#IBM own serious version of SimCity and it is #free

I wonder if the game will be extended to allow for collaboration and development of own scenarios by players across the world. I'm thinking 2nd Life meeting SimCity meeting social networking.

Amplify’d from www.fastcompany.com

IBM Launches Its Version of SimCity

It's intended to help officials, agencies, and developers solve real-world problems ripped from the headlines--such as climate change, electrical grid management, banking and retail supply chain crises. In total, there are more than 100 scenarios in the game.

The free game is proving to be popular. Over 8,000 people have pre-registered since it was announced in May, and hundreds of players across the globe have started playing since CityOne launched on Monday.

Can we harness our love of games to make real change? Decide for yourself--CityOne is available here. Read more at www.fastcompany.com

 

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Never thought how out of service can be so funny! #twitter

Until I see the twitter's over capacity one! I just adore the lighthearted portray. I wonder how long will my comment take though.

Amplify’d from twitter.com

Twitter is over capacity.

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RT @McKQuarterly The best #leadership model: Yourself #business #insipration

An inspiring article that describes five dimensions that makes leaders effective by being the change they aspire to inflect. Of these five dimensions, "having a meaning" is the strongest and most significant dimension.

I personally agree of that and add to it another favorite of mine - "positive framing". In many cases I have witnessed how sharing ideas between colleagues, tellings stories and painting the picture of our future have been effective in setting a positive mood and inspiring to move and act accordingly. Last point, tell stories. Nothing more engaging than sharing real-life experiences.

Amplify’d from www.mckinseyquarterly.com

How centered leaders achieve extraordinary results

ive capabilities are at the heart of centered leadership: finding meaning in work, converting emotions such as fear or stress into opportunity, leveraging connections and community, acting in the face of risk, and sustaining the energy that is the life force of change.

Meaning

Whatever the source of meaning (and it can differ dramatically from one person to another), centered leaders often talk about how their purpose appeals to something greater than themselves and the importance of conveying their passion to others

Positive framing

Once we have mastered reframing, we can help others learn this skill, seeding the conditions that result in a safe environment where all employees are inspired to give their best

Connecting

With communications traveling at warp speed, simple hierarchical cascades—from the CEO down until the chain breaks—are becoming less and less effective for leaders.

While this environment can be challenging, it also allows more people to contribute, generating not only wisdom and a wealth of ideas but also immeasurable commitment.

Engaging

eaders who are good at acknowledging and countering these emotions can help their people summon the courage to act and thus unleash tremendous potential.

Managing energy

eaders will find it hard to sustain energy and commitment within the organization unless they systemically restore their own energy (physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual), as well as create the conditions and serve as role models for others to do the same. Our research suggests sustaining and restoring energy is something leaders often skimp on.

Centered leadership is a journey, not a destination, and it starts with a highly personal decision. We’ll leave you with the words of one executive who recently chose to embark on this path: “Our senior team is always talking about changing the organization, changing the mind-sets and behavior of everyone. Now I see that transformation is not about that. It starts with me and my willingness and ability to transform myself. Only then will others transform.” Read more at www.mckinseyquarterly.com

 

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Smart meters foolish mistakes

Smart meters are pretty cool applications that allow the consumer better choices when it comes to utilities usage. Consumer can choose to use power at times when it is cheaper, such as powering the laundry machine later at night.

However, the reception was not all that warm and this is what the article is addressing. It seems that utility companies have neglected basics of engaging consumers and educating them about potentially very useful applications. This created a backlash in adoption rates and spurred some suspicions about the real motives behind smart meters.

Amplify’d from blogs.hbr.org

The Smart Meter Backslide

First, smart meters are only a part of the smart grid — the entire smart grid is a vast array of technologies stretching across the whole of the industry that will be deployed in stages over the next several decades. Smart meters are the source of some of the smart grid's many benefits and costs, but not all of them.

Substantial smart meter benefits stem from their ability to provide dynamic pricing, or rates that vary throughout the day to reflect fluctuations in the cost to produce power. These prices provide incentives for customers to use power at times when it is cheapest. When power use is spread more evenly throughout the day, prices decline, reliability increases, and fewer plants are needed. Smart meters will modestly improve reliability and reduce outage times but also enable customers to have more control over their power use and utilities to adopt far superior business and pricing models.

The lesson here for the utility industry is straight out of Business School 101. If you are changing your relations with customers and spending their money, engage them first! Let customers validate the new benefits themselves. Make them your partners, not your guinea pigs. As the energy industry continues through an era of many product, service, and business model transformations, this rule should remain front and center. Meanwhile, the Smart Meter Backslide of 2010 will make for a great future case study at Harvard Business School.Read more at blogs.hbr.org

 

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Driving through the landscapes of Jordan

This is my first attempt at creating a video for our photo shooting trips, so the result may not be optimal. The area was pretty scenic, however since it is the end of summer there are few plants to be witnessed. I used the Canon 7D with the 24-105mm IS f/4 lens. That was adequate for the job. A wider angle could also have been a nice addition. The difficulty that I flet was mainly in handling the focus during the bumpy road and chasing the car. I should be able to improve with a bit of more practice. I used Mac's iMovie which was extremely powerful and easy to work with.

