Author Archives: Fady

Why the Euro is a good thing

I have been, for a long time, derisive of the European experiment. Though it made it easier to travel through Europe without changing money every 23 minutes, the Euro deprived nations of their most sovereign of tools: monetary policy. Today … Continue reading

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Le Roi est mort, vive le Roi

My earliest and fondest childhood memory was the launch of Apollo 11 on July 16th, 40 years ago. I remember how inspired and awed I was by that event. It, more than anything else, drove me to science and engineering. … Continue reading

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In defense of Manhood in 21st Century

  My father was an uneducated intellectual, he was born in the post-Ottoman Levant (look it up) living the 14th century pastoral life in a one room shack with no running water, eking a living through shear will from stubborn … Continue reading

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Summer in China (Part II in a series)

  China seems to be on quite a winning streak lately: robust economy and strong growth have propelled them into the forefront of news coverage. Investments are pouring in, western companies desperate for growth are trading technological know-how for a … Continue reading

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Arab Spring, Summer in China and Fall in Europe – Part I

Part 1 – Spring As promised, I took a break from politics for a while, and dabbled with all things firearms and a bit of mobile application development. The later is a fascinating world that will, more than the PC, … Continue reading

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Adam Smith had it right.

The annual labour of every nation is the fund which originally supplies it with all the necessaries and conveniencies of life which it annually consumes, and which consists always either in the immediate produce of that labour, or in what … Continue reading

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The World Does Not Owe You A Living

This text was forwarded to me by a resident of Iowa little suspecting it’s an internet hoax. Yet it does strike a cord doesn’t it? Minot Daily News: WEATHER BULLETIN Up here in the Northern part of North Dakota we … Continue reading

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The People Have Spoken, the Bastards!

After being totally absorbed in the last election cycle (this time it was personal for me), it’s time for me to disconnect a bit and focus on other areas that need attention. But not before a parting shot. I’ll start … Continue reading

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Waiting for Superman? Don’t hold your breath

I often refrain from blogging about the education space because the business I run is education related and there is such a uniform, embedded, world-view it’s hard to have reasoned dialogue. “Waiting for Superman”, because it’s produced by a liberal, … Continue reading

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The 21st Century: Libertarianism and the rise of the individual

For a measly $1, I was lured into buying a collection of old science fiction books for my Kindle (I guess the Long Tail really works). A collection that spans more than a century and half of popular SciFi and … Continue reading

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Public Libraries: the lasting dinosaur

Even if you’re not involved in the publishing industry you cannot help but notice seismic changes the industry is experiencing: Business models are being reinvented, new entrants are redefining the value chain, and technology is changing how information is created, … Continue reading

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Revenge of the Mainframe, Part Deux

The biggest news of the week is Apple’s market cap surpassing Microsoft’s. I’m not impressed. It’s “Big News” only in how it signals the ebb and flow of companies. A while back, accused of monopolistic practices, AT&T sought a consent … Continue reading

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The Failed Fourth Estate

Helen Thomas retired today, having outlived many of the news organizations she worked for, Helen’s career was cut short by a slip of the tongue that revealed a bias she’s held for many decades. Maybe, at 90, one stops caring … Continue reading

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Revenge of the Mainframe

My first exposure to computers (aptly named at the time) was to a Dec PDP-10 36-bit machine with punch card. Processors were so expensive than my university owned 2 of them, everyone had to share.   Storage was expensive, so … Continue reading

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Where is Greece?

A lot has transpired since my February demographics blog. A few readers have asked: Where does Greece fall on the chart? Well… Right there.I also said that the move away from the welfare state is not a question of “if”, … Continue reading

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