外婆

王瑾！幫我引個針吧！外婆最常叫我做的事就是請我幫她引線，小小年紀的我一直都不了解為什麼引個線有這麼難。

外婆給我的印象永遠是疏個巴巴頭穿了一身唐裝，小腿裹著肉色的襪子再套上一個小到不能再小的布鞋。外婆的鞋都是自己做的因為市場上的鞋都不適合他那對三寸金蓮的腳。

外婆的房間幾乎整個都是一片挑高個榻榻米，如果下頭生個火的話那就跟她老家的抗沒什麼差別。外婆大部分的時間都坐在她的炕上，不是做他的鞋子，縫補衣服嘛就是幫我們縫被套。小的時候我們的棉被是沒有被套的。每一個棉被套都是用兩塊布組成的。外婆會先在炕上鋪一大塊白色的布，再把棉被放在正中間，另一塊布比棉被稍微小一點但質料柔軟也有花色，這個是放在棉被的上方。外婆會把底層多出來的布往上折，把棉被四邊都包覆著，再跟上層的布做一個交疊。被的四個角落都美美的折成45度的對角。外婆然後會用線一針一針的把他們全部縫和起來。我如果記得沒錯的話媽媽被是紅色的我的大概是綠色的吧。

外婆對被單是非常講究的，每一個被單都先要漿過，也就是把洗好的被單上塗一層米湯調出來的漿糊。再用電熨斗把它燙平。可惜那個時候的熨斗沒有蒸氣孔，市面上也買不到噴霧瓶，外婆會在口裡含一口水，憋著嘴，把水從嘴中逼出來，這道也達到了噴霧的效果。現在想起來外婆還真有一套，但這方法是乎有點不衛生。

記得我第一次出國的時候外婆總是嘮嘮叨叨的一直叮嚀我一定要好好讀書不要貪玩，但是等我一年以後回國又出國的時候，外婆卻哭得好傷心，外婆說他有個預感他再也見不到我了。我當時只能掐著他散出微微菜味的手安慰的跟他說我會很快地回來看她的，但是他卻哭得更傷心。外婆的預感的確沒有錯，我再一次見到外婆的時候確是在木柵的墓園裡。外婆墓碑的照片就像是我27年前的記憶一樣還是疏個巴巴頭。看著看著也不知道為什麼突然心頭有點緊，鼻子有一點酸，眼淚就溢滿我的眼眶，外婆嚴肅的照片可能也因為眼淚折射的的關係變柔和了甚至於還帶著淺淺的微笑，好像是跟我說：王瑾，我們又見面了。

買油磨刀麥芽糖

小的時候賣油的是拉著車子一路叫賣，外婆一定會給我一點錢和一個油瓶叫我去買油。賣油的會拿一個長長的勺子往他的大油桶裡頭把油舀出來，小心翼翼地用漏斗把油放進我的瓶子中。

賣油的不但賣油他還幫我們磨刀，他有一個轉動很快的磨刀盤。磨刀的時候總是會發出桔紅色的火花。刀磨完以後他還會用一組丁字型的銼刀把刀面的班銹銼光打亮。

如果家裡有多餘的玻璃瓶，我也會帶給他換取麥芽糖。麥芽糖的多少要看瓶子的大小，每一次給他的瓶子以後我就迫不及待的想知道他這一次會給我多少糖。沒錯，他的麥芽糖是很大很大一塊，每一次他會用那一隻髒髒的手捏一小塊麥芽糖出來，麥芽糖的尾端會呈現出細細長長的絲狀，在微微的夜風中翩翩起舞。賣油的會拿一根竹棍輕輕的把它接住，轉呀轉呀把所有的麥芽糖都繞在竹棍上，有時候他的指紋還可以清晰的印在麥芽糖上，但小時候的我只顧吃糖哪還管他有多髒。

