Brian Rosenthal's Weblog

I learned so much about programming from Zvi Boshernitzan - how to embrace and build on existing tools, reducing redundant code with dynamic binding, the power of pushing the limits of languages.

Zvi Boshernitzan is now running Robocommerce, LLC and engaged in a project to help kiva.org optimize its web site as it moves to managing millions of dollars of loans a month, and he’s made it super-fast… check out http://www.kiva.org.does phentermine speed up metabolism phentermine 37.5 mexico viagra overnight delivery to canada cialis 20 mg discoun pfizer viagra uk achat cialis cialis comments cgi generic mt tadalafil womens use of viagra generic cialis canada pm 10kb loading cialis rogers phentermine site effects 1 cialis vardenafil long-term use of ambien cr jackie corbin viagra ambien qoclick shop nasacort aq cialis tranxene vs valium viagra alternatives cialis info tramadol side effects canine ambien available in china silagra penegra silagra generic viagra cumwithuscom chemical make up of viagra ambien withdrawl detox generic cialis bargain medicine ambien long term side effects viagra aids male fertility canadian pharmacy for viagra tramadol overnight delivery cod delivery patient information sheet for viagra sleepwalking do to ambien generic phentermine brands 3.50 cialis generic $2.00 viagra ambien cr side affects cialis lesions viagra falls band phentermine without presription overnight delivery medroxyprogesterone ambien 2cialis generic levitra viagra cialis penis pump decadron indication viagra phentermine delivered cod tramadol m t7 yasmin cialis cialis adderall viagra combo valium information from drugs com cialis usa mail true phentermine weight loss stories adipex bontril phentermine vaginal viagra side effects phentermine aciphex aciphex aciphex aciphex imitrex 1cialis levitra bontril phentermine pravachol phentermines sales in mexico viagra ambien and hallucination tramadol lethal level intra nasal viagra cialis the new viagra ambien and eating viagra drug info viagra for geritol song phentermine purchase phentermine tips mexico pharmacy phentermine indian drug companies producing viagra equivalent cialis et levitra phentermine adipex viagra qualitative quantitative analysis tramadol viagra expiration dates cost low phentermine adipex phentermine weight loss dose of viagra treating tramadol withdrawal viagra ups delivery 37.5 discount phentermine viagra nascar racing jackets phentermine 37 5mg shipped to kentucky 125 ambien cr ambien hep c phentermine 30mg with no doctors approval tinnitus and ambien cr viagra side effects dangers high cortisol level phentermine facts about cialis cialis voucher viagra after a big meal valium overdose symptoms tramadol dog veterinary use tramadol urine test phentermine and leg cramps false positive drug tests ambien viagra affiliate program greek phentermine valium grapefruit phentermine phentamine tramadol shelf life i belive in viagra ambien oklahoma cod viagra alternative effects hcl re side tramadol ultram viagra pfizer profits bogus phentermine websites fda approval of cialis phentermine and pharmacy ambien sexual side effects transexual viagra viagra cialis levitra comparisons phentermine actos phentermine imitrex ambien and muscle paid kidstoned chewable valium tramadol discount ambien company legit phentermine website valium 5mg doseage compare viagra cialis levtra adipex compared to phentermine foreign websites viagra levitra patients cialis viagra best ad ambien detection in urine ambien federal regulation purchase viagra by check viagra cartoon does viagra work on weman looking for phentermine real substitute viagra natural urine detox for valium viagra repeated use phentermine 50 david groh in viagra commercial pictures of phentermine hcl ionamin mastercard counterfit viagra cialis user reviews wellbutrin pravachol zyrtec phentermine protonix cialis compare levitra performance viagra phentermine package insert

This is the coolest idea I’ve seen, possibly in my entire life, and the best gift idea that I’ve ever seen:

http://www.kiva.org

Kiva.org is a new idea in economic development. It’s peer-to-peer micro-lending, the way Skype is peer-to-peer telephony.

What the developing world needs most is access to capital, and this site lets you loan as little as $25 to small businesses around the world, to buy farming equipment, inventory for stores, etc.

My wife and I loaned money to street vendor can buy more inventory in her soda business in Nigeria:
http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=3847

The idea is: let people loan money to entrepreneurs around the world, interest free. You can basically browse entrepreneurs (like facebook) and see what businesses they run, and what they want to expand.

And the coolest thing is you can give a gift to someone, and they get to choose who gets the loan, and when the loan is repaid, you can either take the money out, or re-loan it to another entrepreneur.

Kiva loans almost $500,000 / month to entrepreneurs in the third world, through interest-free loans to non-profit banks that act as loan officers.

Check out:

NYTimes:
NYT coverage

CNN:
CNN Coverage

I learned about this through Matt Flannery, the founder, and now my friend Zvi Boshernitzan, is now helping them scale up their web site. (I’m pretty impressed at its speed… Kiva.org is super-fast)

I just went to SDWest (awesome!) and learned about commonality variability analysis. I think it’s one of the most important advances in computer science theory out there, and it’s worth a blog entry. Zvi and I spent years trying to come up with a core idea for how to measure the virtues of abstractions, and it’s the closest thing I’ve seen to a foundational theory.

CVA has two important ideas:
1. Contain what varies and only what varies.
2. To find abstractions, find differences that play the same role.

There are three things that will follow you your whole live - your body, your soul, and hopefully, your family. Everything else is temporary.

Programs should be no more complicated than the problems they are trying to solve. Ideally, they should be much less complicated, because the complexity can be reduced to interfaces to extremely mature software.

However, there is an intrinsic complexity to most problems, and in an effort to express and control that complexity, programs often invent layer upon layer of complexity, making the management of such applications expensive, and sometimes, impossible.