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A Mother’s H1N1 Story (GTA) – What Government, Schools And Hospitals Are Not Telling Us

Posted by AGORACOM at 12:42 PM on Tuesday, June 16th, 2009

Good afternoon to you all.  The message below comes from a friend of the family who’s child just had a close call with H1N1. You need to take 5 minutes to read this and forward this as it contains important information pertaining to symptoms and what authorities are not telling us.

This is obviously a problem far beyond Toronto and the GTA but I know of a few schools with more than a dozen kids at home with serious flu symptoms, while many more children are attending school with milder symptoms.  If this were happening in the fall/winter, I would be a lot less concerned.  However, this is June so I have to believe that H1N1 is the culprit

Finally I give the mom credit for sugar coating the message and not letting her true emotions come out … but I will take the liberty of going a step further:

IF YOU OR YOUR CHILDREN ARE EXPERIENCING FLU LIKE SYMPTOMS IN JUNE, WAKE UP AND  QUARANTINE YOURSELF. My infant daughter is showing the symptoms below and will have to go back to the doctor tomorrow to be tested.  As such, I’m going to work from home for the next 2 days.  That includes missing the PROFIT 100 ceremony this evening. This could have prevented if others who were well aware of their sick children exercised the same common sense.  Wake up people.

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June, 14th, 2009
Markham, Ontario

Hello Everyone,

As most of you already now, our daughter just recently was diagnosed with complications (double pneumonia) that developed from the H1N1 influenza virus. She had to stay in the hospital a full week, with the majority of the time showing little improvement and having a hard time breathing. She needed to be on oxygen, antibiotics, and IV in the isolation wing of the hospital. She was constantly on motrin and tylenol to try to keep her high 40/41 degree fever down (sometimes nurses gave tylenol, then motrin just 1 hour later, when the fever did not budge!) All nurses and doctors had to wear goggles, scrubs, gloves, and masks everytime that they came into the room, trying to prevent the spread of the H1N1 virus.

She had such a difficult time breathing, and her heart rate so elevated, that my husband and I were thinking the worst for the first few days, until she finally began to improve. We would never want ANYONE, child or adult to have to go
through what our daughter went through.

Looking back, there are some things that we could have done to perhaps have helped our daughter, knowing what we know now. We want to pass this information onto you. PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS YOU CAN,
that way we can all help in preventing a similar situation to happen to your child, you, or others in your community!

THE SYMPTOMS

First off, the SYMPTOMS.  For our daughter, The virus presented itself through a cough that did not bother her, and since she is mildly asthmatic,we just thought it was mild asthma. She went to school, for a couple of days with it. Did not really think much of it, but found it strange to be showing up in June, since her asthma usually shows in fall to early spring (cold season). End of the second day, we picked her up from school and she complained of having had a headache all day. This was strange–my daughter is 7 and she has never complained of a headache.

(more…)

Online Investor Relations Model Makes AGORACOM ‘Greenest’ Firm In The Industry

Posted by AGORACOM at 1:23 PM on Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009

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AGORACOM is proud to announce the results of our Carbon Footprint findings in recognition of ‘Earth Day.  Our digital delivery of investor relations makes AGORACOM the most ‘environment-friendly’ investor relations firm in the industry.

In 2008, we delivered investor relations on behalf of 85 companies to more than 1.3 million investors in over 200 countries -  and we did it without having to take planes, trains and automobiles to meetings all over the world.  In addition, the digital delivery of investor relations means we didn’t need to senselessly cut down a single tree to produce collateral materials that unfortunately end up in a recycling bin within 24 hours.

AGORACOM CARBON FOOTPRINT

The results from an online Carbon Footprint calculator show that AGORACOM has a carbon footprint of 76.7 tonnes per year, which translates into 5.11 tonnes per employee.  To put this number into perspective, the average Torontonian’s carbon footprint measures 8.6 tonnes per year, lower than the average American’s footprint, which measures at about 11.9 tonnes.

