Sunday 29 May 2011

Must watch/read: @IFSTnews Lecture 2011 Food Security and the Impact of Science and Technology by Sir.David King: http://bit.ly/isFHeJ

Food Events:

Must watch/read..

"Consumption of natural resources, including fresh water, food, oil and minerals, is happening at a rate far faster than they can be replenished or replaced by natural processes. The mismanagement of other resources, in particular the atmosphere, land and oceans, means that the ecosystem services required from the Earth for a population of 9 billion are being rapidly eroded.

Climate change provides the biggest challenge that our civilization has yet had to face up to, since it requires a collective response of the global population to mitigate the effect. We will also need to manage the growing impacts upon our societies. If these challenges are not future-proofed, enforced environmental migrations coupled with growing health, food, energy, mineral and water challenges will lead to widespread conflict by mid-century between developed, rapidly emerging and developing nations. The socio-political challenges in directing the necessary collective responses are beyond anything previously managed. Meeting these challenges will require a global cultural and technological transformation on much the same scale as the Renaissance or the Industrial Revolution, coupled with the development of a widespread understanding of the need to adapt and strengthen global governance procedures. "

Music Power 100: The full list | Music | guardian.co.uk

Music Power 100: The full list | Music | guardian.co.uk

Interesting list indeed!

Tuesday 24 May 2011

My cheeky comments re Dorsey's Square tries to eliminate the card swipe by bringing back the tab - Fortune Tech

Dorsey's Square tries to eliminate the card swipe by bringing back the tab - Fortune Tech

This is a good start in the right direction, sadly it still does not address:

1.) if something goes wrong, whose fault is it?? (e.g. if PIN is supposedly used to authorise, it is automatically the card holder's fault, despite the risk of system being hacked.. who hold the hot cake if something goes wrong in this new Square model?? someone tell us? )

2.) identity, erm, guess anyone that take my iPhone (no, I am not a lemming yet, and do not own any apple products) with the square payment can buy small things to their heart's content? or is it intelligent enough to stop the card being used to buying multiple tens of packets of cigarettes from various shops? or is it just a dumb pipe system?

3.) as mentioned already, adoption would be enhanced greatly if the business model is competitive, but if the % fee is still similar to the incumbents (most likely will stay that way).. then it is just playing balls with hopes to be fully bought by the big duopoly players.. of course, nothing wrong with that, that is the game after all..

all in all, guess it might not affect us much unless and until we have some end to end revolution that has a business model that works and it is stupid simple enough for joe blog and secure enough that hopefully data is 200% secure and stored locally rather than centrally? I guess I have a solution but sadly no time nor big VCs to fund us as we are not based in silicon valley nor are we under 20/30s.. oh well, good luck Jack. ;-)

MustRead:need 'something more' the 'higher mission' in life: Three Traits Every CEO Needs - Justin Menkes - The Conversation - Harvard Business Review

Three Traits Every CEO Needs - Justin Menkes - The Conversation - Harvard Business Review

Brilliant article, totally agree..

Its that 'something more'.. the 'higher mission' in life and mission that differentiate us.

MUST Read!


===

To perform their best in today's turbulent atmosphere, leaders must possess this highly unusual set of three traits that often run counter to natural human behavior. These attributes are catalysts for the mastery displayed by the world's best CEOs — and, together, they add up to a new definition of leadership:

  1. Realistic optimism. Leaders with this trait possess confidence without self-delusion or irrationality. They pursue audacious goals, which others would typically view as impossible pipedreams, while at the same time remaining aware of the magnitude of the challenges confronting them and the difficulties that lie ahead.
  2. Subservience to purpose. Leaders with this ability see their professional goal as so profound in importance that their lives become measured in value by how much they contribute to furthering that goal. What is more, they must be pursuing a professional goal in order to feel a purpose for living. In essence, that goal is their master and their reason for being. They do not ruminate about their purpose, because their mind finds satisfaction in its occupation with their goal. Their level of dedication to their work is a direct result of the extraordinary, remarkable importance they place on their goal.
  3. Finding order in chaos. Leaders with this trait find taking on multidimensional problems invigorating, and their ability to bring clarity to quandaries that baffle others makes their contributions invaluable.

Monday 23 May 2011

lets look for our own 'meaning of life' & !relationships'.. A New Gauge Helps to See What’s Beyond Happiness - NYTimes.com

A New Gauge Helps to See What’s Beyond Happiness - NYTimes.com

Great insights..

lets look for 'meaning of life' & !relationships'..

Must read, click through above link! abstract below,

====

“People find meaning in providing unconditional love for children,” writes Dr. Brooks, who is now president of the American Enterprise Institute. “Paradoxically, your happiness is raised by the very fact that you are willing to have your happiness lowered through years of dirty diapers, tantrums and backtalk. Willingness to accept unhappiness from children is a source of happiness.”Some happiness researchers have suggested that parents delude themselves about the joys of children: They focus on the golden moments and forget the more frequent travails. But Dr. Seligman says that parents are wisely looking for more than happy feelings.

“If we just wanted positive emotions, our species would have died out a long time ago,” he says. “ We have children to pursue other elements of well-being. We want meaning in life. We want relationships.”

In observing people’s need for accomplishment, Dr. Seligman says, he’s reminded of his early experiments that famously identified the concept of “learned helplessness.” He found that when animals or people were given a series of arbitrary punishments or rewards, they stopped trying to do anything constructive.

.... more via above link.

Sunday 15 May 2011

my short comments/blog on Chromebook Preview | Ubergizmo

Chromebook Preview | Ubergizmo

It make perfect sense, and yes, 'once adopted' it would change the world, as google would like to often... more likely for business and enterprises where I guess it is geared for.. as 'control', security and prevention of data loss is key.

therefore, for these people, and the owner of the business particularly, the price tag is in fact cheaper than most of their present models for the 'road warriors'...

however, it would still need to change the business processes AND the human 'cultural & habitual inertia'.. which might take longer to adjust.. as PC & MAC users are used to store things locally on the device..

and it is purely impractical for countries that do not have universal wireless and wired internet.. so, sadly its also geographically limited!

However, it might be a good step in the right direction, time will tell! ;-)

GarethWong

Saturday 14 May 2011

My comments re: Visa Makes Square Bet

Visa Makes Square Bet


Is it making a 'bet'? or is it 'looking for viable options'??

contactless AND mobile is definitely the way to go.. but

sadly it is mostly driven not by what users' need (so far), as there is still standards & fractions war.. and those already implemented by major players 'may have' major security issues, see:


Therefore, I would say they are doing any good business is doing.. buying 'an option' for the future that 'might work'... who knows, right?

@GarethWong

Monday 9 May 2011

since 5yrs old child took on role of taking care of household in Gui zhou, China 贵州留守儿童钟旺:5岁背起家庭生活重担-20100605走读大中华-视频--凤凰宽频--凤凰网

贵州留守儿童钟旺:5岁背起家庭生活重担-20100605走读大中华-视频--凤凰宽频--凤凰网

this is the reality of 'migrant' economy of China, where some young children are left at home to be head of family back in their village..

very touching story of a young girl now 8years old, took care of her little brother and disabled grandpa (he looked pretty able to me, especially as he ate what the little girl cooked!)

tough life..