阿姆斯特丹之旅

2016 揭穿自由市場假面的一年。

2016是充滿失望以及悲傷的一年。今年我們歷經了不斷的恐攻挑戰歐洲對自由人權的底限，也經歷了英國脫離歐盟，以及美國選出川普這樣歷史性的重大政治環境轉折。這樣的轉折將對歷史的進程產生決定性的影響，許多人將這兩個事件看成西方自由價值的失守，或是恐怖主義以及威權主義對抗民主陣營的勝利。2016 年也可以說是充滿意外以及錯愕的一年。主流媒體對英國脫歐公投以及美國總統大選的篤定預測，襯托出依賴主流媒體形成輿論的我們才是脫離現實的非主流。以往看似穩固一致的核心價值觀在英美的兩個投票中現出原形。原來意識形態的分裂已到達可以撕裂社會認同的程度。一群過去沈默的多數在這次選舉中獲得勝利。或許是該我們閉嘴檢討的時候了。自以爲是多數的我們到底做錯了什麼？

若要我定義2016年，我會說是揭穿自由市場假面的一年，以及揭穿社群網路影響力的一年。其實根究今年所有意外以及錯愕的最大公約數，就是對放任自由市場剝削勞工的建制派的反抗。因為至金融海嘯以來，Ｍ型化更嚴重了。這波浪潮的受壓迫者就是在社會Ｍ型化下消失的中產階級。在Ｍ型化底端的所謂的消失的中產階級應該是景氣復甦的受益者，但是多數人不但沒有受惠，反而受到自由市場資金勞工的自由移動而面對來自全世界的競爭。而身為金融海嘯罪魁禍手的財閥們，則隨著全球景氣復甦迅速累積資產，並且依然佔據著財富金字塔頂端。承諾要改革的自由派並未大刀闊斧解決國家財富分配問題的沉痾，百分之一的富人們還是繼續死性不改，以各種不公平的手段避稅，但是人民束手無策。

以道德掛帥的自由貿易主義在全球呼風喚雨，房地產等生活必需品成為炒作商品。自由主義除了放任意義下的自由，自由伴隨而來的道德義務卻完全不被重視。跨國企業迅速擴大，資產家財富翻倍。但是以勞力賺錢的多數人卻未被企業保護，隨時面臨不適任汰除的財富狀況危機。極化的經濟階級強烈對比出為道德承諾做出犧牲的是脆弱，貧困的多數人，而獲益的卻是逃避道德責任的富人。自詡為自由主義的建制派因而無法在下屆選舉中取得人民的信任，因為人民已經看穿其虛偽的道德大旗，裡子裡與公然擁護富人的保守派並無二致。輪替太久而腐化趨同的兩黨就是所謂的建制。獨立參選人的出線，表示選民已經厭倦建制。

或許西方陣營的意識形態還未極化到無法彌合，但是我們是該檢討自由主義的道德律是否被所有人共同遵守。我們不能一邊高唱自由主義，卻一邊讓守規矩的人受害。要檢討的不是自由主義，而是這面大旗是否淪為富人合理化財富分配不均的工具，而為何受害的多數人必須為虛偽不義的政策付出代價。我們看著大企業們高來高去，大談雲端，人工智能，以及工業4.0，但是我們真正在乎的是我們會不會再下一波的浪潮中失業。年薪百萬以及三十歲退休的夢想離多數人已經十分遙遠，買不起都會區的房子以及無力傳宗接代才是多數人的現實。高唱自由主義的國家若未能提供人民更好的經濟條件，如何期待威權國家效法西方價值？

我對未來一年走向的看法是中立的，自由主義將持續與權威主義以及恐怖主義拉鋸，明年與今年不會有太大的變化。歐盟將弱化。德國在西方的影響力會強化。西方自由主義聯盟的瓦解也給的東方的強權更好的機會去競逐道德話語權。中國以及俄國將在明年有更大的影響力。印度將成為下一個民主制度的希望。若是印度能夠崛起，民主制度可能能與威權制度繼續抗衡，若是印度不能複製東亞民主國家的經濟奇蹟，西方的霸權地位將受到嚴重挑戰。

