Real Cheap To Borrow, Where's The Catch?

I just received a call from my bank, luring me to accept an instant loan from them.

Knowing the economic equations, Banks always try their hardest to turn us into debtors and why on earth would I want to bear more debts than I should?

With the inflation rate staying at levels above the deposit rate, there really is a strong incentive for consumers like us to spend rather than to save. So this time, I thought why not and I listened patiently and waited for the catch.

USD100,000 Loan
USD400 interest per month
Repayment spread across 6 months

Where's the catch?

In an essay at the website of the monetary authority, it reads: "Generally speaking, negative real interest rate is an abnormal phenomenon that has implications for economic and financial stability. Given a choice, we'd prefer not to have negative real interest rates."

We don't have a choice, do we? Hong Kongers are bounded by the currency peg and must keep our interest rates low as the U.S., troubled by the fallout of the credit crisis, is cutting the cost of money to stave off a recession.

The catch is, we are currently in a negative real interest rate era. Be warned!

What Do They Have In Common?

Ratatouille (2007)
Cars (2006)
The Incredibles (2004)
Finding Nemo (2003)
Monsters, Inc. (2001)
Toy Story 2 (1999)
A Bug's Life (1998)
Toy Story (1995)

1. They share the same screenplay/story writer, Producer & Studio
2. I have watched all of them first time in cinema
3. Subsequently 3 times at least on DVD

Statistics tells me it will be no exception for WALL·E (2008).

USB Drive For The Paranoid

One of my USB Thumb Drives decided to wander away and I have not yet found it.

While I am still thinking where I misplaced it, or could it have actually been kidnapped, I came across this little neat invention.

Look at it -- it is a USB flash drive that's designed to resemble a torn cable.

Now, who on earth is going to steal a gadget which looks like nothing more than a slashed cable? Should replace my encryption-enabled thumb drive with one of these. Wicked.

Mao Off The Note

These people queued for days and are willing to pay hundred times higher than the face value of 10 yuan to obtain a newly issued bank note from the People's Bank of China.


You know why?


Mao's off the bills, replaced by a birdsnest.

Can I Unplug My Refrigerator At Home?

The refrigerator is very much considered to be a "must-have" appliance at home and on average, it accounts for more than 20% of the energy consumption per household per month.

A crazy thought came to mind today exploring the possibility of doing without one at home.

I am thinking for a second - it might not be as crazy as it sounds, and could well work for me.

Assumptions:

• I live in a city with 24-hours convenience stores just round the corner (cold drinks and frozen food easily within reach)
  
• I consume raw, perishable food (supposedly no overnight storage needed)
• I can survive without the indulgence of high saturated fat (such as butter, mayonnaise, peanut butter, cheesecakes, ice cream)
• I can live without the need to entertain guests (with chilled wine/ice wine/champaign)

This act is by no means in an attempt to conserve the environment nor save up elec bill. I just think this piece of under-utilised appliance is actually taking up too much of a space in my flat.

When you think about it, almost all other electrical appliances have some sort of technological advancement in the past decade that changes your life and somehow refrigerators remain as refrigerator and nothing more than a refrigerator.

I would hope to see some network attached to it and intelligence built-in in the near future, so I can abandon the thought of abandoning the poor thing.

An Internet Freak Without Internet

I usually start and end my day with my fingers at the switch of the computer. My daily routines will include accessing the internet to check emails, be fed by rss feeds; chat with friends, play games, not to mention the hours spent on googling odd facts, and basically just wasting time by staying online.

Last night was supposed to be like another nights, but internet failed to connect. I have eliminated all the usual suspects and possible root causes, freaking frustrated as I should be with a solution yet to be found.

Can anyone imagine a night without internet access? I tell you, that is considered hell to someone who demanded the internet service provider be the first to move into a new flat - even before Santa Fe movers got in and Electricity/Gas installed.

I'd like to know how others would have felt when their internet was off for no reasons.

A Wild Card Surprise

Zheng Jie was the first Chinese to reach a Grand Slam semi-final in history and I am so thrilled.

She got into Wimbledon this year only because she was given a wild card. However, she has justified that by beating four seeds on her way to the semi-final clash with Serena. Her baseline bashes were awesome!!

