1 minute generation

I Feel Soon they'll be doing papers on social media. Whn I try to tweet or whatever the heck they call it these days to feel modern and hip, I remove spaces, pumctuations, adjectives, words, vers, nouns, pronouns and even after thinking a long time, I barely make it under the character limit. I guess it's all about the hash tag baby

Fun fact, The Hash Tag, not at all related to the hash brownie lol.

CMS Rewrite Beta

After a long rewrite, the new CMS is finally online.

Much more flexible, this rewrite should provide a lot of fun features

CMS Rewrite in progress

Site rewrite in progress

For fun, I have been rewriting the domains I control

On time speeding up

According to Einstein, "if there was no matter, time wouldn't exist." As I age, I have been gaining weight. Part of me wants to blame the fact that the universe is expanding at an increasing rate... I also noticed that time flies faster. Long story short, I think that if I want time to zoom by at a more normal pace, I should exercise more and lose weight... because there are moments I think time is moving way too fast... especially on monday mornings when I wonder, where the heck did the weekend go :p

Robber buys getaway vehicle from cop

A robber walks into a police officer's home and tries to buy a motorbike as a getway vehicle with the money from the bank he just robbed... sounds like the plot of a joke or the beginning of a comedy skit.

Well, according to This article, it seems like this is just what one person did in Arkansas. Because he paid with the stolen money, after he left, the officer just checked the money and it was easy to pin things down on him.

I am no expert on crime but it does require planning. One certain, Buying a motorcycle from a Law enforcement officer in Uniform after one just robbed a bank sounds like a very risky idea to me.

Genius tries to take a selfie with python

What should someone do when they see a Python? I don't know about you and I am certainly not an expert on snakes but, if it were me, unless we are talking about the programming language, I would instantly cowardly run screaming like a baby. It seems like common wisdom is not so common and it is certainly not the path Ashok Bishnoi took. He ran towards the snake

When he saw the snake, our young hero had the brilliant idea to think it was wise to immortalize the moment by taking a selfie with a giant Python.... forgetting in the process how mortal he was.

Not only did the idiot attempt to strike multiple poses but he kept getting closer until at some point even the python went, wtf (in parseltongue of course). Seeing how affectionate Ashok was, the snake decided to give the poor candidate for the Darwin awards a kiss. As a result, Ashok was bitten in the neck.

Fortunately he survived and only his ego was bruised. But the question begs to be asked, how the heck did he think it was a brilliant idea in the first place? Maybe he got confused and he thought it was monty python. Maybe he thought it was a fashionable scarf. Maybe he thought he was immune to venom. I have no clue because I certainly would have run. Heck, I probably would have run before I actually got close enough to see the snake.

Whatever it was, I am glad he is alive and I certainly hope he has learned his lesson

Surprising life lessons learned by growing plants

Most of my life, I did not have plants but when I came to the US, I ended up with plants in my apartment and learned a few interesting lessons.

1. What other people throw can blossom into a strong sturdy tree

When I first came to the US, I ate a date and I was about to throw it away when my mom suggested we plant it in an empty pot. Simply giving it water and sunlight, after a few months, eventually a leaf came out of the ground, then a few more came out. Today, it is a small tree that is growing bigger and stronger.

Because many people throw away something, it does not mean it is worthless. Think outside the box, try something new… who knows where you’ll end up.

2. Persistence, and regularity of something simple has a long term effect

After my first initial success, when I planted second seed… initially, nothing came out. At first I got discouraged but because I had another plant in there, I still gave it water. … and as it grow, they become stronger. Even if I did not see the difference from day to day, I just kept watering the plants on a regular basis. Even if sometimes it was annoying, one tree then another started growing

To get a result, you have to sometimes initially do something annoying and persist even if sometimes the situation seems overwhelming. The same principle applies to exercising, self improvement and anything you set your mind to. Starting from scratch can be discouraging but sometimes you have to see the bigger picture. With a long term vision, a simple gesture repeated over time can yield a result bigger than expected.

