Walk On...

It's been long overdue...

Liverpool 2 - Manc U 1

Have a great Sunday

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Lame Excuse

Have you ever heard or read people who declared this:

Science rules, God doesn't exist, it's not logical! (while quoting Charles Darwin and his evolution theory)

I'll give these people two names: Isaac Newton and Blaise Pascal

Newton and Pascal have contributed more to the world of logical thinking, they have explained how life works (think of Newton's laws of motion and how it explains huge range of physical phenomena!), yet Newton and Pascal believed in the existence of God.

Do these people think they are smarter than Newton or Pascal?

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When music was still good (II)...

One of Sting's gem. This one is the live version, which I think is better than the recording version. Beware, you're about to see real musicians here! Too bad he didn't have it in his set list when I saw him live in Singapore in 2005...

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How rich are you?

Found this interesting site: Global Rich List.

Out of curiosity, I put my first salary in 1998, and amazingly I'm still in the top 15% of the world rich list, and I thought I was underpaid BACK THEN!!!

You should try this. It's a good therapy when you're stuck in rat race.

When I met a friend who was living in Australia, I asked him whether he enjoyed living there compared with living in Indonesia. And his answer was...

"Yeah, I like it here because there's no pressure to earn more money just to live a decent life"

Class!!!

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Get Ready to be Snapped (your wallet that is!)

Finally, NZ version of contact less smart card: Snapper. Commuters who ride on Go Wellington bus will only need to tap the card on the reader when they board the bus, and tap again when they alight. Snapper is owned by Infratil which also owns Go Wellington bus (self explanatory?).

Using Snapper will cost commuters 25% less than using cash, which is a good thing. Current 10-trip card only gives 20% discount of cash price.
Sounds good?
When I still lived in Singapore, EZ Link card, the Singapore version of Snapper, is very widely used. Its website said they have issued 8 million cards since its introduction in 2002. I admit it is more convenient and efficient; however I have some reservations on implementation of Snapper in Wellington:

• The introduction doesn’t seem to be very well planned. It’s funny that currently not all buses are equipped by Snapper reader. It means that even though you have the card with you, you still have to bring money or the good old 10-trip ticket in your wallet.
  
  
• Snapper (currently) only serves Wellington with only 400,000 people. It just doesn’t make any economic sense to me.
  
  
• What will happen to Newlands bus Smart Card? They’re actually the first one who implements contact less smart card in Wellington area.
  
  
• What’s with the $15 to buy a card? That’s so not world class. You don’t have to pay to get Oyster card in London (with GBP 3 ($8) refundable deposit). EZ Link Singapore used to be the same as Oyster (with SGD 7 refundable deposit); until a couple of years back they started to charge SGD 5 ($5) refundable deposit to get the card. Hong Kong’s Octopus has the On Loan card for HKD50 ($9) refundable deposit. Snapper starts its business by charging customers $15, that’s a rip off.
  
  
• Another rip off: Snapper will charge 25c for top up and 2% for credit card payment. Let’s calculate how much they make from it: if you top up $20 (hence paying $20.25). In a month if you top up four times, that makes $1 extra out of your pocket. It’s worse with Credit card. You will have to fork out $20.4 to get $20 top up. If you travel 3 Zone every day, that’s at least $15 a year (or $25 by credit card) just from you, multiply by the number of commuters, that’s a pretty handsome amount of money isn’t it? I don’t think any other ‘world class’ companies do that. I know EZ-Link doesn’t charge if you top up in their ticketing offices or train stations.
  
  
• I can see the end of monthly pass. It won’t be compatible with Snapper.
  
  
• I don’t care about buying coffee using Snapper. It’s too risky to put too much money in it. When you lose it, anyone can use it straight away. Also remember you have to pay 25c to top up the card, plus all the trouble to find the merchants who provide top up service.
  
  
• Most importantly, I’m gonna miss the small talks with bus drivers (or train conductors) when handing off money or tickets. I hope Wellington will not turn into new Singapore with bus drivers only concentrating at the card reader to make sure you tap your card when you board the bus.
  

This blog has got some interesting posts on Snapper.

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I QUIT!

Nope, just kidding. I'm still happy with what I'm doing now, but boy how fun it was when you said that two words to your boss after you felt you're going nowhere with your current job. It's even more excited if you happen to be 'quite important' in your department and your boss will try his best to prevent you from moving on.

Based on my experience there are 3 phases which you will go through:

Phase 1: Persuasion.
Your boss will PROMISE to give you a raise, promotion, new office, new gadget, better environment, etc. If you think you can survive if you stay, and his offer is really the reason why you leave, and most importantly you BELIEVE he will deliver his promise, why not? Personally, it is amusing how your boss can only realize how valuable you are when you say those 2 words. I usually only listen to all this nonsense just to boost my ego, for once I can feel that I AM that important.

Phase 2: Guilt.
Your boss will beg you, saying how difficult the department (actually himself) would be if you leave. How you have been treated well or have been trained abroad and you just leave them all behind. This is the tough phase. If you're not strong enough you'll fall for it!

Phase 3: Threat
Now that your boss is so desperate, he will try to threaten you. I have one occasion when I was working in Singapore where my boss threatened to file a report to immigration so that my permanent residency would be withdrawn. She claimed I got my PR because she gave me the job there in the first place. Tough luck, I wasn't dumb (otherwise I wouldn't have left in the first place) and I was sure she didn't have power to do that. If you manage to achieve this step, congratulation! You will be SURE that you have made the right decision, that your boss is a crook and doesn't deserve you.

So for all you quitter out there, have fun!

Disclaimer: Do not quit until you get new job, capiche?

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When music was still good...

In a musical mood today and found this while you-tube-walking (is there such word?). Fantastic acoustic version of 'Crush' by Dave Matthews and the underrated Tim Reynolds. Sit back and enjoy!

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