Against ABU commercial?

Creative commercial... by BBC... Bethany Bible College...
Haunted?
See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4x-qmzyCVuY
Word of street?
See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qjOHb1k2_A
Real testimony?
See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9n5Nn7ofrTM
I hope no one trust these....

Biology Teacher got fired?

An article strikes me today for a biology teacher getting fired for referring to the bible on the CNN website. See: http://www.cnn.com/2007/EDUCATION/03/20/teacherfired.ap.ap/index.html
With AUCC team coming to ABU, one of the major questions they ask was about academic freedom. They were afraid that christian institutions may limit the level of degree of academic freedom because the institution may not allow exploration of knowledge outside of the christian worldview. However, from my experience, it is exactly the opposite.
ABU faculties are free to explore from any points of view in order to seek the truth. We can research things in a much broader angle because secular univerisities may discourage exploring from the Christian perspective. So far, faculties have not forced me to do things I don't want to do. At least, we won't get fired with the same reason of this biology teacher.

ABU Commerical

ABU Commerical

Skating Part III

Today, I skate for the third time in my life. I believe I am progressing and I start to skate more towards the middle of ice. I begin to skate faster and faster, but I fail quite a few times.
My knees, my ankles, my waist are all hurting. I have been skating on bloody socks today. No pain, no gain I suppose. Hockey is the next thing on my ice agenda...

Things to do during tests

I believe most of the following activities are prohibited in ABU as stated in your student handbook.

(Professional Slacker! Closed Course! Do not attempt!)

1. Bring a pillow. Fall asleep (or pretend to) until the last 15 minutes. Wake up, say ``oh geez, better get cracking'' and do some gibberish work.

2. Get a copy of the exam, run out screaming ``Andre, Andre, I've got the secret documents!!''

3. If it is a math/science exam, answer in essay form. If it is long answer/essay form, answer with numbers and symbols. Be creative. Use the surface integral symbol.

4. Make paper airplanes out of the exam. Aim them at the instructor's left nostril.

5. Talk the entire way through the exam. Read questions aloud, debate your answers with yourself out loud. If asked to stop, yell out, ``I'm SOOO sure you can hear me thinking.'' Then start talking about what a jerk the instructor is.

6. Bring cheerleaders.

7. Walk in, get the exam, sit down. About five minutes into it, loudly say to the instructor, ``I don't understand ANY of this. I've been to every lecture all semester long! What's the deal? And who the hell are you? Where's the regular guy?''

8. Bring a Game Boy. Play with the volume at max level.

9. On the answer sheet find a new, interesting way to refuse to answer every question. For example: I refuse to answer this question on the grounds that it conflicts with my religious beliefs. Be creative.

10. Bring pets.

11. Run into the exam room looking about frantically. Breathe a sigh of relief. Go to the instructor, say ``They've found me, I have to leave the country'' and run off.

12. Fifteen minutes into the exam, stand up, rip up all the papers into very small pieces, throw them into the air and yell out ``Merry Christmas.'' If you're really daring, ask for another copy of the exam. Say you lost the first one. Repeat the process every fifteen minutes.

13. Do the exam with crayons, paint, or fluorescent markers.

14. Come into the exam wearing slippers, a bathrobe, a towel on your head, and nothing else.

15. Come down with a BAD case of Turet's Syndrome during the exam. Be as vulgar as possible.

16. Do the entire exam in another language. If you don't know one, make one up. For math/science exams, try using Roman numerals.

17. Bring things to throw at the instructor when he's not looking. Blame it on the person nearest you.

18. As soon as the instructor hands you the exam, eat it.

19. Walk into the exam with an entourage. Claim you are going to be taping your next video during the exam. Try to get the instructor to let them stay, be persuasive. Tell the instructor to expect a percentage of the profits if they are allowed to stay.

20. Every five minutes, stand up, collect all your things, move to another seat, continue with the exam.

21. Turn in the exam approximately 30 minutes into it. As you walk out, start commenting on how easy it was.

22. Do the entire exam as if it was multiple choice and true/false. If it is a multiple choice exam, spell out interesting things (DCCAB, BABE, etc.)

23. Bring a black marker. Return the exam with all questions and answers completely blacked out.

24. Get the exam. Twenty minutes into it, throw your papers down violently, scream out ``Fuck this!'' and walk out triumphantly.

25. Arrange a protest before the exam starts (e.g. Threaten the instructor that whether or not everyone's done, they are all leaving after one hour to get drunk.)

