Sunday, November 30, 2008

taj


I was there 7 years ago when I was traveling, though I don't remember if I went inside. This is also the place my friend had a wedding banquet. It seems terrorism is no longer something that only happens somewhere foreign to myself or people I know.

Saturday, November 29, 2008

cape no. 7


上个星期六,在高雄住的我舅父开车带我去垦丁国家公园玩。回高雄的时候我们通过个城市叫恒春。舅父说很有名的海角七号电影是在这个城市拍的。在西门附近有很多游客。回来香港以后看到这部电影的广告。如果现在有的话可能明天就去看。

positive


Went to the Exhibition Center last Sunday with a friend to listen to his testimony at a huge Christian conference. (My friend is a Christian.)
We were a bit late and happened to take seats in the very front row which flanked the stage. So when he came in and took a seat to wait to be called onto the stage he was almost in arms length to us. Although he is not like a celebrity I don't deny that I felt a bit lucky to see the main guest who gathered as many as 30K(?) people at the venue so close. Though I'm not a Christian, I think I was lucky to have the opportunity to listen to his speech. He was actually a very good speaker - it was well constructed, funny at times, his voice strong, and I could tell he was quite intelligent. It did tell me that positive attitude was important. After his speech someone approached me and asked if I wanted to know more about God. To this I politely answered that I wasn't ready. Much of his strength must be coming from the strong belief in the religion and I have nothing against it, but the whole process of converting is just a bit foreign to me.

Friday, November 28, 2008

谷歌拼音输入法

I was going to create a post on 谷歌拼音输入法软件,不过我觉得有时候这软件的behavior有点奇怪。我在试试看吧。

Friday, November 21, 2008

出差


今天去高雄出差,明天晚上就回來。

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

festive deco


Only these fake candies are shabby while everything else is solid shiny in IFC. Not that I care about it.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

outsourcing

Interesting documentary on call center outsourcing to India.

"30 Days: Outsourcing" (2006) (Part 1/2)

"30 Days: Outsourcing" (2006) (Part 2/2)


  • The Japanese market is protected partly due to the language barrier. Dalian may make a call center to Japan, but I imagine the Japanese are more xenophobic than Americans are given that people's expectations on services are generally high and they can be quite picky on how the service person talks.
  • Whether people like it or not, however, there will be more outsourcing in the future. What's happened to America will probably happen to Japan, though it might be in a smaller scale. It's best to have good language skills whether you try to profit from it or not lose money / position for changes in the environment.
  • There should be some scheme to judge the impact of outsourcing in accepting side, as a flood of new business can give huge impact to the local cuture and how people live. When good things are lost, it's very difficult to restore them.
  • We should not fear changes ahead of us. We should rather enjoy them and try to devise new ways of doing things.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

secret


I am a Hokkaido hairy crab man. I can cut you into pieces with my awesome pincers.

南丫島


就到了。

Thursday, November 13, 2008

structure

My boss has a very strong leadership. Sometimes too strong and stubborn, though. It's good to have that ability per se, but it should be exerted at a higher level. What lacks in the team is a good structure which makes our business less dependent on individuals. Good leader must be able to devise that structure and make it visible to everyone.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

a-bian


I think he's now a bit overweight.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

外星人


A friend happily told me they were aliens. I thought they were cut mushrooms and they tasted like that. She also told me that the left one looked like me which I half agree.

Monday, November 10, 2008

autumn

After a few rather humid nights, Hong Kong air is suddenly cool and dry. I like this season. Want to go hiking and eat rosted chestnuts.

Sunday, November 09, 2008

vigil


I understand that they feel like shit but they are kind of belittling the act of vigil by doing this based on that secular motivation. Come on, it's not that anyone was killed.

language programs from shanghai

Not only ChinesePod, but also SpanishPod, ItalianPod and FrenchPod are hosted in the studio in Shanghai. Though I've never listened to those other than CPod, it's interesting this kind of thig is now possible. It tells us that:
  • Basic approach of education for a language can be applied for another. (What system works for ChinesePod can also work for other language pods.)
  • Shanghai does attract talents. (Who can imagine your Spanish teacher is neither in your area or in Spain but in Shanghai, China!)
  • Related to above two points, having the core system in one place can have more cost benefits than running things in different locations.
Their business is the kind which can make a chapter in The World Is Flat, I think.


By the way, I really think someone should start up a Japanese language program to reach out to people in China. That will bring about numbers of tangible/intangible benefits to Japan.

Saturday, November 08, 2008

saturday nap

When I take a nap on Saturday afternoon I hardly get into a deep sleep but my childhoold memories flash back at times and I notice how different things are in my current life. I cherish those cathartic moments.

Friday, November 07, 2008

things to work on

  1. State core values. Must be done by the leader.
  2. Define roles/responsivilities. Leader must take the lead. Everyone's participation is also preferred.
  3. Improvise processes to make things better. Everyone's participation is a must in terms of making them "processes" effectively followed by everyone.


What I want to do is to prepare a platform for people to do above and also to encourage them to do just that.

Thursday, November 06, 2008

跳槽

今天学的新词。槽是个马吃饭的地方。
跳槽 = 换吃饭的地方
= 换公司

挺有意思。不是我现在很想跳槽。

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

anger


For a sec I thought RICOH has done something, but it's the financial secretary that they those minibond investors are angry about.

hiayashi udon

I wonder if Hong Kong has hiyashi (cold) udon/shoba kind of thing. Just thought hiyashi udon could sell well here if the chef can replicate the tastes of Japan. A good supply chain and hygienic environment are needed. ひやしうどんくいたい。

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

atmosphere

A couple recent events - Aso's comment to support Murayama's line, and sacking of the high rank officer of SDF for expressing a contradicting view - seem to have worked positively by soothing the long-held enmity many Asian people have had toward Japan.

I don't know what political situation was behind those events, but I suppose this certainly is a positive change especially for us Japanese doing business in those Asian countries. I remember how a woman made quite a scene in the bus by saying that Japanese slaughtered Chinese in the past war as soon as she knew I was from Japan. It was 7 years ago. I believe the situation now must be better than that time.

Monday, November 03, 2008

attitude

As much as I want to point out what are lacking in the team, I should list up what I can do to bring about positive changes to myself, to the team and to the bigger community.

Sunday, November 02, 2008

konnyaku jelly


I hear companies are stopping production in Japan. Will this disappear from the shelves of hk supermarkets as well. Not that I case much. I personally like it though.

Saturday, November 01, 2008

halloween in hk

Sorry no photos, but I didn't know people celabrate halloween this much in HK. I went out for drinks last night but there were people dressed in funny/weird/insteresting costumes everywhere. I think it's more popular here than in Japan as I do not remember any kinds of celebration around me when I was there. This custom must have been brought in by the British but it makes me think Hongkers (oh, it sounds better than "Hongkongers" and easier to say) can be more pragmatic than the Japanese. Well, maybe about the same.

Halloween (Wikipedia)

Interestingly, though, Japan is counted as one of the "several countries of the western world" which celebrate it in this entry. Maybe there were celebrations going on outside of my small world.