Screwing with the numbers

Some people make a living out of bullshit. Meet Kenneth Lay, recently convicted in all counts of fraud charges against him in the Enron collapse.

Here's a rant. The Media and statistics.
I get pissed off when the media misquote statistics to portray a completely different intent than the numbers show.

It's easy to do - ask yourself which burger you'll eat:
1. Hamburger - contains an almost whopping 20% fat....or....
2. Hamburger - over 80% fat free to say "Hello" to your heart.

I know that is simplistic, but one does sound a whole lot better....hell, OK, I'll eat both.

Anyway, I was having a debate today with a friend about whether the NZ property market is going up, down or flat right now. The last 3 years it's been cracking 15%-18% capital gain on average each year. What that equates to is 3 years ago a 200k house x 1.18 x 1.18 x 1.18 = 328k now. It's amazing what compounding capital gain can do in a short time.
The problem is, 100s of years of history has shown us that the market is cyclical and at some point it will correct to align with the average long term 7% per annum capital gain. Those people that have entered the market within the last five years for the first time (i.e. first home buyers) cannot believe their luck and how easy it is, and why the heck they didn't do it earlier.
However those that have been in the market a bit longer can remember the days in the early 80s of 20% mortgages and years of flat or declining house values.
When I bought my first house I was 23, the mortgage rates were 12.5%, and the market was flat for about 5 years after I bought it. Hardly a crisis at the time, but even the thought of those conditions now send some people into writhing heart attacks on the floor - they just don't believe it's possible.
Consequently, I believe in the cycle, and I reckon 15-18% capital gains are not sustainable for much longer and will ultimately get many people in a great deal of financial trouble when they correct soon.

Anyway, during this debate today, we referred to an article in today's NZ paper

http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3683844a13,00.html
PROPERTY INVESTORS STILL KEEN TO BUY - May 29, 2006

Many "hardcore" property investors believe now is a good time to buy investment property.

The finding comes from a survey by Kiwi Property Investor magazine and BankDirect - a member of the ASB Group - to try to find out what property investors are thinking and doing.
The 689 investors responding to the survey were divided into hardcore property investors - those with five or more properties now or with ambitions to have that many - and the rest.
Of the 203 hardcore investors, a net 30 per cent thought now was a good time to buy. But the rest leaned slightly the other way, with a net of (minus) -6 per cent thinking now was a good time.
ASB chief economist Anthony Byett said the bullish mood among the hardcore investors may be driven by perceived opportunities in a slowing market, or a confidence in their own strategies.

"Whatever their reason, these hardcore property investors are in the mood to invest - over two-thirds stated intentions to buy within the next 12 months."
BankDirect head Jim Anderson said there was an appeal to buying on price dips, and buying houses in the flatter stage of the cycle did work.
The key was to have a strategy, including a clear vision of cashflows under alternative scenarios.

Overall, 49 per cent of those taking part in the survey felt house prices would neither rise nor fall in the next 12 months. Of the remainder, a net 7 per cent thought prices would rise.

Now, if you take a closer look at that article, it is pretty misleading - especially the headline. What does "Many" mean? Does it mean most? Nope. The majority? Nadda. A good proportion? No. What "Many" means is "more than a few", so out of 600 people, "Many" can actually be, well, the minority.

This is what annoys me. Even reading the article it's easy to believe the complete opposite to the truth as stated by the numbers. I am sure this happens all the time, it's just this time it's so blatant I actually noticed.
What the article should say is this (based on their own facts):

"70% of a group of hardcore property investors believe that now is NOT a good time to buy property, according to a recent survey carried out by Kiwi Property Investment Magazine and Bank Direct.
The majority of investors surveyed believe that property value will neither rise or fall over the next 12 months, and of those that believe prices will actually move, and incredible 93% believe prices will decline"

I reckon there should be a law against this sort of thing. I mean, if you're not going to represent the facts then it's blatant bullshit to mislead in such a manner.

I like conspiracy theories. It must be the government.
Who again carried out the survey? Oh yeah an investor magazine and a bank, both organisations make the most cash when investors buy property. I guess they can't just hide the results now can they - they've gotta dress them up a little.

Mutton into Lamb or something like that.

Wiki article on Kenneth Lay and Enron

Make a Dog Catching Pole

I have made few of these for AnimalsTaiwan.org mainly because they are not readily available in Taiwan, but also, the commercial poles in the US run towards $100+ USD. The pole shown here costs approx $200nt (about $6-7USD) and half an hour or so to make. This pole is not as good as a commercial pole, but is ideal for voluntary organizations or for people who just need to use one occasionally.

