Why drive a Truck

A professor in my university drives a pickup truck. So was my former co-worker – a lady programmer.

I see lots of pickup trucks on the road, most of them are not loaded. Which makes me wonder: why would one buy, and drive, a truck if he or she is not going to utilize the storage space fully?

Maybe they think trucks are safer. (But they endanger other road users.)

Maybe they ‘need’ one to transport furniture from Ikea once or twice a year.

Maybe they need one to tow a boat.

Or maybe, as someone put it, they simply want to “express their aggression”.

Can someone please enlighten me?

P/S I am also thinking if truck rental service is a viable business. If you only need a truck a few times a year, rent one instead of owning one. On regular days, drive a fuel-efficient car.

Songkran in Malaysia

Songkran, which falls on April 13-15 every year, is Thailand’s New Year. In the past, perfumed water was sprinkled on family members and friends as a form of blessing. Today, this religious ritual has evolved into a water throwing frenzy.

Songkran is also celebrated in Wat Chetawan, a Thai temple in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. On April 13, 2008, I went there to experience this festival. Since my camera was not water-proof, I had to take pictures from afar.

Nonetheless, I still got wet as someone poured water over my back. Fortunately, my camera was safe. I reminded myself with the Thai spirit of mai pen rai – it doesn’t matter!

Wet warriors with water guns…

The battleground…

The big one…

八卦 Post （二）

[八卦 post （一）在此]

邻居的女孩有了男友。两人没住在一起，但男的经常到她家过夜。

有一天两人吵架，女孩指男友躲到厕所里接听旧爱的电话。过了一会，她又哭着说：“我被你打到全身伤了。”男友回答说：“你也打我啊！”当时是午夜四点。

其实两人已不是第一次吵架，有一回他们甚至在屋外大打出手。每次吵架，女孩都说要分手，结果呢？床头打架床尾和。

这又是个不能没有爱情的女人。但是为了爱情忍气吞声，值得吗？

By the way, 听这对年轻情侣吵架也是一种娱乐

Food Crisis

Freak weather, rising oil price, use of biofuel as replacement for oil, growing consumer demand in China and India. These are the factors which contribute to soaring food price.

According to United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), food price worldwide rose 23% from 2006 to 2007. Grains went up 42%, oils 50% and dairy 80%. A food crisis is looming!

My plea to Americans and Vatican:

(This is a joke…)

Dear Americans,

As a short-term solution, please take up Atkins Diet and consume less grain. You can save the world. At the same time, you will slim down.

(Now this is serious…)

Dear Pope,

As a long-term solution, please lift the ban on contraception. The world population bomb is ticking and we are running out of food. Not to mention that condom reduces the risk of HIV infection.

Have you got enough sleep?

I sleep a lot, terribly too much.

I sleep 7 hours everyday on weekdays, and slightly more on weekend. I know there are many people who sleep just 5 hours everyday. I must be wasting a lot of time, and I feel very guilty about it.

I don’t always sleep so much, though. A few years ago, when I was a contract engineer for Ericsson in California, I worked nights for many months. Unfortunately, I wasn’t a person who could sleep well during the days, and found it hard to re-adjust to ‘normal life’ on the weekend. I nodded off many times when I was driving back to my hotel after 6 am, and overshot the freeway exit once.

We (the engineers) usually worked from Monday to Friday, but occasionally the clients asked us to work from Sunday to Thursday so that they could be off on Friday evening. We worked at night in order to minimize the impact of possible disruption to cellular networks.

In December that year, Ericsson and one of its clients wanted to close accounts, and the engineers were told to complete as many projects as possible. We worked days and nights, and were soon very exhausted. (Less risky tasks were done during the day.) Then, something went wrong. There was a network outage. Ericsson and the client hold a teleconference to discuss this incident. There were lots of hoo-hah and finger-pointing. Finally, an enlightened manager from the client side said something which I still remember after so many years, “Do not overwork. If you are tired, you make mistake.”

Tell us how many hours you sleep everyday. Do you think you are sleep-deprived?

Eco Bag

I have been pondering for weeks whether to buy an eco bag – the environmental-friendly thing that is suppose to replace the plastic bags. There are a few reasons which explain my slow reaction:

Firstly, eco bags are not cheap.

Secondly, it “doesn’t feel right” to bring an empty eco bag, especially if you are a guy.

Finally, if I use an eco bag when I go for shopping, I will be stopped by the security guards on my way out. You know, we don't like to be treated like thieves.

A couple of days ago, I bought some books in Kinokuniya. I was carrying a backpack then, so I told the cashier that I didn’t need a plastic bag. At the exit, I showed the receipt to the guard. The guard checked the price of the books, one by one, before letting me go.

If we want to dispense with plastic bags, I think the businesses should come out with some foldable eco bags that can be kept in lady’s handbags or my backpack when not in use.

Perhaps the most practical approach – though not the greenest one – is to use bio-degradable plastic bags. Consumers want convenience, and bio-degradable bags will give them just that. Plus, the security guards are less likely to stop us.

Marketing in China

A number of years ago, I went to China on a business trip. I was in a city called Jining （济宁）in Shandong Province for two months. There, I came across a restaurant called California Beef Noodle King （美国加州牛肉面大王）.

The logo of the restaurant featured a man – supposedly the founder Mr. Li. It reminded me of KFC’s Colonel Sanders. Incidentally, the restaurant’s trademark and logo were painted in red, same color as KFC.

A few months later, I was on another business trip, this time to California. I frequented many “Chinese American Restaurants” during my stay there. Some of the most common Chinese American cuisines included Beef and Broccoli, Sweet and Sour Chicken, Kong Po Chicken, General Tsuo’s Chicken, Chap Suay and Egg Foo Yong. Not to be forgotten are the ubiquitous Fortune Cookies. Beef noodle? I am not sure if it ever existed in California.

Chinese consumers probably think that international brands are better than home-grown ones. Mr. Li clearly selected a Western-sounding name for his business. Smart marketing move . Last check, California Beef Noodle King is doing pretty well in the Middle Kingdom, but I doubt it will ever be great in the Golden State.

China's home-grown California Beef Noodle King

P/S

Maybe I should open a curry food restaurant in China and name it Texas Curry House （美国德州咖哩餐厅）. What do you think?

八卦 Post

发现越来越多年轻情侣，二十一，二岁就已同居。

其中一对情侣分手，男的搬出去，女的哭哭啼啼，甚至借酒消愁。两个月后，她又和另一个男生在一起。

不，我不是反对同居，我只是从他们的心态来看这种趋势。现在的女孩，似乎认为没有爱情就活不下去，急着和男友一起生活。一旦分手，又急着找代替品。先前讲的女孩，长得很漂亮，原本可以“吊高来卖”，但是她等不及了。

其实，女生们即使有了男友，也应该有自己的时间和空间。她们可分配一些时间给家人和朋友，或做些义工，或到深山静修。同居了，就没那么自由。

再说，情侣不同居，思念对方也是一种情趣吧。

或许我老了，不懂年轻人想些甚么。。。