Yeah, yeah I know, I was going to put filmmaking down and never pick it back up again until I graduate from college with a bachelor’s of science (computer science to be precise) approximately five years from now. However, as things would turn out, that is not happening. From the pure genius of my friend and co-director, comes a new film from Lewis Pictures, unlike anything you have scene before. It takes place around the end of 2029. America is no longer a free country and has become the United Federation of Soviet States (U.F.S.S.). In case your wondering “soviet”  means: it often does refer to the Soviet Union, however it’s main definition is: an elected governmental council in a Communist country. America has not been taken over, it has more less been handed off to a corrupt leader who wishes the complete annihilation of all freedom on the planet. There is a small resistance that is lead by two courageous brothers. We cover their last fighting chance to bring peace back to the world. So my friends (I’m getting so sick of that phrase) I shall be returning to Sequim High School this coming semester to upgrade my tech knowledge with computers.

Concerning my book that of which I was writing. I have placed this on hold until I finish this Movie, and after I finish this movie I probably will not have very much time to work on it because I will be tackling High School and College at the same time; however, I think of new ideas for the story nearly every day. This also means that I have dropped out of NaNoWriMo, but their is always next year.

Yours,
Jack

EFN tells us that humans are back in vogue…

Wild swings in global stock markets and unprecedented volatility are luring buyside and sellside traders back to the personal touch broking model, where they can find an experienced broker on the end of the phone. Electronic trading remains a high priority, but the human element may be the key to brokers gaining business.

Do you think this is indicative that e-trading technology still isn’t “good enough” to merit the trust of the customers wishing to trade? In which case what function is missing? Based on that article, it’s some sort of reassurance screen/popup; “yes that looks like a very sound trade, pretty much in-keeping with what were seeing, so please click OK to invest wisely”. Ok, that’s an exaggerated thought, but surely a colour/context check could be part of an automated negotiation/orderflow?

Tradeweb’s vision - where markets meet;

To be the first network to offer insitutional clients trading from ONE platform, with ONE ticket, in ANY asset class, in ANY currency, anywhere in the world.

A great aim - but clearly not enough to keep them busy. Today we hear that Tradeweb also plans to launch an electronic inter-dealer platform (for pass-through mortgage-backed securities in early 2009 ..as part of their purchase of Hilliard Farber’s interdealer business). I wonder how much appetite (within TW & the dealer shareholders) there is to extend the interdealer product set?

Well, even though Tradeweb clearly has many irons in many fires, and shipping (/cargo) is something ICAP have mentioned with a degree of excitement, I don’t think this Tradeweb trademarked product will actually be related (odd about the trademark though) …

Tradeweb ™ streamlines the cargo declaration process by enabling users to send declarations to the Singapore Customs, IE Singapore, and other controlling agencies directly from the computer

…unless you know different?

Over a year after Vista’s release, I find myself still scratching my head about the number of compatibility issues I come across. Today I had the dubious pleasure of replacing my many-years old Laserjet 2100tn with a new Laserjet 2015dn. HP and Microsoft - two great tastes that go great together? Not so much.

So let’s cut to the chase. After much misadventure, I now can share two things - 1) How to install this printer on a Vista machine and 2) how to get to HP phone support even when they don’t want you to.

To connect to the HP Laserjet 2015dn on the network do the following:

1) download the correct driver which you can find here: HP LaserJet P2015 PostScript Print Driver Package
. Expand the zip file into a folder which you will need to get to later.

2) Add a local printer (via control panel) and make sure you select LOCAL printer. In fact, there is a good chance that after installing the drivers you can no longer use the network printer option as it may cause you to get the message ‘Windows Explorer is restarting’. Fortunately this isn’t a problem here.

3) Select ‘Create a new port’ and choose ‘Standard TCP/IP port’ and click next.

4) Enter the ip address of the printer (you can get it from the test page) and click next.

