The Invisible Hand of...Adam Smith?

Current mythology holds that share prices rise and fall on the basis of market forces alone. And most people probably assume that Adam Smith is still right, i.e. the stock market is free of government interference.

Such sentiments appear to be hugely mistaken and as the Hong Kong government rhetoric continues to toe the free market line, violating the traditional belief in unfettered markets.

I mean, we were being taught that way in Classical Economics school of thought, didn't we? I must have missed a line, lost track, skipped class, something like that.

This is what I called a marketing gimmick

How to make cigarette advertising innovative and less ordinary? You must take a look at how well the Japanese is doing that and let's put aside the moral and the health issues about smoking for the moment.

I am not a smoker, but when my friend presented this little innovation she bought from Japan recently, I was absolutely startled by such tobacco marketing, bewildered by the fact that their brains can construct something so dazingly different yet remarkably stunning.

Stuff like this goes well in Japan, particularly when tobacco is sold in creative packaging, however wasteful it may be. What raises the ire of nanny-stater marketeers like me, is simply the level of creativity you can get in Japan.

Pavarotti's Opera Made Easy - My Favorite Opera for Everyone CD

I remembered dawdling into Hong Kong Records one summer day in 1995, aimlessly looking for something to buy with a HKD100 cash coupon.I thought I could easily settle that with one of Faye Wong's compilations, one which I have accidentally broken in halves, but they ran out of stock.

That brought me to the section of classical music, and ultimately, "Pavarotti's Opera Made Easy - My Favorite Opera for Everyone" CD was the item I checked out with. The apparent reason I chose that CD was firstly, it was just over $100, secondly simply because the critics was claiming the tenor to be "The best ever, no one quite like him".

After all these years, the one that caught my attention out of the Three Tenors is the less famous Plácido Domingo. His live performance of the song "Perhaps Love" has become my all time favourite lullaby.I want to thank Luciano's huge existence, without him, I would not come to learn to appreciate operas.

It is a sorrow to hear yet another helpless story of a Cancer case. With Pancreatic cancer, it is usually fatal with only a 4% 5-year survival rate. Up to 80% of those diagnosed with pancreatic cancer die within the 1st year.

I do believe Luciano will live forever through his magnificant voice, but as his voice finally falls silent, it literally will be the end of the "Three Tenor era". However, this CD I have, might be worth thrice as much!

Below is the lovely lyrics of the song Perhaps Love, one that has really caught me and my tears.

Perhaps love is like a resting place

A shelter from the storm

It exists to give you comfort

It is there to keep you warm

And in those times of trouble

When you are most alone

The memory of love will bring you home

Perhaps love is like a window

Perhaps an open door

It invites you to come closer

It wants to show you more

And even if you lose yourself

And don`t know what to do

The memory of love will see you through

Oh, love to some is like a cloud

To some as strong as steel

For some a way of living

For some a way to feel

And some say love is holding on

And some say letting go

And some say love is everything

And some say they don`t know

Perhaps love is like the ocean

Full of conflict, full of pain

Like a fire when it's cold outside

Or thunder when it rains

If I should live forever

And all my dreams come true

My memories of love will be of you

Words and music by John Denver

Hong Kong Losing Charm

I'd pay for anything to watch the world's best player today and the world's best player 10 years ago give 50% effort for a 3 set match...

Can anyone tell me where I can still buy tickets to The Venetian Arena in Macau? I don't wanna be watching live on CCTV5.

Why everything new and interesting are now happening elsewhere? Pete and Roger are going to Seoul and KL before arriving Macao. You can see Hong Kong is fast losing attraction and competitiveness...

second thought...let me take that back.

We should be terribly looking forward to the Olympic equestrian events in 2008, the dressage and show jumping - those really are gonna impress Hongkongers, right? Sorry, no betting for those, said the Hong Kong Jockey Club, and be warned, you better be prepared to get muddy in the soft soil, ruining your Louis Vuitton Sneakers you have on.

