When you stop looking for some thing...

...is usually when it finds you.






image from itisdschools.org

Milk For The Children (and futebol)

Or leite por os filhos in the original Brazilian-Portuguese. A young carioca father said this to me in 2000, after I rebuffed his initial efforts to sell me a copy of the VHS tape he had miraculously mastered during our small cruise off the coast of Rio de Janeiro.

I stopped after my final goodbye to him after disembarking, because I didn't understand what he has said at the time. This easy going man had worn several hats during our day trip including tour guide, historian, videographer, and futebol coach during our pick-up game (brasileiros contra estrangeiros as the contest was dubbed) on the destination island. He couldn't quite get my name right so he just called me Nigéria, with pride.

My Brazilian-American buddy translated, and explained the significance of leite por os filhos. The brother was hustling to support his family. I certainly could appreciate that. At first I was hesitant to buy something so touristy, but then it occurred to me that the VHS tapes he was hawking, plus the cost of the entire cruise was still just slight more than half of the cost of my ticket to the Vasco club match at Maracanã stadium I had bought via our hotel earlier that morning, and would attend the following day. We bought two videos.

Two days later I would purposefully spend a 1000% premium (about three dollars US at the time) on a mini-pack of gum being sold by two kids under the age of five on Copacana beach, at past three o'clock in the morning. Meanwhile the acquaintances who had accompanied us, didn't even acknowledge the children's presence.

It's quite possible to have jugo bonito and leite por os filhos, at a fraction of the cost.

What Would You Do With A Million Dollars?

photobucks.com

If you are ever short of conversation, that question will light it up every time. Notice people's eyes light up as they ponder or prepare to answer the question? Then you gets a variety of answers, in no particular order:

• Pay off bills
• Buy mama a house (deserves a bullet point of its own for its ubiquity)
• Quit job
• Donate 
• Travel
• Buy a ____________
• Buy some _________
• Pay for ___________
• Get a ____________

The above is by no means an exhaustive list. 

Here's some of what I've learned over the twenty years I've been asking people the question.

• People love being asked that question
• A lot of people aren't clear on what they'd like to do next after some the typical answers
• Few people realize (at least in the US) that depending on how you get the million dollars, it rarely gets to your pocket as a million dollars (read: taxes)
• Your bad habits * $1,000,000.00 that you didn't work for = mo' money, mo' problems (as Biggie Smalls would rap)
• You don't really (really) know how you'd respond to a lot of money out of nowhere, until you have to manage a lot of money out of nowhere
• Push people (gently of course) further on this question long enough, and they discover their true dreams and passions can be pursued without the million dollars

I'm lucky. I simply stuck my million dollars to my wall. It's probably better for both of us...since money isn't real. But that's another blog post.

Occupy Brazil?

I have been ruminating over the protests in Brazil over the last week or so, not sure what exactly to write. I watched Bebeto play at the older-than-me Maracanã stadium in 2000, and saw the massive renovation of Mineirão stadium in 2012. I been to Rio, São Paulo, Salvador, Belo Horizonte, and Brasília across the years, and have experienced Brazil and Brazilians change over that time. I've seen the rich, the middle, and the poor, up close. Like in a lot of places, things over time have become better for some, not so much for a bunch of others. Still, I'm surprised it took this long for such a public outcry. I guess like my dad always said growing up; when you've had enough you say when.

 

Lyrics in English courtesy of Crimson.

Resolving The Family Problem

My dad doesn't volunteer wisdom to me often, but every time he has, it's been on point. Not sure on the attribution on the following but here goes:

A father left 17 camels as an asset for his three sons. When the father passed away, his sons opened up the will. The will stated that the eldest son should get half of 17 camels while the middle son should be given 1/3rd (one-third). The youngest son should be given 1/9th (one-ninth) of the 17 camels.

As it is not possible to divide 17 into half or 17 by 3 or 17 by 9, The three sons started to fight with each other. So, the three sons decided to go to a wise man.

