piracy vs the big guns

The question is: Do You Support Piracy?

yes, i do! and here's why...

to me, piracy is a leverage against the monopoly of the big boys.
it levels the playing field not in terms of downloading the song or movies online but in a sense that it forces the big guns to rethink about their pricing and consumer relation strategy.

for too long, they have bullied us with their ridiculous pricing and unresonable demands. piracy forces them to change tack and be more consumer-centric. yes, the big boys may cry about losing huge amount of earnings etc but come on, dun take me for a fool. the figures they state are all estimates. nobody can verify so it's your words against mine. about the lose of revenue thus reducing the investment of new acts or singers etc. it's a load of bull. if the fella's good, the market forces will drive the companies to compete to sign the fella.

on an lighter note, piracy actually increases the sales of playstation 2 and xbox. why do you think so many singaporean buy those two and not nintendo ds? it's because the game is cheap and good to play. if xbox 360 comes out and there's no pirated games for it, the console sales will drop cause ppl can't afford to buy the expensive games and if PS3 comes out with the mod version while xbox 360 does not, PS3 will definitely outstrip microsoft not matter how much they spent on marketing, this i dare to say. if PSP allows users to play mod games instead of the freaking umd, it'll fly off the shelf. it's a fact really, singaporeans seldom buy game review mags as mostly are imported from the states thus cost a min of $12-$20. so imagine i spent my $70 on a game that sucks big time, i'll be cursing and swearing but what happens to the kid who save up for it? i actually think of a strategy for it, either come out with a compilation of demo disk like in pc but not through game review mag (too ex) or allow pirated games to build the critical mass of xbox 360 owners first then cut off the supply so you'll have many ppl with console but not the pirate games. ~evil~

why i buy pirated dvds
1) some movies are not worth the cinema price so it's straight to dvd but since dvd is more expensive then a movie ticket, it gotta be pirated.
2) they do not allow us to burn a spare copy incase the original is scratched
3) the regional coding is a bloody inconvenience to consumers
4) the bloody censors who does not have common sense
5) it's available much faster in the black market than thru Poh Kim
6) but you can't deny the price factors

with all said, i do buy original dvd and games. i've bought a pirated Ratchet and Clank 2 but i got myself a original one even after i've completed the pirated version cause i find that it's a very good game and not supporting it an injustice. all the hits like final fantasy and metal gear series are all original but tell me the truth, are you gonna spent $90 for an original star wars monopoly game? come on let's face the truth. i've gotten the original LOTR and matrix special edition movies cause it's worth every penny of it and there's alot more

so do i download songs and movies? songs, i used to do so but not anymore. movies? nah, imagine i got to wait for a few days to finish download the whole movie, it's too much of a hassle...

so the fact is, dun expect me to pay top dollar for crap games, movies etc.

we're like electric current, we go to the cheapest source, it's less resistance
unless there's a gahment diode to force us oneway

the end of holidays

later in the morning, i'll be up to go to work but i can't get to sleep. cause when i wake up, it'll be the end of the holidays and my schedule is damn pack for the whole of january with classes to attend after work and it'll be from morning 8 to 9pm daily till end of jan. seems that i'm unwilling to let go of the holidays. it have been a very slack holidays but it does gave me ample time to reflect on my life, actions and my previous year.

i've put on weight, well to be exact fats... i managed to keep my weight constant but my six pack's gone and it's replaced by a spare tyre. hmmm, it's time to embark on a exercise regime to get back in shape. last year was a slack year in terms of keeping fit. din run as much as my mind wants and drank too much coffee which results in bloated stomach and indigestion. with lots of fellas dropping dead, i got to keep my diet in check.

reality hits and i realised that i'm gonna be a year older. seems like the older you grow, the more responsibilities there are to shoulder. got to juggle the needs of family, work, galfren and myself. got to plan more in detail for my future and how much to save to meet the needs. sometimes, the burden as the only son really shows and i can't really disappoint my parents. i've always wonder why other ppl can be so worry-free while i got to think of so many solutions for lots of ppl. for example, when i was holidaying with my parents, sis and her two kids and my galfren, i ended up planning the whole trip (with inputs from my galfren), taking care of the accomodation, airticks and transportation. when i was in hongkong, i ended up being the tour guide even thou it's my first time there. nobody wants the responsibilities but wants to enjoy. my galfren ain't helping much as she complains about the schedule, timing etc. i was like, look, i paid for the whole freaking trip, ensure everything is taken care of, becomes the tour guide and i din even get to enjoy myself, at times i even becomes the nanny for the two kids. what the fuck??? and here you are complaining??? on the 3rd day, i told her off and said, look, why dun we change role for a day and i'll ask you what to do, where to go, what to take? after flipping the maps and looking at the our pre-planned itinerary, what she say? she's not familiar and dun know what's our preference. i scolded her saying that it's not as easy as it seems trying to satisfy everybody's needs and i'm not familiar too but somebody got to do the job. if you ain't got solution, dun complain. ppl always like to add in five cents and got no solutions, ended up giving more problems.