Would definitely support her all the way, I have had enough of the Apes - The Williams sisters!

Changing Attitudes for the 1st, 2nd & 3rd Baby

I came across the below on my friend's blog and I just can't help but want to share with all my dear friends who are mothers and fathers - I assure you will nod your heads and smile as you read.


Your Clothes
1st baby: You begin wearing maternity clothes as soon as your OB/GYN confirms your pregnancy.
2nd baby: You wear your regular clothes for as long as possible.
3rd baby: Your maternity clothes ARE your regular clothes.

Preparing for the Birth
1st baby: You practice your breathing religiously.
2nd baby: You don't bother because you remember that last time, breathing didn't do a thing.
3rd baby: You ask for an epidural in your eighth month.

The Layette
1st baby: You pre-wash newborn's clothes, color-coordinate them, and fold them neatly in the baby's little bureau.
2nd baby: You check to make sure that the clothes are clean & discard only the ones with the darkest stains.
3rd baby: Boys can wear pink, can't they?

Worries
1st baby: At the first sign of distress--a whimper, a frown--you pick up the baby.
2nd baby: You pick the baby up when her wails threaten to wake your firstborn.
3rd baby: You teach your three-year-old how to rewind the mechanical swing.

Diapering
1st baby: You change your baby's diapers every hour, whether they need it or not.
2nd baby: You change their diaper every two to three hours, if needed.
3rd baby: You try to change their diaper before others start to complain about the smell or you see it sagging to their knees.

Activities
1st baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics, Baby Swing, and Baby Story Hour.
2nd baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics.
3rd baby: You take your infant to the supermarket and the dry cleaner.

Going Out
1st baby: The first time you leave your baby with a sitter, you call home five times.
2nd baby: Just before you walk out the door, you remember to leave a number where you can be reached.
3rd baby: You leave instructions for the sitter to call only if she sees blood.

At Home
1st baby: You spend a good bit of every day just gazing at the baby.
2nd baby: You spend a bit of everyday watching to be sure your older child isn't squeezing, poking, or hitting the baby.
3rd baby: You spend a little bit of every day hiding from the children.

Pacifier
1st baby: If the pacifier falls on the floor, you put it away until you can go home and wash and boil it.
2nd baby: When the pacifier falls on the floor, you squirt it off with some juice from the bottle.
3rd baby: You wipe it off on your shirt and pop it back in.

Swallowing Coins
1st child: when first child swallows a coin, you rush the child to the hospital and demand x-rays.
2nd child: when second child swallows a coin, you carefully watch for the coin to pass.
3rd child: when third child swallows a coin you deduct it from his allowance!!

Babies Meet The Aunts II

Too Much "Sex N The City" Lately

Right, since I have a date with the girls this Friday for the Movie "Sex And The City", I have been doing some last minute catch up with the gossips in Season 6 which I missed.

Swallowed too many episodes in 1 go before bed, resulting in the weirdest dream last night and the oddest thing was - I could remember subtle details of the dream.


I was in a wedding and I recalled literally word by word, the first paragraph of the wedding speech by the bride and....that bride was me and no, I ain't gonna tell you who the bridegroom was.

Readers must think I am desperate in getting wed and hence the dream. OK, fair enough, now I am blaming on the "Too Much Sex N The City Lately".

How I wish I could just write "Too Much Sex Lately", crossing out all the words in between "Sex" & "Lately".

Battles Amongst the Brits on Technological Advancement

After having dug to a depth of 10 meters last year, Scottish scientists found traces of copper wire dating back 100 years and came to the conclusion that their ancestors already had a telephone network more than 100 years ago.

Not to be outdone by the Scots, in the weeks that followed, English scientists dug to a depth of 20 meters, and shortly after, headlines in the newspapers read: "English archaeologists have found traces of 200 year old copper wire and have concluded that their ancestors already had an advanced high-tech communications network a hundred years earlier than the Scots."

One week later, "The Kerryman," a southwest Irish newsletter, reported the following: "After digging as deep as 30 meters in peat bog near Tralee , Paddy O'Droll, a self taught archeologist, reported that he found absolutely nothing.

Paddy has therefore concluded that 300 years ago Ireland had already gone wireless."

