The Story of Amazon.com by Sara Gilbert

“The Story of Amazon.com in a nutshell”, that is what this book could easily and accurately be described as. To begin with the book is short and matter of fact; it covers almost all of the things that have happened in its 19 year existence. It covers the rise of Amazon.com and the perils it faced in the process. All the major milestones that the company achieved have also been covered. In short it tells a short story about amazon.com and how it came to be.

Sara Gilbert has done a commendable job in confining the whole story of amazon.com to a mere 65 pages and that is counting the illustrations as well. The story is kept really trim and most of the details irrelevant and not is kept out. In fact the “Story of Amazon.com” is a de-facto account of the evolution of amazon.com and leaves out any personal touch to it. There is no explorations to into the lives of Mr. Bezos nor of any one otherwise connected to the Amazon Story.

Sara does draw our attention to the various problems that the company faced and the long years it spent without ever turning any profit and the dark times it endured during the dot com burst. The hardships are again stated matter of factly and how the company managed to survive these treats not presented inspirationally either. But she does get her points and facts correct and she doesn’t leave anything either except what really helped Amazon.com become an industry leader in its domain. I would personally feel better had the book been a little longer and contained more about the rise of Amazon.com from the American dream perspective. But then again this book is not the ardent analyst, but for the young reader who could learn a lot about entrepreneurship and innovation form the story of Mr. Bezos.

The one thing I especially liked and is quite fascinating about the book is the amount of pictures that they have put in, they can on their own merit tell you the story of amazon.com and they complement the book rather well. One can just browse through these pictures and read the side notes left here and there in the book and understand the whole story that Sara is trying to say. Sara Gilbert has created a rather light hearted book that could be read with nothing more than just the willingness to open the first page, the rest is a fast and well aided journey through the 19 years of amazon.com, more like a tour of the whole thing.

Sara Gilbert clearly has her audience cut out, and she has made it clear that this is not for the serious corporate researcher in you but for the casual reader who would enjoy a little information and may be do with a little inspiration from it too. In fact this is exactly the kind of book I would gift my adolescent son just to get him to read a book.

In Association with JAICO PUBLISHING HOUSE.

Severance

And old unfinished poem I wrote in another lifetime, recently found in the moth infested pages of my old diary.

By what coins shall this debt be paid,

By what currency this loan be settled.

By what act shall atonement be achieved, and

By what valor shall this friendship be bought.

I don't know why I wrote nor what prompted these words, But somewhere they connect to me, like sons to father and creation to creator.

Why I want Modi as my PM

Before any one rushes to the end and starts commenting that Modi is communal, Let me just say that I am well aware of that argument and let me say that I have weighed that aspect too in my decision. Now that the disclaimer has been given let me get to the core of it. Which is that I want Modi as my Prime Minister and now I will get on with why I want him as my Prime Minister.

I am neither Pro-Congress nor Pro-BJP and for that neither am I Pro-Any Party. I despise them all equally. I believe the purpose of democracy ( in India at least ) is not to select the ideal man to rule Indians but to select the less evil one to do that. We do not select between Good and bad, we select between worse and worst. Given the choice between bandits and looters its a hard choice to make right? to find the ideal thief to steal our wealth. I am sure no other nation extends its denizens this particular privilege.

Coming back to Modi, For any one who is following Indian politics and the Lok Sabha election campaign with even half an eye will be aware that Mr Narendra Modi, the now Chief Minister of Gujarat has set his eyes on the ultimate prize. As always the nation is divided among him and our present Prime Puppet Mr Manmohan Singh, did I just say Prime Puppet? I actually meant Prime Minister, but I guess its easy to get confused among those two designations. The congress camp has unleashed the old and rusted argument that Mr Modi is communal and The BJP camp has unleashed the old, but not so rusted argument that Mr Singh is useless.

As it is customary in civil societies, I will address the chief acquisition that Mr Modi is communal. Frankly speaking I cant say whether he is communal or not, because I have no evidence supporting or opposing it, congress says that he is the chief reason for a riot that happened 11 years back and BJP says that Muslims in his own state support him. I just don't know which is true and I also believe that an alleged involvement in a crime that happened 11 years back cannot be given such high weightage as opposed to all the wonderful things he seems to have done in his home state that he has been ruling for a very long time. After all politics and politicians has such a short memory span and attention span.

