Showing posts with label inspiration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label inspiration. Show all posts
Monday, 22 July 2013
Friday, 7 June 2013
Software and champions for change
Riddhiman Das is being honored as a Champion of Change for his accomplishments as an immigrant entrepreneur and innovator.
I was born and raised in a town of about a million people at the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains in India. I first used a computer when I was seven years old, and I realized that humankind was about to be transformed by the Information Technology revolution—and that software was going to change a lot about how we had been doing things for the past few millennia. I knew I wanted to play a part in this revolution, and I decided that I was going to one day be a computer scientist and do my bit to help people use technology in their lives.
My father was born in a remote village a few hundred miles away, worked his way through school, and eventually trained to be a hematologist at the University of Cambridge. He was a living inspiration of what hard work and perseverance could achieve. He had always encouraged me to come to the United States to pursue my dream, since here is where most of the innovation in software happened. When he died when I was 14, my mother, a rheumatologist, stepped up, and with the help and guidance of a few family and close friends, I got into an American college and came over to pursue my goal of transforming the world through software.
During my college years, I got acquainted with the Kansas City technology entrepreneurship community, and I knew I could make a difference through my skills here. I co-founded my first company, Dr. Peet’s Software, with the goal of developing mobile software that would help children and young adults with developmental disabilities learn basic literacy skills. About a year later, I started Talent Helix, a company whose mission was to use social networks to help people find opportunities. The grand vision of Talent Helix was that college students and under-employed people in the community would use the service to find jobs and part time gigs while working full time or being a student. While Talent Helix never gained much traction, the experience taught me a lot about entrepreneurship, and more importantly, about Kansas City’s high-tech entrepreneurial community. I realized that while this community had its strengths, it also had a few major weaknesses. One such weakness was an acute shortage of tech talent, and I started thinking about ways I could contribute to solving that problem.
With this in mind, I went on to intern, and later work remotely part-time, at a few companies in California and New York City, where the best and the brightest tech talent always seemed to go. While there, I observed first-hand the processes and workings of several successful tech companies, both big and small. These jobs and internships gave me an opportunity to work on cutting edge technologies that led to my filing of three patents, and learn from the people who write some of the most popular software programs we use every day.
After a very rewarding year of doing this, I felt it was time to see if I could use these experiences to make a difference in the Kansas City tech community—and so I started Galleon Labs, a software consulting company that would handle the technical needs of any tech venture in the city, and hopefully eventually the entire Midwestern region. In just over 13 months of existence, we’ve developed the core products of over 21 different companies from the region. We’ve developed software to improve and maintain pharmaceutical drug adherence, web and mobile applications for pediatricians to keep track of patients away from the clinic, and computer vision applications for digital agencies to measure the effectiveness of their ad campaigns, among many other very interesting and challenging projects. My proudest moment was being able to hire one of my fellow graduates and one of my favorite professors from college.
Lately, I've also been heavily involved with EyeVerify, where we’ve commercialized a software-only, biometric method for verifying the identity of mobile users called 'Eyeprints.' The Eyeprint Verification System is based on the unique vein patterns in the whites of your eyes, and has fingerprint-level accuracy. Eyeprints require only the existing camera in a smartphone, so the system is not dependent on expensive fingerprint or iris scanning hardware. The patented technology is a major advancement in biometric authentication and is the only approach that uses built-in cameras within mobile devices to image and pattern-match the unique veins in the whites of users’ eyes, ensuring highly accurate, fast, and convenient security.
I often think of how different my journey would have been if I did not have to struggle with immigration laws. After I graduated college, I was planning on working for a major software company, but couldn't because my work authorization was denied for a very minor typographical error in the paperwork. As a result, in order to continue to be in the country, I had to exit the country and pursue my entrepreneurial and technical activities while also attending graduate school in the U.S. The United States has been at the forefront of technological and entrepreneurial innovation for decades, and it is my most earnest hope that legislators realize the immense value that highly-skilled immigrants bring into the country, so that the United States can remain in that spot for many years to come.
