andreww38

we have moved!

2006-07-17T16:42:00.000+08:00

Hi faithful friends,
tks for visiting my blog since i created it in 2005.
I have a new home, new content and new projects. i'm really psyched, sometimes staying up till 4am to work on it.

do come visit my new home at http://www.WhoIsAndrewWee.com.

especially to those who've subscribed to my blog. thank you very much for your support. i look forward to creating more content to keep you entertained and inspired.

grateful thanks.

andrew "andreww" wee

where the $(%U&#( are you?

2006-06-30T12:12:00.000+08:00

Hi.
I am still alive and kicking.

I will be reinventing my blog in about a week's time.
please be patient.

if you'd like to be updated once my new blog is up, please drop me an email at andreww@rocketmail.com.

in the meantime, live long and prosper.

andreww

free e-books

2005-08-12T18:27:00.000+08:00

read an article in the papers yesterday.
it seems that authors giving away their books on the internet have seen an increase in print book sales.

for one author, Cory Doctorow, giving away complete novels (in fact most of his works are available in almost all conceivable formats, represents not a loss in revenue, but instead generates awareness. The enemy of new authors is not loss of intellectual property, but rather obscurity and anonymity.

Do check the site out, i've downloaded his latest novel, "Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town" and an earlier novel "Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom" in Adobe PDF format (now to find the time to read it...).

Leading paranormal, pseudoscientific and supernatural investigator, James Randi, has also put the contents of his work "An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural" on the net as well. Although the contents can't be downloaded onto the desktop, this e-version includes additional illustrations and more instances of his wit (which might not have made it past the copy editors of the print edition).

Have a great weekend everyone!

once a month, regardless of whether i need it...

2005-08-08T20:27:00.000+08:00

People who lived in the middle ages smelled pretty bad.

Observe the fact at hairboutique, "Baths were actually considered unhealthy during the Middle Ages and during the Renaissance. Queen Elizabeth I supposedly bragged, "I take a bath once a month, whether I need it or not.""

Lucky times have changed and we take showers or baths once or more often a day (unless i'm out in the jungle...)

the weirdest thing is that each of these cleaning products have their own domain name and website. i guess it means they've made their mark.

after years of experimentation with various cleaning products, i've coming up with my cleaning trinity.

they are:

Dove: Ok, I admit it. the 1/4 moisturising cream gets me. too lazy to apply moisturiser when i was overseas, this is a godsend.

smells good, my skin ends up soft, it's liquid soap, so it's easy to apply and wash off.

----

Head and Shoulders: I've never really figured out how well this "anti-dandruff shampoo" actually works because i've never really used any other shampoo.

ah well, the shampoo is a cool blue though.

---

Cetaphil: Cetaphil to me is the king of all cleansers.

Have you ever used one of those Japanese facial cleaners that's supposed to be really effective?

I have and they work as advertised, too well in fact. at the end of my face wash, it feels like every iota of moisture has been ripped off my screen. Especially since I have sensitive skin, i've found that Cetaphil is really good because it's dermatologist-tested to be hypoallergic and has some moisturising properties as well.

Besides, the fact that it's actress Teri Hatcher's preferred cleansing product can't hurt as well.

There you have it, the holy three for me.
go forth and cleanse!

sundays after sundays after sundays

2005-08-07T10:11:00.000+08:00

sunday has to be one of my favourite days. (not that there are that many to choose from)

it's one of the few days where i can sleep the whole day away without feeling (too) guilty about it.

and for those who might be inclined to skive the housecleaning duties, it's the perfect time to make a batch of cookies or ice-cream.

although i know i probably should catch up on work that's been piling up throughout the week, my three most popular things to do on sunday include:

1) Ironing: yep, there's nothing like ironing 30 work shirts at once (especially when i realise there isn't anything left in my wardrobe on monday, except my 'old uncle' work shirt). i would put a picture here, except that i've worn it already and its current condition is not 'photograph-able'.

2) Sleep: as in regenerative unconsciousness, not as in the other sleep. there's nothing like making up for a couple of frantic 4 hour nocturnal 'naps' in the midst of meeting project deadlines during the week.

Some of signs that tell i'm really tired:
a) an 'out of the body' experience while i'm awake, and feeling detached from my body.
b) experience 'lag' (or 'internet latency') between the time i am thinking of doing something and my body actually doing it.
c) feeling really really exhausted, but being unable to fall asleep when i'm in bed.

yep, i definitely feel more 'alive' after these naps.

3) eat: the quintessential singaporean pastime, to scour the papers and magazine and find the next foodies paradise before the other foodies find it.

the secret i've found is to go for dinner at 630pm (6pm if possible), because the half hour headstart could save about 1-2 hours of waiting time.

if going for lunch, head out to the place at 11am.

i hate crowds when i go shopping. the same applies to eating too.

--
collateral damage

What's a sign of how productive my week had been?

My 'to do' list:

Observe 'exhibit A"

Looks busy doesn't it?
lots and lots of things to finish up.
the thing though is that the producitivity is measured by the number of things completed, rather than the number of items listed.

as for this week....no comment!

--
TS Eliot

Friends can be quite strange sometimes.
I can't always figure them out.

A friend once came to my house and as I was giving him a house tour, he came to my home office, looked at me and said "TS Eliot, The Wasteland".

I can't for the life of me figure out what he's talking about.

talk about your weirdo freaks...

says a thousand words...

2005-08-05T20:38:00.000+08:00

As we go into the weekend, I'd like to offer something light to consider.

as saturday and sunday approach, inevitably the thoughts of what it'd be like to go on a holiday would naturally come to me.

to me photographs have always spoken more than a thousand words.
maybe even a million.

and photography has been more than just a hobby for.
it's a way of capturing memories and maybe even a time machine, allowing me to go back months, years and even decades back to a time when i was experiencing a certain emotion, whether it was happiness, contemplation, or even sadness.

here are 4 photographs from my collection.

Bali
This was when we went to Bali about 2 years ago (about 2003). This was right after the Bali bombings, and it was a surreal experience to be on one of the world's most beautiful beaches and have the beach to yourself.