The wise man listened patiently about the will. The wise man, after giving this thought, brought one camel of his own and added the same to 17. That increased the total to 18 camels.

Now, he started reading the deceased father's will.

Half of 18 = 9. So he gave the eldest son 9 camels.
1/3rd of 18 = 6. So he gave the middle son 6 camels.
1/9th of 18 = 2. So he gave the youngest son 2 camels.

Adding this up: 9 plus 6 plus 2 is 17 and this left one camel, which the wise 
man took back.

Moral: The attitude of negotiation and problem solving is to find the 18th camel.

"Big companies swallow little ones every day."

This is the opening sentence of an Economist article featuring Nick d'Aloisio, who's start-up, Summly, got bought out by Yahoo. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? The swallowing part, I mean? I wonder if Master d'Aloisio will have to come into the office, or if Yahoo will cut him some slack; at least until he turns 18?

Congressional Reaction to Sequestration

"I've never liked sequestrations, and I never will. I can never forgive them, for the death of my fun."

- Senator James T. Kirk

The Emancipation Proclamation At 150 Years

A happy new year indeed. On this date in 1863, a different United States president hailing from the state of Illinois; Abraham Lincoln, brought forth the Emancipation Proclamation.

What I remember being taught about the Emancipation Proclamation in elementary school was that it freed the slaves and brought a victorious end to the American Civil War for the North (i.e. armies of the Union). While this is not false, it's not the complete picture. Still, it was appropriate for that point in my elementary education.

It wasn't until I read, several years ago, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, did I get a deeper perspective of the Emancipation Proclamation. Most importantly the path to its birth, including the political jousting between President Lincoln and Frederick Douglass.

I learned that its purpose was primarily to end a costly war and reunify the fractured United States by defeating the South economically and militarily. More specifically, to end the economic engine of slavery in the South and enlist black men, able and willing to fight, for the the Union army. To expedite this, the Emancipation Proclamation declared that all slaves in states that had seceded from the Union were free. Now if you were a black man in 1863, that was a heck of an incentive, considering the alternative.

Without the Emancipation Proclamation and what it brought to pass in the history of the following century, odds are I wouldn't have volunteered for the military, nor I suspect hundreds of thousands of black men over the decades.  I salute you comrades.

MIT Startup Bootcamp 2012 - What I Learned

I got wind of the MIT Startup Bootcamp from a former colleague and young entrepreneur. He ended up not being able to make it, so I went for both of us and promised to take notes:

My takeaways from Jeff Seibert of Crashlytics:

• Balance your team
• Distribution is king
• People don't have the time to discover things
• Follow the market where you are creating the most value
• Investors fund upward curves
• Maximize first-time experiences
• Find the medium(s) for the maximum effect for your vision

From Jennifer Lum of Adelphi Mobile:

• People and relationships really matter
• Speed matters
• Mentors
• We all dream of becoming grown-ups who make a difference
• You have nothing to lose

From Brett Van Zuiden of Filepicker.io:

• Start and don't stop
• Be prepared to absolutely dedicate at least 7-10 years of your life to your startup
• Keeping going, keep going, keep making things happen
• Tell people you're doing a startup and get feedback early
• Cut your safety net
• Make long-term commitments
• Really get to know your customers, and use that empathy to help motivate you forward
• Love your team
• Start a business ONLY if you are passionate about a vision and building a company is the only way to bring that vision to life

From Lee Hower of LinkedIn:

• What you do must be interesting to the market
• Founding teams tend to have people who know and trust each other and have a common framework
• Be exceptional

From Christine Corbett of Circle of 6

• Women rock
• Diversity of founders in entrepreneurship is crucial
• Solve simple problems first, to build your entrepreneurial muscles to solve big problems
• Every startup is a vote for the future
• Master tools to help you solve your problems

Ooh La La iPad

Ok, so my cousin just got the iPad and I thought to take it for a spin.
Well it does live up to the hype. It's very slick to view and intelligent as well.
It's smart enough to anticipate and transition for text to symbols to text
when typing it's for example.