3. Sometimes it takes a few tries to get to where you want it to be

After I planted palm trees, I figured I’d try planting mint (People from Morocco are big on mint tea so I figured why not). I ordered seeds and planted them. Shortly, something came out and I was excited but even if all 10 seeds I planted came out, a lot did not survive the change in weather. Interestingly, a few survived and today they are growing strong. I cut those mint plants and divided them… As a result, today I have a large put filled with multiple mint seeds.

As the saying goes, “you have to be willing to break a few eggs to make an omelet.” Failure is part of success, not everything you try in life will work on the first try.

4. The resilience of plants despite extreme conditions is humbling and astounding

One mint plant I left outside and I thought it died. Yet, when spring came, it grew back from nothing and blossomed again.

In life, we all eventually face events that bring us down, make us either doubt our capacity to succeed or even get back up. Yet, when spring comes, forests that seemed dead spring back to life. No matter what happens to you, you have to be willing to get back up, try again, try harder. As the saying goes, it does not matter how many times you fall, what matters is the number of times you get back up… because all that matters in the end is that you are standing and willing to get back on top.

5. It is important to set boundaries

One mistake I made was to mix mint with other plants and even if I really like mint, it started asphyxiating other plants. I learned that you had to give mint boundaries or it will start to grow wildly and it can become an issue.

Sometimes, even something or someone we really like can overtake our lives and in extreme cases even ruin lives. Whether it is work, relationships or any activity, it is important to set healthy/ sensible boundaries so you do not end up asphyxiated with too much of one thing.

6. Have multiple plants.

On a regular basis, I used mint to prepare mint tea. Initially, when I only had one plant, each time I made tea, I could not prepare it until the plant grew again. When I ended up with multiple mint plants, it was a lot easier to cut a little from a different plant each time and yet have them grow at the same time.

As the saying goes, “Do not put all your eggs in one basket.” This means that sometimes you have to delay gratification and invest in “diversifying your portfolio.” Have multiple plans in life, do not rely on a single one.

7. It is gratifying to build something bigger that lasts

What do I gain from planting a palm tree? From a strictly selfish point of view, nothing that directly affects my success. With that in mind, having plants that are growing independently from me is definitely gratifying. With plants and plants losing their leaves in winter, there are days when the view of desolation can be depressing. Having an Island of green inside brightens up the day.

Obviously help yourself but help others as well. Spread the positive vibes, help others. It feels good to see others succeed as well. Some might end up ungrateful but others might actually contribute back something unexpected when the moment comes.

So, I am encouraging everyone to try to grow at least one plant. Also, try new things, go out of your comfort zone... you never know what comes out of it

On synthetic diamonds gaining ground

Just read an article on how De Beers feels synthetic diamonds are an increasing threat. Synthetic diamonds are gaining popularity and I think it is a good thing

Here are a couple reasons why:

If you can get a better diamond, with a higher quality, cheaper, with less people killed or exploited, it is definitely a good thing

