Ideas become ideal

2011-07-22T23:17:00.005+08:00

What differentiates certain talented people from the average person...

motivation, consistency, good use of time and focus

we should not be different (at least in my point of view) if everyone would just make better use of time. I arrive at this conclusion when looking at life of a rich brat, a poor child, a well-supported scholar and a backyard success story.

the girl next to you in office/class can play the violin, the guitar and the piano because she got more from the same 24 hours given to you.

Mark Zuckerberg earns more than you because he was attending graduate course (while in high school) while you were busy playing xbox.

Steve Jobs was auditing classes and returning Coke bottles for food money while you were hoping for the end of each academic semester.

Just my five cents ...

opportunity cost and implication of altruism

2010-09-14T13:40:00.005+08:00

Call it lucky or unlucky. I usually end up offering assistance to people in need. I find it hard to turn down a friend in need. That said, I am a very emotional person. I get angry easily when I feel that my goodwill is being taken for granted.

Recently, I have been reflecting on what it means to be altruistic. Then it occurred to me... Whilst people usually feel that a kind person can be easily taken for a ride, that it would be better to be self-centered, I feel otherwise. The key is to change people's mindset on that it means to be nice.

To put it simply... consider my story. I often offer free tuition to friends who have trouble with studies. If the friends in question can come to the realization that my tutoring will help them pass their subject and in turn save their cost of resitting or retaking the subject for another semester, then these friends would come to appreciate my assistance more. More than often it is the failure of those in need to recognize the implication of such little gifts that makes the thought of helping others so gleam.

We need to learn to appreciate those little gifts from our friends. The same idea should be adopted in choosing relationships/friendships, a person should choose a guy who can help the former in personal development more than a guy who only cares to show the former with monetary rewards.

Only when everyone see the larger picture then we will all be motivated do good. When that happens, being kind to others would be a better choice compared to being self-centered. Maybe it is time we start doing something about that.

Good begets good or is it kindness begets kindness. Just sharing....

food for thought...

2010-08-23T15:05:00.002+08:00

Perhaps one of the greatest idea I came across recently. Totally worth spreading..

more ideas worth sharing...

2010-08-16T15:06:00.000+08:00

I am sure most people have seen the YouTube clip showcasing Pranav Mistry's sixth sense computer. For many of my close friends, that is how they got to know of TED.com. Couple of days back, I decided to revisit Pranav Mistry's research. After surfing through couple of websites, I though it would be a great idea to share Pranav Mistry's website. Click Here.
(Websites featuring works and information on other personals in the same field, such as Steve Mann, are less appealing.)

Just some great ideas worth sharing...

re- for re-evaluating re-ligion...

2010-04-02T09:31:00.005+08:00

It has been a while since I have both the time and mood to write on this blog. I will take this chance to write another post. As the title implies, this post is about my views on religion. Usually, I would try to avoid commenting on religion as this maybe a sensitive issue...

I come from a family of Buddhist devotees but I went through mission school in my secondary and pre-university education. At one point of time I was Buddhist by name but I believed in Christ and Christianity. That was the past.

Sometime ago I was exploring the issue of religious extremist and the different religions. Then I started asking myself why even the same religion can sometimes be presented in so many different ways. The answer is fairly simple when you take a broader view of things.

The major religions in this world have over thousand years of history but medium for written records only began in 3700 BC (referring papyrus and not stone tablet). Modern paper was not created until 202Bc - 220AD. Any average Joe will be able to tell you that early religion was communicated verbally rather than through writing. Evidently some information will be lost or modified.

When one applies the implications of Chinese whispers onto religion evangelism, he/she can conclude that some information about religion will be distorted over the years. Furthermore, religious teachings are often subjected to interpretation of the gurus. As such, messages are often if not always different between individuals. If these implications are expanded over thousands of years, one can only deduce that certain parts of religious teachings may be totally different from the original intent.

I am not trying to say that which religion is wrong or bad but rather I think no one should condemn another religion nor should they claim superiority over another person's religion. Generally, I think one should always only take what is good from his/her religion. If everyone understands this simple fact then the world would be a better place.

talking cars

2010-04-02T09:15:00.004+08:00

gosh...I cannot believe that it has been three months since I posted something worth reading. The truth is I have not been doing much thinking the past months. I have been pre-occupied with academic pursuit that I did not stop to smell the roses. Sit down to think or evaluate situations.

Speaking of which. Roses, journey, road and transportation... I wonder why is there no commercialized application that enables vehicle-to-vehicle communication. As of this moment, the technology to communicate between vehicles is limited to trucks and taxis. Just recently such application is being testing for air flights.

Someone should commercialize a device that enables communication between cars. After all, there is a higher chance of an individual getting into a car accident than airplane disaster. If there is some means to communicate between cars then these statistics will definitely drop.

Image being able to tell the car behind that you are guiding another car to some destination. That way other vehicle owners will avoid staying behind you and your friend will never lose sight of our car.

Image that you can tell the car behind that his headlights are not switched on. Also, image your car has stalled and you need to tell all the cars behind to shift to the next lane. There is just endless application if there exist an affordable device that enables car-to-car communication.

2010-02-28T23:58:00.001+08:00

keeping count of 2009

2010-01-07T19:39:00.007+08:00

I thought I spend couple of minutes to create catalog of my post in 2009. Let's see...

I started commenting on tuition-free online university. Next, I suggested an integrated weblog idea with photo tagging as well as flash games. In my third published post, I suggested that someone should create an Asian version of food games, much like Restaurant City or Lemonade Tycoon or Diner Dash.

"Let's talk abt Mother Earth" was and still is one of my favorite post. In the post, I discussed how we should be concern about the amount of non-essential energy that we are wasting. Instead, people are boasting about the success of Earth Hour. In the next post, I commented on how web-logging is not very effective as a tool of expression.

In "ethnic harmony", I voice my opinion that racial harmony cannot be achieve as long as political parties are differentiated according to the different ethnic groups. For last post for June, I shared my penny's worth on the relationship issues.

In July, I proposed some sort of online SMS dedication service. After a hearty durian buffet, I thought that it might be a good idea to create a soap from durian husk. Before going off for a short break, I suggest that someone should create a maid agency that caters to the new age busy households.

In "perceptions and not the truth", I commented on how different religions are so often mis-understood and I concluded that each religion has some noble and beautiful teaching in them. In the following post, I proposed that some television channel can buy old favorites animation and broadcast those animations. The next business plan I proposed was an international chain of boutique hotel less the unnecessary frills.

In my next post on environmental issue, I commented on how exponential increase in human population will lead to the destruction of the mother earth even as we improve on recycling efforts. Next, I commented on the correlation between socially acceptable mannerism and measure of maturity.