Big Bird - A380

The world's largest passenger jet flew over Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour this morning at 8am and this crap photo was all i've managed to capture with my sony ericsson 810i, taken from my office at 66th Floor.

It was nonetheless a breathtaking experience, and I regret not bringing a proper camera.

Old Friends on Facebook

Great Article from TIME Magazine, anticipating how the online networking activities are evolving. And that we've all made the "way-to-go" choice joining the facebook hype now.

Here's the Hyperlink to the Article

The Fundamental Front-Wheel-Drive

A friend of mine drives a Mini Classic Cooper (the exact model and colour that Mr. Bean has) and I told mother how much I wanted one too. I was fascinated to learn that my mom actually owned 2 Morris Mini before. 1 850cc Cooper and 1 Cooper S.

I am even more eager to get one now!

She told me from 1964 to 1967, the Mini was almost unbeatable, cultural icon and fashion statement of the 60s and the Britons proudly presented the industry with a British car manufacturing representation at long last. She told me how she drove to work each day with it, loved it like a baby and how the steering wheel could get absolutely scorching hot in the summer days. Even more interested to hear how my dad crushed the whole car resulted in total loss, and he could ended up hanging in a tree, uninjured.




As to the new BMW MINI, to me is technically unrelated to the old series. It has a cute fitting though 55cm longer, 30cm wider. The new design retains the classic transverse 4 cylinder, front-wheel-drive configuration and many stylistic elements, but it ain't the old Mini, not the Austin Mini, nor the Morris Mini.

Mother added we cannot live life without the fundamentals, and that is uphold integrity, to be honest with ourselves and to others. Just like the New Mini would not become a success should it not has a triumphal predecessor.


The fundamentals are the fundamentals, we cannot attempt to change it. The new BMW Mini might have lots of wicked computerised gadgets, but the good old mechanics are still the fundamentals that drives it.

What Religion Are You?

I haven't yet identified myself with any particular belief system, whether it is philosophy or religion. So far in life, I strive to install and understand lots of different beliefs. What I ended up, is the fact that I’m neither a sincere Christian nor a spiritual Buddhist, but I am not an agnostic too either!

At this point, to me - a spiritual belief is - simply a perspective with which I can choose to view reality. To turn any particular belief into my identity, could it mean, fixing my perspective and thereby - cripple my freedom of thought?

What would you say if your computer decided that it was a word processor and only a word processor and can't handle spreadsheets? The machine would be fulfilling only a fraction of its potential. Can you really be only one or the other? Why not both?

Just as our computers wouldn’t represent themselves as the software it runs, I just can't identify myself as the beliefs I hold in my consciousness. Well not yet, but who knows.

How to keep veggie fresher longer?

4 of us were talking about this topic over lunch, none of us are anywhere near good chefs, but then we were able to pick up pieces of information and advices here and there, and pierce them all together and made us all experts!

There's left-over food on the table and one of us decided to make that her pack-lunch tomorrow, together with veggies left in her fridge since last Sunday!

Last Sunday? We were all amazed...and then she proudly unveiled her little wisdom of life stolen from a colleague.

The secret is to wrap dry veggies in newspapers (yes, good old newspapers, not cling film) and place back into the plastic wrap. She claims this works magic with lettuce and celery.

I couldnt believe it and so the curious me went searching online and confirmed several matches. Due to cleanliness, I'd improve the formula a bit by replacing newspapers with paper towels.

I found out this idea will work with cheese also. After the cheese wrapper is opened, place cheese (with or without wrapper) in zipper sandwich bag and put a paper towel between cheese wrapper and baggie.

Same applies to ice cream to keep off the "frost", simply wad up a paper towel and place inside ice cream containers.

Not that I need it for my haggan daz ice cream at home as the tub is more than often finished before it hit the freezer again! However, what I wanna say is - this is wisdom of life.

