Vegas & The Aftermath - Diary

[tikay]

Despite my new-found admiration for the "WILD" series, I still watch endless hours of Attenborough stuff, & have all the Attenborough box sets.

How about this - remember, spiders are dumb, stupid insects. Or so we might have thought.....

This is from the superb "Madasgascar" series.

[tikay]

if you get the chance watch this Tikay

Will do John, but it'll not be until this evening.

I hope things at home are looking up, I know life has been a bit of a challenge for you of late.

[tikay]

These were featured on "Attenborough Greatest Moments" recently. Just wonderful, I watch them again & again.


This might just be my favourite one ever.




This can't be too far behind, though.....

[tikay]

I've become interested in a chap named Jeff Bezos, & been reading several books about him. He is Mr Amazon.com. What a bloke he is, jeez.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Bezos


Intriguingly, when he began Amazon, at the very start of the internet (or web, is it?), he decided that to persuade people to buy stuff Online, a "one click" button was needed. Back then, when we were on dial-up, if we were lucky, speedy "short cuts" were unheard of, but he sussed their value.

So he set Amazon.com up with a "One-Click" facility, people could, literally, order stuff with a single click. (Once they had set their account up).

So powerful was this idea, that he patented it. Well, this made it all kick off, & he got sued by the world & his wife, saying his patent was invalid, but after years of legal wrangling, it was upheld.

If someone, anyone anywhere, mimics it, he charges them a royalty, of x% of a cent "per click". Even the mighty Apple conceded, & pay the royalty, to this very day.

Now I have no idea if that story is true, & I don't care an iota if it is not, I'm a buyer.  

After he had formed the sort of basis of Amazon - a monumental thing in itself - & being a sort of "idea whirlygig", he came up with another daft idea, though it'll never catch on. The Kindle.

It seems so unfair that some folks are so damn clever.





In my "Business Idols" list, he's jumped in at #4, right behind JNK, & of course these two putz's.  

[tikay]

Mr Bezos got a right pasting on Twitter recently.

You may have seen the story, basically, he said "drones will soon be delivering books for us, door to door".


http://www.dezeen.com/2013/12/02/amazon-tests-drones-that-could-deliver-packages-in-less-than-30-minutes/

Note he says he will be using octocopters. What a great word!

Anyway, he got slaughtered on Twitter, doubtless Facebook too, for being a twerp. (Like that? twerp).

I mean, Tweeted all the smartarses, it'll never happen, he is as mad as a mad bloke.

Meanwhile, he earned zillions of acres of free publicity from his little story. Almost, you might say, a flight of fancy.

Now who is the daft one?

He's not as daft as folks think. No wonder he reminds of of Sir Lord King God O'Leary.

[Sheriff Fatman]

if you get the chance watch this Tikay

Will do John, but it'll not be until this evening.

I hope things at home are looking up, I know life has been a bit of a challenge for you of late.

I watched this a few weeks ago via Netflix on the strength of horseplayer's original recommendation.  I have very vivid memories of all these events, so it was something of interest anyway.

Well worth a watch at some point.


Also, thanks to Netflix, I can recommend 'Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead', which is a fascinating documentary.  Initially it starts with one overweight Australian travelling to the USA to do a 60-day juice-fast, and is documenting that experience.  However, the story develops somewhat from there in a quite unexpected way.  Worth watching, if only for the hilarious moments featuring the world's 'least supportive husband' (which you'll know when you see them).

[tikay]

An hour on the Diary, & my In-Tray is as full as ever. Bugger.

I'll maybe try again tomorrow.

I'm so busy, & pre-occupied, with UKPC, that I just don't have the time to do everything I want.

I am LOVING UKPC, I still consider it "my baby", though of course it's not. So much happening with it under the radar, & it's my last big project in poker. I'd love to tell the backstory, & maybe I will, or at least, some of it. Much it it has to remain under wraps, sadly, but I can give the flavour of it I guess. Another day. Probably.

Fred keeps me so busy, too. It's such a fun thread, & so many of us enjoy it. I curse it sometimes, as so much of it is time-precious, but I love it to death really, & we've had so much fun, AND we've earned 4.8% ROI. Right now, I just can't devote the necessary time to "work it" properly, as it needs, but there are only so many hours in every day. I need to buck up, without the necessary work, it will die. It's the same for Tighty, bless him, he is running out of hours per day. Of course, for every problem, there is an easy & obvious solution, I know that. I just don't know what it is......

[tikay]

if you get the chance watch this Tikay

Will do John, but it'll not be until this evening.

I hope things at home are looking up, I know life has been a bit of a challenge for you of late.

I watched this a few weeks ago via Netflix on the strength of horseplayer's original recommendation.  I have very vivid memories of all these events, so it was something of interest anyway.

Well worth a watch at some point.


