Sweet... My thesis advisor finally signed my revised thesis proposal earlier today. This means that I can now officially start working on my thesis. However, the revised thesis is bittersweet. I am thrilled to be working on a thesis that applies System Thinking and Chaos Theory to a management and policy context - a topic befitting for an MIT thesis. On the other hand, the work required to complete this thesis is daunting. There will be substantial literature review, research, analyses, and syntheses in the process.

I have already started reviewing relevant literature for the thesis project. What I really need to do now is to start writing summaries for all the books, articles, and journals that I have read. I think writing abstracts of reviewed literature is a key part of the thesis research process. It will help me tremedously when I start writing my thesis later this Fall. To facilitate the literature abstract writing process, I have ordered the academic version of Endnote earlier today. Unfortunately, the software is backordered for another 2 weeks.

My friend, Yoav, introduced me to the concept of using a wiki to facilitate thesis research and writing. A wiki will enable me to add notes or ideas for my thesis. Even better, a wiki can help solicit valuable feedback from other people who may offer further insights or different viewpoints to my thesis. Alright, I will create a wiki tomorrow.

6/22/2006 3:26:14 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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School

The acronym KISS traditionally expands to "keep it simple, stupid." But I have a new definition for it and it's "keep it short, stupid." That's right, the KISS (keep it simple, stupid) principle should be applied to any communication. One thing that I have observed that is consistent among all bad presentations that I have delivered or seen while studying at MIT is that they are often too long. According to this BusinessWeek article, 15 minutes is the length of the average attention span for most people. That's right, less is more.

Yet, time and time again, I have neglected the mantra of keeping it short in my communication (writing and presentation) and ended up with some dismal performances. But I learn; after much reflection, I think I know where my weaknesses are. Sure, I can always improve on my showmanship during a presentation. But more importantly, I need to resist adding unnecessary content to presentation and recognize that it is perfectly okay to cross out extra content. So I need to strive for clarity and brevity in any communication.

6/21/2006 11:04:38 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Personal

To me, the whole notion of System Thinking is motivated by the phrase: "The whole is more than sum of its parts." In other words, System Thinking seeks not only to understand the parts that make up the system but also the interactions that bind these parts together to become the whole system. I will talk more about System Thinking later in my blog since I will be writing a thesis on applying System Thinking to gain additional insights to a Disruptive Technology phenomenon.

One of the challenges of my thesis is to tackle the question on why so many business strategies generate disappointing results or failure? Sometimes, well-intended policies lead to results that differ drastically or are often opposite from their original objectives. Furthermore, in a business environment or in a public policy context, organizations need to embrace change in order to be competitive or successful. Only by understanding how changes take place can we prepare for the consequences and to generate sensible strategies and policies. This is where System Dynamics, a version of System Thinking, comes into play by providing a set of frameworks and tools that examines feedback loops in a dynamic system, be it social, economic, organizational, or business.

This summer, I am taking a course on System Dynamics at MIT. The course is taught by Prof. J. Bradley Morrison, an adjunct professor at MIT Sloan and an assistant professor at Brandeis Univesity. I took the same course last summer before I dropped it by the third week as I couldn't stand sitting through the entire three hour long class session. Even though I have written very positively about System Dynamics in this blog entry, the subject is nonetheless dry and mechanic. To get me through a System Dynamics class, I need someone who is not only animated and articulated, but engages actively with the class. Prof. Morrison does all of the above very well. He doesn't speak in a monotonous voice (a good start) and engages in lively discussions with the class with keen interest in listening from students on how System Dynamics relates to their professional experiences. In comparison, I like this year's System Dynamics course much better than last year's course. Besides, how can I go wrong in taking a class that has direct relevance to my thesis.

6/20/2006 12:41:07 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Business

Nice... my favorite TV show - The Daily Show - is now available from iTunes.

6/20/2006 12:00:16 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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The Daily Show

This weekend has been pretty awesome. Last Friday, I watched Nacho Libre, a movie about a Mexican monk (played by Jack Black) who desire to become a Lucha Libre. I find the movie amusing and funny and was laughing throughout it. But compared to Jack Black's previous movies, Nacho Libre falls in the middle of the road - not as good as School of Rock but still better than Shallow Hal. Nonetheless, I still recommend the movie to people as it has high entertaining value.

On Saturday, Fernando, Serge, Sorin, and I went to Nick's apartment and watch the World Cup. The Ghana vs. Poland game was exciting. I was surprised how well Ghana played. The Ghanaian players came into the game with energy and were determined to win. They got into rhythm early and eventually outplayed the Czechs. Good game. The U.S. vs. Italy match didn't disappoint like the U.S. game where Americans played the just a few days ago. The game on Saturday was a great, nothing short of dramas. While I that thought that U.S. deserve the loss for their lackluster performance in the game against the Czechs earlier, I thought that the Americans played very well last Saturday considering that the Americans played with only 9 players having gotten 2 key players ejected because of some bad officiating calls by the referee.

