Archive for May, 2008
Los Angeles Venture Association (LAVA)
May 31st, 2008
Hi. My name is Rick Russell. I’m a computer support professional, a computer hobbyist, and a business student.
Over the years, I’ve developed some strong technical skills, and I use those skills every day to help folks trying to make sense of computers and technology in my day-to-day job.
Now I’m embarking on a new adventure. I’m getting a Masters of Business Administration and it’s my goal to assimilate both business and technical concepts and explain them in a way that makes sense to regular folks. Eventually, I’d like to get a job in the venture capital business, using my technical knowledge to help financiers make good decisions about where to put their money.
Today’s discussion is about LAVA, the . I recently joined LAVA so I could attend their monthly executive breakfasts. Each breakfast features a cast of business superstars. The next breakfast features Richard (Dick) Heckmann, an entrepreneur who has managed to build real economic benefit out of the merger & acquisition process. He’s identified inefficient companies with good technology, merged them together to make better products, make them more competitive in the global market, and ultimately build true economic value.
I think that when the average person thinks of a merger and acquisition specialist, they think of the classic 80s “greed is good” type whose only desire is to maximize accounting profit, no matter who suffers for it. Today, that characterization simply doesn’t fit. M&A specialists realize that investors — particularly big institutional investors who have the money to pay for good analysis — aren’t going to be fooled by a tweaked balance sheet and a chopped bottom line. They are looking for investment opportunities that create true economic wealth that will hold up in the long-term ten to thirty year time frame. They don’t want to invest in capitalists whose only goal is cut employees for a short-term boost in profit.
Enter modern M&A specialists like Heckmann. He has made wealth by identifying inefficient economic sectors, and using the acquisition process to build more capable, more efficient enterprises. He made his first big money in the water purification industry, when he recognized that municipalities all over the US were paying big money for expensive, inefficient customized solutions for water treatment. He addressed that need by buying a water filter company and acquiring more companies with good technology, then integrating the technologies into an easily deployed service for municipalities. The resulting conglomerate, US Filter, offered a complete package of well-designed water treatment solutions that eliminated the need for expensive, custom-designed one-off treatment systems.
The result: better quality water at lower cost for everyone. That’s capitalism in action. The same capital disbursement mechanisms are being used to develop cutting-edge technologies in every sector. If there is any hope of disconnecting the US from the politically charged stream of foreign oil, I think that hope lies with venture capitalists.
Anyway, I’ll be attending the LAVA breakfast in about 10 days and post a review of the information I obtain there.
Rick R.
Finish (or Start School!)
May 31st, 2008
If you're a baby boomer like me and you haven't finished your education yet - now is the time! Seriously what are you waiting for? What you probably didn't realize is that you earn your degree at home from great, high quality institutions by attending classes online. You don't need to be some sort of Tech genius. Basic computer skills dovetail nicely with the easy to use interactive software online colleges are using to instruct their students. One school that I'm really interested is . They've been around since 1965, are accredited and have an excellent reputation. Check out this link above and let me know what you think. I've already sent away for more information.
Another Best of the Net…
May 31st, 2008
As my readers know, I like to spot websites that I think are fantastic. One of those sites is the the Online College Blog. This blog is one of best in the United States. Online Education is, after all, generating seriously big buzz! Online schools are more affordable and accessible. They are providing opportunity on a scale that traditional institutions can't even touch. So, be sure to check out the as it details many schools and facets of distance learning.
Reminders!
May 30th, 2008
I know the school year is ending and many are going on summer vacation! I just wanted to remind our readers that free videoconferences, from content providers like the Lee Richardson and NASA, fill up 
fast during the school year. This is a great time to plan ahead and put in requests for fall programming.
Also, during June and July, Cooperating School Districts is closed on Fridays. Office hours are Monday through Thursday, 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. CDT. The classes in the tele will also be Monday through Thursday, with most running 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Have a great summer!
Integrate Technology Tools in Your School
May 28th, 2008
has announced that registration is open for all St. Louis area educators (superintendents, assistant superintendents, principals, assistant principals, librarians, media specialists, tech coordinators, & teachers) to attend the 2008-2009 TLA. TLA assists educators in developing knowledge & skills necessary to use technology as a tool for more effective & efficient leadership in their schools!
During 48 hours of professional development in the Technology Leadership Academy, you will:
•Focus on leadership skills in technology
•Improve classroom use of technology
•Develop a vision of how to utilize technology to improve student performance
•Assess strengths & needs of your staff/students in the area of technology as well as develop a practical & useful technology plan
•Expand your network of colleagues
As a part of the academy, participants receive:
•Palm T|X handheld computer with Bluetooth & Wifi + wireless keyboard
•GoObserve software for the Palm (a classroom observation tool)
•Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works by METC featured speaker , et.al.
•attendance at 1 day of the
Dates for the 2008-2009 school year are as follows:
•Oct. 1 •Nov. 5 •Dec. 3 •Jan. 7 •Jan. 27* (METC) •Feb. 25
Times: 8 am to 4 pm (breakfast & lunch included) | Cost: $1,200/person
Training sessions take place in CSD's tele on .- except for the METC* session- which is at the St. Charles Convention Center. To register, go . P.O.'s and credit cards will be accepted. Slots will fill up fast, and space is limited, so register now! If you have any questions, contact Martha Bogart at (314) 692-1258 or .
Booking Up!