偈語

偈語

小和尚端湯上了塔，塔上了蠟，蠟滑了襪，湯灑了塔，燙了小和尚，小和尚白跑一趟，還需把地擦。方丈愛吃臘八，吃緊燙了嘴巴，湯裡下了巴豆，疼了八肚，還把肚子拉。 方丈提了袈裟，望了草房，撒腿奔下塔。忘了塔上了蠟很滑。小和尚剛才把地擦，罵湯不該燙他，蠟不該滑襪，方丈不該上塔，廚房不該煮臘八。正端湯上塔，卻撞著方丈忙下塔，老和尚叫不好，塔上了蠟，腳底一滑，湯燙了老和尚一把，老和尚拉了一袈裟，摔了大馬趴。哈哈哈，臘八白搭。

A Life Changing experience

A life changing experience 
  
  Last summer, right after I graduated from high school, I went to Kojen, a well-known English language school, with a view to enhancing my English speaking ability.
  
   At that time, I was totally overwhelmed by my hunger for learning English , not only because I learned the how interesting English could be during my high school years, but also I had dreamed of being a bag packer as soon as possible. These reasons gave me an acute motivation to strengthen my capability in English before I fulfill my dream. 

  Knowing clearly the intensive class they provided was exactly what I needed, I frantically paid more than 10,000 NT dollars which was nearly all I had. After a week’s course, I was not content with the arrangement of the teaching content, so they permitted me to join a higher- leveled class.   

  Because I made all the decisions myself, which seriously displeased my mom, I had a fight with her. She thought it’s wasteful and immature that I spent such a large amount of money without discussing with her. However, I didn’t feel any uncomfortable spending my own money. In short, I was a rebel against ‘the big government.’ 

  Honestly speaking, I was a little worried that if my choices ended up proved to be irrational, this story might be repeated with comtempt whenever she and I met a division. To my relief, things went quite well. As I expected, teachers were nice, classmates were brilliant, and the content was wonderful. Everything went right. What amazed me more was that the language school was about to launch a brand-new course, which seeked volunteers. Thus, I took extra free courses and practiced English more than 6 hours a day, so did some of the other classmates. 

  Immersing in English environment definitely changed my life. They let me know the view points and tastes of westerners in addition to language. When talking with them, I felt as though my dream had come true. At the thought of my correct decision, I couldn’t help but smile. 
  
   This was the first time I study with alacrity, and the first time I insisted on my opinion. Unbelievably, it turned out to be a great success! I felt fortunate that I stay ture to myself, or I wouldn't have such a great summer vacation.

面對台灣庸俗媒體應對之道

 對於現下台灣主流媒體的集體沉淪，我們不應當只是默默忍受。每天

用餐時間總是要被這些垃圾訊息轟炸，其內容之無聊是對有智慧的生

物的一種酷刑，而其腥羶則是另有道德之人的一種凌辱。

  這數十家大型媒體報導內容會如此不堪入目、入耳，箇中原因記者

及編輯們必然知道。然而無論是何種原因，身為一個掌握大眾視聽權

以及影響關注方向的關鍵角色扮演者，媒體的基本道德怎麼想都是不

該被犧牲的-即便者只是出自於輿論的道德壓力。

  然而，媒體大大們在今天可以肆無忌憚的報導一些連鬼都不會相信的

鬼話，這代表民眾的監督力量不見了。林火旺稱之為「消音的人民」


。further reading: http://ssla.geo.ntnu.edu.tw/990619/8.pdf
  然而，網路2.0的時代早就來臨，我們早就不是單向的訊息接收者，