小時候的記憶總是片片段段的。有時候是清晰的有時候是模糊的。想起來的時候如果不把它馬上記起來，過一會兒就忘了，再想把它找回來卻是一點頭緒都沒有，只留下一個退不掉的傷感。

世界稱霸戰

美國在第二次世界大戰後崛起，成為世界上最大的經濟體。美國在戰後，領悟到要稱霸世界如果用武力只會引起公憤。錢才是最有用的武器。美國的第一部就是把美金當作一個衡量國家財富的標準。美國第二步是用它的財富來發展最新武器。再用它的錢和武器跟“邦交國”做交換來鞏固它在地域的霸權。萬一邦交國不聽話，他就找機會把它職權者幹掉。美國第三步就是以高薪吸收全世界最優秀的人才來積極的研發科技並以智慧財產權的名義，威脅所有後起的新秀。

但是美國萬萬也沒有料到中國會在這麼短一段時間崛起。感覺像黃禍又要第二次的來到世界。臺灣人民天天都在擔心中國會把臺灣吃掉。其實美國已經吃了臺灣很多年了。想想看臺灣做代工毛利祇有5%，美國呢？

可能美國人比較可愛比較有禮貌，中國人個個面目可憎。請問這是事實嗎？我想你們應該是看了太多好萊塢的電影與電視吧。好萊塢最會推廣的就是美國是一個有血，有淚，有愛心的慈善國家。他們永遠為正義而戰，英雄永遠是美國人，壞人都是別人。臺灣人醒醒吧，剝削我們的是美國人還是中國人？

不義之財，不易之財

由於貧富不均的問題，而導致於年輕人對貧富的觀念有極端的看法；集團都是邪惡的。有錢人的財富都是壓榨個人而得到的。事實上一些成功的企業家，他們成功的過程是相當艱苦的。有些為了自己事業犧牲家庭，有些在過程中連續失敗到天天以泡麵為食，但是他們都有一些相同的優點，就是有信心，有毅力，有願景。我們的年輕人只想玩。賺錢是為了想玩。當然願景衹是^完^。

臺灣的基本薪資低，導致於他們玩的^力不從薪^。所以呀他們大家一起來請政府管管這些有錢人吧！房價高，打房！薪水低，加薪！所得高，加稅！窮富不均是不公平的。窮富平均才是公平的。等到有一天臺灣的競爭力歸於零的時候，大家都變成一樣窮這就公平嘍。奇怪呀！中國共產黨不是就是這樣子造反的嗎？

Disseminate the Nested Two-sided Network Strategy

Traditional one-side businesses are referred as supply-side economies of scale, cost is spread across a large customer base. Unfortunately, growth beyond some point usually leads to diminishing returns: Acquiring new customers becomes expensive as values are diluted across larger customer base. In contrast, a two-side network exhibits demand-side economics of scale, larger the customer base, greater is its ability to attract more customers; value improves as customer base grows (Eisenmann et al., 2006; Lee 2001).

Past papers on two-sided business model have mostly based on pricing decisions affecting the volume of transactions (Demange & Gale, 1985; Eisenmann et al., 2006; Evans, 2002b; Hagiu, 2006; Rochet & Tirole, 2003). The idea is to create a positive cross-side network externality when one side, attracted in volume, becomes highly valued by the other side. To bring both side on board, platforms usually subsidize the quality and price sensitive side (subsidy side) and let the other side (money side) paid the dues to reach it (Eisenmann et al., 2006). In other words, the price structure matters and platforms must design it so as to bring both sides on board (Evans & Schmalensee, 2013). Value grows as the platform matches demand from both sides (Eisenmann et al., 2006).

