This entry contains the key blog entries to be kept current or are forever relevant.
Sources of News and Views: http://cckplanetblog.blogspot.sg/2012/02/sources-of-news-and-views.html
Macro Economic Linkages: http://cckplanetblog.blogspot.sg/2012/02/macro-economic-linkages.html
Key Economic Indicators: http://cckplanetblog.blogspot.sg/2012/02/key-market-indicators.html
Technical Indicators: http://cckplanetblog.blogspot.sg/2012/02/price-trend-indicators.html
2 Pieces of Paper for Life: http://cckplanetblog.blogspot.sg/2012/01/2-pieces-of-paper-for-life.html
Guide to Healthy Living: http://cckplanetblog.blogspot.sg/2012/02/guide-to-healthy-living.html
Food Encyclopaedia: http://cckplanetblog.blogspot.sg/2013/03/natural-food-encyclopaedia.html
Showing posts with label Life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Life. Show all posts
Saturday, December 31, 2050
Tuesday, February 09, 2016
Bastard More Than 5 Times Over
9/216 10.30 am (CNY 2nd Day and 2 days after mom's funeral)
Just joined group at usual prata stall and asked why not try new prata shop that just opened a few doors away. Jokingly said that was difference between 80% and 20% type. CPQ said they are the 20%. Told her that if a simpleton like her is 20% type the world would be in big trouble!
Then handed my Tab S to Tian to read writeup on mom's death and and said the others could not be able to come up with it. Immediately, there were sniggers from TYL's and Tian's fathers. CPS said laughingly 'he spent whole night writing that so better read' (smart alecs)
So reminded Tian about Schopenhofer's quote and to be very careful with people that spend most if their time hee-hee-ha-ha-ing with/at others. Didn't tell her that in fact, smiling bastards who always appear to be nice and smiling to you are the most dangerous bastards because simpletons around them will never suspect them if they do anything bad or nasty and think they are the nicest people around!
I spent time finding out what happened and put my thoughts down for kids to learn and those jokers laughed at it. So reminded Tian about Mark Twain's quote on ingrates.
If you feed a hungry dog and make it prosperous, it will not bite you. That is the principal difference between a dog and man - Mark Twain
Said above reminders apply in all situations - at home, school, work and between countries. Saw Tian sneaking a peek at her father.
Tian's father stood up abruptly and said let's go. Then turned, pointed finger at me as if to say something but didn't and walked off. (I obviously hit some raw nerve there but could not finger which of the 2 reminders that irked him but he must have thought what I said was directed against or applied to him. It is called getting the point)
The rest followed except TYL's father TKM who came over to sit next to me. He put his hand round my shoulder (in 'nice guy manner') and asked why I have to go through so much suffering and pain. Asked how he know I was suffering and in pain. I was only repeating to kids some important life lessons I had been telling them (because what happened above were real life examples of those lessons!) So repeated asking why he thought I was in pain.
He could not answer and then changed tack to say it's the way I said them. I asked if he didn't like the way I said or what I said. He kept quiet so told him to be upfront with what he really wanted to say. Again, hesitated. So told him that his wife told me a few years back that she didn't want me to teach their daughter and if that was what he wanted to tell me. He said yes.
So told him that he was a lying bastard. Pretended to be nice to me, beat around the bush for so long and when I finally cornered him offered the truth. Told him the be a man. CPS who was watching the exchange all the while quickly intervened and pulled him away.
I thought that was quick action - just when I got the thief red handed and about to find out more, out pops a helpful nice bugger! (this was to repeat a few times later on)
They walked home together talking.
When I reached home, I started packing my stuffs to leave (wanted to go to Palladium to check place out and leave for JB before 3pm to avoid CNY jam on PLUS highway). Then found engine oil spilled in boot so spent next half hour or so cleaning up. All the while TKM was sitting in couch next to main door.
About 12 noon. After done cleaning up boot and locking outside gate to leave, he called out to me to say he wanted to talk to me. Asked him what about and not to beat around the bush like earlier because I cannot stand bastards like that. He said about my parents. So asked what about my parents.
He asked why I insulted my parents. To be sure I heard correctly I asked him if he asked why I insulted my parents. Yes. I asked how he came to conclude that I insulted my parents and he better have good answer for me. He frozed for some time so I repeated my earlier point to him not to beat around the bush, be a man and tell me straight.
He told me he was thinking and not to interrupt him.
After a while, instead of giving me reason why he said I insulted my parents, he said 'but you scolded them!' Told him I admit I scolded many mom many times before but each time I have good reason but scolding is not same as insult! Asked him if he scolded his mother before. He kept quiet.
(I cannot remember scolding my dad in the last 20 years of his life. But he was different from mom who would not interject/interrupt others before they can finish speaking. Her brothers were the same! Like the smart alecs I warn kids about, they 'chay' others very quickly. I realized that long ago.
When we were young, parents would get into arguments all the time and the kids would end up on mom's side because she was quite manipulative - she cries like the end of the world, say would take her own life etc - to get the our sympathy. We being kids then would 'buy' it and get to her side! I now know how dad would have felt then.
By university time I realized that dad was a very sharp man and a gentleman. Many things he said to me when younger I realized were very sharp or true. Over the years he indirectly also taught we one thing about gratefulness.
On trips back to Taiping over the years, he would bring me to go look for an old man whom he kept telling me was a gentleman. Initially I was too young to understand but years later I got it. When his dad died and my dad was too young and helpless, that man helped his family with all funeral arrangements and took dad 'under his wings'. So decades later whenever we went to Taiping dad would look him up and ask him out for meal and drinks but dad said that old man would refuse his offer to pay. Dad meant to say that he was grateful to that man for what he did for him when young and all dad wanted to do was to repay that gratitude a bit but that old man refused to accept even a drink! Thus a gentleman in dad's eyes.
Mom was different. After uni, I realized she was a simpleton that throws out whatever came to mind whenever she loses an argument or could not provide a good answer! (diversion, inversion). The last decade or so, I kept telling her not to do that, that was why she kept arguing with dad when we were young and her old trick would not work with me anymore because I had seen through her. Mom would still not get what I said and continue with her standard formula: try to divert or invert, if fail cry and accuse me of scolding her! Which would not get any sympathy from me. Instead, I would keep telling her that she was deploying her standard trick again but she would still not get it.
That's the problem and danger with such people - not aware of their own behavior despite being repeatedly told of it by others. Repeat and repeat but smart alec still thinks she was right and thus not just ignore what I tried to tell her but would turn it around and throw anything she could think of.
Her brothers were the same! They are always quick to interrupt others, 'chay' what others say, contradict or throw smart alec comments before others could even complete their sentences. I observed it so many times that I have concluded it was genetic and those old smart alecs would never change.)
By then TKM's baseless accusation had gotten to me. Then told him that he is a bastard because he accused me of insulting my parents but could not explain how, when etc. All he could do was accuse me of insulting my parents because I scolded them. I don't accuse him of insulting his parents because he scolded them but he was bastard enough to do that to me!
Now he is a worse bastard than I thought an hour earlier at prata stall. Bastard 2 times over!
Told him that I have long established he and the others are simpleton 80% types I tell the kids to be wary off - people who would jump to wrong conclusions and therefore screw things up but still full of themselves. I was willing to sit down with him only because he asked me for a talk and I gave him the benefit of doubt because he was not around in Malaysia to know what happened over the years but he just proved what I know to be his character already.
He just broke into loud laughter! So told him I don't laugh at what he says, not even his baseless accusation, and he was laughing because I was spot on - it was the truth and as Schopenhofer observed all truths are firstly ridiculed (laughed at).
CPS who was quietly sitting nearby listening to whole exchange started interjecting with some comment about facing up to reality and I told her not to interrupt the discussion. But she continued and I just ignored her.
I then asked him if he has anything else to talk about. He said yes so told him to be careful with what he says. This time he was more careful and, instead of accusing me, asked if I blamed my divorce on parents. I said no and asked why did he think so. Again, no answer which again pissed me off. He came up with another thing which he could not offer basis again! Bastard. (I suspect he realised that already but still went ahead and asked because it was not really his idea but some one planted for him and he was just 'caught holding the ball'. The question is who is the real devil).
Again, CPS kept interjecting with some comments about me afraid to face reality which irked me. So told her to buzz off as I was talking to another person not her. Fucking rude!
Then he asked if divorce affected me. Of course, I said (only an idiot would think otherwise or see need to ask). In what way he asked. Told him after that I woke up, was no more a simple happy go luck fella and would take action if I see a problem.
CPS again interjected and asked how I define a problem and success etc. Told that idiot not to interrupt again but she kept on repeating her various comments.
So I looked at TKM and told him that he held me back because he wanted to ask me things and I was nice enough to oblige but that idiot keeps interrupting the conversation. So is he going to do something about it? That bastard just grinned and said no.
Knowing that on top of that, his thoughts were probably messed up by then. So tried to help him justify why he should not sit on his hands with below:
"You invited me to talk to you and I obliged. When I interrupted you, you asked me not to interrupt. You set a house rule which I obliged. Now, I have an idiot that keeps interrupting me as I am speaking to you and I expect you to have the decency to help me out but instead you tell me you are not going to do anything about it? Come on, be a man!"
Bugger still insist he won't do anything. (I suspect he could not think clearly by then and CPS interruption was a relief to the embarrassing situation he found himself in. Thus he didn't find it disruptive but life saving instead!)
I said OK then and asked if he still have anything else. He said yes so told him that I have by then established that he is a bastard 3 times over and he better not fuck around with me anymore. By then he was really dumbfounded and just sat there and stared at me. (I suspect his thinking was by then in a mess because whatever he threw at me didn't stick and his collection of bastard X times over points were building up)
So I asked how he can say he has more to ask me but does not have next question ready at hand! How can one call for a meeting but cannot remember agenda? If one has a big enough problem with his car he should be able to tell the mechanic straight away!
I meant to say if he thought I have a major problem he should be able to articulate it immediately. So he was obviously just trying to come up with something to stick on me (inversion is typical 80% type trick - if 2 cannot stick, try others!) and save his face.
He kept telling me not to interrupt him as he was thinking. So I kept quiet and waited.
Minutes passed and I was stupefied. Told him that that was not how real world meetings work. If he makes others wait so long in meeting while he thinks about it, in real world he would get fucked well and good! No wonder he needs to go for meditation! No need to think!
In meantime, CPS continued bombarding me with her challenges (cannot face reality, how I define problem and success etc. Told her to better stop before I slap her for being so fucking rude.
Repeated the above "you invited me to talk to you, you set house rule of no interruption, now someone else interrupting me... are you man enough to do something" question. Again, no with grin.
Almost 20 minutes later, he finally started on his next 'inquisition' item and asked if I remembered dad's funeral when I told him about my cousin's daughter's family problem (around 2010/2011). I told him that that has nothing to do with what I thought was his agenda which was my problems with my parents. Anyway, since I spoke to CPS and CPM at mom's wake 2 days ago about it, they know the details and he can go ask them and not waste my time.
Don't try to fish around, I told him (he obviously had the topic in mind already except that he needed that 20 minutes to figure out how to stick a knife into me and make it stick)
He insisted that it has to do with me. So asked him in what way. He said I was 'complaining' about other people's family and somehow bring my 'pain' to and bothered that family meaning at the least probably I should not have gotten involved or, worse, I was trying to stir up trouble. Again, that smart alec observation irked me. Since I was not interested in 'arguing' over things with one I already established to be a bastard, I didn't get to clarify which was it and just assumed he meant I was being a busy body. But even that attitude is signature 80% type - why bother about other people? go mountain and meditate!
So told him that that's how 80% type people like him look at the world but that is not how I look at it. If I can see something wrong ahead of time, I take immediate action like the 'invisible string' problem I spotted years ago with her daughter. Asked if he knew of that invisible string, he said no.
In my cousin's case, I could see what was coming, warned 3 different members of that family and told them what to do otherwise that family would be destroyed. Now 5 years later, CPS told me 2 days ago what I feared then would happen. I could do that but 80% type like him will not understand it so don't waste my time.
[2 days ago CPS said could not contact that cousin and when she and mom met him last year he said something about daughter selling their apartment and CPS thinks her marriage was breaking up. I told her I already saw that coming 5 years ago!
Once in Singapore, spoke to taxi driver about water dispute between Malaysia and Singapore, Singapore government was being bastard by refusing to raise rates per Malaysia's request and Singaporeans should do what's right and not keep quiet. Taxi driver asked why I bothered. Told him if he tell me why bother when his daughter is being raped then I say he 'liao de qi'. Bugger kept quiet after that]
I stood up to leave but he said he was not done yet. Told him I cannot have open-ended session with him. He need to set an end time. He said 3.30pm. I said OK, next.
He asked how about the house renovation. I said I already told mom a year ago that I won't have anything to do with it! Told him about being told my parents don't need to depend on me, have money where got 'liao bu qi', many incidents of inaction and lame excuses etc. that nothing will be done. In fact, told mom that until day she dies nothing will be done! (Bastard raise issue with me after knowing I had issue with those idiots for so many years and after mom is dead! Bastard)
Said I offered to pay for renovation long time ago but CPY has all sorts of excuse not to do anything, not even look at the many plans I drew up over more than 10 years. He then told me what CPS (smart alec) told me last year: since you paying for it, why don't you handle everything?
Told him of course I can and gave him this analogy: If I offer to give your mother a treat, you can tell me why not feed her and later wipe her arse too. Why cannot? Can...
I then asked 'by your thinking, since I offered to pay for reno but did not handle everything then I was a bastard right?" Suspecting a trap, he kept quiet. So told him that the answer was either yes or no, so be a man and tell me if I was a bastard. After repeating that challenge a few times he finally said yes! (bastard could not even make simple decision nor see what was coming)
I said well then we established that one is a bastard if one only offered to pay but not handle everything. Now let me ask you this: did you and wife offer to pay anything at all? Quiet. So now I establish that you are a greater bastard than me, right?
Continued with the analogy above to him (he obviously could not get it earlier): If I offer to treat your mother to a meal and you ask me to feed her and later wipe her arse, I'd slap you! You bastard 4 times over!
CPS realized I was also scolding her as well because she told me the same thing last year and her rude interruption got much louder (also she got more brazen because no one did anything all the while). By then, she was standing in between me and TYL's father and gesturing all over. So I got up and gave her a slap. TKM got up and put me in a strangle hold! I was surprised somewhat by that (bastard said nothing to do with him earlier but now when I finally took action it then he gets involved!) but quickly realized what was happening. So after he released the stranglehold, I told him that I have a point to make to him.
He knew full well that CPS rude interruptions were getting louder and louder and more and more to the face, he could see she was not heeding my telling her off and sooner or later I would take action as I said but he refused to help out and waited for me to act. Then he come out and act 'hero' by strangle holding me.
He knew full well how it would end and yet refused to intervene until it was too late. So told him he was a fucking bastard 5 times over!
Then asked if he has anything else to ask on my family. No. I said in that case since we established that he had no basis for saying I insulted my parents, blamed divorce on them etc. he should do the decent thing and help sort it out with whoever else were saying those things. He said no, why should he!
So I thought what a fucking bastard. Bastard more than 5 times over! Stood up to leave.
But he said not 3.15pm yet and he was not done yet (bastard expect me to keep my agreement and decency after all that shit).
His next issue was what I thought about 1MDB! Told him it has nothing to do with discussion and if he asked because he thought I could not do anything about it since I said I would do something if I see something is not right. He said yes. So to him it is just plunder, there are things I can do indirectly and gave him Louis Armstrong's quote - If you have to ask, you aint ever gonna know.
(Bastard who just told me why I bothered to get involved with my cousin's family and does not deem it necessary to get involved with CPS rude interruptions suddenly got interested with 1MDB which had nothing to do with my family, his nor the purpose of the talk! Fucker cannot even apply his own freakin principle on himself within span of a couple of hours!)
With no more to talk about me and my family he told me he has something to tell me.
Said he scolded his mother in front of his friends when she cried in front of them during an outing in Australia. Said he regretted it and started sobbing. I asked him what he expect me to do? He said he just wanted me to hear him out.
Fucking bastard not man enough to even do the decent thing on all those shit now wanted me to do nothing and hear him out!
Asked him why he scolded her and why she cried, he didn't answer the latter. Only he said felt she embarrassed him in front of friends and did not appreciate his effort arranging outing. Not sure what his purpose was, I told him I was not going to say he insulted his mother because he scolded her even though he said I insulted mine because I scolded them. He repeated he wanted me to hear him out only (may be he felt guilty accusing me of insulting my parents earlier and wanted to admit he also scolded his mom)
Then told me about his stay with his grandma when young and being used as leverage against his father by her etc. Sobbed most of the way.
At 3.40pm I said times up, I could not do anything about his personal story and walked off.
Almost 4 hours but it was good that he talked to me. All the while I thought those bastards were just saying I was a mad bugger always scolding people including my parents but now I know it was worse than that. Those bastards were worse devils than I thought.
Given that TKM froze and took so long to articulate his thoughts it is very likely he was not the originator of those accusations. He was only the one trying or offered to stick it to me openly. The question is who is/are the lead bastard(s)...