5) You should now be prompted to select the driver. Click ‘Have Disk’ and browse to the folder of the drivers you downloaded. Select the second driver in the list box and proceed.

That should do it. If you have any question, post them and I’ll try to respond.

Oh…and as for HP phone support…here’s the magic trick. If you go through the menus, you will eventually be told that they don’t support this product over the phone. Yeah well when you take $300 of my money, and I used to design IVR systems for major corporations, yes you do.

Here’s the trick. Call the main number for support and screw the menus. Flood the IVR system with ‘0’s until it gets confused and transfers you to an operator. Then nicely explain your problem and you will get transferred to someone who can help you. It’s really that simple.

Happy Halloween. There’s your trick and your treat.

1) eliminare la povertà estrema e la fame
2) garantire a tutti i bambini e le bambine l’istruzione primaria
3) eliminare le disparità fra i sessi
4) ridurre di due terzi la mortalità infantile e la mortalità materna
5) combattere l’hiv/aids, la malaria e le altre malattie
6) combattere il degrado ambientale
7) assicurare a tutti l’accesso all’educazione
assicurare a tutti l’accesso alle cure sanitarie e all’acqua.

Gli obiettivi sono realizzabili tecnicamente ed economicamente e mettono in luce quello che manca per eliminare la povertà e le disuguaglianze: la volontà politica, la capacità di mettere tali azioni al centro delle agende politiche e delle priorità locali, nazionali e internazionali

Per realizzarli è necessario attuare un modello di sviluppo che renda protagonista la persona. Fondamentale è il ruolo di pressione che la società civile può e deve esercitare sui leader politici dei Paesi ricchi e dei Paesi poveri perché vengano rispettati gli impegni assunti.

Tutti i cittadini del mondo dovrebbero far sentire la propria voce schierandosi apertamente a favore di un mondo più giusto.

No excuse 2015 nasce dalla volontà delle Nazioni Unite per fare in modo gli 8 obiettivi del millennio siano raggiunti entro il 2015 e che le promesse vengano rispettate.

Premesso che non ho simpatia per la città di Milano e per il suo sindaco pro tempore Letizia Moratti, sono rimasto basito dalla quantità di denaro pubblico che affluirà su Milano e hinterland (come piace dire agli anglofili).

In base alla

Legge 6 agosto 2008, n. 13,

Art. 14.

Expo Milano 2015

1. Per la realizzazione delle opere e delle attività connesse allo svolgimento del grande evento EXPO Milano 2015 in attuazione dell’adempimento degli obblighi internazionali assunti dal governo italiano nei confronti del Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) e’ autorizzata la spesa di 30 milioni di euro per l’anno 2009, 45
milioni di euro per l’anno 2010, 59 milioni di euro per l’anno 2011, 223 milioni di euro per l’anno 2012, 564 milioni di euro per l’anno 2013, 445 milioni di euro per l’anno 2014 e 120 milioni di euro per l’anno 2015.

2. Ai fini di cui al comma 1 il sindaco di Milano pro tempore, senza nuovi o maggiori oneri a carico della finanza pubblica, e’ nominato Commissario straordinario del Governo per l’attività preparatoria urgente. Entro trenta giorni dalla data di entrata in vigore del presente decreto, con decreto del Presidente del Consiglio dei Ministri, sentito il presidente della regione Lombardia e sentiti i rappresentanti degli enti locali interessati, sono istituiti gli organismi per la gestione delle attività, compresa la previsione di un tavolo istituzionale per il governo complessivo degli interventi regionali e sovra regionali presieduto dal presidente della regione Lombardia pro tempore e sono stabiliti i criteri di ripartizione e le modalità di erogazione dei finanziamenti.

che in soldoni, in 7 anni scarsi, fanno

1.486.000.000 di EURO

millequattrocentoottantasei milioni di euro,

un miliardoquattrocentoottantaseimilioni di euro !