我們藉由各式的網路平台（blog、plurk、facebook）而成為訊息的提

供者。在今天，我們不需要經由主流媒體也可以獲得各式各樣的即時

報導。

 
  我們不再批評主流媒體的劣質，因為我們相信它會遭到忽視、然後被

網路爆炸的浪潮掩蓋。至少在我看來沒有有力的批評。
  
   然而，主流媒體似乎還是有其存在的必要性以至於今天我們依然忍

受著它們的荼毒。分散的鄉民們雖然可以提供訊息，但是缺乏報導的

專業。而一篇篇的獨立報導缺乏系統性的整理，閱讀起來十分的不方

便。另外，報導的素質參差不齊也比不上大型專業媒體的管理經營。

總言之，我們還是需要倚賴他們的專業素質。

主流媒體的本質並不是惡的，只是被不道德的人錯誤使用，我們其實

擁有很多選擇，例如國外的媒體：

1.http://english.aljazeera.net/半島電台，中東觀點
2.http://www.economist.com/經濟學人，美國觀點
3.http://hk.news.yahoo.com/world/香港雅虎比台灣的功能好，可以發表評論。
4.http://www.ejc.net/media_landscape/歐洲各國各式媒體一覽
5.http://www.neurope.eu/歐盟新聞
6.http://www.temasekreview.com  temasek review -sigapore noises.


國內媒體：

http://www.newtalk.tw/news_read.php?oid=14934

國內部落格：

http://sophist4ever.pixnet.net/blog 假圖天國

http://lingfengcomment.pixnet.net/blog 林保華

http://milk100sina.pixnet.net/blog/category/1421498 新加坡

http://blog.kaishao.idv.tw/?p=942




  

Ocean pollution

Ocean pollution

   Speaking of pollutions, most people may think of air pollution and water pollution, which are highly relevant to our everyday lives. However, to the surprises of most of us, ocean pollution may be the most difficult one to solve of all.

  Unlike other pollutions, ocean pollution stems from numerous sources. Industrial and domestic sewage which flows into oceans, oil leaked from ships and oil drillers, and acid rain fall into the seas are just a few of the causes. Because of the diversity of the pollutants, including heavy metal, acid, base, organic substance and waste heat, the plight is more complicated and grave than other types of pollutions.

  Besides, the toxic chemicals in oceans will accumulate in bodies of marine life, which turns out to damage our own health when we eat those polluted fish. What is worse, once the pollutants are mixed into the oceans, it takes centuries to curb the toxicity to a safe standard. Thus, once we found factories that produce toxic sewage, we’d better realize that one day we will burden enormous costs.

  In addition, the pollution is without borders. When pollutions occur, there is little can we do to stop it from spreading. Therefore, ocean pollutions usually results to unpredictable harms to the planet. For example, a single leaked oil ship or off-shore driller may suffocate thousands of sea birds and several schools of marine habitats. In some devastating cases, the leaked oil easily spoiled hundreds of square kilometers of coral reefs. Moreover, if we go on ignoring the seriousness of ocean pollution, several vulnerable species will undoubtedly go extinction.

  Ocean pollution is destructive in biodiversity, environmental sustainability, and our way of lives. It is the business of everyone, and we are the solution.

How can we defend our oceans? We can reject the development of the industries which have the potentials to aggravate the catastrophe. We should insist the sustainable green energy be pursued instead of fossil fuel, and support adequate protective criteria be made. Besides, we should urge the official to supervise the waste and rubbish disposal. Meanwhile, we should try our best to solve other pollutions simultaneously, for they are closely co-related. Also, we should advocate the urgency of ocean protection.

