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Archive for October, 2009

The Opportunity of Green Building Materials

Posted in Environment, Silicon Valley, tagged , , , , , on October 31, 2009| 3 Comments »

This past week, I attended an interesting Silicon Valley TIE (The Indus Entrepreneurs) Cleantech event titled: Green Building Materials.   The promotional materials cited the following descriptions of the panelists: Founder of the US and World Green Building Council, Head of Research for Abu Dhabi (Masdar) Green City, along with executives from leading start-ups including Serious Materials, LED Engin and Calera.

Additionally, some statistics cited in the promotional materials included a recent estimate from Pike Research valuing untapped energy efficiency projects at $400B as well as study from McKinsey which estimated that $520B in green building materials and efficiency initiatives by 2020 will yield $1.2 trillion in economic benefits.   (more…)

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Transforming my losing Fantasy Football team after 6 weeks

Posted in Internet, Sports, tagged , , , , , on October 24, 2009| 1 Comment »

Earlier, I wrote about one of my fantasy football teams that was selected using Yahoo!’s auto-draft feature as I wasn’t available at the time of the draft.   After 6 weeks, my team is 2-4 with the second fewest points scored out of 12 teams.   The top 8 teams make the playoffs and at this point I would miss the playoffs.  So, the time is now to transform the team, and try to salvage the season.  This week, I made two major trades which I hope turns the tide and creates a winning 2nd half of the season.

Here again is the roster drafted by Yahoo! for me. (more…)

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Social Media—it’s really making an impact

Posted in Internet, Technology, tagged , , , , on October 24, 2009| 2 Comments »

Earlier, I wrote about my Internet ADD; the evolution of my Internet usage patterns and the recent movement to spending more time on social media and networking sites.  There has been a lot of commentary and discussion on Web 2.0, Social Networks, etc. and whether the transformation of web into these types of properties has really been a good thing or a not so meaningful shift that allows people to have more means to simply waste time.  Perhaps, the communication and sharing attributes of Web 2.0 has simply allowed others to participate in one’s wasting of time some have argued.

However, this past month, and even during past 8 months, has really been a banner period in terms of the value of social media in my life.   I’ve had tangible, meaningful improvements in my professional life at my current job, in my ability to help friends in their professional lives, in my ability to potentially help a family member’s career, staying in touch with former colleagues and enriching my personal hobbies.

It really is making a difference.  Here are some of the events that I’m referring to: (more…)

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India and the US in the 21st Century- An evening with former Ambassador Teresita Schaffer

Posted in Book Review, India, tagged , , , , on October 7, 2009| 4 Comments »

Earlier this week, I attended an enjoyable lecture by former Ambassador Teresita Schaffer about India- US relations at Stanford University.  Schaffer is currently the Director, South Asia Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies and formerly held a long diplomatic career which included serving as U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka and as Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs.   In her role as Director, South Asia Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies, her regional expertise includes India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and the rest of South Asia.  She is the author of the book, India and the U.S. in the 21st Century – Reinventing Partnership.

The lecture was co-sponsored by the India Community Center, Bay Area, The Center for South Asia Stanford University, The Asia Foundation & World Affairs Council of Northern California. (more…)

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