 “While we realize online calculators measuring carbon footprints only offer an approximate indication of an organization’s emissions output, the results are relative and we challenge any investor relations firm with more than 50 clients to beat us”, Tsiolis added. “As a pure online investor relations firm, I am very confident that our carbon footprint is significantly lower than any traditional IR firm. Our use of Web 2.0 tools such as electronic shareholder forums, blogs, webcasts, video and other tools allow AGORACOM to fill the information void created by the lack of small-cap coverage in the media while keeping our carbon footprint to a minimum.”

3 KEY AREAS THAT MAKE AGORACOM ‘GREEN‘:

  1. No Micro Meetings -Thousands Of Investors Amalgamate and Communicate In Online HUBS.
  2. No Traveling – Clients Are Not Forced To Travel Around The World To Meet Investors.
  3. No Printing – 99% of Collateral Information Is Produced and Consumed Digitally.

For those whose inner environmentalist speaks loudest on April 22, visit the Earth Day Network to make a public commitment to take an environmental action.

Happy Earth Day,

George

“Everything Is Amazing, Nobody Is Happy” Priceless Conan Video

Posted by AGORACOM at 5:30 PM on Thursday, February 26th, 2009

“The better things get, the more people complain”. That’s what my mom once told me once when trying to explain how most Greek immigrants were happier when they were struggling and took great pleasure at life’s little rewards. On the other hand, once you get everything, you tend to complain about every little thing you don’t have.

If you agree with this – or don’t agree and need further explanation – take 4 minutes out of your day to watch this very funny but poignant video from a recent Conan O’Brien show. Enjoy.

Regards,
George

Unbelievable Photo Review Of 2008

Posted by AGORACOM at 6:26 PM on Thursday, December 18th, 2008

Folks, this is a must see while you have some downtime in front of your PC/laptop.  I’ve provided just a couple of teasers below to provide some incentive.  Hat tip to Paul Kedrosky for pointing it out.  As he states, these photos are heart-stopping and life-affirming. give yourself time to look and think:

Happy Birthday To My Wife Kathy!!

Posted by AGORACOM at 3:02 PM on Friday, November 28th, 2008

I don’t post too many personal items to this blog but I have to wish my awesome wife a very Happy Birthday! Despite a tough year for the markets, 2008 was another great year for life (the most important things of all) that saw the arrival of our baby daughter, so we’re going all out and celebrating life with 12 of us heading down to Ultra Supper Club for dinner and dancing.

I won’t tell you how old she is … and hope my ugly mug doesn’t give it away but here are a couple of snaps for you:

Happy Birthday Junior!

George

NY Times Reports Landlines Out, Swedes Discover Brain Cancer In

Posted by AGORACOM at 7:18 PM on Sunday, September 21st, 2008

Talk about tragic irony. Read these headlines (and related articles) released on September 20 and 21 respectively:

Users Are Tossing Their Landlines Overboard

-  Mobile Phone Use Raises Children’s Risk Of Brain Cancer 5 Fold.

Scary. Technology is great but this serves as an example of what can happen when we blindly rush into it.

I love technology as much as anyone but my kids won’t have (or need) anything more than a simple text messaging device.

Hat-tip to Rob Hyndman for discovering the latter study.

Regards,
George

AGORACOM Survey – Republican Vice-Presidential Nominee, Sarah Palin

Posted by AGORACOM at 7:57 PM on Friday, August 29th, 2008

Good evening to you all. John McCain gave us quite a lot to talk about following the surprise announcement of Sarah Palin as his choice for Vice-President.

True, she is an unknown quantity but is that a positive or negative? We’d like to hear from you, so we’ve prepared the following anonymous survey. If you have more to say beyond the multiple choice answers, speak up by posting your comments below!

If you want to keep track of the responses, you can view them here.

Regards,
George

Choosing Between Your Legacy And Your Mortality – A Father’s Lesson

Posted by AGORACOM at 7:33 PM on Friday, May 23rd, 2008
VS.

Paul Kedrosky, one of the best known business/technology/VC bloggers and colleague of mine, is probably one of the most “together” guys I know. Uber Smart + Successful + Renowned + Family Guy + Down To Earth … read about him here.

