The Straits Times Blogs - Most Commented

A simple solution

2009-10-27T06:45:00Z

Loh Keng Fatt has some ideas to help reduce road rage in Singapore.

YOU play "good driver" and observe all the rules. On the expressway, you filter left early to follow the stream of cars exiting on the slip road. Or you do the same on the extreme right of a road to access a ramp, or slip road, to a highway.

During peak periods however, this eats up time, the line of cars in front of you can be quite long, and that's when the nasty Singaporean driver shows up.

There you are, nursing your car slowly forward, when a small gap opens in front of you and suddenly a car swerves forcefully into your path.

He is, of course, the infamous queue-jumper — and not necessarily piloting some fancy set of wheels.

You mutter curses, and stare daggers at the offender, willing him or her to check the rear-view mirror to meet your blazing eyes.

Most times, the other driver does not.

I think many motorists are confronted by such brazen, irresponsible actions every day.

But you don't have to put up with such nonsense; you don't have to feel like you need to bash them up (of course, you shouldn't), or even sound your horn in angry frustration.

I've got a simple solution:

Could some sort of barrier in the form of poles be placed along the dotted lines separating two roads; starting at some distance from the exit or entrance point?

Some may say that this would be unsightly. Perhaps. Others may call it dangerous.

But it would only be dangerous if you were speeding and trying to cut in at the last possible moment.

Still, you would have to agree that something has to be done to curb Singapore’s reckless drivers.

It is also dangerous to other motorists who must be on "super alert" to avoid hitting the intruders.

I have learnt to keep a very sharp vigil for anyone who is inclined to cut in.

I actually keep to the extreme edge of the road to give them less space to muscle in. If I am filtering left, I keep my car hugging the extreme right side of my lane, and vice versa.

Drivers should never allow a yawning gap to open in front of them, to let some time-pinching driver sneak in.

Perhaps, if everyone did that, we wouldn't need to install barriers to ward off the queue-cheaters?

Attack on Temasek Review: Not SPH

2009-11-06T03:40:00Z

Geoffrey Pereira explains an accusation based on IP address is mistaken; there was no malicious activity SPH's part.

A COUPLE of days ago, a blog that focuses on Singapore politics carried a posting which accused Singapore Press Holdings of trying to cripple its web server.

Temasek Review (TR) posted its article, "SPH IP address caught 'grabbing' Temasek Review server" on Nov 2.

It started by defining a Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS) attack - essentially as when a server is bombarded with requests so as to overload and cripple it.

It then went on to say that its monitoring had shown that during a recent period, there was a flurry of network requests coming from an SPH IP address.

Put this together and it is no less than an accusation that SPH had launched an Internet attack on TR. Many of its own readers, too, saw it as such, though TR tried to deny it in the discussion that followed on the site.

The article ended by fishing out the Computer Misuse Act and warning SPH to not continue its "intrusions" to undermine its site. Or else, it said, it would escalate the matter.

You can read the article in full, here (and if SPH is not being accused of a DOS attack, why associate it with this URL title?):
http://www.temasekreview.com/2009/11/02/sph-and-recent-ddos-attack-on-temasek-review/

Well, the truth is no warning was needed; but perhaps a little more understanding of the Internet by TR.

For, as at least one TR reader pointed out in the discussion the followed on the site, IP addresses by themselves do not prove anything. In fact IP spoofing is a common tactic used in a DOS attack and with information available readily (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IP_address_spoofing) TR should have known that SPH is as easy prey as anyone.

In any case, given the serious allegation made, SPH made checks with its Network Intrusion Protection Services (NIPS) vendor, a reputable multi-national company. We wanted to find out if anyone within the organisation did, indeed, have a go at TR.

Our NIPS vendor found that there was no unusually heavy access to TR during the period of the alleged attack on its site. SPH logs also determined that no one from the company tried to access material from 2008, as claimed by TR.

TR changed the time of the alleged attack (we have print-outs too!! ) some time after the article was first published; but I won't jump up and down the way some bloggers do when an SPH website changes a headline. I'll just put it down to corrections made by TR to improve accuracy.

Nevertheless, data made available to me covered a 3-day period starting before and ending after the alleged attack. It showed that about 25 SPH employees – including yours truly, a regular reader – visited TR; but we did not create the kind of flurry of Net activity that would slow a server down, much less precipitate a DOS.

In fact, from midnight on Nov 1 to about 6 am, (covering a period of the alleged attack) no one from SPH accessed the TR site.

Our NIPS vendor's technical staff member, who checked 7 days worth of data and found no DOS activity originating from SPH concluded: "My opinion of the situation is Temasek Review released the article with very little research into what happened on its server."

It is an expert opinion; but if opinions don't count, here are the facts: Contrary to TRs allegations, neither did anyone in SPH try to "grab" TR material in a way that would load its server; nor did any SPH staffer launch any attack on the server.

No free gifts for nice write-ups

2009-10-14T22:28:00Z

Tham Yuen-C says the ‘you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours’ mentality should stop.

THE first thing most people ask me, when they find out I write for Digital Life, is whether I get to keep all the gadgets that I review.