Steve Jobs Says

It's an era where people listen to whatever Steve Jobs says and rush to purchase the "iWhatever" being pushed to the market. That is - virtually anything from Apple with an "i" in front will sell.

"For just $199, you can get your hands on a 3G iPhone in 22 countries in a month's time," said Jobs.

"It's amazingly zippy," Jobs said

"It also has built-in GPS," Steve added

"The new iPhone is thinner than the previous version," claimed Jobs.

Now this is where you need to be careful. Cuz I have been reading the specs - Although the new iPhone is a bit lighter (4.7 ounces vs. 4.8 ounces) and feels a little less bulky in the hand, it's technically thicker and longer than the older version. It is only thinner at the edges!!

Did Steve say that?

Wundervoll Anne-Sophie Mutter

Just came back from a fascinating performance, indulged the evening in the masterful Violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter with the Trondheim Soloists.

Programme started with the Divertimento by Bartok performed by the innovative Trondheim Soloists, followed by Concerto in E major by Bach, and then came the highlight of the show with Vivaldi’s timeless Four Seasons Concerto.

Like always, she was technically flawless in her crispy passagework tonight. Wundervoll!!

My Ferrari Lunch Today

Joke of The Day

仔︰阿爸，我點解會黎到呢個世界上面既??
爸 (上網中)︰遲少少先講你知好嘛??

仔︰爸爸，點解唔而家講呀?? 你講左先啦…
爸 (似回憶起一段憾事)︰好啦好啦，你聽清楚喇…

有 一日，當你阿爸阿媽兩個嚮房入面上網果陣，你阿爸 connect 左入去你阿媽度，跟住你阿媽重嚮我支 memory stick 度 download 左 D 野。當爸爸 upload 完 D 野之後，我地先發現原來我無 set 到firewall，你阿媽又無裝到anti-virus。果陣我想 delete 番既時候已經太遲，所以九個月之後你就黎到呢個世界喇，阿仔你明唔明呀…??

仔：哦~ 原來我是病毒.......

If I Vanish From The Earth

For those who know me, they know I am from Mars, I don't really belong on Earth.

For those who really know me, they would have heard me say many times, if I died one day and rot in the house, I don't think anyone will come to notice for at least a few days.

Most probably, my boss would be the first to get suspicious after leaving me dozens of unanswered phone calls and unreturned voicemails on day 1. Obviously, I couldn't have shown up at work on day 2 either, nor did I call in sick on day 3.

Would my family know? Well, according to the logic above, my boss will try to find out from HR on day 3 if I have indeed left them an emergency number which is buried somewhere in my employee record, if so, my boss can then contact my family. If I have given them a false number at the first place (never quite get to cross check that all these years), then - sorry no luck...might delay another day or two to find my rotten corpse.

I wonder if anyone would care if I vanish from this time in space - for 5 days.

Mariah Carey: Bye Bye

1 rule fits all: You may not like Mariah Carey, but you would like her music.

This one is from her latest E=MC²

Although the single appears to be about her deceased father, she wrote this song about death to be for anybody 'who just lost somebody'.

Jan's Talkshow Encore Always On

Although it has only been 3 months ago since the last show and having known most of the stuff will be a repeat, I still look forward terribly to this one with great anticipation as I know - Jan won't let his audience down.



He performed more naturally last night, carried a bit more flare than the last and physically much fitter, pumped up his volume with a noticeable "6-pack".

I had slight complaints about the last show. How about this time? Well...


Souvenir: A bit better (at least wearable) - thanks to McDonalds.
Songs: Still too long
Show: Far too short, never enough I guess.

Pop Concerts Brimming In Hong Kong

Hong Kong has fast become a popular venue for International entertainers and as a citizen, I am very proud of all the happenings here in town.


The music scene in the past year or so has been brimming over with pop concerts offering fans of every stripe of precious musical moments.

I have jotted down all the International stars that have graced the stage in Hong Kong from the beginning of 2008 and took note of the upcoming ones I am aware of. How I wish I could attend all of them!

