Tuesday 29 December 2015

Kuroko no Basket: Saikou no Present Desu (Explanation of Hyuuga's "waga mama body")


2:48pm. Wed 30 Dec

I just finished watching.  Didn't know they made this. At 18:22 (video time), the translator couldn't understand what the captain Hyuuga/Hyuga said. "Waga mama body" (referring to the sexy body of Alex). 

A lot of translators always think "waga mama" means selfish. Actually, it more accurately means "reckless".  That's why in this instance, the translator couldn't understand what Hyuuga meant.  If you translate "waga mama" as "selfish body", it makes no sense.

The Chinese translation/words at the bottom is correct. It means "wild" or "reckless" body.  In other words, Hyuuga was saying, "What a wild body!".  Or "What a recklessly sexy body".

It's also strange that Kagami said "today" Tokugawa Ieyasu was born. According to translations, it's 31st January. But why would Kagami say January?  "Today" that they are celebrating Kuroko's birthday is 31st December. 


 

Tuesday 15 December 2015

Cupid's Arrow Above Japan's Train Station. こんにちは!あなたは電車の駅上の素敵なキューピッドの矢がある知っていますか?


Why is it there suddenly today/tonight? Bro says it's for X'mas. Last night, it wasn't there. It appears brightly then slowly fades away to appear again.

Why put it up there where nobody can see? Zannen desu. Even if you look up, you can't see it!

 なぜそれがそこにありますか 残念。

Interesting sweetness on the roof!  屋根の上に興味深い甘さ 

あなたがルックアップする場合でも、あなたはそれを見ることができません

Watching this train station often, it seems there are more men than women. 



 


Monday 14 December 2015

Giving Up On Carousell... (Not Yet!)

Latest:  The Fraudster: http://therevolutioner.blogspot.sg/2016/01/carousell-special-feature-fraudster.html


-------------
(Update 1:59 am Tues 22 Dec: Why do people put horrible photos of their ugly children & themselves on Carousell? I hate it when I click on "activity" & see it's an unattractive woman with a kid. Or a black & white photo of a sweaty kid with matted hair looking like a photo from a tombstone. For heaven's sake. Sell. Don't put your goddamn mugshots on a selling site.)

----------------------
Update 8:21 p.m. Sun Dec 20 2015:

So far, I have found 3 persons (3 different accounts) who are making an estimated $500 to $600/month. Selling the same type of items but in different ways. All 3 making money.

Seems good. But actually, not quite. To make a living, sales has to be everyday & a target amount has to be reached daily.  Clear example: Everyday, I spend $60 on food & supermarket purchases. I have to have at least a profit of $60 everyday to make up for it.

But it's not everyday that I can get back this amount.

It's not everyday that a seller can make sales of $60 on Carousell. In fact, there can be no sale for months. If the profit is $20 every few days, how do you live on it?

It's possible if every few days, the sales make up for the days that didn't make a sale. For instance, for 3 days, no sale. Then on the 4th day, you gain the profit of these 4 days.

The correct question is not whether a person can make money on Carousell.  Making a profit is possible.

The correct question should be: Can a person make a living selling on Carousell? This is harder to answer. I am still watching & learning.

(Update: 10.35 p.m.: I just deleted a message that says "More pictures".  No "hi", no "please" & no full-stop.  New account.  Possibly foreigner. Such a "buyer",  sellers can ignore. No time or effort need be wasted on such a person.  I'm not in the mood to reply. In fact, I feel like replying, "Not 'more pictures Please' meh?".  Not even worth replying to. It's easier to just press the delete button than type. Less problem also. No money, no point talking.)


--------
11.28 p.m. Tues Dec:

Scrap everything I said below. I just found someone who has made at least $600/month on Carousell. This person is very smart. He must be working in marketing. Simple, genius idea. What a fraud. But buyers love it & even say seller is "Trustworthy".  Hahaha!

Just when I was about to give up, I am good to go again.

Some people just have a knack for making money. While I have some gifted abilities, money-making by misleading people is not one of them.

Such a brilliant move. Or rather, such silly buyers. Just when I was thinking that the only way to make money off of these stupid, stingy people is to con them, I find someone already doing it beautifully.

As bro always say, "In business, you cannot be too honest.". 

-------------

 
15 Dec Tuesday. 3:12 p.m.

It's really a pity. The traffic seems to be there. But the buyers are really weird. They ask very bizarrely ridiculous questions & have very strange ideas of how much things should cost. I'm very mystified.

I don't know how old they are or where they are from. Outer space?

Last night, I received 1 message from (presumably) a female asking how much is the item I am selling. I put $0 because that item has to be combined with other items to qualify for cheaper shipping.

So far, 3 persons have asked about this item on previous occasions. But none purchased anything. So this time, I asked her how much she was willing to pay for this item, in order to know what these people are thinking.

She said around "$10".

HA! I had expected a low number but not this low. Laughable.  $10?  I can't believe this person's mind. Has this person even been to a store? A mall?

An item imported from Korea cannot possibly cost $10. Shipping fee? Exchange rates?

Her parents must have been paying for her. She has no idea how much things actually cost. She hasn't worked?

Her hands hold the iphone but what use is it?  

This is the kind of people on Carousell. How to sell to them?

I have been trying for more than a month. With different methods & items. All I got are crazy & stupid messages. Only 4 are actual purchases with a grand total of $35 earnings.  How to live on $35?

I really don't understand. Carousell has the traffic. But where is the money?

Typing this here is a waste of time.

I am seriously considering giving up on Carousell. But there is no other SG platform where there is traffic for selling things. Classified ads are useless. Ebay SG is useless.

It's not the prices of the things I sell.  The prices are very cheap. This is a fact.

My prices are actually too low compared to market prices.  Yet every person who messages me, asks for substantial discounts. Who are these people, where do they come from?

All of them don't have common sense. Low intelligence. 

It's very strange. In my years of doing business online, I have never come across such people.

For the first time, looking at my Carousell page, I am seriously considering whether to just leave it as that. Stop posting more items to sell.

Every item requires a lot of time to search & edit. It takes the whole day to look for things to sell & post them up. One day, at most I can do 5 or 6 items.

I have to get the right remuneration for my efforts. But every day, especially these few days, there is no activity. No messages. When I get 1 message, it's a stupid one.

The fault lies in Carousell's creators. For not attracting the right buyers to the site. For not improving the site to a respectable, high-quality standard. For cheapening it by setting it up as a child's/teenager's "sell-your-junk" site.

For heaven's sake. You 3 guys are university grads. How can you set up a site targeting only teens? School students?

Don't you want your site to have a broad range of visitors, buyers & sellers? Not just confined to selling junk among school kids? Where's your vision?






Sunday 22 November 2015

Man Seeing Girlfriend Off at Japan Train Station 日本の鉄道駅の眺め (ガールフレンドを見て男性が電車の中で残します。)


This guy saw his girlfriend to the train. She gave a pat on the base his back before she got on the train. Clearly there is love. Yet they never kissed. If they were Caucasians, they would kiss horridly in public. Not in Japan.

The train captain was standing some distance away, waiting for the last passengers. They were the last.

It seems to be a regular "boyfriend-seeing-girlfriend-to-the-train" scene. But it does not seem so. Could be she is leaving for some place. He stood outside & kept talking to her while she stood at the train door.

When the train captain looked out the window & waved for him to stand clear, he reverently stepped back, back & back all the way to the pillar. Well beyond the yellow line & looked down at the floor.

As the train started moving off, he waved & even leaped with a leg out.  He kept waving even as the train went out of sight.

