Logical?

There's one website my friend told me today about an auction. Instead of the Ebay model, it is somewhat different. How?

Instead of the highest bidder, the item bid for will go to the...wait for it...LOWEST bidder! Yes! Unbelievable? It is! Of course, there are some twist to the story. Otherwise, everyone will bid the lowest price, which in this case is $0.01. So then, what is the twist?

It's easy, the condition (the twist) is, the lowest bid will win. And only the ONLY lowest bid will win. It means that if there are 9 bidders, and 8 of them bid an item for $0.01, and the last man bid for $0.02, the $0.02 bidder will win since he's the only one with the $0.02, which by far is the lowest single bid there is. Understand?

Now, let me tell you why instead of $0.01 that people expect to pay, people will pay only several percentage points lower than the stated retail price. Say an item is worth $289 at retail, people will actually pay around $250 instead of the expected $0.01.

It goes like this: there are 3 person; A, B, C. They all know the conditions. A will bid item D worth $100 for $0.01. B will also bid $0.01, however, he knew that A will bid $0.01, and thus B knows there since there can only be a single lowest bidder, having two $0.01 bidder will not do, and thus B will raise his bid a little, hence bidding $0.02. Now it's C turn to bid. C knowing A will bid $0.01, and so will B, C will try to bid $0.02. But he knows that if he bid $0.02, A will also try to bid $0.02 in the believe that B and C will bid $0.01.

This will go on and on in the believe that each of the other one will bid a higher bid than the previous bid, thus raising the bid price higher with every bid, each bidder bidding in the believe that their bid is the only single lowest bid.

I apologize as I am not able to put the explanation succinctly. However, that is the gist of what I'm trying to convey. And that is why these kind of bidding will use psychology to sell at a higher price than realized.

Till next time.

Very tiring this day

In class today, when I tried to listen in on the lectures...my head got so heavy I just slept intermittently for several minutes. Then I got bored sleeping like that, so I took out my Japanese class notes to revise. Bad mistake. My eyelid got heavier to the point that I can't even see what I'm writing!

Finally I hit upon a solution: I daydream. Yeah, i dream of a dream where I'm a multi-billionaire building elite schools for the gifted and talented who will in the end work for me and continue to make me billions in profit. Hehe, Didn't you know investment in education bring the largest possible return?

So much to do...

Another boring day. And another day when I splurge on several hundred dollars worth of goods that in the long run doesn't look to rosy. Look at this! My first dedicated badminton shoe cum running shoe cum whatever sports I happen to play, and look at the price...wait, don't think it's that much, but heck...I paid SGD$100 for that pair. Arghh...first day of paycheck, and this is what I splurge on. I am so going to get broke! Oh, by the way, I got the red one. Wanted for the shoe to be in all orange or some other bright colors but they're not available...sigh...

I don't know why, I have these sudden urges to wear some really bright colored clothes. Orange, red, bright blue, ultraviolet, hell, even fluorescent green! I have a fluorescent green vest, but that can only be used on official government business...so for casual wear, だめです。

Hmm...where did I put that photo of a really good looking "look" I found the other day...

おさしぶり

It's been long. How do you do?

Today, I was in a library, and as you know, libraries are supposed to be a quiet place of contemplation and study. And the librarian are the guardians of this peace and tranquility. Right?

So what happens when the librarian are the one making lot's of noise, and to top it all off, shushed other library visitors up? This librarian/guardian/stupid moron guy did what he did (today at least) deliberately. How? He was organizing some papers together to be stapled, and after stapling, keeps them in a pile in a box. The problem was this; he throws the paper into the box, knowing full well it will make a helluva noise, and even when I glared at him, he looked at me straight in the eye, and does it again and again...I don't know, to spite me?!

Arghhh!!!!

Anyway, I got a hing to complain about Singapore's virtual monopoly of bus services. They are always late, with irregular service timing, high fare, stupid scheduling and worse of all, they think they are giving the best service in the world! The nerve!! The ego! I'm writing a complaint letter to them as of now.

