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Archive for February, 2005

Bono’s Three Wishes

U2′s Bono speaks up. He talked to us at TED via satellite about his goals for cleaning up and wiring Africa. ABC News (via AP) also picks up his story. He starts out by saying what gets him really turned on about the digital age, the digital revolution. “Technology has closed the gap between knowing and doing. Technology has brought prices down and Imagination has been decoupled from the old constraints,” says Bono. “I would like to see idealism decoupled from the old constraints.” He speaks of his journey, which started twenty years ago with Bandaid, the summer he went to Ethiopia for the first time. Anyone who has ever given something to Africa gets a significant amount back. Having lived there a few times in my life (Kenya and South Africa), I agree. “In Ethiopia, a man gave me his child, asked me to take the child back to Ireland with me,” says Bono. Why? Because he knew the child would not survive there and would stand a chance if he left the country. Hard to resist a dying man’s face, hard to pass up and yet he did. Wouldn’t most…

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Bono on Africa

U2′s Bono gave an incredible speech accepting his TED award yesterday in Monterey California, via satellite. He was eloquent, articulate and passionate about his goals, one of which is to wire every school, hospital and health institution in Ethiopia. And there’s more. I managed to capture most of his talk and my thoughts and will post it within the next day.

California Moment

I’m sure there will be plenty of California moments as a newbie to the area. Most drives have a view for example and its 30 minutes to a gorgeous coastline from nearly every point I have lived since I’ve arrived here. Last night after a cocktail party, I was escorted to a Jaguar with heated seats and no top. Just like every drive should be.

San Fran’s Chinese Parade

It’s been pouring on and off all day in San Francisco. I missed in the infamous Chinese Parade because of it, which is known to be one of the world’s top ten parades and a San Francisco tradition since just after the Gold Rush.

Kierland Tradition

Have arrived in a very rainy Phoenix three hours late – something to do with chaotic weather in Vegas again. What’s with the weather in Vegas lately? It snowed when I was there in January and I froze my xi& off. I think its the third year Demo has held their event at the Scottsdale Kierland Resort. Odd, its such a swank property and yet I always seem to have Internet problems in the rooms every year. It took a good half an hour to get up and running tonight. Or perhaps as the former Dragon Systems’ IT guy Saul used to say – my creative karma is at odds with all things technical, all things digital, all things that have a plug or connection. I asked my cabbie driver if he knew what blogging was? “Blaaaaahgggng?,” he replied. “Sounds like something illegal.”