Bloody Women's Charter

Read about a poor chap who got abused by his wife but couldn't do anything about it. I know exactly how he feels. Fortunately, my story is not so bad. Although I think my ex also had some psychiatric imbalance. I did get assaulted and made a police report. But didn't have to resort to a PPO. The point is the Women's Charter needs coarse tuning. It's plenty broke. I have no argument against protecting women from abuse. But when the Charter gives women a weapon to shaft men, something needs to be done. Of course, nothing gets done until some big-wig gets shafted by his ex-missus. Let's hope that happens real soon.

Bloody TP again. And police in general. Somebody who tried to make a police report about an idiot motorcyclist riding on the pedestrian walkway (I've seen it myself) gets the brush-off. Again, nothing will happen until some VIP gets run down by these idiots. Again, let's hope it happens real soon.

Tidbits

In the Sunday Times, report about Xiaxue losing some sponsors over remarks about toilets for the handicapped. Good riddance to bad rubbish. It shows they have no integrity. More to the point, it's amazing how some people think (those who complain for the sake of complaining - you know who you are). We're not talking about parking lots here. I wonder if each special toilet is even used once a day by its designed-for user. Of course it's ok to use it if there are no handicap people around. The kicker, handicap associations agree it's ok. What else is there to talk about? Idiots.

Another article in Sunday Times 'debunking' the myth of property. Hello! Which idiot pays for the whole property?! You have to calculate your return based on your investment, i.e. your downpayment and your total mortgage payments. In an up-market, the mortgage is a good thing. You're making leverage work FOR you. Go back to accounting school. You're FIRED!

Problems with your I-Pod Nano? Don't say I didn't tell you. I'm just wondering how long it will be before the pack takes Apple down. 'That, is the sound of inevitability, Mr Anderson'.

Another article in Sunday Times about good bread shops in Singapore. Not one mention of C*** Talk... I wonder why? Another example of Singaporeans behaving like a pack of dogs? Or monkeys? I, for one, have never bothered to patronize them. Looks like I was right.

Finally, came across this really cool looking motorcycle. The Daelim Daystar X5. Comes with many customization options. Only problem is, the engine is only 150cc and the sound is terrible (how good can a 150cc engine sound?). But it sure looks good. The price, on the right side of 8K. I managed to suppress a laugh when the salesman mentioned 'loan', and then '4 years'. I'm tempted. But, it's just not practical. Oh, well...

Another Loser

I couldn't care less about the Cultural Medallion. But check out this sorry apologist ball-carrier for Mr Mitsubishi aircons. Nuf said.

Fatties

I just watched 'The Biggest Loser' last night. It was pretty gripping. I think it's a good show. It actually motivates fatties to lose weight. Much better than that silly 'Villa Wellness', which is a poorly disguised advertising gimmick by those people who prey on the insecurities of the fatties. Hopefully, by watching this show, fatties can learn how to lose weight without losing lots of money too. Huzzah!

The first time the fatties walked in for the weigh-in, it was awesome. Fat wobbling all over the place. The biggest guy was over 400 lbs. That's about 4 times my weight. Holy cow! You can feel the sense of achievement was they lost up to 20 lbs after 1 week. And you can feel the disappointment of the contestant who lost only 5 lbs.

And check out this blog where fat people who are not interested in losing weight tear into the show. Losers.

Stupid Traffic Lights

Have you ever driven up to a traffic light, usually at night, and have it turn amber just as you reach? It's happened to me on several occasions. I've used to most foul of languages on the fellows responsible for this travesty of justice.

It is a known fact that Singapore car drivers pay the most vehicular taxes in the world. You name it, we have it. So, is it too much to ask for the same standard of traffic light management as in, say, Australia?

I don't have it in black and white, but it is my observation that they bury sensors some distance away from traffic lights. When traffic is light, it will not change the lights until a passing car has gone through. Conversely, it will change a red to green for you if the cross road is clear. You don't have to slow down. They've had this system for at least 10 years and it beats me why LTA doesn't implement it here.

I guess they are not as people-, customer- and service-oriented as Australians. Sometimes the Australians can be too PC, too soft when they should be hard, but in this they're dead on. Go Aussies!

In other news, I just took delivery of my spanking new Dell Dimension 5100 1 week ago. Bumped up the RAM to 1GB, Video card is middle-of-the-road ATI X600 256MB, DVD burner and 17" LCD screen, McAfee antivirus, 3-year warranty. Suh-weeeet! Cost me about $1800. Much cheaper than my last computer. I've been playing a lot of Dungeon Siege II. Fun. Have Doom III and expansion lined up. Waiting for Civ IV, F.E.A.R and others. Also rubbing my hands in anticipation of X-Box 360. Yum.

Slacking TP

Cool looking toilet.

I was driving on the expressway this morning when I saw a pickup truck GM9929K going at 100kmph. He even had the audacity to use the extreme right lane to overtake another vehicle. Too bad I didn't have my camera ready.

This again shows that traffic police enforcement leaves something to be desired if people dare to flout the law so flagrantly. What? Election coming izzit? Please, Singapore is nothing without law & order.

Where Is The Transparency?

