The number of instances of "efficiency," peaks around 1920 and then falls (although it rebounds and keeps fairly steady). AThe 1970s are the period when flexible accumulation starts to replace Fordism. AOn the other hand, "productivity" is pretty non-existent, starts to increase around 1960 and peaks a little after 1980 and then drops down again. AAgain, this seems to vaguely conform to the Fordism to flexible accumulation shift.
Posted: December 20th, 2010
at 5:29pm by Koookiecrumbles
Categories: the column
Comments: No comments
As I type this, filmmaker (and all around hilarious guy) Kevin Smith is in the midst of an epic Twitter discussion about what he views as the secret to success in both the movie business and life in general. I couldn't agree with him more, so I thought it was worth sharing on this site.
Posted: December 20th, 2010
at 5:23pm by Koookiecrumbles
Categories: the column
Comments: No comments
The Young and the Restless: The Rise of Social Entrepreneurship in India
The CEO of India's ambulance service was among the first generation of women in her Rajasthan town to receive an education beyond high school. Sweta Mangal received her MBA from the University of Rochester, with the full intention of finding a job and remaining in the US. But less than two years after she graduated, she felt an itch - an India itch - and without telling her family, she flew back to India.
Shortly after she returned, the friend of Ravi Krishna, another US-educated Indian, died in a car accident because he did not receive prompt medical attention. In response to this tragedy, Sweta and a few friends started talking about India's need for an ambulance system. "In the US," she said, "we would have just dialed 911. But there wasn't anything like that here." In 2003, Sweta and a few friends created an initiative to provide ambulance services for Mumbai residents, buying two ambulances and putting them on the road. As demand grew, they bought eight more ambulances. They also expanded their services to provide a women's helpline as well as first aid workshops at schools and colleges. Two years ago, Mangal left her day job to become CEO of Dial 1298 for Ambulance. By April 2011, they expect to have 500 ambulances across India.
Mangal is part of a growing trend of young Indians who are increasingly unwilling to accept India's inequality gap as immutable truth. This gap means that in medical emergencies, the wealthy are rushed to private hospitals in chauffeur-driven cars, while the poor are forced to hope for a run of luck that will save their lives. Indeed, India is (in)famous for its information technology capabilities even though there is no assurance of a constant supply of electricity in most parts of the country. India is renowned for its cardiothoracic surgery facilities even though access to basic sanitation for the majority of the population is non-existent. The wealthy have Ferraris in cities known for clogged roads and cashmere scarves in areas whose temperatures rarely drop below 70 degrees, while slum children burn plastic bottles to keep warm.
: Continue reading the article :
Posted: December 20th, 2010
at 1:16pm by Koookiecrumbles
Categories: development,entrepreneurship
Comments: No comments
Roger Penrose considered it impossible. Thinking could never imitate a computer process. He said as much in his book, The Emperor's New Mind. But, a new book, The Intuitive Algorithm, (IA), suggested that intuition was a pattern recognition process. Intuition propelled information through many neural regions like a lightning streak. Data moved from input to output in a reported 20 milliseconds. The mind saw, recognized, interpreted and acted. In the blink of an eye. Myriad processes converted light, sound, touch and smell instantly into your nerve impulses. A dedicated region recognized those impulses as objects and events. The limbic system, another region, interpreted those events to generate emotions. A fourth region responded to those emotions with actions. The mind perceived, identified, evaluated and acted. Intuition got you off the hot stove in a fraction of a second. And it could be using a simple algorithm.
Posted: December 20th, 2010
at 1:11pm by Koookiecrumbles
Categories: the column
Comments: No comments
Combine all this, and the nonprofit model makes it difficult for companies to recruit top-tier talent. Unlike top-quartile workers ten years ago, employees today understand equity, options and other incentives. They know the value of their time. An all-star developer might volunteer on the weekends for a nonprofit but is unlikely to choose it as a full-time job over a position at a startup or big company. The inability to score top talent is a positive feedback cycle, as a new potential hire is unlikely to want to join an organization filled with mediocre, unmotivated people.
Posted: December 19th, 2010
at 7:39pm by Koookiecrumbles
Categories: the column
Comments: No comments
The Top 10 Growth Industries for 2011
Will 2011 bea good year for American industry?
For most sectors, 2010 was a comeback year, as companies finally began adjusting to an economic environment that constantly seemed at risk of double-dipping back into recession. Now that those fears have transformed into mild concerns over slower-than-expected growth, 2011 will present an opportunity for many industries to rejuvenate themselves — and several are on track to do just that.
Independent researcher IBISWorld ranked 711 U.S.-based industries on their ability to increase revenue, industry gross products, employment, productivity improvements and profitability to make its predictions of the 10 top performing industries for 2011.
Japan’s Stereo (Sour)
Sour have released a new music video.
Incidentally, the word "released" in that previous sentence could easily have been replaced by a verb like "uncorked", or perhaps "unleashed". The project deserves that much drama - it’s less of a video and more a state-of-the-art web extravaganza. To view it you go to a specific website, input your Facebook/Twitter/webcam details, and let the thing take over your life.
It’s fun, interesting and more than a little bit scary; click below to take the plunge.
Sour are making something of a reputation for themselves. They’ve already blown the internet’s collective mind once with their video for aa ("Tone of Everyday"). It shapes a collection of webcam footage into some incredible patterns.

It’s strange though, that here we are, this far into an article about a band, with no mention of the actual music. That’s Sour’s problem; they’re in danger of becoming known as a technological art project, rather than musicians. It’s a crying shame too, as they’re really quite wonderful. Internet comments highlight the problem: "Fun video and idea, which was entertaining to watch. Problem was it’s a mediocre song, with horrible singing," says one viewer.
I thought the same thing about the singing, at first. The voice in question is a flawed, cracked, fragile thing. It was only over time that its emotive power became apparent; without it, Sour would have much, much less impact. Unfortunately, most of the Internet doesn’t give the band enough time to let them reveal their more subtle charms; they watch the videos once and move on.
Perhaps people reading this with 3 minutes to spare wouldn’t mind trying out the music itself. Watch the videos on YouTube, then minimise the window. Don’t watch, just listen.
If you find something you like, then go ahead and investigate aaaaaa ("Ensemble"), the band’s recently-released third album.
Sour’s homepage: sour-web.com
Posted: December 19th, 2010
at 6:51pm by mnp
Tagged with video, twitter, music, youtube, Japan's Stereo, sour, interactive, facebook, mirror, tone of everyday
Comments: No comments
Quote of the Day
An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made in a very narrow field. - NielsABohr via
Posted: December 19th, 2010
at 6:46pm by Koookiecrumbles
Categories: quote of the day
Comments: No comments
So how do you make those big leaps forward that require a huge step back first? Do them on your own time of course. And rather than building the blog sample from the book or some other toy project, you might as well try building a useful product. You're going to invest the time in the new technology anyway, if it turns out to be great stuff, it'd be great if you got a fantastic new product out of it along the way.
Posted: December 19th, 2010
at 6:43pm by Koookiecrumbles
Categories: the column
Comments: No comments