Words to Lyrics Ben Ho's observations from the cloud

10 September 2014

5 Year Reunion, Thank You!

Filed under: Reflection — Tags: — Ben @ 8:09 pm

[This is the last I’ll be speaking about the reunion, I promise!]

Have we all recovered from last Friday? Excellent!

Thank you for coming to the reunion. Bec and I have received many messages of thanks; we’re glad you had a great night. It was wonderful to see so many of you again, whether it was two days or five years since the last time.

A lot of you told us, “More bar tab!”. It did run out quite early, so I’ll keep that in mind for next reunion.

So about that ‘speech’. I had a few jokes lined up, but half of you didn’t see me and I was exhausted, so here is what I was going to say. (In fact, I think these jokes work better read than said)

Thank you for coming tonight! We thought we’d try a spot outside the city for a change. Seems like you all like it, plus no lockouts yet!

It is so great to see you all again. Looking at all the Facebook posts this week, I’m glad we’re all still so witty and funny.

So we’re about to start selling tickets for the 10 year reunion. The deadline is in November, but we’re extending it to next year.

Thank you!

Please, do have a look at the photos (here). The selfies turned out all right, but not as popular as A and T making out. You know, it’s not the first time I’ve taken selfies with a camera that weighs as much as a brick; I started 5 years ago!

To those who couldn’t make it: Please come to the 10 year reunion! We miss you. :-)

And for those who were there: I’m sorry that we didn’t have a proper chat. I took it upon myself to at least say hello to everyone, clearly, long conversations suffered. Please, I’d be happy to continue our conversations over lunch, coffee, or a drink. Maybe I’ll show you that photo. Keep in touch here.

6 July 2012

An anecdote about working hard

Filed under: Reflection — Tags: , , , , — Ben @ 4:44 pm

Two days ago, I went for a little drive up the F3 freeway (a portion, not all of it) and back again. Whenever I want to test a car out, or try something new, I always drive the same route up and back. The distance is about 30km each way.

On the way back, I stopped at a nice pie shop (Pie in the Sky) on the side of the highway. As I was about to get out of my car (an Audi A1), a gentleman in an Audi R8 parks up in front of me. Being somewhat of a car enthusiast, I complemented him on his car.

Me: Nice car.
R8: Thank you. Nice car too.
Me: Thank you!
R8: You know, one day your car could become like mine.
Me: That’s the dream, one day…

You will notice that my car is the blue one behind.

I thought it was cool how Audi’s entry level car and its top-of-the-line were next to each other; a way of showing its wide reach and appeal.

For me though, it is a story which will encourage me to work hard towards what I want to achieve. I can’t wait until the day I have a spare ~$400,000 to splash on a fast car!

25 April 2012

Birthday Statistics 2012

Filed under: Reflection — Tags: , , — Ben @ 2:38 pm

I turned 20 last week. Here are the statistics. This is becoming a (fun) habit now!

Birthday messages (change from last year)
Facebook messages – 37 (-27)
Texts – 2 (+1)
Phone calls – 1 (0)
Tweets – 0 (0)

Frequency of Facebook messages vs. Time (i.e. when was the message posted)

Gender split of Facebook messages
Male – 20
Female – 17

Gender split of all message senders
Male – 21
Female – 19

Facebook messages
Use of initials (HB or BH) – 10 (27%)
Average length (includes x’s, o’s; excludes smileys) – 3.75 (-0.96)
Repeat posters (those who posted last year and this year) – 10

Observations
Most obviously, there is a significant decrease in Facebook messages. I put this to two reasons. One, my birthday this year falls on a Saturday, and I think that many people have better things to do than sit around reading Facebook. Two, I am three years out of high school. The ‘novelty’ of knowing everyone has greatly diminished. There are new connections to be made at uni (compare your friend count at the end of high school and at the end of each year at uni)

I have omitted face to face greets because I was not at uni on Saturday. However I have kept a rough count of greets on the next weekday (Monday): 3 (2 male, 1 female).

This year I quantified the number of people who posted in both 2011 and 2012 (on Facebook). I briefly mentioned this point last year. I’d like to see the percentage trend next year.

Histogram
This year’s histogram looks more like a normal distribution, with the peak at 11am. There’s a clear spike at 6pm. And I did not expect there to be many early birds at 8am (I might be wrong, maybe it’s because I don’t think people my age get up that early on weekends; I know I don’t usually).

I have extended the histogram to 27 hours after midnight on my birthday. As you can see one post came at 3am the next morning. This post was made east of the International Date Line (where it would still have been my birthday).

Gender Split
The gender split is closer to half and half. I think next year there will be more females to males. How nice!

The graph below shows the split for Facebook messages only.

Conclusion
Thank you for your messages! A short message can say a lot.

See my previous birthday statistics posts:
2011
2010
2009

2 September 2011

Driving Stories

Filed under: Reflection — Tags: , , , — Ben @ 1:45 pm

Last Wednesday was the first time I drove at 100 km/h legally (the speed limit for green P’s). Now I’ll admit that it’s not terribly exciting, but it did remind me of the first time I drove alone after I got my P’s.

