Home Sweet Home

Apologies to all ardent fans out there. Ed has been too busy/tired to post anything. Finally, some time to ramble...

Life's been good.

In case you aren't my enamoured devotee, I was at Tsinghua University, Beijing at an academia-oriented conference in mid October. T'was a great experience and a very fruitful trip - and I don't mean the shopping.

It being an international conference, I got to meet people from across 13 countries. And that was certainly the best part of the trip, for me. For one, I got to put my rusty mandarin to practice.

During dinner the other day, a good friend was lamenting how most of his close friends are flying off to other countries. Yet when I asked him, he said he's staying put in Singapore. Expected of him, he gave a rather rational & logical answer, which is the affordable cost of living, relative to certain developed nations, of course.

Back in Beijing, my colleague kept groaning on the bus about how she hates Singapore. And LKY is the only thing Singapore should be proud about.

Well, I'm not getting into a fight about what's Uniquely Singapore.

When she asked me, what's worth staying in Singapore, my answer - family & friends!

You left out the food, she offered.

Of course :)

One thing G's taught me is that you don't have to travel to see the world and to have an open mind with broad horizons.

Coz it's all in the mind.

Either that or Ian Wright & Lonely Planet.

*cue peculiar yet familiar didgeridoo sounds*

Oh wait, I'm outdated. I believe it's Pilot Guides now.

One thing I've yet to learn is work/life balance. Seems all I know now is work-life balance.

Too bad if you don't get it.

Of course, compared to my peers slogging away in banks & consultancies, I really shouldn't complain.

Life's good.

Ah, home sweet home...

Are You Pondering What I'm Pondering?

Last night, I got to know a 33yo Dutch guy. I find him inspiring because he's finally discovered his purpose in life, after working in a big MNC and making big bucks. Now he edits his own magazine and though hasn't turned profitable yet, that's where he wants to be.

It's also interesting how he's had so much life experience, while I feel like I've only just begun to experience life for real.

Hmmm...

Land of Peking Ducks & Flying Pigeon Bicycles

Here I am at Terminal 2, blinded by the gleaming lights of the many shops in the departure hall.

After all, we don't get up at 5plus everyday.

Off to Beijing, I am.

Awfully excited and feeling empowered by the expanded sense of independence. Yet this independence also comes with a sense of being lost.

Anyway, will be back soon.

Amidst the Silent Hum

Woe is the flatulent cubicle drone whose surreptitious attempt at dispelling wind amidst the silent hum of air-con & computers is defeated by the unwavering laws of acoustics.

Motorcycle Diaries

Dunno why, but the trailer just attracts me.

http://www.motorcyclediariesmovie.com/

It's My Hatching Anniversary!

How nice to have birthday greetings streaming into my phone first thing in the morning. Thanks guys & gals!

And I've realized that the best present I can have is simply your presence :)

If I've time, I'll do a tribute to myself. Heh.

Hollywood's Most Famous Victim

Hollywood's most famous victim dies peacefully

The Wonders of IT

Visual Thesaurus

Machinima

Machinima: The Marriage of Gaming & Animation

Interesting films made by gaming enthusiasts using games such as Quake, Half-life & Unreal Tournament.

Found

"we collect FOUND stuff: love letters, birthday cards, kids' homework, to-do lists, ticket stubs, poetry on napkins, telephone bills, doodles- anything that gives a glimpse into someone else's life. anything goes..."

SNA

TouchGraph for SNA of KM blogs.

Your Beliefs Belie Your Words

Today I met a friend and had another casual conversation.

But my words revealed my personal thoughts even without me articulating them.

Personal thoughts so subconscious I was only barely aware of them.

It's humbling yet empowering to realize how people react to what I'm actually saying.

More lessons in life, Ed ol' buddy.

If You Want Something Done...

Seems I never learn.

For one, the age old adage that says if you want something done, you gotta do it yourself.

Really?

The aspiring manager in me says (in the style of Rene from Allo Allo), "You stupid fellow! You forgot to follow up the next day!"

Ah yes, the effective manager doesn't just fly by and drops a task-bomb on someone, be he friend or subordinate or tech support.

Sigh...

The Genius

Honour Your Parents

With financial independence, comes responsibility and duty.

Today I gave my parents an ang bao each.

While the thought of repaying my parents did not immediately cross my mind on payday, I'm glad I finally did.

And the surprised look on my mom's face said it all for me.

SpamAssassin

Madmen & Strangers

How would you know that a stranger chatting you up is a mad man?

KM & Blogging

Grassroots KM through blogging

Priorities

The Power of Faith & Forgiveness

Remember this girl? Now, Kim Phuc works as a peace activist.



From Campus Review,

In 1972 it was the iconic image of nine-year-old Kim Phuc running naked from her burning Vietnamese village, screaming in agony from napalm fire, which was splashed across news pages around the world and made compelling the human cost of war.

Many say the image helped bring an end to the conflict. It went on to earn Associated Press photographer Nick Ut, who took Phuc to hospital, a Pulitzer Prize.

At Griffith University recently to present a photojournalism award, Phuc (pronounced Foo), now a UN Ambassador for Children, appealed for people to look at her image in a new way: “When you see the little girl running up the road you can see her calling out and crying out. Don’t see her as crying out in pain and fear. See her as crying out for peace. Thank you very much. May God bless you all.”

Phuc – after years of painful treatment, rehabilitation and tertiary education in Cuba – now works as a peace activist. She has since set up the Kim Foundation – her not-for profit-charity – and sent a Canadian nurse and doctor to Iraq to help treat the innocent victims of the conflict.

Phuc told more than 1000 guests at Griffith’s ceremony that her dream for the foundation was to help the “millions of children whose pictures weren’t taken” and those in the greatest need in Iraq and Uganda.

Phuc was born and raised in the village of Trang Bang, 30 minutes north of Saigon. But on 8 June, 1972, an American military advisor co-ordinated the napalm bombing of Phuc’s village by the South Vietnamese.

Phuc fled from a pagoda, where she and her family had been hiding. She was caught between four bombs and badly burnt. Two of her infant cousins did not survive the attack.

She recalled having to go to school through two wars, the Vietnam War, and then later, when she was 15, the war with Cambodia. Phuc appealed to her audience to practice forgiveness, beginning in people’s workplaces and schools.

“Having known war, I know the value of peace. Having lived under government control, I know the value of freedom. And having lived with pain, I know the healing power of love. Having lived with poverty, with losing everything and having nothing, I know how to value what I have.

“And the most important thing of all, having lived with hatred, terror and corruption, I know the power of faith and the power of forgiveness. Dear friend, napalm is very, very powerful; but faith and forgiveness is much more powerful than napalm could ever be.”