26. Show up completely drunk. (Completely drunk means that at some point during the exam, you should start crying for mommy.)

27. Every now and then, clap twice rapidly. If the instructor asks why, tell him in a very derogatory tone, ``The light bulb that goes on above my head when I get an idea is hooked up to a clapper. DUH!''

28. Comment on how sexy the instructor is looking that day.

29. Come to the exam wearing a black cloak. After about 30 minutes, put on a white mask and start yelling ``I'm here, the phantom of the opera'' until they drag you away.

30. Go to an exam for a class you have no clue about, where you know the class is very small, and the instructor would recognize you if you belonged. Claim that you have been to every lecture. Fight for you right to take the exam.

31. Bring a water pistol with you. 'Nuff said.

32. Try to get people in the room to do the wave.

33. From the moment the exam begins, hum the theme to Jeopardy. Ignore the instructor's requests for you to stop. When they finally get you to leave one way or another, begin whistling the theme to the Bridge on the River Kwai.

34. Start a brawl in the middle of the exam.

35. If the exam is math/science related, make up the longest proofs you could possibly think of. Get pi and imaginary numbers into most equations. If it is a written exam, relate everything to your own life story.

36. Come in wearing a full knight's outfit, complete with sword and shield.

37. Bring a friend to give you a back massage the entire way through the exam. Insist this person is needed, because you have bad circulation.

38. Bring cheat sheets FOR ANOTHER CLASS (make sure this is obvious. . . like history notes for a calculus exam. . . otherwise your're not just failing, you're getting kicked out too) and staple them to the exam, with the comment ``Please use the attached notes for references as you see fit.''

39. When you walk in, complain about the heat. Strip.

40. After you get the exam, call the instructor over, point to any question, ask for the answer. Try to work it out of him.

41. One word: Wrestlemania.

42. Bring balloons, blow them up, start throwing them around like they do before concerts start.

43. Do the exam on your laptop. Make sure the simulated keyboard noises are on.

44. Play frisbee with a friend on the other side of the room.

45. Bring some large, cumbersome, ugly idol. Put it right next to you. Pray to it often. Consider a small sacrifice.

46. Get deliveries of candy, flowers, balloons, telegrams, etc. sent to you every few minutes throughout the exam.

47. During the exam, take apart everything around you. Start with your calculator, move on to your desk, your chair, anything you can reach.

48. Complete the exam with everything you write being backwards at a 90 degree angle.

49. Bring a musical instrument with you, play various tunes. If you are asked to stop, say ``it helps me think.'' Bring a copy of the Student Handbook with you, challenging the instructor to find the section on musical instruments during finals. Don't forget to use the phrase ``Told you so.''

50. Answer the exam with the ``Top Ten Reasons Why Professor Sussman Sucks.''

100 Fun Things to Do During a Boring Lecture

DISCLAIMER: DON'T BLAME IF YOU FAIL THE COURSE!