In tempi di crisi finanziara globale, rischio di recessione e conti pubblici disastrati al limite dello sfascio, in tempi in cui persino la ricca Albione tira la cinghia sui giochi olimpici per mancanza di fondi, noi andiamo a smenarci una cifra immane per l’expo. Che poi, nell’italica consuetudine, i lavori saranno consegnati in ritardo (per Torino  2006 stanno ancora finendo dei lavori adesso) e saranno soggetti ad imponderabili variazioni in corso d’opera e conseguente aumento dei costi. Si osservi la finezza: il sindaco viene nominato Commissario Straordinario, il che vuol dire che potrà agire con una libertà di movimento spaventosa in barba a ogni vincolo ambientale e sociale.

Che poi, diciamocelo: sti expo avevano un senso nell’800, quando la circolazione delle idee, dei progetti, delle informazioni era minimo e la tecnologia era un argomento che destava ancora una mistica ammirazione. Si faceva una torre Eifell, qualche bel padiglione in stile liberty e si deliziava il volgo con qualche bella invenzione tecnologica con fumo e ingranaggi a vista (cerchiamo di cogliere l’ironia, prima di criticare…).

Visto che ormai la cosa pubblica è gestita in maniera imprenditoriale, dalla scuola alla sanità o si fa utile o si taglia, vorrei vedere le previsioni di ritorno economico che hanno spinto questi signori a decidere PRIMO: che l’expo era bene farlo in Italia e SECONDO: che valeva la pena stanziare tutti sti soldi.

Il timore è che quando c’è da tirar su del cemento non si guardi in faccia nessun conto.

La historia es siempre una quimera, una reconstrucción fragmentaria y arbitraria de verdades que existieron, una selección nunca objetiva de facetas de la vida del pasado, que hoy o mañana consideramos o consideraremos más importantes.

Quimera, según mi enciclopedia preferida: la Wikipedia en su versión en español, es:

«Quimera» procede del griego Χίμαιρα Khimaira, que significa ‘macho cabrío’. Puede que tras el mito esté una batalla real contra un líder guerrero o un bandido cuyo nombre, título o símbolo tuviera que ver con el macho cabrío.

Las descripciones varían desde las que decían que tenía el cuerpo de una cabra, los cuartos traseros de una serpiente o un dragón y la cabeza de un león, hasta las que afirmaban que tenía tres cabezas: una de león, otra de macho cabrío, que le salía del lomo, y la última de dragón, que nacía en la cola. Todas las descripciones coinciden sin embargo en que vomitaba fuego por una o más de sus cabezas. Era sumamente rápida.

Como usted puede constatarlo, todas las partes pertenecen a animales reales, (salvo el dragón) pero el animal que “sale” de ese Frankestein, no lo es. Así es la historia, así es y será nuestra historia: la cubana, como por demás, la de cualquier otro pueblo.

Cuba vive hoy un estado febril en la suya. Se “construye” por estos años, la quimera que será nuestra historia en el 2015 y más allá. Entonces, cuando la historia habrá recuperado su relativa normalidad (nunca se sabe en el caso cubano si “normalidad” es una categoría más o menos permanente), la historia que se enseñará en las escuelas será muy diferente de la que hoy se enseña. Habrán llegado al poder otros hombres y necesariamente querrán “adornar” sus razones, sus motivos, sus acciones pasadas, presentes y futuras. Una vez más los vencedores escribirán la historia.

Esa es la triste constatación que el historiador responsable debe hacer y hacerse. Esa es la constante que le hemos impreso a nuestro paso por la vida los seres humanos: ser perseverantes en cometer siempre los mismos errores, porque mantenemos siempre las mismas pretensiones.

