18 March to 19 April 2021
18 March:
In 2010 my Iranian staff said to me, "It's a long drive to work."
"Where do you live exactly?"
"I live in Siberia "
"Hah?"
"You would probably pronounce it Cyber-RIA."
"Ohh."
Little did I know this property developer (or their copywriter) is an absolute ace at naming things.
- Cyberia (Not related to Russia)
- Serin Residency (NATO throwback)
- Shaftsbury Square (what kinda cock name is this )
- The Arc
- The Square
- The Place
I guess they could just go on with
- Not That Place
- The Other Place
...
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Digital housekeeping day.
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Presentation day! Talked to key Level2s about an org-chart, delineation of business units, and job-descriptions ... up next, sticking it all on the wall.
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Incredibly naive. This was expected from GS jobs when I was in college fifteen-plus years ago.
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Jann, FourPoints Petaling Street, happy hour Kronenbourg RM15 je. Forget the cheap spirits at RM18. Good for meetings in a hotel setting.
Art and drinks at RexKL. Chatty places are rare in KL. A lady makes tuak and toddy cocktails on the weekend.
Puro at RexKL. Half glass minimum. Starts at RM13. Two dozen bottles. Nitrogen sealed bottles. Vino.
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There are two kinds of food shopping, the essential and the entertainment. Entertainment shopping is like hiring, because everyone is trying to be more entertaining - since it is non-essential, the market is very noisy. Just like hiring, the best value available to an active shopper is found by ignoring popular choices, and by mutatively gambling on opaque categories.
If you hire anyone who is an obviously good hire due to their track record, reputation, and pricing, you get a more predictable outcome, but one which has a lower probability of surprising on the upside. Likewise, by the time any food seller has become popular, their competitive advantage has by definition been eroded, since the market is now moving in their direction, so the seller becomes closer to the mean.
Risk and reward are perpetually coupled, and in opposition to predictability in general. All of this illustrates the fundamental economics of innovation in commerce, development in the arts, and progress in fashionable cultures.
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Also upon reflection, this provides an argument for why I should be classified as a hipster. I may be an information systems hipster, but hey, it's easier to put food on the table by ... working for hipsters in other categories. Not that I really like those categories ... I just treat it as work ... which means, unfortunately, that I may be a hipster by profession.
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A productive day, but the loop is not yet closed. Rather tired, but that is business.
I go to work, and load into memory the study of people, of places, and of the things they taste and see. Then I leave the work place and try to forget these commercial inconveniences which have no specific use to me outside of business hours. I am not so good at this, but I will get better.
Meanwhile I imagine that others go home from work trying to forget about accounts, and data structures. It is always intriguing, what people choose to do for a living.
If I am not working spontaneously at full throttle, it just means I need more rest.
In the past few weeks I have wished for a world which is less devoted to its families and cultural sprawl, however, to be social is to engage with the morass of this ... stuff ... however distasteful it may be. The first thing to being the change we wish to see in the world, is to apply ourselves to its people.
That is politics.
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Why is this making the rounds again? Same solution as the whole tran-sports issue ... just abolish gendered leagues already.
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Alex Pina, on point again.
Oh well, not bad, can't complain.
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Apparently I have been doing managerial stuff for twelve years.
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TIL: limerence - a component of human experience which I view as nice to have, but completely discardable. I mean, like hunger and sleep, it's probably wired into our physiology as a selected trait, but god do I wish we evolve out of such behaviours.
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Interesting week, but not particularly productive. Just a lot of gambling with my time, and other people's money. But what's the difference, between time and money? I'm not getting enough done for my liking. Nerd boy go brrr
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Trying to keep up with a 218i in an 850ex is an interesting exercise.
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A lot of people complain about the handling of a car ... what they seem to mean is, "if I drive carelessly, will the ride still stay smooth?" It's exactly like people who treat their partners like shit, and complain if they get negative feedback, or like people whose definition of good food is an immovable flavour profile. These are ALL the type of customer who wants to pay more, so that they can outsource computation. It's a very important segment in any market. #sellingtodumbfucks #theartofcommerce
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This quarter was more challenging than all of last year. I still haven't cleaned up last year, or the last five years.
A lot more driving. (Not a fan of driving.)
A lot more drinking. (Not a fan of drinking.)