1. Bring a blowhorn. Use it when you ask or answer a question.
2. Heckle the professor.
3. Hire a video crew to come to the class. If asked about it, say that you have to tape the lecture for a friend.
4. Bring a water gun. Shoot the professor when his back is turned.
5. Get the other students in your row to do the wave.
6. Bring a small chalkboard to class. Ask the professor if you can borrow his chalk to take notes.
7. Contradict everything the professor says. Offer irrefutable scientific proof.
8. If it's a math lecture, claim that the professor misspelled pi.
9. When the professor asks a question, raise your hand. If the professor calls on you, point to someone in the next row and say "He knows." Pick a different person each time.
10. Buy a doll. When you go to class, leave the doll in your chair, along with your notebook and pen. Say that you have an important meeting to go to, and that the doll will be taking notes for you.
11. Bring a typewriter. Use it to take notes.
12. Write a love note. Sign it "a secret admirer". Get someone to pass it to the professor.
13. Get up to go to the bathroom five or six times during the class. Change clothes every time.
14. While taking notes, write vulgar words every few lines. If anyone asks, say you have Tourette's syndrome.
15. Buy a watermelon. Give it to the professor. If he/she asks, say "They were out of apples."
16. Bring a small tape player. Play a tape of the previous lecture. Take notes on both.
17. If it's an English class, ask how the theory of relativity relates to Shakespeare's "Midsummer Night's Dream".
18. Pretend to be asleep until five minutes before the end of class. Then wake up and explain that you missed the lecture, and ask the professor to summarize what he/she talked about.
19. Bring a can of spray paint. Use it to take notes on the classroom wall.
20. Bring a fully-stocked picnic basket to class. Explain that you didn't have time to eat breakfast.
21. Wear a loincloth to class. If anyone asks, say that it is your costume for the school play, and you didn't have time to change out of it.
22. Tear out pages of the textbook and make little origami animals out of them. Have a whole menagerie by the end of class. Give them to the professor as a token of your esteem.
23. Bring a fishing rod. Try to catch things on the professor's desk.
24. Bring a tape player and a tape of a thunderstorm. Keep it hidden. Sometime during the lecture, start the tape, stand up, claim that the professor has angered the gods and leave. Watch to see how many students follow you after the tape starts playing.
25. Make reserved seating cards and place them on the desks before class.
26. Tell the professor you are on a new experimental cold medication that may have strange side effects. Every ten minutes or so, run around the room screaming. Afterward, claim that you have no memory of what just happened.
27. Claim that you are the new student teacher, and that you are to give the lecture for that class. If the professor agrees, lecture on a subject completely opposite the to subject of the class. If the professor objects, say that the students should have a wide range of knowledge.
28. Switch the professor's lecture notes with your history notes from last term.
29. Raise your hand and ask when the movie is going to start.
30. Bring a flash camera. Take pictures every few minutes, using a very bright flash. If anyone complains, say that you didn't see any sign saying you couldn't bring cameras.
31. Bring a light bulb. Hold it over your head whenever you have the answer to a question.
32. Bring an easel and a paint set. Paint a portrait of the professor during the lecture. Say that it is a homework assignment for art class
33. Sneeze very loudly. Then, have the person next to you sneeze, then the person next to him, and so on. See how long it takes before the professor sneezes.
34. When the professor comes in, say, very loudly, "Hey! A substitute! All right!" Claim that the real professor said you could have lecture outside.
35. Come to class wearing the same outfit as the professor. Call the professor a copycat.
36. If it's a geology lecture, switch the quartz crystals with New Folger's Crystals and see if the professor notices. Have a hidden camera.
37. Hide a ticking clock under the podium. Call in a bomb threat.
38. Write your assignment on Plato on your little sister's modeling clay.
39. Ask questions in a foreign language you know the professor doesn't know. Act angry when he/she doesn't understand you.
40. Come to class dressed as a professional wrestler. Tell people you joined the wrestling team. Bodyslam anyone who doesn't believe you.
41. When the professor comes in, suddenly scream, "NOOOOOO! Not him! Not professor Johnson!! They let him teach again! Noooooooooo!" then run out of them room. See how many people follow you.
42. Turn your row into a mosh pit.
43. Before class starts, turn all the desks upside down. Sit on them like you would normally.
44. Two words: American Gladiators.
45. Make requests like people do at rock concerts. ("Relativity! Relativity! Einstein rocks!")
46. Bring popcorn. Throw it and the professor. Complain that these trained animal shows aren't what they used to be.
47. Bring a tape player and a tape of the school bell. Play it every 15 minutes.
48. When the professor calls on you, mumble inconprehensibly. Answer every question in this fashion. See how long it takes before the professor stops calling on you.
49. When you take a test, hire a security guard to stand by your desk and make sure no one cheats off your paper.
50. Make up a strange religious cult and distribute flyers for it during class. If it is a religious studies class, complain that your cult was not included in the textbook, and demand that they get a new one.
51. Smoke a pipe and respond to each point the professor makes by waving it and saying, "Quite right, old bean!"
52. Wear X-Ray Specs. Every few minutes, ask the professor to focus the overhead projector.
53. Sit in the front row and spend the lecture filing your teeth into sharp points.
54. Sit in the front and color in your textbook.
55. When the professor calls your name in roll, respond "that's my name, don't wear it out!"
56. Introduce yourself to the class as the "master of the pan flute".
57. Give the professor a copy of The Watchtower. Ask him where his soul would go if he died tomorrow.
58. Wear earmuffs. Every few minutes, ask the professor to speak louder.
59. Leave permanent markers by the dry-erase board.
60. Squint thoughtfully while giving the professor strange looks. In the middle of lecture, tell him he looks familiar and ask whether he was ever in an episode of Starsky and Hutch.
61. Ask whether the first chapter will be on the test. If the professor says no, rip the pages out of your textbook.
62. Become entranced with your first physics lecture, and declare your intention to pursue a career in measurements and units.
63. Sing your questions.
64. Speak only in rhymes and hum the Underdog theme.
65. When the professor calls roll, after each name scream "THAT'S MEEEEE! Oh, no, sorry."
66. Insist in a Southern drawl that your name really is Wuchen Li. If you actually are Chinese, insist that your name is Vladimir Fernandez O'Reilly.
67. Page through the textbook scratching each picture and sniffing it.
68. Wear your pajamas. Pretend not to notice that you've done so.
69. Hold up a piece of paper that says in large letters "CHECK YOUR FLY".
70. Inform the class that you are Belgian royalty, and have a friend bang cymbals together whenever your name is spoken.
71. Stare continually at the professor's crotch. Occassionally lick your lips.
72. Address the professor as "your excellency".
73. Sit in the front, sniff suspiciously, and ask the professor if he's been drinking.
74. Shout "WOW!" after every sentence of the lecture.
75. Bring a mirror and spend the lecture writing Bible verses on your face.
76. Ask whether you have to come to class.
77. Present the professor with a large fruit basket.
78. Bring a "seeing eye rooster" to class.
79. Feign an unintelligible accent and repeatedly ask, "Vet ozzle haffen dee henvay?" Become aggitated when the professor can't understand you.
80. Relive your Junior High days by leaving chalk stuffed in the chalkboard erasers.
81. Watch the professor through binoculars.
82. Start a "wave" in a large lecture hall.
83. Ask to introduce your "invisible friend" in the empty seat beside you, and ask for one extra copy of each handout.
84. When the professor turns on his laser pointer, scream "AAAGH! MY EYES!"
85. Correct the professor at least ten times on the pronunciation of your name, even it's Smith. Claim that the i is silent.
86. Sit in the front row reading the professor's graduate thesis and snickering.
87. As soon as the first bell rings, volunteer to put a problem on the board. Ignore the professor's reply and proceed to do so anyway.
88. Claim that you wrote the class text book.
89. Claim to be the teaching assistant. If the real one objects, jump up and scream "IMPOSTER!"
90. Spend the lecture blowing kisses to other students.
91. Every few minutes, take a sheet of notebook paper, write "Signup Sheet #5" at the top, and start passing it around the room.
92. Stand to ask questions. Bow deeply before taking your seat after the professor answers.
93. Wear a cape with a big S on it. Inform classmates that the S stands for "stud".
94. Interrupt every few minutes to ask the professor, "Can you spell that?"
95. Disassemble your pen. "Accidently" propel pieces across the room while playing with the spring. Go on furtive expeditions to retrieve the pieces. Repeat.
96. Wink at the professor every few minutes.
97. In the middle of lecture, ask your professor whether he believes in ghosts.
98. Laugh heartily at everything the professor says. Snort when you laugh.
99. Wear a black hooded cloak to class and ring a bell.
100. Ask your math professor to pull the roll chart above the blackboard of ancient Greek trade routes down farther because you can't see Macedonia.

