Things that suck

The Apprentice is just so fake. As fake as the idea that Donald Trump is a very rich guy. This is the guy that declared bankruptcy some years back. In the middle of the previous season, another of his business had a much publicized bankruptcy. This is a smoke and mirrors kind of guy. He looks rich, lives rich, acts rich and is exactly the hollywood idea of rich. Then again, it can be said that that is precisely what the TVs and movies are for.

The Apprentice reminds me of the fakery of "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" of Robert Kiyosaki. It is a good show to watch and a good book to read because they take one good idea and harp on it. But thats just it, not like what they claim themselves to be - the notion that "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" reveals the secrets of the rich and that "The Apprentice" reveals the lessons of running a big business.

Other things I also think suck (i add things in this list over time):

• Local interest rates that border on usury. Most personal loan rates from local banks charge around 30-40% total interest in about 3 years. I had a BS Math friend that computed the effective interest using NPV and compounded interest and she got a figure around 15% p.a. (to think, my sister in the US got a car loan at an effective interest rate of 5% p.a. Another is the local credit card rates. Add all sort of charges and dont be surprised to be charged in the vicinity of 40%-50% p.a. Also, just recently, our company experienced some collection problems, thus liquidity became a problem. So we had to borrow some big money from the local '5-6' merchant. It was 12% a month plus a 5% finders fee. Whew!