Novus ordo seclorum - Dum vivimus vivamus

Re: Attack of the blogs

2005-11-23T23:42:00.000-06:00

Hello Everyone,
Dr. Masaru Emoto will held a lecture this Friday (Nov 25) at 19:30 in the ITESO. Cost is 150 pesos (tickets available at ITESO (Edif. A below the stairs)). Read more on Masaru Emoto
Masaru Emoto's work is quoted in "what the bleep..." movie. He has done marvelous work with water and he is near the "morphic field" theory.
Hope you can make it, I think it'll be great :-)
Best regards,
Enrique F

Una invitaci�n personal (reciban DVDs por nada!)

2005-11-16T22:13:00.000-06:00

¿Cómo va?

http://blockbuster.terra.com/?r=EUFDIjEpaBcSFl4IASwK&i=yh&z=1

¡Si se inscriben, pueden conseguir una prueba gratis!

Predatory Supply Chains

2005-11-15T09:42:00.000-06:00

What do you think, guys? Best regards, Enrique F.

Apple's predatory supply chain

Posted by Chris Jablonski @ 2:42 pm

AMR Researchs Bruce Richardson writes about what he calls "predatory supply chains," situations where manufacturers through exclusive contracts monopolize key inputs leaving competitors high and dry, especially in new growth markets.

Richardson introduces the idea with Apple's iPod. He points out the recent wave of reports about Samsung's local competitors alleging that the chip maker was supplying flash memory chips to Apple at half the market price. While the scandal ultimately derailed a proposed $3.8 Billion join-venture between Apple and Samsung, it doesn't look like much of a set-back:

Of all the strategic moves, I like the flash memory story the best. Apple sold one million iPod nanos in the first 17 days after release. Create incredible demand for a new product while blocking competitor access to critical components.

If the flash memory story is true, Apple has built the Predatory Supply Chain. While that advantage won't last forever, it has allowed Apple to build a strong lead over all of the MP3 vendors.

The predatory supply chain can also be found elsewhere and in other industries, according to Richardson. He points to Dell (predator behavior hastens price war on PCs), Wal-Mart (a predator via information systems and penny-pinching sourcing and logistics strategies), and Toyota (a predator in hybrid-engine cars) as examples.

Richardson asks: "Are the flash memory and hybrid transmission stories once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, or do companies have more frequent market windows where they could produce the next iPod or Prius?" I'd reason that companies like Apple and Toyota are among the very few with the right mix of design, innovation, timing to seize the many opportunities that are floating out there.

SOURCE: http://blogs.zdnet.com/Research/?p=271

... if you treat people like idiots....

2005-10-26T09:11:00.000-05:00

Hope you enjoy it: fragment of monthly newsletter by Paulo Coelho, Warrior of the Light

Prohibiting the prohibited

Right after the talk in The Hague in Holland, a group of my readers came up to me. They wanted me to visit the city where they live, claiming that there was a unique experience in Europe going on there.

Unique experiences are like water off a ducks back to me, but at the same time I love talking to strangers. We set an appointment for the following morning, since my flight to Paris would only leave in the late afternoon.

The readers two girls and four boys promised to take me to the airport as soon as I had seen something unique in Europe and escorted me to a neighborhood in the city of Drachten. We got out the car, they had a beer, I drank coffee. They looked at me in surprise, but I could not understand what was going on. After some time, one of them asked:

Dont you notice anything different?

A pretty little town, people walking down the street, an autumn day that still seemed like summer. Aside from that, just the same as all the other towns that I have known all over the world. They paid the bill, we crossed the street to go to another bar, they asked me to look again and I still found Drachten very nice, and very like the rest of Europe.

You disappoint me, said one of the girls. I thought you believed in signs.

Of course I do.

And have you seen any here?

No.

Well, thats just it! Drachten is a town without signs!

Her boyfriend added:

Traffic signs!

All of a sudden I realized that they were absolutely right: the famous Stop sign was nowhere to be seen, nor were the pedestrian crossings and give way notices. There was not a single one of those contraptions we call traffic signals with their red, yellow and green lights! And to my surprise, there was not even a division between the sidewalk and the street. The movement was far from small: trucks, cars, bicycles (omnipresent in Holland), pedestrians, everything seemed perfectly organized in the middle of a place where there was nothing to put order into the traffic. At no moment did I hear a curse-word or hear the sudden screech of brakes or deafening horns honking away.

