The past couple of weeks have been real back breakers.
We renovated our flat in Causeway Bay but only paid “professionals” to do part of it. We had a non-weight bearing wall removed and the floor in that area redone and the area rewired. We would have had the professionals do the whole thing but they kept finding additional charges beyond the contracted price.
So, in the back of the flat rather than paying a painter and then paying him some more I did it all myself. I must admit that I still have the noble-savage bug and believe that every real man should know how to, and enjoy painting walls, building fences, sawing lumber, swinging a hammer and making furniture. Real men, or so my somewhat addled librarians’ mind thinks' know how to sweat and enjoy physical labor. But, painting in Hong Kong is just so frustrating because the painters are not only dishonest but stupid. They thin the paint thinking that it allows them to save a few dollars and then apply three or four coats of colored water rather than one or two coats of thicker paint.
That may, in fact save a tiny bit of cash except for three things that both relate to time.
First, it takes a lot more time to apply four coats than does one or two. If they didn’t thin the paint then they could finish faster and have more time for other jobs. They’d also spend a lot less time cleaning up because thicker paint drips less and makes less of a mess.
Second, thicker paint sticks to the wall better. But, because the painters here excessively thin their paint, every time you paint an interior wall you must remove the old paint. If you don't then the new paint softens the old paint and the whole mess pulls the old paint off the wall and you end up having to paint the same wall twice after scraping the weak old and your new paint off the wall. So, in addition to having to apply four coats of thin paint, local painters have to also remove the old paint which also adds to the time and mess.
Third, the thinned paint does not stay on the wall as long so you must repaint more often. This might make the painters feel they will have more work and thus a higher income but it is frustrating for residents to have to repaint their walls every three years.
So in a rather stupid attempt to save a few dollars of paint that is, most of the time paid for by the person who owns the flat anyway, painters spend more time to provide a lower quality job.
I'm not even going to get into the fact that they use small, cheap brushes, only 100mm rather 250mm rollers and I've never seen one use a heavy bodied paint sprayer to save time.
I’ve painted more than my fair share of interior walls. I worked as a house painter in college. We’d go into a duplex rented to students and have 12 hours to repaint all the walls and ceiling and then clean up so that it could be rented out again in 72 hours. We NEVER had to remove any old paint. Even if the tenants had painted walls a dark color like black or purple we’d just use a an undercoat like “Kilz” and then apply a white or beige or other neutral rental property color on top. Two guys, two rollers, two roller trays, and various types of rollers to cover the highly textured ceilings and less textured walls, plastic drop cloths, several brushes, scrapers for bad spots, a tube of spackling and caulk for cracks, some towels, goggles to keep paint out our eyes when painting ceilings and a boom box or radio. We generally had a Coleman cooler with some soda, water and lunch stuff as well. Most of the apartments and duplexes we painted were about 1000 square feet of living space not counting closets which would be a 1800 square foot flat in Hong Kong. We'd paint these flats in one day for $800.00 and we provided the paint which cost about $75.00 to $100.00. Not a bad job if we could do two a week and a good job if we did three.
In Hong Kong we’d have starved. We’d have first had to use a product called “Standard Retarder” to remove the old paint. You apply this like paint with either a roller or brush. Unlike modern water based interior paints this stuff stinks to high heaven and is the real reason that your neighbors complain when you repaint a Hong Kong flat. After the Standard Retarder sits on the wall a few minutes it softens the old paint which must be scrapped off. You then have to let the wall dry or else the new paint will not stick properly.
An additional problem is created because the painters here do not use drywall board or sheetrock to cover the concrete or brick. Once again the painters are being penny wise and dollar foolish. Instead they use gypsum powder and mix it with a gelatin to make plaster that is then spread over the wall. The plaster is then sanded and the multiple coats of overly thin paint applied. But the Standard Retarder also takes this off. So, you have to reapply the plaster before you can repaint. If the builders here would seal and apply a fungicide to the underlying concrete wall then cover that wall with sheetrock, tape and bed the sheetrock to cover the joints and the texture and paint with non-thinned paint, renovations in Hong Kong would be a lot easier. Subsequent repainting could just simply be applying new paint over old. But no, they work so that every time you paint you have to remove everything down to the bare concrete. This adds not only time and money but a significant amount of waste and trouble. As paint is considered to be a hazardous waste; removing it from the walls to throw into a land fill is also not an environmentally sound practice when it wouldn’t hurt anything to simply leave the old paint on the wall under the new. The net result is that a flat which Howard and I could have painted in 6 hours winds up taking 3 days for at least three guys working 12 hours a day. But, they spend less on paint.
Doing stupid things that waste money and time appears to be endemic to many levels of Hong Kong. Especially if someone in the government can find any type of short sighted savings. There must be something in the curriculum at HKU because all the civil servant types have a real problem seeing that short term saving often translate into long term expenses. For example; The EdB is going to stop allowing disabled students stay in the school system past the age of 18 despite the fact that non-disabled students who fail a year or two can be in government schools until they are at least 20.
That is as stupid as thinning paint.
These students could really benefit from a little longer time in school. An additional two or three years would allow many of them to gain enough skills and education to become productive members of society with jobs instead a lifetime of being supported by families or on the Hong Kong welfare rolls.
EdB says “They’ve already received more funding than non-disabled students so they are not entitled to more.” So not only are the knuckle-draggers in the EdB stupid dip-shits'; they are cold hearted bastards as well. I wonder how long it will be before someone in the hospital authority says: “Hey, all you people who have had a heart attack or all you losers with diabetes, you’ve already received more than you fair share of health services. No more doctors visits for you.” Since the Civil Servants are moved from department to department probably not very long. Since the civil-servants have their own hospitals and medical system they would be exempt from such decrees.
As a sidelight to this, you gentle reader might be interested to know that the EdB just gave out 4 land grants for new International schools. One of the ones approved was for a British boarding school for the wealthy brats of the upper class whose undisciplined hellions have to be locked away so they won't die of their cocaine addition before they complete secondary school. Many of the students in that school will not even be from Hong Kong or stay in Hong Kong after graduation. They also have other educational options. One land grant that was turned down was the proposal from the Hong Kong based International Christian School (ICS) for a new school expressly for students with moderate to severe disabilities that cannot be placed in an inclusive classroom. ICS wanted to create an affordable option for disabled students. EdB didn’t think that was as important as allowing spoiled trust-fund babies an opportunity to live in a dorm with other societal parasites.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who thinks the entire EdB is really retarded
Saturday, August 08, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
I hope somebody at Rio Tinto sees this
I guess what goes around comes around
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who wants to see a free and ethical PRC
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who wants to see a free and ethical PRC
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
In Praise of Bad Men
Lots of Hong Kong bloggers, myself included, not to mention political figures, business types and even the normally thicker journalist and dim witted singers and actors have made a steady habit of criticizing Donald Tsang who is somewhat affectionally known as the Human Bow tie (THBT) on this blog.
We've called him all sorts of names, defamed his ancestry and disparaged his competence, intelligence and fitness for his job. However, I think that it is possible that I and all the others have been disappointed in THBT may have missed the point. The problem with Donald Tsang isn't that he is incompetent but that he is not mean enough. Oh he has a reputation for being petty and vindictive but those traits only rise slightly above the level of banality and give him the appearance of a bumbler making him him an easy target. THBT does not strike me as a ruthless man.
I was thinking about this because I've been thinking about the story of the prodigal son. Normally when we think of this story we think of forgiveness and the impetuousness of youth or the love of parents for their children. For some reason, I thought of the Byzantine emperor Justinian. He was a general, the adopted son of a general who was raised to the purple after one of the many civil wars that plagued Byzantium. Justinian then became the second in that dynasty after the death of his adopted father. He was also, in a very real way a returned prodigal because he wanted to give up the throne and was persuaded not to.