En el 2015 Cuba será un país diferente, ya no habrá Castros, ya no habrán manifestaciones en la plaza cada vez que haya que dar una demostración de “unidad”, ya seremos capaces de salir y regresar sin pedir permiso, al menos al gobierno de turno y a sus servicios represivos, ya no habrá que errar por el mundo buscando como vivir para sí y para conseguir darle un nivel de vida digno a nuestros familiares que se quedaron en la isla tratando de seguir sobreviviendo, puede que para entonces ya Cuba deje de ser un país de emigración, para volver a ser, como fue casi siempre uno de immigración.

Pero lo que no va a cambiar en el 2015 en Cuba es el sabor amargo de todos estos años gastados en una lucha extenuante y vacía para las mayorías. Ese sentimiento de haber perdido un tiempo precioso para ubicarnos a nivel individual y colectivo, entre los más avanzados del hemisferio al menos, en cuanto a parámetros de civilización, desarrollo material, teconológico, cultural, de influencia, de propuestas y de materialización de estrategias para resistir exitosamente los grandes desafíos que el cambio climático impone a zonas del mundo, como son los trópicos y en especial el Caribe.

Cuba del 2015 va a ser un país de contrastes, de serios y graves contrastes que ya hoy se perfilan cada vez más. La quimera que somos hoy y que aún puede tener aires de utopía, mañana será quimera de penumbras y de un largo purgatorio. ¿Por qué no poner fin a esa pesadilla antes?

Bientôt en français

The Defense Department is finalizing a new six-year investment proposal that makes notable changes to the military services’ program and budget plans — changes predicated on the next president supporting major increases to the Pentagon budget, reports Inside Defense.

Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England, according to Pentagon officials, is poised to issue in the next few days classified decisions that will give final shape to the Bush administration’s plan for an augmented fiscal year 2010 military budget and follow-on six-year plan.

An accelerated budget process — designed to hand the next administration’s Pentagon transition team a comprehensive FY-10 budget proposal and an FY-10 to FY-15 investment blueprint soon after the Nov. 4 election — has driven decisions in recent weeks to adjust plans for major weapon system programs and force structure. Proposed changes are detailed in internal budget documents obtained and first reported by InsideDefense.com.

Read more at Inside Defense (subscriiption required)

Thanks to Ford:

“AACHEN, Germany, October, 2008 – A century after the Model T put the world on wheels, Ford Motor Company has announced the winners of a four-month competition that challenged five universities from around the world to create a revolutionary vehicle concept for the 21st century.

The only European university to take part – the ika (Institute of Automotive Engineering Aachen) from Aachen University, Germany – has won the challenge and $25,000 in scholarship funds for delivering an innovative concept that embodied the spirit of the Model T and best met the criteria of the challenge.

The core team at the ika, consisting of eight students and engineers, developed a concept which had to meet certain requirements set by Ford: the vehicle had to be simple, lightweight, practical, and durable, offering a range of at least 200 kilometers and be able to accommodate a minimum of two passengers. Perhaps the most challenging criterion was that the base target price should not exceed $7,000.

The result is a modular vehicle concept – the Model T for the year 2015 – with an estimated base price of $6,780.

The base model is a mini-size pick-up version of a three-seater, where the passengers are accommodated next to each other. With the driver’s seat centrally located, there are no extra costs for right-hand-drive or left-hand-drive versions. Additional weight and costs can also be saved by making only the driver’s seat adjustable.

The basic vehicle weighs just 800 kilograms when ready to run but without occupants. That weight would increase if the petrol engine is combined with an electric motor to become a full hybrid vehicle, or when it is converted into a pure battery electric driven car.
Whichever method of propulsion is specified for the vehicle, this will affect the cost. For example, an electric-only system will cost double that of the standard gasoline unit. The CO2 emissions also vary between 54 and 100 grams per kilometre depending on the chosen propulsion system.

The simple flexibility of the frame structure allows for new derivatives to be developed without high investment. Through this, the concept complies with the requirement to adapt easily to different market conditions and customer demands. The vehicle even incorporates elements of Ford’s European ‘kinetic design’ form language.

