##[23]effective endeavors #unexpected

Posted on Thu, 13/Oct/2022Sun, 21/Jul/2024 by tiger40490

k_not_only_luck k_x_mellow_up k_tectonic

Genesis: After the Sep 2023 PEK trip (aging parents), I realized something that I ignored for decades. Many endeavors are ineffective — either underwhelming, unrewarding or basically fruitless. Their effectiveness can be short-lived, or hard to maintain.

The more we recognize, respect and remember this human reality, the better we would be able to appreciate those effective endeavors, however small.

A Big-scale illustration .. TeamSG [more than PAP gov].. progressively moved up the global city ranking, on many fronts/indicators, and not by luck or historical advantage. Many countries and cities try to copy Singapore’s formula and often fail to get ahead. SG is exceptional. This bpost goes beyond competition or mindshare.

[u=not a foregone conclusion, perhaps unexpected]
[u] Covid19 .. SG coped better than many cities. I tend to take it for granted, but in 2020 it was by no means a foregone conclusion. SG system’s reputation is always at stake, and risk of missteps is always clear and present.
Traffic jams are less severe than many big cities.
Housing affordability for young couples and low-income families is better than most comparable rich cities.
graduate unemployment rate is well-managed even during a down turn.
[U] The rise of NUS/NTU ranking is faster than I thought.
[u] From nowhere, SG rose steadily as a regional and now global financial center, overtaking Tokyo and HK in many competitions. Not easy at all. Which city can emulate SG?
[U] Many China (and India) immigrants have decided to take root here (not “stepping stone”) … much more than I expected years ago. These immigrants could have chosen N.America, Europe, Australia or HK.

Similarly, it’s no mean achievement of me to avoid falling behind on any front, and to get ahead in a few races. Here are some effective ~~multi-year endeavors~~ .

— half ranked by … the most “unexpected” to the least unexpected within each domain. I prefer fresh, specific items. Do not include “effective solutions that aren’t endeavors”

[v=vague]
[u|U=unexpected, Unbelieveable success]
[b=good battery, relatively easy to maintain]
[======== battery (hard) to maintain]
[] reducing academic expectation placed on my kids.. decade-long struggle, still working on it.
[b] my DIYHI learning journey since I bought my first home in Blk 177 #4-116 .. effective by my standard. I’m improving and learning. I don’t compare with the pros.
[u] books .. a headache for future relocations .. I have /adapted/ an effective solution
[] solo flight [search, prep,,,] .. Over the decades I developed home-grown solutions. Cost-effective.
[v] Spouse relationship, intimacy and communications .. requires continuous adjustment and effort
—- personal tech # usuallly not arduous “endeavors”
[] my home printer and multi-laptop set-up .. effective research and experiment. Cost-effective solutions, much needed in my low burn rate lifestyle.
~~ blogg technique/infrastructure
[b] my git-blog and wpress customizations meet real personal needs .. effectively. minor tweaks: gd2, commit hooks, and
.. minimize count of “open editors”
[b] personal blog _review_ .. Most journal writers don’t re-read earlier writings. We lack an effective system to get anything useful out of earlier writings. My blog has some useful content for the future me. An effective review system is challenging. Am working on it.
.. extensive x-ref system based on tags and categories
.. short titles
.. print out to review en-route
—- wellness
[U] The 2018/2019 BMI improvement was unprecedented and unimaginable .. effective for 2 years.
[u] 2023 JPM5.6k .. my timing was no mean achievement. My workout regime was proven effective in this decisive test.
[bU] liking my own appearance .. to my surprise, i have grown to like my own appearance [face, body shape,hair,,]. Not luck. More like mellow-up
[u] my multi-year focus on chin-up among all muscle workouts .. effective monitoring of weight. Builds my confidence
[bU] 5/wk (beyond chin-up) .. rare among my cohort. For years, it has helped my self-esteem, BMI motivation/self-assessment
[u] small belly .. not common among my cohort. My lifestyle has been effective in this respect. Important for t2dm prevention
[b] lotus ] mrt .. for years, it has improved my self-esteem, helped my git-blogg on MRT
[u] stretching 1 minute/D (about half the days).. since 2019 (before Covid), I have followed an effective [sustainable, pragmatic] regime
[] left hand practice with mouse/toothbrush/basketball .. I believe this is effective in brain training
[u] standing desk at home .. I do stand average 30 min a day at home, sometimes 5H
therapeutic blogg as mult-decade endeavor… is effective? See ##[23]coping solutions #R.Teo困扰
some of those “faking” efforts are effective self-persuasions practiced over the years
car ownership as a wellness issue .. see below
—- pff
[b] exp recon .. highly effective and fairly efficient
[b] deposit-interest optimization using EGA etc and RBBT .. effective, as Linna pointed out.
[bu] Over decades, my burn rate is effectively maintained around 5k/M, below half my income
[b] insurance .. For decades (since my 20s) I thought insurance was ineffective for my needs, but now I feel my suit of (10?) protections fit my family needs, cost-effectively. My effort? Mostly analysis and experiment.
[b] IRS annual legwork .. since 2018, I have effectively adapted and /streamlined/ my process.
[v] retirement plann .. (comparable to devTill70) It is a concrete plan based on real evidence + personal research, and an effective road map
car ownership as a pff issue .. see below
—- gz + xx
[bU] Chinese composition ..
[bu] English .. overcoming my handicap from 1991 to 1993, and turning a weakness into a strength over the subsequent 10 years.
.. English vocab blog
MSFM study method .. adapted over 3Y based on results + my limitations
[bu] professional trec since Verizon .. effective in personal branding.
[bU] branded degree .. i was effective to enroll then excel in MSFM after giving up on “branded degree” in 1994
[bu] i am still able to help friends with CIV in my late 40s, though I’m slower than before. No mean achievement. It is not an automatic result of some external “system”. I had to work on it and I will need to continue working on it.
[bu] bonus ~~satisfactions~~ in recent years… foregone conclusion after some good years? Not at all. Luck is one minor factor. I’m effective in managing my own expectations.
[b] devTill70 plan… Many people dismiss it as a mere plan, but I take my plan seriously. It is a concrete plan based on real evidence + personal research, and an effective road map
[U] Unbelievably, no operational error committed by me so far. It’s impossibly hard ot keep 100% record.
[uv] My Java (c++ to a lesser extent) knowledge retention is robust
—- disqualified items .. not really multi-year endeavors
diversification in investment .. despite concentration in rEstate (diversified properties) I score high on asset-class and currency diversification. Effective by common standard