Even when the train was gone, he stood there. Strange.  Is he crazy?

He stands there looking reluctant, despondent. Then he turns & starts walking towards the camera direction, his face looking as if not knowing what to do. As if he should do something.

He's quite a tall man. Well, I wonder if he really loves her that much. 





Saturday 21 November 2015

Dirty Bitter Watermelons @ Meidi-ya Supermarket Liang Court SG ダーティ苦いスイカ シンガポール明治屋


Even after 2 years, the management is still poor, negligent & sloppy.  Sloppy management, sloppy staff.

でも2年後に、経営陣はまだ、貧しい過失&ずさんですずさんな管理、ずさんなスタッフ。
明治屋で購入することが良いもの。」、聞かないでください。問う: 明治屋で購入しても安全とは何でしょうか?

Today 21 Nov 2.20 p.m.. 1 bought a quarter slice cut watermelon.  Even the shelf in their fridge is dirty. The staff didn't even bother to clean. The amount scum and dirt on the watermelon racks. Wow. As you choose the watermelons, the accumulated layers of scum falls off the racks.

Some of the watermelons were wrapped with black bits of dirt on the watermelon flesh. I don't know what that dirt is.  Unclean knife? Dirt from where?

I chose one without dirt. $3.60.

When I came home, discovered the watermelon was bitter. As if the knife had previously cut bitter gourd. However, the supermarket does not sell cut bitter gourd. So where does the bitter taste come from?

I purchased watermelon from the same section just a few days ago & there was no bitter taste. It was not sweet, but not bitter. The supermarket sells poor tasting watermelons.

This time, I had to throw away the watermelon because I don't know what the heck is wrong with it. Why is it bitter?

Meidi-ya has increased the number of products it sells, but even the way they stack them is sloppy. The whole place has a sloppy appearance.  It just keeps looking worse.

In 2013, I reported on the spoiled chicken breast & sour-smelling salmon. Twice, the "fresh" salmon slab had a sour-smell. Once the "fresh" chicken breast smelled sour.  I should have reported to NEA.

Recently, they sold expired potato chips & other food that I discovered on their shelves.

Today, their expensive quarter slices of watermelon have a "special" bitter taste with dirty black bits.  At $3.60 per quarter cut, and 60 cents more, the price can buy a whole watermelon.

To think at $3.60, they can't even cut a nice, clean watermelon? Bad.

First, their meat & fish are spoiled. Now their watermelons have problem. Don't ask, "What is good to buy at Meidi-ya.".  Ask: What is safe to buy at Meidi-ya?


Saturday 14 November 2015

常に、日本のあなたを見て私を許して。Forgive me For Always Watching You, Japan.


When I miss Japan too much, I become a voyeur. Watching from afar.  私はあまり日本見たいとき、私は盗撮になります。遠くから見て長距離視聴のために、あなたに日本に感謝

Japan has very sexy & handsome train captains. They are tall. Their uniform is very stylish & impressive. Sexy captain's hat. 彼らは背が高いです日本は非常にセクシーとハンサムな列車のキャプテンを持っています。彼らの均一な、非常にスタイリッシュで印象的です, そしてセクシー船長の帽子私は大好きです。

四季を通じ日本が美しいです。いつもあなたを見るために私を許して。

Raining. Not yet snow. Autumn. Winter is coming. Days have become very short.
雨が降りますまだ雪 秋。冬が来ています。日は非常に短くなってきています

3:37p.m. Singapore time (4.37p.m. Japan time Sat Nov 14 2015). Sky is beautiful cold, light blue. 
[スカイ美しい冷光の青です。]
 


3:53 p.m.  Singapore time (almost 5 p.m. Japan time Sat 14 Nov 2015).  Notice the sky turns dark very fast within a few minutes.  

Handsome train captain with his hat on right side. He was doing leg exercises. Bending his legs & straightening while waiting for the train to come. In Japan, train captains wait for their train to arrive, wait for passengers to board, blow their whistle, then they board & go with the train. Unlike bus & train captains in Singapore, Japanese train captains take pride in their trains & their job.]

[空は非常に速く、数分以内に暗くなります注意してください右側の帽子でハンサムな列車のキャプテン。彼は足の練習をしていました。彼の足を曲げ&列車が来るのを待っている間に真っ直ぐに。彼らの列車が到着するのを日本では、電車の船長は、その後、彼らはボード&電車で行く、乗客は、搭乗その笛を吹くのを待つ、待ちますシンガポールのバスや電車のキャプテンとは異なり、日本の電車のキャプテンは、彼らの列車と自分の仕事に誇りを持っています]
 


4.10p.m. Singapore time (5.10 p.m. Japan time Sat 14 Nov 2015). Sky has become dark. Night. Train captain waiting for last passengers. Sexy man. Who is he?  

[4.10p.m.シンガポール時間(5.10午後日本時間土曜2015年11月14日)。空が暗くなってきています夜。最後の乗客を待っている列車のキャプテン。セクシーな男。 彼は誰?]

 


Tuesday 10 November 2015

Can Carousell SG Be Used To Do Business (To make Money/Profit)?

Update 10.46am Sat 5 Aug 2017:  After so long, my conclusion is the same.

Carousell buyers make very bad buyers.  One word: Price.

It has nothing to do with whether you've "in stock" or "pre-order". Don't be fooled into thinking that you must have stock. I've tested it often enough.

Even if you've stock, but the price is high, they will not buy. But if you have pre-order & the price is low, they will buy, they will wait & they don't even care if it's authentic so long as it's of reasonable quality.

Somehow, Carousell buyers know at what point you will not make profit. They will buy only when the price is so low that you can't make much profit if any. They want cost price. At the same time, they are themselves not smart enough to source for the products.  Carousell buyers are stinks like that.

The stock you have will sell eventually. But if what you want is daily sales, you will need to suffer losses, be willing to earn less per item. And if it's less profit per item (like $8 per piece), then you better make sure it's bulk sales. A lot of sales to make a profitable amount at the end of the month. And the traffic at Carousell is a desert.

One example: I had a rack that due to the damn weight, had a high shipping cost. A buyer had ordered & paid but when the shipping cost was known after I ordered it for him, I realized I made a small loss.  If he got it, he would be getting it even cheaper than if he had ordered it himself.

It was a disaster for me.

When it arrived, I still agreed to let him collect it because after all, it was my mistake at under-estimating the shipping cost. However, in his stupidity, he failed to see me to collect. And even wanted to schedule another meet up outside of convenient location even knowing it was too heavy for me to carry around. Inconsiderate, crazy man.

So, I refunded his money & listed it for sale. I would rather make even a little profit from this item than make a loss.

The item itself was cheap. The total price ended up high. I couldn't price it any higher. After shifting the price around, I decided to see if it could get out of my hands for just $15 profit.  Took 2 weeks when a buyer finally sent message to buy.  2 weeks for a very popular rack (based on number of likes).

And when he collected, he even wanted to further cut the price by $5.

This is what I mean by Carousell buyers being very bad buyers.

Of course, I told him "no". I really hate it when buyers suddenly ask for price reduction at meet up. Very dishonourable. We agreed to deal at the listed price.  So, don't waste time negotiating on meet up. I was mentally willing to haul back the heavy item if he didn't want to pay the original price that we agreed on.  It would be a pain hauling it back but I would rather not sell to him if I have to cut my little profit even more.  If I sold it to him, it meant I'm doing everything for free. No.

He bought it.  After all that shit, I made just $15.  Very poor item to sell despite the number of likes.


