same blog, new url, opposite colors

I am moving the blog off blogspot to my own domain - www.hyderabadass.com

It's going to look different, and hopefully be better organized.  

Facebook Refugee

In August, I deactivated my facebook account, and temporarily cut myself off from almost 1400 people, becoming a facebook refugee.  I chose " I do not understand how to use facebook" as my reason for deactivating from the choices shown above and did not explain further.  One month later, here is the explanation.

I had become fed up with the dependence on the website to keep in touch with people.  I had traveled across the country the week before, reconnected with several old friends who I haven't seen in years, and developed a theory that facebook had cheapened conversations with my normal correspondences.  In addition, while watching the previews for INCEPTION, in Omaha, I was disturbed to see that there is a movie coming out about this thing very soon.

I think that social networking might be getting out of hand, and wanted to see what life was like without it, at least for a month, and thus deactivated my account.  The short term absence from it gave me some ideas for new academic research that I might collaborate with my mentor at U of L.   The alienation from the community is definitely impactful, especially to someone who has moved to a new place with limited contacts in the area.  I realized in my first month, facebook-less in the city of Louisville, that the people I started meeting were forming an impression of me because I wasn't eligible to be their online friend.  Mostly, these impressions were not favorable.  And it's this behavior that is fascinating to me.  Too often journalists warn about negative impressions employers, co-workers, friends and lovers form of us based on what we do on the book, but I have yet to see anything talking about the consequences that the offline community faces.  I estimate that less than 2% of my friends are not on facebook.  They've missed out on seeing thousands of pictures, getting early notices on earthquakes, invitations to exclusive parties, status updates about their friends dog, and other information that fascinates us in our online lives.

In the process of deactivating my account, I backed up my pictures, obtained email address from 25% of my friends who responded to my going away status message, and did some research on other facebook refugees.  What i found was quite interesting....

Apparently, 1 million people a year try to delete their facebook accounts, but stop when they get to the page shown in the screenshot picture in the beginning of this post.  I found that page to be quite manipulative, showing pictures of me with close friends, and telling me that we will not be able to keep in touch.  Some nerve!  The people shown in this picture include some of my best friends from California, former bandmates, family members, and a business partner.  I tested this out a few times, and somehow they managed to keep the same formula, but replaced the people with my mother, brother, former boss, and best friend from kindergarten.  The notion that I would no longer be able to keep in touch with them is outrageous, and an indication of how this website has outgrown itself.  Mark Z once made a statement about how facebook can do more social good than non profits and individual people...

There was a time when if you typed the word "Delete" into Google, the automated text following would be "facebook account."  To counter this, facebook made it very difficult to deactivate, or even delete.  Accounts are not actually deleted for 14 days, and deactivating an account is just temporary.  Deactivated users still get emails about events and activity on facebook, and in my experience, more of it.  It is nearly impossible to export your contacts (they claim there is a way to do it through Yahoo, but it did not work for me.)  Backing up my pictures took an hour or 2, because I had to save each one individually because none of the applications actually worked.  Deactivating my account also removed pictures I tagged of other people, leading to an angry phone call from my little brother who lost his profile picture of surfing a wave in the pacific.
I maintained contact with many of friends during my time off, but I did notice several people missing from my life.  I missed having people share silly youtube links, new music, pictures from a houseboating trip, or others things that I admit enjoying on the facebook.  Although these things were trivial in nature, it was a gloomy stage that I will not forget from my mid twenties.   Is society allowing facebook to have a monopoly over our friendships?

Here are experiences of others turning their backs on facebook....

Web industry leaders making high profiled exits from facebook in May.....(people from Google, Engadget and Gizmodo, and other well known podcasters/bloggers)

ABC Report of deactivating

Video on facebook possible valuation of $35 billion if they go public

Yesterday, I logged back in to my account, after realizing that my family was offended that I had done this.  My grandmother's brother had reached out to me through facebook from a remote village in the jungles of India the day I had deactivated, and I had snubbed him by not accepting.  The moment I accepted his friendship, he posted a very kind message on my wall saying: "

"Hi Jason, I hope u r keeping, where r u ? and what are you doing ?, keep me in ur prayers as I often rememember u. God bless u always love Richie [ponkey]"

Suddenly I was bombarded with chats from people in Bombay, Hyderabad, Australia, Europe, California, New York, and even Canada.  I got sucked back into the newsfeed, and realized that it was not the time for facebook and I to part.  However, I have a new perspective on this thing, and suspect that someday I will have a better opportunity to move away from this culture without being alienated from the people I care about.  When that day comes, I hope you will be with us.

-J

 

 

 

Louisville State of Mind

Last month I bid farewell to the home I created in Los Angeles, packed up the Camaro, and drove cross country with my father and brother on an epic road trip.  We left comfort out of the equation, yet had 4 solid days of bonding time while driving through deserts, mountains, and cornfields.  I spent a weekend in Chicago and a week in Kalamazoo before arriving to Louisville, and had an opportunity to spend a weekend on a houseboat on Lake Cumberland Kentucky with my Kalamazoo buddies and watch Federer and Roddick play in Cincinnati before getting settled into my new home in the South.

Over the next four years I will be enrolled in a PhD program at U of L, specialized in Entrepreneurship.  The program is designed to turn us into 'social scientists' that publish in top academic journals while teaching college level Entrepreneurship and Business Strategy classes.  My initial research interests are in Social Entrepreneurship, however I am keeping an open mind, and will likely be influenced by mentors and the seminars throughout the program.  The next time you see me, I will probably need to wear reading glasses, as my vision is fading with each empirical study I read.