For the record, the answer is no. We return all gadgets sent in to us for review, and do not accept long-term loans (read: I'll-look-the-other-way items). Most media companies, ours included, have policies against accepting commercially valuable gifts and freebies.

In the blogging world, the work of regulating credibility has been left largely to the free market. There is nothing to stop bloggers from waxing lyrical about mobile phones, face creams or even hotel stays, without declaring that they got these products or services for free.

Not anymore, if the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in the US and the Media Development Authority (MDA) in Singapore have their way.

Last week, the FTC updated it's advertising guidelines to include blogs. Under the new rules, bloggers who get paid for endorsing products or services are required to declare it.

The Media Development Authority in Singapore is also mulling stricter disclosure rules, although no date has been set for roll-out.

The aim is to protect consumers who could fall prey to false advertisements or advertorials masquerading as reviews.

Yet, enforcement will be almost impossible.

With so many bloggers opining about anything from restaurants to running shoes to handbags, the agencies in charge of policing the blogs have their work cut out for them.

There will also be many things to pin down, such as who a blogger is, what qualifies as a blog and which legal jurisdiction a person would fall under if he or she were, say, a Singaporean blogger living in London.

Even in the media industry, where there are rules and the threat of dismissal for breaking them, mandating credibility is not an easy task. What more in the nebulous world of the Internet?

These days, blogs, review sites and even Twitter have become the first stops for consumers who want to canvas other people's opinions about products and services before springing good money. So more protection for people is definitely welcome.

But rather, the focus should be about regulating the practice (of deceptive advertising) and not the medium (of blogs and new media).

For example, while it will be hard to track all blog posts and bloggers, it should be easier to police companies that use new media channels to make self-serving claims under a cloak of partiality, and the advertising companies that broker these deals.

DSLRs and marriages

2009-10-20T06:57:00Z

Tan Chong Yaw deems a DSLR camera too hard to have and to hold for life.

I DO not own a DSLR.

And after four years of reviewing cameras from dinky blings to ones that cost more than a shiny new scooter, I know that DSLRs give the best pics – bar none.

So why don't I have one?

The thing is, owning a DSLR is like a marriage. Buy a DSLR and it is yours to have and to hold - and that's the easy part.

It can be a plasticky (I mean, made of polycarbonate) budget buy or one that is as formidable as the Death Star – the battleship in Star Wars that is the size of a small planet.

Besides the lush colours in its photos, a DSLR is just pure photographic adrenaline because of its responsiveness – especially if you have been on a diet of compact cameras.

But once you buy one, it is for better or for worse.

If you buy a high-end model, you can sniff at the owners of lesser cameras. But only for a while. Soon enough, an update will be launched. There will be an extra X to the name or a Roman numeral will be added – like from a I to a II.

You may not be stirred. Or you, at least, you'll try your darnedest not to be.

But isn't that the essence of a marriage, you commit to your chosen as an act of the will.

For richer or for poorer?

Forget the former. A DSLR will deplete your bank account as surely as prolonged haemorrhoids will give you anaemia.

You will need accessories. Think of them as children – in terms of resources required.

First, you build a collection of lenses to cover the usual focal lengths – from wide angles to telephotos. Then, you "need" lenses with wider angles – they get more expensive as the lenses cover more.

Soon you will want faster lenses – nothing to do with morals, but pricier lenses that have bigger apertures so you can shoot with less light and get prettier bokeh (the character of the parts of the image that are out of focus).

As your lenses get more upmarket they also grow in size and weight, so leave aside a budget for sturdier tripods and larger dry cabinets.

Also, like a marriage, a DSLR needs devotion.

Like cleaning your camera – especially after exposure to the elements. Trips to the workshop for cleaning and servicing are de rigueur for any self-respecting photog.

So you have to see your camera through sickness and in health.

You will continue to love and to cherish your camera because its performance depends on your commitment to its well-being.

Sure you can have a fling. Buy a DSLR and chuck it in a cupboard when you tire of it. Or sell it when the new model comes out.

But, hey, I am not that kind of a guy.

Life can be (more than) a ball

2009-10-14T22:18:00Z

Loh Keng Fatt says people are too concerned about watching football.

WHAT did you do last weekend? What are you planning for this Saturday and Sunday? What about next weekend?

Chances are, quite a number of people were — or will be — tuning in to football matches, even if they may not be top-drawer clashes.

Has the game become a fixture in many people's choice of weekend relaxation?

Have wives and girlfriends become soccer widows as a result?

Are fathers doing things with their children only outside football-on-TV hours?

I ask all this because I detect a growing hard core group of addicted followers.

If not, why would so many folks be super upset when it was announced that there would be a change of EPL broadcast provider, from StarHub to SingTel?

Sure, the issues they raised, from the propect of paying more to subscribe to two content providers to the incompatibility of set-top boxes were legitimate.

But the scale of the furore is such that one might be tempted to think that the fans were in danger of being denied a very basic service or need, like cheap medical care or the right to send their kid to any primary school.

It was not that long ago that Singaporeans had only one game to watch a week on television. And the luck of the programming draw meant that lousy teams were featured as often as the good ones.

Now, there are a lot more live matches to watch — not all interesting, I must say — and many people seem to be making time and space to catch as many as possible.