------

No.   (update here: http://therevolutioner.blogspot.sg/2015/12/giving-up-on-carousell.html)

I've been there for 2 weeks or so. Looking around, initial impression was good. It's as if all the flea markets in Singapore have consolidated onto this 1 spot. All the stuff never seen before & more. Fascinating & quite impressive what some sellers are selling. Vintage stuff & stuff that people have bought from their travels that you can't get in shops here.

But as many sellers' blogs have said, the problem is not the platform. It's the users (buyers). Also, one website listed 3 flaws why Carousell cannot be used to do business.

The university guys who came up with this idea are smart enough to leave it as free & easy as possible. Maybe everyone should have a university degree before being hired. This level of intelligence for this level of Laissez-faire thinking that is rare in Singapore & which I like.

The only flaws in their system is just technical & can be fixed in an instant. I can recommend at least 2 fixes. However, shitty, immature, unreasonable, spoilt, stupid & insane buyers cannot be fixed.

Based on the reports, the majority of the buyers are youngsters. Youngsters mean little spending power with little maturity, no experience in online purchasing & irresponsible.

From the sellers' profile descriptions & items, I would add that the sellers themselves are also inexperienced youngsters.

Traffic is however good & alive. Better than Ebay SG which is quite dead.

I wanted to find out: Are there any buyers at all?

Yes. Buyers with no money. Buyers stingy with their money. [Update 9 Dec Wed: Carousell needs to attract buyers with spending power. ]

[Update 10 Dec Thurs: It's been more than a month. I still haven't seen my first $50 profit from a single item or even multiple items. ]


#1  "Likes" is useless. 

Easily, I had placed more than 100 new items that require ordering as well as used in-stock. I know these items are popular & attractive because they have received many "likes". However, "likes" does not equate to sale/money.

"Likes" however, may seem to indicate level of interest from potential buyers for an item. It may seem to say that people are interested but price is too high to buy. It can cause a seller to lower the price until someone actually buys. But considering the type of buyers on Carousell, the price will then become too low to sell profitably.


(Update Friday 20 Nov) In just this morning between 2a.m. to 10.30a.m.., I had 35 "likes" (the most I ever got) from 11 persons for different items in my listing & not a single one bought a single thing. Zero interest in zero messages.

(Update 30 Dec Wed) I just discovered that "likes" is not entirely useless. It is actually bumping up posts. So items get seen rather than buried. Therefore, "likes" is actually important.

 
#2  I've noticed majority of the buyers do not have the courtesy of starting with a "Hi". This is not just about a word, but reflects the person's attitude & mindset.

When speaking to someone for the first time, is it not natural to address the person with a "Hi"? Even in physical (offline) situations, we start with "Excuse me" or "Hi".

It is worse when the person starts without a "Hi", without capitalizing the first word, misspell words & ask questions that lack common sense. I recommend dropping this order if this person were to try to purchase something.

Saying "Hi" is a social interaction etiquette.  If a person ignores this etiquette, be prepared the transaction may not be smooth.

Buyers, if you don't say "Hi" first thing, don't expect any politeness or smiles from me. I will treat you with suspicion & caution & suspect you are a nutcase.


#3 Quite a number of foreigners & Malays. Little spending power.

I just received a message from a foreigner woman who asked 2 questions that have already been answered in the item title & item description. Can't read? If she can't read, how is she going to read my reply message?

Not just her. There are also young Singaporean guys who ask stupid questions even when information is stated in the item title. What is wrong with them?

Turns out the review reports of such people are true.  Not an exaggeration. How do such people live? How come natural selection didn't kill them off?


#4  Messages are precious because they don't come by often.  These days (25 Nov Wed), when I see a red "1" symbol on my message icon at a glance, I thought I am hallucinating.  Look properly & I see that yes, there really is a message waiting there.

Unfortunately, it's from someone stupid every time.  It's very annoying & I start to get quite fed up.  Although it's hard not to tell the person off,  I have to tell the person that the information is already stated.  Indirectly telling the person that he/she didn't read.

I don't need the money from such stupid people.  Why do these people even bother sending a message?  Such persons who don't read, it's better they don't buy. Otherwise, will cause problems later.

Sometimes I wonder. Maybe there's something wrong with the Carousell app? Maybe the item description don't show up?  Maybe the item title is cut off after certain number of words on the phone? Maybe the app only shows the first photo?

Maybe this, maybe that. Maybe they are just stupid.

Messages are of 3 types: a) asking for price reduction. b) Low offer made without even knowing market prices. c) asking for information already provided in the listing.  Rarely message is about purchase at listed price.  Out of 10 messages, 2 from genuine buyers who purchase easily without any of the above shit.


#5  What can you sell?

Fashion? Adult Clothes? Kids' Clothes? Sunglasses? Shoes? Toys? Decorative? Gadgets?

The key is to make money. No point selling something for peanuts. Not worth the time & effort.

Looking for items to sell & posting them up is very time-consuming. Delivering or mailing the item is also tedious & time-consuming.

After doing some checking on what is popular & what buyers ask for, I have selected items accordingly. Prices are reasonable & affordable. If these items were sold in any of the malls/supermarkets, people will buy.

However on Carousell, potential buyers offer very unrealistically low prices. This point was mentioned in the review site as one of the flaws for sellers.

The items I selected for sale are not available in Singapore. Moreover,  my prices are lower than what's available on the market. Even if the malls had these items, it would be much higher than what I offer. Yet Carousell buyers ask for lower price. Very strange. 


#6  Buyers don't know what is a reasonable discount. Buyer, put yourself in the seller's shoes. Will you cut $50? Isn't that too much? All your prices have been calculated to factor in shipping costs etc.. As a buyer, you cannot take $50 off from a selling price of $100+.

Even if you walk into a physical shop, the seller will not cut $50 because it's too much. At most, a buyer can ask for $20 discount. And maybe the seller might consider.

Also, in any shopping mall, unless there is a sale going on, there is no way buyers can get a discount. So don't make it a habit of cutting $50 or more off a selling price on Carousell just because it isn't a mall.

(Update 26 Nov Thurs) I just received message from a buyer who offered to cut $140 off my listed price. No "hi", no nothing.  How "nice" of such sellers to cut a seller's price to whatever value they think an item should cost.

I  deleted his "offer".  This is a very, very, poor buyer. I can profile him as a young fellow who don't even know market prices & what shops are selling.  His price that he "offered" isn't even enough to ship the item into Singapore.


#7  How much money can you make?

One female blogger foolishly said it was commendable her boyfriend "made" more than $100 selling his junk in the house. That is not making money. That is a loss.

Making money = making profit. If you bought a shirt for $30 but sell it for $12.90. That is a loss of $17.10.  What people are doing when selling their things below value is making an "exchange". Not making money.

Looking at seller's profiles, I see that even the best isn't making money. For instance, a toy seller prices his/her items at $12.90 each. Sold 300 items in 2 years since joining Carousell. Assuming he/she is able to make even a $5 profit on each item, he has made just $750/year. That is very poor sales.

Not only that, he keeps stock of the items. To clear it, price has to be lowered even further. Even if he had ordered the items in bulk (which is even worse), difference between cost price & his low selling price is too small.  Unless, he got the stock for free. Even so, $12.90 full profit is still low for the number items he has sold.  Some items are even sold for less.

It seems more of getting rid of the stock, rather than making a profit.

The sellers are not making profit or making only very little. Majority of sellers manage to sell only a few items in a whole year at too low prices.