The most difficult part to find is plastic coated cable. Dogs will bite the loop, so plastic coax or similar is not strong enough. Some alternatives for sourcing the cable are cable based plastic covered clothes line, and long bicycle cable locks.

I was recently in Canada on business and found some 3/16” plastic coated aircraft cable at a Home Depot for 36 cents CND a foot.

What you need: (prices quoted in Taiwan Dollars. 30nt = 1 USD)

• 1 standard extendable mop/broom utility pole ($85nt)
• 10ft plastic coated steel cable (approx 100nt)
• 2 Hose Clips ($35nt for 4)
• 2 Metal Squash type Cable clips/clamps (5 nt or so) or a few plastic cable ties.
• 1 Roll of Electrical Tape (10nt)

Tools:

• 1 Electric or hand drill
• 1 3/16” or ¼” drill bit (slightly bigger than the cable)
• 1 Pair of pliers
• 1 Screwdriver
• 1 Dog (for testing purposes)

1. Disassemble the pole enough to enable drilling of the locking mechanism. If it’s a 3-piece pole (as shown) the disassembly is a PITA and you have 2 mechanisms to drill thru. On the 3-piece poles, if you fully extend the pole and keep twisting the joint counter-clockwise while pulling really hard, the joint comes apart. Don’t twist clockwise as this will activate the lock and make it impossible. If it’s a 2-piece pole, then you’ll just need to take of the cap handle to do the drilling. Note: I choose 3-piece poles for the extra strength, and tape up the small extension, which is weak.
2. Drill through the threaded end of the pole, the locking mechanisms and the end cap. Make sure the drill is perfectly aligned with the pole when drilling, especially for the locking mechanisms, which are quite thin where the drill penetrates.
3. Thread the cable through all the pieces before re-assembly. It can be tricky to get the cable through the last hole, which is usually the threaded end when I do it. Usually, some jiggling around gets it in the hole after a few attempts. Make sure there is enough cable out each end for the dog loop and the hand loop.
4. Reassemble the pole. For a 3-piece pole, it’s a matter of forcing the joints back together by twisting. For a 2-piece pole, it’s just a matter of putting on the cap handle again.
5. Use the 2 hose clips to clamp the loose end of the cable as near to the thread end as possible. This will clamp onto the plastic end inside the tube for extra strength.
6. Use the cable clips (or some plastic cable ties) to form a hand loop at the other end. This loop needs to be strong as once the pole is in use, this loop will support the full weight of the dogcatcher as he or she gets dragged along by a raging stray dog.
7. Tidy up. Wrap the sharp edges of the hose clips with electrical tape. If you used plastic cable ties for the hand loop, it is worth wrapping these in tape also. When taping the hose clips, I also lock the small extension joint and tape it also, to prevent use and increase rigidity of the pole.
8. Test. Extend the pole and lock the joints. There should be enough loop to fit over a dog’s head. To close the loop up it’s a matter of holding the pole with one hand an pulling the hand loop back. If the catching situation is hostile the pole itself can be let go and the dog can still be retained by holding onto the hand loop only. The Dog will naturally try to get away and the loop will tighten, giving the catcher time to regain control of the pole.

AnimalsTaiwan.org
Guidlines about humane animal handling
Tomahawk Control Poles
Ketch-All animal control equipment
Alana Ecology Control Poles

I rike it. I rike it a rot.

If you take a look over at the links there on the right ->
you'll see the word "Frashcards." With an 'r' not an 'l'. It's not a typo, as bad as my typing often is, I actually meant to type it that way.
I have no idea what you'd call it, but in Asia is pretty normal to pronouce english words contain an 'L' or an 'R' around the wrong way.

Hurro. I rike you, no, I ruv you. A rot.

The reason I mention this is I was looking through the blog search statistics, and someone in Japan used yahoo to find this site by typing in "FRASHCARDS". HAHAHAHAHAHA.

See?














It's all to do with the make up of the sound bytes that we learn when we are younger and learning our mother tongue. In chinese, there are 37 sounds that make up the intials and finals of spoken characters. It's known as Bo-Po-Ma-Fa and it's about as close as you could get to the alphabet in Engrish...meaning each sound on it's own usually means nothing. Like B in engrish (on hangon that means something), or P (whoops that too), i (...mmm.), q (yep), x. Yeah like x.
Bearing in mind that I am an engineer, not a liguistics expert, I will continue in saying that at a very early age, learning the BPMF is the foundation of the Chinese language.
Now, it's normal to pronounce a word based on the collection of sounds you are programmed with, and if the BPMF does not have a certain sound we would say in Engrish, then the next closest sound is used.
Native engrish speakers do the same thing when we learn chinese. There are some sounds that are extremely uncomfortable to say for us, due to the way we have learnt to position our tongue....So, when a native engrish speaker speaks in chinese, it can be quite difficult for a native chinese to understand WTF is being said. If you are fortunate enough to be a New Zealander, then no one understands you when you speak engrish, let alone any other language, so you'll be conditioned to it.