I hope you enjoy the result and I welcome your comments! :)

A read into Nuclear vs Solar: Clash of the Numbers #energy #environment

In any comparative study between energy studies it is essential to take a deeper look into the the number and assumptions driving them. This article does that on a recent study that suggests the lead of nuclear energy over solar. I encourage you to read the full article, and I have marked the lines that I thought to be a good summary.



Basically, in such studies ensure the following:



1. Prevailing conditions on government incentives that alter the situation considerably.

2. Size of the plant due to the obvious economies of scale

3. Load factor conditions for renewable energy sources. This is particularly relevant for solar energy in sunny areas like the Middle East and Africa.

4. Political costs for developing countries when it comes to nuclear energy



I leave you with the study and article.

Amplify’d from blog.cleantechies.com

Nuclear vs Solar: Clash of the Numbers

Published on August 23rd, 2010 by Carlo Ombello Posted in Nuclear, Solar

I believe that a proper apple-to-apple comparison should be that of levelized costs

Multi-MW plants, clearly benefiting from some economies of scale with installation costs now around €2,500/kW, are already in the 15¢/kWh ballpark without the aid of any incentives.

New nuclear appears to have costs up to 15¢/kWh.

Gone are the days when claimed levelized costs for nuclear power were about 3-4¢/kWh; it now seems nuclear projects in the developed world will not be completed without a big helping hand from governments and taxpayers.

In a business where quick-to-install, modular renewables like PV are outpacing all economic projections and show costs decreasing by the month (triggered by plummeting incentives and ever higher production volumes), the economic outlook for the once proudly cheap nuclear energy has never been as bleak. Read more at blog.cleantechies.com

 

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Planning a #photo shoot trip with @MohammadAsfour outside #amman #jo #jordan for inspiration

It is a been a habit of mine and a good friend of mine (@MohammadAsfour) to plan a trip outside the city almost on a weekly basis with the excuse of honing our photography skills. But, there is much more to it. Getting outside the city and away from the noise and distractions of traffic, meetings, phone rings, deadlines, etc, allows us to have a look at things from the outside in a fresh perspective. It is an opportunity get closer to nature and know that there is more to life to what our busy lives constrain us to view. It does not hurt by the end of the day to come back with a good shot, sometimes Stay tuned for the results.

Amplify’d from www.facebook.com

My Photos - A quick short trip in a slow long day Read more at www.facebook.com

See more at www.facebook.com

 

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Titanic sunk by steering mistake

For a catastrophe to happen a number of fatal erros need to happen. We all know of the obvios cause behind the Titanic sinking which is hitting an ice berg. But, what still is mystery is how did the ship collide with the visible mountain of ice and why it sank so fast.



Here we learn of some human errors: 1) a steering mistake due to change of steering systems and 2) a decision by the owner (NOT the captain) to keep sailing.



Lessons learned?

Consider occasions when there is a move from one way of doing things to another and recognize the possibility of issues being raised. Stay alert and provide support.

Be attentive to situations where orders come from outside the circle of those who are in charge and have a dialogue - if you can!

Amplify’d from news.yahoo.com

Titanic sunk by steering mistake, author says

LONDON (Reuters) – The Titanic hit an iceberg in 1912 because of a basic steering error, and only sank as fast as it did because an official persuaded the captain to continue sailing, an author said in an interview published on Wednesday.

"Instead of steering Titanic safely round to the left of the iceberg, once it had been spotted dead ahead, the steersman, Robert Hitchins, had panicked and turned it the wrong way."

the conversion from sail ships to steam meant there were two different steering systems.

Crucially, one system meant turning the wheel one way and the other in completely the opposite direction.

There he heard not only about the fatal mistake but also the fact that J. Bruce Ismay, chairman of Titanic's owner the White Star Line persuaded the captain to continue sailing, sinking the ship hours faster than would otherwise have happened.

"If Titanic had stood still, she would have survived at least until the rescue ship came and no one need have died," Patten said. Read more at news.yahoo.com

 

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Delighted about the feedback of this #photo of a sunset in #Jordan #Jo

In many instances a photographer never knows for certain how a landscape shot will be received until it is viewed by people. I didn't think too much of this shot, so was pleasantly surprised to receive feedback from fellow flickers.

Amplify’d from www.flickr.com

The view of a brief farewell Read more at www.flickr.com

 

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RT @JordanTimes 'Phosphate hills' to undergo facelift #Jo #Jordan http://myjt.us/cNEdhM #fb

A great step in the right direction of rehabilitating numerous areas around Jordan that were subject to quarries and mining operations. It is now part of any similar project to undergo an environmental impact assessment (EIA) with an attention of rehabilitating the area after decommissioning the project.

Amplify’d from jordantimes.com

'Phosphate hills' to undergo facelift

By Hana Namrouqa

AMMAN - Four thousand dunums of land in Ruseifa piled with waste from phosphate mining will be cleaned up and turned into green spaces, parks and vocational zones, according to environment officials.

the project’s first phase will cost JD900,000.

The project was divided into phases because the rehabilitation of the vast phosphate hills requires large financial allocationsRead more at jordantimes.com

 

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