Musings

Turing Thoughts and Another Reason to Love Startups

Posted by Burgher Jon
/ March 28, 2012 / Leave a comment

I was listening to a pod cast on my way to work this morning that was about Alan Turing. Turing wasn’t the inventor of the computer, but one could pretty he easily argue he was the conceptualizer (I don’t care what WordPress’ judgmental little red line says, I’m using it). He sat...
Democratizing Spelling

Posted by Burgher Jon
/ March 27, 2012 / Leave a comment

One of the cool things about big data is that it lets you see every trend, whether you expect it or not. I remember the old hunch reports that would show interesting anomalies, like the fact that dog owners are 16% more likely to consider Paul McCartney their favorite Beatle. These...
New York City

Posted by Burgher Jon
/ March 20, 2012 / Leave a comment

I would give the greatest sunset in the world for one sight of New York’s skyline. Particularly when one can’t see the details. Just the shapes. The shapes and the thought that made them. The sky over New York and the will of man made visible. What other religion do...
Matrix Realities: Corporations for Corporations Sake

Posted by Burgher Jon
/ March 19, 2012 / Leave a comment

The premise of the popular Matrix movies is that the humans have generated robots that have become so sophisticated that instead of simply serving the needs of humans, they reverse the relationship. Humans become subservient to the robots. This requires, of course, that the robots grow intelligence. Anyone who has...
The Technology/Humanities Pendulum

Posted by Burgher Jon
/ February 8, 2012 / Leave a comment

As I read Steve Jobs biography I became very interested in just how non-technical he was. Don’t get me wrong; he had a grasp for technology and probably as much engineering skills (hardware and software) as most people in technology, but he didn’t become Steve Jobs and Apple didn’t become...
Have You Caught The Irony in Criticizing Romney for Bain Capital?

Posted by Burgher Jon
/ January 31, 2012 / Leave a comment

I have a feeling it’s going to be a theme for the next 10 months or so to criticize Mitt Romney’s role at Bain Capital. This is just raw ignorance, it shows a lack of understanding about private equity, struggling companies or capitalism in general. Unfortunately, there’s a very sad,...
Integrating Services and Why Google Doesn’t Bother Me

Posted by Burgher Jon
/ January 28, 2012 / Leave a comment

Every couple of months I go to see a short little man who works at the Nordstrom’s in Charlotte to talk work clothes and usually buy a few shirts, a pair of pants or two and sometimes a pair of shoes. I know that Nordstrom’s is not the cheapest place...
My Evolving Thoughts on Fun

Posted by Burgher Jon
/ January 26, 2012 / Leave a comment

If you know me very well, you know I’m a bit of a workaholic. I am very committed to my day job and usually have a project or two going in my spare time. The truth is, I’m not usually very happy if I don’t feel that I’m accomplishing something...
Joe Paterno and Making Something Great

Posted by Burgher Jon
/ January 25, 2012 / Leave a comment

I have been busy helping get my brother married and haven’t had much of a chance to think about, let alone mark, the passing of Joe Paterno. Now that I’m back on the blog though, I thought it would be worth doing. I considered listing his accomplishments. I considered explaining...
What Made Steve Jobs Rich

Posted by Burgher Jon
/ January 11, 2012 / Leave a comment

Different industrial titans have risen to their throne for different reasons. Henry Ford and IBM figured how to make something that previously had to be built by hand in an efficient, industrial manner. Thomas Edison came up with a completely new invention. Bill Gates created an ecosystem by enabling both...