He was not a large man, slender and soft spoken. He married for love not politics which was rare in those days and would have been happy to remain a general. Not the image of the strong and tall emperor. He was also a blond haired, blue eyed man in a city of black haired, brown eyed Greeks and felt their dislike of him. Shortly after becoming emperor, the city of Constantinople was ravaged by riots. Justinian wanted to either abdicate or take the royal treasury and move the capital to his native Carthage. He was stopped by his wife, Theodora, who literally grabbed him by tunic and asked: "How many men would have given everything to wear the purple for only an hour? How many would have wished for the glory you have? Do you wish to be remembered as a defeated emperor, a man who gave up the throne?"
Justinian quelled the riots. This man who was described as gentle and soft spoken, who seldom raised his voice killed 40000 inhabitants of Constantinople to put down riots. He then borrowed money from the Greek Orthodox church to finance a a series of wars in an attempt to reconquer the Western part of the Roman empire. He defeated the armies of the Vandals, Berbers, Visigoths, Ostrogoths and Persians. He also build huge, magnificent churches and cathedrals. Under his leadership the Byzantine Empire reached its greatest territorial size.
We remember him as Justinian the Great. He is considered a Saint and "Right Believing" emperor in the Greek Church. Yet, when he died there was rejoicing in the streets. The people he ruled did not love him. They didn't like the heavy tax burden he'd imposed or the repressive measures he used to control the empire.
The point? Simply Justinian was more concerned about Byzantium than what people thought of him personally. He pursued the goal enhancing the glory and size of Byzantium ruthlessly. All great men and women have this trait. History may call them villains or it may remember them as heroes. It appears to me that most great men are a mixture of the two. Patton slapping a soldier, Scott letting men die to reach South Pole; Columbus confronting his mutinous crew with a swivel cannon, the examples are endless. Whether the great person is remember as a hero or villain is sometimes a matter of perspective but often goes to their motives as well. It also has something to do with whether or not they knew when to stop. Patton slapped the solider but didn't have him executed.
Donald Tsang, THBT is simply not ruthless enough. He is to concerned about people thinking of him as a nice guy. He needs to have a bad streak, maybe engage some dirty pool. He needs to take some initiative to do what he feels is right even if it is unpopular.
He be a lot more effective leader if he did.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who isn't very mean either
We've called him all sorts of names, defamed his ancestry and disparaged his competence, intelligence and fitness for his job. However, I think that it is possible that I and all the others have been disappointed in THBT may have missed the point. The problem with Donald Tsang isn't that he is incompetent but that he is not mean enough. Oh he has a reputation for being petty and vindictive but those traits only rise slightly above the level of banality and give him the appearance of a bumbler making him him an easy target. THBT does not strike me as a ruthless man.
I was thinking about this because I've been thinking about the story of the prodigal son. Normally when we think of this story we think of forgiveness and the impetuousness of youth or the love of parents for their children. For some reason, I thought of the Byzantine emperor Justinian. He was a general, the adopted son of a general who was raised to the purple after one of the many civil wars that plagued Byzantium. Justinian then became the second in that dynasty after the death of his adopted father. He was also, in a very real way a returned prodigal because he wanted to give up the throne and was persuaded not to.
He was not a large man, slender and soft spoken. He married for love not politics which was rare in those days and would have been happy to remain a general. Not the image of the strong and tall emperor. He was also a blond haired, blue eyed man in a city of black haired, brown eyed Greeks and felt their dislike of him. Shortly after becoming emperor, the city of Constantinople was ravaged by riots. Justinian wanted to either abdicate or take the royal treasury and move the capital to his native Carthage. He was stopped by his wife, Theodora, who literally grabbed him by tunic and asked: "How many men would have given everything to wear the purple for only an hour? How many would have wished for the glory you have? Do you wish to be remembered as a defeated emperor, a man who gave up the throne?"
Justinian quelled the riots. This man who was described as gentle and soft spoken, who seldom raised his voice killed 40000 inhabitants of Constantinople to put down riots. He then borrowed money from the Greek Orthodox church to finance a a series of wars in an attempt to reconquer the Western part of the Roman empire. He defeated the armies of the Vandals, Berbers, Visigoths, Ostrogoths and Persians. He also build huge, magnificent churches and cathedrals. Under his leadership the Byzantine Empire reached its greatest territorial size.
We remember him as Justinian the Great. He is considered a Saint and "Right Believing" emperor in the Greek Church. Yet, when he died there was rejoicing in the streets. The people he ruled did not love him. They didn't like the heavy tax burden he'd imposed or the repressive measures he used to control the empire.
The point? Simply Justinian was more concerned about Byzantium than what people thought of him personally. He pursued the goal enhancing the glory and size of Byzantium ruthlessly. All great men and women have this trait. History may call them villains or it may remember them as heroes. It appears to me that most great men are a mixture of the two. Patton slapping a soldier, Scott letting men die to reach South Pole; Columbus confronting his mutinous crew with a swivel cannon, the examples are endless. Whether the great person is remember as a hero or villain is sometimes a matter of perspective but often goes to their motives as well. It also has something to do with whether or not they knew when to stop. Patton slapped the solider but didn't have him executed.
Donald Tsang, THBT is simply not ruthless enough. He is to concerned about people thinking of him as a nice guy. He needs to have a bad streak, maybe engage some dirty pool. He needs to take some initiative to do what he feels is right even if it is unpopular.
He be a lot more effective leader if he did.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who isn't very mean either
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
I'm back!
The really pretty-looks-25-years-younger-than-she-is-smart-and-loving wife and I just got back from an early summer vacation in Thailand. Thailand is a really interesting place. It has a great climate, friendly natives, good beer, cool things to see, nice beaches, a fair amount English and Chinese speakers, and low prices. It is probably my favorite place in Asia outside of Hong Kong and one of the few Asian countries I can see myself retiring to at some point. If they could just get their political shenanigans under control.
However, give me the doofi in yellow shirts who were upset that a man won an election with a bare 70% of the vote any day. I'd also take what is happening in Honduras any day to what we have happening in Hong Kong today.
Today is "Repatriation Day" in Hong Kong. We've been officially a part of China again for 12 years. This morning we had the paid, rent-a-mob parade in support of the government. I know many of the marchers were not from Hong Kong because they were all speaking Mandarin rather than Cantonese. This afternoon we will have the various 800 groups that want to protest that the government isn't giving out enough handouts or are upset at this or that or something else. They are probably locals and will be marching the same route under the mistaken hope that someone in the government will care. I think that both groups have missed the point. Neither one see the real benefit Hong Kong could be to China or the real threat facing Hong Kong from China.
Don't misunderstand. The Chinese in general and Hong Kongers in particular are reasonably unbothered from the government. While the odious British were here they were their normal alcoholic, antisemitic, pompous, racist, elitist, atheist, snobby selves. So I am not yearning for a return to British rule and laws that prevented Chinese from owning land or housing in certain neighborhoods and such. We are freer now than when the Bloody British were here. Indeed, the Chinese are, on the whole, as non-threatened by their government as any Western nation. I know there are some ideologues that will dispute that but it is really true.
I am, however; upset that the British didn't do a better job preparing Hong Kongers for self government. One need look no farther than the remaining corps of "civil servants" the British left us with to know that they didn't want anyone with tilted eyes and a bridgeless nose to ever think for themselves. Tung Che Wa, our first CE was incompetent because he was an out and out toadie for Beijing. He had no governmental experience. Since he inherited his money he had no real business experience either. He was the son of a wealthy tycoon and the civil servants and the PRC played him like a tin fiddle. When he lost his usefulness they discarded him. Probably the worst thing you can say about him was that he was outsmarted by Anson Chan. My God, how embarrassing is that? But, just when we thought it couldn't get worse it did. Donald Tsang, The Human Bow Tie (THBT) is worse. He is not only an obsequious toadie but if possible more incompetent than Tung ever was. He is also to stupid to know what an obsequious toad he is and to arrogant to admit it if he did. With Tung Che Wa I always got the impression that he knew he was a figure head and in over his depth. In that regard Tung Che Wa was a tragic figure. THBT thinks he is man for the job. I would agree if he believed his calling was to be a circus clown.
