Skype's promotional offer to battle off the likes of Microsoft, Google, and Yahoo brings free calling to Canada and the U.S. Of course, that's great for me, because I usually only Skype to Canada as it is. Savings for me won't be huge, since I rarely tip the $1 per phone call mark each week... but maybe I'll be more compelled to randomly call friends up. You never know...

Read more about it in these articles:
new.zdnet.com
businessweek.com

I wish I could read faster. I probably only average 2 pages/minute for novels (quicker during dialog) and 3 pages/minute for textbooks. I'm one of those "read it outloud in your mind" people. One of my highschool friends, whose father worked at the UBC library, could finish a novel in 45 minutes. I'm envious of such abilities.

Anyone have any reading techniques they'd like to share?

Went to my ex-coworker's place yesterday after work with some group members for some drinks, cake, and a movie. I picked up some Marie Brizard Manzanita Apple Liqueur and Sprite. NH got a cake from 白木屋 (White wood House). DY had some Vodka, Limon Liqueur, and wine. We watched 50 First Dates because DY had the DVD kicking around and because I had never seen it.

The evening, albeit on a Thursday, was just what I needed. The last few weeks have been far too long; and the 9am meetings everyday, then working until 8pm or 9pm (mostly at a customer site) takes it toll. Looking forward to a weekend here in Hsinchu to do a little reading, watch a Pheonix Suns game, catch up on some sleep, and celebrate NK's birthday.

Let me start by misquoting The Drew Carey Show:

Drew's girlfriend: "(after returning from a sale) Look, I got this [large human-sized] pencil for only one dollar!"
Drew Carey: "Yeah, but what are you going to do with it?"
Drew's girlfriend: "(hesitates)... This pencil! A dollar!"

(If someone can find me the quote, I'd like to correct this.)

What kind of a discount constitutes a good deal? Is a 5% discount enough to make you buy something now that you wanted to buy... but not just yet? What's your threshold for buying something you don't need or care to own?

It seemed like everytime I bought a something from Mexx, it was during a sale where everything is 30% or 50% off. Here in Taiwan, I will only buy G2000 at 30% or 50% off. Why? Because I know there will be another such sale if I just waited a bit. Does that mean 20% off isn't significant? No, it is. But why buy something at 20% off when you can get it cheaper? To me, a discount of 5% - 15% means nothing. I don't consider it a bargain because I'm used to seeing much larger 2-digit discounts.

Ok, but that's just for clothing.

For stuff around the house, I don't expect discounts, because they're harder to predict. Garbage bags don't go on sale based on seasons, nor does shampoo. In that case, if I need something, I'll get it anyway.

Now, if I see something that I don't need going at 1/2 off, I ignore if it's big, and consider it if it's small. If it's neat, I'll consider buying it. At least I think these are my purchasing habits.

What about yours?

"I'm getting old."

Now here's a statement said by young people all the time. What does this really mean? Here's my take on it. I don't think "oldness" has anything to do with age. I think it has to do with what you've done by a certain age.

A person feels old when they are at an age where they haven't achieved something that many people at the same age around them have. And this "achievement" may not really be any type of accomplishment, so much as it is a check on a list of To Do's.

When we're young, still in school, we're on a fairly fixed course. Most of us graduate from highschool at 17 - 18, and go to university/college. The 20 year old who dropped out and needs to catch up at a community college feels old. Then we do our time in university - a steady 4 - 5 years for most. The one who takes 7 years looks around him and sees the freshmen... and feels old. But even then, all that seems to be on a guided track. In school, there's really not that much room for lefts and rights - there's just one main goal of graduating.

After you're done with academia, life becomes a circuit of highways each going in different directions and at different speeds. There's no one single goal. By that time, "oldness" just depends on what you're doing. The next big milestone that conjure feelings of oldness seems to be getting married. And 30's usually the age where that incling starts to grow quickly. By 30, if you're not on your way to getting married, you start to have worrisome thoughts. If you have a significant other of a few years, then it's just a matter of time. But if you've got a clean slate and you're still looking for "the one", there's a tickling anxiety always in the back of your mind. For females, the tickle is probably more of a clawing. When someone's married with a child or two at 30, you probably won't hear them say "I'm getting old." s/he seems to be on time.

At a time where a lot of my friends are getting married, it's hard to keep thinking that my timeline is just fine. Maybe I just need to hang around more single people.

