Years ago, I was overjoyed when my father decided that we can have an encyclopedia collection for the family. I couldn't remember the collection's name now, but I do remember, vividly, many of the first-time-seen images that had made an impact on my young and impressionable life then.

And now, I remember about a particular one. A graphical illustration from the volume on psychology - science of the mind. It was an illustration of a young lady's different portrayals of herself as she assumes various roles in her life.

She was an obedient daughter, an agressive lover, an outspoken worker and a competitive friend. But as she was each one of these, she was also another. Another self, which she didn't and couldn't show to anyone else. An introverted self which she kept only to herself.

We all know this. About ourselves. Aren't we all just - to some extent - similar to this young lady? We project different facets of ourselves to different people that we interact with everyday. It's our way of getting what we desire, protecting ourselves from emotional hurt, asserting our influence at work and make ourselves liked (or hated) by the world. We manage our relationships and we do it around our true inner-self.

Our true inner-self is who we really are, defined by our temperament, reinforced by our beliefs and values.

Each portrayal has a distance from this inner-self of ours. The further the distance, the more extreme it is. Occasionally, we wonder how can a sweet looking girl who appears to be such a loving daugther to her father, can behave so maniacally in front of hundreds other vehicle drivers along the freeway. Many times, we also find ourselves in a conflicting situation where we are the rebellious child to our parents but a strict parent when in comes to our kids.

Because we manage each of our personalities, sometimes at great emotional costs, we should not let the distances be too great between our portrayals and our inner-self. We should always mindfully search for our center and subsequently seek to reduce the gaps with our portrayals. Reduction in distance can only be achieved by realigning our interval values with our external behaviors and actions.

Being 'true to yourself' is about re-aligning who ourselves really are with the myriad of personalities that we project to the people whom we care, whom we work with and whom we meet even when its only a brief acquaintance. Only when there's less conflict within ourselves can we then achieve real happiness.

Labels: Archives

It's always great when you can combine two skills together in the pursuit of perfection. While I was learning computer programming, I picked up a few digital graphics and animation techniques. Pure fun all the way.

My uni's library had a good collection of computer literature. Major research works on computer graphics will, invariably, make some references to a few images of objects, scenes or portraits that have become popular reference standards.

Here's a good historical account of it.

Back when I was slogging on my final paper, 2 particular images have constantly popped up in every single related literature that I encounter...

Lena	Mando

Distortion, dissection, decomposition, degaussing and all the works. Leena is beautiful so I usually do my evil deeds on Mando's image... :-)

Labels: Archives

Watched Fantastic Four on Saturday.

Fantastic rubberman, Dr. Reed Richards' acute inability to decide on his love for Susan Storm, stunning miss invisible, intrigued me. His brilliance is also his failure. Everything he sees is accounted for by variables that must be factored and weighed before any action is forthcoming from him. Variables in equations allow us to predict a future outcome for a scenario. With sufficient variables and subsequent number crunching, we assume that we will be able to make better judgements. But love is not quantifiable. Chaos reigns and love is the ultimate manifestation of how unpredictable our universe really is - it's beyond comprehension, beyond control. Good thing Reed realizes it in the end, by embracing his true love for Susan.

What happens next? Well, Reed should just let God do his job.

Labels: Archives

Came across this interesting list of adages named after people.

This is my favourite at the moment...

Labels: Archives

Epiphany.


I like the word very much. Have you ever experienced it once before? I bet you do. A flash of brilliance. A moment of revelation. An instance of orgasmic proportions that leaves you on a high for days. And it's so much more better than sex.

It forces you to think. It galvanizes you to action. It drives you to greatness.

John Nash had it.
Albert Einstein had it.
Adam Smith had it.
Isaac Newtwon had it.
Leonardo Da Vinci had it.
and finally, Aristotle immortalized the whole experience with his famous word, "Eureka!"

