Philips Electronics releases The Rationalizer, a bracelet that monitors your emotional state while you are sitting at the computer, about to make an irrational trade, or hit send on that email destined to set off a flame war. The lights intensify and turn a brighter red when your emotions flare, offering what it calls a “mirror of emotion” to warn you that it might be good to take a breather and calm down before making any irrational decisions.
I’ve longed for a cool tablet that I could carry with me, something more than a phone can handle, smaller than a laptop and my interactive than a netbook. I thought my gadget-itch might eventually be scratched by Apple, with essential an over sized Iphone. But now this new secret Microsoft project is leaked… a tablet/journal thing with a really well done user experience. This might be the first truly innovative and well designed thing Microsoft has released in a long time. Could it be? Is this this the gadget of my dreams (yeah, geeky dreams)?
The SmartBet organizers gather around Brad Chestler who beat out 300 poker players and helped raise more than $100k for Chicago charities last night. Congrats to Brad… and a HUGE thank you to the organizing team… you guys are great to work with…… four years into SmartBet tourneys, you have really achieved a fun event for great causes, and it’s my pleasure to serve with you.
My family spent far too many nights at the foot of a hospital bed with my sister Hilliary throughout her life, and I know the important work of a place like Children’s Memorial Hospital. I’m happy to be a member of the Corporate Board of Children’s Memorial Hospital, and show support however I can.
The annual car raffle is a great fundraiser that has a direct impact on kids and families in the hospital. Plus, the odds of winning one of seven cars is great! Only 7,000 tickets will be sold… buy one today. Good luck!
OK, so I had a little too much scotch after CityLIGHTS, and slur a bit through the interview. But I’m still glad to have chatted with Mark at BusinessPOV (who’s doing some great journalism in Chicago) about our new high school launch. Thanks Mark!
… one danger facing the U.S. was that “we could become a risk-averse nation. The entire mood of the country has swung from taking wild risks to taking no risk,” he observed. “And that could be bad for the country.”
An spot on post by Lane Wallace. The entrepreneurial spirit is what made America. Many people can’t relate to a willingness to risk everything in search of exploration, innovation and accomplishment.
If the risks taken are going to bring down an entire financial system for the rest of us, that’s one thing. But if an informed explorer is willing to put their own life, fortune … or even, to quote a memorable document, their sacred honor … on the line for a cause, technology, or chance they think is worth it … perhaps we should rethink our knee-jerk reflex to keep them safer than they wish to keep themselves.
During an economic crisis many people will lose the job security they assumed, and some will turn to entrepreneurship as a stop gap.
NASA managers speak of a balancing act called “risk versus reach.” Too little reach, and you discover nothing significantly new. Too much risk, and you lose the craft and people you need to do the exploring, and you discover nothing at all.
The real key to recovery will be entrepreneurs by choice, not those thrust into self-employment by economic times. How far an entrepreneur is willing to “reach” without reckless risk is the metal of success.
Our goal from the beginning has been to promote collaboration,” said Terry Howerton, ITA’s chairman and FastRoot’s CEO. TechNexus is Chicago’s technology clubhouse… home to more than 25 startups and used by more than 2,000 local tech execs each month.
I’ve been mostly silent for the past three weeks, and absent from community events. I’ve disconnected as much as possible from the routine, and shifted focus to my family. Here’s why…
Four years ago, my 30-year-old sister Hilliary died after a courageous battle with a rare and insidious cancer. It was the f...
Today Timelines Inc., a growing young company based inside of Chicago's TechNexus, filed a trademark infringement suit against Facebook. Timelines has operated timelines.com, a site that allows people to post pictures and notes to tell the story of their lives and the story of events around them. They have a registered trademark, and even face...
I just returned from a visit to Chicago Tech Academy and my first visit with an assembly of the 150 new freshmen... and I am inspired! This third class of students seems to be the most inquisitive, the most engaged and the most eager bunch of students I’ve met at the new high school.
The reputation of ChiTech after the fi...