January

• My Chemical Romance The Black Parade Tour Live in Hong Kong 2008

February

• Björk The Volta Tour Live in Hong Kong 2008
• Backstreet Boys Live in Hong Kong

March

• The World's Greatest Tenor Plácido Domingo Live in Hong Kong 2008
• SANTANA - Live Your Light 2008 Tour
• INCUBUS Live in Hong Kong - Light Grenades Tour 2008
• Maroon 5 "It Won't Be Soon Before Long" Tour - Live in Hong Kong

April

• Duran Duran Live In Hong Kong

May

• Kenny G "Rhythm and Romance" Live in Hong Kong
• James Blunt Live in Hong Kong 2008
• We will Rock You
• Elton John Rocket Man Tour - Live in Hong Kong
• The Click Five - Modern Minds & Pastimes World Tour 2008, Hong Kong

June

• ABBA ARRIVAL - The MAMMA MIA Concert

July

• Alicia Keys As I am Hong Kong 2008

The Maths Anxiety I Have

Maths. Does mention of the word make you run the other way or raise your hairs at the back of your neck?

It has always been the case for me and the fear is more severe as I get older. Let me site an example:

There are 3 kinds of people in this world: Those that can count, and those that can't.


I began to learn there is a so called "Maths Anxiety Syndrome". How do you know if you are a sufferer?

Well, if you go out of your way to avoid anything to do with calculations or solving problems with numbers, then those are probably enough to constitute maths anxiety symptoms.

The good news is, I know I am not alone as fear of maths is more widespread than I thought, at least Google returns over 463,000 hits for "maths anxiety". That's a comfort to know.

The bad news is - I realised Maths has become a true divider in our society. In the past it was gender and class-based segregation. However, recent international renowned reports show that students from higher socio-economic backgrounds still have a distinct advantage in maths.

So hating maths is not so clever and definitely not a sound strategy at parties nowadays to say 'Oh, I was never any good at maths'. No one should go buy that T-shirt that has "I failed Maths" printed at the back.

Let’s stop maths bashing - This is for my own good.

The Good & The Bad of The Cybershot

Scanning back My Cell Phone Chronicle, life expectancies of my handsets are dropping drastically. An indication of its QC or simply due to a higher tendency to switch?

Anyhow, my previous camera phone decided to retire early, so here comes its new replacement.

The Good
My new luminous green Sony Ericsson K850i Cybershot has everything to become a true camera phone just as its predecessor K810i, only this time perfected with a higher resolution digital camera, 5 megapixels, automatic lens cover, Auto focus plus a xenon flash - enabling optimal satisfaction to lure serious camera phone user and impress picture snapper like me.

The Not So Bad
Though the nevigation and key pad designs aren't up to par, its Auto Rotate feature is making iPhone's less unique. I can simply move the handset vertically & horizontally and the image on the screen will toggle between portrait & landscape mode.

The Bad
It has the most bizzard accessory on offer - a magnetic adhesive add-on wide-angle lens! Now that's a nuisance cuz firstly, you won't bother putting that on when you do snapshots. Secondly, you would not want to spoil the stylish design with that lens sticking out from the glassy finishing, or would you?

Don't You Just Love & Hate Ronaldo?

The UEFA Cup Final never lack a moment of excitement, from the 26th minute Man Utd went ahead with Cristiano Ronaldo's superb header, to the deadly penalty shootout capped with thrills.


Many fans, like me, share a love-hate relationship with the 22-year old Ronaldo. Last night I placed bet on him as first goaler, loved him for his precision but hated him for how he missed his penalty wide and put the whole team at risk.

Didn't regret staying up all night for the Champions League Final and be able to witness how my all time favourite club snapped home the trophy for their 3rd time in UEFA Cup history.

Thoroughly enjoyed it.

English Heavyweights Out To Make History

Who will take this cup back home tonight?

Man Utd seeking their third triumph while Chelsea has never made it this far before.

10 days since the Premier League campaign closed, Chelsea and Man Utd cannot wait to resume a rivalry that has outgrown their domestic game.

The European title is at stake for the 2 teams who have been English champions twice apiece in the last four years.

My placed bets:
1) Ronaldo to score the first goal
2) 2 goals in 90-mins

This is the only reason I am still up at this hour, anxiously waiting for the UEFA Finals in Moscow to kick-off in about 45 minutes time, played in front of 69,500 fans inside the stadium and a television audience of millions including myself.

