The last piece of furniture (TV shelf) arrived last weekend, and I’m happy to announce that my move from North Point to Sheung Wan is completed! It’s been two weeks now and I am loving it every day:

• Much more space. Two bedrooms (one used for study/closet) and a proper kitchen.
• Walk to work. Only takes me 18 minutes to walk to office, all downhill plus the enjoyment of art galleries along Hollywood Road.
• Friendly neighbourhood. Excellent management by TWGH, door-to-door laundry delivery, plenty of eatery around and found out that many friends are close by!
• Close to my sister (Happy Birthday Peggy!). It only takes 10 minute to go up to Bonham Road.

There is a park nearby and I plan to take my new bike for a ride after I return from Shanghai next Tuesday. Now off for Latte Buffet at Cafe Corridor!

Letter from the Royal Bank of Scotland

I can’t comprehend the difference between 2.4 billion and 2,400 billion, but I honestly don’t feel comfortable keeping my money with a bank that doesn’t get “numbers” right.

My first response was … ouch, someone would have been fired. A month later, when I looked back now, maybe the wrong figure would become “real” soon …. crazy times.

這幾句實在寫得很好：

你可以將你的 vision 作為信念圖騰 ，卻絕不可能以此為發展計劃 。

做生意的目的只有一個 ，那就是滿足顧客的需要 ，而不是膨脹自己的 ego 呀 。

不要只顧幻想生意會做得多大多大 。人不是要做大生意才會開心的 。

不止一次被問到：你對公司的發展有什麼大計？何時會擴充？五年後會怎樣？十年後會怎樣？我都是這樣的回答：我不知道。有時我更會補上一句：我享受這種　“未知”，如果將來真的如我所料，那就很沒有趣了!

“像好些事情一樣 ，做生意順其自然好了 。” 　沒錯，我真的要常常提醒自己保持一顆平常心，無論做生意或是其他，隨緣就是了。

DAHON is one of the very few companies that I fall in love with after just one purchase. Check out their philosophies and history, support center and photo gallery. One of the best websites I have seen: score 10 out of 10 in almost every aspect!

So looking forward to riding my Mµ P8 this weekend! Badminton + table tennis + tennis + biking … very challenging day!

Flash back to last year (2007), when virtually every one investing in stocks were making money, I did my math when I was almost tempted to jump in. Based on how much money and time a friend of similar knowledge/experience put into such trading, I found that the “per hour” gain wasn’t that attractive to me, which already assumed that I bought the right stocks when the marketing was going up. I don’t know what would have happened if I did jump in, but one thing for sure: my business would be affected. I am glad that I didn’t.

Over the last few years, I noticed that friends who are keen in trading stocks share some common traits:

• They are working for others instead of running a business.
• They are “keeping an eye” on the stock market even during office hours.
• They are keen in exchanging “tips” with others, and would not hesitate in giving me advice.
• They are not passionate about their jobs and plan to quit once they make “enough” money from trading.

There’s nothing right or wrong in these, it’s just a matter of choice, as every one has different goals and definition of success/happiness. No matter what you choose, there will be costs and risks. That’s why I never advocate those who like to “get rich” to start a business, the likelihood of failing that goal is even higher than losing money in the stock market now.

To survive such financial turmoil, I think the best thing to do is to stick with what one does best, and do it exceptionally well. I believe the best investment is always investing in oneself: Work smarter, not longer. Use the saved time to learn something new, something that could help with your job, your life or just make you happier.

As one of the organizers of this year’s BarCamp Hong Kong, I’m absolutely amazed by the turnout: 220 attendees, a number very close to that signed up on Facebook and Wiki, and many of them arrived early. This is so different from the iPhone Party crowds, so I can’t help but think that “geeks” are more punctual and better in keeping to their words.

My team at BeansBox is responsible for designing the logo, website, standup banner, T-shirt and email template, which are all loved by the attendees. Big thanks to our designer Dennis!

I’d like to thank specially my fellow organizers:

• Napoleon Biggs - the “Mastermind” of BarCamp HK from the very start. Never short of ideas, connections and British humour.
• Ben Crox - the “Man of Action”, speedy and generous efforts throughout the event, excellent M.C. in Chinese.
• Aaron Farr - another ruthlessly efficient and intelligent gentleman who could manage everything you can (and cannot) think of around-the-clock.
• Conrad Benham - Mr. Agile who put together meeting notes, timetable and tasks lists from the start to get the ball rolling. Kudos to the excellent write-up and T-shirt throwing.

It’s such a pleasure to work with all these smart, efficient folks and received widespread acclaim for our efforts:

• laihui@nicesoda
• jacky@seezone
• daisy@DigitalAnthology
• paul@edublogs
• sammy@sammy dot hk
• wanszezit@案內人隨筆
• infilmity
• caphun@yelotofu
• nicholas@currystar
• sarah@roosemoore

.. more on BarCamp Wiki.