— car ownership .. (multi-year endeavor)

Throughout my career and family-building in Sg and U.S., my personal strategy [decisions, plann/executions, adjustments] about car ownership is .. surprisingly effective. Effective in terms of burn rate, physical/mental wellness, dependency reduction, minimalist living,,,

Most of my peers “need” a car. They give various explanations of personal needs. It sounds like “so hard to cope without a car in this (part of) country”, but I think what they mean is “Since I can afford [1] (to lease) a car, it is proving extremely convenient.”

Many point to their own work/home locations, but hey, look at my choice of locations. I chose them to minimize car dependency.

[1] Affordability is personal. I can afford so I do fly up to 4/year for family reunion. Not essential, but a personal priority.

I did spend about USD 1k twice learning to drive. In 2018/19 I also practiced with zipcar. That’s part of my effective endeavor.

— Q: What strategic progresses are relatively easy to maintain? A similar theme and related to [b]
As stated in the Genesis section, many tough progresses are easy to lose and hard to maintain, and require continuous effort. See bpost on battery.

[] diet experiment, learning .. I think the self-knowledge (and to a lesser extent, the scientific knowledge) is a battery I can build up.
[] yoga self-practice .. I wrote many bposts and practiced many times. Hard to maintain
[] coding drill .. battery holding OK
div stock picking
[] rental property … maintenance effort
? r-ikigai planning and research
? parenting .. experiment and discussion. So far, this is not an effective, strategic effort
— disqualified items

— unbroken suprisingly.. a related but loose concept. I feel lucky to find many things unbroken. Some of the “unbroken” are excluded from the “effective endeavor” list and “exiled” here.

— gz
no major compliance issue
— parenting and family
Boy is showing some control on diet, not getting out of control
Kids’ television time is not growing worse
— devices
pad lock
home routers and printers
Laptops (Lenovo$399, Dell$250, HP…) + phone no major issue after so long. A95 is slowing down esp. during restarts but fine.
— pff
HDB home few issues. I had more issues in the past but no details needed
BGC rental
Energy12 reliable monthly income
USD and SGD both staying strong
— wellness
boy’s myopia
ED pills .. continues to be effective
eyesight, hearing still holding up
blood pressure, and blood sugar …
cholesterol, myopia stablized ..
my health condition during long flights
Dental condition
Health of everyone in the family

personal_UGC [blog,gmail,,] #xp,tips

Posted on Tue, 28/Jun/2022Mon, 16/Dec/2024 by tiger40490

k_UGC,,, k_disk_hog

UGC was discussed in the Rolia bpost and other bposts, but here I’m boldly (no shame) expanding its scope to includes personal exchanges and personal notes.

