FAQs

Considering that this is probably the last time these questions will be answered... ad nauseum

1) Why isn't there a profile/ pic of you on the blog

3 reasons :

• Superficial reason - don't want anyone losing their dinner/lunch/meal when surfing
• The self defence reason - don't wanna be the target for peeved exs (ex-friends, ex-acquaintances etc), why provide a new dartboard
• The philosophical bs reason - being ego-challenged(note the lack of references to self) and boring, why would anyone want to know more about the author?! And if anyone says existentialist angst again, prepared to be koed!

2) What sets you off

ooh, plenty , just to name a few ; psychotic female lawyers, rugby, memories of past schooldays (the friends are wonderful, the schools were just necessary evils) and more recently bush and the conservative camp. Friends from school and university days are more than familiar with this, especially those who knew the psychotic housemate referred to, well you'd be depressed if you had to live with that kind of persecution. Wow , it's an improvement, references like that in the past would have resulted in "run screaming" scenarios (think Edvard Munch)

3) Why aren't there any links/quotes

• Prefer not to quote 'cos of the controversy over plagiarism (when you've read some , almost every thought seems to be a form of plagiarism) and copyrights
• as for links, well, they may not be appreciated by the linkee
• and no guys, not gonna give email addresses of pretty friends to you; this is not a personals site nor a directory, besides, would not like to be named as part of a harassment suit

4) Does this blog subscribe to certain ideologies

Hmm, not unless there's an ideology known as rational liberalism , well most ideologies are fine except fascism, rightwing allergy reigns!

5) Assorted annoying questions

Assorted annoying answers

• No not lesbian, and refuse to answer that question again; don't want no smart ass saying "the lady doth protest too much"
• No no prozac high and way over the lows of depressions; by the way, never had prozac nor abused any illegal or legal drugs, don't even drink these days - an ideal politician?
• No no reunions , they just have a geriatric flavor that's hard to ignore and the past should really be left to the past especially when there's the future to look forward to
• No haven't read anything good recently - the laughable reason : it's annoying to read and be automatically analysing everything, the lazy reason : well, just lazy
• No, not interested in astrology or fortune telling , there must have been dozens of fortune tellers with dozens of predictions - the common thread ; hard work brings success - could have predicted it myself !

Apologies

Apologies to annoyed/hapless friends and bloggers who have received duplicate emails/ posts - no spamming meant, it's just the crazy mouse that clicks incessantly - probably gonna have to bear with it a couple more months 'cos not investing new hardware especially not when there's new software launches soon!

English is as English goes

read a english doc's blog, really funny - why weren't they so interesting 10 years ago? - oops, not meant to imply that past docs weren't interesting!

for a scary moment thought it was an ex-classmate ... from all the reading lists of the various posts - now realised why research was not an alternative path

Consumption

Interestingly, Greenspan has finally voiced concern about a potentially damaging national property bubble (vs local patterns) and this comes days after the WSJ article about mortage backed securities. So not only are foreign investors "financing" the deficit, they are also (partially) fuelling the consumer binge.

The USA is probably the inventor of the theory of spending your way out of a recession. To most people, that just sounds weird but think about it, when you're topdog, there are banks lining up to lend you money and are delighted that you're spending. Sounds familiar? It 's like a certain New York real estate magnate's early years story (not named 'cos he's known to be rather litigious) . The moral of the story? It's when the chips are down and the bankers finally worry about their money that the big squeeze begins. For the magnate he was rescued by a market turnaround, for most middle class property owners, they may not be so lucky, after all, most don't own a large % of Manhattan.

It'll be interesting to see what the Bush administration comes up with as a solution - will they bail the property owners, will they bail the investors, will they maintain the bubble? Scenario 1: They might introduce puny measures to cool the market that merely slows the inevitable and leaves the small % of coolheaded investors and owners just enough time to get out of the market. Living on borrowed time and credit , not smart but may be preferable to other options.

Scenario 2: Whether it's a random event or just a matter of certain investors getting nervous and spreading that case of nerves to other investors, with the mortage securities market kaputt, the banks may have to reconsider risk management on a more traditional basis. Inevitably the banks start the credit squeeze and the price correction begins. Whether that price correction spirals is the question that most economists will like answered but that depends on the optimism (or otherwise) of consumers.

The moral of this story? No bubble lasts forever, whatever the optimism of the consumers. Look at the Japanese property market, despite recent years' improvement , prices are hardly anywhere near the highs of the bubble more than a decade ago. No doubt differences in mentality regarding spending contribute to the economic differences. [Delaying consumption or otherwise known as savings is a big factor in Asia's potential for economic growth , though recent years (think Asian financial crisis) has shown the "credit " mentality eroding traditional values. ] Efforts to spend their way out of the recession has proven less successful in Japan, maybe the worry about the subsequent bills proves stronger than the urge to spend.