A Collective Cry of Grief

This afternoon at 2:28pm, exactly one week after the magnitude 8.0 earthquake destroyed so many lives and communities, China asked its 1.2 billion people to observe three minutes of silence before sounding their car, truck, train, ship and air-raid horns in a collective cry of grief.

China also said it would order all flags to be flown at half staff and would suspend for three days the Olympic torch relay. China's missions around the world also were advised to observe the tributes and to offer condolence books for those who wished to express their sympathies. For the mourning period, the State Council, or Cabinet, also ordered all websites to remove entertainment and game sections and redirect users to pages dedicated to victim commemoration.

Yesterday, it raised the death toll to 32,476 in what has become a daily grim ritual of moving 3,000 to 4,000 from the missing column to the dead column. As health concerns intensified and aid poured in from across China and the world, the three days of mourning will commemorate the likely 50,000 deaths from this massive earthquake.

The Catastrophic Quake

A Chinese proverb has it that “heaven is high and the emperor is far away.” Beijing responded swiftly to the catastrophe to prove this saying wrong.

Premier Wen - a geologist by training, was at the scene of the earthquake in Dujiangyan, 15 miles from the epicenter, within 6 hours.

Did you know how long it took U.S. President Bush to visit the devastation of Hurricane Katrina? 4 days. Relatively impressive as it seems but...halt.

Although Wen and his military arm's swift response represented a genuine effort to rush aid to those in need, will he and local governments care to address the underlying issues of irresponsible construction and uncontrolled growth that may have indirectly led to the deaths of scores of children in Dujiangyan school, built only 10 years ago?

I read an analyst commenting the economic impact being limited, because the epicenter of the quake, Wenchuan county of Sichuan province has limited industrial and agriculture production.

For crying out loud, how about the ever-increasing death toll reported? They could have been the pillars of China's future economy!

If economic growth remains the standard by which Chinese political decisions are measured, I think the government must find itself engaged in a perpetual clean-up mission before anything else.

The Bucket List

Spooky as it seems but I felt I was being "summoned" to watch this movie on my way back from Shanghai. Morgan + Jack, can't disappoint, so I watched on.

As I did, I began thinking about my own mortality and also my best friend's, pondering wistfully about her then imminent doom and what things she might want to do before she died.

The climax of the movie has to be the moment when both terminally ill men stood at the top of Egypt’s pyramid and Morgan told the story of how the Egyptian myth goes about gaining entry into heaven. The custodians of the gate would ask two questions to decide who qualified for heaven:

“Did you find joy in your life?” and,
“Did your life bring joy to others?”

I will never regret spending any length of time with her, tried my best to bring joy to her last demise days in the ward. Indeed her last few months were my best. She changed my life and I didn’t know it then, but she knew.

She is now trying hard to show me again the river to happiness or what Morgan referred to as "Joy in life". Perhaps, I should really let faith decide, not my brain.

My present to Mom at Mothers Day

It wasn't the flight ticket for a weekend in Shanghai nor was it a dinner in a posh restaurant this year.

I came to realize nothing compares to a simple family get-together and a flash back of an appreciation in life. The warmth that these gatherings generate are priceless and can get you through the coldest winters and the toughest days.

Thinking about the earthquake that has destroyed tens of thousands of families in mainland China, reunion for them could never happen ever again.

My present to mother is just to let her know that I am grateful for her proper up-bringing which led me to become who I am today. In return, I have demonstrated trustworthiness, great independence and uphold integrity in mind throughout the years. With that, I can be off-loaded from her heavy shoulders of responsibilities so she has 1 less member of the family to worry about.

I want her to be proud of that, because I am.

Some day, not for long, I hope my sister and father can say the same to my mom too.

The Unspeakable Stress in Shanghai

I have never had a sound impression of the city of Shanghai, from my leisure 3-day get-away, or from a busy week of work-related schedules.

To me, this place always have an interesting blend with communism and capitalism; traditional and modern; classical and quirky. These stark contrasts, have constantly proved to be too much for me to handle. I was told the art of searching the right balance in these, holds the key to living there, or else one could end up having "Unspeakable Stress" and at the end, fail to survive in the metropolis.

