The King and Abrastisio

Questions for Brian Greene

2010-05-26T12:09:00-07:00

I recently bought the Elegant Universe, a great book by Brian Greene. He tried his very best to distil String Theory and other mad cap science into what an average Joe could understand. I understand (well, I think I do) what he wrote but I have more questions than answers so I did what should be the right thing, I wrote him an email:

Dear Brian,

I recently read your book, The Elegant Universe and I must say, with the few things I learned, even if they dont really resonate with me, I can spend a dinner with a bunch of physicists without falling asleep from boredom. However, I would be happy if I could get answers to some nagging questions:

Based on the big bang theory, if the universe started from the big bang about 15billion years ago, and has been expanding since (with some theories about its contraction happening after, but then both of us would have been long gone, it is not an event that I look forward to), what was the state of the universe a year before the big bang? Or a billion before then? Where did all those matter come from?
If for about 300 years, the classical physicists felt they were right and then Einstein blew them off and then string theory is stringing Einstein up, do you think String theory could hold up forever?
Is it possible that there could be a form of life inside the sub particles?
Is it possible that the components of the whole universe are like sub particles? May be we are the makeup of a giant body!

I would love your take on those questions.

Best regards,

Smart Organizations: The Buck Stops with the Executives

2008-05-22T06:16:00-07:00

In continuation of my analysis of smart organizations, I have since discovered the importance of leadership. The leadership defines the direction the organization goes. Great organizations are known to have great leaders. They define the direction and determine what is important, the culture and the future of their domain.

Until the leadership of an organization knows the benefits of creating an efficient system and work towards it, efforts by the underlings would never amount to anything. Sometimes it is easy to go for strategic meetings (very boring meetings!), create policy documents but until words can be matched with action, nothing comes out of it. [More]

Brilliance versus Intelligence

2008-05-13T08:19:00-07:00

Brilliance is functional intelligence. And I would rather be intelligent that brilliant.

The bionic generation of the future

2008-04-29T11:39:00-07:00

Someone is already talking about implanting Bluetooth devices! Read more from here http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9929881-1.html?tag=cnetfd.mt

What makes a smart organization

2008-04-22T12:04:00-07:00

Of recent, I have been thinking deeply about what makes an organization to be smart. Or deeper still, what defines a smart organization. I am thinking about real life attributes not some fancy buzz words from smart pants consultants.

If someone should ask me, I would say a smart organization is one that reacts quickly to market changes, whose components (resources, employees) are used in the most cost effective manner delivering above average return on investment. So a lot must be expected from each organizational unit. Assets must be deployed in the most cost effective manner and results must be squeezed out. These are just rambling thoughts but one day, I will come around to codify it.

Why should we have smart organizations? My own answer is so simply stupid: It makes employees happy! From my little life experiences, the workers are the first to get stressed up when things don't go smoothly. Like some people I know will say, they willl "Fi eje se!" (use blood to run it!). If things can run faster, better, more efficiently with less input and more time to either party away (Friday night is sacrosanct) and do better things, I should be less stressed up.

Nokia Caller ID Bug

2008-03-09T14:37:00-07:00

This would never happen to a lot of people but if know two guys having almost the same number, your Nokia phone might mix their names up. [More]

The Start of a New Era

2008-01-18T17:03:00-07:00

Today is my last day at First City Monument Bank Plc. That marks the end of an exciting 2 years of challenging and rewarding work at one of Nigeria's finest banks.

The guys here are simply wonderful to work with. People are nice and they actually greet you and my colleagues are my friends. [More]

Global Challenges: Students Leaders not Left Out

2007-11-09T05:00:00-07:00

The world is getting increasingly difficult to manage by the world leaders alone. I guess this is the drive of the organizers of the One World One Society conference taking place at the University of East London between 16th and 17th of November 2007. They want to show an international gathering of student leaders how to impact the world.

But what can student leaders really do to combat challenges facing the global society?

February 29: How does it feel to be born that day?

2007-08-14T14:10:00-07:00

I have never met anyone born on this date but it must be horrible especially if you are girl because you would never do the 1st birthday. Same for the 5th, 10th, 15th, 18th and (blah!) 21st. By the time you come around to do a proper one, 40th, you are already going down the slope and when 60th comes, you have probably done through 2 tummy tucks, 3 breast augmentations and your grand kids would be wondering if you are silly.