In short, he is just about everything a guy wants himself or his son to become (OK, I’d like to add in Super Bowl MVP but let’s not get crazy). To reach your pinnacle should mean the right to rejoice, celebrate, take a breather, give a speech and sleep in the next day…

…. but it doesn’t.

In a recent blog post he stated “I’ve started to feel scraped somewhat thin.”

WHY?

The great paradox of leaving a charmed life – the downside – is that the charms keep coming. You are so well respected, so well liked that opportunities abound. Business opportunities, social opportunities, personal opportunities, family opportunities you name it.

Things get better and better – to a point. Then, all of the opportunities start crashing into each other like multi-ball bonus pinball. Fun for a few minutes at the arcade with your buddies – but not fun when it becomes a prolonged way of life. You find yourself:

  • staying up all night reading and writing strategy documents
  • accumulating unthinkable air miles
  • shaking a million hands
  • meeting unbelievable people
  • bouncing around more great “ideas” then you could ever get to
  • dining at some of the finest restaurants in the world
  • forgetting what timezone you are in
  • ….and struggling to find time to do the things that really make you happy and healthy.
The situation is best summed up by Kedrosky’s statement “I’ve started to feel scraped somewhat thin..
Many have experienced it but few have actually written about it, let alone summon the advice of blog readers, which is exactly what Kedrosky did in this post back in March.

CHOOSING BETWEEN YOUR LEGACY AND YOUR MORTALITY

When you run into this situation, you are essentially being forced to choose between your legacy and your mortality. If you haven’t been there, it sounds simple enough. Hang out on the beach with your family and friends – but you have to be in the situation to understand that one is not possible without the other.

It is a blessing. It is a curse. It can’t be avoided any further. Your day of reckoning has come.

My response to Paul and excerpts from follow-up responses is re-produced in its entirety below. It came from my father long ago. It received a favorable response, so I’ve posted it here for you, for someone in the future asking the same question, for my children.

————————

Response #1

My father taught me a very valuable lesson a long time ago – everything you do comes with a price, so you have to decide early on what you are willing to pay for and what you are willing to leave on the shelf.

In your case, you appear to be struggling with choosing between the infinite amount of incredible opportunities in this web era and having the freedom to live an amazing life.

Both are incredibly rewarding but every moment spent on one takes time away from the other.

It is difficult to choose between your legacy and your mortality. You want to be a part of so many great ideas with so many great people – but everyday away from your kids/family/friends/self is a day you will never get back.

This is the burden of being successful and surrounding yourself with so many great people. You participate in so many great things but – at some point – you run into diminishing returns.

You are going to have to let some things go. Simple as that.

From the little I know about you, that will mean leaving some opportunity/money/legacy on the table and spending that time enjoying life. The hard part is choosing which initiatives you keep and which you discard.

Easier said then done? Yep … but my father did exactly the same thing and he is pretty much the happiest guy I know on the planet.

That’s the route I am taking.

Don’t know if my musings helped at all but that’s my two cents “in the spirit of the open way in which blogging works best.”

———————-

Follow-Up #1

Karthick, you are right that we all go through this “fatigue and rebound” phase…but there also comes a point in everyone’s life where you no longer want to go through this cycle.

Athletes retire. Entrepreneurs (the smart ones) scale back by picking their best 1 or 2 streams and leaving the rest on the table.

The person who leaves nothing on the table is more than likely the one with 1 or 2 ex-wives, detached kids and a big belly.

———————-

Follow-Up #2

Beau – well said. Most of all, be ruthless with your own desires and dreams.

Alex, thanks for the question. For the most part I think you go primarily with bread and butter (lowest risk) because they are easier to execute and enable you to live your life.

You can pick one “blue sky” item but that can only be something you do as a pet project and whose heavy lifting does not depend on you. Otherwise, you’re back to square one.

The notion of leaving so many things on the table utterly sucks. You’re surrounded by great people with great ideas that not only make money but also make an impact on the lives of others and further your legacy…but it has to be done or (as Beau said) you get consumed.