I hereby site some examples of my own experience in my recent visit.

Unspeakable Cultural Stress
It was not difficult to find KFC, Starbucks and McDonalds throughout corners of the major streets, however, I still can't find rear seat belts in taxi or a civilized or safe pedestrian crossing anywhere.

Unspeakable Heritage Stress
Even though hundred year-old buildings have been swallowed up by multi-billion dollar architectural icons, you can still witness human powered bicycle carts carrying loads and loads of goods to market - in a city that runs a magnetic levitation train traveling at speeds that exceed 400 km/h.

Unspeakable Geographical Stress
Shanghai is growing so rapidly that each time I went, a part of the older sections of the city would be completely demolished, making way for modernization. In order to get around, my advice is not to rely on your old map used 6-months ago.

I fully support my sis's career move to Shanghai how ever much I dislike the city. I really hope it is the journey that enriches her life experience, more so than the destination itself.

Who Becomes A Torchbearer Really Matters

The Olympic torch relay is happening in Hong Kong today and it will show the rest of the world what the China's world city is like in the 11th year after its return to the motherland. The fact that Sportsmen represent only about one third of the 120 torchbearers in the first leg of the torch's trip back in China tells you something unique about Hong Kong.

There is an apparent reason for allowing the celebrities from the city's glamorous entertainment industry, businessmen, lawmakers and politicians to make up the majority of the torchbearer team here in Hong Kong as the local government is consciously trying to portray a positive image of our city.

With a result-oriented play - The city today will be guaranteed worldwide attention, non-stop broadcasts and positive images that consist of seas of crowds wearing red, and with overwhelming participation of fans and citizens waving as the torch relay unfolds today.



To the rest of the world, what they will see is nothing but support, unity, friendship, peace - that's what matters, who cares who holds the torch!

Mobile Phone Anti-theft Software

I came across some mobile phone anti-theft softwares and its quite amazing what can be done these days.



Virtual Mobile Security (VMS)

In a nutshell, it is a solution that protects all the information on the phone, including photos, videos, phonebook and SMS. It can retrieve all the numbers on your lost phone via an SMS and can track down the location of the lost phone & monitor the mobile phone call.

And to make things really uncomfortable for the mobile phone thief, here's the cool part of it, the VMS software also activates the loudspeaker when the phone ‘owner’ calls. Worse still, the owner of the phone can listen to all the calls made by him/her and have a record of all the calls made by the person.

All these come for a one-time fee, the article didn't say how much.

Lost Mobile Tracking Software (LMTS)

It notifies predefined numbers about the contact number and the GSM tower of the person holding your stolen phone as he/she changes the SIM card. The notification will be sent to a cellphone via a message and to 2 email addresses registered at the time of downloading this software. Pretty neat but again, this software comes for an annual fee.

The concept is just like the in-build mobile tracker in some of the Samsung mobile phones in the market, but only neater. It could only translate to some serious business potential there!

A Match That Lived Up To Its Billing

Not only it was a huge game for the Blues, and saw them draw level with Utd and behind only on goal difference, the game was filled with thrills throughout.

Unexpected Setting:

1. Plenty of seats for choice in C.C.C., at the start of the match
2. Caviar + Coffee + 46 inch LCD + Dad, not the best combination but, best I could get
   

Unexpected 1st half:

1. After those two Champions League stalemates, I witnessed an aggressive Chelsea
   
2. Ballack's plunging header, was dedicated to Lambard who's mourning his mother's dead (well done, German).
   

Unexpected 2nd half:

1. Utd came back, but the equalizer was a gift sent from the usually faultless Carvalho!
2. Drogba & Ballack argued over who should take a free-kick which drew attention to non-footballing matters more than anything
   
3. Ferguson took a huge risk by not starting C.Ronaldo at Stamford Bridge

Utd can't afford to lose no more, not against Barcelona, West Ham and Wigan and I certainly look forward to seeing more matches that live up to its billing.

Just For The Sound Of It

I went out to play my first round of the summer 9-hole yesterday (and really for only like the first time in about 2 years). I took a look at my aunt's driver and I'm like, holy shit, that thing makes Big Bertha look like Mini Bertha and my own set just looks so prehistoric!