Riddhiman Das is Founder of Galleon Labs.
source: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/06/04/transforming-world-through-software
Thursday, 6 June 2013
Can Machine Intelligence Emerge from a Single Algorithm?
I would like to think it's possible, that our brains are just more complicated versions of the computers that we've created.
Features Andrew Ng from Stanford (Coursera founder, CMU alumni, http://ai.stanford.edu/~ang/) and Alexander Wissner-Gross (http://www.alexwg.org)
http://enterpriseresilienceblog.typepad.com/enterprise_resilience_man/2013/06/can-machine-intelligence-emerge-from-a-single-algorithm.html
Features Andrew Ng from Stanford (Coursera founder, CMU alumni, http://ai.stanford.edu/~ang/) and Alexander Wissner-Gross (http://www.alexwg.org)
http://enterpriseresilienceblog.typepad.com/enterprise_resilience_man/2013/06/can-machine-intelligence-emerge-from-a-single-algorithm.html
Staying humble, competitiveness, and team players in sports
Popovich said the franchise’s commitment to Duncan, Parker and Ginobili and the sustained success of the union is “a total function of who those three guys are. What if they were jerks? What if they were selfish? What if one of them was, you know, unintelligent? If, if, if. But the way it works out, all three of them are highly intelligent. They all have great character. . . . I think it’s just a matter of being really, really fortunate to have three people who understand that and who commit to a system and a philosophy for that length of time.”
“I have something in me that they took in ’07: beat us on our home floor, celebrated on our home floor. I won’t forget that. You shouldn’t as a competitor. You should never forget that,” James said. “It’s the same group of guys for the most part. The same Big Three and Coach Pop. And I look forward to the challenge once again.”
---
There aren’t many Redskins players who are more fan friendly than Alfred Morris. And I don’t mean, “sure, I’ll sign an autograph for you” fan friendly. I mean, “Sure, I’ll play paintball with you” fan friendly.
According to CaptainCrookedFoot on Reddit, Morris did just that when he ran into a group of fans playing paintball.
“We went to Pevs for one of my buddies bachelor party and saw Alfred,” the fan wrote on Reddit. “He played with us for 3 hours and even met up with some of the other guys later to go kart.”
“It has some sentimental value to it now,” Morris said Wednesday before the Redskins headed out for practice. “It just keeps me grounded, where I came from and all the hard work for me to get to this point. So that’s what helps me.”
Wednesday, 5 June 2013
Education is yours to seize
No one's going to hand it to you, not even in college where you're paying thousands for it. It's up to you to grab ahold of it.
Sunday, 2 June 2013
Lily Allen's resonating quote
She dropped out of school at age fifteen, not wanting to "spend a third of her life preparing to work for the next third of her life, to set herself up with a pension for the next third of her life.
Some lessons from NFL
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000208418/article/antonio-cromartie-now-mentoring-ny-jets-rookies
having "too much confidence" is a little like the guy who says in the job interview that his greatest flaw is "trying to do too much." That's ultimately what you want.
having "too much confidence" is a little like the guy who says in the job interview that his greatest flaw is "trying to do too much." That's ultimately what you want.
"I tell the young guys, 'Don't spend any money the first year and a half of your career,'" Cromartie said. "You don't know what will happen after that. You might be released. You might be hurt. Just save your money."
After his financial revolution, Schwartz said his retirement is funded fully to age 100 and all his children will be taken care of through college.
Charisma of Chris Kluwe
Kluwe is well known as an avid Guitar Hero 2 player, having once made an appearance on Minnesota's 93X radio station while playing the game with Andy McNamara from Game Informer magazine.[10] He is also a frequent guest on Minnesota sports station KFAN for "Video Games Weekly" on Wednesday nights. During a KFAN interview on the PA and Dubay show, he admitted he was not very good at sports games.
