the gains that come from loss

read about the losses suffered by a cleaner in hong kong who had previously invested in lehman linked minibonds. she had all her life savings wiped out, a large part from a compensation she received from an accident which still causes her to walk with a limp now. she lost what she had worked her life for. they say when you lose your life savings, you lose your dignity. but your life past should not only be just about whats accumulated in an account, if it is, the day you lose it, you would have lived in vain.

read about a diamond polisher in india who committed suicide when he realised he had lost his livelihood in the aftermath of the lehman collapse. diamond prices had plunged and the entire supply chain was reeling from its effect, jewellers in new york slashed their workforce by a quarter, polishers in india forced out of jobs, the largest diamond mines in africa closing down. they say that when you lose a livelihood, you lose a sense of hope for the future. but your life ahead is not about how certain you are, not about what you can control, because obviously things will be uncertain, things will go beyond your control. your worth is not tied to your work.

i saw an elderly man walking towards a food store with his right arm holding on to a walking stick, his left arm amputated, having placed his order for food, he heartily engaged into a conversation with the lady operating the store. he talked about going to visit his sister in a while after dinner, about how his sister is helping him with life. as the lady placed the food wrapped in a plastic bag before him, she asked if he could handle it. he joking asked "would you help me take it home otherwise?" and gleefully demonstrated how he would slip the handle of the plastic bag in his arm and than grab on to the walking stick, and he walked on, without looking back. i gained a lesson.

we will lose certain things in life from time to time, loss is part of life as much as gain is.

we need to learn how to deal with loss, there is nothing we can do about that which is lost, but we can do something with what we are left with.

that even when you lose a part of yourself, you find more to do with what you are left with and end up doing more with less, living more with less. if you make sure with each loss, you gain something more, that would have been a loss made good.

yong tong's birthday 09

jeff & nicole's wedding

with the radiant couple after the end of day one

with good ole friends.

with the precious jewel

with a very relaxed couple at the end of day two waiting to pop a champagne to celebrate

with lots of best wishes for this wonderful couple

not my own, never alone

you are not your own
you were the sole property of your creator
on the day you were born, you went into public ownership
the first two shareholders being the ones who brought u into this world

your goodness accrues not to you but the ones who have invested in you,

for only they reap from the good you do

your weaknesses a liability not of yours but that of your shareholders

you determine the value of their investment in your life

you own only from the fruits of the seeds you have sown,

and deserve only the eat from the fruits of the plants u have tended to

you are not a self made man
your life a work of art, by the ones who have woven and painted

by the ones who have given a part of their lives to you, for you

your life's work an effort of many, who have each given in each their own ways

asking no more than your happiness, your success

and for your dreams to be fulfilled

you are not alone

your paths cleared by the toil of thousands before you

your achievements built on the backs of those who have toiled with you, those who have toiled for you

that when you fall and fail, the outstretched hands were always there

to give you a lifting arm, a shoulder to cry on, a pat on the back whenever, wherever

i am not my own, i am not alone

for the love, the grace, the hope i have received

love, grace and hope i will give

so that no one else will feel he's on his own

so that one one else will feel alone

thankfully blessed

thank you for reminding me that i'm never alone

thank you for your love, your encouragement, your support

thank you for always being there, for always lending a helping hand

for bring such great brothers, sisters, friends and family

immensely honored, gratefully satisfied, thankfully blessed

with lots of love & gratitude

des

do read this - enough by john bogle

"As I have earlier noted, the most important things in life and in business can’t be measured. The trite bromide “If you can measure it, you can manage it” has been a hindrance in the building a great real-world organization, just as it has been a hindrance in evaluating the real-world economy. It is character, not numbers, that make the world go ‘round. How can we possibly measure the qualities of human existence that give our lives and careers meaning? How about grace, kindness, and integrity? What value do we put on passion, devotion, and trust? How much do cheerfulness, the lilt of a human voice, and a touch of pride add to our lives? Tell me, please, if you can, how to value friendship, cooperation, dedication, and spirit. Categorically, the firm that ignores the intangible qualities that the human beings who are our colleagues bring to their careers will never build a great workforce or a great organization."

"some things that count that can't be counted and some things that can be counted that don't count"

strengths finder

tried out this psychometric test, this one from a book called strength finder. its aim is to help you discover your strengths, though i don't really think that's something difficult. i would think a more useful tool will be a weakness finder, that's something we always find hard to discover until we realise it. its quite accurate in a certain sense, for those who know me, you'll realise it when you read the extract i've appended.

my top 5 themes

Learner

People who are especially talented in the Learner theme have a great desire to learn and want to continuously improve. In particular, the process of learning, rather than the outcome, excites them.

Driven by your talents, you channel your efforts into the task at hand. You persevere until you have gained the knowledge and skills needed to attain a goal. You can toil for many hours to secure your objective. You probably work hardest and most productively at a particular time of day. By nature, you long to gather information about individuals. Your “need to know” is rarely satisfied. The more facts you gather, the easier it is for you to understand the person’s unique strengths, limitations, interests, likes, dislikes, or goals.

Unquestionably, you study human beings one by one. Your ongoing observations of selected individuals probably provide you with interesting insights into human nature. Instinctively, you examine documents, read books, listen to lectures, or research subjects to help people find the information they need. This means you spend hours, days, weeks, or even months expanding your knowledge base. In the process of assisting another person, you generally move closer to your own goals. Chances are good that you usually equate education — formal and informal — with understanding more about something today than you understood about it yesterday. Because of your strengths, you prefer having quiet time to mull over ideas as well as read and examine interesting topics. Periods of uninterrupted thinking give you great pleasure. You probably excuse yourself from noisy, active, or distracting situations to thoroughly process your ideas.

Strategic
People who are especially talented in the Strategic theme create alternative ways to proceed. Faced with any given scenario, they can quickly spot the relevant patterns and issues.

It’s very likely that you select the right combination of words to convey your ideas or feelings. In the middle of discussions, your vocabulary provides you with precise phrases and terminology. You probably express yourself with ease and grace. Instinctively, you appreciate straightforward, plainspoken, and concise conversations. Often you have these exchanges with people who are as comfortable speaking about their ideas as you are. Because of your strengths, you have no difficulty finding the right words to express your ideas. You are quite comfortable talking about ways to make people or things more complete, perfect, or excellent. Driven by your talents, you long to know more so you remain on the cutting edge of your field or areas of interest. Your inventive mind usually generates more possibilities than you can handle or fund. Nonetheless, you are committed to acquiring knowledge and/or skills. You study everything involved in a situation and conceive entirely new ways of seeing or doing things. What you already know prompts you to ask questions and delve even deeper into a subject or problem. Chances are good that you pay close attention to what is going on around you. You listen. You quiz people. You read. You probably take notes on key points.

As you accumulate lots of information, you disregard what is unrelated, and pay heed to what is really important. The more you reflect on what you know, the more problems begin to reveal themselves, and eventually solutions start taking shape in your mind. Finally, given the situation, you select the best plan from your list of options.

Achiever
People who are especially talented in the Achiever theme have a great deal of stamina and work hard. They take great satisfaction from being busy and productive.

Chances are good that you normally expend a lot of energy helping people embrace their accomplishments and revel in their successes. You consciously acknowledge their ability to attain wealth, be elevated to celebrity status, maintain health, win honors, earn bonuses, reach goals, or gain power. It’s very likely that you likely are a person whose work ethic is as much a matter of conscience as it is a matter of completing tasks. You undoubtedly need to do what you know is right, honest, true, correct, proper, and accurate. Driven by your talents, you likely have a reputation for being a hard worker. This explains why you tell individuals they can accomplish a lot more than they think they can.

You repeatedly pressure people to excel rather than settle for mediocre results. You probably have a very difficult time associating with people who do only what is expected and who whine when they are challenged to do much more. Instinctively, you naturally resist being held back, restrained, or controlled by people or events. You much prefer to be in charge of situations, materials, schedules, budgets, human resources, processes, or decisions. Waiting for someone else to issue orders or level judgments certainly is not your forte — that is, strength. By nature, you frequently engage in laborious tasks. You yearn to dedicate yourself to worthy causes or noble purposes. Fortifying the bonds between yourself, the people you know, or even those you will never meet gives your life special meaning.

Self-Assurance
People who are especially talented in the Self-Assurance theme feel confident in their ability to manage their own lives. They possess an inner compass that gives them confidence that their decisions are right.

Because of your strengths, you usually share your ideas for making upgrades or
improvements. You are likely to offer proposals to your colleagues, coworkers, classmates, team members, friends, neighbors, or family members. Chances are good that you help many people grasp elaborate and complicated ideas, processes, theories, or rules. You intentionally use easy-to-understand words and phrases. Driven by your talents, you like advancing on your own. You enjoy defying the odds. You find limited satisfaction in pursuing the easiest, the most popular, or the accepted course of action. It’s very likely that you give people the gift of simplicity. You carefully think through convoluted problems and complicated projects.

You reduce them to their fundamental points. Rather than tell listeners everything you know about the situation, you present only the highlights. You build mental bridges from one point to the next. Your audience does not know what is missing. Why? You give them the most important facts, and you do so logically. Instinctively, you yearn to be inspired by your work.

You want experience to be your teacher. You need to feel enthused by your work or studies. You constantly acquire knowledge and skills. Whenever you study facts, ponder concepts, test theories, or sharpen your skills, you feel most alive. You are inclined to avoid people and situations that prevent you from expanding your mind.

Positivity
People who are especially talented in the Positivity theme have an enthusiasm that is
contagious. They are upbeat and can get others excited about what they are going to do.

Instinctively, you frequently take time to figure out what makes a person unique and special. Your keen interest in people explains why many individuals describe you as friendly, thoughtful, kind, likeable, or understanding. Because of your strengths, you have a reputation for being optimistic about life. Numerous individuals describe you as easygoing — that is, relaxed and unworried.

You probably refuse to let your own problems and people’s behaviors make you angry or anxious. It’s very likely that you are much more enthralled — that is, spellbound — with future possibilities than with past events. Keeping the two time frames separate probably allows you to invent entirely new ways of finding personal happiness or professional fulfillment. Chances are good that you feel much more favorable about yourself and life in general when you are functioning at an optimal level. Being “number one” or named the best usually motivates you to do more and better work in the coming hours, days, weeks, or months. By nature, you often experience satisfaction with your life when someone asks you to scrutinize, assess, examine, or evaluate things such as people, processes, plans, or mechanisms.

excessive intermediation

there are always economic agents who seek to expropriate surplus between producers and consumers. these agents seek to gain more from the value they create in the process and most of the time even when they actually destroy value for consumers. they are often called intermediaries, in place to bridge producers and consumers when direct open markets either don't function or are not allowed to due to regulatory excesses in the name of consumer protection. they aim to reap from the spread, somewhat akin to a tax except that for private goods, the benefits are often skewed in favor of the intermediary.

disintermediation has occurred rapidly in many industries with greater ease of communication and accessibility to information. travel agencies find themselves having to rapidly adapt to a world where travelers can easily purchase air tickets and accommodation directly from airlines and hotels anywhere in the world. computer stores no longer being the first stop for a savvy consumer who can get PCs and notebooks specifically configured from online shops. costs have come down, variety has increased with benefits accruing largely to consumers. producers who have adapted their supply chains and operations quickly enough have taken advantage of such shifts to actively shape demand in their favor, reaping benefits of reduced inventory holdings and greater efficiency.

have all intermediaries lost their place in the economy? not necessarily, intermediaries who truly create value for consumers who seek to pay for the value added service deserve their place in the market. regulators need to strike a balance between consumer protection and allowing consumers to remain naive, relying totally on regulators to "screen" suppliers and producers. greater access to information and increased transparency is a step in the right direction, giving consumers awareness of what the "middle-man" takes away. consumers need to know whether do these agents actually create value and justify that which they are expropriating.

thank you for the inspiration

i'm glad for that last chance to have met up with her. glad to have recalled the things that she taught, about not letting others look down on you despite your circumstances and giving your best shot at it. glad to have relived the experience that she lived, about not giving in to adversity but to live life to the fullest to which she demonstrated, not in rhetoric, but by her life, with conviction in every moment. glad to have received from her encouragement, to pursue life's goals with determination, to make life count.

life is a journey with a defined duration, there will come an end point. sometimes, we feel it comes too soon, in those whom we see limitless potential. yet its not for us to know or control when it ends, it is beyond us. what's within our control is to make sure we know when it starts, that each day is not another day given to tomorrow, that we begin to live life to its fullest every single day, as if this day would be our last.





well.. i'm speechless for once in a very long time. we were supposed to have a gathering again with her this friday, only to receive the news just a while ago that she has passed on. to the teacher who never failed to inspire and always will. thank you ms teo.

what do you do

to some its just means to an end, a day to day grind, an exchange of eight hours of life daily for the means by which to live the other sixteen. each job merely a necessary evil, to get the most out of doing the least, where the individual is merely a cog in the corporate machine, moving on, easily detachable, replaceable, dispensable. where one starts the day looking forward to the end or perhaps any moment of reprieve possible. where each job is merely a means of survival, to pay the bills, to feed the family, without an end in sight less a stroke of luck with the lottery.

to some others, its a step onto another rung of the ladder, merely another transient part of the journey. where the organisation's objectives are subject to theirs, where each job is intended to appear as a paragraph on the resume, with the necessary embelishments. where its all about the immediate, self serving interests dictating all forms of contribution and effort. its where the relative matters most, about how one stands relative to the ones to whom he has set his sight in comparison. where each job is a means of progression, to move up the rungs, with a clear end in sight, a foot in the executive suite and with it the ensuing privilege and power.

and to a rare few, its about one's purpose in life, where its not about the job, its about one's vocation. where each job is seen as part of a greater calling, to do good, to be of value to society, to have lived not merely for self gain, not in vain pursuits or to grimace in pain daily from routine, mindless work. its not what you do, its why you do it

regardless of how one choses to perceive his work or not at all, its about being conscientious of the people that one works with, to have acted in good faith, with a spirit of excellence, a drive to succeed as a team every task, knowing that one's action has an impact beyond oneself. an understanding of the bigger picture, the strategic intent of one's function, to be willing at times to subjugate one's agenda and interest for the greater good. to live without reproach, having given one's best.

more importantly, its not a means to an end, its about the journey, the people whom you take this journey with and ultimately being answerable for all you've done, living without regrets, having given all you've got, in every moment.