What an amazing thread. This needs to be the focus of further discussion. Paul could probably create a one-day conference out of this and it would be sold out. It’s obviously something on the minds of many people.

Is Paul Kedrosky the business version of Jerry Maguire? Can we all learn from the moral of the story? I think we want to. I know our families/bodies/souls want us to.

Utopia comes from leaving some happiness behind.

————————

“Utopia comes from leaving some happiness behind”. I don’t know where I came up with that but I hope it means I learned my father’s lesson well – and that my children will too.

Regards,
George

Glenn Cunnigham Should Have Lost His Legs – But Set World Records

Posted by AGORACOM at 12:07 PM on Monday, April 28th, 2008

Good afternoon to you all. The following has nothing to do with investor relations, the small-cap world or Web 2.0. It has everything to do with the gift of life and how some people are able to live it to the fullest despite having the odds stacked against them.

Until 20 minutes ago, I didn’t know the story of Glenn Cunningham (Wikipedia Profile). Cunningham set a world record for the mile and indoor world records for the 1.500 meters and the mile. What is miraculous is the following (courtesy of The Adam Ad Group):

————

As a little six year old boy, he had the job of heating his tiny country schoolhouse with his older brother. They came in early so the building was warm when everyone arrived. One February morning in 1916, the stove exploded, killing the older brother and leaving the little boy with incredible burns brutalizing the lower half of his body.

From his hospital bed the painfully burned, semi-conscious little boy faintly heard the doctor telling his mother that her son would surely die – which was for the best because the poor little boy would surely be a cripple. But this boy wasn’t quitting! He made up his mind then and there that he would survive.

Every day his mother would massage his little lifeless legs, but there was no feeling, no control, nothing. Yet the determination that he would walk was as strong as ever. One sunny day his mother wheeled him out into the yard to get some fresh air. Instead of sitting there, he threw himself from the chair, pulled himself across the grass and raised himself up on the picket fence. He then proceeded to drag himself along the fence, determined that he would walk again. He did this every day until he wore a path along the fence.

Through his daily massages, his iron persistence and his resolute determination, he did develop the ability to stand up, then to walk with assistance, then to walk by himself – and then – to run. He began to walk to school and then to run to school.

And run he did. This little boy that was told he would never walk again, made the track team in college and then one day in Madison Square Garden, this young man who was not expected to survive, who would absolutely never walk, who could never ever dream of running – this determined young man, Glenn Cunningham, ran the world’s fastest mile!

——————-

Great story. I’m glad I came across it. Had to share it. Hope you feel the same.

Regards,
George

PYMWYMI – Giants Will Win..UPDATE… Giants Win!

Posted by AGORACOM at 9:08 PM on Saturday, February 2nd, 2008

Despite the fact they crushed my season by taking out my Dallas Cowboys, I am calling the Giants to not only cover the spread but win the Super Bowl outright. It’s called PYMWYMI – Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is – and I’ve done it in this video here.

I’m not a Patriot hater – I think Brady is the coolest guy on the planet – but momentum is clearly on the side of the Giants. They’ve gotten better every week through the playoffs, while the Pats have been less than impressive in their wins.

FYI – I’ll be watching the game from the Waldorf in New York where AGORACOM is sponsoring Money:Tech, a conference that brings together the best of Web 2.0 and finance. How good is this conference shaping up to be? Chris Anderson, Editor-In-Chief over at Wired Magazine said:

“Money:Tech is the first conference I’ve seen in years that I feel I absolutely must attend.”

In the meantime, if when the Giants win, I’ll have a first hand view of the biggest party in the Big Apple in years.

UPDATE: Sunday, 9:10 PM EST – Giants Up 10 – 7 with 11:30 to go in Q4.

UPDATE: Sunday, 10:10 PM EST – Giants Win! My straight up bet pays 5-1.

UPDATE: Sunday, 10:30 PM EST – I’m going for a walk.

UPDATE:  Monday 12:45 AM EST – I’m back from Times Square and it was fun!

Regards,
George