My suspicion: top lead is the bitch that was listening in the background and kept interrupting me whenever I try to nail TKM with a new 'bastard-point'. As I have been telling the kids, that's what thieves do when they are about to be caught - divert and invert.
So who is the REAL more-than-5-times-over bastard?
In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing. The worst thing you can do is nothing. - Theodore Roosevelt
Right is right even if no one is doing it; wrong is wrong even if everyone is doing it - Augustine of Hippo
Just joined group at usual prata stall and asked why not try new prata shop that just opened a few doors away. Jokingly said that was difference between 80% and 20% type. CPQ said they are the 20%. Told her that if a simpleton like her is 20% type the world would be in big trouble!
Then handed my Tab S to Tian to read writeup on mom's death and and said the others could not be able to come up with it. Immediately, there were sniggers from TYL's and Tian's fathers. CPS said laughingly 'he spent whole night writing that so better read' (smart alecs)
So reminded Tian about Schopenhofer's quote and to be very careful with people that spend most if their time hee-hee-ha-ha-ing with/at others. Didn't tell her that in fact, smiling bastards who always appear to be nice and smiling to you are the most dangerous bastards because simpletons around them will never suspect them if they do anything bad or nasty and think they are the nicest people around!
I spent time finding out what happened and put my thoughts down for kids to learn and those jokers laughed at it. So reminded Tian about Mark Twain's quote on ingrates.
If you feed a hungry dog and make it prosperous, it will not bite you. That is the principal difference between a dog and man - Mark Twain
Said above reminders apply in all situations - at home, school, work and between countries. Saw Tian sneaking a peek at her father.
Tian's father stood up abruptly and said let's go. Then turned, pointed finger at me as if to say something but didn't and walked off. (I obviously hit some raw nerve there but could not finger which of the 2 reminders that irked him but he must have thought what I said was directed against or applied to him. It is called getting the point)
The rest followed except TYL's father TKM who came over to sit next to me. He put his hand round my shoulder (in 'nice guy manner') and asked why I have to go through so much suffering and pain. Asked how he know I was suffering and in pain. I was only repeating to kids some important life lessons I had been telling them (because what happened above were real life examples of those lessons!) So repeated asking why he thought I was in pain.
He could not answer and then changed tack to say it's the way I said them. I asked if he didn't like the way I said or what I said. He kept quiet so told him to be upfront with what he really wanted to say. Again, hesitated. So told him that his wife told me a few years back that she didn't want me to teach their daughter and if that was what he wanted to tell me. He said yes.
So told him that he was a lying bastard. Pretended to be nice to me, beat around the bush for so long and when I finally cornered him offered the truth. Told him the be a man. CPS who was watching the exchange all the while quickly intervened and pulled him away.
I thought that was quick action - just when I got the thief red handed and about to find out more, out pops a helpful nice bugger! (this was to repeat a few times later on)
They walked home together talking.
When I reached home, I started packing my stuffs to leave (wanted to go to Palladium to check place out and leave for JB before 3pm to avoid CNY jam on PLUS highway). Then found engine oil spilled in boot so spent next half hour or so cleaning up. All the while TKM was sitting in couch next to main door.
About 12 noon. After done cleaning up boot and locking outside gate to leave, he called out to me to say he wanted to talk to me. Asked him what about and not to beat around the bush like earlier because I cannot stand bastards like that. He said about my parents. So asked what about my parents.
He asked why I insulted my parents. To be sure I heard correctly I asked him if he asked why I insulted my parents. Yes. I asked how he came to conclude that I insulted my parents and he better have good answer for me. He frozed for some time so I repeated my earlier point to him not to beat around the bush, be a man and tell me straight.
He told me he was thinking and not to interrupt him.
After a while, instead of giving me reason why he said I insulted my parents, he said 'but you scolded them!' Told him I admit I scolded many mom many times before but each time I have good reason but scolding is not same as insult! Asked him if he scolded his mother before. He kept quiet.
(I cannot remember scolding my dad in the last 20 years of his life. But he was different from mom who would not interject/interrupt others before they can finish speaking. Her brothers were the same! Like the smart alecs I warn kids about, they 'chay' others very quickly. I realized that long ago.
When we were young, parents would get into arguments all the time and the kids would end up on mom's side because she was quite manipulative - she cries like the end of the world, say would take her own life etc - to get the our sympathy. We being kids then would 'buy' it and get to her side! I now know how dad would have felt then.
By university time I realized that dad was a very sharp man and a gentleman. Many things he said to me when younger I realized were very sharp or true. Over the years he indirectly also taught we one thing about gratefulness.
On trips back to Taiping over the years, he would bring me to go look for an old man whom he kept telling me was a gentleman. Initially I was too young to understand but years later I got it. When his dad died and my dad was too young and helpless, that man helped his family with all funeral arrangements and took dad 'under his wings'. So decades later whenever we went to Taiping dad would look him up and ask him out for meal and drinks but dad said that old man would refuse his offer to pay. Dad meant to say that he was grateful to that man for what he did for him when young and all dad wanted to do was to repay that gratitude a bit but that old man refused to accept even a drink! Thus a gentleman in dad's eyes.
Mom was different. After uni, I realized she was a simpleton that throws out whatever came to mind whenever she loses an argument or could not provide a good answer! (diversion, inversion). The last decade or so, I kept telling her not to do that, that was why she kept arguing with dad when we were young and her old trick would not work with me anymore because I had seen through her. Mom would still not get what I said and continue with her standard formula: try to divert or invert, if fail cry and accuse me of scolding her! Which would not get any sympathy from me. Instead, I would keep telling her that she was deploying her standard trick again but she would still not get it.
That's the problem and danger with such people - not aware of their own behavior despite being repeatedly told of it by others. Repeat and repeat but smart alec still thinks she was right and thus not just ignore what I tried to tell her but would turn it around and throw anything she could think of.
Her brothers were the same! They are always quick to interrupt others, 'chay' what others say, contradict or throw smart alec comments before others could even complete their sentences. I observed it so many times that I have concluded it was genetic and those old smart alecs would never change.)
By then TKM's baseless accusation had gotten to me. Then told him that he is a bastard because he accused me of insulting my parents but could not explain how, when etc. All he could do was accuse me of insulting my parents because I scolded them. I don't accuse him of insulting his parents because he scolded them but he was bastard enough to do that to me!
Now he is a worse bastard than I thought an hour earlier at prata stall. Bastard 2 times over!
Told him that I have long established he and the others are simpleton 80% types I tell the kids to be wary off - people who would jump to wrong conclusions and therefore screw things up but still full of themselves. I was willing to sit down with him only because he asked me for a talk and I gave him the benefit of doubt because he was not around in Malaysia to know what happened over the years but he just proved what I know to be his character already.
He just broke into loud laughter! So told him I don't laugh at what he says, not even his baseless accusation, and he was laughing because I was spot on - it was the truth and as Schopenhofer observed all truths are firstly ridiculed (laughed at).
CPS who was quietly sitting nearby listening to whole exchange started interjecting with some comment about facing up to reality and I told her not to interrupt the discussion. But she continued and I just ignored her.
I then asked him if he has anything else to talk about. He said yes so told him to be careful with what he says. This time he was more careful and, instead of accusing me, asked if I blamed my divorce on parents. I said no and asked why did he think so. Again, no answer which again pissed me off. He came up with another thing which he could not offer basis again! Bastard. (I suspect he realised that already but still went ahead and asked because it was not really his idea but some one planted for him and he was just 'caught holding the ball'. The question is who is the real devil).
Again, CPS kept interjecting with some comments about me afraid to face reality which irked me. So told her to buzz off as I was talking to another person not her. Fucking rude!
Then he asked if divorce affected me. Of course, I said (only an idiot would think otherwise or see need to ask). In what way he asked. Told him after that I woke up, was no more a simple happy go luck fella and would take action if I see a problem.
CPS again interjected and asked how I define a problem and success etc. Told that idiot not to interrupt again but she kept on repeating her various comments.
So I looked at TKM and told him that he held me back because he wanted to ask me things and I was nice enough to oblige but that idiot keeps interrupting the conversation. So is he going to do something about it? That bastard just grinned and said no.
Knowing that on top of that, his thoughts were probably messed up by then. So tried to help him justify why he should not sit on his hands with below:
"You invited me to talk to you and I obliged. When I interrupted you, you asked me not to interrupt. You set a house rule which I obliged. Now, I have an idiot that keeps interrupting me as I am speaking to you and I expect you to have the decency to help me out but instead you tell me you are not going to do anything about it? Come on, be a man!"
Bugger still insist he won't do anything. (I suspect he could not think clearly by then and CPS interruption was a relief to the embarrassing situation he found himself in. Thus he didn't find it disruptive but life saving instead!)
I said OK then and asked if he still have anything else. He said yes so told him that I have by then established that he is a bastard 3 times over and he better not fuck around with me anymore. By then he was really dumbfounded and just sat there and stared at me. (I suspect his thinking was by then in a mess because whatever he threw at me didn't stick and his collection of bastard X times over points were building up)
So I asked how he can say he has more to ask me but does not have next question ready at hand! How can one call for a meeting but cannot remember agenda? If one has a big enough problem with his car he should be able to tell the mechanic straight away!
I meant to say if he thought I have a major problem he should be able to articulate it immediately. So he was obviously just trying to come up with something to stick on me (inversion is typical 80% type trick - if 2 cannot stick, try others!) and save his face.
He kept telling me not to interrupt him as he was thinking. So I kept quiet and waited.
Minutes passed and I was stupefied. Told him that that was not how real world meetings work. If he makes others wait so long in meeting while he thinks about it, in real world he would get fucked well and good! No wonder he needs to go for meditation! No need to think!
In meantime, CPS continued bombarding me with her challenges (cannot face reality, how I define problem and success etc. Told her to better stop before I slap her for being so fucking rude.
Repeated the above "you invited me to talk to you, you set house rule of no interruption, now someone else interrupting me... are you man enough to do something" question. Again, no with grin.
Almost 20 minutes later, he finally started on his next 'inquisition' item and asked if I remembered dad's funeral when I told him about my cousin's daughter's family problem (around 2010/2011). I told him that that has nothing to do with what I thought was his agenda which was my problems with my parents. Anyway, since I spoke to CPS and CPM at mom's wake 2 days ago about it, they know the details and he can go ask them and not waste my time.
Don't try to fish around, I told him (he obviously had the topic in mind already except that he needed that 20 minutes to figure out how to stick a knife into me and make it stick)
He insisted that it has to do with me. So asked him in what way. He said I was 'complaining' about other people's family and somehow bring my 'pain' to and bothered that family meaning at the least probably I should not have gotten involved or, worse, I was trying to stir up trouble. Again, that smart alec observation irked me. Since I was not interested in 'arguing' over things with one I already established to be a bastard, I didn't get to clarify which was it and just assumed he meant I was being a busy body. But even that attitude is signature 80% type - why bother about other people? go mountain and meditate!
So told him that that's how 80% type people like him look at the world but that is not how I look at it. If I can see something wrong ahead of time, I take immediate action like the 'invisible string' problem I spotted years ago with her daughter. Asked if he knew of that invisible string, he said no.
In my cousin's case, I could see what was coming, warned 3 different members of that family and told them what to do otherwise that family would be destroyed. Now 5 years later, CPS told me 2 days ago what I feared then would happen. I could do that but 80% type like him will not understand it so don't waste my time.
[2 days ago CPS said could not contact that cousin and when she and mom met him last year he said something about daughter selling their apartment and CPS thinks her marriage was breaking up. I told her I already saw that coming 5 years ago!
Once in Singapore, spoke to taxi driver about water dispute between Malaysia and Singapore, Singapore government was being bastard by refusing to raise rates per Malaysia's request and Singaporeans should do what's right and not keep quiet. Taxi driver asked why I bothered. Told him if he tell me why bother when his daughter is being raped then I say he 'liao de qi'. Bugger kept quiet after that]
I stood up to leave but he said he was not done yet. Told him I cannot have open-ended session with him. He need to set an end time. He said 3.30pm. I said OK, next.
He asked how about the house renovation. I said I already told mom a year ago that I won't have anything to do with it! Told him about being told my parents don't need to depend on me, have money where got 'liao bu qi', many incidents of inaction and lame excuses etc. that nothing will be done. In fact, told mom that until day she dies nothing will be done! (Bastard raise issue with me after knowing I had issue with those idiots for so many years and after mom is dead! Bastard)
Said I offered to pay for renovation long time ago but CPY has all sorts of excuse not to do anything, not even look at the many plans I drew up over more than 10 years. He then told me what CPS (smart alec) told me last year: since you paying for it, why don't you handle everything?
Told him of course I can and gave him this analogy: If I offer to give your mother a treat, you can tell me why not feed her and later wipe her arse too. Why cannot? Can...
I then asked 'by your thinking, since I offered to pay for reno but did not handle everything then I was a bastard right?" Suspecting a trap, he kept quiet. So told him that the answer was either yes or no, so be a man and tell me if I was a bastard. After repeating that challenge a few times he finally said yes! (bastard could not even make simple decision nor see what was coming)
I said well then we established that one is a bastard if one only offered to pay but not handle everything. Now let me ask you this: did you and wife offer to pay anything at all? Quiet. So now I establish that you are a greater bastard than me, right?
Continued with the analogy above to him (he obviously could not get it earlier): If I offer to treat your mother to a meal and you ask me to feed her and later wipe her arse, I'd slap you! You bastard 4 times over!
CPS realized I was also scolding her as well because she told me the same thing last year and her rude interruption got much louder (also she got more brazen because no one did anything all the while). By then, she was standing in between me and TYL's father and gesturing all over. So I got up and gave her a slap. TKM got up and put me in a strangle hold! I was surprised somewhat by that (bastard said nothing to do with him earlier but now when I finally took action it then he gets involved!) but quickly realized what was happening. So after he released the stranglehold, I told him that I have a point to make to him.
He knew full well that CPS rude interruptions were getting louder and louder and more and more to the face, he could see she was not heeding my telling her off and sooner or later I would take action as I said but he refused to help out and waited for me to act. Then he come out and act 'hero' by strangle holding me.
He knew full well how it would end and yet refused to intervene until it was too late. So told him he was a fucking bastard 5 times over!
Then asked if he has anything else to ask on my family. No. I said in that case since we established that he had no basis for saying I insulted my parents, blamed divorce on them etc. he should do the decent thing and help sort it out with whoever else were saying those things. He said no, why should he!
So I thought what a fucking bastard. Bastard more than 5 times over! Stood up to leave.
But he said not 3.15pm yet and he was not done yet (bastard expect me to keep my agreement and decency after all that shit).
His next issue was what I thought about 1MDB! Told him it has nothing to do with discussion and if he asked because he thought I could not do anything about it since I said I would do something if I see something is not right. He said yes. So to him it is just plunder, there are things I can do indirectly and gave him Louis Armstrong's quote - If you have to ask, you aint ever gonna know.
(Bastard who just told me why I bothered to get involved with my cousin's family and does not deem it necessary to get involved with CPS rude interruptions suddenly got interested with 1MDB which had nothing to do with my family, his nor the purpose of the talk! Fucker cannot even apply his own freakin principle on himself within span of a couple of hours!)
With no more to talk about me and my family he told me he has something to tell me.
Said he scolded his mother in front of his friends when she cried in front of them during an outing in Australia. Said he regretted it and started sobbing. I asked him what he expect me to do? He said he just wanted me to hear him out.
Fucking bastard not man enough to even do the decent thing on all those shit now wanted me to do nothing and hear him out!
Asked him why he scolded her and why she cried, he didn't answer the latter. Only he said felt she embarrassed him in front of friends and did not appreciate his effort arranging outing. Not sure what his purpose was, I told him I was not going to say he insulted his mother because he scolded her even though he said I insulted mine because I scolded them. He repeated he wanted me to hear him out only (may be he felt guilty accusing me of insulting my parents earlier and wanted to admit he also scolded his mom)
Then told me about his stay with his grandma when young and being used as leverage against his father by her etc. Sobbed most of the way.
At 3.40pm I said times up, I could not do anything about his personal story and walked off.
Almost 4 hours but it was good that he talked to me. All the while I thought those bastards were just saying I was a mad bugger always scolding people including my parents but now I know it was worse than that. Those bastards were worse devils than I thought.
Given that TKM froze and took so long to articulate his thoughts it is very likely he was not the originator of those accusations. He was only the one trying or offered to stick it to me openly. The question is who is/are the lead bastard(s)...
My suspicion: top lead is the bitch that was listening in the background and kept interrupting me whenever I try to nail TKM with a new 'bastard-point'. As I have been telling the kids, that's what thieves do when they are about to be caught - divert and invert.
So who is the REAL more-than-5-times-over bastard?
In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing. The worst thing you can do is nothing. - Theodore Roosevelt
Right is right even if no one is doing it; wrong is wrong even if everyone is doing it - Augustine of Hippo
In Memory of Mom
27/1/16 WED
Planning to return to KL early next week. So went to buy new 4G LTE modem from U Mobile as had been planning to pass old 3G modem to 5th uncle over CNY. Had been suggesting to them last year to get a dataline so can have more to do to pass time but suspect they wld not have done so.
