imran jafri — verbose mode

Microsoft Outlook is the worst thing ever happened to the freight forwarding industry … coupled by the invention of a USB stick, peeps back up their emails on a USB even in 2018 …. an entire morning is ruined, because the POP server won’t deliver emails. Frenetic calls are made to the 1-Man-Army-Web-Hosting-Shop … who has been hosting 1000s of websites on a single shared web hosting account.

I guess part of the reason, why freight forwarding industry globally at an SME level lacks web based software and tech, is that to become an ‘expert’ it does not require very high qualification, anyone who can read and type emails.. can be an expert in a span of 2-3 years .. it also happens to be very lucrative, for less qualified middle class individuals.

Highly qualified individuals very rarely choose this industry, because it’s immensely hectic and stressful. So therefore only less qualified individuals stick around… having said that, more qualified folks have very higher chance of career growth in a lesser period of time. If they are able to take stress and pains of this industry.

Sales folks make a lot of money, most of them got elevated from a peon level … but they are making more money than a more qualified person in another industry …

I had only accidentally got into this business at an age of 17, because my father who ran this business, at that time, had badly needed my assistance, and I was the eldest among my siblings… I was only ambitious to be a ‘cricketer’ and play for the national team… at that time.

I guess Trump administration is pissed, we aint’ borrowing anything from them, and yet surviving, we are always broke 😐, and borrowing money hasn’t been a concern for our country, we can get billions from 🇸🇦 Saudi, however we avoid it for they will drag us in their unwanted wars, we still shield them against any provocation .. but don’t participate in their any aggressive endeavour., i.e in Yemen.

Now we have 🇨🇳 China, who is not only investing $60 Billions in the infrastructure but also lending us tons of money.

A pragmatic diplomatic strategy works with both the passive and aggressive approach, but Trump administration has their passive mode permanently deactivated.

Lately Mr. Trump even took a jab at Queen Elizabeth., 😱 it literally brought me down to tears 😭, she is a too old woman. I knew he’d take his trump-baby-blimp revenge from the holy lady, when he gets back home, and he just did that.

Folks! I can’t emphasize enough 😐  .. email subject is the most sacred space on the whole worldwide web or wwww .. a lot of of ‘important’ emails get buried under the mountain of threads and loops because their subject is ‘shipment inquiry’ or ‘shipment from China’ when you are coping with hundreds of emails on a daily basis, it’s more likely you are going to prioritise emails by their subject.

An email with a subject ‘shipment ID number from China by Customer Name shipment Mode shipment weight volume’ is going to get more attention than merely ‘shipment from China’ I always strive to properly format the subject to help myself., Because I know once it becomes a ‘thread’ everyone is going to follow its subject first typed.

Phuck! Gonna shell out $6000 for a one and half month of container detention 😑, I doubt phucking 🚢 Maersk makes that much off a single container in a whole year. Container Detention is the hidden Gross Profit in a balance sheet.

Ironically the container itself would cost much lower than this. 😐 I guess it’s about time all freight forwarders should transform into a container line NVOCC and grab these profits for themselves., and use these 🚢 steamship lines as a glorified ferry service.

It would require a bit of initial capital investment for licensing and container leasing but I am sure in the 3rd World countries where Customs are overly strict on imports, hence would take much longer in the clearance process, ROI would be 500%, Esp., on the shorter transit times routes.

Oh wait. It’s actually already happening.. freight for an FCL from Dubai to Karachi is hilariously $5 per 20’ and has only 3 days TTime. And an NVOCC makes money off the container detention averaging at $50 to $80 per day.

Success of a ‘PR STUNT’ primarily depends on its viral reach as well as ability to keep the press engaged for as longer period of time as possible. And it has ticked mark the both boxes.

I’m not implying an entrepreneur in the ranks of Musk, would be dependent on that. He is just reckless like most of the self made billionaires. I applaud his efforts regardless of that.

Am I the only one, who writes emails with ‘TOP URGENT’ in the subject on Sunday to ruin people’s weekend.. I sent at least 6 today. I couldn’t hang out and was locked in my room, so basically I had nothing better to do.

Also congratulations 🇫🇷 France. Despite I guess 🇭🇷 Croatia has had almost 70% possession during both halves, but they were unable to make good moves .. demonstrating a bit lack of strategy. Nevertheless it’s remarkable for a country whose population is the size of my neighborhood, making it to the Finals. Well Played.

Science or in particular Biology is not in the business of proving or negating God, it’s just been trying hard to piece together the puzzle of our existence through another riddle called ‘Evolution Theory’. Every now and then we keep learning they have found another missing piece, that would raise even further questions about our ancestors.

I am not gonna lecture you on this absurd stuff, I have little to no interest in biology, I am a batman,. I rather contemplate and then render my strong opinions and sometime even take action on them.

Anyhow, a friend of mine, happens to own a lion, a grown up pet lion. And I have always cherished a pet lion of my own. But here is a little problem. I am a coward. Before you laugh your arses off, Hey! Who isn’t … anyhow, so it was a setback, and I inadvertently made a wish to ‘evolution’ why Lion could not have the natural instincts of a ‘Lamb’ or a ‘Horse’ …  so I would have comfortably adopted it., and riding it all day long without wetting my pants.

