schwa labs

2009-02-24T18:13:00.001-06:00

Ethisphere's list of the world's most ethical companies in 2008.

2009-02-24T18:08:00.001-06:00

Does this mean if we had all read The Official Slacker Handbook everything would be OK?

2009-02-24T17:58:00.002-06:00

Nice article by Jeffrey Sachs at Scientific American on how we need to quit freaking out.

How Long Until Someone Kluges Together The Young Lady's Illustrated Primer Alpha?

2009-02-07T22:31:00.002-06:00

I recently saw a video that showed mobile phones being used to teach children in remote villages. In contrast, my wife, who is a high school art teacher, is constantly having to get on to her students for using their phones. These two things, along with the fact that our phones are getting smarter and more media-rich, have me wondering how are we going to incorporate this technology into the classroom? Or will the classroom as we know even continue to exist?

If we can browse the web with our phone, shouldn't we then be able to "attend" our online courses from wherever our phone gets a signal? Why aren't there online courses for middle- and high-schoolers? Could they be (should they be) designed like The Institute For The Future's games Ruby's Bequest and Signtific? With their emphasis on creative thinking and collaboration, they certainly seem a better education model than continuing on with rote memorization and teaching to the test.

As far as smart phones go, I'm surprised that no one, that I'm aware of, has thought of donating them to developing countries as a way to advance education opportunities. I can imagine that a smart phone with an open source development platform, such as Android, would be a good thing, since it would allow localities to create the things they need.

I really meant this to be more of an essay, but I guess these questions are a good way to start.

Why Autopilot Won't Be The Only Pilot...

2009-01-18T12:15:00.002-06:00

at least not any time soon. The crash earlier this week got me to thinking about when, if ever, commercial air travel will be entirely automated. Regardless of knowing that a plane is on autopilot most of the time, there is something emotionally reassuring to have another human at the controls. Maybe once people get used to robotic cars, they will be willing to trust a robot to fly them. I say this because, despite statistics, most people are more afraid of flying than driving.

Signs of Things To Come, or Just a Few Asshats?

2009-01-18T11:21:00.002-06:00

While rude customers have been around as long as retail, I'm beginning to wonder if customer service associates are becoming customer servants. Over the past few months, there have been more people snapping their fingers demanding to be helped right now, and talking down to those from whom they are requiring assistance. My two favorite instances have been when young couples have made big purchases and then had the sales associates carry their stuff out to their vehicles, while neither member of the couple bothered lifting anything more than their finger to point to their vehicle. With a growing income gap in this country, I can't help but wonder if this type of behavior is going to become more frequent.

"People assume continuity where there is none."

2009-01-18T11:06:00.003-06:00

Juan Enriquez talking about the future of the United States.

Link Dump

2009-01-18T10:19:00.005-06:00

Books to keep in mind for the coming year.

Two articles worth reading over at Worldchanging:
Using Philanthropy to Fuel Innovation and
Predicting Possible Futures

A great rule set.

Another book to consider.

A couple of projects to do:
Robotify a remote control car
and build a UAV.

The Fourth Quadrant by Nassim Nicholas Taleb.

Two entries from the Next Big Future.

A band I need to check out.

Drool-worthy Robots

2008-12-28T20:35:00.001-06:00

A really wonderful photo essay on CMU's Robotics Institute.

Why The Big 3 Won't Make It

2008-12-28T20:06:00.001-06:00

This guy makes me want to grab a wrench and convert my own car.

Recession & Innovation

2008-12-28T19:36:00.001-06:00

An article over at Worldchanging that will be worth revisiting throughout the year.

I Need To Remember...

2008-12-15T20:20:00.001-06:00

to pick up a copy of the most recent NYT Magazine.

Things To Keep In Mind

2008-12-13T10:03:00.008-06:00

I don't really consider myself a business-minded person, but I do occasionally like to think about business. This is a list of recommendations, for lack of a better term, or at least things that every businessperson should consider going into the future.

1. Learn Chinese & Chinese culture/history.
One could also argue for Hindi & Indian culture/history. Both are coming on strong & both are huge markets.

Another thing about China is that soon they are going to need a lot of elderly care. Their one-child policy has left them with a smaller generation to take care of older family members (i.e., parents and grandparents). Given the difficulty of cracking the Chinese market, now would probably be the time to start making inroads. Maybe as a non-profit, have recent medical students rotate in, in exchange for debt relief. I don't know, just an idea. Maybe something similar for the homeless and poor here, but I'm getting sidetracked.

2. Learn about Intellectual Property.
While I certainly favor open source/free software, I've heard that 83% of what the US exports is intellectual property. Might be good to know something about it (whether it actually exists or not).

3. Environment.
A class on ecology & environment would probably benefit everybody, but being the source of resources, it would behoove a businessperson to know a little about Mother Nature.

4. Global Culture.
Regardless of geography, we are all cosmopolitans.

5. Think about the poor as a market.
There's a lot of us.

6. Think low-tech.
It's easy to believe that the latest, greatest high-tech whatever is somehow going to solve our problems. But never forget to consider, what would MacGyver do?

7. Cooperation & Competition
Corporations are persons, and persons are generally more productive when they cooperate.

8. Look at what is happening NOW!

9. Sustainability.
This may be redundant, given I mentioned the environment already. I think sustainability gets a lot of lip service and is already something of a cliche, but its importance is only going to become more important.

10. Community
I think it important for companies to establish roots in its community. Sure it might build brand loyalty, but it is never a bad idea have a good relationship with your neighbors.

Anyway, let me know what you think.

This Is Good News.

2008-11-21T07:00:00.000-06:00

Wal-Mart to power 360 stores in Texas with wind.

It Reminds Me of What Bill Hicks Said.

2008-11-21T06:58:00.001-06:00

"All matter is just energy reduced to a slow vibration."

2008-11-03T06:49:00.002-06:00

By way of Futurismic, an article on advertising. I don't think there is too much new in the article, especially if you've seen the documentary The Corporation, and are familiar with some of the tactics of guerrilla marketing. What is new is the idea of micro-targeting, but I think mobile social networking will have to become a bit more ubiquitous.

Hopefully A Full Transcript Will Emerge

2008-11-03T06:44:00.002-06:00

Grant Achatz and Nathan Myhrvold discuss the future of food.

Tent Cities Popping Up

2008-09-21T21:44:00.000-05:00

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080918/D9398LFO0.html

PIracy A Growth Industry In Somalia

2008-09-21T21:41:00.001-05:00

An interesting report on Wired Danger Room blog.

Space Exploration & Energy

2008-09-06T12:07:00.003-05:00

I wonder if energy companies are funding space exploration in an attempt to find new energy sources? Could some consortium just buy NASA outright in order to save time on R & D? Here's a page about space-based solar panels. And here's an article from 6 years ago. How come this isn't talked about more these days?

Just waiting for friday...

2007-09-25T10:43:00.000-05:00