Pkchukiss' potpurri data

Derelict blog

2004-12-11T08:07:00.000+08:00

After months of neglect, I am dusting off the cobwebs off this blog.

Previously, there has not been much of note to write about, and even now I am still wondering about what to say next: it is like a writer's block, only slightly more permanent.

While my NS blog has garned a respectable traffic flow, this blog remains in the doldrums of cyberspace. Kind of like an ulu (rural) village long abandoned and in serious disrepair. But my NS blog remains a priority for me. Firstly, it provides readers with first hand information on the national service experience - something one cannot get without going through himself. I seldom have an active social life when I book out (go home, sleep, write NS blog, sleep, sleep) so there are not many interesting things to talk about.

It is a commendable effort that we have managed to get newspapers into every bunk in the company - this is an initiative not found in the other companies. Unique to Support Company (because we are "A" level grads) also is the number of vehicles that we have: it is enough to cover our portion of the parade square.

What am I ranting about? I should put all these inside my NS blog... (Ok, maybe I need more time to decide what to do with this blog. Till then... this blog still hangs in limbo.)

Blogging - evidence of creativity in Singapore

2004-08-15T20:29:00.000+08:00

Scores of articles have been published, tons of studies have been carried out, and many ministers have expressed the lack of creativity among local Singaporeans.

"There is an over-emphasis on rote learning!" one reader of the local newspaper wrote.

"The government is stifling creativity by creaming off the best!" wrote another.

"They spend too much time on TV and games," the author went.

Would these factors have so much of an impact on the lack of creativity in Singapore as the individual themselves? Creativity is a willingness to think out of the norm, and daring to come up with ideas, and be empowered to nurture these ideas no matter what others may say. In fact, more people are unaware of their ability to be creative, than they are actually incapable of this mind-aerobics.

I believe that when one makes an effort to discover new ideas, he will be able to generate it as easily as everybody else. The perveived inability to be creative is probably a reflection on the poor education grounding of our young on their brains.

Examination oriented schools force their students to become text-books, concerned fully on standardised question and answers, and are discouraged from thinking on their own. It is precisely this ignorance that people grow up with their creative potential untapped. They then go about their lives, waiting for cut-and-dried answers, because they are unaware that they have the power to think.

Some of them do wake up from their ignorance. This is manifested in plethora of writings that we see on the Internet - web sites and blogs. These people take into their hands the process of creating content out of nothing (one of the aspects of creativity). Certainly, if you ask a rote-learned person to write about anything, you would probably get an answer along the lines of "Do you need a standard answer?"

The explosion in popularity of online blogs is by far one of the most definitive evidence of the existence of conscious, creative humans. Singaporeans are picking blogging up to share their days with others, most of the time complete strangers. They exhibit a willingness to expose their literature to these people, and take comments from strangers. This is definitely something which should be encouraged. Being a low cost medium, it has the lowest entry barrier to express oneself.

So why not get your own blog now, and prove those buereacratic officials wrong? Blogger from Google allows you to blog for free:

http://www.blogger.com

Media freedom in Singapore

2004-05-30T18:49:00.000+08:00

Singapore's media is in the news again! This time, it has come under fire from its counterparts in Malaysia. It is ironic that Singapore is rated amongst the like of North Korea in terms of press freedom!

Online forums promise to be an alternate feed-back hole for the PAP administration. So far, evidence has pointed to close governmental scrutiny to posts in the major local forums, such as Hardwarezone's Current Affairs Lounge, SgForums Speakers Corner and Sammyboy's Alfresco Coffeeshop.

Heck, my posts have even ended up on the Sunday Times (the Sunday version of The Straits Times).

The Star, Malaysia

May 16, 2004

Insight: Down South

By SEAH CHIANG NEE

IT is direct and fast, with minimal self-censorship. This is Radio FM93.8, which is steadily becoming Singapore's favourite channel for airing views.

Started in 1998, the city's only all-news station has been running an 8am-9am Talk Back programme (Monday to Friday) during which listeners can call to discuss a chosen current topic.

In its early days, the callers were mostly housewives or retirees chatting on a mundane, narrow range of subjects.