精準的四十五度

四十五度。飛機起飛的角度兩年前我從桃園機場起飛前往遙遠的地球彼端。老師台灣島上的一切都是的紛紛擾擾。我感覺到迷茫感覺到失望，但是在我們年輕的一代失落在上一輩的政治泥淖當中。出國不只是圓一個完成自我的夢，某種程度也是種逃避逃避惡劣的工作環境以及日趨惡化的政治氛圍。

曾經在45度角仰望講台上的女孩，曾經在無盡的蔚藍夏日45度角仰望國小操場的籃筐。曾經在45度角看玉山主峰雲霧的變化。曾經在45度角看部隊長官日復一日枯燥的訓話。

這四十五度角的凝望，終於望到了我出國的那一天。這一天，我等了六年。

六年。是從高中畢業那一刻開始算起。那一刻，我就打定主意出國留學。

大學四年，從大一就開始認真，獲得書券獎。

大二，前往大陸做交換研究，完成第一篇研究報告。自我要求用英文寫就。
最後，這篇報告也讓大陸的教授幫我寫了推薦信。

大三，開始準備GRE，進實驗室做專題研究。 與其他懷著出國夢的同學一樣，瘋狂地背紅寶書，瘋狂地練習英文。讓原本以為已經不錯的英文提升到了一個沒有這樣苦練無法到達的境界。同時，大陸來交換的交換生錄取MIT。

大四，開始考試，準備申請。在2012年三月考了GRE。

畢業，當兵。

在成功嶺新訓時，趁著午睡的空檔獨自一人與GRE 物理subject模擬試題奮鬥。並順利的在某一放假週從台中趕回台北考試。然而， 第一次物理subject 考試因為護照過期無法進場。首次體驗到萬惡的ETS如何粉碎一個人的計畫。

役畢，身心俱疲。一年三百六十五天，一四四０分，八六四零零秒終於到數完畢。歷經大小波折。知道不合理叫做訓練，知道以前的我多麽天真。走出營區，看見一如往常的藍天白雲。但是脫下軍人身份，如釋重負。期間，第一次的申請全部遭拒。

第六年。還懷著同樣的夢。進入中研院工作。擔任助理。工作還算愜意。開始第二次申請。在其間因為工作關係漏接幾通學校電話。最後轉了申請領域。終於被錄取。

直到上機那一刻。我都已為自己是孤軍奮戰。直到上機那一刻，我發現，我的家人始終在我身邊。重要的時刻從不缺席。只是我至始至終只想著自己要什麼，而忽略了他們的照顧罷了。

那一瞬間的感受，無以名狀。我應該欣喜若狂。但是漫長的等待，以及準備過程的艱苦，及耗資之巨，我感到更多的是莫可奈何。也有些許諷刺。離開自己的國家赴國外求學，是我所願。但是要是台灣的教育環境可以更好，我何必花費九牛二虎之力，並以仗著家裡經濟環境尚佳，遠渡重洋，只為與國外大學生一同上課？台灣每年前往國外求學之台灣留學生數量為全球排名世界前五名。這些菁英們不僅耗費大量時間學習留學考試技巧，到國外更是程度超越當地學生。為何我國不能令這些人獲得需要的教育，並讓他們留在台灣，為國貢獻？

二零一四年， 太陽花事件。 或許身為年輕人的我們自作多情的已為國家需要我們。這事件只證明教育這個議題擺在意識情態前面根本微不足道。不，在台灣人的思維裡面。沒有什麼事情是與意識型態無關的。教育這份百年大計，民眾沒有足夠的冷靜，理性去思考。

飛機載著我，載著這份心情，載著這份迷惘，離開這塊我們稱之為國家的土地，滿懷愧疚，滿懷憤懣，但我早已決意。把這些無謂的心情，留在這個無情，熱情，多情，悲情，濫情的島嶼。用空白，淡然的心情，開始人身另一個階段。讓過去成為過去。或許這樣的心情，才是最好的。

--------------------------------------到達新加坡-----------------------------------

是的。我是幸福的。也是那少數幸運的。因為只有幸運的人可以任性的抱怨。並任性的花六年的時間去實現自我。我不否認這樣任性的我如此批評自己的國家對其他留在台灣的人的感受是殘酷的。台灣不缺批評，或是負面評價。然而，針對台灣的批評，有多少時候是冷靜客觀的？有多少時候實際上只是政治抹黑或是惡意攻擊？ 台灣已經被嚴重撕裂。但是我看不到撕裂台灣的兇手，我看不到台灣人民緝兇的決心。我看不到台灣人民對公共事務的深度理解的渴求。容忍劣質輿論媒體存在的，不就是大多數頭腦不挑食的老百姓？對台灣的批評必須存在，但是必須在客觀，公正的基礎上就事論事，以證據說服觀眾。

踏出國門，來到同樣是華人國家的新加坡轉機。首先面臨的就是飛機誤點。我無法趕上下一班前往德國的飛機。

What should be included in a professional personal webpage.

