My World View Today

We all live in the world where things are moving at the speed never seen before in human history.  Once I thought about how we come to this world.  By all means, we are creatures by chance or by choice.  Whether we are created or we come about on our own.  Theories about god creating earth and human are not going anywhere.  We all know that somewhere a million years ago.  There came human.  Well, they are not human like we are today but they are our ancestors.  About half a million years ago, there were a few human species.  Where did the rest go?  Why our specie survives?  These are the questions that would never be answered.  Not unless we invent time travel.  Even though some scientists believe that time travel is possible.  However, it might not be invented before the end of human race.

Enough said, we don't know how we come to this world.  How will we know what or when or where we will end up?  So there are things that human create to satisfy our anxiety.  Things such as horoscope, astronomy, and so on.  How these things happen to influence our lives remain unproven.  But people who believe fortune tellers will, however, do exactly what fortune tellers say.  That makes it easier to believe that paying fortune tellers would help.

I actually do believe that we human are capable of handling our own destiny.  I never listen to a fortune teller.  I never believe what they say.  Since they have absolutely  no idea what I do, what capability I have, and what environment I am in.  Unsolicited advice is another thing that I do not entertain.  So call me ignorant, or call me whatever you see fit.

At this moment, we all see world problems much faster than before with the Internet.  But we need to realize that those macro problems do not effect our micro environment.  We just need to worry what's ahead of us.  Not what's ahead of a nation or let alone what's ahead of a continent or the world.  So just leave International news alone and get on with your life.

European problem is set to happen years ago due to high tax, high income, high cost of living that could not sustain businesses.  Only country that is doing well is Germany.  The reason behind is that they try much harder to move up the food chain.  They create products that is desired for.  In fact, nowadays, Japanese could match most of their capabilities but still Germans are doing well.  I would not say that the rest of Europe should copy what the Germans do.  I think they should not bunch up together and tie all their destinies together.  They should just keep their currencies and create a bloc of trade.  But we all know what happened trying to merge a single big currency.  That single-currency prosperity would only benefit the strongest not the weakest.  What Greece should have done in my view is leave the Euro to reduce its prices/costs to make them competitive.  Once Greece is cheaper to do business, they could then again compete.  Otherwise, if Greece continues to be the way they are, they will continue to ask for help.

So what do we do with European problem?  I personally don't have any business to do with Europeans.  So I am fine.  My market outlook is for newer economies which are still strong and able to compete.  So we will do fine in most part.

Siam UAV update

Hello,

It's been over 2 years since my last post. Well, there are a lot going on from then till now. First, I would have to say that our UAVs have grown and become a fighting force for Thai government. We've been flying and uploading videos to the public as well as the flood prevention effort. These are some of the pictures. To the right, our eSUAV600 sits in front of Uttayan Road (the so-called the most beautiful canal in Bangkok during Bangkok flood). Even though we had to fly her in rough conditions, she prevailed. Most of the uploaded videos are taken by this little bird.

I'll upload more photos and notes from our journey during the month of Bangkok flood here. Until the next time, take a good care of those you love and those who love you. Ciao!

A spirit of flying (part 1)

When we talk about flying, most people may think of it as going overseas, going a long distance. But to me, flying has been the passion of my life that can not be replaced. Since I was young, I always think of how can we travel to remote stars. Yes, Startrek was one of the series that I've watched for a very long time. And above all, I remember all StarWars as if they were going to be on exam. ;) My childhood dream is always about aerospace and about becoming an astronaut. I own quite a few R/C airplanes and helicopters for a long time. Then in my career, I studied how to make robots and now I fly robots. Recently there is a burst in popularity of the UAV as it comes closer to our lives. Now they are many of them in military movies. Yesterday I spent the whole day flying our UAVs while capturing some nice videos from the side.



The above Jet R/C plane can achieve 300 km/h speed without any problem as you can see towards the end of the video that it just went by extremely fast. Of course, it was also dangerous to take the video of the jet passing so close. "Don't do it at home" warning: if the pilot does not know what he's doing, and if you stand in the wrong place, you will "die". This pilot happens to be one of the best R/C pilots in Thailand, if not, the world.