Did you know: Your body pH affects everything

As one gets older, we learnt of more sick and illnesses around people you know. Cancer, hyperuricemia, kidney failure are amongst the latest additions to my own friends and family. And the cruel fact of life is, diseases don't only apply to the elderly, it is equally daunting affecting the younger population, quicker than you could imagine.

Recently I've read several articles about balancing the pH as a major step towards well-being and greater health. That's real interesting which added new perspective to my knowledge base.




Back to the pH thing, it states that human blood pH should be slightly alkaline ( 7.35 - 7.45 ) and below this range means disease. An acidic pH can occur due to a lot of factors such as, an acid-forming diet, emotional stress, toxic overload, and/or immune reactions or any process that deprives the cells of oxygen and other nutrients. The body will try to compensate for acidic pH by using alkaline minerals.

I then went through to the list of food which are high in acid-producing and that really implied I should be dead by now! Food such as meat, eggs, poultry, grains, legumes and dairy are definitely to my likings and alkaline-producing foods like fresh vegetables are ones I consume less.

Here's a list for those interested in getting a glimpse of the common alkalizing and acidifying foods. Hopefully, this is not too alarming and be of use to you.

Prison Break Season 3?

The answer to the question that has been on every prison break fan’s lips is here. Yes - there will be a season 3 upcoming in Sept 2007 - 5 months after the season 2 finale and 1 more month for those who choose to wait.

And I heard for once Michael Scofield will not be the man with the plan - Can't wait to watch him, i like the way he speaks.

Thanks to Pabuk

Since when exactly did I start messing with Facebook? It was when tropical storm Pabuk made a facinating U-turn west of Hong Kong and set observatory alarms ringing last Friday.



It was when tens of thousands of commuters were hit by long waits at underground stations or left stranded at ferry piers, traffic stalled for kilometers on highways and telephone networks jammed.And where was I? It was peaceful afternoon for me at home alone, nothing better than exploring the latest talk of town - The Facebook.A week later today, I saw a clip in youtube, titled "Does what happens in the Facebook stay in the Facebook?"

I think all of you ought to check this out.

Ratatouille - Simply Delicious

Went to watch Ratatouille on Saturday.

Honestly, I don't get much out of most movies, not because they're not perfect, but they just don't do anything for me personally. They don't interact with me and don't make me feel anything or surprise me.

Ratatouille does both and constantly evokes sense of awe! It consistently takes twists that are unexpected.

What Ratatouille does is start from a very humble premise, and takes you on wild journey with beautiful visuals and absolutely incredible voice acting. There's a cunning combination of photo-realistic scenery and highly stylized characters, setting the stage for getting pulled into the world so far that you suspend the notion that you're watching a movie — or at least I did. Not that I could smell the aroma of the food in the film, but it certainly felt like so.

Absolutely will hang in the top 3 of my list of Walt Disney/ Pixar Movies.

Thought Of The Day

Give a man a fish and feed him for a day....

Teach him to use the internet or hook him with facebook, and he won't bother you for weeks!

The 13 Greatest in Life

How much do you agree to this?

1. Greatest Enemy = Oneself
2. Greatest Defeat = Arrogence
3. Greatest Stupidity = Deceit
4. Greatest Sorrow = Jealousy
5. Greatest Mistake = Given Up
6. Greatest Sin = Killing Life
7. Greatest Respect = Diligence
8. Greatest Bankruptcy = Lacking Hope
9. Greatest Wealth = Health
10. Greatest Debt = A Favour
11. Greatest Gift = Forgiveness
12. Greatest Loss = Foolishness
13. Greatest Generosity = To Give

An Agonizing Worldwide Survey

Recently a survey was conducted and the question asked was,

"Would you please give your opinion about the food shortage in the rest of the world?"

The survey was a huge failure. In Africa, they did not know what 'food' meant. In Western Europe, they did not know what 'shortage' meant. In Eastern Europe, they did not know what 'opinion' meant. In South America, they did not know what 'please' meant. And in the U.S., they did not know what 'the rest of the world' meant.