Indeed, pricing structure plays an important role in balancing the two sides, but past literature on two-sided network has not examined how the subsidy side is able to sustain its attractiveness to the masses over time, more specifically, past literature has not consider the existence of a two-side network nested within the subsidy side of its parent which could be responsible for large part of the overall value creation. With this research gap in mind, I am proposing that many of large two-sided business platform adopts a business strategy of hosting nested two-sided platforms as ways to add value to its primary business. In a sense, a nested two-sided platform could be viewed as a strategic asset that could either be indigenous to or acquired by a parent network. It also could be viewed as a group having a “stake” in the parent’s primary business that it is to the best interest of the parent to manage it effectively to achieve its primary objectives.

In our conceptualization of nested two-sided business strategy, we took the account that not all nested two-sided networks are created equal. Some are indigenous to the parent platform and others are acquired through merger or related through alliance. Those that are indigenous to the parent can either be pecuniary or non-pecuniary in nature and those that are acquired or allied are likely be able to sustain independently. With this note, we answer the question of how nested two-sided platform can increase the value of its parent’s primary business and what the mechanisms are through which the nested two-sided network can capture value.

To demonstrate the validity of this setting, we present a longitudinal case study examining four major, but very different firms– Amazon.com, Apple, Inc., Facebook, Inc., and Google Inc. Each firm has a clear two-sided platform nested under its primary business. The analysis is conducted on Amazon's product review, Apple’s iTunes, Facebook’s Farmville, and Google’s YouTube. Our analysis is conducted using secondary data including annual reports and financial statements, news releases, as well as existing research evidence such as prominent case studies, journal articles, books, etc. The results of our study show that all four companies have successfully adopted nested two-sided strategies resulting substantial increase in value and growth.

The results contribute theoretically to the two-sided network literature by analyzing the role of nested two-side network on its parent, which was not explicitly studies in the past. The analysis also brought new insights from the perspective of network complementarity and stakeholder view. Empirically, we analyze how nested two-sided network are utilized and combine these insights with theoretical development, resulting in propositions on the nature of nested two-sided network and its role in value creation and reciprocation.

The remainder of this study is formulated as follows. First, we discuss the key concepts of the study. Second, we develop a theoretical model from existing literature. This is followed by a longitudinal case study of each of the four firms in term of their nested platform strategy. Next, we put forward a set of propositions on the nature and the role of the nested two-sided platform and the rationale of nurturing such network within the subsidy side of the parent firm. Finally, we present our conclusions and suggestions for further research.

How logic came to play in my nightmare

I had a nightmare last night. I saw myself walking through a traditional indoor market looking for something (couldn't remember much of what it was really). I asked around and was lead to a portion of market I have never been. After several turns, I was completely lost. In fact, I found myself in a maze of corridors that lead to more corridors. There were doors but most of them were nailed shut, some of them even had their aluminum covering peeled off. I wasn't quite sure how long I was lost but the daylight was slowly but surely dimming away. In my haste, I found myself entangled with a large sheet of dust covered plastic sheet hang from the ceiling. After I struggled free I was greeted with a door at end of the corridor. I turned the knob and open it. It was just a bathroom. As I walked away from it I felt a presence behind me. I turned and looked and instead of seeing the bathroom, it was the kitchen of my house and my wife stood here with her back facing me wearing a white rope. With a sigh of relief, I walked towards her and proceed to stretch my hand to touch her. Right at that moment, my logic kicked in; this could not be my wife. What came after was an incredible fear and yet it was too late to prevent my hand from touching her waist. I could almost felt the warmth of her body and even before she turned to face me, I screamed. The scream was real because I heard it as my wife shook me awake. I thought I should write this one down because it is rare for me to remember so vividly of my dreams. May be it meant something.

My Artwork

Most recently I decided to digitize all the artwork I did in my mid 30. Unfortunately, not all the pieces were well kept enough to show case their original luster, but with a bit of Photoshop, I was able to bring some of them back to their formal glory.