In "are you a stayer or a leaver", I voice my opinion on why not to leave Malaysia. Next, I posted my own public service announcement for frequent travellers. My next idea was for someone to start a business specialized in catering substitute products for people with allergies. The last post for August, I suggested an extension of a typical birthday reminder system.

first blog post of the year...

2010-01-02T13:10:00.006+08:00

I have been rather occupied lately. These two consecutive long weekends was filled with programs. I decided to write somethings short today to fill in the gap. Since everyone will return to their usual routine next week, I thought I should have more time to write a more complete blog then.

I managed to catch "House of Cards" on CNBC yesterday. The program was part of the many CNBC original production. The two hour TV program nicely presented and summarized the sub-prime crisis. I had previously read articles on the same issue but I found yesterday night's program very well done. Since the current economic crisis affects all of us, I would recommend that everyone get to know what caused that whole crisis.

End of the day, I feel that the center of most economic crisis is greed and ignorance. "If something sounds too good to be true, it seldom is." The IT sector boom (mid 1990s) as well as the housing price increase (mid 2000s) were signs of danger lurking around the corner. In both instances, we ignored any signs of abnormal profit and just plunge deeper into the risky business. In the end, the economy was just not able to sustain the super-normal profit and the whole system collapses. I feel and fear that the same problem will arise in the near future. I wonder which sector will trigger the next economic crisis.

the greatest irony amongst us...

2009-12-23T13:14:00.010+08:00

I thought to write about some suggestion for a business plan. Instead, further thinking prompt me to realize one of the greatest irony. It all started...

As I got into my family's car one humid afternoon, I felt that the whole vehicle was just too warm. Then I came to this sudden realization that all those heat in the vehicle is actually free energy waiting to be harvest. Someone could simply create a mobile device that can harvest and store that energy. Imagine a device that absorbs heat energy then convert the energy into electricity for your car, mobile phone etc.

Further thinking led me to another conclusion...

Elementary science taught us that almost everything in the universe is made out of particles. As energy is channeled to these particles, the former will excite the latter resulting in particle vibration. Particles dissipate this excess energy through many means. One such method is to convert excess energy into heat energy....

(1) We all know that energy cannot be destroyed. Besides that, (2) we know that the sun is constantly generating energy. Part of the energy created by the sun is transferred onto earth via radiation. That radiation is one of the sources of energy on earth. In the my family's vehicle, that radiation just converted into heat energy.

How ironic that recent years we worry about running out of energy (oil) when in actually fact the earth is receiving too much energy. Mother earth is trapping so much radiation that temperatures are rising slowly. One just have to combine (1) and (2) to understand that energy input into our planet is constantly increasing. Why that talk about running out of energy?

Think further... human use energy to warm themselves during winter. Human use energy to power air-conditioning when we feel too warm. Why the need for energy wastage all the time?

Well, there's one thing I cannot figure out. Perhaps someone can enlighten me on how earth is getting rid to all those excess energy?

swimming against the human wave...

2009-12-15T00:16:00.008+08:00

Clusters of random thoughts hit me a few days ago. I was thinking how society dictates certain norms, be it right or wrong...

I remember posting once about how maturity is correlated to social acceptance and expectations. The extent of ones maturity is measured by comparing his/her performance against his/her peers. Why should we let the majority tell us what to do? Are we losing our individuality as we "grow up"?

Even the concept of history is never accurate. History is often written from the perspective of the powerful. Once the society accepts "his story", the further generations will blindly embrace the "unbiased" truth.

The opinion of the masses might not always be correct. Yet, so many times the influence of the masses steers our fate. Politicians and monarchs often make decision to win favor of the masses, thus, demonstrating how the strength of the many always win against the few. Time and again we witness poor decision making by governments because they wish to please the many in the short term. Collectively our personal interest and greed have failed ourselves.

I feel that our collective perceptions are often faulty. How do you judge a person's race? Does race even matter? If a child is born with albinism, what prove does he have of his race? His parents? How do we measure society's losses? How do we.....

If our background/values differ, our perception changes and as a result we can never come to an agreement. I sense that human race is destined for extinction. We will never come to a common agreement on issues of greater importance such as the climate change and management of the economy.

Pardon me for the seemingly random cluster of thoughts. I end with a riddle by Paul Harvey... 80% of kindergarten kids got this correct but less than 20% of Stanford seniors got this right.

What is greater than God, more evil than the devil, the poor have it, the rich don't need it, if you eat it, you will die.

Drop me your answers and I might just treat the winner !!

changing for the better ...

2009-12-12T19:23:00.002+08:00

After getting some constructive feedback from one of my best friend, I decided to do a little change to this blog site. So, what do you think? I figured changing the background color and add a little illustrations would make the blog look more warm.

Perhaps you can recommend any blog template. I really want to hear from you on how else to improve this blog in terms of attractiveness and appeal.

resolving (personal) issues...

2009-12-07T23:55:00.007+08:00

I decided to blog about some thing more relevant to my readers for once. Since most of the people I know reading this blog belong to the young adult/teenager age group, I thought I could share my thoughts on how to resolve personal issues.

A while ago, a friend of mine approached me with tonnes of personal issues ranging from family problems, low self-esteem, friendship issues to academic problems. We sat down and chatted for hours until I had to leave for another appointment. After the conversation I realized that one "piece of advice" was sufficient to sum things up for my friend.

"Try to put yourself as a third person. Try to picture you giving advice to someone with the same problem."

This simple "piece of advice" may be the best advice to give anyone for any situation. As a young adult, we often lend our listening ear to our friends and yet we struggle to make sense of complicated situations ourselves. Our issues are often never too different from those our peers have to face. Should you face any personal issues next time... take a minute and place yourself as another person and try to give yourself the best advice that you would otherwise give to your friends.

When you cannot sell your houses... colour them

2009-12-04T17:30:00.004+08:00

I have finally completed another academic semester. Semester break has begun and will last till mid January. This is one of the few breaks where I have nothing much planned out. The last few days are pretty much spent preparing for HSBC's Young Entrepreneur Awards competition.

During the breaks from discussion and preparation work for the competition, I managed to catch up on reading blogs that I frequent. When I read about an arts project from Mr Wang Says So, an idea struck me. Click here.

There are plenty of development projects all around the world. At any moment there would be some newly completed apartment or housing project. More than often, these projects take time to sell. In some cases, these units will be left empty until some interested party decided to purchase them. One way to get rid of unsold units of new development projects is to convert the project to service apartments.

On the other hand, I know a few artist who need to queue up to have their art works put up in galleries. One major problem for these budding artist is the high cost involved in renting galleries for their work. Then it struck me as to how budding artist can actually engage developers to open up unsold units and convert them into temporary art galleries.

To the developers, converting unsold units to temporary art galleries would actually generate publicity for them. Keen art collectors will have another reason to visit these new projects. Besides that, developers can collect minimum rent and use their receipts to cover maintenance cost for the entire development.

