A great piece of writing. http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html
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Urbee is a 3D printed hybrid car that is 8 times more energy efficient than a typical car. For the full story behind its inception take a look at this video. You will not regret your 20 minutes so just watch it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhJCTMkn9YoMy mind has been gravitating towards hardware these days and Urbee has been the final blow. As a child I wanted to grow up to build robots. I loosely followed that dream, focusing in physics throughout high school and applying to Penn as a mechanical engineering major. However I had switched to computer science b/c the traditional ME curriculum and the industry itself seemed uninspiring. Since then I have been meddling with code and found it to be enjoyable, but it never really struck a chord in my heart. Urbee, however, does. 3D printing is completely liberating traditional manufacturing. Software enhanced 3D printed vehicles might be what I have been looking for all along. Absolutely thrilled.
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If you are interested in understanding what Bitcoins really are, then take a deep breath and read this article. http://www.michaelnielsen.org/ddi/how-the-bitcoin-protocol-actually-works/
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I really like Phil Libin, especially his argument for alignment of interest. He claims that interests of shareholders, employees, partners, and customers should be aligned to build a lasting company. That is the reason Evernote does not have any indirect revenue (i.e. advertisement). Because the moment you have ads, shareholders want more, customers want less. Also you want 3rd party developers to build great products on top of your service, but you do not want them to steal too much traffic. The notion of alignment is really worth thinking about. Is there alignment of interest in hospitals? No, doctors make more money if you return. Universities? No, students want better lectures, but professors are judged by their research.Anyways, besides that point, Phil Libin's talks are usually interesting. However, they are heavily repetitive, so watching this one would be enough. http://foundation.bz/32/I chose this one that I just watched b/c it is quite current and the interview series on http://foundation.bz/ is worth checking out. The interviewer is always the same guy, Kevin Rose who co-founded Digg.
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A blog that I follow quite religiously. The blogger is a guy named Andrew Kim who is exactly my age. However, his design projects are nothing short of mind-blowing. Just the way he presents his work itself is amazing: http://www.minimallyminimal.com/blog/america-electThis dude is a constant reminder to myself that I must become a better designer. He is my age, my ethnic group. There aren't much excuses.
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Tom Sachs is a contemporary artist that I discovered lately. Of all his works, I particularly like this one: "Love Letter to Plywood"http://vimeo.com/44947985I initially discovered Tom Saches through his "Ten Bullets" video that details the rules of his studio. It's also quite interesting.
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One of my favorite videos regarding venture capital investing. Don Valentine explains that Sequoia looks at the market first: the size, the dynamic, the competition, and the growth. When the decision is made about the market at stake, then they go out to find the right entrepreneurs in those markets, not the other way around. This is contradictory to many famous investors who vow that they look that the team first (e.g. Ron Conway). Very much worth watching if you are into this stuff.
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Gary Hustwit’s design documentary trilogy is quite amazing. Forces you to realize the importance and ubiquitous nature of design.Helvetica: http://www.helveticafilm.com/Objectified: http://www.objectifiedfilm.com/Urbanized: http://urbanizedfilm.com/
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Clear explanation b/w a grow fast and a grow organic company base on his personal experience of building Fog Creek Software and Stack Exchange.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPJf8KrvJXU
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Banksy is a graffiti artist that has captured my mind these days. For a glimpse of his work check out: http://www.banksyny.com/"Exit Through The Gift Shop" is a film/documentary that Banksy produced about graffiti art by telling the life story of Thierry Guetta. It is absolutely the best: http://www.banksyfilm.com/
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Tom, in the beginning (no need to watch the whole thing), talks about just-in-time hiring. Hiring/Partnering with someone who is an expert in Rails, payment systems, Git, etc. I think this is an important idea. In order to gather the essentials, elements should be added upon absolute need, not out of a feeling or a guess.
Another video I like from Tom. His discussion of luck is on-point. The factor of luck isn't completely out of your control. You should actively optimize your chances of getting lucky by consciously deciding when and where to be.