Many of today's phone-ins are from better-informed professionals who are more articulate.

These younger callers are ready to speak out. On many days, the topics reflect the troubled times and some of them are controversial.

The station's pre-eminence is aided by two factors.

Firstly, it fills a need among Singaporeans who want a medium to air their views, uncensored by overzealously "play safe" editors.

Secondly, the newspapers have neither sufficient space nor inclination for frank public discussions on controversial subjects.

To avoid getting into trouble, editors often prefer to publish letters that are least controversial or critical of the government or its policies.

Newspapers cannot react as fast as radio. Talk Back can put on a debate almost immediately when interest is fresh.

Last week, it started a discussion on the new controversial wage reform aimed at pegging salaries partly to economic conditions and a worker's performance.

Called flex-wage, it makes 30% of pay variable for rank-and-file workers, 40% for middle management and half for top management.

The government wants to implement it by year-end but many workers are worried they will lose out.

One emotional caller said: "Our high-paying ministers should implement it on themselves to set an example to citizens. It is hypocritical if they exclude themselves."

Probably wishing to dilute it, the radio host asked: "So you think the scheme should apply to top business executives and ministers?"

The caller wanted none of this. "No, I said ministers. In the past they had set their action as an example for others to follow. Why can't they do it now?"

Such attacks on high Cabinet pay will unlikely find itself in The Straits Times' forum pages.

In the past, the programme had featured other controversial subjects, including the influx of foreign professionals, and rising cost of public services and public transport.

Compared to radio forums in Hong Kong, Taiwan or even China (on certain subjects), Talk Back may be mild but by Singapore standards, it is an achievement.

It lends some weight to government claims of an opening process.

People who want to take part are first screened by the host who asks broadly what he or she wants to say. It is not known if anyone has been denied access.

Once on air, it is rare for a speaker to be cut off because of what he says.

Every Friday, FM93.8 runs Opinion between 9am and 10am in which the public can also call in to join discussions with an invited panel of guests to discuss local and foreign affairs.

"We take the show on the road once a month and broadcast "live" from polytechnics, junior colleges and universities," said a spokesman.

These shows are proving popular among Singaporeans who want to let off steam or to voice their antagonism towards policies but have no public means to do so.

The primary objective of the major newspapers – the Straits Times and Lianhe Zaobao – is to disseminate and explain government policies to the people.

The other role, of distributing people-to-government views, is much less evident. This enables radio to override the print media in a crucial aspect of journalism.

One journalism lecturer puts it this way: "If you want to know what the government wants to tell the people, read the newspapers. If you want to hear what the people are telling the government, tune in to radio."

Another growing provider of public feedback is the Internet. Opposition and anti-establishment individuals, plus a dozen or so vocal forums, serve a diet of wide-ranging, largely un-moderated, discussions 24 hours a day.

Termed as the alternate media, the online challenge to the mainstream newspapers remains relatively feeble. It hasn't reached the impact of its peers in other advanced cities.

One reason? Many participants are anonymous, ill-informed and very young (many are teens) who use it to let off emotional steam against opposing views rather than participate in reasoned debates.

However, with some 2.247 million or 56% of the population (last count) having access to it, the Internet has the biggest potential for growth.

As surfers mature, the worldwide web will one day become a powerful, more credible, tool to mould public opinion. Its influence is growing almost daily.

A new phenomenon is appearing on the scene – weblogs. There are millions of individual sites operated by bloggers (as they are called) to comment on current issues.

Most writings are shorter, less formal and readable. Some are diary- like, motivated by a cause or a desire to communicate ideas to others. Their readers range from a few close friends to a wide audience of tens of thousands of visits a day.

Many Net-savvy Singaporeans have joined in the fun but, unlike elsewhere, not many care to talk politics.

The Straits Times (circulation about 390,000) will likely maintain its top position but as the others grow, its influence among the population will decline.

Despite its monopoly as the only broadsheet English national daily in Singapore, its penetration rate of 45% remains surprisingly poor. The major Chinese-language daily, Lianhe Zaobao, takes some 29%.

For more liberal-minded youths, the media scene does not reflect Singapore's image as a First World cosmopolitan city.

