China extends its long reach

Recently, Taiwan and China agreed to begin direct flights on a regular basis, thus allowing passengers to save time (and potentially $) by not having to travel through Hong Kong each time (that's the current flight path).

Just wanted to point out that China is trying to keep their control on their citizens, even when they're in Taiwan. "Chinese visitors to Taiwan will not be allowed to gamble or engage in "pornographic activities," China's state news agency reported Sunday.".

1. There are no casinos in Taiwan today - they might be just saying this ahead of speculation that casinos may be developed in the future, but come on. Just announce it then.
2. As if China doesn't turn a blind eye to its own "pornographic activities".

The Slimiest Creatures on Earth

This evening I found that I'd been walking around with a large, curved knife in my back for the last 12 hours. Who stabbed me? Oh, it was HR of course. Human Resources prides itself on pretending to be everyone's friend, but actually conspiring to shortchange you of what you deserve - your raise, your bonus, your health benefits. I was put in a difficult position recently, where I had to trust HR with critical information - against my instincts. Well, today I found out that this person did exactly what they promised not to. She explicitly said, "I will definitely not do xyz". Within one week mind you!

F*CK YOU HR - choke on pay stubs and burn in C&B hell.

(But please give me a raise and a big bonus, thanks.)

Money & Happiness

What is meaningful in life?

Family, a Partner, Kids, Career advancement...

What are key drivers of those? If you've managed to get married and have kids, I wonder if the happiness you get makes you lower the priority on career. Or, does it rachet up the pressure to perform at work and make more and more money since you have to fund a family in perpetuity. You could just get "a job" and spend quality time with the family, instead of killing yourself to get them the finer things in life, give them better lives than you had. But I would feel like a bit of a failure, as I expect each generation to do better than the next.

Money allows us to "do things" in life, with our family, for our family and ourselves. Buying things both for utilitarian purposes and for materialistic purposes is obviously enabled by financial well-being. Being in Hong Kong has affected my buying habits - I'm pretty frugal, but I now find myself buying things I previously would never have considered, and without much consideration. I do this because it gives me gratification, a bit of happiness in a boring life. Ooo, a new camera, what about a new cell phone? How about some brand name leather shoes? Custom suit? Video game system? Got to have that PC. How about that hunk o' cheese that costs 4X the US price at CitySuper? Well, at least I haven't graduated to anything more damaging, not that I could afford to.

Anyways, my hypothesis is that if I had unlimited funds I would be able to focus on the things that really matter in life, and achieve a greater happiness...and that's not the purchasing of electronics.

Home Cookin'

Mac & Cheese

Today I schlepped to Sogo and bought a casserole just so I could make Mac & Cheese. It pretty much worked out, though I toned down the butter content, and skipped the sour cream. It might've been more creamy had I left the sour cream in. Also, I wouldn't recommend the full cup of bread crumbs which the recipe called for - it's too much and it kind of absorbs too much of the cheese sauce.