A big hello to everyone. It has been a while since I have posted, but I am hoping to post more in the coming week. Remember, it is both the National Diabetes Month and the National Lung Cancer Month. More on this later. Last week, I fell behind my email and everything else, as it seems common nowadays.
A video on jobs - on or off topic?
Combing through and cleaning up, I came across an interesting video. I am not sure how accurate it is, and I am not sure if it is on-topic or off-topic. Personally, I feel that there are some lessons to be learned here, for any kind of entrepreneur, or for folks who are interested in real social change and not simply "mob by association".
First, the video
To preface, this video is very cynical and the Southern drawl appears to be accentuated to the point of entertainment, but the video provides you with examples ranging from the mundane to the bizarre, talking about how local and state governments hinder start-ups and the creation of jobs!
Watch it here:
Some thoughts for the entrepreneur
1. Let's go with my golden rule. Do not believe or trust anyone wholeheartedly. There are too many organizations out there that are extremely politicized.
2. As an entrepreneur, you can sit there and wish that all the paperwork and regulations would go away. However, you need to think in terms of what you can do in the near future and over time. In the near future, as you burn through precious, yet limited resources, you should make sure your success is not impeded by bureaucracy.
If you have a choice of location, then try to find out where you can locate your organization. If not, focus on working within your region's legal maze.
Get help, not rhetoric
Starting up? In most places, you are not alone. You can choose what you will have - rhetoric or real help. Nowadays, I see hundreds of formal and informal organizations crop up everywhere - ranging from meaningful non profits to informal online groups. Not all the advise you hear is right, relevant or good, but you can filter through the messages with enough effort. I have posted about a couple in the past and as and when I find relevant groups I will post them here. I am sure a web search will turn up more resources elsewhere as well.
3. The long term - what can you do?
Whether you succeed or fail, there is something that happens every 2 - 4 years (and if you are in other parts of the world, the message about bureaucracy still holds) - we call them elections. Make sure that you send a very clear message to your Congressperson, the state legislators, the mayors and councilors that your vote and the vote of like-minded entrepreneurs hinges on them making some real changes to "business as usual". This is so much better than empty rhetoric!
4. Who changes the world?
For every Gandhi (and yes, I have immeasurable respect for him) there are silent masses that followed them, motivated them and supplemented them to move the world forward. So it is indeed entrepreneurs and individual businesses that dictate change, not governments small or large or the parties that steal votes from them...so go out there and make those changes!
5. Read, read and read some more. This is the best way to keep yourself up to date on all that is going on around you - new law, new regulations and even stuff that people pull because they are insensitive to your difficulties. Since you are a small business owner, you don't have an army of lawyers to identify what affects you and what doesn't. So, prepare!
Reference:
http://ij.org/citystudies
A blog on medical devices, biotechnology, bioengineering, healthcare, etc. Join me on discussions about devices, regulations, the FDA, policies, law, and what not! Chaaraka is take on Charaka, an ancient Indian Physician of lore...
Monday, November 22, 2010
Sunday, November 14, 2010
The World Diabetes Day is here
November is Diabetes Awareness Month (incidentally, it is also the Lung Cancer Awareness Month) and this year, November 14th is the World Diabetes Day.
Diabetes, or originally Diabetes Mellitus derived it's name from the sweet taste of urine that was used as a diagnostic by the Romans. As a disease, it is no stranger to human civilization and has afflicted humans for a while now.
Type 1: As an autoimmune disease, Diabetes Type I, is inherently a disease where the body simply cannot produce insulin via the "islets of Langerhans" thus unable to produce enough energy needed for subsistence. This disease is more prevalent in young children and in adults. Through insulin therapies, this disease can be managed, but is debilitating nevertheless.
Type 2: Diabetes Type 2, typically has an adult onset. In this condition, the body is simply unable to produce enough insulin to convert sugar into energy, or the cells do not use the insulin as expected. Type 2 is the more prevalent form, has been diagnosed in 24 million Americans (an estimate upped form 21 million) and is expected to afflict more people, who are probably simply unaware of it. In countries like India, and among Indians everywhere it has reached epidemic proportions as well.
