Independent Variables http://www.dartmouthindependent.com/independent-variables/ The Dartmouth Independent staff blog en Copyright 2008 Wed, 20 Aug 2008 19:41:53 -0500 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification I've heard of emerging markets, but this is ridiculous
1 - A French construction company (LaFarge S.A.) bought an Egyptian cement company which had recently purchased 1/2 of a North Korean cement company

WSJ's prediction: That sometime in the next 10 years, General Electric, Siemens and Hyundai will all be touting the "North Korean opportunity."

2- Chosun Development & Investment Fund has been created to invest in North Korea;

http://english.ohmynews.com/ArticleView/article_view.asp?no=297877&rel_no=1

http://www.bankresearch.org/economicpolicyblog/2006/06/the_first_fund_.html

'

They have several experienced partners on board, e.g. Lynn Turk, a former U.S. diplomat with expertise in North Korean affairs, Robert Fox, a fomer group vice chairman of investment bank Dresdner Kleinwort Benson. See the list of the investment team members.

There are certainly a lot of risks. But as Colin McAskill (the fund's exclusive investment advisor) said: ''They have gold, silver, zinc, masses of iron ore, all that the rest of the world, particularly China, needs right now'''

]]> http://www.dartmouthindependent.com/independent-variables/2008/08/ive-heard-of-emerging-markets.html http://www.dartmouthindependent.com/independent-variables/2008/08/ive-heard-of-emerging-markets.html Wed, 20 Aug 2008 19:41:53 -0500 Gatsby Complex In the US, there are clubs that care more about the number of times you are mentioned on vh1

http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/15/when-money-cant-get-past-the-velvet-rope/
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601102&sid=ah.H2xr8CZ.4&refer=dbk

]]> http://www.dartmouthindependent.com/independent-variables/2008/08/prejudice-the-glitteratti-dont.html http://www.dartmouthindependent.com/independent-variables/2008/08/prejudice-the-glitteratti-dont.html Fri, 15 Aug 2008 11:18:35 -0500 H. Mackinder still matters in the Internet Age
http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/08/civilge-the-geo.html

Also, see how easy it is: http://www.slate.com/id/2197514/
]]> http://www.dartmouthindependent.com/independent-variables/2008/08/h-mackinder-still-matters-in-t.html http://www.dartmouthindependent.com/independent-variables/2008/08/h-mackinder-still-matters-in-t.html Tue, 12 Aug 2008 10:37:46 -0500 Give "Junk Science" a Chance Wired Magazine and others likes to report on wacky Pentagon projects (Wired Danger Blog "Bizarro" http://blog.wired.com/defense/bizarro/index.html).

Some of the most infamous include:

<> Voice of God devices - http://www.fas.org/sgp/othergov/dod/vts.html
<> the gay bomb or halitosis bomb, winner of Ig Nobel Prize: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay_bomb
<> use of psychics  - Men who Stare at Goats chronicles recent efforts and is being turned into a film by George Clooney; during the Cold War, the Stanford Research Institute (now SRI International) investigated ESP and psychokinesis and the Soviets did similar research


These sound ridiculous, but I think wacky research should be allowed.  It is the old J. S. Mill argument that by allowing crazy ideas, you can either A) gain or B) get a better understanding of why things do not work.

There was a time when a nuclear power seemed ridiculous - Rutherford called the idea "moonshine." 

So, in short: we should give military R&D the benefit of the doubt





]]> http://www.dartmouthindependent.com/independent-variables/2008/06/give-junk-science-a-chance.html http://www.dartmouthindependent.com/independent-variables/2008/06/give-junk-science-a-chance.html Fri, 06 Jun 2008 16:17:19 -0500 Metabolic Dominance
There are precedences to such a drive, e.g. German infantry and Japanese Kamikazes were fueled by amphetamines in WWII; these efforts are more like high end Yuppie snack food and less likely to give you a heart attack.

Excerpt from Noah Shactman's article:


"At the Army's Natick Soldier Systems Center, a prototype First Strike Ration (PDF) has been developed, to supply high-energy cuisine that needs no preparation. The meal includes a trio of small sandwiches, "zapple sauce" -- a carbohydrate-enhanced apple mush -- and caffeinated gum, according to Natick combat feeding scientist Diane Wood. The center has also funded research into transdermal patches that would deliver nutrients, just as nicotine patches give ex-smokers their fixes.

