SAST Wingees

Technology history of sorts derived from the Google Usenet Archive

While on the subject of history, the history derived from Google’s usenet archive is fascinating.  First mentions of IBM PC, Windows were very interesting. My jaw dropped when i saw the first mention of the Y2K problem sometime in 1985 !

Mark Kurlansky’s Cod – unusual viewpoint on history

Mark has looked at how the Cod Fish has had a dramatic impact on the history of the world. Mark has made a hero out of a fish and shows how seemingly mundane things have had such a deep impact on human civilization.  Was also intrigued by the Basques whose culture Mark refers to multiple times – if  Mark is to be believed,  the Basques had discovered the new world,  a 100 years before its actual discovery.  How the Basques have managed to  retain their distinct identity would by itself make for a nice history lesson. Need to look for that. Apparently Mark has himself written a book on the Basques. Another review of the book for reference.

India Trip Report

I was in India during the month of December 2004, and yes I did feel the tremor at 6:30 am when my bed shook for about 45 seconds, which was more than any quake that I have felt in No.Cal. I saw people rushing away from the shores (santhome) while I was visiting a doctor near my home in R.A Puram. There was utter panic that morning. Adding to the chaos was the Central govt. predicting tsunamis the next day, and there was even some prediction of earthquakes :). Even educated folks fell for the earthquake trap, and I heard that people actually stayed out of their offices and homes for more than 2 hours the second day. Tragically, first day, a lady picked up her kids and drove towards the Marina (open space) to be safe from the earthquake only to face the tsunami. I was terribly unimpressed with the news coverage, particuarly Jaya and SUN TV politicizing the whole issue. Of course, Center and State govts. were involved in the blame game about lack of coordination etc. On the whole coverage by NDTV was pretty decent, though they also cribbed a lot about lack of coordination with respect to distribution of relief funds and items. What amazed me was the readiness of organizations such as Banyan etc. who jumped into the fray immediately to help the needy. Of course, a whole bunch of volunteers jumped into to help them. For example, my cousin drove the whole night to cuddalore (on behalf of banyan) to distribute medicines. It is organizations such as this that will really be able to help the needy without any bias. I believe that both the center and state govt. should butt out of the whole scene atleast in T.Nadu and Pondicherry) and let such organizations handle the relief measures. Indian Red cross could be the central agency to coordianate the efforts. A&N is a more difficualt proposition considering the number of people affected, and the area impacted. Looks like the army is doing a decent job in A&N. Otherwise, had a pleasant trip with a few temple visits (Trichy, Kollur, coimbatore etc.). I will try and send a separate report on my Kollur trip if anyone is interested .. particularly the wonderful job being done by temples such as Dharmasthala, Udupi etc. in feeding the devotees. I had dinner at Dharmasthala and lunch at the Udupi temples. I was very impressed with how they maintained a very clean kitchen and serving area, and still was able to serve thousands of devotee’s everyday. Fell sick the last week (dengue fever) and had to postopone the departure. Feeling homesick right now and really miss all the pampering 🙂

Vision

From the Book The Power Principle/Influence with Honor by Blaine Lee: –

VISION

In Jacob the baker, Rabbi Noah ben Shea shares this timely parable:

As Jacob told his stories he would from time to time shut this eyes. It was as if he were remembering what to say, not by searching through his mind, but by remembering what he saw. Somewhere he had a perfect picture and the words he spoke were a description of this vision.

What do you see when you shut your eyes Jacob? Asked a little girl.

‘Well,’ Jacob said, Once upon a time there was a man who had a vision and began pursuing it. Two others saw that the first man had a vision and began following him. In time, children of those who followed asked their parents what they saw. But what their parents described appeared to be the coattails of the man in front of them.

When the children heard this, they turned aside from their parent’s vision, saying it was not worthy of pursuit.

Jacob leaned towards the little girl who had asked the question.

What do we discover from this story?

The children were quiet.

I’ll tell you,’ said Jacob.

“ We discover children who deny what they have never experienced.”

“ We discover parents who believe in what they have never experienced.”

“ And from this , we discover the question is not, “ what do I see when I shut my eyes’ but what do you see when you open yours?

Woot – a new retailing business model

Happy new year 2005 everyone. I am vacationing in Greece and i thought why not collect all the different business models on our blog, especially the innovative ones.

As the first one, i decided to log Woot. Just when you thought there is nothing new to do in retailing, this company comes up with a catchy idea. Everyday at 12 CST, they post a single product, which is usually much cheaper than anywhere else. This product is on sale untill all the stock is sold. The product is on sale usually is something cool like the Robosapien or the mini-Hummer model (both of which i bought from woot). I have heard that many people log on at midnight just to check what is on this site. The whole idea is very thrilling, mysterious and at the same time a great deal.

Woot.com shows that you can still compete in this world through innovation and not succumb to the Walmart-driven cost-is-everything phenomenon.

If you notice any new business idea, please blog them to this category.