Gold Rebounce

Gold for December delivery rose $5.30, or 0.5%, to end at $1,125.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.


The dollar and commodities prices have had a strong inverse relation in recent trading, with a stronger dollar pushing down gold and oil prices in the past few days.

Now that the gold has fallen by about $100, it is time to buy again guys. Invest when others are afraid, that is the most palpable rule of Warren Buffett.

When people sell because gold prices plummeted, it is a hint for you to buy like no one's business.

Gold being a commodity will be a precious long-lasting investment to hold on to, it is touted as one of the best investment in the commodity market.

Credit -marketwatch, -goldpricetrend

A.G. Lafley

A.G. Lafley will be leaving the executive board altogether in January 2010 because he can see that Robert Mcdonald is dealing with all the key strategies and core plans well, in fact better than expected.

A.G. Lafley is one of the best CEO is the entire world. He has revolutionize P&G, translating it into a company full of innovations when it was once thought as merely a cheap commodity store. It has made a plethora of audacious business deals along with an absolute focus on the consumers.

A 79 billion dollars company, P&G offers consumer goods, ranging from beauty care, healthcare to health and well-being. Definitely a lucrative market but at the same time, there are a myriad of competitors all over the place. Having to stay at the top of the game is definitely more arduous than anyone can possibly imagine.

But, A.G. Lafley has made that happen and he has successfully make known the brand P&G internationally. That seriously requires a hell-load of marketing efforts and sustainability to keep the brand alive. The fact that it is not only known but recognised and acknowledged as a key brand that satisfies consumers consistently is definitely commendable.

All these marketing, innovations, sustainability, recognition and revenues are all credited to A.G. Lafley, the legendary CEO that the world is lucky to have.

All the best to you A.G. Lafley, may your legacy live on forever!




Credits -cnn, -hamilton

Avatar Evaluation Part 3/3

The last interesting point I noted was when Jake had to tame this king of all flying beasts, known as the Toruk. Jake remembers that Neytiri told him that only five na'vi had ever tamed the Toruk, an immense and powerful flying beast.

His strategy was rather intriguing. He mentioned that he should tame it by attacking it from the top because he believes that nothing will attack it so why will it look up?



This palpably reminds me of the top management executives in the corporate company. At times, the top management becomes so complacent and sordid because they think that they are among the highest ranking executives in the entire company. They continue to lower their defense and extend their vulnerability as compared to their past positions. This is because they know that everyone will acquiesce to authority at the end of the day and they can simply fire those recalcitrant. That is so typical when someone climbs up to the highest positions.

However, what they do not realize is that each and everyone of the employee is actually blessed with an insurmountable amount of authority that is not clear to them. When the employees discover their Achilles’ Heel, they can simply attack it and the top management executives will easily go down because of their indolent demeanor. When they start to slack off, it will be flagrant to their subordinates and it won’t be long before they step down from their positions.

Point being, never be blinded by power and fame. No matter how high you are up the corporate ladder, always remember to look back at the hard work you put in before you got to where you are now. Never forget the people who lifted you. As the old adage goes, “they can make you and similarly, they can break you as well.”

Credits -nocookie, -kogtraveler, -meetschmitt

Avatar Evaluation Part 2/3

There was this part in the movie whereby Jake has to find his own flying beast at their nest. There is only one flying beast out there that will resonate with Jake and the salient distinguishing factor is that the chosen flying beast will actually try to kill Jake while the others will simply fly away from Jake.

I thought this an intriguing point. Your compatible mate is actually the one that will try to kill you. But, if you can successfully connect with it, it will obey you and be extremely loyal to you too.



This somehow reminds me of our very own breakthrough opportunities in business. At the end of the day, if we want to receive many encomiums over our spectacular performance, we have to step out of our comfort zone and start taking precarious moves; moves that allow us to stand out as winning individuals, to blow everyone away.