I will confess one more thing out right, I am supporting Mr Modi, not as much because of his good deeds as to the grim deeds of the ruling party. The only thing the ruling band of bandits seems to be doing well is that they have been relentlessly looting the citizens with such finesses that most professional thieves and criminals look like total amateurs. They must have in this five year tenure relived the nation off a sizable portion of its GDP by stashing it away in Switzerland or Cayman islands.

The present government has let the rupee fall like a lead ball and no one seems to be bothered to catch it in its free fall. Even our not so honorable finance minister has asked as to let the rupee be, it will stop when it has too. I wonder if that's the case what he does in his office hours. Any way I am not pointing fingers here I am just laying my case for my supporting Mr. Modi as being the Prime Minister of India. On the contrary to the present ministry, he seems to know economics and development quite well with his state contributing a sizable chunk to the Indian Economy. I rather leave the state of Indian economy and the battered rupee at his care that the ones that bought it here.

Anyway as this is becoming rather long and complicated, i will quickly point out that I support Mr. Modi because I don't trust Mr Singh and his capability to rule. They are way too corrupt. Secondly Modi cannot be communal just because he is a Hindu, that's absurd. Thirdly the present economy has been ruined by the present government and we need a change so that it can be revived. The government now is way to distant from the 'aam admi' or the 'general public' as pluto is from the sun.They seem to intoxicated by power that a sabbatical will only do them good. Mr Modi appears to be a more powerful, capable and determined leader and icon than the silent and unimpressive Mr Singh who looks more like a mint condition doll. By the sheer measure of thing that they have done and the things they have not done Mr Modi is more deserving of the post of PM. And lastly he looks more of a prime ministerial material than Mr Singh.

I just hope that I wont be thrown in jail for speaking my mind, You can never know. 

DISCLAIMER: Anyways the things I mention are only the things that I feel and by no means do I claim them to be true or more seriously as facts. You are free to agree or disagree with me but you are not allowed to bash me, nor force upon me any view point. I have a mind and last time I checked it was fully functional and I am capable of making my decision. Thanks but I don't need your help in that regard. That aside you can comment here anything, but just remembering to sensitive to every ones views even though you may disagree with it.

The Future of Retail

Today is just another normal day, a very normal day in the year 2030. Bill is still sleeping soundly in his bed with his wife in his arms. But in a few moments he will wake up to one distinctive sound, the sound of his morning alarm. No sooner had we said these words the alarm has went off and has woken Bill as it has did dutifully for the last innumerable years. Strangely his wife has not stirred at all, and bears no expression of having heard this demonic noise. The wonders of technology have been able to deliver this amazing piece of essential technology, the custom alarm. Not only does the alarm be configured to the time and date and need but also to the person whom it is intended for.

Bill lazily made his way to the fridge to get his morning drink. A doctor has had given him strict instructions to limit his choice of drinks to a selection of fruit juices. Thanks to his over loving wife he was in no way able to sneak in anything remotely alcoholic. He started missing his old friend, the one that did not have a brain of its own and one that did not betray his every move to his wife. The fridge he was about to open was in fact the very latest in its kind a true design. The manufactures with a tie-up with the leading online retail giant was able to make the fridge so intelligent that replenishing his fridge was a thing of the past. He never remembered ever putting anything in the fridge anymore. The online store did it for him. Whenever he was low on anything the fridge would order them automatically and the store would replenish them for you. It used to work with alcohol too but unfortunately his wife had keyed in his health details and the evil doctor okay it and by doing so have compelled the fridge to make up its mind to stop his drinking altogether. The fridge just doesn't seem to get the fact that it was he who was paying the bills.

Sipping his juice bill slowly moved to his new couch, there was something fascinating about the way he bought the couch too. He didn't have to wander through multiple shops, scrimmaging through millions of models to select this one. He bought it with the help of SmartShop .  SmartShop was what could be called an integrated shopping system that helped him visualize how each piece of furniture would actually appear with the help of holographic display. He actually got to try on various couches and how they would go with the room. Kind of like the way he remembered his parents used to shop for clothes back in his childhood.

