Yes it will.
Having lived ten years in the United States, I have tired of hearing the same old speech that is designed to promote fear. Marilyn Manson explained the reasons why very eloquently in the Michael Moore film "Bowling for Columbine".
At last, a President that looks ahead to the future! A true entrepreneur, who encourages risk, innovation, with (wait for it) even less resources than before, in return for a great reward.
The State of the Union speech signals the end to spending taxpayers' money to "boost the economy." To my chagrin, and that of my fellow Americans, I've seen my money go up in smoke. Unemployment is flirting dangerously with the headline 10% number, and new investment is now going to Singapore and so are the jobs (mine too). Only last summer, I found it exceptionally hard to hire a Ruby on Rails developer in Singapore, but now that's changing...
Anyway, back to my country: with signals come expectations. If expectations are met, credibility follows. A credible commitment to reduce public debt would spur investment and therefore job creation. And, create more long term investment if our bondholders found the value of their bonds stabilizing.
Mr Obama, thank you. I aspire to be an entrepreneur like yourself.
Alam Kasenally
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Ipod Touch and belonging
On my return from Singapore, I met my friend RJ on Ramona Street in Palo Alto. RJ is about 65, and was sporting a black knitted ski cap, a dark green windbreaker, jeans, two T shirts and thick boots. We sat down to talk.
When he asked me for the launch date for my "website" (as he called my startup) and I told him, he said he'd write it down in his Ipod Touch, which he brought out from his winter coat, and deftly entered into iCal. He next showed me photos of the family he once had and also an app or two I hadn't seen.
RJ is homeless and has been so for 6 years. When he's collected enough money from his pension, he'll move to Italy, where he'll join his aunt in Tuscany in her two bedroom appartment. I hope RJ makes it to Italy. That's where he was born, and that's where he belongs.
The story of how he acquired the iPod Touch is even more fascinating. One evening, in Cupertino, a lady approached him on the street and asked "Sir, if you could have anything you wanted, what would you ask for for Christmas?"
RJ thought long and hard, and finally said "an iPod Touch". The reasons why, he said, were that he could own it without a monthly fee, and make outgoing calls for free using Google Voice (or for a fixed monthly fee using Skype). Receiving calls was a little bit of a (surmountable) challenge. He could also check and send email (he sported both Gmail and Yahoo email addresses, but said that he preferred Gmail.
The mysterious benefactor disappeared and appeared at the same time the next day brandishing an Apple carrier bag, containing the iPod Touch in question. "Happy Christmas, Sir!" she smiled. He never saw her again.
"You see," said RJ, "People like that restore my faith in the goodness of humanity... I used to have friends, plenty of friends. But once I became homeless, I suddenly didn't. Therefore Skype and Google Voice work fine for me. Forget receiving calls, I mean, who's going to call a guy like me anyway?"
As I drove home that wintry evening in my heated car, i thought of the veracity of RJ's claim that this generous gift had changed his life. How it had given him the opportunity to look for jobs, the opportunity to exist as a digital citizen of the world, connected to each and everybody, to know about the history of Singapore (which he explained to me in fine detail - the only thing he couldn't remember was Lee Kwan Yew's name), to know that Jerry Brown had been elected as governor of California (I had been absent during the election, but equally connected, so had no excuse).
And slowly, I began to smile. My friend did belong.
When he asked me for the launch date for my "website" (as he called my startup) and I told him, he said he'd write it down in his Ipod Touch, which he brought out from his winter coat, and deftly entered into iCal. He next showed me photos of the family he once had and also an app or two I hadn't seen.
RJ is homeless and has been so for 6 years. When he's collected enough money from his pension, he'll move to Italy, where he'll join his aunt in Tuscany in her two bedroom appartment. I hope RJ makes it to Italy. That's where he was born, and that's where he belongs.
The story of how he acquired the iPod Touch is even more fascinating. One evening, in Cupertino, a lady approached him on the street and asked "Sir, if you could have anything you wanted, what would you ask for for Christmas?"
RJ thought long and hard, and finally said "an iPod Touch". The reasons why, he said, were that he could own it without a monthly fee, and make outgoing calls for free using Google Voice (or for a fixed monthly fee using Skype). Receiving calls was a little bit of a (surmountable) challenge. He could also check and send email (he sported both Gmail and Yahoo email addresses, but said that he preferred Gmail.
The mysterious benefactor disappeared and appeared at the same time the next day brandishing an Apple carrier bag, containing the iPod Touch in question. "Happy Christmas, Sir!" she smiled. He never saw her again.
"You see," said RJ, "People like that restore my faith in the goodness of humanity... I used to have friends, plenty of friends. But once I became homeless, I suddenly didn't. Therefore Skype and Google Voice work fine for me. Forget receiving calls, I mean, who's going to call a guy like me anyway?"
As I drove home that wintry evening in my heated car, i thought of the veracity of RJ's claim that this generous gift had changed his life. How it had given him the opportunity to look for jobs, the opportunity to exist as a digital citizen of the world, connected to each and everybody, to know about the history of Singapore (which he explained to me in fine detail - the only thing he couldn't remember was Lee Kwan Yew's name), to know that Jerry Brown had been elected as governor of California (I had been absent during the election, but equally connected, so had no excuse).
And slowly, I began to smile. My friend did belong.
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