Since I've been in aviation industry for a short while. I would like to mention a few things about how to get into the sports and how to own an airplane. Yes, I can help you with aircraft financing (if you ever need one), and we'll keep on flying.

More to come later.

Cheers,

-Peter

Hongkong in a different path

Last weekend I went to Hongkong and had a revelation. I need to beat a different track than my recent trips. I have been to Hongkong for work more than 10 times in 2008. But I never really enjoy much of the entertainment that Hongkong has to offer.

So this time, I went to the beaches, beaches, temples, temples and the likes. Here they are:

Stanley beach and Stanley market. Stanley market is nothing spectacular. It's another market that sells different things. But you could find those things in every cities in China/Asia Pacific anyway. So I don't spend much time there but I like the beachfront and the restaurants that Stanley beach has to offer. I had a quick in and out of the beach then visited Tin Hau temple, museum, and a nearby mall. Tin Hau temple in Stanley beach is quite old (almost 300 years old) but the temple is near a mall, so the temple may not look as if it's been around very long. I had a brief moment to pray then left for dinner. I do pray often to make my mind clear and focused.

Other beach that I went was Repulse Bay. It was the place that I've been since I was little. However, Repulse bay today is changed. Many new condos and apartments are coming up. Even the renowned Guanyin and Tin Hau temple, originally nothing was built behind. But now the new condo and apartments are towering the original temple. It's sad to see such development. There would be a major objection if this would have happened in Thailand though. All in all, I had a good time strolling along the cool beach while praying at Guanyin and Tin Hau temple. What a good afternoon it was.

What's worth to mention is that I took a bus from Central to Repulse Bay. The day before I went to Stanley from Causeway Bay, it was 100 HKD for taxi. With a bus from Central to Repulse Bay, the bus fare is only 7 HKD. What a good way to save money. The bus driver knows his way around the area very well. Sometime I think that the bus was going to hit the stone wall as we travelled through the road off the cliff. Fun fun fun.

The following day I went to the Big Buddha via Ngong Ping 360. I always want to go but this was my first time.

The trip to the Big Buddha was really great. We went to the top by cable car (pretty fascinating how they built it), then we have to walk through the mall (mimic old town) to get to the Big Buddha. There is a museum inside the Buddha but I didn't go in. I just prayed outside and had a long chant. Then we walked around the Buddha for nice view. After that, we strolled to Po Lin Monastery which is nearby.

I feel full, having prayed 3 straight days while having a good time. May all the good deeds I have done will reach you all, my earth friends. Now back to rumble some more. ;) Until the next trip.

Stock market day

I'm writing this blog from my hotel room in Hongkong as I came here for work and some rest and relax moments.

Today I set out to buy something but I couldn't reach certain someone, so I decide to abort. Then I've got Businessweek's latest stories about "Blue Chips Stuck in $10 Bin", that makes me think about writing this blog entry.

When most people read this article, they may think that these stocks are all bad, I should abandon (or sell) all of these stocks then try to pick something after. The reality is that these prices aren't going to stay here long. It'll either go up or go down. But we need to know when the low price does not mean "low quality". That's what I think we should focus on investing in these financial instruments namely "stock".

If you think that these stocks are going down further, you can short these stocks to make profit when they go down even further. I had friends who made a killing with GM stock started to go down very hard. These friends made millions out of the shortfall of others, but hey, we live in Capitalist world, right?

So these 25 stocks, what do you think they will come up or down? If come up, buy long. If go down, short them. Or if you think that you want to manage your risk, then you can choose to build coverage options to make profit in side-way market as it is.

I write this blog kind blur, I know it's not easy to read, but I think I may put some of these thoughts in a more structured way later. Now, I'm off to Repulse Bay. Take it easy everyone.

How to play Golf well.

Today I think I would want to note down my notes about how did I do to be able to play Golf in the 80s. And how long did I go about it? I have been playing Golf for more than half my life up till now. However, I really played Golf during 1996-2000 where I lived in the San Francisco Bay Area.

First thing first, you need a good professional to help you. My dad told me a tip to select a professional whose physical appearance is similar to you. For example, I'm a little tall comparing to Asians but I'm right in the middle in the US. So I need to find the professional who's a bit like me. I found my local PGA professional nearby my apartment at the right hourly rate. I started studying Golf with him from $45/hour up until his rate was $125/hour (well, he moved from a private lesson to a very expensive country club.) Actually any PGA professional should be able to do the job well. But hey, follow the big guy (dad) never hurts.