Literally it was just the five of us, David Lim, Pam, her friend, my wife and myself. Our friends Ber Luen and Gwen had come separately and we met up for a beautiful seafood dinner at Jimbaran, next to the beach.

This photo was shot at sunset at Jimbaran.

I'm not sure which was the most enjoyable: the food, the beautiful skyscape or the pleasure of well-loved friends and family.

perhaps the mixture of all three fills me with a rush of joy, contentment and serenity when I look at this photograph.

Greece, ocean waterfront
The photograph was shot during our honeymoon to Greece and Turkey about 2 years ago.

Greece, being a collection of several hundred islands, is an idyllic country with landscapes having a picturebook quality.

i've always wondered how it'd be like to live in a village like this.

sure it looks tranquil and calm, i'm sure i'll get bored out of my brains within a few weeks though!

Stone texture
This was a picture taken of a stone wall in Turkey.

The textures and shadows are as beautiful to me as a landscape or a person.

imagine all the hundreds of years of sand blasting at the brick wall creating those crevasses and cracks. each grain of sand smashing against the surface, a small speck colliding with the inevitable.

in time however, each grain leaves it's mark on the pitted surface, filled with character and marking the presence of the sand.

i imagine myself as a speck of sand, and think about the mark i will leave on the brick of history.

Deep fried soft shell crab
No photo collection would be complete without a picture of food.

There's something magical about eating the shell of a crab.

I'm not sure what it is. perhaps the idea of eating something crispy, perhaps catching the crab when it's most vulnerable in the state of transformation.

Are we prey for something bigger out there?

Will we one day become fodder for some ancient, alien lifeform?

Honestly, we can't worry about what happens next, when every day possesses so much beauty and potential.

--
While we may not be able to capture every single moment with a camera, the most important moments of our lives will be captured in our mind's eye.

--
Live long and propser.

how to start a (cyber) war

2005-08-04T22:07:00.000+08:00

pay attention, i will say this only once?

shhh, did you hear what i said? I would say this only once.

hey, put your mouse down for a second. i need your full attention. this could prevent all out holy electronic war.

this is how you can start an all-out war on the frontiers of cyberspace.

first, take two good friends who joke and tease each other over an electronic mailing list.

next, throw in a little confusion and misunderstanding, along with mistaken intentions.

throw in a liberal dash of "Btw, if you would have noticed, You have already been Ignored. no need to re-confirm that." and you have the beginnings of a cold war, one in which there are no winners, only losers.
---
i remember years ago when i was active in the IRC (Internet Relay Chat) scene, there'd be scores of us techno-savvy teenagers who logged on to the internet and just passed time by doing the Seinfeld (talking about nothing).

And this time we had an outing to a games arcade.

This girl was standing at the fishing reality simulator (essentially a plastic rod, a nylon 'fishing line' connected to a reel in the machine and a big television screen showing pictures of the fish in the water.

as she stood at the monitor, her slim frame quivering as the line jerked her back and forth, she started calling for help as she yanked at the 'fishing rod'.

I jumped beside her, grabbed her hands and started pulling the rod and reeling the fish in.

having scored her catch, she thanked me and I walked off beaming to myself.
--
I got home later that evening, logged on the #singapore channel and people start private messaging me.

"hey dude, what happened?"

"huh?" i replied

"ey, y u do tt?" another person messaged.

"do what?" i was puzzled

"you know, the other guy in the channel said he's going to call you out and protect her honour the next time he sees you" another helpful soul offered.

"WHAT????" i 'yelled' in my moment of virtual exasperation!

It appeared that the girl had told the others that I had 'violated' her personal space and she felt uncomfortable about the experience and practically ran out of the arcade.

Although this happened more than 10 years ago, i'm still mystified today about her intentions.

Had she felt:
1) genuinely 'violated' even as she thanked and smiled at me?
2) weird because she knew that the guy who liked her had been watching her and would feel threatened that she felt good about being around other guys, even as she knew that he would feel insecure that she would not always be besotted by him, even though she knew that he would still like to hang out with other girls with whom he'd never have a chance with, because she would likely be the only ever girl he would find a sympathetic ear with and would spend time with him knowing that he's be someone who would never find someone as good as her and could only fantasise about being with whoever it was in his mind? (yes, i agree, it's confusing)
3) angry and upset that she hadn't landed the famed "catch of the day" high score and missed it by only a few points. (although the arcade owner would turn off all machines at the end of the day, wiping off all high scores).

Regardless, it feel like a silly experience and even as i did my best to apologise to her and explain the situation to him, they would have nothing to say or do with me.

it later emerged that other guys and girls in the group had had similar experiences of 'misunderstandings' as well, and had gradually dropped out of the group.
--
honestly, the experience just reflected the infantile maturity of some of the group members and i guess it was just their fifteen nanoseconds of electronic fame. I guess in today's context, the girl might've spent the next 3 weeks villifying me (until she found her next victim). good luck on landing your book deal!

the bottomline for me is that the internet remains one of the best places for cyberse...er, research and work and factual matters.

if it's something important, especially in interpersonal terms, it's just like the courier advertisement goes, 'you can't fax or email a handshake or a look in the eye"

to my friends who are in the midst of their electronic tiff, i am thinking you'll get over this bump in the road to your friendship soon.

in the meantime, live well and be well.

firing up all cylinders...

2005-08-03T23:39:00.000+08:00

Hi friends,
forgive my lapse over the last 2 days, i've been working on 'improving' myself.

i've just completed a intensive course lasting from 10am to 10pm each day.

it's been an interesting experience going for the 'ultimate power selling' course.

One might wonder why i attended the course considering the fact that i've been conducting lots of business and sales courses over the last 2 years.

it's different when seeing actual practitioners put their actions into practice and a lot of times, I learn more from watching whether a person's behaviour is consistent with their words (call this a hangover from having studied psychology), and i believe i learned more from watching (and soon modelling, and adopting) the patterns of behaviour I observed in Dennis Wee and his partner Chris Koh.

Photo: Dennis Wee receiving the lifelong learner award from President SR Nathan

Some important tips and reinforcements which I received during the course:
1) The art of closing the sales relies on following up, following up and following up.
2) If you want something badly enough, you will keep working on it, until you achieve it.
3) The first step is always the toughest, the next step is always the easiest.