First Malaysian In Space?

So what?! That was the first question I asked myself. That was at the time when my application to be an astronaut was rejected. That was four years ago.

So what?! This is the question I ask myself now. This is the question I ask when I found out that the Malaysia's supposedly first astronaut is nothing more than a payload. A pissing, shitting, moving, dead-weight payload at that. NASA called him "Spaceflight Participant". I call him a waste of tax money. Now, I don't feel so bad about my application being rejected. Getting selected for this, although filled with momentary moments of euphoria, it will inevitably drag down my name to bed with the worms.

In order to commemorate this...wasteful 'achievement', the Malaysian government insists that he will conduct experiments. Real experiments. Serious real experiments. And if the grapevine is to be believed, seriously laughable real experiments. Some years back, some idiot of an MP (then again, which MP isn't an idiot?) suggested in Parliament that this 'spaceflight participant' conducts experiments to make teh tarik...in space! なんと！？！I was laughing so hard then my stomach almost burst open. Mind you that that was just one of those bonehead suggestions spouted and I have no idea how many of those nonsense was forwarded to NASA. Their reasoning is equally idiotic: to bring Malaysian culture into space??? Looking at the approved menu, I think they'll brag about the nasi briyani this 'spaceflight participant' will have there.

So, is this a great achievement? Hmmm......let's see. We have ...oh, waitaminute, look at this list! So many astronauts! Even better, look at this! Wow! Malaysians should really be proud! I feel that Dennis Tito has more respect. At least he didn't pretend to be something other than a tourist.

The dearth of superiority

A discussion with my friend recently spurred me to write the topic for today's entry. Superiority. Whose? Ours.

Have you ever noticed that over the years, as our collective and specialist knowledge gets more and more advanced and higher, the base knowledge of the average people gets more and more..diluted? In other words, we're getting dumber as we get smarter?

Allow me to explain my perplexing statement. How are we getting smarter? As I said, more and more knowledge was dredged from the deep mysteries of the universe. Rate of new knowledge discoveries keep on increasing. We are definitely marching into the future with confidant stride...but only for the elite few. And how are we dumber? Look at the school going children nowadays. Instead of acquiring more knowledge (relatively), they are acquiring less than those of their forebears. Examination questions the world over was 'watered' down so that more child could pass, thus ensuring that "No Child Left Behind", which ironically means that all child move ahead in life dumber. Passing grades continue to fall over the years in an effort to 'pass' all students for (of all reasons) the purpose of obtaining 100% passes!! This is ridiculous!!

There you see why as we grow smarter as a species, we also, at the same time, grow dumber as each component member of Homo Sapien grows dumber? It is only by averaging the sum total can we get an increasing average year by year. I'll leave the maths to you. I'm too dumb to count. LOL!

What does this mean then? So what if they get dumber? Why indeed..."So what!" indeed.

In case you haven't noticed, we need to get off this rock, this 3rd rock from the Sun. It is getting too crowded, and the faster we get off this rock, the better the chances of humans surviving our next meteor strike (tentatively 'scheduled' in several thousand years). And the faster we spread through space, the faster will our base collective knowledge grows, and the faster our knowledge grows, the faster we will step up to our next step in evolution...(actually, I don't know what's our next step in evolution...)!

Now, to get there, first we need to intensify the collection of knowledge. Spread this across the entire human race, it translates into more people generating knowledge. But knowledge cannot be generated by just any people. Only a small percentage does, and to get that small percentage, a huge percentage needs to be there to support them. It is akin to saying "Training a thousand to find the one.". But the quality of the Few depends on the quality of the whole. This said means that only smart people can breed smarter geniuses. And smart people can only be groomed if the standard of knowledge transmission (layman term: schooling!!) is not compromised!

