Machine Learning

We've been doing algorithmic triggered trading for a few months. And one of the issues that troubled me was that these were all based on historical data. And meant that we continuously evaluated current data and iterated in a slow and manual way. So we asked ourselves as to what would be a good way to evolve based on our experience. Without us having to figure it out on an on-going basis. It seemed that this would be a classic use for machine learning. And meant that I should evaluate learning and then maybe implementing machine learning.

But I didn't know enough about machine learning. Actually that's an exaggeration. I had no idea about machine learning. So I set out to find out about the subject. And used my favorite learning university aka YouTube. And this time around after a few false starts with not so impressive videos, I came across one by arguably one of the world's leading universities, aka MIT.

I learnt enough to start my journey of delving into the field of machine learning. You should too.

A Digital Piggy Bank

I recently saw a Stephen Colbert interview with Ashton Kutcher. A large part of it revolved around Kutcher's ability and tremendous success as a investor at a very early stage of start-ups. This is a must see interview for every wannabe startup. The wisdom contained in 10 minutes is definitely worth a lot more than the 10 minutes.

In the interview he mentioned, Acorns and I was intrigued. It sounded like a great idea. That evening I was going out for dinner with my colleagues Bob and Rupert. At dinner, I checked with Bob whether he had heard of Acorns. He pulled out his phone and showed me his Acorns app. He had started a few months ago and had collected over $ 1,000. Ironically it was also all of his savings. Which makes it a must have for all of us.

Acorns is a digital piggy bank, where your loose change goes into. And then gets invested in a portfolio that the app recommends. Here's how it works.

 

Acorns allows you to "Automatically Invest Spare Change". And what is amazing is that over 1 million people have started using it.

I checked it out. It's simple. Effective. And this Christmas, I'm signing up my 2 kids. Whether they like it. Or not.

HOPE : Persistence and Belief

I embarked on the journey of Project HOPE more than 2 years ago.
http://lobodecoded.blogspot.in/2015/07/h-o-p-e.html

It was a lonesome journey and while everyone I spoke with was universally excited, no one was willing to put in their time, money or other resources. It was the first project I had embarked on where I myself wanted nothing out of it. But hoped to make a difference. And HOPE revolved around people, lots of people willing to do something for the greater good. I was confident that it would be a success. I was wrong. It seemed like the greater good was completely irrelevant. The only thing that mattered was the immediate benefits. To oneself. And the organization promoting it.

And with little success, by December of last year, I decided to give up HOPE. Figuratively and Literally. That's when I came across 2 people who refused to give up. 2 people who were as different as people can get. In age. In gender. In philosophy. In ... And yet they independently concluded that they wouldn't give up HOPE. And thereby wouldn't allow me to give up HOPE.

The one thing that they had in common was Belief and Persistence. The believed in HOPE and its goals. And they persisted.

The first is our mentor and guru. Who has requested we keep him anonymous. He took up the project where we had left it. And invested time, money, resources and his incredible vision. To give it New Life.

And Reia. A 19 year old who compelled me to invest 50% of all the money she had collected from gifts, and working and ... And refused to take No for an answer.

We restarted with new found enthusiasm and vigor. We have managed to manufacture 50 HOPE devices. Of which 22 have been pre-sold.

Here's a look at the New HOPE.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BxO4A9GfKSAwSUUxVVotRkhTUm8

Now you too can make a difference. For under $200, Get a HOPE and deploy it at a school or a village or a chawl or a ... Or gift a HOPE or even multiple HOPE's to non-profits.

Its time we stopped being like Me and started being like our Guru and Reia. Who have my eternal thankfulness for not letting us quit and to who we dedicate HOPE.

Screen Addiction

Earlier today I met my cousin. While we were having Chai, her daughter was busy on her iPad and her husband on his Samsung Smartphone. She sighed and said, "My family is addicted to screens".

She also told me that she has insisted, starting a few days ago that during dinner all of them will eat at the table and all devices will be put away. Her kids had after the first day adapted well. Here husband was still having problems getting used to it.

That's when I remembered that a few months ago when Freia was at Mashable, she mentioned an app she tested that managed screen time. I promised to find out and send the details to my cousin. And instead of asking Google, I asked Freia. And I got the answer.

UnGlue
"
End screen time battles.
Start better habits.
Too much screen time. It’s a problem all parents face. Now there’s a solution that gives kids the power to learn healthier habits — within your boundaries. It’s not about parental control. It’s about teaching them to manage their own time.
"

Seems like a product that all families with kids need. Here's a quick look at a couple of the company's educational videos.

unGlue families

 

unGlue Intro Tips For Parents

 

Loving Vincent

I heard a few days ago on NPR about a unique project that involved Vincent Van Gogh. The world's first fully painted feature film. I was intrigued.

And found a beautiful BBC piece on the project.

You can find more details on the film's website:
http://lovingvincent.com/

Any write-up on Vincent would be incomplete without Don McLean's brilliant "Starry Starry Night".

don mclean - vincent

And if like me, your interest in the painter was piqued, the following documenteruy should satiate the desire.

Vincent van Gogh - The story