Tuesday, January 24, 2006

GTKPod

gtkpod is a platform independent Graphical User Interface for Apples iPod using GTK2. It supports the first to fifth Generation including the iPod mini, iPod Photo, iPod Shuffle, iPod nano, and iPod Video..
http://www.gtkpod.org/screenshots.html

Monday, January 23, 2006

An aikido master explains how to kick ass and find inner peace

In any kind of battle, it is all about attention and what we choose to pay attention to, and the quality of attention, and how we invest that attention. In aikido, it is essential, because if you pay attention to the wrong things, it could be literally life or death.Aikido is an odd martial art, because it is essentially a weaponless martial art, but all of the techniques are based on the sword and the staff. Literally, there is that life or death, existential edge to the practice. In swordsmanship, if one blinks, if one pays attention to the wrong thing at the wrong time, the consequences can be devastating.
http://www.killingthebuddha.com/oral/sp_exercises.htm

Sunday, January 22, 2006

The Innovators Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail

An apt if slightly outdated discourse on how disruptive innovations affect (mostly) high-tech companies. Some good stuff on how to become aware of a disruptive change and how to deal with it.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0875845851/qid=1138054153/sr=8-2/ref=pd_bbs_2/103-9725948-2463004?n=507846&s=books&v=glance

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

The 25-Cent Elephant

"Two elephants for 25 cents is only a bargain if you need two elephants and you have 25 cents." Im not sure where that saying comes from, but its a colorful way of expressing a really important idea: that whether or not something is a "bargain" depends on more than just the price tag.
Pretty much everyone knows that "shopping on sale" and "hunting for bargains" lets you save money. And thats true... except that its not quite as easy as it looks. Why do you think stores trumpet "Sales!" and "Bargains!"? Not to give away their merchandise, thats for sure. Even if you dont buy the item at its original sales price, youre still buying, after all. And if you dont do your homework, your "bargain" might end up costing you a lot more than it should have.
http://www.spendingwisely.com/articles/0408/000032.html

The Stock & Real Estate Bubble Will Burst In 2010

It wont be as extreme as the Great Depression. But it will be worse than the 70s downturn, and I think it will be worse than what Japan saw from 1990 to 2003. Maybe well see unemployment at 15 percent, give or take. The worst part of it is youre going to see deflationary trends in prices from a shrinking work force. Deflation is the enemy of asset prices.
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,70034-0.html?tw=wn_tophead_11

Sunday, January 15, 2006

Change Or Die

"Behavior change happens mostly by speaking to peoples feelings," he says. "This is true even in organizations that are very focused on analysis and quantitative measurement, even among people who think of themselves as smart in an MBA sense. In highly successful change efforts, people find ways to help others see the problems or solutions in ways that influence emotions, not just thought."
Unfortunately, that kind of emotional persuasion isnt taught in business schools, and it doesnt come naturally to the technocrats who run things -- the engineers, scientists, lawyers, doctors, accountants, and managers who pride themselves on disciplined, analytical thinking. Theres compelling science behind the psychology of change -- it draws on discoveries from emerging fields such as cognitive science, linguistics, and neuroscience -- but its insights and techniques often seem paradoxical or irrational.
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/94/open_change-or-die.html

Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex Reviewed

Motoko_Close_up

The world of GitS:SAC is recognizably our own, or rather, one recognizably extrapolated from modern Japan. While parts of the technology seem unlikely in the timeframe allotted, none seems impossible. Departing from the modern Star Trek paradigm of "technobabble technobabble problem, technobabble technobabble solution," GitS:SAC deals with real, cutting-edge computer security and biotechnology topics updated for the cyberbrain era. Firewalls, modular delay viruses, cyber-autism, and cyberbrain sclerosis are all among the issues Section 9 faces.


http://locusmag.com/2006/Features/Person_GhostInTheShell.html

Wednesday, January 11, 2006

NSA Whistleblower Alleges Illegal Spying

I specialized in whats called special access programs," Tice said of his job. "We called them black world programs and operations."
But now, Tice tells ABC News that some of those secret "black world" operations run by the NSA were operated in ways that he believes violated the law. He is prepared to tell Congress all he knows about the alleged wrongdoing in these programs run by the Defense Department and the NSA in the post-9/11 efforts to go after terrorists.
"The mentality was we need to get these guys, and were going to do whatever it takes to get them," he said.
http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/Investigation/story?id=1491889