On the way to the airport, they told me a little about the experience, which I have to agree is truly unique. The idea came from an engineer called Hans Mondermann. He was working for the Dutch government in the 70s when he began to think that the only way to reduce the growing number of traffic accidents was to make the drivers fully responsible for what they did.

The only measure he took was to diminish the width of the roads that passed through villages by using red bricks instead of asphalt, remove the central line that separates the two flows of traffic, destroy the curbs, and fill the verges with fountains and relaxing landscapes so that the people stuck in traffic jams could be distracted while they waited. Then came the radical decision to take down all the traffic lights and put an end to the speed limit.

When they first entered the town, the 6,000 motorists who passed by every day were astonished: where can I turn? Who has the right of way? And so they began to pay twice as much attention to what was going on around them. Two weeks later, the average speed was under 30 km/h in places like Drachten. Monderman proclaimed loud and clear:

If a pedestrian is about to cross the street, of course the cars will have to stop: our grandparents taught us the rules of courtesy.

So far this has been a success. I reached the airport thinking that Monderman did not just implement a traffic experience, he did something much deeper than that. After all, as he himself says:

If you treat people like idiots, they will behave according to the rules, and nothing else. But if you give them responsibility, they will know how to use it.

OpenSource Software - sweet business

2005-10-24T16:26:00.000-05:00

Guys, this is aligned with John's vision of using an OpenSource application and creating value around it. These businesses are being funded by Venture Capitals. Even though this sort of funding is not our model, we should pay attention to the opportunity and its current presence.

Ray Wu's blog post OpenSource Software:

Cheers!

Enrique F

Disminuciones en Costos de Hipotecas en Mexico

2005-10-17T10:12:00.000-05:00

Aquí les presento un cuadro comparativo de las hipotecas de 2004 VS 2005.
Fuente:
El Universal
Buen momento para comprar hipoteca
Redacción online
Martes 23 de agosto de 2005

Artículo completo: Óscar Levín Coppel, presidente de la Condusef advirtió que la banca aún debe disminuir los gastos notariales y los trámites administrativos antes el registro público...

�Que les parece?

2005-10-05T15:26:00.000-05:00

100 Day Projects

In Rapid Results: How 100-Day Projects Build Capacity for Large-Scale Change, authors Robert Schaffer and Ronald Ashkensas say forget about "betting the company" and large-scale change. They say the key to success to small, quick projects that build over time into company-wide change. For this strategy to work, they are very specific about the qualities these projects need to have:

Focus on an Important Goal - Everyone from the CEO to the front line worker recognize the need.
Produce a Measurable Stretch Result - Pushing for what many consider impossible creates a buzz when it is acheived.
Works in the Short Term - Short term focus completely changes the dynamics of the project
Pinpoint Clear Accountability - One person needs to be responsible for the success or failure of the project
Drives Experimentation - The message needs to be that this is not going to be business as usual.
Is Planned and Disciplined - This may seem counterintuitive, but with speed, you need a good plan and good communications.
Make Learning a Deliberate Outcome - The project should be a springboard for more projects and more change.

Fuente: http://www.800ceoread.com/blog/

MIT OpenCourseWare

2005-08-09T19:00:00.000-05:00

Hello!
Have you checked out MIT OpenCourseWare, yet?
Seems to be quite a usfeul bank of resources about
many areas (Economics, History, Sloan School of
Management, to name a few)

You may want to look at it:
http://ocw.mit.edu/index.html

Hope this was useful,
Enrique F

Wika Wikki

2005-07-27T16:18:00.000-05:00

Hi guys,

WIKKA WIKI is an engine which enables Wiki-mmunication
(Wiki-communication, I just came up with the term).
Just to add to the list you may already have.
Best regards,
Enrique

Calculadora de Pagos de Tarjeta de Credito

2005-07-22T12:03:00.000-05:00

Herramienta que te ayuda a calcular cuánto pagarás de interés si te limitas a abonar solamente el pago mínimo de tu tarjeta de crédito.
Ojalá te sirva.
Saludos