seven @ dxo esplanade

pili's birthday celebration

one that resonates

music has a way of igniting emotions, a way of connecting hearts. the beautiful thing about this year's national day parade was the way it sought to connect via music. a very musical, theatrical performance that took us on a journey of history through music. with interludes of memorable speeches, a medley of songs, a light hearted touch, segments that ignited roars from the crowd, snippets that brought a smile to even the president, it wasn't excessively spectacular (the trophy has been retired along with the beijing olympics) but it resonated. if you've noticed and simply looked around, you would have see that everywhere there were more hearts than stars. hearts that moved along with every beat, every rhythm. hopefully that was a vision of what we aim to move towards, beyond the gleaming buildings, beyond the spectacular accomplishments, but beneath, deep within, hearts united.

simple reminders of what we were and despite the challenges that we face, the opportunities that lie ahead, the possibilities that remain. detractors remain as they always will, those who believe, will likewise remain steadfast, to continue building on the dreams, realising the vision so elegantly encapsulated in the pledge.

bangkok escapade

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a getaway with a bunch of friends i'll always have since known for more than half of my life

its been a long time, and despite age catching up on us, it seems and i hope we won't grow out of the fun and laughter when we take pleasures in one of the simplest yet most precious things in life, the company of a friend.

school of life

it was where i was shaped, molded, not always willingly, many times the painful way. where i learned that ultimately, its about one's character. it was where i discovered the side of me which i was desperately trying to conceal, the pride within, the need for superficial acceptance, the desire to please, oblivious to the consequences of my actions. "talent and ability can get you to the top, but only character can keep you there". it was much later when i realised how deluded i had been.

it was where i learned to see beyond the present, beyond my circumstances. where i was told to do "what i would do if failure was impossible", where i saw the impossible happen around me back then and now in my life and could only stand in awe and know that it was not by me. it is that which still guides me.

it was where i learned the power of focus. it was where as a young man, who was forever easily distracted with a temperament that lasted less than three minutes and pursued goals for even shorter periods. "others can, i can't" was vividly etched in my heart, that if i were to walk into my destiny, there were sacrifices that had to be made, that while others could waste their time on frivolous pursuits, i couldn't. while others were pursuing that which was fleeting, i was pursuing that of a higher purpose.

it was where i learned that manhood is not something you're born with but that its a conscious continuous decision and requires conscientious hard work to live up to. that its not about a facade of strength but about the underlying steel that really matters when push comes to shove and the real challenges come in life. that i am "male by birth but man by choice".

it was where i learned that integrity matters, that the ultimate deception you can pull off is that to yourself and that there's no core value of one's character that matters most than to be true to oneself, to the ones he love, there there is no two ways about it, just one singular, binary option, to live in truth or to perpetuate deception.

it was where i learned about teamwork, in a very short period of two months and in the moments it felt the most terrible. the endless days, sleepless nights, all committed to make real a vision, to make happen a dream. it was where i saw a dream team in action, not because of talent or abilities but the power of commitment to a rallying call, the energy that comes together simply by coming together even when physical limits are reached. it was where i saw energy and dedication like i never saw anywhere else since than, and the courage, faith and tenacity of visionary leaders.

it was where i learned about leadership. it encompasses so much beyond a set of principles, an endless list of to-dos or something that someone is born with. you only know it when you see it day and night, along the way, day after day, behind the scenes, week after week, in sweat and tears, month after month, unflinching and unfailing. "somethings can't be taught, it has to be caught". you experience it and you know no book can ever capture it in essence or entirety.

it was where i made mistakes, plenty, where i received love true enough to provide correction and rebuke. it was where i screwed up, repeatedly, where i received grace true enough to be given redemption.
it was where i failed, but was told i was not a failure

i received what for some could have been a lifetime of lessons in a journey of a few years, from the best teachers anyone could ever have gotten. you couldn't have learned them from a book, because it goes beyond prescribed actions or formulated instructions, i learned about life, about life's pursuits, about life's purpose.

in fact, i never learned them all and am still learning to this day, but those journeys like signposts guide me time and time again, they have been embedded deep within and each time i simply need to draw upon them to know what i need to do to not make those mistakes again in life. not all the time though, there are times when i repeat those mistakes and in a split moment relive those lessons i were taught. though it was not just about what not to do but more importantly, it was about what to do. hopefully, i have done them and will continue to do them.

for all the successes in my life, for all i am, for all i have
thank you

spatial awareness

often we fail to see the impact the physical environment has in our lives, those natural and human structures in which we operate, live and play in. notice how often it is far easier to associate moments in our lives with the exact physical setting in which they took place than chronologically, recalling things that happened say in that building where i first worked in rather than things that happened in 2000 or when i was of a certain age. hence the outcry when physical development and in particular re-development that threatens to replace those edifices as old they may be in which we walked, where the memories will play out vividly. it probably has a lot to do with the way our minds work, the association of the spatial with emotions that are deeply etched.

those places are milestones in our life, they remind us that life is a journey and that with each move spatially, we move on in our lives. our first home, the classrooms in which we sat on those vandalised tables, the void decks where we'll run ourselves crazy before the school bus arrives, the place where we meet the one we love. the spatial surroundings provide a setting in which moments in our life play out, you can't detach the moments from those places in which they took place.

more than once i have stepped into such places, and with each physical step i took, it somewhat felt like i was stepping back in time, where in a glimpse, every sound, every smell fills the place again, like it was, years ago. the corridors that once seemed endless, the ceiling once seemed so high up, the seemingly imposing structures of the past now all mere shadows of their former awe. where all in a moment i realise, i've grown, not just physically, but in my heart, in knowledge, in life, and hopefully bigger on the inside.

remaking college education

a crisis would have been worth its while if in the wake of it, changes to the economic system reflect the reality the crisis unveiled or the new post-crisis. pump-priming the economy in a bid to jump-start employment fails to address the fundamental shifts in economic demand especially the intricacies and specifics of demand which has changed drastically over the past two decades of strong global growth. countries need to realise that unlike politics, growth is not just about employment. policies that promote employment even beyond market clearing levels in certain industries simply encourages flippant hiring policies. inherently a government without substantial political capital or long term wisdom seeks to placate displaced workers by creating employment regardless of inherent supply or demand. it is difficult nonetheless to manage the fallout from unions and certain electorate bases against the pressing needs of globally competing multi-national companies to reduce labour cost and increase productivity. what role should the government take if it seeks to promote employment, pursue productivity growth, increase exports all at once. as in every economic problem, in this case, the fundamental issue is that of limited resources pursing unlimited goals. the key is really the management of a country's most critical resource, its human capital.

there is always an inherent lag in training and educating young people with specialised skills for specific growth industries. the other problem lies in the structural mismatch that occurs when schools do not produce what the labour market requires. the issue of individual choice creates a problem in itself when undergraduate programs are chosen based on bet on future prospects with current information, misconceptions and herd like behaviour. the problem is further compounded with the rate of technological change and increasing complexity of final consumer goods and services. central co-ordination is necessary in some form even though it demands an accurate reading of economic trends and inherent future labour demand. what could be looked at would be replacing a 4 year highly specialised college education with that of a 3 year broad based quantitative and qualitative program that provides a strong foundation in both the physical as well as social sciences, followed by a 1 year intensive specialization programme. the lag is reduced and with close collaboration with industries, the labour market gets very quickly what it needs to meet its demand. throughout the entire program, close participation with all industries to provide exposure for students would reduce misconceptions of reality while allowing for informed choices to be made.

college education cannot be seen as an end in itself, rather it should be a process of dual discovery, that of self and that of the world. the purpose of education is not the filling of a receptacle to its brim, rather it is of expanding the receptacle beyond its limits. it is to develop that ability for the shaping of one's vision in life, not necessarily having certainty of the end point, but at least knowing which direction one wants to take in life. it is the forming of character, shaping it and reshaping it constantly. most importantly, the development of the ability to distill issues, to be able to stand back and consider matters at hand both in its entirety and critically to make informed decisions.

deriving insight

in this new financial landscape, going forward what separates the winners from the survivors will be the ability to identify and avoid losers. the survivors will be those who constantly avoid even trying to identify winners and hence in the process prevent losses and preserve capital. the losers are those who stay neutral, investing broadly in the hope of picking some winners.

the era will be defined by the speed of and response to information flows, ironically increasing asymmetry due to misaligned interests. when information is easily available, superior decisions do not come from knowledge. in fact overconfidence in seemingly superior knowledge will itself be a stumbling block. it is the ability to quickly step into minute detail and as quickly step back and look at macroeconomic fundamentals. its beyond processing information but deriving insight.

an era where broad classifications won't do, where the devil will be in the details. historical correlations that are based on the world we used to live in will change to reflect changes in underlying fundamentals, about final demand, about the companies, the industries, the countries, etc.

all that not to identify winners, but to consciously mine for losers and to avoid them at all costs. the fact that there is no free lunch will remain, an investor will be paid to take risk and must keep doing so. hence the most crucial factor or success will be managing those risks vigorously.

mount kinabalu

it was my first mountain climbing experience, technically (less mt biang in brunei). i never thought too much about it, eager to have a try and confident enough in my physical endurance and ability. it was humbling to say the least, it started taking my breath away even as i dragged my feet across rocks, mud and granite from about 1,500m. lugging along a backpack filled with warm clothing and my trusty and not-so-light dslr. i realised at the end of the trip (7km x 2 was the physical distance treked even though the moutain was only 4095m in height) that i had better recollection of the terrain i was trekking on far better than the plants and trees around me as i was looking down drudgingly while dragging myself up most of the time. the 5 km trip from the base camp down to the nature park entrance being done in pouring rain over 5 hours, shivering in the cold wind whilst totally drenched under a thick jacket.


day 1, 830am
you start off your journey registering (aka paying) at the kinabalu park headquarters at (1585m) from where a bus takes you up to (1866m) . from there, you walk with whatever you need for your 2D1N trip up to the peak




day 1, 230pm
you would have walked about 5km to reach a rest house (3270m) where you have a good meal before resting in one of the available bunks in the cold. heaters didn't work, even if they did, a hot shower's attraction is always dampened by the thought of having to walk across mud patches and in freezing temperature back to your bunks.

day 2, 230am
after a quick bite, you start the 3km trek up the peak. this is when people start dropping out, either due to altitude sickness which brings with it throbbing headaches, or the endless steps across slippery rocks/granite/wood/etc.

day 2, 430am
if you've not given up, you will reach a final checkpoint from which the thick white rope you see becomes your only way to get up to the top, you use it either to pull yourself up the slopes or alongside which you walk to avoid falling off the cliffs.

day 2, 515am
the best time to reach the peak, before the bulk of the crowd gets up to grab a nice treacherous perch to capture nature's glory in sunrise


day 2, 6am
shiver in the cold if you're not covered up but gape in awe at sunrise while being careful not to get pushed off the cliff by people jostling to get up to the peak


day 2, 730am
by this time, you would have "reunited" with your kakis at the peak, took a thousand photos of all possible poses/angles/exposures of everything/everyone you see. you realise, what goes up must come down. as you get down, you soon wonder how on earth you managed to get up those slopes and gradients just a few hours ago in pitch darkness when you gape at how dangerous it now seems to be. that's probably why they get you to climb up in close to pitch darkness.



day 2, 1030am
reach back to resthouse, grab your bags a quick bite and its down that winding track again.

day 2, 330pm
back to civilisation

to sum it up, it was quite an experience. what makes it great? simply, the people you're doing it with. make sure its not someone who wants to take a break every 10 steps, soon you'll realise you get tired of resting and not seem to be making any progress or someone who whines half the time, unless you're the one whining, than find someone who can bear with your whining.

i'm glad i did, i had an amazing time well quite simply because i went up with the right people!


i enjoyed it, the weather was great most of the time when it mattered most and i took in some of the most breathtaking sights i have seen, in person, not the ones you only see on national geographic. so if you want a mountain climbing experience, not too far away from home, mount kinabalu is a good choice.

the dangerous new world

there is always this human tendency to fall back and depend on historical patterns to validate actions or steps we are to take in future. yet we often fail to remind ourselves that the key assumptions in doing so is that those patterns in themselves will persist going forward, the environment in which those variables operate don't change and that there are certain constants that will remain just that way, constant. every crisis has its roots in assumptions of normality, normality of actions, of thoughts and that rationality will prevail when time and time again, we've seen that even if rational thought prevails, rational action doesn't.

it is important to keep in mind that the world constantly changes, assuming that everything changes, that old assumptions ought to be seen in new light or thrown out as much as possible. acting in abundance of caution and not dependence on seemingly "proven" back tested models.

after work chillout

the best way to end a work week, dinner, coffee, bowling and supper. simple relaxing, simply enjoyable

the courage to choose

choices confront us all the time
sometimes, we consider the choices and consequences too much,
too much that we choose not to make a choice
yet life is all about choices,
choosing not to face them in itself is a choice,
a choice to give in to fear
yet sometimes, we just can't seem to find the courage to face them

it is in those times, you realise you just have to take that first step
and with each step you take, you'll find strength
with each further step, you'll find courage
and soon you'll realise, all it takes is just one step, the first step

eta - three months

简单爱

我想带你 回我的外婆家里一起
看着日落 一直到我们都睡着

a season, a time

one of the most important things i've learnt is that in life, there are phases like the seasons of the year. as what has been wisely said "to every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven. in nature, the simplest of creation knows it best, the trees of the earth, the birds of the sky. they know better than to fight against the rhythm of nature but move to its beat for each season. we often however, try to fight against those seasons of life, aware of the power within our hands to change but clueless when we find ourselves climbing up a ladder stacked against the wrong wall or in futile despair attempts running away when we feel seemingly unprepared.

military strategists know that often in battle, it is not the overwhelming force that conquers but concentrated strikes made with an astute grasp of the environment, be it geography or weather. that an army valiant in battle is toothless against the unrelenting force of nature. we spend our strength fighting against the seasons of life sometimes knowingly but often clueless simply because we do not know what the seasons are in our lives. you got to seek it, and once you find it, you'll realise its so much easier to take on those journeys, because you know what you need to do, you know the stars are aligned for you and even when those rocks strewn in your path delay you unnecessarily, you know who's with you on the journey, to take you through regardless of who takes you on.

the one who inspires

someone whom i remember as terrifying yet encouraging, harsh yet inspiring. whom you better not mess around when it comes to getting your homework done. yet it's been almost 15 years since the last time i saw her. visited the school a few years later only to realise she has retired. those were the days without emails and mobile phones, and where that "distance" was always maintained between teachers and students.