Ten ways that could be hurting your success

  1. Not improving - Be the best you can be. The biggest obstacle to getting ahead will be yourself. Whatever your field is, you should strive to constantly improve, become a better version of yourself and acquire the skills that help you get to the next level. This applies whether you are at the bottom of the hierachy... all the way to CEO.
  2. Doing the minimum - Do the best you can do. It can be tempting to do the minimum, do exactly what you are told but one way to get ahead is think one step further... If there is one thing that can make you work smarter, do it. If you can get better results by going the extra mile, make it happen. If your current boss/company does not see any added value, someone else will.
  3. Wanting to do too much - Avoid waste. This may seem to contradict the previous item but it is very different. There are times when doing too much is wasting precious resources and it won't make a difference. For example, if all your electric needs are covered by one solar panel, installing 20 is a waste of resources, especially if you have no way of storing the extra energy. Also, if you are approaching a task that is too complex, you are more likely to procrastinate
  4. Not planning - Think ahead. One common reason I have seen to forego planning is because you get less flexibility in your life. Arguably, you get more flexibility in doing what you want if you plan ahead of time. Even if at the last minute, you decide you want to change plans you have the option to do so. However, there are times, when under pressure, it is difficult to see the road ahead. Having a roadmap helps you optimize your efforts, be more confident in getting to where you want to go.
  5. Complaining too much - We all have met that person who keeps complaining no matter what happens. Even assuming they win the lottery, they are going to whine that their whole previous life is ruined... don't be that person. As the saying goes, it is to be an optimist and be wrong than pessimistic and be right" ... it does not change the events but you can certainly change the way you react to them.
  6. Blaming others - If you screw up, own it and find ways to improve. There is a joke that goes a guy is driving on 495 and hears on the radio "We interrupt this broadcast to warn everyone there is a madman going in the wrong direction"... the guy turns off the radio and shrugs, "pff, they are all going in the wrong direction." There are times where you will need to open your eyes and do a reality check.
  7. Have confidence in yourself - Again, this might seem like the opposite of the previous bullet point... but it is different: You need a healthy dose of self esteem, enough willpower to conquer obstacles and persist until you get through the difficult parts. The first person who hired Elvis for a concert told him he would never break through... the same goes for the Beatles, Michael Jordan, and countless others. Walt Disney was even fired for a lack of imagination. Be confident in yourself, your capabilities and show people what you are really worth
  8. Not asking for help - Swallow your pride and reach out if necessary. We all want to look good in front of others, we all want others to only see us succeed but failure is part of success. It is ok not to know something and many times, the others who have had the same problems before you will be happy to share their experience, help you avoid their mistakes. Even if you are on the right track, you may actually get to where you want to be faster.
  9. Have no empathy - We've all heard it at least once, "nice people finish last" and though there is such a thing as being too nice if you let people step on you, that does not mean that you have to be ruthless to get ahead. As a matter of fact, there is a study by google that the teams are the ones where people being nice and feel safe. Be kind to one another... if not to help others, at least to help yourself. Empower others and zest greatness... it feels good to spread positive vibes.
  10. Think big - No matter how low you are, no matter what obstacles, no matter how difficult things are... Think big, aim for the moon... who knows, you may reach it. Even if you don't, all the changes that you will have to undergo to get there will undubitably make you a better person. Even if you reach your goal only partially, it can still be a succes

Windows 7 and windows 8.1 not for sale anymore

It's official, no more new installs of windows 7 and 8.1... or at least no more new licenses for OEMS. Windows 7 is dead, long live windows 10 (well at least at least until the next version comes.

Maybe next version version of windows will combine windows 7 and windows 11... and will do a bit of everything so that they can call it windows seven eleven... with a little luck, it will come with an orange red green logo with a big 7... and before anyone says, no this won't happen, I would like to remind everyone there was a windows 3.11... Bizarrely there was no windows 3.14 ... but I digress... or does pi converge.... somebody good with math help me :p.

Maybe it's time to move on from windows to something else, like "doors"... opening a new perception or paradigm to computing... some sort of singularity... wait, that name is already taken... never mind.

Bob Dylan awarded Nobel prize

Bob Dylan was just awarded the Nobel prize for litterature. Though Bob Dylan has some awesome songs, I am not really sure he would be my first choice for a Nobel prize in literature. I am starting to think the Nobel committe sometimes gets high while coming up with a decision. I never thought I'd quote John Boehner, "not sure he would be my second or third choice either."

Some decisions, I definitely like Malala Yousafzai but there are times it feels like the igNobels, I feel the parody of the Nobel Prize for pointless research make more sense. The official answer from the spokesperson, that they have awarded the nobel prize to another song writer, Homer is kind of cheesy... putting them in the same category, in my humble opinion, is quite a stretch.

Why they would do this, nobody knows... maybe "the answer my friends, is blowing in the wind."

In 2016 Muslim and Jewish New year coincide

When you drop the H, Rosh Ashana becomes Ros Asana, the arabic equivalent for Rosh Ashana. Interestingly, this year both new years fall on the same day... As if it was the universe's way to highlight how close cultures are... that in the end, people are not that different. May that be a cue to global tolerance, mutual understanding and world peace. Happy 5777! Happy 1438!

111K for an MBA

I was just reading the Stanford was getting ready to pay 160k over two years to 3 students who were willing to relocate to the midwest after they graduate and though the story can be given a positive spin, one fact caught my eye: It would have cost them 111K to attend the school. It is official the cost of education have become insane.

Yes, I understand good education can be costly but when education costs rise 80 percent in 5 years, it is definitely not healthy. Though I understand some of it is due to inflation, the cost of college has been multiplied by ten over the last 30 years, that is 3 times inflation.

