Cloud

Life has been advancing in hopeless directions that I cannot quite fully understand. Once again I realize that Content at the end of the day really doesn't matter, compared to Why sometimes How does make more sense. Because if you ask Why chances are the final, definitive answer is: because I say so you dumbass. How, on the other hand, allows the same shit to be, in terms of perceived reality at least, not the same shit anymore.

In all seriousness I think my dad is very right, as he elaborated my work is not completely pointless and I really shouldn't be complain about it since I'm paid quite well to do whatever it is that I'm doing. On the other hand, the Western, or more specifically, American side of my rationale has been yelling into my subconscious, screaming at my own sentimentality to change. To embrace the chaos. To become, as I know I am, me. In short I've become more than usually indecisive.

A thought over technology stocks: I've been hearing things about a mobile internet revolution, tech stocks undervalued, etc. This smells really fishy, reminiscent of the dot com bubble at the turn of the new century. The arguments are all completely valid, driving demand for efficiency, greater connectivity and business potentials, exactly like they used to be. I would think that manufacturers of essential parts in mobile devices will continue to do business. But it definitely won't be on the Apple inc. scale, in fact, Apple itself won't be on the Apple scale any more I suspect, as novelty, perfection of design innovations, as pessimistic as it may sound, has a practical limitation. As great as the Iphone 4, it is no where near as ground breaking as the Iphone 3, which was in turn less phenomenal than the now antique Ipod.

On the other hand I'm really more into this concept of the Cloud. Somehow I don't like to add the word technology behind it, as the fundamental appeal of the Cloud seems more social and structural than technical, but what do I know. Anyway, platform is the key word, iTune is a good example with its third party developed Apps, i.e. Virtual Consumables. And this, I see, is the difference between this time and last time. The product chain is being completed, not just the separated dots that it used to be.

CHINA

I had a dream a few days ago. About my director who passed away after working in the same industry for almost forty years, and another one, about the first girl I ever loved reappearing in my life after years of non contact, after that ridiculously non dramatic breakup.

Then I realized those were not dreams. They actually happened; both in the last week. This feels like a rare opportunity to detail and illustrate my emotions but somehow I refrain from doing it, there's not much to talk about, really; things do happen, events do take place, after all. This room, this city, this country, this continent, and even this mind-body duo of mine, seem so claustrophobic I hardly have the energy to breath in the realities.

For a moment or two I almost felt it's romantic. Life, that is.

A few items caught my attention: Chinese foreign reserve accumulation slows down, Trade surplus to record highs, and Google succeeded in renewing operational license in China. The first two would signal an upward pressure for the Chinese Yuan, which some argue that would harm the export sector in a substantial and sudden manner, but I think if we gonna get fucked anyway we may as well get fucked gradually at this stage when everyone else's fucked up. Pragmatic approach I think.

Everyone's been saying that the massive comparative advantage that Chinese has been enjoying by exploiting cheap labor is going to be lost to neighboring Asian countries, which is kind of true, cos most export items remain low tech embedded, but there's much more to business than cost I believe. Such as the collective energy that we display. The China story is much more than an economic one.

Which comes to the Google story. I personally don't see it as a mentionable event, as much political, moralistic, democratic overtone as Western media tries to paint the picture, Google knows, and everyone knows, that Google engine is just bloody useless for the Chinese market, full stop. Whenever you type in the latest IN vocabulary in the Chinese online community, Google always directs you to Baidu, its nemesis and originally a mere copy cat. What Google fails to recognize is that although the technological structure of the search engine is Cloud, the objects of the search, namely the information, knowledge etc, remains an isolated concept that has not engaged the Clouds of people, who cares about the real information if we can't do something about it, leave some personal graffiti on it or leave some remarkably stupid comments on it. I don't know about you but I spend less than ten minutes a day online seeking truth and information and hours and hours on it seeking remedy to boredom.