They ignore the fact that there are other, more worthwhile, things in life to pursue too, be it a hobby or taking the family out more often for a movie or dinner.

Certainly, I have no great desire to watch all the games. What I prefer is the option to pay only for the match I want to watch.

This will be the big game, the critical showdown, and it won’t be Arsenal vs Wigan or Liverpool vs Hull.

But I want to be there for Man U vs Liverpool.

Or Chelsea vs Man City.

If the telco can come up with a pay-for-view option, I will sign up in a jiffy. I don’t need to subscribe for a whole season’s worth of games.

Sure, life can be a ball — but not all of it should be experienced from watching the action on a field.

Driving sense of humour

2009-10-28T12:22:00Z

Niki Bruce reviews comedic columns from Clarkson and has a good laugh.

I LIKE cars. I like to drive, I like the look of them, I like the convenience; but I have no real idea of the difference between a V8 and a V12, or why I should prefer one over the other.

So, I'm not obsessed by cars, I don't LOVE them but strangely enough, one of my absolutely favourite TV shows has got to be BBC Two's Top Gear.

This is a show by boys, for boys and run somewhat like an adolescent male's perfect fantasy – before he's quite reached puberty though, as there's no skimpily-dressed pneumatic blondes on this show.

What makes Top Gear one of the most watched info-tainment shows around is the group of slightly dorky, middle-aged, funny blokes who host it – James May, Richard Hammond and Jeremy Clarkson.

Richard Hammond is probably most famous for being short, having blindingly white teeth and surviving an horrific crash while he was driving a jet-powered car for a segment in the show in 2006. The car was reportedly travelling at 300 miles per hour when the crash occurred.

James May, on the other hand, is more a traditionalist. He's been nicknamed 'Captain Slow' on the show, despite being a qualified pilot and having taken a Bugatti Veyron to its top speed of 253.45 mph; but he's basically the straight man for the other two presenters.

Jeremy Clarkson, however, is nominally the 'head boy' of Top Gear, known for his scathing hatred of the British Labour government, the environmental movement, speed limits and just about anything that stops him from driving very expensive cars, very fast, where ever he wants to.

Which is why his latest book, Driven to Distraction is so very, very funny. Clarkson has a very dry sense of humour with that particularly British ability to be self-depreciating and pompous at the same time.

This book, if you enjoy clever word usage and rubbishing stupid people and/or government policies, has "laugh out loud" moments on almost every page.

Driven to Distraction is a collection of Clarkson's columns for the Sunday Times newspaper where he's been writing since the 1990s, and as such follows a predictable format.

There's a semi-topical intro and lead-in to a description of a car, before a pronouncement of judgement. Generally the columns blend quite well, but some are obvious attempts to link one of his pet issues to a particular car review; still, they are all immensely entertaining.

Clarkson has a particular turn of phrase that offers a mix of public schoolboy enthusiasm with deliberate word-play. His dedication is a prime example: "To everyone who made my Range Rover. Well done, chaps. It's brilliant."

While I enjoy the humour, Clarkson's contempt for political correctness and his tendency to 'stir the pot', I'm not that interested in his detailed descriptions of particular car engines, gear boxes or top speeds.

Still, those sections are easily skipped over if you're not interested and the humour returns. The fact that the book is a collection of columns means that you can read it in convenient snatches of time – it's great for the bus or taxi.

Driven to Distraction will, in fact, make the perfect Christmas present for any male person in your life. I'll probably have to buy a number of them; this year it will be my gift-de-jour for male family members and friends.

Driven to Distraction by Jeremy Clarkson is published by Penguin imprint Michael Joseph and is available from good books stores and online.

Looking sideways at Shakespeare

2009-10-21T22:55:00Z

Niki Bruce reviews Banquo's Son, a new take on the popular tale of Macbeth.

JUST about everyone who reads English has read Shakespeare's Macbeth. Whether in high school or college or university, or simply because you enjoy the Bard's works, Macbeth is one of his most read plays.

Taking just one line from the story – when Banquo and Fleance are ambushed, Banquo holds the assailants off and cries out: "Fly, good Fleance, fly, fly, fly! / Thou mayst revenge" – TK (Tania) Roxborogh has created the plot of her novel, Banquo's Son.

In most interpretations of Shakespeare's story, Fleance is an adult and, like his father, a captain in Macbeth's guard. It is Macbeth's fear that Banquo will somehow sire a line of kings for Scotland that leads to his death and the attempt to kill his son. However, Fleance escapes.

Roxborogh's story has Fleance as a child, escaping from the ambush on the back of his father's horse and carrying his father's sword. Fleance eventually comes upon a childless couple – Magness and Miri – who take him in and raise him as their own in England.

Fleance is 21-years-old at the beginning of Banquo's Son, and ready to fall in love, get married and settle down. He knows who he is, yet having no knowledge of current politics is scared to head back to Scotland, either to claim his heritage as a cousin to the King or renew old acquaintances.

However, Fleance is haunted by a ghostly figure and the words of his father – to seek revenge for his death. And when his beloved's father tries to push him into marriage, Fleance realises he must head back to the land of his birth.

What follows is a solid historical adventure story with princesses, a prince, witches, political machinations and Fleance's realisation that there's is more to being an adult than the ability to procreate and swing a sword.

