Migration to Web Portal

I will be writing lesser on this blog and will be spending more time on my investment portal. Here's the link http://cif5000.do-talk.com.

Low Cost Country

We were at this meeting when the chairman popped this question, "Now tell me, which is a low cost country?". This meeting happened in China with participants from UK, US, Switzerland, China, and of course, Singapore. We all know that China is supposed to be the low cost producer of the world, so what on earth was he talking about? And he added that the inflation in China is running at about 10% for the past decade and if this goes on for a few more years, China is going to be as expensive as Europe. Sounds logical.

The answer he provided, "USA".

How true it is. Low USD, skilled labour and management, good infrastructure, juridiction in place, etc...

A Poem to a Dying Forum

This forum is dying,
if it is not already dead.
The cheese is missing,
why not try the bacon instead?

Beware of this self fulfilling mentor,
building his castle of a thousand posts.
In a sheep skin he wore,
selling products is of the utmost.

He dug the lively forum a grave,
and chased away the humanly souls.
The guardian is not that brave,
to drive those nails down his toes.

This is no longer the old wallstraits,
no, but no, I am not sad.
Unfortunate that it couldn't stand straight,
really, I have nothing more to add.

Flying - China and Singapore

I have been flying between Singapore and China for the past 2 and a half years. In some months, I fly every 3-4 day. Silkair, China Southern, China Eastern, Tiger, and more recently SIA. There are more domestic airlines – Hainan, Chongqing, Western, and some I don’t even remember their names. Which airline stands out from the rest? No doubt, it has to be Tiger Airways.

It wasn’t that bad when the airline first started. I remember an English journalist complaining about being not able to consume his own food when the aircraft had already run out of sandwiches. I don’t know if his article ever come into sight of the management. For one thing, the airline has broken even, which is a very tall order especially when oil price is at the peak. But is it necessary to put itself is an irritating position to be called a budget airline?

My discomfort is somewhat different from the journalist. I hate the loudness of their public announcing system. Once I tried asking them to tune down the volume, but they couldn’t do that. I wonder why. Then I asked them to do the announcement softly. When the next few announcements came, I thought of the spoilt brat who couldn’t behave himself in public. Now, if I have no other choice, I use my in-ear earphones as earplugs. Of course, I would have to reply that my iPod is off when they come shouting at me.

Then, there is the checking in of sporting equipment rules. Once I checked in a piece of snooker cue and they wanted to command the price of “sporting equipment”. To me a set of golf clubs or a surf board or something heavy to that extent is considered as sporting equipment, not a 10lbs wooden stick. I raised the question that my running shoes and singlet were also checked in and would that also count as sporting equipment. Although I got a "waiver" at the end (oh thank you so much!!), I was annoyed by the “charge all you can” attitude.

Started last month, checking in of baggages is now charged separately. This is really innovative but I don’t like it. Next time, there could be a fee to use the washroom or the oxygen mask.

Given the choice, i.e. timing of flight and destination, I would not take Tiger. A return ticket to HK cost S$600++ on SIA but a single trip ticket cost about S$240 one way to Shenzhen. Tiger, you are not cheap but you certainly do things to cheapen yourself.

Two different coins

There are 2 ways to earn money.
The first way is to give someone something useful and get paid. The second way is to get paid.

There are 2 approaches to investment.
The first way is to acquire something lesser than the total income generated over its useful lifespan. The second way is to sell something more than it was paid for.

There are 2 types of opportunities.
The first type arises from the difficulties in creating something useful. The second type takes advantage of other people’s crisis.

Passion and Great Achievements

Michael Jordan. World most highly paid sportsman. A man who is bigger than the sports itself. Left basketball in 1993 to pursue his passion in baseball. He didn't succeed. Came back and achieved a second 3-peat. Retired for the second time. Came back, again, as a Wizards player. Didn't play as well due to age. Retired (third time) and took up office position with Wizards. Fired by Wizards owner.

Points to note:
1. Jordan is passionate about basketball and he achieved great success in the game.
2. Jordan is passionate about baseball but he didn't achieve much.
3. Jordan's success in basketball (as a player) didn't last.
4. Jordan's success in playing basketball didn't translate into success in managing a basketball team.
5. Jordan's success in playing basketball allows him to pursue his other passions.

If Jordan had decided to pursue his passion in playing baseball, no one would know who he is today. If Jordan didn't train harder than other players, he might not achieve that kind of success he had achieved. If Jordan were only 5'6" tall, he might not be playing in the NBA at all. For any great achievement, the 3 key ingredients at work are: Hard Work, Talent and Interest (passion). It is a balance of these 3 ingredients that drives a man to great height.

So if you think passion will lead you to the cheese, think again. Lacking any one of the 3 ingredients makes the road tougher. If you only had passion and talent, but lack hardwork, you may achieve occasional brilliance but that will not last or be repeated, and therefore will not carry you very far. Hard work smoothens out the bad days and ensure that the "money comes later", as the title of this thread goes. On the other hand, if you didn't have talent, hardwork and passion may cause you to run around in circles - tiring yourself out and you don't get to anywhere in the end. Sometimes though, hardwork may overcome that talent handicap, if you really work hard enough, developing new skills along the way, self-motivated by your own burning passion. Lastly, what if one does not have passion but is diligent and talented in doing something? Can he have great achievements? I would say yes, and the likelihood is higher than one lacking hardwork or talent, in this order.

The environment plays an important role. For the 3 ingredients to produce a strong positive result, the environment must be conducive too. I don't think Jordan could have gone as far as he had if he were a Singaporean.

To sum up with a very nice quote from the movie The Great Debater "You do what you have to do so that you can do what you want to do".

Misinfluence of Human Judgement

1. Reward and Punishment Superresponse Tendency
2. Liking/Loving Tendency
3. Disliking/Hating Tendency
4. Doubt-Avoidance Tendency
5. Inconsistence-Avoidance Tendency
6. Curiosity Tendency
7. Kantian Fairness Tendency
8. Envy/Jeolousy Tendency
9. Reciprocation Tendency
10. Infuence from Mere-Association Tendency
11. Simple, Pain-Avoiding Psychological Denial
12. Excessive Self Regard Tendency
13. Overoptimism Tendency
14. Deprival-Superreaction Tendency
15. Social Proof Tendency
16. COntrast Misreaction Tendency
17. Stress Influence Tendency
18. Availability Misweighing Tendency
19. Use it or loss it Tendency
20. Drug Misinfluence Tendency
21. Senescence Misinflence Tendency
22. AUthority Misinfluence Tendency
23. Twaddle Tendency
24. Reason Respecting Tendency
25. Lollapallooza