all thanks to a classmate who managed to find twelve of us on facebook and another serendipitously who happened to be dining in the same restaurant. she remembered our form teacher's phone number and invited her to join us for this gathering. she appeared at the restaurant with crutches with the aid of a classmate who picked her up. she was spot on most of the time, recognising most of us and our names even as we struggled to identify one another.

the moment she sat down, as if anticipating the questions we would inevitably ask, told us about what happened that resulted in her reduced mobility. our hearts cringed, when she spoke about suffering from a fall and helplessly laying at home for eight days semi conscious until a relative broke down the door and got her admitted to the hospital. the ensuing problems with her right ankle left her home alone most of the time. she spoke of her determination to live a normal life and not be sent to a nursing home. she spoke of how her former students who having known of her situation, till today regularly visit her and two of who even hold keys to her house so that she can call for their assistance in the event of an emergency.

i sat opposite her throughout the dinner, she ate heartily and seemed like she totally enjoyed our company. i asked her about her daily life and whether she goes out or even to church on sundays, she being a christian. she said she used to, however ever since she had to move around in crutches, people got upset with her when she moved around very slowly, especially to public washrooms, that they would kick her crutches. she stays at home most of the time and look forward to relatives but mostly her ex students to bring her out for gatherings at their homes or outside. she'll spend her days reading the bible, occasionally listening to the radio, being rather adverse to technology and refusing to be given in to "distractions they are" broadcast television or even newspapers which she finds to be "usually negative and sensationalized".

she recalled an episode that happened 15 years ago the moment i sat opposite her, that our team's entry for a science competition had actually came in first. the teachers in the top classes being impressed that someone from the "last classes" actually won wanted to come and see us and our work. however one of the teachers from the "top classes" didn't want us to win and by some sleight of hand, we lost the competition. she was very upset and was very proud of our work. honestly, i have only vague impressions of any competition though i always remembered tinkering with all sorts of experiments and competitions, building crafts, models and the like and having a ball of a time with my friends. she talked at length about her career and one could tell her passion and belief in students regardless of their aptitude.

after lots of photos and the restaurant having to close, just as we were about to leave, she asked, "do any of you remember the daffodils?". a poem she taught us, a favorite of hers. there was only one of us who could recite the first few lines though, to which she was visibly pleased, like any teacher would.

i enjoyed the entire dinner, somehow infected by that zest for life and refusal to give in to setbacks and those physical infirmities, inevitable with age. she spoke at length about how her faith has helped her through seemingly dire circumstances and how she was glad that we were all grown up and doing well in life. it was surreal, even till the end when i accompanied her to the car on that twenty minute walk which would have normally have been a three minute dash for someone who walks at my speed. i must say, i haven't been that impacted by a conversation in a long time.

i got home, searched for the poem. how different it is, reading it 15 years ago merely a child would any poem given to him and now here i am recalling what happened yesterday and fully aware, fully appreciating and hopefully one day, fully understanding it, the way she would have wanted us to.

"I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
and twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretched in never-ending line
along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
in such a jocund company:
I gazed - and gazed - but little thought
what wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils."

The Daffodils - William Wordsworth, 1804

thank you, ms teo, for having inspired and now, for being an inspiration.

reveries of a solitary walker - rousseau

"if there is a state where the soul can find a resting-place secure enough to establish itself and concentrate its entire being there, with no need to remember the past or reach into the future, where time is nothing to it, where the present runs on indefinitely but this duration goes unnoticed, with no sign of the passing of time, and no other feeling of deprivation or enjoyment, pleasure or pain, desire or fear than the simple feeling of existence, a feeling that fills our soul entirely, as long as this state lasts, we can call ourselves happy, not with a poor, incomplete and relative happiness such as we find in the pleasures of life, but with a sufficient, complete and perfect happiness which leaves no emptiness to be filled in the soul."

the set up

i realise that as you grow older in age, that the saying that life is more than the sum total of its experiences becomes clearer to you. those moments when you get a glimpse, of some of the paths you have taken in life that have brought you to where you are. those journeys, that when you look back, you have to acknowledge that you have been through a journey that at first seemed so appropriate, at times so uncertain but through it all, guided and set up for.

its tough while you're at it, but at the end of each journey and when you look back, you realise or rather, you stand amazed, at how it all fits in place, every person you meet, every situation you encountered, every misstep you took, every fall and each time you stood up again to finish the journey.

its even more amazing when you take a step back and get a glimpse of how all those journeys link it all up, an elaborate set up no man alone can accomplish. some of those journeys straight past plains, some winding across diverse landscapes, whilst others transversing through peaks and valleys. and yet, all connected and part of the set up, the masterplan of life.

and while you're at it, in spite of all, you know all is in control. you just know it because you know, with a sense thats irrational, a knowledge thats unexplainable, a peace that's beyond your comprehension. once in a while though, you get a glimpse of the plan, and you believe, and you smile quietly within, because you know at the end of it when you finally get a chance to see the master plan, that you will connect all the paths and realise, its indeed a set up. be thankful, know that you're blessed.

an untenable logic

there's something about unexpected weather cycles and extreme weather conditions that seems to tell us that things have gone wrong. the argument now is whether the system is capable of handling such distortions and finds a way of adjusting or adapting back to a stable equilibrium.

i boarded unsuspectingly a taxi under the scorching mid-day sun thankful for the reprieve only to find myself in one in which the air-conditioner vents were spewing out warm air. the driver was furiously trying to work the knobs while keeping control of the car as we sped down the underground expressway, only to give up in despair and unwind the windows. which led me to think, as it gets increasingly warm, we turn up the air-conditioners (probably the leading power guzzlers in any modern city) which results in more fossil fuels being burnt and along with it more carbon emissions that unarguably lead to high levels of global warming.

in temperate countries, the logic works the other way where in periods of extreme cold (another effect of distorted global weather systems), the radiator goes into overdrive and the resultant effect is greater contribution to the how mess we're in.
if there's any negative feedback loop that aggravates a system without a solution seemingly in sight, this is it.

one possible solution would be to harness the heat from hot and long summers to generate energy to power cooling systems that do not further exacerbate global warming. granted, a lot of scientific work is already being done, both in the photovoltaics as well as the solar thermal space, yet there will not be a significant push for the adoption of such technology without significant economies of scale to lower costs vs traditional sources of energy. without the practical economic incentives to switch, adoption will be far too slow. hence, regulators might have to intervene via disincentives or incentives to create sufficient demand for alternative sources of energy. hoping for a concerted global effort is as far fetched as hoping for enough individuals to come to an awareness much less move to action. rapidly industrializing economies vehemently against being restrained by the developed economies who are said to have "taken their fair share" of carbon contribution in their industrializing years.

it is rare to find a democratically elected government with a political horizon of not more than four or at most eight years which would take on the political risks of enforcing costly environmental protection measures whose effects will not be seen in near term or not at all at the global level. commercial interests have a greater ability to create and shape markets in this aspect when political interests collide with longer term sustainability. the hope therefore is that breakthroughs in technology provide the impetus for commercially driven sustainable approaches to energy generation.

chee fai's birthday celebration 09

city living

i love to visit cities far more than i enjoy visiting the countryside or to be on some nature expedition. a key reason being my fascination with man made structures, buildings, an appreciation of fine, thoughtful, functional architecture and design. however, it goes beyond that, there's this thing about cities which is essentially the coming together of the lives and living of a few million people within that small space, how they create a juxtaposition of culture, character and colour. the parodies of inherent order in apparent disorder, of concordance in disagreement, the manifest unity despite selfish individualistic behavior.

there's always been this question about how livable a city is, numerous surveys are conducted by business magazines on expatriates to determine which city is the most desirable for one to work, live and play in. what exactly defines how livable a city is? is it the range opportunities that is available to experience in which a city offers both extremes of work and play within its confines? is it the diversity of options the city avails, that regardless of their levels of income, there is some form of stratified quality of life? or is it simply the accessibility of hygiene factors such as affordable healthcare, food and lodging?

for me, its more than that, its the culture of life that makes a city livable, a culture where everyone works as hard as they play. where work life balance is more than just a programmed way of life, not about splitting the hairs when it comes to work and "non-work" matters on a day to day basis. its about the ability to chill and live life at a comfortable pace yet get everything moving on the fast track. its about having everything within reach, everything serving its purpose, form meeting function. but ultimately its about the people, people all around, within reach.

to see how people live their daily lives, to infer from their expressions the thoughts that they conjure in the multiple journeys the take each day as they shuttle from place to place, as they juggle the multitude of roles they play in their lives. that to me is always an interesting experience, no matter which city i find myself in.

hk may 2009

not next time, now

i was in the bustling city central of hong kong, walking on a travellator in the underground walkway linking hong kong station and the central station on a friday night at around 10pm where the crowd was visibly thin compared to the otherwise jam packed walkway. as i was approaching the mid section of the travellator, a familiar tune audibly played in a distance, jason mraz's i'm yours. the signature beat that never fails to make you want to skip along. and there it was, almost like a scene straight out of a united world of benneton or a coca-cola commercial, a bunch of trendily dressed teenagers walking astride the walkway with arms interlinked, in unison in large steps skipping to the tune that was being played over the sound system, oblivious to the packets of commuters streaming along.

it reminded me of the innocence and simplicity of youth, some point in our lives where we cast inhibitions aside to just do things that goes against the proper "order" of things. sometimes, we just care too much about what others will think, how others perceive us that we live behind a false pretense of order and conformity. while freedom of expression ought not to be an open license to exhibit wanton disregard for social settings and expectations of propriety, we forget that at times, we just ought to just do what our heart leads us to do.

and so i did it, i skipped along, though in a much much subtle manner, and yet that was enough, enough to make me feel like i've shaved some weight of my shoulders. simply because, i followed that beat in my heart and for once, didn't bother about how those curious onlookers will perceive this crazy dude.

the next time you hear a tune and feel like singing, sing. the next time you feel like locking arms and dance to a tune along the walkways, dance. because you never know, when you will never get a chance to do it again, there won't always be a next time you know.. well at least i do.

"i guess what i'm sayin is there ain't no better reason
to rid yourself of vanity and just go with the seasons" - jason mraz, i'm yours

the city macau

it was my first time staying in a casino hotel complex, meeting people in the casino, exploring and thinking about it. no, i did not wager a single cent, for me, there are far better investment opportunities.

for one, i'm convinced of the economic benefits of having a casino, its offers ready employment on a large scale. on any floor (at least the size of half a football field) of any one of the casinos are scattered a few hundred game tables, each dealing with a different game, baccarat, blackjack, big/small, etc. each table requires a dealer, at any cluster of tables, you'll find a handful of supervisors/overseers. add in the endless flow of waiting staff who serve drinks, clean up after messy guests and the hordes behind those counters dealing with purchases/redemption. make that a three shift a day, twenty four seven operation, you are in for a sizable boost to employment. you don't need a college degree to work in many of those roles, so laid off manufacturing worker can be easily trained to do the job. that's not including the other functions that require lots of staff in the entertainment complex, the endless luxury good stores, top brand name restaurants at which a high level of attention and service is expected at the very least. the casino never loses money, it probably hires a few mathematicians who works out the odds to ensure it stays that way. that is of course baring any economic (recessions), environmental (pandemics) externalities amongst others, which would affect any other industry nonetheless.

but does the city lose its soul, its morality as a result? it depends very much on the strength of character the city has or by definition, its people. if an ethic of meritocracy, hard work and thrift is deeply entrenched in the moral psyche of the society at large, the provision of opportunities to gamble should not erode that ethic. where people largely believe that there is no free lunch in life and you can't gamble your way to success, and there is a broader definition of success that a lifestyle of opulence and extravagance.

you can tell the destiny of a country by looking at the people in whom the destiny lies, the young. as long as we have kids who do not grow up aspiring to be the king/queen/god of gamblers, we'll be fine. in macau, i don't have a clear answer, i am however of the opinion that many of the young aspire to work in the casinos and probably because it dominates employment opportunities. as a city, that is something worrying, but when you put things in perspective and see macau as a part of china, it becomes different. macau than, simply being a specialised city that panders to the rich and wealthy comparable to roles which other cities play in the prc.

as a small city without a large hinterland, we cannot afford for that to happen, the casino business must not be allowed to dominate the economy or more importantly, the minds of its people, their aspirations or the course by which one can take to success and achievement in life.

hence, its a gamble, and hopefully this time round, the odds are not stacked against us, but that we have it under control.

a long weekend catchup

dinner after service @ bosses, vivocity


supper after dinner @ prive, keppel marina


jordan's baby shower @ nsrcc


the ktv that refused to end @ kbox, downtown east

i never walk alone

i love challenges, challenges that take me beyond where i am, challenges that force me to stay focused, disciplined to overcome the seemingly impossible. yet sometimes i have to admit, i tend to overextend myself, beyond painful limits. the bad thing is often, i do not realise it until it hits me all at once and i find myself be stretched in all directions. its exhausting, sometimes in every possible way, physically, mentally, spiritually.

thats when i'm thankful that i'm never alone to face those challenges, that there are people that i can depend on who never fail to run beside me, or even just to stand by the sidelines, cheering me on when i'm close to the finishing line, waking me up when i drift off the track and get "mis"illusioned. life consists of many short journeys, not every journey is a punishing sprint, neither is every journey an exhausting marathon. as long as you know clearly that you're on the right track, the right purpose, its a worthy race.

there are some which you are meant to take on your own, even though you are never truly alone. it is those seeemingly long and lonely journeys, that you need to realise that truly, "you'll never walk alone". that if you lift your hand, you'll find an outstretched arm, that even if you wishper a cry, you'll find a listening ear.

sgx select portfolio

i'm not an equity analyst, but i do have a portfolio of stocks which i own or put on a watchlist to buy. i have always been very hesitant about giving stock tips or encouraging speculation with the intent of making a quick buck. but, for everyone else who is a long or at least a medium term investor. i've decided to make my portfolio/watchlist available. i'll make an effort to update this list regularly, even though i will still not put an ideal entry price or a target price. refer to the left for the list.

