Think Like Google

Paying Attention: It’s complicated. You probably use Google everyday, but do you spend a lot of time sorting out how Google finds out all that neat info you requested (hint–it has to do with distributed computing across a zillion platforms using  proprietary software, not just proprietary algorithms). What if we told you that the language that Google uses (Mesos) was open source. And that it was specifically designed to make use of multiple platforms simultaneously. And that you could take a crack at using it for your own world-conquering purposes? Well you can. Start with this terrif article from our friends at WIRED.  and report back when you’ve built the first part of your empire.
The Fine Print: Special thanks to our pals at Wired for the link. Always good info; always a good time. 

The Perfect Investment Manager: Quantitative. Unemotional. Never Sleeps.

Paying Attention: Is your hedge fund (or mutual fund) being managed by a robot? If so, lucky boy. The bots have a couple of advantages over the Masters in Applied Math grads from Hopkins who used to look after your portolio. To those who thought that robots couldn’t take over their Portfolio Manager position on Wall Street…think again. 
 
The Fine Print:  Link to  MIT Technology Review. Strongly suggested that you also click into the background articles from the post… and thanks to MIT for sharing. 

How to bring an old laptop back to life

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Paying Attention:  If you  have one computer, there’s a good chance you have more than one: specifically an old laptop that’s past it’s OS life. It happens. No matter how much you update, no matter how much you upgrade, sooner or later you reach a point where that once-treasured-and-essential-laptop can no longer take another round of essential-to-operating-today upgrades. It slows down; it won’t run the latest version of your software; it’s balky.  At that point, you either shelve it, permanently; sell it; or junk it. How about a third alternative? It’s now possible to re-purpose your blast from the past by Making it Chrome.  Click on the link (left) for a short, sharp piece on turning your laptop into a Chromebook, a streamlined, works-only-via-the-internet (and cloud) computer that be used to surf the net, check/send email, write, do spreadsheets, and, yes, tend to your blog. The version of Chrome used for this install is called Chromium OS and is an open source version of Chrome, from developer Neverware.  A true warning: while Neverwear makes it very easy to turn your semi-bricked laptop into a Chromebook-type computer, the process is not without a few danger zones, so follow the guidance and directions to the letter. In other words, make the install at your own risk.  One other caveat: you have to have an internet connection for the computer to operate correctly once the new OS is installed because everything is coming from the cloud; don’t do what I did once with my Chromebook: go out to lunch, have a presentation to go through, open up the Chromebook and then–no wi-fi, no presentation. Duh……. Using a Chromebook is an exercise in streamlining your computing needs and re-purposing a machine that you thought had no future other than dust collection is even better. Our thanks to our friends at LIFEHACKER for putting this guide together.
 
The Fine Print: The Chrome logo is trademarked 2016 Google, Inc. and/or it’s successors and assigns. All rights reserved.
 

The Marker: The Incredible Story of Jeff Knox

Paying Attention: Jeff Knox  may be the least famous golfer to ever play in The Masters.

You would have to be one of the kings of golf minutiae to recognize his name: He is the tournament’s official “marker”, an extra non-competing amateur player who plays with one of the tournament’s competitors to round out the field if another competitor has had to drop out for any reason or the field ended up with an uneven number of players due to the cut.  He is every weekend golfer’s dream, because just getting invited to The Masters requires that a golfer be among the very best in the sport. But Knox is no weekend hacker but a superb golfer and he has proven in the past that he can hang with some of the sport’s greats.
Click through above and through the ClickPak below to read the incredible story of the “player to be named later”–Jeff Knox, the official “Marker” of The Masters. It’s just one small part of a “tradition unlike any other.” Enjoy the final round.
A Jeff Knox ClickPak
The day Bubba Met Jeff
A Representative of The Club
Mr. Knox Will Play With You.
The Jeff Knox Story
The Not-So-Average Golfer
 
The Fine Print: Image of Jeff Knox and Bubba Watson courtesy of Getty Images (really, if you’ve got a non-profit blog going–and this one is about as non-profit as they get–you should investigate the very generous image availability from Getty. ) Our deepest thanks to them for sharing. 

The Slang of Golf

Paying Attention: It’s that time of the year. The Masters golf tournament is this week and we’re quickly moving into the sweet spot of the Pro Golf Tournament year. Whether you like (we do) or not (those people are out there), golf is going to be all over the TV in coming months–especially since 2016 is a Ryder Cup Year. So…might as well get a quick guide to the language, slang, syntax, vernacular, of the golf, with this guide to the vocabulary of golf.  Special thanks to the people at AboutSports.com who put it together.