Yet, THBT is also a tragic figure. He is a product of the "Yes Sir," "No thank you" British colonial system that removed any ability to think from his psyche. That fact means that unless he is replaced with a PLA general the next Hong Kong CE will probably be as bad or worse and can only be marginally better. A PLA general could at least get the water pipes fixed and building codes enforced. Holy Cow; THBT's Tai-Tai still manages the family finances and makes him take a bag lunch to work. The guy can't decide what color tie to wear on his own.
That brings me to the link on my title. Martin Freeberg had a brilliant post on his blog titled:“We Are Under the Thumb of Idiots”(Scroll Down) All I can say is, Martin, try living in Hong Kong! We've got lots of experience being ruled by those who still need to be told what to do.
That is a shame. Hong Kong could be the greatest gift ever received by the Chinese people. Hong Kongers could have taught the Chinese what it means to be free. Not free in the sense of choosing your career or little things like being able to own your property (In some ways China is freer in those things than Hong Kong.) but free. Freedom is not simply a lack of rules but the ability to challenge rules. Hong Kong could have taught China that the mark of a civilized society is not having a "Harmonious Society" but one where people can respectfully disagree each other and the government. Freedom and harmony are mutually exclusive in this sense. When the PRC says "Harmony" it means control. Instead we whine that the government isn't giving us enough cash to cover our poor financial decisions.
Yet, there does not appear to be any serious opposition to the governmental group think. If the best we can do is keep trotting out Long Hair Leung to curse and throw fruit at other legislators we are doomed.
Thailand is looking better all the time. I hope yellow or red shirted protesters don't close the Bangkok airport when it is time for me to leave.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who really does like Hong Kong despite how it seems
However, give me the doofi in yellow shirts who were upset that a man won an election with a bare 70% of the vote any day. I'd also take what is happening in Honduras any day to what we have happening in Hong Kong today.
Today is "Repatriation Day" in Hong Kong. We've been officially a part of China again for 12 years. This morning we had the paid, rent-a-mob parade in support of the government. I know many of the marchers were not from Hong Kong because they were all speaking Mandarin rather than Cantonese. This afternoon we will have the various 800 groups that want to protest that the government isn't giving out enough handouts or are upset at this or that or something else. They are probably locals and will be marching the same route under the mistaken hope that someone in the government will care. I think that both groups have missed the point. Neither one see the real benefit Hong Kong could be to China or the real threat facing Hong Kong from China.
Don't misunderstand. The Chinese in general and Hong Kongers in particular are reasonably unbothered from the government. While the odious British were here they were their normal alcoholic, antisemitic, pompous, racist, elitist, atheist, snobby selves. So I am not yearning for a return to British rule and laws that prevented Chinese from owning land or housing in certain neighborhoods and such. We are freer now than when the Bloody British were here. Indeed, the Chinese are, on the whole, as non-threatened by their government as any Western nation. I know there are some ideologues that will dispute that but it is really true.
I am, however; upset that the British didn't do a better job preparing Hong Kongers for self government. One need look no farther than the remaining corps of "civil servants" the British left us with to know that they didn't want anyone with tilted eyes and a bridgeless nose to ever think for themselves. Tung Che Wa, our first CE was incompetent because he was an out and out toadie for Beijing. He had no governmental experience. Since he inherited his money he had no real business experience either. He was the son of a wealthy tycoon and the civil servants and the PRC played him like a tin fiddle. When he lost his usefulness they discarded him. Probably the worst thing you can say about him was that he was outsmarted by Anson Chan. My God, how embarrassing is that? But, just when we thought it couldn't get worse it did. Donald Tsang, The Human Bow Tie (THBT) is worse. He is not only an obsequious toadie but if possible more incompetent than Tung ever was. He is also to stupid to know what an obsequious toad he is and to arrogant to admit it if he did. With Tung Che Wa I always got the impression that he knew he was a figure head and in over his depth. In that regard Tung Che Wa was a tragic figure. THBT thinks he is man for the job. I would agree if he believed his calling was to be a circus clown.
Yet, THBT is also a tragic figure. He is a product of the "Yes Sir," "No thank you" British colonial system that removed any ability to think from his psyche. That fact means that unless he is replaced with a PLA general the next Hong Kong CE will probably be as bad or worse and can only be marginally better. A PLA general could at least get the water pipes fixed and building codes enforced. Holy Cow; THBT's Tai-Tai still manages the family finances and makes him take a bag lunch to work. The guy can't decide what color tie to wear on his own.
That brings me to the link on my title. Martin Freeberg had a brilliant post on his blog titled:“We Are Under the Thumb of Idiots”(Scroll Down) All I can say is, Martin, try living in Hong Kong! We've got lots of experience being ruled by those who still need to be told what to do.
That is a shame. Hong Kong could be the greatest gift ever received by the Chinese people. Hong Kongers could have taught the Chinese what it means to be free. Not free in the sense of choosing your career or little things like being able to own your property (In some ways China is freer in those things than Hong Kong.) but free. Freedom is not simply a lack of rules but the ability to challenge rules. Hong Kong could have taught China that the mark of a civilized society is not having a "Harmonious Society" but one where people can respectfully disagree each other and the government. Freedom and harmony are mutually exclusive in this sense. When the PRC says "Harmony" it means control. Instead we whine that the government isn't giving us enough cash to cover our poor financial decisions.
The greatest threat to Hong Kong is that it is populated by officials like THBT who cannot think for themselves and only do as they are told. If THBT politely stood up to Beijing just once, even if it meant loosing his USD $40,000 a MONTH salary and said: "I am not less patriotic because I think you are wrong and I want you to reconsider your position and live up to the Chinese constitution" to his Beijing puppet masters then I would donate money to have his statue erected in Chatter Garden. That is the lesson that the PRC needs to learn. That citizens can disagree and still be loyal citizens. It is a lesson that the British should have prepared Hong Kong to teach to greater China. The Britdogs couldn't see past their beer and bank accounts and Hong Kong and China are worse for it. I am worried that next year, or the year after, the DAB won't have to rent a mainland crowd.
Yet, there does not appear to be any serious opposition to the governmental group think. If the best we can do is keep trotting out Long Hair Leung to curse and throw fruit at other legislators we are doomed.
Thailand is looking better all the time. I hope yellow or red shirted protesters don't close the Bangkok airport when it is time for me to leave.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who really does like Hong Kong despite how it seems
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Another Week Another Year
My summer vacation started today. I still have to go back to the library salt mine for another week to finish up loose ends and to prep stuff for next year; however, that last week is always a relaxing time because I get a lot of planning done which is always fun. More than that, the end of each school year gives me an opportunity to look at what I do and how I can do it better next year. This year I had an odd thought about that.
Part of my professional development this year was to read more juvenile literature. I've been re-reading "The Count of Monte Christo" simply because I really enjoyed the book as a kid. I am constantly interested to see which books continue to be popular and which sort of fade away. This is one that I would have thought would fade away. It hasn't, students still read it despite its length and complexity if not as often as Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket.
Something struck me and made me think about my role as an educator while reading this book. That something was the prison education of Edmund Dantes. Sure, there are problems with a man living on gruel training himself into a top flight swordsman in a dungeon with only a stick to use as a sword but the other part of the education of Edmond Dantes is entirely believable. The priest had a few books that he used to teach Dantes to read and write. He also gave him a broad understanding of history, philosophy, science, rhetoric, aesthetics and mathematics. This is something that any educated person, with a few basic text should be able to do with a willing pupil and unlimited time. Despite the huge advances in technology since Napoleonic times the knowledge needed for living hasn't really changed that much. I don't need to know exactly how my computer works to use it. I really don't need any more knowledge of mathematics, science, biology or any other subject in my daily life than the average educated person in the 18th century. And, the things that separated a gentleman from a boor in the 18th century still separate polite from boorish company today. I'm not talking about wealth or power but manners, ethics and morality.