Sounds simple? The value of going through exercises to reinforce this point is what will keep it in my memory for a long time.

The Dennis Wee group conducts previews for the sales course regularly and it's suited for either entrepreneurs or those who are working for somebody and wants to make the transition to the next level.

For more info or questions about registering for a free preview, drop me a email.

PS: I have a limited number of copies of his latest book "Get Rich Now" in which he shares 15 wealth-generating techniques. These have been autographed by both Dennis and his co-author Sant Qiu.

---
A blurb from the book:
"Dennis Wee is one of the biggest names in Real Estate locally. To date, his company, Dennis Wee Group (DWG), is the only home-grown Real Estate company with franchises overseas. In 2003, DWG earned a total revenue of 3.467 billion, a company record high, despite the economic recession.

Through this book, Dr Wee shares 15 vital strategies that propelled him from a secondary 2 drop-out to a millionaire businessman running a highly successful company."
---
If you're interested to learn more about the man, his achievements and most importantly, his strategies, this is the place to start. Email me soon, before all copies are sold.

In the meantime, be well.

the path to ultimate riches

2005-08-01T21:53:00.000+08:00

would you like to know the secret to achieving unlimited wealth?

The answer lies between your ears.

No, really. the answer lies between your ears.

While we can't bring anything with us to the grave, the most important thing we have while we're alive is our mind.

The mind isn't necessarily just located within our brain.
I define the mind as the summary of our thoughts and feelings, including our intuition or gut feelings.

Our mind is what lets us dream at night when we go to sleep, what gives us a fresh sense of hope and drive each morning when we wake up (some mornings before tougher than others).

Our mind is the skeleton key which often unlocks unsolvable dilemmas (that is, until they're solved, then they become minor stumbling blocks, upon later reflection).

Our mind is one of the remaining organs which remains fairly sharp even after the body starts to slow down.

In fact, I've just listened to a BBC World Service programme, The Interview (the URL will probably be incorrect after a weekly update) with Carl Djerassi.

Known as the man who created a social revolution, he invented the contraceptive pill, and transformed the lives of millions of women by given them more choice and control over when they had children.

Although he's aged 82, his voice was vibrant and lucid and bursting with ideas.

Breaking beyond the boundaries of chemsitry, he's recognised for having an extensive collection of Paul Klee works. His drama "An Immaculate Misconception" has been staged in Singapore by the Singapore Repertory Theatre (SRT).

His website provides an interesting treasure trove of information.

However, the one question i'm wondering about is that if more people learn about the importance of their mind (compared to material possessions), why aren't more people investing in developing and improving their minds?

Most would probably agree that books can be a good source of information and are, for the most part, affordable.

However, I've been wondering why reading is on the decline.
There are few readers in this generation compared to thirty years ago.

Granted there are blips along the way, with the Harry Potter books.
But Harry Potter does not equal a literary tradition.

Why would literature be useful for today's society?

Besides providing insight into our past (without which we will not be able to navigate through the present into the future), books and the printed word captures the thoughts of our ancestors, the 'zeitgeist' or spirit of the times so to speak.

take a challenge and go read a book today.
it might just change how you think, how you feel and ultimately how you live your life.

your inner parent, child and adult

2005-08-01T05:24:00.000+08:00

transactional analysis is a school of thought in psychology that helps explain the way we behave.

Extracting the following information from "Being: A Psychology of Self" :

Transactional Analysis:
3 ego states: Parent, Child, Adult:

Parent
The Parent is part of yourself that contains all the external events that have happened to you. The parent in you feels and behaves in the same way your mother or father or whoever raised you did. Your parent can be critical, helping or both.

Child
At the same time external events are being recorded in your parent, a second series of recordings is being made simultaneously. The second set of tapes include all of your internal responses to the input of your parent. It is called your child because it includes what you were when you were little. Your child has the same feelings and ways of behaving that you had when you were very young. Your child may be natural, that is on it's own and not under the influence of your internal parent. or it may be adaptive so as to please your internal parent.

Adult
Your adult is the part of you that figures things out by looking at the facts. Your adult is an observer, a computer, and a decision maker. It is capable of looking at events in your life without the prejudices of your parent or the archaic feelings of your child. The adult is then capable of adding up these observations to see what needs to be changed. Your adult can make decisions and act on them. All in all, your adult is the key to personal change.

These 3 people within us (ego states) have some identifying characteristics or stock phrases. Whenever you hear a voice inside you saying 'you should' or 'don't' or mouthing slogans such as 'you can't win' or 'children should be seen and not heard' it is very likely your parent is talking.

Your child is more likely to say things like 'i want' 'try and make me' 'i feel' or just 'wow!'

Your adult tends to deal with observable facts and logic such as 'let's see now, the most efficient way to proceed would be...' or 'now what i hear you saying, John, is that'
---
Most of the time we're most aware of the motives of our 'adult', however our behaviour could be equally controlled by our parent and child.

What this means is that although we know we 'should' do something, if in the end, we slack off on doing it, or we do it obsessively, it could be motivation from our parent or child, although we may not be aware of it.

Unless we focus back on our past experience or childhood.

Researchers are finding out that our past experiences have a great effect on our current behaviour. But what's more interesting is not just WHAT happened to us when we were younger, but rather HOW we responded to what happened to us.

Take my friend, Adam Khoo, for example.

In his book, I Am Gifted, So Are You!,

As a child in primary school (grade school), he had a bunch of "F" grade and had been expelled for mibehaviour and did so badly he was rejected by all the secondary schools (high schools) he had applied to. In fact, his results typically hovered at 40-55%. Among his entire cohort of 160 students, he crashed in amongst the bottom 10.

How do you think he might've turned out?

Destined to a life of disappointment and disdain?

Actually, the result will surprised you.

He experienced a turning point (read the book to find out!) and received ONE idea that had a tremendous impact on him.

Today he's (extracted from his bio): "A self-made millionaire by the age of 26, He owns and runs 3 different companies with a combined annual turnover of $20 million. He is the CEO & Managing Director of Adcom (S) Pte Ltd (a leading marketing communications and advertising agency), Founder & CEO of Adam Khoo Learning Technologies Group Pte Ltd (a premier training and consulting company that specializes in both corporate training and student education programmes), and the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Event Gurus Pte Ltd (an event management company)."

