“I only worry about what I can control at this specific moment. We spend so much time worrying about the future when we really do not pay remotely enough attention to the present and trying to understand what is going on right now. I do this and it makes me a better person.”

Seems basic, but it pays not to overlook this. Awesome words. 

Ulutu came to my attention the other night during dinner at a local Mexican restaurant.

This app is a complete wireless POS (Pont of Sale) management system for independent restaurants looking to integrate their order management, billing and customer interactions.

Instead of the regular take-your-debit-card-and-return-with-a-receipt-to-sign scenario, your server brings an iPad over to your table, runs your card through a scanner attached to the side and you then get a receipt emailed to you or you can get one printed as well.

Based on my customer experience last night, Ulutu looks like it has the potential to be fairly disruptive, from both a customer service and pricing standpoint.

The payment process was a single visit from the server, completed quickly and eliminating the need for here to go back and forth twice. The user interface was clean,simple and a pleasure to use. Ulutu is currently offered at four monthly pricing tiers based on the number of simultaneous users on a single account.

Pretty awesome.

I think that they are in beta launch at the moment and would not be surprised to see them scale up quickly. Providing some free PR to these guys is a pleasure; I was very impressed with the product.

Hit up www.ulutu.com to learn more.

Vladimir Putin is back as Russia’s President for the next 6 years, or if reelected again in 2018, 12 years.

The large recent protests against Putin’s rule in Russia were a shock to the Kremlin and many observers around the world applauded the protests against Putin’s regime as being long overdue.

Many people in the West look at Putin and see an authoritarian figure. This criticism is totally valid. Putin’s anti-democratic conduct is abundantly clear and is the subject for an entirely separate post.

What many Western observers fail to understand is the core reason why many Russians continue to embrace Putin: He gave them back their dignity.

Following the collapse of communism, Russia was a mess. The nation’s poverty, disorganization, military decline and power of the mob bewildered a country that was trained to rely on the authority of the state to solve all problems.

After Boris Yeltin’s brief and weak leadership, Putin gave Russians a sense of security and strength. Strong state control and rule of law began to mean something again. The economy also boomed, giving Russians rising incomes, optimism and pride.

During Putin’s first tenure from 2000 to 2008, the Russian economy grew an average of 7% per year, with  nominal per capita GDP doubling from $1100  in 2000 to $2100 in 2008.

Western observers have to keep this in mind when they take a look at Russia under Putin.

Yes, he has rolled back democracy. The Russian people do not like that.

But, they are willing to forgive Putin, for they feel a debt of gratitude to him for righting Russia’s ship after a horrible period of uncertainty and chaos in the 1990s.

As The Economist states on this week’s cover, “it is the beginning of the end” for Putin. The question of how long it will take for him to exhaust the remaining reservoir of goodwill that many Russians still maintain for him is what mist be answered.

Of course, the speed with which that reservoir of goodwill will be exhausted is commensurate to Putin’s own efforts to stay in power. The tighter he keeps his grip on power, the more quickly the Russian people will grow weary and finally call for his removal in a unified voice, a state of affairs that is not without some irony.

How to Hire a Great Developer (Mashable) 

The Start Up’s Secret Weapon (Tim Ferriss)

Key Takeaways from Facebook Marketing Conference (TechCrunch)

The Rise of Mexico’s Middle Class (WSJ)

Timelapse – The City Limits from Dominic on Vimeo.

Shame is I’m bogged down with the flu right now which is a result, I think, of too many insufficiently warm nights on my sister’s air mattress and staying up late. Brrrrr….

Is China Ripe for a Revolution? (NYT)

Your Body is an API: 9 Gadgets for Tacking Health and Fitness (Wired)

Infrastructure in Asia is Desperate for Financing (The New Economy)

Why the Era of Big Data is Just Beginning (GigaOm)

100 Million Americans Watch Online Video per Day, Up 43% Since 2011-Comscore (TechCrunch)

The Master Plan for Myanmar (Asia Times)

Solar Trade War: It Just Doesn’t Matter (Greentech Media)

The Iran Debate: To Strike or Not to Strike (Foreign Affairs)

A picture is worth a thousand words