*please read the not so fine print caveat

unwinding the unequal

business cycles are inevitable in globalised supply chain, yet the effects of the downturns on the lives of its citizens have been exacerbated when the imbalances unwind and asset bubbles burst.

there has been an overdependence on economic growth to maintain a social compact whilst ignoring fundamental imbalances in the distribution of the benefits of growth. the failure to address such imbalances is the root of social upheaval that could possibly bring down entire societies. the issue at hand is that many emerging economies are ignoring the importance of developing social institutions that support higher levels of economic growth and allows for equitable and sustainable development socially as well as ecologically.

the pursuit of higher standards of living via economic growth has been a cornerstone in every country practicing some form of market economy. the rapid growth of emerging economies such as Brazil, India and China over the past decade has reduced instances of extreme poverty. yet, it is evident that the concentration of wealth and the measures of inequality have increased at a faster pace than the pace of reduction of poverty in these countries. the vast disparity of living standards amongst different members of society living within short distances is evident in the existence of slums that are a stone’s throw away from luxury hotels, gleaming skyscrapers and posh restaurants. the promise of a better life spurs millions to flock to cities bursting at their seams and that promise keeps those pilgrims orderly to avoid the risk of losing their chance to work their way to their dreams.

some see inequality as a necessary evil, a stage of which every country passes through in its development path. whilst the traditional Fabian ideals of broad social support networks with state-funded access to education and healthcare worked in parts of Europe and North America, these economies have evolved over long periods of time. the emerging economies of Asia and South America will not have such luxury of time. the worry is that if economic growth concerns overwhelm the development of social institutions that promote equality via distribution of the results of economic growth, the developing economies of today may very well be extremely unequal societies existing on the brink of breakdown.

in periods of blazing double digit economic growth, such concerns appear trivial, cast aside with the belief that the rising tide raises all boats. economic growth that is driven by growing export driven industries to form part of the global supply chain to meet an endless capacity for consumption. when exogenous demand dries up and endogenous demand is stymied by an excessive savings culture cultivated by the lack of social support institutions for education and healthcare, the excess supply of goods and services finds it way in piling inventories. the model was also based on the assumption that global demand will continue to grow faster than efficiency and productivity, that increasing labor employment will generate greater demand for goods and services due to increased purchasing power , which in turn generates more jobs for the increasing labor force. yet an unequal society results and the attendant disincentives to consume creates an economy totally dependent on export driven growth.

there is a need to ensure that economic growth is not pursued as an end in itself but that policy makers are aware of the need to develop social institutions critical to enriching the lives of all citizens. that the benefits of economic growth accrue not just to owners of capital but providers of labour. not a destination with the extremes of socialism to ensure equality of outcomes but a journey that constantly seeks to provide equality of opportunity.

yet as i was watching the cnn broadcast of g-20 protesters targeting banks in london, i wonder if those developed economies have things under control. what exactly drives these protesters to the street? their resentment towards the political powers that have failed to provide the necessary oversight that resulted in the excesses that resulted in the crisis? in such countries, opportunities are available, social institutions are in place with redistributive policies. however, when the tide recedes, the smaller boats in shallow waters find themselves stranded on the shore. hence even the provision of opportunities don't guarantee safety in crisis, much remains to be done until we reach that utopian goal. though as utopia goes by, it can seem rather far fetched.

fair value, true value

the pricing of assets have been a key pillar in the valuation of any entity's value or worth. unrealistic pricing assumptions, arbitrary price creation mechanisms in lieu of proper price discovery markets distort valuations and create inefficiencies in allocations when a key factor of free markets fail to provide clear signals of value as defined by relative supply and demand.

in functioning markets where there is minimal information asymmetry, barriers to trade, price discovery is inherent in the actions of buyers and sellers based on the premise that a seller will not sell anything that causes an economic loss and a buyer likewise not pay for something that exceeds the relative benefits the good provides. in a market for a good in which there are far more sellers than buyers, the price inevitably goes down, a simply interplay between supply and demand, consequently market corrects up the supply chain to reduce supply.

the recent turmoil in financial markets have resulted in huge valuation losses as there are simply far more sellers than buyers, high bid-ask spreads, with bid prices falling way beyond last done prices simply because no one is interested in buying. the questions that asset owners are asking is, that if current mark-to-market (last bid) prices reflect a fair valuation of those assets. its not about whether the price is true, but whether it is fair, the bid price is true because it would be the price you would receive if the asset was sold at that moment (provided liquidity exists). fair value accounting works on the premise that the valuation of any asset should be based on its realisable value at the moment of accounting, simply based on the premise that if its a price at which it cannot be sold, it does not reflect the true value of an asset.

many asset owners have asserted that where markets fail to function properly, mark-to-market reflects unreal values and distort valuations hence they argue for mark-to-model (aka arbitrary models) to value assets. the proliferation of such valuation models is unknown, and often the only people who have, if any access to unearth such valuation behaviour are auditors. generally accepted accounting principles (gaap) can easily be manipulated by interpretation and justification that is often subject to differing standards in various jurisdictions, regulators who easy assess a different part of the many components of financial systems.

should there be a central body that provides the fair valuation of assets? the range and complexity of certain assets baffle even the most astute of regulators. can there be a standardised model that allows for valuation even when markets fail to function properly? what then is the premise of a fair price if the market is not used as a arbiter of values when there are obvious conflicts of interests in all market participants.

an asset's fair value is relative, extrinsic, i might value something more than you do because of reasons that are often irrational. we trade our time to acquire financial assets that allow us to exchange for other goods we need, values that fluctuate according to supply and demand.

a common question that people ask often is "what is the best asset to invest in to prevent value erosion due to inflation?" what is inflation when value is essentially relative? fact is, the only asset whoose value does not get eroded by inflation is that asset upon which you place a constant value, because as long as any asset has a relative value, the pursuit to maintain such value is endless in itself. with the limited time we have here in life, the best investment you can make, is simply, in the things that matter most to you, that which is independent of any value that anyone else can place on it. true value however has to be intrinsic.

sending off rayson & family

dinner after kids day out

a well deserved dinner

into the unknown

what would you do if you realised you've stepped into a whole new world, a world of unknowns, with no precedence to which you can take reference? someone asked me. i'd say first start with what you know, however insignificant that might seem in the greater scheme of things. like the adage goes "stick to the knitting", do what you know first, well, rather than try to grasp something you know little or nothing at all about. thereafter, with each step you take, as the path becomes clearer, that distant destination will be nearer.

positioning for the future

if the effect of the global financial crisis has demonstrated the interdependency of all countries, it has highlighted the need for countries heavily dependent on exports to relook at that dependency. yet for those without a large domestic market, with a supply of goods and services that far exceed domestic needs, having an increasing pie of the global market or participating in a growing industry or sector was the only way to pursue economic growth.

that model was dependent on many exogenous factors ranging from the political to the wimps and fancies of fickle consumers. the model was also based on an intractable assumption that global demand will continue to grow faster than efficiency, productivity and supply. that increasing labor force will generate greater demand for goods and services due to increased purchasing power that in turn generates enough jobs for the increasing labor force. over the past decade, a large part of demand was generated by services which increasingly take up a large proportion of many developed countries' economies.
the end result is a large part of the economy providing goods and services that are not essential but to satisfy a conspicuous, excessive consumption culture.

is it time to relook at those assumptions going forward? are we going to continue building and growing entire industries built upon superfluous consumption? or is it a good time to adopt sustainable growth development models, both from a economic as well as an ecological perspective?

weiqi's birthday celebration

playtime @ west coast park playground

coffee @ west coast mac

volleyball @ sentosa

coffee night out

coffee after a simple meal @ tcc changi airport, with "old" friends..

when the past presents itself before you

what does one do when the past suddenly seems so present and the future that was, presents itself before you. one realises there's a need to remove all of that which really doesn't matter, but to go back to that which really matters. the core of it all.

the most important thing about the passage of time in life, about the experiences of life is that of learning about yourself. one can feign ignorance and delegate all of one's experiences to be simply the effect of one's environment, a result of the actions imposed upon oneself by people or quite blantantly, a destiny over which one has no control. however, one soon realises, it cannot be so, that ultimately, man chooses his paths, makes his decisions and lives by the consequences of those actions.

and so, if one can't unwrite the past, one can only decide to act in the present to change the future.

jesper & kelvin birthday celebration

dinner @ long beach dempsey, ice cream @ ben & jerry

in the heat of the battle

there are just some days or dreadfully, some periods in life when you just seem to be forced into a corner. when the odds just seem so great and the resistance simply overwhelming. when you're fighting the war on all fronts and facing attrition at every battle. when somethings are just beyond you and even when you're firing all cylinders, nothing seems to be moving. when the uphill trek looks like it will never end and you have rocks rolling down the cliff.

these are the moments in which i will take a moment, in the heat of the battle to decide what exactly needs to be done, re-consider if it is indeed being done the most efficient way, re-confirm the mission, and thereafter when a decision has been made thrust myself back into the action and fight, until the war is won.

"war is thus an act of force to compel our enemy to do our will" - carl von clausewitz

when courage fails, faith supports

tony blair
national prayer breakfast, 5 feb 2009, washington dc

"It is an honour to be here. A particular honour to be with you Mr. President. The world participated in the celebration of your election. Now the hard work begins. And now, also we should be as steadfast for you in the hard work as in the celebration. You don’t need cheerleaders but partners; not spectators but supporters. The truest friends are those still around when the going is toughest. We offer you our friendship today. We will work with you to make your Presidency one that shapes our destiny to the credit of America and of the world. Mr President, we salute you and wish you well.

After 10 years as British Prime Minister, I decided to choose something easy. I became involved in the Middle East Peace Process.

There are many frustrations – that is evident. There is also one blessing. I spend much of my time in the Holy Land and in the Holy City. The other evening I climbed to the top of Notre Dame in Jerusalem. You look left and see the Garden of Gethsemane. You look right and see where the Last Supper was held. Straight ahead lies Golgotha. In the distance is where King David was crowned and still further where Abraham was laid to rest. And of course in the centre of Jerusalem is the Al Aqsa Mosque, where according to the Qur’an, the Prophet was transported to commune with the prophets of the past.

Rich in conflict, it is also sublime in history. The other month in Jericho, I visited the Mount of Temptation. I think they bring all the political leaders there. My guide – a Palestinian – was bemoaning the travails of his nation. Suddenly he stopped, looked heaven wards and said “Moses, Jesus, Mohammed: why did they all have to come here?”

It is a good place to reflect on religion: a source of so much inspiration; an excuse for so much evil.

Today, religion is under attack from without and from within. From within, it is corroded by extremists who use their faith as a means of excluding the other. I am what I am in opposition to you. If you do not believe as I believe, you are a lesser human being.

From without, religious faith is assailed by an increasingly aggressive secularism, which derides faith as contrary to reason and defines faith by conflict. Thus do the extreme believers and the aggressive non-believers come together in unholy alliance.

And yet, faith will not be so easily cast. For billions of people, faith motivates, galvanises, compels and inspires, not to exclude but to embrace; not to provoke conflict but to try to do good. This is faith in action. You can see it in countless local communities where those from churches, mosques, synagogues and temples, tend the sick, care for the afflicted, work long hours in bad conditions to bring hope to the despairing and salvation to the lost. You can see it in the arousing of the world’s conscience to the plight of Africa.

There are a million good deeds done every day by people of faith. These are those for whom, in the parable of the sower, the seed fell on good soil and yielded sixty or a hundredfold.

What inspires such people?

Ritual or doctrine or the finer points of theology? No.

I remember my first spiritual awakening. I was ten years old. That day my father – at the young age of 40 – had suffered a serious stroke. His life hung in the balance. My mother, to keep some sense of normality in the crisis, sent me to school. My teacher knelt and prayed with me. Now my father was a militant atheist. Before we prayed, I thought I should confess this. “I’m afraid my father doesn’t believe in God”. I said. “That doesn’t matter” my teacher replied “God believes in him. He loves him without demanding or needing love in return.”

That is what inspires: the unconditional nature of God’s love. A promise perpetually kept. A covenant never broken.

And in surrendering to God, we become instruments of that love.

Rabbi Hillel was once challenged by a pagan, who said: if you can recite the whole of the Torah standing on one leg, I will convert to being a Jew. Rabbi Hillel stood on one leg and said “That which is hateful to you, do it not unto your neighbour. That is the Torah. Everything else is commentary. Go and study it.”

As the Qur’an states: “if anyone saves a person it will be as if he has saved the whole of humanity”.

Faith is not discovered in acting according to ritual but acting according to God’s will and God’s will is love.

We might also talk of the Hindu “Living beyond the reach of I and mine” or the words of the Buddha “after practising enlightenment you must go back to practise compassion” or the Sikh scripture: “God’s bounties are common to all. It is we who have created divisions.”

Each faith has its beliefs. Each is different. Yet at a certain point each is in communion with the other.

Examine the impact of globalisation. Forget for a moment its rights and wrongs. Just look at its effects. Its characteristic is that it pushes the world together. It is not only an economic force. The consequence is social, even cultural.

The global community – “it takes a village” as someone once coined it – is upon us. Into it steps religious faith. If faith becomes the property of extremists, it will originate discord. But if, by contrast, different faiths can reach out to and have knowledge of one another, then instead of being reactionary, religious faith can be a force for progress.

The Foundation which bears my name and which I began less than a year ago is dedicated to achieving understanding, action and reconciliation between the different faiths for the common good. It is not about the faith that looks inward; but the faith that resolutely turns us towards each other.

Bringing the faith communities together fulfils an objective important to all of us, believers and non-believers.

But as someone of faith, this is not enough. I believe restoring religious faith to its rightful place, as the guide to our world and its future, is itself of the essence. The 21st Century will be poorer in spirit, meaner in ambition, less disciplined in conscience, if it is not under the guardianship of faith in God.

I do not mean by this to blur the correct distinction between the realms of religious and political authority. In Britain we are especially mindful of this. I recall giving an address to the country at a time of crisis. I wanted to end my words with “God bless the British people”. This caused complete consternation. Emergency meetings were convened. The system was aghast. Finally, as I sat trying to defend my words, a senior civil servant said, with utter distain: “Really, Prime Minister, this is not America you know.”

Neither do I decry the work of humanists, who give gladly of themselves for others and who can often shame the avowedly religious. Those who do God’s work are God’s people.

I only say that there are limits to humanism and beyond those limits God and only God can work. The phrase “fear of God” conjures up the vengeful God of parts of the Old Testament. But “fear of God” means really obedience to God; humility before God; acceptance through God that there is something bigger, better and more important than you. It is that humbling of man’s vanity, that stirring of conscience through God’s prompting, that recognition of our limitations, that faith alone can bestow.

We can perform acts of mercy, but only God can lend them dignity. We can forgive, but only God forgives completely in the full knowledge of our sin.

