Life As It Goes By

Perhaps it’s time to mark down the problems we face today around the world. Someone or me can pick these up later and analyze what has happened from now to then.

I would like to group them in 3 categories. I call them: the problem of global warming, the problem of mutation of bacteria, or healthcare simply, and the problem of greed.

Global warming is caused by the harmful CO2 gases that we the human created to damage the ozone layer. It is also caused by the widespread deforestation that we have done. The replacement rate for the trees that convert the CO2 to oxygen is much slower than the rate that we take them off the surface of the Earth. Effects of the global warming are huge. Melting of icebergs at the poles (North and South) rises the sea level and reduces the arable land area for not just humans, but the innocent animals. Weather has become more unpredictable as the nature adapts to the change in ozone layer. Tectonic movements are as usual until a relationship between them and the sea level or weather is found. Another effect is the rising temperature. This in turn results in fewer species among the animal and plant. As for the humans, more energy is required to keep us cool and a vicious cycle has been created.

My dentist friend once told me that the rate at which bacteria or the micro organism mutates would one day exceed the rate at which human can create anti-bodies or vaccines. I saw similar articles on the papers and believed this to be the fact. In recent years, we humans are troubled by pandemics, related to influenza. It is still unclear the actual causes of these. I feel that we, humans, play a big part in this. The way we feed the animals, pass the sickness to them or do tests on them have an impact. We have created mad cow diseases, bird flu, swine flu (not this time though) and etc. The real victims are the animals themselves. They themselves have not the ability to build immunity to such diseases. Every time I see a bird or monkey picking the food we leave behind, I wonder if how their body “system” will react to such food, especially artificial or chemically produced ones. It’s not their fault really. In their world, the basic rule is:  the fittest survives. They have to feed on anything they can find. They have adapted well so far, as I can see. There are no more trees where they can build nests (not to say communities) with. Instead, they find holes or make use of exterior design of buildings. These are just 2 (still many others there) types of animals we are talking about here. Anyway, the point is we must be reminded of the fact that it’s a matter of time when a pandemic will hit us really hard. So, think hard on how we can stop this…

Lastly, I would like to continue to rub salt on the recent Financial Crisis wounds. This is pretty much attributed by the thing we called greed. I think it might have begun many years ago when the Forbes’s published the World’s Richest list. I remembered myself following the list every year. At the start, it was a mixed feeling of amazement and admiration. As the top list didn’t change much for a while, more details had to be covered in the publication and this helped me (in fact, everyone of us) to understand better how these guys got there. It did change part of  me then. Suddenly, it struck me that I can follow the same steps and be like them. So, I embarked on a long journey to realize the dream of being rich. Yes, I tried and tried, but I only become older and further away from that dream. I know of friends who are in better position but they are still like me, a great, great distance away from those guys in the list. I realize I am sharing a common dream with a lot of people out there. I am not sure if I have a problem, thinking in this way. I am only know that I always wanted more and more the next time. Perhaps it’s just the nature of human race. I have no idea how I can cure this problem of mine (or anyone) or whether such problem can ever be solved.

Today happens to be 9/9/09 which sounds like 999 or the universal emergency telephone number. Maybe it’s about time for the world to call for help.

Recently, I have been put into a position to make some tough decisions. Though I have yet made any, I try to recall all that I have learnt from my business school not too long ago. It was there when I was reminded of the word “decision”.

The meaning of the word is clear and straightforward. It’s not difficult to draw a reference or give an example. Since young, we are already trained to make decisions: what color or food we liked, what subjects to take up and which vacation to go. Some of them (decisions) were easy. Some were really tough; even until today I still have no clue of how to decide. Then, there is this issue of right and wrong decisions. The only way to judge is to see what is the outcome of the decision. If there is no outcome or it’s impossible for you to find out, then you would be kept in the dark forever.

Let’s say you know the outcome. It does not guarantee that a judgement can be made. Especially when your decision plays only a small part of the overall outcome. Even if your decision is a bad one, the result might still be the same. Sometimes, the outcome came too late before you could learn from that bad decision and avoid making the same mistakes. This could also be that the decision has to be reached in a short period of time, even in split seconds.