Roxborogh's characters are genuine – both her historical personages and her created fictions – there is an honesty to her descriptions that both endear and delight the reader.

Fleance is not all 'golden hero', he's as bumbling as any young man of his age. The 'good guys' are not entirely good, nor the 'baddie' entirely bad. There is a sense of humanity about the people of Roxborogh's novel.

Banquo's Son has solid historical footings, but the meat of the story is in the relationships and emotions of her characters. There is also a surprising twist towards the end of the novel, but those who know their Scottish history won't be too surprised at the outcome.

For lovers of historical fiction, Banquo's Son is an interesting take on a period of history that has become much confused with Shakespeare's popular play. While, this novel isn't an academic portrayal, it is less histrionic and more realistic than the play.

Roxborogh is in the process of writing a linked story of sorts, Bloodlines, which will be published in 2010, so there's more to look forward to from a writer who offers an interesting take on such a popular story.

Banquo's Son by TK Roxborogh is published by Penguin Books and is available from good book stores and online.

Editor's note: The pronouns referring to the author TK (Tania) Roxborogh have been changed in order to correct a factual mistake. Appologies to the author.

Are our ideas risky investments?

2009-10-16T22:15:00Z

Cassandra Chew asks why few companies offer funding for innovative ideas.

GOOD ideas inspire me. Over the past year, I've particularly enjoyed interviews and meetings with entrepreneurs and innovators.

These self-starters inevitably have an infectious enthusiasm and stubborn optimism, borne probably from the knowledge that they’ve a great solution that no one else has.

In fact, innovators seem to have a solution for everything.

As I write this, researchers in Singapore are finding ways to make buildings more eco-friendly, to recycle all sorts of waste, and to come up with new foods and flavours with better nutrition.

For their part, the authorities are pouring more resources to make these innovations available to the public. This process, in geek speech, is known as tech transfer.

All five Singapore polytechnics have, in one way or another, established their own tech transfer offices, and last year, even formed a network to centralise resources.

The hope, says Mr Walter Lee, head of the Technology Transfer Network (TTN) secretariat, is that Singapore can become a regional tech transfer hub, much like American cities San Diego and Boston.

But the road ahead is long, admits Mr Lee, who reckons it may take Singapore up to 15 years to reach this goal.

What's sorely lacking is funding from venture capitalists and business angels to commercialise these innovations.

It is Mr Lee's hope that the Exploit Technologies Innovation and Enterprise Week this week will draw keen investors game enough to take risks on local innovations.

"Singapore is quite financially endowed, but a lot of money is in real estate, food and beverage and hotels," he says.

"The goal is to get a culture of investing in innovations started, and slowly by word of mouth, more and more people will join in."

A number of networks such as the Angel Investment Initiative, and the Business Angel Network (South East Asia) have come up to help this culture along.

But the reason for the slow uptake, it seems, boils down to the risk of utter and complete loss should the product fail, much like an investment in a start-up.

The one question that is crying out to be asked as Singapore pushes hard towards a knowledge-based economy is this: Are Singaporean ideas risky investments?

What do you think?

My answer to that is, if it inspires you, it’s probably worth a shot. After all, you’ll never know until you try, right?

E-mail you answer to Cassandra Chew or leave a comment below. Read more about this idea in Saturday's edition of The Straits Times.

A bittersweet moment?

2009-10-14T07:43:00Z

Gerard Wong on why Dipna Lim-Prasad's 100m hurdles record was more sweet than bitter.

I GUESS my colleague's reaction on Saturday evening was to be expected.

I had filed a Sunday Times report on the new women's national 100m hurdles record set by Dipna Lim-Prasad at the Malaysia Open.

Dipna Lim-Prasad, 18, in training. ST PHOTO: Desmond Wee

The 18-year-old Singapore Sports School graduate had clocked 14.72sec in the final to break Eileen Chai's record of 14.81 which was set in 2005.

But that was not what caught my colleague's attention. "You mean she broke the record even though she finished last?" he asked.

And that, in a nutshell, is why Dipna's milestone was a bittersweet moment for me.

Obviously, it was bitter because despite being a new national mark, it was still far behind the times of eventual winner Dedeh Erawati of Indonesia (13.34sec) and runner-up Sheena Antilano of the Philippines (13.99sec).

And I am not sure if Dedeh, the 2007 South-east Asia Games champion, and Antilano are even near their peak yet for this year’s SEA Games.

Sadly, Dipna's new record is a reflection of how far Singapore athletic standards have plummeted since the glory days of the 1970s, the main highlight of which was Chee Swee Lee's capture of the 400m gold at the 1974 Asian Games.

Why is Singapore athletics in such a state? That's for the Singapore Athletic Association and the local athletics community to answer.

But here's why Dipna's feat was also a sweet moment for me, and why I had particularly enjoyed writing about it — it marks a significant breakthrough in her development as an athlete.

You see, I've known Dipna since 2004. She was one of the 138 kids who joined the Sports School as its pioneer batch of students when it opened that year. I was the school's communications manager at the time.

During my four years there, I watched her develop from a thin-as-a-rake 12-year-old into a promising runner. Yet, I always had a nagging feeling that Dipna didn't quite have that extra bit to be more than second-best in the 400m and 400m hurdles.

