Woman prefers to stay alone for exchange of assurance... Man risks his wife for loneliness for exchange of respect...

I think most of us are somewhat agree that woman tends to look for older man to be her husband.

(1) Older man is associated with more mature characters, more stable financially, etc. Woman wants assurance of anything. ^_^

(2) A study by UN said that female has longer life expectancy compared to its of male by 4 years.
That means to be able to maximize the time spent together (couple), the female must be 4 years older than the male at the time of dating or of marriage. So the couple will meet and die at the same year. No one is left behind. Time spent is maximized, and both parties are happy. Example :
- The male will die at age of 76, and The female will die at age of 80. If they meet each other when the male is 21 and the female is 20. That means after 55 years, the male will die, and by the time, the female is 75 years only. She still has last 5 years to live alone.
- Another example, if they meet each other when the male is 21 years old and the female is 25 years old. That means after 55 years, both of them will die. No one is left behind.
You can try any different numbers, with different age difference.

(3) The only optimal solution is the male should be 4 years younger than the female (objective : maximum time spent together, none of them is left behind).

Knowing the fact (3), woman still choose older man. It implies that maturity and financial assurance is more important than time spent together, in woman's eye.

Probably, woman does not really care of maximizing their time spent with their husband. They want assurance emotionally and financially. They risks themselves of staying alone for several years after the death of her husband.

The story does not end here. It is a two side of coin.

Now, let's see for the male side. Man tends to look for younger woman. Probably, man likes the kind of respect they can get from younger woman. If it is the only thing man considers, respect is the most important factor among other things. Man risks his wife of staying alone for several years in exchange of respect.

Above analysis is, by all means, not exhaustive. I just try to offer a narrow view of man and woman relationship, which is probably true to some extent.

Forget the Past and Move On...

No one in this world has been always successful in what they do. Everyone has experienced failure(s), at least in one point of his/her lifetime. Mistakes are natural to happen. It is like a newborn baby who learns to walk, of course, they falls several times before they grasp the walking technique. Our whole life is a learning process.

Making mistakes are not the one matters. What matters is whether you have learned something from your mistakes and not doing it again in the future. Often, it is what differs successful person from unsuccessful one.

Often, people looks at the past, and stay there mentally. Regretful. Thinking 'Only If I could go back and do it again...'. Remember, Past is Past. If you have made mistakes in the past, just accept it as it has happened, you cannot change it. And go on. Do not dwell in the past.

Dwells in the past is like someone driving a car, but keep looking at the back, instead of looking at front. And the result is either he will get an accident or safely heading to the wrong direction.

Forget the Past and Move On.

God Bless You.

Plug In Your Emotional Battery

"Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, 'Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest'" (Mark 6:31 NIV).

Are you overwhelmed? Do you feel inadequate? Are you ready to blow at any moment? You can't love others in a godly way when you're at the end of your emotional rope. How many relationships have been ripped apart because the people involved failed to take care of themselves emotionally?

God's Word gives us three habits that can help us recharge emotionally when we have nothing left to give.

1. Solitude. Mark 6:31 says, "So many people were coming and going...[Jesus] said to them [the disciples], 'Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest'" (NIV). Jesus understood that your emotions are like a battery. If you plug one lightbulb into a battery, it will last for a fairly long time. If you plug in 100 lights, the battery will drain very quickly. Many of you have so many lights plugged in, your battery is shot. You can't recharge anybody else—you can't give love—if your own battery is drained. You recharge when you get away by yourself.

2. Play. The Bible says, "Jesus came enjoying life" (Matthew 11:19 PH). He was the most people-focused, ministry-intensive person who ever lived, yet he took the time to have fun. Certain activities recharge you emotionally; they literally re-create your energy and enthusiasm for life. We all have different activities that recharge us because we're all made differently. Find out what recharges you emotionally and make time for it.

3. Laughter. Proverbs 17:22 says, "Being cheerful keeps you healthy" (GNT). Studies prove that when you laugh, it increases your number of T-cells, which raises your immunity level. Laughter is good for your health. Humor is God's gift to us. Remember, God has a sense of humor—he made you!