Factors that affect decision making can be: emotions, pressure,impact of the decision,  knowledge & experience. There could be more but I personally feel these are the more critical ones. There is a common belief if you are emotional, you can make a good decision. You always need to be calm first. If you are under pressure to make a good decision, naturally your decision might be skewed, depending on the type of pressure. Example, if you are under the pressure of time, you would most likely pick a decision that will buy you more time (not scientifically proven, at least to my knowledge). If you face peer pressure, you might succumb to their demands and make a decision based on that.

On the other hand, if the impact of your decision matters little, you would probably decide without a second thought. If it turns out to be a bad decision, it is highly possible that you have overlooked the impact of this decision. Knowledge plays a part too. An acceptable example would be in workplace. If you are told to decide, say …, the color of the product. You can then make a decision based on your knowledge of your customers. You may debate that it’s instincts but I still prefer to use the word, “knowledge” because it’s similar to how you would explain to your colleagues on your “instincts”: you just “know” it. Of course, some of that decision may come from your past experience with the customers. Knowledge and experience are 2 different things though they are connected. Just like concepts and practical applications.

Back to school, I think of 3 approaches. There might just 2. You’ll decide. One concept I can remember is the multiple criteria decision making. You are supposed to list all the criteria for that decision and grade them with weightage and probability. A score for each criterion is produced as graded. This then gives a clear picture of which path is desirable . I know I have simplified the model here (there should be steps before such as creating paths for each criterion, so that a tree diagram can be visualized with the options for the decision as endpoints) but the gist of the model is to allow the decision maker to be unaffected by emotions or pressure. There might still be some pressure coming from your peers on giving scores to each criterion but at least knowledge and experience can be used to debate or qualify the scores (assuming there is no dominant power in the group).

Another model comes from the IT industry. Ever heard of dashboards? Yes, you put metrics all over your company operations and connect them to your company IT infrastructure, so that the executive on top can grab a snapshot of the company anytime and anywhere he or she wants it. Due to the accuracy and clarify of the figures and numbers, a better decision can be made at the executive desk. This no doubt comes at a price: it’s expensive to build up such systems and take a long time to fine-tune and improve. Conceptually, it should be the way to go for all companies.

Lastly, we learnt about a tool called scenario planning. Though it is more commonly used for strategy making, I feel it can be applied in decision making. Depending on the impact of the decision, you make scale scenario planning accordingly. Fundamentally, the tool is used to help you to understand the issues and uncertainties involved. They might be too much for you to handle. So, you should forget about them for a while. Keep them at surface level. Now, try to go by another approach. Think about what are the main forces that drive these issues or uncertainties. Then, try to group them so that you have less problems to dealt with. Then, consider carefully which has the highest impact and plausbility. You should be interested in the 2 groups that has the highest impact and the lowest possibility of happening. Then, you can formulate 3-4 scenarios based on the contents of these 2 groups. You can plan for the worst scenarios and something normal (not a must), so that you can be prepared for the worst condition and check whether what happens next is close to any scenario. If you are lost somewhere along the way, that’s fine. It’s not something easy and you need a lot of focus and probably assistance from the professionals. It’s not really rocket science. It’s a way to structure your thoughts and make use of your knowledge and experience in the industry and society. The projection can be for 5 to even 15 years. More could overkill. Some companies do a new exercise after every 5 years. Anyway, to make an important decision in a not too short time, you can try to shorten the process. The main point, I think, is  to prepare yourself for the worst scenario and lay the path down in your head to check if things are really going the way you predicted and then decide how you can act at each juncture.

If all these sound more troubles for you, then don’t sweat it. Just forget about everything. Gut feelings, as Jack Welch would tell you, prove to be effective as well. It is equally important that you have guts in the end to execute your decisions (not really linked with gut feelings) and to live on the consequences of your decisions. So don’t procrastinate, make some decisions (apply to me as well)!

If you had bought and sold shares of AIG and Citigroup over the past year,you would not have expected their prices nowadays. Still a distance away from their prime (especially Citigroup), the 2 highly debated stocks have now shifted the bar from SELL to HOLD and now to BUY. Those who had ridden through the high and low deserve to earn a medal or some recognition, at the very least for the confidence they have shown in their choice. They gambled well, almost winning at the very last. Big winners, however, are those who have anticipated these early this year and were busying snapping up the shares.