In other simpler terms, the standards of the exams must be tougher, more challenging. Rewards should be given to the top achievers. Mediocrity should be discouraged. And the useless discarded, if possible. Imagine, if more people were rewarded for revolutionary breakthroughs, wouldn't it be better for us?

A tale of three cities

This is a tale of three city so different, it rocks the mind...at least my mind. I'm talking about of Bangkok, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.

What makes a city a city? Is it the buildings? The various mega structures? The facilities? The hotels? The tourist traps? What is it that makes a city A CITY? Look at Bangkok. In a heartbeat I'll declare it a city. No doubt about it. People will look at Bangkok, and said, "Damn, that's a city!". Why did I say that? Well, look at it this way. I was there for like two times, and both times, I found something new and something that I like. No, like is too affectionate a word. More likely, I found something exciting about Bangkok. Something I know I won't find in Singapore or Kuala Lumpur.

Bangkok is organic, in a word. It is vibrant. It is filled with people! Yes, the people makes the city! They have high rise building rivaling those in Singapore and KL, and they have a street life reminiscences of small town. You could be in one part of Bangkok, and swear on your mother's grave that you're not in Bangkok, when in fact, you ARE! And you can walk a hundred meters and find yourself staring at the most magnificent building Bangkok has to offer. and just as suddenly, you felt like you're in Bangkok again. That feeling is elusive. That feeling in indescribable.

A case in point, my experience from my recent jaunt to Bangkok last week. Come morning, I woke up, goes down to the hotel lobby where a tuk-tuk (provided free by the hotel) was ready to whisk me to the main street. At the main street, already bustling with people criss-crossing here and there with cars shooting pass on the road, I searched for a place to fill my stomach. Walking a short distance either will bring me to a road side stall selling anything from classic Thai breakfast to traditional Chinese soup noodles. Take your pick, and this place didn't even pretend to be a tourist trap, and yet, there they are, tourists by the dozens. Regarding this road side stalls, everyone eats here: from white-collar workers to laborers. The sitting spilled out onto the road, and yet, I see no policemen coming shoo-ing them away. The reason is that the cars slows down upon coming in close proximity. This is what I call driver courtesy. How many city can claim to have such gracious drivers? Even where there are jay walkers, cars invariably slows down to let them pass. People can walk in the middle of the road without fear of being knocked down by cars or tuk-tuks, or worse, getting horned at.

Sukhumvit in the evening.

Moving along, close by is the BTS station; an elevated mass rapid transit. A few stations away will bring you to the most upscale part of Bangkok; Siam Paragon, arguably the most expensive place to shop in Bangkok. Even here, you could spy some stalls tucked away in a corner here and there, and if you looked carefully enough, customers in ties and coats can be seen waiting patiently for their meal.

A trip to the biggest night market in Bangkok, Chatuchak Market, is a whole new experience in itself. Not only do you need a map to navigate the place, you'll think that people here are angels, sans the steep price that is. I mean, they are so gracious! One small bump from them will have them apologizing profusely you'll get red-faced. Ask one small favor will have them bring you right to where you want to be, even if they don't gain anything. And prices so priced that you want to haggle for a lower price even when it is so low, and they'll happily oblige. Maybe I'm not a shopping or haggling person, but I'm definitely a pasar-malam person.

At night, for the adventuress, there are night life here that would make Las Vegas weep. For those less inclined to dabble in adult entertainment, the night views and night time street shopping is a must. Of course, there's always the ever present massage parlors where you can have your tired body kneaded for hours for pennies! It is that cheap!

A bustling skyline

Lastly, people, be them Thai or foreigners, came to Bangkok, and made Bangkok their home; changing it. But you know what they say: the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Next, we have Singapore, city in the south. An advanced city by comparison. Bigger buildings, Better facilities. Just one thing is lacking: a soul. For a big city like Singapore, It somehow feels empty. It feels sterile. Too clean, some said. Too systematic, others complained. I think it lacks the human factor so critical in the making of a successful city. Singapore, to itself is a city made to cater to the buildings and facilities and a showcase for the world with the people being brought in to fill the rooms these building provided. There are world class system in place. And yet when you examine it closer, it is lifeless. Therein lies the problem. The city was built for the buildings, not the logical way around. That the city was built for the humans, with the building being built to cater for the people.