Kluwe at one time immersed himself in the MMORPG World of Warcraft, playing a troll rogue named Loate[11] and has been a member of one of the formerly top-ranked US guilds, The Flying Hellfish, for over four years.[12] Kluwe is not currently active as a player in WoW, but very actively plays other computer games, both on-line and off-line, and occasionally writes game reviews for gaming magazines. Kluwe is also active in fantasy board gaming and card gaming and owns a store in Costa Mesa, CA (Mercenary Market) that is dedicated to non-computer related fantasy games. In recognition of his support for fantasy gaming, Wizards of the Coast in 2012 developed a specific player card for the Magic: The Gathering game based on Kluwe's Loate troll character.
Friday, 31 May 2013
Interpretation
Two people can read the exact same thing and come up with completely different interpretations.
To me, this reinforces the importance of collaboration - people generate ideas and are inspired by different things.
It would be cool if we could figure out why, or how, we mold our minds into what they become. Would it be possible to feed a machine the identical experiences as a human and have it arrive upon the same beliefs? The head fake, as Randy Pausch would put it, of this blog is to see if all this info can be used to reconstruct a memory/belief system that is anywhere close to what I have accumulated, in the far future. Of course, it's missing large chunks of human interaction and other learning, but I'd be curious to see if you can get a computer to learn things the same way that a human brain does if we give the computer access to ALL the senses and experiences.
To me, this reinforces the importance of collaboration - people generate ideas and are inspired by different things.
It would be cool if we could figure out why, or how, we mold our minds into what they become. Would it be possible to feed a machine the identical experiences as a human and have it arrive upon the same beliefs? The head fake, as Randy Pausch would put it, of this blog is to see if all this info can be used to reconstruct a memory/belief system that is anywhere close to what I have accumulated, in the far future. Of course, it's missing large chunks of human interaction and other learning, but I'd be curious to see if you can get a computer to learn things the same way that a human brain does if we give the computer access to ALL the senses and experiences.
Hexapod documentary
"This version is 3D printed using a Stratasys Dimension 3d printer. These parts are extremely rugged and precise compared to any of the Makerbot and RepRap hobby grade 3D printers."
"I'm interested in robot locomotion that emulates biological movement," Bunting said. "And in doing more work on robotic vision."
^exact same as me!
The
Note to self: Figure out how to generate these API documentation pages for future projects.
http://12centdwarf.com:8080/API/
" am currently working on a CNC machine to build parts out of aluminum. I hope to begin prototyping aluminum parts in the next few months, but this is a complicated process when it comes to generating G-code to machine the parts from my complicated 3D designs."
http://engr.arizona.edu/news/story.php?id=292
"Matt has since then added several features, like foot sensors, 3D balance gestures, and the hexapod also has a 3DOF camera for doing face tracking. Awesome!"
http://www.robotshop.com/blog/en/the-story-of-matt-bunting-and-the-hexapod-that-intel-bought-3736
The lesson here is multiple iterations!! Make something, get feedback, and improve!
Monday, 27 May 2013
Work hard to get what you want
If you really want it, even international borders can't stop you.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/24/health/lifeswork-dr-q/index.html
http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/24/health/lifeswork-dr-q/index.html
Saturday, 25 May 2013
Overcoming OCD
"Some of you will know who I am, but I am not concerned with that anymore. I am here to deliver a message.
"When I opened that email and checked to see if I was accepted, I ran to my mom and hugged her with the biggest smile. Then, I did a summer program at MIT and met the best friends anyone could ever ask for. When it was time to start my freshman year, I walked through the infinite with more confidence than well, a pre-frosh who was just accepted into the best school in the world. I did well my first semester, with the help and support of my friends of course. Soon after, it was time for my first IAP. During the month of January I came home. I remember the terrible drive home. I couldn't stop thinking of equations and concepts that I just finished talking about with my peers. This seems common and normal, but the extent by which it took over my time was abnormal. When I arrived home, my thoughts became even worse. They were magnified tenfold. I knew something was wrong when I could not sleep, eat or shower. I was avoiding everyone. I felt like I was there physically, but not mentally. I could not finish what I wanted to do during IAP, which was to prepare for classes for the upcoming semester. When I could not take thinking about the same concepts over and over and over again for hours and even days straight, I finally broke down. I cried in front of my father and told him what was wrong. I knew what I had. It was an evil, monstrous imp in my mind, that did not give up. It was a malignant tumor in my head that would not stop growing. It was a soul-sucking fiend that was never satisfied. I diagnosed myself and saw a psychiatrist, who at first did not believe me. Oh, how wrong he was. After giving me some zoloft, it was already time for the next semester.
