You are welcome Yoav for thanking me for blogginig regularly. Let me return my thanks to Yoav and Matti who reintroduced blogging back to my life again. I am not an eloquent or prolific writer, but I have found blogging conducive to improving my writing skills. I have also discovered blog as a good way to share my life and thoughts to others, especially my friends. No more repeating the same story any more, I just tell my friends to read my blog. Furthermore, with blogging my thoughts are captured at the moment I write my blog.

The schoolworkload has been very light this weekend, I was able to finish my ERBA homework and put in some hours to my professional work. My friend, Joanna is in town and so a few of us went to Legal Sea Foodsfor dinner and followed by attending a party organized mainly by BU students at Tantric. I felt really happy for Joanna who will be graduating from U of Chicago buisness school this summer and marrying Zack this fall. I will be booking a flight to Detroit (Rock City) to attend the wedding very soon.

2/12/2005 2:44:14 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Comments [13]

Blog

Dan Ariely taught the Friday session of Innovation in the Marketplace class, which I found to be one of the most interactive class so far. He really engaged the students, especially the distance students in class discussion, which unfortunately Sky (our classmate) was busted for dozing when he asked him a question. But to the distance students' defense, the volume and latency of the class broadcast are known to be badand Sky may not have heard the question clearly. Nonetheless, we covered a lot in a 3 hour session, which can be summed up in the following:

• Frame the question right and ask it at the right time and place (aka my stupid remark of the day).
• Intel has created something that the customers dont feel directly yet we want to buy Intel products because the product where the chip is used is labeled as "Intel Inside". Ah... the power of branding.
• If there was no need or potential need there was no way to create a product, but finding need can be very hard.

A few of us went to Muddy Charles after class; unfortunately Matti was turned down by the bouncer who requested for I.D. for proof of being 21 or over. As you can see, Matti is Finnish and being relatively new to this country he does not have a driver license, which in the U.S.A. that's our only source of identification that can be carried in a wallet. So for Matti to get into any bar inthe U.S. he has to carry his passport with him, which I think it's utterly stupid. Both Yoav and Matti were right, if one can vote at 18, why not has the right to consume alcohol? But Matti's argument is that the bouncer should be able to see that he is over 21. So how about it? Should a bouncer use good judgment or is the proof of identity required at all times to determine one's age?

Anyway, after consuming 3 glasses of beer, I went to the Z-center and worked out with Cenkhan. I was doing much better with my running that night. Eventually, I need to start incorporating swimming and running to my weekly exercise if I am going to sign up for a triathlon this summer. This is a tall order (don't give me grief if I don't end up doing a triathlon). There isso much to do but so little time.

2/11/2005 2:42:34 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Comments [13]

School

I realized I have been quoting Yoav in my last few blogs but what the heck. Well for our 15.980/ESD.936 - Product Design & Development (PDD) class, we had selected a team of 7 people to design, develop, and market a product that is based out of Yoav's proposed idea. The team will be given $1,000 that can be spent on the design and fabrication of the product, which will become the final project for this class. This is going to be an exciting and fun class.

Finally, I am in agreement with Yoav on something. I agree with Yoav on the guest speaker at Thursday's thesis seminar. I wished that he would have skipped the first half of his talk on the World Wide Web and Web Service, and go right into RFID, which I find fascinating. But to Professor John Williams's credit, he was able to explained Web Service eloquently to the people who has not been involved in Information Systems. Even though I have been using C# and .NET professionally to implement enterprise web and desktop solutions at my work place, I get uncomfortable when faculty members show strong bias towards commercial programming language like C#, Visual Basic, Delphi and even Java (well unless SUN relinquish control of Java to the open standard/source community, it's still a commercial product IMHO).

2/10/2005 2:40:45 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Comments [16]

School

I went to the MIT 50k competition kick-off event last night. For those of you who dont know what the 50k competition is, it is a competition at MIT where students form teams to propose an idea or product (often the result of some research on campus)that has huge business potential. Teams with the best business plan wins. Entrants get to meet venture capitalists and other industry contacts that may fund or help launch entrants' own companies. In fact, 50k competition has given birth to some very successful companies in past, like Akamai, net.Genesis, Virtmed, etc. I didn't have any agenda going to the 50k event other than checking it out. There were 2 guest speakers that night who talked about the do's and don'ts of entrepreneurship. One was the co-founder of net.Genesis and the other the found of NewMerix and Service Metrics. There were also a few venture capitalists that night, although I didn't get the chance to talk to them. But seriously, it wasn't as extravagant as it sounds. It was my first experience in such event and I found the atmosphere to be very causal and cordial. To my surprise, you don't have to have a great idea to participate in 50k. Is like this, people match up with people who complements their own skills and talents. Diversity is critical to any successful enterprise. Every team member of an enterprise contributes something important, people with big ideas or vision will look for people of other talents and vice versa. I was surprised that a few people talked to me regarding opportunities in forming a team but I doubt I have the time for it. However, I am definitely looking forward to the 50k competition in the fall. This should give me the whole summer to think about the next big idea.

