Web 2.0 Entrepreneur: hey how is this for a company... fakemytrip.com - so basically people get on the site and plan for a trip that they know that they will never take... that way they dont spend the money and they still get to feel the joy of planning an exotic trip...
Venture Capitalist: Sounds exciting!! what is the revenue model gonna be?!?
Web 2.0 Entrepreneur: Hmmm. That is a hard one.
It has been sometime since I was affected by terrorism; the last time being 9/11, when I woke up to chaos and calls from family and assurances from my side that things for most part were okay. But the blasts in Ahmedabad are affecting me, not to the same extent as they affected those that lost family members; but I do find myself questioning the safety of my family while we are in India.
In the past, I have argued against Bush's ideology and methods on dealing with terrorism the and often times quite vehemently. But now I am having second thoughts… does fighting them there, so we don't have to fight them here actually makes sense? Does the propagation of war on other shores actually make the shores at home safer? Does India need to adapt the same stand and go on the offensive against these radicals? Are we safer if India eliminates three terrorists for every civilian that is killed by them (a la Israel)? The United States does not negotiate with terrorists, what is India's official standing on the same? I do not know the answers to these questions… but idealism aside, what I do know is: my family and I are safer in the US of A than in India. The law of averages can be discounted when you are on the side from missiles are being launched than the side where those missiles are landing.
Now before I start sound like a "Dick" (Cheney): what caused these blasts in Ahmedabad? The Gujarat state government provided fodder for these radicals by not prosecuting the thousands of cases of torture, rape and murder of Muslims that were filed after the Gujarat riots… did Gujarat to a certain extent bring this upon itself? Yes.
However, the broader problem is that of radical religion. The madrasas in Pakistan and India which are funded by the Wahabis in Saudi Arabia need immediate government intervention. The intervention needs to be direct in India and indirect in Pakistan. The alternative to these madrasas is the secular public school system, which has been decaying for years in Pakistan… Pakistan needs to rejuvenate its public schools and provide viable alternatives for its youth. India needs to take a cue from Europe and close any institutions that foster and ideology of hatred and violence.
This has been said before by people on both sides of the political spectrum, Maher and Limbaugh alike: the US of A needs to issue a direct order to its client-state, Saudi Arabia: stop funding the madrasas or else… well in the words of a not-so-great Presiduck: you are either with us or against us.
While in transit on my honeymoon, I picked up Time's latest issue with Billy G on the cover talking about Creative Capitalism… which begs the question – what am I doing reading on my honeymoon. But you see, the W (W = wife, with a marked reference to George W. Bush – a conservative who is a spending liberal, just like my wife) and I have a prenupt that states in paragraph 5, line 12 – "It is okay for Riff to get distracted from Bill Gates and Katrina Kaif."
Anyways getting back to "creative capitalism", after reading the very well written piece I sent a note to my visionary CEO: "Gates met Haque." Haque being Umair Haque, the edge guru who had called to attention the huge market that exists outside the immediate core; some refer to it as the market at the bottom of the pyramid. I, too had written about how the new Gates needs to focus on the edge to fulfill his philanthropic ambitions… but apparently Gates (being Gates) was already doing exactly that. And I being I and not having access to Gates' mind and his Calagenda (maybe he uses MS Exchange) did not know that. What I absorbed:
But there are minds out there that can absorb more, and people out there that can do more… so this honeymoon or weekend, think of ways on how one can get more creative about capitalism… because there is profit to made and lives to be bettered.
It is back to the beach for me.
A perfect example of how an edge connected world can dictate to a dominant but decaying localized core: Twitter saga ends in jailed translator going free
So every portal and every other blogger has been paying his respect to the super geek on his much publicized retirement day… so I am going to do the "me too" thing and say a few things… hopefully/probably Bill Gates is just about to begin a life that will make a difference to many other lives… yeah, yeah I know about the platform wars and the dominance of Windows… but somehow eradicating malaria has more of a meaning than does creating standards for the software industry.
Maybe Churchill was wrong… maybe you can make more of a difference when you start out as a hard-nosed conservative and then end up as a heart-felt liberal….