Needless to say, converting unsold units to art galleries will benefit artist because they now have more venue to display their works. If done correctly, proud new house owners might just pick up a few art pieces to bring back to their homes.

Think about it...

on being unavailable for this blog...

2009-11-30T23:08:00.005+08:00

Final examinations will start/end tomorrow. Sorry for being so infrequent in posting. Days leading to exams are those times when I feel less keen to blog.

My friends and I are planning to enter some business plan competition. As a result, couple of ideas that were meant to be posted here have been put on hold. I shall post those ideas some time after the due date for competition...

I regret not being able to be consistent in posting for this blog. I can only assure my readers that I have couple of interesting ideas to come.

Multi-lingo Cooking Dictionary...

2009-11-17T00:28:00.004+08:00

Writing consistently for this blog has proved to be a significant challenge. I liken writing for this blog to charity work. As much as I like to write/as much as I think it would be good to share ideas, I would always push aside writing here for something else. After much self convincing, I decided to resume blogging with something light and easy ...

Once in a blue moon, I will help out in the kitchen by baking or cooking. A few days back, my mother asked me to help prepare Thai fish cake. An old thought hit my mind as I was deep frying the fish cakes. I used to think that someone should prepare a multi-lingo cooking vocab dictionary.

This thought came to as I realized how often my mother (who learns ingredient names in Mandarin/Chinese dialects) and sister (who is currently temp residing in U.S.) have problems trying to share cooking recipes. There were instances where my sister cannot figure out the English name for certain ingredients. It took quite a while for my family to realize that the "flower-less fruit" is actually fig fruit.

Wouldn't it be nice if someone prepares a list of ingredients and their names in all the different languages. One can even market the web-site by promoting places to purchase rare ingredients. Eg. Some person in remote part of U.S./Australia might be able to find shops selling imported ingredients and spices from the web site. In this globalized world, people move around a lot and sometimes knowing where to purchase ingredients for their national food can be useful.

There are thousand and one ways to expand this idea but I shall stop here...

picking up where i left...

2009-11-08T17:45:00.002+08:00

Pardon me for being away for such a long time. I have been absent from blog space for a month now. Initially I wanted to take a short leave of absence from blogging/the internet so that I can refresh myself. I feel that internet has the ability to consume precious time that could otherwise be used for more beneficial purpose. Thus, I will take breaks from the internet to stop myself from indulging in facebook, msn or blogging.

Two weeks into my non-internet lifestyle and my laptop broke down. By the time I had my laptop fixed, another two weeks passed. As a result, I was away from the internet for one full month.

Now that I am back, you can look forward to updates from my every few days.

taking some time off to breathe fresh air....

2009-10-15T23:42:00.002+08:00

I must apologize for being absent from blogging for such a long time. Lately, I have been experiencing a serious case of "avoid the internet" illness. Sometime two weeks back... I started spending less time on internet social utility tools each day. Two weeks later... I have totally stopped engaging in any form of Facebook games, blogging activities etc.

I did manage to draft more ideas but have yet to complete any post ... I promise I will return to active blogging soon. (Hopefully by this weekend)

clever and creative products...

2009-10-04T00:14:00.006+08:00

I have been a little tied up with my appointments lately. As such, I haven't been able to write a decent blog post.

In any case, I found this website through a friend. Just something interesting that I wish to share. The URL is http://abduzeedo.com/82-clever-and-creative-fred-friends-products. The official webpage for the Fred and Friends is http://www.worldwidefred.com/home.htm.

random chatter and half baked ideas...

2009-09-29T23:59:00.004+08:00

I just went through some lazy weekend and as a result I could not complete a proper blog post these few days. Either way, I thought that I can take this opportunity to post some half-baked/incomplete ideas. These are random ideas or issues that caught my attention but I have not come out with any satisfactory solution.

The whole ideas of me setting up this blog is for people to come together to contribute ideas and opinions so that everyone can learn and benefit. I am convinced that someone else might be able to improve these incomplete ideas.

1) Most food courts/hawker centers share similar characteristics (the general layout and type of food sold). Is it possible for someone to create a different concept of food court/hawker center?

2) Automobiles are getting more and more complicated these days. Most cars makers are starting to integrate electronics and mechanics into their machine. As such, old-time mechanics are starting to be obsolete. Is there a way to earn a living in this industry?

Do comment on these two issues. Thanks.

it's the small things that matter to this huge earth...

2009-09-25T15:07:00.009+08:00

I love documentary channels. If you tune in to National Geographic a lot, you might notice some public service announcement advertisement. There is this advertisement that says 85 thousand plastic bottles are disposed everyday and there is another advertisement that says thousands of mooncake boxes are thrown away every year.

These statistics they include in these advertisements are somewhat appalling but how much is it true? Perhaps the statistics are true but how relevant are these statistics? Does these statistics give you an accurate picture of the harm that human activities are causing to the environment?

I do not know for sure but I think sometimes (in the midst of) spreading environmental awareness, we tend to overestimate and blow up certain numbers. Besides that, we tend to use scare tactics in the hopes of driving the message across. Is this ethical?

I might not have the answers to everything but I think we should always give people the correct details. If glaciers in the arctic are melting, then we should tell the people the glaciers are melting. If we are dumping too much trash then tell the world to reduce wastage. However, if plastic is only less than 10% of the waste we create, then we should not give people the mental image that plastic is the main evil in the fight to preserve our environment. Click Here.

When we make purchases in department stores, we usual end up with one huge plastic bag. In most instances, we will keep that plastic bag so that we will have a bag when we need one. If we think again, it is those odd shaped plastic bags that we often throw away. For example, the plastic bag for your sandwich. Yet, people always focus on using reusable bag when shopping.

If you look around and try to take count of all the small things that we take for granted, you will realize that these things are the real menace. Let us do a little experiment. I want you to count the number of shoes you have at home. Next, mentally picture what happens to those shoes one or two years down the road. Then, enlarge that mental picture in proportion to the number of people in this world. Do you see how much waste we create as we chase for the latest fashion?

Lucky for us there is this program in Nike to reduce environmental problems created by our shoes. Click Here.

my thoughts on: almost definitely the most demanding profession in the world...

2009-09-21T18:32:00.009+08:00

I recall a conservation I had with my sister some time back. We were harmlessly complaining to each other about how insensitive our parents are. This morning, the contents of that conversation stuck me again. After failing to achieve a common understanding, my parents and I had a little argument. During the argument, the only thought in my mind was "why are my parents so insensitive?"

After lunch, I reflected on the incident and realized a common trend (being demonstrated) amongst parents. I concluded that most parents become less adaptive and flexible as they grow older. As I examine the relationship within each nucleus family (of people that I spend time with), I spotted this inverse correlation between the amount of time parents spend reflecting on their action versus age.

Most parents will be happy when they have their first baby. Some parents go to great length just to give "the best" to their baby. New parents will learn the best ways to raise their child from printed sources or word of mouth.

