12... 34...

Wow. 34.

Inkling - Limiting the limitless

I was reading "Dune Genesis", a short article by Frank Herbert, when I came across this.

"The flaw must lie in our methods of description, in languages, in social networks of meaning, in moral structures, and in philosophies and religions-all of which convey implicit limits where no limits exist."

Could it be, that in defining something, in giving something shape, we are actually limiting it? It kind of ties in with one of my inklings from taiji, that giving something shape limits it and allows it to be used against yourself (in other words, by giving something shape, you limit it and give it a weakness).

This is probably something that deserves more thought. Something best left for those times when I need something to ponder on. And have the luxury of time to spend pondering it. But do feel free to share if you have any thoughts on this.

Thoughts on Dune and the dangers of bureaucracy

Have you ever read the book "Dune" by Frank Herbert?

I was reading an article about the origins of the Dune universe, and this idea that one of the themes of the Dune series is "that people seem to have an inbuilt hunger for a powerful, charismatic leader to whom we can surrender our responsibility for making difficult decisions" and that "even if the original leader resists the temptation to abuse power, the bureaucracy which springs up around him will outlive him, and over time a bureaucracy becomes more and more incented to prioritize its own needs over the needs of people." This was the case in the Fremen Jihad after Paul Atreides came to power.

How about our own history? In human history, how many cases have we seen of such occurrences? Many dynasties in Chinese history were founded by a great man, only to decay when the bureaucracy founded started to prioritise its own needs over the needs of the people it was developed to govern. Have we really learnt from history not to make the same mistakes? Will the system we have developed continue to remember that its purpose is to serve the greater good and not to serve the system itself? Or will we walk down the same path of decay as others have before us?

Frank Herbert himself said it best in his article, Dune Genesis.

F1 weekend

Today is the annual Singapore F1 Grand Prix, the 5th since it started in 2008. While there was no news about the renewal of the F1 tour for some time, it is now official that the race will continue in Singapore for another 5 more years.

Lewis Hamilton started in the pole position. But a gearbox problem caused him to retire early in the race. In the end, Vettel won the race, with Button coming in 2nd and Alonso in 3rd place.

5 more years of racing in September!

What are dracones?

For those who wondered what dracones are, here's some info.

Basically, a dracone barge is "a large flexible watertight tube intended to carry a liquid cargo while towed mostly-submerged behind a ship."

The idea seems to have come from Frank Herbert, one of my favourite authors. It probably came from his novel, The Dragon in the Sea .

Here's how a dracone barge look like:

Disputed island

For those who know, this is actually the disputed island called Uotsurishima 魚釣島 which is the largest island in the Senkaku Islands group (called Diaoyu Islands by the Chinese). I had a chance to go up close and take this shot, not something that I would want to do now given the rise in tensions in that part of the world.

We are probably going to be reading about this dispute in the papers for a while...

Forcing the issue

Recently, Japan has been taking a strong stance with regards to her territorial issues with China over the Senkaku Islands (known as Diaoyu Islands also) and South Korea over Dokdo (known as Takeshima too).

Personally, I think this is a very bad time to force the issue for Japan.

China is undergoing leadership change during this time. No leader likes to be seen as weak, and thus China is unlikely to come to any compromise over this issue at this time. In fact, bringing up the issue now only forces China to take a strong stance with regards to the territorial issue.

There is also a Chinese saying, that while brothers may fight amongst themselves while at home, they will unite against an external threat. The recent stance taken by Taiwan over the Diaoyu Islands, supporting China's claim, is a clear sign of this. For Japan, bringing up the issue now may just push Taiwan more towards China, something that may not be strategically beneficial for Japan. It only means Japan becomes more isolated in East Asia. It also means one less strategic foothold for the US in the region, something which the US is not likely to want or tolerate.

It is also election year in the US, and while bringing up the issue now forces the US to make clear stance on their commitment towards Japan, given the complex economic relation between the US and China, the US is not likely to want to antagonise China during this critical period. To the US, Japan is that insensitive, childish friend trying to make them take sides in a quarrel with deeply buried implications.

Taking a strong stance on territorial issues with China is also a reminder to South Korea that the issue for Dokdo is still up on the table. South Korea has never forgotten Japan's aggression in the 20th century, and any strong stance by the Japanese is like a reminder to them of Japan's militant past, something that South Korea is always apprehensive about and still fresh in their memories. While both countries are allies of the US and would only be strategically beneficial to be friendly to each other, such issues will drive them apart and further isolate Japan in the region.