That thought made me ask, "What does it mean to be educated?" In a very real sense that is the theme of The Count of Monte Christo. After his escape Dantes has to learn the limits of vengeance, the cost of hatred, the necessity of justice, the power of forgiveness and the strength of love. This moral education was mainly theoretical instruction while he was in prison because to learn these lessons requires interaction with society and he didn't have that in prison. They are a set of lessons that Dantes could not complete until he escaped and almost didn't learn until it was too late.
Yet it was this moral theory taught to him by an imprisoned priest that allowed Dantes to return as more than a pirate and to overcome his lust for vengeance if only just barely.
This made me wonder. Is the essence of education basically intellectual or moral? I'm not sure I have an answer for that question. It is the question that will fill my summer as I prepare for the coming academic year. The answer will help to inform my selection of materials and how I interact with students in the coming years.
Am I a saint or merely a priest? Am I a Count or am I a priest? Do I believe because I know that I am believed in?
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who is a librarian not a priest.
Part of my professional development this year was to read more juvenile literature. I've been re-reading "The Count of Monte Christo" simply because I really enjoyed the book as a kid. I am constantly interested to see which books continue to be popular and which sort of fade away. This is one that I would have thought would fade away. It hasn't, students still read it despite its length and complexity if not as often as Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket.
Something struck me and made me think about my role as an educator while reading this book. That something was the prison education of Edmund Dantes. Sure, there are problems with a man living on gruel training himself into a top flight swordsman in a dungeon with only a stick to use as a sword but the other part of the education of Edmond Dantes is entirely believable. The priest had a few books that he used to teach Dantes to read and write. He also gave him a broad understanding of history, philosophy, science, rhetoric, aesthetics and mathematics. This is something that any educated person, with a few basic text should be able to do with a willing pupil and unlimited time. Despite the huge advances in technology since Napoleonic times the knowledge needed for living hasn't really changed that much. I don't need to know exactly how my computer works to use it. I really don't need any more knowledge of mathematics, science, biology or any other subject in my daily life than the average educated person in the 18th century. And, the things that separated a gentleman from a boor in the 18th century still separate polite from boorish company today. I'm not talking about wealth or power but manners, ethics and morality.
That thought made me ask, "What does it mean to be educated?" In a very real sense that is the theme of The Count of Monte Christo. After his escape Dantes has to learn the limits of vengeance, the cost of hatred, the necessity of justice, the power of forgiveness and the strength of love. This moral education was mainly theoretical instruction while he was in prison because to learn these lessons requires interaction with society and he didn't have that in prison. They are a set of lessons that Dantes could not complete until he escaped and almost didn't learn until it was too late.
Yet it was this moral theory taught to him by an imprisoned priest that allowed Dantes to return as more than a pirate and to overcome his lust for vengeance if only just barely.
This made me wonder. Is the essence of education basically intellectual or moral? I'm not sure I have an answer for that question. It is the question that will fill my summer as I prepare for the coming academic year. The answer will help to inform my selection of materials and how I interact with students in the coming years.
Am I a saint or merely a priest? Am I a Count or am I a priest? Do I believe because I know that I am believed in?
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who is a librarian not a priest.
Thursday, June 04, 2009
That Day so Long Ago
Today is an infamous day in Chinese history. If you don't know why then you probably live in China. I am not going to write about that event directly today because I don't want there to be any possibility that some knuckle-dragging-aparatchnik can say "See that event which really didn't happen is only a lie to discredit China in the eyes of Westerners. Despite the fact that China is now my country too, this is a fight that needs to be fought by those with bridgeless noses and almond shaped eyes.
HOW MANY TEARS by Mark Heard.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who saw his wife shed some of those tears
Gunmetal gray for golden rules
White hot steel for the comfort of fools
Molten wills in iron hands
Forge new sons for the Motherland
How many tears will fall down
How many tears must fall
How much blood will stain this ground
How many tears must fall
Hidden mounds in jungle dust
Youthful voices forever lie hushed
Poets and peasants know the truth
But what in the world can one man do
How many tears will fall down
How many tears must fall
How much blood will stain this ground
How many tears must fall
A mother’s eyes ache with her hatred
Her lips they are crippled with fear
She waits for the news that she don’t want to hear
How many tears
How many tears
How many tears must fall down
Ain’t no funerals
Ain’t no prayers
Ain’t no blood in the Government Square
Reign of terror
True and tried
Dries the eyes before they’ve cried
How many tears will fall down
How many tears must fall
How many tears will stain this ground
How many tears must fall
How many tears
How many tears will fall down
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who saw his wife shed some of those tears
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
Staring down the big 50
I have a new blog that is tied to this one.
This is still where I will post my normal thoughts complaints and meditations. However, the Hong Kong to Shanghai on Two Wheels blog is where I will post information about a rather long bicycle tour I am planning for next year. I will cross link all post there to this blog as well
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger with multiple interest
This is still where I will post my normal thoughts complaints and meditations. However, the Hong Kong to Shanghai on Two Wheels blog is where I will post information about a rather long bicycle tour I am planning for next year. I will cross link all post there to this blog as well
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger with multiple interest
Friday, May 29, 2009
What Did the Hong Kong Government Learn from the British?
I find it amazing that there is not more of an outcry here about the over-the-top pay and benefits of Hong Kong officials.
I wish that someone, anyone would raise this as a political issue here.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who believes that the HK Civil Service is way over paid
I wish that someone, anyone would raise this as a political issue here.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who believes that the HK Civil Service is way over paid
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Good Bye Mr. Potato Head
Joseph Yam announced that he will retire from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority this fall. What is the chronic political malcontent to do without names in high positions that are easy to make fun of? Who ever replaces him cannot possibly have that goofy hair and non-carbon-based life form lack of personality.
It is possible that they can answer questions better than he did, have some fiscal principals that they are willing to defend other than keeping the tycoons money safe. I admit that all of these are long shots but they are theoretically possible.
Suppose the new guy let's call him Mr. Lai, (given that this is Hong Kong he'd probably have a first name like "Gonna Tell" which would make him the perfect candidate for a government official) actually makes banks explain the risk to illiterate investors or requires investors that cannot read or write to have a proxy that can explain to them the risk involved?
Suppose Mr. Lai brings Hong Kong into line with other developed nations with rules against insider trading?
Suppose Mr. Lai initiates rules that require greater transparency in banking and finance charges?
Suppose Mr. Lai prohibits banks from colluding to keep their fees and charge exorbitantly high?
Well, if supposes were rose as they (Who ever they are) say, he'd immediately garner a massive popular following.
It would also mean that Mr. Lai would have to change his name because he'd be the only honest man in government.
It would also mean that the people who control the Hong Kong financial services sector had been snookered by an honest man.
In that case, maybe he wouldn't need to change his name.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who isn't a tycoon
It is possible that they can answer questions better than he did, have some fiscal principals that they are willing to defend other than keeping the tycoons money safe. I admit that all of these are long shots but they are theoretically possible.
Suppose the new guy let's call him Mr. Lai, (given that this is Hong Kong he'd probably have a first name like "Gonna Tell" which would make him the perfect candidate for a government official) actually makes banks explain the risk to illiterate investors or requires investors that cannot read or write to have a proxy that can explain to them the risk involved?
Suppose Mr. Lai brings Hong Kong into line with other developed nations with rules against insider trading?
Suppose Mr. Lai initiates rules that require greater transparency in banking and finance charges?
Suppose Mr. Lai prohibits banks from colluding to keep their fees and charge exorbitantly high?
Well, if supposes were rose as they (Who ever they are) say, he'd immediately garner a massive popular following.
It would also mean that Mr. Lai would have to change his name because he'd be the only honest man in government.
It would also mean that the people who control the Hong Kong financial services sector had been snookered by an honest man.
In that case, maybe he wouldn't need to change his name.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who isn't a tycoon
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Brazen Hussey's and Such
Was watching Jenny Lam pontificate on the TVB last night during the news. They showed Tony Chan the Fung Shui master that claims Nina Wong left him, not her family her fortune strolling into the courthouse though a forest of microphones with a big grin on his face. The wife leaned over and asked, "Does he have no shame?" She seemed incredulous that he would not be skulking around.
