Egg

While talking about the analogy of an inconsiderate driver and an abusing police officer, a similar, and more eye-catching, argument is this: Between a high, solid wall and an egg that breaks against it, I will always stand on the side of the egg.

But, hold on. There's a critical flaw in the logic - what if the egg is thrown against the wall that protects Themis? We should support the side that is right and just, no matter it is the egg or the wall.

No, I'm not saying the blue ribbons is righteous. (It is likely to be quite the opposite.) All I say is we should not stand on the yellow side because it is the egg.

PS. The analogy of an egg and the wall comes from Haruki Murakami when he received the Jerusalem Prize. He was talking about personal philosophy by this analogy - nothing to do with public uprising.

Arguments

When you come to think of it, there are several good arguments for us to support the umbrella side:

1. They are pursuing democracy.
2. Our society is neither fair nor just; people must stand up and voice out.
3. The yellow camp is brutally treated by the police and supporters of the blue ribbon.

But, when you think about it, the last point is a good reason to be sympathetic for the umbrella movement (that's why I changed the profile picture of my Facebook some days ago). However, it doesn’t always mean that we should have to support what they do. A person who parks his car at double yellow lines continues to have basic human rights and should not be beaten up by the police. We are against violence, but it does not lead us to support illegal parking.

And, if the person says he has a very good reason to park there, even though he is aware of the legal implication, please give the reason. We may agree and even support what he does - but that's because of the reason he gives, not because he is abused by the police after his illegal parking.

For the umbrella movement, it therefore goes back to either the first or the second point.

Green

The very question that I was asked by everyone I met in Vietnam was How is Hong Kong?

One notable example is the young man who drove me from the hotel to the airport. Despite his limited English capability – and, for that reason, he talked very little on any other topic throughout the journey – he tried with his utmost effort to learn from me what’s going on in my city, as well as to explain his own view.

But, the most insightful comment came from SB, a doctor from Thailand, “Szeto, you shouldn’t worry that much. Just look at we Thai people. Last year, we saw no end to the conflict between red and yellow. Now? The conflict is still there, but every aspect of our daily life is quite back to normal.”

I sighed, “My friend, that’s different. Your country has an edge – you have a king, and he is a highly respectable one I must say, to look up to. Who do we Hong Kong people have?”

NB. I was tempted to say I am on the green side – I share some of the views of the yellow umbrella as well as some of the blue ribbon.

But, when viewed from another angle, it could easily be concluded that I don’t agree with either.

Vietnam

Went to Vietnam for a local conference recently.

This is the first time I ever visit this legendary place, which is just one-and-a-half hours of flight from Hong Kong. To me, all the memory related to this country comes either from the Vietnam boat people (which was a serious problem of our city between late 1970s and early 1990s) or the war between Hanoi and Saigon. In fact, the first topic that I made an effort to do some private study (when I was in the primary school) was the US bombers used in the Vietnam War.

Unfortunately, I was so green in those days that I focused on the performance and armaments of the aircrafts (F105, F111, and B52). If I were going to make such a study again, I shall read more about the people of the drama – from Ho Chi Minh to Le Duan, and from Ngo Dinh Diem to Nguyen Van Thieu.

PS. I had the opportunity to take care of many pregnant Vietnam boat people when I was a house officer in the obstetric ward. I could speak two – and only two – sentences of Vietnamese: bac si kiem tra (doctor is here to do the examination) and nam xuong ngoai quan (lie down and take off your pants)!

Efficiency

In addition to the way I backup my computer files, there are several tips that I find useful to improve our efficiency.

1. Write down all the projects at hand on a list and stick it in front of your desk. Review the progress of each item every week. (I do it as the first thing every Monday morning.) 
2. For each project, define what has to been done in that week. Give a priority to the items according to the method of Stephen Covey; important matters should go before urgent ones.
3. Make a template for all common correspondence and put it in a handy place in the computer. The greatest invention in the field of artificial intelligence is copy-and-paste.
4. Use a software to write down all transient ideas that go through your mind: things to do, to buy, and so forth. Use the same software to clip everything that you may need to keep as reference: web pages, picture of name cards, reference papers, invoice, passwords (of websites that you do not visit very often), and what not. I use Evernote for this purpose because the search function is very powerful.
5. Make a few computer folders with the name "to read", "for re-reading", "for filing", and "coming events". I think their purpose is obvious.

PS. Efficiency is important, but, what good is running if one is on the wrong road?

Backup

In a recent occasion, I was amazed to find a young colleague of mine never backup his files in the computer. It comes with no surprise to learn he lost some of his important work when his computer was accidentally formatted by others.

I must say I am exceedingly paranoid in this respect. Twenty years ago, when I bought my first personal laptop for work, I used to backup all files in 1.44" disks every month. That soon turned out to be inadequate; I had the experience of having the hard disk burn (to charcoal, almost) when I turned on the computer, and the whole laptop broke into pieces (literally) when it fell onto the floor by accident.

Following traumatic experience of this kind, over the past 15 years, I keep 3 copies of all my files - one in the desktop computer of my office, another in my laptop at home, and a third in a portable hard disk. The latter two are updated every week, usually on Saturday. Like the senior executives of some famous enterprises (for example, Coca Cola), these three copies are never put in the same room - just in case the place is on fire.

You can never be too cautious.

Gaddi's

Contrary to the humble Shanghai style noodle shop that I mentioned yesterday, there are outstanding exquisite restaurants that never seems to be properly recognized.

Gaddi's of the Peninsula is a perfect example.

I have the privilege to dine twice in this local Mecca of French cuisine. As an amateur gourment, I may not be able to tell heaven from a sky-high level - but the dishes are damn good. (Seriously many of the courses appear a trace too modern to me, and I would prefer something more traditional, less pretending, and more home-like. Well, that's a bias of mine.) And, together with the unassailable environment and irreproachable service, what more could you expect?

But, that's it. No star of Michelin. (Oh, even Tosca of Ritz Carlton...) I must take my hat off to the management and chef of Gaddi's, for they must know well how to score some stars, and they decide to persue what they believe and insist on things that they feel important.

They do not trade their character and personality for the stars.