mayfair

It gets worse, he said. We are going to offer the same service to our competition for $25 per month, so we are expectiong them to provide that service for $5 a month, and they may have to throw in free internet banking into that price. Can you make any money at that rate, I asked? I had no idea. Not much, he said, but  profits if we concentrate on our core business. And what is that I asked. Art he said.

There is a serious condition though, he said. You have to push that Evian water a bit harder. There are a lot of brands, so you may even have to look at your price points. Of course, If you form another partnership, I may be forced to reconsider our business dealings. There is always room to negotiate, I said. And one other thing, he suggested. What is that I asked? professional boxing he said. I know a lot of athlets are going into boxing these days, but the thought of coming up against Serena didn't fill me with much joy. You'll have to get me some training I said.

Do you play poker, he asked?  Sometimes, I admitted. Ever play online, he asked? No I never have, I said. The only place to play, he stated, is on board the SS Showboat. The musical, I asked? No, it is a paddle steamer which departs Taupo for Turangi at midnight every night. It departs Turangi at noon every day. And you can win money betting on it, I asked? Yes you can also watch films online. So it is a virtual ship? Yes there is no physical ship yet, but one day there may be. That is interesting, I said, thanks for the tip. Would you like to place a bet on the fact that I have made a breakthrough in the understanding of the fundamental design of the proton and neutron he suddenly asked, out of the blue? How much of a bet are we talking about I asked? Oh, about a billion pounds, he said. (Poo.l/ said tigger-that was just a spelling mistake when he jumped on the keyboard, despite having been asked several times no to do so.) No, I don't think I'd like to bet that much, I said.

OK, he said, I'll give you a week to think about my offer, otherwise I'm going to have to start work on another project, and I may have to offer it to somebody else. O.K. I said, I'll talk to my acountant and let you know one way or the other within a week. Thanks, he said. It's 11.am 12th February 2012.

As I always say, he said, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. Does that mean you think you have a bird in the hand, I said. No it means something of substance is worth a lot more than a who lot of empty promises. Have you ever been to New Zealand, he asked. I can't remember, I said, I go to so many places. Yes, I think I was there for the ASB classic last year, wasn't I?  I'm not sure, he replied, I'm not really a tennis fan. I'm in this industry more for the earnings to be made from the electronic games market. Unfortunately, having written the software, I've created a machine which is now more capable of doing my work than I am. It is like having a child, who grows up and has a mind of its own. The thing is, being a gifted child myself, I understand the problems with it.Sometimes when things don't go the way you want, you want to react, and rage against the machine, but you don't, because you have parents who trained you, and gave you the tools you need, so you don't do what your instincts tell you to do, because that is what they want you to do. You don't give them the satisfaction. Your feelings, I asked? Yes he said, learning is not an immediate process, like success or enlightenment. It takes time to build your knowledge. Some people like me like to do it on their own, others like people to teach them. They find that easier. And you can teach yourself, I asked? Totally he said. You just have to ask yourself, don't you. And you get an answer, I said? You usually do, he said. You just keep thinking about the problem until it makes sense.

I'd like to know why I keep losing, I said. We'd all like to know that, he said. But you just keep fighting don't you. Sometimes you lose because you have been beaten by a better player, but that is why you play, isn't it? It is, to be beaten? 99% of the people playing in a tournament are there to lose, he said. How many times have you heard, "it isn't whether you win or lose, but how you play the game?" Quite a lot, I said. It is good advice, he said, but do you understand what it means? Play better, I asked?  No it means, don't open up your emotions for bitter disappointment, if you think there is a good chance it is going to happen to you. Another one is, "Fools travellers in the desert". Can we ever be certain of anything, I asked? Only that God exists, he said. A loss can be devistating, and we don't want to put it in perspective because we can't move on from the past. But optomism is all we have left. It is like when Whitney Houston died. Who knew she made a fortune from military engines, at the time? Most of us thought she was broke. It will always be like yesterday for me, the memories are so strong. You loved her, I asked?  To be honest, he said, I never met her but I would have liked to have spent some time with her, and I listened to her music. Do you mind if I tell you a story? Is it a fairy story, I asked? With a happy ending, he said? You have to decide. It is about my first wife. I didn't know you were married, I said. I'm not, well its about the wife of the first Emperor of China, really, from history, but I sometimes imagine that it could have been me. Okay, tell me, I said.                      more