the other day, my gal ask me about my future plans after she had a chat wif my mom. she said i should start planning how to take care of them and support them. i told her not to worry as i had in mind what to do. she then started to tell me that it's not easy as i got to consider this and that. i asked her when did she start thinking about the future? she told me it was after the chat wif my mom. i told her that i already know what to do 4 yrs ago. come on, there have to be contigency planning. nobody can guarantee that they won't die that soon. and if i do go that early, what happens to my parents? is my insurance and cpf enough to cover for their retirement. it's easy to die but the shit left behind, who's gonna clear for you? sometimes, ppl take things so easily thinking that nothing will go wrong. well, they can afford to but i can't. i got to think of how to ensure that my parents sustain their living after they have retire etc. other ppl dun have to or they dun care but that's their problem.

that's why i get frustrated sometimes as ppl always wants me to think of solutions or do for them. is ppl getting fucking stupid or are they plain lazy? i've met ppl in my work that telling them the solution is not enough, you have to bring them there, show them how to do it. if that's the case, i might as well do for you and you go fuck off. where's the initiative to think for oneself? the worst kind is the type where if the thing can't work, they just stop there waiting to be rescued. they dun even borther to ask for solution until you ask them how's it going. come on ppl, get a life!!!

i really for once wants to be like them, asking ppl for solutions without thinking through what to do. it's great in a way, lesser responsibilities, lesser headache too, anything goes wrong just push the blame as i'm not the one who came out with the solutions. isn't that great?

it's really tiring having the can-do spirit facing so many can't do or won't do ppl...

let's hope and pray that i dun meet ppl like these for 2006 and if best, never ever.

for those who read this post and think i'm having problems wif my relationship wif my gal, dun think, we're fine and we both love each other very much. thank you.

Whew! 2006 is here !!!

well, every beginning of the year requires resolutions and goals. it's also a grim reminder that i'm not getting any younger. what would i want to do to exchange a day of my life for? if taken in retrospect, imagine the day that i've change my life for is spent stoning at home, that'll make me regret as it can be better spent elsewhere.

well, these are the things i hope to accomplished this year. the goals are quite lame compared to others but screw them, this is My Life.

1) bring my whole family overseas for 2 holidays
2) achieve my target savings for this year
3) collect the transformers and macross on my wanted list
4) get ippt gold
5) pass JLPT 4
6) achieve min 15% returns on stocks
7) finish all the books on my shelf


biggest wish of 2006 - win the toto first prize. yah man !!!

The year in perspective 05 - part II

on a lighter note, i finally got my driving licence the week before the lunar chinese new year on 5th feb 05. i managed to complete and pass within 2 months. still remember that i've enrolled in end nov 30th i think. and in dec, i've got to go to thailand for overseas training for 2 weeks so that means roughly, i got it in 6 wks. the days leading to the test date was packed as i only get to attend my lessons mostly during the weekends, so any off days or free weekend, i'll be at the driving centre. as the rule states that i got to complete all my lessons one week before my test date, i've practically become a taxi driver during weekends as i took 3 lessons in a day which is equivalent to around 5 hrs of driving with only 3, 10 to 15mins break. the instructor is also bored to see me cause no chance to teach pretty gals in their short skirts and safety belted enhanced breast. i always got an instructor who played and rotated the 12 songs in his mp3 phone. imagine listening it for 5 hours... and i even got some of the songs in my mp3 player, arrrggg. i told him to change but he said that he only got these so no choice.

if i have failed the test, i wound be like a deflated balloon cause i would have lost my momentum like what i did for my bike. i took my bike lessons 1 to 2 yrs before my class 3 car licence. failed twice and miss the other 3 test. so after 3 yrs, i've still not gotten my bike licence and ironically, i got my car's in 6 weeks. so i took it that i'm not fated to ride bike and give it up. i finally stopped extending my bike booklet last oct.

