I've been sent new questions for the "About Me" section. As such I've included it at the bottom of this post and moved this post up to today. Otherwise it is as it was.

This is a new About Me section. And it requires your help. This is going to work on a question and answer basis, a multilogue if you like. Place any question about me you would like either in the comments to this post (they've been re-opened) or by email to simon[at]simonworld[dot]mu[dot] nu titled About Me. I will place the question and answer in this post with a link or mention of the questionner (unless you request anonymity).

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Jim has lead the way:
Q: Why do you live in Hong Kong?
A: I got here because of a transfer via work. And people say that multinationals are bad! I was happy to move - 15% tax rate instead of Australia's 48%, no sales tax, no capital gains tax, on the doorstep of one of the most interesting places in the world (China), world-class city, more Ferraris than you can poke a stick at, family-friendly, the luxury of a helper...plenty of reasons. It's a great place to visit and an even better place to live. Plus it is thousands of miles from family. I love 'em and all, but a bit of distance is nice. We're making it in the world on our own.

Q: Do you like it better than Australia?
A: Australia will always be "home". This is just our temporary abode. The two places are so different it is hard to compare. But all Aussies I know one day want to go home.

Q: Have you ever played cricket?
A: I challenge you to find any Australian, male or female, who hasn't played cricket at least once. I'd wager even Pixy played once. You actually can't be an Australian citizen unless you have played cricket.

Q: Did you like it?
A: Yes. Because I was good. Still am. Used to beat my brother in the backyard version with monotonous regularity. Of course he'll dispute that, but he cheated anyway.

Q: If you could have 100 readers or 100 dollars which one would you choose?
A: This is obviously a trick question. I'd take the $100 and give $1 to each of those 100 readers. The blogosphere is a cheap place.

Q: Is your wife sexier when she's got a bun in the oven?
A: She's even sexier when she's pregnant! (That's a joke. You see bun in the oven is an idiom...oh, never mind).

Pylorns of the extremely well designed Wetwired asks:
Q: So are there many single women in Hong Kong you could hook me up with if I visited?
A: Strictly speaking, this is not About Me. Nevertheless it is something I know about. The answer is no and yes. There are single women in HK, but the number of single men is greater. However, most of the single men are either morons, ugly, rude or a combination of all three. This means any single man who is reasonably intelligent, reasonably presentable and reasonably polite can make a killing in the HK singles market. It is the origin of the saying "Shooting fish in the barrel."

Jim, who has sorted out his aggregator, asks:

Q: How long do you expect to be in HK?
A: Either until the tax rate rises above Australia's, the Communists expel me or until my mother and mother-in-law forcibly bring the grandchildren back to Oz. Or a few more years, whichever comes first.

Q: Do you have any concerns about raising your kids there (HK) rather than Australia?
A: When JC starts singing "The Internationale" I'll panic. It's a good experience for the kids to grow up in somewhere like HK, giving them a taste of the wider world early in life. And it'll come in handy when we go to eat Chinese back in Oz.

Q: Would you rather read the book or watch the movie that's based on it?
A: It depends if it's porn.

Pieman asks: Any fave HK restaurants/pubs 'n' clubs?
A: Yes. Lucy's at Stanley is a favourite restaurant but Hong Kong is blessed with many great places to eat, even if the service can be patchy. There is a wide varierty of food to meet every budget...and now I'm sounding like Tourism Hong Kong. Seriously food is one thing Hong Kong does well. Pubs there are also plenty in Soho, the Mid-levels, Happy Valley and the like. Favourites? I'm a married man with 3 kids...any pub I can go to is a favourite.

Ilana asks: Do you know how to read Chinese? How did you prepare for your life in Hong Kong? How easy is it for you to speak Chinese and how socially necessary is fluency when socializing?
A: I cannot read Chinese. It's not an easy task and frankly I'm hopeless when it comes to languages. They've got literally thousands of characters and I have trouble remembering what day it is. I can speak very, very basic Cantonese. In Hong Kong being able to speak it for socialising is not that important...if the crowds you move are expats or overseas educated Hong Kongers. English is commonly spoken in these crowds. If you want to speak to locals some understanding of Cantonese will be vital. Also don't forget there is no "Chinese" but rather many different dialects, the main one being Mandarin. They use the same characters but sound completely different.

Finally how did I prepare for my life in Hong Kong? I made sure I am open to new experiences; I read up on the history of the place; I learnt a little of the language; I came and had a look around for a week before we moved here. There's plenty of things you can do but nothing ever really prepares you for any move, to Hong Kong or anywhere else. You need to be adaptable and open to new things and you'll be just fine.

Helen asks:

Q: What movie is the biggest utter waste of time you've ever come across? And what movie still has you thinking about how great it was?
A: To the first part, Farewell My Concubine. It was like listening to fingers on blackboard. It is also the only movie I've walked out on. The second part is harder, but given the current frequency with which I'm viewing it, I'd say Shrek 2. Any movie you can watch 50 times without it turning you into a homicidal maniac must be good.

Q: In your Australian experience, why can't women keep their mouth closed while putting on mascara?
A: They're from a different planet, it says so in the book.