Academic life has surrounded me since I was born. My father is a Professor of Finance and I developed close mentor/mentee relationships with professors at LMU.  I have a new perspective on the profession, especially regarding research in Entrepreneurship.  There are some interesting questions being asked by these folks.  The scientific research applied to build economic theory is starting to fascinate me, which is a bit shocking if you knew me over the past 8 years.    I have a long way to go out here, but I am confident that I am surrounded by the right people and resources to build this career... I just need to work hard at it. 

I am still getting used to life in Louisville, but have found a strong community in Butchertown where I am considering moving to next year.  Louisville is packed with interesting history, and I am just scratching the surface of it.  There is an odd obsession with the movie THE BIG LEBOWSKI, which I noticed in recommendations on my Netflix account when I moved here (It was the most popular movie rented in the city)  There is an annual festival to pay tribute to the movie in addition to numerous posters and books for sale throughout the town.

Also, I recently learned that the most popular song in the world GOOD MORNING TO ALL was written by Kindergarten teachers in Louisville.  It later became known as the HAPPY BIRTHDAY song. So it's not just fried chicken, baseball bats, horses...there is more...much more.  The Kentucky Derby Museum is phenomenal, with a 360 degree movie theatre unlike anything I have ever seen before.  IDEA FESTIVAL is coming up in a month, and will feature 5 days of talks given my global scholars and leaders to encourage innovation and creativity to an audience of hundreds of thousands of people. 

There is vibrant entrepreneurial community that is closely tied into the university, and just like California, people ride bikes everywhere and love their dogs.  There is a style to the city that blends a small town charm with a progressive mindset of a big city.  Yet, as a custom frame store owner from New York described to me, invisible boundaries still exist here, and there are clear differences between geographical regions of the city that can be startling on first impressions.  Near my apartment, boarded up buildings resemble Detroit, and kids on campus have already reported being robbed at gunpoint 1 week into the semester.  Still,  the art culture and local music seems to be thriving, with an art gallery open 24 hours a day.  There is so more for me to see, and it will be interesting finding a balance between work and play out here.

I have an idea for a new business venture that is inspired by recent research into the field of social entrepreneurship.  I hope to launch the venture within 2 years after I raise enough capital and make the necessary strategic alliances - It is a fun idea incorporating my passion for the guitar, education, and building a community to help lower the enormous high school drop out rate in Kentucky. 

I am the new guy in town though, so it will take time to create synergies, I am still trying to learn the local language and suspect that the difficulty of my coursework will be slightly more challenging than the MBA program I just finished.  Our cohort is comprised of 5 other folks, all highly educated with global experience in venture capital, hedge fund management, and corporate marketing.  I am likely the least serious out of the group, and need to be disciplined in time management to succeed out here, the program has failed 2 students in the past 4 years. 

Recently I submitted an abstract for our research in Europe this summer to a conference hosted by NYU on Social Entrepreneurship.  If it is accepted, I will have an opportunity to present our findings in New York to the academic community this November.  I won't start teaching classes until my third year in the program, but will be working as a research assistant to an active researcher in the business school that may give me an opportunity to get published before starting on a dissertation.  Calculus and Statistics are vital to a few of the Seminars I have this semester, so I am switching gears from what I was used to before, which is taking a toll on my social life.  However, I am very optimistic about what lies ahead, the people I am going to be working with, and becoming part of the Louisville community. 

It's not quite a concrete jungle, but dreams have been made here.... just look at Tom Cruise, Muhammad Ali, Colonel Sanders, Diane Sawyer, Papa John Schnatter, Hunter S. Thompson, Phil Simms and Thomas Edison - He left Louisville after getting fired from spilling sulfuric acid on the office floor, only to have his invention of the light bulb demonstrated in Louisville 16 years later.

-J

Bouncing A $17 Billion Paycheck For Freedom

In 1991, the US and our coalition were paid by $17 billion by Kuwait for war efforts that freed the country of from Iraqi occupation. The monarchy was reinstated, and after 2 years and $50 billion of infrastructure expenses, the country bounced back into prosperity leading the Arab nations in educational and economic statistics.

Today, while sipping on a Tecate in the Townhouse in Venice Beach, California, I told my good friend from Kuwait the story of Paul Revere.  It's a story most American's studied in early childhood.  I recently read about how the famous midnight ride was a prime example of the importance of "connectors" in our society.  (The Tipping Point)

I grew up listening to punk rock and always wanted a cause to fight for, but never really found it.  Today, instead of anti-establishment melodies and lyrics, I play flamenco renditions while rapping and parody singing R&B songs.  I consider the defect of my musical activism embarrassing, yet honest.  But on this 4th of July weekend, anticipating the arrival of my best friends visiting LA before I migrate inland to one of the former largest slave-trading city in US history, I have allowed myself to be impassioned with rebellious stories of other nations.

The Secretary-General of the National Democratic Alliance Khalid Al-Fadhala was sent to a 3 month jail sentence in a controversial court case after criticizing the prime minister HH of Kuwait.  Recently a journalist was released on bail from prison for similar charges.  There is a growing resistance in the country of people who want the prime minister to step down, after several accounts of corruption, including writing checks worth millions to MP's.  The specific offense that Khalid Al-Fadhala was convicted for was related to slandering the prime minister at speech themed "go, we deserve better." He accused the prime minister of teaching people principles of money laundering. 