Add in the mix that every sound in Chinese has a one of 5 tones (for mandarin) then things get kinda messy. Taiwanese has 9 tones apparently....sheesh.

Sometimes when I ask a chinese speaking friend to interpret for me, I am amazed at how long a dialogue can go on for to get a simple answer. If I could understand more chinese maybe I could translate the diarog myself and it would make sense.
e.g.

1: Yo blood, what's happenin brother?
2: Did you just call me lover brother?
1: I aint got no brother.
2: Then why did you say I'm your lover's brother?
1: Well, it's a blue truck that one.
2: No, wednesday man.
1: Ok, you got it.

And the answer to my question is "Yes". Phew.

So, this is a world wide phenomen, fenomun, phinomin thing, and any way you look at it, it's damn funny. A buddy of mine happens to be a canasian (candian asian) and is perfectly fluent in both Engrish and Chongwen. I think she's an expert in the "L" and the "R" thing. It's pure art when done plopery.

Whenever I have had a long break from chinese lessons and I go back to class, things are a bit rusty.

So I say this to my teacher : "I'm a bit lusty today don't you think?"
Of course, she always agrees: "Yes, you are quite lusty today."

That's an honest answer to an honest question, really.

Chinese tones, initials, finals n shit like that
Gene Simmon's Tongue Transplant
Pork Rind for sale on Ebay that looks like a tongue

Couver Groover

I'm lucky enough to revisit this fine town for work.

The weather has been pretty much damn near perfect here, 20+ deg clear blue sky, no wind, fresh air. After Taiwan, gulping the air here is great.
This week has been crazy with work, basically discussions/meetings all week mainly in Vancouver but today was a day of the same but in Seattle (which is 2-3 hrs away by car). My first visit to the home of the space needle, and the birthplace of Starbucks, Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Corbain...Pearl Jam and who knows what else - oh yeah the 747 Jetliner (which happens to be a big part of why I was there doh).
Before the week started, I managed to get the weekend to myself up here and rented a car. I didn't do as much driving as last time, but this time is was great to cruise around Vancouver checking out some of the regular local hangouts like Tim Hortons, Home Depot and Staples, among other places.
This time I drove to North Vancouver and had a look around the neighborhood that is part of the mountainous forest overlooking the city and the bay towards Victoria.
For some reason the jet lag hit me hard this visit and I lost most of Saturday in bed after waking naturally at 4 PM after 14 hrs sleep....whoops.
Seattle was pretty cool. I literally got to look around the city by car only on the way to and from a nice restaurant I went to with some colleagues called Anthony's Pier 66. It was a seafood restaurant overlooking the bay, and even at 9 pm it was a great view out the window towards the pacific.
The US is quite an eye opener. Lots of BIG people and mega convenience in the form of massive malls and outlet complexes on the outskirts of the city. Also lots of BIG cars and pickups and lots of Harleys, which is great. Always love the sound of a V-Twin over a 125 scooter anyday.
While driving around Vancouver I spotted an early VW Combi camper for sale, $2500 CND which I thought was pretty cheap considering the one we picked up/sold in London was about 3000 POUNDS. (like 2-3 times the price).

One hotel I was staying at, the Hilton, ended up being the most expensive place out of the three, and didn't have internet or breakfast included in the room rate. I wasn't going to pay $20 CND for a bowl of cereal for 5 mornings, so I went to a store and bought some cereal and some milk. I have been meaning to try out some Cheerios, so I got those. Not bad, tastes like "Nutrigrain" for those from Oz and NZ.

Who knows if we'll ever end up in this part of the world again, for work, a holiday or to live, but it sure is a nice part of the world and I'm lucky to be able to visit. Twice.

Tim Hortons
Home Depot
Tourism Vancouver
See Seattle

The dawn of a new day

Sometimes its good to experience the dawn of a new day. I mean literally and figuratively speaking.
In the literal sense, there is no feeling like forcing yourself to get up early, feeling that cool, fresh dark air on your face, and seeing the world before you transform as color is slowly introduced.
Figuratively, there is not much difference - it's good to mentally force yourself to wake up, put some things behind and see the world transform before you as color is slowly introduced.