Perhaps, system/solutions of UGC vs personal_UGC have overlaps?

j4 this bpost .. I spend 10h+/week on blogg + email. More than half the hours are using my personal archive.

incremental_update .. A G5 essential goal , although it sounds irrelevant to an archive system… incremental_update across months, even years [see those w1r6 bposts]. This goal is highly relevant when I jot down “content” for planning, problem solving, analysis, self-help etc. Dozens of pieces to update in any week, disqualifying many “simple” systems like paper, smartphone, email drafts.

archive_search .. A G5 essential goal of personal or team’s archive (even a “national archive”). For me, gmail+MSOL, Jira, wiki are more relevant than blogs. Paper folders are suitable if they come in the letterbox. Common challenges include [archive_proliferation, outdated_content, x_ref,,,]

Terminology .. x_ref is a technical /challenge/, but not a “problem”.

==== 温故知新 .. including DRamRefresh is a G2 goal for my “system” . Finding long-forgotten pearls of insight. Common challenges include [x_ref, outdated_content,,]
I now rely more on blog tagging (a system adjustment ) for x_ref.
* A big tcost and real complexity is categorization. I have invested a lot in my category hierarchy.
* A challenge is … tag_proliferation. I have invested into header keywords as an innovative adjustment.

As a system adjustment to help the SEng[search engine], I allocate time to bpost title drafting and continuous adjustment. Search result only shows blog title!

A common challenge is … archive_proliferation i.e. “too many Drams to refresh”. My t_fuxi tag + sticky flag, and fuxi files in git blog are not very effective but still a worthwhile ongoing adjustment. Post-it and print-for-refresh are time-honored techniques.

nuts ##forgettable truths .. is an example of a tradeoff. After a few years, the valuable content (a “Dram”) deserves a welcome refresh but until then, we have to keep it as “outdated, low-value baggage”.

As I age, this goal and its challenges will grow. May become a #1 goal.

For devTill70 and career longevity, DRamRefresh would be crucial, as I use personal_UGC to record technical/localSys/past project content.

— a common challenge is … outdated_content. Most emails and bposts beyond 10Y prove irrelevant.
I now allocate some effort (adjustment) tagging them as outdated.

To reduce noisy search and to reduce storage footprint, I actively remove (adjustment) outdated content from blog and email archives.

In Rolia, only hand-picked conversations are preserved in 精华区 (system adjustment) for years, but a good post was often followed by low-quality comments 🙁

xp: dozens of bposts on diet/nutrition/BMI; dosens of bpost on parenting…

For these goals, A simple “write-n-archive” system without adjustments would soon prove primitive.

— xp: my recoll. Many purposes, including incremental_update and 温故知新. Stopped using it in my early 40s, because … (among other reasons) hard to access from outside home. “Title” space too limited 🙁 No version control

For localSys notes, I still rely on recoll.
— xp: I used blogger and free wpress for years. Limited tagging. Date editing too cumbersome.
— xp: wpress post comment and “updates” on page top .. are simple adjustment for incremental_update
— xp: wpch[wpress commercial hosting] is my current system
GitBlogg “noblog” files .. as an adjustment and a archive, dramatically reduces my pain of creating/updating too many bposts, but at a small cost ! The noblog Dram doesn’t get enough refresh, but I can live with that.
— xp: English vocab and Driving blogs
DramRefresh is non-essential. Blogger, recoll,,, would probably sufice, though wpch offers additional benefits
— xp: personal email archive, esp. in my Gmail. I seldom use Gmail for active DramRefresh, because largely immutable, and archive_proliferation. I sometimes notice valuable /conversations/ in this 20Y worth of email “haystack”, thanks to the advanced SEng [search_engine]

To reduce noisy search and to reduce storage footprint, I invested in multiple adjustments to clean out worthless letters. Described in a separate bpost.

wechat/whatsapp messge personal archive is used by many individual users… poor cousin to email archive. Limited screen; no subject; limited history.For important data, better send email to myself.
— eg: A Goldman colleague shared his “team best practice” .. saving all email discussions in some /undisclosed/ knowledge archive, which proved effective for finding long-forgotten pearls of insight. I see multiple imperfections

lots of the content are duplicated/repeated,
Some of the content is low quality, even incorrect/misleading
alternative spellings and (rare) misspelling would mess up the poor SEng

ExpertExchange and Quora suffered the same. Stackoverflow has many adjustments to reduce those pains. Those features are costly and complex.

A corporate wiki is better maintained but still lacks an effective SEng.

— innovative adjustment : /disposable/ blogging
* tcost: updating existing bpost .. obligation to find the _most_relevant_ bpost. After that, often need to integrate new content into existing.
* tcost: creating brand new bpost… obligation to choose category/tags and draft good title
* tcost: noisy wpress search /against/ increased haystack;
* tcost: overcrowded category/tags

When I have too much content in git-blog, a recommendation is … disposable blogg i.e. expressive, reflective, therapeutic writing in git-blog (or wpress), and later move content into those fuxi_*.txt files

Email with friends .. is an exemplification of such reflective writing and comparable to disposable blogg. “Thrown away” into gmail archive. better tcosts. Eg: in early 2024, I did such an reflective writing on “adaptable retirement”. These emails are kinda worth a dramRefersh once a while, but … Should they go into my blog as four-liners? Only a selected few.