Academic Chapel

We have two academic chapels twice a year in ABU. This is the time when all faculty members hood themselves and show case to our students in chapel. The hood represents the different universities they got their degree from and it is a traditional academic experience.
I got my doctorate degree from the University of Western Ontario, but the grown and hood costs over $1000 and I could not afford it. I have to rent it and for some reasons, only the University of Toronto hood is available and that's what I am wearing today. UWO hoods are traditionally purple while UT hoods are traditionally red.
Wisdom come from God and knowing God is the beginning of wisdom. It is always wonderful to see a bunch of academic professors praising God together.

Street Painting

Street Painting... So real...
reminds me of the hymn People needs the Lord!

Everyday they pass me by,
I can see it in their eye.
Empty people filled with care,
Headed who knows where?

On they go through private pain,
Living fear to fear.
Laughter hides their silent cries,
Only Jesus hears.

People need the Lord, people need the Lord.
At the end of broken dreams, He's the open door.
People need the Lord, people need the Lord.
When will we realize --  people need the Lord?

We are called to take His light
To a world where wrong seems right.
What would be too great a cost
For sharing Life with one who's lost?

Through His love our hearts can feel
All the grief they bear.
They must hear the Words of Life
Only we can share.

People need the Lord, people need the Lord
At the end of broken dreams, He's the open door.
People need the Lord, people need the Lord.
When will we realize that we must give our lives,
For people need the Lord.
People need the Lord.