Lots of people seem to feel that way because the wife isn't the only one who I've heard commenting on his behavior. I find it odd that people would think that he'd behave any other way. After all there are only two choices with Tony Chan. Either he is telling the truth, in which case he has nothing to be skulky about. Or, he is trying to pull off a huge scam in which case he has more than his fair share of chutzpah and wouldn't want to look skulky so as to ruin his chances of stealing a 700 million. I go with the second option. He is a Fung Shui Master after all and Fung Shui makes Western Astrology look like a hard science. The Guy has to know that he is a fraud. He is evidently good at it. He also seems to enjoy what he does.
In other news Richard Li of PCCW was found guilty of trying to manipulate his stock buy back scheme yesterday. He should take the Tony Chan approach. Rather than buying back the PCCW shares he should simply come up with some way to take the shares. How about filing for bankruptcy? Tony Chan may very well, given the history of moronic decisions handed down by judges here in Hong Kong win his case. Not the least of those decisions was the one that gave Nina Wong her husband's fortune when she presented a hand written, unsigned, undated, unwitnessed will that contradicted one that was signed, dated and witnessed. Richard Li is at least making a cursory attempt to obey the law, just barely. In a sense I feel sorry for the guy. He can't help it if he is dumb as a sack of hammers. It doesn't take much brains to see that land line telephone companies are in trouble and that is the foundation of PCCW's business. They've added some cable TV and Internet but they are in a very competitive market.
I can sort of understand why he wanted to take his remaining cash and retire. Especially since he tried to sell the company last year and the government wouldn't let him since the buyer was an Australian. However, in Medieval time every alchemist in the world would have wanted to talk to Richard Li because they'd want his opposite. He seems to have an uncanny ability to turn Gold into dross. Paracelsus might have thought; "If I can reverse his polarity I might can turn lead to gold if he stands nearby."
That is a scheme Tony Chan might even approve of.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who isn't a tycoon
Lots of people seem to feel that way because the wife isn't the only one who I've heard commenting on his behavior. I find it odd that people would think that he'd behave any other way. After all there are only two choices with Tony Chan. Either he is telling the truth, in which case he has nothing to be skulky about. Or, he is trying to pull off a huge scam in which case he has more than his fair share of chutzpah and wouldn't want to look skulky so as to ruin his chances of stealing a 700 million. I go with the second option. He is a Fung Shui Master after all and Fung Shui makes Western Astrology look like a hard science. The Guy has to know that he is a fraud. He is evidently good at it. He also seems to enjoy what he does.
In other news Richard Li of PCCW was found guilty of trying to manipulate his stock buy back scheme yesterday. He should take the Tony Chan approach. Rather than buying back the PCCW shares he should simply come up with some way to take the shares. How about filing for bankruptcy? Tony Chan may very well, given the history of moronic decisions handed down by judges here in Hong Kong win his case. Not the least of those decisions was the one that gave Nina Wong her husband's fortune when she presented a hand written, unsigned, undated, unwitnessed will that contradicted one that was signed, dated and witnessed. Richard Li is at least making a cursory attempt to obey the law, just barely. In a sense I feel sorry for the guy. He can't help it if he is dumb as a sack of hammers. It doesn't take much brains to see that land line telephone companies are in trouble and that is the foundation of PCCW's business. They've added some cable TV and Internet but they are in a very competitive market.
I can sort of understand why he wanted to take his remaining cash and retire. Especially since he tried to sell the company last year and the government wouldn't let him since the buyer was an Australian. However, in Medieval time every alchemist in the world would have wanted to talk to Richard Li because they'd want his opposite. He seems to have an uncanny ability to turn Gold into dross. Paracelsus might have thought; "If I can reverse his polarity I might can turn lead to gold if he stands nearby."
That is a scheme Tony Chan might even approve of.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who isn't a tycoon
Thursday, May 07, 2009
Hotel California - Hong Kong Style
The saga of the travelers quarantined the the Wan Chai Metro-Park hotel has been pretty amusing, unless you're one of the folks trapped there.
I can't really blame the Hong Kong government for the quarantine. It is actually the appropriate thing to do. I can blame them for the way they handled the events since they initiated the quarantine. I find it really funny that after trying to feed 300 people twinkies for breakfast and rice boxes for lunch and dinner everyday for a week they have now given them about $4000.00 HKD worth of coupons to HK Disneyland, Ocean Park, the Ng-Ping 360 and other tourist attractions. They aren't even free coupons but discounts. Do they really think that any of the tourist trapped in that hotel will EVER want to come back to Hong Kong? Holy Cow! If they believe that I've got a good deal on a bridge that is for sale in New York City!
They could have handled this much better. But, being bureaucrats trained by the British to simply follow rules and not think they didn't.
More than the government I blame the owners of the hotel (China Travel) and the manager. The manager, with the support of the owners should have gone door to door and talked to every guest (prisoner?) in the hotel. He should have simply said;
"I am sorry for this. It is beyond my control. But, while you are quarantined here please feel free to use the facilities, including the fitness room, the bar, room service, the pool, and restaurants. Free of charge. In fact, we are also going to provide a free buffet in the bar 24 hours a day for the duration of this quarantine. Please help yourself the food and drinks are all free. We will have the NBA playoffs or European Football matches on the big screen TV there as well. So come on down and relax."
You also have 60 minute of free telephone usage if you need to contact your family or friends overseas.
We want to make the best of a bad situation and we want you to come back. We want you to know that we appreciate your patronage of our hotel.
Oh, I almost forgot, we've organized a ballroom dance party in the banquet hall this evening. Come and waltz away the evening with us, there will be free champaign and appetizers until 2:00 AM "
That action would have bought the hotel chain more good will and created more customer loyalty than any amount of advertising. The manager should have then gone down stairs to the government and simply said:
"No rice boxes! No twinkies! My chief is here. I want you deliver what he asks for. We will feed our guest from our restaurant and you will pay for it. Your HES staff members that are assigned here are welcome to eat. The people in this hotel are my guest, not criminals. You will respect their need and desire and my judgment in this matter or I will have your head on a platter for supper"
Instead the hotel wanted to charge the guest for a weeks worth of rooms.
I am reminded of the last verse of the old Eagles song "Hotel California"
The last thing I remember, I was
running for the door.
I had to find the passage back
To the place I was before.
"Relax," said the night man,
We are programmed to receive.
You can checkout any time you like,
But you can never leave!
That could have been written about the Metro-Park Hong Kong
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who was Front Desk Manager, Night Auditor and Comptroller in a hotel
I can't really blame the Hong Kong government for the quarantine. It is actually the appropriate thing to do. I can blame them for the way they handled the events since they initiated the quarantine. I find it really funny that after trying to feed 300 people twinkies for breakfast and rice boxes for lunch and dinner everyday for a week they have now given them about $4000.00 HKD worth of coupons to HK Disneyland, Ocean Park, the Ng-Ping 360 and other tourist attractions. They aren't even free coupons but discounts. Do they really think that any of the tourist trapped in that hotel will EVER want to come back to Hong Kong? Holy Cow! If they believe that I've got a good deal on a bridge that is for sale in New York City!
They could have handled this much better. But, being bureaucrats trained by the British to simply follow rules and not think they didn't.
More than the government I blame the owners of the hotel (China Travel) and the manager. The manager, with the support of the owners should have gone door to door and talked to every guest (prisoner?) in the hotel. He should have simply said;
"I am sorry for this. It is beyond my control. But, while you are quarantined here please feel free to use the facilities, including the fitness room, the bar, room service, the pool, and restaurants. Free of charge. In fact, we are also going to provide a free buffet in the bar 24 hours a day for the duration of this quarantine. Please help yourself the food and drinks are all free. We will have the NBA playoffs or European Football matches on the big screen TV there as well. So come on down and relax."
You also have 60 minute of free telephone usage if you need to contact your family or friends overseas.