So today during the morning shower, I was contemplating the coincidence between the lion’s physical appearance and its natural instincts. Which are both awful. He is the worst predator and he looks like one. That’s why people generally call him the ‘King of the Animals’ due to his majestic physical appearance as well as being the strongest predator. So let’s chalk it up to ‘natural selection’?

It’s a parent’s nightmare: A 5-year-old boy in Overland Park, Kansas, knocked over and broke an artwork displayed in a community center. But it wasn’t just any artwork: It was a one-of-a-kind mosaic sculpture worth $132,000.

Holy Moly! Here is the image of the deceased art work IMG. Fortunate enough for the parents, they are not going to pay for it, it either is going to be recovered from the insurance company or the taxpayer money.

Anyhow, I have always opposed the idea of bringing kids along, I would keep my precious assets, like an iPhone under my strict watch, whenever these little turmoil-wreak-havoc-blokes are around my place.

The Trump administration on Friday escalated a trade war between the world’s two largest economies, moving ahead with tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese goods and provoking an immediate tit-for-tat response from Beijing.

These countries are fighting back, drawing up retaliatory measures that go after products in Mr. Trump’s political base. China’s response was swift on Friday, focusing on $50 billion worth of American goods including beef, poultry, tobacco and cars.

The moves could damp economic growth that has been stoked by the administration’s tax cuts — though the overall effects are likely to be limited because of the small size of the tariffs relative to the American economy. But in a few industries that are heavily affected, the pain could be substantial. Economists say the tariffs will drive up prices for American consumers purchasing products at retail stores as well as for businesses that depend on China for parts used to make other goods in the United States.

Imposing tariffs can only have desired results, if a country has the potential to produce the end consumer goods, without leading to an inflation for its own middle class consumers.

Generally levying tariffs on Chinese products results in consumers paying more than having any tangible effects on the growth of the local industries and employment., especially in a country like United States, where labor wages and cost of doing of business exceed far more than the most part of the world and Asia.

Further Reading:

U.S. President Donald Trump’s new trade tariffs will lop at most a couple of tenths of a percentage point off U.S. growth and add a similar amount to inflation, small fry for a $19 trillion economy that is experiencing its second longest economic expansion on record.

American consumers and businesses have taken the tariffs in their stride and the growing economy has brought in more workers, pushing unemployment down to levels not seen since the 1960s. The costs have been manageable so far, with Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross saying the metals tariff, for example, will add a few hundred dollars to the cost of a car.

According to Reuters, it isn’t going to have a significant impact for an enormous $19 trillion economy., however at the end of the article they make a subtle cautious note too.

Trump’s expansion of unilateral trade action goes well beyond recent actions from the United States. Before Trump acted, the biggest measure was imposed in the 1980s when Washington forced Japan to limit exports of cars.

Trump’s top trade negotiator, Robert Lighthizer, was instrumental in that deal, which helped shield Detroit automakers from Japanese competition, but at a cost.

According to an estimate from economic think tank PERC, the additional sticker price cost to American consumers from those measures was $1,200 per car. Overall consumer losses from the restrictions amounted to $13 billion, the think tank said in a 1999 report.

So far, we can conclude that it may not have as remarkable economic significance as it appears, however, it might deteriorate the political relationship with China, as well as leave EU allies and Canada with a bad taste in the mouth.

And Mexico sadly does not even count, neither as a friend nor a foe., the most recent precedent set by White House is to simply turn a deaf ear to their uproar, resulting from the emotional distress and lack of respectful behaviour from the administration.

Further Reading: 

In Iowa, where farmers raise 40 million to 50 million pigs annually, President Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminum from Mexico have already cost producers $560 million, according to an Iowa State University economist. How can that be, you ask. Mexico has threatened countervailing tariffs that include a 20 percent tariff on American pork. That prospect alone sent hog prices tumbling. If you like barbecued ribs, this could be a great summer for you. If you raise the pigs, you may be eating more barbecued beans.

Me wonders, is it merely coincidental or China did really figure it out, how to troll Mr. Trump and his voters, I would rather chalk it up to ‘misfortune’ and ‘bad karma’¹.

1. The meaning of bad karma is activities including casting a vote in favor of someone disdained by the liberal media, that result in suffering. What is the meaning of a bad karma? www.quora.com

Sundar Pitchai, Google CEO

We want to be clear that while we are not developing AI for use in weapons, we will continue our work with governments and the military in many other areas. These include cybersecurity, training, military recruitment, veterans’ healthcare, and search and rescue. These collaborations are important and we’ll actively look for more ways to augment the critical work of these organizations and keep service members and civilians safe.

To many it was a horribly shocking revelation, that Google has been working with Pentagon¹ to develop military related AI, that not only resulted in a PR backlash but also a dozen of employees leaving the company². Stealing our privacy and placing tracking cookies on our hard drives is one thing, making an AI that possibly can get us laid to rest for good is quite another. 😐

In the wake of the PR disaster, it’s a bit relieving to see them setting the ‘principles’ for themselves moving forward. However they are going to work with ‘military’ in many ‘other areas’ regardless of that., that honestly still does not settle well with me.

1. Google to drop Pentagon AI contract after employee objections to the ‘business of war’ www.washingtonpost.com

2. Google employees quit over controversial Pentagon work nypost.com