I Think....Twice

Handmade Jewelry

noreply@blogger.com (Observer) — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 02:39:00 +0000

Darn...nowadays, I am just in love with handmade jewelry....

Especially this online website that sells it. Cute !

Kim Jewelry Design and its facebook page this allows me to browse the products within facebook!

Customer Dictating Prices

noreply@blogger.com (Observer) — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 18:33:00 +0000

Sometimes what I find interesting and confusing is the fact that everyone we hear cost of living has increase, and eventually this leads to many consumer goods becoming more pricey.

I don't think people foresee price of goods going down, which bring me the question. Can this be changed ?

Then I thought of something, which I believe many would observe is that for same good in a given year, the price may vary by location too. Meaning someone is buying it cheaper...aha, that reminds the Nobel winning concept on Information asymmetry - Information asymmetry models assume that at least one party to a transaction has relevant information whereas the other(s) do not.

What if consumers are to unite to re-balance the demand and supply ? What if consumers all boycott the ones with higher prices and go for the one with lower prices ? Of course, demand and supply may suggest that eventually due to overwhelming demand, the price may go up too.True, but then again, what if when it goes up, consumers again boycott it ? Will this create a more efficient and competitive economy ? Would do this partially resolve escalating consumer goods prices?

What if we have a database of all the goods with prices and locations ? What if we create communities or groups to exercise our invisible hands to correct the market from businessman who are extremely greedy in profit margin ?

This far fetch idea in theory can shape the market for the better and probably disrupt the operating model of various industries...

If only we see the day we are unite in having our say in the prices

Practicality of Hudud Law

noreply@blogger.com (Observer) — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 02:07:00 +0000

I find playing up the Hudud law is quite tiring. It's a real wonder if sometimes ideology in the air doesn't meet the practicality of reality. The second equally tiring is the age-old comment of non Muslims don't get it.

It's natural for PAS to champion the Islamic state because that's where their ideology began for their party. However, have they really thought of the reality ? Could Pakatan ever accept it ? To quote one of their members " Over My Dead Body"

If Pakatan will never implement it and PAS never wins the national on its own. Why is it still so hung up about it ?

That brings the next question, what is PAS's role in the coalition ? To preserve and attract the conservative Muslim's votes ?

Sure, explanations on it only concerns the Muslims will never give the comfort level to the rest. It's a fear. A real fear. Sometimes, education on the fear will just re-amplify the fear of what is the next level they would do if they are allowed to do so.

So, does it matter if Non Muslim really understand the Hudud Law ? No, because I doubt the perception will change even after they understands it. So, does it matter to understand ?

Well, yea... it's better for the politicians to understand what we think of it. Let's be practical. There's a reason a segment of population won't accept it now and forever.

Therefore, for whatever reason, Najib's firm answer is just "cool". No matter if somebody say that was a political gimmick or whatever, at least he answered it with plain logic it is not practical. Why is it so hard for others to understand that plain fact ?

Is 6 percent service tax REALLY going to affect the livelihood ?

noreply@blogger.com (Observer) — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 06:33:00 +0000

Many people are complaining on the move by the Telcos to pass the 6 percent service tax on prepaid mobile services to consumers. The politicians from both ends are against it, the Prime Minister is against it after hearing public feedback.

It’s not unusual for politicians to go against it because it scores brownie points for them “caring” the citizens in the midst of rising cost of living. Any politician who is in favour of it would be perceived less “considerate” for the masses.

However, what bothers me is, is that 6% REALLY a big deal ?

Sure, having to pay extra is always not going to get a positive feedback ? Who wants to pay more ? They even ask people on the street if they believe it’s a bad move, of course they would say so.

I usually tell my clients anything less than 15% is in a zone of relatively indifference because you won’t notice / feel such an impact.

Now 6% and everybody is complaining. They say the people who are most affected are the low income and students who are the mass users of prepaid. Now, let’s do some simple arithmetic.
There was once my bill was RM 1,000 per month. 6% would be RM 60. That’s a lot. I can eat a good decent meal on it.

My bill nowadays is around RM 150. 6% would be RM 9. Probably 1 normal meal or 2 cheap lunches.

If the so called affected people are the low income / students. I’d say RM100 to RM200 is a decent range while the maximum of RM 200, obviously means you made too many calls. The 6% is just RM 6 to RM 12.

The public is arguing for RM 12 bucks per month ? OK… let’s assume a whole family of 5 do it…. That’s RM 60 for 5 people ??!!

So, are they arguing for the sake of arguing or is the RM 60 is going to make a whole lot of difference in today’s rise on cost of living ?

I wish there’s one opposition politician who would stand out and do this simple mathematics and go against the populist believe.

Leverging the best you can

noreply@blogger.com (Observer) — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 14:34:00 +0000

Busy like crap... juggling projects all with identical timeline. Interestingly my main obstacles are more internal than external clients.