Well, it is a crazy thought.

The time has come for a Macbook Pro

2006-10-11T14:14:00-07:00

Having endured years of stupidly designed and pretty ugly laptops, I finally decided to opt for a Mac Pro. I am thinking of something black, shining and sexy. Just like an African Queen. Presently I use a HP NC6120 with 1Gig of memory but it is so ugly it makes me feel like puking. And the Windows XP Pro on it makes me feel like crying when it's time to act up. [More]

Beanz Chopaz drops a baby gurl

2006-09-25T04:42:00-07:00

News from the grapevine just reported that the Chief Genter of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Mr. Ademola Ogunmiloro, just dropped a bouncing baby girl. Consequently, the CGF has declared 7 days of unlimited washing in celebrating the good news. The rest of the beanz chopaz are particularly happy that the efforts of the CGF has not been in vain. God bless the baby!

Nokia E70 at last

2006-09-22T07:33:00-07:00

I have been patiently waiting for this phone since it was announced in October 2005. I was using 6820 previously but when the dude decided to take an early trip to the graves, I opted to wait for the E70. I ran through a motley of some temporary phones while steadfastly waiting for this beauty. Now that I have it, am in nirvana. E70 is a cool business phone with 3G and WI-FI support and a slew of other terrific feature.

dupeolorunjo.com goes live

2006-09-11T08:19:00-07:00

Christian author and banker, Dupe Olorunjo, has launched a new book and a brand new website to showcase her spiritointellectual efforts. The website, along with a brand new book, The Aireginan Dream, were launched yesterday, September 10th, 2006 at the Muson Center in Lagos Island. [More]

Another dawg out of the street!

2006-09-11T02:56:00-07:00

My long time pal, Olaleye Oginni, getting married at last. You can't know how relieved I am getting this dawg from roaming the street. And in making sure he doesn't change his mind along the way, I would be right there to the very end. Then I can go back home and sleep with my two eyes closed. He would be getting hooked (for life) to with his sweet heartthrob, Adeola (my wife's name sake). You can click here to give him a good will message.

JustNaija is down again

2006-08-31T03:53:00-07:00

Wannabe gossip and chat website, justnaija.com is down again for the umpteenth time. The issue this time around is that even though the home page works, you can't view threads. [More]

Excel 2007 Quirk

2006-08-25T10:30:00-07:00

Just got a book on Excel 2003 VBA and I thought of doing some reading and experiments. Along the line, I discovered that I couldn't name a sub or function SayHello. Also, I couldn't record a macro called SayHello. I wonder why because SayHello doesnt look like a reserved keyword.

Adeola Oladeji dropped a gurl!

2006-07-12T12:08:00-07:00

One of my friends (Ade who got married last year, remember him?) just dropped a gurl this morning. Can you imagine that despite all the bragging, he could only do a gurl. I guess if he has 2 more daughters, the three of them then would be equivalent to a boy. Or is my maths too generous?

Anyway, big congrats to Ade Luv and Yetunde. Next month, Ade and I are going shopping for Pit Bulls and double barrel pump action guns...

Television is dangerous for your kids

2006-06-27T06:07:00-07:00

A study (recent???) has shown that TV could really be dangerous to the well-being of our young ones. As a new father, I have been consuming so much materials on how to raise good children. This is important when you consider that when you are old and achieved, it is the success of your children that can bring the real satisfaction.

So I guess once Dara starts growing up, the TV would have to shift out the living room. Or that is too severe? For you to decide, you would need to read this to see the ills that TV can wreck in a young life.