A lot more cafe hopping. (Not a fan of cafe hopping.)
A lot more slide making. (Not a fan of making slides.)
A lot more spreadsheets. (Not a fan of spreadsheets.)
A lot more eating. (Not a fan of eating.)
Hm. All of this is an indicator that business is doing ok. On with it.
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Tony should quit struggling, and just buy StoreHub or FoodPanda's Malaysian operation.
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Holy guacamole, social media drama lagi ... on my to-do list, a Facebook Group called [Redacted] Product Reviews.
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A strange day, as I was approached by multiple acquaintances while going about the ordinary courses of business ...
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Passion is often associated with naivete.This is why many businesses advertise authenticity and dedication to their product. At the long-tail, passionate producers don't translate to objectively better products, because passion doesn't guarantee competence at production. Yet consumers do find such businesses brands appealing - because naive parties are instinctively easier to trust. So what you get in the arts industry is ... the primary talent believes in the primacy of the product, even when the products suck, but their commanders may know better: the talent is the product.
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1APR0009 : start planning
2APR1800 : estimated time of rest
Fire.
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1. This is what all my expat friends look like to me 😛
2. Also why I blog everything about myself
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CW: the review is a mixed bag. Pretty much how I feel about most dining out in Malaysia - almost always cheaper to DIY. But, we are a nation of food tourists ... so, the show must go on! OK, back to proposal writing ... after all, if the market is inefficient, that just means there's more room for growth.
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Doing a lot of driving in 1Q21. Not sustainable on this paycheque. Maybe I'm just in holiday mode. I'm also not getting enough sleep, and therefore not adequately prepared for maximum efficiency at work. Adjustments are in order. Also all my friends are sick this weekend - it feels busier this way. I also need a new bar to take random people to - suggestions are welcome. I am modelling the conversion of a small company into an n-matrixed workflow, and it is both memory- and compute-intensive. Most of the things on my January to-do list remain undone.
Maybe I can fix this by eating more. That means net carbs have to drop so that a can get more protein in on the same calorific intake. Hm. Also I really need to reel in 70 h/w for sleep. Way under right now.
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Turns out that my histamine response is a more reliable indicator of hunger than any gastrointestinal sensations.
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Grooming is partially addressed in Malaysian law: no "sexual communication" is allowed with under-18s. However, non-sexual communication may be considered to be grooming - yet the law has not yet addressed that in further detail.
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This is exactly why I fire people for silence. You either feel safe, or you get out.
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Chef => Head
Sous chef => Sub-head
Chef de partie => Partial Head
Commis => Clerk
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My landlord, who is an experienced startup businessman, noted that I market myself as a generalist, and asked me what my three greatest strengths are. Given my reflections, I don't think he was particularly impressed by my answer.
1. Chronologically, I should probably begin by observing that I am relatively shameless, often seeking out ridicule. This evidences my apparent comfort with modifying my own psychical and physical behaviour to fit in with other people. My dad might have used the metaphor of a chameleon, which he has applied to some of our local politicians. So this seems to have been the case since my early childhood. This is a point of aptitude.
2. Now for some intentionality. I was introduced to the scientific method around the age of seven or eight, and in college I focused my studies on information systems. First, I looked at the history of ideas while studying the design of the entire university's syllabi. Second, I figured out how to quantify human experience ... really, all of it, a least the varieties available to myself. This gave me an equivalent perspective between dealing with humans, and dealing with machines ... so in business terms, perhaps I am a HCI specialist, perhaps a CIO- or CKO- type of leader.
3. Finally, following upon the established foundation ... understanding how to quantify human experience basically amounts to stumbling upon one species of "enlightenment", in the following way. Since I have had near-zero questions about the nature of human experience for over fifteen years, I have also had near-zero concerns about the longevity of my person, and I have tended to welcome any events which befall me, for better or for worse. This relative don't-give-a-fuckitude is probably the achievement of a lifetime.
Of course, not everyone would regard these as strengths. Employers would typically acknowledge these as strengths to my benefit, but not to theirs. It really depends on serendipity what happens to me on a day to day basis, I suppose.
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"Turn off the lights."
"But you need them to see."
"I can see just fine."
"OK Batman."
"I'm not Batman. It's Cyclops, isn't it?"
"Huh?"
"Isn't it?"
