The Vent and Rant Thread

[wyndslash]

@benham: indeed. that was what i was trying to tell him.

@pdurrant: thanks for the links i think what i am just worried about is the fact that my parents think that way. does that mean i won't be able to count on them to advise me well if and when i run into a moral dilemma in my future career?

[CWatkinsNash]

Originally Posted by wyndslash

i think what i am just worried about is the fact that my parents think that way. does that mean i won't be able to count on them to advise me well if and when i run into a moral dilemma in my future career?

I can relate, and I think I figured it out when I was about your age. My parents were a lot more morally "flexible" than I am when it comes to things like honesty, theft, honoring debts, marital fidelity, taking company property home and a few other things. I'd get better moral advice from a Magic 8 Ball than most of the people in my family.

But, my mom is good at other types of advice (how to treat a hangover, how not to upset a cop, what goes good with Amaretto). And I found that mentors appeared in my life just when I needed them. I have a pretty strong moral compass when it comes to workplace ethics, but I had a boss that helped me navigate the grey areas that I encountered occasionally. You'll find people like that too.

[wyndslash]

@nash: well, my dad is pretty strict on honoring work commitments and stuff like that, but i guess, the culture here is pretty flexible about work gifts, so i guess i can see where he got his beliefs from. i would definitely want a boss who is tough on workplace ethics

[Stitchawl]

Originally Posted by wyndslash

so there was this news on tv talking about insider trading payments, then my dad comments that he thinks it's only natural for people to give gifts and the recipient to "help out". isn't that just a nice way of calling it a bribe? i mean, he doesn't think it's a bribe, and it worries me that i'm going to be working in the finance industry in the future, not that i think there's an industry that is immune to bribes and human greed.

Originally Posted by pdurrant

That is indeed a bribe.

Pervasive small scale bribery corruption inhibits the economy and encourages larger scale bribery and corruption.

Originally Posted by wyndslash

@benham: indeed. that was what i was trying to tell him.
@pdurrant: thanks for the links i think what i am just worried about is the fact that my parents think that way. does that mean i won't be able to count on them to advise me well if and when i run into a moral dilemma in my future career?

Unfortunately, Asia runs on 'tea money.' That's a polite term for bribes. There are lots of names for it depending on the country but the fact is, without it, almost nothing gets done in Asia.

When I ran my business in Thailand, the police would visit once a month. "Can we see your license to play the radio here, please?" "Can we see your license to hang pictures on the wall?" "Can we see your license to have a lock on your door?" Each month it was a different 'license' and every month it was "Oh, no license. No problem. We can accept your fine right here." Never much, but every month for years.

"Need to register your car? You can wait in that line for three days or you can give me $2 and I'll be happy to process your papers for you in five minutes."

"You wish to rent a store front here? Oh... that's very difficult. There are many people who would like to start a business here, and I have sooo many problems to think about... Right now I have to pay my daughter's school tuition and I don't think I have enough money..."

"You were driving 5kph over the speed limit. I will have to confiscate your car... unless you pay the fine immediately. That will be $3."

In Malaysia, the police were running road blocks all over Kuala Lumpur every day for weeks, stopping drivers and issuing street fines. Hundreds of people getting stopped and having to pay out money on the spot. But suddenly the road blocks were gone. Not one could be found. It turned out that the money wasn't making it's way up the command chain. The higher ranking officers weren't getting their cut, so they ordered the road blocks stopped! After a while, the street cops decided that they should give their officers more money, and the road blocks resumed. Everybody has to pay, even the cops.

This is 'street level' tea money. If you want to open a factory you will pay a lot more. Run a bank? Big money there. Work in politics. Big money there. The bigger the business involved, the larger the bribes required. The higher up you have to pay, the larger the bribes required.

You don't have to pay them. Just don't expect to get anything done in Asia without them. It's been that way for 5,000 years, and like it or not, it's not going to change. Yes, it's illegal. But yes, it will go on.

In Asia it's a well known fact of life, and it's not hidden. It's just discreet. In the West, it is hidden, covert, and skulks around every corner. But it goes on all the time. Just not so much at the street level. When it's discovered in Big Business it makes the news. Oh my! Can you imagine? Bribes!


