We charge our phones, Hysan Place, HK

There were times I talked to some friends about some ideas of converting human energy into electricity, such as those gym equipments to power back and stored the electricity in battery whereas the more you work out, the less you pay the membership fee so as to encourage those gym goers to work out more.  This time I saw this one which is good for people to work out to charge their phones.

 

An interesting day at St. Stephan beach, Stanley, HK

No matter how many warning signs and boards have been placed to advise "no tent" on the beach.  However, no one cares about it, and no one dares to exercise this rule.  Perhaps this city or most people often abuse their freedom.  In this world, when a large no. of people do the same thing, unfortunately any wrongdoing can be "right".    Sadly 99% forgot the basic rule of freedom is to respect the others' freedom in the first place.  Furthermore, I was surrounded by families, with less than 1 foot distance.  Interesting that this beach wasn't that crowded as Repulse Bay.  Not sure if the music I played attracted them.  So I promptly changed my playlists to Chinese songs, and mainland Chinese songs.  What's more annoying, a lady of this family didn't know she was sitting on my sandals.  So it told how close they were settling down to mind.   I had to tell her about that in a cool tune.  I feel bad for my sandal as it suffered with some awful weight.  Then a kid of the other family opened the tent's side sip and played so many "hellos" to me and exhaled her "milky" aroma.  I told myself "ok you win".   I moved.  

Don't know why HK has had so many non-Chineses still staying here.  This beach, Deep Water Bay, Cheung Sha.....  are crowded with more than 50% of non-Chineses.  Why don't they listen to their mother countries' serious warnings about the "no freedom" of HK.   

 

Write or scan?

 

Protecting you and me and him and her, in HK

We can see how this city has been reacting quickly to stop the spread of the virus, because we had the lesson in 2003.  Seen 99.9% of the people wearing masks and using tremendous sanitizing stuff.  All the shops (even street fruit stall) are selling masks or sanitizing gel.  Now that all the restaurants have partitions and every high precaution measures. 

Today we see the result from this couple of months of everyone doing the same thing.  At least this city can have a short break.  However, there are ways to go when some countries don't put out their fire but rather blame who set the fire.  Sooner or later the fire will come back.

 

Traffic light and your phone.

Have heard quite many anti-parties claiming that walking is healthier these days (after the subway was damaged).  I then commented back to some of my friends that "working out should be a constant habit but not suddenly thought of, and please keep it up either you can take the subway or not.  These days people often make excuses for what they have done to justify their mindset.  It's even irrational for some claiming that no traffic light is good for getting ourselves smarter or even claiming "all these are just non-living things".  I'd also commented back to those of my anti-party friends that "then destroy your phone too as the phone is also a non-living thing".

I was in a car ride in Kowloon last week and spent almost 1.5 hour to pass thru' the cross harbour tunnel.  Mass traffic jam and even some car accidents took place.  My question was why the medias just reported on the demonstration mass but not on all these reality scenes.  

十六浦 (Ponte 16), Macau

This area is on the west side of Macau.  The hotel Sofitel Ponte 16 gave me a very nice room with this panoramic view to the harbour.   We can see the blooming Macau and the neighbouring Zhu Hai area.  The Macau/Zhu Hai/Hong Kong bridge also signifies another page of the Greater Bay economic zone.  If we can map up the recent HK prolonged unrest, in coincidence, that took place right after the bridge was opened.  So when the American Chamber HK's leader got denied to attend a conference in Macau 2 days ago, we knew there were something very political around this region.  It's just the beginning...  After all, I feel that Macau Gov't has done a right thing.  

At my industry gala dinner, I was thrilled to see how supportive of the various Gov't departments have been supporting the local cultural development.  I was delighted to enjoy some very professional live performance of local Portugueses and Chineses.  There should always be some local cultural developments instead of going too globally.  Globalization also means "colonization" by certain leading power.  

I also met some old colleagues that I have once worked to help set up the copyright system in Macau.  It's really not easy to talk about copyright in Macau when it's dominated by the casino business.  This is something I am thankful that I learned from all those difficult times.  Old speaking - no pain no gain.  

Moments in Qing Dao, China

Qing Dao and Hong Kong shared some historical background, or I should say most of the coastal ports in China shared the same - once being ceded as a colony.  It was also very sad to see how China was once being ripped off in the late Qing dynasty.  

