Thursday 2 July 2020

Free-To-Play & Virginity


I must share a recent funny episode about this mobile gaming community in Reddit.

A gamer proudly screenshot his rank in PVP (player-versus-player) arena but titled his post as F2P (free-to-play).

Basically he was trying to be passive aggressive against those P2W (pay-to-win) players, implying as F2P, he too can achieve such a high ranking...

Making his "achievement", all the more impressive for all to see.



The trouble with internet is there's a paper trail.

Other Redditors were quick to dig up his old posts to show he indeed has bought gaming packs from the game developer during his early gaming days; and his previous posts boasting his collection of hard to get heroes were coming back to haunt him... 

F2P?

Many were calling him a liar. A fake.



Then there are others who are quick to defend this gamer. 

Look! He only bought those gaming packs during his first few beginning months. Sure, they helped, but he has not bought anything since for the past 8 months. 

For all intended purposes, its perfectly fine to consider him "F2P" now. 

Don't be a pedantic and argue over semantics!



I couldn't stop myself laughing.

It made as much sense as your new girlfriend telling you she's a virgin for the past 8 months. 

Try it!

Next time people ask you whether you're a virgin, tell them you are one for the past 3 days.

See if they catch on to the joke... 

LOL!



Jokes aside, you can see this kind of mental gymnastics in our financial community.


Let's take property.

The BTO flat prices offered by big daddy are very interesting. The top 2 floors are being offered at the same prices. 

If you had bought the 2nd highest floor, do you think you can advertise or pass off your flat as the "highest" top floor in your block? 

Do you really think you can get the same selling price as the ones on the top floor when its time for you to sell?  

Yet you are willing to pay the same price as the top floor when you can get the 3rd and 4th highest floors at lower prices...


How about perpetual bonds?

Now think about it. A "bond" with no maturity date...

Can it still be considered a bond?

Or maybe its more akin to equity in practice?

Don't look at me!

That's like lending money to a "friend" who promises to return it back whenever he feels like it. 

I should get more generous friends like you!


Then there's the home-made definitions when it comes to networth or calculating investment returns.

I forgot or didn't include this or that...

This I count, that I didn't....

Look! I only smoked; I didn't inhale...

OK...

Those of you who knows something about accounting will understand that's why we have Accounting Standards.

If we let companies decide what to include and what not to include, and come up with their own interpretations, then no need to pay taxes anymore!



Have fun! 

See if you can catch yourself trying to justify to yourself or others whenever you try to do something that makes no sense whatsoever.

But hey! What's life without a few little lies to ourselves?

Shh....












11 comments:

  1. We can lie but just don't get caught. If got caught, then fake it like nothing happen. Can we?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wa Uncle8888, that's 'fake it till you make it'? Haha

      Delete
    2. CW,

      I wonder whether they still "teach" NS boys they can do anything they like; just don't get caught?

      It would be nice if some younger readers can update us from the old "Hokkien Peng" era.

      Wait.

      Do we still use Hokkien in NS nowadays?

      Or have dialects died out and become extinct in NS?

      Delete
  2. Hi SMOL,

    You reminded me of that person who included his parent's HDB into his networth. Lol!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unintelligent Nerd,

      Well, I am guessing that's the only child syndrome or side effect...

      If got siblings, I'm sure they will have something to say about it - like lao lee's children ;)


      Mom and dad have their own 3 room HDB flat. Not much, but when it got en-bloc potential, its still worth something.

      If I'm always eyeing their HDB flat, that meant life has not been too kind to me...

      Life is good, better, best when I can tell my siblings you guys can have it, I don't need it.

      I have enough.


      P.S. The same can apply to CPF.

      I just don't understand this preoccupation with CPF by some in our community - especially those who seek FIRE or financial freedom...

      Isn't it better when CPF is a smaller fraction of our networth?

      How to retire EARLY when most of our money is tied up in CPF with moving goal posts to boot?

      Old fogeys near 55 I can understand.

      But youths who shout FIRE but voluntarily contribute to CPF?

      Talk about cognitive dissonance!

      LOL!

      Delete
  3. Hi SMOL,

    Isn't success and failure segregated and measured by timeframe?

