Is anybody out there?

GP has been taking a self imposed break from the blogosphere, after the unwelcome discovery of her blog. You know who you are, and if you are reading this I would prefer that you weren't. But then, that's the rule with blogging - you have to put stuff out there and cannot control who comes across it. So tentatively, back into the fray, on the pitch and playing and all those other cliches...

On a more serious note, it does make me think about how inadvertantly exposing the web can be. Solipsistically, one can type away thinking that what gets sent out there disappears into nothingness, where as in fact it's available to all sorts of punters (I was surprised to see someone from the Ministry of Finance in Dubai reading the other day). The part that surprised me was that anyone with an ounce of computer literacy can track URLs (I don't believe the bollocks about finding this from a google search - even people who know me can't do that!)

So - motto for today, anyone who's thinking of sharing intimacies, posting semi nude photos or launching a major confessional, just think twice. GP isn't watching you, but you don't know who is........

Money, money, money, it's so funny, in a rich man's world....

Buyer beware!

One of the defining qualities of HK is its sheer accessibility - there's none of the mucking around of commuting to get in the way of doing stuff, and there's an awful lot of stuff to do here. Hence a lot of people run around like blue arsed flies. cramming their days full, truly human doings rather than beings.

Anyhow, for me this has meant pitching up to lots of talks and lectures. Being a bit of a nerd I enjoy learning new stuff. The longer I stay here though, the more my bullshit detector goes off and filters out some of the true crap that people have the cheek to peddle.

Which leads me to a salutory tale. I was invited to an "exclusive" breakfast, hosted by the XL foundation which markets itself as a social entrepreneurial organisation. Their founder is the charismatic, dishy Roger Hamilton. After an, admittedly nice, breakfast, Roger stood up to gave his spiel, which rapidly deteriorated into the crudest sales pitch for XL. I left early.

Imagine my surpirse to find that he's back in town, speaking at this event. A quick google search reveals that he's now banned in Singapore, but somehow not in HK. Needless to say, if you've been invited then I wouldn't bother.

Apologies for lack of smut and gossip - however, I am off to a Valentine's Day party tonight so you never know :-)

Home, home on the range......

An acquaintance of mine in HK is a property agent. As you can imagine, this isn't a pretty profession to be part of right now. I went along to a couple of events where expensive properties are sold off plan to eager, cash rich Asian buyers. I am now very glad that a voice of reason and caution got in the way and prevented me from ever, ever investing in them.

I saw her recently, looking slightly ashen faced and drawn. Funnily enough buyers are defaulting left, right and centre on these properties (or more accurately, the option to buy a completed property at some time in the future...) as they don't have the readies to fund it. In turn the developers are threatening to sue. She's stuck in the middle. Fun and games.

Anyhow, given this background I was astounded when this piece of marketing puff turned up in my inbox today. Do they not, I ask myself, read them before they get sent out? Would this be the same Australia that has been ravaged by a toxic combo of fires, droughts, rains and god knows what else? Who in their right minds would be in for investing of a piece of this right now??? Answers on a comment please...