Howard Rheingold

2005-07-22T08:52:00.000-05:00

Personalidad compleja, tanto escribe sobre la Tierra, Internet, Educación y Tecnología como de "Sharing Economies" y "Cooperation in Business".
Propone "The Cooperation Project" que busca cooperación en los negocios.
Además, con el Instituto del Futuro, publicó "Technologies of Cooperation"
Tómense su tiempo para leer y entender el enfoque.
Saludos,

Vivienda en Mexico

2005-07-15T15:30:00.000-05:00

Actualmente, en nuestro país es mucho más sencillo acceder a un crédito hipotecario.
Para decidir con quién contratar este producto financiero, sugiero al lector primero echarle un vistazo a las siguientes ligas:

Calculadoras y simuladores a través de CONDUSEF
SIMULADOR de CONAFOVI

Que les sean de utilidad.
Saludos

HABLAR Y CALLAR

2005-07-15T11:40:00.000-05:00

Fernanda Familiar tiene un programa en Imagen (¿Qué tal Fernanda?) y un blog naciente
En su progrma el Dr. Isaac Raffoul leyó un escrito del que encontre algo similar:

HABLAR Y CALLAR

HABLAR oportunamente, es acierto.
CALLAR a tiempo, es prudencia.
HABLAR frente al enemigo, es civismo.
CALLAR para defender algo, es nobleza.
HABLAR ante una injusticia, es valentía.
CALLAR cuando acusan es heroismo.
HABLAR para rectificar, es un deber.
CALLAR palabras inútiles, es virtud.
HABLAR para defender, es compasión.
CALLAR cuando insultan es amor.
HABLAR ante un dolor, es consolar.
CALLAR en el dolor, es penitencia.
HABLAR de sí mismo es vanidad.
CALLAR de sí mismo, humildad.
HABLAR aclarando chismes, es estupidez.
CALLAR miserias humanas, es caridad.
HABLAR para ayudar a otros, es caridad.
CALLAR las propias penas es sacrificio.
HABLAR de defectos, es lastimar.
CALLAR defectos ajenos, es benevolencia.
HABLAR por hablar, es tontería.
CALLAR debiendo hablar, es timidez.
HABLAR disipando falsos, es de conciencia.
CALLAR cuando hieren, es santidad.
HABLAR restituyendo fama, es honradez.
CALLAR para no desmentir una calumnia es cobardía.
HABLAR debiendo callar, es necedad.
CALLAR debiendo hablar es estupidez.
HABLAR de Dios, significa mucho amor.

Fuente: Elaviso.com

Co-opetition / Co-opetencia

2005-07-14T16:24:00.000-05:00

Un libro que quiero leer es "Co-opetition" de Adam Brandemburger y Barry Nalebluff (su sitio).
Co-opetition es un concepto que combinan las reglas de la competencia y la cooperación en una nueva dinámica que puede ser usada no sólo para incrementar las utilidades, sino también para cambiar la naturaleza del ambiente del negocios a su favor.

El éxito real de un negocio a largo plazo proviene no sólo de competir exitosamente dentro de su industria, sino también de ser un participante activo al moldear el futuro de la industria. De esa manera, pueden crearse oportunidades para el éxito futuro, de la forma que la organización lo desee y hacer las cosas de la manera en la que habitualmente se hacen. (Fuente: In4energy.com)

VER DEFINICIÓN EN WIKIPEDIA: CO-OPETITION

Identity Theft

2005-07-13T09:36:00.000-05:00

Identity Thieves Employ High-Tech Tactics

Aleksandra Todorova
SmartMoney.com

THANKS TO TECHNOLOGY advances, identity thieves no longer need to dumpster-dive in search of your private information. Now, sensitive data can easily land in their hands while you're shopping, browsing the Internet or simply visiting your dentist.

Here are five of the latest high-tech forms of identity theft, according to Truecredit, a unit of credit-reporting bureau TransUnion, along with ways consumers can protect themselves.

1. Pharming. You've probably heard of "phishing," a form of identity theft where fake emails are sent out, asking you to urgently update your bank account or credit-card information, which is then sent to identity thieves. Now phishing has evolved into "pharming," where thieves create fake Web sites similar to the Web sites of banks or credit-card companies. When consumers who don't know the difference try to log in, their account information is sent along to the thieves.

