Microsoft's Incubation Week for start-ups

Straight from Don Dodge's site:

Microsoft is organizing several “Incubation Week” programs to help start-ups incubate and develop outstanding ideas. The event will feature technical gurus from Microsoft, technology veterans who have built their own applications, and influential venture capitalists and industry experts. Microsoft developers will lead interactive discussions, provide helpful advice, and facilitate actual application development on site. At the end of the week, they’ll select a winner who will be eligible for prizes and special PR opportunities.

The event is free and each team can bring up to three participants (one business and 1-2 technical). All start-ups are eligible, whether or not you have an application built today.

CRM Incubation Week will be held at Microsoft Technology Center in Waltham, MA from Monday, April 20th to Friday, April 24th. This event consists of ½ day of training, 3 ½ days of active prototype/development time, and a final day for packaging/finishing and reporting out to a panel of judges for various prizes.

To nominate your team, please submit your development proposal to Sanjay Jain. Nominations will be judged according to the strength of the founding team, originality and creativity of the idea, and ability to leverage CRM as a Platform.

all chiefs, no indians

I am beginning to wonder if that idiom wasn't meant for the upcoming at-large city council race. Although it isn't quite time yet for candidates who plan to run for district seats to formally announce yet, there just seems to be an excessive number of folks running for an at-large bid. Presumably, the two incumbent at-large city councilors (John Connolly and Stephen Murphy) are going to run for re-election. Nevertheless, we're talking about 4 seats. It's going to be a free-for-all among those two and Felix Arroyo, Jr, Jean-Claude Sanon, Andrew Kenneally, Doug Bennett, Marty Hogan, Ayanna Pressley, Scotland Willis, Tomas Gonzalez, Peter Lin-Marcus, and Ego Ezedi. 

For one thing, it will mark an unprecedented slew of candidates of color embarking on the journey of public service. And I highly doubt that the interest has subsided. As a matter of fact, I know for a fact of at least two others who will be jumping headfirst into the foray in the weeks to come. Plus, I would not be surprised if Ed Flynn and Patricia White threw their hats into the race yet again. Back in 2007, there were 8 candidates vying for the four slots. This time, there may be a good dozen of 'em in the primary. And this isn't even bringing the district races into consideration. Commonwealth Magazine lamented the lack of contested races in Massachusetts. Maybe this could be a sign of the future. Who knows? But I know not to hedge my bets. So let's just suffice it to say that the spring and summer of 209 will definitely be an interesting milestone in Boston's history.

Millions of Children Left Behind

I'll be the first to readily admit that I have quickly become a fan - groupie even- of Sir Ken Robinson. The man is ill.

In a very intriguing article for the Huffington Post, he continues to spell out some very formidable suggestion for what we must do to drastically change the face of education as we know it in order to achieve sustainability and greater gains.

The ideas he offers aren't really that far-fetched actually. They are more matter-of-factly than anything, yet the beauty is in their simplicity and the mammoth complexity with which everything would have to change in order to see such change come to fruition.

"The present system was designed for 19th century industrialism and it's overheating in a dangerous way. Reforming education isn't enough. The real task is transformation."

Just yesterday, I went to the Young, Gifted, & Black show and enjoyed it just like I have the previous ones I've attended. Some of the artists I have seen grow up over the last 3-4 years into very well-rounded performers (and adults as well). Their words continually challenge me to perfect my diction, be on top of my wordplay game, and confront the skeletal stories that beg to be told. These poets are my spiritual mentors who speak to me through stanzas and prose unlike what any normal slang is supposed to sound, taste, smell, and feel like. And in that same vein, it is their creative will and genius that has to rise to the surface in order for the status quo to continually get challenged.

"...the current systems of public education were never designed to develop everyone's talents. They were intended to promote certain types of ability in the interests of the industrial economies they served."

One sister quipped: "but these standardized tests are not made to consider students who do not have multiple choices." Moving beyond acronyms, standards, and pedagogy are merely first steps. If not for the children (seeds), who will purify the water we pollute to water them? How do you think innovation can rise to the surface?

Do schools kill creativity?

Peep the words from Sir Ken Robinson. This is a very intriguing and at-times, hilarious 20-minute speech from 2006 that embodies some heavy food for thought.



a few of the concepts shared:

• If you're not prepared to be wrong, you'll never come up with anything original.
• We stigmatize mistakes.
• We are educating people out of their creative capacity.
• We get educated out of creativity.
• Every education system has the same hierarchy with math & language at the top and arts at the bottom.
• Some people have to move in order to think.

More ill ideas and thoughts can be found at the TED web site.