As their child grow from a toddler to an adolescent, parents will start to treat their child differently. By this stage, some parents will begin grant their child independence. Other parents will opt for a more command and control approach because they believe control would lead to desired outcomes. In this stage, cognitive ability of the child is still developing at a fast pace. As such, parents can begin to reason with their children.

Finally, the children grow beyond teenage to enter adulthood. In this stage, the difference between cognitive ability of the child and parents is significantly reduced. Unfortunately, (I believe) most parents would still perceive this young adult as a child. The result of failure to recognize the child as a young adult would be a rift in the parent-child relationship. I believe this contributes to why most young adult from the Y generation do not share personal problems with their parents.

The main point here being... parents do little reflecting as their children grow older and they fail to adapt to changes in their child. (In my opinion) Couples perceive parenting as what they should do for their children. Overtime, the failure to recognize change and resisting change create the scenario where parenting is what the couples want to do/expects the child to follow. This is perhaps why a lot of parent-child relationship suffer total breakdown as the child nears adulthood.

what makes you happy makes your company happy too...

2009-09-20T22:06:00.008+08:00

While waiting for dinner appointment the other day, I decided to do some reading at Starbucks. The time was approximately 3pm and the some staffs were arriving for work. I casually observed these employees march into the little room behind the service counter. I was quite certain that a member of the afternoon shift staff woke up on the wrong side of bed. Her face was as black as coal.

Just beside the coffeehouse was a Pizza Hut outlet. (Ah... the epitome of globalization. A Seattle coffeehouse chain and a Texas fast food restaurant.) The atmosphere on the other side seemed more positive. The employees were smiling and chatting as they head to the staff area to prepare for their shift.

I realized motivation is quite a major issue for franchise like these. Surely, as a customer, one would be more keen to revisit a shop were the employees serve you with a smile. Unfortunately, that is not the case for most franchise. Motivational problem arises when an organization grows so large that the management is not able to keep track of front line operations effectively/efficiently.

I am not sure if any specific study has been done on motivating front line staffers but allow me to share my five cents worth.

Since managers of large organization often occupy themselves with firefighting or strategic planning, the best way to maintain motivation amongst staffers is to create a positive organizational culture. I personally recommend organizations to adopt a "pay it forward" concept whereby the company encourages good deeds to be repaid by having it done to others.

I have more than one good reason to recommend this concept besides the obvious fact that this concept embodies characteristics of a socially responsible practice. Allow me to illustrate my case via an example. You are a part-time employee working under some international franchise...

Scenario: The first thing you do everyday is to walk into the back of the service counter to change up for work. You punch your card and then you start your day/shift. Your manager does little to show concern for your welfare. You think less about those above your immediate boss. On days where you have other pressing issues bothering you, you just cannot perform well at work.
Scenario: The first thing you get when you go to work everyday is warm greeting from the person working the shift before you. You complain to your colleague about problems with your partner/spouse in the staff area. You colleague consoles you and tries to cheer you up. You then punch your card (w smiley attached) and you start your day/shift a happier person. At the end of your shift, you make sure the next person taking over feels happy and prepared for work. You pay your "debts" forward.

Part time employees or permanent employee should never feel that work is a chore and the only compensation is monetary reward. The management should make sure that staffs enjoy their work and in turn customers receive quality customer service.

The key to my concept lies in the ability of the management to convince new employees to adopt "paying it forward" habit. Thereafter, a senior staff just need to make sure the employees working the first shift is motivated and happy. There would be this wave effect that will propagate positive feelings to the remaining staffs.

I will be right back...

2009-09-17T14:16:00.005+08:00

Pardon me for the long break from blogging. I was a little occupied with final examinations as well as post examinations celebration.

I should be posting a series of post in the coming weeks to make up for the long leave of absence. Do look out for new business ideas or opinions !!

efficient cooling with just a fan...

2009-09-06T12:06:00.004+08:00

I will be seating for my final examinations the whole of next week so I am guessing that there will be a long break before I resume blogging. I thought I should write something before going off for my study break.

Some days back, the weather so erratic that one minute I will be shivering in cold and another minute I will be loosening my tee. You might observe the bright and clear sky in the morning but heavy showers will be pouring by noon.

While studying under these condition, I realized that the mechanical fan can be such a nuisance. The mechanical fan cannot regulate the room temperate because the machine is missing a thermostat. Unlike the air conditioner, the mechanical fan cannot maintain a certain room temperature. One night I might switch off the mechanical fan when I go to bed only to wake up in the middle of the night to switch on the fan because the rain has stopped and the temperature has risen.

Out of the blue, it hit me that someone can actually match a wireless thermostat to the mechanical fan. The mechanical fan functions by producing air flow and cooling the temperature in a certain direction. Therefore, simply attaching a thermostat to the machine itself will not be efficient. Instead, someone should create a portable thermostat that is linked to the mechanical fan via wireless. This way, if I were to place the thermostat where I am seated, the fan will be able to detect the temperature of the area around me and increase/decrease the blade speed accordingly.

I am guessing that the cost of producing/purchasing a "thermostat equipped fan" would be far lower than that of an air conditioner. Besides that, the amount of electricity required to maintain the "thermostat fan" would much lesser then that of the air conditioner... I think I have more of less sum up the main idea.

I shall then be away from blogging for approximately one week. My next post would probably be uploaded next weekend.

Black and White...

2009-09-04T15:53:00.007+08:00

After reading my recent post, I realized that it has been some time since I last posted a quality idea on this blog. Final examinations are around the corner so I have not had the time to think off anything else beside the contents that will be tested.

While I was taking my short study break for dinner the other day, I decided to tune into Discovery Channel. There was this show where Bobby Chinn asked for a drink named "Michael Jackson". The first thing that struck me was "What in the world is a Michael Jackson?". I never knew that soy milk mixed with grass jelly was named MJ. Whenever I think of the name "Michael Jackson", I will think of the King of Pop. Interesting...

A few days after, I was having this interesting conversation with my friend about drinking (alcohol). (The entire conversation was done in Mandarin so my Mandarin illiterate friends might not be able to fully grasp the main idea for today's post) First thing my friend said to me was "I drank drunk" (translated "I had drunk" means I drank so much alcohol that I got drunk). I spontaneously replied "What (drink) is drunk?"

Sometimes, we simplify our sentences so much that the true meaning of our sentences is susceptible to misinterpretation. The same can be said about the way we text message each other.

In the end of the conversation with my friend, I joked about selling an alcoholic drink called "zuei" (translated "zuei" means drunk). I joked about how people will get drunk after drinking our "zuei". The basic idea is to name food and beverages after commonly misinterpreted words.

Like the soft drink named "whatever", sometime deliberately confusing consumers with catchy names may be a good way to create brand awareness. Someone should start bottling soy milk mixed with grass jelly and market the drink to the tunes of MJ's "black and white".

what does the A,H and N represent...

