Every sha la la la...

I know what you're thinking...the CARPENTERS!!! Yes, but no, it's not about the duo today. Rather, sitting inside a restaurant and listening to the melody in piano reminded me of a old life insurance ad that used to air in Bangladesh TV around two decades ago that used the tune, and I couldn't help but think...

WHO IN THE HELL CAME UP WITH THAT NAME?

It doesn't really insure your life, it just provides a monetary consolation to your loved ones. It should rather be called "In cases my spouse/parent/caregiver/owner (think cats)/lonely uncle die" insurance.

Dr. Yunus in Microsoft

Dr. Yunus in Microsoft - what a great speech! He had the entire audience captivated. Many of us were fortunate to hear him from the front row.

From the Seattle Times:

Inside a private conference room at Microsoft, top executives leaned around the table, eyes and ears fixed on a small, soft-spoken visitor from Bangladesh. He might not be recognized on the street, but to people dreaming up the next great idea to change the world, Muhammad Yunus is a rock star.

One year after he won the Nobel Peace Prize, Yunus came to the Seattle area Tuesday to share his vision for uniting technology and business with a social mission.

The man who turned the concept of banking on its head said poverty stems from flawed concepts, such as the idea that only people with money should be able to borrow more of it.
Yunus, 67, developed the system of microcredit, helping poor people improve their standard of living by using tiny loans to start businesses. Since giving out its first loans in 1983, the Grameen Bank he founded has reached more than 7 million borrowers who would have no access to credit through traditional banks. About 97 percent of them are women.

"The world runs with money," he said. "You need a dollar to catch a dollar, and no one gives you the first dollar."

Yunus said he also wants to change the notion that business exists to maximize profits.

"I think that's a shame because in this theory, they have actually insulted human beings," he said. "Money-making is a very important part of human beings, but human beings are much bigger than that."

Yunus advocated linking business and philanthropy in a new model called "social business."

More from the Seattle Times...

Deshantori (The Migrant)

Deshantori (The Migrant) is a film directed and produced by a few young promising film makers from Bangladesh, based now in the US. This 69 min. short film is about a journey made by so many of us but we often forget the story behind it and how the path for many others has been less fortunate. Check out the movie, and support it if you can.

Good to see that Mridul is as concerned about our motherland as the day I met him in high school and still as willing and resourceful to make a difference!

Stanford robot passes driving test

Junior, Stanford's robot Volkswagen, passed its basic driver's test on Thursday. Driving just 15 miles per hour, Junior passed with flying colors in three of four "missions" on a parking-lot course, including a three-point U-turn and successful navigation of a four-way stop with human-driver cars. But it got stuck on a course passing a car.

When robot drivers become a reality in the streets...I definitely won't be missing the cell phone chatter or careless coffee drivers on the way to work....three cheers for technology...

Read the story in cnet...

Jason Bourne is back...

Fantasia (Epilogue)

Pick a day and write a note
Bleed it out below a clef
The songs written stay afloat
What happens tomorrow, dream today

It creeps on you, sliding away
Rocks the ridges of Monte Rosa
Darkness falls where I lay
With the sand in hand, I'm safe

She was there, for the winter
In the perfect fifth, so afar
The foggy road that leads to her
Harmonies, yet so somber

She's a child, if you think
Strike a tone and she’ll be born.

are you on web 2.0?

...this video pretty much sums it up - what the new www is looking like. Web 2.0 is here ladies and gentleman and what better way to show the success of "separation of content and format" but through YouTube. I can hardly hold my excitement thinking about how this simple concept called xml has enabled us...proof of which I see when watching the video - distributed by an extensible content provider, reading about it in a friend's blog, which i noticed in an RSS feed about this mesmerizing concept that Tim O'Reilly labeled appropriately around two years ago....enjoy...

winters mist

interaktion.info

The tigers of cricket have emerged!

...or should we call them the tiger cubs? All but two players are between 17 (yes that's one and seven - seventeen!) and 24 and not only they play GREAT cricket but they're cool and composed and calculative. The Bangladesh Cricket squad did some serious a** kicking in their game against India in the World Cup...and managed to pull a 5 wicket win.

Their balling was awesome, their batting was smashing and their fielding was spec-ta-cular but the best part was how matured their game was. They did not break a sweat even though they knew that that cricket giant India has been deemed as one of the possible champions this time.

But Bashar and the boys came and managed to say “adios” to all the Indian batsmen in 191 runs, with some superior balling by Mashrafee, Russell, Razzak and Rafique. In the outfield, not a stoppable or catchable ball went by passed them.

Then the batting side also outperformed their counterparts. With opener Tamim smashing away to get a 51, and Musfique, promoted from fourth to the first down to prove that he may just have it in him to be the next captain, with a stunning 56 and lasting all the way to the end without getting out. Sakib also scored 53, to show that the squad doesn’t put on a one man show.

We were SO ecstatic and pumped up about the win that we decided to bring out our bats and pads ahead of time and played a quick round of cricket ourselves, in the cold Seattle rain! I lost my voice while watching the Tigers beat the c*** out of the Indians and sneezing away after our adventure in the rain…and still couldn’t stop jumping up and down in celebration!

Another highlight of the celebration was when a Pakistani friend called (moments after the Pakistan loss) to congratulate me and wished that their side would play as professionally as the Bangladeshis and he’s now supporting Bangladesh for the rest of the WC. Just to think, before we got the ICC status, so many of us have grown up supporting the Imran Khans and the Wasim Akrams in world cricket, but now the tide is turning…and it’s our time!

Congrats to the young Tigers for bringing us this moment.

Visconti's Tiramisu

Tucked away in the Northern Cascades range, far away from it's alpine junction is a fascinating Bavarian village - Leavenworth. There in that magical little countryside is a fine Italian diner called Visconti's, named after the legendary rulers of Milan.... OK enough introduction...their Tiramisu is to die for!!! One of the best I've ever had...right there with Mrs. Risso's (friends mom) home made one. This creamy tiramisu just melts in your mouth, with the smooth taste of cocoa and espresso complimenting the very existence of ones taste buds.

Of course, the starters and entree were delicious too...