Side shots in the corner pocket

Random titbits today.

1) H and I watched The Namesake the other day. Good movie, better than the book in some ways, because I still don't think Kal Penn is all that good an actor, but the actors playing his parents were amazing, so it helped that the movie put more emphasis on his parents. I like Asian-American tales, always have, always will. So it was good to catch the movie.

2) Saw an interesting NYT article about how someone in Thailand is designing durians that don't stink! What is the world coming to?

3) Looks like i'm going to Denver instead of Columbus in June, with a short vacation with H in SF. Should be fun. Plus... i get to stay over in Hong Kong for a day. Hopefully i get some swing in. Definitely going to check out the Queer Jitterbugs group in SF. H has promised to give lindy a try (woo hoo!) although it still sounds like i'm pulling his teeth.

4) Updated my latest networth. Kinda fun!

5) Been addicted to my Playstation portable (finally, found a good game!)... ARGH!

Ok, i lied. Not so random titbit time. Oats asked me about my thoughts on the whole ministerial/civil service pay review. My take can basically be summarised as follows

1) Our public policies are far better than those of other countries. Just take a look at the health and education systems in US, and you'll know what i mean. We pay less for more, effectively.
So i agree that government should pay for performance and i personally think the pay rises are justified.

2) People who are interested in public policy or have had the chance to personally experience/learn about public policy/systems in other countries would probably hold the same point of view.

3) Most people, however, are rightly more concerned about where their next paycheck will come from, or how to afford the next tuition/car payment (for middle-class folks). These people would not have had the chance to learn/experience other countries, and would be justifiably upset. Their point of view is valid in its own way, especially with the GST hike coming in July.

So in a nutshell? I agree with the payrise, but i definitely think more could and should have been done to prepare and educate the community.

Ok, exposition done.

Ajantis is going back to his PSP...