Interesting Facts about Germany 2006 World Cup

2006-06-20T02:33:00-07:00

Pool Feed for Broadcasters	1
Number of Directors	6
PanAmSats used to send HD signal worldwide	9
Cities hosting matches	12
Panels on current FIFA football	14
Distinct feeds produced by HBS per match	16
Outside Broadcast Vans	20
HD Cameras used to cover each match (per stadium)	25
Microphones covering each match	25
Length of event (days)	31
Nations participating	32
Match officials	33
Number of matches broadcast in HD for 2002 FIFA World Cup	48
Interview studios	50
Total matches played	64
Number of matches broadcast in HD for 2006 FIFA World Cup	64
Presentation studios	70
Number of Fujinon HD Lenses deployed	100
Worldwide Broadcasters	180
Players	736
Length of audio/video cabling	750 km
Unilateral camerapositions	800
Length of cabling in total for 12 venues	1300 km
First year of the FIFA World Cup	1930
Commentary positions	2000
HBS staff to produce content	2000
Hours of feeds produced	2200
Estimated number of press on scene	15000
Estimated number of network connections	45000
Expected visitors per game	40000 - 60000
RFID embedded tickets	3.5 million
Cost to sponsor the games	$30 to $50 million
Estimated cost of voice and data network deployed by Avaya	$100 million
Viewers expected to watch the games	5 billion

Source:Audio Video Producer

Riya Photo Search

2006-06-16T11:18:00-07:00

A self proclaimed photo search on the Internet, Riya, just opened shop. But I guess the result is not worth the candle. This link shows what you get when you search for R Kelly (am a Kelly fan).

Teen-only ringtone

2006-06-16T11:12:00-07:00

NYTimes just reported on a new type of ring tones that is inaudible to adults.

"While most human communication takes place in a frequency range between 200 and 8,000 hertz (a hertz being the scientific unit of frequency equal to one cycle per second), most adults' ability to hear frequencies higher than that begins to deteriorate in early middle age."

Welcome to the World, Baby Kaka

2006-06-06T02:29:00-07:00

One of my friends just dropped a bouncing baby boy too. He's Oluwasubomi Oluwaseyi, Ayotomiwa, Oluwakayode, Iseoluwa, Oluwatosin, Oladimeji, David, Emmanuel Kaka.

I use to think my baby has the longest name but am sure this one beats her hands down...

Congratulations to the Kakas.

Adieu! GoLive and Freehand

2006-06-01T02:33:00-07:00

The recent marriage of Adobe and Macromedia has produced its first set of casualties. Adobe has announced that it would be discontinuing GoLive and Freehand. This link is in French. Don't bother asking me if I can read Farancé. GoLive will step aside for the almighty Dreamweaver while Freehand will bow to Illustrator.

Dreamweaver will be sporting a brand new interface (Yeah, it is time for that!) and will also be included in Adobe Creative Suite 3.

Baby Olamide is Born

2006-05-27T08:32:00-07:00

My friends (Lekan 'Sully' Sule and his wife, Madam Sule) just dropped a bouncing baby boy. He's named Olamide Olalekan-Sule. Many congrats to the family.

Meanwhile, Madam Sule has been clamoring for Olamide to marry my baby girl. I am sad to say, however, that that would be very difficult to do. You know what? We 've got some, em, eligible bachelors groomed to woo Dara. So he's got to join the queue and prove his mettle. [More]

The New Adobe Website

2006-05-02T01:49:00-07:00

At last, macromedia.com was finally collapsed into Adobe. There is now a brand new website. Or what people think is a brand new website. Because IMHO, the site was just a jazzed up macromedia.com.

I hope Adobe will take care of us like Macromedia used to.

Honda Accords and their Nigerian pet names

2006-04-05T12:46:00-07:00

While shopping for a new car recently, I was seriously considering a Honda Accord. What struck me however was the funny names Nigerians have given the different generations of Honda Accords. [More]

If You Have Three Shirts...

2006-04-02T17:18:00-07:00

I guess there is somewhere in the bible where Jesus talked about the fact that if you have two shirts, give one to someone who doesnt have. I dont know why am writing this. But one thing I know is that I am mightily sad in my heart. Not because I didnt get what I wanted but because of some out-of-this-world earth-shaking display of selfishness by someone. Man, it hurts me when people become so full of themselves and getting to help the next person becomes the most difficult thing in the world. [More]

1 Terabyte Flash Disk?

2006-03-16T06:41:00-07:00

Texas Memory Systems just released a monster-sized flash memory called Tera-RamSan. Isn't that awesome? Check it out at http://www.superssd.com/products/tera-ramsan/

Never fly on budget

2006-03-12T00:44:00-07:00

Is this the new age wisdom? Well I didnt know until I found out the hard way. I had a precious one week in between two jobs and I felt like making the best out of it. The best in this situation was running away from everything. You know, the calls, emails, bla bla bla. [More]

Today is my last day at Access Bank

2006-02-28T00:00:00-07:00

Today marks my last day as an Access Bank employee. It's been quite a trip. [More]

Firefox Bug? Windows Quirk?