While looking for a decent sunrise shot I came across these pics, taken in 2002, in Mui Né, Vietnam. It is of some Vietnamese Fishermen in the South China Sea, at dawn. I can still remember that day, having decided the night before that as the beach bungalow we were staying is faced east, this would be one hell of a decent Sunrise. The bungalow itself wasn't anything too amazing, apart from the location. It was something like $10USD a night, including breakfast for a tiny room with bathroom...the 'resort' was a collection of these things on the front part of a family's ocean front land. Mui Né seemed to us to be one of the last(but i am sure there are more) coastal villages to be hit by western tourism. I guess anytime soon there will be expensive resorts dotted along that coast, and the innocence and quaintness of the place will be replaced by more and more craziness, noise and boozed backpackers. I hope the resort tourists don't complain about the noise of the fishing boats daily at 5am. I hope they wake up and go for a walk along the beach and watch the bay become orange.
It's a cleansing experience to be privileged enough to be able to be in a foreign country and just relax watching people go about their normal day making a living. It makes you realise just how lucky we are just being born where we were born, and it puts a bunch of shit into perspective.
I took my Dad to Vietnam around this time last year for 9 days. It was his first visting to a developing country, and he still tells me it was a life changing experience for him. We went to the north, around Hanoi and to the hill tribes around Sapa.
In most parts of Asia, the most fascinating time of the day is just before dawn. The markets are where it's at, craziness.
These other couple of desert type shots are also from Mui Né at this weird place just past the village. It seems like a chunk of the Sahara, right there in Vietnam. I can imagine movies could be filmed there. I spotted an old bullet, intact and unused. It looks like a .308 or something, and I wondered if some angry US Marine tossed it into the dune when his M-16 jammed back in 1973.

We all need life changing experiences every now and then. It's good for the soul to realise where it has come from and where it needs or wants to go. Complacency robs us of pushing ourselves, or appreciating circumstances and it makes us take things for granted that are truly amazing.

Official Mui Né website

Those who run seem to have all the fun

The other day I was in a club listening to the groove when I stopped and thought about the woman I was listening to. Here are some surprising facts/trivia about her:

She's almost 48.
Has an IQ of 140.
Height 5' 4½" (1.64 m).
Measurements: 34C-23-33.
One of 7 siblings. Her mother died of breast cancer when she was 5.
Was a cheerleader and member of drumcorps and marching teams.
She studied Dance and Drama in NYC in the 70s.
She shares a French-Canadian Ancestor with Céline Dion.
She's a distant cousin of Gwen Stefani.
She's good friends of Stella McCartney, Gwyneth Paltrow, Britney Spears, Kylie Minogue, Björk.
She shares her birthday with Vanessa Carlton and Angela Bassett (born on the same day actually), which is also is the anniversary of Elvis Presley's death.
She is a fan of Katharine Hepburn.
Turned down the role of Cristal Conners in Showgirls (1995).
Turned down the role of Selina Kyle/Catwoman in Batman Returns (1992).
Is strongly Pro-Life. She was even in anti-abortion ads in the UK.
Recently matched Elvis Presley's tally for top 10 hits - 36, the most for any artist in the rock era.

She is, of course....

Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone.

Hung up

Time goes by so slowly
Time goes by so slowly
Time goes by so slowly
Time goes by so slowly
Time goes by so slowly
Time goes by so slowly
Every little thing that you say or do
I'm hung up
I'm hung up on you
Waiting for your call
Baby night and day
I'm fed up
I'm tired of waiting for you

Time goes by so slowly for those who wait
No time to hesitate
Those who run seem to have all the fun
I'm caught up
I don't know what to do

Time goes by so slowly
Time goes by so slowly
Time goes by so slowly
I don't know what to do

Every little thing that you say or do
I'm hung up
I'm hung up on you
Waiting for your call
Baby night and day
I'm fed up
I'm tired of waiting on you

Every little thing that you say or do
I'm hung up
I'm hung up on you
Waiting for your call
Baby night and day
I'm fed up
I'm tired of waiting on you

Ring, ring, ring goes the telephone
The lights are on but there's no-one home
Tick tick tock it's a quarter to two
And I'm done
I'm hanging up on you

I can't keep on waiting for you
I know that you're still hesitating
Don't cry for me
'cause I'll find my way
you'll wake up one day
but it'll be too late

Every little thing that you say or do
I'm hung up
I'm hung up on you
Waiting for your call
Baby night and day
I'm fed up
I'm tired of waiting on you

Every little thing that you say or do
I'm hung up
I'm hung up on you
Waiting for your call
Baby night and day
I'm fed up
I'm tired of waiting on you

Every little thing (Every little thing)
I'm hung up
I'm hung up on you

Waiting for your call (Waiting for your call)
I'm fed up
I'm tired of waiting on you

Time goes by, so slowly.
Time goes by, so slowly.
Time goes by, so slowly.
Time goes by, so slowly.
So slowly, so slowly, so slowly.
So slowly, so slowly, so slowly.
So slowly, so slowly, so slowly.
So slowly, so slowly, so slowly.
So slowly, so slowly.
I don't know what to do.