Its media policies cause a ranking equivalent to many developing Asian and African countries.

Recently, Information Minister Lee Boon Yang, warned journalists not to mix commentary with news reporting which, if followed, will be a further deviance from the global democratic practice.

DPM Lee Hsien Loong, who will soon become Prime Minister, frowned on "crusading journalism". He said: "Newspapers are to report the news, explain what is going on and take a national view and not a partisan view."

Seah Chiang Nee is a veteran journalist and editor of the information website littlespeck.com (e-mail: cnseah2000@littlespeck.com )

Editorial: Blogs of all style and personalities

2004-05-30T11:44:00.000+08:00

Free online blog services have definitely made it easy for the common man on the street to start off with online publishing. What was it that I said? Online publishing. Blogs are essentially online publications, which put the power of pushing out information into the hands of people like us. Given the power, what do we choose to do with it?

Some of the more successful blogs adopt a reader-centric approach, choosing to display useful information to the reader. News sites are particularly popular in this aspect. With online publishing being a mere extension of their mastery in publishing, they are able to churn out highly coveted content which boosts their readership.

The rest of us treat online publishing as an online diary of our daily lives, documenting our individual actions. Though there is nothing wrong with that, the chances of it being the next web phenomenon is even lower than finding a cheque for a million dollars in your desk drawer! Your blog would sadly be visited by only close friends and relatives, whom are probably just about the only people who would give a damn about your daily life routine. Why would a visitor to your site be interested in the fact that you had coffee for breakfast this morning, or that you have gained another inch on your waist?

However, all is not lost. As all famous authors have mentioned, writing requires you to have an audience. With an audience in mind, you are able to focus your essays towards entertaining, or even inform the target audience, instead of just plain old ranting. So how could you go about improving your blog? Adding your personal thoughts towards what you see, touch, feel, hear are but small steps in pulling in new people who are intrigued by your piece of writing. Perhaps you have a strong political opinion regarding George W. Bush (I certainly have!). Or your passion for plants was deeply rooted (pun intended/unintended) in your childhood fantasy?

Its time to dig out your long dusty blogs, and give it a complete make-over. Who knows, you might become the next to be Slashdotted!

Slashdot is the IT world's leading online publication, published in a blog-like form. It has so many subscribers that any outside links that it refers to gets overwhelmed, which is known as being "Slashdotted".

Importance of security patches

2004-05-29T20:15:00.000+08:00

Importance of security patches

Microsoft hit the headlines recently when it revealed that it would disallow pirated versions of Windows XP from being updated with security patches, a course of action which would definitely have a resounding effect on the online world, given the staggering number of pirated versions of the operating system plugged into the Internet.

There exists viruses which could exploit unpatched holes within the pirated systems, and turn them into online slaves, facilitating the onslaught of attacks on other machines and some are even used to propagate spam e-mails. Ever wondered why catching spammers were so hard? They hide behind these compromised machines to send their irritating marketing mails.

Which brings us to the main point of this post. While there is nothing you can do to stop those viruses, trojan horses, worms from attacking you, you can do something to stop them from succeeding. By patching your system, you can prevent these threats from invading your system, and at the same time, keep your personal data safe in your system.

Act now, before you find yourself the target of a security threat!

Microsoft Windows Update: http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com

Macintosh OS: http://www.apple.com

Photo taken at NYJC Homecoming day

2004-05-23T22:27:00.000+08:00

We took the above photo after we dunked Mr Tong (our general paper ex-tutor in the dunking game... Had a total of 30 tries after Salihin and I decided to fork out $10 each... All for a good cause.. The money went to the school's pocket money fund.

For an enlarged version of the photo

Yours truly is the handome young man (blue scheme shirt) standing to the right of Mr Tong (Red shirt with a jester cap in hand).

Prepare for tardy posts

2004-05-23T22:00:00.000+08:00

I know that it is premature to do so, but I do need to beg your pardon for any tardiness in my posting. Even though the posts will still come on their respective times, they will only appear at one shot during the weekend, if it so happens that I am in camp that week. As I am a stay-in personnel (I am in the army, in case you have forgotten), I am expected to be in the camp the entire week, with Saturdays and Sundays being my book out days. The reason why I am blogging so aggressively is that I am on a motorbike course, which is stay-out (which means I can get home, turn on my computer, and crap on this blog!)