Adam, in my opinion, is an example that it's not WHAT happens to us, but rather HOW we react to WHAT happens to us, that determines our success or failure.

Many times, it's being aware of what our inner parent or child is saying that will help give us a better understanding and help us move up to the next level.

In personality psychology there is the concept of htThe "Wheel of Kookiness" (or wheel of weird).

It goes: It makes no difference whether the feedback someone gives you is valid or invalid. The important thing is whether you come to believe it. If you do, a vicious cycle begins. (and you become 'weirder' or worse)
----
More thoughts: researcher Seligman (1973) says:
One of the most important beliefs that a person can have of himself is that he is not helpless.
---
And Rother ends this with:
Your belief in yourself, as Rother (1971) has aptly pointed out, tends to be either that the environment controls you, or you it. Depression is a rare occurence for those who believe they have some control over their environment.

[all three extracts from Being: A Psychology of Self (may be hard to find, but libraries should stock copies)]

as if it were your last...

2005-07-31T00:46:00.000+08:00

Today (or rather yesterday, Saturday) was a day capped off with a powerful emotional experience at the end.

My wife and I attended Tunnel Through Time, a MHL Production at Kallang Theatre. We left the theatre changed at the end of the experience.
--
Have you ever thought about how life would be like if it changed in a moment?

What if life was perfect and rosy and a sudden turn of events changed everything you thought you had forever?

I'm sure that how many of the Asian tsunami survivors feel in the aftermath, and also the families of the survivors and victims from that disaster.

Intellectually, I understand, although the pictures on television creates an emotional distance, and we are free to turn off the images when they get too painful.

--
It's a whole different perspective when experiencing it in front of your eyes however.

Tunnel Through Time depicts life for the Kinnear family over the past 16 months.

Scotsman David and wife Rohaiyah have just moved to Papua New Guinea where David has been stationed to heard the office in the third world country.

One night, David suffers Extensive Ponitac Brainstem Infarct, a form of stroke. This affects 1 in 5 stroke suffers, with more than 50 percent of sufferers dying from this condition.

Rohaiyah's entire existence is changed, and amidst the financial strain as the insurance coverage runs out and the emotions drain, she feels the world caving in.

Watching the events unfold, I felt the panic and despair building up and the world turning a blackish shade.

However what make this story different is that Rohaiyah finds the inner strength to focus on her only purpose to help her husband recover and do everything to get him there.

The story is more than about illness, but how human resilience and strength can turn the tide.

Since the production was last staged, it's raised $24,000 and rather than solicit further funds from the public, the production is being re-staged by MHL Productions to support David's rehabilitation efforts.

It shows the story when David and Rohaiyah first meet, get married and their darkest hour.

The most powerful part of the production was when David Kinnear was wheeled onto the stage, accompanied by his wife and two children, Jihan and Johan.

I could sense the love and strength emanating from them and most of the audience was in tears as we gave the brave family a standing ovation.

The battle is still not won yet, however, though the Kinnear family will continue to move one step closer towards David's recovery.

Do visit www.tunnelthroughtime.com to find out more about the production and in particular their information page tells more about the family's story. You can also write to the family at rohaiyahkinnear@yahoo.com.

Donations to the Kinnear family can be made by writing a cheque to "DJKinnear Recovery Fund" and post it to the Kinnears residence directly at:
Blk 2 Delta Ave #24-40
Singapore 160002

The Kinnear family: David (seated), Rohaiyah, Jihan, Johan

As I started this blog I mentioned that we all have about 4,000 weeks to live. Some dramatically more and some dramatically less. We cannot control how long each of us is given, but we can control how we spend the time.

As David himself communicated through a series of eye blinks to Rohaiyah, "Live each day as if it's your last day".

And I left the theatre wondering, what more could I do to make a difference.

Be well, everyone.

A Tail of Toilet Paper...

2005-07-29T20:13:00.000+08:00

And now for something a little lighter.

About a year ago, I went to Mustafa Shopping Centre (the brick and mortar store, not the website) and wanted to check out some toiletries.

Shopping for toiletries, especially for toilet paper is an art.

It's also a science.
what you want to do is go for a toilet paper with a high a comfort level as possible.

how is comfort defined?
The formula goes like this: comfort = [frictional coefficient] / [price].
you want to buy a toilet paper which is cheap (price being as low as possible)
while having a very very very low frictional coefficient, else besides removing waste matter from your behind, you'll also be removing a your anus and rectum.

---
Tissue Paper

One brand of tissue paper I like is Paseo.

What I like about it is it's smooth quality and is kinda 'up market' looking.
It's thick and the design looks floral and kinda springtime-y.

The other thing is if you're having a cold and blowing your nose all the time, this paper won't not to shred your nose like i've experienced with some other brands.

---
Back to the toilet paper...

I was keeping an eye out for Paseo toilet paper, but it looked like they had been 'clean out' so to speak.

I checked out the products on offer.

Most of them looked fairly 'industrial' and somewhat reminiscent of sand paper.

I was taken aback when a package of rolls dropped onto the floor with a loud THUD!

Toilet paper hitting the floor with a thud? I crossed that brand off my list and checked out something interesting.

Hmm, a roll of Scott paper. I looked at the price, looked fairly reasonable.

I was feeling a little distrubed however and started to put it back.

"Hey, what are you doing?" the wife asks.

"I don't think this is for us. It's just not right."

"Not right? Why"

"Well, see?" I said, pointing at the picture of the cute doggy.

"What about it?"

"I wouldn't ever dream of using this paper"

"What????" The wife says

Sighing, I looked at her.

"Think about it for a moment. The thought sickens... I'd rather rub my butt with newspapers"

"Sick is the only word i can come up with. Actually, there're 3 words. Sick, sick, sick."

"I mean LOOK at it!!! Would you use a toilet paper used to WIPE A DOG'S BUTT on your own???? I mean it's fine for the dog and everything, but I DON'T want to use some weirdo DOGGY TOILET PAPER on my ass!"