Buildings in Singapore were built for the sake of being built. It's utilitarian. It's artificial. It's boring. People goes into the building to work, and leave for a night's sleep only to come back again the next day to do the same thing. When people talks about their experiences in Singapore, they don't say, "I've lived in Singapore..." rather, they said, "I've worked in Singapore...". See the difference? They worked here rather than lived here, this in itself is a worrying trend. And yet Singapore persist, insisting that it is the best place to live. There isn't anything to do once you get off work. And there's so little variation here that once you've seen one part of Singapore, you've seen it all.

And lastly, Kuala Lumpur, arguably the worst of the three cities. It tries too hard to be something is was not meant to be. You could find parts of Singapore in KL, and you can find parts of Bangkok sans graciousness, on another part. Development is erratic and marred by corruption. You wouldn't even want to work here, let alone live here. The only reason they are so many people here (relatively speaking) is because the main transportation hubs are located here, and the seat of government are here as well. And these same people will invariably get conned by hustlers and peddlers plying the streets at every junction near crowded places. You can't walk a decent amount of distance without encountering dangerous car drivers blaring their horns at you for even walking on the road shoulder. Don't even mention the public transport. If they can get away with slitting your throat with their price, they will.

Attraction? None at all. Although KL is more organic than Singapore, and there are places you could go to feel uniquely in KL, you'll have problem reaching it.

In conclusion, Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, in that order seems to offer more in terms of liveliness and experience. And in the future, I predict Bangkok will overtake Singapore as the most advanced city in SE Asia while still retaining it's liveliness, it's people and its culture. Singapore already lost its. Kuala Lumpur sold out its soul long time ago.

And this is just three...wait till you read what I have to say about Beijing!

Back from Bangkok!

Bangkok, the city don't know what the city is becoming. In short, it's getting more lively as the years progresses, while other city turn stagnant and sterile. Numerous construction projects aim to turn this bustling cosmopolitan into one huge developed city, on par with the standards set by myopic developers and policy-setters of the western world. This here is a city ready to take on its opponent and critics at their own game, without sacrificing it's own identity. Because when you get to the ground level from the lofty towers of Bangkok, you'll find the real Bangkok.

The really cheap foods I could get here are amazing in their variety.
This is a typical promotional poster in Bangkok. Look at the models. All Thai. All pretty. Heck even prettier than other models in similar ads in other countries! This is what I call quality entertainment! LOL!
An engineer working on the aircraft I'm about to take to Bangkok. Nothing against Bangkok, but I don't see this (ground crew working) anywhere in Bangkok's spanking new airport. Disappointing really when you consider that they throw your luggage around in order to move them around.
A bustling metropolitan city it truly is. A typical traffic jam by day...and night from the looks of it. However with the ever present construction of new MRT lines, this congestion could potentially be cut by as much as 30%! Soon, optimistically speaking, the roads of Bangkok would be filled with taxis and tuk-tuks rather than private cars.
Ahhh, the road side stall that caters to me...nice, good looking and cheap food. The owner was surprised because we came too early for normal Thai dinner time. He meant Thai don't usually go for dinner at the time we went: 530pm.
I'm on the tuk-tuk service plying the small access road from our hotel, The Royal Asia Lodge, to the main street. It is situated near the controversial adult only entertainment center of Nana.
The typical Thai breakfast, which surprisingly looked like all other breakfast in Malaysia or Singapore. Soup noodle. Of course I did not manage to snap photos of natives eating their ubiquitous version of "laksa(?)" or their penchant for weird looking food. I'll try to post them up when my stomach is ready for me to snap them in action...