I found 1 person who sold 722 items in 22 months. Unfortunately, she/he prices each item at just $14.50 with postage.  If the person can even make $5/item, this cheap strategy makes only $164/month. Normal Singapore post alone will cost $1.15 for such items. So the selling price of $14.50 is reduced to $13.35. Further reduced if paying for shipping into Singapore. Even if made in Singapore, there is still a cost price.  Question is, how low can the cost price be?

Also, the type of item & the price appeal to youngsters who have little disposable income. 722 items sold implies that there are this many youngsters on Carousell. 


#8  Every seller lists terms & conditions of sale that I feel are unnecessary & amateurish. However, this also reflects on the immaturity & inexperience of the buyers who require such terms & conditions to be listed.

I've done online buying & selling as a business for enough time to be tired of it. Many aspects I have learnt and accepted as part of the process. I've even had to train people online to do the things that are necessary for a partnership across countries. You don't know the amount of patience required for this.

However, Carousell sellers & buyers seem to be so new at selling & buying that they have to list everything & complain about everything.

In ordering a product, there is always the possibility of unforeseen delays. Successful business transactions is mostly based on trust. I have done deals & partnerships with people I've never met & established trust on both sides for years. It's simply a matter of procedures.

As long as a product is delivered to you in a reasonable amount of time, that is good enough. Even when ordering something yourself, you will also encounter unexpected delays.


#9  During this time, I've only sold 1 used item for below purchase price. However, the buyer didn't leave a review. That's fine.

Frankly, I don't really care for buyers leaving reviews. As long as they are good buyers & I know I am a good seller, transaction goes through smoothly, that's fine. After all, what I want is sale & profit.  Reviews are double-edged swords that I don't need.

Second sale has led to this post being typed now. This guy started out without a "Hi". He couldn't spell & asked questions that showed a lack of common sense. Now he turns round demanding his money back.

Frankly, I don't care if he leaves a negative review. As I said, I'm tired. He on the other hand has the energy of his madness.

I suspect he wants his money back because he suddenly found himself in need of cash. Since the item has not yet been delivered to him, he used it as an excuse to demand a refund. He is just making noise for the sake of making noise.

It's possible he is only 12 years old because he doesn't even know how long normal SG mail takes or what ordering a product means. He said he has made many purchases before (From where? Supermarkets?). I doubt he has even once purchased from overseas.

The third sale, is still in process & hope it will not be a repeat of the 2nd.

At the same time, I have no intention or desire to list terms & conditions in my profile.

(Update 25 Nov Wed):  During this 1 month, I sold only 4 items.  2 positive reviews.  First sale buyer didn't leave a review because she didn't make an offer.

And that horrible buyer who didn't dare leave a review because he knows I'll shoot him with very good reasons on his page. He wants a pristine record, so do I. Even though I sent the item to him beautifully, he didn't even say thanks. Just kept complaining about nothing.  I made only less than $10 off him (a mistake due to unexpectedly high shipping from item packaging). That shit head.  He don't deserve such a beautiful item.


#10  People tend to blame the seller when reading negative reviews on Carousell. But I think buyers there are at fault.

Ebay SG is quite dead with regards to the traffic, but at least the buyers are more mature when I do manage to sell something to them. There are of course also immature youngsters on Ebay SG, but they are only just rude with offering low prices.  On Carousell, they aren't just rude with low offers, they go crazy on you after purchase.

So between Ebay & Carousell, I would prefer the former for peace of mind. But again, Ebay SG is really quite dead. No views of the items.


#11  Does having thousands of "Followers" & "Following" make any difference to sales? No.

Followers means people who are following your page. Following means you have followed other people's pages.  

From my observations of sellers, some sellers still make more than 100 sales/feedback even with zero "following". They do however, have thousands of followers. It just means people like the seller's products.

Having thousands of "followers" & "following" does not equate to sales.

I have also found that people can "un" follow your page, from the drop in the "followers" number. Clearly, these people had "followed" my page expecting me to follow theirs. They then realized I wasn't following their page & then "un" followed mine. This shows how petty they are. No sense at all.

There is no correlation between sales & having many "followers" &/or "following". These 2 things might serve to direct customers to your page but because there are so many "followers" & "following" in other people's pages, the chances of people clicking on your profile icon is slim to non-existent.

"Followers" & "following" become just decorations. Meaningless in terms of actual sales. Just like the "likes".


#12 After monitoring the site everyday, I found that Carousell is alive only for 2 to 3 hours at night. From 9 to 11 p.m. on weekdays.  This is when traffic peaks, "activity" peaks, number of "likes" peaks & people send messages about items they are interested in. This is also when Carousell jams up & takes a long time to load.

The site is not maintained.  And there is no improvement.

What did the university guys (who built this thing) did with the investors' US$6 million? US$6 mil is a lot of tempting money.

Morning to evening, there isn't anything except maybe a few "likes".  After midnight or even before midnight, traffic stops suddenly & completely. Zero activity.

On weekends, zero traffic the whole day.

This is not the way for generating money. Not going to be rich this way.

Basically,  Carousell is quite useless.


#13  Scam? What scam?  Stupid & greedy people are scammed everywhere, not just on Carousell.

I don't know how people can get scammed on Carousell.  Just so boring & simple transactions full of the same boring procedures. How can you possibly get scammed?

(Update 3 Dec Thurs): Even when item measurements are in the photos, buyers still ask for dimensions/size.  There are only 3 or 4 photos for heaven's sake. How can they miss such big photos with such clear measurements shown??? You tell me how can such stupid people not get scammed?  It would be amazing if they don't get scammed.


#14   I suspect Carousell used to have a heyday back when it first started. But now that heyday has passed. A lot of sellers who started in 2014 had pretty good sales (based on number of reviews) that seem to have stopped.

#15 Update 11 Dec Fri:  Not only do I have to put up with stingy people, I have to put up with nutcases too. They sign up under different accounts. One of them always starts with, "I'm interested!".  Just 1 message.

When asked to make payment, he disappears.  Oddly, he has positive buyer feedback for 2 accounts (zero feedback for another 3 accounts).  One of his account even has a profile photo.

The first time was suspicious. Second time, I guessed it could be the same person, but played along. 3rd time, I knew it was the same person but still played along.  Boring nutcase.  Tonight he sent another "I'm interested!". I deleted it without bothering to reply. Waste of time.

Another nutcase is a foreigner with bad English & bad manners.  He also sent a meaningless message tonight with just 1 word. "There".

"There" what? Goddamn nutcase.




Monday 19 October 2015

The SG Haze: Why Can't the SG Government Do Something?!

When Malaysia wanted to raise water costs, Singapore government quickly built a desalination plant so that we wouldn't be dependent on Malaysia. We would be able to feed our own needs.

Now with these Indonesian fires, why can't the Singapore government build something or buy something that will stop this haze on our side?!  It doesn't  matter if stupid Indonesia burns year after year. We cannot control what they do. But we can control what we can do.

Build some kind of shield that closes whenever there is haze. Figure out a way to make it work. Singapore government is very rich, right? Then think, buy &/build whatever that will work!!

What is the government for?

Or build/buy something that will deflect the haze such that Singapore island is protected every time there is haze.

Indonesia & Malaysia can choke themselves off. But Singapore's air will be clean & clear.

[Then again, do we need the air to be clean & clear? Solving the haze is for Singaporeans' benefit, not for the foreigners'. Unfortunately, the foreigners benefit.

The haze is actually in our favor against the foreigners. But the haze problem & foreigners problem are two different matters. Why should we put up with choking haze just so the foreigners will suffer along?

In fact, the haze problem, foreigners problem & the SG government letting in the foreigners are 3 different issues that need to be separately solved.

Frankly, why does the haze bother me? Because unlike "rich government people", I can't fly to somewhere else. Why don't foreigners in Singapore fly to somewhere else?]



