what the hands of man can build given some time and care. This temple was build completely using hammers and chisels, thats right folks, it is hand-made.

Walls and ceilings are embellished with carved figures, both human and animal – everything from dancing women to elephants and peacocks. These are images of welcome, sensual but also serene. The fact that every element, big and small, is carved in stone, only makes the effect that much more astonishing. Indeed, the temple is a monument to skills largely lost in our mechanized age.
The materials – marble from India and Italy, limestone from Turkey – were shipped first to a series of villages in India where they were sculpted into their final form. The pieces were then transported to Toronto to be assembled. Given that there were more than 24,000 individual parts, this was no mean feat.

Here are some facts about the project:

• The project started in 2005 and opens officially in two weeks. Because work stopped during winter, actual construction time was only 18 months.
• The local Hindu community (there are 191,305 Hindus in Toronto, according to Statistics Canada), which paid for the $40 million building without any public or foundation funding and provided 400 volunteer workers, wants the world to know it has arrived.
• Despite the use of computers and high-tech equipment, the building itself could have been constructed several millennia ago. That is said because structures very similar, down to the detail, have been carved in India long time ago.
• The walls, for example, are all load-bearing; there’s no steel skeleton here holding the whole thing up. In fact, no steel was used at all, it’s stone piled on stone. The columns, of which there are 340, are solid rock (and rock solid). Even the delicately curved interiors of the domes are sculpted from marble and held in place with stone keys.
• “The cost has been kept down by a lot of in-kind labour offered by volunteers,” says volunteer Roy Patel. “We had to bring as many as 100 stone artisans and sompura (architects) from India to work on the project. We would appreciate any government financing, but so far none has been forthcoming.”

Source: http://www.thestar.com/News/article/233400

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