Need to go through the fuxi_* files once a while or they would keep growing, but that’s a tradeoff.

Sugg: split fuxi_ files by subject

fear@los`control over own body #drug

Posted on Mon, 25/Apr/2022Sat, 04/Nov/2023 by tiger40490

in Sep 2023, Henry Lew asked me since when I have experienced loss of control.

In my 20s and earlier, I used to worry about substance addiction. I also read about smoke cessation…

Masturbation proved beyond doubt that the biological needs can be overwhelming.

Now I’m nearing 50, I know my body is stable and will not get out of control. Appetite growing out of control remains the last concern.

— ML.Jiang described to me a situation in China — business partners would get young girls to seduce him. A typical young man would lose control.

Fear? Yes I have a healthy fear of it, so I always stay away from such situations.

— incontinence .. as we age, many would lose control over their bladder and bowel.

Fear? I don’t have a fear at this age.

##develop enjoyment].. #gam`,Creative art..

Posted on Fri, 25/Feb/2022Wed, 01/Jan/2025 by tiger40490

k_soul_search

This blogpost is hard to remember and needs a better title. It touches on health, tcost and $cost.

— blessing or curse

#1 The fact that I have low appetite for some addictive bad food (like sugary drinks or alcohol, fried finger foods, coffee) is more a blessing than a curse, esp. for long-term wellness through retirement
- I want to enjoy raw veg more. This is a blessing for sure.
#2 The fact that I don’t derive so much (addictive) pleasure from e-gaming[1] or gambling is more of a blessing than a curse.
The fact that I don’t derive so much pleasure from sight-seeing is more a blessing than a curse at this phase in my life. Sight-seeing costs time and money. The consumerist mass media portray it as high pleasure but I only feel something cheap and shallow. I find more pleasure in nearby natural sites like east coast.

If and when my appetite or libido stops responding naturally, then something is wrong in my “system”. It would deserve medical investigation and early intervention. More of a curse than blessing.

However, in 2021 I started noticing that I have stopped responding strongly to enticing commercial foods. Not sure how irreversible. I feel it is a blessing than a curse.

— [1] e-gaming … I see my son suffering when he feels that his classmates all have more gaming time than he has. I can see he really enjoys some of those games, and he wanted to improve his hand-eye coordination to match his cohort, so he could derive as much pleasure from the same game as his cohort.

For me, I find that pleasure second-class, inferior, unappealing … Virtual means fake to me. I feel extremely lucky.

These games cost money and health.

These games also costs hours and hours of disposable time. Many young men actually regret (rmSelf) spending that much time, even though their xpSelf probably had a good time.

Here’s a stark contrast. As I stroll into my fat-n-happy career phase, my carefre ezlife, I want 8~9 hours of sleep a day, not 6~7. (I also want to spend more hours with my wife.) This is completely wholesome and life-enhancing. The xpSelf and rmSelf are in agreement.
— movies
As I age I derive less pleasure from movies and TV dramas (cf grandpa). This trend now feels more like a curse than a blessing. ERE author also said that he derives less pleasure from a fancy restaurant meal as his cooking skill improves.

— creative arts, as an minimally-acceptable r-ikigai [human interactio, but no pay, no socialValue, no talent]
I want to derive more pleasure from creative arts such as music making, visual art making and writing.

They can be solitary or social.

Note most of these have limited commercial value and require a lot of learning.

I think this can be valuable in retirement.
— Dancing, singing… not creative but more health benefits.

快餐店 quietime-innovation since%%college

Posted on Thu, 06/Jan/2022Sat, 30/Mar/2024 by tiger40490

k_quietime

— history .. I discovered this opportunity first in West Coast Ginza plaza. I often stayed till restaurant closing time. I did the same in Bedok.

Then in the 2010s I had access to laptop + wifi. Quietime “effectiveness” improved dramatically. Effective in terms of

blogg
tech xx, coding
recreational xx
email

— $Cost is up to $2/session for an icecream or simple burger. I get to sit for hours in a clean, lively (no loneliness) environemnt with free wifi.

I always pick a non-peak hour, unpopular tiny seat like near the trash bin. I kinda prefer window seats, but those seats tend to be popular.

This experience/habit is an example of frugal indulgence. Middle-class and low-income individuals alike .. should explore this option without ~~guilt~~ or embarrassment.

