Packing up my bags...

I'm migrating my blog from blogspot to my own domain!

You can find the updated version of my personal life at www.vincentkardiogram.com

Download Legal Free Tunes - Ratatat and Gotan Project

Coachella of 2007 was a truly memorable experience. Not only did I get to see Rage, but I was able to see Ratat and Gotan Project for the first time.

Since watching both groups live, I've been an avid fan. Amazon and XL records have a sampler available for free download. Enjoy!

Things to do in Montevideo, Uruguay

Typically, when I travel, I don't get the chance to really soak in the culture. For 21 days, I'll be in Montevideo, Uruguay thanks to the IBD project.  I've been staying in Pocitos, which is a nice part of town within walking distance to the beach. A couple things I definitely recommend if you come to Montevideo:

• Go watch a proper football game. We saw an exhibition game of Uruguay v. Israel.
• Go out at night. The night starts at 2AM. Most people take a nap after work on Friday before they head out.
• Eat a Chorizo. Just not at the stadium. They say that there is a reason there are no stray dogs around the stadium. I made this mistake and spent 4 days in the hotel. 
• Try a Milanesa. So much is fried here, just give it a shot. It's a cross between a Tonkatsu and a Chicken friend steak.
• Try Mate, the original wing-maker. It's a complicated process to get some caffeine. But when in Montevideo, you'll see people walking around with a thermos of hot water and a mate at all times of the day.

Venue Discovery with Location Awareness

Foursquare, a mobile social networking game that gets users to "check in" at places they visit in the real world, has experienced explosive growth. While people are acquiring mayorships in droves in the US and the UK, bold users in other countries are marking their territory as well.

While we're all in search of those elusive badges or fighting to retain those mayorships, the real value of Foursquare may be much, much more.  For people traveling abroad, it's been a brilliant source of current advice and tips.

Having travelled a good amount, I'm always cautious of my research before getting into the country. Some sites and listings haven't been updated for years, and its not when you get there that a) the place no longer exists, b) the venue isn't what it was like in 2008, c) the crowd is vastly different.

I always check my check-out list with locals just to make sure.

With Foursquare, I have easy access to local tour guides. The desire to recommend and be "in the know" knows no boundaries.  Each mayor is potential guide. Here are a few new mayors in Montevideo, where I'm currently traveling.

Surfing through their postings, I can quickly find where I need to be on Thursday Nights. Looks like Francisco V thinks I should head to Lou Bizzarro Bar on Thursday night.

3D provides depth to the bottom line, for now

Originally posted on the Berkeley DMEC blog page.

The movie industry is experience some better times with box offices revenues already running 8.8% ahead of 2009 figures (itself a $10B year). A huge driver has been the versioning for 3D and IMAX for tent-pole movies.  Increased traffic for 3D coupled with significant price increases (reported as much as a 26% bump) have continued to feed the hype.  This has been some positive news in terms as revenue as studios expect a 12% drop in DVD sales.

The question is how marginal traffic will making a 3D movie bring in?

With How to Train Your Dragon opening at 27% lower than Dreamwork’s Monster Vs. Aliens may indicate that new features like 3D may not necessarily trump good ole word of mouth. Indeed, the willingness to pay for a superior 3D experience for the family may not be enough to cover the $40-$60 required to take a family to the movies.

To convert a 3D movie, it takes studios an estimated $30 M, will the ROI remain? Wish three more 3D movies coming down this season’s pipeline, 3D may fast becoming the new normal.

3 Days in Basque Country

It's been three days since I flew from SFO to the Basque region in Spain.  Thus far:

• Spent a day in Bilbao
• Took naps on benches in Bilbao
• Went Pinxto hopping in San Sebastián
  
• Had dinner at a Cider House

Here are a couple pics of my trip to far.

My winter vacation...

Cross posted on the Berkeley MBA Student Blog:

"CAL" braving -15°C in the Forbidden City

They say that time waits for no one and it won't wait for me. What seemed like for long weeks have quickly sped by as I start for my second semester at Haas.


Berkeley, CA

A little known fact: Berkeley has a low-cost, fairly broad student health insurance plan (SHIP).  Under SHIP, we not only enjoy $5 copay for eye exams, but also 50% discount on Lasik. Following my last final, I walked across the street from Haas to the UC Berkeley School of Optometry.  The next couple days were a bit dark.



Taipei, Taiwan

A week later, got onto a plane and headed to Taiwan. My wife and I got married right before school started and I wanted to take her to Taipei to meet the rest of my family. While in Taipei, I was able to connect with Haas alumni.  I was amazed at the loyalty of the alumni that they were willing to go out of their way to meet a stranger.  I learned more about what consulting, technology, financial services was like in Taiwan.

Taiwan Alumni dinner with a MBA '11

Shanghai and Beijing, China

On the 5th, I flew from Taipei to Shanghai to meet up with 59 other Haas MBAs (combination of Full Time and evening/weekend) on a 10 day China Trek.  Treks are entirely student run and five of my classmates put together a truly memorable trek.

Read more here.

top tier

top tier
Originally uploaded by VinceHuang

Bit sized tasks [Volunteerism]

A platform called "The Extraordinaries," allows people who have even a few minutes of time to volunteer for a cause.  With an iPhone app, volunteers donate their time. The for profit company gets paid from nonprofits who are looking to outsource these micro-tasks.

Pretty cool.

Crowd-Sourced Mapping [Bing]

I've been a fan of Photosynth since I first heard of it during a TED presentation. While traveling to Jordan, I made a synth of El-Dier Monastery in Petra (Transformer 2). With geotagging, this will help to create a visually stunning and detailed user experience.

To compete with Google Maps, Microsoft has laced photosynth technology to create Bing Maps. Competition is always good. Both Google and Microsoft have been making incredible improvements to their mapping technology.

You can read more about it at Fastcompany.

Making it Rain [Cloud Computing]

Over the horizon, we're starting to see many clouds moving shifting over. With the city of angels moving over to Google Apps, its no surprise that Cloud Computing and SaaS (Software as a service) is picking up speed.

Karen Klein outlines a couple benefits of the cloud:

• Fixed cost advantage
• Keeping data safe

The field is still very green, with many players planting seeds. The key concerns are still reliability. This will be solved as the industry matures. What is perhaps most interesting, as Karen points out, is the shift in cost structure for paying for these services to a subscription based model.

Read Karen Klien's post here.

Image Source: ahisgett