“We are very proud, as the only European institute, to have been able to participate in this exciting competition. Then to top it off with winning is not only very satisfying, but also confirms that German engineers and students have the capability to compete successfully on the international stage,” said Professor Stefan Gies, managing director of the ika.
Aachen University, as well as the ika, have worked in close co-operation with Ford of Europe for many decades. In particular, they are working very intensively with the Ford Research Centre in Aachen, which is the only Ford research facility of its type outside the US. Charles Wu, the Managing Director of the Ford Research Centre congratulated Aachen University and said: “The high quality of their concept impressed us deeply and confirms that Ford of Europe has made the right choice in co-operating with such a strong and capable academic partner.”

The Ford jury also named the Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia, as second winner.” (Whoo! Go Australia! I’m also looking for the other entries right now! - ed)

Also, please tell us what you think:

Post rated C. Pentru explicaţia rating-ului, apasă AICI înainte de a citi post-ul.

Mă-ntreb dacă am depăşit punctul făr’ de întoarcere sau mai avem puţin până la el? Momentul când schimbarea climatică este iremediabilă, deşi eforturile de încetinire a încălzirii globale nu vor fi niciodată de prisos.

Spun încetinire pentru că fenomenul este, momentan, imposibil de oprit. Probabil mai avem de aşteptat cel puţin 50 de ani pentru a opri complet eliminarea gazelor cu efect de seră.

Încep să cred că nu se va mai putea reface complet clima. Sau e nevoie de minţi luminate şi voinţă de fier pentru asta.

Al Gore a lansat în vara acestui an o provocare fără precedent în SUA (şi chiar în lume), aceea ca, până în 2018, electricitatea să fie produsă 100% din surse nepoluante. Sincer, mă îndoiesc de reuşită, având în vedere anvergura proiectului său, e foarte mult într-un timp atât de scurt. Cel mai mare poluator din lume vrea să devină lider mondial incontestabil în utilizarea energiei alternative. Imaginaţi-vă ce contribuţie ar avea acest pas în încetinirea încălzirii globale. Dar de ce este singura iniţiativă de acest fel?

Tendinţa este de a accepta că schimbarea climatică este ceva anormal şi, nu în ultimul rând, că este NAŞPA. Vor fi mereu sceptici, e normal, dar numărul lor se micşorează pe zi ce trece. Timpul va rezolva şi problema aceasta, dar sper să nu fie prea târziu.

E bine să te rogi pentru mai bine şi toţi îţi vom aprecia grija şi interesul.

Dar, din păcate, rugăciunea nu va rezolva multe lucruri. Important este să acţionezi şi să vrei sincer să faci ceva. Să te ridici şi să susţii, nu neapărat să iei cuvântul.

E nevoie de poluare? Copacii ne stau în cale şi încetinesc setea noastră de dezvoltare?

România se va autoprovoca vreodată? Se va autosesiza ?

Să dau idei?

Ce-ar fi să:

• oprim şi să interzicem distrugerea spaţiului verde în oraşe până în 2012? se poate să introducem şi sancţiuni severe?
• oprim complet tăierea pădurilor din România până în 2020? (citeşte şi aici)
• să se planteze cel puţin 100 ha de copaci pe an timp de 10 ani?
• să dotăm fiecare sală de clasă din şcoli şi licee cu coşuri de gunoi pentru hârtie şi plastic pentru ca apoi să fie reciclate (până în 2015)?
• să producem cel puţin 50% din electricitate din resurse regenerabile până în 2020?*
• să dotăm cel puţin 75% din casele din mediul rural cu panouri solare până în 2025? (aici şi aici)
• să dotăm toate instituţiie de învăţământ cu panouri solare până în 2030?
• să introducem ore de “protecţia mediului”?
• să conservăm cel puţin 90% din speciile de animale şi plante din ţară până în 2025?
• să izolăm termic toate blocurile până în 2020?
• să ne asigurăm că, până în 2015, toată populaţia României este conştientă de schimbarea climatică?
• să reciclăm 90% din obiectele făcute din materiale refolosibile în 2020?
• să transmitem lumii că vrem o schimbare?
• să transformăm România în cel mai bun exemplu de luptă împotriva încălzirii globale?
• să facem ceva, concret?