1/2/16 MON
Had slow speed problem with new 4G LTE modem since day 1. Fast sometimes and for short while but would hang later. Eliminated 4G network itself since my phone also on U Mobile was fast.
Spent previous few days sorting out slowness problem with U Mobile which changed sim card, asked me to reset modem, told me i didnt settle my bill (just bought!), wait cos high traffic etc. Went modem manufacturer ZTE service centre which claimed modem OK.
2/2/16 TUE
U Mobile tech support finally asked me to connect using usb (i.e. not using wifi) to my pc. Loading was very fast - within 2-3 secnds. U Mobile say that prove their line ok and asked me go back and check modem with ZTE. Agree with them but suspect initially due to priority setting by U Mobile which they fixed (i asked and the service staff confirmed 018 dataline numbers have different priority from phones using 011 range)
3/2/16 WED
Explained to ZTE why sure modem problem per above. They tested on wifi and usb and agreed but said new modem takes a week to arrive from KL. Asked them if can exchange in KL since planning to leave for KL thur or fri but cannot confirm. So told them I wld collect after CNY and went rented house to collect some stuffs.
On way back 4pm mom called to ask when returning cos she wanted to cook soup for me. Told her Friday.
4/2/16 THU
10AM ZTE called to say modem arrived and can collect now. Went to collect and get tool box with allen wrenches needed to re-install writing table from rented house.
8-9PM just installed writing table in mom's room and placed sewing machine on top (thought wld make it convenient for her do sewing) when Tian called to say mom fell and unconscious in KL hospital but could not give more details.
5/2/16 FRI
9-10AM CPY then CPM called to asked where i was. Told them Muar then Nilai.
10.30AM dropped things offf at home and to see condition of house. Saw stain on sofa.
11AM arrived Ampang Hospital Ward 6C. Mom just passed. Touched her and body still warm. Her eyes slightly open so stroke them close.
CPS say blood burst in brain but dont know what actually happened cos mom was alone and already collapsed on sofa with phone on hand when found by CPY 7+PM when she returned from work (very early as normally 10+PM! Same comment later by neighbour Mrs Gan to me). CPS say Mrs Gan said mom was chatting with her around 5PM and may be mom fell as small depresssion on head. Say everyone must go one day, mom dreamt about dad etc so she expecting mom to go anytime! (No wonder no need to find out more about her condition)
Mrs Gan doctor son Ah Kuan came to ward and said record say blood pressure 178 i.e. stage 3 which is very high, massive brain haemorrhage and stroke. Say hypertension most likely cause. Told him that mom used to have high bllod pressure but few months back she said doctor (government clinic at Kampung Pandan) said can stop medicine because pressure OK. Kuan said some medicine cannot stop which was new to me!
Spoke to ward doctor issuing papers on mom body release from ward. CAT scan showed massive haemorrhage n stroke, no fracture in skull so trauma unlikely. If stop medicine must monitor and asked if mom had been doing that. I said i dont know. He said neurosurgeons decided not to operate due to mom's age and extent of her condition.
1PM at home. Mrs Gan came over and said mom was fine when talking to her at 5PM last evening. Mom told her i comjng back fri and CPS ? day (Mrs Gan cld not remember) and mom cooking soup for us. After i told her cause likely because mom stopped taking medicine, she said she told mom that!
2PM Neighbour from no 10 house came to ask where wake will be at and said high blood medicine cannot stop!
Asked CPM and CPS if they knew and they shook heads. So every neighbour knew but not us in family!
2PM Called 2nd aunt with skin cancer to inform her. Since by then I suspect mom (or others in family) must have ignored others info that high blood medicine cannot stop and didnt 'clicked', i started by asking her abt her skin and if she consumed the anti cancer leaves from plant mom and i planted at her home a few months back. She could not even remember we did that which confirmed my point. They just took things for granted and that's on things others did for their own good out of kindness and concern for them!
3.30PM Took pics of dining table where mom was sewing her shirt, prayer table with fresh grapefruit (from our garden) mom placed, carporch with bedsheet mom washed and hung to dry, stained sofa where mom collapsed with phone in hand (CPM said mom shitted and vomitted there and gasping for air)
ISSSUE 1
No one in family REALLY bothered to find out about high blood pressure to know that medicine cannot stop taking, or if aware did not bother to link info to mom and make sure she continued taking! How could it be that so many people knew but none in our family did (during wake, every one I spoke to said same - cannot stop!
No one REALLY cared despite some telling me that parents do not need to deoend on me (see history).
Lessons:
Talk is cheap, watch their actions and results.
Nice words and good intentions are of no use if no knowledge
Everyone's problem is no one's problem
So never rely on others (not even close friends and family) to do things or watch out for you. Self help.
ALWAYS do own research on any big issue or problem one faces. Do not take other people's (esp the 80% type) words as truth or correct.
Above self reliance point is one reason why few years back I told TYL about her 'invisible string' problem and told her to take steps herself to be independent because I can see her mom would not do that for her or until much later (because she was the one that tied the string!). And why on 8/2/16 night after moms funeral, roti prata dinner when all were talking about Tian's consolation prize essay on her mom not letting her go to her grandpa's house I told Tian that some year back I told her mom to let her go out to play basketball etc as that would strengthen character and make her independent. I then turned to TYL and asked if she remembered what I told her years ago she burst into tears.
(I think I know why Tian's mom didn't let her go to her grandpa's house - see Woman Everyone Call Mad http://cckplanetblog.blogspot.my/2012/09/woman-everyone-call-mad.html)
9/2/16 On way to airport with CWL I asked if she knew why TYL cried, she said because she know I was right all those years back. Told CWL that i did that because I wanted TYL and them kids to start on the right journey in life early.
I have established long ago that the girls are quite sharp but not their parents who (like the 80% types I keep stressing) cannot see many things or are uninitiated on many matters or worse know but hide from them. So I had decided that I have to take steps directly to help put them on strong foundation for their future even if I end up being the bad guy. I don't live my life based on what others think of me but on what I think is right.
Even if you are a minority of one, the truth is still the truth. Many people especially the ignorant ones want to punish you for speaking the truth, for being correct or for being years ahead of your time. If you are right and you know it, speak your mind - Mahatma Gandhi
All truths go through 3 stages. First, they are ridiculed. Then violently opposed. Finally they are taken as self evident - Arthur Schopenhofer
Gandhi and Schopenhofer are talking about the same thing i have been trying to convey to kids. The 80% type will laugh or oppose you (whatever way they can) but when most people finally realise and accept something as truth those bastards would just say 'chay, I know already' - self evident...
2012 after dad's funeral I explained to kids that all those rituals were okay but they should not follow any religion and their teachings blindly, and not take for granted that anyone with religious authority or working for it is by default good. In fact, many use religions to control and take advantage of others. CPQ heard that and interjected that not all religious people are bad (which was not my point) and many are good. I asked her then who among the religous group helping at dad's funeral (from Fa Gu San) were good? She retorted all of them are good, she met with them already!
I told her she is a simpleton. She think that by talking to people and hee-hee-ha-ha (casual banter) with them for a few minutes she know their characters. She kept quiet.
Day after dad's funeral, family went to Fa Gu San for meditation. After that, I asked kids to look around place and asked how place like that makes money. Sharp Tian say by selling books (there were shelves with books). Didn't have time to tell them there are more ways like organising meditation sessions, charity drives etc where they ask for 'donations' but who knows where money goes. No time because CPQ came and herded kids off using go home as excuse. At car park, TYL and CLL followed me into my car but CPQ came rushing to my car from another and asked them to go to the other car with excuse she wanted me to drive her to buy stuff. I told her off and not to think I didn't know what she was up to. She didn't want me to talk to kids because she thought I am some devil or nut who would teach the kids wrong stuffs! CPQ retorted and said yes she did that because she did not want me to talk to the kids. I got more mad since she explicitly said that. Told her she has right to tell me she didn't want me to teach her daughter but not with mine!
See how the stupid 80% looks at the world? They can even turn things around and imagine one trying to help them or say tell the truth as the opposite! As result, they may try to 'get back' at the one doing the right thing or telling the truth (see Gandhi and Schopenhofer quotes above)
Which is why I warn about the danger with 80% types but 80% types will never know nor accept they are source of danger or disaster.
That's why I told CWL 9/2/16 morning she should always remember 80/20 rule. What the 80% type (aka simpletons, smart alecs, 'xiao chai' etc) say, think or do - we always take with handful of salt, treat it as red flag and consider the opposite. They will never be able to see things that 20% types see and as result are more likely wrong than right.
ISSUE 2
Dont know when mom stopped taking medicine and who went with her. Or if government doctor told mom to monitor closely but mom didnt get the point etc.
(I admit I did not bother to find out since I was told parents no need to depend on me and mom even implied the same when I complained about being told that)
Lessons:
If have major medical condition, never change medication including doctor, dosage, frequency etc suddenly and without double checking. Change gradually and check for risks of doing so online etc yourself.
Do not trust doctor fully (even doctors 80/20 rule applies). Always get 2nd opinion.
In Malaysia, government clinics are overloaded. So level of care is dubious. In addition, race can be factor (although we are not racist, no guarantee all doctors are not).
ISSUE 3
Mrs Gan told mom but I dont recall her telling me medicine cannot stop. Dont know if she told others or not.
Lessons:
Always repeat good or important advise a few times over and to different persons. Then check to see approprite actions etc are taken. If after that still ignored, then we have done our best.
It is human nature (self, ego) to take others for granted or ignore. Esp those with low awareness and big egos (High Level 1, Low Level 2) because they think with same 1 brain, 1 mouth, 2 eyes what more can others know that is more than them!
ISSUE 4
Why mom didn't react to Mrs Gan's info?
Lessons:
Never take others (esp 20% type) advise, comment or input for granted. Always stop, listen, think and understand the input more. If cannot do immediately, quickly save note in phone, bookmark webpage etc for later follow up.
Sometimes during discussions esp involving many people that your discussion or train of thought gets interrupted and you lose track of important input. That's why must do note taking, book marking etc. Mental bookmarking or noting at least but must be practiced (I know Tian does that as I observed her a few times when others interrupted discussions)
Worse when some bastard 80% smart alecs are involved. They would ridicule (snigger, laugh etc) or throw something totally unrelated into the discussion or input just to show they have something to contribute or to contradict! In their words, to help. That's why in Dec I was so angry with CPS when she interjected with smart alec comment when I was talking to Tian about her future uni studies! CPQ etc then got involved - more smart alecs. Original topic of uni studies lost..
If you tell them off, you become bad guy and they would say you are unreasonable etc (inversion, turn problem around). If you get angry at the for being rude, they say you crazy. That's because they really really cannot see the problem with what they were trying to do because they are 80% type and below Level 2! (see 3 Levels of Human Development http://cckplanetblog.blogspot.my/2012/01/2-pieces-of-paper-for-life.html)
So, beware of benevolent idiots.
Also why I warn the kids to be wary of people that hee-hee-ha-ha (jokers) most of the time. If they spend 80% of their time laughing at things/others, they are either jokers that have nothing serious to talk about (because of ignorance) or, worse, 'experts' in Schopenhofer's stage 1! Over time they get so adept at laughing/ridiculing others that they think they are very smart which reinforces their behavior! In Chinese, I call them 'xiao chai' (smart alecs). Simpletons (the 80%) get impressed by such people - always laugh at others, so must be very clever! (Fool's Theory). 20% type people with knowledge will see through such smart alecs in no time and tell them off. After which, they keep quiet or go elsewhere to look for someone else (other 80% type) to ridicule and impress!
SUMMARY
My view is that if any of the above 4 issues were acted upon, mom would still be alive and live another 5 to 10 years because she was still very alert, active etc and her parents lived well into their 80s. The REAL cause of death was not her condition. Science have solutions for it i.e. the medicine and monitoring device. The cause was no one knew (or bothered to act even if they knew) that close monitoring is required! That's why she did not have a blood pressure measuring machine.
Despite all the nice talk, no one (even mom herself) REALLY cared. Words are cheap. Don't trust them. Watch actions and results. Analyse, think then draw your own conclusion...
Ask this: who bothered to even find out and think about above? If you question them why not, they will tell you that it is water under the bridge (person dead already) etc. so why bother. That is how 80% lead their lives. There is always a smart alec excuse for everything...
Smart alec comment 'fuss over what's past for what? Cannot do anything about it. What's important is be happy!' is used to justify inaction on analysing a problem arising from their inaction or improper action in the first place!
It becomes a cycle of continuous inaction or improper action based on false logic repeated in a circular manner. After some time that cycle becomes their life habit and thus totally involuntary (i.e. they will not be aware of it)
Such Level 1 people will never understand the above. Anyone trying to tell them that will be taken as some nut. Worse, they will commiserate with their same type, reinforce each other and end up being more sure of their fools' perspectives. Their logic: See, I must be right because so many (fools) think the same as me!
Wrong does not cease to be wrong because the majority share in it - Leo Tolstoy
The nice ones (at least that's what they think) among them may even invert the whole thing around and tell the 20% type trying to wake them up 'why try so hard and put yourself through such suffering? Come, let me teach you how to make peace with your painful life. Go for meditation'
Such benevolent fools should be given some slapping lessons...
The difference between genius and stupidity is genius has limit - Einstein
Planning to return to KL early next week. So went to buy new 4G LTE modem from U Mobile as had been planning to pass old 3G modem to 5th uncle over CNY. Had been suggesting to them last year to get a dataline so can have more to do to pass time but suspect they wld not have done so.
1/2/16 MON
Had slow speed problem with new 4G LTE modem since day 1. Fast sometimes and for short while but would hang later. Eliminated 4G network itself since my phone also on U Mobile was fast.
Spent previous few days sorting out slowness problem with U Mobile which changed sim card, asked me to reset modem, told me i didnt settle my bill (just bought!), wait cos high traffic etc. Went modem manufacturer ZTE service centre which claimed modem OK.
2/2/16 TUE
U Mobile tech support finally asked me to connect using usb (i.e. not using wifi) to my pc. Loading was very fast - within 2-3 secnds. U Mobile say that prove their line ok and asked me go back and check modem with ZTE. Agree with them but suspect initially due to priority setting by U Mobile which they fixed (i asked and the service staff confirmed 018 dataline numbers have different priority from phones using 011 range)
3/2/16 WED
Explained to ZTE why sure modem problem per above. They tested on wifi and usb and agreed but said new modem takes a week to arrive from KL. Asked them if can exchange in KL since planning to leave for KL thur or fri but cannot confirm. So told them I wld collect after CNY and went rented house to collect some stuffs.
On way back 4pm mom called to ask when returning cos she wanted to cook soup for me. Told her Friday.
4/2/16 THU
10AM ZTE called to say modem arrived and can collect now. Went to collect and get tool box with allen wrenches needed to re-install writing table from rented house.
8-9PM just installed writing table in mom's room and placed sewing machine on top (thought wld make it convenient for her do sewing) when Tian called to say mom fell and unconscious in KL hospital but could not give more details.
5/2/16 FRI
9-10AM CPY then CPM called to asked where i was. Told them Muar then Nilai.
10.30AM dropped things offf at home and to see condition of house. Saw stain on sofa.
11AM arrived Ampang Hospital Ward 6C. Mom just passed. Touched her and body still warm. Her eyes slightly open so stroke them close.
CPS say blood burst in brain but dont know what actually happened cos mom was alone and already collapsed on sofa with phone on hand when found by CPY 7+PM when she returned from work (very early as normally 10+PM! Same comment later by neighbour Mrs Gan to me). CPS say Mrs Gan said mom was chatting with her around 5PM and may be mom fell as small depresssion on head. Say everyone must go one day, mom dreamt about dad etc so she expecting mom to go anytime! (No wonder no need to find out more about her condition)
Mrs Gan doctor son Ah Kuan came to ward and said record say blood pressure 178 i.e. stage 3 which is very high, massive brain haemorrhage and stroke. Say hypertension most likely cause. Told him that mom used to have high bllod pressure but few months back she said doctor (government clinic at Kampung Pandan) said can stop medicine because pressure OK. Kuan said some medicine cannot stop which was new to me!
Spoke to ward doctor issuing papers on mom body release from ward. CAT scan showed massive haemorrhage n stroke, no fracture in skull so trauma unlikely. If stop medicine must monitor and asked if mom had been doing that. I said i dont know. He said neurosurgeons decided not to operate due to mom's age and extent of her condition.
1PM at home. Mrs Gan came over and said mom was fine when talking to her at 5PM last evening. Mom told her i comjng back fri and CPS ? day (Mrs Gan cld not remember) and mom cooking soup for us. After i told her cause likely because mom stopped taking medicine, she said she told mom that!
2PM Neighbour from no 10 house came to ask where wake will be at and said high blood medicine cannot stop!
Asked CPM and CPS if they knew and they shook heads. So every neighbour knew but not us in family!
2PM Called 2nd aunt with skin cancer to inform her. Since by then I suspect mom (or others in family) must have ignored others info that high blood medicine cannot stop and didnt 'clicked', i started by asking her abt her skin and if she consumed the anti cancer leaves from plant mom and i planted at her home a few months back. She could not even remember we did that which confirmed my point. They just took things for granted and that's on things others did for their own good out of kindness and concern for them!