And only through God comes grace; and it is God’s grace that is unique.

John Newton, who had been that most obnoxious of things, a slave-trader, wrote the hymn “Amazing Grace”.

“Twas Grace that taught my heart to fear. And Grace, my fears relieved.”

It is through faith, by the Grace of God, that we have the courage to live as we should and die as we must.

When I was Prime Minister I had cause often to reflect on leadership. Courage in leadership is not simply about having the nerve to take difficult decisions or even in doing the right thing since oftentimes God alone knows what the right thing is.

It is to be in our natural state – which is one of nagging doubt, imperfect knowledge, and uncertain prediction – and to be prepared nonetheless to put on the mantle of responsibility and to stand up in full view of the world, to step out when others step back, to assume the loneliness of the final decision-maker, not sure of success but unsure of it.

And it is in that “not knowing” that the courage lies.

And when in that state, our courage fails, our faith can support it, lift it up, keep it from stumbling.

As you begin your leadership of this great country, Mr President, you are fortunate, as is your nation, that you have already shown in your life, courage in abundance. But should it ever be tested, I hope your faith can sustain you. And your family. The public eye is not always the most congenial.

I was reminded of this, as I waited in London in the snow to fly to America and made the mistake of reading a British newspaper. It was the very conservative Daily Telegraph. A few days ago I gave an interview in which I remarked how much cleverer my wife was than me. The Telegraph has a famous letters page. In it was a letter from a correspondent that read something like: “Dear Sir, with reference to your headline ‘Blair admits wife more intelligent than him’, I fail to see why this is news. Most of us have known this for a long time.” As a PS perhaps: “the bar, however, has not been set high”.

I finish where I began: in the Holy Land, at Mount Nebo in Jordan, where Moses gazed on the Promised Land. There is a chapel there, built by pilgrims in the 4th Century. The sermon was preached by an American, who spent his life as an airline pilot and then, after his wife’s death, took holy orders. His words are the words of a Christian but they speak to all those of faith, who want God’s grace to guide their life.

He said this:

“While here on earth, we need to make a vital decision ... whether to be mere spectators, or movers and shakers for the Kingdom of God... whether to stay among the curious, or take up a cross. And this means: no standing on the sidelines ... We’re either in the game or we’re not. I sometimes ask myself the question: If I were to die today, what would my life have stood for... The answer can’t be an impulsive one, and we all need to count the cost before we give an answer. Because to be able to say yes to one thing, means to say no to many others. But we must also remember, that the greatest danger is not impulsiveness, but inaction.”

It is fitting at this extraordinary moment in your country’s history that we hear that call to action; and we pray that in acting we do God’s work and follow God’s will.

And by the way, God bless you all."

但愿人长久

明月幾時有
把酒問青天
不知天上宮闕
今夕是何年

我欲乘風歸去
唯恐瓊樓玉宇
高處不勝寒
起舞弄清影
何似在人間

轉朱閣
低綺戶
照無眠
不應有恨
何事長向別時圓 （月時圓）

人有悲歡離合
月有陰晴圓缺
此事古難全
但願人長久
千里共嬋娟

compass

while we're in the midst of a treacherous journey, its easy to lose sight or sense of the direction to which we look forward in the journey. often its not just the destination or the direction of travel, but that which is far more important, the moral compass that ought to guide us, those principles that should never waver but be held on to with steadfast fervor. to constantly remind myself to do so, in spite of all that may happen around me.

certainty in the past, possibility of the future

the most attractive thing about the past is its certainty, the most seductive characteristic of the future is its possibility.

the security in certainty, the certainty of the past
certainty is a very attractive attribute, when all is uncertain and risks abound, that which is certain offers a safe refuge. when it comes to people we develop close relationships with, one of the best qualities a friend can have is predictability. people who are unpredictable are scary, you never know when your next word may cause them to smash that chair on your head. even though a certain degree of spontaneity is appreciated, in the long run, we often find the people that we keep close to us are those whom we can know well enough, deeply enough.

yet as much as we expect a certain things to remain constant, experience would have taught us that it is often not so. the volatile nature of the world we live in dictate that change is indeed the only constant. and like every ship in the vast expanse of the ocean, the only way to anchor is to anchor deep into the seabed. in life's choppy waters, we all need a seabed on which we can drop our anchor. some find it in a higher power or in people. others don't allow themselves to stop to lower their anchors, they move constantly while navigating by the stars, relative constants.

but for many, the past serves as the best anchor. akin to a traveller in a foreign land, setting off every day, the previous destination being the waypoint on which he embarks on another journey every single day. often, its the only anchor they can find. what can be more certain? than something that has already been part of living history.

the beauty of possibility, the possibility of the future
compared to the past, the future has no bounds, neither bounded by mistakes of failures, nor constrained by incapacity or inability. the fundamental difference is that it has no degree of certainty. we continuously create and recreate the future in our dreams and live it in our actions, by the steps we take and the decisions we make.

i am attracted by the future, excited by the possibilities, enthralled by hope and yet often when my rationality takes over, when the uncertainty and fear overwhelms, i am drawn to take solace in the past. but, here i am reminding myself again, that my life ends in the future, the dreams that i can realise, not in the past that i have lived.

look forward, move ahead.. glance back, but look forward, move ahead again.. and soon. that which was a moment ago, a moment of uncertainty will no longer be.

"He who controls the past commands the future. He who commands the future conquers the past." -George Orwell

go kart in jb

the art of contentment

i used to think contentment was an excuse for the incompetent, a veil behind which to seek solace when one throws in the towel, a dignified way of exit.
if excellence were a pinnacle, contentment a convenient way to justify abandoning the pursuit.

but as it always has been, as you grow older, the experiences you go through in life gives you the opportunity to learn more, more about yourself, more about the world you live in. you'll learn that contentment is a choice, of knowing what really matters and making those choices. that being content, is not about giving up the pursuit of excellence but to cherish and holding on to that which really matters. in the comfort of knowing that you already have that which really matters, the other pursuits pale in magnitude. in that comfort, you gain the confidence to take on any challenge that life may throw at you, to take each step in your stride, with a smile, because even if you lose it all at any these, you still have that which really matters.

or to paraphrase what has been famously said last week: there will come a time to "set aside childish things".

cny celebrations

when markets correct

one of the most fundamental theories in economics is that of the invisible hand by adam smith. the theory states that each man working for his own good, leads to the outcomes which are desirable for the community as a whole. that self interest can coexist with or more accurately, results in common good.

" every individual necessarily labours to render the annual revenue of the society as great as he can. He generally, indeed, neither intends to promote the public interest, nor knows how much he is promoting it. By preferring the support of domestic to that of foreign industry, he intends only his own security; and by directing that industry in such a manner as its produce may be of the greatest value, he intends only his own gain, and he is in this, as in many other cases, led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention. Nor is it always the worse for the society that it was no part of it. By pursuing his own interest he frequently promotes that of the society more effectually than when he really intends to promote it. I have never known much good done by those who affected to trade for the public good. "

it must be made clear that there has to exist a structure for which the "invisible hand" is able to operate, institutions of society that enforce property rights, moral norms and adherence to them amongst others which results in enforceable contracts that allows for exchange and trade to function.

its every man for himself in such a society; "it is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest. we address ourselves, not to their humanity but to their self-love." selfish motivation and actions that ought to result in more for everyone through trade and division of labour, and the corresponding mechanism that results in the most efficient allocation of resources in any society.

why then are there episodes where individual greed lead to disastrous results (or so perceived to be)
the dismal science provides an answer in something known as the tragedy of the commons, in which self interest results in collective loss due to excessive exploitation of a common, free resource. free in the sense that these costs are not charged to the user and each user sees it in his advantage to maximise his appropriation of the resource, a common resource which is finite in quantity. when costs are not fully reflected, the invisible hand fails to work as the basis on which it effectively allocates resources through is through the price mechanism and only when the cost of supply is effectively reflected in a good.

externalities as they are often called, exploited when not regulated or controlled, an industrial owner who dumps untreated chemical waste into river because the alternative is costlier treatment and disposal. however, externalities are pervasive, whenever there is imperfect information, whenever there are new goods, new players, new markets.

the reason for an asset bubble and its consequent unraveling is that of excessive demand fueled by factors that ultimately point to costs not being fully reflected. interest rates that do not reflect the true opportunity cost of capital (from the ultimate supplier of capital), or do not reflect the true risks of providing the capital (to the borrowers).

the invisible hand of allocative efficiency works through the mechanisms of pricing via supply and demand adjustments but when prices causes distortion in allocation of capital and resources, it is often up to the other hand, that of structural efficiency working through massive corrections of asset, services and good prices to restore failed markets. or probably the other hand ought to be called the invisible hand of social efficiency, though other structural impediments often result in worsening inequity in markets.

if there were two dimensions, both rational, that operates in markets, one of allocative efficiency that works in the short-medium term and the other of structural efficiency that works in the medium-long term that explains market cycles, there has to be another dimension, that of the irrational that fuels the increasing volatility inherent in the first two dimensions.

point is, such cycles are inevitable and ought to take place to ensure the long term efficiency of allocation of finite resources to infinite wants of which the human race knows no limits to.

31.12.08

If- Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!

the end of a year

its the time of the year, where we get swept up in the festivities.
but hopefully, to have looked backed at it and remember all the good of all the good things that have happened and lessons learnt from all the bad things that have inevitably come our way.

it is in the darkest of all nights, that the light will shine the brightest.

staring star

on a clear night sky, a few stars hang
some shining bright, some dimly lit
and i know, there's one star that tries to hide
behind the clouds, in the dark of the night
but in times of darkness, despair and great fear
i know that star will twinkle and wink
like a smile that once brought strength and hope
that there are distances that man cannot traverse
but love conquers all as it always has,
in spite of all, the inspiration remains
the pillar of strength will never fade

from some, much is taken away
to some, much is given
but i know i have been given far much,
than whatever has been taken away from me
and that gives me strength to carry on
to live out the dreams that have yet been lived

the pursuit

i think its probably something we all are born with. something that's embedded within our genetic code. its been like that since i was young, always wanting to push myself to go further, higher, faster. never satisfied to stay where i am for a moment. my grandma used to say i could never sit still for more than five minutes, well, five minutes is a long time you know. now look what that has got me into. well, gladly though.

what's it like to be doing something that's way beyond what you're "supposed" to be doing. firstly, it demands all of you, no reservations, no holding back. then the circumstances keep going against you, and murphy's law goes into overdrive. if you thinks that's bad enough, wait till the struggle moves within, when you begin to question yourself and fear tries to get a grip on you.

but if you know why you want to do what you do and you cling on to that belief, translate that belief into action and keep soldiering on, you'll make it. and when you've gotten there, you'll realise, that there's another challenge waiting ahead, and since you've already done it once, twice, how hard is it to do it another time? or so you thought.. veni, vidi, vici

in the moment of leadership

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” - John Quincy Adams

it is indeed inspiring when you witness the election of a political leader who for once demonstrates the ability to lead, to bring together, to unite. the raw essence of leadership, that of creating that which never existed, galvanising a nation to action greater than the sum of its parts. though it remains to be seen and history will be the ultimate judge of how good a president he will be, he has already started on a journey that will hopefully make the world a better place in the near future.

“A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.” - Lao Tzu

"We know the battle ahead will be long, but always remember that no
matter what obstacles stand in our way, nothing can withstand the
power of millions of voices calling for change.

We have been told we cannot do this by a chorus of cynics who will
only grow louder and more dissonant in the weeks to come. We've been
asked to pause for a reality check. We've been warned against
offering the people of this nation false hope.

But in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been
anything false about hope. For when we have faced down impossible
odds; when we've been told that we're not ready, or that we shouldn't
try, or that we can't, generations of Americans have responded with a
simple creed that sums up the spirit of a people.

Yes we can.

It was a creed written into the founding documents that declared the
destiny of a nation.

Yes we can.

It was whispered by slaves and abolitionists as they blazed a trail
toward freedom through the darkest of nights.

Yes we can.

It was sung by immigrants as they struck out from distant shores and
pioneers who pushed westward against an unforgiving wilderness.

Yes we can.

It was the call of workers who organized; women who reached for the
ballot; a President who chose the moon as our new frontier; and a King who took us to the mountaintop and pointed the way to the Promised Land.

Yes we can to justice and equality. Yes we can to opportunity and
prosperity. Yes we can heal this nation. Yes we can repair this
world. Yes we can.

And so tomorrow, as we take this campaign South and West; as we learn
that the struggles of the textile worker in Spartanburg are not so
different than the plight of the dishwasher in Las Vegas; that the
hopes of the little girl who goes to a crumbling school in Dillon are
the same as the dreams of the boy who learns on the streets of LA; we
will remember that there is something happening in America; that we
are not as divided as our politics suggests; that we are one people;
we are one nation; and together, we will begin the next great chapter
in America's story with three words that will ring from coast to
coast; from sea to shining sea - Yes. We. Can." - Barack Obama

one need not be a genius, or have any form of supernatural ability to be a leader. just one who is able to take the helm of a ship, a ship on which others more capable, more intelligent, willingly come on board. to steer the ship through waters calm and rough to the destination, or even if its beyond you, for the as long a journey as is within your means.

passion contagion

i have always loved to be around people who love what they do and do it with such energy, discipline and passion. its not often that you find such people. it takes a lot more then just an emotion or even a decision but the discipline to put one's word's into action and to sustain it until the objective is achieved.

i must say i have always been greatly inspired and influenced by such people. often you can't help but admire the energy and drive.

real glad i always find myself surrounded by such people.

" The great things in life are what they seem to be. And for that reason, strange as it may sound to you, often are very difficult to interpret. Great passion are for the great of souls. Great events can only be seen by people who are on a level with them. We think we can have our visions for nothing. We cannot. Even the finest and most self-sacrificing visions have to paid for. Strangely enough, that is what makes them fine.” - Oscar Wilde

bubblenomics

" the population of the United States (and most of the industrialized world) was aging and had built up savings. This created greater need for financial services. In addition, the economic rise of Asia — and, in recent years, the increase in oil prices — gave overseas governments more money to invest. Many turned to Wall Street.

Nonetheless, a significant portion of the finance boom also seems to have been unrelated to economic performance and thus unsustainable. Benjamin M. Friedman, author of “The Moral Consequences of Economic Growth,” recalled that when he worked at Morgan Stanley in the early 1970s, the firm’s annual reports were filled with photographs of factories and other tangible businesses. More recently, Wall Street’s annual reports tend to highlight not the businesses that firms were advising so much as finance for the sake of finance, showing upward-sloping graphs and photographs of traders.

