Greek Complexity

Taxi hypocrisy

I had a near-death experience a few days ago. On the road. In a taxi. No, don't stereotype by assuming this was in India or Thailand or Vietnam. In Singapore. I'll begin at the end.

Nearing the end of a journey in a taxi, the taxi driver grumbles that Singapore has too many cars on the road and traffic is getting bad. Even though cars are much more expensive than elsewhere in the world.

Driver: Singaporeans don't care. They just buy.

I don't disagree.

Then, as an afterthought: "Do you have a car?"

Me: No.

Driver (surprised): Why? You don't want?

Me: I ride a motorbike.

Driver (aghast): Oh, you should be careful! Not because bikes are unsafe but because drivers in Singapore aren't very good.

Me (thinking): Tell me about it.

Me (aloud): Um-hm.

Driver continues his discourse on the topic.

Me: I do ride carefully. I prefer bikes because they're quicker, cheaper, better for the environment, easier to maintain, more fun...

The conversation ended soon after when he dropped me off.

And my near-death experience? This chap earlier whizzed along merrily at 150 km/h, driving one-handed, weaving in and out of traffic across several lanes without signalling. The speed limit was 90 and dropped to 80 in sections. And he's telling me about Singaporean drivers not being very good. I hadn't even told him that I needed to get home a hurry.

Where are the traffic police and what are they up to?

A funnier but just as illuminating incident occurred a few years ago when I was in a taxi heading to driving school. The driver wanted to know if I was getting a car driving licence. When I said motorbike, he cautioned me just as Mr Near Death did but then added, "Son, get your licence, have fun, but watch out for the taxis!"

Now, that's honest advice :-)

Inside the VC's mind (episode deux)

I'd posted episode un last year but that was more about how VCs look at investments and why they, or rather, we think a certain way. This post is inspired by this NYT op-ed piece -- the title of that piece isn't meant to imply anything about VCs! -- and is actually literally about how this VC's brain is wired.

To quickly summarise the op-ed: it makes the point that, contrary to today's received wisdom, teams aren't the best way to achieve creative and efficient solutions to hard problems. Solitary operators are often better since they have time to reflect, don't get influenced by or feel compelled to agree with other people's opinions, aren't in permanent meeting-hell, can benefit from privacy, and so on. This has implications for organisation structure, how people learn, even office ergonomics and how each person's daily calendar is organised. All quite fascinating but plenty has already been said in the NYT and it's not what this post is about.

The NYT article made me think of how I think my own brain is (or needs to be) wired to do my job well. I'm sure some of you think this is self-indulgent drivel, and you're probably right :-) but I loved hearing about this from a VC friend/mentor before I got into the field myself so just hoping to pass on the favour.

The one thing I'd say about the VC's mind (my mind) is that I am (or need to be) almost manically bipolar.

I am not an investment banker

When I tell people what I do for a living, I sometimes get asked (mostly by people who've heard the term but have only a vague idea what it means) whether I am an investment banker. I generally respond jokingly with something like, "How dare you use cuss words with me!" The joke is often lost on the audience but, for sake of clarity, here is why I'm not an investment banker:

It is curious to reflect that in the London market of 25 years ago, last week’s decision by UBS to maintain investment banking bonuses in the face of a thumping loss would have been literally incomprehensible. Back then, bonuses were paid out of profits. So without profits, where might the money come from? [...] I have written on this hallucinatory procedure before. Suffice it to say that whereas any corporation could in theory adopt it, only the banks have had the brass neck to do so. Then again, only the banks paid bonuses based on imaginary profits of various kinds throughout the bubble years.

from FT: Good old days when bonuses were paid from profits

This is also why I can't imagine myself ever investing in shares of investment banks. I really don't know how to analyse or value companies where profits, cash flows and spending decisions aren't necessarily related, and where the principal-agent problem is so pronounced.

Munich Day 3 and back to Singapore

I had planned yesterday to go buy some more food and beer to take back with me to Singapore. But it’s 8 am now and I’m not going to have time to go to the shops AND the BMW Motorrad Zentrum before taking the train to the airport. Dilemma: beers or bikes? Oh, callous fate, what a position to put a boy in.

By 8.30am, I’ve decided: beers it is. Saw plenty of bikes yesterday and it’s not like I'm going to buy one now. I hope the shops are open.