She spent her first three years at the School in the shadow of Valerie Pereira, who was the best in the 200m and 400m at age-group level.

Such was the gap between them: Two years ago, Dipna, then 16, clocked 58.68sec in the 400m at the National Schools Championships to set a B Division record. But that was still 0.65sec slower than Valerie’s national U-17 mark of 58.03, set in 2005 when she was just 15.

Last year, when it seemed Dipna was catching up with Valerie, and was also showing some promise in the 400m hurdles, along came a hurricane called T. Piriyah who blew everyone away to become the nation's new 400m and 400m hurdles queen.

The 15-year-old Sports School student caused jaws to drop at last year's National Schools Championships with her times of 57.11sec in the 400m and 63.86sec in the 400m hurdles. The former shattered Valerie's national U-17 mark. The latter obliterated Dipna's schools B Division record of 66.99sec.

All this left me wondering whether Dipna would ever become a national athlete to watch in her own right, or whether she would end up playing second fiddle to the Piriyahs and the Valeries, a strong relay runner at best.

Then came her breakthrough this year, thanks to a shrewd Georgian called Viatchelsav Vassiliev.

The Sports School sprints and hurdles coach, a former Soviet Union athlete, decided that her lanky 1.75m-tall frame and base speed of 12.6sec in the 100m (which compares favourably to Chee Swee Lee's 12.5sec at her peak) made her more suitable for the 100m hurdles.

So he switched her. It was a masterstroke.

Since clocking 15.8sec at the start of the year, Dipna has gone on to break the national junior record four times. And now she's the new owner of the 100m hurdles national record.

But Vassiliev thinks Dipna can go even faster. In fact, he has set her the target of meeting the qualifying mark of 14.14secs for next year's IAAF World Junior Championships.

Wow, it's enough to make you giddy with excitement.

However, this was the sweetest twist in the tale for me: Dipna wasn't even supposed to go to the Malaysian Open in the first place.

According to my sources, the SAA had originally picked her in for the meet. However it dropped her later after deciding to send only SEA Games-bound athletes.

Dipna was devastated. In the end, the Sports School told the SAA that it would pay for her trip to Kuala Lumpur and participation in the meet. And Dipna went on to repay the School's faith in her in the best way possible.

I know I will enjoy tracking Dipna's progress from now on and I do hope she qualifies for the World Juniors next year. For that would, in turn, make her one of the top hurdlers in our region and a possible medalist at the 2011 SEA Games.

Most of all, I am just happy that she has finally found her niche event, which has now enabled her to emerge as an exciting prospect to watch.

Bittersweet moment? Definitely more sweet than bitter, I say.

The angst afflicting investors

2009-10-26T03:30:00Z

Goh Eng Yeow on the lacklustre market sentiment.

IT'S been a while since I have written a blog on the stock market.

At first glance, nothing much seems to have changed. Except for stock market indexes pressing past key resistance levels in the past two weeks, lots of investors are contented to sit back and let the rally pass them by.

As I write, the benchmark Straits Times Index is languishing around Friday's close of 2,715, unable to shake off the lethargy which has afflicted stock markets around the world since August.

The bulls have been arguing for a while now that stock prices should continue to move upwards. Investors are earning nothing, keeping their money in the bank, with interest rates at close to zero levels.

And with the greenback showing no signs of revival against regional currencies, it is attractive for investment banks and hedge funds to borrow more heavily in US dollar to make even bigger bets in the region’s stock markets.

But a report by Citigroup this morning shows that foreign fund managers' attention seems to be fixated elsewhere.

"About US$781 million (S$1.09 billion) of new money flowed to offshore Asian funds last week. But this was less than one-third of the global emerging market funds, 37 per cent below global funds and even 10 per cent smaller than the amount taken in by Latin American funds whose assets under management are just one-fourth of Asian funds," it observes.

So what is holding back foreign funds from making bigger bets here?

Citigroup believes that the problem stems from the large number of cash-calls made by companies as they strengthen, or repair, their balance sheets after the recent massive financial fire-storm.

"Over the past three months, total cash-calls (both IPOs and secondaries) reached US$54 billion in Asia ex-Japan, which was 3.6 times the funds raised in Latin America, emerging Europe, Middle East and South Africa added together."

By coincidence, both ST and BT highlight today the large number of share placements made by Singapore firms this year.

I suppose that it is prudent house-keeping for management to make hay while the sun shines by raising money in whatever way they can – and share placements seem to be the easiest route currently – as there is no guarantee that the going may get tougher going forward.

But the discount is so big in some cases – loss-making bio-technology play Transcu gave new investors a eye-popping 38 per cent discount to last traded price – that it arouses unhappiness among existing shareholders.

With such share placements, these shareholders not only fail to get a bite of the cherry, but find that their existing shareholdings are diluted in percentage terms as well.

With the end of the year approaching in just over two months, I expect the "watchful peace" in the stock market to continue for a while yet.

At the start of the year, I wrote that the stock market mood was so bleak that dealers were wishing that the clock could, at that instant, strike at midnight on Dec 31, 2009 just to get the year over with. Today, many must be wishing that the current year never comes to a clsoe, as this could mean the end of the stock market party.