Finally, Natick handed out grants to study how certain herbs might enhance endurance and mental alertness. Dave Gangemi, the director of Clemson University's Institute for Nutraceutical Research, received a three-year, $900,000 grant to examine the effects of echinacea and other plants. He believes extracts from the herb can be added to rations -- and that should give soldiers an extra oomph."


For more reading:


http://www.fas.org/irp/agency/dod/jason/human.pdf
http://www.wired.com/medtech/health/news/2004/02/62297
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/15.03/bemore.html?pg=3&topic=bemore&topic_set=
http://www.darpa.mil/DARPATech2002/presentations/dso_pdf/slides/BielitzkiDSO_v4.pdf
http://www.nhne.org/news/NewsArticlesArchive/tabid/400/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/2737/Default.aspx
]]> http://www.dartmouthindependent.com/independent-variables/2008/06/metabolic-dominance.html http://www.dartmouthindependent.com/independent-variables/2008/06/metabolic-dominance.html Fri, 06 Jun 2008 16:01:21 -0500 similicio.us del.icio.us to find similar websites; the program answers the question: "people who tagged this site [on del.icio.us] also tagged what other sites"

So, people who visit the DartmouthIndependent.com are also visit:

freedartmouth.blogspot.com similar
dartreview.com similar
dfp.dartmouth.edu similar
dartlog.net similar
thedartmouth.com similar


Eventually they are hoping the technology will be good enough to recommend similar articles, rather than similar websites; until then, this is still pretty cool.
]]> http://www.dartmouthindependent.com/independent-variables/2008/05/similicious.html http://www.dartmouthindependent.com/independent-variables/2008/05/similicious.html Thu, 22 May 2008 07:26:35 -0500 Don't Fear the new Reaper
 http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/05/air-force-wants.html

The development and increased use of UAVs is probably (one of) the most important technological trend of the first decade of this century.  And, unlike a battleship or a phraselator (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phraselator) it can be used just easily in Great War and Counterinsurgency contexts.



]]> http://www.dartmouthindependent.com/independent-variables/2008/05/dont-fear-the-new-reaper.html http://www.dartmouthindependent.com/independent-variables/2008/05/dont-fear-the-new-reaper.html Thu, 22 May 2008 07:12:07 -0500 Metamaterials and Real-life Invisibility
Wikipedia describes metamaterials thus:

A metamaterial (or meta material) is a material which gains its properties from its structure rather than directly from its composition. To distinguish metamaterials from other composite materials, the metamaterial label is usually used for a material which has unusual properties. The term was coined in 1999 by Rodger M. Walser of the University of Texas at Austin. He defined metamaterials as:[1]

Macroscopic composites having a manmade, three-dimensional, periodic cellular architecture designed to produce an optimized combination, not available in nature, of two or more responses to specific excitation.

Among electromagnetics researchers, the term is often used, quite narrowly, for materials which exhibit negative refraction [invisibilitiy].

The first metamaterials were developed by W.E. Kock in the late 1940s with metal-lens antennas[2] and metallic delay lenses[3]."


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negative_refractive_index#Negative_refractive_index


For description of the military's use of meta materials to create invisibility cloaks, see:


http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/05/invisible-drone.html
http://noahshachtman.com/archives/002747.html

]]> http://www.dartmouthindependent.com/independent-variables/2008/05/metamaterials-and-reallife-inv.html http://www.dartmouthindependent.com/independent-variables/2008/05/metamaterials-and-reallife-inv.html Fri, 09 May 2008 20:58:52 -0500 Life Lessons from a Dartmouth Entrepeneur
Q: When should I start a start-up?
A: Consider the drag co-efficient of a race car.  For each of the following, add one point: a spouse, each kid, a mortgage, every 5 years out of college, etc.  The right time to start a start up is when you have a co-efficient of 1-2, i.e. you have some life experience.  After you get a co-efficient of 4 or more, it becomes increasingly unlikely that you will do anything risky.


]]> http://www.dartmouthindependent.com/independent-variables/2008/05/life-lessons-from-a-dartmouth.html http://www.dartmouthindependent.com/independent-variables/2008/05/life-lessons-from-a-dartmouth.html Sat, 03 May 2008 17:19:14 -0500 Morgan Stanley on web 2.0

]]> http://www.dartmouthindependent.com/independent-variables/2008/04/morgan-stanley-on-web-20.html http://www.dartmouthindependent.com/independent-variables/2008/04/morgan-stanley-on-web-20.html Mon, 28 Apr 2008 23:19:54 -0500 Robot Thief By far the most important have been UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unmanned_aerial_vehicle), the Predator drones in particular.
Some have argued that it makes sense to get rid of fighter pilots and fighter planes, particularly expensive F-22s (http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20080423/us_time/whytheairforcebugsgates) - basically, a drone is a lot cheaper (and a helluva lot more easily replaced) than either a fighter plane or a fighter pilot.