I had it too... :-)

Labels: Archives

I admit it takes a long time for me to compose anything in English. Sometimes, a posting on this blog will require 2 hours. I was never coherent in my thoughts and thus found it very hard to concentrate my ideas, if there are any at all, into consistent sentences.

Constipation.

Remember the principles of good English writing that we were once thought in school? Simple and concise but not monotonous. Straight to the point. Use jargons only when needed and use simple words for all else. Create good form and structure in your paragraphs. While the 'rules' are simple, it's certainly not simple for some individuals.

Anyway, I found an online article Elements of Style that may be quite useful for those who have similar problems like I do.

We live in exciting times. And I have the exciting June's issue of Business 2.0 on my lap.

Got an 'idea' for a new product? You think it will be a hit? But you fear that there will be too many obstacles even to launch into the first steps?

Well, read this...

The New Instant Companies.


About how you can go from concept to contender... in 'instant-noodles' time.

Be the new breed of product-oriented startups!
Be the new class of manufacturing entrepreneurs!
Be the new star of launching instant empires... globally!

We are not talking about a two year product to market timeline here. We are not talking about a 5 year strategic planning here. We are talking in terms of months! As short as 4 months from an idea to a global hit!

Throw away those stupid economic books that thought you about key elements of a successful business. Remember the 'Kemahiran Hidup' lessons back in secondary school? Yes, those information that is so obvious that hardly anybody can learn or do anything about it.

You mak ask...

Don't I have to quit my job?
What about building that prototype?
What about hiring labour, buying advertising, building a sales channel...?
Oh my god, the list goes on... I can't possibly do it.
Edison's times are gone. We are living in a technological complex world of the 21st century, you know.

But hei, you know what?

Old rules are out and you have a fresh playing board. You have a new game with new rules. Plus, you may even win it BIG this time - yeah!

Traditional manufacturing companies are burdened by their unyielding infrastructure costs. You are not. Traditional management teams are entrenched in over-saturated media spaces. You are not.

How do you do it? Well, here's how...

• Robust design tools
  Adobe Illustrator for manifesting you design into a real tangible form. Communication softwares to exchange ideas with your freelance designers and overseas engineers. Product-lifecycle management softwares to coordinate your production. With so many design tools available today, you are just spoilt for choice. No data centers, no expensive servers, no nerdy IT guys - no managing IT. Full stop.
  
  
• Outsourced manufacturing
  Never own a factory if you can. You will never match China. Face it, do you have hard-working busy bees like the Chinese who's willing to work for very little pots of honey in your backyard. No? So, what were you thinking when you are looking for an industrial real-estate agent to check out some suitable sites for your dream factory?! You are not a community job creator you know. Just outsourced the whole damn manufacturing thing to China. No employee unions to worry about. No company health insurance to worry about. No salary increments to worry about. No sexual harrasment at work to worry about. No sick leave, emergency leave, maternity leave or even paternity leave to worry about. OH, and no annual company dinner to worry about.. hahaha! Have I made my point here? I think I did.
  
  
• Internet-powered publicity
  Heard of Amazon? Heard of eBay? Heard of weblogs? Create all the necessary buzz without all the fuss. Get into communities of cultures that will help you spread your product like a social epidemic - like a wildfire. Use the gossip channels. Use the peer-2-peer channels. This is not the stupid one-directional billboard advertising along the interstate highway of the 20th century. This is the phenomenal multi-way interactional social marketing of the 21st century. Read Tipping Point. If your product is good - it will spread.
  
  
• Outsourced logistics, sales and support
  If you can contract-manufacture products at unprecedented speed and efficiency, why not the rest with your business too. Not sure where to find people to help you in logistics, sales and support? There are countless out there. Just Google.
  
  
• Networking
  Contacts, contacts and contacts. Build your social skills first if you are clueless with people. But if you are not, I don't have to say much more. Having good contacts gives you great opportunities to build allies, alliances and partnerships. Come on, everyone is happy when everyone gains. And we can see our kids to school together with a pat on each others' back too.
  

Wow, stupid simple! Paul Butnitz said so himself.