“I have the sense that in many of these firms,” Mr. Friedman said, “the activity has become further and further divorced from actual economic activity.”"
- Bubblenomics, NY Times, David Leonhardt

the roundabout

probably its not the end of a one way road but more of a roundabout. when socialist systems that proposes equity meet the problem of a decreasing portion of a decreasing pie, capitalism takes off and the markets rides on the cycles of exuberance to excessive levels. when certain levers trigger endemic downward spirals, those negative feedback loops, widespread contagion trigger reactive plug gap solutions or in extreme cases, measures to socialise the excesses of capitalism. until a point of time when those measures cause a stifling of the free market mechanism and causes growth to sputter or come to a standstill.

probably, its the problem of the ideological straightjacket, there is no one ideology that works all the time, in every context. a dynamic system is unsustainable if the overarching socio-political system struggles to fit itself into a static and dogmatic ideological domain.

yong tong's birthday

excessive rationalisation

is it a cause for concern when almost everyone is taking it for granted the conventional business cycle and is trying to ride upon the next upswing via participation in equity markets which appears to have been beaten down to "unprecedented" levels. really?

has the equity risk premium factored in the uncertainty of the underlying assumptions of constant or increasing growth and return on equity? what if the fundamental workings of the economy has changed in developed markets, in which we've been constantly applying an excessive bias of optimism in the economic growth contingent on unending innovation, ceaseless entreprenership and ever increasing effectiveness.

is there an alternative?

thinking out loud..

income inequality

income inequality is often seen as one of the undesirable consequences of capitalism. in the traditional sense, i.e. money wages type of income. it is unacceptable in an egalitarian society for one to earn five hundred times the multiple another's salary when the latter puts in the same hours of work. that has been evident in the uproar against top executives when their compensation packages go completely out of line relative to salaries of anyone else in the organisation or its long term performance. when 70% of income goes to 5% of society, why do we continue to subscribe to such a system where as wealth increases, it increasingly accrues unevenly. often, those who argue against the "ill effects" of capitalism wish that they belong to the top 5%. isn't it also true that despite our grouses, we all aspire to belong to marx's bourgeoisie class.

a day's wages for a day's work
in economic theory, where there are perfect markets for labour, where companies compete fairly for labour, workers will be paid their marginal product. that is to put simply, if one hour of your work brings in $10 for the company, you ought to be paid just that. every owner of a food stall knows that principle well and clear. in theory, it ought to be that way in every organisation, after you take into account the rent due to owners of capital, investors or shareholders. yet it is not often so, markets are never perfect. on the supply side, due to information asymmetry, barriers to employment and skill demands. even in an era of globalisation, whilst goods and capital move relatively freely across borders, immigration policies restrain free movement of labour. even if labour markets were perfectly efficient and accrue to each individual his fair wage, it must be recognised that the inputs one bring to any labour process consists of more then just expended physical labour or knowledge and skills but experience, networks, ingenuity and other characteristics that are not quantitatively measurable. ideally, one should be paid his marginal product, but except for labour processes of the simplest order (that found in industrial/agricultural production systems), it is not possible to define and therefore pay a worker his marginal product of labour.

income as a means to an end, not an end in itself
we trade our time and energy for income in which we thereafter use to obtain goods to meet our needs as well as that of our dependants. the egalitarian argument against income inequality fails to recognise that ultimately, income only serves as a means for us to meet our needs in life. modern society is built on the premise of each individual maximising his potential by "producing" in the realm in which he has a competitive advantage. that is to say, i do not grow my own rice and vegetables because even though i can do so, i am better off by being a barber because i have the skills and knowledge that allows me to be a better barber then a farmer. with the gains from being a barber, i then pay a farmer to obtain the rice and vegetables i need. modern society allows an individual to obtain far more then he would have if he had to grow his own food, build his own home, protect his family with arms, teach his children, etc.

ultimately, its about what we obtain with our income that meets our basic as well as higher level needs.

" Thus, income measures that focus on money wealth and money prices will often misrepresent the changes in "true" inequality that have arisen over time.. After all, the average person in mid nineteenth-century Western Europe would have been counted fortunate to be able to afford meat once a week. There were often insufficient quantities of the basics like potatoes, bread, and porridge for a great many. Indeed, at one point, the politicians' promise of "a chicken in every pot" was considered as ritual and outlandish as "no new taxes" seems today.
Just as spices like vanilla and pepper are now so trivially cheap that we forget that fortunes were once made importing such treasures to the West, we come to denigrate if not simply ignore the vast number of things that ordinary people can afford because they have become so cheap. In some sense, fixating on monetary income will always overstate these differences. "

" if we judge inequality by what people can afford we will be blind to the fact that most of what ordinary people want to eat can be had for trifling sums."
- Economic Growth and True Inequality by John V.C. Nye
- What is Wealth Inequality? by Art Carden

even endowment, uneven allocation
fact is, we are not born the same, but of unique characteristics, into unique families to face unique circumstances. there are no doubt amongst us gifted ones, who seem to achieve far more with far less effort. there are those who are born into wealth and prosperity and those who struggle to get by from the moment they are born. yet, we all have the same twenty four hours each day, to trade for goods to meet all our needs. you can decide what you want to do with the time you have, for more, for less, its up to you. time horizon is an important factor. haven't we all learnt to "make hay while the sun shines" and that we defer pleasure and expend greater effort for greater gains or to acquire skills or to make investments for long term gains. wealth is not about how much we earn, but the degree to which we are able to defer moments of instant gratification.

equal opportunity, unequal outcomes
where markets fail, intervention is needed to "make right" the failings. government often plays the role through regulation and law. whilst i would agree that a progressive tax system helps in redistribution, a bigger government only stifles high powered market incentives, creativity and the spirit of enterprise. the role of the government is not to run every function in society but those public goods for which no one is willing to pay for and yet whose absence is clearly undesirable.

with a widening income gap, there are calls for government policies of legislated minimum wages, welfare income supplementation and other heavy handed measures to ensure that "no one gets left out". it is true that there are many that need a helping hand and they are stuck in a "cycle of poverty" that without assistance, they cannot easily get out of. the rising income inequality has been attributed by many economists to "skill biased technological progress", where the returns to those with the right skills continue to grow in a knowledge based economy while those without decrease as technological progress removes the simplest, technical jobs. assistance therefore should not be focused on income supplementation which is continuous and costly over long periods but workforce development, upgrading and training which is costly in the short run but beneficial in the long run.

the imf in its recent assessmentof the aftermath of the 1997 asian financial crisis has highlighted the importance of addressing the rising income inequality. "If unattended, growing disparities could strain social cohesion and undermine the support for further engagement in the global economy, in spite of great potential benefits. More broadly, tears in the social fabric could lead to inferior economic outcomes—namely, lower long-term growth, macroeconomic instability, and dwindling room for maneuver when adverse shocks occur."

rising income gaps also reflect an increasing premium for college education and skills. though how long this premium will be sustained depends on future changes in work processes and technology. gary becker attributes the rising payoffs as beneficial and desirable the upside of income inequality. "to try to take greater advantage of the opportunities afforded by the higher returns to human capital and encourage more human capital investment"
the role of the government is hence not to ensure equal economic outcomes but to ensure equal opportunity through ensuring the right incentive/disincentive mix.

"You can boil down most economic policy debates — starting with Hamilton versus Jefferson and moving to Bush versus the Democrats — to this tension: how can you promote equality without killing off the genie of American prosperity?" The Inequality Conundrum. NY Times

childhood dreams

those dreams, probably irrational, probably childish, purely a product of innocence and the things we get exposed to in the earlier days of our lives. some of them end up fulfilled either as a result of personal endeavour or circumstance but most of them tossed aside, more often than not by rationalisation or simply, the passage of time.

how many times have we been told never to daydream, and that you can keep building sandcastles in the sky but as long as you don't lay your hands to the sand and start working, they'll forever remain there, in the sky of your dreams. well, that's defintely true to a large extent, hard work, persistence is and will always be in the order that preceeds success or any meaningful endeavour. yet, in the haste of fitting into the lives that we "ought" to live, most of us have probably stopped dreaming, every day and endless struggle against that twenty four hours that we are limited to tap on.

have you forgotten how its like to have a dream, bring it into reality and live in that moment of fulfillment? well, many of us are probably already living the lives that we once dreamt of, or having achieve those dreams we once had, yet we probably have forgotten those dreams in the very first place.

starting counting. and sometimes when you realise that you're actually living in a moment when a dream has come true, you will be thankful, for all those who've made it possible, for you to live your dreams.

with appreciation

thank you. its been a wonderful weekend.

稻香-周杰伦

对这个世界如果你有太多的抱怨
跌倒了就不敢继续往前走
为什么人要这么的脆弱 堕落
请你打开电视看看
多少人为生命在努力勇敢的走下去
我们是不是该知足
珍惜一切 就算没有拥有

还记得你说家是唯一的城堡
随著稻香河流继续奔跑
微微笑 小时候的梦我知道
不要哭让萤火虫带著你逃跑
乡间的歌谣永远的依靠
回家吧 回到最初的美好

不要这麼容易就想放弃
就像我说的
追不到的梦想 换个梦不就得了
为自己的人生鲜艳上色
先把爱涂上喜欢的颜色

笑一个吧 功成名就不是目的
让自己快乐快乐这才叫做意义
童年的纸飞机
现在终於飞回我手里

所谓的那快乐
赤脚在田里追蜻蜓追到累了
偷摘水果被蜜蜂给叮到怕了
谁在偷笑呢
我靠著稻草人吹著风唱著歌睡著了
哦 哦 午后吉它在虫鸣中更清脆
哦 哦 阳光洒在路上就不怕心碎
珍惜一切 就算没有拥有

mispriced capital

a bubble in financial markets occurs when market prices of assets rise beyond their fundamental value. the difficulty in identifying bubbles occurs due to the fact that different assets have different characteristic potential stream of future cash flows.

a stock trading at twenty times net asset value per share would not be uncharacteristic of service related firms (low on quantifiable assets, high on human capital), though it might be an indication of asset price inflation for a firm in extractive industries.

the value of an apartment could technically be priced based on the expected income stream from leasing the apartment for the feasible lifespan of the apartment. that is often of out sync with real world property prices which in certain prime locations then to be bidded up to levels as long as there is a transaction which meet those levels. so is the price a true calculated appreciation of the value of the property or simply a symbol of excessiveness fueled by speculation and ostentation.

asset bubbles are fueled by large supply of capital at low interest rates which promote leverage to derive excess gain. when interest rates do not fully reflect the full cost of capital, the free market mechanism tends to produce positive feedback loops that result in inflation across all factors of production. access to capital ought to be unfettered but self regulated in a free market by the mechanism of interest rates. the breakdown occurs when the cost of capital fails to reflect the inherent risks in the asset in which the capital is invested in. credit becomes cheaper than it ought to be.

notably it is not simply the policy interest rate, a tool through which monetary policy is effected in economic conditions in which such intervention is necessary. it is the spread at which different players in financial markets gain access to capital that determines the cost of capital to these players. rating agencies whose independence of judgment has been severely questioned inadvertently play the role of arbiter. when these agencies fail to properly assess the underlying risk of the parties in question, capital will be mispriced. the failure of rating agencies result in severe misallocation of capital with capital being cheaply available to agents whose excessive leverage appears acceptable for their supposedly stable earning streams and balance sheets. you have a recepie for misallocation when the very mechanism that free markets proposes to allocative efficency fails due to a lack of independence and do not reflect unbaised assestment of risks.

mid autumn celebrations

但愿人长久，千里共婵娟

its a festival that's celebrated in one short night, most visibly by the pockets of families around the number one hot spot everywhere around the island, playgrounds. there's this thing about mid autumn festival, lanterns and playgrounds. back in the old days when playgrounds had sand pits and not "non toxic plastic foam", the safest place for any kid to play with the potentially dangerous combination of paper lanterns, candles, sparklers and matches was at those sand pits.

the excitement builds up usually a few weeks prior to the event, when shops in the neighborhood start hanging out an array of lanterns made out of colored crepe paper, cellophane paper or the much safer battery powered musical pvc lanterns. other than the classic designs, every year, you would surely find the latest cartoon characters fashioned into the shape of a lantern, though i've seen plenty of nemo lanterns, i have yet seen one in the shape of the rat in ratatouille. those battery powered pvc lanterns were usually exorbitantly priced and only for the very young who never fail to be bemused and would not hesitate to turn off the lights every night for a few days just to see the lantern light up in its full glory. the older kids though usually prefer the cheap paper lanterns, the only time of the year when you could "legitimately" light up lots of candles (regardless of your age) and ultimately burn whatever you can lay your hands on. my surveys have shown that somehow the finale event for the night was always the "ceremonious" burning of the lanterns, not that there was anything symbolic or traditional at all with that ritual.

so while the old folks hung around the benches, supposedly enjoying mooncakes, pomelos (chinese grapefruit) and chinese tea under the moonlight, the kids would be left to their own devices. so there you have it, a festival that everyone young and old enjoys, another chance for the family to gather. not bad for a festival which was meant to commemorate an uprising in china. though, honestly, the symbolism has been more about the reunion than the uprising.

though even if not for any other reason. its a festival we should never stop celebrating, or every child would miss the chance to discover the inner physicist or for the wet blanket kid that always appears to spoil the fun, the inner fireman within him.

