• Ramblings

    Thought About Holidays

    November 9, 2010

    I was thinking today that it has been sometime since I last went for a holiday. And then I thought about the whole holiday process.

    I need a holiday because I am tired at work. So I stressed over when I can apply for leave. After applying for leave, I rushed like crazy to finish my work before my leave. Then I go for holiday, and I am happy.

    Till I come back from holiday to find the amount of work waiting for me. I then wonder when is my next holiday.

    I mean why do I even need a holiday? Is it because I don’t like what I am doing and thus I need a break? If I enjoy what I am doing, would I ever need a holiday? I doubt so.

    Why then am I stuck doing something that I do not enjoy doing and wondering when is my next holiday?

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  • Ramblings

    Hyperbolic Discounting

    November 8, 2010

    Today I learn a new term ‘Hyperbolic Discounting’.

    Given two similar rewards, humans show a preference for one that arrives sooner rather than later. Humans are said to discount the value of the later reward, by a factor that increases with the length of the delay. This process is traditionally modeled in form of exponential discounting, a time-consistent model of discounting.

    However, it has been proven that exponential discounting is not true all the time. In hyperbolic discounting, valuations fall very rapidly for small delay periods, but then fall slowly for longer delay periods. The ability to make rational choices when they’re thinking about the future, but, as a future event gets closer, short-term considerations overwhelm their long-term goals.

    Hyperbolic discounting is the term behavioral economists used to study procrastination, which is really one of the major shortfalls I have.

    While on the subject of procrastination, The New Yorker has an excellent read on this.

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  • Ramblings

    It Is A Digital World

    November 7, 2010

    With Singapore having a population density of 7,022 per sq km, making it the densest country in the world, there are many times that I just do not want to go anywhere on a weekend. Everywhere is packed and crowded, the public transport is struggling to cope with the passengers, I would rather just stay at home during the weekend.

    And so I thought, why should I leave the house on a weekend, when I can achieve almost anything at home with the help of the Internet?

    For starters, I do my grocery shopping on weekends. It is always a struggle to maneuver through the narrow aisles and families who insist on bringing and leaving their baby prams in the worst possible places. Luckily for me, I can now buy groceries online and get them to deliver to me.

    Groceries

    NTUC Fairprice Online

    Cold Storage Online

    The Cold Storage online website has more items for purchase than the NTUC Fairprice. I can get fresh fruits, fresh meat and even seafood delivered to my house. I just need to order them one day before.

    I also used to make my way down to Funan to get computer games. Nowadays, I purchase them online and the games are streamed directly to my computer. Not only do I need not get out of the house, I can do my bit for the environment, as there are no cardboard and plastic boxes required for the games, and no paper is needed for the instruction manuals.

    Computer Games

    Steam

    Blizzard

    Of course the disadvantage here is that not all the games are be bought online and stream directly, however I do not have much time nowadays anyway. Also, you cannot do this for console games, like PS3, XBOX360 or Wii.

    I used to spend time going to the bookstores to browse and get my books, but with the Amazon Kindle, that is no longer the case. I can select the book that I want to purchase, and Amazon effortlessly downloads it. Of course, it takes some tweaking since Amazon refuses to sell Kindle here in Singapore, but I find the time spent tweaking was well worth it.

    Books

    Amazon Kindle

    Link on how to setup the Kindle to work on iPad

    There is now no headache to find space in the house to store my books with ebooks. Of course, I will lose the feeling of actually walking into a bookstore and flipping through the books, and also not all books are in eBook format, but I believe the eBook industry is moving in the correct direction.

    With books settled, what about magazines? Thanks to a friend’s recommendation, I found the perfect way to purchase digital magazines. It runs on iPad, iPhone or even directly from my browser. The subscriptions are much cheaper than the physical subscriptions.

    Magazine

    Zinio

    Like with eBooks, I cannot flip a digital magazine like the actual physical copy, but I do not need to find space to store them, and I need not get out of the house.

    As with books and magazines, I can purchase digital copy of songs, TV shows and movies. With Apple’s iTunes, I can sample tunes and then purchase them digitally with just a few clicks. No more need to buy the whole CD just to listen to 1 or 2 tracks from the CD. iTunes is also allowing me to purchase or rent TV shows and movies.