Later, with the exception of Sorin, we all went out to The Hill to celebrate Chris's (SDM 06) birthday. As usual, it was a good time hang out with these guys. I have to confess, for some reasons I am always lucky with the ladies whenever I hang with Fernando, Nick, Serge, and Sorin.

On Sunday, Camille and I took part in the Learn to Sail class at the MIT Sailing Club. We learned taught the basics of sailing in the first 2 hours of the class with classroom lessons and demos. In the last 2 hours of the class, all students were given boats to sail on the Charles River with our partners. It was a hot, muggy day with very little wind. None of our boats moved very fast today. Even the head instructor was apologetic that today was one of the worst days to sail in the season. Interestingly, the Sailing Club is the only Sailing Club among Boston's colleges that is still open to the public. The class is free to all MIT students, staff, and affiliates(bring your ID card with you). In addition, the students are allowed to bring one guest outside of MIT to sail for free. The sailing clinic is fun and definitely worth the 4 hours. With the sailing orientation out of the way, I am now eligible to bring a boat out to Charles River to practice. The rest of the afternoon was followed by working on the first assignment of System Dynamics (more about this class later) and running 4 miles around Charles River in a muggy 92 F weather.

6/18/2006 11:55:50 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Personal

I contributed a link and a short comment on Paul Graham's essay on replicating Silicon Valley elsewhere in America a few weeks ago. However, in an era of globalization, can Silicon Valley be replicated elsewhere in the world? What economics conditions and policies are conducive to producing a successful Silicon Valley overseas? Paul Graham, once again, explored the issues and came up with an essay entitled "Why Startups Condense in America" that addresses the question.

Although I study policy and management that focus on entrepreneurship and national economic competitiveness, I never really delve into the success of Silicon Valley and how it may be emulated. I have read and learned from class many of the things that Paul had mentioned in his essays; but I just didn't had the time or the opportunity to link these percepts together. I think that the essays are thought-provoking and I agree with Paul wholeheartedly. To replicate a successful cluster of high-technology companies, the best thing that policy-maker can do is not to force it to happen but build the right conditions and let it happen. It is like that inner voice in the movie Field of Dreams: "If you build it, they will come."

6/13/2006 12:10:02 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Entrepreneurship

Last week, I attended MIT's 140th commencement. For me, the last day of classes does not coincide with the last exam but rather the commencement, which truly marks the end of an academic year and to some, the end of an academic career. I was there to catch up with some of my classmates one last time. Moreover, I was also eager to catch a glimpse of what is to come during an MIT commencement when I graduate from the institute next year.

This year, Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve and MIT alumnus, delivered the keynote address. Spoken like a true economist, the speech was rather dry and mechanic at first but became more inspirational as he links technology (something that MIT is good at) and the economy in the second half of his speech. He charged that the class of 2006 shouldn't be afraid to try something different and be innovative in their work. Afterwards, Susan Hockfield, the president of MIT, delivered the graduate charge to the graduates. A far cry from her speeches at MIT during first year of her tenure as president, she made a very moving, inspirational speech charging the graduates to "inspire your own generation and the generations to come with a renewed sense of possibility and optimism for the future."

After the graduation ceremony, I caught up with some of the graduates and reminisce for one last time before we went on our separate ways. From talking to my classmates, I am really amazed how many of them are leaving for bigger, better things with several people taking up leadership positions after graduation. I am envious of them for graduating; but I am also looking forward to mine next year. I just need to finish that thesis and the coming Fall semester.

Congratulations to all MIT graduates last week, you all look smart in those commencement robes. All the best.

6/12/2006 8:45:34 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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School

Last Wednesday night, I attended an MIT Enterprise Forum event called "Talk to an Angel: Crucial Connections to Early Stage Capital," a panel discussion on the role angel investors play in early stage companies. Here are the main points from panelists:

• The definition of angel investor
• There are many types of angels.
• Angels usually invest out of their pocket money and manage their own investments.
• Angel investing is a hobby and consequently usually a part-time endeavor.
• Angels were successful entrepreneurs before.
• The definition of venture capitalist (VC)
• VCs invest with a set of criteria, which are typically:
• They invest with a minimum amount of capital (typically, no less than $3 million).
• They invest in companies that fit their profile.
• These days, they invest in revenue-producing ventures with very short product cycles.
• VC is a full-time job.
• There are some VCs who may dabble in angel investing on the side.
• It may take 1-6 months for a VC to write a company a check. For angels, this time frame is drastically reduced.
• Advices for entrepreneurs
• There are 8 1/2 million millionaires in the U.S. and all of them have the potential to write checks for startups.
• On approaching an angel, don't ask for money from the onset. Establish a relationship first. Remember that most angels were entrepreneurs before, so ask for advices.
• Find investors who understand what the company is doing.
• How to pitch to an angel?
• A pitch should be terse. Keep it under 3 minutes. During a pitch you should always mention what you are selling?
• To take this value proposition further, entrepreneurs need to show how investor's money will grow and how their enterprise can be self-sustaining.
• Having difficulty composing a pitch? Try writing an newspaper ad for your company. It is recommended by one of the panelist because an ad is about selling something and you keep it terse because of the space constraints.
• Different business plans should be given to different investors. There is no "one-size-fits-all" business plan or executive summary. Build an arsenal of various business plans and executive summaries, each catering to a different investor.
• Put your contact information on every page.
• How to work together after funding?
• Keep in mind that a majority of small businesses that received angel funding won't see VC funding.
• A company's growth strategy may not need to involve VC funding or IPO.
• Useful resources
• Do due diligence before approaching an investors. You can get a wealth of information including forms and tools, from these websites:
• National Venture Capital Association
• Kauffman Foundation

6/10/2006 12:39:01 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Entrepreneurship

This news that I heard earlier from the BBC earlier today cracks me up. Apparently, some women in the Netherlands and the U.K. are so against their significant others who will be spending time watching football (or soccer) during the World Cup that they are launching online websites to publish their opposition to the upcoming football fever. See websites, www.wegmethetwk.nl and www.stoptheworldcup.co.uk. From these websites, anyone who are opposed to football or the World Cup can select to participate in auction bid for trips to the one place where they can get away from it all, New York City, U.S.A - where football isn't very popular.

Speaking of the World Cup, anyone who will be hosting a World Cup party in the Boston area or know of someone who does, please let me know. I grew up playing soccer but for some reason I am still not a fan of watching 22 men running all over a big field. Nevertheless, any excuse to hang out with mates over beers and TV is a good enough reason to like the World Cup.

6/9/2006 12:18:21 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Sports

Here's an standardized style sheet for use in print and on web pages published at MIT.

http://macfadden.mit.edu:9500/publications/housestyle.html

This blog entry is mostly for my future reference. I know I will find it very useful as I will be writing my thesis very soon.

6/8/2006 9:37:17 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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School

I just read EMI's announcement on the release of Qtrax - an ad- and subscription-supported peer-to-peer music distribution service. Let's analyze this announcement piece by piece.

"Qtrax will offer two tiers of service: the first is a free, advertising-supported tier designed to work with and filter copyrighted content from existing peer-to-peer networks. The second tier is a premium subscription service which will require a monthly fee."

Alright, so far so good. Despite my dislike for advertisements in software, the music service sounds good so far.

"In the ad-supported, free tier, users will be able to search the network for specific tracks, and those tracks registered with Qtrax will be made available for download in Qtrax’s proprietary “.mpq” file format. Users will then be able to play the downloaded .mpq file in full-fidelity sound quality for a pre-defined number of times."

Oh no!!! Not another proprietary file format. This means that I will need to use a proprietary program to listen to downloaded music and that I can't play them on my iPod. Worse, you can only play each downloaded music for limited number of times.

"The premium subscription service tier uses Microsoft’s Janus DRM technology, which allows consumers to pay a monthly fee for unlimited access to music in the Qtrax network. Subscribers will also have the ability to transfer content to Windows Media enabled portable devices for as long as the subscription stays active."

Let me get this straight... I don't own the music but rent them? In other words, the downloaded music is only good as long as I keep paying for them.

I am also curious if I can burn my downloaded music to a CD so that I can listen to it on my CD player in my car? If the service is peer-to-peer, does it mean any songs that I am looking for are subjected to availability of these songs from peers who share them?

A week ago, I made a brief assertion that convenience is an impetus for the adoption of a technological innovation or product. Certainly, any product that makes life easier for the consumers will most likely be successful. After reading the article, I can't help but to think that Qtrax business model is doomed for failure. Why so? It seems more trouble than it is worth.

6/8/2006 4:34:29 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Business

It seems like almost everyone whom I know prior to MIT and are under 30 years of age are engaged in some sort of graduate program the past years. I don't know if the trend of going back to graduate schools - part-time or full-time - was the result of the excellent academic environment that are available in Boston or that these young professionals are motivated in improving their skill sets to further their careers in today's highly competitive economy. In any case, it seems like 2006 is the year when they are all graduating from their respective programs.

Just this month alone, I have already attended 3 graduation ceremonies. Earlier in May, Eimear, Paul, Joe, Vernon, and Blanche (the Analog Devices crew) graduated from Northeastern University - with the exception of Vernon who obtained a M.Sc in Information Technology, the rest graduated with a M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering. Next in line was Siobhan who graduated from NYU Stern School of Business with an M.B.A. I can't believe that 2 years have passed since she left Boston for bigger and better things in the Big Apple. Steve, another mover and shaker, left Boston to pursue a Law degree at St. John's University Law School in New York City 3 years ago. He, too, graduated from his program 2 days ago. Scarvel will be graduating from Harvard Extension School tomorrow.