Although the stepping out of our comfort zone is not necessarily life and death, it actually makes a life-changing difference. If you succeed, you will gain eternal glory but if you falter, you will suffer deep setbacks and criticisms from people around.



The question is, how willing are we to take such risks? Not very willing isn’t it? On hindsight, how often have you executed the change that you promise yourself? Does it ultimately lead to procrastination and eventually to obscurity? That’s probably because we all know that the gargantuan opportunity might seem enticing but it will also break us if we fail. The fear of failure is something that we must overcome in life in order to shine our own path through.


Credits -photobucket, -theage

Avatar Evaluation Part 1/3

Recently, I have just caught the movie *Avatar 3D in the theatre. I must say that it is an ineffable masterpiece. So many thoughts are constantly running through my mind as I walk through the movie with James Cameron.

As I’m pretty infatuated with the topic of Business, I will discuss this movie from my point of view; based on my own interpretation of it in the context of the corporate world.


As you guys would have already read the synopsis, Avatar is actually a hybrid created by humans to allow humans of matching genes to enter the body of the Avatar via neurons and sensory nervous systems control.

Jake, the ex-marine was tasked to take on the tough job of infiltration after his brother died after years of training for the world, Pandora. Now, it is all up to Jake to take over what his brother has left behind in order to assist the Colonel by providing him with Intelligent information about the Na’vi people.

While Jake is escorting Augustine and biologist Norm Spellman (Joel David Moore) in their avatar forms, the group is attacked by a large predator. Jake becomes separated from the others and tries to survive Pandora's dangerous wildlife, before he is rescued by Neytiri (Zoë Saldaña), a female na'vi. Jake is taken back to Hometree, which Neytiri's clan, the Omaticaya, inhabit and they decide to teach Jake their ways.


Bearing in mind that this is a huge move made by the Na’vis considering that they are misanthropic in the first place.

Jake had to learn their language, sign languages and movement style. He had to understand the demeanor of the creatures living in Pandora, for instance, never to look into the eyes of the flying beast. He had to learn to ride the huge dinosaurs by communicating with them using his heart, soul and feelings.


Their thoughts and heart must resonate with one another before he can gain full control of the beasts.

In this context, I believe that it is similar to the corporate world. Whenever you enter a new company, they each have their own Sui Generis way of life. The way they handle productions, creativity, marketing, and sales are different from one another. To understand how they actually operates the tools that are provided to them, you have to first observe and learn. Afterwhich, it is time for the nonplus practical lessons when you actually try to sell the products or even design the products yourself. But, in order to make sure that what you design is coherent with the system of the company, you must have understood exactly the corporate culture first.


As the characters in the movie say, “See the forest from her eyes. It isn’t about what you see or hear. Learn fast or die.”

You will have to look at the company from the perspectives of those who have been working with the company for a long period of time. It is definitely more than what you see or hear. You must experience it for yourself. On the ostensible front, it might seem all too generic and simplified but that’s simply because the professionals are already so adroit in the manipulation of the systems.

They can wrench the system around swiftly without having any trouble at all. Conversely, when you try, you will encounter many perplexing problems that will put you at an impasse at times. Ultimately, you will have to pick up the ropes by yourself. Assimilate what they taught you and then emulate it as far as possible, concomitant with your own strengths and aptitude.


Only then will you bring the company, a new source of inspiration that is aligned with their corporate culture. Otherwise, you will actually be going against what the company is trying to achieve and by doing so, you are not understanding the culture per se at all.

Credits -wikipedia, -dvice, -moviecarpet, -christophersmark, -reelmovienews, -usversusthem, -nasa

Christmas Eve

Hey guys, once again yet another personal posts. Only read if you have the time because it's a really lengthy one.


On 24 Decemeber 2009, I had a pretty indelible Christmas Eve, at least it was one of the most hectic I have had in my life.


First, we were scheduled for an ineffable masterpiece, Avatar at 6:00pm at Vivocity.