We are seeing the dawn of a new manufacturing era where we all can do it together - faster and cheaper. See you onboard too.

Now I know why some adults are so glued on to our national primtime news. It's to wait for exciting soap drama episodes like this...


Kenny Sia wondered why Malaysian bloggers are always so serious when our Singaporean counterparts are such a fun loving bunch.

You wanna know why?

The Singaporeans need an outlet to let loose some steam because their Singaporean government is such a control freak while we Malaysians cannot help it to be so righteous because our Malaysian government is such a joke.

Missed the primetime news yesterday, as usual.

I only heard about the latest blasts in London over the radio today. Not again.

4 small coordinated explosions hit the bus and underground train network, just when Londoners are getting themselves back together again from the wake of the July 7 attacks exactly two weeks ago. Luckily, there were no casualties this time.

While I admire the British for their resilience in overcoming the trauma during the turmoil, I do wonder how much longer can their legendary stiff upper lips last. It could be a vicious cycle after all. Terrorists attack Londoners, Muslim communities are victimised, terrorists attack Londoners, Muslim communities are victimised...

There's only so much modern humans can take after all.

It's sad. Sad when humans become so 'creative' in their efforts to send a strong message across.

You know you are in heaven when you are in the company of a beautiful woman to savour a wonderful bowl of seafood laksa during a wet Friday afternoon. Yup, that's what I did last week, :-)


Huge prawns, oysters, sotong slices, fried tauhus, fish pastes and enough veges to make my mouth saliva again while posting this.

Not sure what the exact address for Restaurant Yu Ai is, but will remember to note it down next time I'm there.


PS: Hmm, maybe will bring my 2 good friends to this place for lunch this Saturday before we catch a weekend movie.

Brilliant! Totally funkily superbably way way brilliant!

This is THE next generation. Just being able to feel it in its infancy and envisioning the future for it is enough to send electrying shivers down my spine.



I came across this pic from one of their banner arts. The 'shopping cart' is one of the best known online metaphor in our wired world. Putting the cool looking guy in blue with his notebook on his lap right in the cart just hits the idea right home.

Borrowed my collegues' book on 'Why Men Don't Listen and Women Can't Read Maps' by Allan and Barbara Pease.

Was reading Chapter 3 - 'It's All In The Mind' and came across this very enlightening illustration...

This must be it! I have Aspergers! Just by reading the symptoms I could perform my own diagnosis already...

• Struggles with creative expression.
  No doubt about this. I always have a tough time trying to string sentences together in the first place.
  
• Are very intelligent but cannot perform well in social environments.
  Agree agree.
  
• Very highly skilled in one or two areas. Will excel well in these skills and be treated like a savant.
  True true.
  
• Difficulty in understanding other people's emotions and feelings.
  Damn. Explains why no girlfriend until now.
  
• Unable to display emotions appropriately.
  I laugh (inside lar) when people loss their precious things.
  
• Repetitive behaviors.
  Oh, this one is driving me insane already.
  
• Sensitive to textures
  I fret whenever there's a crack or scratch on any kinds of surfaces. Drives me nuts.
  
• Lack of ability to understand abstract concepts.
  No comprehendo. Talking to my boss at times is enough to put me through a weekend spasm.
  

Asperger's Syndrom is a form of autism, albeit a lesser form of it.

Yalah, this explains it all. I thought I was just dyslexic. I spelt 'cute' when I wanted 'quite' and spelt 'lough' when I wanted 'laugh'.

But deep down inside I knew there's something more. Something more sinister, more significant, more encompassing to explain my autistic behavior. Good, now I have the perfect excuse to account for my attitude during performance appraisals....

...muahahaha.

Guffaws.

Dads don't go through 9 months of nausea, vomitting and all the other symptoms of morning sickness that moms have to endure. Dads don't have to suffer during delivery. Dads don't have to worry about a flying career in jeopardy once a child arrives into the house.