These Web sites get traffic through phishing, explains Nicole Lowe, credit education specialist at Truecredit.com, or with the help of computer viruses that automatically redirect traffic from specific Web addresses, such as those for banks, credit-card companies or shopping Web sites. To avoid pharming, look out for anything strange or new in the site's Web address, or URL, Lowe recommends. You can also browse the Web site in depth. The crooks likely haven't recreated all its layers.

2. Gas stations. Every time you swipe your credit or debit card at the gas pump, your information is sent via satellite to your bank for verification. According to Truecredit, identity thieves have now invented a way to hijack that information by modifying the program that carries out the data transfer so that your credit-card number is sent to them at the same time it's sent to your bank. While there isn't a way to detect when your data are being stolen, Lowe recommends using only credit cards at the pump as a precaution. With debit or check cards, it takes a while for fraudulent purchases to be credited back into your checking account, while credit-card companies will remove any disputed charges from your account immediately.

3. International skimming. According to Truecredit, skimming occurs when your credit card is run through a small reader, similar to those used in grocery stores, which captures your card information for future use by identity thieves. This form of fraud is common in the service industry here in the U.S., and anywhere abroad. Be on the lookout when paying with a credit card in a restaurant that you're not familiar with, Lowe recommends. If you don't feel comfortable letting your card out of sight, use cash or walk over to the cash register to pay your bill. When traveling abroad, use only one credit card so it's easier to detect any fraudulent charges.

4. Keystroke catchers. These small devices are attached to the cable that connects your keyboard to your computer and can be bought online for a little over $100. The "catcher" resembles a standard connector, but contains a memory chip that records everything you type. It's typically used in public places where computers are available, such as libraries, Internet cafes and college computer labs. To protect yourself when using a public computer, never shop online, check your bank account, pay bills or enter your credit-card information.

5. Database theft. Chances are, your personal information is part of numerous databases, including those at your dentist and doctor's offices, your college or university admissions office, your mortgage and insurance companies, even your local Blockbuster. While there's little you can do about the way those companies safeguard your information, you can try limiting their access to sensitive data, such as your Social Security number, says Lowe. Your cable company and DVD rental store, for example, have no need to know your Social Security number and should agree to an alternative, such as the last few digits of your driver's license number.

Back to Tech Insider: Surviving Identity Theft.

Welcome Isis Members

2005-07-08T13:29:00.000-05:00

Thanks Mike,
Welcome Isis Members

Condusef

2005-07-05T16:28:00.000-05:00

El sitio de la CONDUSEF (Comisión Nacional para la Protección y Defensa de los Usuarios de Servicios Financieros) permite al público en general conocer comisiones de tarjetas de crédito, débito, uso de cajeros propios y de otros bancos, y un largo etcétera. Lo recomiendo ampliamente para el público mexicano que siente curiosidad de conocer las comisiones de cada producto de cada banco. Sirve mucho para comparar qué etnidad bancaria conviene más. También podemos encontrar información sobre AFORES, Crédito para Auto, Crédito Hipotecario, Sociedades de Inversión.
Sáquenle jugo, uno de los puntos a favor de la Administración Federal es la facilidad de acceso a información vía internet.
Saludos,

Googlemaps

2005-07-04T14:56:00.000-05:00

Googlemaps permite utilizar tanto mapas como acceder a vistas aéreas de todo el mundo.

Hay quienes ya creen que hay fotos de OVNIs y de misiles.

YONKIS:

- En ésta web se discute sobre las extrañas 'marcas' que aparecen en las fotos tomadas por satélite para GoogleMaps. ¿ que són ?
¿ Ovnis, otros satélites, ocultación de casas de famosos ?
Un misterio por resolver ...

- Zurdito: ¿ Misiles antiaéreos borrados ?