… is big news. But this is definitely news: Google announces Media Server.
If you were to ask Brin and Page, if they had thought that Google would one day become the most important media company… they would probably tell you Google was always a media company.
So says Carlin and so probably knows Carlin… Thank you George Carlin for shits n giggles... one of his very best (Courtesy HBO):
I'm a modern man,
A man for the millennium,
Digital and smoke free.
A diversified multicultural postmodern deconstructionist,
Politically anatomically and ecologically incorrect.
I've been uplinked and downloaded.
I've been inputted and outsourced.
I know the upside of downsizing.
I know the downside of upgrading.
I'm a high tech lowlife.
A cutting edge state-of-the-art bicoastal multitasker,
And I can give you a gigabyte in a nanosecond.
I'm new wave but I'm old school,
And my inner child is outward bound.
I'm a hot wired heat seeking warm hearted cool customer,
Voice activated and biodegradable.
I interface from a database,
And my database is in cyberspace,
So I'm interactive,
I'm hyperactive,
And from time-to-time,
I'm radioactive.
Behind the eight ball,
Ahead of the curve,
Riding the wave,
Dodging a bullet,
Pushing the envelope.
I'm on point,
On task,
On message,
And off drugs.
I got no need for coke and speed,
I got no urge to binge and purge.
I'm in the moment,
On the edge,
Over the top,
But under the radar.
A high concept,
Low profile,
Medium range ballistic missionary.
A street-wise smart bomb.
A top gun bottom feeder.
I wear power ties,
I tell power lies,
I take power naps,
I run victory laps.
I'm a totally ongoing bigfoot slam dunk rainmaker with a proactive outreach.
A raging workaholic.
A working ragaholic.
Out of rehab,
And in denial.
I got a personal trainer,
A personal shopper,
A personal assistant,
And a personal agenda.
You can't shut me up,
You can't dumb me down.
'Cause I'm tireless,
And I'm wireless.
I'm an alpha male on beta blockers.
I'm a non-believer and an over-achiever.
Laid back but fashion forward.
Up front,
Down home,
Low rent,
High maintenance.
Super size,
Long lasting,
High definition,
Fast acting,
Oven ready,
And built to last.
I'm a hands on,
Foot loose,
Knee jerk,
Head case.
Prematurely post traumatic,
And I have a love child who sends me hate mail.
But I'm feeling,
I'm caring,
I'm healing,
I'm sharing.
A supportive bonding nurturing primary care giver.
My output is down,
But my income is up.
I take a short position on the long bond,
And my revenue stream has its own cash flow.
I read junk mail,
I eat junk food,
I buy junk bonds,
I watch trash sports.
I'm gender specific,
Capital intensive,
User friendly,
And lactose intolerant.
I like rough sex.
I like rough sex.
I like tough love.
I use the f word in my email,
And the software on my hard drive is hard core, no soft porn.
I bought a microwave at a mini mall.
I bought a mini van in a mega store.
I eat fast food in the slow lane.
I'm toll free,
Bite sized,
Ready to wear,
And I come in all sizes.
A fully equipped,
Factory authorized,
Hospital tested,
Clinically proven,
Scientifically formulated medical miracle.
I've been pre-washed,
Pre-cooked,
Pre-heated,
Pre-screened,
Pre-approved,
Pre-packaged,
Post-dated,
Freeze-dried,
Double-wrapped,
Vacuum-packed,
And I have an unlimited broadband capacity.
I'm a rude dude,
But I'm the real deal.
Lean and mean.
Cocked, locked and ready to rock.
Rough tough and hard to bluff.
I take it slow.
I go with the flow.
I ride with the tide.
I got glide in my stride.
Drivin' and movin',
Sailin' and spinnin',
Jivin' and groovin',
Wailin' and winnin'.
I don't snooze,
So I don't lose.
I keep the pedal to the metal,
And the rubber on the road.
I party hearty,
And lunch time is crunch time.
I'm hanging in,
There ain't no doubt.
And I'm hanging tough,
Over and out
Yep. Over n out…