I guess, a measure of how good you are at doing what you do, is not merely when you are equipped with the best assets and tools... but more on how you can leverage on what is available and still able to produce a solid result.

Ahh....

Interesting, I like Eat Pray Love more than my partner...

noreply@blogger.com (Observer) — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 17:27:00 +0000

That's the amazing thing. I knew Eat Pray Love was a chic flick. My expectations of me able to come out the theater liking it more than my female counterpart was unlikely... but here I am, liking it more than her....

The movie wasn't the kind that entertained me throughout... honestly it was within my expectation in first 120 + minutes...

... somehow the last 5 minutes were what changed my mind into how I perceived this movie...

"To lose balance sometimes for love is part of living a balanced life."

Classy quote... and it was after this quote, the last 5 minutes made it interesting.

I Ate some sweetcorns while watching it, Prayed that i won't fall asleep... and ended up loving it.

Haram money

noreply@blogger.com (Observer) — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 15:52:00 +0000

KEPALA BATAS: Nine senior citizens here have given back the RM100 reward they received from the state government since they feared that the money could have come from gaming activities.

Hmm..... I wonder. It could be a matter of principle or it could be a matter of one's religious view... but... if the same logic applies...

Is that to say, public funds needs to managed and channel with a clear distinction what is haram and what it is not ???

Instead of blaming that the senior citizens are becoming victims of Umno’s political game....

Would the senior citizens change their mind if they were told that the public funds that has benefits the communities are partially from these "haram" money ?

I wonder

Sending experts to US to correct Islamophobia ?

noreply@blogger.com (Observer) — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 12:31:00 +0000

TEMERLOH: The Higher Education Ministry is prepared to send lecturers who are experts in Islamic studies to explain the religion so as to check Islamophobia in the United States and other parts of the world.

Its Deputy Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah said the country had many experts in the field who could correct the misconception about Islam among Americans and other Westerners.

Sometimes I do wonder, if common sense prevails...

Logics, simple logics

It's as foolish as trying to convince a crowd that purposely went to listen to opposition members' seminars / talks to vote otherwise

First, what are the experts going to ? Who will be their target audience ? Will they reach the RIGHT target audience ?

No point having lecturers / experts giving talks on TV / Media / University... they are still not able to nail the crux of the problem...

Why o why... please don't send them at taxpayer's expense.

Sleeping Positions For Couple : Funny video

noreply@blogger.com (Observer) — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 05:48:00 +0000

6% or 9% to achieve high income economy ?

noreply@blogger.com (Observer) — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 03:16:00 +0000

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 24 — Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar continued to pick at the Economic Transformation Plan (ETP) today and urged the prime minister to clarify if Malaysia needed more than the oft-repeated six per cent annual GDP growth to achieve high-income status by 2020.

Calling the six per cent target frequently cited by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak “misleading”, the PKR lawmaker pointed out that Malaysia had to book at least nine per cent growth per annum to achieve RM1.7 trillion in gross national income (GNI) in 10 years from current levels.

Sometimes I wonder if oppositions are asking the right questions or they have lost the plot...

Honestly, between the differential of 3%, is it something we really need to get to the n-th degree of analysis...

I mean, first, whatever argument would be to examine on assumptions of what is considered a high income economy in next 10 years... if you have 10 economist, I am pretty sure you probably get 8 different answers... and that's before you get the statisticians in...

If we are able to achieve 6% growth rate and not 9% annually, should we complain ?

Hit and run

noreply@blogger.com (Observer) — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 15:50:00 +0000

It was just 2 minutes.

I was driving on the middle land as usual on the highway when I noticed on the right, a taxi was trying to cut into my lane when I noticed his vehicle front was almost gonna cut into mine if I had not slowly break to allow my car not to have a direct impact to it...

So, the taxi was able to swing from the right lane towards the middle lane, and it subsequently swing towards the far left...

I thought to myself... this was some reckless driving, without signal and was able forceful in driving... what would the passengers in the taxi think ?

Then, the weird thing start to happen... the taxi sped and move towards the middle lane again from the left... this time, the taxi was two car in front of mine and in front of mine was a big van..

My partner quickly warned me from following too closely from the van...

Then the incident happen... the taxi suddenly cuts towards the left again... but this time, it hits a motorcycle... the person was off balance and hit the floor, what was worse, was that I noticed the helmet was off from his head when the impact happen... as that all happen, the taxi didn't stop at all, but fled off on the flyover bridge on the left.

Cars were just moving too fast on the highway ... and then my car was off the scene and I didn't get the chance to see what happen subsequently...if only I had the seen the full number plate of the taxi...

That, happen in just 2 minutes.

It was then I had a brief flashback of an accident I had few years ago...