Q: What are you most proud of Australia about?
A: Where to begin? Everything from acacias to vegemite.

Q: What's your favorite childhood memory?
A: She wouldn't want me to say here.

Harry asks:

Q: Who is your favourite Napoleonic General?
A: This is a trick question. It is Admiral Nelson. Killer fact: 2005 is the 200th anniversary of the victory (or loss) at Waterloo, yet Nelson's love for Emma Hamilton, whom he asked to be looked after by the country in his will, was and will be ignored. This is how Brits look after their hero's dying request (not to metion Hardy's non-kiss).

Ragel asks:

Q: Have you ever been to jail? If so, why?
A: Yes, I have. It was a rainy afternoon and in a desperate attempt to prevent two boys from going off the deep end, my mother did the only thing she could and sent us both to jail for a spell. Then she bought both Park Lane and Mayfair, put hotels on both and bankrupted us quick smart.

Q: What, apart from your family, do you miss the most about Oz?
A: Oportos. It's a chain that does Portugese style chicken burgers that are as close to heaven as is possible in a bun.

Q: What is the biggest and funniest misunderstanding you've had in HK? I mean, due to language barriers, a cultural protocol you didn't follow or something like that.
A: It was actually just before we came here, when I said to my wife we were giong to move to Hong Kong. In truth she was great about it, once I picked her up off the floor.

Q: Where else would you like to live?
A: Buckingham Palace.

Q: What is an absolute MUST-SEE or MUST-DO for tourists travelling to HK in your opinion?
A: Certainly the airport would be a good place to start, because you don't get much choice. And you get to see it twice.

Zak has asked where in Oz am I from?
A: Sydney, and more specifically the Eastern Suburbs, and even more specifically Vaucluse and Bondi. Yes, that's right. God's country.

October 25th 2005

Q: Tay Zand says It would be useful if your "about me" page actually contained something substantive about you, like what you do. After all, if you are going to accuse China of fudging its economic data, it would carry significantly more weight if we knew that your opinions and analysis are based on some kind of expertise, rather than just the personal opionion of a random ranter.
A: Not quite a question, but close enough. I work in the finance industry for a multinational investment bank. In particular I am a trader of various financial instruments and derivatives. I have done this for more than 10 years in a variety of financial centres. Prior to that I took both a Bachelors and Masters in Economics, majoring in Actuarial Science, from a major Australian university.

What does this have to do with any of my opinions and arguements? Nothing whatsoever. Quite frankly I'd like each post to stand on its own two feet. My background should be irrelevant to the "weight" or otherwise of my opinions and analysis. But now you know, in case it matters to you.

October 26th, 2005

Q: Pudding asks I notice that you hardly ever link to The Standard anymore. And that in the Kissel trial, you have coverage that did not make it into the final edited version of the The Standard. You also write for The Standard regularly, but I've never seen you openly say that.

Are you preventing anyone from noticing this conflict of interest?
A: I link to articles that I find interesting, want to use as a reference or make a comment on. In general if the SCMP and Standard have similar articles on a topic, I will reference The Standard. There is no deliberate policy of linking to one or the other paper on a regular basis - I link ad hoc.

I had no input into The Standard's coverage of the Kissel trial.

I write op-ed pieces that are published in The Standard. I added the Other Writing link in the left sidebar to a page that lists the articles that have been published. I chose not to make a general announcement out of a combination of modesty and a deliberate decision to not explicitly link the blog with those articles. If people discover the link, that's fine, but I'm not drawing attention to it, which is why I have not mentioned my blog at all in The Standard pieces.

As such I am not preventing anyone from doing anything. I fail to see the perceived "conflict of interest", but with this answer I hope to have dispelled any such perceptions.

Q: Lord Curzon of Coming Anarchy asks what's it like being a banker? Would you recommend it to budding college graduates?
A: I wouldn't recommend anything to budding college graduates. I very much enjoy banking and what I do, which breaks the modern taboo of publicly enjoying your work, but there you go. It's a wide field and in times past people came into the job from all walks of life. These days it seems graduates are coming through very specific finance or business degrees, which gives them a solid theoretical background and demonstrates a keenness on the industry. But to be honest, I learnt more in the first month on the job than I did in four years of university training.

To finally answer your question, it very much depends. If you enjoy finance, economics, stress, living by your wits and mouth, using your brain for long stretches of time and constantly being challenged, then banking is a great career.

Q: Spirit Fingers asks boxers or briefs?
A: I've been "hanging out" since I was 18.

Q: Fumier asks who do you think is the greatest living Australian, apart from Rolf Harris?
A: Me.

October 27th, 2005

Q: Misohoni asks what are you going to do with the blog after you can't be arsed with it?
A: Take the money and run.

October 30th, 2005

Q: Stephen asks what is your real name? What is the most enjoyable part you live in Hong Kong? How do you see Hong Kong's gals?
A: There are enough clues lying around this site as to my full name. I'll leave it as a puzzle for you. The most enjoyable part of living here? There's numerous things - good lifestyle, low tax rate, Asia on your doorstep, great food, good people. As for how I see Hong Kong's gals, that's easy. With my eyes.