Teck's Treehouse

Management tools

2012-02-24T20:28:00.000+08:00

The corporate world is full of bright minds who come up with great tools for management. These tools were specifically designed to solve certain management problems, and when applied to these problems, deliver great results. But there are not wonder drugs. They cannot solve all management problems. If we try to use a certain management tool to solve a problem that it was not designed for, we may not solve the problem and we run the risk of aggravating the problem. For example, a tool meant for goal management would probably have an averse effect on morale when used for personnel evaluation.

At the same time, we should also guard against management tools being used as career advancement tools. It looks and sounds great that a bright young mind learnt this new tool from somewhere else and finds a way to implement it within the company. But we need to ask ourselves if the tool being implemented is really solving a problem that we had in the first place, or are we making up the problem just so that this tool can be implemented for us to look good.

Science and us

2012-02-15T22:15:00.000+08:00

I was attending a class on ethical science the other day and this thought came into my mind. I have the impression that science started out as a study into nature and how it affects us as human beings. The aim of science then was to learn more about nature so that we as human beings can learn how to better live with nature. However, somewhere down the road of history, the aim of science started to wander off... the aim was no longer for us to better live with nature, but rather how to make nature work for us human beings. Instead of learning to live with nature, we started to learn how to make nature work for us.

Our ancestors have lived thousands of years with nature. Why are we breaking away from tradition and making nature work for us instead? Are the conveniences offered by our exploitation of science really conveniences, or have we become slaves to those conveniences of science, such that we can longer live without them, and continue to put in more effort to fuel them?

Going to the toilet

2012-02-12T21:30:00.000+08:00

Milestone... the kid actually told us that he needed to go to the toilet today! Seems like the patience the wife has shown in toilet training is finally starting to pay off.

Trip to Tokyo Disneyland

2012-02-10T20:49:00.000+08:00

This post is a bit late... we visited Tokyo Disneyland together with my sister-in-law and her family back in early December 2011. That's 2 months ago.

We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. In a way, we were quite lucky. Somehow, we managed to get to some of the rides before the crowd arrived, cutting short the overall waiting time. On average, we waited for about 40 minutes at each ride. The fastpass system helped too, allowing us to squeeze in one last attraction before we left. Anyway, here's the kid and I taking a photo together with Dumbo.

The kids really enjoyed themselves. Even after a long day, they were still energetic at night (although they did take a short one-hour nap in the late afternoon, just before dinner...)

You cannot go to Tokyo Disneyland without seeing the electric parade at night. It was wonderful, with lots and lots of Disney characters. Other than Mickey Mouse and Minnie, there were characters from Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and other Disney cartoons.

And it all ends in a big bang, with the wonderful fireworks at the end of the day.

Hakkeijima Aquarium

2012-02-05T20:36:00.006+08:00

It was the weekend, and with a bit of time, we decided to visit the nearby Hakkeijima Aquarium with my sister-in-law and her daughter.

Here's the two kids, in their penguin and polar bear modes.

The kid really enjoyed himself at the aquarium, looking at the exhibits of fishes and other sea creatures, such as the anemones here.

And here he is, staring at this huge ocean sunfish.

The aquarium had a pair of juvenile whale sharks... it is hard to imagine how large these whale sharks will eventually be when they reach adulthood.

Japanese kindergarten

2012-02-04T20:25:00.010+08:00

I had a chance to visit a Japanese kindergarten for the first time in my life. The kindergarten was open to the public to showcase the different activities that they have for children, ranging from building fake railroad tracks, making plum juice, building a playhouse for beetles, etc. To me, it was very different from the kindergarten that I attended in Singapore, which was firstly a mission school (and thus I heard quite some Bible stories) and secondly, didn't have such fun group activities. While it may be good to start young when teaching kids to read and write, maybe we should not forget that social skills are just as important as academic ones.

Setsubun 節分 2012

2012-02-03T20:31:00.012+08:00

3 of February is Setsubun 節分 in Japan, and it is a tradition in Japan to "call in good luck and drive away the devil" on this day. First, we went to the nearby temple, where they were giving out beans as a token of good luck.

The kid managed to catch/pick up quite some packets of beans (or maybe it would be more correct to say that my wife managed to catch/pick up quite some packets...)

And here's the little one all ready to be the little devil... hmm... he doesn't need the mask to be the devil...

First snow in Tokyo for 2012

2012-01-24T20:23:00.001+08:00

It snowed for the first time in Tokyo on 23 Jan 2012. At least, it snowed significantly enough for the snow to accumulate. This was the view out the window when it was snowing at night.

And this was how the road outside my apartment looked the next morning, when the snow had stopped.

Welcoming the Year of the Dragon

2012-01-23T23:09:00.001+08:00

迎敲

龙锣

送打

兔鼓

又庆

一新

春年

Year of the Dragon

2012-01-23T01:00:00.004+08:00

Happy Lunar New Year! Welcome to the year of the Dragon (龙, or in an older form of counting, 辰). Too bad I am in Japan now and cannot celebrate this traditional festival like usual.

Mount Fuji 3 Jan 2012

2012-01-03T22:17:00.003+08:00

Here's some photos of Mount Fuji, taken on 3 Jan 2012.

Kawasaki Taishi 2012

2012-01-02T22:16:00.001+08:00

This year, we made our annual visit to Kawasaki Taishi, a temple in Kawasaki, on the second day of the new year.

Happy New Year 2012

2012-01-01T22:13:00.014+08:00

Happy New Year 2012!

This year was spent with the in-laws, as usual. After waking up to the new year, we had the usual osetchi lunch.

We also made the trip to the nearby shrine, Kashima-jinja, to pray for blessings for the year ahead.

And then we had a sumptuous dinner!

