Siu Lun

I’m in Tokyo for Chinese New Year. Escaping the crowd of gate keepers down my apartment in Hong Kong that awaits you to hand them red pocket money even if you’re not married yet.

I went to Japan in December, with the company I’m with now to Osaka. That was my first time here, it was a good experience.

I love the culture, the atmosphere, the language, the food. I feel like I can call this home any time I want. The only barrier for me coming is of course the language, to which I’ve already tried studying it in university, then there is the fact that I’m not rich enough to just immigrate here, and there is a fat chance I can come here as a foreign worker in the web industry.

Well I don’t mind, being in Hong Kong and being able to come here every now and then is satisfying enough. I still want to one day work here and live here though. I’ve always felt I’m more japanese than chinese/english.

If there is any web development houses/agencies in jp that wants to hire me, please get in touch … whenever the occasion I’d seriously consider it.

But back to my main point on this post about Tokyo, or perhaps Japan in general. The reason I love japan is that it has all the eastern culture, ethics, food etc.. yet it also has that western feeling of individualism and freedom.

Japan is fast becoming THE fashion country of the east like France/Italy is in Europe. Japan is also where doujinshi, mangas, and other free flowing material normally considered morally wrong or contrabands can actually exist and is widely accepted. The thing that people don’t understand about such things is that it opens up a golden door of imagination to the young minds. Influencing each other, making them think about what’s possible and what’s not. This is what I love about humans. The ability to innovate. You don’t get that in a lot of countries, and those that do actually shows in the world as being the most advanced.

I can’t say much for my ‘home’ country, China, which has a history of revolts, uprisings, changing of dynasty, but to the core of it all – corruption. This is also down to the fact that culturally, chinese likes to make sure everybody is doing well – within the family that is.

This creates an effect where people look out for others to the point that it doesn’t matter if you fail in school, as long as you’re the son of an important person, you’d do well in future life. It’s no longer following the darwining evolution of ‘the fittest’ survives. Hence it is a rather ‘backwards’ culture, which every now and then creates unhappiness in it’s inhabitants until somebody decides to do something about it.

I don’t like that about China, but I do like the fact people in China really do care about their family. There are good and bad side to both systems.

Enough about that though, the point of this post is actually just to highlight Japan as not only the technological capital of the world, but culturally it is also very polite and fashion is top notch. Moreover acceptance here of the weird and wonderful sub-cultures are fantastic.

Sorry I just love innovative places that can be highly liveable with people being courteous towards one another (most of the time)

I was working on a proposal today, thinking about web 2.0, social networking, collaboration everything that’s coming out of the internet the past few years. It suddenly dawned upon me that all these efficiencies improvement, particularly on the internet, people connecting with other people.

It all seems very familiar.

My other half watches a lot of David Attenborough, with her born in the year of the tiger. It is ‘inevitable’ that I too had to watch what she watches as I’m a mere ox. What dawned upon me was episodic memories of David talking about ants. How ants work by touching their antennas using chemical signals, and all but the one that produces them, have to collaborate and work.

Putting that into the context of our world. The queen ant, would be our society. Whomever controls our society, controls the subjects below (to a degree), and we, as people who do not control the society, we collaborate, we network, we share. In order to better ourselves, better equip ourselves, forming ‘groups’ to become stronger, sharing information to make us wiser, smarter.

I have had this ugly image in my head as I thought to this point of a hive. A swarm of bees, ants, those weird creatures in those sci-fi movies.

I’m not complaining, for I’m in the benefit of such a system. What I’m afraid of I suppose, is our lost of ‘emotions’, ‘characteristics’ and we may even lose our unpredictability one day, when everyone knows what you are, how you think.

Of course, taking a look at the world now. There is no chance that would happen. Though I guess “Tech” people be warned, I think we’re the most likely bunch to convert first.

WARNING to all entrepreneurs and small business owners and in general, the people of Hong Kong who needs broadband and phone services.

Do not EVER get broadband or phone line from PCCW.

They’re an evil company that is out to only cheat you out of as much money as possible.

Story:
I’m closing down my office after a few months of operations as I’m joining a multi-national company. I phoned to ask for my contract to be terminated.

THEN they informed me that those ‘free gifts’ they give out they’ll charge me for it.

There is a whole lot of wrongs with that.

1) I’ve never signed anything to agree to that term.
2) Their terms specifically states that any ‘outstanding’ free gifts would be forfeited in case of early termination. But does not mention you have to pay for any free gifts already sent.
3) One of the free gift they’ve given to me was due to the fact that they’ve messed up my plans and my installation date had to be rearranged so I had no business broadband in the office (which is critical to the running of my company) at a later date.

Now they want me to pay for it? I feel utterly cheated and it is absolutely wrong to force free gifts to others but then charge for it later. Reminds me of some those ‘beauty centre’ scam that was on the news a few months ago.

I’ve got no issues with paying for the rest of the contract to terminate (though I’m very unhappy with that as it is) but they charge ‘on-top’ of that for early termination? WTF. How much free money are they getting with people doing that?

I will _NEVER_ use PCCW or netvigator again. They’re dishonest, untrustworthy and overall crooked.