Stock Market Challenge

This year, everyone in Business Finance needs to participate in the class stock market challenge. Being an economist, I don't really trust the stock market. You might be able to attain extra profits in the short run, but in the long run, things even out and you will not be able to beat the market...
But, will we ever get to Long Run? No is probably the answer.
Being a Christian, investing and gambling are not the most frequent words you can hear in church settings. Christians should not be greedy and that's why Christians would probably choose not to gamble. Is investment in the stock market gambling? In my opinion, some students are really gambling in the stock market, however, making an educated investment maybe acceptable.
When I was distributing Chinese newspaper with Tanya last week, we had a conversation on my urgency of having a new car. I told her that I would like to join every free, no purchases necessary contest available. Christians are advised not to gamble because gamble is usually initiated by greed. Shouldn't joining contests lie on similar lines? We join contests because we want the prizes and is a direct result from human greediness? I am not asking for a Mercedes or a Hummer though, I just need a reliable car... but I suppose that's greed too. Help me Lord!
Matthew 6:33
"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."

UNO

UNO used to be one of my favorite games. Some friends came to my house and we had a game of UNO. This reminded me the joy I had when I used to play UNO with my friends at UWO. It was a fun game.

RRSP

It is again January and it is again time to think about retirement, I mean retirement money. Canadians can contribute their RRSP and have tax deferred. The best strategy is always contributing the maximum amount. However, for regular working Canadian like me, it is virtually impossible to use them up because of budget constraints.
I started making monthly contribution last year and it had been convenient. Lots of people rush to buy RRSP right on the deadline and this is not a good strategy at all. As demand goes up, price goes up. Therefore, I would like to buy before the others buy. The biggest challenge for me is only that I don't really have enough money to buy the amount I want... When tax season comes, Canadian should really question ourselves if the public health system is really what we need. Taxes are just too high!

Italian Proverb

By asking for the impossible, obtain the best possible.
Aim High! This was the slogan for ABU last year. Business negotiators always want another dollar more. Highway signs show 110 km/h while the most efficient speed is 120km/h.
Economics theory tells us that we should set our standard high because you would always achieve less. At the end, you can be optimal. This is not true from the bible, God will always give you more than you expected. I suppose economics is a study of imperfect human beings while theology is a study of the perfect God?

School Starts!

Biggest News of the day: school starts again!
I am teaching four courses this semester: macroeconomics, finance I, finance II as well as business statistics. To my surprise, over 30 students have enrolled in the finance I class and it is by far the largest class I have ever taught here at ABU.
I still remember the days that I sat on the 5th floor balcony listening to the BIO150 (Introductory Biology in U of T) who was lecturing about 3000 students at the same time. I remember the days that I was teaching class of over 100 in UWO. Teaching larger classes are fun, but grading are going to be a problem. I used to have a full time TA grading for me at UWO when I taught bigger classes.
This year, I plan to bring more energy when I teach. Hopefully, it will be another fruitful and delightful semester.
My goals for this semester:
1. Fail less than 3 student per course
2. Update class websites regularly
3. Finish among the top in the stock market challenge
4. Learn conversational French
5. Loss another 30 pounds...

God's in control

I took this picture today when I was going to Simple For Life. It reminds me that even though there are sadness in life, God is always in Control. Look! It is always bright behind the clouds. Even though we may not understand now, but we can always count on the Lord.

Economists: The Masters of Assumptions

78% of Maritimes believe something may go wrong when they are hospitalized. This is quoted from a radio talk show in Moncton today. This is scarily because what it means is what might go wrong, will go wrong. Most Canadians are proud of our public health care system, but this studies alarm us that something is wrong the existing Canadian healthcare system. A nurse called to the station telling the story of her recent over-the-night surgery stay and she was blaming the lack of clinical experience of new nurses worsen the situation.

As a researcher, I know it is almost no researches are perfect. It is especially true for empirical studies and studies in social science. The most powerful tool for an economist is assumption, but assumptions are not always too valid. Defending assumption is an art and you may need another assumption to attack it. Unless the arguments are totally wrong, economist can always find ways to model anything that yields opposite results.

