昨晚看劉伯溫，有一幕是丞相和皇太子對奕，瞥見盤勢，嚇了一跳，白子黑子全部集中在中央腹地接觸戰，密密麻麻一片，沒有任何眼位，徒留角邊空地，雙方卻無心爭取。要不是把圍棋錯當五子棋下，要不然就是在開玩笑。圍棋有很多成語，像其中一句叫"金角銀邊草肚皮"，很明確地指出角、邊、中央的戰略地位，但是這場戲裡的對奕卻明顯反其道而行。像上圖中，序盤階段棋子仍以角邊為主。
2007/07/24
好個佈局！
昨晚看劉伯溫，有一幕是丞相和皇太子對奕，瞥見盤勢，嚇了一跳，白子黑子全部集中在中央腹地接觸戰，密密麻麻一片，沒有任何眼位，徒留角邊空地，雙方卻無心爭取。要不是把圍棋錯當五子棋下，要不然就是在開玩笑。圍棋有很多成語，像其中一句叫"金角銀邊草肚皮"，很明確地指出角、邊、中央的戰略地位，但是這場戲裡的對奕卻明顯反其道而行。像上圖中，序盤階段棋子仍以角邊為主。
2007/07/23
就是那個光！
還記得很多年前司迪麥有個很抽象的廣告，其中有句很有名但也很無厘頭的台詞：「就是那個光！就是那個光！」如果從某個方面解讀，或許是要表達看見了某種希望的驚喜。
數年後，學到了一個片語叫"light at the end of the tunnel"，"隧道深處的那道光"用來比喻未來的希望。但是，有人很反骨地在這句後面又加一句，整句卻成了"If you see the light at the end of the tunnel,it's the light of the oncoming train." 當初發明這句話的人，看來是有點小聰明，但是也有點小欠揍。害我現在看到有文章用到"light at the end of the tunnel"，我心裡面不自覺跑出後面那句話，感覺連我都變的反骨起來了。這句話感覺好像是個spell，一旦聽過後，你好像就沒辦法不想起他。
另外有一句也有異曲同工之妙，就是"Jack of all trades, but master of none"，意思就是"樣樣通，樣樣鬆"。本來光是只有前面那句的時候，那是純粹的稱讚，補了後來那句，前面那句卻成了極有心機的假意稱讚了。
數年後，學到了一個片語叫"light at the end of the tunnel"，"隧道深處的那道光"用來比喻未來的希望。但是，有人很反骨地在這句後面又加一句，整句卻成了"If you see the light at the end of the tunnel,it's the light of the oncoming train." 當初發明這句話的人，看來是有點小聰明，但是也有點小欠揍。害我現在看到有文章用到"light at the end of the tunnel"，我心裡面不自覺跑出後面那句話，感覺連我都變的反骨起來了。這句話感覺好像是個spell，一旦聽過後，你好像就沒辦法不想起他。
另外有一句也有異曲同工之妙，就是"Jack of all trades, but master of none"，意思就是"樣樣通，樣樣鬆"。本來光是只有前面那句的時候，那是純粹的稱讚，補了後來那句，前面那句卻成了極有心機的假意稱讚了。
舊的不壞新的不來
原本那支Trascend 2GB的隨身碟居然莫名其妙的壞了，才買了幾個月就故障了，也不曉得究竟是怎麼回事。聽說Transcend的隨身碟好像壞了可以直接換一支，但是我也懶得再去確認了，因為很多時候總得打很多電話，填一些表格，跑一些地方之後才能把一件事情搞定，所以不如另外再買一支省事多了。
選了RiDATA 4GB，價格是NT$1,250，也沒有再多比價，不知道有沒有買貴。它的設計簡單、可愛，一面是藍色小男孩，另一面是紅色小女孩的圖案。這一支叫Junior，感覺就很符合他的設計，很cute。
2007/07/20
懶惰如影隨形
認識我的人大概都清楚，我是個被動懶惰的人，至少就某方面來說。
雖然大學和研究所都唸英語系，但卻懶得去考TOEFL、TOEIC、全民英檢。有人可能覺得奇怪，英語系畢業卻一張英語相關的證照也沒有，說穿了也不過就是"懶"。
唸書的時候，老是很斬釘截鐵的跟朋友說，以後絕不會到金融業工作，沒想到退伍後的第一份工作就是金融服務業。看著今天從副總手中接過來的LOMA Level 1的certificate，說實在的，有些莫名其妙，我人生的第一張certificate竟是我從前從未考慮從事的金融服務業的證照。
2007/07/13
10-Day Free Look
Have you taken out any insurance policies? If so, did your agent(s) tell you you've got 10-day free look. Which means? Which means you may examine your newly issued insurance policies during 10 days, and surrender them in exchange for a full refund of paid premium provided that you're not satisfied with the "products" for any reason.
