IRD Virtual Roundtable on Data Governance

[...Inside Reference Data gathers leading industry professionals to discuss the most successful strategies...]

Stay Aware - A Brain Teaser

Go to BrainDen.com for more brain exercises. Have fun...

You've Come a Long Way, Baby! OR Not All is What it Appears to be?

I must say, when I received the picture from a friend in 2004, I thought, "isn't it amazing that even scientists and visionaries in 1954 could not have predicted that in 2004 we would be wearing more computer power in our wrists and pocket devices!" So I filed the picture away. Today, I was about to delete the picture, but I decided to take a minute and check for any follow-up on this story. So I did a Google search on "Scientists from RAND corporation have created a model" and did find the truth.
The original story: Scientists from the RAND corporation have created this model to illustrate how a "Home Computer" could look like in the year 2004. However, the needed technology will not be economically feasible for the average home. Also the scientists readily admit that the computer will require not yet invented technology to actually work, but 50 years from now scientific progress is expected to solve these problems. With teletype interface and the FORTRAN language, the computer will be easy to use.
Now for the true story, as far as you can trust the web:
["... tracked down Troels Eklund Andersen, a sales and tech support technician for a Danish hardware and software distributor, who originally entered the image in an online photo-manipulation contest. He took a photograph of a mock submarine maneuvering room and added a 1950s-era Crosley Ridgewood TV, a 1970s Teletype, a hardware store owner from Ohio and a pseudo scientific caption. "I wasn't intending to create a believable fake," he says."]
The moral of this story of course is... don't automatically believe everything you read on the internet, or for that matter on any medium. A little skepticism can be healthy; if it is too amazing or too good to be true, you can always verify.

Brazil shifts to creditor status

I couldn’t help but feel a little pride of my old country when I first heard and later read this Bloomberg news article, see the excerpt below. Brazil, the “B” of the BRIC countries, has been on its long march to recovery away from decades of misguided policies of the 60's through the 80's to a bright future which has long been the expectation [or national hope] of every Brazilian.

This should not come as a total surprise; Goldman Sachs has published various research papers going back to 2003 predicting the growth and economic success of the BRIC countries. Read this one, it predicts that by 2050 the BRIC will be larger than the G6 economies.

The headline: Brazil shifts to creditor status - From Bloomberg News - February 22, 2008

“Brazil, the world's largest emerging-market debtor for decades, became a net foreign creditor for the first time in January.

International reserves, swelled by investment inflows and record exports of agricultural commodities and oil, probably exceeded gross foreign liabilities last month by about $4 billion, Banco Central do Brasil said Thursday….” See full story.

Eu senti orgulho de meu velho país quando eu ouvi, e mais tarde li este artigo de notícia da Bloomberg, veja o excerpt acima. Brasil, o “B” dos países BRIC, depois de décadas de recuperação das mas políticas dos 60’s aos 80’s, finalmente ve um futuro brilhante que apezar das dificuldaded é a expectativa [positiva] de todo Brasileiro.

Isto não deve ser uma surpresa; Goldman Sachs publicou vários papéis de pesquisa em 2003 que predizem o crescimento e o sucesso econômico dos países de BRIC. Leia este, ele prediz que por volta de 2050 o BRIC será maior do que as economias do G6.

Another Earthquake in Noto Hanto

Today, January 26, 2008 at 04:33 AM local time, there was another earthquake in the Noto Hanto region of Japan. This time it was not as destructive as the one in March 2007 which was magnitude 6.9. In that earthquake friends and relatives lost their houses or they were severely damaged. So you can imagine, any news of tremors in that area gets our attention. This time there we no major destructions.
To research the latest news today I went to this site http://earthquake.usgs.gov/. Through a very simple navigations, starting from a world map you can zoom in to the exact information you want.

Can Pluto Be Saved?

Vote to save Pluto. Yes, I mean the planet Pluto. Vote here http://savepluto.com/ and also here http://pleasesavepluto.org/. These are only two of many organizations and officials trying to reverse a decision taken by the IAU (International Astronomical Union) with regard the status of Pluto and like celestial bodies.
Here is some background. Sometime last year the IAU decided to change the definition of a planet. So far nothing wrong with that. The problem is the process to ratify that proposal was flawed as it excluded the great majority of the more than 9000 organizations members.
If you take a few minutes and watch the the video of the "IAU General Assembly" you will be utterly unimpressed regarding their procedures and voting fairness to their members at large. Consequently, their votes regarding Pluto is not regarded with respect by their community and the public in general. Their procedure, as you can see in the video was at best sloppy and presented, or should I say, dominated by a obnoxious lady name Virginia (did not catch her last name) bullied the audience and procedures. She also should learn to use the microphone off or mute button to avoid her bossy remarks to the president of the IAU organization from being heard by everyone. Click here for the video: http://astro2006.meta.mediastream.cz/Astro2006-060824-01.asx

Kouk Sun-Do - Graduated to the 2nd level

My Kouk Sun-Do practice now includes the second set of postures. The focus continues to be on the breading and meditation and is designed to build the psychical strength. More about Kouk Sun-Do here...

Miro Ito's Exhibit in NY - Oct. 15, 07 - Jan. 5, 08

I was happy to have the opportunity to meet Miro the other day. In this exhibition Miro's talents bring together my appreciation for photographic art, Japanese culture and these uncommon dance art forms.
"Miro Ito's unique presentation contrasting two of Japan's most outstanding performing arts: Noh and Butoh . This artistic and contemplative type of photographic work accentuates the quintessential quality of Noh and Butoh : strong powers of concentration and subtle yet profound aesthetics of performance, with each and every move reflecting something invisible transcending the body."

IMAGINE PEACE TOWER, a Dream Come True

A dream you dream alone is only a dream
A dream you dream together is reality
Yoko Ono
Imagine all the people living life in peace
John Lennon

Visit http://www.imaginepeace.com/, leave your well wishes there.
What is IMAGINE PEACE? The biggest online peace event.
On October 9th 2007, John Lennon's birthday.
IMAGINE PEACE as Yoko Ono unveils the IMAGINE PEACE TOWER in REYKJAVIK, Iceland.

Having problems finding the people you know?

Spock.com wants to be the leading people search application on the web. Lets wish them good luck. It is not always easy to find people in the likes of Google. Try it! If you can not find yourself and claim a pre-existing profile, you can create one yourself. Help your friends find you.