My course will end somewhere at the start of June, and that is when I would have to report back to camp. That will mean the end of daily updates (as you would technically expect it to be). However, I will try to keep a chronological log of my blogs in camp, and try to upload them all at one shot during the weekends.

Meanwhile, I will rant all I can during the whole duration of my stay-out course!

I do sincerely hope that my effort will be rewarded by your viewership. So... come back often!

Re-acclimatising to my bicycle

2004-05-23T21:42:00.000+08:00

It appears to me that the bike course is going to have a bigger influence to me that I have previously thought. Why the thinking? Well, I was getting a craving for cycling today, and as I got out my trusty red bicycle, the feeling hit me. For the first time in my life, I looked upon my bicycle as a puny, vulnerable piece of transportation. That I nearly fell when I mounted it again did not help the impression. There I was, wobbling away on my bicycle, as if I was learning cycling all over again.

I got quite peeved when I reached Bedok Jetty; even though I overtook most people on my bike, it now took a lot more effort just to get the pedal moving. Contrast this with a twist of the throttle on a motorbike. What compounded matters was that I couldn't experience the feeling of travelling at 30-45 km/hr as and when I could without significant effort on the part of my legs! Indeed, I was in a need for speed!

I paused, and took in the surroundings. Anglers waiting patiently for their catch, joking with their friends, reading a book quietly, or just making aimless pictures with their crayons, other cyclists weaving through the chaos of pedestrians on the cycling track with ease, and perhaps some peace brought me back to the pleasure of cycling.

The reason that I was into cycling in the first place was that I could savour every single moment of travel. The birds, the sweet scent from the flowering trees, the cool breeze of the wind as it gently caresses your cheeks, and the sight of others relaxing are all some things that zipping at 30-45 km/hr can never provide.

Dearest bicycle, I am back!

Bayesian filtering for my e-mail!

2004-05-23T15:59:00.000+08:00

I have just installed bayesian filters for my e-mail address!

In case you are out of the loop, these are a group of revolutionary programs which weigh each individual e-mails that you receive, and decide after a careful evaluation of the words inside the e-mail, whether it is spam, or legitimate e-mails. What's more important, it is also trainable, which means that you can tell it what types of e-mails are spam, and which are not.

Studies have shown that it has at least a 98% chance of filtering out true spam, and a low percentage of filtering out (by accident) false spam, which makes it an ideal tool in the fight against increasing spam!

It is my first day using these filters, and they have already started to prove their worth. I am using POPFile (http://popfile.sourceforge.net) which enables me to classify all my e-mails according to their individual characteristics (and you thought bayesian filters were limited to sorting out spam?). So now e-mails which are comments from my blogs end up in one folder, forum posts in another, discussion newsletters in another, and finally, one mega rubbish bin for spam.

In fact, there are many varieties of these programs, and you should try it out if you can. They can save you, and probably you company (if you want) plenty of headache and time.
Here is a free program for Microsoft Outlook users to help you get started.

SpamBayes (http://spambayes.sourceforge.net)

POPFile also contains plugins for Hotmail users who like to download their e-mails onto their computers: (However, you need some expertise to set it up. Only my personal friends get to ask me for help in setting it up!)

POPFile (http://popfile.sourceforge.net)

Bayesian Filters for comments

2004-05-23T15:47:00.000+08:00

It seems that the spam war is about to get onto the blogs:

SunPig's blog:

Personally, I have not gotten any comment spam, but that is mostly due to the fact that my blog is a huge unknown in the online world. But once fame sets in, the troubles will start. It still remains to be seen what Blogger is going to do about the problem. Meanwhile, I will just have to find my own workaround towards the problem before it even starts!

About Singapore -- A foreign perception

2004-05-22T22:15:00.000+08:00

Introduction:
An article which offers a foreigner's perception of Singapore. So far, our mainstream news diet has always consisted of the local television and newspapers. The only feasible and low cost way to encounter the foreign media would be through the Internet.

Even so, I've decided to leave out certain articles which have flammable potential -- in these sensitive times, one cannot afford to be too careful...