2006-02-24T02:40:00-07:00

Anytime my Firefox 1.5.01 shows a pop up that I should participate in a survey, and I click Cancel, my XP SP2 says Firefox has crashed and it closes.

Web 2.1

2006-02-20T15:03:00-07:00

A crazy article about the new web. Time has come again for the old dudes to start looking for startup funds.
Read it here: http://www.somethingawful.com/articles.php?a=3594

Obituary: Papa Has Gone Home

2006-02-11T07:58:00-07:00

How things change so fast. Last month, 25th of January, I wrote about the Nairaland Phenomenon. It is so sad that few days later, the head nigger in-charge there developed a nasty and acute case of Megalomania. I have since dropped all associations with them. He has systematically deleted most of my posts. However, this is the last one before I left. [More]

BBC Versus CNN

2006-01-23T03:43:00-07:00

Do you know that more people go to the BBC website than the CNN website? Interesting find out more at http://www.alexa.com/site/ds/top_sites?ts_mode=lang&lang=en

Naming Baby Olowe

2006-01-12T16:00:00-07:00

Today will mark the begining of a new life as my new baby girl gets a name.

She was named Adeolu Oluwadarasimi Oluwabusolami Oreoluwa Oluwapelumi Oluwanifesimi Oluwato'oni Naomi Deji-Olowe. Pretty long name but you can be sure some will drop along the line. Expect the short name to be Deolu Dara Deji-Olowe. [More]

I 'v a new baby girl

2006-01-05T02:02:00-07:00

Precisely at 1:55AM today, I got my brand new baby girl. She looked so cool (but ~~black~~ her aunt Duronke doesn't want that. She's black and beautiful). For now, we call her baby BT. Check the photos section to see some preview.

Happy New Year!

2006-01-01T00:00:00-07:00

Happy new year to everyone out there. May the good Lord make 2006 a year of blessings and prosperity. Amen

But you got to play your part: BE GOOD TO EVERYONE!

Sony is not OK at all

2005-11-15T00:56:00-07:00

Seems everyone knows what Sony has been up to. The company is not better than those evil hackers that write terrible vira except that it is big and very mean. From now on, I wouldn't be found dead within a mile of a Sony; it has gone too far, it has broken public trust and the d**ned company ain't even contrite!

Everyone should boycott Sony, it should be taught a lesson.

The Heart of Men

2005-10-27T01:56:00-07:00

Someone came around to pick some mails in my office. While signing for the mails, I saw that he's a Joseph. I jokingly asked him if his wife was Mary and his son Jesus? You can guess his reply? [More]

Should non-dev organizations develop applications?

2005-09-27T13:21:00-07:00

For those of us who work in the IT department of organizations, and who have some programming skills, we face a recurrent issue of build versus buy. Sometimes, a dude in finance wants some fancy Excel macro, for a report NOW! Where I work, everything is needed NOW or worse still, yesterdayJ. (Back to the Fancy dude/Excel macro) Should I search MS market place and buy a suitable macro or bump my head on macro writing to develop something for the annoying gnat. [More]

Laughter is the best medicine

2005-09-19T03:18:00-07:00

Work could be very killing. And for some of us, work is murder, murdering the very fun out of our lives. But ain't gonna sit on my butt and let this work zapp the fun out of me. [More]

I guess am back...

2005-08-22T03:34:00-07:00

Had to take a quick vacation to rest some parts of my aching body. It was really fun running away from work and getting paid for doing so.

How Mozzies Affect Projects

2005-08-04T03:49:00-07:00

If you think only tech issues, budget, (nasty) bosses, etc can derail a beautiful projects, think otherwise. A nastier determinant is the Mozzy. [More]

A new day to start a blog

2005-07-19T14:11:00-07:00

Today should mark the start of my life in Blogosphere. Special thanks to Ray Camden not only for providing BlogCFC but also for helping out in setting it up.