2009-09-01T21:16:00.006+08:00

When I read the news these days, the only news that I seem to get are related to A(H1N1) or national politics. The local media should really do more journalism than merely reporting. Anyway, I thought I would write a little on the flu pandemic that is terrorizing our livelihood.

I am no biologist or medical expert. Nevertheless, I thought everyone should have some understanding of the flu virus. At the every least, we should know sufficient to understand all the news about the current flu pandemic.

The A(H1N1) virus is so named because the virus is a sub-type of influenza virus. In fact, there is actually 3 board category of influenza virus. Influenza B and C are less common. Now you know where the virus derived its "A".

The "H" and "N" of the virus is given because of the two different protein found on the virus - Hemagglutinin(H) and Neuraminidase(N). Each influenza virus strains can be further differentiate by H number and N number. Each of these combination of numbers represent a different forms of protein the virus strain contains. For example, the 1968 Hong Kong flu was caused by H3N2 strain.

Should someone ask you what is A(H1N1) the next time, you can confidently explain how the virus got its name. Just to add, the deadly Spanish Flu was caused by a similar type of (H1N1) virus. I would strongly recommend you guys to read up on the virus when you have the time. Knowing might be the difference between life and death. There is no harm reading and knowing more anyway.

birthday reminder...

2009-08-31T13:01:00.006+08:00

My ex-roommate celebrated his birthday couple of days back. I actually forgot his birthday until I saw our mutual friends posting wishes on his facebook wall. Well, it's just me to forget my friend's birthday. I was and still am never quite good with dates.

This brings me to my main point today... auto sms/e-mail birthday wish system.

I do not know if such a system exist. I suppose some person probably created a similar system but the system might have failed to take flight. The fact that we do not see the use of auto sms/e-mail birthday wish system just proves me right.

For someone as forgetful as I am, the calender and notes function in our phone is a very useful tool. A reminder will be activated when the particular date/task is due. For example, I would key certain friend's birthday into my calendar and set the remainder to few hours before midnight. As such, I would definitely not miss wishing my friend a happy birthday.

Instead of just reminding me of my friend's birthday, someone should popularize a software that will directly search your phonebook for the correct contact and short message the contact a birthday wish.

Similarly, social networking websites (eg. facebook) usually have birthday reminder functions. Someone should just create a system that will automatically send a e-card to the birthday-boy/girl on your list of friends.

Perhaps one can add features like ...
1) click to select/deselect who you wish to include in your mailing list.
2) personalize your birthday wish message to your friends.
3) reminder to include new friends into your birthday e-card mailing list.

There is so much more room to enhance this auto sms/e-card birthday wish system.

on garlic and onions...

2009-08-23T15:11:00.005+08:00

Friends of mine would always comment that I "think too much". Most of the time, I just think of irrelevant issue that does not directly concern me. Some people think I waste too much time, energy and effort just thinking and trying to decipher these unrelated issues. Nevertheless, my personal believe is that this habit defines my character.

I had lunch outside today because my mother, who usually prepares the meals, was away. When the food was served, a strong garlic scent hit my nose and made me think how so many oriental dishes are prepared with garlic, shallot or onion. Then it struck me that an Asian who has garlic allergy can be so pitiful.

Sometimes, these small little things escape our notice. We take simple pleasures in life for granted. Take my sister for example, she is a left-handed person. When you think about how so many things are designed for the general right-handed person, you start to be thankful how most of the time things go your way.

Coming back to food allergy. Initially I thought that garlic allergy was non-existent or at least uncommon. After doing some searching, I realized I was quite wrong. Fortunately, there is a kind of mushroom (Marasmius alliaceus) can be added to dishes to bring out the garlic flavor.

This led me to an idea... If people can start businesses by selling stationery and equipments to left-handed people, someone should specialize in substitute products for people with allergies.

The other idea that sprung out of today's lunch is that someone should do some serious research on the causes of different kinds of allergy. I am sure that someday the result of this research can be applied to boarder commercial or scientific applications.

a gentle reminder for travelers...

2009-08-22T15:41:00.007+08:00

Are you traveling to Thailand anytime soon? If you are, read this article from BBC News before you board your plane. Click Here.

The news about airport duty free shop scam has been circulating around for sometime....

In light of what I wrote earlier about corruption in my home country, I thought I can use this case to reflect how so many other countries have a corrupted system as well.

If there is one thing I despise the most, it would be corruption. Even so, I believe humans need to be motivated by external factors. As such, money is more than often the most sensible item to entice a person to work harder. Personally, I think corruption is intolerable when interest of the general public is compromised.

In this case of airport duty free shop scam... the actions of these few individuals has destroyed the image of the country. At the very least, people are less willing to make purchases in the international airport duty free shops. Do you know how many business and lives depend on the business in the airport?! sigh...

(P/S: check your purchases before you leave the counter if you ever visit Bangkok International Airport Duty Free Shop. If the government does not deny these allegation, it is a sign that these cases are really happening.)

are you a "stayer" or "leaver" ...

2009-08-17T23:02:00.007+08:00

I remember a while ago there was a lot of discussion in the little red dot about Singaporeans staying or leaving their home country for some place else.

Around me, I see the same phenomenon happening amongst my friends. I have a handful of friends who are now working overseas (Singapore included). This begs the question of "Is Malaysia such a horrible place to live in?"

I have been very much influenced by my father on this issue. I think Malaysia is quite a decent place to live in. Every country has down side and ugly image and I do not think any country is better of than another. Allow me to tackle couple of issues often raised by my peers...

Corruption? Most countries do face the same problem. The main question that should be asked is "to what extent is the government corrupt?". US government has a better way of angling "corruption". The US government simply rebrand "corruption" in to "lobby".

Some people argue that corruption is getting "worse". I have mixed opinion on this remark. I think on one hand act of corruption might be less discreet these days and on the other hand increasingly individuals are forced to admit committing acts of corruption. These two reasons, good and bad, add up to give this appearance the corruption is getting "worse".

Lawlessness and high crime rate. On this issue, I think the general public has to be blamed. No one can deny the selfish nature of certain ethnic group(s) in the country. When danger happens, these people will stay and look (out of curiosity) but seldom lend their helping hand. This irresponsible behavior has allowed thieves and criminals to prey on more people.

Civic mindedness and unselfish altruistic behavior has to be developed amongst the nation's citizen if we were wishing for a healthy, safe and clean environment to live in. I hate it when people blame the teachers for their child's behavior or blame the police for high crime rate. If we ourselves contribute to the deterioration of the system, who are we to blame others.
(*This was initially intended to be discussed in another post.)

Few opportunity for advancement and lack of equal opportunity for personal development. Some people will phase this as "discrimination". I beg to defer. If you measure the composition of ethnic group in the national population and compare these figures with ratio of "minority" ethnic group in different areas (eg. local education institution student ratio, income level, employment percentage, ethnic composition of high portfolio positions etc.) , you would realize that the "misrepresentation" is not too significant.