Some of the causes include unhealthy life styles, eating and working habits and so on. People with rice based diets of Asian origin appear to be afflicted by this disease more often.
Type 3: Is there a type 3? New research has shown that a certain number of children with Type 1 Diabetes also show tendencies for Diabetes Type 2. This is a risky condition and thus, even though it has been statistically delineated, has been assigned it's own category. The "double diabetes" as it is known is attributed to patients being overweight and a general lack of awareness.
Apart from this, gestational diabetes refers to the onset of diabetes during pregnancy. Gestational diabetes may then prolong throughout the mother's lifetime and can become Type 2 diabetes at that point.
Awareness
The biggest gap, when it comes to diabetes stems form a lack of awareness. Diabetes would be diagnosed in a lot more people if only they were made aware of diabetes and the symptoms and the predispositions.
One has to remember that people with diabetes Type 2 may not even have the symptoms sometimes. Please refer to the American Diabetes Association (ADA) website for a list of symptoms to watch out for either type of diabetes:
http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/symptoms/
You should consider taking a Diabetes Risk Test:
http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/prevention/diabetes-risk-test/
The World Diabetes Day website also lists some risk factors:
http://www.worlddiabetesday.org/the-campaign/diabetes-education-and-prevention/diabetes-risk-factors
You should also look at some of the warning signs here:
http://www.worlddiabetesday.org/the-campaign/diabetes-education-and-prevention/diabetes-warning-signs
TuDiabetes:
My friends at TuDiabetes ( http://www.tudiabetes.org ) a non-profit organization focused on Diabetes Awareness, Actions and other Campaigns have a video for you!
Diabetes, or originally Diabetes Mellitus derived it's name from the sweet taste of urine that was used as a diagnostic by the Romans. As a disease, it is no stranger to human civilization and has afflicted humans for a while now.
Type 1: As an autoimmune disease, Diabetes Type I, is inherently a disease where the body simply cannot produce insulin via the "islets of Langerhans" thus unable to produce enough energy needed for subsistence. This disease is more prevalent in young children and in adults. Through insulin therapies, this disease can be managed, but is debilitating nevertheless.
Type 2: Diabetes Type 2, typically has an adult onset. In this condition, the body is simply unable to produce enough insulin to convert sugar into energy, or the cells do not use the insulin as expected. Type 2 is the more prevalent form, has been diagnosed in 24 million Americans (an estimate upped form 21 million) and is expected to afflict more people, who are probably simply unaware of it. In countries like India, and among Indians everywhere it has reached epidemic proportions as well.
Some of the causes include unhealthy life styles, eating and working habits and so on. People with rice based diets of Asian origin appear to be afflicted by this disease more often.
Type 3: Is there a type 3? New research has shown that a certain number of children with Type 1 Diabetes also show tendencies for Diabetes Type 2. This is a risky condition and thus, even though it has been statistically delineated, has been assigned it's own category. The "double diabetes" as it is known is attributed to patients being overweight and a general lack of awareness.
Apart from this, gestational diabetes refers to the onset of diabetes during pregnancy. Gestational diabetes may then prolong throughout the mother's lifetime and can become Type 2 diabetes at that point.
Awareness
The biggest gap, when it comes to diabetes stems form a lack of awareness. Diabetes would be diagnosed in a lot more people if only they were made aware of diabetes and the symptoms and the predispositions.
One has to remember that people with diabetes Type 2 may not even have the symptoms sometimes. Please refer to the American Diabetes Association (ADA) website for a list of symptoms to watch out for either type of diabetes:
http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/symptoms/
You should consider taking a Diabetes Risk Test:
http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/prevention/diabetes-risk-test/
The World Diabetes Day website also lists some risk factors:
http://www.worlddiabetesday.org/the-campaign/diabetes-education-and-prevention/diabetes-risk-factors
You should also look at some of the warning signs here:
http://www.worlddiabetesday.org/the-campaign/diabetes-education-and-prevention/diabetes-warning-signs
TuDiabetes:
My friends at TuDiabetes ( http://www.tudiabetes.org ) a non-profit organization focused on Diabetes Awareness, Actions and other Campaigns have a video for you!
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