It's the 5th richest country in the world, with 10% of the world's oil reserves.  The country has a 94% literacy rate, and the median gross income per capita is almost $100k.  2/3 of the country is made up of foreigners, however, and 90,000 people have been banned from leaving the country because of debt issues outlined in the constitution.  The recent budget passed by the government has a $14 billion deficit, with almost half of the $56 billion expenditures exhausted on government salaries.   The country needs to sell over 1 million barrels of oil a day to pay these salaries.   More than 1/4 of this budget is for subsidies, 'which guarantee low prices for fuel to power plants, petrol and other essential commodities.'  8.5% of the budget is for defense spending, while $3.8 billion was spent on a "one off payment for government pension."   Almost 90% of the country's revenue comes from oil, and 10% of this revenue is allocated to the'country’s sovereign wealth fund, whose assets are estimated at around $277 billion.'  That is decent chunk of change.

Despite the reserves, The liberal movement seems to be fighting for a future.  With a finite supply of oil, it makes sense to The Hyderabadass for this country to diversify.   They are effectively paying their government salaries with oil money that will eventually run out.  Then what?  How many pearls need to be dived for to pay the $25 billion salaries?  Where is the incentive for people to work in private industries if government salaries are so inflated.  $300 billion will run out very fast in a country that spends $56 billion a year, and any cuts made will certainly effect the lives of the majority of people depending on it.

All people, like the colonists that Paul Revere rounded up for the American Revolution, respond to incentives.  Even the most complacent person may resist control from authorities when certain liberties are taken away.  In general, I believe that people tend to have a strong interest  for the freedom and rights of their children, regardless of their interests into their own individual futures.   In Kuwait, government salaries have tripled in recent years, yet today 50,000 people protested this violation of a person's freedom of speech.  There are less than 1 million actual citizens in Kuwait, with less than 40% eligible to vote.  It seems like the injustice of a particular individual being imprisoned for a speech is providing incentives to a nation for a much needed reform.  Today there are 1.6 billion people in the world living without electricity.  Perhaps its time for this oil rich nation to see a light at the end of their tunnel and build a sustainable society that continue to prosper in an everchaning global economy.  Just this week, Tesla, an electic car company went public with a very successful IPO exceeding a $2 billion stock market value. 


In conclusion, I am very interested in seeing what happens from here.  Will the prime minister continue his stance at punishing his critics?  Will the courts support it?  Will the people unify and form an opposition?  What's the prince up to during all this?  How long will Khalid Al-Fadhala stay in jail?  Will social media be ammunition for an opposition?  How will the western world react?  I have heard 30 times today about the Nigerian soccer team being banned for 2 years by their president, but have yet to hear this story broadcast, even on the BBC.  At one time, there was a global concern for democracy in this country, a concern that profited the coalition handsomely.  Will this concern continue even in the absence of Sadam?   According to Kuwaiti law, it is forbidden to speak out against the monarchy, but is it wrong for the people to protest corruption of their democratic leader? Finally....Who's taking the camel out for a midnight ride? 

Smoking Baby

Smoking Baby Hooked on Cigarettes - Watch more Funny Videos


I’m watching 2 year old kids in Indonesia blowing circle shaped smoke from cigarettes on Italian television while airing out my clothes in the window to get rid of the tobacco smells from the nightclub last night.   For the first time in Milano, I am not regretting not using the 7 series “How to speak Italian” that was uploaded to my iTunes folder.  I'm certainly not homesick, but I do miss the no smoking indoors policies of Los Angeles. 

It’s frustrating to watch video clips of babies smoking 40 cigarettes.  I don’t understand the whole story because of language divides.  Initially I thought babies smoking cigarettes was just a YouTube phenomenon, but now realize it’s a global crisis, with kids starting to smoke at the age of 5.  How does this happen in the modern world?  The reporter shows maps and stats from around the countries, including India, and I am a little relieved that I can’t understand exactly what is being said. 

In my study of social entrepreneurship here in Europe, I have met people who have dedicated their lives to solving problems in their communities.  How can the world allow this problem to keep growing?  I thought we started addressing tobacco issues a few decades ago, but I am starting to think we just exported the social problems elsewhere.  Has there really been progress?  I once heard from a distinguished CEO that it is actually better to have your employees smoke, because you end up paying less in healthcare in the long run because they don’t live as long as non smokers. 

It seems like companies are exploiting the third world on new levels now, but I am clueless how this began.   In this situation, I think that they are being somewhat counterproductive, because creating acceptable environments for toddlers to start chain smoking removes them from future labor markets, which is like short selling their future assets.

Let's give the tobacco companies the benefit of the doubt... I think that the local cultures and families ultimately carry the responsibility and accountability for their children to not smoke.  This is a critical time for social entrepreneurs to design programs that can educate and inform these families to change.  The families in the video clips I watched seem to think it is cute that their babies can blow smoke into shapes.  Lets figure out a way to get these kids building blocks and toy bubbles instead of cancer sticks, yeah?  This is a prime example of a global issue in need of a social entrepreneur to step in.

William Wallace Land

I've arrived in Scotland, and am a bit relieved to be surrounded by people I can talk to again.  Here is a preview of what is in store for the next week...

