Posts Tagged ‘Amazon’
Amazons, Lost Fleets, and Lying In The Rye
The biggest news in the publishing world over the past week centered around what can loosely be described as a playground stand-off between Amazon and Macmillian over eBook pricing. As many Macmillian published authors and their fans took sides over the disagreement, I spent that time finishing book three of the The Lost Fleet series by Jack Campbell, Courageous. Fortunately these books weren’t affected by that recent event.
So far there have been five books to The Lost Fleet series with a sixth due out at the end of April 2010.
Starting in 2006 with Dauntless, the storyline follows the tribulations of Captain John “Black Jack” Geary assuming the command of a fleet of warships 100 years after he was presumed dead when his own battleship was destroyed in an epic battle that transformed him into a mythic hero. Using coordinated battle tactics and an adherence to command authority, he uses the techniques which were forgotten during the past century he spent in hibernation to bolster his fleet’s ability to wage war in an effort to successfully return the fleet to its home world.
Jack Campbell is actually a pen name for John G. Hemry who has authored two other series, Stark’s War and Paul Sinclair (aka JAG In Space), among many short stories, some of which have appeared in Analog magazine. He’s a retired United States Navy officer and draws on his experience while writing.
So far, I’ve read Dauntless, Fearless, and Courageous. I wish I could remember how I came upon the series but it wasn’t until book five, Relentless, was published. But before I read Valiant and Relentless, I’m going to take a detour from space battles by taking a trip with an American classic: J. D. Salinger’s The Cacher In The Rye.
J. D. Salinger passed away a short time ago on January 27 due to natural causes. It occurred to me at the time that I had not read any of his works. I’m assuming that The Catcher In The Rye was among the many reading assignments I was given in school which I deftly ignored throughout. So with book in hand, I start making up for lost time.
Credit To Dementia
“Well, me, it’s nice talking to myself,
A credit to dementia…”
- Megadeth, Sweating Bullets
I find myself in unfamiliar territory. See, my credit has been far from perfect for many years. But recently, it seems to have taken a turn for the better, or worse given your point of view.
I get most of my computer hardware from Newegg.com. If you compared computers to cocaine, then Newegg would be the supplier of my habit. If I didn’t have Newegg, I’d have to brave the high school peons with the spiffy blue shirts at Best Buy who can’t understand why I don’t want an extended service policy and constantly remind me that they don’t work on commissions so I can feel free to find anyone lest I need assistance. Thanks. I think I’ll venture through the aisles just fine on my own.
But I digress.
Anytime I am need of hardware, or just to check out current prices, I click on my bookmark for Newegg and feed the habit. I constantly add items to my shopping cart just to remove them later. I run through the checkout process all the way to the last step just to chicken out and surf off to another corner of the internet.
But every now and then, I would pause at the BillMeLater advert. Sometimes I would click on the application process just to verify that they don’t need my money badly enough to extend any credit to me. At least that was the case up until about a week ago. It took me a few minutes of re-reading to realize that somehow the planets and their moons aligned in the correct orientation long enough to be approved for a Newegg Preferred Account. Quickly, before they came to their senses, I placed an order for some hardware I had been putting off until the time was right. I didn’t see a reason to argue with myself any longer.
Not quite feeling lucky enough, I remember seeing the good old BillMeLater icons elsewhere. Most notably at Lenovo, laptop/notebook maker of my dreams. They always turned me down. But, I figured what would it hurt to try? As in the past, I built a laptop, placed in the cart, and went through the checkout process awaiting the usual denial page. Well let this be a reminder to you all: There is no step between application and purchase. I was congratulated for becoming the proud owner of a brand new Lenovo laptop. Yipee!!
By the way, at this moment it’s being held by the broker in Kentucky after being stuck in China for an extra day because of mechanical problems with the plane and somehow disappearing for three days in Alaska.
Now that I’m sure my credit has been extended beyond its limits, there’s no possible way this streak could continue. Then comes my regular email from Old Navy. They’re announcing the ability to shop at Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic, and Piperlime at the same time. So, after bouncing around their site for a half hour, I notice the link for the Old Navy Credit Card. Sticking another round in the chamber, I fire off an application. Lo and behold, I should have my card in the mail within a few days.
Then there’s that system beep that tells me I just got some new email. About the Old Navy card? Nope. Amazon.com wants to remind me of a new book being published soon, one that I’ve been waiting for. And guess what Amazon has? That’s right, an Amazon Card managed by the very same people that just approved me for the Old Navy card. There’s no possible way they would approve me twice in the same hour. But in the end, I was proven wrong. I’ll probably get the Amazon and the Old Navy cards on the same day.
My wallet is going to be so thick that I won’t be able to fit in my pocket, and all because of these little plastic cards with my name on them. But my experiment is not over. Let’s push the envelope. This has been for small time store cards. What about a major credit card. Just as I was writing this, I hopped over to Barnes & Noble and saw that they have a MasterCard. It took all of about 60 seconds. Approved.
Feeling cocky, I head over to the American Express website. I can’t go to bed without knowing. One more bullet in the chamber. One more application to fill out. I need to know. And then it happens. Denial. Yes! Finally! Someone has seen the light! The weight has been lifted. The stress and tension subsides. It wasn’t a dream, after all. The word must have gotten out to the creditors. Economic Stimulus checks are being mailed out and they must get their grubby little hands on them.
Goodnight.
