Reference blog http://www.keellings.com/graham/blog.php Straight out of the box Pivot frontpage, for comparisson porpoises en pivot@keellings.com Copyright 2006 Pivot Pivot - 1.30 RC2: 'Rippersnapper' Tue, 09 May 2006 22:28:00 -0400 60 Tightening my belt http://www.keellings.com/graham/test_blog/pivot/entry.php?id=799 http://www.keellings.com/graham/test_blog/pivot/entry.php?id=799#comm two weeks pay.

The good news is that after a five or six week fitenns campaign, I have already lost 3kg (possibly even lost 4kg and gained 1kg muscles? Who knows?)

Today I had to move my belt in a notch - diet & exercise, or poverty? You decide. ]]> 799@http://www.keellings.com/graham/test_blog/pivot/ singapore, work Thu, 20 Apr 2006 14:00:00 -0400 Happy Birthday to me http://www.keellings.com/graham/test_blog/pivot/entry.php?id=798 http://www.keellings.com/graham/test_blog/pivot/entry.php?id=798#comm
When we got home, she lay down on the bed and I hit the gym for a few hours. I had planned to wash some socks and underwear, but just couldn't gather up the enthusiasm.

Another year, another birthday.It did have a few bright spots, though.

Denys called to wish me happy Birthday and we spoke for so long that he had to top up his calling card in the middle. Thanks Denys!

And Rudy from our previous hotel on Sentosa Island must have looked though the company computers (we are no in the hotel's service apartments in town), and checked for my birthday, since I got a room service message from him. How thoughtful. We must go back and have a chat.

Even the service apartment got in on the act, giving me a box of rather expensive chocolates with the Shangri-La group's logo and a bottle of Shiraz Cabernet.

All in all, that was actually a rather good day! ]]> 798@http://www.keellings.com/graham/test_blog/pivot/ singapore Tue, 18 Apr 2006 21:57:00 -0400 Red Swastika School meets Christian Zombie rocker http://www.keellings.com/graham/test_blog/pivot/entry.php?id=797 http://www.keellings.com/graham/test_blog/pivot/entry.php?id=797#comm Red Swastika School ("A Holistic Education That Brings Out the Best In Every Child").A lot of people thinks that the Swastika was associated only with Adolf and his cronies, which is not quite the case. Back in 1980, I remember going into an Indian shop in London, to buy some food, and buying a bar Swastika brand soap while I was there.

Since Chrissy doesn't return until tomorrow, I decided to have a few games of pool at the Vintage (instead of going to the gym. Tut tut!). I played with two young guys and the conversation turned to music.

They are both metal heads, but one said something about Christianity and I mentioned that I had really liked "Kiss me" and impressed him by telling him how "Sixpence, none the richer" chose their name.

Both of them are in bands and one of them invited me to come watch his play a week on Friday. He wrote the details on the back of a business card from his church and then decided to walk me round to the club to make sure that I could find it.

So, now I know I know the way to club Zombie - thanks to a devout Christian. ]]> 797@http://www.keellings.com/graham/test_blog/pivot/ eating drinking, music, singapore Mon, 17 Apr 2006 21:53:00 -0400 Laksa queen of the East coast http://www.keellings.com/graham/test_blog/pivot/entry.php?id=796 http://www.keellings.com/graham/test_blog/pivot/entry.php?id=796#comm
When we arrive there are three of them and they are on their second case of beer (Carlsberg , one litre bottle).

They also have a delicious looking fish on a banana leaf, covered in onions and chilli sauce, so I grab a pair of chopsticks and dig in. Unfortunately, they follow up with scallops and bamboo clams. I am pressured to try them, so force a clam for appearance sake, only managing to swallow it down with a large swig of beer. I tell them that I just ate, which is true enough, and devote myself to the beer.

I play around with a flea-bitten cat, am pleased when the boss points out a fellow (apparently suffering from rickets) who feeds them every night, and am introduced to the Laksa queen of the east coat. I promise to take the team to lunch at her place this coming Friday.

She is rather elegant, with died plum coloured hair, tasteful lipstick and a Little Black Dress, which makes her seem as out of place as me (I am the only Caucasian here and probably the only the only one who ever set foot in the place). The lads inform me that she is just over forty and already a grandmother, which apparently is a rarity in Singapore. I don't like to mention that in the West we have grandmothers in their late twenties.