##eg: cross`road@bike: #1 misstep

Posted on Tue, 07/Dec/2021Tue, 02/Jan/2024 by tiger40490

Impatience at “closing doors” or crowded escalators .. are less harmful. Impatience at RED traffic light is a special case. It is the most dangerous case of impatience.

(Perhaps 5 seconds before reaching the junction), focus on breathing (deep breathing, hold it, and breath out. ) and muscle relaxation. Get off the bike or lean on something to help yourself relax.

Observe the body reactions [eye brow, breathing, faster steps]

self-talk.. engage the impatient self (sys1?). A wise man rushes not. Only a fool rushes.

Q: what if I miss a green light, and get stuck at this red for a minute? What does the 1 minute delay cost me?

classic misstep/mis-judgement

— too lucky… I have been TOO lucky over the numerous traffic accidents, and always escaped without injury.

I may ~~benefit~~ from a real injury, like my dad’s injury on a braking bus. The injury would teach me a lesson.

— This reckless behavior is more serious than most other threats (Over the last 30 years, I have consistently failed to recognize this elephant in the room)

Crippling injury while crossing street on bike is more serious than losing my job.
Becoming disabled due to crossing street is more serious than investment woes.
Losing my limbs (paralyzed from the neck down) is more serious than losing my marriage, custody,,
Losing any one limb is worse than conviction and imprisonment
Going through rehab after a road-crossing accident (assuming handicap) is worse than a PIP + humiliating bonus
Injury to a kid is worse than the kid taking drugs
A handicap due to road crossing on bike is worse than losing my memory capacity due to aging

This threat is bigger than just about every threat in my world, but failed to stay in the top 3, not even top 10 in my mind.

It was plausible to avoid U.S. simply because of illicit drug hazard. Similarly, I should consider giving up my bicycle simply because of road crossing.

==== changing my 30Y habit ..

Following dumb safety practice, we should make no judgement of traffic condition for potential crossing opportunity. Instead, start observing the hidden dangers[3], as advised by counsellor Lim. We don’t need to look left and right when our light is red. Instead we just wait, while observing the sky, plants and other interesting things around.

[3] A classic hidden danger and a pattern: At a controlled junction, even when I’m slow-moving while crossing a road, some drivers may be too focused on the traffic light to notice me. Many people are completely relaxed and inattentive when they see a green light. Worse still, when I’m on crossing on bike, I’m faster, and it’s is even harder for drivers to notice me.

Unusual Sugg: if you see red light for pedestrians, but still want to cross the street, then better cross at a point away from the traffic light (which is red for pedestrians, green for drivers). The further you go from the traffic signal the safer. Drivers would subconsciously assume a child can dash to the road. Drivers are more alert, and would focus on the road rather than the green traffic light right in front. The green light tells driver to “relax” and ignore pedestrians.

Cognitive self-help to correct a deep-rooted (reasoning ) habit, which has moved from sys2 to sys1. I guess this /battle/ is (to varying degrees) similar to the battles over gambling, punctuality, forgetfulness, flirting, recycling, disrespectful remarks,,,, where cognitive effort is in doubt. But right now I have no other means of self-help. Cognitive self-help is better than being helpless. I choose to believe in self-talk. “Change your perception/attitude through self-talk, and change your risky behavior.”

Counsellor Lim said people who self-talk are smarter, as proven scientifically. I guess these individuals are more self-aware, more observant, linguistically stronger (in whatever mix of languages they employ).

— reminders .. I assumed it was ineffective to remind my son about crossing road. How about the constant public reminder of drink-n-drive? I think it is not effective enough but better than no reminder.

We have cautionary reminders about wallet, phone, switch-off, locking door. They are effective for me.

sugg: reminder stickers in….

sugg: design passwords around road crossing

Sugg: ask wife and kids to give me specific reminders not generic ones

sugg: keep count how many times I waited at a pedestrian crossing red light ~~even when there is no vehicle in sight.~~

Q: why I failed to learn from my real, serious mistakes in the same way as I learned with compliance, or with my exams?
A: I guess the realized painful consequence was still too light. Was I trying to play down the risk?

Perhaps a higher being has sent me a message repeatedly but I have ignored it.

Q: re the graphic, horrific photographs of human remains .. as shown on (Singapore) cigarette packaging and in 北京火车站 wall posters, are they morbid or necessary?
A: I think for someone who has been hit many times, these images may be the shocking, jolting, stomach-churning reminders he needs to stop his reckless actions.

