novembre 2011 ~ Sanaga Peregrinations

dimanche, novembre 13, 2011

Success comes in CANS not CANT'S

3:53 PM

Lydie

3 comments

Success comes in CANS not CANT'S
Some even contend that success comes in all forms...

Source image: Things We Forget

2:23 PM

Lydie

No comments

« Mon ultime prière,
Ô mon corps,
fais de moi toujours un homme qui interroge »

Frantz Fanon, Peau noire et masques blancs.

Closeup on 8 of the Hottest Tech Apps

4:35 PM

Lydie

No comments

I was checking the latest article of Business Insider regarding the top 20 Innovative Startups in Tech and the 20 Hot Silicon Valley Startups You Need To Watch. I found some interesting tools and services, that I'd definitely see myself using or that I have already started using.

Among all the products, here are the ones that caught my attention:

iDoneThis is one of the gem I've recently discovered, it introduces the concept of "to done list" (vs todo list). It's a productivity tool that work the other way round, in the sense that the diary-based information helps you track your activities and achievements on a daily basis.
DropBox created a way to easily share and store files all over the web. Of all the cloud-based files storages services, this one is by far my favorite. Did I mention, it's free? yeah, it's free and it is a big plus for me.
Hotel Tonight helps you make a last-minute hotel reservation from your mobile device (iOS and Android are both supported) at a discounted price. Truly neat.
SkillShare : as the name says it's all about sharing your skills and learning new ones from people willing to do the same than you. The basic premise is that anyone can be a teacher. As a user of the service, you may search classes by category (learning about photoshop basics or business plan writing) but also by locating the ones nearest to you (mainly in the US, Zurich may open soon). The average class costs around $20 and SkillShare takes a 15% cut. for Mike Karnjanaprakorn, CEO, SkillShare is about using "the Web to democratize learning and make it affordable and accessible to anyone.”
TaskRabbit that provides an on-demand workforce. This service will find you people able to help you drop your laundry at the dry-cleaner or run some errands for you. Right now, TaskRabbit is available in San Francisco, New York, Boston, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Even more interesting, TaskRabbit has appointed recently Eric Grosse -former founder of Hotwire.com and President of Expedia WorldWide- as its new CEO.
MoviePass lets users attend all of the movies they want in theaters for a fixed price. The pass concepts has been existing in Europe for couple of years now. It's great to see it now forging its way on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.
Simplenote and its platform Simperium helps people take and keep notes, lists, ideas etc... and access them from any web device. Simperium reproduces the sharing and accessibility concept for any other app.
Storenvy makes it dead easy for anyone to set up a free e-commerce site. Setting up and customizign a storefront couldn't be more easier. This service appeals to people that do not have

These apps are to be kept under the radar and oen must also pay close attention to the people behind all these neat products and services. Let me know if you have tried any of the aforementioned and what you think of it/these.

Cheers

4:16 PM

Lydie

No comments

Is he the Nostradamus of our economically challenged time?

Back in 2006, in a blog post Nouriel Roubini was already prophetic about Italy's debt crisis and the Eurozone doom prospects. The very same year Roubini’s speech at Davos-World Economic Forum was warning that Italy may experience Debt Crisis and EuroZone Break-Up in 5 years.

He recently reposted the blog post he wrote in 2006, after speaking at Davos, and apparently offended the already-then Italian Finance Minister Tremonti, by calling for Eurozone doom.

Here is an ominous extract of what the US economist contended at the time:

"And unfortunately, the lack of serious economic reforms in Italy implies that there is a growing risk that Italy may end up like Argentina. This is not a foregone conclusion but, if Italy does not reform, an exit from EMU within 5 years is not totally unlikely."

2011 Cameroonian presidential run-off's infographic

6:53 PM

Lydie

No comments

Thanks to @titaleslie for the infographic depicting

the 2011 Cameroonian presidential run-off.

Numbers in a nutshell to set the scene

23 candidates were contending for the top spot, 10 of whom had run in previous elections
Almost 7,5 million people were registered to vote
Only less than 5 million people actually voted

As for the campaign budgets:

incumbent President Paul Biya'a Bi Mvondo was largely ahead of the others with nearly 3 Billion CFA francs,
Ni John Fru Ndi of the Social Democratic Front spent 600 million CFA,
SDF spinoff Ms Edith Kahbang Walla (Kah Walla) was able to raise - quite surprisingly - 300 million despite her newcomer and outsider status.

As for the results, you know the drill : Paul Biya was reelected with ~78% of the votes. One must note that the Septentrion, the Northwest & Southwest did honorable scores through their respective candidates, who arrive first in their native region' polls.