Fabrice Grinda is becoming an expert on happiness (there I contribute to the trend :)), and here are some thoughts on what it takes to be happy:

1. Don’t equate happiness with money.
2. Don’t commute.
3. Exercise regularly.
4. Have lots of sex.
5. Devote time and effort to close relationships.
6. Pause for reflection, meditate on the good things in life (in other words be grateful).
7. Seek work that engages your skills, look to enjoy your job.
8. Give your body the sleep it needs.
9. Don’t pursue happiness for its own sake, enjoy the moment.
10. Take control of your life, set yourself achievable goals (in other words have goals).
11. Have an optimistic attitude and outlook on life.

On a more serious note, a previous post by Fabrice refers to a recent Harvard Magazine article, dealing with the issue.

Diesel has created an ad campaign with global warming as its central theme.  I really like the photography, especially this one, set in London.

Andy Shaindlin is blogging on alumni relations, a field markedly absent in blogosphere.  Andy’s thinking is on the cutting edge in the academic alumni relationship area, so I am sure the blog will be insightful and informative.

Kutlu Kazanci’s now blogging.  I trust it will be rich with ideas and thoughts on entrepreneurship in Turkey, as Kutlu’s operates in the very front lines.

Welcome 🙂

This is a winter where everyone’s talking about the weather – in London, New York, and Istanbul.  Notwithstanding the environmental issues highlighted in the public consciousness, the unusual weather is also effecting many industries.

I have previously written about attempts at creating financial instruments, allowing investors to take positions in previously illiquid markets, such as HedgeStreet.  Now comes WeatherBill, which lets users enter contracts related to the weather.

Paul Kedrosky frequently writes about how weather is:

"one of the biggest unplumbed entrepreneurial opportunities out there"

Knowing a few armchair meteorologists myself, I suspect he’s right.  If positioned right, WeatherBill might end up creating a significant niche.

Phenomenal MoMo Istanbul meeting last Monday!  115+ attendees.

See you on February 5th.  Details to follow.

I love Lego.  I played with Legos as a child, and now, with my daughter, I am starting to enjoy them once again.  Of course, over the years, with very smart strategy by Lego, the line has expanded to include much more complex electronics.

This video is of a factory that automatically manufactures Lego cars.

MoMo Istanbul has it’s third meeting coming up on Monday, Jan 8th.  Please note the new location at Avea, and let me kn ow if you have not received an electronic invitation.

Malcolm Gladwell has a very interesting article in the current issue of The New Yorker (The link is here, because it may disappear, if I am correct about The New Yorker’s web policy.)  I am not very sympathetic about the whole Enron story, or Jeff Skilling’s plight, but Gladwell, in his usual provocative style, raises some very interesting points.

Then, on his blog, he poses this very brave challenge:

Can anyone explain—in plain language—what it is Jeff Skilling and Co. did wrong?

I’m not asking for an explanation for what they did wrong as
businessmen. That’s plain. They did a mountain of stupid and arrogant
things. Nor is this about what Skilling and company did that was
unethical or in bad faith. There’s a mountain of evidence on that too.
The question is strictly a legal one: according to the way the
accounting rules were written at the time, what specific transgressions
were Skilling guilty of that merited twenty-four years in prison? For
the sake of argument, let’s stipulate that summaries must be three
sentences or less.

As I would expect, a lot of people have jumped at this challenge, to provide very well-stated explanations to the questions Gladwell poses.  In fact, the comments below the post are a case study on why blogs are a phenomenal knowledge management tool.

UPDATE: Gladwell follows on with a new thought on the issue.

This weekend, I had a chance to visit Contemporary Istanbul, the first true contemporary art fair in Istanbul.  Last month, I had visited Art Istanbul, which featured more of a 20th century perspective on Turkish modern art, whereas Contemporary Istanbul was focused on the current movements in Turkish art.  It also enjoyed a stronger presence of international galleries.  Congratulations to Orhan Taner and the team, who put the event together.

One surprise for me was the lack of video art, which seems to have emerged as the dominant medium, if the amount of video in the biennials is an accurate indication.