    Songs/TV Shows/Movies

    Apple iTunes

    Others (I am not going to say out what this is, but there are other ways to get it for free, though I am against this. Support the artistes!)

    Instead of trying to queue and find seats to get my food, I can order it online and get it delivered. Granted they are not exactly gourmet food nor I cannot get my favourite bakuteh delivered, but that is the price I pay for convenience, and not fighting with others for seats.

    Food

    Fast food – McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut, Domino Pizza

    Pasta – Pastamania

    Japanese – Sakae Sushi

    Thai – Thaitogo

    Dim Sum – YUM CHA Express

    I am sure there are plenty other food delivery sites that I am not aware of.

    There are others, clothes, electronics gadgets and lots more, stuff that I can buy without ever leaving the house.

    And if I ever need to meet up with friends and talk to them, there is always Skype, or Tango, or Facetime.

    Though there is still no substitute for sex.

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  • Ramblings

    Defeat

    November 2, 2010

    He looked out of the car window. And smiled.

    A smile of bitterness.

    A smile of hopelessness.

    A smile of finally accepting the fact that no matter how hard he tried, how much he wanted, there are just things beyond his grasp, beyond his reach.

    A smile of defeat.

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  • Ramblings

    The Best That You Can Do Is Fall In Love

    November 1, 2010

    Confused, tired and hurt. The best that I can do now is fall in love.

    Christopher Cross – Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do)

    Once in your life you find her
    Someone that turns your heart around
    And next thing you know you’re closing down the town
    Wake up and it’s still with you
    Even though you left her way across town
    Wondering to yourself, “Hey, what’ve I found?”

    When you get caught between the Moon and New York City
    I know it’s crazy, but it’s true
    If you get caught between the Moon and New York City
    The best that you can do ……
    The best that you can do is fall in love

    Arthur he does as he pleases
    All of his life, he’s mastered choice
    Deep in his heart, he’s just, he’s just a boy
    Living his life one day at a time
    And showing himself a really good time
    Laughing about the way they want him to be

    When you get caught between the Moon and New York City
    I know it’s crazy, but it’s true
    If you get caught between the Moon and New York City
    The best that you can do …..
    The best that you can do is fall in love

    When you get caught between the Moon and New York City
    I know it’s crazy, but it’s true
    If you get caught between the Moon and New York City
    The best that you can do …..
    The best that you can do is fall in love
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  • Ramblings

    Getting Old

    October 30, 2010

    It was the time when everyone rushed home from work. The train was packed. I waited patiently for the passengers to alight before entering.

    A burly guy also entered the train at the same time as me, trying to barge me aside. However due to my weight, he did not succeed. His eyes widened, and perhaps embarrassed, he lifted up his land and tried to elbow me.

    Fortunately for me, I had stopped to let him enter first, and the elbow missed its mark. Discovering that he missed, he decided to try one more time, swinging his heavy laptop bag around, hoping the bag will hit me. By this time, I had given him ample room after realising what he was trying to do, and again the bag missed its mark.

    It was not possible to make any more attempts as the people behind entered the train, and he was surrounded by other passengers. As the train moved off, I looked at him and smiled, amused at his behaviour. He refused to look at me, preferring to stare at the neck of the passenger standing in front of him.

    It was then that I realised I must be really getting old. The younger fiery version of me would have retaliated, most probably by stepping on his foot and pushing him aside. Instead, the current me is actually smiling at his actions.

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  • Ramblings

    Dream

    October 28, 2010

    He knew he was in a dream. They were together, and even though he was soundly asleep, he knew that was impossible.

    They talked about things which he could not remember once the words left his mouth, and they were in some place he did not know where.

    It does not matter.

    The only thing that matter was they were both holding hands, laughing and he was happy.

    When he woke up, he knew that while it was only a dream, the happiness was real.

    He had his answer.

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  • Ramblings

    He Wonders

    October 27, 2010

    A thought ran through his mind as he laughs. If only things turned out differently, what will it be like? Will he be happier than now, or things will fall apart? He wonders.

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