2/10/2005 2:32:10 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Comments [17]

Entrepreneurship

I thought if I had most of the difficult questions in my ESD.72 Engineering Risk & Benefit Analysis (ERBA) homework done, I would have more free time that night. I was wrong. I drafted the homework solutions on scratch papers and they weren't in a presentable format. So I literally have to spend a lot of time cleaning and rewriting the solutions onto a more presentable form. I started working on the homework at 1am after slacking off at the Z-center, talking to my mother,and adding "Steal These Buttons" on my blog. I thought I would finish the problem set by 2pm. Well, I didn't go to bed till 5am again, thanks to the ball-busting task of expanding an 8th order factorized polynomial equation problem, which I ended spendinga lot of time on. For those of you who have not attempted this before, it is both stupid and senselessly time-consuming. In any case, I overslept and went to the ERBA class late. Worse, I didn't actually get to finish expanding the ridiculously long polynomial equation till 1 hour after class. The TA was a little stern and expressed dissatisfaction when I submitted my homework even an hour late. He warned that he will penalize any late submission in the future. Yikes!

Nonetheless, I find todays ERBA lecture interesting. The professor talked about Bayesian probability and how it can be applied to help make important decision, in particular the choice of doors in an execution room to open so that you wont get electrocuted. Unlike my classmate Yoav, I do find ERBA interesting. In fact, I have found it interesting enough that I signed up for the 12-unit full version of ERBA instead of the 9-unt abridged version of the same class that the SDM students are required to take. Let me finish this blog and get an early shut-eye tonight. Yawn...

2/9/2005 2:31:15 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Comments [17]

School

I think System Optimization is now my favorite class this semester. The professor in this class, David Simchi-Levi promotes active discussions during his lectures. The material also relates very well to the nature of my professional work, which is operations management and decision support. Regretfully, I didn't pay too much attention in his class today since I only got less than 3 hours of sleep last night. I didn't get to sleep till 5am last night as I tried to finish the assignment for this class, which was due at the end of the class. I made some irreversible revisions to the model that I needed to optimize, consequently screwing my entire model. Anyway, thanks to Uday who gracefully helped me to rectify the problem, I was able to complete the homework by the end of the lecture.

Yahoo! I actually got the homework for Engineering Risk & Benefit Analysis (ERBA) done before 4pm today. With the free time that I got, which doesn't come often these days, I went to the Zesiger center to workout. Since coming to MIT, I have lost count of the number times I came here to work out. This is a beautiful fitness facility, which I thought was 10 times better than the health gym that I was with before coming to MIT. I did some running, lifting, and stretching at the Z tonight. My ankle is doing much better now than a month ago and I slowly ramping up my running to prepare for some races in spring and summer. In my desire todo a triathlon this summer, I just joined the MIT triathlon yesterday to participate in their training programs. Right now, I handling my studies, work, sports, and social activities quite well but I don't how long I can hold up. We'll see, stay tuned...

2/8/2005 2:07:38 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Comments [17]

School

My good buddy, Brian Squibb decided to quit his high-paying job in San Francisco and started traveling around the world. He just emailed me the link to his travel blog. Let's see what misadventures he can find.

Not to be outdone by Brian, I started my own travel blog. The only problem is that I am currently stuck in Cambridge, Massachusetts attending school. I need to start filling that blog soon. Yes, I know I have to get a better picture than the one that is currently on my travel blog.

2/8/2005 2:06:53 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Comments [12]

Blog

First of all, it's official the New England Patriots is officially a dynasty for winning 3 superbowls in 4 years. Go Pats! But then again, isnt it a little premature to call the team a dynasty now? Don't get me wrong, the Patriots is a team to beat and they have proven with its impeccable record. However, shouldn't dynasty be used in a historical context?

Anyway, other than seeing the Patriots win, I thought the Superbowl last night was the worst Superbowl that I have ever watched. First of all, the half-time show was the lamest I have ever seen. I have always held high esteem for Paul McCartney, but I think we need more extravagance in the half-time show. I will tell you why Janet Jacksons show last year was the best Superbowl half-time show of all time. No, it wasnt her bare breast, but rather if you think about people are still talking about the half-time show a year later. From a marketing point of view, thats success. Speaking of marketing, the Superbowl commercials were the worst I have ever seen. With the exception of the Budweiser: "Salute to soldiers", Budweiser: "Designated Driver featuring Cedric", Tabasco sauce, and Toyota Primus commercials, the other commercials didnt really leave an impression on me. Honorary mention for the worst commercial I have seen goes to the Frito Lay commercial featuring M.C. Hammer. It's simply awful.

