Thursday 04.29.04
From Google's IPO Registration Statement (form S-1):
Proposed Maximum Aggregate Offering PriceIf you don't get the joke, see the dollar amount in the check below.
$ 2,718,281,828
In their form S-1, under the heading "DON'T BE EVIL", Google says
Our search results are the best we know how to produce. They are unbiased and objective, and we do not accept payment for them or for inclusion or more frequent updating. We also display advertising, which we work hard to make relevant, and we label it clearly. This is similar to a newspaper, where the advertisements are clear and the articles are not influenced by the advertisers' payments....as if newspapers were wholly uninfluenced by advertising revenue.
Friday 04.23.04
I have a car that attracts attention--sometimes unwanted attention--but sometimes it leads to fun encounters. From a conversation earlier today, with a kid who looked to be about 6 years old:
| kid: | Excuse me, what kind of car is that? |
| me: | It's a [make] [model]. (pause) It's made in Japan. |
| kid: | (quizzical look) How did you get it here? |
Saturday 04.17.04
YAJEAAD: yet another journal entry about a dream
I had a dream last night that I was in Germany.
I was walking around a city, checking out the nightlife. I wandered into a club, but most of the patrons were under 20 and I felt so out of place. I went to leave, but a teenager started asking me some questions (in English), and made reference to some TV show I'd never heard of. I looked like the out-of-touch adult that I am.
I then came across a strange kind of cross between a nightclub and a sauna. From the entrance, I got a glimpse of patrons of both sexes in various stages of undress. I told the guy behind the front desk that I hadn't been there before and that I was interested to know what it was like; he took me on a little tour. He said that admission was 375 Euros (ouch!). (Unlike the teenager, he spoke German.) Before I even said whether or not I was interested, he asked to see my ID. I said all I had with me was my (California) driver's license, and went to find it in my wallet. But my wallet was stuffed with all kinds of crap: old photos, cards, other useless forms of ID--you name it. I had taken a pile of junk out (the pile was much bigger than the wallet that had contained it--I love dreams) but still couldn't find my driver's license. I thought wow, I gotta watch all this stuff so no one steals it, but then realized that none of it made any difference. I could lose all those photos and cards and it wouldn't affect the quality of my life one bit.
I woke up and was struck by the messages of the dream: how much stuff I have that makes no difference, and some point about not being able to locate my identity (card) that I don't quite know how to interpret.
Thursday 04.15.04
When I was a kid, my Dad was friends with Sol Katz, the pharmacist in town. Sol used to give us prescription drugs without a prescription.
Sol had a cool dog named Cindy that he kept in the drugstore with him. Cindy would wait for a customer to open the door, then she'd escape and go rummage through the dumpster behind the grocery store. Sol took to keeping Cindy in a fenced-in area behind the drugstore.
I used to borrow Cindy and take her for walks. She loved that. I'd show up at the drugstore after school, Cindy would immediately know why and would make all kinds of excited noises.
Cindy usually ignored other dogs. Someone else's dog might be eyeing Cindy, at the end of its leash trying to get close to Cindy, barking, carrying on, and Cindy would just keep walking as if the other dog wasn't there. I thought that was the coolest thing.
Tuesday 04.13.04
From a User Guide to phone services I got from the phone company:
A rotary dial phone has a round dial for dialing.
Thursday 04.08.04
Last year, I wrote here about the legal troubles of Amr Mohsen, the founder and CEO of a company I'd worked at from 1990-1994. To summarize: he was indicted for perjury.
With time, the plot has gotten thicker. Dr. Mohsen was reportedly planning to flee the country to avoid trial (new passport, a wad of $100 bills, a chartered flight to the Cayman Islands: the whole nine yards). He was arrested last week and is now in custody.
Over the past few months, I'd described the developments in Dr. Mohsen's case to a few of my friends. Last week, one friend asked me why it mattered to me so much. Did I have a grudge against Dr. Mohsen, or what. Good question!
Amr Mohsen recruited me to work for his company back in 1990. I had another offer at the time; he gave me a bunch of reasons why the other offer wasn't a good one, and in my opinion some of what he said wasn't accurate. Over the years at Dr. Mohsen's company, I didn't find him to be a paragon of honesty. Many co-workers felt the same way.
But I don't feel profoundly wronged by him. Amr Mohsen had his flaws, but he had good points as well; he worked hard and made substantial contributions to the electronics industry.
There came a point where I told Amr Mohsen (and my immediate boss at the company) that I was HIV-positive. Dr. Mohsen talked to me at length, and made it a point to tell me that he thought our lives on earth were insignificant in comparison to the afterlife. I don't believe in an afterlife, but I appreciated that he chose to talk to me about what was, to him, an important matter.
I follow his case because it's interesting. Legal proceedings can be dramatic. I would like to see some of Dr. Mohsen's trial (if it ever happens; I've lost count of how many times it's been postponed).
If Amr Mohsen committed perjury, I don't believe he's going to suffer any retribution in an afterlife or in a subsequent reincarnation. Maybe if I believed in karma, I wouldn't think the criminal justice system was so important. But I don't see evidence to support a belief in karma or an afterlife. As far as I can see, the court is the only agency that has a chance to ensure justice here; that's part of why I would follow any criminal case with interest.
Wednesday 04.07.04
I'm in the SF bay area this week. It's a seven hour drive from my home; I usually make the trip in two pieces, staying overnight somewhere in between.
Three nights ago: I drive 'til I get tired, and go to check into a motel in Coalinga, California. (The name "Coalinga" comes from a railroad; years ago, the town was "coaling station A".) At the motel desk, a notice from the county sheriff advises travelers that there have been lots of automobile breakins in motel parking lots in the area. But the clerk assures me it hasn't been a problem lately.
I think about going elsewhere, but decide not to (other choices are either 3x the price or a ways down the road). While walking to my room, I note that the motel is packed, and the grounds are swarming with farm workers: on the balconies, on the lawn, in their cars and trucks. Garbage pails are full of empty beer bottles. A pickup truck is outside my assigned room, with doors open and the stereo on good 'n' loud.
I think again.
I go back to the desk and say that I can't stay there. I'm willing to lose the money I paid if that's what it takes to go somewhere else. But the staff is cool, they give me a refund, no problem. I go elsewhere, pay more, and get a good night's sleep.
Moral of the story: none that I can think of.
Friday 04.02.04
|
I'm just easily amused (note the time of day on the receipt).
current journal
Tommyjournal FAQ
Tommy email
Tommy home page