Milano

Milano is a place where you can't get by on your good looks alone....Everyone is gorgeous.  People take great effort to look fashionable.  I started learning the differences between Prada, Gucci, Armani and the other name brands while shopping with people who could afford to buy their products.  I have to sense for fashion, but I love a good bargain, and Milano gave me several opportunities to practice negotiating.  Among my few expenditures were european style military shirts (i got a great price for them at a street market) and haircut, and a 40 Euro classical guitar that provided several moments of entertainment throughout the stay.  3 weeks without playing music was miserable, and I saw the instrument in the train station and made an impulse purchase.  The only buyers remorse is that I have to now use the guitar case as my suitcase/backpack while I travel Scotland, because I flew RyanAir and they have the strictest policy for luggage.

No updates on the research project...our time in Milano was unfortunately during a holiday, so many people were out of town.  We will be conducting the make up interviews through skype however when we get back in the states.  Italy has always been one of my favorite places to visit.  I love how the people are so passionate about everything they do, and hold nothing back in confrontations.  We arrived to the hotel and immediately there was a mustached italian in a truck yelling at us from the window for blocking traffic, making all sorts of hand gestures.  We had our share of rude waiters, but I didn't really take offense because although the waiter showed no sympathy to our inability to read his menu, he was incredibly genuine with his interactions with us, giving us tough love and encouraging us to put effort into pronouncing the menu items properly before he would serve us.  Another restaurant waiter simply gave up on us, and said ''your food a will be a surprise, ok?''  20 minutes later he brought out several amazing dishes which still remain a mystery to me.  My style of restaurant, like the house of nanking in SF. 

I didn't find a wife in Italy this time around, but I found a few more dance moves.  It's weird traveling alone now after spending 3 weeks with such a big group.  Next up on the agenda is Scotland and England.  World Cup fever is in the air in the latter, while the Scottish are apparently only interested in seeing England lose in the matches.  I'll post more from the queen's country soon.

J

An Event In Your Mouth

This is how the tour guide described eating Chocolate's in Zurich - it is an event in your mouth.  After eating 20 Swiss franc's worth, I agree.

This city is no friend to my wallet, but nonetheless her charm keeps getting me to spend more and more money on her in a courtship that I hope allows us to continue our affair, and maybe someday live together.  If there was ever a reason to learn four new languages, Zurich would be it.

I ride the public transportation back from the city center, which is one of the few reasonably priced purchases available to visitors.  I am amused watching an indian baby in a stroller, who resembles a young Jason D'Mello, flirt with a blond swiss baby brought into the train and parked opposite to him. The blond girl is in a slightly more upscale ride, or whip, or whatever slang can be referred to. 

At first, the Indian baby ignores the blond girl's advances, and looks elsewhere while the swiss child makes motorboat noises and funny faces.  But soon the brown baby initiates a game of peek-a-boo, which get's both babies in a uncontrollable burst of laughter.  The train itself resembles a playland, with what appears to be handcrafted wooden seats and yellow painted hand rails and has no plastic in sight.  The ride only lasts a few minutes, since one of the strollers is removed from the train, but the youngsters exhange a genuine goodbye from their new friendship that brings a little joy to the other passengers onboard.

In my two days in Zurich, I have noticed that people here live better.  Not because they earn 50% more money than us (they do) or pay less taxes meaning that they earn 80% more money than us (they do this also) but because they they have found a rhythm that does not exist in any other place I have traveled to.

The city is spotless and clean, priding itself on the ability to drink water out of any public fountain structure that most other cities are filled with coins from desperate wishes.  Money is not wasted in fountains here, financial privacy is valued immensely.  My friends and I brainstorm how this city can run so well with people paying less taxes.  We realize the savings they have from not having to fund a military, and other unique situations the Swiss are famous for.

Soon after filling my waterbottle, I enter the weirdest public bathroom I have seen.  With an efficient design and impeccible hygiene, The luxurious port-a-potty hosts an additional waste drop off for siringes.  This city apparently has acknowledged a drug culture and taken a proactive approach to deal with it to make other people's lives more enjoyable. (Unless there is another reason why they would have a waste basket for needles in public)  I have yet to see a demand for this disposal, as there are very few poor people in public and no one that looks like a drug addict.  It is a nice change from the Venice Beach drug parafanalia that you can't avoid.  But I am lead to believe that this subculture must exist, and the city has just found a solution.  It's this attitude of the city that perhaps wins me over the most.

Outside of my fountain and  bathroom experiences, I must note that the city puts a lot of trust in visitors.  They offer free bike rentals, with pickup and dropoff locations all around the city.  Its not rare to see nice, nonrental bikes without locks in public either.  On a Tuesday afternoon in May, citizens are lounging by the river and lake in their swimwear, jumping from bridges into the water and soaking in the sun while staring at the snow covered Alps in the landscape.   There is a woman's only pool where ladies can sunbathe topless without insecurities, or so I am told.  But a few hundred meters away from this secluded area, woman sunbathe topless next to the lake anyway.  I discover that my day pass for public transport includes a free boat ride across the lake.  This is almost as cool as the ability to rent a bicycle for free.  I am no longer frustrated with paying $30 for a burrito.

My friends and I grab a beer a waterside cafeteria while a band provides a soundtrack for  few dozen dancers at 3pm in the afternoon.  Not a single couple is under the age of 65, but their dance moves energize the band, with dips, spins, and even lifts while maintianing coordination that I did not know existed.  I keep wondering how they would react if a house beat suddenly came on, with the words "Put your hands up in the air, put your hands up in the air" or a "Rah-rah-ah-ah-ah Roma, Roma-ma, GaGa, ool la la Want your bad Romance."  Even though these numbers never get played at this venue, it is refreshing to listen to music in Europe in absence of fro hawks, Jersey Shore look alikes, or simply away from men in tight jeans.