So it amazes me when I read from The Sun today that apparently dads DO actually suffer from post-natal depresssion. Some dads that is. According to the article, a child whose father 'suffers' from such an illness faces an increased risk of having psychological problems in early life. Goodness.

Come on. Sure, the combination of having a newborn child in the hands and thinking about the future responsibilities as a dad is very overwhelming experience for most men. But that's why life is so sweet. As the child grows and learn, so does the dad. Lessons are best learnt by walking down the path we call life together.

I would think that 7 months (since most men found out about the good news when his wife is already 2 months into pregnancy) is hell of a long time for any man to prepare for this upcoming Superhero role that he has to assume.

If moms can do it, so can dads. In fact, I do know of a great dad that everyone should get to know... :-)

Sunday yesterday. Rest day. I droved all the way from Ampang to The Curve in Mutiara Damansara just to catch the family-oriented MBF Cards Dash for Cash with MixFM event. I wanted to take some shots of my favourite radio DJs from MixFM, the famous on-air pairing of Richard and Shazmin. While I do admit I need to get a life, this was a great opportunity to check out the personalities of the two voices that I listen to every morning.


Carpark floor is high-tech material and very well litted too


Directory board with curvaceous silhouette


Kids playing 1


Kids playing 2


Kids playing 3


Kids playing 4

Yup, family event all right. Should be with girlfriend. Once I have one of course.


Restoran Marche... need to try it one day


Cow at Restoran Marche


Flea market at The Curve


Cool t-shirts with hot cars emblazoned on them


Arched walkway at The Curve


Richard and Shazmin from MixFM

My goodness, my vision of R and S was totally way out. R should be fatter and S should be otherwise.

Kids were everywhere and they still do this... tsk tsk tsk.


Couples game... ladies doing the thing with their partner


Hubby almost cannot tahan already


MBF Cards Dash for Cash with MixFM promotional event


Richard and Shazmin posing with a few toddlers

While the family atmosphere is certainly heart-warming, I can't help feeling very alone. So hoped over to Ikano Power Center and checked out the Barang-Barang store.

I was at PETRONAS USJ 2's tmnet Hotspot yesterday afternoon. There were a few Internet surfers around and I kept myself busy with my own work at that time. Then, I noticed a laptop, an IBM Thinkpad, left unattended at the high table without the owner in sight. A few horrifying accounts of missing laptops from my friends is enough to make me feel jittery for the owner. I looked around and tried to identify who the owner was. Luckily, Sophia (I found out her name much later) was only at the sales counter. Apparently, she was having trouble trying to reload her tmnet Hotspot account.

Still, it wasn't a good idea to leave an expensive mobile gear like hers lying around like that. 'Opportunists' are everywhere these days. Being the good samaritan, I offered to help her. I realized then that her Thinkpad is using the Chinese version of Windows XP. I can't read. Thankfully I have clocked enough computer hours to remember where the buttons were and what the labels meant. But as it turned out, navigation on a foreign looking OS was the least of my problems.

Sophia bought a reload card. Based on the instructions, I can reload the value at https://prepaid.tm.net.my. But then Sophia's hotspot account had already expired and thus we can't login into the Internet to access that page. Stupid.

I proceeded to call TMNet's customer service number 1-300-88-1515.

1st call. Rep mention her name first (can't remember) and asked me for mine and contact number. Cooperated. Told her about my girl's problem (had to pretend lar, telling her the full story would not be too practical). Seeked the rep's assistance to reload the value into Sophia's tmnet Prepaid ONE account. Successful. Realized that I also need to transfer the value from the Prepaid ONE account into the Hotspot account. Prepaid ONE is the master account but Sophia doesn't remember the password for it. So cannot transfer. Asked the rep whether she can do it for us. She can't. So asked her to reset the password for the Prepaid ONE account. Can but have to wait. After providing the rep with some verification info using Sophia's passport number, we waited. And waited... and waited.... and waited...