Even though it's considered an economic principle that a consumer driven economy is the way to go, there are certain caveats. Expectations that credit expended will be debt paid by future income generated, a rate of growth that'll more than pay off the debt, creditworthiness are just a few of the more obvious. However, the USA seems to be the only country who doesn't have to pay attention to any caveats or cautionary notes 'cos being topdog means you're never bankrupt, so country wise it's safe but what that means for the american individual is different- individual debt as versus national debt never goes away , just ask the banks.

As for investors, those who forget the lessons of the '80s and '90s regarding corporate debt and junk bonds deserve to be reminded. Needless to say, this author does not share the optimism of the Bank of China fund manager quoted in the WSJ article , oh well, he's probably more qualified.

At the end of the day, maybe people should remember that consumption used to be a word for illness.

Isn't it ironic redux

By the latest version, didn't mean there was a new version but the update released last year?! Imagine; it's only the 10th year, 10 years later there may be another version -bitter or more mellow?

Guess it's all a matter of hindsight and perspective - what seemed dark humour previously , with the bitterness of time, has just seemed dark (minus whatever comic relief); even the shared joke of an old friend (the result of a sci-fi novel) " never say the worst is over" seems overwhelmingly ironic like some patently obvious stage directions disguised as stage lines

As the world turns round VII

Doppelganger theory - comforting thought ?

Oh puhlease! If you're having a crappy time, it's hardly comforting to think there's some mirror image of you in the world having a great time - doppelganger envy?! mindboggling

As the world turns round VI

Coexistence of opposites - sophistry or scary fact?

If darkness exists because there's light, would that mean that the devil exists because there's God? Time to rethink Milton and Dante?!

As the world turns round V

Mindgames and Hamlet's speech

A certain philospher's famous posit ('think therefore...') may seem to prove the futility of Hamlet's in/famous 'to be or not to be' speech but thought is not action and no one lives purely a life of the mind however intellectual they are

the same may not be said of those who hardly think in daily life , hehhehheh

As the world turns round IV

Ballgames and man

Ever wondered what an alien might think if it saw at least one half of mankind go bananas over a bunch of balls (football, basketball, golf etc); chasing these balls around , spitting, spouting foul language and fighting /brawling etc.

hmm, some psychological sexual hangup with scoring?!

As the world turns round III

Brideshead Not Revisited

It's amazing why some like to revisit places of entertainment, which apparently remind them of happy memories of former partners and past times - incomprehensible! It's like chewing gum chewed for too long, the flavour's gone and you're left wondering why you chewed the gum in the first place - the past is best left to the past

As the world turns round II

Don't ask if you don't want to hear the answer

Heard the classic "Will you still love...". Frankly, if you need to ask , chances are you already know the answer

As the world turns round I

Free speech and the conservative

Read some conservative websites and realised a fact ; the conservatives don't want to control free speech, they just want to limit it to the conservative cause

hmm, ruminate on that!

Isn't it ironic

Just when you've endured the trails of life and finally understood enough to comprehend the frustrations of Alanis Morrisette's Ironic; you've finally graduated from young angst to a more adult angst. Perhaps mirrored by the updated version where the raw angst of the early version has been toned to that of resignation in the latest version

mindboggling

saw the assetallocator blog - wow, then again, why does it sound like a very rabid chipmunk high on caffeine- boy, hope the assetman doesn't read this!

the infoproc site's not bad but as with most physicists tend to be too serious?!

too exhausted to talk, chronic lack of sleep means a sarky attitude, better not offend more people

Aliens, bling and copyright fuss

meltingpot of ideas?

watched MIB lately (ok, for the nth time) and like most alien movies it was pretty funny and unintentionally thought provoking; the world as a marble game of alien beings- hmm and the greeks thought that men were the playthings of the gods - dark humour or just human progression?!

and ever wondered why females feature so un-prominently in alien movies- apart from the shriek effect that is- ? ok, some are referring to sigourney weaver but seriously, give her a bandanna and you have Fambo. Feminised characters are usually vases or worse they are the scary aliens (you guessed it - species) an interpretation of venus trap?


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Irony overcooked may be defined as movie/music stars all decked with blingbling moaning about how piracy and internet illegal downloads are depriving the industry of profits. Hello! the industries are in need of a reality check money wise. Contrary to what industry bigwigs are saying - mebbe these stars may produce beter movies and music if they earned a little less!

Besides, mebbe a big part of the costs may be reduced by the studios "distributing the movies directly to the consumer" via downloads and internet sales points . After all, you don't have to be a fan of CSI to know that cinemas are often a healthhazard and disaster scenario in the wings! Most importantly, why should consumers be expected to further fatten up the wallets of industry bigwigs who don't give a damn about the industry apart from the profits!