While reading this article on the SMH on Amazon’s Kindle ebook device, the following quote caught my eye:

“It’s, I guess, the feel of holding a book that someone really put a lot of effort into writing, and you kind of lose that a little bit with a digital product,” said Katy Farina, 21, of Montgomery, New Jersey.

The underlying assumption seems to be that the physical nature …

2008 marks my tenth year of being my own boss. (And 16 years of professional practice!)

There will be new things a-happening on here when I get a breather.

A big thank you to everyone for all your support, encourage and custom over the years.

Mr. Whitson taught sixth-grade science. On the first day of class, he gave
us a lecture about a creature called the cattywampus, an ill-adapted
nocturnal animal that was wiped out during the Ice Age. He passed around a
skull as he talked. We all took notes and later had a quiz.

When he returned my paper, I was shocked. There was a big red X through
each of my …

I joined the Boxing Day crowd today and caught The Golden Compass at the cinema. It was great. Loved it. I had read the books years ago and enjoyed them then too.

It had all the classic themes that makes for a good story. One that can be enjoyed on many levels. Good vs evil. Freedom vs oppression. What resonated most with me was how our individual choices make …

This thought sparked by a line in Niccolo Machiavelli’s The Prince:

There are two kinds of strengths.

The strength to do bold things, and the strength to suffer great hardship.

Stoicism may well be a virtue; but when does it become a draining source of misery?

Which are you stronger at? What are you suffering tight now that you have the power to remove?

About 400 years ago, some humans on the other side of the planet made this rude giant at Cerne Abbas.

A few days ago, some other humans near where I live made this in a carpark (not quite at the same scale).

Penguin has a series of books with blank white covers. You can design your own covers. Express yourself. Turn one into a unique gift and so forth.

Some customers will enjoy this level of customisation and participation. So how can you adapt this to your business?

Many examples exist in the tangible products world – you can buy “draw on me” versions of mugs, mouse mats, t-shirts …

Despite best efforts at the global standardisation, the experience of a product or service can vary greatly depending on the local culture. It is coloured by comparisons with local competition, and local cultural perceptions of the product’s originating culture.

This post has been sparked by spotting this book:

My initial reaction was a somewhat ho-hum one. I simply don’t associate Starbucks with amazingly good coffee. (No, I …

By 2010, the Unicode Consortium believes that the languages used for global commerce will be thus:

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Spotted on chinglish.com - yes I know, serious website, unfortunate name.