2nd call. A little pissed. Told the new rep about my problem. Finally got the password for the Prepaid ONE account. Ok good, can access master account to transfer value. Mind kept wondering why such a confusing setup to manage accounts by TMNet. Have to remember two sets of login ID. Aaargh. Cannot login at Sophia's laptop yet. Need access to Internet first. So used the Internet PC available at the station. Great, can login and check master account. RM 35.30. Proceeded to transfer value to hotspot account. Eh! Where's the option?!!

3rd call. Explained to rep that I can't transfer the value at all. Stupid option not available. She didn't believe that the option to transfer the value was not in the combo box that she had described. Gave her the usernames and passwords for Sophia's Prepaid ONE and Hotspot accounts. Kept reassuring Sophia that all was in good hands. Rep checked the account and said that both accounts are active. Argued with rep then why can't I transfer the value. Argue argue argue and then suddenly the line went dead on the other side. Wtf.

4th call. Can't remember the conversation. Reps have standard operating procedure to ask for my name and contact number first even before I said 'hi'. I was already in no mood to provide any... >:-(

5th call. Explained to rep about Sophia's hotspot situation. Rep explained that this should be handled by the Hotspot section. Got transferred. A nervous sounding Chinese guy answered. Couldn't help wondering how perfect my English was at that time. He checked the Hotspot account and said that it was active but has no value. He couldn't help much and said that I should check back again with the original service rep. Wtf. I asked him to transfer me back but he said he couldn't either. #$@%&!

6th call. Very pissed! Gave the rep all the usernames and passwords I know. Demanded what I want and told the rep (or her supervisor) to call me back only when they have fixed my (I mean Sohpia's) problem.

We chatted. 'Sophia' seemed like an unsuitable name these days for a young 21-year-old Chinese girl from Beijing. She's doing a one-and-a-half year Business course at Cosmopolitan. Boyfriend, Fred, is pursuing his Masters. I quized her with a few Malay phrases and to my delight, she translated their meanings quite well. She doesn't like the food here though. Aah well, different people, different origins, different tastes. I should have gotten her email address. When I do visit Beijing ONE day, I could call her up to bring me around some nice places. Bummer.

15 minutes later. Stupid TMNet. Their reps also need to go for extra English classes.

By then, I had already given up on getting any response from TMNet. I offered her with a new tmnet start-up card. She was reluctant at first but I assured her that the station's owner is my friend. I activated a new account and reminded her of all the usernames and passwords that she needs to remember whenever she wants to reload her account again. It was a cinch and she thanked me profusely for it.

1 down for TMNet and 1 up for Ericos, superhero for the day... :-)

PS: Reached home at 11PM. Whole Saturday weekend was blown.

Just came back from a department's away day at Allson Klana, Seremban. A 5-year strategic business blueprint was the agenda. I have always felt honoured whenever I am invited to represent my unit for such occasions because someone up there (most probably my boss) seems to think that I can contribute some brain power to the discussions.

We had a SWOT analysis session. There were three discussion groups and many points were identified. Not wanting to be seen as a passive group member, I naturally contributed some of my observations. A presentation session ensued for us to elaborate and deliberate on the issues raised. A presenter from each group was naturally required here.

Now, this is the interesting part. Somehow or rather, I am always picked to present whenever there's a group assignment. ALWAYS. The fact that I am the only Chinese among the many Malays in the group is definitely a factor. True enough, all three presenters from each group were Chinese. But is racism really the deciding factor here? I was thinking if that old Mr Tan from the supplies and distribution division had been in one of the discussion groups, he would definitely not be the one presenting due to his seniority.

Yes, it's definitely due to my seniority (or the lack of it) in the group. Among my colleagues, I am the youngest and apparently the least experienced. Being so, I am always given 'opportunities' to showcase myself under everyone's scrutiny. While I appreciate the gesture, don't lar take advantage of it all the time. We also want to see how seniors perform right?