We have scheduled two amazing interviews in the upcoming days.  On Thursday we will take a train to Bern, the capital, to meet the Swiss Social Entrepreneurs of the year, Paolo Richter.  Tomorrow we have a meeting at 9am in Zurich with an entrepreneur who has helped keep kids away from clubs and parties by providing nightime sports events and facilities.

I am already feeling sad to leave this place,   The short romantic comedy on my train ride is like a poem carved into my memory with the precision of a Swiss knife and to the timing kept of  her watches.   I am drinking 200% more clean water here than anywhere else in Europe....and I have yet to take a sip of water and taste the awfulness of sparkling water, something that Europeans constantly try to slip to me to frustrate.  I have realized that all my preconceived opinions of this place from stereotypes were naive.....Except for how good the Chocolate is.  That is something that I can't be neutral on.

-J

Morning in Munich

Usher gets bumped at 10:30 am on a Friday in Munich in a low-key coffee shop in the central part of the city.  Meanwhile, I am interviewing Franz over coffee and ice teas.  A man a few years older than me with a 5-week-old kid, he inquires about certain issues in the US that a handful of people know about.  We are talking about yellow houses in Detroit.

Franz has no idea I am from Michigan, but he is well read and found a common point to start dialogue that would continue for hours.  Men cut from the same cloth; Ali, Anthony and I find too many common chords with this Bavarian entrepreneur, who has funded over 400 entrepreneurs in East Germany.

He considers himself a hybrid between a politician and a social entrepreneur.  In a country full of red tape, he found a way to bypass the painted town to raise millions of Euros to fund simple yet productive startups in his home state.  He convinced each mayor of the regions he works in to collaborate, and founded an incubator that supports local enterprises.  Schools even benefit.  Kindergarten programs are funded if they are able to find innovative practices.   Franz takes half of his money from Brussels, while the rest comes from private equity.  Many former entrepreneurs succeed in his system, and give back, with a modest 5% return expected from their investments.  This is community building at the most organic level. 

This man is the catalyst for progress in the rural parts of Germany.  He recommends we talk to his close ally, who has collaborated with him to initiate the same movement in urban areas in Berlin and other cosmopolitan cities.   Tag teaming bureaucrats, these guys refuse to be outcomes of their environments.  They realized at early ages, through street smarts and enlightenment that they have power to influence the system that others have become complacent in.  Systems are designed by humans, and can be bypassed, changed, and even broken.   Franz realizes that the next generation has endless potential.

He finds creative ways to incorporate universities with the businesses he funds, to prevent talent from leaving the community but instead staying local.  He boasts that these businesses offer opportunities that bigger corporations can’t, and the young people recognize this in his programs.  He shows his frustration with facial expressions and a raised tone when my colleague points out how the German Ambassador told us that his countrymen value security and seek safe jobs that last 30 years.  Franz quickly says this is a state person’s point of view that is outdated hundreds of years.
We find a common interest in Hyderabad, ironically.  Arrange a future meeting that may or may not occur.  But I am inspired.  I hold on to the broken English that I hear this afternoon to get me through a jetlagged day (its been over a week and I still can’t adjust)

Calm and composed, I get home, strategize how I will attack a generous breakfast and bike tour of Munich, and pray that the local football team is victorious.  This trip has been incredibly productive, and with two cities left, I am extremely motivated.  
Usher - OMG - you have no place in Munich during my business meetings damnit. 

-J

The best cure for a hangover in Prague

Prague has hosted my comrades and I for 3 days and too many nights.  From my window seat I am looking out at at the exact view that wikipedia has taken for the Prague Castle.  Phenomenal.

Crediting jet lag, I have had exposure to this city at her earliest moments and certain times past curfew.  Her cab drivers have both disappointed and aided this certain vagabond.  But what I have gathered in my limited time is this.

Prague's tourist attraction shadows its potential.  The people here are intelligent.  This city is ambitious.  Progress is riding through the streets on electrically charged vehicles.  We visitors come here for delicious beer, not knowing that the Budweiser shoved down our throats in Superbowl ads and Nascar marketing is actually a name stolen from a legit beer company from the Czech.  These people don't fret.  Their other beers are actually better, and they create experiences that are both memorable and forgettable.

But the Hyderabadass did not come to Prague to drink beer.  He did not come to judge her people, or engage in city walking tours that promote churches that are a strange mixture between Jesuit history and Monarchial devience.  He came here to study Social Entrepreneurship.

Social entrepreneurship is not Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Spacebook, or any of that.  It is entrepreneurship at its finest.  Using innovation, ingenuity, creativity, and brilliance to solve social problems through sustainable business models.  Seldom are these entrepreneurs businessmen(women).  Like Daja Kabativa, founder and president of http://www.letohradekvendula.cz/, these ventures achieve success from the tenacity and endurance of ordinary people committed at progress.  People who want to leave the world better.  They identify opportunities in area's that have multiple bottom lines for profit.  And they find unconventional ways to prosper.