Thursday 15 October 2015

Vintage/Retro Typewriters (What's Great About Them?)

Friday 16 October. 1:49 p.m.

Well, they aren't exactly that vintage. Some years ago (like more than 10 years ago), I was still using an old typewriter & the lousy keys would entangle & jam up & I would have to undo them with my fingers to be able to type again, all the time.

That typewriter in its black plastic case (portable, clumsy)... was sold to a Karang Guni man.  Can't remember how much that lousy Karang Guni man paid me. I didn't know who to go for repairs. It was a newer model of old typewriters, that's why it was so bad. After that, they stopped making.

The keys were lightweight, flimsy metal strips, flying & entangling. The keys had to be hammered hard with fingertips. It made a lousy, thin metal noise of poor quality. Not careful & your finger will slip into the space between the keys. The effort to push the damn roller back to start at every line of the page & the pull of the handle to go to next line.

The brand was... I can't remember. Neither do I recall how or where I acquired it.  I used it for a while, kept it for a while. I don't throw away my things.

After that, an electric typewriter was purchased for me. Panasonic? Well, it was good & so high speed, like a machine gun with just a press of one key (without lifting the finger).  No more entangling keys, black & oily, no more changing of greasy black & red ribbon reels.

The reason I'm typing this (now on my laptop), is that I am now aware of a shop that does repairs of ancient typewriters. That shop is at Katong & while I won't be visiting it any time soon, it got me curious.

Then I just read a female blogger who sounds like a "vintage" typewriter is so goddamn new to her (& she don't look young enough not to know about such typewriters.). She don't even have her own opinion of what's so great about such a typewriter & need to copy & paste someone else's opinion.

I'll tell you, in my opinion, not from copy & paste, what's so great about such ancient typewriters.

I've always liked their look. Very Steam Punk. You know steam punk? It's odd that such a large instrument is used to type small things. The small words don't match the large size of the instrument used to type them. But that's not quite it.

There's something about these antique typewriters that ... what's the right word... "make" me look.  I stare. I'm interested & would like to type on them. But I also know the disadvantages in using them & in this era, they are very expensive to buy. The expense alone, I cannot afford. So, I can only look.

At the same time, I don't want them to just sit there & be just a novelty in a corner. These are functioning instruments for a greater purpose that they were made for. To reduce them into just a novelty is wrong.

Therefore, I won't buy a typewriter that isn't functioning anymore. If I had one, I will send it for repair. If I can afford the cost of repair.

Of course the laptop/modern keyboard is better for many reasons, that's why the ancient typewriter became extinct.

But what is it that makes it superior to modern keyboards?

The feel. The hammering. And as that female blogger said, the "ding!" when you reach the end of the roller (a.k.a. page margin). Other than that...

I think I go for the look. The more steam punk, the more interesting. I wouldn't call it beautiful. Made by man, no sense of aesthetics. Rather crudely made.

I didn't even know they had different fonts back then. Wow.  I have only seen the same old boring font & font size. Maybe I need to get to know more ancient typewriters to know them better.

Maybe some people like the ink missing from certain curves of a letter. But I like mine solid black.

I guess I do like the old typed font style. Even now when typing my novel on laptop, I select the old typewriter font & size. Back when I was typing on the old typewriter, I was typing out the short stories that I wrote in pencil on paper.

Come to think... looking at those vintage typewriters that people on Carousell are selling, I think if I had money, I will collect as many of these typewriters as possible. What for? Seriously, I don't know. Just hoarding. Put each one on a pedestal with lights so that when people come, can see them. Like a museum.

Eh... then again, didn't I say I want them to be functional? Hmm... Well, occasionally, I'll type different pages of my work on each of them. Then I can say I typed this page on this 1920s typewriter & that page on that very first typewriter ever invented.  So, you're not just holding a piece of work but a whole heavy body of antique typewriters that wrote it. Cool eh?

I  remember I was once at a flea market where I saw a vintage typewriter & asked the male seller how much it cost. He said $150 or around that price. I was quite surprised by the high price. Would have liked to purchase it but had to walk away.  That was when I was still quite young. Maybe teenager? I was out with my parents & while they were ahead or somewhere around, I stayed to ask this man. He wasn't friendly, didn't smile. I guess he thought I couldn't afford it. 

Since then, even now, I still cannot afford it...



Friday 9 October 2015

Foreigners in Singapore (Indonesians/Filipinos) Messing Up Tactic In SBS Bus


Shit foreigners: Behave yourself when you're in other people's country.

Bus #131. At about 3.30p.m. A few enter through the back door & just sit down, pretend they are riding a tour bus.  Several more enter through the front door, distracting the bus driver so that the whole bus becomes so noisy & confusing, nobody knows who paid & who didn't.

My bro tried getting off but was unable to because the card reader wouldn't allow him to tap out.  Even though he called for the driver's attention, the driver didn't hear or zoned out & just closed the doors & drove off, causing bro to miss his stop.

Bro exploded & scolded those goddamn foreigners & their "tour guide". Everyone kept quiet because every word that he said was true. They are goddamn foreigners. They went up the back instead of the front, messed up the card reader such that he couldn't tap out, causing him to miss his stop.

Their tour guide gave the excuse that they didn't know. Bro said "Use your eyes! See people going up the front, then go up the front. Do you see people going up the back?!".   

He told me they did it on purpose. When they came up the bus, their faces had mischievous looks. "They looked barbaric. Like they came out of East Timor or they are Orang Laut.".

They wanted to ride for free.  I heard what happened when he came home.

These shitty foreigners are so thick-skinned. They will do it again on another bus.

I find that those uneducated foreigners are very noisy when they board buses. They think they own the place. Look at the way they sit & talk.

That's the pathetic mentality of these peasant foreigners in any country.  No education, no money, but that don't stop them from making a show of themselves in public.  If it happened in Japan, those Japanese will be so appalled.

Every time I see these foreigners, I think why don't they do it in the Singapore's Prime Minister's house? Park themselves outside his porch, sit on his garden, his estate. Spread their mats & picnic there. Go inside & mess up his toilets. Eat the food in his fridges. Talk loudly along the corridors of his house, lie down everywhere, sit everywhere like they own the place.

See when that happens, whether he will stop foreigners from coming into Singapore or will he still welcome them saying "We need them". You need them parking on your grass meh?


Tuesday 6 October 2015

TWG Tea Pesticides Residues & Eu Yan Sang


Now this is interesting. I just came upon this while searching for pesticides testing in Singapore.

http://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/food/taiwan-food-and-drug-agency-finds-excessive-pesticide-residues-in-twg-tea-product-twg

So you love tea? Well, even some organic teas have pesticides residues, as tested in Canada.

In the TWG article, you can obviously hear the sour TWG defensive voice against their tea being rejected. Rejection hurts, doesn't it?

Luckily, I stopped drinking TWG teas a long time ago because of their expensive prices for not organic & weak teas.  Their Chamomile tea is the worst I've ever drank & in such horrid cloth bags that don't enhance the flavor or taste. Also, I dislike that they hire Filipino women (at Takashimaya) who pose for the money but know nothing else.

Let's take at look at what the TWG article says:

"Complicating the issue is how different territories and countries have different tests that incoming agricultural products are put through, and how tests are expensive and impossible to do for every one of the 300 pesticides in existence....
Unfortunately, we cannot test for every single chemical in the world in every batch. "

It means they let some pesticides get into your TWG tea because nobody cares to test for "every single chemical in the world". TWG only cares for your money.