One waitress, from Thailand, waited table with a large handbag over her shoulder. Apparently she carries all of her worldly valuables - money, passport and the like - with her at all times. She lives in shared accommodation and daren't leave anything there, and there are no lockers or safe places in the hawker area. Very sad.

A pleasant evening is had. I really enjoy company and, as they stick me on the bus, we arrange to meet on Friday to go to Holland Village for Margaritas and Haggen Dazs, which should please Chrissy no end. ]]> 796@http://www.keellings.com/graham/test_blog/pivot/ eating drinking, singapore Sat, 15 Apr 2006 23:15:00 -0400 While the cat's away http://www.keellings.com/graham/test_blog/pivot/entry.php?id=795 http://www.keellings.com/graham/test_blog/pivot/entry.php?id=795#comm the hotel lounge).

At about 5p.m, I wandered over to Orchard Road and ate at a veterinarian Indian restaurant.

Then back home for a quiet night in – until I received a call from the boss "perhaps we can drink?" ]]> 795@http://www.keellings.com/graham/test_blog/pivot/ singapore Sat, 15 Apr 2006 17:43:00 -0400 Vintage German megadeath http://www.keellings.com/graham/test_blog/pivot/entry.php?id=793 http://www.keellings.com/graham/test_blog/pivot/entry.php?id=793#comm
With Chrissy away, the Graham will play.

I pop down to Muddy Murphy's, have two pints, and find that I am not enjoying myself.Like the vast majority of pubs and restaurants in Asia, it does not have its own toilets, relying on those belonging to the mall. I pop out, on the way home, and when I emerge, I glance left, which I have apparently never done before and a place calling itself The Vintage Pub.

I stroll over and enter. Minimalist is the design style they seek here. Nothing on the floor, only a few posters on the walls and a few tall, tubular metal bar stools and potage stamp sized tables.

I order a beer and drink in the atmosphere. The place is Very Metal, playing bands like Slayer and MegaDeath. A monitor above the bar shows videos; when I enter a band dressed as Vikings are playing in a cemetery, while skeletons with glowing red eyes climb out of graves, clutching swords.

Most of this sort of thing is by German bands and the locals don't speak a word of German, which doesn't seem to trouble them.

I translate a few lyrics am made to feel welcome.
Du hasst

Du hasst

Du hasst

Du hasst mich



Du hast mich

Du hast mich

Du hast mich

Du hast mich vergessen


My new-found popularity brings an invitation to the pool table. Free pool and cheap beer – can life get any better?

Apparently it can – I am in the zone.

"All your beers are belong to me". ]]> 793@http://www.keellings.com/graham/test_blog/pivot/ eating drinking, singapore Fri, 14 Apr 2006 23:25:00 -0400 Perhaps we can drink? http://www.keellings.com/graham/test_blog/pivot/entry.php?id=794 http://www.keellings.com/graham/test_blog/pivot/entry.php?id=794#comm
When I reply in the negative, a smile plays across his lips and he asks"Then, perhaps we can drink?". ]]> 794@http://www.keellings.com/graham/test_blog/pivot/ eating drinking, singapore, work Thu, 13 Apr 2006 16:41:00 -0400 Struck off http://www.keellings.com/graham/test_blog/pivot/entry.php?id=790 http://www.keellings.com/graham/test_blog/pivot/entry.php?id=790#comm
So far we have been here for four and a half months, were promised a pay rise after three, don't have a contract anymore and have been paid for exactly two weeks, which did not reflect the promised pay rise.I just had a pleasant visit with Doctor Neeta, who informed me that she used to be the company doctor until she struck them off for non-payment. She finally had a lawyer (her husband) write a series of letters until they finally coughed up. At which point they asked, since they were all friends again, if she would continue as company doctor.

Our head of software (Glasgow PhD and good beer drinking buddy) has asked us to stray until the end of July, with another pay rise if we would stay until the end of August.

I explained that we could not afford to do so and when he asked when I contract expired, I replied "February 15th".

A large European national telecoms company is buying a 15% share in our company, in additional to several million bucks worth of goods. I have repeatedly tried to explain that we would love to stay here, but can't afford it; however, if the Europeans would employ us, at European rates, to work here as their representatives, then 1) we would be happy toasty for years 2) the Singaporean company would have us for free, and 3) I believe that the Europeans would also benefit from the deal.