Next, we had to rush straight to Sushi Tei after the movie because the last order is at 9:15pm !!! And the best part is that we only reached Sushi Tei at 9:05pm. A mere 10 minutes to rush out orders !!?!?!? It was insane but the food was still delicious nonetheless. So I will say that it is definitely worth it.

Andy, Kenneth, Siang Meng

Brandon, Fu Qi(He wanted this pic to be censored because of his rock style), Me, Chin Keong

Guo Neng, Chee Siong

Haha, always ever ready to act sexy! He seems to be caught in a scandal.

Brandon, Fu Qi, A part of me

Jia Yu, Sien Mei, Guo Neng, Chee Siong

Look carefully at the picture above. Sien Mei is laughing happily as she points at the pair of chopsticks which belong to me !!! That's because Guo Neng was asking everyone who put back the paper wrapper wrapping the chopsticks back into the box when the chopsticks are already taken out.

Yeah, so I was the one who took out the chopsticks and ACCIDENTALLY placed the wrapper back into the box. *Paiseh :))

Unagi Don

My Yakitori Don, not really impressive though

I don't know what's this but it looks like Fish Bee Hoon.

Tempura udon

Group Photo, I kinda like this picture. It encompasses all of us inside !

Chin Keong, Brandon

I was the one who took this picture and Brandon protested because he does not want me to take picture of his full body !!! Hahaha, if you guys know what I mean LOL. Okay I better stop pushing it.

Merry Xmas with our own rudolf

Jiayu, Sien Mei

Afterwhich, there was a debate as to whether we should head towards Marine Barrage or the Changi Airport and we settle for Changi Airport. We did tonnes of nonsense there because we were bored. The pictures will say a thousand words.

So here we are, sitting while waiting for instructions for our next shoot. Like Temporary actors.

Still waiting. Tsk tsk tsk !

Take 1 : Say Cheese !!!

Take 2: Roar!

Take 3 : Yay !

Take 4: Final shot! Pack up !!!

Believe it or not, we took these 4 shots by placing the camera on a chair that is 10 metres away from us.

Then you might be wondering, why is it still so clear? Well, the zoom-in function is extremely powerful as the camera is good, very high megapixels.

So cheers to Chin Keong for taking the uncanny pictures!

I'm looking at brandon while the 3 is so action!

2 Crazy guys fighting

 

Finally, we settled for a cooling stayover mahjong session at one of my friend's (Guo Neng) house.

We played all the way till 7am in the morning and we drove straight down the street for a simple breakfast, roti prata + teh tarik. It wasn't fantastic but it was a funny breakfast !

One of my friends said that he's not hungry so he did not eat. But here came an additional Ice Milo so we decided to push it to him rather than returning it back to the stallowner(we paid for it FYI).

5 Seconds later,

We looked to his direction and his cup was empty !!!

So much for being not hungry or thirsty !!! HE'S A LIAR !!!! HAHAHA. I swear it was extremely classic, one moment he said that he's not hungry but the next, he finished the drink in a mere 5 seconds.

All of us were laughing like mad after that, like some crazy fools.

All in all,I had a great time this Christmas Eve. Cheers !!!


Credits -reelmovienews, -coffeeshopexample, -indiegames

Challenge to America

Have anyone of you watch Challenge to America?


In it was a story told by the great Glenn W. Turner where he wrote a letter to Santa Claus every year that matched his wealthy cousins. Glenn was a poor farmer’s son who never got anything but apples and oranges, even though he asked Santa for exactly the same thing his wealthy cousins got. And every year, Glenn would go out behind the barn and cry. One year, when his cousin wanted a brand new bicycle and Glenn wanted a brand new bicycle, and as usual, the cousin got it and Glenn didn’t, he went out behind the barn and said, “Okay Santa, if that’s the way you want to play.”

He went on to complete the story by saying, “And on that day, I decided to become my own Santa Claus.” He challenged the viewer to be his or her own Santa Claus.


After reading this story, I felt that somewhat it's de facto what all of us are thinking isn't it?