I was not very well-versed with the nature of the particular business area that I was presenting. Being the 'firm' believer of team-work, I stressed on the point that any hard questions will be channelled over to my teammates. I peppered my presentation with some non-chalant joking remarks and stories too. Good thing about a metaphorical example that stresses on a certain point is that it need not be 100 percent accurate. As long as I am able to generate some arguments or questions from the audience, I know I have won.

Emcee commented that my presentation session was quite lively. I was rather confident in my portrayal, I think. Got a SMS compliment from one my female colleagues too. Hah, not bad... :-)

Left the office late today. On the way down, saw a young and extremely pretty Chinese lady at the tower's lobby. She was conversing on her phone during that time. Then a guy, who was walking in front of me initially, approached the lady and unhesitatingly gave her a smooch. She responded unabashedly too. Lovely couple.

They proceeded towards the entrance. I was following behind. And then, they smooched again, albeit lightly. Ooooooooook, I thought mischievously.

And once they were out of the entrance, they smooched again! Wow, easy man!

But guess what happened after that. The dude took out a long cigarette and stuck it into his mouth. Damn. Why do guys who smoke always be the ones who get the cutest babes? In the first place, the dude looks quite average looking to me anyway.

I know that by the time I express my experience of reading this particularly amazing little book by Malcolm Galdwell, much would have already been written about it on the web.


So instead of reinventing the wheel, I am listing down some notable links related to any conceivable form of social epidemics:

• Tipping point
  
• How To Start A Revolution
  
• The Tipping Point, And How It Works With Blogs
  
• Apple's Tipping Point: Macs for the Masses

A slight turn of event saw me ending up at the Maxis 3G Service Promotional Launch at the KLCC Convention Centre on Sunday night. Apparently, it was the event's last day and I was lucky enough to check it out before it ends at 9PM.

Some shots from the admin office observation deck...





I made one round through all the exhibition booths which were fitted with high-tech LCD displays to showcase Maxis' new 3G service capabilities. Hot-looking promotion babes were sporting sexy outfits in green and white.

I decided to check out one booth which was featuring the Maxis portal's Game Zone. Gorgeous Christine showed me the capabilities of the 3G Motorola phone in her hands. As she tinkered with the device to download some cartoon clips for me, I couldn't help wondering about the possibility of me having a girlfriend like her. Anyway, one yellow looking SpongeBob popped up into view after all the time waiting for the buffering to complete. It's kinda cool. So I asked her if EPL was available too. Unfortunately no but no worries man. Demand will be great and supply will naturally fill the void. Her voice was so sultry all the time that I find it a little hard to concentrate on whatever that I was viewing then. Knowing myself, I was extra careful all the time whenever I held the mobile device in my hands as I was afraid of accidentally dropping it. Christine proceeded to show me the real-time traffic livecam service feature. After some buffering time again, I got to see the Ampang Park intersection. Cool, no traffic jam at all!


Gorgeous Christine showing of the 3G phone

Livecam footage of the Ampang Park intersection
8.00 PM

Emcee of the day went right straight to the center of the hall. Also in green and white. You can tell that this is an extremely cool emcee when he performed some amusing gig that delighted the audience.


Emcee doing the dancing gig
He then later called for couples to join a contest with a pair of Nokia 3G phone for the winning couple. There were enough sporting couples who took up the challenge.


Couple's Song Miming Contest
Contest was simple. Song will be played, couples will need to mime and dance to the tune of the song.


Emcee doing the miming gig - setting the example

Videcam projected onto big screen. Cool!
Everyone seemed to like Indian dance songs. Dancing around the emcee as if he was a tree. At times, the emcee had to interrupt too during part of the routine when it was deemed to be too sexually explicit for general public viewing, such as when one overtly couple who decided to hug on stage. Hilarious. The winning couple was way way much better than the rest. The audience just loved it when the guy started with a John Travolta opening move.


Winners of the song miming contest. They won hands down.
Technology is cool to me but I still have the budget-sense to consider the usefullness of the some of the offerings available. Will just have to wait a little while longer for the economies of scale to kick in before even deciding to sign-up for the service.