Hokkaido Dec 2011

2011-12-30T21:49:00.016+08:00

For the winter holidays, we visited Hokkaido. I have always wanted to ski in Hokkaido, and this year, I had the chance to do so.

We arrived at Furano (富良野), a small ski resort town in the middle of Hokkaido. Furano is not just famous as a ski resort, but it is also the setting of this famous Japanese television drama known as Kita no Kuni Kara (北の国から) which was shown on TV in the early 1980s, plus additional miniseries in the 1990s and the last in 2002. The drama and miniseries together follow the main characters through their lives as they grow up. Now, there is a small museum providing information about the series, as well as showcasing the items used in the filming.

Skiing was fun. It has been some time since I last skied, so I was a bit rusty, but I managed to ski without falling too much (only twice). It was also the first time that the little one got to see snow, and we also tried to ski with him, with him standing on the skis of my wife as she skied. Most of all, he enjoyed the sled.

After Furano, we visited Otaru (小樽), a port famous for glassware and music boxes. Otaru is also famous for its canal, which used to be lined with warehouses serving the harbour, but since then, the warehouses have been converted to restaurants.

Our last stop in Hokkaido was Sapporo (札幌), the main city in Hokkaido. We didn't do much here, since it was just a pit-stop before we catch our flight out of Hokkaido. We did visit the clock tower and television broadcasting tower, two famous landmarks in Sapporo.

Throughout our stay in Hokkaido, it was snowing, and snowing quite heavily at times. On the day that we traveled from Furano to Otaru, it was snowing so heavily that some trains were stopped, but luckily we were not delayed much. We were very lucky that on the day we left, the snow let up a bit and our flight was able to take off as scheduled. But at least we managed to have a white Christmas!

Kim Jong Il is dead!

2011-12-19T20:34:00.000+08:00

Wow! It was reported earlier today that Kim Jong Il, the leader of North Korea, has died from a heart attack. See one of the reports here. I wonder how the situation in the Korean Peninsula is going to change because of this. Guess South Korean troops are going to be spending Christmas with their colleagues (instead of loved ones) as they step up in readiness level to prepare for anything that may happen up north.

Reading it again

2011-12-12T17:11:00.000+08:00

The Chinese have a saying, to read again something and learn something new from it (温故知新). I think it is very true. I have been re-reading some books that I have read in the past, and come away with new knowledge and thoughts. While it may seem quite some work to gain so little from re-reading those books, what I learnt is that there is always value in re-reading something. When we first read a book, we only learn as much from it as our existing knowledge allows. When we re-read that same book again, with a bigger knowledge base, we can learn more from it. If you re-visit that book 10 years from now, you will benefit so much more from it, since in the 10 years, you would have increased your knowledge base significantly (compared to if you re-read it after a year).

Pearl Harbor 70th anniversary

2011-12-08T07:10:00.000+08:00

Wow! Time flies. It has been 70 years since the attack on Pearl Harbor took place, drawing the United States fully into World War Two.

70 years since the attack, the US and Japan are now strong allies, guarding against a rising China. The British Empire is a thing of the past, and the Soviet Union has been dissolved.

Hashimoto wins election for Osaka City mayor

2011-12-01T07:40:00.000+08:00

Hashimoto Toru, the previous governor of Osaka Prefecture, has won the elections for the mayor of Osaka City. It is one step towards his vision of changing Osaka into a metropolis like Tokyo. I feel that Hashimoto is an example of a politician that is rarely seen in Japan. Someone with a clear vision, and the ability to work towards that vision. Let's see how things turn out from here. What Japan lacks now is politicians who can set a vision for the country and execute a plan to achieve that vision. Hopefully, with Hashimoto elected to Osaka City, we will see more politicians like him step up and bring Japan forward.

Ueno Zoo

2011-11-23T20:18:00.004+08:00

We went to Ueno Zoo, which I would say is the biggest zoo in the heart of Tokyo, for a day of "meet the animals". The main attraction, of course, is a pair of pandas, and you won't believe the long queue there was just to see the pandas! But we managed to catch a glimpse of the pair.

The kid had a lot of fun looking at the bears, big cats, and birds of prey.

He enjoyed the "touch the animal" section even more!

November 22 (11月22日いい夫婦の日)

2011-11-22T15:49:00.000+08:00

November 22 (11月22日) is also known as いい夫婦の日(ii fufu no hi, "Loving Married Couples Day") in Japan. It stems from the numbers making up the date (1122) which can be read in Japanese as ii fufu, meaning "good" and "married couple".

Note: '1' can be read as ichi, '2' as futa.

Xi Qiang Yu Wu 阋墙御侮

2011-11-17T16:53:00.000+08:00

This is a meaningful Chinese phrase, 阋墙御侮, which came from "兄弟阋于墙，外御其务（侮）", which basically means "Brothers quarrelling at home join forces against attacks from without".

Ultimately, brothers help each other against outsiders, even if they have their own differences. Maybe this is not just applicable to personal life, but also politics as well?

From my notebook - 秋月夜、独寂寞

2011-11-15T20:21:00.000+08:00

秋月夜、独寂寞
悔恨昔日不珍惜
今日故人两地分
空空空

秋风吹、独自痛
昔日不言今何用
欲言却是时已晚
痛痛痛

From my notebook - 东南西北四处走

2011-11-15T20:00:00.001+08:00

东南西北四处走
日夜奔波到头空
左问右寻无音讯
夜里游梦见不到

From my notebook - 幸能有缘千里逢

2011-11-11T20:25:00.001+08:00

幸能有缘千里逢
自恨良机不珍惜
四处寻音觅不得
唯有回忆脑海浮

From my notebook - 日夜寻觅终不见

2011-11-11T20:01:00.001+08:00

日夜寻觅终不见
闭目回忆脑海现
想起昔日暖身贴
今时只有杜康陪