America’s Greatness: It Has Never Really Been Politics
Everywhere I go, I am surprised how much people all over the world know about the U.S.
• When I was in Russia a couple weeks ago, a young man came up to me and asked me if I was from the US. Then he began to ask me all kinds of questions about the housing market […]
Most of us have been lucky enough to have had at least one great teacher enter our lives who somehow resonates with us and who changes the way that we look at ourselves and the world - awakening us from a sleep we did not know we were in.
Dr. Dillon K. Inouye, who passed […]
The bones of 5 million: the underside of Paris
Yesterday, I met a good friend at the Eiffel Tower, and we spent the day visiting some of the main attractions above ground in Paris (Notre Dame, Victory Arch, Louve, Angelina’s chocolate shop on, etc) – and enjoyed some of the vibrant life that filled the streets.
For a section of the day, however, we […]
How good I am at learning Finnish
I have tried to maximize my time in Finland by learning as much Finnish as I can. Some people said that they were impressed by how fast I was learning it, so I started to be impressed by myself too!
I even booked an airline ticket on a Finnish-only language website to France (for a […]
Games people play in different countries and cultures
I would sometime like to do a study on games people play in different cultures and countries.
Going to St. Petersburg this last weekend, we joked about a ‘Russian game’ called the “Everybody get down!”-game - and how this man on the bus didn’t learn how to play it very well…
(sometime ask me more about it […]
Why would you want to be a Buddhist monk?
Early I had a blog entry about Catholic monks. Now I had the opportunity to ask the above question to two Thai Buddhist monks who were visiting Joensuu for a few days. I spoke with them briefly before a couple of meditation sessions that my good friend Antony invited me to (which they kind […]
Diffusion of Innovation in Developing Countries through Microfranchising
I was just emailed a link to the keynote presentations from the conference in Oxford: “Confronting the Challenge of Technology for Development: Experiences from the BRICS” and I realized I should post a copy of my abstract and some follow-up thoughts from my presentation (which was about the diffusion of innovation in developing countries through […]
To the man who I respect, admire, and owe so much to! Happy Birthday Dad! Thanks for being born, for deciding to let me have the same experience, and then for putting up with me in the years since then.
If you can not view the video, click here: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2117222636463608580&hl=en
Finland Productivity Levels: An international success story
Attending a conference at Oxford last week (“Confronting the Challenge of Technology for Development: Experiences from the BRICS”), I heard several of the speakers refer to Finland as an example of one of the most successful countries in terms of development and productivity growth over the last couple decades (one speaker even referring to it […]
Is the Dalai Lama lying? Conflict, hypocrisy, and miscommunication – the Dorje Shugden
Shouts with a call: “Stop lying”
Response (by the crowd): “Dalai Lama”
What are some human tendencies in responding to conflict?
While walking this morning along the streets of Oxford (to a conference I am presenting at this weekend), I saw a group of people gathering and asked what was happening. They said the Dalai Lama was coming. […]