I read an article on the Ren Ci Hospital in the Sunday Times, and was vexed by the duplicity of the statements made. I was also amazed at the gullibility of the reporter. Or is there something else...

I quote 2 paragraphs from that article:

He himself is a "full-time volunteer" even though he is Ren Ci's chairman and CEO.

He explained that he does not draw a salary but relies on the generosity of local and overseas temples in which he holds abotships.

This is just too much. Reading the article, you would get the impression that he doesn't draw a salary. But note that the "full-time volunteer" is in inverted commas. If you recall, after the NKF saga, it was report in Today that he earns $15,000 a month. Now, we learn that he also gets money from temples. I demand a full accounting. Perhaps the IRAS could shed some light on the matter.

By Bose Bis Blocked!

Here is a FAQ on the long-running argument over Bose. It's a bit old (1995), but it's objective and cogently written.

It seems to me that many people are sore about:
1. Their profit margin is obscene. The local Bose agent used to go around in a Porsche (several years ago). I don't know what his current ride is.
2. They sway people by aggressive marketing.
3. They tout 'unique' features which are usually rubbish.
4. They rig showrooms in their favour.
5. Obstinate supporters who know nuts but shut their eyes and ears to reason (probably the most irritating reason).
Did I miss anything?

Oh, yes. The link.

Heal Thyself

My colleague, a surgeon, cut his right index finger pretty badly playing with his spanner. Right. I had to stitch him up (sorry, no photo). It was pretty yucky, I haven't done much surgical work since he came (he IS the surgeon).

I Told You So

Have you ever encountered ingrates who rebuff you when you advise them not to do something which is patently unhealthy? Afterall, you wouldn't bother if it was a stranger.

I came upon a colleague eating an oily breakfast this morning. The first thing he said to me was, 'Go away. You're always talking about dieting and losing weight'. We exchanged a few words. He said, 'You may get run over by a car crossing the road, then what?' He can be quite offensive and rude at times.

I have decided to let him dig his hole. If you don't plan for the future, you HAVE no future. Nobody can predict when he will die, but it is folly to hasten the day.

This & That

Check out this rather blasphemous reinterpretation of the Last Supper. A French advertisement.

Lookee here. I wrote about the plight of car owners yesterday and Straits Times splashes the same thing on the back page.

Kudos to AP Lee Wei Ling (MM's daughter) for saying what she did in today's Straits Times. I think some people may be offended by it but it's the truth. Probably only someone in her position can be so candid. The gist of the letter was that the donating public can be a bit too gullible and easily swayed by the over-exuberance of the press.

What's this about the 'best-remembered' ad on TV being Mitsubishi aircons plugged by Jack Neo? Come on, guys. If you're going to kelong, don't be so obvious. Any other ad you can name would be more memorable. Sheesh.

Low COE Prices

COE prices have been falling for some time now. This is not unexpected since it is the gahmen's stated aim to focus on controlling car usage rather than ownership. They feel that more people would be happy if they owned cars, even if they couldn't afford to drive them most of the time.

Obviously, the gahmen has been issuing more COEs than they used to. You can tell by the worsening jams all over Singapore.

Unfortunately, the only people who can afford to take advantage of these cheap COEs are first-time buyers. Because of the new way of calculating scrap values, and the fall in new car prices, existing car owners cannot sell their cars without losing a lot. Besides, even if you scrap your car, the COE is recycled.

The real downside to this situation for existing car owners is the worsening jams and the proliferation of ERP gantries and hours. Not to mention the burden of high petrol prices. Ah well, c'est la vie in Singapore.

Flickr

I upload some of my photos to Yahoo Photos. You can see them at here. Unfortunately, you can't seem to browse the site.

On the other hand, you can at Flickr. I found this pic there. Very nice.

Who's In Charge At LTA?

Reading about the repeated accidents at the Robinson Road and Cecil Street junction after the LTA screwed around with it, I wonder if anyone is in charge there. Come on! If pedestrians insist on crossing illegally there, put up a tall railing/ barrier. Don't remove the curb. Bah!

Thought I should mention Bali. Done.

The Power Of Mortgages

Read an interesting article on why it's better to take out a long mortgage on your house.

I'd like to give a local spin on that. As opposed to the red-hot property market in parts in USA, Singapore's market is just past bottom. Barring unforseen circumstances, we're looking at 5 to 10 years of rising home prices. This is how the rich get richer...

I'll use simplified arithmetic to get the point across. Let's say you have $100,000 cash. You buy a $500,000 apartment with 20% down, and take a 30-year loan at 5% on the remaining $400,000. Your annual payments will be roughly $33,300. Let's say also that you rent it out and get 2% (lousy, but par for Singapore) return. That's $8,000 per annum. So, net payment per year is about $25,000.

After 5 years, say your apartment is worth $750,000 and you sell it. You redeem your mortgage (calculated linearly for simplicity, higher in real life) for $333,000. You get back $417,000. Minus $125,000 in mortgage instalments = $292,000. Your profit in 5 years is $192,000, or 192% or 38.4% per annum (linear).

Your profit would be bigger if you'd bought a $1 million apartment. Now, even if you'd put your money in shares, you'd probably only get around 10% per annum.

The key, therefore, is to buy and sell at the right time. Rinse, and repeat.