"You are silly" the wife goes.

"WHAT! Look at it? It's got a happy dog who just got his butt wiped and I'm not sure about this, but humans and dogs are different. I wouldn't eat dog biscuits for one!"

"You...you...fool! The dog is the Scott mascot or something. Can't you see it says "toilet paper" packaging"

"Ah, but it doesn't say "human toilet paper" does it?"

"I give up" the wife says and walks away

I spend some time looking over the package with doubt in my heart.
the fact that the bag is stamped with a proof of purchase worth "Three Puppy Points" doesnt put my heart at ease either.

Seriously, think about this for a moment. Remember the last time you went to a supermarket and passed the dog food section?

How were the cans labelled?
With a picture of a dog or other animal on the can, right?

Don't believe me?
Check this out:

It's Pedigree dog food products.
What do you see on each package and can?
You see either a dog, or a dog or a dog.

How hard can it be to understand that the picture on your packaging is closely associated to the contents of your product or service?

Now think with me for a moment, what would customers think when you print a picture of a dog on your toilet paper. The Scott paper was good by the way, I've been buying it regularly for the past couple of months. But what kind of first impression does that make on the potential buyer?

There could be an important reason why the dog appears on the package, however I don't 'get it' in the three seconds I'm looking at the product.

Thinking further afield, I'm fearing the day I see condoms in my 7-Eleven with a picture of a dog on the packaging.

Keeping my fingers crossed that that day will never come,

Have a great and relaxing weekend!

housework r us

2005-07-28T22:58:00.000+08:00

ok, hands up, who likes to do housework?

yeah? thought so.

apart for Bree, the prototypical homemaker (housewife is an evil, evil word in our age) in Desperate Housewives, it's hard to find anyone who genuinely enjoys mopping floors, washing dishes, keeping the house from becoming hades, complete with dust devils.

no, i'm not talking about washing the dishes that one time and saying it's a 'therapeutic' experience, but doing it day in and day out.

however, i have to say that i really enjoy ironing.

lest it be confused with pumping iron, let me state that i enjoy pressing iron (to clothing that is, not to warm flesh...)

there's something primeval about adding water to the iron's reservoir, coiling the electric cable like a whip and turning everything on, before the gush of steam jets out of the iron's vents.

the best part i think is when the iron is pressed onto the clothing and the wrinkled cloth is transformed into the smoothest fabric and it just feels so great against the skin.

i've even gone to the extent of ironing my pillow cases and sometimes towels too.

if you've never tired it out, go do it once and see the difference.
the smoothness is comforting and the ironing process leaves a particular 'heat' scent on the cloth.

of course, the type of iron is important as well, i've been using my trusty 'black and decker' for the last 5 years or so and it's served me well.

i particularly like setting the ironing board in front of the tv and going through a couple of hours of recorded programmes. then again, the shows have to be somewhat light entertainment. watching Akira Kurosawa's Kagemusha (a Japanese take on Shakespeares' King Lear) or Zhang Yimou's wuxia (Swordfighting) feature House of Flying Daggers would require my full attention. My linguistic capacity in Mandarin and Japanese leaves a lot to be desired. So too for dramas which are really top class like HBO's prison drama Oz or cop drama The Shield or circus freak drama Carnivale. For these series, i have to sit down, do absolutely nothing with attention riveted to the screen.

otherwise with almost everything else, it's just happy ironing with eyes glued to the moving pictures, and a keen awareness of where the iron is at, where the clothing is located and pretty importantly, where my fingers are at.

happy ironing all!

everything i need to know, i learned from...

2005-07-27T21:14:00.000+08:00

throw away your textbooks, burn your references. just go out and buy a novel (trashy-ness optional) today.

you'll learn more from it, than any book in school, or so i've learned.

in my more than 3 decades of existence, i've learned the following:
1) novels are cheaper than textbooks or reference books
2) novels are more fun and interesting than said books
3) i've read some novels like 10 times and keep going back years later.

can't say the same for my school books though.

what i've discovered is that the novels give a clear sense of 'real life' compared to the musty theoretical tomes in school. i've learned more from watching, reading what the characters go through, than merely the description, explanation and examples given in textbooks.
and besides the novel's topics are infinitely more interesting.

let me give you an example.

1) Private Parts: This is a great book. No relation to Michael Chiang's private parts (his comedy production, not his genitals....). A semi-autobiographical account of radio shock jock Howard Stern's rise to prominence (or notoriety), this is an engaging read, from his dreams of becoming a radio personality "It dawned on me that if you were half a mutant you could probably get on the radio". It also talks about his attempts to launch 'Gay Dial a Date' in Washington DC and being lauded for "one of the best, most senstivie treatments of Gay themes ever to air on the mainstream media". The book is much better than the movie of the same name, and gives insight into one of the most influential men in radio.

It kinda makes me think that Singapore 'shock' DJ weenies ought to take a page out of Howard's book. I don't know about you, but hearing grown men call each other 'brudder' all day and acting like teenagers grates on my nerves after the first 20 seconds.

Besides getting an idea of how to create a distinct identity, the book serves as a primer to bring out creativity and innovation in an industry where everyone mimics everyone else.

--

2) Monkey Business (Swinging through the Wall Street Jungle) by John Rolfe and Peter Troob: not to be confused with the Black Eyed Peas "Monkey Business" Album, this novel (i'm assuming it's fairly accurate) chronicles 2 guys who finish their MBAs at ivy league schools and attempt to break into the world of investment bank.