May 28th, 2008
The Virtual Learning Center's tele (technology enhanced learning environment) classes are filling up very quickly- Transforming Learning with a SMART Board on June 3 and Creating SMART Board Lessons to Engage & Motivate Students on June 4 are already full!
There are a limited spaces left in Teacher Timesavers: Free Online Resources on June 5; Using Digital Media in the Classroom (Featuring Google Earth) on June 9; Cross-Curricular Lessons Using Concept Mapping on June 10; and Transforming Learning with a Promethean Activboard on June 11. to participate in these early June courses. Teachers from all over the St. Louis metropolitan area participate; bring a friend from your school, or network with other teaching colleagues from different districts. Remember, too, that graduate credit is available for many tele classes.
Courses in the second half of the month are Empowering Students with Podcasting; Differentiating Instruction with Discovery Streaming; Boundless Learning with Videoconferencing; Movie-Making in the Classroom: Creating Digital Stories and Photo Essays; and Online “Street Smarts:” Being Legal, Literate, and Secure. Tele questions? Call Joan Forrest at (314) 692-1259.
what are you doing this summer?
May 27th, 2008
New Links to New Learning members, remember that videoconferences are available all year! If you are teaching a summer school course, you can include videoconferencing in the curriculum. K-12 programs are out there- in any subject! ? Take your students to the Globe Theatre in London. Listening to students talk about the latest ' series? NY, and the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum are just an IP address away! Learn about Diversity in the Dugout or The Business of Baseball. Are your students interested in , but you need to cover science and social studies? Visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame + Museum. Videoconferences include Hip-Hop Technology: From Turntables to Computers and Rock & Roll Reactions: Records, Radios and the Birth of Teenage Culture in 1950s America. There is a lot out there! Contact for more ideas or suggestions.
The National law School of India University, Bangalore, a premier Law University in India, invites applications for admission to the following courses under Distance Education Programme for the Academic Year 2008-2009:
1. Two-Year Master of Business Laws (M.B.L.) Programme
2. One-Year P.G. Diploma Courses
a) Human Rights Law (PGDHRL)
b) Medical Law & Ethics (PGDMLE)
c) Environmental Law (PGDEL)
d) Intellectual Property Rights Law (PGDIPRL)
Details
Mega Business and Mark Victor Hansen’s First Talk at It
May 27th, 2008
Mega Business was an intense, info-packed three day session, May 16 -18, 2008, and I must write about it before it fades. It was a Mark Victor Hansen event in Irvine, CA, and because I'm part of the MVH Mega Inner Circle (an inspiring, illuminating, and expensive venture!), I attended as a VIP. My guest was Robert Gould, a graphic design business owner and, like me, a children's literacy advocate. The first morning of the workshop, gave me a copy of his oh-so-beautiful book, Father and Son Read-Aloud Stories. See his website, <http://www.bigguybooks.com> -- the cure for reluctant readers-- a wonderful contribution to literacy, especially for young boys.
I love listening to Mark Victor Hansen. He has a huge heart and service consciousness, and yet he's a vigorous businessman and massively wealthy. His style is authentically his own; he does plenty of call and response; he's attuned to his audience, and engages us physically, emotionally, mentally. "Turn to your neighbor, touch their forehead, and say, I see greatness in you." Then he'll get quiet, teary eyed, and launch into a story that moves all of us. And in a flash, he'll cite statistics and facts and dates (some of them inaccurate, though in the ballpark of truth) to underscore his point. He promotes conscious capitalism (a new term, I think); an end to war (Either war is obsolete, or humanity is); and believes the 'recession' we are supposedly in is media created.
I take notes when MVH talks, and here are some of them. I warn any reader that they may not be totally accurate, but they're pretty darn close. Every talk of his leaves me with a list of affirmations and aphorisms:
*Say, I'm ready.
*I'm going to ask you to elevate yourself, so you serve all.
*I see you doing great stuff.
*I want you to be the most creative you can be.
*Say, I'm a visionary leader.
*As you elevate in consciousness, you get more time.
*Money freedom leads to time freedom leads to relationship freedom leads to spiritual freedom leads to creativity freedom.
*We must be in eco-centered businesses.
*The best thing you can do for the poor is not be one of them.
*Thinking turns into form.
*I was born with a sense of urgency to get things done.
*The more enterprising you are, the freer you are.
*A mega business isn't for you; it's for them.
*Say, I'm here to be in surplus.
*Say, I'm bullish in this bearish time.
*Sharing means having more.
*Say, I'm not participating in the recession!
*Say, I'm into financial freedom.
*I want more for you than you want for yourself.
*Say, I've got permission.
*Say, I know what I'm looking for. I know who to talk to. I know who to listen to.
*Say, I am viscerally excited because I feel the reality of the downside possibilities, but will not participate.
Say, I'm leading edge.
Ask: What's the next level for me? What does it look like? Who do I want to play with?
Then MVH gave us Ten Keys to Success in Any Economy: I won't write them out here because, who knows, he may want to make a book out of them.
I'm thinking I'll continue with brief notes on the next three days of speakers...but that was already a week ago. This Memorial Day weekend I had two days of hiking to build fitness for my fall pilgrimage in Spain on the Camino Frances de Compostela de Santigo. My feet are sore!
With regard to legwork… and thumbing a ride
May 26th, 2008
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A propaganda novel circuit
Edges regarding a pornographic novel wharf
The self took a tiny photos in respect to in a way-charming munition- each and every remise as far as rank and gimmick my second!
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