Our interview with Daja was a once in a lifetime opportunity.  A woman who lost a child from a mental disability, she has dedicated her life to create an environment where similar people (that she calls her clients) can live, learn, work, and teach.  Her facility has been constantly expanding over 10 years to the point where they now house state of the art appliances for healthcare, physicaly therapy,  retail store, bakery and even an elevator.  Her philosophy is to treat clients as equals, as they are often diagnosed and limited to certain roles appointed to them by others.  By creating a family where all are expected to work to their capacity, people are empowered to reach their potential.   She had 65 clients, 15 employees, and generates income from quality products produced in both her workshops and bakery.

Although I read her background and Ashoka's report of how great her business is, nothing impacted me as much as actually meeting Daja, her clients, and touring her facility.  She was a powerful woman who projected confidence in her native tongue while I anxiously awaited my mediocre translator to communicate back to me her words in English.  Her instincts were so powerful, that when she invited us to come back next year, she made a point to tell us that she would learn our language, or provide a professional interpretter for the meeting.  Nothing against our translator, who was doing his best, but it was obvious that there was a better form of communication with this entrepreneur.

2 weeks before taking our meeting, she was invited to Brussels, with all expenses paid, to meet with the World Economic Forum.  Her little project in the Czech had caught the attention of world leaders, and she was asked to present how and why her business has been working.  On a macro level, the EU is facing challenges of a shrinking workforce and growing population of people alienated from the workforce.  Instead of inviting city officials of Prague, or national politicians, they invited Daja in a group of 15 people to help start the dialogue on how to make a change.  This social entrepreneur has dedicated 10 years to a very small location and specific cause, but now has understood that her actions and passion serves value to a worldwide need that could benefit millions.  Watching her express this in her language was one of the most beautiful things I have seen in a city that lacks none.  No translator was needed to see the pride she shared with us.

In a city that escaped communism, she credits her country's history for the founding of her company.  If not for the end of communism, she would not have been able to obtain the resources needed to start this venture.  Her credit to luck, ideas and friends for her success is something entrepreneurs often say but rarely think about.  Humbly she admitted that her venture was close to failure several times before someone stepped in and saved them.  Her advice is simply to never give up.

And as I waive goodbye to the city of Prague from my fancy hotel window seat, I offer the same advice.  In a city where it seems the people are confused about the political future, with an election 2 weeks away and much doubt about the decision to join the EU, I wish them the courage and resilience to find their place in our world's future.  Not to be exploited by cheap labor and inexpensive products and services, this place has the potential to be an entrepreneur's dream and a place for true progress that can benefit our global community for centuries to come, while quenching our thirst.



-J

Hyderabadass Eurotrip

I will be spending the next month researching social entrepreneurship in Europe.  The goal is to meet and talk to as many business leaders as possible and learn about what they are doing in community development through entrepreneurial ventures.  Below are the dates and places I will be traveling.  I will try to update frequently.

Prague (current city)  - May 16 - 20
Munich - May 20 - 24
Zurich - May 24 - 28
Milan - May 28 - June 2
UK (Scotland and England ) June 2 - 10.

For more information on the study, please go to www.entrepreneurcms.com

Best
J

Laziness Expenses

This post comes after the recent video game that I posted, which has distracted a certain friend in Detroit all day from doing very important tasks for our auto industry....
Found an interesting article about the monetary impact of being lazy, especially in an entrepreneurial lifestyle...I have to admit, I am guilty of several of these, from waiting till the last minute to send mail, rebate offers,  and for finding the best savings rate online...check it out

How laziness costs you

Also, the dog image is actually a treadmill designed for dogs, so that their owners don't have to walk them.

 
 
 
 
 

Healthcare Bill? Nope, just a post about the EyeWriter

FutureEverything awarded the 2010 prize to the EyeWriter

"The EyeWriter is a pair of low-cost eye-tracking glasses that allow artists and graffiti writers with paralysis to draw using only their eyes. Inspired by Tony Quan, a graffiti writer, social activist and publisher who was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (AML) in 2003, The EyeWriter is the result of a collaboration with five other artists and a production company. It is an ongoing project to empower people suffering from degenerative neuromuscular diseases with creative technologies."

This is one of the coolest inventions I have seen all year, and I can't wait till we can get one for my uncle.  Check out the video below to see how it works, and watch the artist project graffiti art in real-time onto LA buildings from his bed.




The Eyewriter from Evan Roth on Vimeo.

More pictures

Oh, and I guess there is some news about Healthcare today....I'll let you check your facebook feeds for that though, I openly admit that I can offer no intelligent commentary on the matter.

J

March Madness (in the Pants)

Who would have guessed that vasectomies were a seasonal business.  I used to work in retail where marketing campaigns tried to incorporate seasonal promotions, but I have to admit, it was surprising to hear that such a medical operation could be promoted in the same way.  Offices are seeing an increase of 50% in appointments for the first week of March Madness!

It makes sense... its a perfect schedule the operation to maximizes recovery time (3 days on the couch) while giving an excuse to watch crucial daytime basketball and have a decent excuse to get time off work

Ten reasons for getting a Vasectomy during March Madness according to the advertisement.
1. Extended office hours during games
2. Continuous ESPN coverage in the lobby
3. FREE snacks while waiting
4. Office is less crowded than a sports bar
5. Complimentary recovery kid
6. Doctors orders - 3 days on the couch
7. Excuse to stay in bathrobe all day
8. Keep Austin Weird - not overpopulated
9. You'll be ready to love in the post season
10. It's HIP to get SNIPPED (wow)

This is probably the best execution of a marketing campaign in March Madness I have seen, next to the Pizza Hut/NCAA/Bookit I remember from 4th grade.  I just hope March Madness is not the only reason some of these fans are going in to get snipped...

billion dollar deathbed investing

This will blow your mind.  AIG, Bank of America, GE and other corporate giants sell bonds with a provision that allow investors to redeem a bond at face value if one of the investors dies.  Guess what our financial genius' started doing?