Hong Kong looked quite advanced and civilized in the eyes of many mainland Chinese but sadly got swept away in the past summer.  I chatted with a taxi driver in Qing Dao, whom was once  very fond of Hong Kong and thought about going for a visit as he often felt Hong Kong was superior and a lot of goodies.  However, what he saw on the TV definitely scared him and I even discouraged him to go, as he spoke in Mandarin that would cause him some troubles.  In this short trip in Qing Dao, I have seen quite many things about Hong Kong.  Restaurant looked like Hong Kong and the main road (where many renowned hotels are) also named after Hong Kong, from Hong Kong East, Middle and West Roads.

I feel sorry for my father.  Qing Dao reminded me of him as he used to share a Qing Dao beer with me when I was a kid, and the mineral water from Qing Dao too.  If he knew how Hong Kong has become...  I wish that he could only remember the time he had the beer and my cooking for him.  So let me write this to fade it away.  

Leaving HKG and returning, in my shadow.

I left this city a few days ago.  That was the first time ever I felt very nervous if I could make it to the airport, as the rioters were trying to block the road.  The airport bus changed the route and all the way I was checking around and seeing if those rioters were showing up, because the other day I was on another bus getting stopped by those rioters.  This is the hidden phobia of not only me, but also a large crowd of people living in this city.  Now that as I am about to return to this city, I am worried if I can pass through those crowds claiming as to greet the tourists.  This kind of hooliganism is now considered as a norm in this city.   

Red and Green, where are you?

Almost most foreign medias showed how peaceful of those demonstrators.  Sadly I don't think so.  They put all the others' freedom and safety at risk to their own battle.  If they don't like the Chinese or HK Government, don't use the water from China, don't eat the agricultural produces from China.  Return the Gov't houses.  I've seen some dangerous scenes of people crossing the streets.  Why didn't they confront with the army quarters, but just be a scum to harass the weaker.  Put on a mask and think you are a hero, but a 100% coward when the mask is lifted. 

Unplugged and disconnected, back to the Earth.

In the old days, we often talked about unplugged as how we were surrounded by many electronic things.  Heard from a business fellow who is in charge of a multi-national group about her support for going on strike.  I asked her if she would ask all her staff to go on strike.  She replied "not related".  Then I asked her if she remembered "unplugged" of the 90's.  She got puzzled and I told her "what if those servers of social forums were down?".  She strongly opposed but I gently stated "why don't those staff working in those social media companies have a choice of their freedom.".   

In between a fence

As I passed through these 2 resorts, I saw this green fence separating them.  I was thinking there are 2 of me staying at these 2 resorts respectively.  What if I could break this fence and reach the other me and the other parallel universe.  Stay where I am or move beyond.  I choose to see these 2 in between a fence.  The middle of the road.  Zero to the positive and zero to the negative.  

In the cloud, over Bangkok

It was about 6:30pm when the plane I got on was flying westwards over Bangkok at 35,000 feet high.  There I saw these layers of cloud.  Out of the blue, I recall the Thai epic movie Nang Nak - the movie about a ghost wife Nak.  Nak's husband was sent for service of the Siamese-Vietnamese war.  Nak conceived and gave birth to a baby.  The villagers claimed Nak's baby was illegitimate.  The words spread.  Sense went off.  Nak's house was burnt down by the villagers, and she with her baby were burnt to death.  Nak's strong will for waiting the return of her husband lingered in the place.  Nak's husband was at the verge of death during the war but finally returned home, and lived in the spiritual illusion with Nak.  The villagers warned Nak's husband and led him to see the real world.  Nak resented to the villagers and was about to exercise her supernatural power to retaliate.   A most respected monk got aware of this devastating confrontation.  He listed to the grief of Nak, and calmed her for letting go and releasing her spirit.  It was all ended and sealed in a brooch. 

This kind of story may be a bit old-fashioned but old wine in a new bottle - the thing about how words can instigate the others and result in such a tragic sadness.  These days people share news without really looking into the fact of itself.  Follow and like and be in part of it.  Quantity counts but not quality.  When words can become lethal, and when the senses were gone, and when the majority can be claimed as right.... When everything is distorted...  

More than a typhoon

Haven't seen this scene for so many years.  This city ran out of adhesive tapes, bread, frozen food and bottled water.  Seen people buying food over a month's stock.  Long lines in groceries.  I think of Hokkaido.  Earthquake left them with a longer shortage of food and bottled water, but people only buy just one item of food and drink. 