He leaned on his couch and stared at the wall for a long time. Anyone from half a decade ago would have thought that he was meditating. He slowly but quite audible commanded a virtually invisible TV to open channel 467 and instantly his wall transformed into one gigantic flat screen and started showing him the news he asked for. Of all the wonders of technology that had encroached on his life, this one was his favorite and for good reason too. But unfortunately it was his wife’s favorite too. Every good thing has a turn off, some fine print here, and some fine print there. Suddenly his eyes fell on the magnificent pair of jackets that the guy in the TV was wearing, that was what he was looking for, exactly the same one. He ordered the TV to pause and looked at it once more with awe. It was so beautiful. He wanted it and he had to get his hands on them. They were just perfect. He clicked on the shirt and instantly launching a million bits of electronic data to every possible vendor on the face of earth and may be a few on moon and mars, searching over numerous brands and their specific designs to find a near perfect match for Bill. A flutter later the wall has transformed into a virtual store with all the different results that was found.

A virtual Bill, more commonly known as the avatar took center stage on the screen and readied himself. At the tap of Bill’s each fingertips, the other Bill started trying each of the various items as Bill wished to try on. He flaunted his looks in the new clothes in front of himself. He scrutinized and he even asked a couple of his friends who were also awake at that ungodly hour for their conflicting opinions and finally settled on a specific piece that he liked. He made the purchase and was sure that by the time he got himself a bath and walked up to the front door, his new clothes would be there waiting for him to try it on.

Just then his personal assistant reminded him gently that he was getting late and his boss wouldn't be very happy with him if he got late today too. This intervention by his trusted digital secretary of sorts stuck Bill as weird, after all how long would he have spent sipping Orange Juice. Apparently very long if the assistant has to be trusted and there was no real reason to doubt the assistant now. He rushed to the bathroom and had his bath, groomed himself and readied himself in the meager time he was left with after his tedious morning activity of sipping orange juice. As he was coming back he found his wife in the kitchen and on the table was a package.

She must have heard his steps, for she turned around as he approached and soon a delightful smile spread on her face. She came close and kissed him and wished him good morning.  “By the way, Dear! This came for you this morning she announced.  He knew what was inside and he also knew that his wife would chide him if she found out what was in it. He smiled at her and parted with her after some exchange of confectioneries. That was  atypical day in the life of Bill, A typical day in the year 2030.

Courtesy : +Parvathi s - The Idiot who helped me edit this one.

The Man Who Made The Chocolate Factory

Do you know ho made The Chocolate Factory, in whose fertile imagination sprouted the fantastical world of Willy Wonka and Charlie Bucket? He must have had an extra-ordinary mind. Indeed he had, in fact in his mind was born numerous worlds of magic, he gave birth to the BFG (The Big Friendly Giant) and Matilda - the sweet. His name was Roald Dahl and he was so amazing that they went and named his birthday after him as Roald Dahl Day. Oh! By the way, that was today.

I cam upon the books of Roald Dahl by accident and my first Dahl book was "The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar" and that too because the cover looked childish and I was looking for a nice little story to keep my mind of other pressing things. Thus serendipitously have I been introduced to the magical world of Roald Dahl and the fantastical reality that he weaved around one. One book led to the next and in a short span of time I have had read numerous books of Roald Dahl and was by then totally enamored by his genius.

The books of Roald Dahl and the caricatures and illustrations of Quentin Blake were like Siamese Twins, inseparable to say the least. In some level they completed and complemented each other. His illustrations paved way to the visualization of Roald Dahl's stories. They together filled the heart of every child that touched them with magic. 

It is a promise that I have somewhere made with myself and the yet to be born souls of my children that they will know this magic that has fascinated me so much. I would show them the beautiful world of Roald Dahl and let them explore the magic there. I will let them be inspired and I will watch there imagination kindling. Just like mine was and I wills hare with them the magic of this world and that of Roald Dahl. 

The Books of Roald Dahl I have read