great for those planning to enter the finance industry, this work is studded with pearls of wisdom like:
1) don't take a big crap and stink up the bathroom in your interviewers hotel room (you won't be called back for a second interview)
2) how dapper bankers dress... "The DL Thompson partner who greeted us was straight out of a Charles Dickens novel. He had stuffed his generous ass into a tight pair of seersucker trousers. On top, he wore a bright red sweater vest that looked as if it had recently been pulled from the garbage receptacle behind the office tower that was home to DL Thomspon and Co's offices...The guy was a freak, a bad Halloween rendition of an innkeeper out of the Canterbury Tales, and we were there to kiss his ass. His name was Chester Goodman III."
3) For those with aspirations to list a company on the stock exchange or be on the investment banking team that brings it public, the authors happily deflate all high and mighty expectations. For example in explaining a stock offering prospectus, they happily explain the following sections:
"Use of Proceeds: Not too many people pay attention to this section, but they should. A careful reading of this section will tell you where the hell all the money from the offering is going. If it's not going into the company coffers to help grow the company, but instead is going to pay out existing owners and management, then stay away. If owners are cashing out, there's no reason for you to be cashing in"

pretty commonsensical advice for stock investors.
another handy explanation:
"Management - This section presents biographies of both the management team and the board of directors. Members of management and/or the board of directors generally get only two to three senstences each to make themselves seem important, so they maximize the balderdash per sentence. The Management section also presents the reader with an opportunity to assess just how inbred the board of directors is. A good way to figure out how likely it is that the directors are sucking money out of a company is to draw a chart with each director's name in a box. Read through the Management section, and each time that you identify a professional or personal connection between two directors, connect their boxes with a line. If you also happen to know about other relationships between directors, for instance one director is married to another director's daughter, or one director is an old college buddy of another director, you can draw a line in there as well. If upon completion, the chart looks like a spider web, then hold on to your wallet"

good stuff for those planning to enter the finance industry or looking for more insight into the workings of the stock market.

someone reading this book would gain enough insight to keep clear of the many companies in dire straits which have imploded in recent years.

3) An Unseemly Man: and less i be accused of promoting 'cheem' or esoteric books, there's Larry Flynt's autobiography. Flynt better known as the subject of the film "The People vs Larry Flynt" is probably best known as founder and publisher of porn mag Hustler.

The book chronicles his rise from a farmboy growing up in Kentucky, his sexual experience with a chicken, serving in the military, starting his first working class bar and working 24 hour days to promote it and keep it running. gradually he opens a strong of Hustler Clubs across Ohio with clubs in Dayton, Cincinnati, Columbus, Cleveland, Toledo and Akron, all the while taking amphetamines (or 'Speed') to keep him working 4 days without sleep.

eventually he asserts his position as 'this century's most ardent advocate of First Amendment rights, a man whose landmark Supreme Court cases are studied by every law student in America'. In his fight against the legal system over First Amendment rights, the mainstream media reluctantly joins his cause, with the New York Times Company, the HBO, the American Civil Liberties Union, the heavyweights of the publishing industry rallying behind Flynt.

The books provides an interesting perspective, especially for those who might be interested in starting a business or going into journalism.

..
i realise that it'd probably be impossible that novels will totally replace textbooks, however think about how much more interesting if such novels were added to supplement the teaching in schools...

perhaps the times will change, but till then there's the library and the bookstore.

gamers addiction: even five hours isn't enough

2005-07-26T23:03:00.000+08:00

An interesting item today, carried in the Straits Times, not a whisper or a peep in Today, the 'other major paper' in Singapore.

Are you one of nearly 40% of gamers who are hopelessly addicted?
Additionally, do you have an inner psycho just waiting to jump out?

Self-appointed Internet 'advisors' Pagi (Parents Advisory Group for the Internet) (I believe I could have come up with a better name or better initials...) commissioned a report during a video games showcase at the Science Centre and made mention of this in October last year.

Today (as in this day, not the 'other' paper) the findings come out that 'game addiction' hits 37 percent of survey respondents (of the more than 1,000 visitors to the PlanetGames games exhibition last year) and their symptoms include:
1) inability to stop playing when they know they should be doing something else
2) constantly obsessing over the game
3) engaging in conflict with parents and other family members over their addiciton
4) needing to play more and more to get their fix

Also, most at risk are males aged 17 to 20, with 1 in 8 gamers spending more than 5 hours daily in front their computers.

Ok, I admit I'm an addict.

Whether it's the bouts of Defense of the Ancients or DOTA, a Warcraft 3 modification (a violent real-time strategy game in which humans, elves, orcs and other fantasy creatures beat each other into the next era), or in Maple Story, an adventure game from the creators of Gunbound, there is something sickeningly satisfying about spending hours in front of a screen, pounding furniture and the keyboard all the while yelling, screaming and cursing at the screen. i guess it's something like watching a soccer match or wrestling then.

but then again, i'm sure there are golf enthusiasts who scream at the screen yelling, 'damn, i could've hit that putt, Tiger, with my eyes blindfolded and my hands wrapped around my wood. my 3 wood, that is...!' or something to similar effect.

after a long hard day's work, there's nothing like beating up some virtual creatures, considering the real world alternative of beating your boss or colleague up, could possibly land you in a cell next to Took Leng How who's facing child murder charges. gorgeous, ain't it?

i've definitely hit the 'computer addict' charts a couple of times, from clocking up between 5 and 7 hours of game time a day on weekdays and between 10 and 14 hours during weekends during my university days.

for me, the computer has been a game machine, more than a glorified typewriter, or a email or internet surfing machine.

it's been there the times my parents were out for dinner when i was a kid. when the tv showed crappy stuff during the school holidays. the times when everyone was out of the house and i was there bashing on the i-j-k-m combination (to move the game character up-left-right-down respectively) on my Apple ][ clone computer when i was 12 (that's about 2 decades ago for those of you who're counting).

i have to admit those Apple games were kinda pathetic and weak, but then what would you expect from a computer with 48kb (yes, that's kilobytes, about 48,000 bytes in comparison to today's computers with 512mb (megabytes) or roughly 512,000,000 bytes. yes, yes, i know the tech guru readers out there will correct me with 8 bits equals 1 bytes. yes i know that, but i'm making it simple here...).

back then a game consisted of a green blob (not to be mistaken with 'blog' which is what you're reading now) moving around the screen firing small dots at other green blobs. it sounds sick, but this stuff was addicitive and i sometimes stayed up overnight to play it. the only sound was a distinctive bleep, kinda like the 'censored' sound when someone says 'shit' or some other naughty word on tv. you sometimes got soft bleeps, sometimes regular bleeps, and if you were really lucky, you got to hear loud bleeps (especially when you died).

the reason why all the characters were green was coz this was the age of monochrome computer monitors.

yes, there was a time when computers didnt have colour. lots of kids find this unbelievable, just like they dont believe there was a time when you had to WIND your car window down, not just push a button up and down, and occasionally (or perhaps deliberately got your brother's finger or face caught in the window).

fast forward 15 years and i'm playing Counterstrike (a game of counter terrorists wasting terrorists) and DOTA, Tank Wars (another variation of Warcraft 3) and now Maple Story.