3.30PM Took pics of dining table where mom was sewing her shirt, prayer table with fresh grapefruit (from our garden) mom placed, carporch with bedsheet mom washed and hung to dry, stained sofa where mom collapsed with phone in hand (CPM said mom shitted and vomitted there and gasping for air)
ISSSUE 1
No one in family REALLY bothered to find out about high blood pressure to know that medicine cannot stop taking, or if aware did not bother to link info to mom and make sure she continued taking! How could it be that so many people knew but none in our family did (during wake, every one I spoke to said same - cannot stop!
No one REALLY cared despite some telling me that parents do not need to deoend on me (see history).
Lessons:
Talk is cheap, watch their actions and results.
Nice words and good intentions are of no use if no knowledge
Everyone's problem is no one's problem
So never rely on others (not even close friends and family) to do things or watch out for you. Self help.
ALWAYS do own research on any big issue or problem one faces. Do not take other people's (esp the 80% type) words as truth or correct.
Above self reliance point is one reason why few years back I told TYL about her 'invisible string' problem and told her to take steps herself to be independent because I can see her mom would not do that for her or until much later (because she was the one that tied the string!). And why on 8/2/16 night after moms funeral, roti prata dinner when all were talking about Tian's consolation prize essay on her mom not letting her go to her grandpa's house I told Tian that some year back I told her mom to let her go out to play basketball etc as that would strengthen character and make her independent. I then turned to TYL and asked if she remembered what I told her years ago she burst into tears.
(I think I know why Tian's mom didn't let her go to her grandpa's house - see Woman Everyone Call Mad http://cckplanetblog.blogspot.my/2012/09/woman-everyone-call-mad.html)
9/2/16 On way to airport with CWL I asked if she knew why TYL cried, she said because she know I was right all those years back. Told CWL that i did that because I wanted TYL and them kids to start on the right journey in life early.
I have established long ago that the girls are quite sharp but not their parents who (like the 80% types I keep stressing) cannot see many things or are uninitiated on many matters or worse know but hide from them. So I had decided that I have to take steps directly to help put them on strong foundation for their future even if I end up being the bad guy. I don't live my life based on what others think of me but on what I think is right.
Even if you are a minority of one, the truth is still the truth. Many people especially the ignorant ones want to punish you for speaking the truth, for being correct or for being years ahead of your time. If you are right and you know it, speak your mind - Mahatma Gandhi
All truths go through 3 stages. First, they are ridiculed. Then violently opposed. Finally they are taken as self evident - Arthur Schopenhofer
Gandhi and Schopenhofer are talking about the same thing i have been trying to convey to kids. The 80% type will laugh or oppose you (whatever way they can) but when most people finally realise and accept something as truth those bastards would just say 'chay, I know already' - self evident...
2012 after dad's funeral I explained to kids that all those rituals were okay but they should not follow any religion and their teachings blindly, and not take for granted that anyone with religious authority or working for it is by default good. In fact, many use religions to control and take advantage of others. CPQ heard that and interjected that not all religious people are bad (which was not my point) and many are good. I asked her then who among the religous group helping at dad's funeral (from Fa Gu San) were good? She retorted all of them are good, she met with them already!
I told her she is a simpleton. She think that by talking to people and hee-hee-ha-ha (casual banter) with them for a few minutes she know their characters. She kept quiet.
Day after dad's funeral, family went to Fa Gu San for meditation. After that, I asked kids to look around place and asked how place like that makes money. Sharp Tian say by selling books (there were shelves with books). Didn't have time to tell them there are more ways like organising meditation sessions, charity drives etc where they ask for 'donations' but who knows where money goes. No time because CPQ came and herded kids off using go home as excuse. At car park, TYL and CLL followed me into my car but CPQ came rushing to my car from another and asked them to go to the other car with excuse she wanted me to drive her to buy stuff. I told her off and not to think I didn't know what she was up to. She didn't want me to talk to kids because she thought I am some devil or nut who would teach the kids wrong stuffs! CPQ retorted and said yes she did that because she did not want me to talk to the kids. I got more mad since she explicitly said that. Told her she has right to tell me she didn't want me to teach her daughter but not with mine!
See how the stupid 80% looks at the world? They can even turn things around and imagine one trying to help them or say tell the truth as the opposite! As result, they may try to 'get back' at the one doing the right thing or telling the truth (see Gandhi and Schopenhofer quotes above)
Which is why I warn about the danger with 80% types but 80% types will never know nor accept they are source of danger or disaster.
That's why I told CWL 9/2/16 morning she should always remember 80/20 rule. What the 80% type (aka simpletons, smart alecs, 'xiao chai' etc) say, think or do - we always take with handful of salt, treat it as red flag and consider the opposite. They will never be able to see things that 20% types see and as result are more likely wrong than right.
ISSUE 2
Dont know when mom stopped taking medicine and who went with her. Or if government doctor told mom to monitor closely but mom didnt get the point etc.
(I admit I did not bother to find out since I was told parents no need to depend on me and mom even implied the same when I complained about being told that)
Lessons:
If have major medical condition, never change medication including doctor, dosage, frequency etc suddenly and without double checking. Change gradually and check for risks of doing so online etc yourself.
Do not trust doctor fully (even doctors 80/20 rule applies). Always get 2nd opinion.
In Malaysia, government clinics are overloaded. So level of care is dubious. In addition, race can be factor (although we are not racist, no guarantee all doctors are not).
ISSUE 3
Mrs Gan told mom but I dont recall her telling me medicine cannot stop. Dont know if she told others or not.
Lessons:
Always repeat good or important advise a few times over and to different persons. Then check to see approprite actions etc are taken. If after that still ignored, then we have done our best.
It is human nature (self, ego) to take others for granted or ignore. Esp those with low awareness and big egos (High Level 1, Low Level 2) because they think with same 1 brain, 1 mouth, 2 eyes what more can others know that is more than them!
ISSUE 4
Why mom didn't react to Mrs Gan's info?
Lessons:
Never take others (esp 20% type) advise, comment or input for granted. Always stop, listen, think and understand the input more. If cannot do immediately, quickly save note in phone, bookmark webpage etc for later follow up.
Sometimes during discussions esp involving many people that your discussion or train of thought gets interrupted and you lose track of important input. That's why must do note taking, book marking etc. Mental bookmarking or noting at least but must be practiced (I know Tian does that as I observed her a few times when others interrupted discussions)
Worse when some bastard 80% smart alecs are involved. They would ridicule (snigger, laugh etc) or throw something totally unrelated into the discussion or input just to show they have something to contribute or to contradict! In their words, to help. That's why in Dec I was so angry with CPS when she interjected with smart alec comment when I was talking to Tian about her future uni studies! CPQ etc then got involved - more smart alecs. Original topic of uni studies lost..
If you tell them off, you become bad guy and they would say you are unreasonable etc (inversion, turn problem around). If you get angry at the for being rude, they say you crazy. That's because they really really cannot see the problem with what they were trying to do because they are 80% type and below Level 2! (see 3 Levels of Human Development http://cckplanetblog.blogspot.my/2012/01/2-pieces-of-paper-for-life.html)
So, beware of benevolent idiots.
Also why I warn the kids to be wary of people that hee-hee-ha-ha (jokers) most of the time. If they spend 80% of their time laughing at things/others, they are either jokers that have nothing serious to talk about (because of ignorance) or, worse, 'experts' in Schopenhofer's stage 1! Over time they get so adept at laughing/ridiculing others that they think they are very smart which reinforces their behavior! In Chinese, I call them 'xiao chai' (smart alecs). Simpletons (the 80%) get impressed by such people - always laugh at others, so must be very clever! (Fool's Theory). 20% type people with knowledge will see through such smart alecs in no time and tell them off. After which, they keep quiet or go elsewhere to look for someone else (other 80% type) to ridicule and impress!
SUMMARY
My view is that if any of the above 4 issues were acted upon, mom would still be alive and live another 5 to 10 years because she was still very alert, active etc and her parents lived well into their 80s. The REAL cause of death was not her condition. Science have solutions for it i.e. the medicine and monitoring device. The cause was no one knew (or bothered to act even if they knew) that close monitoring is required! That's why she did not have a blood pressure measuring machine.
Despite all the nice talk, no one (even mom herself) REALLY cared. Words are cheap. Don't trust them. Watch actions and results. Analyse, think then draw your own conclusion...
Ask this: who bothered to even find out and think about above? If you question them why not, they will tell you that it is water under the bridge (person dead already) etc. so why bother. That is how 80% lead their lives. There is always a smart alec excuse for everything...
Smart alec comment 'fuss over what's past for what? Cannot do anything about it. What's important is be happy!' is used to justify inaction on analysing a problem arising from their inaction or improper action in the first place!
It becomes a cycle of continuous inaction or improper action based on false logic repeated in a circular manner. After some time that cycle becomes their life habit and thus totally involuntary (i.e. they will not be aware of it)
Such Level 1 people will never understand the above. Anyone trying to tell them that will be taken as some nut. Worse, they will commiserate with their same type, reinforce each other and end up being more sure of their fools' perspectives. Their logic: See, I must be right because so many (fools) think the same as me!
Wrong does not cease to be wrong because the majority share in it - Leo Tolstoy
The nice ones (at least that's what they think) among them may even invert the whole thing around and tell the 20% type trying to wake them up 'why try so hard and put yourself through such suffering? Come, let me teach you how to make peace with your painful life. Go for meditation'
Such benevolent fools should be given some slapping lessons...
The difference between genius and stupidity is genius has limit - Einstein
Monday, February 08, 2016
Book on Robert Kuok
Read parts of a book on Robert Kuok at Bras Basah Popular bookstore 2 weeks back. Below is list of important things he said that I managed to get from the book.
- 2 most important things in life are raising the family and improving education of future generation as it is fundamental to a nation's progress and stability
If your plan is for 1 year, plant rice. If 10 years, plant trees. If 100 years, educate the young - Confucius
- when asked why he was so eager to help china when it started opening up during the 70s he said that he cannot forget his roots which is China and for 3,000 years ordinary Chinese led miserable lives. He saw an opportunity to contribute to turn that around
(CCK note: he quoted 3,000 years instead of 5,000 often used by many because he knew there is no historical proof of the latter)
- when Hu Jin Tao visited Malaysia and he donated rm100M to build Malaysian campus of Xiamen University, some asked why. Especially since some Malay politicians had arm twisted him and taken over some of his family's businesses (like his sugar business). He said that's because he was born in and grew up in Malaysia where his family first made their fortune. He was grateful to Malaysia for that.
(CCK note: that man refused to let the plunderers and thieves that lead the country discourage him from doing good for the rest of the country)
- Deng Xiao Ping's last official meeting as premier with foreigners was with a group of oversea Chinese businessmen where he thanked them for their contributions to help develop China. In the formal group photo Robert Kuok stood next to Deng which showed the extent of the man's contribution
(CCK note: all great people remember the contributions of others and take the effort to acknowledge them openly)
- when asked what he thought of Deng, Robert said that when talking to Deng he felt like Deng was 30-40 years his senior even though Deng was 19 years older in age
- he attributed his success to his mother whose advice to him was to always conduct business ethically (he showed CCTV interviewer a poem hand written by her to that effect before she passed on. She was a well educated woman who left home to go to Malaysia to marry his father who was an uneducated man but later managed to build a successful business. Sharp woman)
- 2 most important things in life are raising the family and improving education of future generation as it is fundamental to a nation's progress and stability
If your plan is for 1 year, plant rice. If 10 years, plant trees. If 100 years, educate the young - Confucius
- when asked why he was so eager to help china when it started opening up during the 70s he said that he cannot forget his roots which is China and for 3,000 years ordinary Chinese led miserable lives. He saw an opportunity to contribute to turn that around
(CCK note: he quoted 3,000 years instead of 5,000 often used by many because he knew there is no historical proof of the latter)
- when Hu Jin Tao visited Malaysia and he donated rm100M to build Malaysian campus of Xiamen University, some asked why. Especially since some Malay politicians had arm twisted him and taken over some of his family's businesses (like his sugar business). He said that's because he was born in and grew up in Malaysia where his family first made their fortune. He was grateful to Malaysia for that.
(CCK note: that man refused to let the plunderers and thieves that lead the country discourage him from doing good for the rest of the country)
- Deng Xiao Ping's last official meeting as premier with foreigners was with a group of oversea Chinese businessmen where he thanked them for their contributions to help develop China. In the formal group photo Robert Kuok stood next to Deng which showed the extent of the man's contribution
(CCK note: all great people remember the contributions of others and take the effort to acknowledge them openly)
- when asked what he thought of Deng, Robert said that when talking to Deng he felt like Deng was 30-40 years his senior even though Deng was 19 years older in age
- he attributed his success to his mother whose advice to him was to always conduct business ethically (he showed CCTV interviewer a poem hand written by her to that effect before she passed on. She was a well educated woman who left home to go to Malaysia to marry his father who was an uneducated man but later managed to build a successful business. Sharp woman)
Thursday, December 31, 2015
Even Fools Have Their Own Fools' Theories
[2015 updates at bottom]
Went to Tian's house (Aug 11 2012) to pick her mom up to go back to KL for 7th week commemoration of father's death (25th June 2012). Arrived around 6.30 pm. After dinner, I went to 'disturb' Tian who was at her PC and she complained that her bedroom was hot.
I told her that the room was hot because there was no air circulation through the room from outside (the air outside their house was actually cool!). The 16-inch fan (which I bought for them when they first moved in) in her room was not effective because it was placed against the wall next to her computer and was just re-circulating hot air inside the room!
Told her that the air outside their house is very cool (one can clearly feel the cool air outside the house just by stepping out) and her room would be much cooler if the outside air is introduced into the room by placing the fan at the window.
I had been telling her parents for a few years that they should open the glass door at the front of that room (so that there is a through passage) for cooler outside air to flow through her room but they had been giving all sorts of excuses over the years. One was for fear of snakes entering and then rats. I had suggested that they place mosquito netting over the door grilles to solve those problems. But nothing was done and they lived with the problem for years.
This time since Tian complained to me personally I decided to prove to her my 'theory' above by shifting the standing fan in her room to the window so that the fan can 'pull' cooler outside air into the room.
Together we shifted away her writing desk which was at the window to create space for the fan but then found that the extension power cable was not long enough. She then asked her father for a longer cable. While trying to find us one from the pergola area outside her room he hit onto a better solution.
There was another 12-inch fan (an old one from Singapore that I gave them) sitting on a table just outside Tian's room in the pergola area. He turned the fan around to point at the window of Tian's room so that it blew outside air through the window into the room!
Thinking that it was a better idea than placing the fan inside the room I shifted the larger fan and placed it next to the 12-inch fan and had both fans blowing through the window. Almost immediately Tian said that she could feel the temperature difference.
I then told her that that proved my theory and that I had told her parents that many times before - create a passage for cool outside breeze to enter and hot inside air to exit the house and to place fans at window and door openings to help with that air flow. (The way they took my suggestion must have been 'chay')
Tian then tried to come up with an excuse as to why they did not do what I had been telling them all along by saying that her mom said that the cause of the heat in her room was the lamps at the top of her room (therefore implying, I suppose, that she thought there was no solution).
I cut her short and told her that 'even fools have their own fools' theories'.
When I passed by her house 2 days later from KL I asked Tian if the fan solution above was effective. She said 'when sleeping at night it feels like air-con!'
Updates:
When I visited in 2013 I noticed that Tian was no more sleeping in her room. So took a look and those fans that used to be next to room window were no more there. (Whoever removed them must have 'chayed' the idea and not bothered to check it out nor ask Tian. Worse, Tian kept quiet and accepted it)
When buying KDK exhaust fan for mom's room from Simgapore in 2013, got additional one for Senggarang. Told Tian's parents most fan models push air from inside out and the only model that does the reverse can function both ways. I said there must be a reason for that since the engineers that design them would have considered everything (they are the 20% type). Left instructions with her dad to place fan above glass doors to push hot air from top of room out and buy a timer from MrDIY to turn on fan from around 3pm so it can start extracting hot air from room from then on so that by time Tian return from school or sleep room already cooled.
On next trip months later, I was surprised to find that the fan was installed in reverse to push air from outside into room ! So asked why that way and was told it was because at night the outside breeze flow in that direction! So I asked if room was cooler. Answer was no. Tian again not sleeping in that room. Also no timer.
I then told them that I already said there must be good reasons those fans were made to function that way why do opposite (unsaid reason: chay others, again). One can always put the horse at the back of the carriage but would not work as well. After knowing that, they should have quickly changed direction of fan.
On next trip months later (2015) brought timer for them but fan still not changed. I slept in the room and it was very hot around 3am. So next morning I asked with some anger Tian's mom why so long still no change. Tian's dad came over and said 'change, change lah why talk so loud?!' (inversion)
I was upset because i gave suggestions, bot things etc to help solve problem over so many years and they did reverse of standard convention based on their own inept theory! I was fine with that but when it was obvious that their non-conventional way didn't work they should quickly revert back right? If one wants to try put horse behind carriage but it doesn't work, one should quickly put horse back to proper position right?
Told Tian's father that if one wants to change one's fortune or environment one must act! Most people (80%) will not, which was why Chinese people live wretched lives for 5,000 years (no need science or chay those people).
