Nikki Blog

It’s not everyday that I come across a Thai website talking about dating coach and matchmaking, but AnneFriday totally understands the concept and how the dating world is evolving.

I had a chance to meet up with one of the bloggers, and was very impressed with the general concept of the website.

These days, everyone who owns a car complains about the high petrol price. If recent events are any indication, the average Joe can soon expect to spend 2,000 baht each time he visits the gas station. But the idea that oil is running out is not new, is it? We have all thought about it at some point, and then later brushed the idea aside thinking that it would not happen in our lifetime, and someone somewhere will come up with a solution to save the world.

The government could put massive taxes on cars or restrict car travel into the city center to slow down oil consumption, but it is going to be immediately less popular and probably caused quite a riot. What we don’t want is however, to stop using oil because we have run out of this precious fossil fuel, but because we have found a new way of doing without it. Having worked in London and Asia as an energy analyst for a few years, I think I am qualified to talk about this subject. A good example is Brazil which produces and consumes 100 percent bioethanol for transportation fuel because they could not afford to import crude oil decades ago when their currency depreciated. Thailand was fortunate enough not to endure currency depreciation to the same degree, but look how well Brazil is performing now.

Brazil is listed as one of the BRIC nations, a term invented by Goldman Sachs to describe other fast economic growth countries including Russia, India and China. On a lighter note, Thailand was taken out of the STICK model (fast developing Asian countries including Singapore, India, China and Korea), and now the professor at Stanford who developed this model is scratching his head as he is left with the SICK model. I am not making this up!

Likes many other countries, Thailand lacked a clear guideline in energy saving and measure of its progress. The result is that some wealthy urban households have more than one fridge in their kitchen, while the parents & kids drive off in 4 different cars after breakfast. Thailand is not alone, ASEAN-wide energy policies are fragmented and uncoordinated at best. Member countries have different specification of fuels (e.g. B100, B20, premium gasoline 98, 97, 95 and 93) making trade very difficult as seen by Thailand’s recent ethanol surplus. Poor government implementation caused frustration among the produces/suppliers. At the end of the day, consumers paid the price dearly because we have successfully driven out the ethanol producers.

It seems like no matter which direction we go it will take a dramatic and painful change in our lifestyles to save Thailand (sorry guys), and the rest of the world. Some alternatives are biking, solar power, wind power, hydrogen fuel cells, or nuclear power. If we don’t start making some dramatic moves we will continue to walk back into the “Stone Age”, something that I doubt if the next elected government is prepared for.

With much debates on ethanol/gasohol policy in Thailand, passing a measure to phase out premium gasoline, a policy that the government has reversed, is too little too late even if they are to go ahead with it in the next government. The current 3.50 baht/litre price difference between gasohol and gasoline is also not large enough to make the wanted effect prominent. The differential should be substantial and implemented rapidly instead of a small series of changes.

I disagree with how Thailand adopted the first generation technology of biofuel as a way forward. (The first generation of biofuel refers to using food crops feedstock.) Use of sugar cane / corn /palm oil to produce biofuel has simply driven the price of food up, and it has fueled a massive debate/issue in other countries, especially when the countries have no spare land for bio crop. China, for instance, has moved away from corn as a feedstock for ethanol while the rest of South East Asia turns to Jatropha. And even if we have successfully adopted the second or third generation technology, the cost of production is not currently viable without government intervention.

Just to put the impact of bioethanol into perspective, the industry estimated a whooping 6 percent of bioethanol in the total gasoline global demand by 2010. Not a lot, isn’t it? I doubt if the impact of bioethanol will be significant enough to knock off even a $10 per barrel of crude oil then. Not to scare you off, but geopolitical conflicts will undoubtedly sharpen. China will continue to produce million of babies every year, guzzling milk and oil at unprecedented rate. The U.S. will insist on keeping world peace (yeah, world peace, right) by perhaps invading Iran. Forget about buying hybrid cars and relying on Thai government policy on sham biofuels, the future lies in your legs and two wheels.

Here is an innovative idea, last July, the City of Paris launched a new self-service “bicycle transit system” called ‘Velib’. Users are able to pick up and drop off bicycles throughout the city at 1,500 locations, which are stocked with over twenty thousand bikes. The rent can be paid at the meter, which also provides information on other station locations. The fee is tailored towards your need and very affordable to the Parisian standard, something like what we pay here in BTS fare. If the French can still look elegant while biking in their summer heat wave, I think we can ride bikes with style in Bangkok. And the pollution will be less once people start paddling.

Many of us stop by the gym to run on treadmills and ride bicycles after work, why not combine the workout and the commute? What we really need for this is just a decent, effective dedicated bicycle lane system on the road. (Ok, I know it is not easy, so I will settle for a mediocre one if the bus drivers promise not to run us over while they compete in their daily city grand prix.) I wonder what our governor, Apirak Kosayothin, think of my proposal.

Other countries such as Sweden are also continually expanding the bicycle rental service. I for one would welcome such an idea since it seems a lot more promising and practical in reducing oil consumption and curbing global warming than the highly-publicized fashion recycling bag campaigns and economically non-viable ethanol plant. As former PM, Anand Pranyarachun, said recently, we need a more solid campaign to solve our energy crisis, not another company looking to commercially exploited global warming issue.

November and December have been the wedding months; LoVe Birds are throwing their wedding practically everyday. Last night, I attended a close friends’ wedding at the Oriental Hotel. It was one of the most “complete” weddings I have ever been to. I say complete because I could feel the groom’s love towards his bride through their slide shows and pictures. Pictures of six years that they have been dating over long and “short” distance.