We want to make the best of a bad situation and we want you to come back. We want you to know that we appreciate your patronage of our hotel.
Oh, I almost forgot, we've organized a ballroom dance party in the banquet hall this evening. Come and waltz away the evening with us, there will be free champaign and appetizers until 2:00 AM "
That action would have bought the hotel chain more good will and created more customer loyalty than any amount of advertising. The manager should have then gone down stairs to the government and simply said:
"No rice boxes! No twinkies! My chief is here. I want you deliver what he asks for. We will feed our guest from our restaurant and you will pay for it. Your HES staff members that are assigned here are welcome to eat. The people in this hotel are my guest, not criminals. You will respect their need and desire and my judgment in this matter or I will have your head on a platter for supper"
Instead the hotel wanted to charge the guest for a weeks worth of rooms.
I am reminded of the last verse of the old Eagles song "Hotel California"
The last thing I remember, I was
running for the door.
I had to find the passage back
To the place I was before.
"Relax," said the night man,
We are programmed to receive.
You can checkout any time you like,
But you can never leave!
That could have been written about the Metro-Park Hong Kong
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who was Front Desk Manager, Night Auditor and Comptroller in a hotel
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Long lost loves
In bicycle slang a rider's favorite bike is sometimes called his "True Love" and 30 years ago this week I bought a bicycle at the end of April that still qualifies as my true love. It was an odd bike for me at the time because I was an aspiring racer and it was a touring frame. However, I didn't have a car and needed a bike I could put racks on and use to carry groceries. The owner of the bicycle shop played in a 1950's rock band and needed a period instrument. I had an old Fender guitar and amp that I traded him for a used Dawes Galaxy Frame and $150.00 USD worth of wholesale parts. I'm sure the Guitar was worth more than that in terms of cash but I got the better end of that deal by miles and miles and miles of smiles.
I don't know how a 1970's Dawes was fitted out at the factory. I honestly have no idea. I built my frame up with a chromed double-butted fork, a TA Cyclo-Touriste crank with what was then called "Alpine" gearing and today would be called a "Compact double" That means a 34/50 tooth chain ring set and a 13-28 6 speed freewheel. Suntour VX-Road derailleurs, bar-end shifters and hubs rounded out the drive train. The bike sat on wide Ambrosio tubular rims that I doubt could be found today but then neither could the 32 mm wide silk corded touring tubulars. The obligatory Brooks B-17 saddle, SR stem and Randoneur bars plus Dia Compe Centerpull brakes rounded out the basic bike. A rear rack and Silca pump along with Campagnolo pedals and toe clips finished it off. After I rode the bike about a month I stripped it back down to the bare frame and had the frame repainted a metallic brown and the Nervar lugs outlined with yellow pin stripes, new decals were applied and the whole thing clear coated. All-in-all I spent about $200.00 more on the bike than the credit given to me by the shop. A $350.00 bike back then was the rough equivalent of a $1000.00 bike today so it was nice bike.
But the cost was a bargain. This bike was just special. The long wheelbase and slack angles provided an amazing ride especially when combined with the comfortable Brooks saddle and wide tubular tires. It just seemed to float. With a rear rack, fenders and generator light the bike weighed only about 27 pounds which is lighter than many Mountain Bikes today.
I sold my Japanese made racer that summer and the next racing bike I purchased was from Italy. But, it was the Dawes that I would choose to ride. Yes, it steered like a barge. No, touring bikes don't climb hills well. But it was stable, tracked true, insanely comfortable and magnificently versatile. What it lost in going up the hills it more than made up for in descending the other side. Plus, the fancy lugs and pin striping made it gorgeous. I loved this bike.
I have had my current bike for 9 years since 2000 but I bet I rode that Dawes more in a month than I've ever ridden my Battaglin. The Battaglin is a Triathlon frame. Even though I've refitted it with flat bars, a tall stem and triple crank it is still a triathlon bike. It accelerates fast. Turns on a dime. Is really fun in a lot of ways but it rides like a jackhammer and has tires so narrow that if I am not careful fall into the slots of Hong Kong storm drains. Because I've developed some problems with my ankles I can no longer do the Triathlon thing. I would like to ride more and not so much for exercise as pleasure. Since my job is right beside the long bike trail that runs up to Tai Po I could but it is just so hard to make myself get out. I need a bike I want to ride. A bike I don't have to think about, that I can trust not so much with my health and safety as with my enjoyment.
I have been hording bike components for several months. I don't like a lot of the more modern stuff. Bicycle components since about 1995 have too many gears, are too ugly, not repairable and look like cheap plastic even though they cost like they are made of gold. I've managed over the last several months to collect an almost complete NOS Suntour XC-Pro drive train except for a set of Ringle hubs. I'm planning to build a new bike and relegate the Battaglin to the wind trainer. This new bike will have wide enough tires to not fall in to a storm drain grate. Be geared low enough for a middle-aged guy to enjoy riding, be able to mount a rack as well as fenders if I want while running 32 mm wide tires and do all sorts of things I currently cannot do with my retired Triathlon bike.
It will probably be a (Growl, curse, grumble, mutter) Mountain bike frame which means ugly, designed for 650C wheels and a suspension fork with an aluminum frame. I wish it could be another Dawes Galaxy. I don't think I can afford one of those frames on my school librarian salary even if they were available in Hong Kong. They're welded now anyway so I couldn't have that great pin striping around the fancy lugs. But even a welded Dawes would be a Dawes.
Shortly before I got married in 1986 I was run off the road by a gravel truck. I landed on a concrete culvert and while I was not hurt the crash separated the rear triangle of my Dawes from the main frame. My wife allowed me to buy a Cannondale touring frame as a wedding present. I rode that until we moved to Hong Kong in 1990. It was a great bike. It wasn't my Dawes. Nothing else will be. Nothing else will ever come close.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who still misses his first true love.
I don't know how a 1970's Dawes was fitted out at the factory. I honestly have no idea. I built my frame up with a chromed double-butted fork, a TA Cyclo-Touriste crank with what was then called "Alpine" gearing and today would be called a "Compact double" That means a 34/50 tooth chain ring set and a 13-28 6 speed freewheel. Suntour VX-Road derailleurs, bar-end shifters and hubs rounded out the drive train. The bike sat on wide Ambrosio tubular rims that I doubt could be found today but then neither could the 32 mm wide silk corded touring tubulars. The obligatory Brooks B-17 saddle, SR stem and Randoneur bars plus Dia Compe Centerpull brakes rounded out the basic bike. A rear rack and Silca pump along with Campagnolo pedals and toe clips finished it off. After I rode the bike about a month I stripped it back down to the bare frame and had the frame repainted a metallic brown and the Nervar lugs outlined with yellow pin stripes, new decals were applied and the whole thing clear coated. All-in-all I spent about $200.00 more on the bike than the credit given to me by the shop. A $350.00 bike back then was the rough equivalent of a $1000.00 bike today so it was nice bike.
But the cost was a bargain. This bike was just special. The long wheelbase and slack angles provided an amazing ride especially when combined with the comfortable Brooks saddle and wide tubular tires. It just seemed to float. With a rear rack, fenders and generator light the bike weighed only about 27 pounds which is lighter than many Mountain Bikes today.
I sold my Japanese made racer that summer and the next racing bike I purchased was from Italy. But, it was the Dawes that I would choose to ride. Yes, it steered like a barge. No, touring bikes don't climb hills well. But it was stable, tracked true, insanely comfortable and magnificently versatile. What it lost in going up the hills it more than made up for in descending the other side. Plus, the fancy lugs and pin striping made it gorgeous. I loved this bike.
I have had my current bike for 9 years since 2000 but I bet I rode that Dawes more in a month than I've ever ridden my Battaglin. The Battaglin is a Triathlon frame. Even though I've refitted it with flat bars, a tall stem and triple crank it is still a triathlon bike. It accelerates fast. Turns on a dime. Is really fun in a lot of ways but it rides like a jackhammer and has tires so narrow that if I am not careful fall into the slots of Hong Kong storm drains. Because I've developed some problems with my ankles I can no longer do the Triathlon thing. I would like to ride more and not so much for exercise as pleasure. Since my job is right beside the long bike trail that runs up to Tai Po I could but it is just so hard to make myself get out. I need a bike I want to ride. A bike I don't have to think about, that I can trust not so much with my health and safety as with my enjoyment.