It definitely does not benefit the student as most of the additional profits are not really reinvested into providing better education. Profits are not even used to provide a better education as a lot of the profits go to admin costs.

Yes, there are some huge benefits to attending college. Is knowledge important? absolutely. The problem is more and more students graduate in debt. Many low paying jobs that did not require a degree now are now staffed by indebted students who will likely never be able to pay back their loans.

Behind every successful person...

There is a common saying that says, “behind every successful man there is a successful woman,” I would like to venture that this does only provide a limited vision of reality.

First, it should be gender neutral

For every successful person, there are phenomenal supportive people willing to help. As more women have entered the workforce, it is fair to say, supportive husbands contribute too. Further, as same sex couples gain more acceptance, it is not necessarily someone from the opposite sex. But it does not give credit to everyone else in the support system… friends who cheer for you, family who encourage you on from early on are not recognized

For every successful person, there is a surprised person

We all have our potential kryptonite: As we go through life, we encounter multiple people who will make us doubt, put us down... either on purpose or unaware of what they are doing. It is important to keep grounded, avoid those people if you can and when you can’t be strong enough to persist

For every successful person, there is a mountain of failure

though on rare occasion, we do get lucky and success can come overnight... it is the exception rather than the norm. Whether it is athletes, musicians or experts in any field... they all start from the ground up and fail multiple times. As a matter of fact, we start in life not even knowing how to talk or walk... It is only after failing multiple times that we can do something correctly

For every successful person there is a vision

Persisting is one thing but you have to know what you want, if you don’t know where you’re going... how do you know you’ve reached your goal? If you exert yourself, trying a different activity every day, all you’ll end up is frustrated that you are not getting anywhere... and in the end, failure will not really help.

For every successful person, the path to success is non linear

Not only is the path non linear... sometimes it seems as our path is guided by a GPS with the setting "follow the most complicated path possible." That said, as the saying goes, “you may not change the direction of the wind but you can adjust the direction of your sails.” In other words, Multiple events will push us un multiple directions directions and it is very easy to get off course... sometimes stay off track many years without even realizing it. It is important to stay the course and do what it takes to get there by leveraging events that could throw us of course to get closer to our long term goals

Whatever happens, the most important is to know what you want, persist and leverage life's side trips the same way space probes use gravity assists to accelerate counter-intuitively first in the opposite direction, keeping the end trajectory in mind to get where they want faster

Elon asks twitter about his exploding rocket

Elon Musk asking twitter for the reason his rocket exploded.

Obviously, we could blame it on last week's hurricane. I believe it was because someone forgot their samsung galaxy s7 ... those batteries are lethal :p .

Is he looking for an resident alien tweet back and say, oh that looks suspiciously similar to what happened to me on XORG 79b, with your primitive technology, I would suggest local earthian mechanic Knextrulb.

Maybe he is expecting a rocket scientist, an astro physicist or some sort of engineer to weigh in with his expertise? Even assuming one knows the answer, why would they answer. Is he expecting a freebie? I don't know what the reason is but it definitely does not sound good

Obama in a restaurant kitchen

Now, there is something you don't see every day and I never expected : A sitting president working a restaurant kitchen

I was already pleasantly surprised when I heard that President Obama's daughter got a summer job at a restaurant. She probably could have picked any place for a summer job and they would have been glad to have her. However, I am even more impressed how her father stopped by and helped her in the kitchen. It definitel is a strong statement and should be commended.

On the accuracy of information on the web

On the growth of viral/conspiracy sites

An awesome side effect of the growing omni-presence of the internet is how it has revolutionized the way we get information. We don't have to wait anymore for a show to be on... we can go to any major news outlet's web page and get instant coverage. Further with social media like Facebook and Twitter, we don't even have to wait for news to be written, we can simply tap into feeds of information where the flow of information is instantaneous

While this has made access to information quicker and easier, on the web is a growing number of sites that do not really care about providing accurate information. Whether it is viral web sites which are aimed at making money, conspiracy websites which provide a new "hidden" insight that all news medias have missed, all tap into our "rebellious" side, our quest to seek original information or things we want to be true. Sometimes, it is someone presenting a secret recipy to success, a "life hack" everyone has missed. Sometimes it taps into our curiosity.