Also, thanks to Netflix, I can recommend 'Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead', which is a fascinating documentary.  Initially it starts with one overweight Australian travelling to the USA to do a 60-day juice-fast, and is documenting that experience.  However, the story develops somewhat from there in a quite unexpected way.  Worth watching, if only for the hilarious moments featuring the world's 'least supportive husband' (which you'll know when you see them).

Was his name "Peter"?

[tikay]

For the first time in my lfe, I've developed some back problems, & I can barely stand upright. I've never had a day off work for a "sickie" in my life, & I don't have any health problems, but age is starting to mess with me a treat.

Luckily, I've shed 2 stones, if not, it would be far worse.

I can barely sleep with the pain & discomfort, & I'm not used to ill-health, so it came as a bit of a shock to the system.

I retired early last night, exhausted from 2 sleepless nights, & immediately fell fast asleep, blessed relief, ahhhh.....

And then, I got a text,. A really nice text, actually, from, a friend of many years standing. I like him. I do, honest. He just wanted to say hi, & catch up. Very touching, & I'm really most pleased & grateful. But not so much @ 1.15 this morning.

I was really pleased he sent that at 1.15am. 

[Karabiner]

Schmuck is, I expect, a Yiddish term, too.

In German, it means Jewellery. How did it end up as an insult?

Schmuck or schmock means penis, or prick when used as an insult.

But again in Yiddish, depending on the intonation, it is usually a friendly insult.

I've never heard of that German word.

[bobAlike]

Hi TIkay, I drove past this place yesterday. Unfortunately couldn't stop.

[bobAlike]

Also went past this



Apparently got cracked during a minor tremor.

[Longines]

Some Bezos quotes:

“Are you lazy or just incompetent?”

“I’m sorry, did I take my stupid pills today?”

“Do I need to go down and get the certificate that says I’m CEO of the company to get you to stop challenging me on this?”

If I hear that idea again, I’m gonna have to kill myself.”

“We need to apply some human intelligence to this problem.”


His achievements are impressive.

[bobby1]

For the first time in my lfe, I've developed some back problems, & I can barely stand upright. I've never had a day off work for a "sickie" in my life, & I don't have any health problems, but age is starting to mess with me a treat.

Luckily, I've shed 2 stones, if not, it would be far worse.

I can barely sleep with the pain & discomfort, & I'm not used to ill-health, so it came as a bit of a shock to the system.

I retired early last night, exhausted from 2 sleepless nights, & immediately fell fast asleep, blessed relief, ahhhh.....

And then, I got a text,. A really nice text, actually, from, a friend of many years standing. I like him. I do, honest. He just wanted to say hi, & catch up. Very touching, & I'm really most pleased & grateful. But not so much @ 1.15 this morning.

I was really pleased he sent that at 1.15am. 

oops, many apologies if that was me mate.

[tikay]

For the first time in my lfe, I've developed some back problems, & I can barely stand upright. I've never had a day off work for a "sickie" in my life, & I don't have any health problems, but age is starting to mess with me a treat.

Luckily, I've shed 2 stones, if not, it would be far worse.

I can barely sleep with the pain & discomfort, & I'm not used to ill-health, so it came as a bit of a shock to the system.

I retired early last night, exhausted from 2 sleepless nights, & immediately fell fast asleep, blessed relief, ahhhh.....

And then, I got a text,. A really nice text, actually, from, a friend of many years standing. I like him. I do, honest. He just wanted to say hi, & catch up. Very touching, & I'm really most pleased & grateful. But not so much @ 1.15 this morning.

I was really pleased he sent that at 1.15am. 

oops, many apologies if that was me mate.

Ha!

No, it was not you Phil, nor was it from Reykjavic.

The Gent in question has been texting me at 3am for many years, & he knows it makes me cross, because I have mentioned it 27,000 times. He even started the text by saying "I know you are going to moan about the time of this text", lol.

He IS a nice chap, & he DOES mean well, but some folks, who have not really lived in the real world, just dont get it. Manners, convention, etiquette, consideration for others, don't come so easy to the internet generation, as the nature of relationships online are so impersonal now.  Forums, Twitter & FB are 24/7 mediums, which don't disturb anyone, so thats fine, but 'phone calls & texts are different. Many don't seem to be aware of that very important difference. The lad has a heart of gold, & would definitely not to it deliberately.

It's not a big deal I suppose, but I'm ultra grumpy right now with the back pain & lack of sleep, so being woken by a text @ 1.15am did not fill me with pleasure.

It's not a swipe at the lad, I just find it a very very peculiar thing to do. How many grown ups here would text or 'phone a friend at 1.15am without first considering if it were convenient? Do it for the craic, yes, but do it wiithout it even crossing your mind that it was out of order?

Anyway, time is such a precious resource, we must move on.

How was your trip to Baltimore, Las Vegas, Seattle, Iceland, & Manchester?