So you see, this is a true game of fear and confidence. Forget about the fundamentals. Forget about the numbers on the balance sheet. Just remember guts. If you dare to bet against the majority, you stand a really big chance to win it all. And what does this make you? A more daring wagerer which is what the US government is trying to groom now. Here is how you should go about it. Set up a financial institution now (be patient with the gambling first). Obtain government funds to provide loans to those who need it. Be it consumers who need to pay their monthly installments or businesses which need some cash to tide over this crisis. Make some decent gains from the difference in interest. Use this gain to make investments such as buying AIG shares, foreclosures and smaller companies. Do it in a big way just like how you would gamble. When you run out of funds, request from the government and fill it back up again. Post the decent gains in your balance sheet and write-off whatever loss you have gambled away. Remember, just keep a huge turnover figure. Make sure the figure is really huge and grows at an amazing rate. The goal is to be so huge that the government can’t let you fail. Then, they will pool in more funds. Of course, they may take your CEOs away and limit your bonuses. Sit back and relax. The gambles you have made should pay in time to come and they should grow greater than what the government had put into your company. Then, you pocket the remaining (with nothing down in the first place, how’s that?).

No matter how well the politicians play the role of regulators, they still look like idiots when dealing with financial or economic matters. You can’t really blame them; it’s just not their cup of tea. They do share something in common: the guts to gamble big. Team Obama, banging on the success of their earlier policies, is pushing more reforms such as the health care and only to be seriously challenged by the Republicans this time. The fact about how the budget deficit will blow up into previously unreachable level provides enough brake power. From the economic point of view, the only government income are derived from taxes (maybe now from the investments they have made in “national” companies). In any form, taxes are unlikely to appeal to people. It’s like taking the freedom of a soul. However, there is not too much good in printing tons and tons of money without taking income of any form. Some of the states are already suffering from their poor budget management. Raising taxes might be the only way out for some of them. Let’s face it. The government is now sucked dry by the financial sector of the economy.

Again, it’s a question of fear and confidence. If you are confident, you would forsee that businesses would pick up and stock market would hit through the roof again. Then, the income and capital gain taxes would bring in the necessary income for the government. This is perhaps why the stock market has to be as where it is now. Hope is what everyone wants. But the truth is financial sector is not the whole of the economy. It’s just a part of it. Stock market, according to some, is a good indicator of the performance of the economy. A more accurate prediction were to consider the performance of housing sector as well as unemployment rate. Anyway, current performance shown in the stock market received much help from the ailing government. This is perhaps where the fear sets in. If the government had spent on its budget on the financial sector, where can they find the budget to spend on the other sectors? Cutting on expenses in other budgets would help much. What is gone is gone. The TARP funds were meant to avert the Great Depression. The remaining funds (God knows how much) have to be divided among the rest of the economy, as well as the “must-have” expenses such as defense (or war, in this case) and education. This leads to the most feared question, will the government go bankrupt? How do we define that? A few governments have bankrupted before (usually because they can’t repay the loans or government bonds issued) and there are always a limit set to where they feel they can’t go on anymore. What would be the limit in the case of the US government? Definitely, it has to be more than trillions of dollars. Otherwise, they would be bankrupt by now.

Oil and housing prices threaten to rise now that investors with profit on hand (from the stock market) are scavenging around for better, sound investments. The world is actually quite limited though. If it’s not the stock, bond or housing markets, it got to be the commodities. Everyone is so desperate that they would go for anything. Recently, the cheese in Parma like wine in France would be traded. It was told from the newscaster that it is for the benefits of the both sides. And what exactly are the 2 sides? The producers and traders. Yup, you get it right. It’s not you or me, the bloody consumers or tax payers who save the asses of these traders. So this is how they pay back to us: pushing the prices of commodities to the limit, making our lives tougher with high inflation.  What would the government do about this? Or what did they do in the last 2 years? Nothing. Nothing for us. So, please tell me, how can I feel confident at all?

Change is coming and it’s uncertain that who would really benefit from it. We are still learning to adapt to it now. Just like how we saw personnel being questioned by Senators publicly, even in front of the television. Tough questions were being thrown at the “defendants” (if I may call them that) and answers were given. At the end, no actions are required. It’s for the better understanding of the situation and hopefully we can all learn from these painful experiences. You want to know what do I think of this? Complete waste of time. I am not catching another of this anymore. Unless I am hooked again with the reality shows, it’s out of the question for sure. What did it mean when Mr Bernake said he hated the decision to save the “Too Big to Fail” companies and he had done so to prevent a systematic risk from occurring? If the only person who can make the decision felt it that way, what else can we do as commoners? Yes, we should think of ways to help those in finance sector. Without them, we can’t survive. I don’t see any traders paying for my meals or offering me jobs. Instead, I have to thank them for not taking these away from me. I think the Fed is the biggest systematic risk and my greatest fear. It doesn’t want to protect the consumers like us. Instead, it is working with the wealthy to enslave us. With this, I rest my case as this game is too much for me.

