simplicity

Man does that suck. Hindsight is 20/20…

The Zappos deal is widely viewed as a win-win-win. Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh gets to stay in charge with deeper pockets to keep building the company for the long term. Amazon expands its ecommerce dominance by snapping up the one company online shoppers may love more than Amazon itself. And Sequoia Capital gets to lock in a near-$1 billion win at a time when the rest of the venture industry is on the ropes.

But there is one big loser in all of this: Draper Richards. Sources close to Zappos tell us that Draper Richards� a firm that is frequently listed as a Zappos investor� actually holds no shares in the company. They lent Zappos about $250,000 in its early days, and when the dot com bubble burst demanded repayment. Zappos was strapped for cash, so they tried to convince Draper Richards to take stock at a discounted conversion rate instead, but the firm insisted on loan repayment. (Draper Richards confirmed they were only a lender, not an equity investor.)

I don’t have enough detail to know exactly what they would have netted today, but our source says they would have been Zappos’ largest� and no doubt happiest� shareholder. Sometimes it’s the deals a firm makes� or doesn’t make� in a crash that matter most.

Source – Guess Who Lost Big on the Zappos Deal?

Amazon just purchased Zappos for $807 million dollars (stock exchange). Congrats to Zappos, their a fantastic company with an absolute ridiculous appreciation for their customers. It’s great to see a company and their employees getting paid for doing a great job. As a result Jeff Bezos sent a message to the employees of Zappos. The video is great, except for the scary laugh Bezos has.

The CEO of Zappos also wrote a letter to the employees which I found to be an interesting read.

Some quirkiness is out there. I’m really hoping they get rid of the Massachusetts Blue Laws. Especially the one outlawing ‘Happy Hour’ specials. It tends to hurt the wallet.

But boozehounds in Utah still can’t buy malt beverages and can only purchase full-strength beer – as opposed to “near beer,” which contains no more than 3.2% alcohol – at liquor stores. As one Park City resident lamented to the Associated Press, “Why can’t we all be one nation under God and do what everybody else does?”

Of course, the union’s other 49 states have quirky liquor laws of their own. In states like Pennsylvania and Idaho, spirits can be sold only in stores controlled by Alcoholic Beverage Control agencies, colloquially known as ABC stores or Aunt Betty’s Cupboard.

Source – America’s Alcohol Laws: Quirky Rules Across 50 States – TIME

This has to be fake, come on now.

Bone Snaps While Arm Wrestling – Watch more Funny Videos

Great article on my neighbor James Driscoll, whose playing at Turnberry this week in the British Open

Confidence has rarely been an issue with Driscoll, who was born in Boston and raised in Brookline. And when he puts his tee in the ground this morning, half a world away in Turnberry, Scotland, he’ll be appearing for the first time in the British Open, golf’s oldest major championship. That it took Driscoll nearly eight years to get there after becoming a professional might be a surprise to those who know that his golf portfolio is overflowing with titles and trophies. Golf’s a hard game, though, filled with just as many valleys as peaks. Driscoll is hungry for success and the wins that have narrowly eluded him. But so far, above all, he’s happy with the journey.

Source – Driscoll’s path had sharp turns – The Boston Globe

Ouch

Insane Parking Garage Backflip – Watch more Funny Videos

Friend pointed this out, check out feature #1. Is it me or did marketing really screw up here?

Windows 7 Features

Thanks @taylorgnh for the pic.

Ordered the new iPhone last week from AT&T. Attempted to purchase the phone the day of the release but it turns out if you’re not the owner of the contract Apple won’t sell you the phone. Surprisingly though AT&T delivered quite quickly. Placed an order on Tuesday and by Thursday I had the device.

So far the phone has been great for me. Much faster and more responsive then my old edge version. Haven’t put it through it’s paces yet, but haven’t seen anything that I’m disappointed in yet, well except background processing doesn’t exist but that’s another story…