"Another issue is how tea leaves in Taiwan are tested exactly like fruits and vegetables, as if they are going to be chewed and swallowed. However, residue concentrations would be indefinitely diluted in an infusion form, which is how teas are usually drunk, she added."
It means that it is true TWG teas contain pesticides. But hey, it's going to be diluted, so that's all right. Additionally, she didn't read this article which says that even at low concentrations, these pesticides have adverse effects on the body (of course).


"A year ago, mainboard-listed traditional Chinese medicine retailer Eu Yan Sang had to reassure customers and investors after a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) alert warned of a lead-poisoning risk from its best-selling "Bo Ying Compound" product.

Eu Yan Sang said then that varying health standards were in force in different territories, and that the product in the US health scare was made in Hong Kong and meant only for sale there."
It means what is not allowed in one country is allowed in another, depending on which is more lax. Hong Kong got the lead but it was supposedly specially made for them.

--------------
Incidentally, even honey (organic or not) is not safe.

(Now let me check my e-mail for that lousy pesticides testing company I contacted previously, so that I can avoid it. *checks* It was HSA. It was a foreigner who replied. Surname "Chung". Gave some brainless reply that they don't test for pesticides, but they can give me a quotation for what they can do. Crazy. What else can they possibly do if they can't test for pesticides? Test for "quality"??).
-----------




Wednesday 30 September 2015

Hipvan SG (review of a review)


I won't be so silly as to buy from Hipvan, although the name is very catchy. Brilliant name. I admit I can't possibly come up with such a name.

Brilliant splash of investor money. Every time I want to watch an online video or read a website, the Hipvan ad is there, right in front of me.

I was curious about this company because the ad keeps popping up wherever I'm online. So I read up on it & looked at what the heck they are selling. Turns out mostly China things at high prices. Only fools will buy from Hipvan.

True enough, there are always fools.

Hipvan looks & sounds very hip but unfortunately don't deliver. What a pity after all that fabulous marketing & customer interest. You know how hard it is to generate interest & sales online when you've no money? Hipvan has money but unfortunately, it is destroying its own setup.

It seems the owner is the sort who just likes to start something, then disappear to do something else.

Take a look at this blogger's review:  Her first experience with Hipvan was bad. But here is a 3rd experience.

First of all, when you want something done, there's no need to grit your teeth being polite. Get to the point.

Many silly (that is, married) Singaporeans tend to write a complaint in a wimpy way.  They don't like something but they hide it in words that are weak & non-committal. A company will of course see this person as a pushover.

If you want to be taken seriously, type seriously & firmly. 

Why "PS" the most important part? Make it difficult for them to get back that carpet because after all, it ain't your carpet.

Get this across clearly understood: "I will only be home to give you back your carpet when you give me my item. We'll do an exchange on that day. Ciao.".  They won't sweat about that carpet because they will give that carpet customer the same bullshit that they gave you. Maybe your item is also actually in someone's hands.

Worse comes to the worst, if you never get your item, just sell off that carpet online for the same price that your item cost or more for profit. You don't lose a thing. What can Hipvan do? They don't even reply to e-mails. Just be lucky you got a carpet to sell.

Companies are all shit. Just give them back what they give people. Their purpose is to serve the money that people pay. If they break that "contract", they are useless.

Come to think... is Hipvan a real company with many real employees or just a one-man-who-disappeared website?




That's Why Even Japanese People Behave Badly In Singapore (でも日本人がシンガポールでは行儀が悪い理由です)


I told you. Japanese people are very well-behaved in Japan. They bow, they nod, they do everything that their country has forced them to do in order to be viewed as good citizens.

Once out of Japan, their true nature is unleashed.  No different & no better than other foreigners. Screaming kids, loud-talking teenagers, rude & shoving adults.  This is why it is completely believable that these are the same bowing, nodding, polite people who killed & tortured so many people during the World War.

Perhaps it is incorrect to say that foreigners have forgotten they are in Singapore & not in their own countries. More accurate to say that it is precisely because they know they are not in their own countries, that they feel "free" to do whatever they like.

... travel is the perfect opportunity to let your inhibitions go and throw caution to the wind. 
http://travelinspirations.yahoo.com/post/129532051428/skinny-dipping-drugs-survey-reveals-naughty

Translated into Japanese:

先ほども言いました。日本人は非常に日本で行儀されています彼らは自分たちの国善良な市民として見られるために行うためにそれらを余儀なくされたすべてを行う彼らはうなずき

かつて日本うち自分の本当の性質が解き放たです何ら変わりない他の外国人よりも良いです悲鳴を上げる子供ラウド話しティーンエイジャー失礼追いやら大人それはこれらが第一次世界大戦中に多くの人々を殺し拷問丁寧なうなずき同じボーイングであることを完全に信じている理由です

おそらくそれは、外国人は、彼らがシンガポールにではない、自分のにある忘れてしまったと言うことは間違っています。彼らは、自分の国ではありません知っているので、それは彼らが好きなようには、「自由を感じていること正確であると言うことは、より正確な

    ...旅行はあなたの阻害が行くと、風注意を投げるようにする絶好の機会です



Saturday 26 September 2015

Filter Stinks: Samsung Virus Doctor Air Purifier AX020FCVANDO


Why?? It's supposed to remove odors, but the filter is giving out a weird, sweet-smelling, headache-causing stink! Damn filter is made in China. What the heck they put in it? What glue?

When first used the machine, the smell was there but bearable. After a few times of turning it on, the smell became worse until a few days ago, it smelled like the motor was burnt.

But we tested it by removing the filter & when we do that, there is no smell. The motor is fine. When the filter casing is put back, the stink is back. 

The stink is coming from the paper section of the casing. Those paper "gills".  It can be smelled just by putting your nose close to it.

Searched online & no reviews mentioning this problem.

I bought mine directly from Korea. This model runs on 60 Hz whereas Singapore's electrical supply is 50Hz. But if it's the Hertz difference problem, it's certainly not the motor giving off this smell.

This model was/is also sold on Q100. And recently was also sold at Best Denki. Both selling at cheaper price than when I bought mine from a Korean website.

Anyone knows what could be causing this stink? 




Wednesday 23 September 2015

Avoid Tim Ho Wan (SG Review)


Dear Sir/Madam,

I was at Westgate Jurong East on Wed 23 Sept 4.15p.m..

Your manager Zoee cannot be manager. She lacks managerial ability. It's no wonder staff conduct and quality of the food have declined.

Your company must consider firing or demoting her. 

Tim Ho Wan was quite empty at the time.  But we waited 20 minutes for just 1 item. #R22.

Three times,  I asked different staff to check the order. But each woman never returned with an update. This is very rude. When a customer asks to check an order, the staff must return with a reply. This is basic customer courtesy.  Your staff even lacks this.

And we pay service charge for it.

One woman said "another 2 minutes" but it became 10 minutes.

None of the staff apologized or explained why there was such a delay. Each of them went to "check", then walked away without coming back.

The staff should have informed that there was going to be a delay when we were placing order. If so, we would not have ordered.

All the while, your manager Zoee was standing around, doing nothing behind the pillar at the computer terminal.

She was aware of what was going on, but did not come over to apologize or explain. Even when we stood up and approached the cashier to cancel the order, she did not come over.

Even when the item was served to us, the staff did not apologize at all. The manager still did not come to us.

Finally, I asked one of the staff to call the manager.

When the manager came over, I was surprised because she looked like a waitress. And she had been standing behind the pillar.

I said "Why didn't you come over to explain the delay? You were standing there, right?".

She just said that it was because a fresh batch was being made and the item had to come out with others.