PS:
I was supposed to fill in for a friend's extra ticket for War Of The Worlds. But as it turned out, my friend's friends was lacking one ticket in the end. Since I have watched WOTW and it's definitely not on my Must-Watch-Movie-Again list, I opted out. No problem man, all I needed to do was to find something else to while my time away with. Drifted over to Kinokuniya and eventually bought 2 business books for the office.

The world over came together to aid the cause of The Greatest Concert On Earth yesterday. 1 billion souls and 100 artists in 10 major cities united in solidarity towards the 1 big cause of trying to make African poverty history. Credit goes to Bob Geldof, the most influential mastermind of the Live Aid movement who have managed to bring together hundreds of widely-loved artists to contribute to this worthy mission. Even Mr Bill Gates, the 'greatest philantrophist' of our times made an appearance worthy of a rock star at Hyde Park.

Pressure is on the G8 leaders to answer to the call of world population to proactively eradicate the misery faced by African children. We demand that Africa be given debt forgiveness, trade concessions and on top of that, multi-billion monetary aid that will initiate civilisational progress for the African people.

But as the event played out to the greatest crowd ever in history, I couldn't help thinking about the latest development of surging global oil prices in recent months which has already peaked at USD60 per barrel last week. Long term prospects definitely do not augur well as world-wide demand continues to mount excessive pressure on the already jittery oil supply.

The world today is not what it used to be 50 years ago. Decades of accelerated growth led by unfatigable capitalism worldwide gave rise to the ingenious and varied ways of utilizing oil and gas resources. The creative spirit of the human intellect brought about a technological realm for the global citizen far removed from Earth's own natural offering. But all this comes with a price. A very very heavy price. The world is at a breakneck speed of breaking itself without any possible sign of stopping. The severity and imminence of peak oil is beginning to be felt.

Live Aid.

Would this be the great opportunity for the West, especially the Americans, to further liberalize Africa and orientate it towards their capitalist markets?

No matter how altruistic the intentions of popular opinion are at the moment, as evident from the Live Aid concerts, we are just humans afterall. The basic instinct to survive is strong. To survive is to inevitably compete when resources are scarce. The West is under tremendous pressure. Financial systems are dependent on expansion of wealth which in turn is dependent on expansion of oil supplies. The opposite scenario would be catastrophic. Unless new energy sources are found, economies will crumble, lured by its own false ambitions and betrayed by its own false assumptions.

Couldn't we safely say then, by answering to the demands of the Live Aid supporters, the G8 leaders have the perfect precursor to put right politically chaotic Africa and justify the need to explore the possibilities of rich oil and gas fields in the continent? No other countries in the world needs this more than the United States.

It's ironic. World opinion now is that Africa needs help. However, Africa has been living the way it has for eons. Sure, poverty is prevalent if we compare to our standards of living today in modern countries. But Africa is a survivor. Has always been ever since the first cradle of civilizations appeard in its valleys. Poverty is tough but Africans have a strong spirit. They were able to sustain themselves with basic natural means even before the western world showed them that they are poor. But if the impeding peak oil crisis materializes without a solution in sight, the Western world, already entrenched in an intricate web of survival dependencies, may just need to take a survival cue from Africa then.

Related links:

• LIVE 8 - The Long Walk To Justice
  
• West African Oil: Hope or Hype?
  
• Life After the Oil Crash
  
• Powershift - Oil, Money, & War
  
• Peak Oil
  
• Plan now for a world without oil

PS: Darn, I missed Live Aid last night. Totally forgotten about it and watched War of the Worlds with my friend instead. Sigh, hope there will be a rerun on Astro.

I am curious as to how such a huge moth can find its way onto the 25th floor of the PETRONAS Twin Towers.


Been seeing many of these silent flying creatures around the Twin Towers lately. Lift, lobby, foyer... you name it, I have seen it. Even stepped on one accidentally once, sorry.

Hmm, wonder what's the species name.