After finding the right teaching professional, you need to find the right combination. What worked for me was 2 classes per week (2 one-hour classes) then I practiced for 2-3 days then back again. This was going on for 3 months while I practiced on the driving range.

After that, I found David Leadbetter guide videos and books. I bought all of this videos dated 1995 and read all his books. I followed his instructions as well as my professional's instructions.

The following David Leadbetter exercises were useful during those days namely:

1. The one that you stand and put your butt on the couch, when you swing, make sure that your butt does not move away from the couch.

2. The one that teaches you to hit the ball without standing on your normal stance
This one, you start the swing at 3pm position (based on what you see), that you already cock your wrist, then just swing all the way back, then hit the ball. This exercise will help you with the right tempo.

3. The one that starts the swing at 8pm position, then you start your swing back then hit the ball, this will also teach you with the right tempo.

4. The one that you put a stick right next your left hip, then turn your left hip inside that stick. This teaches you to turn the right way.

5. The one that start the swing with right foot on the ground only. Then hit the ball while moving left foot on the ground. This teaches how to shift the weight accordingly.

6. The one that hit 2 balls -- hit one at the time but after hit the first, continue to swing to hit the second ball. This teaches how your swing tempo should feel.

7. Stand the same way, however, point the left foot towards 2pm position (original is 10am position). Then swing freely. This teaches how to turn into the left hip. This will restrict the turn. Thus the shot will normall go a bit right.

8. Swing with only right hand holding the club, this teaches how the right arm/hand should be.

I think I will draw some pictures on how to do the top 8 exercises above while I'm on the plane tomorrow. Hongkong sounds fun to most people, but for me, I'm used to Hongkong as I used to live there. Also, I may need to meet my cousins who are a bit too rich for my taste. Anyway, we'll see.

Voila, if you practice well, then the mental part of the game is to focus on the current situation. Do not dwell on the past missed shots. You need to move to your next shot to be able to play well. When I was younger, I would ponder what went wrong in the previous shot. Then I made another mistake. I hit the ball long enough to score 4 birdies on all par-5s. But I still shot in the 80s. That meant I was not cool enough or not able to control the situation.

I've been away from Golf in 2004 when I started Siam UAV. Now I think it's the time for me to go back to his sport (well, I'm also older and a little fatter) and 5 years later. I'm not sure if I can break 80 this time. But sure I'll try.

See you all on the 19th hole sometime. Until next time.

Cheers,

-Peter

Recent trips to Guangzhou

I've been on the road much during the past months. Due to work in multiple places, I have gone and gone and gone. The most recent trip is to Guangzhou. I was in GZ in January too but I didn't take many photos. I've visited the renowned temples recently.

I've been to Guangxiao temple in January. More information can be found here and here. I didn't take many pictures. Only two of them in my phone camera as I didn't bring cameras. This place is interesting because of the huge buddha images in the center temple. I was in the evening pray for the whole time for more than 1 hour. It was good to be in the mass. It was refreshing to be in the evening mass in Pu Tong Hua. I usually attend the ones in Bali. :)

Last weekend (19-22 Feb), I've been to Guangzhou again. This time I've visited the famous Six Banyan Tree temple, Museum temple, Dapo temple, and the very big temple and park in Panyu.

The Six Banyan Tree temple pictures are below:



This is the picture in front of the pagoda. The interesting thing about this pagoda is that it's built very long time ago. And the temple behind this pagoda, they have the tooth relic of Buddha. So it's all good to go and pray for Buddha if you know the Buddha praise scroll. You should do this there too.

I took a long time to chant Buddha praise to make sure all the good luck to come.

Oh, the black iron thing on my right has a hole where I successfully put a coin in. :)







There is another picture from the museum in Guangzhou. I don't remember the name but it's a museum/garden that is good. This bell is very very old. Special moment here to remember. :)










Another look at the same spot with the trees:

As for the next stop, the Dapo temple, I didn't take any pictures there as it's a local temple. The next day I went to the big temple/park in Panyu. All in all, I would love to have relaxing time again soon...