It was in the afternoon, and I was on the train home from university. I needed to get some keys cut at the shopping village in the next suburb, and was deciding whether to get off the train early, or drive a short distance. In my head I squealed in excitement that I would be finally ‘free’ from the constraints of public transport.

When I got in Mum’s car, I was still shaking a little, so a few minutes went by whilst I calmed down. I turned the key, reversed out of the parking spot and set off.

Obviously the drive felt different because there was nobody sitting next to you watching out for things you were doing wrong. At least there wasn’t a testing officer making fail marks on the sore sheet. But I felt compelled to do everything right: indicate before turning, safe distance from others and checking mirrors.

Admittedly, some of those skills have deteriorated since!

I got the keys cut and drove home rather satisfied, knowing that I saved travel time by deciding to conquer the first-time anxiety.

Do you still remember the first time you drove alone?

13 July 2011

Sydney Town

Filed under: Movies,Reflection — Tags: , , — Ben @ 12:28 am

I get really excited when a film or TV show is set in Sydney. For me, it becomes a game of identifying the locations, and then going there. Why do I want to visit the places concerned? Because it is kind of cool to understand how they add to the plot. A location is not just a dot on a map; the culture and characteristics define it too.

One great example is the first film of the Matrix series. Martin Place was used because it could portray the idea of a ‘perfect’ city (Trust me, it was more like that back in 1999!). In case you have not seen the film, the Matrix is a simulated reality of a perfect city used to fool humans while machines harvest their body heat for energy. As a Sydneysider, walking the length of Martin Place sometimes makes me feel like I am living in the best city in the world.

Let me cite another example. The recent ABC TV series Rake, centres on barrister Cleaver Greene who lives in Kings Cross, and has a ‘seedy’ lifestyle. Greene’s flat above a cafĂ© does exist (in a quiet side street near the Cross), and one scene is shot at the El Alamein fountain (which I did not know existed; shows you how much I go there!). I am yet to find where Greene’s ‘lawyers bar’ is though (I think it is somewhere along Elizabeth St).

Sometimes the wrong connotation can be given to a location. Take Julia Leigh’s film Sleeping Beauty (Go see it, a great film). Lucy, a university student takes a high-paying job being a fantasy for old men. Leigh probably wanted to use a ‘generic’ university location, but several scenes are shot at the University of Sydney. For those that are interested, they take place in and around the Carslaw building, and the lawns outside the New Law building. I could immediately identify the location (I go to USyd), but to a casual moviegoer, it would be aesthetically pleasing architecture at a university.

What is interesting is that recently the SMH wrote about a large brothel (Stiletto), about to open opposite the university’s campus. A coincidence, or art imitating life?

19 June 2011

What to do?

Filed under: Reflection — Tags: , , , — Ben @ 6:26 pm

Two Saturdays ago, a friend and I went out to see the lights as part of Vivid Sydney (they were really good, by the way). As we were walking back to the car park, we witnessed an altercation between a taxi driver and the passenger. The passenger didn’t want to pay the fare, the driver wanted the fare. A fight ensued, and a minute later the passenger ran off the driver’s cap.

My friend asked me whether we should help the driver. I said no. The reason being that I (we) didn’t want get hurt as a result. In the end I said to him, “Even though you want to help, it’s safer not to. Sad, I know, but that’s reality.”

I know I did the right thing, but would you have done the same?

Earlier that night walking along George St, I saw at least two cases of passengers running of without paying. In the more fortunate case, two girls ran out of the taxi to the cover (it was raining that night). The driver followed them and recovered the fare after some shouting.

These incidents, I believe, highlight the need for prepaid fares in the evenings on weekends. I think it’s reasonable and not difficult to hand over $10 before the trip starts. I also think it is right to pay for the services that you have used. For the drivers, it is their livelihoods. They are the same as anyone with a job, and deserve to be paid for the job they do. It is a shame to the society that young people are not taught/told of these basic life principles.

Whether drivers get paid enough is another issue; the important thing is that they get paid in the first place.

8 June 2011

Another interesting recurring conversation…

Filed under: I Wonder,Reflection — Tags: , — Ben @ 8:52 pm

Here’s another recurring conversation topic that I have with other people. See what you make of it.

Me: So, I never went to my Year 12 formal.
Other: Really? Why?
M: Oh you know, political reasons.
O: Political reasons?
M: Yeah, tensions between me and the organising committee. They didn’t want me organising it.
O: I see.
M: But on the other hand, I did spend an hour outside Luna Park taking photos for everybody.
O: That’s very nice of you.

18 May 2011

A recurring conversation topic

Filed under: I Wonder,Reflection — Ben @ 10:00 am

SHB during Earth Hour 2008

The Sydney Harbour Bridge during Earth Hour 2008.