My personal thought: As to the fans I bought for them and my helping over the years, it was all for comfort of his daughter but her parents still take them for granted. Worse, her dad took my eventual displeasure with their lack of initiative as fussing over small matter. Tian is almost 18 already and will soon be going for uni and leaving that house. How many years did she live in that house and with the heat in her room? Like KL house for 30 years, who cares.
Next trip at end Dec 2015 (during TYL visit) I saw fan reversed. Don't know if works.
Side Note - Tian's question on what school stream to choose:
After sharing with her my 'even fools have their theories' comment, Tian then told me that she was having diffculty deciding whether to take 'business stream' or 'sence stream' in school. She said she found science and maths 'hard' and worried that she may not be able to 'score' if she goes into science stream. Tian is very sharp and she got my fools theory comment very quickly (that was not the only instance of that) and I guess she wanted my view on her future studies.
Here are what I told her:
1. Science stream is 'hard to score' because they require real logic (real logic is not easy) and hard work, and smarter students tend to go into science stream. By going into science stream, one gets to improve one's thinking skills through science and maths better than if one is to take some other 'business' or 'arts' stream which require or has less emphasis on reasoning skills.
2. Do not do something because it is easier. That is what most people (the 80%) would do. But learning to do what 80% of people can do does not give one a differentiating advantage. One may be able to 'score' high but it is for something easy. If one can do only what 80% other people can do, then one will be competing with most other people for jobs. In that case, one only gets the income that 80% of people get. The analogy I gave her was jumping 2 feet is easy and one can score 100% but it is useless - everyone else can do it. But jumping 5 feet is not what everyone can do. Learning to jump 5 feet and scoring 50% is still better than scoring 100% on a 2 feet jump!
The next day I told her parents about her concern above and I pretended to wonder why she raised the issue with me - I wanted to fish out her parents' views so as to see if they are equipped to guide her. The response I got from her father was 'that problem (of which stream to choose) is 2 years down the road, no need to worry now!'. I kept quiet.
He has just given me the answer. The girl was thinking ahead but the father was following the popular Chinese saying 'when the boat gets to the jetty, it will align by itself'! (chuan dao qiao tou zhi ran ji). Why worry ahead?
Life Lesson 1:
In life every one including fools have their own little 'theory' (or view) on everything. The issue is how good, true or accurate it is. Not every theory is the same. Not all theories are equally close to the truth. In fact, there are more fools' theories than real insights. That is why modern scientific theories took such a long time to appear in human history. So beware of Fool's Theories! Never let your life be based on or influenced by some fools' theories.
Life Lesson 2:
Never follow the 80%. What the 80% knows and can do is not the secret to success.
Learn to do what the 80% does or learn and you will earn only what the 80% earns or live like them.
Life Lesson 3:
Thinking and Planning Ahead is what separates achievers from the 80%! Laid back ones and under-achievers take things as they come along. They do not think or plan ahead. Learning to plan or look ahead trains the mind to see a 'bigger picture'. People with big-picture will have advantage over narrow minded ones. In fact, some thinkers are of the opinion that human's ability to plan ahead is a key reason why humans got ahead of other animals.
'Chuan dao qiao tou zhi ran zi' applies only for small boats (small minds). Does not wok for Titanic...
Other 'theories':
Aquaponics with charchoal TSP
Keeping washing machinse safe from wire eating rats CPQ
Where got people build houses using steel? CPY
Death because of a weekend's break from work TSP
Not so cold means warm lah! waitress
Government indiscrimately printing money just does not make sense! Malay fella
Went to Tian's house (Aug 11 2012) to pick her mom up to go back to KL for 7th week commemoration of father's death (25th June 2012). Arrived around 6.30 pm. After dinner, I went to 'disturb' Tian who was at her PC and she complained that her bedroom was hot.
I told her that the room was hot because there was no air circulation through the room from outside (the air outside their house was actually cool!). The 16-inch fan (which I bought for them when they first moved in) in her room was not effective because it was placed against the wall next to her computer and was just re-circulating hot air inside the room!
Told her that the air outside their house is very cool (one can clearly feel the cool air outside the house just by stepping out) and her room would be much cooler if the outside air is introduced into the room by placing the fan at the window.
I had been telling her parents for a few years that they should open the glass door at the front of that room (so that there is a through passage) for cooler outside air to flow through her room but they had been giving all sorts of excuses over the years. One was for fear of snakes entering and then rats. I had suggested that they place mosquito netting over the door grilles to solve those problems. But nothing was done and they lived with the problem for years.
This time since Tian complained to me personally I decided to prove to her my 'theory' above by shifting the standing fan in her room to the window so that the fan can 'pull' cooler outside air into the room.
Together we shifted away her writing desk which was at the window to create space for the fan but then found that the extension power cable was not long enough. She then asked her father for a longer cable. While trying to find us one from the pergola area outside her room he hit onto a better solution.
There was another 12-inch fan (an old one from Singapore that I gave them) sitting on a table just outside Tian's room in the pergola area. He turned the fan around to point at the window of Tian's room so that it blew outside air through the window into the room!
Thinking that it was a better idea than placing the fan inside the room I shifted the larger fan and placed it next to the 12-inch fan and had both fans blowing through the window. Almost immediately Tian said that she could feel the temperature difference.
I then told her that that proved my theory and that I had told her parents that many times before - create a passage for cool outside breeze to enter and hot inside air to exit the house and to place fans at window and door openings to help with that air flow. (The way they took my suggestion must have been 'chay')
Tian then tried to come up with an excuse as to why they did not do what I had been telling them all along by saying that her mom said that the cause of the heat in her room was the lamps at the top of her room (therefore implying, I suppose, that she thought there was no solution).
I cut her short and told her that 'even fools have their own fools' theories'.
When I passed by her house 2 days later from KL I asked Tian if the fan solution above was effective. She said 'when sleeping at night it feels like air-con!'
Updates:
When I visited in 2013 I noticed that Tian was no more sleeping in her room. So took a look and those fans that used to be next to room window were no more there. (Whoever removed them must have 'chayed' the idea and not bothered to check it out nor ask Tian. Worse, Tian kept quiet and accepted it)
When buying KDK exhaust fan for mom's room from Simgapore in 2013, got additional one for Senggarang. Told Tian's parents most fan models push air from inside out and the only model that does the reverse can function both ways. I said there must be a reason for that since the engineers that design them would have considered everything (they are the 20% type). Left instructions with her dad to place fan above glass doors to push hot air from top of room out and buy a timer from MrDIY to turn on fan from around 3pm so it can start extracting hot air from room from then on so that by time Tian return from school or sleep room already cooled.
On next trip months later, I was surprised to find that the fan was installed in reverse to push air from outside into room ! So asked why that way and was told it was because at night the outside breeze flow in that direction! So I asked if room was cooler. Answer was no. Tian again not sleeping in that room. Also no timer.
I then told them that I already said there must be good reasons those fans were made to function that way why do opposite (unsaid reason: chay others, again). One can always put the horse at the back of the carriage but would not work as well. After knowing that, they should have quickly changed direction of fan.
On next trip months later (2015) brought timer for them but fan still not changed. I slept in the room and it was very hot around 3am. So next morning I asked with some anger Tian's mom why so long still no change. Tian's dad came over and said 'change, change lah why talk so loud?!' (inversion)
I was upset because i gave suggestions, bot things etc to help solve problem over so many years and they did reverse of standard convention based on their own inept theory! I was fine with that but when it was obvious that their non-conventional way didn't work they should quickly revert back right? If one wants to try put horse behind carriage but it doesn't work, one should quickly put horse back to proper position right?
Told Tian's father that if one wants to change one's fortune or environment one must act! Most people (80%) will not, which was why Chinese people live wretched lives for 5,000 years (no need science or chay those people).
My personal thought: As to the fans I bought for them and my helping over the years, it was all for comfort of his daughter but her parents still take them for granted. Worse, her dad took my eventual displeasure with their lack of initiative as fussing over small matter. Tian is almost 18 already and will soon be going for uni and leaving that house. How many years did she live in that house and with the heat in her room? Like KL house for 30 years, who cares.
Next trip at end Dec 2015 (during TYL visit) I saw fan reversed. Don't know if works.
Side Note - Tian's question on what school stream to choose:
After sharing with her my 'even fools have their theories' comment, Tian then told me that she was having diffculty deciding whether to take 'business stream' or 'sence stream' in school. She said she found science and maths 'hard' and worried that she may not be able to 'score' if she goes into science stream. Tian is very sharp and she got my fools theory comment very quickly (that was not the only instance of that) and I guess she wanted my view on her future studies.
Here are what I told her:
1. Science stream is 'hard to score' because they require real logic (real logic is not easy) and hard work, and smarter students tend to go into science stream. By going into science stream, one gets to improve one's thinking skills through science and maths better than if one is to take some other 'business' or 'arts' stream which require or has less emphasis on reasoning skills.
2. Do not do something because it is easier. That is what most people (the 80%) would do. But learning to do what 80% of people can do does not give one a differentiating advantage. One may be able to 'score' high but it is for something easy. If one can do only what 80% other people can do, then one will be competing with most other people for jobs. In that case, one only gets the income that 80% of people get. The analogy I gave her was jumping 2 feet is easy and one can score 100% but it is useless - everyone else can do it. But jumping 5 feet is not what everyone can do. Learning to jump 5 feet and scoring 50% is still better than scoring 100% on a 2 feet jump!
The next day I told her parents about her concern above and I pretended to wonder why she raised the issue with me - I wanted to fish out her parents' views so as to see if they are equipped to guide her. The response I got from her father was 'that problem (of which stream to choose) is 2 years down the road, no need to worry now!'. I kept quiet.
He has just given me the answer. The girl was thinking ahead but the father was following the popular Chinese saying 'when the boat gets to the jetty, it will align by itself'! (chuan dao qiao tou zhi ran ji). Why worry ahead?
Life Lesson 1:
In life every one including fools have their own little 'theory' (or view) on everything. The issue is how good, true or accurate it is. Not every theory is the same. Not all theories are equally close to the truth. In fact, there are more fools' theories than real insights. That is why modern scientific theories took such a long time to appear in human history. So beware of Fool's Theories! Never let your life be based on or influenced by some fools' theories.
Life Lesson 2:
Never follow the 80%. What the 80% knows and can do is not the secret to success.
Learn to do what the 80% does or learn and you will earn only what the 80% earns or live like them.
Life Lesson 3:
Thinking and Planning Ahead is what separates achievers from the 80%! Laid back ones and under-achievers take things as they come along. They do not think or plan ahead. Learning to plan or look ahead trains the mind to see a 'bigger picture'. People with big-picture will have advantage over narrow minded ones. In fact, some thinkers are of the opinion that human's ability to plan ahead is a key reason why humans got ahead of other animals.
'Chuan dao qiao tou zhi ran zi' applies only for small boats (small minds). Does not wok for Titanic...
Other 'theories':
Aquaponics with charchoal TSP
Keeping washing machinse safe from wire eating rats CPQ
Where got people build houses using steel? CPY
Death because of a weekend's break from work TSP
Not so cold means warm lah! waitress
Government indiscrimately printing money just does not make sense! Malay fella
Saturday, August 17, 2013
Cost of University Education
CCK note: Some thieves in Singapore claim that it would take more than S$500,000 for 'overseas university' education.
http://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/america-second-most-expensive-country-162327408.html
America Is The Second Most Expensive Country In The World For International Students
By Mandi Woodruff | Business Insider
The U.S. is the world’s second most expensive country for international students, according to new research from HSBC Group.
We beat out both the U.K. ($30,000/year) and the United Arab Emirates ($27,000).
The only country more expensive than the U.S. is Australia, where, according to HSBC, international students will spend $38,515 per year thanks to the growing strength of the Australian Dollar.
So, where can international students get the most bang for their buck?
Unsurprisingly, Germany is a steal for out-of-towners, costing just $6,285 USD per year. Germany is a rare case, given that most of its 16 states offer free tuition and those that don't barely charge more than $1,000 USD per semester.
Check out the table below to see how other countries ranked.
Table: Average annual cost of Studying Abroad for International Students
In US$ per year
http://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/america-second-most-expensive-country-162327408.html
America Is The Second Most Expensive Country In The World For International Students
By Mandi Woodruff | Business Insider
The U.S. is the world’s second most expensive country for international students, according to new research from HSBC Group.
Between university fees and living expenses, foreigners wind up shelling out more than $35,000 per year for an American degree. That price tag nearly doubles for students enrolling at Ivy League schools, where they'll spend more than $58,000.
We beat out both the U.K. ($30,000/year) and the United Arab Emirates ($27,000).
The only country more expensive than the U.S. is Australia, where, according to HSBC, international students will spend $38,515 per year thanks to the growing strength of the Australian Dollar.
So, where can international students get the most bang for their buck?
Unsurprisingly, Germany is a steal for out-of-towners, costing just $6,285 USD per year. Germany is a rare case, given that most of its 16 states offer free tuition and those that don't barely charge more than $1,000 USD per semester.
Check out the table below to see how other countries ranked.
Table: Average annual cost of Studying Abroad for International Students
Country
|
Annual Fees
|
Annual Cost of living
|
Annual Total
|
| Australia |
$25,375
|
$13,140
|
$38,516
|
| United States |
$25,226
|
$10,479
|
$35,705
|
| United Kingdom |
$19,291
|
$11,034
|
$30,325
|
| United Arab Emirates |
$21,371
|
$6,004
|
$27,375
|
| Canada |
$18,474
|
$7,537
|
$26,011
|
| Singapore |
$14,885
|
$9,363
|
$24,248
|
| Hong Kong |
$13,182
|
$9,261
|
$22,443
|
| Japan |
$6,522
|
$12,642
|
$19,164
|
| Russia |
$3,131
|
$6,310
|
$9,441
|
| China |
$3,983
|
$4,783
|
$8,766
|
| Taiwan |
$3,270
|
$4,987
|
$8,257
|
| Spain |
$1,002
|
$6,004
|
$7,006
|
| Germany |
$635
|
$5,650
|
$6,285
|
In US$ per year
Monday, June 10, 2013
20 Completely Ridiculous College Courses Being Offered At U.S. Universities
Below article from Zerohedge dated 7 June 2013
CCK Notes:
1. Schools sell what students demand. So the courses below are a reflection of the simple mindedness of their young which is a reflection of their parents' way of thinking (blind leading the blind). That in turn is a reflection of the entire country's way of life.
2. That country had lost sense of what it takes to maintain a high standard of living i.e. a high standard of living can only be achieved by way of producing real stuffs of high value. That's because for 40 years (at least) they found that they could bluff the entire world by buying things that they consume by printing money (instead of producing real goods) and robbing other countries (e.g. attacking and robbing resource rich countries like Iraq, Libya etc)
3. Overtime, that led their people (parents and children) to think that wealth can come by way of doing anything they like as long as they 'enjoy' it instead of asking the question 'how does this improve my REAL skills/knowledge to enable me to live productively and out-compete billions of other people?' every time they do something.
4. That is the risk to children of people that steal instead of produce - the thieving parents do not know what it takes to earn a living by way of real work themselves and so they cannot teach their children how and what it takes to make an honest living. As a result, their children think that everything in life comes easy and they look for 'the easiest way' to everything (no stress, little work, little thinking etc.) or go for 'cheap thrills' ('no brainers' that anyone can do without thinking). Worse, people/governments that rob/steal will never tell their children about it. Instead they are very generous with money (since it does not belong to them) and that generosity spoils their kids even more.
5. Since their economy is basically a hollow shell the country finds that there is not enough real jobs for their young. So they try to keep them out of the job market as long as possible by encouraging their kids to go to 'college' (university) so as to delay the disappointment the young will encounter with joblessness. It is called 'buying time' or 'kicking the can down the road'.
6. Furthermore, having kids and families spend or borrow money to spend on university education helps support one part of their economy i.e. the 'education sector' and keep some people mistakenly taken as 'teachers' employed (schooling like running prisons is now big business in the US and many countries).
7. Worse, their banks (encouraged by their government) lend more than the students need because it is a 'scheme' to encourage people to borrow and spend. The 'hope' is the increased spending will help 'grow' their economy. But economies do not grow by people borrowing (or stealing) and spending more but by producing more.
8. But 'living a lie' can only last so long. Sooner or later, their young will have to go out to earn a living but will find out that what they 'learnt' in school (or at home) is of little value and do not help them pay for the expensive way of life they were used to and the huge student loans they are saddled with. (40-60% of youths i.e. people under 25 years old and 17-20% of the population in the US and many countries in the EU are jobless or under-employed)
9. That then lead to massive riots by those disillusioned people looking for some one to blame. All the riots we read in the news everywhere around the world the last few years and years to come have similar origins.
10. So young people of the world be careful with who you learn from and the choices you make with your lives. Think, think, think...