- Gustavo: ¿ Recuerdan la peli "El último emperador"? aquí está La ciudad prohibida.. Beijing, China + Estatua de la Libertad, NYC + Torre Eiffel, Paris - \|H\|: Un lujo ver desde el cielo una de las 7 maravillas del mundo antiguo: Las Piramides Keops Kefrén Micerinos. Además, ésto lo localicé en Libia y no tengo ni idea de que cojones es eso en medio del desierto
- Hugo: Una matización sobre la 'casa de Satán' de ayer. El símbolo es el de la estrella de David (la de seis puntas) La del diablo tiene oficialmente cinco, y la punta vertical enfoca hacia abajo

The Renaissance

2005-07-04T14:55:00.000-05:00

Existe un instituto, (ISIS INSTITUTE) que promueve la alineación de los individuos (familias, empresas, equipos) con el nuevo entorno global y la transformación que estamos viviendo.

Dentro de este sitio se puede acceder a cierta información que tal vez te pueda parecer fuera de lugar o que por el contrario, encuentres fascinante y hasta "resuenes" con ella. Esto es solamente la punta del iceberg.

Los líderes del proyecto son John Caris (fundador) y Michaël Boudey (systems expert), sus blogs los podrás encontrar en: JOHN'S (http://isisgroup.typepad.com/); MIKE'S (http://living-system-learning.blogspot.com/).

Enjoy,

Keegomater

Terrorismo

2005-07-04T14:54:00.000-05:00

EXTRACTO DE NOTA del 28 de junio de 2005, IMAGEN INFORMATIVA:

Firman estrategias trilaterales para reformar seguridad en fronteras

Con el objetivo de reforzar la frontera, tanto en su seguridad como en el cruce de personas y mercancías, los gobiernos de México, Estados Unidos y Canadá se reunieron en Ottawa.

Su objetivo, hacer más eficiente su integración, por tal motivo las tres administraciones instrumentaran 300 iniciativas que serán puestas en marcha entre el 2006 y 2007 para avanzar en la alianza para la seguridad y la prosperidad de América del Norte.

Carlos Abascal, Secretario de Gobernación, rechazó que esta asociación sea para endurecer la frontera ante la amenaza de terroristas sino para agilizar el tránsito de personas.

“El punto no está en endurecer la frontera, el punto está en tomar las medidas adecuadas en ambos lados de nuestra frontera y ya con la colaboración de Canadá para hacer cada vez mas seguro el tránsito de las personas y el intercambio de mercancías”.

COMENTARIO:

En el momento en que entendamos que el enemigo no es el Terrorismo, sino que el Terrorismo (cuando no se fundamenta en intereses económicos de terceros) existe como un grito de una sociedad que sufre de desigualdades, opresiones e incertidumbre; podremos ofrecer soluciones cabales e integrales. El Terrorismo es la manera en que un fragmento de la colectividad expone su inconformidad ante las políticas internacionales y nacionales. Los intereses económicos de los grupos en el poder dictan las políticas; políticas que asfixian al menos afortunado y que utilizan recursos naturales, poblaciones, etc. como medios de negociación.

Concluyendo, el terrorismo somos nosotros, los capitalistas desalmados; los terroristas son sólo el medio de regulación que el Universo encuentra para alertarnos de que vamos por mal camino.

Me encantará leer tus comentarios,

Saludos.

KEEGOMASTER

¿Qué está pasando con el clima?

2004-12-26T23:39:00.000-06:00

Desde hace algunos años una idea me ha estado revoloteando en la mente. Sin embargo, ha sido desde el invierno pasado (2003) que se ha vuelto más acuciosa su presencia. Vivo en el Occidente del país (México), en un lugar mágico que solía ser famoso por un olor a tierra mojada; y ha sido en esta ciudad que me he percatado de algunos factores "poco ordinarios," comenzando con aquella mañana en que nevó en Guadalajara (por primera vez desde 1881.)
Falta redondear la idea, o investigar más, pero grosso modo es que nuestro planeta está comenzando a experimentar una serie de transformaciones climatológicas que van a afectar a la mayoría (yo estimo tal vez hasta un 80%) de la población mundial. Me refiero con "afectar" a que experimentarán factores climáticos extraordinarios: Inundaciones en zonas deserticas, nevadas en zonas templadas, etc. Debo desarrollar más esta idea e investigar más, pero por lo pronto, aquí queda la constancia de esta inquietud.

Algo referente a esta idea (sin tomar en cuenta el aspecto alarmista....)

Comenzando este blog

2004-10-30T20:37:00.000-05:00

Este es un post de prueba. Veamos si furula.