As a result, a lot of misinformation is routinely forwarded by people and presented as fact. Because the internet moves so fast, before the information has been fact checked, a huge outrage has been created. As people transmit information, they exagerate more and amplify it... similar to the butterfly effect: a simple irritating fact of sub-importance creates a flame war where people start trolling

What is important to keep in mind is that these sites, for the most part do that to attract traffic and make money. Some are more insidious and are run by people with ulterior motives: Sometimes, it is a company doing astro-turfing to improve their image. Other times, it is someone spreading bad information to hurt a competitor.

This is why it becomes important to validate information as you see it. If it sounds too crazy to be true, chances are it probably is. If it is posted on some obscure blog while the main media is saying otherwise... chances are it is just an opinion or a made up fact: if it is a big scandal, chances are a major news outlet will pick it up first. Therefore, double check it before you forward the information or comment on it

With all that said, there is a huge amount of awesome information on the web. I learn a lot and get access to information quicker

Either Way, happy hunting and just remember, be careful what information you trust... not all of it is created equal .

Lesson on persistence from the iron nun

There is an interesting concept called self learned helplessness which basically states that we are not born pessimistic. We are born full of hopes and willpower.

At a young age, anything is possible... we learn to walk, we learn to interact, we learn complex concepts and we don't care how many tries it takes us to get there. We don't care if we fall, we get back up. We don't care if we failed a thousand times, we try as many times as necessary

The problem appears as we age: As we encounter failure and get hurt, we gradually learn to give up. As we age, thoughts like "I am too old for this" or "no matter how hard I try I am not going to get it" starts to set in. Rather continuing to experiment, we start to cling to behaviors that have rewarded us in the past and start to stagnate

Many times, I have met people that really wanted to do something in the past and given up on it. One wanted to learn a language and said that in her twenties, her brain was too old to learn. Another person said it was too late to become fit and exercise... he had never done anything in his life and it was too late for his body to take it at his age.

The Iron nun brilliantly demonstrates that a huge percentage of the resistence we face is in our mind. After starting to run in her 40s, she willed herself into competing for 40 iron men... proving that when there is a will there is a way. Of course, one must be careful when starting on such a journey but it is not only possible but recommended. We can all achieve our dreams if we set our minds to it, put the efforts needed and persist as long as necessary... This applies to learning a new skill, becoming more fit, professional or personal success or simply living a more fulfilling and happy life

May you, like the iron nun, find your calling, push back the limits, do something awesome

The Cat who thought he was a lion

One of the keys to success in life is you have to think big... then persistence and a good dose of attitude will do the rest.

Of Course, one should remain grounded in reality and make sure that even the wildest dream has a at least a tiny chance of succeeding. However, thinking beyond the current obstacles, imagining things much larger than they are at the moment is important as well.

As they say, it is better to be an optimist and be wrong than a pessimist and be correct. Assuming the situation is terrible, then by being optimistic, you at least make the ride more enjoyable... if things are messed up, there is no point in making things worse by making yourself miserable and reminding you how bad things are. However, if there is a remote chance that things can get better, by seeing further down the road, seeing how good things can become, you give yourself the energy to persist and find alternative paths to get there.

So go ahead, think big, pick something awesome, persist and make a difference. It's fun to make the impossible possible.

New Look - more aerodynamic

I may have trimmed slightly more than I originally planned... with my beard is longer than my hair.

Hopefully, with the extra sunshine hitting my head, I'll be getting brighter ideas.

On the plus side, according to a study I just made up I'll be more aerodynamic and I should be able to get up faster in the morning :p

Dad does not snore

Just came across this gem:"Dad does not snore, he ensures the security of the whole household by letting know potential intruders there is someone in the house from far away"

Who knew? I was ensuring the security of my own home all along

Machine Learning, AI and the Internet of things

Was browsing through a forbes article about how IOT will bring about revolutionary AI. Here are my 2 cents

The article does make some good points that by becoming more and more omnipresent IOT is providing more data points. With data science being the magic buzzword and learning behaviors becoming evermore omnipresent, we can indeed see more "smart appliances" which could, in theory in a connected grid coordinate more... but this is not really specific to IOT. However, if this means an all omniscient "electric dreams" type AI, with HAL at the helm... not really.