I leave it to you to decide whether things in Singapore are as rosy as it is proclaimed in the local news media recently...

The article:

By Dan Fineman
6 May 2004
Far Eastern Economic Review
(c) 2004 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

Austere fiscal policies hurt Singapore more than possibly any country
on the planet. Although Singapore markets itself as a low-tax country
with world-class social programmes, in reality the government taxes
heavily and spends little. The resulting huge surpluses -- largely
hidden and off-budget -- strengthen the ruling party but weaken the
economy. Unless the government drastically loosens fiscal policy,
businesses will lose competitiveness and long-term growth will slow.

Singapore's political system and fiscal strategy are inextricably
intertwined. Only a government dominated by a single party could
consistently post such large surpluses and only an extraordinarily
well-financed state could exert such extensive control over political
and economic life.

Big structural surpluses most benefit the ruling party, to the
detriment of the private sector. Unconstrained by tight finances, the
government pays cabinet members and civil servants some of the
world's highest public-sector packages. Although generous salaries
discourage corruption, they also lure the best talent to the
government and ruling party. Private enterprises -- and rival
political parties -- suffer brain drains. When campaigning, the
ruling party argues that the opposition lacks capable leaders.
Because high pay has attracted the island's brightest to the
government camp, the claim rings true.

A variety of analytical shields obscures the embarrassing size of
government surpluses. Accounting principles differ from global
standards. A bewildering array of statutory boards, government-linked
companies, investment corporations and holding companies transact
among themselves at undisclosed prices. Key data such as the
government's share of national savings and the profits of holding
companies and investment corporations are kept secret. One analyst
calls the national accounts a "masterpiece of obfuscation."

Actual surpluses greatly exceed the already impressive stated
numbers. From 1991 to 2001, the government reported surpluses
averaging 3.6% of GDP, but Mukul Asher of National University of
Singapore calculates an adjusted average of 9.7%, nearly triple the
announced figures. Official budgets exclude land-lease revenues,
investment income and profits from off-budget state bodies. Because
Asher includes only publicly disclosed revenues, his adjustments
understate real surpluses.

The high-surplus strategy lowers Singapore's standard of living.
Deprived of disposable income by numerous taxes, Singaporeans
consistently consume a share of GDP 10-20 percentage points below
Hong Kong levels, while Hong Kong maintains a higher per-capita
income. Their high-revenue, low-expenditure government leaves
Singaporeans a smaller slice of a more modest pie.

Overly stringent fiscal policies sap Singapore's competitiveness.
Excess surpluses depress the cost of capital and encourage firms --
many state-owned -- to overinvest. According to JPMorgan, listed
Singapore companies provided a return on equity below the non-China
developing Asian average in four of the last five years and half the
United States benchmark since 1996.

An excessively pro-fiscal design is contributing to a looming crisis
in Singapore's national pension plan, the Central Provident Fund, or
CPF. Rather than invest balances on beneficiaries' behalf, CPF pays
contributors a low, artificially determined interest rate. The state
pockets as a hidden tax the potentially huge difference between the
actual investment yield and what beneficiaries receive. In contrast
to most countries' schemes, Singapore allows working contributors to
pay medical bills with plan balances. The resulting outflow depletes
retirement funds but relieves the government of potential health-care
liabilities.

Arguably, provisions allowing home buyers to tap CPF balances work to
similar effect. State entities own an estimated 85% of the island's
land. If, as some analysts believe, CPF financing has contributed to
high land prices, the government gains from home purchases, while
pension balances dwindle. Largely as a result of its fiscally
friendly features, CPF will prove grossly inadequate for meeting
individual retirement needs.

Slower economic growth has eliminated reported surpluses this decade,
but the lack of change in broader fiscal policies indicates that
actual balances remain high. Until the dominant-party political
system that thrives on outsized surpluses undergoes fundamental
reform, Singapore will struggle with an underfunded pension plan,
inefficient businesses and sickly consumption.

Routine too routine?

2004-05-22T21:40:00.000+08:00

Yet another day at the driving circuit.