05 is also when i became aggressive in my hobbies of collecting transformers and macross. started in july 04 when my fren recommended me to the bineltech series and since then i was hooked. i think that it might be the fact that i can't afford them during my childhood days so i'm kind of like recapturing them now. as of now, i've spent more that 4k on them. not alot compared to others but quite a significant investment for me. i've finally complete collecting my five coloured magnus/prime: red, white, jafcon black, shining yellow and diaclone blue. having a hobby keeps me sane and something to occupy my mind. always something to look forward to. now, it's all stock up in boxes and overflowing into my living room. really wanted to display them but got no place to do so.

i've finally fulfilled my wish of bringing my whole family to hongkong in nov. to me, as a cantonese, you have to go to hongkong and not guangzhou. we had a fun time there and visited disney too. should have written a blog on it before the memories fade. well, there's so much things to write about it.

in jun, i've changed my kitchen as my mom always nagged about it. went to ikea again... it made my mom so happy. it's always good to make my parents happy. feeling that i've done some part in returning their hardwork in raising me up.

in dec, i finally can't take it anymore about my messy room and started tidying up. I've installed new aircon and a new door grill and got some furnitures from my fav store ikea. haha. it forces my parents to clean up the house too because to the minor renovation done by the aircon. so ended up, my family did a major spring cleaning before the 06 chinese new year. now, i felt so much better about my room.

well, i shall not talk about my work but got promoted and got a pay increase. yeh.

i've also enrolled in a japanese language course in dec that'll keep me busy every mon and wed till jun. hope i can sustain the momentum and fulfill what i've always wanted to do.

in short, i've completed alots of goals and things thou mostly for others. there are times when i question myself that after giving so much to other people, what have i got in return. there are times that i feel what have others done for me. sometimes, it's a burden to provide happiness to others yet got none inreturn. well, those moments have past and this year, i pray to complete my goals and have a even more fulfilling one than last. God bless everyone.

The year in perspective 05 - part 1

finally the year had came to an end as i look back on my accomplishment and failures with hindsight or rather what should have happen. well, i'm glad to say that i got no regrets on how i've spent the past yr in exchange for my life.

it has been turbulent for me and my family in the beginning of the year when my bro-in-law was diagnosed with cancer. it was quite sudden and next thing we know, he had gone for greener pasture with God. still remember the times when we went to the tan tock seng hospital to visit him. for a strong and fit man, i believe he fought all he could for his life to be with his children. how ironic life is when the best among the 4 bros passed away first while the fat lazy bum still surviving. thou i can't understand the reasons but i believe God knows what he does.

my family give the two young kids the best within our means to live life to the fullest. i bought toys for them during special occasions like birthday and during major holidays. we brought them to the movies to watch cartoons and even for overseas holidays. there are times when discipline is needed, my family will not hesitate to step in and if caning is required, my sis will teach. looking at the kids, i think they are very well behave compared to my noisy neighbours' whose kids always scream and yell even to their grandparents. my family will not tolerate this form of disrepect from our own. compared to my own childhood, jacob and tammy definitely have it much better than mine. i took my first flight overseas only when i'm in my teens and for every toy i got, i had to beg my parents for it and tell them why i wanted it so badly. i got to rationalise the toys and decide what to choose. still remember that i begged and cried for 2 hours at sogo shopping centre for mask toys, condor and vampire and that have not included the previous week where i nagged her for it. movies? nobody brought me to movies when i was their age so i got to wait for blockbuster movies like rambo 2, rocky etc then i got to watch with my family. i got to watch my first show alone when i was 11yrs, not that old but my parent's are too busy and they think it's not worth it. what to do, i save from my pocket money to watch alone. ha, still remember that the ken air funworld arcade in parkway parade is very popular, i travelled alone from jurong taking bus to parkway with only 3 dollars in my pocket. after buying drinks and snacks, i've only $2 which is only enough for 4 games at 50cents each. i played the shooting game which when you hit it, it will spurt water at unsuspecting players and bystanders alike. i was only 11 then. my nephew, he's playing my ps2 and xbox since the age of 5. from me fighting the boss for him in ratchet and clank 1-3 till he complete it himself. now, he's better than me at playing spiderman2.

haha, this supposed to be retrospective of year 05. nearly turned it to my childhood memories.