These games wastes lots of time and hardly generates any income, unless you're the game developer or you set up a nifty 'hints and tips' website or sell a book related to it.

the worst part of it, is that even if you're the top dog today, 2 years down the road, you become a 'has been', kinda like being the Pac Man champ. 'yeah, that guy was the best in the world for this freaky game in which you played some kinda yellow circle with a quadrant cut out that if you imagined really hard, you might think you're some kinda yellow mouth or monster or something, and then you ran around this maze, eating dots or food or some weird stuff, and then you'd have these ghosts chasing after you and if they touched you, you'd disintegrate.

weird stuff, sounds like something Game Theory developer, John Nash, might have said in A Beautiful Mind...

the interesting thing is that while all these studies will continue to show how bad all this stuff is for us, that it'll rot our minds, reduce us to social imbeciles, bring out our dark savage and violent tendencies, we'll continue to have one of Asia's largest telecommunications companies and the largest company listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange,Singapore Telecom, launch one of the most addictive online computer games World of Warcraft (WoW).

This will undoubtedly mean that countless new players will get hooked on WoW and we could expect to see more 'violent' and addicted gamers in the near future.

I definitely would love to spend all day and night playing this game, although at the end of the day, i'm very sure that this will certainly bring me further away from my goal of hitting S$5m in net worth by the age of 35 (about 3 years away).

as of yesterday i've sworn off games until i achieve a couple of milestones in my quest towards my goal.

the milestones are:
1) balance my stock portfolio
2) launch my business website at www.bizexcellerator.com (not quite up yet, though with a draft at least ready by Aug 1st).
3) spend more time with the wife.

these 3 could keep me quite busy for a while.

I know that there are a couple of readers out there, judging by the counter hits.
do feel free to leave some comments or perhaps even share your own experiences.

in the meantime, live long and prosper.

stuff inc

2005-07-25T23:34:00.000+08:00

I don't know about you, but one of my cardinal sins is accumilating stuff. lots of it.

maybe it's a holdover from the world war 2 years when everything was in short supply (not that i was born then). or as financial guru Suze Orman says, it represents a holding on to something, just in case we need it. it's an expression of a fear of loss.

and so i keep receipts for purchases i have difficulty recalling later, buy books at warehouse sales, dvds (some of which i haven't watched since buying them about 3 years ago).

and it's an addictive kick.

once you start, it's difficult to stop.
the frightening thing is that whatever you buy, drops to about 10% of what you paid for it if you decide to sell it when you're sick of it (in most cases).

in fact, whole industries have sprung up to deal with the accumilation of stuff - storage cabinets, wardrobes, storage racks, plastic cargo bins, public self-storage facilities (which are starting to make their presence in singapore.

there's a major difference between 'junky' stuff and 'useful' stuff though and i believe it's in the frequency with which we use the items. here's a selected record of my 'stuff' so far.

less useful or 'junky' stuff:
1) CDs: accumilating a couple of hundred CDs because they were 'cheap' when i bought them through a CD club when I was living in the US. I hardly listen to them more than once or twice. After factoring in the freight costs shipping them back here, the storage and space they've occupied over the years, i figure that it's probably cost me much more than their initial cost.

Now when i'm looking for places to sell them, i find that the stores that do buy them are picky and selective about what they buy.

that's headache 1.

2) Books: books represent knowledge, an accumilation of the knowledge of great minds. however, i have yet to read that andy warhol biography, or that fiction novel i had planned to start. the books are nearly occupying an entire room now and again like the CDs will be a major pain to dispose of.

argh, headache 2.

3) steam cleaner: bought this super karcher steam cleaner. it kicks major dust butt. it will be awesome to clean my parquet floors, it does a great job of cleaning the air conditioner, but due to it's lack of use, it's kind of been sitting there.

my new commitment is to use it more often to keep the home clean.

---
and now for useful stuff:
1) black and decker clothes iron and leifheit ironing board: lifesaver, without which i'll be walking the streets in crumpled shirts and pants (not that there're exactly pristine now...)

probably cost about $80 for the iron and $80 for the ironing board.

it's very therapeutic to iron clothes while watching tv, and nothing beats seeing a crumpled shirt become a nice, crisp one.

i figure i must use these babies at least once every 2 weeks.

ah, the simple things in life.

2) Desktop computer: this computer i'm using is about 3 years old. it's a pentium 4, 2 gigahertz machine and has 512 mb of ram, has a nice graphics card for gaming.

funny story how i got it.
i was doing a consulting project and the client ran into some financial dire straits.
in lieu of making a final cash payment, he gave me a computer instead.

which is kinda a godsend actually.
i store my music collection on it, send email, surf the net, keep my business accounts on it, play games, backup my nokia mobile phone address book on it, edited training videos.

it's been on 24 hours for the last year or so and keeps on chugging.

great stuff!

3) knives: erm, yeah. no, i'm not some psychotic maniac. my collection of penknives and kitchen knives are a joy to behold (at least to me).

find the perfect knife is like looking for the perfect woman.
she's got nice curves, a sharp edge, always reliable, doesn't rust on you (interpret it how you will).
my henckels knife is like a jack of all trades. i cut butter with it, spread cream cheese, cut fruit, meat and use it when i'm making cheesecakes and ice-cream.
truly a universal cooking instrument.

penknives: the universal office tool. it me it's more useful than a swiss army knife in removing staples, opening letters, preparing presentation materials.

sometimes i even use a penknife when i should be using scissors.

--
there you have it.
my definition of 'junky' vs 'useful' stuff.

will go into decluttering clutter later.

have a great one.

---

kids: would you like fries with that....?

2005-07-24T08:43:00.000+08:00

procrastination hits even the best-intentioned of us, and i'm seeing how blogging takes commitment.

no longer will i look at other blogs with their last entries dating back 6 months and go 'what the hell, they couldn't spend 5 minutes each day updating a blog?'