Slow Day

It's a slow day in the small town of Pumphandle, Saskatchewan - the streets are nearly deserted. Economic times are tough so everybody is in debt and everybody is living on credit.
A tourist visiting the area drives through town, stops at the motel, and lays a $100 bill on the desk saying that he would like to inspect the rooms upstairs before picking one for the night.
The motel owner gives him a key and as soon as he walks upstairs, the owner grabs the bill and runs next door to pay his debt to the butcher. The butcher takes the $100 and runs down the street to retire his debt to the pig farmer. The pig farmer takes the $100 and heads off to pay his bill to his supplier, the Co-op.
The guy at the Co-op takes the $100 and runs to pay his debt to the local prostitute, who has also been facing hard times and has had to offer her "services" on credit. The hooker rushes to the motel and pays off her room bill to the motel owner. The motel owner then places the $100 back on the counter so the traveler will not suspect anything.
At that moment, the traveler comes down the stairs, states that the rooms are not satisfactory, so he picks up his $100 bill and leaves.
No one produced anything. No one earned anything ... However, the whole town is now out of debt and now looks to the future with a lot more optimism.
......................And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how a Stimulus package works.

Even Americans Cannot Spell

For those of you who study English as a second language, you must find spelling a really pain. Unlike Spanish that spells as it reads, English spelling is without definite rules. Here is an example of a "public display" of bad spelling. The picture was taken from a stretch of road leading to Southern Guilford High School in North Carolina. It proves that even Americans cannot spell.

尋找女師附小29屆六年信班同學

同班同學: 何德華、羅吉美、崔家豪、童全碧、吳偉國、楊陽、徐露、李文文、金約翰、沈子魁等請盡速與本人連絡

Foxcomm Suicide Spree: an Organization Point of View

Dr. Chen of my organization sociology class gave us his opinion on the Foxcomm suicide spree. He attributed the problem from organization point of view, which he pointed out as extreme Taylorism.

Foxcomm, in its pursuit for efficiency and cost reduction might have purposely refined the entire production line into simple but monotonous steps that any non-skilled labor can perform with least amount of training.

Employee quarters were built close to the factory so the deployment of extra labor can be mobilized in a whim. Securities are tight in these compounds in fear of industrial espionage. In the sense, these employees are merely paid captives of the company whose only goal is to produce.

He further added that workers are isolated socially, emotionally, and physically. The isolation lent its way to magnify any personal problems within which caused enough despairs that lead to eventual suicide.

My buddy Freddie found me in Facebook

The biggest present I got for the New Year is hearing from a long lost friend. My friend Freddie contacted me on Facebook couple of weeks ago. I have not heard from him for almost 14 years. I knew Freddie when I was 17. We were roommates.

I remembered contracting German measles and had to be confined in isolation for a week. I reacted to measles badly; I didn’t have any appetite and was too weak even to stand up. Thank God Freddie was there, he was the one who nursed me to health. He brought me water and food and helped me to walk about in my room. I remembered seeing him seating by my bed, praying for my recovery. In between my sleeps, I often hear him reading the scripture to me. I believed that God spoke to me through him and it was because of him I became a Christian.

We were in touch all the way through my early working years in the United States. I couldn’t even remember how we lost touch of each other. I did try to look for him couple of times on the internet but with no avail. But now I know he is in Singapore so it’s time for me to plan my next vacation to meet him. So Freddie, my buddy, I am coming soon.

Cutest Kitten Video

You have to like this. This kitty is so cute!

年度笑話冠軍

一隻蛇與一隻兔子在森林中的叉路相撞，兩人爭吵一陣後竟發現，彼此都是個瞎子，便惺惺相惜了起來。

蛇泣道：「我從小就沒了父母，連水中的倒影也看不見，到現在我還不曉得我是什麼動物。」「我也是耶！」兔子也感傷的說：「我也不知道自己長什麼樣子.....」

一陣長談，蛇想出了一個點子，它向兔子道：「我想到了，我門彼此觸摸對方，告訴對方是什麼動物好嗎？」

兔子興奮的大叫 :「好啊好啊好啊，我終於可以知道我是什麼動物了！」

蛇說：「我先來！！」

接著他便把小白兔捲起來......

