Book Review: Billion Dollar Whale

Billion Dollar Whale: The Man Who Fooled Wall Street, Hollywood, and the World

** spoiler alert ** Wow. My brain is fried from reading this.

I’ve been following the 1MDB scandal closely ever since it was raised by Sarawak Report. And I have talked to innocent acquaintances who had worked there as well. But nothing could have prepared me for the scale and scope of the 1MDB scandal that has been vividly retold in this grippingly well researched book.

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Something’s amiss with Apple

I’ve owned and used various Apple products over the years. Right now, I’m typing this blog post on an iPad Pro, tethered to my iPhone 6S Plus, while glancing at my Apple Watch to make sure I don’t miss my next appointment. When I get home, I’ll probably watch Netflix on my TV via an Apple TV, then check emails on my iMac before bed.

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Happy 10th Birthday iPhone!

I still remember the thrill of holding that first iPhone box. It wasn’t my first smartphone (that was the Palm Treo). It wasn’t my first iPod (I probably had three by then). It wasn’t even my first PDA (shoutout to the Compaq iPAQ). But it was the first device that seamlessly blended all of them together—a perfect fusion of software and hardware.

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Day One

My accidental last cigarette happened at 8:45pm yesterday, outside a 7-11 whose sign had given up on life even before I had given up on nicotine. It was just supposed to be a placeholder smoke—a nicotine appetizer before the main course. You see, I had choreographed this whole dramatic ‘final cigarette’ scene in my head: midnight strike, philosophical exhale, perhaps a gentle breeze to carry away both smoke and my addiction. Very cinematic. Oscar-worthy, really.
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Happy 40th Birthday Apple!

Apple marked its 40 years of existence with a, well, nothing. For most companies, a milestone is a cause for celebration, or atleast, an opportunity to sell more items through an anniversary themed promotion. But not Apple. It chooses to celebrate this occasion by doing nothing.

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Meet Chip

Chip is a friend. Chip is also what we Malaysians would affectionately call a “kiam siap Chinaman.” The term, while not a racial slur, is a blend of affection and mockery— half admiration for thriftiness, half exasperation at Scrooge-like tendencies. But Chip? He wears the label proudly.

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