Originally posted on Thang Nguyen 555: I clicked on the “Place Order” button, and a few days later, arrived the used paperback copy of Small is Beautiful, by E.F. Schumacher. Its tag line ” Economics as if People Mattered”. I thought I had that same yellowish copy somewhere after years of moving around. Back then,…

Originally posted on Thang Nguyen 555: At 95, the founder of Peace Corps left us to figure out world affairs by ourselves. http://www.baltimoresun.com/topic/sns-ap-us-obit-shriver,0,2461815.story I used to shine my dad’s shoes, while he slicked his hair back. From where I sat, he appeared a towering figure. Men from that generation ( like Burt Lancaster’s “From Here…

Originally posted on Thang Nguyen 555: The creator of Million-Dollar Homepage cashed out, and did nothing for five years. I have waited for the other shoe to drop. It just did. Do Nothing for 2 Minutes. http://www.donothingfor2minutes.com/ The high school graduate does put his thinking cap on every so often, and knows how to create…

Originally posted on Thang Nguyen 555: Charlie Chaplin would keep filming until he got it perfect (100:1 filming ratio to get the ladder to swing just right etc…). In “the Kid“, the little girl would throw rocks at windows, while our handyman walks right behind to fix them. Gillette would give away razors just to…

Originally posted on Thang Nguyen 555: I still remember Sang. He helped me set up sound equipment on the weekend (my attempt to crowd-source and create an open-air coffee-house for refugees), and attended my class on weekdays. Sang was in that transition camp in Hong Kong, on his way to Norway, his new home. I…

Originally posted on Thang Nguyen 555: Just a date (at least, that’s what Facebook was first conceived i.e. a rendez-vous that was not). Instead, user-generated-apps got creative, turning social media into social change ; means to miracles. We should have coders take an oath, just like doctors. That they will code to cure and not…

Originally posted on Thang Nguyen 555: After Moore’s Law came Android’s Law (open-source software allows for faster deploy of smart phone apps – between six to nine months). http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/111990/your-new-smartphone-is-already-a-dinosaur Smart phone turns dumb phone pretty quick. (conversely, studies showed a steady rise of IQ as digital natives  spent more time playing games). I call this…

Originally posted on Thang Nguyen 555: Studies show an inverse relationship between socio-economic background and emotional intelligence. http://geronimarion.posterous.com/emotional-intelligence-linked-to-socio-econom In short, those privileged kids don’t give a damn how you feel, at work, that is. Kids whose fathers fell from grace (Madoff, Skilling) committed suicide (former) or died a mysterious death (later). And we all knew…

Originally posted on Thang Nguyen 555: It’s been a while since The Right Stuff was released. Gabby’s husband (Mark Kelly) was going back on the last Endeavor mission. The President referred to our Sputnik moment , and how we should move Science Fair under the Super (Bowl) dome. All this reminds me of a piece of…

Originally posted on Thang Nguyen 555: The protesters in Cairo said that their fingers got tired from tweeting. They should be thankful that Twitter only allows 140 characters per tweet. Think of the scribes, who had to copy down tons of papyrus in ancient Egypt. For now, young people just want to celebrate:” let’s tweet…