To be emotionally balanced, take God very seriously but don't take yourself seriously. Learn to laugh at your limitations. There is plenty of material. If you only laugh and enjoy life when your problems are all solved, you'll never enjoy life.

© 2009. The Reader's Digest Association, Inc.

We will be fine soon, if you act...

We are still in the financial turmoil, which no one knows where and when the end will come. Government has bombarded the market with various measures, but it seems that all the missiles are powerless. Unable to move the market. The market by itself prefers to stay in the 'painful' comfort zone, instead of risking themselves to another unseen financial monster. By nature, humans are risk-averse. People do not like risk. The risk-aversion is more heightened this time around. Based on economics theory, fiscal and monetary measures should have an impact in the market. Indeed, it has impacted the market, but it was very slow. The market has been bluffed by its own incentives. The players are no longer trusting others. China said that they are afraid of the sustainability of US Dollars value in the future. And Barrack Obama responded to China's fear by claiming that US are still the safest place in the world to invest. Whose statement is more likely to be true? No one knows. Probably, both are wrong.

In terms of economic structures, our times is much better than 1930's. Markets are more matured. Hence, once the fuel (market forces/confidence) fills the machine (market) again, everything will recover. Philosophically, it will happen.

When will you believe yourselves again, Market? Laissez-faire, as what Adam Smith said.

Help Government saving the whole economy. Open the money tab. Let the money flows. Government policies are useless if the people are not responding.

Season 2008/2009 : Manchester United so far...

Yipee... Last night, Manchester United humiliated Inter Milan at Old Trafford (2-0). What another superb performance from ManUtd. Two headers from Vidic and Ronaldo are enough to make Mourinho speechless.

Manchester United is still on the run of getting 5 possible trophies this season. Two are already claimed (Japan FiFA Club World Cup 2008 - Champions of The World, and Carling Cup). The 3 lefts are English Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League. And the good news is that Manchester United is in a very good standing of these competitions.

Current Premier League standing : 1st
Current FA Cup standing : Semi-Final (vs. Everton)
Current Champions League standing : Quarter Final

I really have strong confidence that ManUtd will at least claim a treble (2 + English Premier League).

If ManUtd really could claim 5 trophies this season, this will be hundred years of history in English Football.

What A Great Football Club.

Inter is out. Now Bring On Liverpool. Let's eliminate Liverpool from the title race.

Glory Glory Man United... Glory Glory Man United... Glory Glory Man United... And the reds go marching on on on...

Economics in Madagascar 2...

Synopsis :
Hopelessly stranded on the remote shores of Madagascar, the New Yorkers hatch a plan to get back to Central Park that instead finds them soaking up sun in the picturesque plains of Africa. Madagascar may be a nice place to visit, but for the gang of animals who spent most of their lives in New York, there is truly no place like home. After discovering the remnants of a crashed airplane, the penguins quickly set about making the repairs needed to get the craft airborne again. When the plane finally takes to the sky, it begins to look like it's only a matter of time before Alex the Lion (voice of Ben Stiller) and friends are soaring over New York Harbor. Unfortunately the penguins weren't the aviation experts they claimed to be, and before long the crew is coming in for a crash-landing in the untamed plains of Africa. Now, as the animals reared in the safety of the zoo come into contact with their decidedly wild counterparts for the very first time, they get a better feel for their roots while marveling over the differences between life in the concrete jungle and life on the world's second largest continent. Of course, while there's plenty to love about wandering the open plains, romantic rivalries and the risk of running into dangerous poachers soon begin to outweigh the joys of some long-overdue family reunions. With some particularly heavy cases of homesickness causing hearts to weigh heavy, the group gradually starts to wonder whether they'll ever find their way back home. (source : http://movies.msn.com/movies/movie-synopsis/madagascar-escape-2-africa/).