水调歌头 - 苏轼

明月几时有，把酒问青天。
不知天上宫阙，今夕是何年？
我欲乘风归去，又恐琼楼玉宇，高处不胜寒。
起舞弄清影，何似在人间！

转朱阁，低绮户，照无眠。
不应有恨，何事长向别时圆？
人有悲欢离合，月有阴晴圆缺，此事古难全。
但愿人长久，千里共婵娟。

melvin & irene's wedding

with the newly wed and the soon to be newly wed ;)

contingency

on my way back home, hunger pangs kicked in despite me having had dinner. i decided to detour to a food centre which i used to frequent many years back, headed to the very same store as always, sort of relieved it was still there, given the rate at which things change in this city.

in a deja vu moment, i recalled the numerous suppers i had there many years back and the meals i had there after classes as far back as twenty years ago. i remember there was a friend who loved this very dish as much as i did. a friend whom i've lost touch with many years back. i have to say it was a friendship which was very much atypical of a contingent relationship, in this case friendship contingent on affiliation.

there are many different relationships in life, one being the kind by virtue of blood relations, the other a product of either or both choice and circumstance. within the latter, the most superficial of all being relationships of convenience, it lasts as long as it serves the purpose for which it was intended. the next being that of relationships of contingency, contingent on either association or affiliation. association contingent relationships refer to those people whom we loosely call associates, whom we've spent certain phases of our lives with, be it in school, in our careers or other circumstances which life dictates. affiliation contingent relationships goes deeper, usually forming stronger bonds because they go beyond the periphery of our lives, affiliated beliefs, causes that bring people together for extended periods of time or even for entire lifetimes.

yet these relationships, despite the semblance of stability and permanence are often as fragile due to the fact that they ultimately are contingent relationships, which fade away when those affiliations no longer exist by choice or by circumstance. the painful part is when it happens if one is totally unprepared for it. inevitably though, its one of those lessons in life we learn by living through it.

thankfully, there are relationships that are neither fully contingent or the least convenient, they are those that are formed by circumstance but sustained by choice. these are the ones whom you know will be there through the seasons, the years, the phases that life takes us through.

as i sat there eating, and think back of those friendships, no doubt i would have hoped that those friendships could have been moved beyond that of contingency, beyond affiliations. did i make the choice to do so? i did, but they were not reciprocated. quite simply, its not just the choice of one party, but it truly takes two hands to clap, not just a one sided desire to take it beyond the level of contingency. i guess, that's life, a journey where you pick up some along the way and you drop some, but ultimately, the ones that you keep on with you will be the ones that really matter. that's all that matters, really.

you just get me

Your personality tendencies in a nutshell...

You always follow through on your plans and commitments in an efficient manner. You are curious about many different things and highly value artistic expressions and ingenious thoughts. You tend to be relaxed in most situations and can handle stress well. You are typically respectful toward others and dislike confrontation. You show some tendency toward being outgoing and sociable.

About that "Disciplined" bubble...
If someone called you "anal" you would correct them and say, "You mean anal retentive, not to be confused with anal expulsive, which Freud also wrote about." But see, you're like that. You are both meticulous and thorough with everything that you do. If there was ever a person who ironed their jeans or kept a color-coded closet, it would be you. Life as a perfectionist is not so bad. Despite the teasing that you get from your not-as-perfect friends and family, you always know where that CD you're looking for is because of your alphabetized collection. And, you can have a holier-than-thou attitude towards others because you know that you got it going on. People can always depend on you because you would rather be poked by a thousand hot-pointed needles then have someone think that you're a slacker. You are so punctual that you even show up on time for your root canal and wonder in frustration why it is that everyone always seems to be late, including your dentist. Never fear, with your personality, you will always have a career in professions that require extreme discipline, such as Buddhist monk, drill sergeant, or high-wire act.

About that "Alternative" bubble...
You are intellectually curious, imaginative, and literary. I do believe the technical term is "artsy fartsy." When reading poetry, the images may move you until you quiver with delight, or perhaps quivering from all of the espresso that you've been drinking. Speaking of caffeine, it would not be a big surprise if you indulged in other substances to heighten your senses. After all, whoever heard of creative geniuses who were sober? Freud was a coke-head, Hemingway was a fall-down drunk, and Robert Johnson supposedly sold his soul to the devil, probably while high on wacky tabacky. You have quite the active fantasy life and are often in la la land, earning you the well-deserved nickname "space cadet" from your loved ones. Mostly, you're a lot of fun to hang out with because you're always game for whatever idea your non-medicated (but should be) friend has in mind. The next time someone suggests that you streak naked in the dead of winter, do think twice, or at least wear some mittens.

About that "Unemotional" bubble...
Some people consistently react emotionally to their environment and freak out over little things. You, my friend, are not among those people - at least not usually. Worrying and stressing are not your typical style. Even faced with absurd circumstances, you are calm and may pride yourself in your ability to use logic and reason. As a consequence of your Dalai Lama-like persona, you seldom experience the highs and lows of more emotionally reactive folks. Rather, your moods could be graphed like the flat-line of an ER patient. That analogy may seem grim, but *really*, who is more placid than the person who ceases to be? Anyhoo, if you're annoyed with my analogy right now, it's probably because you only scored medium high in the emotional stability trait and have some tendencies to be easily disturbed and offended.

About that "Cooperative" bubble...
Your scores would suggest that you tend to be more agreeable than you are competitive. What does that mean? For starters, it means that you have a fairly strong tendency to believe in social harmony and cooperation. You are a nice person. You want people to get along and do the right thing - for each other, for the greater humanity. That's not to say that you are a total pushover, but that you believe in the niceties of life. This is probably why you are very popular with people and have many friends. The difference between you and someone who is very high in agreeableness is that you have a bit of an edge. Maybe you laugh when people fall down and hurt themselves, maybe you secretly occasionally think people suck. Whatever it is that's holding you back from winning Ms. or Mr. Congeniality, that's also what makes you more interesting.

About that "Extraverted" bubble...
I have a friend who can strike up a conversation with anyone: Nobel Peace prize nominees and winners, muppets, sanitation workers, perfect strangers, my crazy uncle Harry. My friend is a bona-fide extravert. Your scores indicate that while you tend to be extraverted, you also have some degree of reserve. Perhaps in some situations, you prefer to say less or maybe you have duct tape over your mouth. Either way, you may save your high energy for the situations when you have a need or desire to be "on" and your quiet moments for those with whom you feel most comfortable.

the allure of the games

when you see people of all ages glued to the screen, staring intently at that little white ball shuffling at lightning speeds from one paddle to another and screaming at each hit or miss. when you see on the screens of different people websites showing the latest results of various events. when the subject of almost every conversation is the about that which has taken or is taking place right now in beijing.

when you bite at your nails in those moments where a slight twitch will determine the winner, when a split second sets apart an champion. when you shout in exhilaration when the game point is won, when the record is broken. you somehow share that moment, the emotions with that athelete participating in the event, only with much much less effort.

maybe its the way these athletes show us what can be achieved when you combine talent, dedication and hard work. the way some of them go beyond what was previously thought to be humanely impossible. or maybe its because they represent our nations and for some, fly it high at the highest levels on the largest arena. ultimately i think its an innate part of all of us, the motivation to keep moving faster than we ever had, further than we've ever been. the desire to excel on whichever stage we're place on, to conquer new peaks, break old records. that all these seemingly superhuman feats are achieved very much because of that very human nature within us.

pili's birthday celebration

another wonderful celebration, for our dear OC! =)

the passion of that pursuit

i've always loved photography, i remember very clearly the first time i was "empowered" with a camera was when i went for a school outing to the botanic gardens when i was 12. back then it was all film, but even then i could take up to three rolls of film for each event. after each event, i would rush to the photography shop to get them developed, eagerly anticipating the results. years and rolls of film later, thankfully for the advent of digital photography, i could pursue this interest less worry about the cost of film and developing all those photos at least half of which were usually less than desirable shots.

there's something about photography. its the fact that you only have one chance to get it right, the quest to capture the emotions, perspective and everything in that moment in a picture. the way you feel when you look at a photo years later and how it conjures out the exact emotions you experienced at that moment and how you can help others relieve those moments long past.
inasmuch as its a science with all the options and settings available on most of the digital cameras we have today, it really is an art and as with any other art form, there is a quest for beauty and perfection that keeps the artist in his continuous, life long pursuit.

this pursuit frustrates as much as it brings great joy. it is inherently demanding and yet totally invigorating. i guess its the same as with any other passion and really the only way you can identify a passion from a fad. that even if it demands so much from you, you keep giving and take great pleasure and fulfillment in every smallest achievement or breakthrough. its like as if you can never stop giving more and more of yourself because you receive so much more. beyond accolades or any quantified form of achievement or success but the knowledge that you have given all you've got in that moment, for that moment and thereafter wait with eager anticipation for the next moment.

there will come a day, when you realise that the pursuit is not just for excellence in the form of an award, a record or even critical acclaim. the pursuit is to meet the standard of the world's harshest critic. the critic that never fails to continually raise the bar higher. the critic that is never satisfied. and when you realise the world's harshest critic should be, yourself. that is what will fuel the passion, the passion of that pursuit, par excellence.

beijing olympics opening ceremony

thats what you get when you take creativity, a desire to impress and couple it with technology and unlimited resources. a breathtaking visual spectacle that leaves you spellbound.

what kicked of the show was the release of 29 foot print shaped fireworks each second that stomped from the southern end of the central axis of beijing to the bird nest stadium at the northen end. the golden showers fireworks from the roof of the stadium creating the effect of stars that falling onto the floor of the stadium to form the olympic rings shimmering in white light. the jaw dropping moment was when the rings that were thought to be just a LED display on the floor of the stadium literally rose from the ground and ascended into mid air.



the hallmark of the director being clearly evident in the attention to detail, the use of colours, warm hues in one scene to cool blues in another. some of the camera views and angles wouldn't have looked out of place in his movies.

the ceremony literally painted a picture of harmony of the world, of man and nature, of man and technology. the image of a painting depicting a mountain range, waves of the sea and the sun vividly portrayed in a beautiful LED scroll (127m long and 22m wide) that unfurled and transformed itself throughout the show.


behind the show was obviously tens of thousands of performers, technicians and volunteers who put in years of hard work into making everything move like clockwork. i think it was a beautiful display of what can be achieved when there is unity of vision and full fledged dedication to the task at hand.



they do deserve accolades for a splendid show. now its time for the athletes to strut their stuff and show the world, what they are made of.

believer

i'm a believer.
i believe in myself, in dreams, in people.

in myself, the ability to overcome all odds
in dreams, the source of all hope

but most importantly...in people.
even those with whom no one else will stand with
because the world will see the impossible realised,
not in the ones who move with the herd or sway with the crowd.. but the ones who stand alone against the herd, who rooted in their purpose and cause stand firm
and in the process make their lives worthwhile

simply because i've always been blessed
and while my failures are my own
all my successes have been because of those who have believed in me
those who have never failed to stand by me all these years
thank you

a great bbq nite

isn't it great to have all the best pals under one roof? good food, great company. life is good!

what is home?

is it the gleaming buildings that reflects this visually perfect city we live in?
is it the way everything works that epitomises the clockwork efficiency of this modern metropolis we live in?
is it the order in the midst of chaos? is it the pursuit of perfection?
is it the people that surround us, physically or in our hearts that reminds us of that which really matter in our lives?

its all that and more, sometimes, its neither about asking the right questions or having all the answers. you know in your hearts. why you call the place you call home.

its what we make out of it

someone told me the only people who believe in friendships are the ones who't don't realise till its too late that its fragile and undependable.
no. i say the only people who don't believe in friendships are the ones who don't realise till its too late. it is indeed fragile and only as dependable as you are. its what you make out of it.

some people say life is unfair and why does it seem that some people just get all the good cards in life while some others always seem to be dealt with a losing hand.
no. its not what is given to you, its what you make out of it that makes all the difference.

i seldom discuss about my work over here. its just not me to discuss or lament over work. all i got to say is its been a great experience, i'm learning to deal with issues and people like never before. and i'm truly loving it. i guess that's all that matters. even though in this day and age where employee loyalty is probably an oxymoron, and everyone has every right to exercise his rights simply by walking away anytime, its really not about what life throws at you (or what you've thrown yourself into), if you try hard enough, and look at it from the right perspective, you will take away something worthwhile.

oh. and there's something to add though. in my job, the best thing is, i don't work for money, i put money to work, and it works for me! thats my job.

its not what is give to you, its what you make out of it
its not what is thrown at you, its what you take out of it
its not who you have to bear with, its how you bring the best out of them and in the process
learn about yourself, and take away the most valuable lessons in life. experience.

the simplest joys

the purest form of joy,
is not found, in the comedies which make a parody out of life
nor in the fulfillment of the insatiable wants of man, if it ever were possible.

the simplest form of happiness,
is not found, in the temporal moments of euphoria in which we seek reprieve
nor in the things which you try to hold on so tightly to, till the moment it slips away.

you learn to see it in the eyes of a child, the infectious twinkle that lights up your eyes
hear it in the giggles, the sounds that pierces every dark could
and simply.. smile

nelson mandela - lessons from a lifetime

Mandela: His 8 Lessons of Leadership
By RICHARD STENGEL, TIME

1. Courage is not the absence of fear — it's inspiring others to move beyond it
"Of course I was afraid!" "I can't pretend that I'm brave and that I can beat the whole world." But as a leader, you cannot let people know. "You must put up a front."

And that's precisely what he learned to do: pretend and, through the act of appearing fearless, inspire others. It was a pantomime Mandela perfected on Robben Island, where there was much to fear. Prisoners who were with him said watching Mandela walk across the courtyard, upright and proud, was enough to keep them going for days. He knew that he was a model for others, and that gave him the strength to triumph over his own fear.

2. Lead from the front — but don't leave your base behind
Mandela launched a campaign to persuade the ANC that his was the correct course. His reputation was on the line. He went to each of his comrades in prison, Kathrada remembers, and explained what he was doing. Slowly and deliberately, he brought them along. "You take your support base along with you," says Ramaphosa, who was secretary-general of the ANC and is now a business mogul. "Once you arrive at the beachhead, then you allow the people to move on. He's not a bubble-gum leader — chew it now and throw it away."

For Mandela, refusing to negotiate was about tactics, not principles. Throughout his life, he has always made that distinction. His unwavering principle — the overthrow of apartheid and the achievement of one man, one vote — was immutable, but almost anything that helped him get to that goal he regarded as a tactic. He is the most pragmatic of idealists.

3. Lead from the back — and let others believe they are in front
The chief's job, Mandela said, was not to tell people what to do but to form a consensus. "Don't enter the debate too early," he used to say.

During the time I worked with Mandela, he often called meetings of his kitchen cabinet at his home in Houghton, a lovely old suburb of Johannesburg. He would gather half a dozen men, Ramaphosa, Thabo Mbeki (who is now the South African President) and others around the dining-room table or sometimes in a circle in his driveway. Some of his colleagues would shout at him — to move faster, to be more radical — and Mandela would simply listen. When he finally did speak at those meetings, he slowly and methodically summarized everyone's points of view and then unfurled his own thoughts, subtly steering the decision in the direction he wanted without imposing it. The trick of leadership is allowing yourself to be led too. "It is wise," he said, "to persuade people to do things and make them think it was their own idea."