Though it is always crucial to understand if anyone was hurt in anyway in any accident... sometimes, it's not just if people are unharmed physically... but sometimes, the livelihood of the person may also be impacted too...

FMM minimum income RM700.. Pakatan RM 4000...where is the logic ?

noreply@blogger.com (Observer) — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 04:26:00 +0000

KUALA LUMPUR: The Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) has proposed that the minimum wage level should use RM700 as the median benchmark.

Well, the best part of course our good old opposition's proposal to have RM4,000 income as a policy...

Aug 19, 10
2:05pm Malaysiakini.com

Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) is targeting a minimum household income of RM4,000 a month within five years of a Pakatan Rakyat federal administration, its de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim said.

Now... there's a slight definition difference between the two. One is absolute individual salary but household income could mean a combination of multiple individuals, which I presume the basic assumption is husband and the wife.

Ask any given man on the street. 99% will always request for salary increase. It's natural. Who doesn't like a policy maker who can give you more ??? But the implication is not as simple.

Simply raising salaries means you are adding fix cost. By doing that, business may need to relook at their business model if the additional fix cost means alot... that affects cash flow, profitability and many things ... of course this is also subject to size of organisation, organisations that are cash rich may see those additional fix cost as a drop in the ocean but how many organisations would be so generous to do that if they had not been doing that now ?

I guess, another impact it would be behavior . Let's start with the behaviour of employer, with additional of fix cost , he would at least some level of additional productivity. But, will that productivity also increase too ??? If not, it will be another sunk cost with no additional productivity...

What if some companies see that cheap labour as a competitive edge, by removing that, would the companies rethink their strategy ? Worst scenario, job loss.... yeah, those are extreme scenarios...

Ok... it's diverging a lil too far. Now, what is the basis of minimum and how do you set it ? National poverty figures and rates ? Shouldn't job value determine by demand and supply ? If the job is priced too low and nobodies is willing to work for it... it would naturally force it to pay more than the previous to attract people for it ?

The fact that low wages and you have people willing to work for it is somehow an economic match of demand and supply already. OK, obviously there's another camp who is going to argue the wages are not enough to live decently... but isn't the argument of improving one's productivity would help one to get a better wage holds ?

If expectation of higher wages increases productivity, should higher productivity also led to higher wages ???

The good and bad thing of a policy implementation of minimum wage is it achieves the minimum wage but does that also mean high competitiveness ? No job loss ? Less bonus to balance the cost ?

It'll be real funny if this forces employers to invest more in machines which are normally more expensive and remodel their manpower needs. That would be an irony.

Rite, for Pakatan's RM4,000... it is most attractive, not knowing how this statement will capture how many votes out there but how do make it RM 4,000 household income ?

If the husband earns RM 3,000 and the wife earns RM 1,000.... that equates to RM 4,000 household income .... does this count ?

Wedding at Club Med Maldives, Kani

noreply@blogger.com (Observer) — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 16:13:00 +0000

It was just out of the blue, when we were walking towards the breakfast area, there's fliers of wedding invitation distributed for a wedding in the evening...

Just when we were suppose to leave the last day... to witness a wedding here... hmm.. interesting...

So by 5pm, the people were starting to come together...
... and from far we can see there's a boat coming our way...obviously this is a zoom shot...

coming nearer and nearer...

...and people were starting to sit around to witness it... funny as it is, all those who witness neither knew them nor family related yet we were very eager to find our seats...

the bride and the groom left their boat and walking in a slow mo...

This was the japanese couple Mr K and Miss I can't pronounce....
This guy with the wits is awesome...grinning wickedly towards the couple...

He was making fun of the couple for quite some time and we could never help but laugh...

One of the verbatim from the guy to the couple when he was speaking english ( and french ) :

" Mr K, are you willing to spend 3 times a week, each time with 8 hours to shop with her... yes or no..."

The japanese guy nodded...

" Ah... this is love..."

After they were pronounced husband and wife... then there's more photo shooting moments...

... and this is the wedding ceremony for a Japanese couple in Club Med Maldives, Kani...

Long Distance Relationships...

noreply@blogger.com (Observer) — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 02:37:00 +0000

Watching Drew Barrymore and Justin Long's "Going The Distance" tickles me...

It's not exactly really really funny... neither it is really really romantic.. but one thing that resonates well with me when I am watching it is how similar the plots are to real life in some way... ok typo.. my real life in some way

I guess those who have been through long distance relationships will definitely appreciate more of the movie...

Airports : The place that make your eyes sparkle... not forgetting the spot that make your eyes break into tears...

Perkasa Impact to UMNO - Likelihood scenario

noreply@blogger.com (Observer) — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 02:02:00 +0000

KUALA LUMPUR: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said yesterday that Umno cannot afford to distance itself from Perkasa as it represented a large number of Malay voters.