I believe most countries will protect the majority. I think that the government have the right to do so as well. The nature of politics also dictates that the ruling party needs to look after the welfare of the majority first. It is a fact we cannot escape. Some countries resort to more extreme measures such as genocide while others just apply a glass ceiling. Notice how long did US take to promote her first Hispanic justice. Even the most liberal country took years to address this issue. Malaysia is barely half a century old.

Take comfort in knowing that our country still protect the minority ethnic group. At the very least, the government recognize your citizenship and grant you sufficient rights to earn a living. If we were to go overseas, we will be subjected to disadvantages of being a foreigner. This is common problem to most migrants. In the end of the day, it is through our two hands and perhaps a little divine intervention that we might enjoy a good life.

The nation is still young and learning. If we do not give ourselves a chance, we will never see the brighter future that we hope for. I like to remind my friends that even developed countries like US had to go through two terms under the Bush administration.

THINK AGAIN.

is mannerism the best indicator for maturity...

2009-08-16T19:54:00.003+08:00

How does one person define being mature? I remember sometime ago I blogged about "being mature"

There's a popular motivational phase that goes "nothing is impossible. even the word impossible mean I'm possible."

In my previous blog, I argued that someone's action that is considered being immature might just be a signal that say "i'm mature".

So... what does it mean to be mature? Does maturity mean (click here).

Base on what I read from online material, "being mature" seem to mean knowing when to act appropriately. In that case, does it mean that a short-tempered person is not mature? Does that also mean that a vengeful person is not mature? ....

After so many years of thinking about the same topic, I came to this temporary conclusion that being mature is trying hard to become someone who is socially acceptable under all circumstances. To me, being mature is being able to think of an issue from different perspective and act upon it with the more acceptable attitude.

When you think that someone is acting childish or being immature, try to look at the issue according to his/her perspective. Maybe all he/she is trying to do is to tell you "i'm mature" in their own language.

the earth is doomed from the very beginning...

2009-08-08T15:16:00.004+08:00

I have not had the time for leisure until recently. I decided to take a more laid back approach for most of the things in life after the frustration I had encountered when my laptop broke down last week. I finally manage to accumulate a few hours in front of the TV and watching Discovery Channel and National Geographic.

I came to this realization that all this talk about saving planet earth and spreading environmental awareness are actually quite empty.

Just think about it... economics sustainability of a country can be achieved only through population replacing themselves. As the population start to live longer, a larger population is required to take care of the aging population. Simple economics and maths will lead to one conclusion. The higher the average age of the population the larger the population has to grow to achieve economic stability.

From this approach, we can deduce that the earth's population is not going to decrease anytime soon. If we produce X number of waste and use up Y number of resources each year, 6 billion X & Y will only multiply to 7 billion or 8 billion X & Y in the next few years. Unless we can each reduce our waste production and resource consumption by 50% or so, we are just going to expedite self-destruction.

Imagine this, you and your spouse use up 2 Y resources and produce 2 X wastes. Your parents live till 80 and by then you have 2 children and 2 child-in-law.

Consumption and waste production pattern that started with two parents and yourself and your spouse suddenly increase by two fold. If we manage to reduce, reuse and recycle by 30%, we are still consuming and producing in excess of 20% because population has increased.

Perhaps most important lesson of all is that at the end of the day we will are merely slowing down the destruction of earth.... we have not and perhaps never be successful in reversing the destruction of mother earth.

hotel class room + motel grade facilities + 1st class service

2009-08-05T23:37:00.005+08:00

Some random idea hit me when I was resting...

what do you call a lodging place with 1st class service + most comfortable room - addition facilities such as swimming pool or spa?

the perfect budget but classy and comfortable hotel for traveling business man.

I know there's budget hotel and all but more than often budget hotels are merely really cheap lodging with bed and storage place. What is someone operates a classy hotel without the frills? You less the swimming pool maintenance and similar cost then charge your customers moderate price (less than standard hotel).

I am imagining budget hotel that charges a premium for flat screen TV, nice and comfortable bed, internet, neat working desk and all. Traveling business man who does not use other facilities do not need to pay for them.

Yes, I know hotels like these exist but the concept I have in mind more towards a boutique hotel. Perhaps it is difficult to convey my idea across but just try to think an international chain of boutique hotel specially for traveling business man. When you think Starwood, you think class but what if there is a brand for this boutique hotel for business man?

After all, how many business man pack a bag full of items for his business trip or expects to enjoy himself with the hotel facilities during his short business trips...

Turner Classic Movies + Animax = New Animation Network

2009-08-01T17:08:00.003+08:00

I was experiencing some difficulties with my laptop lately. I have to change to the home desktop to update my blog.

While I was sulking over my faulty laptop and trying to fix my laptop the past few days, I grew so frustrated with my work that I decided to take a long break from all my academic commitments. Thus, I decided to indulge myself with television program for more or less two full days.

It was then that some old idea struck me in the head for the second time.

In recent years, we see the government and commercial organization trying their best to combat piracy. This whole cat and mouse game between the pirates (downloader included) and the authority has changed industries. Music industry suffered so badly that some giant retailers had to close shop. Japanese animation channels have to try stimulcasting programs or broadcasting animation channels like youtube. So much has changed.

The focus has been so much on how to be one step ahead of pirates but yet we fail to look at things from another angle.

Let me take Animax as the example for my arguement.

I thought that Animax should re-arrange the way they broadcast their programs instead of promoting the latest stimulcast of japanese animation. Just as different movie network focus on different segment of audience, animation broadcast channel can do so too.

I would surely like to see some classic animation such as "Shippū! Iron Leaguer", "Last Exile" and "Hajime no Ippo". Girls can always catch aged animation like "Kaleido Star". I am sure these animation could be purchased with less cost. Anyone can value add the animation by doing some touch up and add some subtitle.

If someone actually take the effort to buy up decent 1980s and 90s animation and do the necessary work, I am quite sure there would be demand for something like this. If anything, at least I would not want to watch anime series being repeated again and again. I can almost memorize what were the animations featured on Animax.

perceptions and not the truth...

2009-07-30T19:12:00.008+08:00

After much self-convincing, I decided that I should resume regular blogging on this blog site. For starters, I decided that I post on something simple yet thought provoking.

Chinese National

Chinese National or Muslim

Freedom Fighter or Terrorist

Weapon or Religious Ceremonial Sword

Is the guy in the first picture so much different from the second? Is the second person a better man than the third? Is the third person and the last person any different?

Many times we learn to look at things from another person's perspective. Remember this old lady/young lady?

Yet despite everything we learn, we can never see eye to eye on certain issues especially those pertaining religion. Are we really a level above the others? Does being white or brown matter? How many Muslims of almost 1.5 billion followers are terrorist? How do you explain ...