「嗯！ 你有溫暖的身體，毛茸茸的身子，長長大大的耳朵，尖尖的鼻子，健壯的後腿，還有一小條尾巴，末端還附一個小毛球....」

「我知道了！！」蛇高興的大喊：「你是隻小白兔！！」

知道身世的兔子大喜：「該我了，該我了！！」

便蹦蹦跳跳到了蛇的身邊，開始用鼻子觸摸....「嗯？哇！！你是個冷血動物，臉皮跟身子皮都很厚，還有黏黏噁心的外表，嘖嘖！有長長可以到處鑽的身體，但是竟然沒有肩膀.........哇靠！頭小小的沒什麼腦袋，嘴巴竟是全身最大的器官......天啊！！嘴巴裡有毒牙！還有分叉的舌頭！！」

兔子突然大怒跳開：「你他媽的竟然是立法委員！！」

富人; 窮人

"當你得意的時候，它是你的一條退路； 當你失意的時候，它是你的一條出路。 我們並不缺少機會，而是缺少訊息； 我們並不缺少訊息，而是缺少貴人相告； 我們並不缺少貴人相告，而是缺少相信。 我們之所以不相信，是因為我們拒絕了解！ 富人都是相信再看見;窮人都是看見再相信~~~ 請問您想當哪一種人呢?!"

Catholic Coffee

Four Catholic men and a Catholic woman were having coffee.

The first Catholic man tells his friends,
"My son is a priest, when he walks into a room, everyone calls him 'Father'."

The second Catholic man chirps,
"My son is a Bishop. When he walks into a room people call him 'Your Grace'."

The third Catholic gent says,
"My son is a Cardinal. When he enters a room everyone says 'Your Eminence'."

The fourth Catholic man then says,
"My son is the Pope. When he walks into a room people call him 'Your Holiness'."

Since the lone Catholic woman was sipping her coffee in silence, the four men give her a subtle, "Well....?"

She proudly replies, "I have a daughter, slim, tall, 38D breast, 24" stomach and 34" hips.

When she walks into a room, people say, "Oh My God."

Software as a Service

The first time I learned the term SaaS was when I attended a service science seminar in the Raddison Hotel in Taipei. SaaS stands for Software as a Service. SaaS is a model of software deployment whereby a provider licenses an application to customers for use as a service on demand.
Sounds complicated? You shouldn’t feel this way; if you have a gmail account than you are already the benefactor of SaaS. Gmail is basically an email service (an application) that you subscribe through your internet browser. There is no software to install or program to update even though Google upgrades its software almost once every quarter.
The advantages of SaaS are tremendous:
1. There is no upfront cost to buy the application software, which could run up to thousands of dollars.
2. You pay a monthly fee, kind of like paying for your phone bill
3. Application can be accessed anywhere and anytime as long as you can log on to the Internet.
4. Data is securely saved in a professional data center, backed up daily in several locations
5. Software upgrade is completely transparent
Salesforce.com, one of the pioneers in the adaptation of SaaS made millions with its CRM systems. Smaller company like Armorize Technologies is able to sustain its revenue growth without the aid of venture capitalists or banks. Could this be the next disruptive technology in software evolution? Would Microsoft follow Google’s footstep by launching its Microsoft Office in SaaS format? Let’s us just wait and see.

Judging a Book by Its Cover

The other day I told my wife that I found a certain celebrity exceptionally pretty. She laughed and said because she has an educated look. Then I told her I also like a newscaster from ET Today, she smirked and said she is simply a good looking brainless bimbo.