The former prime minister said Umno could lose seats in the next general election if it chose to distance itself from the Malay rights group.

"Perkasa members are Umno supporters. It would not help Umno's cause to turn them away," he told the New Straits Times yesterday.

Assumption : Perkasa to remain as non political party

Alternatives : 1) Perkasa supporters vote for Pakatan Rakyat.

2) Perkasa supporters vote for independent candidates.

3) Perkasa supporters vote for UMNO.

4) Perkasa supporters vote do not vote.

Likelihood scenario: Chances for 2 and 3 is the highest probability given Pakatan and Perkasa is of two extreme end of ideologies, it doesn't make sense that they would do so to piss off UMNO. Although they may decide not to vote, but that would only bring the chances of Pakatan even closer without a bunch of UMNO votes all this while...

However if UMNO had not distance itself from Perkasa, it may not lose UMNO votes, it's the BN component parties that may lose votes...

So, I don't quite understand how Dr M sees Perkasa as an ally here...

Political Maturity of Malaysians

noreply@blogger.com (Observer) — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 14:35:00 +0000

When I read the following from Malaysiainsider I have come to realise the impact of lodging police reports...

IPOH, Sept 7 — With a Perak DAP assemblyman facing the possibility of being charged in court for his unapproved DVD production, the authorities seem to have found themselves caught in a Catch-22 situation.

Questions now center on whether they would eventually be forced to slap similar charges on Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Dr Zambry Abd Kadir and MCA’s Datuk Dr Mah Hang Soon for allegedly committing a similar crime.

Nga Kor Ming, who was formerly a state executive councillor when PR helmed Perak, told The Malaysian Insider that the state PR Youth would soon lodge a police report against both Zambry and Dr Mah for their production.

The police do act in response and investigate whenever and whoever someone lodges a report.

I think the controllable output provides some level of confidence something will get done. That's the good part.

The part that really got me to think is the uncontrollable input. Obviously no one plans a police report like planning a vacation or a holiday, it's less of a pre-plan but more of a random act due to some sequence of events.

The common factor of this uncontrollable input is people - people provide inputs to what they want to report...

Take aside the typical behavior of the need to go to police station ( theft, robbery, accidents...), there seems to be some trends of people going there to report something else... and it results to some level of effort by the force.... and sometimes leads to controversies...

Lodges reports against someone because they think someone has made seditious remarks... some even lodges report because someone insulted eggs... or distributed materials that are deem insensitive...

The fact we have freedom to report whatever is good but it also reflects the level of maturity of some when doing so if what they think is more of a personal feeling than a real problem to begin with...

Many seem to like the idea that Malaysians have reach some higher level of political maturity post the political tsunami in March 08... but what is the proof to that statement ?

More willing to vote anti establishment ?

More liberal thoughts in the online media ?

I am just wondering if those two are a good proxy to begin with ? I mean, how many percent of the vocal liberal that are outspoken is representative of the Malaysia population ?

On second thoughts, even if the citizens have lower political maturity...the following still can happen...

More willing to vote anti establishment

More liberal thoughts in the online media

....and it has nothing to do with more political maturity

Some Time Off at Maldives

noreply@blogger.com (Observer) — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 14:35:00 +0000

It's been such a long time since I have a holiday break. It's hard to plan my leaves to begin with... but I guess a working machine still needs a break one way or another.
Never quite thought of travelling to this place but I guess the scenery was worth the flight...

Been fascinated about these little mini houses above the water... and this is the entry point to Club Med at Maldives where the boat brought us from the airport of Kani...

After a long walk from the entry point... it'll soon reach the main island... the sea was just breathtaking crystal clear...

The water lagoons...

One of the dining place at Club Med which is limited in seats and serve specific menus as opposed to the common buffet concept

and this is THE DRINK.... called Virgine Chi Chi which over the 4 days stay I have drank ...hmm... I think more than 16 glasses of it... freaking good... some coconut milk drink...

...and this is one of the last picture I snapped before depart for the airport...

ah what a beautiful place...

...and the thing I missed most...

...is my Chi Chi...

Old Blog, Same Person, New Perspective

noreply@blogger.com (Observer) — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 15:36:00 +0000

It's funny... I realise I have not only change from what I blog, when I blog and very recently where ( which url ) I blog... and I have come to realise I am coming back to square 1 to what type of a blogger I am...

I am not exactly a dear diary blogger.... because I spend 90% of my time working and materials from my work are not exactly sharing friendly...

I am not exactly a political blogger.... because I don't exactly choose sides and I think quite a number of those out there have gone native

I am not exactly a IT blogger.... because I know nuts about real IT besides surfing and the common know how

Somehow I do find joy writing lil comments... and most of the time is after reading particular articles from magazines or newspapers that somehow trigger me to question things...

Maybe I am writing to amuse myself... but I do enjoy having engaging readers ( if any )