I have been hording bike components for several months. I don't like a lot of the more modern stuff. Bicycle components since about 1995 have too many gears, are too ugly, not repairable and look like cheap plastic even though they cost like they are made of gold. I've managed over the last several months to collect an almost complete NOS Suntour XC-Pro drive train except for a set of Ringle hubs. I'm planning to build a new bike and relegate the Battaglin to the wind trainer. This new bike will have wide enough tires to not fall in to a storm drain grate. Be geared low enough for a middle-aged guy to enjoy riding, be able to mount a rack as well as fenders if I want while running 32 mm wide tires and do all sorts of things I currently cannot do with my retired Triathlon bike.
It will probably be a (Growl, curse, grumble, mutter) Mountain bike frame which means ugly, designed for 650C wheels and a suspension fork with an aluminum frame. I wish it could be another Dawes Galaxy. I don't think I can afford one of those frames on my school librarian salary even if they were available in Hong Kong. They're welded now anyway so I couldn't have that great pin striping around the fancy lugs. But even a welded Dawes would be a Dawes.
Shortly before I got married in 1986 I was run off the road by a gravel truck. I landed on a concrete culvert and while I was not hurt the crash separated the rear triangle of my Dawes from the main frame. My wife allowed me to buy a Cannondale touring frame as a wedding present. I rode that until we moved to Hong Kong in 1990. It was a great bike. It wasn't my Dawes. Nothing else will be. Nothing else will ever come close.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who still misses his first true love.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
I agree with Jackie!
Jackie Chan has taken a lot of flak over his statement.
My question is "Why?" Is he not entitled to his opinions? More than that, I agree with him though for different reasons.
The Chinese, especially those on the Mainland need to be controlled. They cannot be free because they have had a government for 60 years that has told them that there is no such thing as morality, and that ethics are a ploy by the establishment to keep the poor poor. Therefore, is it any wonder that that there are now hundreds of millions of Chinese who have no qualms about cheating, robbing stealing and behaving as if there is nothing important except them personally getting rich?
Freedom only works in a moral or at least ethical society. Chinese society is neither. Maybe it will not always be so.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who still hopes for a free China
My question is "Why?" Is he not entitled to his opinions? More than that, I agree with him though for different reasons.
The Chinese, especially those on the Mainland need to be controlled. They cannot be free because they have had a government for 60 years that has told them that there is no such thing as morality, and that ethics are a ploy by the establishment to keep the poor poor. Therefore, is it any wonder that that there are now hundreds of millions of Chinese who have no qualms about cheating, robbing stealing and behaving as if there is nothing important except them personally getting rich?
Freedom only works in a moral or at least ethical society. Chinese society is neither. Maybe it will not always be so.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who still hopes for a free China
Sunday, April 19, 2009
The Age of Pirates or Modern Politics?
I am a big fan of pirate video games. They are my favorite genre of game. Sid Meyer's "Pirates" is a great game. I've also played "Port Royal" versions 1 & 2 and "The Age of Pirates." I am currently waiting for "The Age of Pirates 2" which is due out soon. I've looked into "Pirates of the Burning Sea" but don't like the mass online games. Of course all of these pale compared to the best pirate video game ever produced which was "Sea Dogs." The rights to the Sea Dogs sequel were purchased by Disney and the game was changed at the last minute into the "Pirates of the Caribbean" game. This was sad because Sea Dogs 2 would have been a better game and the PotC game was not great unless you download one of modification builds from the good guys at Pirates Ahoy. But, despite the so - so game, the PotC movies are possibly my all time favorites and I generally have a Pirates marathon when the really pretty-smart - looks 20 years younger than she is wife goes away for business.
One of the best scenes in any pirate movie is the opening sequence in the third Pirates of the Caribbean movie where all the people are being hanged for being, knowing or having even the slightest association with a pirate. The condemned are shuffling along in their chains to the gallows when one small boy starts to sing and before long the whole row of people waiting to die are singing this pirate song:
Something else that I find interesting about this movie is how it so accurately reflects politics today. Pirates, real pirates like those in Somalia of course are criminals. But what if we lived in a world where everyone was a criminal? What if the criminals were more honest than the law abiding? What if the law where only a shell for something more evil still?
In PotC3: At the World's End, Jack Sparrow is hunted by Davy Jones because he made a Faustian bargain with the devil and the bill is due. But Davy Jones himself is captured and used by men more evil than he who are in the government and who wish to bend the world to their own political and economic ends. Thus, the real pirates are not Jack Sparrow, Hector Barbarossa, Will Turner, Sau Feng and Elisabeth Swan but the very government. It is a tricky double plot for the pirates are still pirates but they are also heroes.
That is kind of like many great leaders. Whether Thomas Jefferson, Sun Yat Sin or Mastapha Kemal all great leaders can be viewed as either heroes or villains. Sometimes, many times in fact, they were indeed both.
It is an odd thought that an evil government threatens the liberty of honest people and criminals alike. But it is true. When justice is denied to one group it is denied to the other. When a government usurps the freedom of its citizen it becomes a piratical entity and must be opposed. It is all the sadder that often time those who lead us against great tyrants are themselves small tyrants.
When people or governments, who should know better, usurp history twisting it to an end that furthers a World View rather than bending their World View around the facts of history they become intellectual pirates. They steal our history, my history and plunder the present for their own gain. In doing so they have taken far more than material wealth. They have taken our cultural heritage by refusing to admit the good in our past but only the mistakes. They are evil and must be opposed.
My concern is that at least for the moment, those greater Pirates appear to have won. The politically correct, the socialist idiots, the lies of the political left and those who call evil good appear to have carried the day. In doing so the pirates have become the authority and I have been reduced in their eyes to a pirate simply for wanting to live as a free man. I am forced to ally myself politically with those I do not trust and whose motives I question. I wonder, if we will very soon be reminded of Elisabeth Swan when she asked "What will they see when they look at us? Will they see us cowering on a derelict ship or will they see free men?" I wonder if there will be anyone but me to man the guns and work the sails? I hope so.
But I don't like being a pirate nearly so much in real life as I do in a video game.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who seems to be saying "Yo Ho' a lot of late.
One of the best scenes in any pirate movie is the opening sequence in the third Pirates of the Caribbean movie where all the people are being hanged for being, knowing or having even the slightest association with a pirate. The condemned are shuffling along in their chains to the gallows when one small boy starts to sing and before long the whole row of people waiting to die are singing this pirate song:
Yo, ho, haul together,
hoist the colors high.
Heave ho,
thieves and beggars,
never shall we die.
The king and his men
stole the queen from her bed
and bound her in her Bones.
The seas be ours
and by the powers
where we will we'll roam.
Yo, ho, haul together,
hoist the colors high.
Heave ho, thieves and beggars,
never shall we die.
Some men have died
and some are alive
and others sail on the sea
– with the keys to the cage...
and the Devil to pay
we lay to Fiddler's Green!
The bell has been raised
from it's watery grave...
Do you hear it's sepulchral tone?
We are a call to all,
pay heed the squall
and turn your sail toward home!
Yo, ho, haul together,
hoist the colors high.
Heave ho, thieves and beggars,
never shall we die.
Something else that I find interesting about this movie is how it so accurately reflects politics today. Pirates, real pirates like those in Somalia of course are criminals. But what if we lived in a world where everyone was a criminal? What if the criminals were more honest than the law abiding? What if the law where only a shell for something more evil still?
In PotC3: At the World's End, Jack Sparrow is hunted by Davy Jones because he made a Faustian bargain with the devil and the bill is due. But Davy Jones himself is captured and used by men more evil than he who are in the government and who wish to bend the world to their own political and economic ends. Thus, the real pirates are not Jack Sparrow, Hector Barbarossa, Will Turner, Sau Feng and Elisabeth Swan but the very government. It is a tricky double plot for the pirates are still pirates but they are also heroes.