I could not keep up with the classes I was taking. I emailed my professors with page long emails asking them deep questions that were not relevant. I had the biggest urge to derive, prove and question everything I was taught. When I couldn't handle it anymore, I sought help from MIT medical. Thinking I was suicidal, they sent me to Cambridge Hospital. I spent the night there, scared and worried. I sent a text out to all my friends talking about where I was. They became extremely worried and visited me at the place where I went to next. I was delivered to the best hospital in the world actually. But, sadly they first sent me to a psychiatric ward, where they took away my cell phone, laptop, and any other electronic devices I had. I couldn't even tell my parents where I was. They just kept me there with no definite time of leave. I wasn't allowed to go outside on my own and there were mandatory check ups every 10 minutes. This was one of the most horrible experiences in my life. I was stuck with people with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia...etc. I felt so alone, so isolated, and just plain violated. Then I heard of an institute, an institute that was the best of its kind, just like MIT. An institute to make me better. I was fortunate enough to attend that institute for about 13 weeks. I met the best of friends there. People who were dealing with the same problems I was dealing with. There were definitely many ups and downs, but I survived. I took exposure response prevention therapy along with cognitive therapy and classes for healing. When it was time for my departure, MIT informed me that I would have to complete some steps before returning. I would need to take classes "somewhere else" before coming back so they could tell I was ready for the institute's course load. So I did exactly that. I took classes at Columbia University. Then I took classes at another university and I received all A's.
And here I am today. With the help of constant psychotherapy and medicines, and the unforgettable support of my friends, I was able to overcome Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Here I am today, writing this message. I am on summer vacation working as a teacher and a private tutor, with a whole bunch of experience points on my back.
Now what was the point of me telling you my deepest, darkest secret? I need your help. I need your prayers for me. I am applying again to MIT. My application is due on June 15th, and I find out around August if I got in. I did it once with early action, but now I need to do it again. I am nervous and anxious about the whole thing. But I am also confident and I feel strong. Please, pray or hope or just have faith in me. I don't need sympathy, but I need closure. This disorder is something that I have conquered, not by myself, but with the help of others. I wanted to let the MIT community know that OCD is not just a quirk or a little problem where people wash their hands too much or organize things too much. NO. It is much more than that. It is a crippling, mental disorder than is unbearable without help. But thank God that is over for me. I am ready for MIT.
I love MIT so much. I cannot express in words how much I have missed p-setting and staying up all night there. I want to again be part of the MIT community.
Don't take anything for granted. I know I will not anymore. Thank you for reading. I hope to see you soon. Live strong and forever MIT!" "
source: MIT confessions on facebook
"When I opened that email and checked to see if I was accepted, I ran to my mom and hugged her with the biggest smile. Then, I did a summer program at MIT and met the best friends anyone could ever ask for. When it was time to start my freshman year, I walked through the infinite with more confidence than well, a pre-frosh who was just accepted into the best school in the world. I did well my first semester, with the help and support of my friends of course. Soon after, it was time for my first IAP. During the month of January I came home. I remember the terrible drive home. I couldn't stop thinking of equations and concepts that I just finished talking about with my peers. This seems common and normal, but the extent by which it took over my time was abnormal. When I arrived home, my thoughts became even worse. They were magnified tenfold. I knew something was wrong when I could not sleep, eat or shower. I was avoiding everyone. I felt like I was there physically, but not mentally. I could not finish what I wanted to do during IAP, which was to prepare for classes for the upcoming semester. When I could not take thinking about the same concepts over and over and over again for hours and even days straight, I finally broke down. I cried in front of my father and told him what was wrong. I knew what I had. It was an evil, monstrous imp in my mind, that did not give up. It was a malignant tumor in my head that would not stop growing. It was a soul-sucking fiend that was never satisfied. I diagnosed myself and saw a psychiatrist, who at first did not believe me. Oh, how wrong he was. After giving me some zoloft, it was already time for the next semester.