Then there are also the Foster-Miller Talons, which look m16s on tank treads: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foster-Miller_TALON. Two cool new developments are the LANdroid: http://www.technologyreview.com/Infotech/20393/ - a robot which will be very important as military "Transformation" continues - and the robot thief : http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/04/back-in-july-th.html Will one day all wars be fought by robots? It sounds like a ridiculous question, but it is an interesting one to ask. It is certainly imaginable that more and more of the work will be done by robots controlled by humans outside of the theater. ]]> http://www.dartmouthindependent.com/independent-variables/2008/04/robot-thief.html http://www.dartmouthindependent.com/independent-variables/2008/04/robot-thief.html Mon, 28 Apr 2008 19:01:25 -0500 Why I Wish I Came Up with FunnyorDie.com the Man http://www.dartmouth.edu/~news/releases/2005/04/28g.html). 

After some reflection, I realized FD was a no risk prospect.  The website has one of the most simple business plans I have ever encountered:

<1> Copy YouTube.  If YouTube is the WalMart of online videos (comparisons to Marshalls or Daffy's may be more appropriate since the videos therein are clearance items - the stuff that the studios will let them get away with posting), FD is a FootLocker.  The brands are better (Will Ferrell, Judd Apatow) and focus (comedy) is much narrower.

<2> Have most of your content generated elsewhere.  Although there are a few FD "Exclusives" a lot of the videos are old SNL videos (SNL prevents YouTube from showing their own videos), deleted scenes from Judd Apatow movies, Human Giant skits, etc. 

<3> Have inexpensive content.  With the exception of some of the elaborate Human Giant skits, most clips are very low tech and short.  The Will Ferrell baby videos, for example.

<4> Synergistic advertising.  The Ferrell-Apatow complex brings to mind Martha Stewart OmniMedia.  She would advertise her magazine on her TV show, her TV show in her cook books, her cookbooks in her magazine, etc.  Most of the advertisements on the FD page are for Judd Apatow movies - Judd Apatow is a special partner in the company - and Comedy Central.  So finding advertisers is easy, and the advertising is actually effective.  I'm a male 18-35 and when I'm checking out FD and see a trailer for a new movie, I got out and see it.

<5> Characters.  I've never met Will Ferrell or the rest of the guys.  They might be jerks.  Assuming they're not though, it is probably more fun working with (already successful) comedians than a bunch of up-tight, stressed out entrepreneurs - after all those years in the Silicon Valley trenches, it looks like the Sequoia guys got some dessert.

 
]]> http://www.dartmouthindependent.com/independent-variables/2008/04/why-i-wish-i-came-up-with-funn.html http://www.dartmouthindependent.com/independent-variables/2008/04/why-i-wish-i-came-up-with-funn.html Sat, 19 Apr 2008 22:32:07 -0500 Searchme.com backing this ]]> http://www.dartmouthindependent.com/independent-variables/2008/04/searchmecom.html http://www.dartmouthindependent.com/independent-variables/2008/04/searchmecom.html New Free Products Search Thu, 17 Apr 2008 16:38:27 -0500 The Difference Between VCs and Finance Guys - Part 1 - The Look Check out the Intruders.TV interview with Kevin Rose.

One of the cool things about being an entrepreneur or in VC is that you do not need to dress up to go to work -God knows I wish I didn't have to wear a tie and dress shoes everyday.  Kevin Rose has made a lot of money for his investors (and for himself) so nobody is going to fault him for wearing a hoodie.

The guy interviewing him, on the other hand, looks like he fell out of a Fall Out Boy video.

A finance guy would never come to the office - would never leave the house looking like that.  "Casual" for a finance guy is pressed shirt, no tie; or khakis and a polo shirt if you are getting on the yacht.  Part of it is a function of age (important finance guys are often a decade or two older than important VC/entrepreneur guys), but part of it is also a measure of culture:

compare this guy:

]]> http://www.dartmouthindependent.com/independent-variables/2008/04/the-difference-between-vcs-and.html http://www.dartmouthindependent.com/independent-variables/2008/04/the-difference-between-vcs-and.html khakis Kevin Rose Fallout Boy Thu, 17 Apr 2008 15:55:50 -0500