Notes on tech

Seattle Times has a special report on how Infospace took its investors for a ride. Its definitely worth checking out. Its a brilliant piece of research, very detailed. It should get a Pulitzer prize!

They are talking about the Infospace that was under the Naveen Jain (no relation to me) leadership. One such paper millionaire employee went on a wild shopping spree. Here are some excerts from the report that describe that employee's adventures :

A month after InfoSpace went public, Facq ordered a $103,000 Dodge Viper. He shipped the Viper to Hawaii, where he commissioned an artist to paint its hood with a Hawaiian scene — the sun setting over dolphins cavorting in blue waters. Tab for the paint job: $150,000.

But he got tired of waiting for the Viper, so on April 15, 1999, while walking by a BMW dealership, he went in and minutes later drove off in a Z3 convertible.

Facq two days later walked into a dealership and wrote a salesman a $1.1 million check to buy a Lamborghini Diablo and a Ferrari F50. "I just wanted to see the look on his face," Facq said.

Facq bought three kayaks and left them in his parking space in his condo's garage. This upset his condo association, which told him only cars could park there. So Facq bought a Subaru Outback and strapped the kayaks on top. In all, he topped out at nine cars.

What the hell was he thinking? Good gracious, even Bill Gates doesnt spend money like that. Ofcourse, that idiot is back to the 'writing programs for a living' mode. I seriously think that Naveen Jain and his partners in crime should face some time behind the bars.