What should be included in a professional personal webpage.

It should be a name card listing all your professional profile and records that give you extra credibility in your abilities that you want to emphasize.

LinkedIn : Probably the primary thing that you want potential recruiter/ employer know about you -- your education, experience, skills, etc.

Google Plus : This demonstrate your personal side in the bright way. Your bloggers, you tube channel, friend circles. Your activities are usually more 'appropriate' here as far as your potential employer/ coworker is concerned.

Skype: A much more enjoyable and intimate way of modern day communication, where the conversations don't get reduced to a emoji or one sentence. And there's no 'Facebook friend' that you barely know. It is the only way you talk to people you really intellectually and  emotionally linked with even though they are half a planet away.

For Programers :

GitHub : Undoubtedly the major hub of all coders. It demonstrates your contributions to the team, your talents,  and your work portfolio is a way that there's no room for bragging or humbling. The evidences speaks for themselves.

Stack overflow : Yes, programers have to do volunteering work as well. It shows that you are not a egoistic jerk or coding machine but a amicable person with a big heart. This is where you earn your respect from your peers.

Research Gate:  Where your publication can be inspected and where your collaborators can be seen. It shows explicitly your standing in the field. However, lots of excellent scholars don't use this kind of social network. So this is the best of entry level researcher to build their connections.

For Students :

DropBox : Where you share your common interests, school work, study material, or your secret project.

Do recruiter read cover letters ? https://www.quora.com/Do-recruiters-read-cover-letters

Bas Grasmayer, led and built up a team for a music tech startup.

5.3k Views

I can answer from the perspective of someone who built up a team of 40 at a startup.

To me, cover letters are important, because I'm trying to build a team, not a set of replaceable individuals. A CV tells me nothing about personality, interest or motivation. It's just experience and perhaps achievements (if done properly). Therefore, I'd always look in the cover letter for those points. A good cover letter almost always led to an invitation to a job interview, even if I was still a little bit unsure of the experience listed in the CV.

Here are some DO's and DON'T's.

DO:

• Indicate clear interest in the company and the job. Display familiarity with both. This helps anyone building up a team understand that you're motivated.
• Show motivation! Help me understand what drives you, how this fits into what you want to do. Demotivation in one person can drag a whole team down, so it's important for me to understand your motives.
• Describe your qualities in a way that I wouldn't be able to glean from your CV... Else you're using my limited time to tell me the same thing twice.
• Differentiate! Help me to understand why you're different from other people. Read some bios of people on LinkedIn to help you understand how to avoid saying the same thing as others, words like "creative", "self-motivated", or "team player" are unimpressive at best and have an adverse effect at worst.
• Try to understand the type of personalities in a company, and adjust tone accordingly. This is a little bit like dressing up for a job interview. Don't be overly formal with a music startup ;-)
• Keep it concise. No more than 3 paragraphs. Remove anything that's not absolutely necessary in this very first impression. Your goal is to get invited, not acquainted. The latter will happen in the interview process.