2 days, faithful reader, since i've not blogged, and i'm going to do my darndest to put a new post up every day (unless i'm sucked away to an electronics or 'adult' convention, in which case it might be a little longer...

When I was a teen (18 to be exact), i always thought i'd achieve the following:
1) get married by 25
2) have three kids
3) even picked out some kids' names -
3a) bianca (french equivalent for blanche - which also happens to be one of the characters on 'golden girls' which is an earlier 1985 series by the creator of desperate housewives' Marc Cheery. blanche as a verb has similar name etymology meanings. it means pale (fair-skinned) and beautiful.
3b) nausicaa: came up with this name when i was majorly into japanese manga/anime. for those familiar with Hayao Miyazaki's works, it's the name of the lead protagonist of Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. On IMDB (Internet Movie Database), it's shown up as the names of French actresses' too. You can see the search results here.

My mum wasn't too hot on this name however, cos she thought it sounded too similar to 'nausea'.
3c) Grey: was thinking of this as a cool name for a son. Again, going back to my manga reading days, Grey is the name of the protagonist for a self-titled title. In fact there's a DVD out and it's listed at old faithful, IMDB.

Besides naming a kid after a comic-book character (not necessarily the best way to choose a name). I believe it embodies the qualities of the character: resilience, intelligence, integrity and perseverance.

Grey as a colour is interesting too, because of its dual nature (neither black nor white, embodying characteristics of both) and it is engimatic.

Of course, all these ideas are moot, cos i didn't get married at 25. Got married at 30, and i don't have any kids' yet.

Will likely consult the wife when it's time to think of names, though i've developed an aversion to 'common' names like tom, jerry, mike, john, sarah, sally, jane, michelle, jessica...ok you get the idea.

i guess i'll work on that hurdle when it comes.

live long and prosper.

finding the love of your life...in this lifetime

2005-07-21T22:56:00.000+08:00

My classmate, Leslie Kwok (the national swimmer) once said: "For every girl or guy, there is a perfect mate for you out there. But whether you find them in this lifetime...that's your problem!"

Perfectly flip answer from a fifteen year old (this was some years ago), though the quote has stayed with me through the years, meriting a mention during my wedding about 3 years ago.

A friend dropped me an email about his 'interactions' with the opposite gender:

---BEGIN QUOTE
I have approached a handful of girls since the seminar and have been pretty successful in chatting them up, carrying out the conversation and getting their contacts so far. However one thing i realize is that i kind of lost the momentum after a few days. I feel that i have no
purpose to approach them as I am not looking to get laid. I question myself what is the point of approaching so many girls and then not establishing any meaningful relationship with them? Yes it would widen the cirlce of people I know but that what is the purpose of having so
many acquaintances but none i really know well and knows me well in return?

I still could not find any answer. Do you have any insights on this? :)
---END QUOTE

My reply was:
---BEGIN ANSWER
it sounds like you may wish to consider what your purpose in talking to the 'girls' is.

maybe after answering the question, 'what will approaching girls do for me?' will you gain more motivation to do what you do.

maybe you dont want to get laid, maybe you want to make new friends? expand your business contacts? find that girl who was like your dream girl that you know in primary/secondary/jc/uni that you wanted to approach, but didn't and subsequently lost touch?

maybe you did answer your own questions also. you said you didnt know them well. do you want to get to know them better? if so, what are the things to try out? maybe different questions, or a different approach would work.

actually all these steps are not that useful yet, until you answer the question 'what will approaching girls do for you'.

if you do set the goal of getting to know a girl really well and are able to answer the following questions:
1) What is her favourite colour? Why?
2) What is her favourite food? What is it about that food that she
likes?
3) What is her favourite book or tv programme or film? What does she enjoy about it? What would she do different if she was the director?

(sample questions only...you can come up with different ones).

it might help you go beyond the surface to have a feel or an idea of what the true person beneath the skin is really like.

from my past experience, knowing a person (whether male or female) in terms of their ambitions, dreams, fears help me better understand the person better and is a much more interesting or attractive or seductive (take your pick) experience than just being able to chat them up whether for friendship, romance or business.
---END REPLY

in all honesty, i'm not sure about the degree of 'insight' in my reply.

meeting people (male or female) has always been exciting during the first few encounters, especially when you're getting to find out more about the person.

more importantly i feel is that the feeling has to be reciprocated as well.
else the object of your attention might as well be a blow-up doll.

i believe the feeling of 'clicking' comes when both persons feel the same way, and hence there is 'feedback' from whatever we do or say (see Newton's third law of motion: action=reaction).

else without any perceivable feedback from the person, it'll be a fairly empty exercise.

there's a quote from the movie City Slickers that was pretty useful/relevant for me.
It goes:
"Do you know what the secret to life is?" asks Jack Palance in the 1991 movie City Slickers.
"No, what?" says Billy Crystal.
"One thing, just one thing. You stick to that and everything else don't mean shit."
"That's great, but what's the one thing?"
"That's what you've got to figure out."

Which just about sums up what the quest to finding the 'perfect one' is like.
Sorting through a lot of fodder, erm, make that 'non-perfect' ones and finding that special someone that you want to spend the rest of your life with. for tomorrow, the next week and the next 50 years. if you can't imagine the person 50 years from now, it's better to cut your losses and get the hell out.

you've been warned.

in the beginning...

2005-07-20T09:52:00.000+08:00

a long time ago, i told myself that i'd start a blog.

a couple of months passed. i'd decided to finally get cracking on my blog.

some time passed, i figured i'd start my blog when i had something to say.

about a year later, i finally start this, even though i'm not sure what i want to say.
---
last week i went for a conference and the speaker, Brad Sugars (www.bradsugars.com), mentioned that a number of people procrastinate about taking action. They decide to wait till tomorrow, next week or next month.

He also mentioned that each of us will live about 4,000 weeks.

How long does each of us have?
Use this simple formula.
4000 - [your age in years * 50] = your estimated life expectancy

i did the calculation and figured i have 2400 weeks.

Not very long huh...

I'd better do something useful today.