We don't usually get what we wished for, i.e. good results, luxurious gifts, gambling streaks, great love life or even lasting friendships.

So instead of wishing for all these privilleges, why not we step out and start making it come alive ourselves?


Why not we start mugging now rather than vexing later about the insufficient amount of time to study.


Why not we get ourselves the luxurious gifts that we had always wanted?


Rather than being obligatory, why not we serve ourselves first? Hopefully this isn't regarded as a selfish attitude considering that I care only about my own needs now.

We have always been so busy shopping for other people's christmas gift but have we ever stopped to think how much we ourselves need one as well? Not any gift, but one that is euchred by us, deep inside.


So, deliberate no more, start by getting yourself a Christmas gift that you have always yearned for after all these years, start by serving yourself first, and hopefully you will receive a pleasant surprise as to how happy you can actually be, as your own Santa Claus.



Credits -spitzit, -deviantart, -nataliedee

Merry Christmas

Credits -hittinghammerwithametal, -everytrail, -typicalmacuser, -nocookie

Duolos

Doulos was purchased in 1977. Since then, over 21 million visitors have been welcomed on board for tours, programmes and visits to the floating book fair. With stops in over 590 ports of call, this unique ship has visited more than 100 countries in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East and many island nations. Constructed in 1914, Doulos is recognised in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's oldest active ocean-going passenger ship.

I happened to catch the ship Duolos at the Vivocity port today!

It was a magnificent sight!

When I first saw it, i gasped at the sight of it. It's brobdingnagian size was breath-taking.

I saw this banner that caught my eyes, it spelled "MV Duolos International Book Fair"

On board are a plethora of books laying around. It is really dirt cheap and the books are somewhat precious considering that they have been travelling around the world all this while.

So much for saying a sea of books, now I'm really seeing a myriad of books on top of the sea. Certainly amazing.

Of course, it attracted plenty of people, including the tourists on board. Everyone on board was snapping pictures and there was definitely heavy purchases on board as well. You could see the amount of attention it has managed to capture just by parking itself beside the dock.


This reminds me of the radical advertising which the Sales guru Chet Holmes suggested.


He said that we have to be audacious and advertise out of the box aligned with the core story that is held closely to the heart of the company.

Having a book fair on board a ship and travelling all over the world is definitely a lucrative and enticing story to tell.


Both kids and adults will definitely be intrigued by the experience the crew on board had as they travel all round the world. At the same time, they can tell them about the experience on how these books were collected along the way.


In that way, people will read with a different perception and they will definitely treasure the book more.


Simply spectacular. I love this idea so much that I am very inspired now.


I vow to advertise like this when I joined a company after I graduate. Stay tuned guys.


Whenever you see some whimsical advertising along the way, it will be demarcated by me!

Credits -gbaships, -polester, -flickr, -lawbod

Video sales Dissapoint

Sales of video games slipped during the month of November, a surprising decline given the launch of high-profile blockbusters such as "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2" that failed to lift overall results for the sector.

Game makers have had to contend with a slumping economy, high console prices and a general lack of hits -- as well as a slowdown in previously popular genres such as music.


It's really intriguing that even during the hot festive christmas season, the video sales are not even moving at all. I thought parents will be extremely willing to spend a few hundred dollars on a Christmas gift for their kids?


Personally, I think a few reasons might be because piracy are still rampant and the burning of games into CDs are extremely prevalent as well.


Then again, all these are inevitable, just look at the music industry, it's so pathetic now. Maybe the disease will start hitting the video games industry very soon or rather it has already hit it. Now, we are just waiting for the disease to proliferate.

But, my suggestion is that they market the games to parents rather than to kids because kids nowadays know where to download the games and stuff. They have to make it cool to own a game, an authentic one, not a fake one. Build a core story, do a market research on video games and a psychology test on why people buy games and not download them then pitch the idea to the mass public again. Hopefully, this way, the producers will see light at the end of the tunnel once again.

Credits -marketwatch, -softsailor, -revjavadude