However, the CTO refuses to broach the subject with them. I have informed the head of software that we are considering other options. ]]> 790@http://www.keellings.com/graham/test_blog/pivot/ singapore, work Thu, 06 Apr 2006 16:08:00 -0400 Would you paint me in the nude?" http://www.keellings.com/graham/test_blog/pivot/entry.php?id=789 http://www.keellings.com/graham/test_blog/pivot/entry.php?id=789#comm
A few days later the Hausmeister mentioned that he had heard some comments from one of the tenants about a strange man on a stepladder, naked except for a hat.

Damned curtain-twitchers! ]]> 789@http://www.keellings.com/graham/test_blog/pivot/ munich Wed, 05 Apr 2006 16:22:00 -0400 Internet hash project http://www.keellings.com/graham/test_blog/pivot/entry.php?id=791 http://www.keellings.com/graham/test_blog/pivot/entry.php?id=791#comm
Safety. Security. Peace of mind.
We've put our vast resources to work scouring the World Wide Web. We're now able to present you with a cryptographic hash of the Web's entire contents at any given moment. Never again will you have to wonder: "is this site really on the Internet?" "

Chek it out at http://www.nethash.org/ - validate my blog. Is it really on the 'net? Or is it just a hoax? ]]> 791@http://www.keellings.com/graham/test_blog/pivot/ tech Sat, 01 Apr 2006 11:07:00 -0400 Shanghai derailed? http://www.keellings.com/graham/test_blog/pivot/entry.php?id=788 http://www.keellings.com/graham/test_blog/pivot/entry.php?id=788#comm move to Shanghai to set up in business (having already set up the web-site and begun a wiki for ideas), an out of the blue email arrives from an agent.[!-- error: could not popup ../images/train_tracks.jpg. File does not exist --]Our last project before coming here was "the Vienna experience", which was a sort of "air traffic control" for trains. Now the customer, a UK rail network, wants someone with experience of the supplier (our erstwhile employer), to keep them in line.

Having all the inside poop, we should be a shoo-in.

Surprisingly, the rate is very close to being acceptable and is well above average for the UK, although I am sure that our "special circumstances" might add a few quid an hour…

"Hello? This is the agent. Yes, I have found two consultants who previously worked for the supplier, on your actual project. Unfortunately, they seem to be very happy at the moment, designing a UMTS satellite system in Singapore. Do you think that you could be flexible on the rate at all?".

Money for old rope. But can I take another six or twelve months of the same old, same old? Especially if it is in the UK? ]]> 788@http://www.keellings.com/graham/test_blog/pivot/ singapore, Vienna, work Fri, 31 Mar 2006 15:47:00 -0400 Peanuts soup http://www.keellings.com/graham/test_blog/pivot/entry.php?id=787 http://www.keellings.com/graham/test_blog/pivot/entry.php?id=787#comm
And why not?
]]> 787@http://www.keellings.com/graham/test_blog/pivot/ eating drinking, singapore Thu, 30 Mar 2006 21:29:00 -0400 Oink, inc http://www.keellings.com/graham/test_blog/pivot/entry.php?id=785 http://www.keellings.com/graham/test_blog/pivot/entry.php?id=785#comm
Even at that, admittedly, it looked like a good deal, but I was prepared to ask some probing question and the ever-cautious (when it comes to business) Ronald had me leaning against the idea.

However, when we arrived tonight, the picture had changed considerably.

We learned more of the experience and contacts of the franchise owner and the manager of the first outlet, the set-up of the whole enterprise and the roll-out plans for Asia, and the financial commitment of the franchise holder. All of which made us more confident.

But the major change, and the clincher is that the manager of the first outlet now wants to borrow from his family and invest in his own outlet, and is talking of doing so fifty-fifty with us.

Since this guy knows the business from the inside and has access to all of the financial aspects and still wants to invest money borrowed from his family (even better than investing his own life savings), I would sleep much better at night.

The arrangement now is that we would pay half fo the up-front costs, as opposed to all, as in the previous plan, but would still receive the same 50% of profits. Our partner would pay and receive 50% and an additional salary as manager, which is perfectly acceptable.

And somehow the franchise fee has fallen from 14% to an industry standard 5%.

