BlackBird's Bullets #28

Man's Search for Meaning; FutureMe; Ode to Excel; Ridiculous job candidates; and a Dutch parking solution.

Another edition of the BlackBird's Bullets. If you're not subscribed yet, you're missing a whole intro above which is delivered only via e-mail. Go correct this mistake and subscribe now.

You might have your opinion about Amazon, but the fact is, they democratized reading, writing, and publishing. Thanks to Kindle Direct Publishing, anyone (including me) can self-publish a book at zero cost and offer it to over 300 million customers globally. No gatekeepers, nobody to say no. You sit down, write your shit, and hit publish. For free.

To anyone who asks me about an opinion about Amazon, I say one thing: buy the stock. (Disclaimer: I'm long $AMZN).

Title photo: Kindle Direct Publishing used to be about e-books, then they added paperbacks, and now hardcovers. With help from Ahmed from Pakistan, I went for an all-black cover and I like how it feels. A proper book. If you haven't decided on it yet, now is the right time — hardcover at the price of the paperback!
(I participated in the beta, so The Elements of Lifestyle is among the first KDP self-published hardcovers out in the wilderness!)

Here are this week's five bullets — enjoy:

• ☯️ Man's Search for Meaning is one of those books that feels like it would be disrespectful to read it on the Kindle, so I finally got my paperback and dove in. What a surprise read with lessons for life! This should be mandatory adult reading material. Give it a shot.  
• Last week I received a surprise e-mail. From myself. From the past. Before you question my sanity, let me state this is not a vaccination side-effect, but a wonderful service called FutureMe. You write a letter to yourself and pick in how many years you'd like to have it delivered.
  I tested it out in May 2018, so last week I got this surprise e-mail from 2018-me with a few words about what he's doing at that moment, and what his aspirations were. It felt pleasant.
  I immediately wrote another e-mail to the 2024-me, and you should write one to your future-self as well!
• Excel never dies. Awesome long read of the Excel past, present, and the future. Ode to the killer app that shaped the world into what it is today.
• I'm rediscovering a site I used to have fun reading years ago. Alison Green runs a hilarious Ask A Manager blog.  Here's a taste of the things that might crack you up: ridiculous job candidates.
• 🇳🇱 How about this adoring man's solution to parking in a garage that's mere six centimeters wider than his car! As a proper Dutchman, he first moves his bicycle out of the way!  

See you next week.
Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish.
Peter K.