So, my aunt allowed me to indulge and I gave it a few cracks. Not only is the driver gigantic, it's super-lite and incredibly balanced and forgiving at off-centre. I hit fairway on about 5 out of 8 drives and the "ting" sound from each of them was just too fantastic. Not only that, I'm pretty sure those were farther than I've ever hit a golf ball in my life and that felt soooooo good.

Man, how are these things legal, when sweet spot on mine is about the size of a dime! Don't you just love the technology and R&D in it?

Man Utd 2-1 Arsenal

It was an important and nervous match for both clubs at Old Trafford yesterday, which incented me to watch it live with my dad, also a fun way to spend his birthday too, I thought why not? However, my dinner ended at 1030pm, and we ordered a heavy supper at 11pm wasn't the ideal, really.

Man Utd didn't play well despite, I would say they won marginally by sheer luck as Arsenal had solid defence and saw some aggressive attacks from time to time. None from United!

Midfielder Owen Hargreaves' superb free-kick did bring the team alive, I was so glad it was Hargreaves who did it and not Ronaldo. Giggs could have joined the match earlier to put some formatting into the team, but instead he came in at 89 minutes for a spin on the right wing and that was it.

After yesterday's match at Old Trafford, Arsenal is now trailing 9 points behind the red devils, Man Utd 6 points clear of Chelsea. If Utd now win their next Premier League game at Blackburn then it raises the possibility that Sir Alex Ferg's side can wrap up the title when they travel to Stamford Bridge to play Chelsea on 26 April. However, for Wenger (and Debbie my friend) there is only a profound sense of loss after what had looked such a promising season for his young team all but fizzled out completely, especially given his side had been knocked out of the Champions League by Liverpool in midweek.

Debbie my friend, I think I can declare totally victory now, and don't cry!

Ask Me About London

People used to ask me where to dine, what to do, where to go in London as I was termed the "Brits Fanatic".

Well, not any more as I came to realise I have not visited the city for the last couple of years and things have changed.

Good to learn the change is for the better though.

My friend who just returned from the city last week, gave me these virtues:

"Wonderful weather throughout the week, my rain gear was quite an nuisance."

"The Underground and subways are so nice & clean, well maintained and no rats!"

"Far too many foreigners, I didn't come across no Queen's language at all."


I said, what?
Are you sure that's London you went?
Nonetheless, something has to remain intact.

"Nothing is non-expensive out there."

"English Food is crap apart from Fish & Chips, chocolate and Jacket potatoes."

"High Street shops still close by 5:30pm."

"It's the pubs, monuments, parks, museums, art galleries, musicals theatres and the historic remains which shape the attractions for London and make it unique."

Chop chop...let's go to London. Anyone wanna join me?

Felt

My first time to purchase a piece of cloth in my entire life and to be precise, it's a piece of felt.

Why would I want to do that? Definitely not for the obvious reason.

Here's a clue.

It's a green piece of felt - the 4th roll from the Left.

Proximity Communication

Proximity Communication - a technology developed by Sun Microsystems' Laboratories, which involves placing silicon parts close to each other and communicating WIRELESSLY.


If several chips can be taken and make them behave like one large chip from an electrical and signal timing perspective, what will happen is a whole different ball game. Because in the span of processor development history, speeds have improved up to 4,000% yet I/O speeds have only managed to improve by a factor of just 10 to 15.

Proximity communication is thought to be the solution to catapult I/O speeds into the stratosphere and can greatly improve the speed of applications requiring high-performance compute power, such as weather modeling, car-crash simulations or medical simulations. Such technological innovation is so ingeniously displayed, reducing the need for big on-chip caches, freeing up huge real estate.

I wonder if proximity communication can be applied to humanity as we mankind is not advancing in terms of face-to-face, day-to-day communications when you think about it.

Won't be long before human CPUs are captivated by computer processors. We gotta act fast before extinction.

Bus 11

Been taking Bus 11 home for 2 days.

1 Mile = 1.6km

4 Miles = 6.4km

4 Miles in 70Mins which works out 5.486km/h. Sure I can beat that.

Have You Got 4 Minutes?

Latest heat wave produced by Madonna featuring Justin Timberlake in just 4 minutes.