The typing takes a bit to get used to but you have to approach it
"drunken style". Just imagine typing with the first three or four fingers on each hand.

Until the next time. Oh, did I mention spell check on the fly?

Another Civil War?

Over the last couple of weeks I've listened to news reports, podcasts, etc. about how the passage of the health care bill has pushed political discourse to the edge of chaos.

The Left blames the Right. The Right blames the Left, and the Middle blames the media. There is a real danger of the fringe, with the proper combination of accelerants (rhetoric, hyperbole, and vitriol), becoming the mob.

The last civil war caused much of the social as well as economic fabric of the United States to be utterly destoyed. I pray our elected leaders consider how they might together heal the bruise before it becomes a sore.

The Easy Solution To The Health Care Debate

For those in Congress who don't want health insurance reform now; they should give up their health insurance, now, to someone who doesn't have health insurance now.

Where Does The Terror (List) End?

So, what gets a country on another country's list of terrorist states? I know that's not an official term, but that's what it is ultimately thought of as.

If a criterion is the nationality of the terror suspect, then what happens when a country ends up on its own list.

The Decade In Review?

It's hard to believe the first ten years of the decade are coming to a close. I would have missed it, had it not been for the media. After all, 2010 is a nice round number.

Most of it has been colored by September 11, 2001, and its aftermath, n0t to mention the Great Recession. It's a grayier time, and leaner time, a meaner time, and a ME-er time. At the end of it, we've become tougher and more resilent because of it.

Happy 49th Nigeria

Nigeria gained its independence from Britain 49 years ago. So much has changed since then. From the bloody Biafra war, to the discovery of oil, to the curse of it that followed. From a military regime to democratic elections. From a dearth of landlines to a smattering of GSM mobile phones.

Then you hear about about the corruption of government, of the people, and you wonder what to make of it. Nigerians these days are remembered primarily for fraud and bad movies. It almost a caricature.

So where are we? Where does Nigeria plan on going. What's the point of it all. Some people are going back to Nigeria to be a part of the economic changes and opportunities going on in Lagos and Abuja, the capital. Some, are ashamed of Nigeria. Some romanticize it. Still others feel that nothing will ever change, and you either need to lead, follow, or get the hell out of the way

The Unemployment Numbers

Do you every think some employers use economic downturns to purge employees? In the immortal words of Arsenio Hall, things that make you go...hmmmmm.

A-ha Moment of the Week

Don't let money (or lack of it) determine your station in life.

Some Thoughts On Abundance

There is enough...

• money in the world
• time in the world
• work to do in the world
• love in the world
• food in the world
• square footage of living space in the world
• water in the world

The problem is...

• belief in the above
• distribution
  

I Robot, U Robot?

I was listening to On Point with Tom Ashbrook on NPR today, and he was speaking with the CEO of iRobot. The discussion hovered around the advancement of robotics through today, and the impact of those advancements on the working man.

The experts and pro-roboticists felt robots definitely had and have had a place, particularly in the medical and automotive field as being the silent aid in human endevours. Although not necessarily as a substitute or an successor.

On the other side were those who just didn't feel secure in robots having untethered control. The key arguement being, that robot hadn't evolved the decision making engine commesurate to the human mind. For example, a robot can't discern between an eight-month-old baby crying because it's hungry versus crying because it's tired. Humans have a hard enough time figuring that out, but we learn.

Being a sci-fi dude, I have a healthy respect for both sides of the coin. However, to the guest's other point, I also see a gradually shift to robotics being common place. More man and machine merging over time, until we go the full cyborg (if ever) rather than a flip of the switch. I see it more like cosmetic surgery. The early adopters will be those who can afford it, or due to injury or disability, need it.

Integrated robotics will start out as a luxury and novelty, not unlike the mobile phone. Then it will become so integrated with society, that after economies of scale and productivity are met, we won't be able to live without it.

How Long Should A Vehicle Last?

If I ran the world, the formula would be...

MSRP* / 1000 = HLSAVL


*Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price, In US Dollars.