Come to think of it, you can, to some degree, judge a person’s culture background by his or her looks. Here are my personal observations:
1. Highly educated people tend to have more elegant manner (with an exception of our past minister of education who seems to take pride in picking his nose in public).
2. Construction workers are usually tanned, muscle bound, and red faced (excessive alcohol consumption?). Their teeth are stained with betel nut juice and the facial muscles are marred with harshness and brut.
3. People who dress nicely gain more respect from others

I am particularly puzzled by my last statement because choice of clothing can easily upgrade one’s look without too much of an investment. A simple but well pressed shirt, a color coordinated pair of pants, and a nicely combed hair makes all the difference.

Toastmasters Hsinchu: from ashes to phoenix part V

The move
My term as the president finally came to an end in June of 2002. Even though I was able to hand over the club to Paul Chang, he accepted the post of the presidency reluctantly. Fortunately, the reluctance was short lived. Paul’s first decision was to move the club out of the Science Park. We found a small conference room in the Empire Building with capacity of 14 and with a little push, we could cramp 20. The move put us in deficit of $3,000 a month. If nothing improved, we would run out money in less than 2 years.

The venue was clean and well lit. It had a big U shaped table where members could see each other during the meeting. The new location attracted a variety of people from all works of life. We started to see participation from students, teachers, insurance agents, business people, salespersons, and homemakers. Before we knew it, we started to run into space problem. We quickly moved to a bigger place on the 6th floor with a meeting capacity of 60. But the venue cost us $5,000 a month. This time, if nothing improved, we would run out of money in about 14 months

The breakeven analysis
The formula was simple; we needed 36 members to break even, which meant any extra cost would have to come out of the club treasury; we needed extra source of income. After a heated debate, we came up with the following ideas
1. Increase the annual membership fees from $1800 to $2400 paid in full and none refundable
2. Charge a fee at $100 per guest
3. Sign a longer lease and bargain for a discount
The fee increase cost us 8 members, but the newer members didn’t seem to mind. Guests were happy to pay the fees. We got a 10% discount by committing our club on an annual lease. The combined effects reduced our breakeven point down to 30.

The Business News Weekly
The president of ChungLi Chinese Toastmasters club which I helped to sponsor was a personal friend of the formal vice president Annette Lu. It was through her connection, the district office was able to invite Ms. Lu as a guest speaker in the Spring Convention 2002. As a result, Toastmaster was written as a featured article in the Business News Weekly along with interviews on several prominent Toastmasters.

eMarketing finally paid off
If you were to use “Toastmasters” as a keyword to search for the district website in Google or Yahoo! at that time, Toastmasters Hsinchu would come up at the top 3 listings. Needless to say, we were flooded with inquiries and from that day on we never had a meeting without guests. Membership stood at steady 35+. Monetary problem was no longer a treat but the thing of the past.

If you were to attend a Hsinchu club meeting today, you never would have guessed that the club had gone through so much hardship in the past. But much of its success came from all the successive presidents, each brought with them a brand of leadership that made what it is today. After all, Toastmasters is where leaders are made.

Protesters or Mobters

When I was overseas on vacation, I was kept in touch of the news events of Taiwan from BBC World News and CNN. Apparently, the world sees the signing of the free trade agreement between China and Taiwan as a landmark event that will change the once tension ridden cross-strait relationship to a point of harmony. I smile with the gratification knowing we have finally emerged from the shadow of formal president Chen.

But when I returned home and turned on the TV, I was greeted with news clips of violent clashes between the police and protesters. Angry protesters were in a brutal frenzy, hitting the police with their fists and feet. Rocks and homemade petrol bomb were thrown aimlessly. I quickly turned off the TV thinking just what went wrong with our nation; those are not protesters, they were but bunch of mobsters.

To make matter worse, TV commentators, instead of condemn the act of violence, were quick to blame the government of not handling the situation democratically. “The implementation of the marshal police policy is the root of violence,” said one of the commentators. But in my opinion, it’s simply the blatant disrespect for the law and order.

The Chinese delegates have gone back to China and it’s time to find those who incited violence and throw them in jail. After all, we have enough footage to nail these mobsters, don't we?