When I’m on the street, at restaurants and on public transport, I often observe people. Based on my observations, most people look down at their mobile phones anytime. They never look up and watch out for someone who almost collides with them. They never stay alert to traffic. They start walking across the street when someone next to them steps forward, no matter whether it is a green light or red. Together with their masks, they look soulless. They seem to consume whatever social platforms push. Why are their little screens so attractive that they would sacrifice everything, including safety? ...

The lecture series continues, and there were more observations on bad habits in the presentations. During a lecture or a presentation aimed at teaching the audience, speakers usually look for interactions with the audience to gauge their understanding of the content. However, going to an extreme may annoy the audience. The lecture series was held using Zoom, making it difficult to get feedback from the audience. In one lecture, the speaker asked us to reply by typing our responses in the chatroom. “Okay? If you’re okay, type ‘ok’,” she said. Many of us answered “ok” in the chatroom. ...

Recently, I have been attending a series of lectures on the business nature of my company. Until the latest lecture, I had learnt most of the materials before. As the lectures were delivered by different speakers, I focused on their presentation skills instead of listening to the content. All the lectures were delivered in English, no matter whether the audience and the speaker were locals. It’s okay as the speakers may want to practise English speaking or it was restricted by the faculty. But all of them have different bad habits. This caught my attention. ...

Last time, I wrote about my goal in 2023 on archery as a comeback player. Two weeks ago, I participated in a local archery competition and didn’t win, as expected. During the previous months, I practised a lot as an amateur archer. It was raining and windy on the last night before the competition. However, I didn’t skip the regular lesson and tried my best to gain experience in facing adverse weather conditions. Perhaps it was my first archery competition since I rejoined archery. I was so excited that I woke up at 4 AM that morning and spent almost an hour falling asleep again. Coincidently, my friend who participated in the same archery competition also woke up at 4 AM. ...

Recently, my company launched a training programme for new Agile coaches. As one of the members of the company’s Agile coaches, I’m responsible for teaching the candidates basic knowledge and assisting them in on-job training. It’s been 4 months since I passed PSM I and PSPO I. It’s time to refresh the knowledge I acquired during the exam preparation. I also wanted to test how much memory I left. Therefore, I took the initiative in presenting the introduction to Agile and Scrum. ...

Time flies. Almost 30% of the year 2023 has passed. Do you still remember the resolutions you set at the beginning of this year? Are they still valid in your current situation? I was a recurve archer in the university team during my undergraduate years. As the regular training time conflicts with the rehearsal time of one of the orchestras, I gave up archery. Although that orchestra has been closed permanently for many years, I didn’t return to archery until 2 years ago. ...

The office has resumed its working mode since January. Since the takeaway breakfast price has increased, I prepare oatmeal every morning to save money. On the other hand, I make milk-based drinks like caffè lattes and matcha lattes every night for my latte art daily drill. My daily milk consumption has increased. The problem is milk contains fat. High milk consumption leads to high fat intake and may harm my health. ...

The Hong Kong Flower Show has been the “training centre” for many Hong Kong photographers and photography enthusiasts. They usually go to the flower show to practise their photography skills and sometimes buy more gear afterwards. Since I bought my first camera 11 years ago, I have been to the flower show almost every year. The Hong Kong Flower Show was suspended for 3 years and resumed this exhibition. As a frequent visitor in previous years, I wanted to know how the show this year was. Was there any difference between the shows in the past? We went to the Hong Kong Flower Show in the second week of the exhibition period. ...

ChatGPT has become a buzzword in Hong Kong in recent months. You might hear someone talking about ChatGPT or AI chatbots everywhere, at restaurants, offices, and shopping malls. From giant tech companies to SMEs, bosses to ordinary staff, many people are exploring opportunities to adopt ChatGPT or other AI tools for productivity. Recently, POE was released, allowing Hong Kong people to use ChatGPT without VPN access for free. As a person who works in the IT industry, I’m keen on trying this tool. ...

As a 4-time traveller in Japan, I have come to appreciate the efficiency and reliability of the railway system. However, navigating the Japan Railways (JR) ticketing system and station layouts can be challenging for foreign travellers like me. Recalling the first time I travelled to Japan. We got overwhelmed in Shinjuku Station, the busiest railway station in the world. Its complex floor plan, multiple levels, and numerous lines and companies operating on each level can feel like navigating a maze. Finding the right exit can be challenging, with over 200 exits leading to different parts of the surrounding area. We stood in the indoor space. The GPS systems of our mobile phones weren’t available. After a few minutes, we realised that the JR system works differently from the Hong Kong railway system – passengers are not charged for exiting at the same station they entered. Approaching a particular location can be as simple as passing the paid area. ...