With prices as low as 50 cents to a dollar, investors are pairing up with terminally ill people to scoop up bonds at bargain prices, and holding on to them until the ill partner passes away.   Returns of up to 200-300% are common.  About $83 billion in outstanding bonds are being held with this "survivor" option, which was originally installed to encourage elderly people to invest in the market without fear of losing their money if they died. 

Just another short-term manipulation of our markets that will probably have a worse effect on the overall economy than these people thought when they started abusing the system.  When will we learn our lesson with all this nonsense?  Not to mention, how informed are these terminally ill people about what is going on? Hopefully they got/are getting their cut.

Post-Domain Squatting

I've held on to jasondmello.com for years, anticipating the day that the internet would allow apostrophe's is URL addresses.  Finally, in 2010, I have moved on, and now present to the world a my personal website that incorrectly spells my name, Jason D'Mello.

Dangerous Minds

"I'm just an MBA living in LA" is the chorus for one of my new rap songs.  This city has given me more than it has taken in the 2 years I have lived here, and I am really fascinated with the inner-city culture that I get a glimpse of when I leave my beach neighborhood and explore.  Last week I taught my first high school class in a school in the Watts/Compton side of LA.  I was given just a day's notice, and really didn't have time to worry about spending a day in an area with 49% of the people under the poverty line and recognized around the world (thanks to rap music) for their gang violence.  By coincidence, I watched the movie "Dangerous Minds" the weekend before on TBS, and went into the experience with a willingness to teach a little karate or drop some Bob Dylan poetry like Ms. Pfeiffer.

As it turns out, Hollywood, the media, and Coolio had painted a picture of LA that I did not see that day.  What I did see was a brand new school, well behaved 17-18 year olds who were creative, energetic, passionate, and motivated to succeed.  They made the experience incredible for me, and really enlightened me on aspects of entrepreneurship that get missed in an MBA program.  I am excited to work with them throughout the semester to help them win a national business plan writing competition.

Today NPR featured a story that shows entrepreneurship causing controversy in this very neighborhood.  LA Gang Tours is a social enterprise that gives guided tours of the roughest parts of the city in a bus with former gang members.  They charge $65 per ticket, and tourists are taken to places that they would normally not feel safe going to alone, but like me, have had a certain picture painted in their minds through the the entertainment industry. Their tours have been sold out the last 5 months, and they make several stops, including the LA County Jail, the birthplace of the Black Panthers, and the birthplace of the Crips gang.  They stop at local businesses so that tourists can buy souvenirs, and supposedly donate a large portion of their profits back into the community to try to create new jobs, microfinancing loans, and other projects to help maintain a "cease-fire agreement" between the 3 major gangs in the area.

The founder, Alfred Lomas is a former gang member and has negotiated a deal with the gang leaders to keep gun free-zones for children to be safe in, and to keep the tourists safe on the trips.  The goal is to inform outsiders about this culture, help the economic health of South Central Los Angeles, and strive for peace.  Below is their explanation of how they keep tourists safe.

"5-10% of the gang population is responsible for 65-70% of all gang violence. LA GANG TOURS has access to the "5%," those who have their fingers on the triggers. The participating gangs in the established gun fire free safety zones have agreed to allow LA GANG TOURS to operate in their areas, given our goals to hire their youth for employment opportunities and offer job and entrepreneurship training programs.
LA GANG TOURS has predetermined routes and times that are honored by each of the participating and opposing gangs. Every effort has been made, from the time of day to departure locations, to ensure a safe, pleasant and enjoyable tour experience."

This story fascinates me, but I am not surprised to hear that certain community members are in complete opposition to this venture.  Some people view the tours as exploitation.  They argue that they are reinforcing negative stereotypes of the area, and taking advantage of  a group of people already going through hardships.   I admit that I thought of it almost like a jungle safari tour from the marketing.  However, after reading about the founder, I truly believe that this movement has positive intentions for the community, the tourists, and for peace in the area.  Perhaps I will take a date on the tour in the upcoming months.  Good idea?

Social Entrepreneurship + Guiness World Record

 In my last semester in the LMU MBA program, I was invited to be in an unique entrepreneurship class taught by the founder of Kinko's, (Paul Orfalea) that is a mixture of MBA students and undergrads (including ridiculously smart freshman) - all committed to becoming entrepreneurs.

3 of the undergrads in the class are stirring up some buzz for a class project in another class, where they had to create a marketable product from an ordinary object (brown paper bag)  What they've done is brilliant, combining social entrepreneurship, creativity, and an unusual guiness world record challenge.  Basically, they are asking people to cut a brown paper bag into a paper doll (using a template from the website) that they can decorate, and mail it in with a dollar (or more) so that 20,000 paper dolls can be held together by a group of students in France.  The dolls and the money will all be donated to Haiti for an orphanage.


"Donors are asked to create a paper doll, and then mail it along with a donation of $1 or more to the Lighthouse Charitable Foundation: 311 N. Robertson Blvd., Suite 151, Beverly Hills, CA 90211. www.linkedforhaiti.com"


Check out more info here - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Linked-For-Haiti/289098967272?ref=ts

The Sex Appeal of Innovation

A study of our European ancestors may propose that ancient cave women couldn't resist the sex appeal of the innovators of their time.

