Ah, it's been a while since I last published anything here. Feel a little guilty, but thankfully not too much. Crazy work commitments in the months prior (man, I've been busy) followed by a two week holiday (to America!) meant I couldn't devote as much time as I'd have liked to writing here. Which reminds... Continue Reading →
I was just browsing kottke.org when I came across a short little post about a neat page on Wikipedia aptly called "List of common misconceptions". The post contained an excerpt of that Wikipedia page on life expectancy, a misconception that I myself had (somewhat embarrassingly) up till only recently: It is true that life expectancy... Continue Reading →
Abstention on the part of those who won’t venture in creates opportunities for those who will. The quote above comes from Howard Mark's The Most Important Thing Illuminated, who was referring to investors who, believing they cannot beat the market, stay away from the investing game. In doing so, these people allow those who think they can (and... Continue Reading →
"Worrying doesn't get you anywhere." Or so they say, "they" being the anonymous group of trolls in my head that churns out stuff like that. But worry does have a use. It urges me to take action. Because of worry, I do things today that I'd ordinarily put off to tomorrow. I admit, worry makes... Continue Reading →
"There is a very real difference," my friend told me, "between getting a car 'new' and getting it 'second-hand'. When you're getting it second-hand, you have no idea what the previous owner did with (or in) the car." He should know. We were sitting in his (second-hand) car, bought just a couple of months back,... Continue Reading →
Just thought I would share with you what has to be, for me, the quote of the week. Taken from the book Getting More, a beautiful book on negotiation by Stuart Diamond (emphasis mine): Lower your expectations. If you come into a negotiation thinking that the other side will be difficult, unfair, rude, or trying... Continue Reading →
It's been such a long time since I last wrote anything here (blame the whole ____load of work that's been coming in; hint: sounds like "ship") that I'm suddenly all self-conscious about it. It reminds me of a period of my life where I used to wear running shorts all the time. I wore them in... Continue Reading →
Current affairs currently in my head, in a nutshell: Roy Ngerng criticises Singapore's CPF, likens it to schemes of questionable legality. Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong sues him for defamation. Many citizens think this is a bad move. See also: Catherine Lim's open letter Among criticisms, Ngerng says government should make it easier for... Continue Reading →
This is a beautiful talk, one that addresses something I'd felt strongly about since I started thinking seriously about my professional life back when I was studying at Temasek Polytechnic. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKHTawgyKWQ I remember sitting in the lecture hall, listening to an entrepreneur who had been invited to speak to us business students. During the Q&A,... Continue Reading →
The extent of my nerdiness was only realized this after reading the following excerpt from the book "Decisive" by Chip Heath (I find it a really good book, by the way): In our quest to convince you of the merits of a process, we realize we’ve been facing an uphill battle: It would be hard to... Continue Reading →
Donn, fragments 