Therefore, it has been said that if you put 10 different economists in a room together and ask their opinion on a proposed economic policy, you'll receive at least 11 different answers. (See: http://economics.about.com/od/nobelprizeineconomics/a/election_nobel.htm)

French

I finally made up my mind! I am going back to school. This time, I am going to a French School to learn French. I don't really have high expectation on this intrinsic French revolution, all I want is that I can deal with everyday French conversations and be more like Canadians!
New Brunswick is the only bilingual province in Canada and Moncton is the major bilingual city. Isn't Moncton the best place to learn French? Maybe I day, I can teach Economics in French? Hmm... no... it just won't happen.

First time on Ice...

Getting ready to skate the first time in my life.

The arena is packed, but no one wants to skate besides me.
Yes, I bought a helmet before I went on the ice.

At least I dare to skate with my hands off...

Yes! Skating... No! Skating

I have never been on ice until today.
Keith Bodner took me to skate for the first time in my life. It was quite an experience. I am the type of guys who find it difficult to balance with my feet and I don't know how to cycle until the age of 17. Thanks to the boxing week sale, I bought a pair of RBK skates. I bought it only because it was on sale of less than half its regular price. I was so proactive that I even bought my helmets.
I watch quite a few of leafs game when I am in Toronto, but I have never owned any pairs of ice skates and it is not until two days ago that someone told me I need to sharpen the skates.
It is a wonderful experience for me to get on ice and I manage only to slip once. I am not the happiest on ice though, but the kids are. I can see them flying on their little skates and enjoying the time with their families.
Falling on ice is painful, but strangely, the more painful it is, and the more joy you can get out of it. Not just skating, but for virtually every experience in life. It is not easy to devote time and energy studying, it is painful to listen and learn, but once you succeed and all the hard work pays off, you rejoice! Isn't that the beauty of life?
Salvation is gift from God and is free, but the journey to be holy needs hard works and most of time, painful. Concentrate and be focus, and at the end, we can rejoice when we see the Lord. Are we kind and faithful servants?

Risky Business

Church friends came over to my house to play the game of RISK tonight. It was fun. I had not played this game for about 7 years. This brought back a lot of my younger memorizes. Risk is a fun game only if we can get 5-6 people playing. I used to love it that much that I bought the whole game. However, because of there is a lack of interested friends, my risk has never been opened and it is damaged during the flood of my storage at the UHaul’s.

I have never been a lucky person and that’s one of the reasons why I don’t believe in luck. In fact, in my personal Christian viewpoint, nothing is coincidence because God is in control. There is no such thing as luck, and everything is within God’s desire. I struggle that idea whenever I need to teach Econometrics/Statistics. I am preaching probability that I don’t really believe in.

At the beginning of the game, my pieces of land are so bad that I eventually end up with only two pieces of remote lands and I was in extreme danger because I have less than a dozen soldiers left. I knew that I would lose if I didn’t attack someone. With the help of turning in 3 cards, I got an extra 30 soldiers. Surprisingly, I was able to conquer the whole Europe and eliminate one other opponent. It was quite a uphill battle. Five of us were playing and we managed to finish within 2.5 hours. I guess we are all furious with each other and attack whenever we have chance. I suppose I was guilty of eliminating the first player, and after the attack, as expected, I was the second to go…

The Odds of playing risks favors the offensive players slightly: ( see http://www.dandrake.com/risk.html)

Coupons

Canadians like buying with coupons. When I was in Hong Kong, coupons and flyers are not as common. The cost of living in Canada is much higher and any bargains we can get is going to be welcoming. My praises to the housewives who spend a lot of their time and efforts in any weeks collecting usable coupons that comes from mails, newspapers...
When I first came to Canada, I am not used to the coupon/flyer culture. I believe it is not environment friendly and create negative externality. Whenever I plan to leave for a vacation, I have to find someone to pick up flyers indicating that someone might be home to avoid thefts. However, when I was surfing the internet, I find the following website: www.save.ca. This website allows Canadians select coupons we want and they can mail to us freely. These coupons actually come in a timely manner and are usable. Maybe it is now time for coupon industry to think about evolutions!

$2000

ABU makes the times and transcript today!

This is not exciting news though. During the election campaign last year, the liberals promised to provide a one-time $2000 allowance to all NB students entering a NB university for the first time. This is exciting news initially until we find out that ABU is not among those qualified Universities. The word from the provincial government is that ABU is not a publicly funded university and only publicly funded university students are eligible for this program. This gives us in a big disadvantage in recruiting first year student.