DON'T:

• Attach your cover letter. Put it in the email body. If you put it as an attachment, I might just look at your CV and skip the cover letter. I really don't understand people who attach their cover letters...
• Place your future bosses too high above you. Try to address them almost like equals. You might still be just at the start of your career, but show confidence in the fact that one day, you could be in their seat in some other company (if you're reading Quora, there's a good chance you will). Disclaimer! I've lived in different countries and this is culturally specific. This works well in companies with a modern Western mentality... In a company with a more oldschool mentality, this might not go over so well.
• Place yourself above potential future bosses. Then you're just being a dick and I won't want to work with you. Go start your own company or go work in some oldschool company where such attitudes belong.
• Leave the email body blank. Nor the subject line. Else I won't even understand what you're applying for... Or if you care at all. This happens more often than you'd think. About 20-30% of the applications I got had less than 20 words in the body.
• Copy + paste the same cover letter over and over. We can tell. At least adjust the part where you show interest and motivation. Show that you care.

Review : Connectography by Parag Khanna

Connectography: Mapping the Future of Global Civilization by Parag Khanna
My rating: 1 of 5 stars





















The one start is not as much the book itself but the great disappointment of my high expectation after reading so much acclamations on Goodreads. The irrational hype must be cooled down. The book spent great proportion talking about China and East Asia, where I grew up. I didn't learn anything new in those parts. In addition, the author doesn't seem to be an expert in global trend, despite he was an adviser to US national Intelligence Council, and US Special Operations Forces. Compare with another geopolitics journalists, Robert Kaplan, Parag Khanna's portrayal of the global geopolitics is not only bland, but superficial. The magna title 'connectography' is nothing but a hyperbole. There's nothing new except for its cover. Honestly, after browsing it in the last two week, I don't want to finish it because I have already know better than him. Unlike Thomas L. Friedman, the author of his much celebrated book, 'The World is Flat,' Mr. Khanna's work is at most a caricature. His understanding about China, Korea, and other so called 'the rising east' powers is actually insufficient. In terms of the development of IT and fin-tech infrastructure, China is catching up with the U.S (even ahead believe or not). China and Korea's online-gaming industry and culture is surfacing as another significant subculture. The author didn't point out why China invest heavily on foreign countries aside form seising their natural resources. It is not only an offense strategy countering the West political powers, but also a defense measure that prevents economy bubble happened in Japan. China doesn't need so much natural resource as its great construction period is slowing down. It is more a way to develop export market of its products and services to consume the over-production of its millions of factories to prevent the great recession that Americans experienced after WWII. As far as China study goes, the content in the book doesn't brace the volume of such a ambitious title.

As for other old connections - gas pipeline, goods supply chain, migrations, the author was also scratching the surface. I expected to see more in-depth analysis on talent migration, such as the prediction of possible brain power drain of developing countries, and the possible impact to local culture, as long as how it affects superpowers' global strategies on attracting global talents. I hold a different view of globalization from the author. I see the rise of hypertube and Tesla the new paradigm of future connections. Already close areas, such as Seattle, SF and LA, or Boston, NY, will become more connected. Uber, autopilot and Tesla will reduce the cost of transportation of man and goods, both money-wise and environment-wise. Our reliance on oil and gas will decline when the building solar city gain its popularity. Germany just announced industry 4.0, declaring a era of customized manufacturing against mono-model mass production. Many companies are shifting their factories back from China. These facts are not matching the pattern the author proposed.

However, the author got it right. We are entering a new era of less traditional sovereigns such as cultural background, nationality, and location. Its much easier to work abroad nowadays, as far as regulations go. Many skilled workers left their countries to seek a new identity, better quality of life, better chance to realize one's dream. However, the competition for working VISAs in the UK and the US is still difficult to many people. We got multiple identity thanks to Internet and social networks. We might be more identified with someone hundred miles away than our neighbors. This will only be more true when the VR technology catching on. The author's world view seemed to be over-conservative and unimaginative since most graphs depicts our world very similar to Columbus's world centuries ago.

This book is neither revolutionary since all its claims are not more sensational than what I read on newspapers. All his claims are either clichés or predictable. You can't even call them observations of a new trend. Most of them are just what is happening as the way it was. I would rather enjoy Ray Kurzweil's dramatic style more , even though his crazy prophecy of singularity is another extreme. That said, at least it is something fresh, and scholarly crazy.














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