Submitted by Michael Snyder of The Economc Collapse blog,
Would you like to know what America's young people are actually learning while they are away at college? It isn't pretty. Yes, there are some very highly technical fields where students are being taught some very important skills, but for the most part U.S. college students are learning very little that they will actually use out in the real world when they graduate. Some of the college courses listed below are funny, others are truly bizarre, others are just plain outrageous, but all of them are a waste of money. If we are going to continue to have a system where we insist that our young people invest several years of their lives and tens of thousands of dollars getting a "college education", they might as well be learning some useful skills in the process. This is especially true considering how much student loan debt many of our young people are piling up. Sadly, the truth is that right now college education in the United States is a total joke. I know - I spent eight years in the system. Most college courses are so easy that they could be passed by the family dog, and many of these courses "study" some of the most absurd things imaginable.
Listed below are 20 completely ridiculous college courses being offered at U.S. universities. The description following each course title either comes directly from the official course description or from a news story about the course...
1. "What If Harry Potter Is Real?" (Appalachian State University) - This course will engage students with questions about the very nature of history. Who decides what history is? Who decides how it is used or mis-used? How does this use or misuse affect us? How can the historical imagination inform literature and fantasy? How can fantasy reshape how we look at history? The Harry Potter novels and films are fertile ground for exploring all of these deeper questions. By looking at the actual geography of the novels, real and imagined historical events portrayed in the novels, the reactions of scholars in all the social sciences to the novels, and the world-wide frenzy inspired by them, students will examine issues of race, class, gender, time, place, the uses of space and movement, the role of multiculturalism in history as well as how to read a novel and how to read scholarly essays to get the most out of them.
2. "God, Sex, Chocolate: Desire and the Spiritual Path" (UC San Diego) - Who shapes our desire? Who suffers for it? Do we control our desire or does desire control us? When we yield to desire, do we become more fully ourselves or must we deny it to find an authentic identity beneath? How have religious & philosophical approaches dealt with the problem of desire?
3. "GaGa for Gaga: Sex, Gender, and Identity" (The University Of Virginia) - In Graduate Arts & Sciences student Christa Romanosky's ongoing ENWR 1510 class, "GaGa for Gaga: Sex, Gender, and Identity," students analyze how the musician pushes social boundaries with her work. For this introductory course to argumentative essay writing, Romanosky chose the Lady Gaga theme to establish an engaging framework for critical analysis.
4. "Lady Gaga and the Sociology of Fame" (The University Of South Carolina) - Lady Gaga may not have much class but now there is a class on her. The University of South Carolina is offering a class called Lady Gaga and the Sociology of Fame. Mathieu Deflem, the professor teaching the course describes it as aiming to “unravel some of the sociologically relevant dimensions of the fame of Lady Gaga with respect to her music, videos, fashion, and other artistic endeavours.”
5. "Philosophy And Star Trek" (Georgetown) - Star Trek is very philosophical. What better way, then, to learn philosophy, than to watch Star Trek, read philosophy, and hash it all out in class? That's the plan. This course is basically an introduction to certain topics in metaphysics and epistemology philosophy, centered around major philosophical questions that come up again and again in Star Trek. In conjunction with watching Star Trek, we will read excerpts from the writings of great philosophers, extract key concepts and arguments and then analyze those arguments.
6. "Invented Languages: Klingon and Beyond" (The University Of Texas) - Why would anyone want to learn Klingon? Who really speaks Esperanto, anyway? Could there ever be a language based entirely on musical scales? Using constructed/invented languages as a vehicle, we will try to answer these questions as we discuss current ideas about linguistic theory, especially ideas surrounding the interaction of language and society. For example, what is it about the structure of Klingon that makes it look so "alien"? What was it about early 20th century Europe that spawned so many so-called "universal" languages? Can a language be inherently sexist? We will consider constructed/invented languages from a variety of viewpoints, such as languages created as fictional plot-devices, for philosophical debates, to serve an international function, and languages created for private fun. We won't be learning any one language specifically, but we will be learning about the art, ideas, and goals behind invented languages using diverse sources from literature, the internet, films, video games, and other aspects of popular culture.
7. "The Science Of Superheroes" (UC Irvine) - Have you ever wondered if Superman could really bend steel bars? Would a “gamma ray” accident turn you into the Hulk? What is a “spidey-sense”? And just who did think of all these superheroes and their powers? In this seminar, we discuss the science (or lack of science) behind many of the most famous superheroes. Even more amazing, we will discuss what kind of superheroes might be imagined using our current scientific understanding.
8. "Learning From YouTube" (Pitzer College) - About 35 students meet in a classroom but work mostly online, where they view YouTube content and post their comments. Class lessons also are posted and students are encouraged to post videos. One class member, for instance, posted a 1:36-minute video of himself juggling.
9. "Arguing with Judge Judy" (UC Berkeley) - TV "Judge" shows have become extremely popular in the last 3-5 years. A fascinating aspect of these shows from a rhetorical point of view is the number of arguments made by the litigants that are utterly illogical, or perversions of standard logic, and yet are used over and over again. For example, when asked "Did you hit the plaintiff?" respondents often say, "If I woulda hit him, he'd be dead!" This reply avoids answering "yes" or "no" by presenting a perverted form of the logical strategy called "a fortiori" argument ["from the stronger"] in Latin. The seminar will be concerned with identifying such apparently popular logical fallacies on "Judge Judy" and "The People's Court" and discussing why such strategies are so widespread. It is NOT a course about law or "legal reasoning." Students who are interested in logic, argument, TV, and American popular culture will probably be interested in this course. I emphasize that it is NOT about the application of law or the operations of the court system in general.
10. "Elvis As Anthology" (The University Of Iowa) - The class, “Elvis as Anthology,” focuses on Presley’s relationship to African American history, social change, and aesthetics. It focuses not just on Elvis, but on other artists who inspired him and whom he inspired.
11. "The Feminist Critique Of Christianity" (The University Of Pennsylvania) - An overview of the past decades of feminist scholarship about Christian and post-Christian historians and theologians who offer a feminist perspective on traditional Christian theology and practice. This course is a critical overview of this material, presented with a summary of Christian biblical studies, history and theology, and with a special interest in constructive attempts at creating a spiritual tradition with women's experience at the center.
12. "Zombies In Popular Media" (Columbia College) - This course explores the history, significance, and representation of the zombie as a figure in horror and fantasy texts. Instruction follows an intense schedule, using critical theory and source media (literature, comics, and films) to spur discussion and exploration of the figure's many incarnations. Daily assignments focus on reflection and commentary, while final projects foster thoughtful connections between student disciplines and the figure of the zombie.
13. "Far Side Entomology" (Oregon State) - For the last 20 years, a scientist at Oregon State University has used Gary Larson's cartoons as a teaching tool. The result has been a generation of students learning — and laughing — about insects.
14. "Interrogating Gender: Centuries of Dramatic Cross-Dressing" (Swarthmore) - Do clothes make the man? Or the woman? Do men make better women? Or women better men? Is gender a costume we put on and take off? Are we really all always in drag? Does gender-bending lead to transcendence or chaos? These questions and their ramifications for liminalities of race, nationality and sexuality will be our focus in a course that examines dramatic works from The Bacchae to M. Butterfly.
15. "Oh, Look, a Chicken!" Embracing Distraction as a Way of Knowing (Belmont University) - Students must write papers using their personal research on the five senses. Entsminger reads aloud illustrated books The Simple People and Toby’s Toe to teach lessons about what to value by being alive. Students listen to music while doodling in class. Another project requires students to put themselves in situations where they will be distracted and write a reflection tracking how they got back to their original intent.
16. "The Textual Appeal of Tupac Shakur" (University of Washington) - The UW is not the first college with a class dedicated to Shakur -- classes on the rapper have been offered at the University of California Berkeley and Harvard -- but it is the first to relate Shakur's work to literature.
17. "Cyberporn And Society" (State University of New York at Buffalo) - With classwork like this, who needs to play? Undergraduates taking Cyberporn and Society at the State University of New York at Buffalo survey Internet porn sites.
18. "Sport For The Spectator" (The Ohio State University) - Develop an appreciation of sport as a spectacle, social event, recreational pursuit, business, and entertainment. Develop the ability to identify issues that affect the sport and spectator behavior.
19. "Getting Dressed" (Princeton) - Jenna Weissman Joselit looks over the roomful of freshmen in front of her and asks them to perform a warm-up exercise: Chart the major moments of your lives through clothes. "If you pop open your closet, can you recall your lives?" she posits on the first day of the freshman seminar "Getting Dressed."
20. "How To Watch Television" (Montclair) - This course, open to both broadcasting majors and non-majors, is about analyzing television in the ways and to the extent to which it needs to be understood by its audience. The aim is for students to critically evaluate the role and impact of television in their lives as well as in the life of the culture. The means to achieve this aim is an approach that combines media theory and criticism with media education.
Are you starting to understand why our college graduates can't function effectively when they graduate and go out into the real world?
All of this would be completely hilarious if not for the fact that we have millions of young people going into enormous amounts of debt to pay to go to these colleges.
In America today, college education has become a giant money making scam. We have a system that absolutely throws money at our young people, but we never warn them about the consequences of all of these loans. The following is an excerpt from an email that one reader sent me recently about the student loan industry...
For example, one woman told me that her and her husband sat down and thought of every possible expense they could when they were applying for parent/student loan for their daughter. When the approval came back, they were approved for 7k more than they asked for…how about ****! Of course at 7%, why not! Funny thing is they kept the 7k, because she’s in wealth management and said she could “easily” get more than 7% in the stock market……awesome! I have another example of a younger friend of mine who graduated law school from Vanderbilt with 210k in student loans. I asked if tuition was that much there. She said kind of, but they kept offering more than the actual tuition, so she took it and used it for a better lifestyle. Now 20% of her income goes to pay those loans, and it’s still not enough to touch one dollar of the principal…so all she is doing is paying interest, and building on principal…like a revers amortizing mortgage. To make it worse, she was able to save 25k, so she is going to buy a house somehow. Having explained to her that the best investment in the world is to pay off a high interest loan, she said I’m tired of waiting to have a life.
In a recent article entitled "The Student Loan Delinquency Rate In The United States Has Hit A Brand New Record High" I detailed how nightmarish our student loan debt bubble is becoming. According to the Federal Reserve, the total amount of student loan debt has risen by 275 percent since 2003, and it just continues to soar.
A college education can be a wonderful thing, but right now we have got a system that is deeply, deeply broken.
So what do you think about our system of higher education?
CCK Notes:
1. Schools sell what students demand. So the courses below are a reflection of the simple mindedness of their young which is a reflection of their parents' way of thinking (blind leading the blind). That in turn is a reflection of the entire country's way of life.
2. That country had lost sense of what it takes to maintain a high standard of living i.e. a high standard of living can only be achieved by way of producing real stuffs of high value. That's because for 40 years (at least) they found that they could bluff the entire world by buying things that they consume by printing money (instead of producing real goods) and robbing other countries (e.g. attacking and robbing resource rich countries like Iraq, Libya etc)
3. Overtime, that led their people (parents and children) to think that wealth can come by way of doing anything they like as long as they 'enjoy' it instead of asking the question 'how does this improve my REAL skills/knowledge to enable me to live productively and out-compete billions of other people?' every time they do something.
4. That is the risk to children of people that steal instead of produce - the thieving parents do not know what it takes to earn a living by way of real work themselves and so they cannot teach their children how and what it takes to make an honest living. As a result, their children think that everything in life comes easy and they look for 'the easiest way' to everything (no stress, little work, little thinking etc.) or go for 'cheap thrills' ('no brainers' that anyone can do without thinking). Worse, people/governments that rob/steal will never tell their children about it. Instead they are very generous with money (since it does not belong to them) and that generosity spoils their kids even more.
5. Since their economy is basically a hollow shell the country finds that there is not enough real jobs for their young. So they try to keep them out of the job market as long as possible by encouraging their kids to go to 'college' (university) so as to delay the disappointment the young will encounter with joblessness. It is called 'buying time' or 'kicking the can down the road'.
6. Furthermore, having kids and families spend or borrow money to spend on university education helps support one part of their economy i.e. the 'education sector' and keep some people mistakenly taken as 'teachers' employed (schooling like running prisons is now big business in the US and many countries).
7. Worse, their banks (encouraged by their government) lend more than the students need because it is a 'scheme' to encourage people to borrow and spend. The 'hope' is the increased spending will help 'grow' their economy. But economies do not grow by people borrowing (or stealing) and spending more but by producing more.
8. But 'living a lie' can only last so long. Sooner or later, their young will have to go out to earn a living but will find out that what they 'learnt' in school (or at home) is of little value and do not help them pay for the expensive way of life they were used to and the huge student loans they are saddled with. (40-60% of youths i.e. people under 25 years old and 17-20% of the population in the US and many countries in the EU are jobless or under-employed)
9. That then lead to massive riots by those disillusioned people looking for some one to blame. All the riots we read in the news everywhere around the world the last few years and years to come have similar origins.
10. So young people of the world be careful with who you learn from and the choices you make with your lives. Think, think, think...
20 Completely Ridiculous College Courses Being Offered At U.S. Universities
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-06-07/20-completely-ridiculous-college-courses-being-offered-us-universitiesSubmitted by Michael Snyder of The Economc Collapse blog,
Would you like to know what America's young people are actually learning while they are away at college? It isn't pretty. Yes, there are some very highly technical fields where students are being taught some very important skills, but for the most part U.S. college students are learning very little that they will actually use out in the real world when they graduate. Some of the college courses listed below are funny, others are truly bizarre, others are just plain outrageous, but all of them are a waste of money. If we are going to continue to have a system where we insist that our young people invest several years of their lives and tens of thousands of dollars getting a "college education", they might as well be learning some useful skills in the process. This is especially true considering how much student loan debt many of our young people are piling up. Sadly, the truth is that right now college education in the United States is a total joke. I know - I spent eight years in the system. Most college courses are so easy that they could be passed by the family dog, and many of these courses "study" some of the most absurd things imaginable.
Listed below are 20 completely ridiculous college courses being offered at U.S. universities. The description following each course title either comes directly from the official course description or from a news story about the course...
1. "What If Harry Potter Is Real?" (Appalachian State University) - This course will engage students with questions about the very nature of history. Who decides what history is? Who decides how it is used or mis-used? How does this use or misuse affect us? How can the historical imagination inform literature and fantasy? How can fantasy reshape how we look at history? The Harry Potter novels and films are fertile ground for exploring all of these deeper questions. By looking at the actual geography of the novels, real and imagined historical events portrayed in the novels, the reactions of scholars in all the social sciences to the novels, and the world-wide frenzy inspired by them, students will examine issues of race, class, gender, time, place, the uses of space and movement, the role of multiculturalism in history as well as how to read a novel and how to read scholarly essays to get the most out of them.
2. "God, Sex, Chocolate: Desire and the Spiritual Path" (UC San Diego) - Who shapes our desire? Who suffers for it? Do we control our desire or does desire control us? When we yield to desire, do we become more fully ourselves or must we deny it to find an authentic identity beneath? How have religious & philosophical approaches dealt with the problem of desire?
3. "GaGa for Gaga: Sex, Gender, and Identity" (The University Of Virginia) - In Graduate Arts & Sciences student Christa Romanosky's ongoing ENWR 1510 class, "GaGa for Gaga: Sex, Gender, and Identity," students analyze how the musician pushes social boundaries with her work. For this introductory course to argumentative essay writing, Romanosky chose the Lady Gaga theme to establish an engaging framework for critical analysis.
4. "Lady Gaga and the Sociology of Fame" (The University Of South Carolina) - Lady Gaga may not have much class but now there is a class on her. The University of South Carolina is offering a class called Lady Gaga and the Sociology of Fame. Mathieu Deflem, the professor teaching the course describes it as aiming to “unravel some of the sociologically relevant dimensions of the fame of Lady Gaga with respect to her music, videos, fashion, and other artistic endeavours.”
5. "Philosophy And Star Trek" (Georgetown) - Star Trek is very philosophical. What better way, then, to learn philosophy, than to watch Star Trek, read philosophy, and hash it all out in class? That's the plan. This course is basically an introduction to certain topics in metaphysics and epistemology philosophy, centered around major philosophical questions that come up again and again in Star Trek. In conjunction with watching Star Trek, we will read excerpts from the writings of great philosophers, extract key concepts and arguments and then analyze those arguments.
6. "Invented Languages: Klingon and Beyond" (The University Of Texas) - Why would anyone want to learn Klingon? Who really speaks Esperanto, anyway? Could there ever be a language based entirely on musical scales? Using constructed/invented languages as a vehicle, we will try to answer these questions as we discuss current ideas about linguistic theory, especially ideas surrounding the interaction of language and society. For example, what is it about the structure of Klingon that makes it look so "alien"? What was it about early 20th century Europe that spawned so many so-called "universal" languages? Can a language be inherently sexist? We will consider constructed/invented languages from a variety of viewpoints, such as languages created as fictional plot-devices, for philosophical debates, to serve an international function, and languages created for private fun. We won't be learning any one language specifically, but we will be learning about the art, ideas, and goals behind invented languages using diverse sources from literature, the internet, films, video games, and other aspects of popular culture.
7. "The Science Of Superheroes" (UC Irvine) - Have you ever wondered if Superman could really bend steel bars? Would a “gamma ray” accident turn you into the Hulk? What is a “spidey-sense”? And just who did think of all these superheroes and their powers? In this seminar, we discuss the science (or lack of science) behind many of the most famous superheroes. Even more amazing, we will discuss what kind of superheroes might be imagined using our current scientific understanding.