Think Again

I feel that Hinduism, Sikhism and Islam are some of the most misunderstood religions. If you bother to understand the religion, you would find such beautiful and noble teaching behind each and every one of them.

something b4 taking another short break...

2009-07-20T18:58:00.005+08:00

I am having mid-term examinations now so I will be away for a little while. I apologize for the frequent absence from blogging.

Last I counted I have 11 draft uncompleted. I promise you that I will resume blogging once I hectic schedule dies down.

Anyway, just a little something...

Someone should start a maid agency that mainly caters to family with working parents. The generic maid agency functions by providing this perpetual maid or providing hourly maid services during working hours.

Increasingly, young parents want to freedom to leave the house without having to worry if their maid might be up to some mischievous acts. The problem, however, is that hourly maid services are only available up to certain hours. Worse yet, working hours are getting longer and longer these days.

The solution to this situation is very clear...

Just some random idea (before I take my study leave) that I would leave the readers to work on...

durian odour soap...

2009-07-15T00:10:00.003+08:00

I was driving home from all-you-can-eat durian session and having a casual conversation with my mom, brother and aunt when an idea struck me - durian odour free soap.

See... just today after our feast-all-you-can durian session, another customer shared something interesting with us. If you wash your hand with the running water that passes through the outer shell (the spiky husk) of the durian fruit, you can actually get rid of the durian odour! Tried and tested, proven 100% effective!

As I was saying... the durian odour free soap idea. I figured if someone could find out the secret behind the spiky husk of the king of fruits, that person can actually create a soap that helps people get rid of nasty smell.

Can this idea sell? Why not!

Even if the soap does not get rid of all nasty smell, at the very least supermarket do not sell durians with their shell so those people who purchase packed durian might be interested to use this new product.

pardon me for not updating....

2009-07-12T23:40:00.007+08:00

Last week I told everyone that I have been busy with my assignments. When I was finally done on Friday, my sister and brother-in-law came back from US. Then came my extended family from all over... blah blah

Sorry,for not updating this blog for quite sometime. I have been busy with my sister's wedding dinner that was held yesterday night.

I shall resume two/three post of ideas post soon. I have a few unfinished draft at hand.

on leave of absence...

2009-07-04T11:43:00.002+08:00

I have been a little tied up with academic commitments lately. Pardon me for my absence from blogging.

In any case, I have been spending quite some time on an upcoming presentation on Taoism. Do click on the hyperlink if you are interested to learn more about Taoism.

Either way, serious blogging should continue once I am through with assignments, tutorials and presentation this weekend. Stay tuned for more creative ideas and opinion.

online SMS dedication service...

2009-06-28T17:15:00.004+08:00

A random idea hit me a few days ago...

I was thinking of how to make my sister's wedding dinner more interesting when it struck me that I can try getting one of those SMS dedication display system. Friends and family can SMS their well wishes and the system will just project them as the dinner progresses.

As I was searching for SMS dedication services, I realized that most companies provide that whole package (includes technical staff, projector, SMS receiving machine etc.) That's a lot of logistic !

Instead, I was thinking someone can create an online SMS dedication company. Instead of providing the whole package and hiring additional technical staff, why not just create an online system.

How do I imagine this to work?
- Customers can customize the template just like customizing blog layout.
- Customers are given a specific SMS number for each specific event.
- Customers can then decide if they want to rent the service by paying certain amount of fees or...
- Customers can just pass the cost to their guest by allowing the company to charge each sms.
- Everything is done online so no logistics involved on the company side besides providing the server.
- Customers will just log on to a specific URL where SMS msg will be displayed.
- With new wireless connection technology, where there's handphone signal you can get internet as well so this system is 100% portable.

Perhaps there is already some business that does precisely the same thing... I do not know. This is just my 5 cents worth.

on relationships...

2009-06-25T19:36:00.000+08:00

Recent event have me believe that relationships follow normal distribution, which is to say number of relationship problems increase as you age and decrease as you enter mid-life crisis. (resembling a bell shaped curve)

I heard a fair share of relationship problem the last few weeks. Stories range from break-ups to new relationship problems.

I remember blogging about relationships some years back...

-How long should a person who just broke up wait before getting into a new relationship?
-How long should a person court a girl? Will he be considered loyal if he had waited for years? Will you consider he/she as irritating? Should he/she just give up?

I did not get an answer back then. Nevertheless all these points to a single conclusion. Solutions to relationship problems are subjective.

Ethnic Harmony

2009-06-23T20:00:00.001+08:00

I have been a little busy lately. I suppose my laziness is not a good excuse for me not blogging. Either way, a friend mentioned something about my blog today so I decided that I really put some effort to pen somethings down.

National Unity. Racial Harmony.

In a recent discussion, these issues were brought up. Is it possible to achieve national unity and racial harmony in a multiracial environment? Not referring to any specific country.

My stand is simple. Racial harmony and national unity are parallel phenomenon. These conditions are not impossible but yet quite difficult to achieve. One will not succeed without the other.

Personally, I support assimilationist view when it comes to culture binding. Whilst I am not trying to point finger at any party/country, I think that as long as we organize ourselves according to our "race" we will never achieve total harmony. Representatives/leaders of each group will "fight" for their respective rights because this is the nature of politics. A leader must gain the favor of their supporters even when what they do might not be totally correct in the broader sense.

Someone once told me that in sociological sense, there is only one race - human race. Think about it... We are ethnically divided and not racially divided. Only when we can blur our difference will we be able to embrace people of other ethnicity.

If you disagree with me, do share your view.

Ideas and Opinion Required

2009-06-07T12:14:00.000+08:00

Interestingly when I am home alone I find it difficult to blog. Time seem to be passing by so fast and yet I do not remember getting anything done.

Anyway, I am current doing some research for my friend's girlfriend's assignment. I thought the title was quite unassuming when I first read it.

Understanding various learning style can help you gain an upper hand in life and college. Discuss the benefits of three such learning styles and explain how you can use them to your advantage socially, academically and professionally.

My first thought that this question should not be too difficult. Then when I read the question again, I cannot get through the term "various learning style". What do you mean by "various learning style"? Do you mean learning by memory and learning through experience? How am I suppose to suggest enough content for 1500 word assignment?

I did the usual google and wiki. To my surprise, there is actually proper write up and research on learning styles. Even with few pages of information, I am still stuck with the application of learning style. Therefore, I decided that I use my blog to see if I can get some input from my readers. *fingers crossed*

Fifth Post

2009-05-31T23:17:00.000+08:00

Good idea does not fall from the sky. Good idea only strike you once in a blue moon. Furthermore, good idea require good presentation or else idea would not be delivered with sufficient clarity. As such, I was thinking that I should write something to fill the gap between my "more matured" post.