The primary reason why I joined ABU is the calling to Christian Education. I believe there are two major objectives in this ministry. Firstly, ABU exists to train church leaders to support pastors. A significant portion of the student body is Christians and we want to equip them with professional knowledge in the Christian word view. Secondly, ABU exists to outreach the unsaved. As faculty members and students, we strife to spread the gospel and testify to our society. I believe it is important for us to engage ourselves more to the local communities beyond our churches. In the up-coming capital campaign (hopefully, the school of Business Administration capital campaign) will allow us to include a gallery or museum that can potentially be tourist attractions (not like the Baptist Heritage center) in order to extend the reputation of our university. How about a museum of Maritimes Business History?

Accuracy guarantee...

The invention of Universal Bar Code on merchandize has revolutionized the tertiary industry. It saves time and cost when doing transactions. The accuracy of these barcodes is impressive and in fact, most errors are generated from the inputs of prices, rather than the decoding of barcodes.

I experience a barcode error today when I shop at the Atlantic Superstore. The error is not as a result of misread, but as a result of data inputs. What makes me angry is not the error, but the attitude of the staff at the Superstore. I have insisted many times that I see the sales sign and I actually tell him where the sign is. After he has gone investigating, he refuses to give me the sales price and even worse, he says the English on the sign is not the product I am buying. The way he speaks make me feel that he does not believe I know English.

I later go back to the stacks and take the on sale sign to the customer service. It turns out that I am correct, but that staff comes and takes away the sign rudely. His supervisor gives me the item free in return in order to calm me down.

Customer service is important in the tertiary industry. A radio show in the FM 91.9 interviewed some Nova Scotia supervisors and concluded that most workers do not enjoy working. They enjoy their pay checks, but feel working painful and stressful. As an economist, working has negative utility which is consistent with this finding.

There is a famous Chinese article on working and happiness. The author preaches the importance of finding joy when you work. If every of your staffs enjoy their works, your firm is likely to be operating at a high efficiency.

To my understanding, working should be all business and staff should not carry any emotions. I forget how many times I get pissed by calling center staffs. Shouldn’t they be trained to be more professional and be able to handle complaints? Remember, customers are always correct.

Recruits

This year's Christmas movies are actually better than my expectations. Being alone in Moncton gives me additional incentive to see movies.
Before the feature presentations, we have the advertisements. Besides the upcoming movie previews, there are clips advertising university education. Mount Saint Vincent in Halifax, University of New Brunswick in Saint John are among those who advertises in the big screen, big sound room.
There is a significant drop in first year enrolment in most universities around the Maritimes. The competition to recruit good students is fierce. ABU, being a small liberal arts university, receives no subsidies from the government and rely heavily on tuition fees. It is virtually impossible to do a lot of advertising because of financial reasons. However, we can be more active in personal recruiting. We can go to local high schools, contact youth pastors across Canada as well as international private high schools. One of the advantages in studying in ABU is the amazing low international student fees, why don't we take advantage of this and start going to private international high schools in Canada?

Bookworms, anyone?

Happy 2007!

I feel like I suddenly get older today. Thanks to the ABU business society, I have a $50 dollar gift certificate from Chapters. I bought a couple of interesting books. I remember a study that I have read before saying that less than 50% of the books purchased are read thoroughly. A lot of people buy books, start a couple of pages, but will never at to the end of the book. On the other hand, over 90% of CDs or video purchased will be listened or watched thoroughly.

It must be interesting to know how many of my students actually can thoroughly read the textbook they buy, based on this study, maybe I should putting up videos for my students in the coming year. At the same time, a lot of Christians are lost in the wilderness for over 40 years and never be able to get to Canaan, the Promised Land. In other words, they start to read the bible with heart and dedications, but unable to go beyond the book of Exodus. This is kind of sad.

Since I am rumbling about books, I may as well share my thoughts on copyrights. I don’t believe the current intellectual protection laws work, or efficient. I believe that intellectual properties should be treated as public goods, like government built highways. We should not and will not be able to exclude its usage to anyone. I want to propose a massive library system on all intellectual properties, like movies and songs. Everything can be downloaded freely and legally whereas certain form of income surtax will be deducted from citizens in order to finance the productions. People can pay and go to giant theatres or stay at home to watch their own copy using their small TV. Even though this may sound weird at this time, one may believe that taxpayers should not pay for services they don’t use. However, if every property owner has to finance their local school system, isn’t it more beneficial to society to collect taxes on intellectual public goods?