Last but not least, there are those whom I know from various departments at MIT (from SDM to TPP to LFM to Course 3). Many of them will be graduating this Friday. In particular, I can't believe that almost half of the SDM cohort whom I started the program with last January will be graduating from the program this Friday. It has been a pleasure work with them and I am little sad to see them leave. I am pleased that many will be leaving for better careers after MIT. Regretfully, I wasn't able to get tickets for the commencement - those tickets are so hard to come by. I hope to join them at the post-graduation reception and see them one last time.

Once again, congratulations and best wishes to all graduates!!!

6/7/2006 11:56:08 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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School

After catering my sushi craving, it was time to satisfy my rock music hankering. I grew up listening and liking the music of The Police, The Clash, and Blondie; and had always wanted to visit CBGB, a live music club in NYC that hosted these artists.

Brian and I arrived at CBGB at around 9:30pm. After paying $10 for the cover charge, we went into the club. I was actually quite surprise how big the place as I am too used to the live music clubs in Boston/Cambridge, which are typically smaller than their counterparts in NYC. Not surprisingly, the inside was dark, which is what I would expect from a club. While smoking is now banned from all bars and restaurants in NYC, I still feel an indisputable smoky aura (it's just the presence, there was no smoke inside) from the place. The walls are filled with band stickers, decals, and graffiti. Of course, the performing stage takes center stage in CBGB. Yep, there is definitely a presence of iconoclasm in the walls of CBGB, as well as buzz of energy from the stage.

That night, several of bands took stage with each band playing for 30 minutes starting from 7pm. You'll see band members jamming their musical instruments hard and songs bursting at the seams with riffs and drum beating. I seen a number of punk live performances before and all the craziness associated with them; nonetheless I am still amazed how these rockers while jumping and banging their head senselessly don't collide with one another on stage. Of all the bands who played that night, there were two who left lasting impression on me. An all-women band whose name I forgot and The Mercurial whose the lead singer's dynamic vocals and stage presence energized the audience and brought the music performance that night to a whole new level. Yeah, CBGB has live up to its name that night. Needless to say, I wasn't disappointed. I definitely going back to CBGB in a not-so-distant-future.

The outside of CBGB	The band The Mercurial

6/6/2006 1:55:24 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

Comments [2]

Travels

I mentioned the Sushi Nazi and CBGB in my previous blog postings. Unfortunately, I never had the chance to eat at the Sushi Nazi or experience the great rock buzz that is CBGB until last Saturday when I was in New York City to attend Steve's commencement from St. John's University Law School.

Even before arriving in NYC, I was been shamelessly promoting to my buddy Brian that we go to the Sushi Nazi and CBGB. Thankfully, Brian was more than willing to comply with my wishes. Unlike the last time, we arrived at the sushi place with a vacant table available. The same waitress was, once again, adamant that we wait outside and will not sit us until the table is fully clean. I feel a little bad calling this sushi place Sushi Nazi; but if the food there is of any good the name Sushi Nazi should be a compliment, much in the same lineage as the the Soup Nazi character in Seinfeld. Nonetheless, I finally learned the real name of the sushi eatery when I got the menu from the waitress. It is call Tab Tos. Once we were seated, the waitress was actually quite attentive and pleasant. Brian ordered a set meal, which consists of a big bowl (and I mean big) of salad and a sushi roll. I sampled Brian's salad, which is consisted of a generous portion of avocado slices, corn, and a rich mixture of salad greens (lettuce, arugula, etc), all mixed with a very delicious vinaigrette. The salad doesn't taste very Japanese but it definitely has a creative twist to it and it was very tasty. For me, I ordered a sushi box set, which consisted of a large bowl of miso soup, a Philadelphia roll, 2 slices of salmon sashimi, and 2 slices of eel sashimi. I really enjoyed my bowl of miso soup as I was intrigued by the taste of watercress and miso - I didn't know that watercress blends so well with miso. Their sushi may not be as spectacular as those that one gets from hyper-expensive sushi restaurant but then again freshness, a hallmark of great sushi, often comes at a premium. I like their Philadelphia roll as it has the right mixture of cream cheese, tuna, and cucumber that I found very satisfying. Best of all, both dishes cost less than $10. This hole in the wall called Tab Tos (Sushi Nazi) still a great place for inexpensive uncompromising sushi and salads.

6/6/2006 1:54:39 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Food

Here's a picture of Earth taken by the Mars Rover:

Source: NASA

6/5/2006 5:52:40 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Technology