"OK."
"Or is it Wolverine?"
"This is the best conversation about fictional characters, ever."
"Wolves have night vision."
"I have to post this."
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Looks like a modded Coravin drops the capex for a wine bar to RM 2k + a cheap fridge and tables.
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TIL the litarary phenomenon which is Attack on Titan, a cannibalism fantasy scaled up into a world-war drama. I wouldn't say the plot is intricate. But I think this would make a great video game if you can picture Shadow of the Colossus being played like DoTA ...
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I am told my ex-staff might be finally out of prison next week, after six months. We will see. For those of you who knew her through her service over the years, if you wish to meet with her, or to convey gifts for her personal well-being or towards the fines she incurs in addition to incarceration, please do speak with me.
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Just learnt that even system bloatware can be crippled in Android App Manager. Yeah!
QOTD: Seen Been or Shorn Bond?
Mt. Kiara is much nicer than it was 5-15 years ago. The addition of Arcoris makes it so much less dumpy.
PP@99
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If anyone's interested to observe the process of getting an arrested immigrant from the court, let me know, I have to try and pick up my ex-staff next week.
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Rewriting this because the draft didn't autosave when I answered the door yesterday.
I was thinking on the drive home, about a friend's shop. They've taken the stance of actively reaching out to request withdrawal of negative reviews as part of their business model. While succeeding in reducing share-of-voice for complaints, of course, it creates an undercurrent reputation that business is one to be avoided if you don't like arguing with proprietors. Neither party seems likely to miss the other, in such cases. I am wondering what else to make of it.
Another friend posted on Instagram about a third party's opinion, that the idea is obsolete that there is "no such thing as bad publicity, especially in hospitaity". She also questioned the outcome of active social media management that isn't focused on the product. (Campaigns often focus on a producer, or consumer, instead.) Aside she also commented that people should not share their opinions unless called for. (Haha.) Recently she opened a Japanese restaurant.
I am just reminding myself that these seem rather conservative, as anyone in the public space is risking commentary. The counterpoint of course is that many people in public are unprepared to hear these comments, so we have a trope of bullying due to mental anguish among the subjects of comments. It remains an interesting study of culture.
Returning to the economics of running a F&B business ... I suppose given finite resources, one has a tradeoff between (a) controlling products and services (b) controlling how people talk about your products and services ... if these are sets of activities, then they are intersecting sets ... and regardless of the tactical business decisions made by founders, we know who's spending time on what, and so, that results in the respective brand.
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PSA: M&S is hawking RM40 wines (buy 4). In case anyone is ... needful.
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Jason's Market Trails (produced by Astro, renamed on Netflix) : a good reminder that I probably have zero ability to comprehend the lives of ordinary Malaysians. 😛
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Immerse and total absorb? Hello Unicorn? Dude, it me! PS, backpack ...
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Breakfast PJ State 7am, weds, for tag-alongers. Court is 9am. Come on over.
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1. So in about eight hours, I could miss an opportunity to help a friend. I don't know how to prepare for it, so I am just enforcing a lot of bedrest and quiet time in order to prepare my cognitive apparatus for any contingency.
2. It's a slightly overwhelming year due to fhe current nature of my work - I hope this is cleared up soon.
3. I've got a social investment which is producing useful insights - but I am not sure if this partner is compatible with me for a longer term engagement. This is reviewed daily.
4. I am still thoroughly backlogged across the last five years.
5. Am I on Sabbatical? Like Takeshi Kovacs?
6. Oh, 24-7 food is back.
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Perhaps I use the word fluffer for too many things ... for example, in terms of the responsibility for polishing the final look of a plate, or of a premise, I think of that role as a "fluffer". But of course, we can't use that word, so I have call them a "shiner", "polisher", or something like that.
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I think I need to invest in a Google Workspace subscription just to update my knowledge about how this works.
Also:
Google One, $20/y, 100GB, no official Linux desktop client
Microsoft One Drive, $100/y, 1TB, no official Linux desktop client
Zoho WorkDrive, $30/y, 1TB, official Linux desktop client
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Oh shit, Facebook finally made the UI for content archives impossible to use for copy-paste backups. Maybe I have to completely change my blogging workflow so that I mainly share posts from Blogger ... or just edit Facebook to make massive long ones instead of lots of little ones.
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