Nicolas El Hayek

Posted by Nicolas on May 22, 2013

Forever Avoiding Lebanon’s Traffic – Beta Users Needed

We all complain from traffic and embrace its existence with bitter sentiment. A typical family of 4 will eventually get 4 cars (affordable or not) simply because our public transportation lacks proper maintenance, infrastructure, and a decent governmental plan to change that fact. What we end up with is a huge waste of time and fuel in a traffic jam that seems to never end. I’ve teamed up with 2...

Posted by Nicolas on Apr 8, 2013

The Silent Death of MSN Messenger

For anyone born in the 80s and 90s, it’s a fair chance to have encountered and get hooked in MSN Messenger. Sure, Microsoft changed it to Windows Live Messenger, but for the rest of the world, it still remained the 3-letter acronym that it grew up with. This post is a personal eulogy to the platform that rose after email, making it the online portal to an online realm that today we just can’t...

Posted by Nicolas on Mar 27, 2013

My Experience in Ultra Music Festival 2013

The crowd, the music, the debauchery, the inexplicable love and the reunion of #trancefamily are just a few of the magical pillars that played a major part in shaping this year’s Ultra Music Festival. I was hesitant to celebrate my birthday at this event, discouraged mainly by the ticket price and the long 3-day marathon of EDM music. I wondered, who can withstand 3 days of pounding electric music?...

Posted by Nicolas on Mar 5, 2013

سوريا – في البدء كان الفقر [Infographic]

The political turmoil in Syria has made the largest ripple in the Arab Spring that erupted across Arab nations. The civil war that is betting on the survival or downfall of the existing regime is struggling to maintain a demographic, in which whomever has access to foreign refuge is not taking second chances. With poverty along every corner, and the devaluation of the Syrian currency starving the people...

Posted by Nicolas on Feb 27, 2013

The Lebanese Public Debt – الدين العام [Infographic بالعربي]

Ever since the Civil War [1975 - 1990] that shattered the country’s dreams and dispersed its families among the continents and the afterlife, Lebanon’s once booming economy is now sinking in a record-high debt surpassing the $55 billion mark. With a faltering lifestyle and a struggle to keep the economy afloat, hope seems in a gloom as no policy is in place to target the deficit but a measly...

Posted by Nicolas on Feb 22, 2013

Lebanon’s Consumption Disparity in Despair [Infographic]

The sectarian disparity has gone too obvious to remain un-noticed. Following the 80/20 rule, something similar is being witnessed in our beloved country, where 20% of the ‘elite’ control nearly half of national consumption, while the nation’s poorest consumes its daily needs if not less, with a humiliating 7%. The results are expected when the high class owns a home for every member, cars...

Posted by Nicolas on Feb 14, 2013

Civil Marriage In Lebanon [Infographic in English]

** This is the English version of the Civil Marriage infographic. If you would like the Arabic version, Click here ** The recent turmoil regarding the civil marriage has affected the lives of all lebanese citizens and politicians alike. Shackled between tradition and the needs of modern society, the notion of allowing civil marriage in lebanon will forever morph the nation into what many hope to be a...

Posted by Nicolas on Feb 13, 2013

Civil Marriage In Lebanon [بالعربي Infographic]

The recent turmoil regarding the civil marriage has affected the lives of all lebanese citizens and politicians alike. Shackled between tradition and the needs of modern society, the notion of allowing civil marriage in lebanon will forever morph the nation into what many hope to be a beginning to the end of sectarian conflicts in the country. Many favoring traditional marriage prefer to do so on the basis...