Out of the sessions I attended, these were my favourites:

• “Online Marketing for Consumer Acquisition” by Sarah Moore
• “Creative Commons Hong Kong” by Ben Cheng
• “Twitter Visualizing Conversations” by Napoelon Biggs

Unfortunately I couldn’t attend everything at the same time, but Siu Ying is very kind to have captured many sessions by QIK. Check them out and very soon MobileRadio.hk would upload all the video to their site, thanks Jonathan!

As for the “Startup Lightning Talks” at the end, I think it’s a very good idea but we may have to make it even shorter (say 2 instead of 4 min) next time. It’s tough to present before such a huge crowd in a foreign language for some non-English speakers, but I believe with more preparation they could do a much better job. Congratulations to the “dude” who pitched the idea “WhereIsMyBusNowDude.com” and won the XBOX 360!

A very successful and memorable BarCamp all in all. 15 Dec 2007, 6 Sept 2008 … when do you want the next BarCamp Hong Kong?

Food, drinks and free wifi will be provided. Anyone with something to contribute or with the desire to learn is welcome and invited to join.

Come, speak and learn at BarCamp Hong Kong!

Back from a short 2-day trip to the Sheraton Huizhou Beach Resort with family over the past weekend.

Huizhou is the city where my dad works, so he somehow got to learn about this “new” resort and decided to try it out. Well, it’s really new. So “new” that half of the resort looks like a construction site!

There is no beach, no outdoor pool, no golf course, no tennis court … we couldn’t even go out to the garden because the trees all fell down after the typhoon.

Series of ridiculous things at the resort:

• A small pack of 4-finger Kit Kat in the mini bar in our room is priced at RMB 68!
• RMB 50 per hour for table tennis. Fine, but the table is placed right next to the indoor swimming pool. Imagine picking up the ball from the water after every rally. Additional exercises?
• RMB 400 per hour for mahjong. After negotiations, we got two hours for the same price. But still, this price is outrageous. For the same price, you get dinner included with the mahjong room in HK.
• Only one restaurant (InAzia) was open on Saturday, so we had to put up with the so-called “Fusion” dishes that were tasteless and overpriced (around RMB 150 per head). Luckily I picked a Hainan Chicken Rice.
• The air-conditioning throughout the whole resort was minimal, not sure if it was malfunctioning or they just want to save energy. Feel like a green house every where.
• RMB 680 for a 60-min so-so quality body massage in their Spa.
• RMB 100 per hour for tennis court, plus another RMB 100 for one can of balls (3). Of course I didn’t play, their courts were still filled with cracks and trashes.

Their “official opening” is scheduled for late September. I don’t really know how they could pull this off! At least their team of staff is well-mannered and helpful. Unless they offer me a free stay I wouldn’t consider going there again.

One thing I did enjoy: watching the Olympics on local CCTV channels. Professional commentary from top athletes - less all the nonsense crap we have with TVB/ATV in Hong Kong.

可能佢地以為半夜三四點人人都睡了，就走出來走廊嘈，但係我就正正給他們搔擾。我無興趣聽佢地嘈什麼，但感覺到「火藥味」很重，好擔心會遲早有一日會「出事」。我們這個年代的人鄰里關係冷漠，除非有人嗌火燭或救命，否則多數都抱「多一事不如少一事」的心態。

坦白講，我擔心有「血案」多過有噪音，但又唔知道可以做什麼，難道走出去勸交？這對年青夫婦家裡還有個小孩，我很難想像「出事」起上來會有多嚴重。我記得自己幾歲大時見過父母鬧交，雖然只是斯文的口角之爭，已經嚇得我又喊又失眠，事隔多年都重記得，那種影響可想而知。都係那句：諗得好好好好 … 清楚先好結婚生仔，唔該！

As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.

Steve Job’s commencement speech at Stanford is one of my favourite sources of inspiration, I never got tired of reading it. In terms of finding what I love, I’ve been very fortunate. One of my two passions has turned into a career (creating websites), and another (tennis) has brought a lot of fun and good friends. If I could choose how I die, I would love to die while doing either of these.

Recalling the first day when I found my “true love”, I actually didn’t realize it was something I would love so much. I think the bit “you’ll know when you find it” takes some time to sink in. That length of time varies, definitely not “love at first sight”.

For many years, I still did not believe that I would make websites for a living, or keep playing tennis for life (16 years and counting …). I’ve never stopped questioning myself: Is this what I really love? Have I made the right choice?

The hint from the speech is: It would get better as the years roll on. So I guess the answer is “time will tell”. I’d hope that it applies to relationships too, and I wish I live long enough to see the answer.