Stitchawl

[wyndslash]

@stitch: yes, i know. i was born and raised here. i just wanted to rant about it, that's all @_@ plus at least the Thai are a bit more discreet about it. they're usually much more obvious about it here. one of my high school teachers was stopped by a police officer and he insisted on being ticketed, but the officer wanted money.

of course, there would have been a chance for me to have been raised in the US, not that that would have been any more pleasant (i tend to be on eggshells around that specific uncle and aunt. they're quite a pair.). when i was a baby, my uncle asked my mom for me xP

but, i like it here. the people in my country are nice, comparative to other Asian countries, so i think that counts for something

[CWatkinsNash]

Originally Posted by wyndslash

i want to live in a vacuum.

I hear Hoovers are nice. Kirbys are primo, but not very roomy. For a mobile home, try a Dirt Devil. Dustbusters are so yesterday.

/bad jokes over

[wyndslash]

so i took a morning nap because i'm sick and my cold makes me sleepy. bad idea. i had the strangest dreams, and i dreamed of my grandmother, who has already passed away. i think that means something bad. i woke up feeling really freaked out.

or maybe that's because i was reading a vampire novel before napping x.x;

[maianhvk]

Originally Posted by wyndslash

so i took a morning nap because i'm sick and my cold makes me sleepy. bad idea. i had the strangest dreams, and i dreamed of my grandmother, who has already passed away. i think that means something bad. i woke up feeling really freaked out.

or maybe that's because i was reading a vampire novel before napping x.x;

no worries! my mom dreams about her aunt before every Death anniversary of hers.

if you start dreaming about your grandmother being a vampire, then you should really worry kidding

[Rumpelteazer]

Yesterday I was having problems with my Blackberry; the wifi symbol was greyed out. I tried everything to get it to work again, even updated the firmware, but nothing worked. This morning I read on a BB forum that more people around the world have the same problem, so it seems to be a problem with RIM. Hopefully it's solved soon.

[amward]

Originally Posted by Rumpelteazer

Yesterday I was having problems with my Blackberry; the wifi symbol was greyed out. I tried everything to get it to work again, even updated the firmware, but nothing worked. This morning I read on a BB forum that more people around the world have the same problem, so it seems to be a problem with RIM. Hopefully it's solved soon.

Not frozen like Ronnie Corbett's by any chance?

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by Rumpelteazer

Yesterday I was having problems with my Blackberry; the wifi symbol was greyed out. I tried everything to get it to work again, even updated the firmware, but nothing worked. This morning I read on a BB forum that more people around the world have the same problem, so it seems to be a problem with RIM. Hopefully it's solved soon.

Oh, that's not good, but seeing as how it seems to affect a large number of users, I suspect the problem will be solved sooner rather than later.

[Rumpelteazer]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

Oh, that's not good, but seeing as how it seems to affect a large number of users, I suspect the problem will be solved sooner rather than later.

It's annoying. I can still get most services, only BBM, the messenger, doesn't work but I hardly use that. But it only works via 3g and not wifi. Since everybody else has to connect through 3g it's rather slow atm. It sees the wireless network but BIS doesn't want to connect to it. This afternoon it worked for about two hours and then it was gone again.

The annoying thing is that there is still no official word from Blackberry about what's going on and when they think the problems are going to be solved. There are a couple of wild rumours floating around; Blackberry stopping with BBM unless you pay 25 (unknown what currency it's going to be) a month and that BBM/BIS is hacked.

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by Rumpelteazer

It's annoying. I can still get most services, only BBM, the messenger, doesn't work but I hardly use that. But it only works via 3g and not wifi. Since everybody else has to connect through 3g it's rather slow atm. It sees the wireless network but BIS doesn't want to connect to it. This afternoon it worked for about two hours and then it was gone again.

The annoying thing is that there is still no official word from Blackberry about what's going on and when they think the problems are going to be solved. There are a couple of wild rumours floating around; Blackberry stopping with BBM unless you pay 25 (unknown what currency it's going to be) a month and that BBM/BIS is hacked.

I hope you hear something soon on that. You'd think it would be in Blackberry's interest to get on top of that situation as soon as possible.

[Rumpelteazer]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

I hope you hear something soon on that. You'd think it would be in Blackberry's interest to get on top of that situation as soon as possible.

It seems to be working again at the moment.
Reading reactions on a BB forum and on twitter and many people are angry and saying their next phone won't be a BB. It seems that many big companies have forgotten what customer service is and only want to get as many new customers as possible.

[DixieGal]

Stupid cable! Without DirecTV in the garage apt and this hotel, I have missed the whole season of Dr Who. Has it been good? Are they still in America?