The 'Good old days' SSGC

Ah, the memories are flooding back as I revisited our old school in the Open Day on April 20, 2002......The School Albums - Remember how embarrassing some of those pictures were? They were less likely to be picked up 10 years ago as a pastime reading publication but now those were worth a lot and I wished I haven't thrown them away. Below just some of the snapshots that slipped through my mind as I jot down this email and I very much would like to share them with you all.....

Miss J.Ho, our marvelous math teacher in Form 1 - the one that got me stand outside the 1R classroom for half an hour just because I couldn't stop giggling with Chu Kar Yan. She emerges as the mother of a local pop singer. (Guess who) Algebra, geometry, trig....she managed to get us through it all.

And remember the blue Jumpers that everyone had? Why were they always several size bigger and torned and how on earth could we wear them all through the summer months? (Hoping to grow into them perhaps). Earning a 'reputation' was certainly a big deal in those days, wasn't it? The senior class plays, the fashion shows, the orchestra, senior choir conducted by Mrs. Fu..........Mr. Lee who teaches Chinese was sooo cool, Miss Law (then later called Mrs Yau) was the most elegant teacher of all times and the Putonghua classes by Miss Ho Sic Ming whom I can only think of a resemblence of a waterfall! Did anybody actually learn any Putonghua then, honestly? The enthusiastic Miss J.Ma who introduced "The Ancient Greek and Egyptian Civilisation" to us (anyone remember the map of Crete that was made of egg shells)?

Eating lunches in the shade of those beautiful trees on the front playground of the main building when the weather cooperated and hanging out by the covered playground when it didn't. How about that first Field Trip we went with Mrs. Lam Cheung Sun Ching's Geography class in Form 1 - Up to the Peak we went - collecting specimens, Flowers, bugs, frogs...I forget, what? Gym classes - Volleyball, basketball, badminton and worst of all - Dancing...ugh, the horrible folk dances with who else but Tam Por (Mrs. Tam). Those dreaded navy shorts we had to wear. The fire alarm that seemed to go off at the most inappropriate times. We never had a fire, did we? Lots of practice though. Just in case. Selling lunch boxes tickets to earn a bug or two and the smell of the chicken legs and instant noodles from the tuck shop....Ummmmm ! They were sure good.

And when we weren't in school - Always something to do, someplace to go - the great convenience store 7-11 just down the road, San Bin - our good old stationery shop, the Hallmark Galleria in the corner where we used to save up pocket money just for Hello Kitty, My Melody and Little Twin Stars or The Runabouts goodies. Those were the places to see and be seen.

As I sift through all these memories...each leading me off in another direction......I realise how much I miss the "good old days" at St. Stephen's Girls College in the '80-90's. We were family. The kids at St.Stephen's were family and I miss knowing my classmates and friends. Good times. Gone forever but the memories are oh so sweet. I loved it all. Who would ever have guessed?

I am so glad to see the changes made in recent years at school and I encourage each one of you to revisit it some time when you can. I must admit, I got lost in the middle of the Jubilee Path leading to the new building (forgot the name), but facinated and impressed to know that every classroom has a PC, connected to the school's network and every teacher has a notebook. Needless to say, air-conditioning in all classrooms - surely that was a privilege to the staffs only in my days. You should go check out the lovely library, I sure will study harder if I had such a wonderful and resourceful place before.

I hope the school will continue to excel in everyway, to educate marvelous students like me and let everyone who teaches in it and whom learns from it, be proud of oneself.

The Paradox of Our Age

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers; wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less; we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families; more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense; more knowledge, but less judgment; more experts, yet more problems; more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom. We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things.

We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion; big men and small character; steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce; fancier houses but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete.

Remember, spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.

Remember to say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.

Remember to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent.

Remember to say "I love you" to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again.Give time to love, give time to speak, and give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

copy & paste from http://www.trans4mind.com/counterpoint/moorehead.shtml