That is kind of like many great leaders. Whether Thomas Jefferson, Sun Yat Sin or Mastapha Kemal all great leaders can be viewed as either heroes or villains. Sometimes, many times in fact, they were indeed both.
It is an odd thought that an evil government threatens the liberty of honest people and criminals alike. But it is true. When justice is denied to one group it is denied to the other. When a government usurps the freedom of its citizen it becomes a piratical entity and must be opposed. It is all the sadder that often time those who lead us against great tyrants are themselves small tyrants.
When people or governments, who should know better, usurp history twisting it to an end that furthers a World View rather than bending their World View around the facts of history they become intellectual pirates. They steal our history, my history and plunder the present for their own gain. In doing so they have taken far more than material wealth. They have taken our cultural heritage by refusing to admit the good in our past but only the mistakes. They are evil and must be opposed.
My concern is that at least for the moment, those greater Pirates appear to have won. The politically correct, the socialist idiots, the lies of the political left and those who call evil good appear to have carried the day. In doing so the pirates have become the authority and I have been reduced in their eyes to a pirate simply for wanting to live as a free man. I am forced to ally myself politically with those I do not trust and whose motives I question. I wonder, if we will very soon be reminded of Elisabeth Swan when she asked "What will they see when they look at us? Will they see us cowering on a derelict ship or will they see free men?" I wonder if there will be anyone but me to man the guns and work the sails? I hope so.
But I don't like being a pirate nearly so much in real life as I do in a video game.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who seems to be saying "Yo Ho' a lot of late.
Monday, April 13, 2009
"A" before "E" except for 60% of the time
I really enjoyed the essay linked to above.
More on this later
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
Pedophile gets record 45 years in jail
Unfortunately, this didn't and wouldn't happen in Hong Kong. Here the slime would have pleaded guilty, showed remorse, and then be given 9 months in prison an a date with nice 20 something year-old female social worker who had just graduated from HKU.
The courts in Hong Kong should take a few lessons from the Israelis.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The blogger who does not have any sympathy for child molesters
The courts in Hong Kong should take a few lessons from the Israelis.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The blogger who does not have any sympathy for child molesters
Monday, April 06, 2009
20 picked up in ICAC raids over highway contracts
Not to sound petulant but I thought that the reason Hong Kong pays its Civil Servants such extraordinary salaries is so that they will not accept bribes. I'm sure the government will conclude that this means they need to pay the already over paid, under worked troglodytes even more to ensure that they cannot be bribed. That then begs the question, "Why do we need the ICAC?"
Here is a thought. Fire the entire civil service. Reset the pay scale to 1/2 of the current level. Abolish the over the top retirement and separate medical program (Civil servants even have their own hospital) Draw up a set of professional ethics that every civil servant must adhere to and have them sign it. If they violate it they go to jail. Make them use the health system they foist upon the population. Indeed, that is a good policy for any state that has a socialized medical scheme. The government officials should have to use it to the exclusion of any other. Anyone who wants their job back can then have it at the lower pay and benefits level.
I see that civil servant in the back over there yelling "But that violates the basic law! The government can't give any civil servant less money than they made in 1997!" I've got news for you friend, the basic law is meaningless. The government does more or less whatever Beijing wants. Besides the IRD violates the basic law when it assumes that all expatriots are tax cheats and makes them pay their taxes a year in advance yet the basic law says we are innocent until at least charged with a crime. By working on the presumption of guilt the IRD violates the basic law. The same is true when the police conduct mass breathalizer test on motorist, even if they catch a few drunks the cost is a massive reduction in personal freedom. You don't mind that. The labor department discriminates against Indonesian minorities by allowing employers to pay Indonesian maids less than those from the Philippines that is racial discrimination. The list of the ways that Hong Kong civil servants violate the basic law in ways great and small everyday is quite long. Therefore, sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. Fire them all.
If I am going to live in a fascist society then I want the governmental officials to be subject to the oppressive laws just as I am subject to them. It limits the brutality the state is willing to engage in if Joseph Yam or York Chow or Albert Au are subject to those laws.
It also turns a fascist state into one that simply has some rather draconian laws. Severe penalties can be a cultural norm. Having leaders who are above the law is not, it is evil. Paying civil servants 4 times the going rate for the same job in the private sector means that the state gets greedy civil servants who are more concerned with keeping their jobs than serving a civil society. That may not be evil but it is certainly not smart either. I also think that the evidense shows it does not make them less likely to take bribes.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who will accept a draconian state but not a fascist one
Here is a thought. Fire the entire civil service. Reset the pay scale to 1/2 of the current level. Abolish the over the top retirement and separate medical program (Civil servants even have their own hospital) Draw up a set of professional ethics that every civil servant must adhere to and have them sign it. If they violate it they go to jail. Make them use the health system they foist upon the population. Indeed, that is a good policy for any state that has a socialized medical scheme. The government officials should have to use it to the exclusion of any other. Anyone who wants their job back can then have it at the lower pay and benefits level.
I see that civil servant in the back over there yelling "But that violates the basic law! The government can't give any civil servant less money than they made in 1997!" I've got news for you friend, the basic law is meaningless. The government does more or less whatever Beijing wants. Besides the IRD violates the basic law when it assumes that all expatriots are tax cheats and makes them pay their taxes a year in advance yet the basic law says we are innocent until at least charged with a crime. By working on the presumption of guilt the IRD violates the basic law. The same is true when the police conduct mass breathalizer test on motorist, even if they catch a few drunks the cost is a massive reduction in personal freedom. You don't mind that. The labor department discriminates against Indonesian minorities by allowing employers to pay Indonesian maids less than those from the Philippines that is racial discrimination. The list of the ways that Hong Kong civil servants violate the basic law in ways great and small everyday is quite long. Therefore, sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. Fire them all.
If I am going to live in a fascist society then I want the governmental officials to be subject to the oppressive laws just as I am subject to them. It limits the brutality the state is willing to engage in if Joseph Yam or York Chow or Albert Au are subject to those laws.
It also turns a fascist state into one that simply has some rather draconian laws. Severe penalties can be a cultural norm. Having leaders who are above the law is not, it is evil. Paying civil servants 4 times the going rate for the same job in the private sector means that the state gets greedy civil servants who are more concerned with keeping their jobs than serving a civil society. That may not be evil but it is certainly not smart either. I also think that the evidense shows it does not make them less likely to take bribes.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who will accept a draconian state but not a fascist one
Friday, April 03, 2009
Hemlock Blacklisted
Well, well, well.
So Hemlock has been blacklisted by Google. Notice, there is no issue with Malware or viruses. He is just “Blacklisted”
I hope he wears this as a badge of honor but it means that he is going to have a hard time getting off this list.
Hemlock is not a blog for little kids but I cannot fathom why he would be blacklisted.
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who hasn't been blacklisted yet
Thursday, April 02, 2009
We're #2
If THBT and the rest of the Hong Kong worked for AIG they'd be in deep trouble!
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who deos not make nearly so much money
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who deos not make nearly so much money
Malaise
There is a somewhat funny saying: “An optimist believes that we live in the best of all possible worlds and a pessimist is afraid that the optimist is correct.” The really smart, pretty, hard working and looks twenty-five years younger than she is wife has been telling me that I have become too pessimistic. I think in some ways she is right but I maintain that I am trying to look on the bright side except there isn’t one. That is part of why I’ve not been posting much. I can only write so many caustic essays. Kind of the Thumper Rabbit principle, “If you can’t say something nice then don’t say anything at all.”
Many places, most of them fascist including
We’ve also had a series of scandals involving pharmaceutical companies that have packaged out-of-date or defective drugs. A lot of people would attribute this to “The profit motive” I don’t. I attribute it to the “I have no ethics because I grew up in the
Until Next Time
Fai Mao
The Blogger who is trying to find good things to say
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