Animal spirits are talking

2009-10-12T08:41:00Z

Goh Eng Yeow says human emotion is affecting the money markets

THE great British economist John Maynard Keynes coined the term "animal spirits" to describe the impact which human emotion had on decision-making in the financial markets.

When there is literally nothing to explain the wild price swings in the stock market since the onset of the global financial crisis two years ago, animal spirits have been used time and again by market strategists to describe the seemingly bizarre behaviour of investors.

Looking over the e-mails sent to me by investment banks over the weekend, I believe that animal spirits will be at work again soon in the stock market — to propel prices higher.

If sufficient investors believe these glowing reports, we will probably round up the remaining months of the year with another bout of exuberance.

This is despite the weaker-than-expected September job data in the United States released two weeks ago (how many investors actually recall that figure now?) which implied that people in the world's biggest economy were still losing jobs at a horrendous rate and that the recovery, if anything, would be patchy and difficult.

The brokerage reports that I have seen are unanimous in believing that the worst is over.

Below is just a sample of what I have read so far:

"We think the regional upturn is sustainable and the key issue is not the risk of a double-dip recession but the need for Asian central banks to normalise macro policy through interest rates hikes and currency appreciation." – Merrill Lynch.

"The firming economic recovery in China and improved employment outlook have boosted consumer confidence and brought along consumption growth." – Merrill Lynch again.

"We believe we are now at the tail-end of the earnings recession." – Morgan Stanley.

"China discretionary performed well this week as China reported solid sales growth during its Golden week holidays." – Citigroup.

The EPL game isn't over yet

2009-10-13T08:42:00Z

Terrence Voon says SingTel still has work to do to win over Singapore EPL fans

This week, SingTel delivered on its promise that the cost of watching English Premier League on TV would not go up next year.

While this is surely good news for cost-conscious football fans, SingTel still has some way to go before it can win over the hearts of naysayers.

Top-class programming and a guarantee that subscription costs will not go up over the next two years must be delivered, if the telco giant is to entice more followers to the mio TV camp.

Interactivity and a convergence of TV, Internet and mobile devices are already offered by current rights-holders StarHub, and SingTel - to paraphrase their CEO Allen Lew - must up the game.

The ability to offer matches on-demand 24/7 is already a huge boon for sleep-challenged fans who may not want to wake up at 2am to catch a live mid-week game.

Adding other key content like weekly match highlights to the list of on-demand programmes will surely be a popular move.

On the hosting front, SingTel is expected to outshine the incumbent, seeing how the likes of Joe Morrison were widely-panned for their lack of chutzpah (Guest analyst John Burridge, on the other hand, had too much of it).

But bringing back the effervescent John Dykes isn't enough - adding credible and well-spoken Asian voices to a genre dominated by Caucasian hosts and ex-players would make for more diverse and interesting viewing.

Notwithstanding Shebby Singh, SingTel would do well to emulate what Star Sports has done with its Formula One programmes, where Asian commentators and hosts like Paula Malai and Alex Yoong mingle comfortably with the likes of Steve Dawson.

By making the EPL product more local - without sacrificing production values - SingTel has a chance to make the pre-match and half-time shows less of an onerous experience than they are now.

Another strategy to woo fans is put the power of the remote back into their hands.

How many times have you rushed home to catch a game, only to miss the opening goal that was scored in the 2nd minute? Even for the impatient fan, replays are only guaranteed at half-time.

SingTel could change the game by putting goal replays for every ongoing match on demand. Other significant match events, like a red card or a penalty miss could be added to the list.

In short, SingTel has to make the $23 that fans will be paying each month seem like a steal.

But the deal-breaker will come after the first season, when SingTel may decide to up subscription charges, bearing in mind that the company probably paid over the top to beat StarHub to the prize and will want to recoup its investment.

Such a move, while pragmatic and pleasing to shareholders, will alienate even more fans, many of whom have already vowed to turn to free Internet streaming sites for their EPL diet.

Over to you, SingTel.

Unlikely heroes

2009-10-23T22:00:00Z

Lee Siew Hua sniffs out the hero who has trained rats to weed out landmines.

SQUEAMISH me. I never thought I'd find anything at all to love about rats.

But now I can call them HeroRATS, a transformational name coined by Bart Weetjens. The innovator trains giant African rats to sniff out lethal buried landmines in Mozambique, so people can move back to their land. And the nation can move on.

Mr Bart Weetjens trains African Giant Pouched Rats to detect land mines. PHOTO: LESOIR

Rats are a powerful conceptual leap from the practice of sending humans into danger with clunky mechanical detectors or dogs. The good thing is, rats are too light to trigger bombs. Maybe they are not as affectionate as dogs, but they are less pricey to house, feed and transport.

Skype-ing with Bart - a Belgian based in Tanzania but travelling in Colombia - he shows me the flipside of a problem: Opportunity.

For Bart, 43, has made a virtue of vermin, which is plentiful in the Third World. "Social change is often based on turning problems into opportunities," he remarks.

He believes new opportunities can arise from the troubles of our time: growing population, climate change, urban waste, for starters. But turning vast problems around needs an innovative spark plus heroic persistence, despite loud ridicule.