==== analysis / pattern of sys1 risky behavior

red light for pedestrian.. When there’s pedestrian path, but no pedestrian traffic light, my sys1 feel less safe. It is actually safer because drivers know to stop.
At a blind corner, I (sys1) often proceed with over-confident misassumptions about what’s behind the corner. The faster I ride, the less likely drivers can see me coming.
impatience and over-smart. See [3].
dumb pedestrians and dumb traffic light .. Cigna counselor pointed out the traffic light systems were designed based on evidence. They appear inefficient but they reduce accidents.
unnecessary judgement .. a habit of unnecessary judgement. Being a passenger is safer than driving because drivers need to make assessments and decisions.
the incidents were always involve my misstep, while the driver had a green light. At spots (eg: ChuliaSt) without traffic lights, most drivers become more /watchful/, though they still can hit a jaywalker.
sometimes I have limited visibility, and tend to assume “safe for me”. Other times I have visibility.

* at familiar and frequent hotspots, I often feel more bold/reckless, following a habit (sys1). I guess this category accounts for 90% of my reckless actions.
* At unfamiliar spots(many of the listed incidents), I also cross recklessly on bike, and sometimes on foot

— incidents: Cross street on bike, when cars doesn’t move after pedestrian light turns RED. I basically assumed it was still OK to cross !

In Clementi (1994-98) I had one physical hit by a car
Outside TPY stadium, I had the most dangerous near-death while crossing on bike, against a red light. My toddler boy was presumably on my bike. All of the visible vehicles were stopped, so I assumed no vehicle would be coming my way. In hindsight, I think those stopped vehicles might be waiting to turn right, or they could be slowly starting to move.
In White Plains (2017-18), I (on bike) had many more street crossing attempts (dangerous!) when cars were starting and heading towards me.
in Apr 2018, I was cycling from JC to Bayonne along Ocean Ave. There were many small streets crossing Ocean Ave, mostly quiet, so I quickly learned to ignore the red lights as I cycled down Ocean Ave. Then one of the junctions was not sooo quiet. I had a red light but I ignored it. From behind a blind corner a car raced towards the junction (as he had a green light). The driver managed to stop before hitting me !
On Sunday 27 May 2018 I was cycling to north in NYC. My light turns green, so I went ahead to cross the street. But I also decided to cross to the west. Then a yellow taxi headed south. Lucky his speed was not too fast so he was able to stop ~~a meter from me~~. In hind sight, subconsciously I felt crossing to the west was also under green light.

On foot:

About 5-10 times till 2022, I often cross against Red on foot, only to turn back upon seeing vehicles coming my way.
During CNY 2023, I was rushing from CapitaSpring to CapitaGreen to meet my friend Tianjue. Waiting to cross Church street. Traffic stopped due to red light, so I decided to walk across 5 lanes of stopped cars. The gaps between the lanes were too narrow for any car, so I dropped my guards. Then I was caught unprepared when a motorbike zoomed past right in front of me. I had to push on the passing bike to stop myself from falling onto it. The push was not hard enough to knock the driver down, but it was dangerous for both of us. I should have paid him $2000 compensation.

[22]position`: %%blog is/isn’t #privateDiary, selfHelp,,

Posted on Mon, 18/Oct/2021Wed, 14/Feb/2024 by tiger40490

k_soul_search

Since my blog started in 2006, for more than 10Y the biggest portion (in content and time) of my blog was tech-xx. It follows SS/BB.

Since 2018, my blogg has reduced its focus on real headaches like PIP/respect/appr, FOLB, churn, stagnation/self-renewal/, localSys, commute, kids’ grades, kids’ motivation, and (longer pain-descriptors like):

shortage of O₂ for tech-xx, refresh, critical-mass maintenance, self-care
wasted potential, coblood loss, burn^rot
short-lived sense of engagement at work
in-team benchmark
job insecurity, career insecurity

— BB: my bposts were … bullet points .. but (much) more than them
Bullet points were the easiest format for new bloggers like me to start with, but proved rather concise (effective) for PP/SS.

My blog post is never a research paper. My longest bpost would print out no more than a single page of a magazine.

— my blog is … expressive_writing exercise .. and in my opinion rich in /expressiveness/, a real /asset/ in self-care and self-help.
It’s partly because of the pains and sufferings addressed, but not only that. I often enjoy expressive writing. I often put in enormous effort (labor or love) to find the right English phrases.

This is a feature of a private_diary. Some bloggers in this category use multimedia, but I prefer a rich, precise vocab.

— SS: blogg is NOT for … sharing of knowledge, observations, tips.. Instead, my blog is more of an (unpublished) private_diary.

— PP: my bposts include .. problem-solving, self-improvement, self-help, self-care,
I read and subconsciously follow the styles of those online writers. The styles are not expressive_writing, definitely not literary.

— my blog features .. in-depth, incrementally revised analysis of either sweeping or obscure topics.
These analyses are time-consuming, but when they are close to my heart, then I take them up as labor or love.