While insurance is intangible, it is indeed a commodity or a product. It's legally reasonable for you to return the product to the seller during a set period. If your agents choose not to inform you about the free-looking period, that's because they don't want you to surrender policies. It's quite predictable! So, if you're going to meet your agents, just pretend you know nothing about this and see if they would tell you. It's a good way to find out if they're honest.
While insurance is intangible, it is indeed a commodity or a product. It's legally reasonable for you to return the product to the seller during a set period. If your agents choose not to inform you about the free-looking period, that's because they don't want you to surrender policies. It's quite predictable! So, if you're going to meet your agents, just pretend you know nothing about this and see if they would tell you. It's a good way to find out if they're honest.
2007/07/10
Flip-side of DCA
I'm a novice for investment fund, so what I got at from my limited experience of investment could well be inaccurate. I'm still anxious to share my opinions notwithstanding running the risk of being so wrong that I could become a laughingstock.
Financial planners are always coaxing people into investing in mutual funds through dollar-cost averaging (DCA). The reason they hold seems quite strong and persuasive--that can help you avoid buying too much when the market(NAV) is high and too little when the market(NAV) is low. As a matter of fact, the reason is one hundred percent accurate; it's self-explanatory if you have basic mathematical savvy. But what is the flip side that few financial planners would mention to their clients? From my monthly account statement, I sadly found that not an installment has a lower net asset value than the first installment. Yes, it's "averaging" my investment, as DCA denotes. But in other words, it's more like "diluting" the returns I should have obtained if I had adopted lump-sum investing (LSI) strategy instead. In only one situation, I guess, can DCA beat LSI,i.e. the market has been plunging for a long period so that you cumulate lots of your funds at quite low NAV each fund unit.
Financial planners are always coaxing people into investing in mutual funds through dollar-cost averaging (DCA). The reason they hold seems quite strong and persuasive--that can help you avoid buying too much when the market(NAV) is high and too little when the market(NAV) is low. As a matter of fact, the reason is one hundred percent accurate; it's self-explanatory if you have basic mathematical savvy. But what is the flip side that few financial planners would mention to their clients? From my monthly account statement, I sadly found that not an installment has a lower net asset value than the first installment. Yes, it's "averaging" my investment, as DCA denotes. But in other words, it's more like "diluting" the returns I should have obtained if I had adopted lump-sum investing (LSI) strategy instead. In only one situation, I guess, can DCA beat LSI,i.e. the market has been plunging for a long period so that you cumulate lots of your funds at quite low NAV each fund unit.
2007/07/09
House-Warming Party
We threw a house-warming party for my youngest brother yesterday. His newly bought apartment is located in Taichung City. If you look through the windows of the living room, the High Speed Rail (HSR) immediately comes into view. The apartment is on the 5th floor, not high but with quite a nice view.
The area measures around 27 pings ('ping' is romanized from a Japanese unit '坪(Tsubo),' which is equivalent to 3.306 square meters or equivalent to 2 tatami matts.) So, 27 pings measure around 90 square meters. If one is going to buy an apartment of the same area in Taipei, that will cost him/her at least 4 times the money. Alas, it's like a Sisyphus' rock for us people--rolling up the rock (putting away adequate down payment) and then see the rock falling to where it is (using up most of your savings to pay the installments). This is what life's like. Miserable? I don't know.
The area measures around 27 pings ('ping' is romanized from a Japanese unit '坪(Tsubo),' which is equivalent to 3.306 square meters or equivalent to 2 tatami matts.) So, 27 pings measure around 90 square meters. If one is going to buy an apartment of the same area in Taipei, that will cost him/her at least 4 times the money. Alas, it's like a Sisyphus' rock for us people--rolling up the rock (putting away adequate down payment) and then see the rock falling to where it is (using up most of your savings to pay the installments). This is what life's like. Miserable? I don't know.
2007/07/06
Pan's Labyrinth
Pan's Labyrinth is a winner of 3 Academy Awards--"Best Cinematography," "Best Art Direction," and "Best Makeup." It seems to me that only the achivements in the film's 'form' were greatly appreciated. After seeing the film, I was quite surprised at the result; I would have thought that it should have been awarded with a few other honors for its 'content.'
It looks like a gothic fairy tale, but it's not just that! Rather, it's a juxtaposition of Postwar Spain/the Labyrinth, Adults' World/Children's World, Confinement/Escape, etc. Do the Labyrinth and the faun really exist? Maybe they do, and maybe they are just Ofelia's dreamy products that do not exist. The fairies and the assigned missions altogether could be thought of as the powerless girl's hope for a way out of cruelty and meaninglessness.
Her death lends itself to ending the film as a token of redemption. And if you would rather deem it to be a fairy tale, then she finally gets the last mission done and will live a happy life hereafter as a princess in the fairy world. Through the juxtaposition, an audience can easily see the contrast and the tension.
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