2/7/2005 2:05:55 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Comments [12]

Rants

I would like to start off today with a quote that goes like this:

That until the philosophy which holds one race superior and another inferior is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned;
That until there are no longer first-class and second class citizens of any nation;
That until the color of a man's skin is of no more significance than the color of his eyes;
That until the basic human rights are equally guaranteed to all without regard to race;
That until that day, the dream of lasting peace and world citizenship and the rule of international morality will remain but a fleeting illusion, to be pursued but never attained...

Do you know where I got the quote from? If you guessed Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia’s speech to the United Nation in 1963, you are correct. However, if you guessed Bob Marley you are also correct as the words were popularized in a song called War by him. Bob Marley would have been 60 today; I would like to dedicate this blog to honor a great musician whose music I have come to love. To find out more about the music, life, and convictions of Bob Marley, I did a search in Wikipedia and found this "must-read" article about Bob Marley. Here are some interesting facts I have found about Bob Marley:

• Bob Marley and I share the same birthday - Feb 6th.
• Bob Marley was a devoted Rastafarian. His actions and lyrics about Rastafarianism have been intentional to bring the religion to world attention. For instance, the association with Haile Selassie was no coincidence. Rastafarianism takes its name from Ras (Prince or Duke) Tafari Makonnen, Haile Selassie's name until he was crowned emperor of Ethiopia in 1930. The faith predicted that a new king with the power of God would rise out of Africa. There are many Rasta terms that are used regularly in Bob Marley’s songs, including Babylon that refers to the white patriarchy that has been oppressing the black race for centuries through economic and physical slavery; I and I is a complex term that referes to the oneness of Jah (God) and every human; Zion refers to either Ethiopia or the whole continent of Africa. Read here for more information on Rastafarianism
• If you haven't noticed, the colors of Rastafarianism is the same as the colors of the flag of Ethiopia
• Finally, Redemption Song is my favorite Bob Marley song, but I have never fully understand the meaning of the song until I searched the Internet for more information. Do you know that Redemption Song was the last track on Bob Marley's final album, Uprising. It was also the last song performed at Marley's final concert. Redemption Song has a spiritual message and is devoid of any Reggae tone (in fact, the only Bob Marley song that is not reggae). The spiritual theme of the song was probably the result of his struggle with cancer. When Bob writing this song in 1979, he was already in a lot of pain from the cancer he was diagnosed earlier. Redemption Song is about his struggle with cancer and his dealing with his mortality. In the song, he urges people that true freedom is only attained by freeing themselves from their self-imposed mental shackles, as clearly shown in this line of the song - "Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery". As a metaphor, this song decries racism and celebrates freedom from oppression.

Source: Wikipedia

2/6/2005 1:57:08 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Comments [14]

Music

Thanks go out to the following people who reminded me that I am a year older now: Blanche, Brian, Bruce, Eimear, Fanny, Hanri, Karine, Matt, Mike, Milt, and Wacek.

I got a good treat from the crowd at Bombay Club and later Redline at Harvard Square, Cambridge last night.

So my thoughts on getting 1 year older? I have really tried not to think about my age since my 30th birthday. To me, it's just another day, REALLY. Man of my age should be living the suburbs, taking junior to the minor, mowing the lawn, and taking that 8 hour road trip with the family to visit the in-laws. Nope, I think mentally I am still going 25 - yeah I have going 25 for almost a decade now. I am slowly realizing that I am not really 25 despite my mental state and behavior. Well, I don't run as fast as I did when I was 25. It certainly hurts a lot more now than it did 9 years ago. So slow down and stop breaking my body.

2/6/2005 1:24:30 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Comments [10]

Social

I can't believe that I was doing homework on a Friday night. The good news is, I am done with the assignment for System Optimization. It took me 3 hours to formulate a system model that I need to optimize but once the model is established, the rest of the assignment became quite easy to do.

I plan on completing the assignment for Engineering Risk & Benefit Analysis (ERBA) by today so that I can go for my birthday party that Eimear had organized tonight. Alright time to hit the books now.

2/5/2005 1:23:30 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Comments [13]

School

As a SDM student, I take classes at MIT Sloan School of Business and MIT School of Engineering. This is a generalization from my observation of the classes that I have attended so far at MIT, but I see a pattern emerging here. I have found that there is a difference in presentation, discussion style, and most of personality between students at MIT Sloan and students at the rest of the MIT campus. Let's start off with attire. Sloan students definitely got the polished look. Most students at Sloan are dressed up. Students at the rest of MIT belong are part of the blue jeans culture. Even the professors are different, professors at Sloan typically wear suit and tie, non-Sloan professors on the other hand are causally dressed sometimes even scruffy. At Sloan, students usually draw from their experience when participating in class discussion. At the rest of MIT, sutdents who are usually younger, are more precise and curious in their discussion. Last but not least, since almost all management classes are structured as class discussions, there are a lot of interaction among students and the teaching staff in the class. At non-Sloan classes, I have found that there are much fewer opportunities for ineraction. This is a CRUDE OBSERVATION since I have only been at MIT for a month.

2/3/2005 1:23:01 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Comments [14]

School