It’s 9am and I’m at the train station wondering which ticket to buy off the vending machine that'll allow me to go to the city centre and then to the airport. I seem to have more than one choice, the cheapest being 5 euros and the most expensive being 10.80 euros. Only one must be valid surely. I'm examining the info board to see whether I can get by being a cheapo when a passer-by stops of her own accord with "Do you need help?" She tells me which ticket to buy (the expensive one) and then runs off to her train. I continue to dither when she comes back worried that I hadn’t understood, but my ticket pops out just then. Very nice of her especially since she almost misses her train coming back for me. Get on the train and realise, ah, I forgot to take a picture of the hostel!

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I’ve got myself some food, beers and wine but lost track of the time. It’s 10.30 am now and I panic. Hope Munich airport is as organised as Changi or I'm in trouble! Almost certainly no time for the shower and shave I’d planned to take in the lounge. There’s nothing I can do about it now though. Que sera, sera.

That’s me panicking

I take stock of myself on the train. Think I've lost a little weight over the holiday. (When I get home later, I learn that this was just wishful thinking.) I've also managed to lose that cold I had when I left Singapore, so that's good. But my lips feel like they were produced in a tannery and sewn onto my mouth. Not so good.

I hope you Like this

Ever since Facebook created the Like button, I've noticed people clicking Like on the most inane of posts. Someone says, "Time for a coffee!" and 7 people click Like in the space of about 17 microseconds. The newsfeed on my Facebook homepage shows that nearly every post has at least one Like attached to it. The rush to Like has only multiplied after Facebook extended the functionality to allow Like-ing individual comments.

That's about the Like-ers. And the Like-ees? Facebook must employ the odd drug-pusher because they certainly know how to get people hooked. Your correspondent certainly needs his fix. I put up a post and wonder who's going to Like it and tot up the score when people actually do and what time of day it is where they are. I wonder whether, if enough people comment on my post, Facebook will promote its placement on newsfeeds so that more people will see it and Like it. And sometimes when someone tells me in person that they enjoyed something I put up, I paste a bland expression on my face, thank them and wonder, inwardly baffled, why they didn't just say so in a Facebook comment and click Like.

What's next? A Dislike button? I certainly know that this addict has craved one sometimes. Not least a Dislike button for the Like button.

Munich Day 2

I’ve decided that today is a day for museums but not the usual art or history sort.

I first take a tram and a bus to Olympiapark. So peaceful. It’s a massive park with an Olympic stadium and a lake with swans in it. Massive yet smaller than the English Garden, another park in Munich, which is supposed to be the world's biggest urban park. The English Garden came highly recommended too but I don’t have the time and don’t prioritise it.

Olympiapark

So many jet trails in the sky all over Europe. Counted nine in the sky at one point while at Olympiapark.

Then a superb three hours spent at the BMW Museum and BMW showroom! Too many dream bikes to pick a fave. When I tell one of the salesmen at the showroom that I’m visiting from Singapore, he says that lots of people visit from Singapore, and all very enthusiastic and knowledgeable about bikes. Guess I’ve passed a test! Might go to the dedicated motorbike showroom tomorrow, the BMW Motorrad Zentrum.

Dream machine!

Now to the Beer Museum.

Munich Day 1

I wake up on the train slightly panicky. We’re scheduled to arrive at Munich soon and I have to take a long phone call for work in a few minutes. How am I going to unload my luggage one-handed while participating in a long and complicated discussion?

Then I find out the train is delayed by more than an hour! In Germany! Can it really be? The attendant bustles around cheerfully with a hey-such-is-life manner and hands out free coffee to whoever wants it. I’m already one-handed so find it hard to stir some sugar into it, but my new Singaporean friend helps me. I also find out that we’re entitled to collect some compensation for the delay after we arrive. Gotta love it! The delay actually worked in my favour but I get some money to boot.

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I get to the hostel and check in. More Japanese! Remember what I said earlier about Japanese being great travellers? One of the Japanese guys in the room isn’t just a great traveller, he seems almost European.  Lived with a Germany family for a while last year, studied the language, seems to know Bavaria and Austria quite well… Somehow, I've always seen lots of similarities between Germans and Japanese. That's a discussion for another day.