Some topics are important to a wider audience, but unlike top bloggers, I never aim to attract readers, educate people or broadcast my opinions.

— my blogg is .. a life-enhancing[1] recreation and energy-sink…. but more than that, because of PP and other reasons.
[1]also engaging,

As a recreation, it is a key part of successE.

## inflections [def]%% life #O-level

Posted on Sun, 25/Jul/2021Mon, 18/Mar/2024 by tiger40490

Compared to turning point, inflection is more gradual, less abrupt, more evolutionary less revolutionary, visible mostly from a distance

k_tectonic

To avoid becoming yet another forgettable blogpost, this theme has to be more precise, more selective/discriminatory.. See the section below on disqualified items.

— disambiguation

a “turning point” marks a change in direction like up->down,
A pivot point is like a inflection but not so explicit, so definitive, even in hindsight

Infection can be the transition from zigzag, /unsteady/ growth or slow-growth into a sustained fast-growth phases, as in the bamboo tree parable. There is often a previous trajectory of less visible growth. Interesting, the transition from visible growth into less visible growth is seldom described as inflection. Not a point in my life, but the covid infection goes through slow phases and fast phases. The “slow>fast” or “fast>slow” transitions are both described as inflection points.

An inflection point is therefore more subtle , less visible than the other “points”.

.. Unlike a turning point, an inflection is more often recognized in /hindsight/. For example, a breakthrough inflection point is often recognized after an accumulation of steady focus.
.. A highly visible inflection point is often seen and described as a turning point.

==== examples:
[l=Leverage (sustained focus on a strategic component) is a common feature of inflection and breakthrough.]
[u=unexpected (sometimes unbelievable) success either before or after the inflection point]
[g=gz]
[f=PFF]
[e=edu .. deserves more sunshine]
— [elu] G5 inflection: 1987 Grade 8: improving Chinese composition
One of the earliest inflection points in my life experience of resilience, /triumph/, overcoming the odds
— [elu] G9 inflection points: English
* [u] Inflection point: early 1993 passing O-level English by ULondon .. effectively sealed up my Achilles’ heel in my college plan. I knew at that point that I could now afford to fail General Paper. Natural trajectory which started in late 1991. My initial standard was very low and I received many inapplicable tips, tried many ineffective methods. I had to focus on 1) writing 2) listening 3) vocab 4) speaking. I soon took off and reached this inflection point.
* milestone point: Sometimes in my 40’s R.Teo said I was better at writing some important letter than he and many Singaporeas can write.
* Inflection phase: Sometime in my late 40’s, I started to notice the common standard among many well-spoken Singaporean English speakers, and I had reached a comparable standard, in terms of clarity — articulation, simple or sophisticated vocab, natural sentence construction… Am still in the inflection phase.

— [eu] G15 inflection point: Jan 1992 joining HJC .. helped me prepare all of my subjects including Chinese!
Inflection?? natural trajectory started in Shiyan, but I was lucky to avoid any further delay in SG as happened to many China students of my age.

Inflection? Yes in terms of my “condition” to survive in SG (as a student, then a professional). Yes in terms of my academic path. As of 1991, it was not a given that I would be accepted at HJC. I was actively planning to go back to Beijing. HJC teachers helped paved my way out of the woods.

— [eu] G8 pivot pointS: joining Shiyan, HJC, UChicago, and earning top grades. A related inflection point is the steady ascent of NUS in global standing, after I graduated! The common theme — these exclubs help me stand taller among many specific groups. They feed an ego in me — I’m still watchful.

Infection? Before each inflection point, I was experiencing much slower growth in my academic self-esteem.
— [gu] G3 inflection point: Mar 2010 joining WallSt contract market ..
impact: dev-till-70 and career longevity
Inflection? Yes in terms of career trajectory/outlook, income, work-life balance, survival strategy.
— [gu] G19 inflection point: 2010 starting c++ journey after the java journey had /plateaued/ for years.
— [glu] G9 inflection point: 2017 when I started passing multiple c++ interviews.
— [gu] G15 inflection point: Dec 1999 joining Catcha
Inflection? Transition from electronics to IT domain was inevitable. If not 1999, then 2000s. Still, this was transtion from slow-growth to fast-growth
— [glu] inflection point: joining GS .. logical consequence of my entry to U.S. Even without GS, in hindsight I would likely end up on WallSt, because I had a technical mind, a strong foundation for body-building, and a good command of English. However as of 2007 this was an unexpected success.

Inflction? Yes. Before this point I was learning about U.S. tech interviews.

In terms of salary, I immediately broke into the lucrative world of WallSt, and pulled ahead of my cohort.

