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Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture

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This is one of the few Youtube videos that I would recommend spending 76 mins to watch. Randy Pausch gave this lecture at Carnegie Melon University on 18th September 2007, and passed on 25th July 2008.

(Read more about Randy Pausch.)

Watching the lecture, I realised that facing death really brings a person back into focus on the things that really matter. Have you ever read "Tuesdays with Morrie" by Mitch Albom? It's a fantastic example of the lessons learnt from dying people. Facing death gives people a fresh perspective, a clearer view of what  really matters in life.

And actually, it's all about personal fulfillment! Making sure that you have fulfilled your life's goals or at least made a valid attempt at them, having absolutely no regrets left before passing on.

Yes, I'm only 26. Dying of old age will probably take quite a while, but hey, there are so many other things that can kill you! So why wait for it?

Enjoy the video clip! Make your life count for something now!

The Back of the Napkin

I'd like to post a recommendation on this book that a friend of mine introduced to me!

Author: Dan Roam

Title: The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures

This book illustrates (pardon the pun) the effectiveness of presenting with images. Of course, we already do that all the time! When you want to present some numbers, a bar chart appears! If you want to present growth, a multiple variable point graph would suffice! You get the idea.

The real challenge though, is to make it second nature to yourself. Bar and pie charts can be done with computers and software, but what about everything else? Would you be able to solve your problems by laying out all the information without getting confused? Would you be able to present your business model with a pen and a napkin?

Simplify, and make it easy for people to understand!

I think the concept is pretty interesting, and it's a fast read. First portion is a little draggy though, cos it speaks of how eyes work and how we perceive things without getting confused despite the huge amount of information being absorbed all the time.

But later on, some very real concept tools are given, and with a little bit of practice, I'm sure I'll be a master of visual thinking in no time!

Domain Scams

Has anyone ever seen a domain scam? I've only just realised that it's happened twice to me, but i inadvertently bought it via another domain registrar, someone that sells domains online.

Recently, another company has approached my family's website and sent the following email:

Dear Manager,

We received a formal application from a person who is called John Alldis is applying to register "mydomain" as their domain names and Internet brand in Hong Kong and also in Asia on 2008-11-21 During our auditing procedure we find out that the alleged John Alldis has no trade mark, brand nor patent even similar to that word. As authorized anti-cybersquatting organization we hereby suspect the alleged John Alldis to be a domain or trademark grabber. Hence we need you confirmation for two things, First of all, whether this alleged John Alldis is your business partner or distributor in Asia.

Secondly, whether you are interested in registering these domains and internet brand instead of that alleged person.(The alleged John Alldis will be entitled to obtain a domain not needed by original trademark owner.)

If you are not in charge of this please forward this email to appropriate dept.

In addition, I must state that we have time limited for one person or one company¡¯s registration. It is just 15 days. If your company files doesn't resent within the time limited. We will unconditionally authorized the application of John Alldis. Thank you for your cooperate.

Best Regards,

shayne sue
Sponsoring Registrar:

Asia Network

Tel:  +852 3118 1808  +852 3065 8284

Fax: +852 3065 8189

Email: shayne@asianetwork.mobi

Website: www.asianetwork.mobi
And of course, we responded:

Hi Shayne,

I'm the Webmaster for MyDomain. We do not know any John Alldis and we are the only distributors in Asia.

Just so we're clear, what domain is Mr Alldis attempting to purchase? I'm already currently in possession of mydomain.com. Please advise.

Best regards,

Sebastian Cheok

And then their response:

Shayne

And so it springs back and forth, with them sending me correspondences, etc, asking me to fill in forms and preparing payments to the company.

But soon after, I realised that this would most likely be a scam. After all, in this day and age, why can't I just buy a domain online? And how will I maintain my own domain?

Once I asked these questions, silence came.

Beware these scams!