Last week, I saw the last moments of 2 ladies who had seen 8 decades of the world in their own parts. One of them, I have only known for about a year or two while the other, since my birth. It’s definitely not the first funeral of a relative that I have to “go” through (my mum passed away about 9 years ago). Due to my family’s religion, I had to “perform” my last respects to my elder, one of which was to stay up whole night to watch over the coffin. I don’t mind all that actually. I had done more tedious ones before. It gave me a time off, to reflect my life so far.

Sad to say, it kinda looks like a family gathering which could be quite stressful at times. Seeing how well your peers do can sometimes put you under great pressure. There are so many things to ask for in life:marriage, child/children, career and health. When you are at certain level of these things, those who have been there, done that would be the next level of things. It seems like they expect me to catch up with them in no time. Anyway, it’s a good opportunity to keep check with what I do have and what I don’t.

It also acts as a motivator as well. It reminds me what I still have to fight for in life. Goals are clearer now. I know I am behind for some of these stuff but luckily I am ahead in some others. I begin to think life is pretty much like the computer games I played to kill time (or those online games in Facebook which my wife uses to compete with her friends). In some games I got to make the high scores and in some others I was beaten up badly. Of course, I enjoyed those that I can play well with and dreaded those that I can’t. But in life, sometimes, you don’t have the choice to play only the games you do well in. You are forced to play the losing games as well. Those who win all deserve to be there. For others like me, we try to keep afloat by winning more than we lose. Finally, there remain those who don’t take the games seriously. They just take the thrills of the game play and ignore the results. In the end, they would the bite of the results but they would keep better,detailed memories (all-time winners tend to forget their victories fast).

I can’t judge if the grandmas of mine and my wife’s had played theirs well. Results are however great. They had 4 generations in the family tree. I doubt I can achieve this myself. Probably I can live up to see my grandchildren but not their children.

They did not go alone. Typhoon Morakot, earthquakes in India and Japan and the virulent H1N1 flu had taken many others along. We might have misread the warning of the eclipse that had occurred not long ago. Old wisdom spoke of incoming catastrophes upon the sights of eclipse.

And now, I would like to pay my very last respects to them.

I had in mind this topic since I was on an overseas assignment in Japan. I began to think about the country. I am well aware of her past misdeeds but I am also awed by her achievements to date. No, no, no, it’s not about the crazy stuff her people creates but rather the longstanding culture they have.

I visited a World Heritage site in Kyoto. It’s called the Byōdō-in, a Buddhist temple built in 998 with its main building, the Phoenix Hall completed in 1053. On top of the Phoenix Hall, there are 2 phoenix hammered by some metals (sorry, I can’t remember whether it’s bronze). I believe the original ones are already kept in the museum next door. Other impressive structures are the wood sculptures that are still in good condition after all these centuries.

It reminded me of the fact that Japan was not conquered by intruders in her entire history. Yes, there were 2 atomic bombs dropped and lots of other bombings. But no one really came and ruled the whole country as she did to the others. This could be the reason why all these historical sites have been kept intact.

Then, it led me to think about the other stuff such as rice, soya sauce, steel, and so on. These “technologies” or know-how derived from making these produces should be well-kept as well. In Japan, it’s not hard to find family businesses that had been run by more than 4 generations. Regardless of their scale, the knowledge passed and improved over time must be at an admirable level. No wonder Japanese products are always closely linked with high quality.

I came across a sewage cover that was meticulously forged or probably moulded. It’s a bit hard to accept for me because from where I come from, no one care about how the sewage cover looks like. I can’t help having the feeling that the Japanese are specific, “detailed” people. The way they bound the tree branches, so that the trees could grow into the shape the Japanese want. It’s not my first trip to Japan but I still feel strongly about this.

More thoughts rushed into my minds. If they are so detailed, what are their expectations for things that they use? Do some shopping around and you will see the all kinds of products that serve almost the same function. Take for example, laundry bags come in all sizes and of different materials. Though they are all used for washing, they work differently for each specific purpose. You wash your socks in certain bags and you put your cotton shirts in others. In other words, their needs do not translate directly to mine.