Looking at genetic patterns in Europeans, scientists see evidence that women from hunter/gatherer societies left their men and started procreating with the innovative farmers of their day.  Although it may be difficult to envision farmers as "innovators" amid our current society cluttered with self proclaimed social media guru's, scientists who have technology to clone you, and engineers who can design gadgets that either can make our lives easier or miserable, ancient farmers spread a disruptive technology that changed the way people lived.  They also probably really pissed off the hunters and gathers, who's genes faded throughout the centuries following the loss of their lady friends.

Who are the "farmers" and "hunters and gatherer's" of today's society?

Wet

This week, I have taken up residence in a hotel in Venice because my apartment could not handle the powerful rains in Southern California, and leaked.  I have heard several similar stories, which blows me away that in 2010 houses still can't keep people dry from rain, especially in the entertainment capital of the world.

The leak has since been fixed, and I am moving back home today, however just received this alarming report of the weather that may be in store for us west coasters in the coming 3 weeks.  This is a bit too intense for a midwestern boy who can handle snow and cold weather. 

In one day this week, LA had a tornado warning, snow advisory (mountains) floods, mud slides, strong waves that closed beach piers down, and who knows what else.  Wanted to share this weather report from a US Geological Survey, that says we are going to get a full season of rains in just a few days.

Currently, the strong El Nino is reaching its peak in the Eastern Pacific, and now finally appears to be exerting an influence on our weather. The strong jet has been apparent for quite some time out over the open water, but the persistent block had prevented it from reaching the coast. Now that the block has dissolved completely, a 200+ kt jet is barreling towards us. Multiple large and powerful storm systems are expected to slam into CA from the west and northwest over the coming two weeks, all riding this extremely powerful jet stream directly into the state. The jet will itself provide tremendous dynamic lift, in addition to directing numerous disturbances right at the state and supplying them with an ample oceanic moisture source. The jet will be at quite a low latitude over much of the Pacific, so these storms will be quite cold, at least initially. Very heavy rainfall and strong to potentially very strong winds will impact the lower elevations beginning late Sunday an
d continuing through at least the following Sunday. This will be the case for the entire state, from (and south of) the Mexican border all the way up to Oregon. Above 3000-4000 feet, precipitation will be all snow, and since temperatures will be unusually cold for a precipitation event of this magnitude, a truly prodigious amount of snowfall is likely to occur in the mountains, possibly measured in the tens of feet in the Sierra after it's all said and done.

But there's a big and rather threatening caveat to that (discussed below). Individual storm events are going to be hard to time for at least few more days, since this jet is just about as powerful as they come (on this planet, anyway). Between this Sunday and the following Sunday, I expect categorical statewide rainfall totals in excess of 3-4 inches. That is likely to be a huge underestimate for most areas. Much of NorCal is likely to see 5-10 inches in the lowlands, with 10-20 inches in orographically-favored areas.[Such as these hills - rg]

This is where things get even more interesting, though. The models are virtually unanimous in "reloading" the powerful jet stream and forming an additional persistent kink 2000-3000 miles to our southwest after next Sunday. This is a truly ominous pattern, because it implies the potential for a strong Pineapple-type connection to develop. Indeed, the 12z GFS now shows copious warm rains falling between days 12 and 16 across the entire state. Normally, such as scenario out beyond day seven would be dubious at best. Since the models are in such truly remarkable agreement, however, and because of the extremely high potential impact of such an event, it's worth mentioning now. Since there will be a massive volume of freshly-fallen snow (even at relatively low elevations between 3000-5000 feet), even a moderately warm storm event would cause very serious flooding. This situation will have to monitored closely. Even if the tropical connection does not develop, expected rains in the
coming 7-10 days will likely be sufficient to cause flooding in and of themselves (even in spite of dry antecedent conditions).

In addition to very heavy precipitation, powerful winds may result from very steep pressure gradients associated with the large and deep low pressure centers expect ed to begin approaching the coast by early next week. Though it's not clear at the moment just how powerful these winds may be, there is certainly the potential for a widespread damaging wind event at some point, and the high Sierra peaks are likely to see gusts in the 100-200 mph range (since the 200kt jet at 200-300 mb will essentially run directly into the mountains at some point). The details of this will have to be hashed out as the event(s) draw closer.

In short, the next 2-3 weeks (at least) are likely to be more active across California than any other 2-3 week period in recent memory. The potential exists for a dangerous flood scenario to arise at some point during this interval, especially with the possibility of a heavy rain-on-snow event during late week 2. In some parts of Southern California, a whole season's worth of rain could fall over the course of 5-10 days. This is likely to be a rather memorable event. Stay tuned.

Samuel Y. Johnson
Western Coastal and Marine Geology
U.S. Geological Survey
Pacific Science Center
400 Natural Bridges Drive
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
(831) 427-4746 voice
(831) 252-0812 cell

Sugar Mama

Times are certainly changing. Recent reports by the Pew Research Center indicate that more women are becoming sugar mama's in our society. In the 60's it was normal for a woman to be fired once they got married. In 2007, it was reported that 22% of women in the US made more money than their husbands. When looking at education of married couples, 53% of the couple had the same level of education, In 28% of the couples, the wives had higher education compared with 19% of the couples with men having more education.