Why You Asking?

 

I like to give feedback. Did you know that I am a "Google Local Guide"? Yeah, cos I like to give constructive feedback. Especially, when the place / service / product is one that I really like. Maybe it helps someone else to make a better decision. 

This blog is weird though. It is asking me for feedback as the first thing that I will see when I log on. Well, how would I know without having had the chance to experience it. Needless to say that this is not going to pop up again later on. I would have to come back. But... Ah, never mind. 

Kinda like the same as the packaging for the steaks I buy at the local supermarket: the packaging is fashioned in a way that you could peel off a corner and then tear away the clear foil. Never works. All it does it that the little bit you manage to lift off rips, revealing plastic edges that are as sharp as shark teeth. And that thing bites. You get your steak bloody, but it is your blood on it.

Which makes you wonder: Doesn't the owner / maker of this ever try it him / herself, thinking, "Uh, that don't work as we thought and maybe we need to amend this?"

Socar the next debacle?

 

Whenever I went to Singapore on business, they where everywhere. Even in the most remote places. ofo bikes. And I really, really liked the idea. Just to remember, here is what Wikipedia says about them: ofo, was a Beijing-based bicycle sharing company founded in 2014. It used a dockless system with a smartphone app to unlock and locate nearby bicycles, charging an hourly rate for use.

In 2017, it had deployed over 10 million bicycles in 250 cities and 20 countries. The company was valued at up to $2 billion and had over 62.7 million monthly active users.

In 2018, Ofo announced massive reduction in operations, including withdrawing from most US cities and from several entire countries. By 2020, facing a large amount of unpayable debt, the company was no longer operating bike rentals.

While I liked the idea, I never used any of the bikes. For one, the idea of cycling to an appointment was met with a mental image of me being all sweaty. Better to sit in a taxi. As I have been in a state of panic for the last 20 years, never any money on the credit card, which would have been required to ride the ofo bikes. Add to that the fact that I am usually running around with a phone that has no credit to use data. That is on a good day when I have the battery charged. 

Picture shown here was taken in our compound where I stay now. I was planning for this post for a while, but I was in no hurry, seeing how this vehicle isn't going anywhere. It has been at least 9 weeks since the tyre subimitted itself to the sad state it is in now. 

Note how the car is SUPER-Clean? Yeah, that is because every 2 weeks 2 chaps come and give it a rinse, polish and dusting off. However, I would be sure that the battery is dead by now. My next guess is that the tyre will be changed one fine day and then it is another eternity until someone swaps / charges the battery. Meanwhile, other systems will have issues. Nothing worse than a vehicle that ain't moving about.

Here I am now, thinking: what a great idea, but how is this going to be successful when an asset just sits there and is not only depreciating, but also at risk of damage... Hopefully, these cars will not end up like the yellow ofos that were carted off by the truck load. 

Why I have Trust Issues with Online Sales

 

While the world was in a lockdown, everyone explored and hailed e-commerce. Much to the delight of makers of small vans, the pandemic spelled increased sales for them. Never has it been easier to order food and nowadays the whole experience is perfected. I remember Jeroen ordering McDonald's in Singapore back in 2000. When the food arrived it looked like footage from a massacre. Today, the food not only arrives where it should, but it is hot and intact.

I remain somewhat skeptical though. Wanting to buy a new bag for the wife, I came across this one in an online sales. 

Whoever did the listing may need to be trained though. Not in IT, but in measurements. No way this backpack is sized to fit just a cigarette packet. I KNOW you are not going to find a ruler to see how small that thing really is. If I held it, in a physical location, being able to touch it, I could immediately know if this is the size we need... So, I will NOT buy this bargain, as I am afraid it is made for my dollhouse and not for use on a human.

Staff Meal

 

When you are self-employed, every meal in the office is a staff meal. Today I treated myself!

At the movies

 Ahhhh, movies. Sit down, get transported into another world, educate yourself or just let it wash over you as a form of entertainment. I have been spending money on movies in the local cinema since I was 6 years old and legally allowed into the theater for movies rated accordingly.

I usually want to try first before I make a judgement. But,... in the case of modern superhero movies...Time and again, I am disappointed. What are these about??????? What is it that people like about them? DC or Marvel makes no difference to me. It is all the same. Just glaring colours, loudness, effects and clipped, silly monologues.

Yesterday I watched "Aquaman". What amazes me is that I managed to make it to the credits at the end. 
It might be something others find amazing or enjoy. I did not. Ask me to write a monograph for this and it would be "Fish woman has sex with guy, Bish, Bang, BOOOOOM, Dang dang.... Fatz, Pow!!!!"

The other day put on the "Stargate" DVD. The original movie with Russet and Balder. What a difference.