Their needs seem to be more complex. The denomination of their needs are definitely many times smaller than mine. My one simple need can match with their multiple needs. But my need is a basic one. There is no other alternative or flexibility. It is not specific enough. Their needs may just be my want. This is where the problem lies.

The issue between want and need as economists have put it. There are more wants than needs for each individual. This is why there are necessities and luxury goods; elastic and inelastic demands. However, if one’s needs are actually wants of the other, how would the deal be laid out on the table? This means there is another dimension in the parameter, need. The degree of need is different for each person. A quick way would be to group people by countries and then sort them, using the level of disposable income. I beg to differ. If you have noticed, this is the first time I mention level of disposable income in this article.

I have been talking about the perception of need all this while. And this perception can be shaped by the culture and the longstanding technologies or know-how in the making of this need. If you cook the same potato differently, the value of the potato changes. Those who like it this way will naturally value it more and likewise for the vice versa.

I am not saying that the background culture or technologies determine the degree of need. I am just pointing out these could be main contributing factors. There could be others. Usefulness is one. I might have a different cultural background and used to a different level of technological application but I would still have the same need for such useful tools. Another would be the purchase occasion. Or the environment.

Fret not. This simply means that to create a need, you should keep on trying. It’s not that you have not found the need for others. It’s just that the degrees of need in them have not reached the same level as yours. Or you have not found the common pool of people with the same level. Remember, we are all different and similar in some way or the other. (Hope this can be a handy tip for those working hard to keep their business afloat during these bad times)

Saw this headline sometime early this month, I was a bit taken by the fact that Vermont is the fourth U.S. state to have gay marriage laws which accept the legality of gay matrimony. There is now 29 states (one of which is notably California) that have lifted the constitutional ban on such unions in. Not long after the headline, there was news from India that gay marriage is legalized there as well.

What’s with this wave really? Are we so eager to make history? I am not against gay marriage. I am happily married with my wife (and yes, she is a … she, of course ;P). So, I have no interest in joining this fight. As always, I stand by and give my two-cents worth of thoughts.

So why? I don’t know. Sorry, I didn’t do gay history. I don’t even know when the word “gay” was invented. I am not sure if the word “gay” is offensive anymore. Is it supposed to mean another sex now? I mean when I fill in a government application form, do I have see a new checkbox? I believe some forms have to be modified now. One for sure is the marriage registration form or whatever you call that in your country.

To me, this wave has its impacts, for sure. Like every normal marriage, every couple faces the possibility of separating. What about divorce for the gay marriages? It’s easy from the surface but most countries protect women and their rights through Women’s Act. If both women are happily married and angrily divorced, who should get what? Sounds like a new market for lawyers huh? There is also no laws to prevent a person to be married both sexes from time to time. This could happen too, isn’t it? Mood changes and we, as consumer, are already changing our tastes so rapidly nowadays that no one keeps their favourite car for more than 10 years anymore.

I am not trying to stop thing from happening. It already happened and is moving fast. I can accept this fact. The point is I am not a parent yet. Imagine your children choose their paths in such a way (not that it’s disgraceful anymore). How would you feel? If you are fine, I believe you have what it takes to face the future. If not, I suggest you get yourself prepared, starting from right now. Let me help you a bit. Imagine a gay channel in TV soon. A regular TV program for gay in your favourite channel. Advertisements targeted at gays on all media that you are exposed to. And more realistically, your neighbour could be them too. Are you used to word, gay now? No? I strongly feel that the word has been polluted too much over the years. The next alternative, homosexual, sounds worse (more like a medical term describing freak to me). Since it is making history, I feel the related parties or organisations should start thinking of a better term to label themselves. I am rather superstitious in such things. In short, take my advice. No one pays for a stone until you call it a diamond.

Finally, for a record to mankind, I would like to congratulate everyone to complete all the combination for marriage. Simple statistics tell you that for 2 different sexes, there are 4 combinations which are possible. For more than 2 millennium, we have our options to just 2 and now we have leapfrogged 2 times. You don’t have to perform sex change to marry someone of your sex. You are free to choose anyone now to be your … er … partner. I hope I can write in a more universal, “unisex” way in future, so that I won’t be bothered by the “he or she” or “they” usage. Think it would be tougher for my kids to decide who to go out with. By the way, if a guy is sexually harassed, in the eyes of the court, by another guy, what should be the verdict? It’s already tough to debate between a man and a woman. What if it’s a woman who “rapes” (correct me if I am wrong in the choice of word) another?