Cracking Da Vinci Code for Kindergartens

There’s no question that there’s a crushing demand and supply imbalance for the top-tier Kindergartens in town, entrée to which seemingly assures future success for junior and unrivaled cachet right now for the poor Mom and Dad.


My dear friends, if you aren't a doctor nor a lawyer, don't live in the posh areas such as The Peak or Repulse Bay, don't despair. Please take a deep breath now as you read. You will realize that many kindergartens, far from second choices, could provide a better experience for your kids. You’ll discover that you can be much more in control of the process than you’d believed possible.

In fact, I think the panic and excitement over kindergarten admissions is analogous to, say, half of Hong Kong trying to squeeze into the same hyper trendy nightclubs on a Saturday night. Sure, you want to go to DRAGON I or DROP and would love to brag to your friends about you standing next to a superstar, but really would you feel bad if you didn’t?

Wanna say good luck to you and I am certain you have done what's best you could for your child, so don't feel too bad if you have to resort to your second choice.

Btw, I presumed you already know that there's an aptitude test used by Kindergarten these days. I am truly amazed when I found out and that conveys you - I am not a mom.

A Nostalgic Trip to Stanley

Stanley - a town and a tourist attraction on a peninsula that sits on the southern part of home - a place which was once so familiar to me yet today I have played the role of a total stranger, touring and taking shots as I scrolled down the locality like I have never set foot on it.


My trip began with the elegantly European-style Murray House, the old pier and the adjoining seafront promenade. What a nostalgic reminder of the Colonial-style architecture and a big kudos to the heritage bureau.

I hereby announce Stanley Town as officially qualified to be what you expect a tourist attraction in Hong Kong should be.

Talking about the specialties of Stanley, I just can't neglect the Stanley market - a beehive of tiny shops selling all kinds of things. The last time I went, it was an open-air market, rain drops could easily drip through the derelict caravan canopy, with narrow and uneven pathways everywhere. What I witnessed today was packed as ever, but I am impressed it's now fully sheltered.

Mother and I ended the trip with a hasty afternoon tea at the oldest tea restaurant in Stanley. Being the last 2 customers allowed in, we waited for more than 20 minutes for the reputed French toast to arrive and got kicked out of the place sharp at 5. Needless to say, customer service was most appalling, nevertheless, the French toast was actually quite exceptional in terms of being the closing episode of this chapter to Stanley.

Making Up for Lost Time in Golf

I am prepared to summon my strength to start my golfing regime again but not so vigorously.

I always say, if one could turn back the clock and be teens again with one's existing body, it'd be perfect for golfing.


I still enjoy hitting balls, but if I really have to switch to be a left-hander golfer, it's a lot of work, a lot of sacrifice, a lot of living, breathing, eating this game double-digit hours a week. That's what you lose.

Am I really up for this, or should a lefty keep using her existing MacGregor till she has enough dough to buy PING?

A Pair of Palatable Hiking Shoes

I decided to go hiking in order to welcome the Spring season and the first thing this requires, is in search for suitable footwear for the pastime.

In the past 2 days, I have visited all the leading brands for weather-wear such as Timberland and Columbia and I found nothing to my likings.

I have great hesitation in investing a pair of hiking boots, as like all hiking boots, they are heavy, dull and very ugly. The fact that the pair can't be engaged in any other sports except hiking - is most imperative.

Here comes my final pick - The Bandolier II by Nike

A great priced, lightweight, hiking shoes (not boots). It claims to offer exceptional protection and support for outdoor activities and the waterproof and highly breathable GORE-TEX® XCR® lining provides comfort and protection, by keeping water out while allowing sweat vapor to easily escape.

All the things I wanted plus more. The Atom Red colour - goes with my golf wear too, what a bonus I thought.
Sounds just too good to be true isn't it.

Hiking shoes can be palatable afterall.

Hypothesis: Everyone Has A Hidden Agenda

Hidden agenda means true intentions that are kept secret, plans that are not revealed.

This could well be a Philosophic discussion that can dwell on for pages, but I am hypothetically assuming this is non-exclusive to every living individual on earth, and from that, deduce the fact that everyone has one's own agenda and secret ulterior motives of some sort, somewhere in time.

Would you tend to concur?