A golden purple toilet brush

I usually don't buy stuff like this since it's a bit too colourful and flamboyant, and yet the price wouldn't be justified for me to pay for it.  However, as this one was on a bargain sale with 80% discount, my mode would change to take it.  Then some may say "wouldn't it be too showing-off?".  Now that's the point - if I tell the others I bought it at US$200 and even emphasized I wouldn't buy stuff less than that price, then that's a show-off.  This time I happily share with the others that I bought this at such a cheap price and wouldn't care about the look.  Sometimes when we say we discriminate the others because of their inferior status, then we would also fall into the mode of discriminating things or persons in a superior or premium status. Simply do whatever we feel like, rather than living under the others' comments or the social forums.  

Zebra crossing in a remote area, in Kiroro, Akaigawa, Hokkaido

There were times I chatted with some younger netizens about their behaviour on the net.  They often wonder why they can't do this or that, in their own sense towards "freedom of speech".  I gave them an example of crossing traffic light in a rural area where you won't see any cars in a distance of couple of miles.  In this circumstance, almost 99% people would just cross the road regardless of the traffic light.  However, it's still not right, legally speaking.  Can we also do the same when we are in city?  So a law is a law.  It depends on our own sense to judge if we can do it or if our freedom would affect the others. 

Today I encountered the 1% people in this remote town where there might be just a few cars running on the road once 20-30 minutes.  I saw the workers from this construction site, walking a long way to the zebra crossing on the far end, and then walking back to the other side of the road.  I hope I won't get challenged by those netizens about this fact of Japan.

My Fairy-in-Emerald's Amber, Sapporo, Hokkaido

Have been looking for this plant for a few months in HK from a friend's advice of this air-purifying and yet a "die-hard" friend.  Out of the blue on the 2nd day of this New Year, I found it and the shop even offered a pair of pots at a bargain price.  In coincidence, I ran into it on the long underground walking corridor in Sapporo.  The light made it so bright and sharp.  If it's named as a mother-in-law's tongue, I'd say it be a fairy-in-Emerald's Amber. 

Eiserner Steg (Iron bridge), Frankfurt, Germany

If and how many could be remembered....

A better tomorrow at some cost, Maldives

This place has been undergoing some big changes.  Naturally it's unavoidable to forgo something.  Talked to some locals.  It seems they are rather looking for some new changes.  At least they have a solid house, water and electricity and a job.  The China Government has invested a lot to create many job opportunities and also building houses for the locals.  A large scale of land reclamation is taking place to cope with all those needs.

Back to where I live happy

There are times I have been asked if and why I stopped writing this blog.   Got disoriented?  Thinking about quite many themes to continue but ended up - BE YOURSELF.  I recall in my high school (a band 5 school that I deliberately chose it because it didn't have a name).  Perhaps it's my rebellious character that I don't go for the main stream and perhaps I'd like to challenge that not a famous school can get you what you want in life.  Perhaps I would say I have a discrimination against those famous schools.  However, there I had 3 happy years of study and helping the classmates around.  There I improved my English with my well-respected Filipino English teacher.  There I had a very thoughtful Chinese teacher to post my Chinese composition in the newspaper for getting me some script fees.  Because of that, I was the only one who keeps on giving my Chinese teacher the weekly article like a diary.  That took for 2 years and I enjoyed handing him every Monday and I still remember his assertive smile for keeping on with that habit.  That's the happiness I created in my school life.  So when I saw this slogan "Live Happy", I saw my Chinese teacher, English teacher and some classmates.  I don't intend to look for them in facebook.  That doesn't mean I forgot them.  Life is in courses and each course we have different people around.  My school life is in my memory and all the faces of my classmates are still so deep in my mind.   I still keep the school graduation record book of all of them.  That's my real book for the school, not what Facebook originally intended to suggest.  Do you expect 100 alert tunes for that kind of group chat or simply silently enjoy your memory with them?  I enjoy my way to live happy.

Summer Island Resort, a surprising stop over, Maldives

It was quite a stormy day for our departure.  As when the sea plane reached the outskirt of North Male Atoll (where the airport is situated), the plane suddenly descended in a big turn.  After the sea plane stopped at this island, the pilot announced that the weather in Male Airport wasn't suitable for landing.  So we had to spend around 30 minutes for a "complimentary" stop.

Later on I found out not just me who wouldn't go for the popular forums or digital era, there are some resorts which would stay away from the popular internet booking sites.  This resort is the one.  I was surprised that how come I didn't know about this resort from all those Agoda or hotels.com...etc.  So those self-conceited digital giants should think about it before they often claim that everything is digitally-driven.  The iron truth right in front of my eyes - always an exception.  I'm happy to continue my "Minority" report.