First learning systems are relatively limited and though they can do some pretty neat tricks, with some really useful... Even in the case of unsupervised learning, they can only give great results in the fields they were programmed for. And even then, it is important to validate results, make sure that they don't just generate some beautiful hype-worthy massive dataset that are basically useless.

Furthermore, I dont expect - at least in the short term - the actual devices themselves to be very smart. First, embedded systems don't really have that much power. Second, people have expectations of the objects they use... the reason I have a backpack is to carry things, not have a dialog about what shoul go in there. The primary reason to many devices we use is practical. Finally, there is cost and maintainability... those two factors make a great case for simplification of devices

Yes, data science is awesome, yes machine learning allows to make awesome discoveries and with internet of things around the corner some really cool applications could emerge but in the end, people should expect evolutionary features, nothing revolutionary... especially in the short term

Comparing apples and oranges

There we go, with all the lightning going around, it looks like Jupiter is either pissed or drunk.. or both at the same time. Last time he was that drunk, he made hercules compete in the first olympics.. oh wait, with all the games on TV, maybe he is feeling nostalgic or something. Maybe the weather is just celebrating Hussein Bolt? I don't know, I would really appreciate a weather expert to weigh in on this.

Maybe by making the parallel, it's like I am comparing apples and oranges. I don't know, maybe I should contact a fruit expert too while I am at it. I don't know much about apples and oranges but I would say never understimate the revolutionary power of influence of apples... Adam & Eve, William Tell, Isaac Newton & Steve jobs...

Never underestimate the power of fruit I say... I thought of getting myself some apples but then again with the rain and the olympians going mad (no pun intended), I probably should stay home for now.

I just looked in the fridge and saw I have peaches... maybe I should eat one and hope everything gets nice and peachy? I don't know. Where are experts when you need them.

Seagate announce 60TB drive

After I saw Seagate's announcement for a 60 Terabyte Hard drive, my initial thought was... what the heck would I do with 60 terabytes in a laptop sized drive... then I remembered I had a similar reaction when I got my first 20 mb hard drive. I can see people heavily downloading could fill up a drive like that today. Also, having filled up terabyte sized drives before, it is not far fetched to see data piling up. This is especially with the constantly growing graphic resolutions where an uncompressed 4k movie can take many gigabytes of data.

One thing that will have to increase is data transfer rates because as of today, transfer rates are way to low for such high capacities. We'll need faster controllers, faster and larger backup systems, stronger GPUS to handle increased resolutions... and who knows what kind of applications would come next.

Winners focus on winning and many other things

There is a quote going around that says “Winners focus on winning, losers focus on winners.” Somehow it rings false and goes against conventional wisdom. According to what I have learned, winners get to where they are by focusing both on winners and losers before they focus on themselves.

One of the best way to become successful is to study successful people and replicate their winning strategies. Learning from successful people helps people focus on the important points, learn from other people’s experience and have a role model that shows what they want to accomplish is possible.

Another way to improve the odds of winning is to look at losers and see where they went wrong. That helps avoid mistakes of others, makes people know the risks and even feel better about the sacrifices needed by knowing that others have been in the same situation.

Finally, “focusing on winning” is also an important aspect of success. In other words, one has to be willing to focus on one’s self as well, do all the efforts needed, have patience to go through all obstacles/milestones and persist until success becomes inevitable. As they say, an overnight success takes years to prepare for.

It can be argued that a lot of losers focus on themselves. A lot of self conscious arrogant people will ignore wisdom provided by others, focus on their own bubble without ever having a reality check… and though, on occasion it does let through a prodigy… in most cases, it is like playing the lottery… there are indeed winners but a lot losers think they got the right combination to success do fail as well.

The whole point to going to college, learning from “winners” or people who studied their field in depth is because in order to focus on winning, it is necessary to study winners. Otherwise, what would be the point in reading a book, talking to a mentor or even study failures to prevent them.

Finally, beyond looking at winners, losers and even one’s self, it is imperative to study the environment one is in, the rules you operate under and see how to best optimize one’s strategy on a path to success.