Every little thing that you say or do
I'm hung up
I'm hung up on you
Waiting for your call
Baby night and day
I'm fed up
I'm tired of waiting on you

Every little thing that you say or do
I'm hung up
I'm hung up on you
Waiting for your call
Baby night and day
I'm fed up
I'm tired of waiting on you

Every little thing (Every little thing)
Im hung up
Im hung up on you.

Waiting for your call (Waiting for your call)
Im fed up.
(Fade until clock ticking)

Official Madonna Website
Madonna Discography, Filmography, Bio etc

The Longest [Crashed Scooter Journey] Way Round

It's been a hectic couple of weeks. On Friday I got a call, some guy speaking to me in chinese, and as I usually do I assumed it was a wrong number (pronounced: Long Number). A few minutes later the phone rang again, and this time it was a lady speaking engrish.
She told me that her husband is a policeman, and that he had found the long lost Vino 125 scooter.
WTF? That was 7 months ago that it went missing, and they had found it in a place called Chang Hua, which is maybe a couple hundred km's away halfway down the Island.
After a few return calls to see what condition the scooter was in, and to find out where and when to go get it, I decided to take a train down to Chang Hua on Sunday morning. Trudi was keen to come too.
The train in Taiwan is brilliant. It's an example of what NZ could have had if they'd kept the railway for regular use. $350 nt (about $15 NZD) for a reserved seat for the couple of hours journey to Chang Hua. Chunga Hua is famous for the "Fan Shaped Garage" which, oddly enough is a Train Garage that is fan shaped. I reckon if you were into trains, then you'd want to go and check this out.
When we got there, we walked to the police station, about 15 mins away. They ushered us into the "Special Forces Department" of the police station, and then a guy came and got us and took us to a smaller room upstairs called the "Special Mission Section of the Special Forces Department" and inside was a bunch of guys sitting around in boxers and tanktops eating lunch.
They were saying "Whey Ter Ull" which is what these chinese characters: 威托爾 sound like. If you say "Whey Ter Ull" often enough is sounds like my last name.
So, they were expecting us. No one could speak english, and my chinese still sucks enough when it comes to talking about the good shit, so they found a student policeman who spoke a tiny bit of engrish to help.
He basically said that the bike had been crashed and I'd need to get it repaired before it can be taken away. At this point, I was just keen to take a look at the damn thing, so we asked to "take a look at the damn thing."

Well, firstly, Trudi was absolutely right: The FLAMES were still on it! Now that surprised me, as I thought NO ONE would be dumb enough to ride a fairly rare expensive scooter, and leave some stick-on flames on it that basically make it extremely noticeable, Island-wide. Well, obviously the guy was an idiot, cos he'd also ran into the back of a truck or something on it.
The Vino looked a bit of a mess with a smashed front, twisted steering and it also looked like it had been lying on it's side for a month or 3 getting all dirty.
I'd love to know where it was found and how, but there was no way of getting that sort of info out of the cops with our communication problems.
I reached into my pocket and grabbed the Vino key I still had and put it in. It went in perfectly (there was no damage to the ignition switch/lock due to the theif having a set of keys) but the battery was very sluggish, almost dead. I figured I was worth a try to start it, and after 30 seconds or whir, whir, whir it fired into life. All four of us couldn't believe how sweet the engine sounded. It seemed that apart from crashing the scoot, the dude actually took reasonable care of this beast - it is a sweet ride after all.

Anyway, we were a bit gutted it was smashed as it looked like our plan of riding it back to Taoyuan was foiled...........................or..................or was it?
Thinking to myself "What would Ewan do?" I took a look at the sky. Blue. Sunny. Not Rainy or windy.
I took a look at my watch, 12.30, and figured we had 5-6 hrs ahead of us without a head light, so if we wanted to leave, NOW would be a good time.
I took a closer look at the damage and the frame looked fine. The plastic front was a mess but structurally it was sweet. I asked the policeman if they had any tools and one guy came back with a pair of vice grips. mmm. Oh well, let's see if I can TWIST this.....there, the handlebars are now aligned with the wheel (a trick not so different from fixing yer bike after falling off when you're 8.)