Had a great four day weekend with AC down at the South of Taiwan in Kenting (墾丁), Kaohsiung (高雄), and Meinong (美濃). We did Kenting for 2 days (Fri - Sat), more like 24 hours, and where I revisited some sites I had been to 1.5 years ago.

On the way back from Kenting, we stopped at was Dongkang (東港) where "black tuna" is the craze (black tuna season is also just getting started). They have a market dedicated to black tuna, which is a type of tuna whose meat is darker. Black tuna's normally eaten as sashimi, and for 400nt, you don't get very much. We had that, and I don't think I would spend that money again for the same thing, but it was nice to try once. Nothing special really. Also at that market, I saw a beggar with crutches whose legs were inverted at the knees (i.e. the knees were bent in the opposite direction at a 90 degree angle) a la aliens in The Arrival. Not something you see everyday.

Then we spent most of Sunday in Meinong which is known for its Chinese paper umbrellas amongst other things. A pleasant tourist visit in a small township at the foot of some lush green mountains.

On Monday, we went to 西子灣 near the Kaohsiung harbour where mountain meets sea. Had a brief lunch at the British Consulate there, and spent the rest of the day on a bus back to Taipei/Hsinchu.

So, there's my quick update.

How much importance do you place on brand names for clothing?

Of course, there're expensive brand names like Gucci, D&G, DKNY, Coach, LV, and BCBG and then there are the affordable brand names like Tommy Hilfiger, Aritzia, Nike, Timberland, Mexx, and Banana Republic.

Due to financial reasons, I don't bother looking at the high-end brands - besides that's not who I am. I'm disturbed to know that I do prefer buying SOME kind of brand name (no, not Zellers). But I breathe a sigh of relief by telling myself that I do for the right reasons. I go for brand names because of their quality and durability, with only secondary focus on showing off a logo or tag. Exceeding the cost threshold into the echelon of designer fashion, in my opinion, shifts the weight of reasoning further towards a glowing (figuratively) name stitched to the back of the collar and the entitlement to state "this shirt cost $250" without words.

Anyway, I'm a big fan of Nike and Mexx, mainly because I think they come out with some cool and different looks. But I only buy during sales, and then I go all out.

A quick count sees 17 Nike t-shirts, dri-fits, jackets, golf-shirts, sweaters, pants, shorts, and shoes in my wardrobe. Critize me if you want, but those poor underaged, underpaid kids in the Vietnam sure make good clothing. :)

I remember being in my early teens, maybe 12 or so, when I was given a cassette tape of N.W.A.'s "Straight Outta Compton" from my so-called friend at Chinese school. I call him my so-called friend because though we got along, I don't think I could be that close with a guy like him. He later got kicked out of our class because he swore at our teacher, saying "Go to hell you f****** b****!" as he stormed out of the classroom.

I digress. Listening to N.W.A. back then, for the protected and reserved little boy that I was, spawned feelings of rebellion and guilt. I mean, they were talking about fornication with prostitutes, drugs, and violence. What a horrible combination. Who knew that gangsta rap would turn as mainstream as the way it has.

I bring this up at this time because I came across this funny website explaining the meaning one of N.W.A.'s most popular songs to the layman.

As the "President" of our company's Fitness Club, I have a budget of 3000nt (roughly $120 CAD) each quarter to use how I see fit.

On the last day of 2005 Q3, I was scrambling to use up the last 200+ nt. So I picked up a book called "Weight Lifting Body-Building", featured in the photo to the left, from a bookstore. I actually think it's a pretty good book with illustrations of exercises that can be done at home or at the gym, though you probably couldn't tell from its cover.

First, they put this picture of a man whose idea of a workout is to slather oil over his body and to wear a gym towel around his waist. Then, they write "Strong and Healthy Muscle for 4 weeks", making this book sound more like a book on how to deteriorate muscle mass than to build it. This gives a person hope of shedding those wasteful pounds of muscle and go from brawn to scrawn in only 4 weeks. Back to the man in the picture, who looks like he's probably never worked out a day in his life, you realize the book MUST work. This man has neither strong nor healthy "muscle". And with this guy's alluring pose, if this book were sold online on Amazon.com, it would probably have a section that says:

Customers who bought Weight Lifting Body-Building also bought:

• Brokeback Mountain

In a relationship, is LOVE everything?

Comment. If not, what else MUST you have?