Business motivations

I was discussing entrepreneurship with a friend. Some of us look at every occupation in terms of business value - others have a portfolio distinction, between things we do for fun, and things we do for financial return. For example, most of the things that I find amusing, either aren't immediately profitable ( such as research ), or are actually costly ( such as annoying other people ), so I tend be the latter sort of businessman ... most of my business interests are for fun, whereas if I want stable income, I hedge my exposure by seeking employment in areas which I have little to no intrinsic interest.

Investment management is a library study

Investment management is mainly library work, or people management in a very hands-off fashion. Most of us are in positions that have neither direct knowledge of fundamentals, nor the deepest or most balanced analyses of data. Instead, most of us are perusing fundamentals, and subsequent data analyses, from secondary sources. It is the mastery of longitudinal study, and the judgment of other people's judgment, which leaves us with gains or losses. 

Malaise and Singlaise

Malaise belongs to Malaysia. Singapore cannot have it. Singapore must have singlaise.

Definition : "singlaise" : parochial risk aversion, to the detriment of mutative factors of development. See also, "kiasuism"

Draft principles for "built environments"

I get asked what I learnt from operating a cafe for six years. Mainly I learnt a lot about built-environment design. Today, I continue this study in my own home. Here are some principles you can follow, to avoid poorly designed work and/or play spaces.

1. for efficiency, utilise natural resources ( "goods" )

2. space is a natural resource

2.1. heuristic : preserve longest lines of sight - it may be helpful to build around a point-of-view at the intersection of all longest interior lines of visibility

3. aesthetic activity is a natural resource : light, sound, vibration, heat, smell, etc.

3.1. heuristic : preserve ingress of preferred aesthetic qualities, along natural lines of transmission ; example : preserve longest lines of natural lighting

4. user ( occupant ) memory is a natural resource

4.1. heuristic : co-locality : ( functional ) things that are the same should be in the same place; similar things should be close to each other

4.2. heuristic : separation-of-concerns : things that cause a context-switch in memory, should be separated in space

5. orderliness ( negentropy ) is a natural resource ( for the avoidance of doubt, entropy includes things that tend to fall over, get messy, become dirty, or break )

5.1. heuristic : physical mechanics : in order for things to fall "into place", fall-places should be designed to contain messes ( when things fall over they should end up in pretty positions ) ; 

5.2. heuristic : logistics : places should be designed to minimise their costs of maintenance; places should be designed such that activity paths that restore entropy to a minimum level ( within the planned operating range ), can happen at the lowest cost