The bride surprised the groom with a music video clip that he produced for her after 17 months of dating. It was corny, but very romantic. It reminded me of a cheesy foreign karaoke song with a sexy woman parading along the Thames River, only to be replaced by a Chinese-looking-young bloke…you get the picture. Overall, I say people were very touched by their dedication to each other, and they truly deserved to be together. I wish them both the best of luck.

Last Saturday, I had a consultation session with a very good looking and talented guy. Not only he came top of his academic degree, this very young man also started up his own company, which recently put in a bid for some project in a Petrol-Dollar-rich country. I like people who are a self-starter, an entrepreneur, and oh boy, did this guy have it all. Despite having an established family business, the guy is determined to be successful by himself, without the help of his family. I always have a soft spot for a self-starter, so I put him up on a date with a v. gorgeous young lady, who did a law degree at the top university in Thailand and gradudated from UK. They met at Le Notre, Siam Paragon and spent several hour chatting and shopping. I say the date went very well, judging from the feedback I get from him.

Facebook was the HOTTEST phenomenon of 2007. Microsoft, Google, and Yahoo all want a piece of this college student’s invention, which is now worth 15 billion dollar. It’s fun and useful, and you look so pre-subprime-mortgage-crisis if you are not on it. Not only do people in my social circle use it to invite friends to secret hen parties or birthdays, they talk about Facebook when they actually meet up! Then the race home and upload pictures of where they had been, and whom they had fun. Strange? I agree. Loser? I say no. With a list of partners in crime (confirmed attendees) and a main perpetrator (your best friend, the organizer) hooked to Facebook, it has become the perfect party planning tool.
Keeping up with Friends
In November alone, I have received 4 invitations to weddings, 3 invites to grand openings, and numerous party invites on Facebook. What happened to snail mail invitation for these formal functions, or just simply picking up the phone? Even email seems to have become unfashionable, unless it’s the invitation for parties from Facebook! Next thing you know, MeetNLunch will be sending its confirmation for your dates through Facebook!
The calendar in Thailand network is a treasure. It shows all the upcoming events, when, where and who is attending added by people in that network. I find it highly useful for planning the timing of your so-called gathering, such that it would not clash with say, festive Loy Kratong, or another massive event that all your friends will flock to instead of yours. And not all events have to be a drunkfest like full moon parties at Koh Pha-ngan, you are allowed to hold sporting events and road trips to do volunteer work. So get creative and plan new ideas to get together.
Thailand Marketplace is another tool I used to advertise items for sale or wanted. About a month ago, MeetNLunch had a job opening for a PR and customer service staff, and to my surprise, about 30 people applied and most of them are over qualified. In the end, a very capable young Thai lady, who spoke four languages fluently, snatched up the job. The advantage of Facebook over other sources of classified ads is that, you get to check out your candidates’ lifestyle before hiring, which is something you cannot normally do.
Discover long lost friends or enemies
Reconnecting with primary school friends is sweet, but it can have its downside. Your buried secrets may come back to haunt you unexpectedly. Imagine the horror of waking up one morning to find your junior-high self greeting the world on Facebook, and you thought it would never be revealed! The braces, the thick glasses, the pimples, and God forbid that “J Monthon” hairdo were not you. No, you’ve blocked that one out years ago. And now it’s all coming back with the added bonus that the picture uploaded by your friends got “tagged” with your name, saving you the trouble of doing so. Pleading for the pictures to be taken down also doesn’t work, I tried already.
Bitten by a vampire? Werewolf? Got Superpoked?
Got sent eggs that hatched into a chainsaw? I personally enjoy giving “gifts” away to my friends, just to let them know that I still think of them even though there isn’t much to update about my dull life. Facebook’s secret Christmas gift is a nice touch, not opening itself until Christmas to reveal what is inside. Fluff friend app is the new Tamagoshi (virtual pet). You can feed, pet, earn points by petting your friends’ fluff, bet in the fluffs race to earn more points, and buy habitats for your fluff. These so-called “Apps” make Facebook much more fun than its peer Hi5. But the number of invites to use ridiculous apps is getting annoying. Be selective, or else you ended up cluttering your profiles with junk.
Stalking
You can use privacy setting to limit who see your profile. But once you have established the contact, your admirer can browse the travel pictures, dinner details, what you were up to last night, who your friends are, what books you have read, where you work, it all becomes visible. And Facebook does not tell you which of your friends have been obsessing over your profile.
Addiction
One girl reportedly checks in at least 25 times a day and got angry at her friends for not commenting on her latest pictures. Collection of gifts, booze, petting virtual pets, and obsessive compulsion to update your status up-to-the-minute are some common symptoms.
Be careful of sharing too much private information, and don’t use it at the office. Your IT administrators are probably Facebook addicts too, so they know all about it!
Interesting facts:
• There are 39,510 users listed as belonging to Thailand network at the time of writing.
• The 5 most popular apps are FunWall, Top Friends, Super Wall, Movies, and SuperPoke!
• Facedouble, a celebrity look-alike app shows that I am Gisele Bundchen. That’s very flattering, but I think not. Note to female readers who do not use Facebook: Gisele is a leading model of Victoria’s Secret, and you can look up her profile on Wikipedia. Or, just ask those guys who are always glued to FHM or Maxim.
• Microsoft won the bid for Facebook, putting its estimated value right among the Fortune’s 500s.