8. "Learning From YouTube" (Pitzer College) - About 35 students meet in a classroom but work mostly online, where they view YouTube content and post their comments. Class lessons also are posted and students are encouraged to post videos. One class member, for instance, posted a 1:36-minute video of himself juggling.
9. "Arguing with Judge Judy" (UC Berkeley) - TV "Judge" shows have become extremely popular in the last 3-5 years. A fascinating aspect of these shows from a rhetorical point of view is the number of arguments made by the litigants that are utterly illogical, or perversions of standard logic, and yet are used over and over again. For example, when asked "Did you hit the plaintiff?" respondents often say, "If I woulda hit him, he'd be dead!" This reply avoids answering "yes" or "no" by presenting a perverted form of the logical strategy called "a fortiori" argument ["from the stronger"] in Latin. The seminar will be concerned with identifying such apparently popular logical fallacies on "Judge Judy" and "The People's Court" and discussing why such strategies are so widespread. It is NOT a course about law or "legal reasoning." Students who are interested in logic, argument, TV, and American popular culture will probably be interested in this course. I emphasize that it is NOT about the application of law or the operations of the court system in general.
10. "Elvis As Anthology" (The University Of Iowa) - The class, “Elvis as Anthology,” focuses on Presley’s relationship to African American history, social change, and aesthetics. It focuses not just on Elvis, but on other artists who inspired him and whom he inspired.
11. "The Feminist Critique Of Christianity" (The University Of Pennsylvania) - An overview of the past decades of feminist scholarship about Christian and post-Christian historians and theologians who offer a feminist perspective on traditional Christian theology and practice. This course is a critical overview of this material, presented with a summary of Christian biblical studies, history and theology, and with a special interest in constructive attempts at creating a spiritual tradition with women's experience at the center.
12. "Zombies In Popular Media" (Columbia College) - This course explores the history, significance, and representation of the zombie as a figure in horror and fantasy texts. Instruction follows an intense schedule, using critical theory and source media (literature, comics, and films) to spur discussion and exploration of the figure's many incarnations. Daily assignments focus on reflection and commentary, while final projects foster thoughtful connections between student disciplines and the figure of the zombie.
13. "Far Side Entomology" (Oregon State) - For the last 20 years, a scientist at Oregon State University has used Gary Larson's cartoons as a teaching tool. The result has been a generation of students learning — and laughing — about insects.
14. "Interrogating Gender: Centuries of Dramatic Cross-Dressing" (Swarthmore) - Do clothes make the man? Or the woman? Do men make better women? Or women better men? Is gender a costume we put on and take off? Are we really all always in drag? Does gender-bending lead to transcendence or chaos? These questions and their ramifications for liminalities of race, nationality and sexuality will be our focus in a course that examines dramatic works from The Bacchae to M. Butterfly.
15. "Oh, Look, a Chicken!" Embracing Distraction as a Way of Knowing (Belmont University) - Students must write papers using their personal research on the five senses. Entsminger reads aloud illustrated books The Simple People and Toby’s Toe to teach lessons about what to value by being alive. Students listen to music while doodling in class. Another project requires students to put themselves in situations where they will be distracted and write a reflection tracking how they got back to their original intent.
16. "The Textual Appeal of Tupac Shakur" (University of Washington) - The UW is not the first college with a class dedicated to Shakur -- classes on the rapper have been offered at the University of California Berkeley and Harvard -- but it is the first to relate Shakur's work to literature.
17. "Cyberporn And Society" (State University of New York at Buffalo) - With classwork like this, who needs to play? Undergraduates taking Cyberporn and Society at the State University of New York at Buffalo survey Internet porn sites.
18. "Sport For The Spectator" (The Ohio State University) - Develop an appreciation of sport as a spectacle, social event, recreational pursuit, business, and entertainment. Develop the ability to identify issues that affect the sport and spectator behavior.
19. "Getting Dressed" (Princeton) - Jenna Weissman Joselit looks over the roomful of freshmen in front of her and asks them to perform a warm-up exercise: Chart the major moments of your lives through clothes. "If you pop open your closet, can you recall your lives?" she posits on the first day of the freshman seminar "Getting Dressed."
20. "How To Watch Television" (Montclair) - This course, open to both broadcasting majors and non-majors, is about analyzing television in the ways and to the extent to which it needs to be understood by its audience. The aim is for students to critically evaluate the role and impact of television in their lives as well as in the life of the culture. The means to achieve this aim is an approach that combines media theory and criticism with media education.
Are you starting to understand why our college graduates can't function effectively when they graduate and go out into the real world?
All of this would be completely hilarious if not for the fact that we have millions of young people going into enormous amounts of debt to pay to go to these colleges.
In America today, college education has become a giant money making scam. We have a system that absolutely throws money at our young people, but we never warn them about the consequences of all of these loans. The following is an excerpt from an email that one reader sent me recently about the student loan industry...
For example, one woman told me that her and her husband sat down and thought of every possible expense they could when they were applying for parent/student loan for their daughter. When the approval came back, they were approved for 7k more than they asked for…how about ****! Of course at 7%, why not! Funny thing is they kept the 7k, because she’s in wealth management and said she could “easily” get more than 7% in the stock market……awesome! I have another example of a younger friend of mine who graduated law school from Vanderbilt with 210k in student loans. I asked if tuition was that much there. She said kind of, but they kept offering more than the actual tuition, so she took it and used it for a better lifestyle. Now 20% of her income goes to pay those loans, and it’s still not enough to touch one dollar of the principal…so all she is doing is paying interest, and building on principal…like a revers amortizing mortgage. To make it worse, she was able to save 25k, so she is going to buy a house somehow. Having explained to her that the best investment in the world is to pay off a high interest loan, she said I’m tired of waiting to have a life.
In a recent article entitled "The Student Loan Delinquency Rate In The United States Has Hit A Brand New Record High" I detailed how nightmarish our student loan debt bubble is becoming. According to the Federal Reserve, the total amount of student loan debt has risen by 275 percent since 2003, and it just continues to soar.
A college education can be a wonderful thing, but right now we have got a system that is deeply, deeply broken.
So what do you think about our system of higher education?
Friday, June 07, 2013
You Are About to Become Obsolete; Perhaps You Already Are (But You Don't Realise it Yet)
Article from Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis dated 31 May 2013
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2013/05/you-are-about-to-become-obsolete.html#3F4YV8AiWQQDUhPM.99
A friend of mine sent a thought provoking link to a book-in-progress called Robots Will Steal Your Job But That's OK.
The author, Federico Pistono, periodically writes a new chapter and I just signed up for updates.
The introduction caught my eye.
You are about to become obsolete. You think you are special, unique, and that whatever it is that you are doing is impossible to replace. You are wrong. As we speak, millions of algorithms created by computer scientists are frantically running on servers all over the world, with one sole purpose: do whatever humans can do, but better. These algorithms are intelligent computer programs, permeating the substrate of our society. They make financial decisions, they predict the weather, they predict which countries will wage war next. Soon, there will be little left for us to do: machines will take over.
Does that sound like some futuristic fantasy? Perhaps. This argument is proposed by a growing yet still fringe community of thinkers, scientists, and academics, who see the advancement of technology as a disruptive force, which will soon transform our entire socioeconomic system forever. According to them, the displacement of labour by machines and computer intelligence will increase dramatically over the next few decades. Such changes will be so drastic and quick that the market will not be able to abide in creating new opportunities for workers who have lost their jobs, making unemployment not just part of a cycle, but structural in nature and chronically irreversible. It will be the end of work as we know it.
Most economists discard such arguments. Many of them don’t even address the issue in the first place. And those who do address this issue claim that the market always finds a way. As machines replace old jobs, new jobs are created. Thanks to the ingenuity of the human mind and the need for growth, markets always find a way, especially in the ever-connected and globalised mass market we live in today.
In this book I will try to avoid picking either side based on belief, gut feeling, or hunch. Rather, I will attempt to engage in informed logical reasoning, based on the evidence we have so far.
The book is divided into three parts. First, we will explore the topic of technological unemployment and its impact on work and society – I chose to focus on the US economy, but the same argument applies to most the industrialised world. In the second part we will look into the nature of work itself and the relationship between work and happiness. The last part is a bold attempt to provide some practical suggestions on how to deal with the issues presented in the first two parts. Doing a thorough examination of each section would require a monumental effort, possibly resulting in thousands of pages, far exceeding the purpose of this book. My intention is not to write a complete academic report, but rather to initiate a discussion about what I think will soon be one of the biggest challenges that we have to face as a society and as individuals. Too often we treat various issues as separate subjects, not realising the interconnected nature of our reality. This mistake has made us weak and vulnerable. Over the last 70 years, we have set the stage of our own demise. We have become increasingly discontent, the quality of our relationships have diminished, and we have lost track of what really matters. Today, as the comedian Louis CK has noted: “Everything is amazing, and nobody is happy!” It is time to take a step back and think about where we are going.
Let us begin the journey. ...
Part I is on Automation and Unemployment, and consists of five chapters. Parts II and III are not yet posted. Inquiring minds may wish to follow the journey.
What If?
In the following short 4-minute video Federico Pistono asks "What if the jobs cannot come back? What if it is intrinsically impossible for the jobs to come back? What if unemployment is structural?"
Here is a 17 minute video that is also worth a look. Pistono argues "no one is safe" while asking "what happens if Walmart fully automates?"
Here is my favorite snip from the video: "As much as 80% of the people hate their job. That's four out of five spending most of their useful life doing something they don't particularly enjoy. We are in kind of a work paradox because we work long and hard hours, on jobs we hate, to buy things we don't need, to impress people we don't like. Genius!"
Structurally High Unemployment
For several years I have been writing about the concept of "Structurally High Unemployment" but Pistono goes far beyond that. He explores the idea this is not just another creative destruction phase that will be followed by another job boom, but rather this is the end, computer intelligence is why, and that's a great thing!
Pistono's socialistic vision of the future is that robots will do everything, there are infinite resources, no one has to work, and we all live happily ever after.
To say I disagree about that Pollyanna endgame is putting things mildly. And since I believe there is no work-free nirvana, here's the key question: what if Pistono is half-right, that no job is safe, that no jobs are coming, but robots do not provide the "But that's OK" nirvana Pistono imagines.
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2013/05/you-are-about-to-become-obsolete.html#3F4YV8AiWQQDUhPM.99
A friend of mine sent a thought provoking link to a book-in-progress called Robots Will Steal Your Job But That's OK.
The author, Federico Pistono, periodically writes a new chapter and I just signed up for updates.
The introduction caught my eye.
Introduction
You are about to become obsolete. You think you are special, unique, and that whatever it is that you are doing is impossible to replace. You are wrong. As we speak, millions of algorithms created by computer scientists are frantically running on servers all over the world, with one sole purpose: do whatever humans can do, but better. These algorithms are intelligent computer programs, permeating the substrate of our society. They make financial decisions, they predict the weather, they predict which countries will wage war next. Soon, there will be little left for us to do: machines will take over.
Does that sound like some futuristic fantasy? Perhaps. This argument is proposed by a growing yet still fringe community of thinkers, scientists, and academics, who see the advancement of technology as a disruptive force, which will soon transform our entire socioeconomic system forever. According to them, the displacement of labour by machines and computer intelligence will increase dramatically over the next few decades. Such changes will be so drastic and quick that the market will not be able to abide in creating new opportunities for workers who have lost their jobs, making unemployment not just part of a cycle, but structural in nature and chronically irreversible. It will be the end of work as we know it.
Most economists discard such arguments. Many of them don’t even address the issue in the first place. And those who do address this issue claim that the market always finds a way. As machines replace old jobs, new jobs are created. Thanks to the ingenuity of the human mind and the need for growth, markets always find a way, especially in the ever-connected and globalised mass market we live in today.
In this book I will try to avoid picking either side based on belief, gut feeling, or hunch. Rather, I will attempt to engage in informed logical reasoning, based on the evidence we have so far.
The book is divided into three parts. First, we will explore the topic of technological unemployment and its impact on work and society – I chose to focus on the US economy, but the same argument applies to most the industrialised world. In the second part we will look into the nature of work itself and the relationship between work and happiness. The last part is a bold attempt to provide some practical suggestions on how to deal with the issues presented in the first two parts. Doing a thorough examination of each section would require a monumental effort, possibly resulting in thousands of pages, far exceeding the purpose of this book. My intention is not to write a complete academic report, but rather to initiate a discussion about what I think will soon be one of the biggest challenges that we have to face as a society and as individuals. Too often we treat various issues as separate subjects, not realising the interconnected nature of our reality. This mistake has made us weak and vulnerable. Over the last 70 years, we have set the stage of our own demise. We have become increasingly discontent, the quality of our relationships have diminished, and we have lost track of what really matters. Today, as the comedian Louis CK has noted: “Everything is amazing, and nobody is happy!” It is time to take a step back and think about where we are going.
Let us begin the journey. ...
Part I is on Automation and Unemployment, and consists of five chapters. Parts II and III are not yet posted. Inquiring minds may wish to follow the journey.
What If?
In the following short 4-minute video Federico Pistono asks "What if the jobs cannot come back? What if it is intrinsically impossible for the jobs to come back? What if unemployment is structural?"
Here is a 17 minute video that is also worth a look. Pistono argues "no one is safe" while asking "what happens if Walmart fully automates?"
Here is my favorite snip from the video: "As much as 80% of the people hate their job. That's four out of five spending most of their useful life doing something they don't particularly enjoy. We are in kind of a work paradox because we work long and hard hours, on jobs we hate, to buy things we don't need, to impress people we don't like. Genius!"
Structurally High Unemployment
For several years I have been writing about the concept of "Structurally High Unemployment" but Pistono goes far beyond that. He explores the idea this is not just another creative destruction phase that will be followed by another job boom, but rather this is the end, computer intelligence is why, and that's a great thing!
Pistono's socialistic vision of the future is that robots will do everything, there are infinite resources, no one has to work, and we all live happily ever after.
To say I disagree about that Pollyanna endgame is putting things mildly. And since I believe there is no work-free nirvana, here's the key question: what if Pistono is half-right, that no job is safe, that no jobs are coming, but robots do not provide the "But that's OK" nirvana Pistono imagines.
Thursday, June 06, 2013
9 Things You NEED to Know to Survive the New Economy
My mail to the kids in family (WL/LL/Tian/Le) dated 6 June 2013:
Read below and try to understand what this man is saying about the future.
Although he is talking about the US (because he is American), the other 'first world' countries are no different.
A lot of young people thinks that going to university (known as 'colleges' in the US) will guarantee them a good paying job. So they borrow money from banks etc to pay for their courses.
Because they think that once they enter a uni, the uni will guarantee them a 'cert' which will guarantee them a good paying job, most of them just have a good time and are not serious about acquiring knowledge (one can go to school and yet learn nothing!).
When they come out many either cannot find jobs or get jobs with salaries they expect. So they end up jobless or feeling poor (because the big student loan repayments take away a big chunk of their salaries).
In the US and Europe, 40-60% of youths (people aged below 25) are now jobless! Around the world 17-20% of youths are jobless. (5-10 years later when more and more people like you join the job market looking for jobs, it will be worse).
Because they cannot think properly, ignorant, and do not understand what is happening in the world (no big picture), they blame their governments for not doing 'a good job' of making sure every uni graduate gets good paying jobs. (People always blame others for their problems).
The typical uni graduates in Singapore, for example, expects pay of S$2,500/month and do not know that a uni graduate in China is willing to work for $1,000/month (therefore employers and jobs would go to China!).
A typical garment factory worker in poor countries like Bangladesh works for US$50 to $60/month!
Go around your city and you will see that many youths are working as salesgirls, hairdressers, beauticians etc. Those jobs will never pay much.
Although he is talking about the US (because he is American), the other 'first world' countries are no different.
A lot of young people thinks that going to university (known as 'colleges' in the US) will guarantee them a good paying job. So they borrow money from banks etc to pay for their courses.
Because they think that once they enter a uni, the uni will guarantee them a 'cert' which will guarantee them a good paying job, most of them just have a good time and are not serious about acquiring knowledge (one can go to school and yet learn nothing!).
When they come out many either cannot find jobs or get jobs with salaries they expect. So they end up jobless or feeling poor (because the big student loan repayments take away a big chunk of their salaries).
In the US and Europe, 40-60% of youths (people aged below 25) are now jobless! Around the world 17-20% of youths are jobless. (5-10 years later when more and more people like you join the job market looking for jobs, it will be worse).
Because they cannot think properly, ignorant, and do not understand what is happening in the world (no big picture), they blame their governments for not doing 'a good job' of making sure every uni graduate gets good paying jobs. (People always blame others for their problems).
The typical uni graduates in Singapore, for example, expects pay of S$2,500/month and do not know that a uni graduate in China is willing to work for $1,000/month (therefore employers and jobs would go to China!).
A typical garment factory worker in poor countries like Bangladesh works for US$50 to $60/month!
Go around your city and you will see that many youths are working as salesgirls, hairdressers, beauticians etc. Those jobs will never pay much.
In addition, there are already 7 billion people in the world and it is still growing (because science and modern medicine will 'save' more and more from death from diseases etc).