I could not keep up with the classes I was taking. I emailed my professors with page long emails asking them deep questions that were not relevant. I had the biggest urge to derive, prove and question everything I was taught. When I couldn't handle it anymore, I sought help from MIT medical. Thinking I was suicidal, they sent me to Cambridge Hospital. I spent the night there, scared and worried. I sent a text out to all my friends talking about where I was. They became extremely worried and visited me at the place where I went to next. I was delivered to the best hospital in the world actually. But, sadly they first sent me to a psychiatric ward, where they took away my cell phone, laptop, and any other electronic devices I had. I couldn't even tell my parents where I was. They just kept me there with no definite time of leave. I wasn't allowed to go outside on my own and there were mandatory check ups every 10 minutes. This was one of the most horrible experiences in my life. I was stuck with people with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia...etc. I felt so alone, so isolated, and just plain violated. Then I heard of an institute, an institute that was the best of its kind, just like MIT. An institute to make me better. I was fortunate enough to attend that institute for about 13 weeks. I met the best of friends there. People who were dealing with the same problems I was dealing with. There were definitely many ups and downs, but I survived. I took exposure response prevention therapy along with cognitive therapy and classes for healing. When it was time for my departure, MIT informed me that I would have to complete some steps before returning. I would need to take classes "somewhere else" before coming back so they could tell I was ready for the institute's course load. So I did exactly that. I took classes at Columbia University. Then I took classes at another university and I received all A's.
And here I am today. With the help of constant psychotherapy and medicines, and the unforgettable support of my friends, I was able to overcome Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Here I am today, writing this message. I am on summer vacation working as a teacher and a private tutor, with a whole bunch of experience points on my back.
Now what was the point of me telling you my deepest, darkest secret? I need your help. I need your prayers for me. I am applying again to MIT. My application is due on June 15th, and I find out around August if I got in. I did it once with early action, but now I need to do it again. I am nervous and anxious about the whole thing. But I am also confident and I feel strong. Please, pray or hope or just have faith in me. I don't need sympathy, but I need closure. This disorder is something that I have conquered, not by myself, but with the help of others. I wanted to let the MIT community know that OCD is not just a quirk or a little problem where people wash their hands too much or organize things too much. NO. It is much more than that. It is a crippling, mental disorder than is unbearable without help. But thank God that is over for me. I am ready for MIT.
I love MIT so much. I cannot express in words how much I have missed p-setting and staying up all night there. I want to again be part of the MIT community.
Don't take anything for granted. I know I will not anymore. Thank you for reading. I hope to see you soon. Live strong and forever MIT!" "
source: MIT confessions on facebook
Friday, 24 May 2013
Tuesday, 21 May 2013
Tuesday, 7 May 2013
The early bird doesn't always get the worm
It doesn't matter if someone does something first, as long as you can do better.
Monday, 6 May 2013
The Magic of Motivation
"I've got a friend. He's an astonishingly talented front-end coder. His design chops are out of this world. With that said, he's not done all that much web development though.
He's never configured a server. He's never built a web app from start to finish. He's never touched a database.
He decided to teach himself the MEAN stack for the fun and joy of learning. That's Mongo, Express, Angular and Node.
He started work around 7pm last night, and kept on working and writing code and reading tutorials. And he never stopped. And he wrote comments, and made notes and took screenshots and he made sure that he understood what he was doing each step of the way.
He didn't even get tired. He just kept on going for the love of what he was doing. He worked through the night, and he just finished his first ever web application.
It just shows that you can accomplish anything you want. All you need is motivation, discipline and a love of the task at hand.
Write some code."
source: http://www.reddit.com/r/learnprogramming/comments/1dsa1d/ive_witnessed_something_incredible/
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