During university, I talk to people who I have just met for the first time. A question I often ask (a local) is which part of Sydney they are from. This question usually leads to questions about how they get to uni. I say that I have to catch the train across the Harbour Bridge each day. Then a statement similar to this arises:

Wow! Really? What’s it like crossing the Bridge each day?!

The answer: It gets boring after the first time. The only interesting times after that is when a big cruise ship is docked, or when some idiot dumps dirt on the road.

Just thought I’d share this with you.

30 April 2011

Observations: Martin Place

Filed under: I Wonder,Reflection — Tags: , — Ben @ 9:08 am

You know, one of the side effects of my habit of being overly punctual, is that I get a lot of time to sit around and observe the surroundings. Two Thursdays ago I was in Martin Place, waiting to go to Wharf 1 Theatre. I had two hours to grab some dinner, and catch one bus. Not wanting to wait at the theatre for a long time, I sat down at a bench in Martin Place and watched the time pass.

Here’s a list of what I saw:

    Commuters leaving work
    People who look dressed to go somewhere
    Scooters, bicycles, and even an electric bicycle
    Tourists resting
    A couple kissing 4 times in succession
    A man on a unicycle, who appears to be commuting from work

 

It’s amazing that these normally ordinary activities suddenly become so significant. I was able to notice small details and understand why they were there, very similar to getting into the mind of the person concerned. Let me tell you more about some of the things I saw.

People who look dressed to go somewhere
This one is obvious. These are the people who are wearing a nice suit, a beautiful dress, those high heels, or that funny tie. They might say something like, “Let’s get this night started!!!”, or have someone around their arm. From where I was sitting, these people were heading to Angel Place, or to a bar/hotel.

Tourists resting
Normally when someone sits down on a bench in a park (or in this case, at Martin Place), one might only take a brief glance at who is sitting down, and then return to whatever they were doing. Adding inactivity to the mix causes the need to be stimulated by surrounds. But what is there to stimulate you? Answer: the person that just sat down. So in this example, how do I know they are tourists? Well, they were analysing a map of Sydney CBD quite closely, they had a camera out for quite a while, and they had a bumbag of essential, touristy items. Once again, little details.

A couple kissing 4 times in succession
This observation comes with scathing commentary. So a couple was sat down on the other side of Martin Place. With arms around each other they talked, showing intimacy, then proceeded to kiss. And kiss again. And again, and again. To the occasional onlooker, once is acceptable. But going on and on in public shouldn’t happen unless you want to break a world record! Admittedly, they were better than another couple I saw kissing in the middle of the footpath, blocking foot traffic in peak hour.

A man on a unicycle, who appears to be commuting from work
Now this is something you don’t see everyday! So a man in lycra, and also wearing a helmet was riding a unicycle towards George St. The unicycle was quite high, presumably he could see over people and vans. The pedestrian light had just turned red, and he increased speed to make the crossing. He was a fraction late, and the rear of a bus just passed to make a little room for the unicycle to get through. Some homeless folk had been watching too, and exclaimed loudly at the near miss. “Whoa, d’you just see that?! How close was that, eh?!”

It’s amazing what you notice if you stop a minute to observe the passers by. To quote Ferris Bueller:

Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.

24 April 2011

Birthday Statistics 2011

Filed under: Reflection — Tags: , , — Ben @ 10:12 pm

Once again, I have compiled statistics of the messages I received for my birthday this year.

Birthday messages (change from last year)
Facebook messages – 64 (-1)
Face to face greets – 4 (0)
Text messages – 1 (0)
Phone calls – 1 (+1)
Tweets – 0 (-1)

Frequency of Facebook messages vs. Time (i.e. when was the message posted)

Use of initials (mine or otherwise) – 20
Average length (words): 4.7
Facebook email lag – none

Gender split of Facebook messages
Male – 38
Female – 26

Observations
It is easier and more interesting this year because there is data to compare with!

I expected a normal distribution (bell-shaped curve) again. The histogram shows something resembling a normal distribution, with a slight right skew, and a spike at hour 20 (8pm).

The two posts at 1am (AEST) show something different was happening compared to last year. From the raw data, one post was make in Hong Kong (where it would have been 11pm) and the other I believe was made as a result of being awake for a night-shift job.

The spike at 8pm could be due to people checking Facebook before a night out.

There is a small group of friends who have posted birthday messages in both 2010 and 2011. This subset tends to have known me for longer than others. There are also people (who I consider to be good friends with) that have not posted messages at all. This isn’t a bad thing.

Gender Split
This year is the first that gender has been analysed. I predicted an even split of male to female, but the graph is self explanatory.

Initials
This year I have counted the number of people who used any initials. This will be the count methodology for the future.

What’s interesting is that my standard birthday greeting can be transformed to a birthday message for me with the removal of the exclamation mark.

In some cases, ‘Happy Birthday’ was abbreviated to ‘HB’, and thus shows symmetry with my initials (BH). Although I usually frown upon this method of greeting, in the interests of symmetry and brevity I have accepted it.

Conclusion
Thank you for your messages!

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