"People laugh at you in the beginning if they think it is a strange idea," he says. "But if you have persistence, the results of your action can be enormous."

An African Giant Pouched Rat is trained and handled by a Tanzanian geared in protective demining clothes and mask. PHOTO: Xavier Rossi

Supporters are certainly vital, and our homegrown Lien Centre for Social Innovation is one. Bart is one of eight winners of the centre's Lien i3 Challenge, a global contest that seeks and scales up social innovations that can impact Asia. The contest offered a S$1 million purse to spur innovative non-profits.

Winners like Bart create much impact from very little, observes chief judge Willie Cheng, who chairs the Lien Centre.

Casting light on the innovative spirit, which the Lien Centre hopes to fan, he adds: "Much of what makes a solution work is not new in itself. If it was, it would be an invention, not an innovation. Innovation occurs when someone takes an existing tool or technology and sees for the first time how it can be applied in a new way."

All the winners did that, with imagination and efficiency. They show that solutions can lie inside very messy problems. They convince us that even the small and despised things of the world may not be what they seem, if we choose to be creative and attentive.

Even rats can change the world. So what about people? There has to be a changemaker inside us.

Rock star writer

2009-11-02T11:23:00Z

Niki Bruce experiences the rock 'n roll style of fantasy writer Neil Gaiman.

ALONG with about 800+ other people, I turned up to hear writer Neil Gaiman speak on Graphic Novels and Fantasy at the Victoria Theatre last Sunday.

But I wasn't nearly so excited as his hardcore fans, some of whom had turned up at his every appearance during the recent Singapore Writers Festival held over the last week.

After a few dramas, including the apparent scalping of tickets to this Meet the Author event – despite the fact that they were actually free – and a move to a larger venue, Singapore finally got to sit down and listen to the rock star of modern writing chat with adjudicator Lim Cheng Tju, who reviews graphic novels and comics for The Straits Times' Life! section.

Although the show started about 10 minutes late, the rousing applause when Gaiman arrived shook the rafters. A few whistles and catcalls later, and the lanky, curly-haired, black-clad Gaiman settled in for a friendly chat.

Gaiman is currently one of the English language's most popular writers. He's done everything from fantasy novels and children's books to the celebrated The Sandman series of graphic novels.

Known by the mainstream for his work like American Gods and his collaboration with Terry Pratchett, Good Omens, Gaiman is just as popular in the more underground world of graphic novels and cartoons.

The adjudicator, Mr Lim, mentioned in his introduction that his first Gaiman book, Good Omens, he bought had been stolen by a girl, and so he'd had to buy another one.

Gaiman laughed in response, telling the crowd that his theory for why Good Omens has sold so many copies is because they keep getting borrowed, so people keep having to buy new ones.

"The originals are always brownish; they've been dropped in the bath at least once and had soup spilled on them," Gaiman joked. "Girls always borrow copies of Good Omens and you never get them back."

A number of Gaiman's books, most notably Stardust and more recently Coraline, have been adapted for film and these topics – Good Omens and film adaptations of his work – topped the hot list of questions asked by the crowd on Sunday.

However Mr Lim launched the session with a question about Gaiman's up-coming 50th birthday; how did he feel about the big 5-Oh?

"Odd, really odd," Gaiman responded. "I've got a really cool life, I've done all I set out to do... if tomorrow my plane goes down, it will be alright."

He then launched into a story about how the only time he'd been worried about flying was on a trip to America in 1988 when he had just begun the Sandman series and was carrying a number of precious drawings by Dave Mckean from Black Orchid with him.

This was just the first in a series of humorous anecdotes that Gaiman indulged in through-out the almost hour-long event. He is, as his fans and readers of his work know, a very funny writer.

What is less well-known is that Gaiman is just as funny in real life – he'd make a great standup comic, or he'd be great on one of those humorous treks around the world like Michael Palin does.

Whatever the organisers of this year's Singapore Writers Festival had to spend to get Gaiman here, was well worth it.

This guy really gave value for money with his friendly, approachable style and 'laugh-out-loud' humour. He also went out of his way to ensure that everyone who brought something to sign, got his signature. Apparently he sat for more than 2 hours on Saturday alone signing books, drawings and graphic novels for Singapore fans.

On Sunday, Gaiman won over the crowd immediately – not that there seemed to be anyone there who wasn't a fan to begin with – with his fabulous description of Singaporeans.

"Singaporeans are very enthusiastic, but in a quiet, polite and very organised way," said Gaiman, going on to make an unflattering comment or two about the Filipinos, which he hastily withdrew, covering with a reference to their "noisiness".

"When I landed in Manilla, I couldn't believe it; they're louder than the Brazilians... and I didn't think anyone could be louder than Brazilians!"

More endearing was Gaiman's theory of a 'secret Singaporean delicacy'. He came up with the theory that 'stuffed author' was a secret Singaporean delicacy, where you take "one graying, older author. Feed him wonderful food until he's completely stuffed, and then slice him up into little pick packages".

Naturally enough, Gaiman gained a another round of applause for this pronouncement. Confirming, yet again, that he is a consummate performer.

Don't get me wrong, Gaiman is not at all calculated; he's just very polished in his delivery. He has obviously learned how to make these sorts of events as fun as possible for every one involved.