==== There are actually rather few true inflection points. Below are some of the vague items
— [u] G5 breakthrough: Dec 2005 met my dream girl..
Pivot! Until then I had always looked for other types !
— [u] G5 turning point: 2018 breakaway from FOLB/FOMO [ exclub, OC-effective, branded college, high-flyers, ] In 2018 I started sharing with Kyle and grandpa my breakaway and my rejection of the conventional ideals

Inflection? Earlier, my successE was in slow growth.
— [flu] G9 pivot/breakthrough: 2005 buying #04-116 after becoming SG citizen.
impact: It helped me buy the bigger flat #2-1173, and served as a bedrock of my family asset.

Inflection: Recognized a decade later. Before this point, I was always 无产阶级.|
— [fu] G9 pivot point: Aug 2015 choosing BGC (instead of SG condo) .. A bold start of a new “movement”
Inflection? Recognized years later. Before this point, I was only dreaming of owning multiple properties, in China, SG, Malaysia or U.S.
— [g] G11 turning point: 2017 when I changed to lower gear in my drive for high salary, muscle building… and shifted focus to carefree ezlife
Until this inflection, my successE was in slow growth.
— [gu] G11 breakthrough pivot point: Dec 2016 H1b approval -> reenter U.S. -> GC.. I think the GC was swift, with far-reaching consequences. The trajectory started in my teenage years, and I always had a longing for a U.S. experience

[20←04]changes: TPY泳池reflection #61kg

Posted on Sun, 13/Jun/2021Mon, 18/Mar/2024 by tiger40490

k_tectonic

See also ##factors underpinn`key changes since first summer]US — a similar soul-searching.

In mid March 2020, I visited the same Toa Payoh swimming pool and couldn’t help comparing with my last bachelor phase around age 30, when I had a weekly afternoon swimming routine over a few months, around my self-employed years.

An exhausting exercise often leads to deeper reflection and a fresher look. As I reflect on the various changes (in my life) since then, I noticed my main focus starts to /drift/ from wellness to career , then to family ~~livelihood~~. Somehow at my current age, wellness is Still not receiving as much sunshine as deserved.

— a random list, but I want to have some items bubbling up, like unconventional and specific items
i was pushing myself harder on coblood, self-improvement, biz wing. I felt completely left out, in the outskirts… watching the high flyers flying inside the walled city. We can look at SWOT in the Snd context.
UChicago — I didn’t have UChicago brand. I didn’t have any insider info on the global elite universities. Also, I saw myself as 江郎才尽 after my EE-DL and FCH failures.
[g] java — I couldn’t access java as a huge, lucrative pie
[g] livelihood security — I didn’t have a ~~dev-till-40~~ plan (let alone 70) or the associated security in livelihood for a family of four. In contrast, I did have the security in livelihood for myself, to the extent that I quit my job to pursue my dream of self-employment.
[g] I had no idea how to get into U.S.. I had some appreciations for Singapore citizenship but no deep appreciation that I have now, after comparing with U.S.
[w] I didn’t know any way to reach 61 kg
[w] I didn’t have my currene level of commitment to yoga
[w] I was then more committed to weekly workout but not about yoga.
[g] I didn’t know any way to earn more than 5k. I didn’t know my killer talent at theoretical QQ topics like low-level, math, concurrency principles
[f] I was young and healthy and didn’t care to know the low cost and relatively efficient long-term care infrastructure in SG, possibly supported by government.
[f] shield plans — I didn’t know the Shield plans would be strategic to my long term financial planning
— some of the familiar, the obvious or the high-level vague items:
[f] I already had a good burn rate and savings habit, but my NAV was much lower.
[f] I had no overseas properties in Beijing, S.E.Asia; I had yet to see windfall in my HDB flat
[w=wellness]
[f=cashflow]
[g=gz]

Q: Looking through these changes, what is the #1 turning point in my life since then? It will not be wellness (my wellness has always been pretty good), or financial.
A: my crossing of the moat (i.e. tech screening) into WallSt dev job market, and becoming a proven veteran in c++/java.

[20]G5 Personal advtg Revealed over15Y

Posted on Mon, 01/Mar/2021Mon, 18/Mar/2024 by tiger40490

rmXp?

def@success?

life chances?

k_tectonic

btv-open

≠→≅

Tag: T_histScan

##[23]effective endeavors #unexpected

personal_UGC [blog,gmail,,] #xp,tips

fear@los`control over own body #drug

##develop enjoyment].. #gam`,Creative art..

快餐店 quietime-innovation since%%college

##eg: cross`road@bike: #1 misstep

[22]position`: %%blog is/isn’t #privateDiary, selfHelp,,

## inflections [def]%% life #O-level

[20←04]changes: TPY泳池reflection #61kg

[20]G5 Personal advtg Revealed over15Y