You can say that I am just not too ready for all these. Or maybe I think too much. It takes time. I am quite certain that I will get used to it. Because I don’t think it’s going to go away. Nonetheless, the gay population is not so significant in today’s world. There is room for growth. God knows what will happen (I didn’t forget you ya). One day, our future generations might be marrying his or her or its robot, dog, car, TV or anything that is recognized in the law.

Not long ago I had attended a conference on Web 2.0 and in one of the talks, I was introduced to the concept of Web 3.0. It was the first time I acquainted myself with the latest technology on Internet. Obviously, my mouth was wide open when the speaker threw all these new terms to my life. For a moment, I felt so backward and then, I re-assured myself that being there has made me one of the pioneers in this knowledge (let’s not compare with others…). My first thought of Web 3.0, “is it a marketing gimmick?” Someone must be wanting to outrun others and jump the ship from 2.0 to 3.0 by introducing some funny ideas. I mean it’s normal when people have already started populating words with 2.0 behind (good money for dictionaries though). It’s sooner or later that all the words we know will have numerals at the back…

So what’s Web 3.0? Is there really such a thing? Well, it turn out to be true. It always difficult to accept things that you rarely are in contact with. Web 3.0 is related to the semantic Web. In fact, based on Wikipedia’s explanation, semantic web is a component of Web 3.0 (quoted from the Sir Tim Berners-Lee, creator of WWW).

What semantic web means is this: a more “meaningful” web that can link to one another through “meaningful” relationships (in my very own words, please “comms” me if I am wrong). In Web 1.0, the websites provide static information which people just read from them. In Web 2.0, these information becomes alive. You can now directly communicate with websites and use their services like yours. However, the whole wide web is still in a mess. For example, when you do a search on “Television”, you will see 301 million results. But you are looking for, is probably the television programme for tonight, or prices of television (LCD, Plasma or LED). A word can have many specific meanings or different applications. So if the web is more structured (i.e. categorized nicely), you may find what you want in a faster manner, compared to going through the millions of results.

For a quick demonstration, click on this.

If you think Google is the only one equipped with this, then you are wrong. Try clicking on an article on Washington Post’s website (sorry, it used to be free access without membership login). You will see at the bottom and below the article, a box with a number of circles with names of the key people or organisations in them. Click on any one of them, you will see a few more circles linking to the one that you have clicked. This shows the related items and it is a perfect application of semantic web.

When I tried to pitch this new finding to my colleagues, they gave me the same reply, “So?”. I could only say that this is still in the early stage of development. The killer application is yet to be found. How many people have really heard of MPEG-7 or MPEG-21? How about 4G and 7G? All these take time to develop, mature and apply broadly and deeply. I know you are going to ask me, “so what’s in for me then?”. I am sure you are like me: I am not going to spend time linking up whole the web and try to make meaning out of them. I would rather wait and make use of the outcome.

I would like to think in this way. This new web should give an experience, much alike to that of Amazon’s. While you browse its catalog, it studies you and your actions. It remembers and tries to recommend you the related items. The deeper you follow their recommendations, the more advanced or specialized the recommendations would be. What’s even more amaz(on)ing is that it can package a nice deal for you instantly. Or it can create tailored promotions for you on your next visit or in your newsletter. The temptation to spend is high as you are getting things that you are at least interested in.

Now, imagine the web only gives you information that you are only interested in. It also remembers what you looked for previously and when you are back to this search again. It gives more in-depth information and other alternatives that are very close to what you are finding. It draws you to look further and find more than what you intend to. What would you say of this experience? Satisfied user, you must be. It completes you.

If this is too abstract, let me try again. For instance, you are looking for a recipe. You run the dish name on the search engine, and it returns the exact recipe. Not only that, it also provide some links to videos showing the steps, cheap prices of the ingredients and where to get them, different varieties of the recipe for different taste buds (the search engine probably remembers yours!) and cooking lessons that will help you in this dish. Not only your search is a fruitful one, it’s also a very instant one. Why waste time looking through the results one by one? This is what we call, “Personalization”. It’s all about you, the user of the WWW.

And how’s that for you?