*reglementările UE ne cer doar 20%

Piaccia o non piaccia, si sia sostenitori dei valori del risorgimento o sostenitori di tesi neoborboniche, si segnala “magna vox” e “urbis et orbis” che nel 2010 ricorre il 150esimo anniversario dell’unità d’Italia, i cui festeggiamenti, leggo oggi su “Il Venerdì di Repubblica“, sono considerati al pari dell’ Expo di Milano del 2015 i due grandi eventi che potrebbero contribuire a rilanciare il turismo nel nostro Paese.

“Due appuntamenti che faranno crescere l’interesse internazionale verso l’Italia“, ha detto Paolo Verri, direttore del comitato Italia 150.

A pensarci bene il 2010 è già lì dietro l’angolo, e vi è chi in tempo di vacche magre per la finanza pubblica, si affretta  a prenotare la sua piccola o grande fetta di finanziamenti per le relative celebrazioni.

A Salemi il sindaco Vittorio Sgarbi non ha mancato di fare i passi necessari  presso il ministro per i beni culturali ed il governatore della Sicilia Raffaele Lombardo, a Trapani grazie all’azione del senatore D’Alì, in nome di Garibaldi ed in ricordo della storica impresa dei Mille, nell’aprile del 2010 le Tall Ships, i maestosi velieri delle marinerie di tutto il mondo ripercorrerranno la rotta del generale e partendo da Quarto arriveranno non a Marsala ma a Trapani, così tanto per fare un ulteriore dispetto a Giulia Adamo. A Torino si pensa di prolungare i festeggiamenti all’anno successivo e riempire tutto il 2011 di iniziative.

Siamo certi che il Sindaco Marzio Bresciani e la sua giunta, memori della ricchezza ed originalità delle vicende risorgimentali castellammaresi, non mancheranno di elaborare per tempo, al fine di ottenere i relativi finanziamenti, significativi programmi per i festeggiamenti, le manifestazioni culturali e le celebrazioni.

Termino con le parole che il nizzardo rivolse alla folla dei castellammaresi che lo reclamava alle due del pomeriggio del 23 giugno 1960, affacciandosi dal balcone della Casa di Bartolomeo Asaro posta in quella che ancora era detta la “Via Maestra“:

“Brava gente, che volete che io vi dica ? … voi conoscete tutti il vostro dovere; quindi io mi taccio“.

Io non c’ero, ma gli avvenimenti che ne sono seguiti, nel gennaio del 1862, credo dimostrino che più d’uno restò deluso da quelle parole.

Well guys,

After some speculation which caused a mislead to my earlier blog posting and some well-kept secrets about the Telus/Bell plans to upgrade to GSM/HSPA, it seems that the plan will go ahead as plan - this time it’s official - but instead of dropping their CDMA networks for GSM/HSPA, the 4G/LTE network will be deployed.

I was reading through the press releases of both Bell and Telus and by reading those press releases, I realized that they are deploying the 4th Generation (4G) Long Term Evolution (LTE) network coast to coast. Thanks to their recent licences they had managed to secure during the Wireless Spectrum Auction back in May of this year (2008), it is expected that the new network will be ready by 2010. Both Bell and Telus selected Nokia Siemens and Huawei to provide the infrastrucutre that Bell and Telus will deploy. After all, it seems that both companies has the “Angels & Airwaves” on making their network to be adaptable for visitors in Canada - especially the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and the recently announced plan for Toronto to bid on the 2015 Pan Am games (which I will cover on my next blog posting).

