I just signed up for Ucash.in, created by the folks behind Flixya. The idea is that you can turn links into cash, because they show ads– either with frames or intermissions– and split the revenue with you. I’d often wondered if services like TinyURL could do something like this. Take a look at Ucash.in, and sign up for free. Continue reading ‘Turn links into cash? Ucash.in Review’
Archive for January, 2008
Persistence means to never stop trying. You cannot stop. Make a mistake, do something. Some people plan it out, decide they can’t get past a certain roadblock, and they stop and drop.
You must always remember that necessity is the mother of invention, and that when people have to come up with an idea, they will. Preparation means opportunity. When in doubt, just do it. Don’t be afraid of failure. Continue reading ‘Wisdom from the CEO of Sketchers’
I mentioned to my friend Henry today that I’d like to be a professor, and he said he could see me as one. I think it’s a lovely job, with the benefits of being part of a university community– like I have as a student now– plus the opportunity to have a positive impact on students.
I listened to an interview with YouMail CEO Alex Quilici. It’s really excellent, I recommend giving it a listen. He mentions that being a university professor today is good practice for being an entrepreneur. If you think about it, professors nowadays have to be very entrepreneurial if they’re going to be good. They apply for research grants and have to sell other people on their ideas, to get new areas to explore.
Mark Redekopp proves to me it can be done and doesn’t take forever. He’s quite young (I think) and yet he’s a highly respected professor already. Continue reading ‘I Want to be a Professor’
On my birthday, Apple released a new software update for iPhone. Thankfully, it’s free. Apple really does treat their iPhone users well 
My band’s name is Graptopetalum Paraguayense, my album’s name is People To Go On, and here’s my album art:
Here’s how to make your own… Continue reading ‘My Jam Band’
Apple announced today (my birthday the release of the MacBook Air, which they claim is the world’s thinnest notebook. What I’d like to know is: what was the thinnest notebook before today?
The MacBook Air is 0.76″ at its thickest point. There is a hard drive option (80 GB 1.8″ hard drive) and flash memory drive option (64 GB), which would make it the first mainstream OS X computer running on flash memory. I suppose you can count the iPhone, but it’s not really a full-blown computer.
Since the new laptop doesn’t have an optical drive, you can use a new product called “Time Capsule” with it to backup files wirelessly. Time Capsule is a wireless router with a 500 GB or 1 TB hard drive, which looks like the Apple TV and will probably be a popular accessory for the MacBook Air.
Overall, the MacBook Air reminds me of the canceled Palm Foleo. I’d like to get an Air when the price comes down. Or would someone like to give me a review unit? Update: The X300 seems more suited to me. Continue reading ‘MacBook Air: World’s Thinnest Notebook’
Yesterday, Ron Paul posted this:
Did you see that funny YouTube where Mike Huckabee’s young Iowa spokesman endorsed me, “by mistake”? We know what was in his mind! Indeed, I am amazed at the friendliness of the supporters of other candidates. Many Obama voters, for example, in Iowa and New Hampshire are reading our literature, and studying our ideas. It’s just one of the reasons I am so optimistic about what we are doing, and where we are heading. And so were the 500 or 600 people at our New Hampshire rally after the primary. I talked to everyone there, and they are rightly enthusiastic about our movement.
My answer was, “No, I didn’t see that YouTube.” So I searched for it. And it took longer than I expected, although I did eventually find it. To save you some time, here it is:
Yesterday, I talked with my friend Steven. We’ve been friends for many, many years. However, he has selected a much different path than mine, and we haven’t talked much recently. The main thing that struck me from our conversation is that he doesn’t know what to do with his life. What to spend his time on, what kind of job to get, what kind of life to live. He’s taking some time off from school, and it’s mainly for the purpose of finding a job. But he has only vague ideas of the job he’s seeking. My impression was that he needed motivation.
I recently picked up this small booklet from a local Target retailer. It was a great read, especially for a disorganized person like me. (Note, though, that organization is learned, not inherited.) A good portion of the book talks about setting very specific plans, missions, and goals for cleaning up and organizing. Why do they spend so much time on such trivial talk, when they could instead be getting down to the nitty gritty techniques that really make a difference? (These techniques are also included.) Continue reading ‘Life is nothing without goals: 2008′
Tonight I watched the Presidential Debates on ABC. The revolutionary thing about the debate is that it was closely tied with Facebook and the “US Politics” application. I’ve mentioned it before, but it’s worth saying again: the Facebook Platform is a winner, and Facebook is now the #1 way for college students to socialize online. They also published “thoughts” from random people throughout the debate. One person said it was interesting that the only candidate not referred to by last name is a woman. Well, duh: her husband has already been president, and using her last name would just be confusing.
I don’t think the candidates got to see the Facebook poll results while they were debating, but it’s worth noting that the Economy was, by far, the main issue people wanted to hear more about.
One thing I found very interesting is that almost every presidential candidate cites the internet as being crucial to their success. Yet the only one who has received genuine, grassroots online support is Ron Paul. At this moment, there are 806 active users discussing him on the Ron Paul Forums. He has 37.31% support on Facebook (versus 6% in the ABC News Poll), which is far ahead of Mike Huckabee, who is in second place with 17.87%.
Most of Ron Paul’s supporters are young people and independents, which means they have never voted before or they are not registered Republicans. This means they are not included in phone polls, like the one ABC News probably did.
On Nov 5, 2007, Ron Paul supporters raised $4.3 million in a single day, and then raised over $6 million in another 1-day drive on Dec 16th (Wikipedia). That’s seriously solid proof that people like his message of freedom, non-interventionism, and sound monetary policy. He is the only politician I know of who is trying to abolish the Federal Reserve (Ron Paul on the falling value of the dollar). The above poll shows that Facebook users want to hear more about the Economy, and that’s exactly what Ron is delivering.
But I’ve written about Ron Paul before. So tonight I’m going to focus some more on Mike Huckabee. Continue reading ‘Jan 5 Presidential Debates by ABC: Mike Huckabee’
To US consumers, that is. The “Give 1 Get 1″ program ended on December 31, 2007. So now that it’s over, and at least hundreds of thousands of Americans have tried it out, what do people think?
My OLPC on an extremely messy desk
The Economist says it’s “One clunky laptop per child.” At least they’ve managed to attract attention with the article: they got me to read it! It’s a negative review, so let’s take a look at exactly what they say, along with my response. [I originally wrote this as a wall post to Sam Park, who linked me to the article. It's long enough that I'd like to repost it here.]
Economist: “Great idea. Shame about the mediocre computer … This is not because the keys are too small for his adult hands (though they are), or because the processor’s slow speed makes the machine frustrating to use (though it does). Nor is it because the track pad sometimes goes screwy and the keys lack the normal pressed-key response that allows smooth typing. It isn’t even because moving the column from the word-processing application to the web-mail system is prohibitively difficult.
Instead, it is because the XO, which your columnist has explored since it arrived a few days before Christmas, has bugs that cause occasional crashes. A discreet message sometimes flashes when the system boots up, warning of some sort of data-check error.”
Me: The OLPC isn’t done yet. As the article conceded, the hardware issues were NOT the main problem. His trouble was the software, which can be fixed in future revisions. The hardware isn’t easily changeable, so that’s what must be done right. And they’ve done it right: it’s a laptop designed for children, but can work for adults. Continue reading ‘One Laptop Per Child No Longer Available’
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