So after a quick lap around the police station car park to test the brakes and steering, the policeman was shaking his head saying thru the translator dude "YOU CAN'T RIDE THIS BACK TO TAOYUAN"
I said "Ker Eee, Ker Eee, I am an engineer, Ker Eee" Which basically means "No wucken furries mate, this machine is running sweet, it will be OK"
The policeman said we can only take it to get repaired. So we all nodded and went a got all the paperwork signed up, which included me having to put my thumb print in about 5 places along with my signature. I was given one sheet of paper that was basicially a "Get out of jail free" card if I got stopped along the way, which was quite likely.
Once we were on the bike, the policeman reiterated that they felt the bike was unsafe and it was at our own risk that we were riding it to the repair shop. I said Ker Eee again and thanks etc.
Well, funny thing was, there are no repair shops open on a sunday. We knew it, they knew it, so they probably had some idea that the crazy foreigners were going to ride the damn thing back.
So we set off. The thief was kind enough to have left the bike gassed up, and that got us 1/2 way home. The ride was awesome, perfect weather on empty coastal roads for 4 1/2 hrs including a couple of breaks. The scooter didn't miss a beat and was SINGING all the way home.
We got all sorts of weird looks while stopped at traffic lights etc, but ya tend to get that being white here anyway, so the crashed scooter thing wasn't too much more interesting.

I took the scooter to the shop last night. It was raining. HARD. With lightning. The 20 min journey was more of a challenge than the whole day's riding from Chang Hua, and today I heard on the radio that the rain at that time was the Heaviest Spring Downpour on RECORD, so I picked an fantastic day to ride in the rain. Not.

When I rolled into the scooter shop, the same place where the scooter was sold new, it was like a homecoming (not so different from Ewan and Charlie's homecoming in "The Long Way Round") and the guys were practically trying to fix it before I'd even got off the damn thing.
Out came the service notepad and 5 mins later all the parts were listed and priced, so I gave them the nod to fix up ole Vino.

The mighty Vino will live another day.

Official 2005 Yamaha Vino 125 website
The Vino factory (literally 10 mins down the road)
Some guys road test review of a Vino 125
Taiwan Train Schedule Information Service

I think I'm going Def

A while ago I was in a local watering hole here with a buddy when an acoustic version of a vaguely familiar song came on. I asked the bargirl if they had anymore from them and she told me she'd never heard of the band. The song was "Animal". She'd never heard of Def Leppard....man, I am getting old or what?
(I know I go on about music a fair bit, and while it is a big interest of mine, this won't turn into a music only blog ok?)
I remember cruising the streets of Rotorua, NZ, with my friend Tim, in his '76 Corolla SR coupe.
It was the ugly shape, a 1300 I think and a beigey-mustard color too - all n all, it was a fairly uncool car, but this was the mid 80s. Just having a Japanese car was cool then - no Mk 1 Ford Escort for us. We had metal hair yeah, and wore thin leather straps around our wrist cos everyone else did.
Tim had a Clarion Tape Deck in the Corolla, and it was auto-reverse...whoa. but underneath that was a graphic equalizer with a loudness button - and a red LED. wicked.
We used to cruise the streets of town thinking we were shit-hot listening to Billy Idol, Bon Jovi, a bit of ACDC, Simple Minds, and a whole bunch of other stuff I cant even remember unless i think about it for a while.
One day Tim put on a tape that I'd never heard of before. It sounded kinda like an evil machine talking or something - it was the beginning of "Love Bites".
Ok, I admit it, I was into hair bands. Shit, everyone was.
Then there was "Pour some sugar on me". Well, it's a classic now, but playing that loud thru open windows after youth group was some kind of sneer to all the chicks who'd normally listen to Alison Moyet or Cyndi Lauper.
"Animal", "Women", "Hysteria", "Armaggedon it" and "Rocket" were all on the same album, and looking back on it, Hysteria was absolutely Def Leppard's defining Album.
I thought they'd burst on the scene when I heard them back in 86 or whatever, but just reading their website now it turns out they started in the mid 70s as a band called "Atomic Mass" then becoming Def Leppard in '77(!).... and would you believe they are still touring right now?
I wouldn't recognise any of the band now(not like some of the other hair rockers like Jon Bon Jovi or Steve Tyler) but I do reckon if I saw a one armed drummer, I'd be certain he's from Def Leppard (Rick Allen).
Looking at their discography, I reckon they didn't really do much after the 80s apart from release some greatest hits albums a few times, but "Pour some sugar on me" was re-made and became the theme song for "Coyote Ugly"starring Piper Perabo (you know the face, not the name) in 2000. Looking at the credits there are some other names of note including John Goodman, LeAnn Rimes and Tyra Banks (What a bitch she's turned out to be on "America's next TOP model" pfff).
That movie spawned a trend in Bar Top Dancing, which IMHO is a bit of a yawn, but seems to be all the rage in Asia. When I lived in Singapore around 2003, the government passed a LAW finally allowing licensed bar top dancing after the scene was underground for a while...like, ooooh it's so naughty to dance 4ft off the floor. In Taipei there is one place that is fueling this hilarious activity for wannabe stars, which is a surprise considering the food there is usually not too bad.