Again, no apology. And no offer of giving a discount as part of customer relations. When a company makes mistakes, the manager will offer a customer service apology. But she did not do that.

Her face was really unpleasant to look at.  She failed in so many aspects as a manager.

Even the cashier is so unprofessional. When I asked for the manager's name, the cashier kept smiling in the direction of the manager and refused to say it. Only very reluctantly, did the cashier finally say and spell out the name.

Please get a better & efficient manager with real ability.

The food is really not worth the prices in the first place. And now with lousy staff and bad manager, Tim Ho Wan will be completely struck off our list of eating places.

----------------

 

Monday 21 September 2015

Lasers Must Be Banned in Singapore (except for exceptional uses)


http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/can-a-pocket-laser-damage/

...the light bulb gives light in all directions so you only see a small part of the whole. As you move away from the bulb, you see a quarter of the light every time the distance is doubled. A laser gives light in one small beam. If it gets into the eye, you receive all the laser's energy, not just a fraction.
 ...a light bulb gives off light at many different wavelengths (different photon energies). A laser is a pure tone, only one wavelength. The coherent light will be more damaging.
In real life many factors contribute to something becoming harmful. ... with laser pointers, different conditions determine when retinal damage will actually occur.

...some government entities have banned or restricted laser pointers. Some states and some cities have or have proposed age limits on the purchase or use of pointers. The United Kingdom bans the use of class 3A pointers. Laser pointers are high-tech tools, not toys.  

http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2013/03/22/laser_pointers_most_red_green_lasers_are_more_powerful_than_allowed_by_law.html

The human eye is a fantastic optical instrument capable of concentrating light a 100,000 times onto the retina...More than a few milliwatts at the cornea can be focused to a spot so small that the power density on the retina can become greater than that generated when staring into the sun.

Saturday 19 September 2015

Singaporeans' use of the words "Mature" & "Matured" is Wrong


Are Singaporeans the only ones doing this? Unable to use these words correctly?

"Matured" is the past tense of "mature". "Mature" is an adjective.

Example: This wine has matured.
Example: He looks mature.
Example: He has matured over the years.
Example: Mature housing estates need to be revamped.
Example: Are you mature enough to be doing this?

Stop being an imbecile & use these 2 words correctly. Don't anyhow add a "d".

Even though I don't get paid correcting people's English (& why should I bother? Let them continue being wrong.), reading a Singapore news "article" online with the wrong words gets on my nerves & I have to finally say something about it.  Don't news articles have proofreaders? Editors? 

The wrong usage of the 2 words has been going on for a long time, especially in Singaporean conversations. Annoying. It's just simple English. Can't you get it right?



Friday 18 September 2015

So Sexy Kim Sung Yeol (Lee Joon-Gi)'s Wriggle


If a man is not gay, watching Lee Joon-Ki's "wriggle" will make him gay.  Watching him do that dance, I just feel like grabbing him... Desiring him. 

Such a Bi Namja (Mei Nan Zi / Beautiful Man). Soo SEXxyy...

Even the guy who plays Gwi (who is obviously bored throughout the interview) is now sitting with his legs spread wider & smiling with subdued appreciation & amusement. :)

Joon-Gi is just too SEXxxyy... he's not even embarrassed to do the dance. It's just very funny to watch because he's not shy doing it & the ladies are laughing so much. (Well, he seemed shy at first, but once he got into it, it just took over very quickly.).

It's a very Hot & SExy dance. And his face while doing it is very sexy.  MMMMMmmm... :)

OooHHhhh... I LOVE the music that goes with it. Soooo SEXxxyyyyy.... (when bro heard that music in his room, he asked if it was Snoop Dogg. I said I don't know, never heard of it.).

The word "wriggle" (or was it "wiggle") was mentioned by someone.

https://instagram.com/p/3sd5GFgoRQ/?taken-by=actor_jg

But he's actually not doing a "wriggle".  He is doing the Butterfly Swimming stroke vertically on land. I think I'm the only one who has noticed it & am saying it.

And I think he might be aware that he's doing a Butterfly "wave" because in a Youtube video (BTS behind the scenes), he did it horizontally in the water slowly, in full costume while taking a break from shooting the underwater scene with his female co-star.

I think with this level of flexibility of his body, he should be able to swim Butterfly pretty well. The body undulation. He's got it.

I love his deep, manly voice. With his slim figure, it doesn't seem that he possesses such a voice.  A very sexy, deep, manly voice that I would love to hear whisper in my ear. Mmmmmm..... :)

Too bad there aren't any English subs.

[P/S update 21 Sept Mon: I've actually just taken a look at the song "wiggle" by Snoop dogg on Youtube. The whole "wiggle" song does not have his dance. Joon-gi has matched a perfect segment of that song with his own dance. Very sexy. :)   Fits perfectly. ]





The Gimpy Gimpy (Gympie Gympie) Plant


I was looking up something when came upon a comment (unrelated to the subject of the video) by Jay Lennah under a Youtube video by Weird Fruit Explorer~

"Schisandra berry.  Five flavour fruit may be an interesting one for you to try if you have not already.  Just make sure you never eat the gimpy gimpy plant berry ever.  It's hard to believe that something that horrible exists by nature.".
Gimpy Gimpy plant berry?  Haven't heard of it before. Is that a made up name? Maybe this person was just being cute. Googled it. Viola.

It's the funniest article on an "oh-my-god" plant I have ever read about.

The:

"If You Touch This Plant It Will Make You Vomit In Pure Agony" plant.

That's why I never step into rainforests or any forest. The only time I was forced to, was a forest in Thailand when I had no choice because if I didn't go, I wouldn't be able to graduate. Couldn't wait to get outta there fast.

the British Army had people send them samples of the stinging tree for use as a chemical weapon. Nothing has been heard since then. (We assume everyone who was even casually involved with the project died and they had to dynamite the facility.)
Hahaha.

The plant itself looks very harmless in the photo. But you can't even get near it.  The air around it is dangerous. Imagine an invisible dome of hovering, moving spines surrounding it. Wow. That's one scary plant.

And after getting the fruit, it's not even nice.

The most interesting part is the end where it says 2 trees were found with seemingly everything intact but without toxin. Hmm. Why? Random mutant variants that sometimes happens? In these plants, the toxin gene has been turned off.


Goes to show, never know what you will find on the Internet. 

Despite this, I'm still unable to find what I'm looking for & won't be able to. If only I could just go to the Himalayas to collect myself.



Monday 14 September 2015

To the UN: Refugees Flooding Europe (Solution)


Give these refugees materials to build an island or give them an island. The faster these refugees build their island, the sooner they can live there. Food aid will be promised them for 3 years (medical aid can be longer).

During these 3 years, they have to rebuild their lives on this island & find ways to trade with other countries to be self-sufficient.

They cannot leave this island except to return to the country they left.

In 3 years, food aid will stop. Those who intend to escape when food aid runs out, will be rejected by other countries. The world's countries will only deal with them as a country, not as refugees. They can no longer flood borders because they will have their own country which they built themselves. It is up to them to make their land prosper.

This is their chance to make their lives different. A new beginning with their own hands. But not by flooding other people's borders & sponging on other people's lands & prosperity.



Sunday 6 September 2015

Paypal is Shit. I Hate Paypal.


This is bullshit:   "Your account is reaching a total transaction value of SGD 7,500 and our security measure requires that we collect more information about you.".

To  restore the account, I need to provide Photo ID & a copy of a bill.

That's just complete bullshit.  Due to this problem, I have had to open 3 accounts.  Abandoned one after another because soon after opening each one,  Paypal will say that the account has reached or is reaching S$7,500.