This is spreading like wildfire! From the message boards to many blogs such as WirelessNorth.ca. The only problem is, how will other providers that run on the big players’ networks will benefit from the upgrade - especially Virgin Mobile, Koodo and Solo? It’s up to them to decide for themselves.

References:

“Vendors cheer Bell-Telus network announcement, posts unoriginal quote.” National Post. 10 October 2008. 10 October 2008. <http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fpposted/archive/2008/10/10/carriers-cheer-bell-telus-network-announcement-posts-unoriginal-quote.aspx>

“BCE and Telus announce joint network upgrade.” National Post. 10 October 2008. 10 October 2008. <http://www.financialpost.com/story.html?id=873515>

“Bell, Telus to upgrade networks.” Toronto Star. 10 October 2008. 10 October 2008. <http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/515644>

“Telus and Bell announce GSM plans for Canada - HSPA 3G networks by 2010.” IntoMobile.com. 10 October 2008. 10 October 2008. <http://www.intomobile.com/2008/10/10/telus-and-bell-announce-gsm-plans-for-canada-hspa-3g-networks-by-2010.html>

Les recomiendo este informe del IBM Institute for Biz Value http://www-935.ibm.com/services/us/index.wss/ibvstudy/imc/a1022912?cntxt=a1000043 en el que sin embargo todavía aparece un desarrollo tímido de productos y servicios innovadores.

This is World at 2022. And this is no science fiction.There will be no gadgets and humanoids in this story. No villains with powers extraordinaire. No heroes with bulging muscles fighting to save the world. In my world, only a few good men remain.
The others? The others were wiped away in the tremors felt in the first decade of this century.

Welome to today. A world where there is no one superpower. US is no more the economic hub of this world. Sometime around 2010, all Asian countries steadily but stealthily started buying gold and offloading dollar.  Made my first billion there. Its funny sometimes, you know. I dont know from where that billiom came from. Japan? China? From the pockets of some fool in Europe? Somebody who still wanted dollar hegemony. Who cared?

I bought gold. Went long. Lock,stock and barrel. By the end of 2013, gold surged by more than 1400%. I was cool. Traders frantically, were looking to get into trade. I am not one of them.I am a person who circles around an opportunity for months and years at end. Watching to grow and become full. Only to jump at it when the time is ripe. My friends called me Shark. I dont know why they called me that, but I guess it has got something to do wth the way, I hunt. I was waiting for time to start since the end of 2008. But I digress.

Asian markets fuelled the great gold ride. I was one of them. But what was to follow, will be a far higher test of personal character than what we have seen before. Not even the Great Depression, no, not the bear hug of ‘88, not even the Sub Prime Crisis! That was a tremor, an earthquake, few have imagined it. But in this the sacrifice  was of economies with weak fiscal policy. And that blood will nourish the emerging economies, African economies, BRIC country esp basically the rest of the world.

I knew, this was going to create a havoc, worldwide. A small cartel of traders were bracing up for this battle. This final battle and I was a part of it. It was a game of poker, with hands of DOUBLE or QUITS! We decided that the date it starts will be decided at the last hour. We were all part of the clique and I personally knew some of them. All were Sharks. All were BIG Sharks.

The message came, almost taking us by surprise. Some said it was too soon.But I knew only those will succeed in this who believe in shock and awe. We shorted dollar. We shorted as if there is no tomorrow. We shorted, left, right and center.Gold rush had already weakened the dollar. Now we were going to break it. At the end of 17th September 2015, we shorted not less than 30 trillion of greenback.

Asian policymakers suddenly thanked themselves for buying gold. Among other countries, India and China led the pack. Gold, the instrument they bought, surged by more than 47,300% by the end of 2015. Dollar was broken. Asians had power finally. And we were multi billionaires, trillionaires. I took my share and ran. A whopping personal wealth of 300 billion dollars!

In hindsight, it feels like perhaps it all started in 2007, when I started thinking. Ahh! it was Sub Prime Crisis. The beginning of it all!

