Stress junkie.

Recently, I realized something.

Analysis:

Stress is hereditary and epigenetic.
The kind of stress response you normally get without doing anything special.
It's not your fault you get the stress response you get. Some people take a massive hit, others may take it in stride. Some may get over it quickly, for others, the impact is much harder.

What you do afterwards is somewhat up to you.

Stress is addictive. Stress is a socially sanctioned high.

What I'm doing about it:

I refuse to get stressed.

If I feel that anyone is stressing me out, I tell them about how I feel, why I feel and expect them to understand and suggest alternatives.
If they refuse to, I will think twice before working with them again.

Thought of the Day: State of the Economy

We are already in recession and inflation.

Or at least a dramatic failure compared to where we could have been, without the money printing and all that.

I do wonder where we would be if nothing was taken, there were no inflation and every dollar spent went back into the economy.

In the most conservative of estimates, the economy would be saving 3-5% a year in inflation. Compounding that over 100 years gives a whole damn load of wealth. Wealth that we cannot enjoy because it's been taken.

Thought of the Day: Why do people self-attack?

People are born highly flexible. They are neither good nor evil. It is upbringing and society that corrupts.

1. Expect something bad is going to happen to you.

2. You do everything to prevent it.

3. You feel you cannot. You get anxious.

4. You ask "Is it better to be destroyed, or be in control of one's destruction?" 

5. Self-destruction becomes the best alternative.

Hence, people are actually quite rational in their calculations, when they engage in self-destructive behavior. The end behavior seems irrational, but it is really actually a problem with input.

1. In particular, early input. Early traumatic experiences programs one to expect more negative results in the future.

2. Given enough bad input, anyone can begin self-attacking. 

Wow this guy is pretty good!

Tom Lehrer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHPmRJIoc2k

Myths: Rapunzel

I think the meaning of this fable is this.

Teaching girls to stay chaste, and the potential consequences of not doing so.

http://mythsweliveby.tumblr.com/post/2303075721/rapunzel

Bender's Guide to Life

Recently, I've been watching Futurama on the way to work, among other things...and I realized just what a great role model Bender is.

Applies to all ages.

1. APPEAR TO NOT GIVE A SHIT.

When you show devious people you give a shit, you will be given the shit.

When you show devious manipulative people you don't give a shit about them or anything, they will fear that they cannot control you.

2. IF YOU'RE GOING TO BE COLD AND CALCULATING, BE THE MOST COLD AND CALCULATING in the whole world.

3. Have supportive friends, coworkers, people who like you around despite your craziness. 

We all have times when we need a break.

4. Fear of death makes you do things you wouldn't do if you knew you had all the time in the world.

Be crazy!

5. You are more than what you were built for.

Bender was manufactured as a bending unit. He grew up to be so much more.

6. Be unpredictable.

Life is full of possibility. 

7. When you can, be hedonistic. 

You deserve it!

8. Have a sense of grandeur...that you truly believe in and can somehow achieve.

Not self-delusion, but total self-confidence in face of anything.

Vivaldi Browser!

Cool tabs!

Finally usable tab stacking and tiling!

http://www.techspot.com/news/64357-vivaldi-web-browser-power-users-finally-gets-version.html#commentsOffset

http://vivalditips.com/efficiency/tab-stacking

Thought of the Day #45: Git And The Novel

The novel has been around for hundreds of years.

What if the writers just used Git and branched them?

• Anyone literate would participate in novel writing.
• We can finally see all the endings enumerated!

Problems

• Most literate people can write, but can't write well. 
• There's not just a shortage of writers, but also a shortage of readers.
• Because readers only have so much time, most go for only the most proven writers.
• Example: This startup has reasonably good infrastructure but the writers could be better. Search "Penana".

Fun Fact: it is likely that Atlas Shrugged was inspired by The Driver.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Driver_(novel)

A Modest Proposal

Open up the HK news anyday and there are politicians all over.

- Queen's Birthday.

- Something about princes in England (AKA some of the richest social welfare recipients in the UK)

- CY Leung in court, heated debate with legislator who allegedly assaulted him.

- CY Leung bailing out his little girl with special privileges.


Come on. Are these people really doing you any good? Doing me any good?

Let's fire them, and anyone who comes after them.

Competition Wisdom

1. Decide on idea beforehand.

2. Finish beforehand. Most who wins do that, as long as there is internet access. Chances are, you are average in skill and so cannot expect to hold a significant advantage over your competition. On the other hand, the best presenter, development team can only do so much in the short time frame. In fact, the best techniques often have to be ditched to save time.

3. Nothing beats pen and paper. iPad Pro comes close but costly.

4. Have a small but dedicated team. Most people are not actually going to be able to manage more than 6 people who don't want to be managed.

5. Persistence pays off. If you have a great, well thought-out idea others cannot rationally beat, you should press it.

6. Hackathons are mostly pitch-athons. The reality is that people judge books by their covers, because they do not have the time to go through it all.

7. Competition is a sin. The best chance remains to try something new.

8. People need to talk to each other. (Duh)

9. People need to communicate directly, or it doesn't help.

How to be a Frustrated Investor

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6fZYR8_j5I

Thought of the Day #44: Stop worrying and embrace bad code!

I have beautiful code that doesn’t work, and working code that isn’t beautiful. I don’t know which one I hate more, but I know which will get it done.

Initially, anyway.

Buyers Beware...

"Your friendly reminder that without open standards, you're not "buying" smarthome hardware, you're renting it."

https://yro.slashdot.org/story/16/04/05/1157210/alphabets-nest-to-deliberately-brick-revolv-hubs

Thought of the Day #43: Dreams

"If you want the power to follow your dreams, you have to say no to all the alternatives. It’s not easy, but if that’s for you, at least you know the price."

http://oliveremberton.com/2014/if-you-want-to-follow-your-dreams-you-have-to-say-no-to-all-the-alternatives/

Premium Prices for Premium Services

I just realized, HK is becoming a bit like Japan.

People do what is required of them, but little more.

I don't like that. That's boring. I want surprise. Something more wonderful than I could possibly imagine, let alone expect.

Like this stuff, when I visited Tokyo.
http://www.timeout.com/tokyo/restaurants/top-15-tsukiji-street-snacks

When I ordered any of these, I didn't get anything more.

I love to receive something extra. Especially when I'm paying any kind of premium. And there's a physical human salesperson/cashier.

That's what I dislike about paying premiums. What often happens is, I pay more, and they deliver exactly what I'd normally expect, and nothing more, as scientifically determined by their market research, designers and engineers.

I get it. This is hard to do. But that's exactly what the premium is for.

Why I hike: A View From the Hill

What do you interpret from this?

Life is an illusion, that only lasts a moment in time.
I can do whatever I want with it.
Cherish it, spoil it, love it, hate it.

This is what I like about hiking.
It makes me feel part of nature.
It makes me feel above nature.
It helps me step away from human society, to see its form, to gain perspective, to open the mind to other ways of looking at the world.

Food Post: Beef Brisket Noodles

I've always found these CNN people dubious. But I love beef noodles too.

So I'm going to try these and write reviews, to see if CNN is really worth their brand.

http://travel.cnn.com/hong-kong/eat/hong-kongs-favorites-beef-brisket-249087/

To be continued......