Tuesday, January 10, 2006

Glenrothes 1989

Very similar to the Glenfiddich but more powerful. Buttery and vanilla. 8/10.
http://www.theglenrothes.com/index.php?sectionid=86&parentid=74

Glenfiddich 18 yr

Good, solid, subtle whiskey. Clean, buttery and chocolate notes. A solid 7/10.
http://world.glenfiddich.com/enjoy/range/ancient_res.html

Caol Ila 18 yr

Peaty but not overwhelmingly so like the Bowmore (which is also fabulous). More subtle with vanilla and spices. Great whiskey - 8/10. A very generous gift from Jason
http://www.islaywhiskysociety.com/caol_ila/

4-D Man

Made in 1959 in color, a good little sci-fi thriller. A guy learns to walk through walls and suck the life out of others. 7/10 for style.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052530/

40 Year Old Virgin

Crude, disgusting, and fall off the couch funny. 8/10.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0405422/

Into The Blue

A servicable thriller. Doesnt always make sense and drags in the middle but great cinematography makes up for it. 6/10.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0378109/

Oilsands worlds largest source of new crude oil by 2010

The oilsands will become the most important source of new oil in the world by 2010, as conventional crude supplies dry up, CIBC World Markets says in its monthly report.Alberta will sit on one of the most valuable energy sources in the world by that time, and one of the few still open to private investment, Jeff Rubin, chief economist at CIBC World Markets, the banks wholesale banking arm, said.
http://www.cbc.ca/calgary/story/ca-oilsands-crude20060111.html?ref=rss

Monday, January 9, 2006

Tech Market Recovery Keys

As a business culture, weve invested billions of dollars in bits and bytes and gadgets and features without investing similarly in the organizational changes necessary to deploy that technology effectively. Technology exists to build a better brand or to improve customer relations -- pick your objective. But we have been implementing technology over the past few years almost without regard for the changes that it demands of our organizations. And thats where the great opportunity lies. Quit looking for the next big thing. Put the technology thats sitting on the shelves to work, and do it with a clear purpose. Empower your employees to get something done. Change the process. Make a contribution to organizational effectiveness.
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/60/one.html?partner=rss

Sunday, January 8, 2006

Illusions Of Capitalism And Computers

The Internet as it is, rather than as we might wish it to be, is above all else an elaboration of the structure of computer software, or, more precisely, software as humans have been able to create it. And software as we know it is a brittle substance. It breaks before it bends. It is the only informational structure in human experience thus far that has this quality...
Brittleness leads to the phenomenon of "Lock-in," which means that software is harder to change once it has been enhanced by subsequent developments than other human artifacts. Once software becomes part of the context or foundation for newer software in a network of dependencies, the older stuff becomes much more expensive to change than the newer stuff. There are severe, even existential, consequences of this quality of software.
One consequence is that situational advantage in the business side of software is overwhelmingly driven by snowballing early adoption, with Microsoft perhaps being the most celebrated example.
http://www.cato-unbound.org/2006/01/09/jaron-lanier/the-gory-antigora/

49 leaders, from Buffett to Spitzer, share their secrets to success

We asked 49 business visionaries what single philosophy they swear by more than any other -- in business, life or both.
http://money.cnn.com/2005/11/28/news/newsmakers/goldenrule_biz20_1205/index.htm?cnn=yes

Wednesday, January 4, 2006

Its About Time

Time is of the essence. It is the one resource that were offered free of charge. It is also our scarcest resource -- the one that we value most. How we use time determines everything. So how can you manage time wisely? How can you make time, find time, and take time to do the things that matter to you most? Above all, how can you make a friend of time and use it to your advantage? To find answers to those questions, we talked to 17 people who make it their business to know about time. Their observations, which are as varied as their industries and personalities, offer new insight into what it means to have time on your side.
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/29/one.html

Sunday, January 1, 2006

20 Good Business Books

Anyway you look at it, books -- and content for that matter -- have to be useful, practical and entertaining. And in no category does this apply more than with business books. While philosophy books can stray from the practical, business books are often measured by how applicable they are in everyday life. After all, textbooks are packed with theories, hence the necessity for practicality in business books.
http://www.askmen.com/money/professional_60/66_professional_life.html

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