Def Leppard released an "unplugged" album like everyone seemed to after Eric Clapton made shitloads doing it, and after hearing some of the unplugged tracks I am pleasantly surprised at how good hair rock can sound when it's stripped back and unplugged. Actually, 'unplugged' concert DVDs are fantastic, but lets not get started on that...

Def Leppard Official Website
Coyote Ugly

Am I living it right?

Some people go with the flow. Some people go against the flow. Some people make the flow.

It makes for an interesting world to have a mix of people wanting different things, at different times and realising what is important in life at different times too. It brings so much happiness and sadness at the same time, dreams and hopes come and go. Everyone is looking to discover a synergy.
What is important to some people is a laughable thing to others, and it's the tolerance and acceptance of all our differences that brings peace and happiness.

I love to watch music DVDs. Most people think that is a little weird I think, but with the advent of DVD and affordable home theatre I found the quality of audio and crystal clear video in music to be pleasing to the soul. It's great after a shit day to come home, grab a glass of red and crank a great concert DVD.

Today was a shit day.

In January I bought a John Mayer concert DVD called "Any Given Thursday". John Mayer is an extremely talented musician and over the last 6 months or so I have been enjoying a couple of his albums.
The thing with live music is this, some musicians put on concerts for the money and the show is full of sequenced tracks and by-the-book renditions of their music - close your eyes and you might as well be playing the CD, except the singing is sometimes a bit bum due to the lack of studio help available to them.
John is different. At this concert anyway, his singing is PERFECT. Pin sharp vocals, but not only that, this guy plays the guitar like nothing else. I'm not talking about screaming solos or rapid hammering, but a true man-to-instrument-as-one situation.
It's in the fingers. I don't know how to explain it, but many people can play and instrument 100% OK and hit all the notes at the right times, but rarely, a musician can make the sound coming out of an instrument cross into another dimension - and that's what gives me a kick watching concert DVDs and going to concerts. It's magical.
Over the years I have gone to just about every concert of interest that has come close to where I've been living at the time. Unfortunately Taipei gets hardly anything.

A song performed from the heart brings the lyrics to life, and one track that stood out to me tonight is "Why Georgia". It's funny how you can listen to a song for months or years, and then one day life is a little different to it usually is and then the words just jump out.

Why Georgia (From the Album "Room for Squares")

I am driving up 85 in the
Kind of morning that lasts all afternoon
just stuck inside the gloom
4 more exits to my apartment but
I am tempted to keep the car in drive
And leave it all behind

Cause I wonder sometimes
About the outcome
Of a still verdictless life

Am I living it right?
Am I living it right?
Am I living it right?

Why Georgia, why?

I rent a room and I fill the spaces with
Wood in places to make it feel like home
But all I feel's alone
It might be a quarter life crisis
Or just the stirring in my soul

Either way I wonder sometimes
About the outcome
Of a still verdictless life

Am I living it right?
Am I living it right?
Am I living it right?
Why Georgia, why?

So what, so I've got a smile on
But it's hiding the quiet superstitions in my head
Don't believe me
When I say I've got it down

Everybody is just a stranger but
That's the danger in going my own way
I guess it's the price I have to pay
Still "everything happens for a reason"
Is no reason not to ask myself

If I am living it right
Am I living it right?
Am I living it right?
Why Georgia, why?

Room for Squares is a great album, and I am amazed this was recorded when John was just 22. How on earth can someone be such a good songwriter and musician at 22? It's just one of those things you can't ever aspire to - it just happens.
The other Mayer album I have is Heavier Things. It's also fantastic, particularly the first track, Clarity.

John Mayer Official Website
Any Given Thursday DVD
Room for Squares CD

T'be shure, T'be shure

Today is St. Patricks day, and even here, yes Taiwan, there is hype about it. Some of my local friends here have tried to get me to explain what it is all about cos they are confused, and after saying "well, that's easy......" I decided I wasn't too sure myself. Green Beer, Irish Band and Irish Stew or something like that. Oh yeah, Guinness. (you know that stuff that is liquid and black on the way in, and solid or semi solid and black on the way out.)
So, with March 17 falling on a friday, I am sure all the oirish pubs around the world will make a killing. Enjoy it, the next Friday St. Pats is in 2017. (I just guessed that, but I was right when I checked.)