4. Know your enemy — and learn about his favorite sport
As far back as the 1960s, mandela began studying Afrikaans, the language of the white South Africans who created apartheid. His comrades in the ANC teased him about it, but he wanted to understand the Afrikaner's worldview; he knew that one day he would be fighting them or negotiating with them, and either way, his destiny was tied to theirs.

This was strategic in two senses: by speaking his opponents' language, he might understand their strengths and weaknesses and formulate tactics accordingly. But he would also be ingratiating himself with his enemy. Everyone from ordinary jailers to P.W. Botha was impressed by Mandela's willingness to speak Afrikaans and his knowledge of Afrikaner history. He even brushed up on his knowledge of rugby, the Afrikaners' beloved sport, so he would be able to compare notes on teams and players.

5. Keep your friends close — and your rivals even closer
Many of the guests mandela invited to the house he built in Qunu were people whom, he intimated to me, he did not wholly trust. He had them to dinner; he called to consult with them; he flattered them and gave them gifts. Mandela is a man of invincible charm — and he has often used that charm to even greater effect on his rivals than on his allies.

Mandela believed that embracing his rivals was a way of controlling them: they were more dangerous on their own than within his circle of influence. He cherished loyalty, but he was never obsessed by it. After all, he used to say, "people act in their own interest." It was simply a fact of human nature, not a flaw or a defect. The flip side of being an optimist — and he is one — is trusting people too much. But Mandela recognized that the way to deal with those he didn't trust was to neutralize them with charm.

6. Appearances matter — and remember to smile
We sometimes forget the historical correlation between leadership and physicality. George Washington was the tallest and probably the strongest man in every room he entered. Size and strength have more to do with DNA than with leadership manuals, but Mandela understood how his appearance could advance his cause. As leader of the ANC's underground military wing, he insisted that he be photographed in the proper fatigues and with a beard, and throughout his career he has been concerned about dressing appropriately for his position.

When Mandela was running for the presidency in 1994, he knew that symbols mattered as much as substance. He was never a great public speaker, and people often tuned out what he was saying after the first few minutes. But it was the iconography that people understood. When he was on a platform, he would always do the toyi-toyi, the township dance that was an emblem of the struggle. But more important was that dazzling, beatific, all-inclusive smile. For white South Africans, the smile symbolized Mandela's lack of bitterness and suggested that he was sympathetic to them. To black voters, it said, I am the happy warrior, and we will triumph. The ubiquitous ANC election poster was simply his smiling face. "The smile," says Ramaphosa, "was the message."

7. Nothing is black or white
Mandela is comfortable with contradiction. As a politician, he was a pragmatist who saw the world as infinitely nuanced. Much of this, I believe, came from living as a black man under an apartheid system that offered a daily regimen of excruciating and debilitating moral choices: Do I defer to the white boss to get the job I want and avoid a punishment? Do I carry my pass?

As a statesman, Mandela was uncommonly loyal to Muammar Gaddafi and Fidel Castro. They had helped the ANC when the U.S. still branded Mandela as a terrorist. When I asked him about Gaddafi and Castro, he suggested that Americans tend to see things in black and white, and he would upbraid me for my lack of nuance. Every problem has many causes. While he was indisputably and clearly against apartheid, the causes of apartheid were complex. They were historical, sociological and psychological. Mandela's calculus was always, What is the end that I seek, and what is the most practical way to get there?

8. Quitting is leading too
Knowing how to abandon a failed idea, task or relationship is often the most difficult kind of decision a leader has to make. In many ways, Mandela's greatest legacy as President of South Africa is the way he chose to leave it. When he was elected in 1994, Mandela probably could have pressed to be President for life — and there were many who felt that in return for his years in prison, that was the least South Africa could do.

In the history of Africa, there have been only a handful of democratically elected leaders who willingly stood down from office. Mandela was determined to set a precedent for all who followed him — not only in South Africa but across the rest of the continent. He would be the anti-Mugabe, the man who gave birth to his country and refused to hold it hostage. "His job was to set the course," says Ramaphosa, "not to steer the ship." He knows that leaders lead as much by what they choose not to do as what they do.

Ultimately, the key to understanding Mandela is those 27 years in prison. The man who walked onto Robben Island in 1964 was emotional, headstrong, easily stung. The man who emerged was balanced and disciplined. He is not and never has been introspective. I often asked him how the man who emerged from prison differed from the willful young man who had entered it. He hated this question. Finally, in exasperation one day, he said, "I came out mature." There is nothing so rare — or so valuable — as a mature man.

weiqi's graduation

not forever? does it matter?

somethings don't last forever, they don't have to
all that matters is that moment, for that moment
that which in it, it fulfills its purpose, for which it was created for

never carried over

have there been times when you were told were incapable?
times when you were told you were too young, too inexperienced?
and if you ever thought it will go away simply with age, simply with the passage of time,

you are wrong,
wrong, if you are never contented with the limits that are drawn for you,
the walls that appear as frightful obstacles,
those lines of convention, lines that if you stay within, you will only be who they want you to be,
not who you truly want to or are meant to be

know that its inevitable if you keep wanting to be at the top of what you do,
if you know you have within you the desire to go faster, soar higher,
the spirit of excellence, of breaking through,

tell yourself, that you will never carry your worries, fears or frustrations from one day over to another. that burden is simply too heavy to begin a new day with,
too heavy to allow you to jump over those obstacles, climb those walls
the only things worth carrying over, any day, are the lessons learnt and most importantly
the dreams that keep you alive

“success means having the courage, the determination, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be” - george sheehan

sending lianghan off to paris

flashbacks

does the past serve as a memorial
for us to occasionally revisit, reminisce
for the times that were, the joys there were

does it serve as a thorn
that pricks into the flesh with each step forward you take
for the pain, for the tears
that haunts, that torments

or does it serve as a citadel
the foundation on which dreams are launched
on which the future is built
that comforts, that anchors

黑暗已在空中盘旋, 该往哪我看不见
也许爱在梦的另一端, 无法存活在真实的空间
- 回到过去, 周杰伦

sdbf 08

the education system as it is

have you ever wondered what was the objective of the education system in its present form as a core institution of society? how the system evolved to be what it is this day and why we adhere to the system?

"In the medieval European universities, candidates who had completed three or four years of study in the prescribed texts of the trivium (grammar, rhetoric, and logic), and the quadrivium (mathematics, geometry, astronomy and music), together known as the Liberal Arts, and who had successfully passed examinations held by their masters, would be admitted to the degree of bachelor of arts, from the Latin baccalaureus, a term previously usually used of a squire (i.e., apprentice) to a knight..."

the cumulation of one's formal education has always been when one obtains such a prescribed course of study, thereafter known as college. it presupposes that knowledge and demonstrated skill in application (albeit in a theoretical fashion) of logic, science and art is essential to one's future endeavors.

however, university education has evolved to be more than just a process by which one acquires the skill of rhetoric and logic or knowledge of the arts and sciences which has very much been "delegated" to earlier stages of the formal education process. today it is very much a training ground (or as much as it seeks to be) for one's future profession, be it in the engineering and sciences or that of in finance and commerce. not very far away from the apprenticeship schemes of old but far more institutionalised. yet, ironically, it is losing its touch with reality as few people make informed choices in their college majors. more college graduates who undertake technical/engineering programs end up in unrelated fields than ever. all is not lost if one has through the vigours of the programme developed the analytical skills that are transferable across industries and vocations. however, the economic inefficiency is stark when there is a mismatch of supply and demand of "trained persons" due to assumptions made by education officials of the forward demand of professionals in various fields. that coupled with the poor choices that young people make due to the unavailablity of accurate information of sound advice may significantly reduce the cost of education, a deadweight loss due to inefficiency.

college education should really go back to what it was intended to do or at least not neglect it. that of imbuing in one the ability to step back, thinking logically, stepping back in and applying solutions to problems and iterations of the process until the problem is solved. by reducing the time spent on specialisation at an early stage and delaying such choices to a post-grad education (where necessary), college education can be made more wholesome and beneficial for individuals and the cost of mismatch greatly reduced.

"Perhaps the most valuable result of all education is the ability to make yourself do the thing you have to do, when it ought to be done, whether you like it or not; it is the first lesson that ought to be learned; and however early a man's training begins, it is probably the last lesson that he learns thoroughly." - Thomas Henry Huxley

"If then a practical end must be assigned to a University course, I say it is that of training good members of society. Its art is the art of social life, and its end is fitness for the world. It neither confines its views to particular professions on the one hand, nor creates heroes or inspires genius on the other. Works indeed of genius fall under no art; heroic minds come under no rule; a University is not a birthplace of poets or of immortal authors, of founders of schools, leaders of colonies, or conquerors of nations. It does not promise a generation of Aristotles or Newtons, of Napoleons or Washingtons, of Raphaels or Shakespeares, though such miracles of nature it has before now contained within its precincts. Nor is it content on the other hand with forming the critic or the experimentalist, the economist or the engineer, though such too it includes within its scope. But a University training is the great ordinary means to an great but ordinary end; it aims at raising the intellectual tone of society, at cultivating the public mind, at purifying the national taste, at supplying true principles to popular enthusiasm and fixed aims to popular aspiration, at giving enlargement and sobriety to the ideas of the age, at facilitating the exercise of political power, and refining the intercourse of private life. It is the education which gives a man a clear conscious view of his own opinions and judgments, a truth in developing them, an eloquence in expressing them, and a force in urging them. "
-John Henry Newman, Idea of a University, 1852

"There is a time in every man's education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better for worse as his portion; that though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil bestowed on that plot of ground which is given to him to till."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance, 1841

ryan birthday celebration with db team

focus

what is going to make him or has already made him the greatest athlete ever? its probably a combination of the unwavering discipline, the undivided focus and the raw passion for what he does.

perhaps it becomes even tougher in this world we live in, with limitless distractions in the form of those incessantly ringing mobile phones, blackberrys. yet if you really want to be at the top of your game, in whatever you do, it really takes nothing less than ruthless discipline and clear focus again and again, until perfection is achieved and therafter.. continually refined.

"The ancients were familiar with physical courage and the priests with moral courage, but in this over-communicated age when mortals feel perpetually addled, Woods is the symbol of mental willpower. He is, in addition, competitive, ruthless, unsatisfied by success and honest about his own failings." - David Brooks, The Frozen Gaze (NY Times)

conscious consumption

"Conspicuous consumption.... is not an unambiguous signal of personal affluence. It’s a sign of belonging to a relatively poor group. Visible luxury thus serves less to establish the owner’s positive status as affluent than to fend off the negative perception that the owner is poor. The richer a society or peer group, the less important visible spending becomes." - Virginia Postrel on Inconspicuous Consumption - Atlantic

it goes further to explain that such consumption is very much a developmental phase as evident in the demand for luxury goods in emerging markets and how it evolves into "inconspicuous consumption" when people no longer spend to make a statement but for their personal enjoyment. this is also evident in the demand for luxury services in developed markets where what really matters is not what others see but when you get to afford the presumably "best" that life offers.

one can then construct a simple continuum for the various drivers of consumption
sustenance driven consumption -> conspicuous consumption -> inconspicuous consumption
does it not come back one full cycle? after one realises that ultimately, one ought only to consume simply for sustenance, to derive utility and not to create a charade of wealth which is in itself economically inefficient. to which we can gain insight the theories of asymmetric information. signaling is inefficient and ultimately fails when it results in a vicious cycle where parties try to "out signal" each other.

lets try conscious consumption.

personal human capital

i manage investments, the financial kind. thats my day job. as a result of which, people often come to me seeking financial advice. as much as i'm primarily an institutional fund manager, the knowledge of capital markets and portfolio construction is pretty much congruent with that of an individual "mandate" if i could put it that way.

most of the time, your typical investment strategy (if you have one) would be to parcel a fixed (hopefully, if discipline gets the better of you) amount into various assets and over a long time achieve the effect of dollar cost averaging and diversification. it would be too far stretched to assume everyone has an investment strategy or some form of it, but even if they do, it usually neglects one key asset class in which is critical in every investment strategy. you have your global equity, bonds, real estate, commodities, metals, etc. these are the traditional as well as alternative space in which one typically invests in. what's missing? i would say its that of investment in human capital.

"Human capital refers to the stock of productive skills and technical knowledge embodied in labor. Many early economic theories refer to it simply as labor, one of three factors of production, and consider it to be a fungible resource -- homogeneous and easily interchangeable. Other conceptions of labor dispense with these assumptions. " - Wikipedia

refer to this article on human capital by gary becker (1992 nobel prize for economics recipient) for an excellent expose on human capital put in the context of the returns on college education.

but lets take it a bit further to include human capital as that of any investment into acquiring skills, knowledge or experience that one can be employ for economic gain.
you see, other than the typical first degree or post grad, we often do not look beyond those academic pursuits for the rest of our lives. yet, if we fail to realise that the best investment we can make, one that delivers the highest return buck for buck, with the least volatility, is that in ourselves. in the acquiring of knowledge and skills, be it in your existing professional field, in an associated parallel realm, an alternative realm or simply "professionalising" a hobby. granted it may cost more, taking into account the time spent, the energy one has to expend. yet, it is something that will generate long term returns with low volatility.

it could be as simple as setting aside a sum of money to buy some books to read, some tapes to listen to or some software. the possibilities are endless.

so if you're thinking of what to invest in, when equity markets are directionless and fixed income markets uncertain due to the growth vs inflationary concern dilemma that central banks are facing. why not, invest in yourself.

the simply adorable aven

the benefits of failure

Harvard University Commencement Address
J.K. Rowling
June 2008

"So why do I talk about the benefits of failure? Simply because failure meant a stripping away of the inessential. I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me. Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the determination to succeed in the one arena I believed I truly belonged. I was set free, because my greatest fear had already been realised, and I was still alive, and I still had a daughter whom I adored, and I had an old typewriter and a big idea. And so rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.

You might never fail on the scale I did, but some failure in life is inevitable. It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default.

If you choose to use your status and influence to raise your voice on behalf of those who have no voice; if you choose to identify not only with the powerful, but with the powerless; if you retain the ability to imagine yourself into the lives of those who do not have your advantages, then it will not only be your proud families who celebrate your existence, but thousands and millions of people whose reality you have helped change. We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better.


So today, I wish you nothing better than similar friendships. And tomorrow, I hope that even if you remember not a single word of mine, you remember those of Seneca, another of those old Romans I met when I fled down the Classics corridor, in retreat from career ladders, in search of ancient wisdom:
As is a tale, so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, is what matters.
I wish you all very good lives.
Thank you very much.