The adjudicator also asked the writer if he had a preferred medium to work in, or whether he felt that some stories belonged in particular mediums. Gaiman answered that translation was acceptable, but transliteration was not.

Gaiman said that while he enjoyed the movie versions of Stardust and Coraline, they were the directors' versions, not his. His favourite movie was an 8 minute short he'd shot himself staring Bill Nighy and his girlfriend Amanda Palmer – who accompanied Gaiman on the trip and who received her own round of applause at his mention.

He was also given the opportunity to talk about his latest project, a non-fiction look at the story of The Journey to the West – Gaiman had just returned from his third trip to China doing research and interviews for his book. He seemed quite fascinated by the myth.

After a few more questions from the adjudicator, the session was thrown open to the crowd and interestingly enough, the first question was one about new media – specifically this medium, blogging.

As a former journalist, Gaiman was asked whether he thought blogging would take over from traditional media reporting.

"Blogging is something else; it's commentary," he said in answer. "It isn't somebody going out and seeing something and then telling you what really happened. It's not like journalism where... two reporters brought down a presidency (in reference to Watergate).

"Bloggers don't have the same resources, but blogging is a new communication tool, so maybe it could be used for breaking news?" Gaiman asked back, but left the audience in no doubt as to his stand on the issue.

Other questions followed in rapid order with Gaiman explaining the origin of his nickname of 'Scary Trousers', from graphic novelist Alan Moore; and why there are Hayao Miyazaki references in his work, describing a lovely day he spent with Mr Miyazaki.

Gaiman's voluble answers were finally corralled by the adjudicator and he thanked the crowd and the organisers, before receiving a bit of a standing ovation.

Whereupon practically the entire theatre stood up and raced for the exits, so they could get in line for the book signing. Although Gaiman said he'd ensure that everyone got one thing signed, it still meant that people were lined up from The Arts House, all the way down to the riverside.

Author Neil Gaiman happily signed fans' books after his Meet the Author session on Sunday. ST PHOTO

All in all, Gaiman's Meet the Author session was an enjoyable hour spent listening to an intelligent, humorous man with a unique take on the world. For his fans, it was obviously the best time of their lives; with many of them attending not only Gaiman's events but also the performances of his girlfriend, Amanda Palmer.

If there was anything at all off-putting about the double act that is Gaiman and Palmer, it was their constant references to each other at all their events. Yes, they are obviously madly in love with each other, and think their lovers' work is the best thing since sliced bread, but possibly they should be slightly less 'joined at the hip'.

But, that could just be the cynical journalist in me; nobody else seemed to have a problem with the pair's gushing descriptions of how fabulous their other half is. Besides, they are both damn good at what they do, so maybe they're justified in their gushing?

Still, kudos goes to the organisers of the event and to whoever chose to give Singapore the darkly, glimmering show that is the rock star writer, Neil Gaiman.

Neil Gaiman's works are available at good book stores and online. Amanda Palmer is the lead singer of Dresden Dolls, as well as an independent performer in her own right. Her work is available from good CD stores and online. The Singapore Writer's Festival is a bi-annual event.

Wacky ideas to go green

2009-10-09T22:15:00Z

Ho Ai Li says when it comes to green causes, Taiwan has no taboos.

IN TAIPEI

I TOOK two big plastic bags, stuffed with more plastic bags, back with me when I returned to Taipei after a trip home to Singapore in August.

Although I am happy that these plastic bags are not dished out to me without thought in Taiwan, as is the case in Singapore, this does mean I am often short of bags to line my bins.

Taiwan is generally more environmentally friendly than Singapore and has often come up with good ideas to go green.

These include subsidies for buying energy-saving washing machines and refridgerators, and promoting cycling.

But two initiatives, reported in the Taiwan media on Wednesday, have caused many people to go green in the face instead.

The first is a crematorium in Taipei, which uses smoke from the burning of corpses to power its air-conditioning system.

On average, the crematorium burns 52 corpses a day and the recycled fumes can help save more than NT$3,000 (S$150) a day in energy costs.

Still, the idea of using fumes from cremations to supply cold air has given some people the shivers.

Isn't it creepy, some ask. And how will the kin of the deceased feel?

One fengshui expert interviewed also believed that the fumes from burning bodies are a kind of dirty "qi", which will bring bad luck.

Surprisingly, though, given that the Taiwanese tend to be a superstitious lot, six in 10 people polled by Apple Daily newspaper are okay with the crematorium's recycling move.

Meanwhile, in Taichung, the local authorities have announced a novel scheme to encourage people to pick up litter from the streets.

Folks who pick up things like discarded paper or styrofoam cups can turn these in for vouchers in a scheme starting next week.

What has raised eyebrows though is that residents will also get rewarded for picking up dog poo, with every 1kg exchangeable for NT$100 in shopping vouchers.

While the intention is good, many, including me, wonder if it can be enforced. As the common saying here goes, the authorities have policy, the people have contingency.

"Who can tell if the brown substance handed in was really picked up from the streets? What is to stop people from turning in poo from their homes in return for vouchers?" I asked a colleague.

She almost spat out the pomelo she was eating.

I guess when it comes to green causes, Taiwan has no taboos.