Saturday, July 26, 2008

Untitled

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Magazine clip.

At Desire Creation Systems, we presented this to a magazine recently when they wanted to revamp their rather boring image. They rejected it in favour of someone else's proposal; upon seeing the new look, we have established that the reason was something to do with their lack of intelligence.

Our proposal was so good, however, that we have found backing to start the magazine on our own. Our business aim: to put out of business the concern who rejected our work.

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Sunday, July 6, 2008

High mileage club.

Perhaps I'm being naive here, but I think these high petrol prices are fantastic.

They're getting to a level where people finally have to think before they get into their cars.

The result - in my neighbourhood at least - is fresher air, reduced decibel levels from traffic, a more appealling atmosphere, and a return of lovely tropical smells in the garden in place of diesel fumes and carbon monoxide.

I'm not sure that personalised individual transport should be a right automatically extended to everyone. Just because cars exist, doesn't mean everyone should get to drive one. It's just not feasible.

Necessary journeys are still financially viable. People can still get to work. Which is how it should be. But people really seem to be thinking twice as to whether their journey is necessary. Driving aimlessly around as a leisure option, which was undoubtedly the weekend choice of activity for thousands of people, is slowly being taken off the menu.

At any rate, the answer is simple. It's not a new invention, it's not something radical requiring great adaptations in lifestyle.

It's called a scooter.

Even with these new fuel prices, a full tank of my Fino is less than 200 baht. That four litres will last more than a week, going literally everywhere.

So far, I've done 4,000 kilometres on it. Compared to the 4,000 kilometres that I would otherwise have done in the Fortuner, the Fino has already saved me about 20,000 baht in a few short months.

For anyone wanting to immunise themselves against petrol prices, a trip to the local Yamaha dealer should be a matter of urgency.


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Saturday, July 5, 2008

Printed matters.

Sometimes, even if you're in the mood to buy things, you can't find anything to spend your money on.

The past couple of times I've been wandering around Kinokuniya or Asia Books looking to purchase some cool, original, inspirational printed material, I've come out frustrated and bored. It seems that despite the millions of books published every year, only a handful every year are actually worth buying. Everything looks the same; words, words, and more words. I don't know why there isn't a new 'Whatever You Think, Think The Opposite' equivalent published every week - surely there'd be a market for it.

Recently I've taken to popping into the Japanese bookstore in Emporium. The Japanese know how to do books. Brilliant design, gorgeous to look at, and totally original in concept and layout. Sometimes the books look more like magazines; sometimes the magazines look more like books. Whatever it is, I never come out empty handed and always have to carefully edit my purchases to avoid a 10,000 baht bill.