rePost::How to avoid middle-income traps? Evidence from Malaysia | vox

The debate in the Philippines is still stuck in the old way of thinking. Need to read up guys
 

A large gap in productivity exists between manufacturing and services in Malaysia, and this gap has only accelerated in recent years. However, this gap is not the inevitable consequence of a country’s economic evolution. There is no intrinsic characteristic of manufacturing that translates into inevitable productivity growth. Rather, in the current global environment, ‘industrial versus nonindustrial’ is no longer the appropriate distinction for designating high-productivity/low-productivity production. The key designation is ‘modern versus traditional’ activities. Therefore, rather than advocate for a particular sector as the source of stronger growth in Malaysia, there is a stronger need for broad structural transformation; that is, moving to higher productivity production in both goods and services.
via How to avoid middle-income traps? Evidence from Malaysia | vox.

My Crazy plan for Gilas X

I’ve stated this among friends during the lockout exhibition kobe/durant/harden/cp3 did here in the Philippines.
If we wanted an awesome gilas in ten years we just give willing 6 ++ foot models and get them with the visiting kobe and lebron and bam we have an awesome one two punch.
 
color me crazy

rePost::20 ways to supercharge your ability to learn:

“Learning occurs best when important information is selected from less important ideas, when selected information is organized graphically, when associations are built among ideas and when understanding is regulated through self-testing“
Know the rules your brain works by and general tips for getting smarter.
A negative attitude increases motivation to learn. Cheerful students think they’re doing well but have lower GPA’s. Good moods can harm your memory.
Being social before a test increase performance.
via 20 ways to supercharge your ability to learn:.

$99 Parallella Supercomputer is Now Open Source Hardware

Parallella is a low cost supercomputer designed by Adapteva using Xilinx Zynq-7010/7020 FPGA+2x Cortex A9 SoC combined with Adapteva Ephipany 16 or 64 cores epiphany coprocessor. The project had a successful kickstarter campaign which allowed then to provide the 16-core version for $99, and the 64-core version for $750. The board will soon be shipped to people who pledged on kickstarter, and one of the promise of the campaign was to fully open source the platform, and today, they just fulfilled that.

Before going into the details of the open source release, let’s have a look at the specs:

SoC – Xilinx Zynq7000 Series (Z-7010 or Z-7020) Dual-Core ARM Cortex A9 with 512KB L2 Shared Cache

Coprocessor – Epiphany Multicore Coprocessor. The Parallella-16 board includes the 16-core Epiphany-III processor The Parallella-64 board includes the 64-core Epiphany-IV processor

System Memory – 1024MB DDR3L

Boot Flash – 128 Mb QSPI Flash

Indicators – 2 User controlled LEDs

USB:

USB 2.0 Port(0) Connects to a host machine (PC/tablet/smartphone)

USB 2.0 Port (1) Connects peripheral devices

Ethernet – 10/100/1000M Ethernet, RJ45 with magnetics and LEDs

SD Connector – MicroSD, 3.3V

Video – Micro HDMI connector

Expansion Connectors – Four 60-pin high speed Samtec connectors for:

Epiphany link expansion connector(s)

Zynq programmable logic extension connector

Power, JTAG, debug connector

Power Source – USB or 5.0V DC

PCB Dimensions – 86.36mm x 53.34mm

Parallela Connexion Block Diagram

The 64-core version of the Parallella computer is said to deliver over 90 GFLOPS of performance, and have a processing equivalent to a 45 GHz CPU [64 CPU cores * 700MHz] providing you can run your application on the 64-core simultaneously on a tiny board consuming only 5 Watts under typical work loads. Imaging, communications, automotive, medical, and audio applications could take advantage of parallel computing at a much lower cost than is currently available with Parallella.

In order to make a platform really “open source hardware” you need to release the source code as well as the hardware file, and for the parallela platform everything seems now available on their github repository including:

Parallella board design files with bill of materials, schematics (dsn and pdf), layout files (brd), and Solidworks files.

Official u-boot for Parallella board

Official linux kernel for Parallella

Official Ubuntu distro for Parallella

Sourceware Tree for Epiphany

GCC for Epiphany

SDK scripts for Epiphany

We’ve got the hardware files, u-boot and linux for Zynq EPP, and the software running on Adapteva coprocessor. I haven’t checked the details but it looks like they fulfilled their promise. You can also access a preliminary version of Parallella Reference Manual.

You can also find more documentation on parallella.org. If you’ve missed the kickstarter campaign, and need a platform for parallel computing, the Parallela boards do not seem available right now, but you can register on their website to be informed once they are up for sale again.

via $99 Parallella Supercomputer is Now Open Source Hardware.

Super Excited for Game 7

I can remember where I watched all the playoff/superbowl loses of the New England Patriots. Its in a now closed bar called National Sports Grill in green belt 3.
Watched NBA Finals Game 6 in Team Insider and the superstitious kid within me just cant help but do it again.
The rest rooms has a hd tv in it damn love it!!!!
Go HEAT!

Mark Twain and Rudyard Kipling Critique the Press | Brain Pickings

[The press] has scoffed at religion till it has made scoffing popular. It has defended official criminals, on party pretexts, until it has created a United States Senate whose members are incapable of determining what crime against law and the dignity of their own body is, they are so morally blind, and it has made light of dishonesty till we have as a result a Congress which contracts to work for a certain sum and then deliberately steals additional wages out of the public pocket and is pained and surprised that anybody should worry about a little thing like that.
I am putting all this odious state of things upon the newspaper, and I believe it belongs there — chiefly, at any rate. It is a free press — a press that is more than free — a press which is licensed to say any infamous thing it chooses about a private or a public man, or advocate any outrageous doctrine it pleases. It is tied in no way. The public opinion which should hold it in bounds it has itself degraded to its own level.
There are laws to protect the freedom of the press’s speech, but none that are worth anything to protect the people from the press.
via Mark Twain and Rudyard Kipling Critique the Press | Brain Pickings.

May 20, 1990: Advice on Life from Calvin and Hobbes Creator Bill Watterson | Brain Pickings

He stresses the vital difference between “having an enviable career” and “being a happy person,” admonishing about the “hedonic treadmill” of achievement:
Creating a life that reflects your values and satisfies your soul is a rare achievement. In a culture that relentlessly promotes avarice and excess as the good life, a person happy doing his own work is usually considered an eccentric, if not a subversive. Ambition is only understood if it’s to rise to the top of some imaginary ladder of success. Someone who takes an undemanding job because it affords him the time to pursue other interests and activities is considered a flake. A person who abandons a career in order to stay home and raise children is considered not to be living up to his potential — as if a job title and salary are the sole measure of human worth.
You’ll be told in a hundred ways, some subtle and some not, to keep climbing, and never be satisfied with where you are, who you are, and what you’re doing. There are a million ways to sell yourself out, and I guarantee you’ll hear about them.
To invent your own life’s meaning is not easy, but it’s still allowed, and I think you’ll be happier for the trouble.
He concludes by echoing Rilke:
Your preparation for the real world is not in the answers you’ve learned, but in the questions you’ve learned how to ask yourself.
via May 20, 1990: Advice on Life from Calvin and Hobbes Creator Bill Watterson | Brain Pickings.