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It’s still fairly early in the morning and I decide to take another walking tour. This starts from the old City Hall, the Rathaus. Beautiful building, but then there are so many more just as beautiful. This seems to be a sort of “downtown” as I later find out there are several shops in the area and a mid-sized department store.

Munich's Rathaus

Our tour guide is an American called Eric who’s lived in Munich many years. The group is about 30 strong and seems to be mostly Americans although there are Europeans too, even Germans. Most of them seem to be interested but no one interested enough to ask Eric any questions. I initially feel guilty, thinking that I’m monopolising the scene, but even when I shut up, only one or two others pipe up. I stop feeling guilty. The tour is good-not-great but then it’s a little unfair to compare with Ryan’s tour two days ago. Unfortunately, my camera dies along the way so I have few pictures of the tour and the rest of the day.

Berlin Day 2

Berlin has a superb public transport system especially considering it's such a spread out city. The U (underground) trains alone seem to cover every bit of the city, with stations just a couple of minutes apart and trains arriving very frequently. Add to that buses, trams and bike paths and it's astoundingly easy to get to anywhere in the city.

I take another tour, this time a cycling one that offers an introduction to Berlin. Today’s tour is a bit Mickey Mouse after yesterday’s emotionally and intellectually intense experience but offers a decent overview of the city. This is the sort of tour you should take as a starting point, not to follow up with after already having been to Sachsenhausen as I did. That’s the way the itinerary worked out for me so can’t be helped.

Marx and Engels, whose statues previously occupied pride of place at Alexanderplatz, one of East Berlin's main squares but recently moved to a less prominent location

The group is much bigger than the one yesterday. Two people I get talking to are a couple called Matt and Sarah from New Zealand. Matt works in a hospital and Sarah designs clothes at some sort of fashion company. Matt is the designated “sweeper” on the bike tour so has to be sure that no one gets left behind.

Halfway stop at a Munich-style beer garden

I’m collecting beer bottles all through the holiday as usual for my collection at home. On this day, I drop my bottle while cycling along – but it doesn't break! A few minutes later, I drop the case containing my passport!!!!!! Matt picks it up immediately and hands it to me with a grin.

After the tour, Sarah goes off exploring the malls nearby while Matt and I settle down with a couple of beers. Extremely nice guy, just like nearly every other Kiwi I’ve ever met. He tells me, almost embarrassed to be mentioning it, that he’s done a 3h10m marathon. I think it was his first one. What a maniac. An Ironman is the next thing on his agenda. I tell him that the two of them are welcome to come and stay at my place if they ever visit Singapore.

I head back to the hostel quickly so that I can take my onward train to Munich. I quickly grab my bags and start towards the bus stop. A car stops by the road and a window rolls down. Guy in the car asks me for directions (in German). I respond (in German) that I don’t speak English. D'oh. A true Homer Simpson moment.

I’ve been seeing Japanese people everywhere on my trip so far and, perhaps surprisingly, not the stereotypical middle-aged camera-warriors. More like youngsters travelling alone or in small groups. Often just a couple of girls or even alone. For a nation of fussy eaters, they're great travellers.

Randomly start talking to fellow passenger on the train to Munich who turns out to be a Singaporean from Bukit Gombak! That just seems like a whole world away. He's on a two-month Europe trip catching various football matches. I don't follow football but what a great idea! When I introduce myself, he asks me if I'm travelling to celebrate finishing National Service. This is even better than what Yudai said to me in Amsterdam. :-) He asks me to take a picture of him with his camera. Says he'll post it on his Facebook page for his friends back home, then poses for the pic under the covers as though he's fast asleep on the train. I tell him he should caption it, "Bloody Singaporean stole my camera out of my bag and took a picture of me as I slept."

Then I find out I have to take a conference call at 7 in the morning! That's about the time the train gets to Munich so I wonder how I'm going to manage. What a way to end the day.

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More pictures here (no captions, free to access) or here (with captions but requires Facebook log-in).