Then it's only a matter of time (about a year) before the account becomes useless. Before then, I'll have to keep checking whenever I want to make a transaction, whether I can still receive & send money & withdraw.

And always only leave a few cents or zero in the account in case suddenly I can no longer withdraw or do anything with it.

Each account Never Ever reached or is reaching S$7,500.  For this 3rd account, I so rarely use it & only for making small payments online.  Yet this last account just got shut down.

I don't know what's the matter with Paypal. It has nothing to do with MAS because it's shit to make the error of saying there's transactions of up to S$7,500 when nothing like that happened.

If it's a glitch, they should have fixed it long time ago. I don't have any more bank cards to open yet another Paypal account.

Because of this, I can't accept payments or do business with overseas people.  And I sure as hell am Not going to submit any documents whatsoever. Paypal can go to hell.

Paypal Is Shit! 

Yet stupid Singaporeans actually submit confidential documents just because Paypal says so. Do your calculations for heaven's sake. Paypal has a history log. Add up your transactions. How the heck does it amount to S$7,500??

Even adding up a whole year's worth of transactions, every one of my accounts never did S$7,500. 

Check this out:  click to enlarge.



Saturday 29 August 2015

What should work, don't work. What won't work, works.


Goes to show you never know what & how people think. Sprees shouldn't work, but they do (or did before US & China shopping companies took over.).

The idea of sprees shouldn't work because basically people pay first to a stranger without a product. Yet the idea worked for many years.

The potato idea shouldn't work, but it does (or did) for 3 months, earning the man US$33,000 & more.  Frankly, I don't know why he wants to sell the site.  It's so hard (close to impossible) to come up with a workable idea that will earn that amount of money in so short time. I've tried & have been stumped for months trawling the web for even a smidgen of an idea like that. And he just hit upon it so easily. Not even the mailman whom he got the idea from, thought of it.

Even a similar site started in 2014, didn't think of it. They mailed potatoes but with no messages. What a pity. Even so, they say, "We love the business we are in... no plans to sell... Even if we were offered 10 times what the numbers say it should sell for we still wouldn't budge.".

The potato man says he's selling the site because "my life has just become potatoes, potatoes, potatoes". Frankly, if it were me, I don't mind. Why sell a site that's making money right at its peak? Because revenue has fallen.

After selling the site, will he be able to come up with another "genius" idea next? What's next? If nothing else like this potato idea comes up again, he might regret selling the site.

Highest bid for the site is "currently US$10,000".  These days, a price like US$85,000 for one website isn't enough. Money is easily spent. US$10,000 or US$85,000 is not a lot.

The live auction is still ongoing. Bidding started at US$1. As of now, 73 bids at US$10,000.  When I was telling bro about the auction and talking about the potato idea, I didn't know the price.  But just before he left to go out just now, he said, "Why don't you buy it?".

Now looking at the US$10,000 price tag... Buy it??

Even if I could, I wouldn't want to buy someone's site or idea. I want my own.

Now the potato site, for some reason, suddenly has oranges. It's not yet sold, so it can't be a change by a new owner.  Previously, he had said that including other food would make the idea trite. So, why oranges? Also, the potatoes have changed. Why?

What's amazing is that the US postal service sends potatoes even without envelopes. In Singapore, I don't know if Singpost will still mail it but if a potato is brought to the counter, the staff will say to put it in an envelope.

Actually, the potato idea works because it's in the US. You need a quirky & creative sense of humor to be able to see the value in paying someone to send a potato with a message. Asians just don't have it in them to see anything beyond anything.

Potato man didn't even use Google Adsense or any direct advertising. Just plain old word of mouth (Instagram, Twitter posted by people who received potatoes). One potato leads to another.

I find it very interesting. It's very different from what I thought had to be done in order to launch a business. But here, he's not even using any kind of advertising.

I know Google Adsense don't work unless you pump in a lot of money somehow.  I've tried it & nothing happened, except that the ads don't show because supposedly the key words aren't correct & a lot of keywords are thrown out. Adsense takes money but does nothing.








Wednesday 19 August 2015

Potato Parcel: Why Does it Work?

Thurs 20 Aug 2015 1:31 p.m.

I wouldn't say it's the dumbest idea. But ... why would it work? People can buy their own potatoes, write their own messages & mail them out themselves completely anonymously. Why pay someone else to do it?

Strange.

I just discovered the Yahoo news about this man who supposedly makes $10 000/month selling potatoes with messages that he writes with just a black pen & takes only a few seconds. But the potatoes cost plenty per potato.

This kind of odd crazy ideas only sell in western countries like the US. Maybe the people there are crazier due to the GMO food they eat & the pollution in their environment (nuclear waste etc...).

And apparently, there are also crazy people in the UK, Australia & Canada who buy the potato idea.

What's so hilarious about a potato in the mail?

But really, it's not such a dumb idea. Firstly, it's a potato.  Hard & can withstand the mail. It's food, can be eaten, so it's useful with the message. Yet non-perishable in the sense that it can last quite long without spoilage during transit. Perfect. But will people buy it?

As he has proved, they most certainly will.




Monday 10 August 2015

London Gay Bars Wilt


This remark says it all: "Going online is cheaper and more convenient, you don't have to leave your house.".

If there is any doubt about whether such people should be tolerated, this is what they are about. Casual, loose & cheap.

And the guy who said it is already 41 (click on his remark below to read the article). Older don't mean wiser or better. Just lousier. And this truth also applies to such people in Singapore. Whether 16 or 31, I have talked to these people & they are the same.
The days of trawling of gay pubs for a date or sex are largely over too, with thousands of potential contacts available on dating apps.

Sunday 9 August 2015

Psst. I have Ramune. Japanese Soda in a Bottle.


Buy it here. Limited. One each only. Leave a message here to purchase.

Banana Ramune is in a plastic bottle. Not glass.


Strawberry Ramune in glass bottle:


Watermelon Ramune in glass bottle:


Saturday 1 August 2015

Child Care Centres in Singapore


It's called legalized abandonment. Parents dumping their kids on strangers from morning till evening. Without parental love, guidance or even education. 

There is no education to be had in child care centers, particularly those that hire foreigners.  Parents don't know their kids cry, their minds blank as they wait aimlessly & endlessly to be picked up at night.

These kids feel abandoned.  Psychologically very damaging.

More hours are spent with strangers & foreigners than with family.

Wasted lives in the best years when these kids could have been educated the most. What can they learn being cooped up in small rooms with other abandoned kids & uneducated, unqualified women?  Trapped through no fault of their own except being born to such irresponsible & selfish parents.

Expect strangers to give & treat your child the best? Cook the best nutritional food & organic? Stand up for your kid when he/she is bullied?

No time & have to work, then don't have kids. Cannot brag that you can do both work & kids. What you mean is, you work & dump the kids elsewhere. Yourself comes first.

If only the kids can see what is being done to them. See the truth that in fact, their parents don't love them at all. Dumped & picked up, day after day.  I pity them.  The younger ones stand & stare out of the windows with their hands on the panes, their eyes listless as they cry. Prison.

It is not their fault they were born. After being born, their parents don't care for them. It's unfortunate.

I have seen a China child care woman yelling at the kids in her China Chinese. What right has she to even be there?

I have never seen the child care women teach the kids anything.  What child care? No lessons. No reading. No books. No writing. No higher learning. No music. No creative or outdoor play. Even though the kids are old enough to be taught & given much knowledge.

The days are passing but their ready & absorbent minds are empty. And are kept empty day after day.

Waste.