For those who know me, I am a fan of punctuality and would like the same of others. I know there are situations that can keep us from being exactly on time, and that is understandable and acceptable. It just annoys the heck of of me when some people seem to “inherently” lack punctuality.

I think it speaks a lot about that person, that it is a demonstration of good manners. It shows the person’s attention and energy to form their habits. How? Here’s how. From how you plan your time to arrive at an appointment, it shows the way you manage your time, and that you will apply the same methodology to your daily schedule and organization of events. In the end, being to an appointment is equivalent to running late on other things also because of the same planning methodology applied, which is the estimating to be “right on” (“late”) out of habit.

It’s even worse when I hear people say, “oh, I’m always late, it’s just me…” It speaks clearly about the personality. If that’s the case and you even realize it, then why don’t you fix it? Why not make it a habit to be on time? It just goes to show how you are unable to correct your own mistake and improve yourself.

More over, tardiness is like stealing time from other people and time is priceless. So another way to think about this is – Having punctuality or being on time is another form of respect for others.

It is in my nature to avoid those people, once I observe who has the “nature” to be late. I’m talking about some serious tardiness here, like 15 min+ on multiple occasions. For friends, I will provide some suggestions/warnings before any act of distancing myself from them. The way I see this is, why waste my precious time for folks like that? You should consider the same.

Originally posted 2007-03-04 23:46:28. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

The news about the New Zealand couple running away with several million had spread all over by now.

Interestly, there seems to be quite a bit of support for the runaway couple. There are even two Facebook groups created that support them – Go Leo Gao – Go You Good Thing! and We Support Leo Gao and his 10 Million Dollars – Run Leo Run.

The question I ask is not whether this is right or wrong or if you support is. The question I ask is…

If you had also gotten the money from the bank, would you choose to runaway?

For me, it is obvious that it is not worth it. First, there is the risk of getting caught. It is not likely that one can get away with something like this so easily. Secondly, even if I manage to get away at first, it will mean that I had to play hide and seek for, at least, an extended period of time if not my entire life, and that means I cannot even enjoy the money. Lastly, the instant money would not be something that I had earned myself and that simply takes away the entire enjoyment factor of earning it and thus no longer can I enjoy what I earn.

What about you?

Originally posted 2009-05-22 21:45:12. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

A friend sent me link about a new Sony Vaio laptop.

The world’s lightest 8″ notebook, the 1.4-pound VAIO® P Series Lifestyle PC does more than you could imagine–with impeccable style. Email at the airport, IM from the park, or just show it off when you want some attention.

Honestly, who really needs a laptop that is 1.4lb that is mega-expensive? What the F is a person gonna use it for? Throw it like a baseball? It’s not big enough to read and browse and work on it comfortably. It’s not small enough like smart phones, with resembling functions, for you to carry around. If you have trouble carrying around a 4 to 5 lb of very portable laptop, may I say you have a physical condition called weak, and by that I mean, weaker than a 5-year-old.

So in the end, it is all about the last comment — just show it off when you want some attention — that which appeals to the emotional side of consumers. And people will fall for it too, as we have come to adopt the consumeristic lifestyle, which boomed in the past decades. Just maybe less peope will fall for it now, but such things like this laptop are the reflections of the excess in our society.

The lavish lifestyle of the super-rich.
The giant house that’s too big even for a family, let alone just a couple.
The big house that parents insist to buy because they have… TWO kids.
The ultra mega-pixel digital camera, when common users won’t even have practical usage of pictures from a 4MP camera.
The pick-up and SUVs for just-in-case big items.
Uh… Hummer!
Fancy gym memberships that 85% (or whatever large amount) of the people don’t use.
The obsessive of saving this and that, or war on this and that, while each individual has trouble taking care of the self, mastering the self.
Talk shows, reality TVs, game shows.
The amount of lawsuits, blaming, victimizing the self.

And the biggest reflection of excess is… the unhealthiness, both physical and mental, of the general population. Just look at obesity, many terminal illness, depression, people going hay-wired, rising health care cost, general uncaring-ness of each other… I believe are all reflections of the same thing.

The excessive excess we have reflects a general lacking inside. Something is amiss which causes us to be so materialistic, even though it is all about looking inside yourself. Since nobody does that, they never fulfill the lack and continue to chase materials, in the form of money, in the form of a successful career, in the form of owning things. Thus the excess. All the while, without looking at yourself and taking care of the self first, people’s physical and mental condition deteriorate because they only know to chase materials. Thus all the physiological and mental illness.

So until each individual learns to take care of the self and learns to look within rather than without, and thereby shedding the excess, our problems will always be re-occurring, if only in different forms. Look at the past 3000 years. Humans hadn’t really changed. If anything, I think we are in worse shape than ever, despite the entrepreneurship, despite technology, despite all the knowledge and information we possess now.

Originally posted 2009-01-16 01:44:23. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

After witnessing much tumbling in the stock market for the past few months, the gain from last six weeks is probably making many people all warm and fuzzy.

I cannot help but feel ambivalent.

On one hand, it is nice to see the numbers going back up when I do my monthly tracking. It makes us feel like we are moving past the bottom of everything (probably not yet).

On the other hand, the problem of excess runs deep into every bones in the economy and financial system. That means to completely get rid of the ill in the system, because it is so large, must take its own time and pace.

Albeit nice to see a recovery now, if there appears to be a recovery so soon, it is most probable that the problem in the system is merely being swept under the rug for a few years — meaning a worse crash in a few years. Not a real recovery. A long bear market to shed the excess in system suddenly seems not so bad in place of a worse crash (implosion of the system) than what we have seen.

That is what I believed anyways.

As a result, I think it is really important to see how things work out this year and plan one’s investing strategy accordingly. If we do recover by the beginning of next year, a bigger crash seems imminent. And what about inflation? It almost seems like there is no place to put our money, but this only means the understanding of the market AND yourself the more important.

At this point in time, if a person truly value [long-term] financial security and personal finance, one must review carefully what is important, and therefore, what is enough in life to decide what to do and then the amount of % in cash, bond, and stock he wants to hold for the years down the road.

What do I really NEED?
What can I live on with? And without?
Does it really take a million?
Do I really need to be completely not working (AKA. retirement)? <-- 'Tis a bigger topic later. What is truly important? Happiness? Peace? Relentless excitement? What does it mean to be healthy? (medical cost) What does it mean to live? Last thing, I believe one must be careful to consider if he wants to fully risk obediently chasing after the ghost of 6-8% average gain in stock market. I thought of this when I kept reading people in their late 40s and 50s losing almost half their portfolio... if they truly had diversified, meaning not holding everything in equity, would they yet lose half their portfolio? I am thinking maybe 30% instead of half. I guess it could be the problem of some fund managers.

Originally posted 2009-04-19 22:27:45. Republished by Blog Post Promoter