What I have learned today [2015/6/10]

1. FIFA pays more than hedge fund. Wow...really...We really need to demand reforms in FIFA. Thank You USA for helping bringing it down.

2. Benz is the most popular car featured in raps. They have Tesla but no Prius. Thought it was funny.

3. Microsoft's Surface is cool and will likely raise productivity. Just amazing to see Microsoft getting back in the game.

4. Mold produces various pigment to protect itself? Well, we actually don't know yet. Just interesting. We really need more research.

5. Anomalies in the market come and go as investor exploit the inefficiency but then abandon after the strategy is not so profitable. In essence, always leave when things are hot and come back when it comes down. Yup, be a contrarian.



*From Floating Forests

What I have learned today [2015/5/5]

1. Microsoft may acquire Salesforce.com. Hmm...First Salesforce is known for not really making money and paying employees by options and Microsoft is known for bad acquisitions including Skype. Thus, the deal is not likely to be great...

2. TOMS shoes combines charity and business. I admire their mission but I wonder if they are distributing the shoes efficiently. If they give the shoes to the same region every time then people would appreciate less. Also, do they modify the shoes so they last longer in developing nations?

3. McDonald stores in Australia are selling gourmet burgers. Wow...McDonald never ceases to amaze me. I still remember how McDonald turned itself around with healthier menus and coffee!! Wow, if this is the future, I am all for it :D


4.  Only 17% of California homeowners have earthquake insurance. Hmmm...given the recent tremors, may be we should get the earthquake insurance.

5. Cigarettes are the most commonly found trash in oceans. We can solve this by further raising cigarette prices by including the clean up cost. We should also have a challenge in making degradable cigarettes.  Yes, heavily fining litterers work as well.




*From Penguin Watch

What I have learned today [2015/4/29]

1. Microsoft shows that augmented reality is here. The technology came a far way and yet need to go further. But the possibilities are immense. We won't have to travel as much to meet and talk to people. Giving online classes would be much more fun and interactive. Also, it would be much easier to describe and talk about objects. Awesome.

2. Algorithm can detect drunkenness. This technology could help detect number of drunk people in the streets and prevent crime. Police could be dispatched to send the drunk people home safely and make sure that they don't do anything stupid.


3.Oregon challenged breweries to make beer using treated sewage water. Yup, beer was made because water was unsafe to drink back in the day. Pretty clever idea ^^

4. Reading a textbook on Kindle is No No. The screen is too small and the figures are a bit off.

5. Soon warehouse operations will be mainly run by robots. Lower costs and more efficiency but the we really need to think about training the displaced low skilled workers.




*From Penguin Watch