I got to thinking about Ireland, and it is one place I'd really like to go to. I'd heard that the countryside is nice or something. But wait a minute, while looking for some pics of Ireland right now I don't think I'd go there for the scenery....cos it looks just like NZ, cept with old shit everywhere.

So what is it about the place? Well, the music for one thing. There is not much I don't like about Irish music, whether it's old reels or modern rock...it's all great. Something about those melancholic riffs that stirs something, I am not sure why. Maybe I am Oirish? There could be a good chance as on both sides a couple of generations ago my ancestors came from Newport in Wales, and Mellor, outside Blackburn in England - both places very close to the west coast of the UK, which is a splash away from the land of Bailey's Oirish Cream. Yum.
Going back to the music, spare a thought for Irishman Dave Evans, whose 7 year old daughter has just been diagnosed with Lukemia. Dave's band has decided to cancel the remainder of a world tour for a while, which is pretty nice of them really. It's a pretty big deal when your stage name is "The Edge" and your band is U2. All the best for Dave and his family.
I see in NZ they are offering full ticket face value refunds for all the cancelled shows. Too bad for all the people that bought scalped tickets on Trademe for several times their face value, of course.
I have been a U2 fan for years. The Joshua Tree is one of my all time classic albums that I have happened to buy 4 or 5 times so far...huh? well, the first one was a tape....and i played it so much it wore out so I bought it again, on tape. About 1984 or 85 I reckon. Then with my first airforce pay in 1989 I bought CeeDee Playa. Sony rack mounted thing, about the size of a VCR (remember those?) Anyway, the first CD I bought was "The Joshua Tree". When you have got a really cool CD player and 1 CD, you tend to play that 1 CD a bit. Ha. Then a few years later it got stolen in a house burglary, and then the next one I bought got stolen in a Car break-in. The CD I have now is a burnt copy of a friends original CD, but hey I'm on #5 so I figured I've paid the licenses enough to own a burnt copy. Now it's on my iPod anyway.

There is one other irish connection I was getting to. Another Irish guitarist by the name of Stu. His stage name is Stu too, which is handy. Stu likes to tell stories about things, I think it is an oirish trait, and I have heard him mention his travels to far away lands like Spee-In. (That's how he say's it, I think he means Spain, pronouced "Sp-ayne") One of his other stories is about how he bought a bargain American Fender Stratocaster off a paraplegic In Taipei. It is the classic Strat I've always wanted too, bastard. Stu's a really nice guy, and he's probably quite dashing too if you are that way inclined. Some people say he looks like Kevin Bacon, but I reckon he's got the Ryan Seacrest thing going on(y'know American Idol- get with it). It's all about when he was born, which was just a few days after me when Apollo 13 was transmitting "Houston, we have a problem". It was a good month.

Stu is actually from Belfast in Northern Ireland (where they have nice murals everywhere I hear) and I haven't asked him yet if he says "Derry" or "Londonderry". Some people are picky about that.
Anyway, Stu did a podcast interview in Taipei in honor of St. Pats day, so now he's also practically a celebrity. And I know him. Honest.

I think that covers some irish stuff, happy Saint Patrick's day.

Ireland Pics and Music
U2
Stu's Interview
Stu's Website

Too Many Handbags

I got back from Bangkok on Saturday night, late.

Had a great time catching up with Brent and Roche. Brent was working all day Friday, so Roche and I hit the shops all over BKK....well, actually one mall called "MBK".
MBK has got about a million shops in it(some of them even legit stores), give or take 3 but most importantly for this shopping extravaganzaaaaaaaaaaaa with Roche was a Starbucks. Roche being one of the more enthusiastic Formula 1 women fans I know, probably likened the Starbucks in MBK to the pits on a Grand Prix.
First Stop: Fuel and Team Meeting, working out the track route and scheduling the next 3 pit stops for the day.
Second Stop: Fuel again, On the phone taking orders after the first 2 laps.
Third Stop: Fuel again (just a top up), Team meeting to show off the first spree of the 'Tods' (Like, who'd even heard of Tod's handbags before...not me) Other Team members (that would be me) display DVDs, Diesel Jeans, and Motobike stickers.
Final stop: Fuel. Count up of remaining Baht, and counting of handbags. 5 or 6 so far, pathetic effort - let's see more alright? On the phone, more brokering going on. Tanya, Pearla even Sam....everyone needs a Tod's bag right? The final sprint for the finish line is coming up, and she's off.

Did I mention that was just practice day?

Tod Handbags Online (Cheap at $1000 USD up)

MBK Mall, Siam, Bangkok

Starbucks