Speaking of blog post, I decided that I would write about blogs this time round.

Blog or also know as Weblog functions as an online diary. However, blog isn't quite like a diary at all. If one looks into the culture of blogging, he/she would realize that people tend to keep diary personal and secretive while blogs are less secretive perhaps almost public. Unlike diaries where people keep for future reading, blogging culture seems to me like it was meant for friends or acquaintances.

Most of the time, your friend would know your blog and you might know other people's blog. What's more, you can google for people's blog. Some people subscribe to blogs. I term this as culture of blog reading and blog sharing.

I feel that the down side to this culture is the lack of direct and personal communication. We read about killers teen who post disturbing thoughts on their blogs. There are those who blog about their intent to commit suicide just before they do the real thing.

All these events makes me conclude that the blogging culture causes us to box up our feelings. We might think that we are expressing ourselves and letting things out by blogging. On the contrary, we are actually doing the reverse because most of the time we just cannot reveal the full story knowing that blog is very public. This process of writing yet not revealing is actually quite harmful psychologically. Some people might feel that by blogging they are expressing their problems to their peers but nothing beats consulting a friend about your feelings.

I may not be an expert but I think organization (schools, employers, government) should start programs to encourage people to "step outside". Nothing beats face-to-face consultation,consolation or advice.

Let's talk abt Mother Earth

2009-05-25T21:26:00.000+08:00

I hope I am not violating any intellectual property rule for uploading this picture. I would like to clarify that I mean no harm. I just wish to bring my point across.

No, your eyes are not playing tricks on you. Neither have I uploaded the wrong picture. I intentionally rotated the Earth Hour picture 180 degree.

What do you see in this picture?

Realized how 60mins becomes '09. That is precisely the point I am trying to bring across - change the way you look at a picture and you have a different story. Ever so often we are blinded by societal norm that we fail to see the bigger truth.

A while ago everyone celebrated Earth Hour. Well at least most of us did. Maybe I should just say lots of us celebrated Earth Hour. When I read the news that came out the day after Earth Hour, I saw a different side to the story. While the media boasted about how much electricity was saved, I saw how much "non-essential" electricity was wasted every 364 days a year.

Earth Hour did not reflect the triumph of mankind but the fall. What we manage to save during Earth Hour was "non-essential" electricity. This means that we actually do not need to use those power!

Try googling or wiki-ing Earth Hour and you will see how much electricity we waste everynight! Save the cheerleader, Save the world. I mean Save the electric bill, Save the world.

Third Post

2009-05-24T18:25:00.000+08:00

I think I will stick to titling my post according to number for some time. I could not come up out with decent titles for my post. I would not want to kill my brain cells just to come out with titles for each of my post.

Just got a brand new laptop few days back. My previous laptop would take more than five minutes to start up so there is no wonder why I was so thrilled when i receive this new laptop.

Among the first things I did was to start a Restaurant City account. When I was still using my old laptop, I would tell people that playing Restaurant City was a total waste of time. For the past three days I have spent more time on Restaurant City than any other web page. Hypocrite right?

Anyway, that is not the point I am trying to make here. I wonder how many people heard of Lemonade Tycoon, Diner Dash or maybe Restaurant City. Perhaps it would make more sense for me to ask how many people have not heard of any of these games.

While playing Restaurant City the other day, I suddenly came to the realization that I have not heard of any game of such concept with Asian flavor. Why has anyone yet to come out with "Mamak Rush" or "Asian Restaurant Tycoon"?

Just look at the many variations we manage to create from simple coffee and tea. In most parts of South East Asia, a coffee drink can be made so complicated you can confuse anyone with just one order. Kopi-O, Kopi-Si, Kopi-Kau, Kopi-Po, Kopi-Siew Dai, Kopi-Ping, Kopi-O-Ping, Yuan Yang are just some ways you can order your coffee.

I thought all these variation would make an interesting strategy game with some Asian twist!

Second Post

2009-05-20T22:05:00.000+08:00

Everyone thinks everyday. What we think and how we think differentiates us. I think of idea(s) everyday. Unfortunately, I find it difficult to transform my ideas into form. If I have my way, I would be blogging about an idea everyday.

I frequently ask myself random questions to prompt myself to create ideas. Sometime ago I asked "how can Nuffnang expand and improve?". All this time I could not find a satisfactory answer. Then when I head for bed the day I wrote my first post, I found my most satisfactory solution to date.

The solution?

Vertical intergation. I thought since Nuffnang have is a "online blog advertising community" why not create their own brand of special weblog as well. All you need is weblog with a twist. The ideal weblog I had in mind is a hybrid of social networking website and web logging.

Imagine a blog with photo tagging feature that links readers to other blogs. Then imagine a blog what allows you to enjoy games like Restaurant City and Geocity. Add in HTML features that certain social networking website does not provide...

Not enticing enough?

Perhaps we can throw in some in-house design micro-blogging software and powerful video, picture sharing software. There is virtually no limit to how one can revolutionalise weblogs. Just apply some creativity and Web 2.0.

Can other people create success with this idea? Perhaps. The critical success factor is the huge number of registered users already patronising Nuffnang.

First Post.

2009-05-18T14:34:00.000+08:00

Not precisely the most creative title for the first blog post. Not entirely fitting to the main theme of the blog as well. Unfortunately I could not think of a better title for my first blog post.

I have been contemplating for a long time on which ideas should deserve to be posted as my first post. Unfortunately, I could not come to a conclusion. In the end, I decided to blog about the first idea that stuck my mind this morning.

Israeli founds world's first tuition-free online university
By The Associated Press

An Israeli entrepreneur who has started what is believed to be the world's first tuition-free online university said Saturday he hopes the effort will expand education to less fortunate people around the world...

...University of the People: www.UoPeople.org

This newspaper article caught my eye first thing in the morning. "Irony" was the word that came into my mind when I was mid-way into the article. How does this tuition-free online university help the less fortunate in Africa or a teen in the remote regions. The whole idea is like giving fur coat to the tribes in Africa. To get this "tuition-free online education" you would actually need two main tool - a computer as well as internet access. You would not really consider a person "less fortunate" if he/she owns a computer, would you.

Instead of "tuition-free" online university, I thought Mr Shai Reshef should create "charity" online university. Perhaps allow me to elaborate in detail... the concept of "charity" university is one where people pay minimal sum for tuition. In return the collected "tuition fee" would be donated to children who do not have access to computers and internet access.

The benefit of this strategy is the creation of a snowballing effect where more and more people would be able to obtain cheap and affordable online education. Put in a few more sponsors into the picture and you get a huge increase in internet penetration as well as literacy.

Some people might argue that the poor will not be able to afford a "minimal sum" tuition fee. After all didn't Wikipedia had a hard time getting donors to keep the web site running?

Well, I on the other hand believe the bagel man theory from "Freakonomics" would kick in if correct strategy is applied.