Today media exalts me for my wealth, but at the end of it, what remains with a man is his story. I had many a one. Interesting ones, I am sure. Stories of moving with financial hunters and warriors. Incredible insights.

 I am sure,they will capture anybody’s imagination.Media often asks me about it. But those will stay with me. Forever.

A competition on core77 where you had to sketch/render a car within an hour. I posted this as my entry. It’s cool if I don’t win (the chances are slim…but chances ARE there!!!)…but the important thing is - it’s being judged by Ralph Gilles, the VP of design at Chrysler! So atleast my work will be seen by him

Check out this PDF from Nokia’s Research Center outlining their vision for mobile technologies over the next seven years. Simply put and nicely grouped, my two favourites are:

Em painel realizado nesta quarta-feira, durante o 17º Congresso Nacional de Auditoria de Sistemas, Segurança da Informação e Governança (CNSAI), evento que acontece na capital paulista, Cezar Taurion, gerente de novas tecnologias aplicadas da IBM Brasil, garante que os hábitos digitais da Geração Y devem levar ao fim do e-mail.

“Hoje, a média etária dos usuários de e-mail é de 47 anos”, revela, acrescentando que, talvez, apenas essas pessoas, que formam a geração conhecida como Baby Boomers, nascidos após o fim da Primeira Guerra Mundial, continuarão a utilizar a ferramenta.

“O e-mail deixará de existir dentro de cinco a sete anos”, profetiza Taurion. O motivo? A entrada da chamada Geração Y - constituída por jovens nascidos já na era da Internet - no mercado de trabalho.

Taurion explica que, com os jovens profissionais, chega também às empresas uma nova postura diante da Tecnologia da Informação (TI), que já é parte do dia-a-dia destes profissionais, na forma de ferramentas de colaboração como wikis, redes sociais, comunicadores instantâneos e grupos de trabalho online.

O executivo apresentou dados de uma pesquisa realizada em 2005 destacando que, já naquela época, apenas 6,3% dos jovens entrevistados consideravam inúteis as informações obtidas em blogs. “Significa que a credibilidade das novas ferramentas online é enorme”, sinalizou. Na IBM, de acordo com Taurion, já há uma série de projetos em que os participantes não mais utilizam o e-mail.

“A comunicação é muito melhor compartilhada por meio de comunidades”, garantiu o gerente de novas tecnologias aplicadas da Big Blue. “Na IBM o profissional cria o blog que desejar, sem sequer pedir autorização a ninguém”, enfatizou.

Da mesma forma, há na companhia dezenas de wikis e muitas contratações já se dão por intermédio de comunidades como o LinkedIN. E Taurion ainda deixou um recado aos profissionais da área de TI: “A área precisa acompanhar a evolução. Os profissionais de TI não podem, por questões técnicas, impedir mudanças que interferem diretamente na evolução dos negócios de uma empresa”.

Convergência Digital

The Ask Jeeves phone is due to arrive in 2015. (photoshopped by a blind monkey)

When I’m not ‘blogging’ about made-up stuff, I’m searching the globe for state-of-the-art technology. A lot of people are looking forward to the Google Phone, but I say, why have Google when you can have Jeeves? The Ask Jeeves phone hits the market in just 7 short years. Get in line, folks!

SEVERAL REASONS the ASK JEEVES PHONE RANKS ABOVE the GOOGLE PHONE:

-The Ask Jeeves phone will be touch screen on EVERY side of the phone, with fingers or tongue. That means you can dial your friends by licking the side of the phone.

-You can name your phone whatever you want. No stupid “Android” associated with it. I am going to call my phone “Jeeves” - it’s just a name that came to mind.

-The phone will replace “Please Say A Command” audio direction with “Please Say A Command Five Times Before I Can Understand It!”

Remember - 2015. The Ask Jeeves phone. The future is here, in 2015.