Young men are impressionable so as I stood there talking to Jabrail, I couldn't help but say to myself "When I grow up I want to be like this guy".

The casual discussion was about coffee in Kenya, and noting his recent interest in the subject, I thought to impress him with my knowledge of how C.Dorman's works. You see I'd come to learn C.Dorman belongs to the Block family, and was leading coffee roaster and exporter in East Africa since 1950. He listened quietly as I mused how by trading in the commodity futures in New York, it was possible to make pure profit while using lower grades to serve local market and pay for expenses - what a business.

A couple of months later, I heard he had some interest in a small shop in Adams Arcade. One Friday, I took a date by the difficult to find corner shop. We didn't like it and left as I thought to myself "...he didn't get it right, he should have consulted more, he's burnt his fingers and his whole hand...".

I didn't even note the name, but if I try looking back hard enough, I vaguely make out the sign - JAVA, yes the Java Coffee House. Ouuuucch!

Dr. John Pemberton will probably be cursed by his descendants for as long as his memory lasts.

The good doctor and his alcoholic son concocted a syrup in a three-legged brass kettle in his backyard in 1885. This princely effort cost a whooping $70 - unfortunately, the syrup was a total flop in the market coz all doc made was $50.

Smitten by the loss, Dr. Pemberton flogged the rights to the syrup to pharmacist-cum-businessman Assa Griggs Chandler for $2300.

Dude must've turned in his grave when he heard that the syrup he practically handed over to Chandler in the late 19th Century for a measly 2300 bucks (Coca-Cola) is worth $67.5 billion TODAY.

Like Ouch to the power of infinity?

OUUCHHH @msotoville, good stuff, you reminded me of another Dr


You need to see the awe in a young boy's eyes when he talks of flying - face it, boys love to fly. Dr Gary Kildall, computer scientist, was no exception. So on one fateful day, he figured he could take a joyride with his twin-engine plane and told his wife to hold fort with the 'suits' who were scheduled to come in for a meeting.

That very same day in 1980, Jack Sams, the lead negotiator from IBM, and two companions arrived. He left disappointed in a hufff! Dr Gary Kildall was too busy and the wife didn't want to execute the 'simple' NDA - to hell with it!

Sams went back to Seattle and asked Gates, who had already signed the NDA, if he could provide a 16-bit operating system - done deal. So Microsoft not only supplied BASIC but also MSDOS to IBM. The rest as they say, is...



In 1992, University of Washington invited Kildall to attend the 25th anniversary of its computer science program. He was one of its earliest and most distinguished graduates, earning a PhD, yet they had picked as keynote speaker Gates, a Harvard dropout. OOUUUCCCH!!!

All this veeeeeery funny, how fortunes can change. Anything on the political side in Kenya.........

........OOooooooouuuuCH!!!!!