Economically speaking, Sino-Japanese trade is important for both sides, yet if China decides to boycott Japanese goods, China still has the production capability to supply her own domestic demand. Chinese factories have been facing production slowdown; this is a good opportunity for them to increase output and put under-utilised factories back on track. Japan, however, will suffer an economic blow, driving her already stagnant economy even further back.

So while it seems like a good time for Japan to bring up the issue and force the US to commit to Japan, when you consider all other factors in, it may just be a bad move by Japan, one that she cannot easily back away from now, and with possible long-term negative strategic implications for her.

Thoughts on gambling addiction

I think there is a reason why gambling is so addictive. Not that I gamble, just that it got me thinking when I was on my way home from pushing hands.

Human nature is inherently competitive. We want to win. We don't like losing. It manifests itself in taiji, when people are afraid to lose and so obsessed with losing that they tense up and instead end up being pushed. Maybe gambling is the same. People want to win. After winning a few times, they gain some confidence and want to continue to win. And when they lose, they don't like losing, they try to win back. This competitive nature, the need to win, drives them to continue gambling even when the odds are against them, even when they continue to lose. Or so I think.

For me, I guess it will take some drastic life change for me to take up gambling. It is a vice that I stay far far away from.

The Wolf Children Ame and Yuki

Just watched this animated film directed by Hosoda Mamoru today. Instead of scary werewolves, the wolfman was portrayed in more human terms.

It shows how difficult it is to be different. Especially in Japanese society, when people try to conform to social norms so as not to disturb "harmony". And bringing up children is never easy; it only becomes even more difficult with the complications that these kids are both wolves and kids. They are not just kids, they are different.

But it also tells us that we need to be strong in the face of adversity. Not just to be strong for ourselves, but for those who depend on us. Even when nothing seems to be going right, keep smiling.

The modern "sword" and "pen"

So which is mightier? The sword or the pen? It has always been a question that people asked. And are still asking. While I will not try to say which is the mightier, what I want to offer is a modern insight into the concept of the sword and the pen.

The sword (武 in Chinese) used to represent martial prowess, while the pen (文 in Chinese) to represent knowledge. But in this modern age, how relevant is martial prowess? Especially when put against knowledge?

Maybe the sword should be a better representation of hard skills (which were what martial prowess was back then) and the pen a representation of soft skills (which was what knowledge was back then too)? If we look at it that way, the modern "sword" should no longer be confined to martial prowess, but include knowledge of technical skills (engineering and science included). The modern "pen" can then be used to represent the arts, including literature and the fine arts. Our modern "sword" is thus "science", and the "pen" is "arts". Or maybe, all along, the sword has been science and the pen has been the arts, and we have been taking things too literally?

Go Intrepid, do us proud!

Farewell RSS Intrepid, do us proud in the Gulf of Aden as you do your bit to deter piracy. Dare and do! See you back in Singapore in 3 months!

Singtel customer service... the lack of it

Yesterday, I decided to get a new phone from Singtel, via their online shop, Singtelshop. After choosing the phone and other details, I chose the delivery date for today in the morning. However, the deliveryman never showed up. After calling Singtel to ask, I was told that they would get back to me. An hour later, they called back, telling me that they usually don't deliver on Sundays. It got me wondering, if you don't deliver on Sundays, why even have it as an option? And I even got 2 SMSs (one yesterday, the other this morning) reminding me that Singtel will be delivering my phone to me today.

Well, the guy on the phone offered to help me check if they could deliver the phone to me tomorrow, but he needed some time to check and thus would call me back. After waiting 5 hours, nothing. So I called back Singtel, and they told me they do not have any records of my earlier call. Wow! Talk about records... if Singtel can't even keep a proper record of my calls to them, how can I even be sure they are keeping proper records of anything else?

1. If Singtel does not deliver on Sundays, then why does their online shop allows customers to select Sundays for delivery? This shows that the website is not well designed, an obvious failing for an organisation as large as Singtel.
2. My first call to Singtel was not properly logged. Thus, when I called in again, I had to explain my case again. This was a waste of time for me, and added to my frustration. If Singtel really values its customers, it would not put its customers through such anguish.
3. Also, if Singtel cannot keep proper records of such simple issues, how can we, the customers, be assured that it is keeping the important records properly? Such poor record-keeping obviously undermines customer confidence in Singtel.
4. The deal was to deliver today. Singtel didn't keep to that promise. What other promises are Singtel not keeping?
5. Singtel doesn't deliver on Sundays (so I was told by the guy handling my call). In that case, it means that Singtel over-promised. It promised to do something that it cannot deliver. What else is Singtel over-promising?

So if you are thinking about signing up anything new with Singtel, take a look at the above before you make that decision.