    I one month got 30% returns, annualised is 360%!

    Or in one year, I doubled my capital but never say after that lose until 扑街。

    Actually come to think about it, before I busted my trading account, I turned in profits of $6k to $8k for a few trades. Like that can earn bragging rights? Lol.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Endrene,

      That one month return "annualised" to ridiculous annual percentage return is a dead give away that person is a newbie.

      Newbie traders spend more time calculating % returns than focusing on their craft - better entries; better exits.


      Cherry picking which time frame to use is one of the easiest ways to manipulate statistics.


      Well, you are woman, you should know!

      Got cleavage reveal cleavage; got legs show legs; got shoulder show shoulder; got waist reveal waist ;)

      Delete
  4. Wor SMOL,

    Interesting topic. First, who who who, who lie. :)

    Regarding inheritance, I must say it is really complicated. U know, I personally know of brothers who turn against each other even when the old one is still around, "no fair, Bo sWEE" and no, life is not unkind, with the exception of 1 out of the 4 children, 3 of them are. Making even more bucks than the father and I think 2 of them have more properties than the father.

    Then, is the issue of "fairness", I can be honest here, when my mum pass away, I know she left each of us some money, because she told us. But if her last days, she pass on the power of money (she dun know anything of will, or whatever, joint name is the only option) to my sister to help manage her fiances.

    There is 1 account she changed her mind of allocation. No one has any agruments over that, although no one heard it except my brother.

    When she passes on, I have the nagging feeling about where is my promised share ? I know it's not much, but I can't help but wonder, even my dad ask me if I have receive my shares. I simply say not yet, no need to worry.

    As the weeks go by, I mentally write it off and tell myself if someone needs it more, they can have it ba. No big deal.

    Its after 2 months then my sibling passed me my shares have I realised that I am the 小人,it is invested in short term endowment, and the processing takes time.

    My point is, sometimes is not the amount, it's just greed? Or idea of fair entitlement?

    As for F2P, u remind me of someone whose history is dig up since poly days and the glory become lorry.

    Money is really a funny thing. I know of couples quarreling over parking fees and they are much richer than me.

    My MIL always tease me and say that's why I am still so poor. And I replied I am happily poor, but glad that this happily poor folk has no problems feeding his family

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sillyinvestor,

      I am a big practitioner of this thin and tiny book by Ken Blanchard:

      The One Minute Manager


      A lot of miscommunication can be avoided if only we open our mouths and speak up - instead of letting things fester and our imaginations run wild...


      If one has enough and still fight over inheritance, then 2 institutions have failed:

      Upbringing, and

      Schooling


      I left school early. So I don't now how it is nowadays. But I used to see on the walls of most schools, the motto is all about CHARACTER BUILDING.


      Success is what we have to sacrifice to achieve it. When 2 parents work, and we don't have live-in grandparents to help impart values like in the old days, well, something got to give...

      I'm lucky in the sense grandma plays the white cop role, while fulltime mom is terror in her bad cop role, canning me with no mercy whenever I deserve it... Ouch!


      Well, you know now why I don't focus so much with the precision of numbers ;)

      "Aga", "aga" can oredi!

      Delete
  5. Hi SMOL,

    Me me me, guilty as charged! I confess my networth didn't include market price of HDB but included the debt. I know you complain about it, haha, but I am still going to continue doing it because it makes perfect sense to me.

    There's a difference between accounting standards and own standards. Firstly, accounting standards is enforced onto others to benefit the organisation that creates it. My own standards? Didn't force anyone to swallow it, haha, and that's the major difference.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LP,

      Hey, its a free world! You have the right to do whatever makes perfect sense to you!

      And I too can poke on whatever I find hilarious ;)


      To be fair, you are crystal on your homemade definitions and no one is left uninformed on the deviations you have made from the "norm".

      Then there are those (intentionally or unintentionally) used commonly used definitions but never reveal the exceptions they have made???

      Its only when those who can read BEYOND the numbers do a trust but verify enquiry, especially when the numbers look a bit off or fishy, will the truth be revealed...

      That's not cool.

      Especially to those readers who are less well endowed between the ears...

      Delete

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