Give us a choice

Credit card companies are cracking down on retailers who have a surcharge for customers who decide to pay with their credit card. Credit card companies take a hefty percentage from each credit card transaction which ends up being paid directly by the retail store. By employing a surcharge, the retailers are trying to pass on the credit card's added cost to the customer.

Credit card companies are offering a service, and of course retail shops can choose whether they want to allow the use of credit cards as a form of payment. However, I believe the card companies are overstepping their boundaries when they require retailers to charge the same amount for both cash and card payments.

The retailers have no choice. They are forced to pay the transaction fee when a customer pays with a credit card. They should have the right to pass that fee to the customer. Customers will either pay the higher price, pay with cash, or purchase their goods from another store that doesn't charge the transaction fee. The credit card company may lose out if the customer decides to pay in cash, but I still think it is unfair for the card company to tell the retailer how to run their business.

The Consumer Council has sided with the card companies on this issue. If that is their policy, I suppose there is nothing that can be done. However, I am disappointed that the Council has sided with big business rather than try and help out Hong Kong's small business owners.

Monster Maker

Everyone knew that Nissan had their cross hairs on the Porsche 911 Turbo. Everyone knew the goal was to beat the Turbo. No one expected the GT-R to completely blow the 911 out of the water. Let's just say, there's no comparison. The heavier, front engined GT-R beat even Porsche's top of the line, ultra rare, Carrera GT (on the Top Gear track, driven by the Stig). It is mind boggling how good this car is at this price. It is truly supercar performance, without the supercar price tag. It has achieved what the Honda NSX always wanted to do. So instead of paying USD600,000 for a Ferrari Enzo, you'll probably end up paying USD70,000 for a GT-R that has Enzo like performance. How crazy is THAT!

What's even more amazing is the technology involved. Sure, the Porsche GT2 is crazy fast, but you have to be a very competent driver to be able to control it. The GT-R on the other hand is suitable for both professionals, and amateurs alike.

Bravo, Nissan. I am officially jealous.

Absurd

I have refrained from posting about Olympic controversy during the Olympics. This is not a controversy, it is just people acting dumb.

Today's newspapers were filled with pictures of Chinese hurdler, Liu Xiang, and the faces of people in tears over his sudden exit from the games. Cry for Sichuan, cry for the firefighters who gave their lives in Mong Kok, but please don't cry for Liu. He still has his gold medal from 2004, and he has won many many events between then and now. He is no slouch, and certainly not a disappointment. China is shooting for 40 gold medals in this Olympics. People shouldn't cry over the one they can't get.

Of course, that's not all. The worst part is probably the silly internet folk (AKA 憤青), who are calling Liu a coward, speculate that he pulled out on purpose, and whining about how they feel cheated. Cheated? Last I heard, the Olympic televised broadcasts are free. Let's say you managed to get an overpriced ticket to watch the race live: last I heard, there's still a 110 meter hurdle event going on. It's not like the event was cancelled. People cheated themselves by putting too much focus on Liu.

There are the more mellow ones who say they wish Liu would have ran anyways since he showed up, to "finish what he started". Err... the man still has something called a career. If he destroys his Achilles tendon just so you can "get your money's worth", Liu's career as a hurdler may just end then and there.

The media is also certainly at fault, for over promoting Liu. However, I'm cutting them a huge break this time. If it wasn't for the media, Liu wouldn't have been making 60 million yuan per year in sponsorship money.

So stop whinning. Nobody lost here.

Oh please...

Golf without El Tigre

Suddenly, the PGA Tour Championship is upon us! I honestly didn't notice. Since the US Open, and since Tiger Woods got season ending surgery, golf has pretty much been fast forwarded for me. I've only noticed the majors, and the only reason I even noticed the British Open was Greg Norman almost winning it.

Is it my fault? Am I a "Tiger only" golf fan? Not necessarily. However, I have to admit that ESPN and a blog or two decide how much golf news I receive. Now that I'm paying attention, I've noticed that ESPN's golf coverage has dropped a ton since Tiger stopped playing.

Is this on purpose? Probably not. A sport simply isn't as exciting when your best player is injured; especially when its an individual sport. Even for other sports, when Jordan was injured, basketball suffered a blow. Tiger is just so much better than his peers, that the blow golf suffers is even greater. It's all relative.

Farewell, Manny.

Perhaps one day we will know exactly how this came to be. Maybe when Manny writes his life story, we'll find out why Manny's departure from the Red Sox was so abrupt. Things just happened so quickly.

Throughout all the rumors and talks, I still expected Manny to stay. I mean, the past few five seasons all had rumors of Manny being traded, but trades never took place. Manny's offensive prowess just never allowed the Red Sox front office to get rid of him. He had some attitude issues, but how "destructive" could they possibly be if we were able to win two World Series titles, and come pretty darn close in 2003? Manny was the WS MVP in 2004, and he gave the team much needed contribution in 2007. To me, the 2008 rumors seemed no different. It was that time of the year when Manny was acting up again. He was still one of the most productive players on the team, and arguably the most hardworking. I really didn't see this coming. Down to the trading deadline, I was still telling friends that Manny wouldn't be traded. Things would just be the same as they always are. Lo and behold, Manny is gone, we are suddenly short two top prospects, and Jason Bay was due to play LF at Fenway.

Suddenly, a player who had been with us for eight years, who played Fenway in his prime, who won two World Series titles with us, who had so much talent, quirkiness, and unintentional humor, was gone.

From a baseball standpoint, Jason Bay is certainly an upgrade in defense, and provides current Manny type stats. I'm disappointed that Brandon Moss had to go, plus we gave away a much needed reliever in Craig Hansen. Both were long time Red Sock prospects. Personally, I'm sad to see Manny go. Not only a future Hall of Famer, but one of the most fun players to watch, whether it was hitting the baseball, or doing funny stuff like high fiving the crowd, or taking a leak in the Green Monster.

Farewell, Manny. Good luck, and thank you.