All in all, I don't see how this one can fail (famous last words :-)) and already have dreams of owning a chain of Hog's Breaths - possibly even buying the master franchise for China.

Even Ronald seemed swayed, the clincher being the personal commitment of the manager who is, of course, extremely motivated to turn a profit. He has kindly offered to run the spreadsheets past some of his many business contacts to see if the figures seem consistent and achievable, although, given the involvement of the manager of the first outlet, I do not foresee any problems.

Since we have just saved 50% of our investment but retain the same return, I would imagine that if this one returns well, that there might be another in our future.

The second outlet, having three partners, is run by a limited company named "Three little pigs". We are leaning towards "Oink, inc".

"This time next year, Rodney…" ]]> 785@http://www.keellings.com/graham/test_blog/pivot/ neon panda, singapore Wed, 29 Mar 2006 23:09:00 -0400 Graham, interrupted http://www.keellings.com/graham/test_blog/pivot/entry.php?id=786 http://www.keellings.com/graham/test_blog/pivot/entry.php?id=786#comm
I slipped out at about 11a., and visited Doctor Neeta for some more knife work (this doe seem to be taking a time), then I popped into the barbers where a pretty Chinese girl catered to my needs (but not in a mainland China way, if you know what I mean).

I even managed to buy a new wallet. A productive day indeed, apart from work.In the evening we headed home, grabbed our gym bags and hurried to the gym, Jonesing on our endorphin fix.

But hardly had we been in the gym for more than ten minutes when Chrissy's' 'phone rang (don't ask).

Ronald was in town and wanted to meet up. So we dropped everything (back on the racks, not on the toes), changed and caught a taxi to Clare Quay, where we first enquired in the Novotel and then in the Swissotel but nether knew of Ronald who was cunningly travelling incognito and using a Chinese alias, alas.

We called him again, he hadn't left the office yet (surprise!), but was staying in the Swissotel hotel, so we encamped in the lobby there.

I poked my nose into the shops, but as their price for a basic black wallet was ten times what I had paid this morning, I decided not to purchase. I did try to point out that the "Usher in the year of the Rooster" sign by the figurines probably ought to be updated, but the only reply was "Yes, we have twelve kinds of animals".

So, a pleasant wait in a nice enough lobby, even if C. was snooty enough to remark that their pianist only had an upright while ours has a grand (and not a baby grand at that).

A short wait and Ronald had arrived, complete with what I hope is the first smuggled instalment of the several hundred pirate DVDs which we bought in Shanghai and then were too chicken to bring home en-masse, so left with him for safekeeping.

To Renn Thai for some very welcome, very, very spicy food and a glass of red (there goes the diet again - double workout tomorrow).

And, predictably, the conversation turned to business.

I think that Ronald has put me off of investing in the Hog's Breath, although we will still meet with the guy on Wednesday evening and grill him -who knows, we may even pick up some pointers.

However, I am now more than ever convinced that the streets of China are paved with gold.

I honestly believe that, if when this contract ends (and there is no other contract work in an interesting location), if we give up our place in Munich and move to Shanghai, then in a few years we ought to have several thriving businesses, without major investment.

We may take the easy way and look for work in Shanghai and try to develop business in parallel, but if we are unemployed (or faced with the prospect of a contract in Ulm, or - shudder - France), then we are as well to be unemployed in Shanghai, where the cost of living can be kept under control and opportunities abound.

We have enough cash to live there for a few years and I don't see how all of our ideas can fail before the savings run out.

Let's go for it! (Ronald always gets me fired with enthusiasm)

"This time next year, Rodney…" ]]> 786@http://www.keellings.com/graham/test_blog/pivot/ eating drinking, neon panda, singapore Mon, 27 Mar 2006 22:37:00 -0400 Thereafter eternally http://www.keellings.com/graham/test_blog/pivot/entry.php?id=784 http://www.keellings.com/graham/test_blog/pivot/entry.php?id=784#comm [!-- error: could not popup ../images/auspicious_t-shirt.jpg. File does not exist --]
As far as I can read, it says

"Auspicious
Thereafter eternally
In the place where hopes
I do not forget xxxx before anytime and believe"

Has anyone seen this one? What were the missing words? ]]> 784@http://www.keellings.com/graham/test_blog/pivot/ singapore, T shirt Sun, 26 Mar 2006 16:45:00 -0400