This post is the fifth in a series. The full series:

1. Amsterdam Day 1
2. Amsterdam Day 2
3. Amsterdam to Berlin
4. Berlin Day 1
5. Berlin Day 2
6. Munich Day 1
7. Munich Day 2
8. Munich Day 3 and back to Singapore

Berlin Day 1

My dormmate – or rather, roommate, since it’s only a two-bedder – is a young German university student from Stuttgart. Here with his girlfriend. Later find out they're both studying physics. He says she's interested in theoretical physics at the atomic and sub-atomic level. I tease her that she might as well be doing pure maths instead. She protests and says she'd get bored of it because it’s so abstract. I say, what's the point writing equations and deducing physical behaviour that can never be experimentally tested? That’s just as abstract. She just smiles and doesn’t take the bait. Either smarter or more mature than I expected. Or both.

I’ve decided to take a tour to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp today. This was the first camp built by the Nazis just outside a village called Oranienburg an hour or so outside Berlin. This was meant to be a “model” camp, where they would test various new ideas before implementing them in other camps elsewhere on a larger scale.

I’m a little late for my tour and end up having to run the last 2 km or so. Sweating in cold climes feels so different from sweating in Singapore. The perspiration pours down after a while but it’s not icky-sticky and dries off quickly once I stop running.

I’ve chosen a tour run by a non-profit called Mosaic Tours. I think they only do this tour. Sachsenhausen doesn’t charge an entry fee and I’m told that Mosaic contributes part of its takings towards maintenance of the camp. The group is small today and quite diverse. Teddy from New Yawk (he had a New York accent you could cut with a hammer), Eugenia from Venezuela (pronounced “Yo-HAY-nia”), her other half (who somehow missed the round of introductions), a Slovakian girl who lives in Geneva whose name I’ve forgotten but it began with an M, and our Scottish guide Ryan (30, about 5’9” or 5’10”, black-rimmed glasses, in case you ever want to take the same tour I took) who's lived in Germany for more than 7 years.

Ryan at the start of the tour

The tour is absolutely terrific, mostly because of Ryan. I’m physically affected early on and can't really speak or take pictures for a while. Standing on the very ground on which an uncountable number of atrocities have been committed, for no real reason, not only by the Nazis but also later by the Soviets and then the East German communists, is a surreal experience. Or I should say, an experience that made these events very real, not just something you read about or watch as a film. In the same vein, I'm sure my writing about this here isn't giving you the heeby-jeebies. You just have to experience it yourself.

Despite the initial feeling of dreary despair I’d got when entering Berlin the previous day, the city has really grown on me and I consider changing my onward train ticket to Munich to allow me to extend my stay by a day. For instance, there's a huge number of museums that I don't have time to explore. I'm not normally a museum person but some of the descriptions seem too good to pass up. It eventually turns out that I’ve unknowingly managed to get myself a discounted train ticket (glory be!), which doesn’t allow itinerary changes (unglory be). I’ll just have to come back another time.

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More pictures here (no captions, free to access) or here (with captions but requires Facebook log-in).

This post is the fourth in a series. The full series:

1. Amsterdam Day 1
2. Amsterdam Day 2
3. Amsterdam to Berlin
4. Berlin Day 1
5. Berlin Day 2
6. Munich Day 1
7. Munich Day 2
8. Munich Day 3 and back to Singapore

Amsterdam to Berlin

I grab a quick breakfast and take a tram to the station to catch my train to Berlin. My ticket is valid for any train I want to take for the next two months. No wonder it was expensive. I'm planning to take the 9am train, which will get me to Berlin at 3.20pm.

Gah. I've missed it. Now I'll only get into Berlin after 5pm.

No, hang on, I've missed the direct but I can take another route changing at Hilversum.

I hop on. Love it. Super-smooth, super-silent train. Busy snapping away at the passing sights.

A large factory-like building that I found interesting because it was multi-coloured. Moving shot from the train so a little blurry.

Great. I miss my stop at Hilversum. Shoulda looked at the rail map to have an idea where it was with respect to Amsterdam.

Forced to spend an hour and a half at Amersfoort (?) waiting for the next train to Berlin. I briefly consider taking an Intercity to Enschede, which seems to be on the border of Holland and Germany, and then trying to change again there to a Berlin-bound, but dismiss the thought. Too complicated and who knows if that's even the best route to Berlin!

Finally underway at 1137 on the Hispeed. Effectively the 11am from Amsterdam. ETA Berlin 1720 hrs. Gotta love these take-whatever-train-you-want tickets.