With technology progress, manufacturers and companies will require fewer and fewer people to do the same amount of work (because they can use machines and computers instead)!
As more and more people compete for jobs, salaries will go lower because people will accept lower pay to out bid other job seekers.
On the other hand, the resources available will become costlier because of 2 reasons.
More people will be fighting for the same amount of resources, and the easy to get resources (like oil, iron etc) have already been mined and used by past generations. What resources are left for future generations will be harder and harder (i.e more costlier) to extract.
The combination of costlier resources and lower pay will combine to make life very difficult for people at the bottom 80%.
Remember, the 80/20 Rule.
The top 20% of the people control/own 80% of the wealth. The bottom 80% of people have to fight for the remaining 20% of wealth.
If you live like the bottom 80%, your life will be very different from the top 20%...
Additional Note:
Because university costs are so high nowadays, many smart young people decided not to go to uni and use the money to invest instead.
As example, going overseas for uni can cost more than $300,000 (including fees, food, housing etc.).
After that, if the person repays $1,500/month (because salary is only $2,500), it will take 20-30 years to finish repaying the loan and have only $1,000 left for own use.
On the other hand, if the person invest that $300,000, he/she may be able to get an income of $30,000 per year (if person is a smart investor, can get 10% return or more per year). In that case, the person does not even have to work but still get $12,000 to use every year (the other $18,000 for loan repayment).
Better if they use family's money.
If they spend the family's $300,000 on uni education, they are giving the money away to their 'professors' and have to work for 20 years (assuming they save $1,500/month) just to get back the $300,000 they started with!
On the other hand, if they invest that $300,000 they will keep that $300,000 and get $30,000 (returns) every year without having to work! In the meantime they can take on jobs they really like or enjoy but may be less pay (but who cares about your job's pay if you have additional income from elswhere?).
So make sure you think properly and talk to smart people before making big decisions that involve spending a lot of money. Be the 20%...
As example, going overseas for uni can cost more than $300,000 (including fees, food, housing etc.).
After that, if the person repays $1,500/month (because salary is only $2,500), it will take 20-30 years to finish repaying the loan and have only $1,000 left for own use.
On the other hand, if the person invest that $300,000, he/she may be able to get an income of $30,000 per year (if person is a smart investor, can get 10% return or more per year). In that case, the person does not even have to work but still get $12,000 to use every year (the other $18,000 for loan repayment).
Better if they use family's money.
If they spend the family's $300,000 on uni education, they are giving the money away to their 'professors' and have to work for 20 years (assuming they save $1,500/month) just to get back the $300,000 they started with!
On the other hand, if they invest that $300,000 they will keep that $300,000 and get $30,000 (returns) every year without having to work! In the meantime they can take on jobs they really like or enjoy but may be less pay (but who cares about your job's pay if you have additional income from elswhere?).
So make sure you think properly and talk to smart people before making big decisions that involve spending a lot of money. Be the 20%...
----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Casey Research subscribers@caseyresearch.com
Sent: Thursday, June 6, 2013 1:18 AM
Subject: Casey Daily Dispatch - Nine Things You Need to Know to Survive the New Economy
Our guest contributor this week is a fascinating man. He once founded a web design company and sold it for $10 million, only to squander every penny. Starting over from zero, he founded another company – Stockpickr – and sold it, too, for $10 million.
He has been a hedge fund manager, a financial columnist, and has written eleven books. Today, he's director of Formula Capital, where he manages a portfolio of twenty angel investments, and is on the board of several companies. Oh, and he's also a chess master and a prolific blogger.
Personally, I've been a fan of James Altucher's writing for years. In my opinion, the most impressive part of his story is that he became successful by bucking convention. James didn't languish in a cubicle waiting to be promoted or try to claw his way up the corporate ladder. Instead, he generated ideas and created businesses out of them – a Doug Caseyesque approach to life.
James weaves this important message through his various books and blog posts: break the chains of convention that are restricting your life and career.
While society tells us that we're supposed to borrow money to go to school and buy a house, student and mortgage debt beholden you to a biweekly paycheck to remain afloat financially. When you're paying $2,500 per month combined on your mortgage and loans, you can't take some time off to explore a passion or build a business. You have to keep running on the hamster wheel.
It's better, James argues, for many people not to go to college at all. Instead, take the money and time you would have spent and build a business. Ditto for buying a house, which, beyond skewing the average person's portfolio far too heavily into real estate, also anchors you to a specific geographic location, limiting your job opportunities to that area. Not to mention the vampiric effects a 30-year mortgage has on your finances.
These burdens and others prevent most people from reaching one of the most rewarding positions in life: working for yourself, where your earning power can be a direct result of your ideas, drive, and effort, rather than your boss' estimation of how much your time is worth.
Having followed and enjoyed James' writing for years, I contacted him to ask if he'd be interested in writing an exclusive piece on the US economy for our audience. Happily, James replied that he's a huge fan of Casey Research, that he'd love to contribute, and that the timing is perfect for him, as his eleventh book was just released on Monday.
So here we are. You'll notice the piece has a different flavor than the typical articles that appear in this space, with more of a contemplative rather than analytical perspective. Since the mind doing the contemplating has created so much value, I consider that a good thing. James' perspective is both valuable and unique, and I hope you'll enjoy it.
Read on for his fascinating take on some of the stark realities that exist for the average worker in today's and tomorrow's economy. And if you're so inclined, check out his book, which he discusses at the end.
See you next week!
Dan Steinhart
Managing Editor, The Casey Report
Managing Editor, The Casey Report
Nine Things You NEED to Know to Survive the New Economy
By James Altucher, Managing Director of Formula Capital
I almost had $8 million stolen from me yesterday, so I'm in a bad mood. Someone wanted to borrow $8 million and use $18 million worth of stock certificates as collateral. I found a way to lend him the $8 million. The borrower had legal opinions from the companies involved (all big companies). He had bankers verifying his accounts. He had lawyers with bylaws, trilaws, whatever laws, to his corporations. He had access to material he would only have if he was intimately involved with the companies involved. He had lots of things to prove he was who he said he was.
Using our own detectives, we found out at the last minute that he'd forged everything. And his whole operation (lawyers, brokers, etc.) disappeared as soon as we uncovered the fraud.
When we found out, we all started laughing. Sometimes you can't help but laugh at the entertainment the world throws in your face. Thank god we didn't wire the money!
I wish I could say this story is just a metaphor for US economics, but it really happened. And it stings. It was a great deal. As they say, "It was too good to be true".
OK, but now I'm going to also say: the US economy is a fraud also and often too good to be true.
What happened to me in the past day on a micro level is exactly what is happening on a macro level to the entire country and to every government that is using paper money and fraudulent tactics to kick the can down the road. The government wants to borrow a piece of our lives, hypnotize us into thinking the collateral is good, and forget about us later when it comes time to pay us back. And then we die.
You read Doug Casey because you're the type of person who won't be fooled and won't be robbed. That's why we are here. We want to be successful because of the flaws in the system. We want to be free from the shackles of prison. And we want to stop being lied to.
Nine Things You Need to Know
1) The average cubicle dweller is becoming impoverished.
I almost had $8 million stolen from me yesterday, so I'm in a bad mood. Someone wanted to borrow $8 million and use $18 million worth of stock certificates as collateral. I found a way to lend him the $8 million. The borrower had legal opinions from the companies involved (all big companies). He had bankers verifying his accounts. He had lawyers with bylaws, trilaws, whatever laws, to his corporations. He had access to material he would only have if he was intimately involved with the companies involved. He had lots of things to prove he was who he said he was.
Using our own detectives, we found out at the last minute that he'd forged everything. And his whole operation (lawyers, brokers, etc.) disappeared as soon as we uncovered the fraud.
When we found out, we all started laughing. Sometimes you can't help but laugh at the entertainment the world throws in your face. Thank god we didn't wire the money!
I wish I could say this story is just a metaphor for US economics, but it really happened. And it stings. It was a great deal. As they say, "It was too good to be true".
OK, but now I'm going to also say: the US economy is a fraud also and often too good to be true.
What happened to me in the past day on a micro level is exactly what is happening on a macro level to the entire country and to every government that is using paper money and fraudulent tactics to kick the can down the road. The government wants to borrow a piece of our lives, hypnotize us into thinking the collateral is good, and forget about us later when it comes time to pay us back. And then we die.
You read Doug Casey because you're the type of person who won't be fooled and won't be robbed. That's why we are here. We want to be successful because of the flaws in the system. We want to be free from the shackles of prison. And we want to stop being lied to.
Nine Things You Need to Know
1) The average cubicle dweller is becoming impoverished.
Let's take a look at the basic graphic: your income is going down versus all the things you need: food, shelter, energy.
2) Supply and demand is starving the middle class.
Population is going up, but high-quality jobs are being outsourced, globalized, mobilized, and roboticized.
I'm on the board of a $600-million revenue company in the temp staffing space, Corporate Resources (CRRS). Revenue growth last year was 35% despite job growth being about 0%. There's a reason for this.
I'm on the board of a $600-million revenue company in the temp staffing space, Corporate Resources (CRRS). Revenue growth last year was 35% despite job growth being about 0%. There's a reason for this.
3) The Fortune 500 is firing you.
All big companies are systematically firing all of their employees. I'm exaggerating, of course. Maybe.
But that's why temp staffing as an industry is going through the roof. The big companies don't want employees. Why not? They don't want to deal with Obamacare. They don't want to pay the high salaries that aging baby boomers demand, and too many employees are having sex with each other. With temp staffers, they don't have to deal with all of the issues.
But that's why temp staffing as an industry is going through the roof. The big companies don't want employees. Why not? They don't want to deal with Obamacare. They don't want to pay the high salaries that aging baby boomers demand, and too many employees are having sex with each other. With temp staffers, they don't have to deal with all of the issues.
4) Senior citizens are being starved to death.
Now I'm not exaggerating. First off, everybody under the age of 50 should just say goodbye to eventual Social Security. Even better, say "good riddance."
But for those age 65 and above, a promise has been made to them all of their lives. Well, unfortunately the promise is a lie. Social Security gets adjusted according to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which excludes food and energy. Guess what: food and energy are going up faster than the CPI... which is why senior citizens have about ten years left before their basic needs can no longer be met by the money promised them all of their lives. Part of the reason I am about to announce that I'm considering running for Congress is to stop this trend.
But for those age 65 and above, a promise has been made to them all of their lives. Well, unfortunately the promise is a lie. Social Security gets adjusted according to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which excludes food and energy. Guess what: food and energy are going up faster than the CPI... which is why senior citizens have about ten years left before their basic needs can no longer be met by the money promised them all of their lives. Part of the reason I am about to announce that I'm considering running for Congress is to stop this trend.
5) Your job is not satisfying your needs.
The only time I've had a job that did satisfy my needs was when I had to do little work so that I had time on the side to either write, start a business, have fun, or spend time with friends. When I didn't have time for those things, I was working too hard, dealing with people I didn't like, getting my creativity crushed over and over, and so on. When you are in those situations, you need to plot out your exit strategy.
Your hands are not made to type out memos. Or put paper through fax machines. Or hold a phone up while you talk to people you dislike. One hundred years from now, your hands will rot like dust in your grave. You have to make wonderful use of those hands now. Kiss your hands so they can make magic.
One can argue, "Not everyone is entitled to have all of those needs satisfied at a job." That's true. But since we already know that the salary of a job won't make you happy, you can easily modify lifestyle and work to at least satisfy more of your needs. And the more these needs are satisfied, the more you will create the conditions for true abundance to come into your life.
Your hands are not made to type out memos. Or put paper through fax machines. Or hold a phone up while you talk to people you dislike. One hundred years from now, your hands will rot like dust in your grave. You have to make wonderful use of those hands now. Kiss your hands so they can make magic.
One can argue, "Not everyone is entitled to have all of those needs satisfied at a job." That's true. But since we already know that the salary of a job won't make you happy, you can easily modify lifestyle and work to at least satisfy more of your needs. And the more these needs are satisfied, the more you will create the conditions for true abundance to come into your life.
6) Your retirement plan is a joke.
Nobody can retire anymore on their retirement plan. It's sad but true: humans as a species are living longer. 401ks, IRAs, and the other little plans your corporate masters and bank liars have put together for you are built on lies. They use fancy phrases like "laddering" and "the stock market has never had a 20-year down period." All of these things are lies.
Here's the truth: when you need the money the most, it won't be there.
And even if it's there, ultimately the government needs more money to take care of its wars. The last legally declared war was in 1941. Your taxes have paid for the rest of the military actions and the 170 countries we have military bases in. These wars have directly come out of your retirement plan and have directly conflicted with your attempts at happiness, if not even worse by directly killing a member of your family.
Here's the truth: when you need the money the most, it won't be there.
And even if it's there, ultimately the government needs more money to take care of its wars. The last legally declared war was in 1941. Your taxes have paid for the rest of the military actions and the 170 countries we have military bases in. These wars have directly come out of your retirement plan and have directly conflicted with your attempts at happiness, if not even worse by directly killing a member of your family.
7) You were lied to about "The American Dream."
"The American Dream" was a marketing slogan created by Fannie Mae in the 1960s to sell you the idea of a suburban house with a white picket fence and a big fat loan from the bank, backed by the government which skims its greasy froth off the top.
The white picket fences are prison bars telling you that you can't move. You can't escape your bimonthly paycheck. Your job opportunities suddenly shrink with those two prisons forced upon you.
I've done the math on various blog posts on my blog. Housing has all the characteristics of an ugly investment. It's too much of your portfolio, it's illiquid, there are hidden, unknown costs when you make the purchase, and when you need the money you can't get it. Good luck.
The American Dream has turned into a nightmare for too many people. And yet, we insist on it. It's one of the biggest commitments most Americans ever make. So "commitment bias" forces them to rationalize that they were right, and they will argue it to their death.
The white picket fences are prison bars telling you that you can't move. You can't escape your bimonthly paycheck. Your job opportunities suddenly shrink with those two prisons forced upon you.
I've done the math on various blog posts on my blog. Housing has all the characteristics of an ugly investment. It's too much of your portfolio, it's illiquid, there are hidden, unknown costs when you make the purchase, and when you need the money you can't get it. Good luck.
The American Dream has turned into a nightmare for too many people. And yet, we insist on it. It's one of the biggest commitments most Americans ever make. So "commitment bias" forces them to rationalize that they were right, and they will argue it to their death.
8) You were lied to about college.
More than 50% of graduating seniors can't get jobs right now. And yet for the first time ever there is over a trillion dollars in student loan debt. The government was really nice to back that debt.
But they forgot to tell you: you can't get rid of that debt. Not even in bankruptcy. Hmm, so jobs are going down, income is going down, debt is going up.
You're a slave. Now that you're stuck underneath a pile of inescapable debt, you have to do whatever they say and like it.
But they forgot to tell you: you can't get rid of that debt. Not even in bankruptcy. Hmm, so jobs are going down, income is going down, debt is going up.
You're a slave. Now that you're stuck underneath a pile of inescapable debt, you have to do whatever they say and like it.
9) There is a way out.
You have to hustle. It's hard. But there's nothing else. You have to choose between being a temp staffer (and I can see this from the front lines) or being an entrepreneur/artist. It's going to sound corny, but you have to stay physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually healthy.
You have to work on coming up with ideas every day. You have to be around positive people who love you. You have to be grateful for the abundance you have and invite more into your life. This is not economics. This is the real world and how to survive in it. Not the fantasy land of cubicles and fluorescent lights.
I write about how to achieve these goals in my latest book, Choose Yourself.
You have to work on coming up with ideas every day. You have to be around positive people who love you. You have to be grateful for the abundance you have and invite more into your life. This is not economics. This is the real world and how to survive in it. Not the fantasy land of cubicles and fluorescent lights.
I write about how to achieve these goals in my latest book, Choose Yourself.
I believe so strongly in my message that I don't care if I make a dime on the book. If someone proves to me they bought the book and read it, I will pay them back, losing money in the process (since Amazon takes its cut). I am doing this because people often don't value what they get for free, and many people don't read the books they buy.
I hope you make it through this period. The opportunities will be there for the people who escape the lies of the system. Innovation is still abundant. But you have to rely on your own skills, guts, ideas, and health. I have confidence that the people who subscribe to Doug Casey's services are the ones best prepared to do that.
Join me in choosing yourself for success in the new economy, for better or worse, that we find ourselves in.
I hope you make it through this period. The opportunities will be there for the people who escape the lies of the system. Innovation is still abundant. But you have to rely on your own skills, guts, ideas, and health. I have confidence that the people who subscribe to Doug Casey's services are the ones best prepared to do that.
Join me in choosing yourself for success in the new economy, for better or worse, that we find ourselves in.
James Altucher is a successful entrepreneur, chess master, investor, and writer. He has started and run more than 20 companies, and sold several of those businesses for large exits. He has also run venture capital funds, hedge funds, angel funds, and currently sits on the boards of several companies. His writing has appeared in most major national media outlets (Wall Street Journal, ABC, Financial Times, Tech Crunch, Forbes, CNBC, etc.). His blog has attracted more than 10 million readers since its launch in 2010. This is his eleventh book.
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