I just finished watching the movie 5 minutes ago. I believed many of you have watched it before (it is not that new animation). Anyway, here I want to point out how I see economics relevance in the movie. Here we are :

1. Division of Labor
In the movie, there is a scene where the penguins are fixing the plane and they are grumbling why the two monkeys are not coming back to help them. Seconds after that, the two monkeys just came and said 'we have recruited a few extra thumbs for you, shipper' showing hundreds of monkeys.
Afterward, the penguins split the monkeys to different tasks (group alpha : sheet metal fabrication, group bronson : assembly, and group george peppard : craft services). Here we see division of labor. The most famous concept created by the Father of Economics, Adam Smith. Indeed, division of labor makes people specialized in a particular task. And by specialization, higher efficiency is created. Higher efficiency implies that more product (maybe with better quality) might be produced with the same amount of time. This division of labor is the driving force of all kinds of development in the world (science, technology, economics, etc). Nonetheless, this division of labor has created interdependence among us. People these days are so specialized until they cannot live without others, unlike when we are in the pre-historic times.

2. Labor Union
There is another scene where the two monkeys are negotiating with the penguins. In the scene, the monkeys are asking for a maternity leave. But at first, the penguins do not want to grant the request. Then, the two monkeys threatens to distribute the pictures of penguins's stupid affair to the whole savanna. Afraid of the threat, the request of the maternal leave is granted. If the request is not granted, the monkeys will not help flying the plane.
Here is the dialogue :
[Start]
Penguins : You are male. Maternity Leave?
Monkeys : Maybe a certain someone wouldn't want these things blowing around the savanna (while showing the pictures)
Penguins : All right. You get the maternity leave.
[End]
This scene shows the power of labor union. It is a fact that in our economy, labor union has certain powers to negotiate with other economic units (especially government, firms). When the labor union is strong, there will be huge pressure in government and in firms. That is why government always tries to limit the power of labor union. Labor union usually acts as a shelter for labors (as the name goes). Excessive power has never been good. A game theory is played between the penguins and the monkeys. It is also shown that the monkeys are capitalizing wealth in form of gold (capitalism by humans, monkeys refers to humans here).

3. Government rescue package in this financial turmoil
In the almost last scene, we see that the residents of the savanna was dying due to drought. Then, Zuba and Alakay came to the rescue by breaking the water dam to bring water back to the savanna. And the savanna was alive again.
In this scene, Zuba and Alakay might be seen as US and China (and other strong emerging economies). The residents of the savanna are the world. US and China are the two countries that might have significant contribution to help the world recover from this current financial turmoil. US has to show leadership to other countries. China has huge potential in its domestic market. US, China, India, Russia, Brazil are the strong emerging countries that might help the world curing its problem.

These are the economics morale I see in the movie so far.

Economics is everywhere, even in the children animation. What a beautiful field of study.

Ministry: Shaped to Serve

Ministry: Shaped to Serve
by Rick Warren

God formed every creature on this planet with a special area of expertise. Some animals run, some hop, some swim, some burrow, and some fly. Each has a particular role to play based on the way they were shaped by God. The same is true with humans. Each of us is uniquely designed, or "shaped," to do certain things.

Before architects design any new building they first ask, "What will be its purpose? How will it be used?" The intended function always determines the form of the building.

Before God created you, he decided what role he wanted you to play on earth. He planned exactly how he wanted you to serve him, and then he shaped you for those tasks. You are the way you are because you were made for a specific ministry.

The Bible says, "We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works" (Ephesians 2:10 NIV). Our English word "poem" comes from this Greek word translated "workmanship." You're God's handcrafted work of art. You're not an assembly-line product, mass-produced without thought. You're a custom designed, one-of-a-kind, original masterpiece.

God deliberately shaped and formed you to serve him in a way that makes your ministry unique. He carefully mixed the DNA recipe that created you. David praised God for this incredible personal attention to detail God gave in designing each of us: "You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous" (Psalm 139:13-14 NLT).

Not only did God shape you before your birth, he planned every day of your life to support his shaping process. David continues, "Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed" (Psalm 139:16 NLT).

This means nothing that happens in your life is insignificant. God uses all of it to mold you for your ministry to others and shape you for your service to him.

God never wastes anything. He would not give you abilities, interests, talents, gifts, personality, and life experiences unless he intended to use them for his glory. By identifying and understanding these factors you can discover God's will for your life.

The Bible says you are "wonderfully complex." You're a combination of many different factors: "The people I have shaped for myself will broadcast my praises" (Isaiah 43:21 NJB).

© 2008 Purpose Driven Life. All rights reserved.