With the morning sun beating down my back, and me sweating profusely inside the helmet, I was supposed to finish 5 rounds of the circuit to clock up mileage for my circuit test on Monday. The driving itself was not too bad, it was the waiting which really killed me.

Imagine sweat beads dripping from your chin onto the petrol tank of the bike, while you are forced to wait at the stop line for a jeep, which had the right of way, travelling at less than 5 km/hr to finish its crossing. One might think they are better off walking!

So there I was waiting under the sun, with the eager engine radiating heat onto my calves, and a long queue of course mates on their bikes behind me (some sounding their horns impatiently), when I suddenly decided to do something about it. While the jeep was still some distance away, I decided to cut into the path and carry on my journey.

Bad call. The instructor immediately pulled me over for a lecture session... It turned out that I was supposed to simulate that the jeep was travelling at 50 km/hr (the legal speed limit for jeeps here), and wait for it to get out of the way before moving again.

Not one to argue (I prefer action...), after the lecture, I sped up to 45 km/hr in record time, and was satisfied by the look of envy on the other jeep driver's faces... Oh, and it is legal (even though it is plain annoying) by the way, in case you were wondering.

Sometimes I find myself acting strangely. When routine sets in, I will try and do funny things to amuse myself, and maybe the people around me (maybe bend the rules a little, just for the kick of it). What I did this time was to annoy others behind me by puttering along at 10 km/hr in front of a jeep (which couldn't overtake me, as we were nearing a bend, and you can't overtake at a bend). I had a great time pretending to be a "newbie" rider, before shocking the jeep driver and his instructor by zooming off at 35 km/hr after the bend!

However, I realised that there has to be a limit to this kind of horseplay. A few days ago, I forgot that I was driving a lethal vehicle (I never did give way when I was on my bicycle), and was supposed to give way to pedestrians at a zebra crossing, and puttered past at 10 km/hr (it was after a bend) to the shock of some jeep instructors who happened to be crossing at that time. That was when I realised the huge responsibility which comes with being on the road. I cannot afford to be negligient, or I might get myself and others hurt. A balance has to be achieved between pranking other road users, and being safe. Not giving way when one should is one of the most dangerous things which can ever happen. Vehicles end up inside each other because "I thought you were going to stop". You thought, I think, who confirm?

It is best that we obey the rules when it comes to safety. I am sure that nobody wants to end up in cold storage in the hospital...

Infamy for blogs?

2004-05-20T21:41:00.000+08:00

It is frankly disheartening to find nobody commenting on the blogs I've posted so far. At the very least, comments allow me, as the author, to derive pleasure from writing. After all, we are all writing for an audience.

In fact, this desire for instant infamy has prompted me to consider some extreme methods of attracting attention; I was tempted to contact a terrorist and interview him. How much standing would a blog command if it had an exclusive into the life of a terrorist? Then again, such contact could prove deadly to me... Inconveniences like being summoned for a long coffee chat with the secret service would be the least of my worries; I think I will lose my nerve completely if a suicide bomber were to be in front of me, with his finger carelessly caressing the detonation button.

After dispelling this unorthordox notion, (yes, all you security spies can relax now), I decided to get myself tanked up... with milk. Somehow it does wonders, and I am now contemplating submitting my blog to manual website directories, such as DMOZ or Yahoo! Directories.

I do hope to see some activity on the comments page soon: it really gives me new reason to be blogging.

Test

2004-05-16T16:57:00.000+08:00

This is the ultimate test of blogging from a cell phone. If this is successful, you can expect up to date accounts of all the things which happen around me.

So what do you think of mobile blogging? Cool? Or is it just some fad which will go away in a few years time, just as the Internet bubble once was?

Edited: It seems that when blogging from a mobile phone, visitors would be unable to comment on the piece, unless I log onto the website manually to enable the feature manually for each and individual posts. I might contact technical support to see what we can do about it...

Computer troubles

2004-05-16T16:33:00.000+08:00

Computer troubles never fail to interest me. This time, it all started with Windows 2000 refusing to react to my commands to open my folders. Interestingly, the problem seemed to be confined to Internet Explorer and the interface program, explorer.exe. Given that the two are closely entwined together, this came to me with no surprises.

After tinkering with the settings for a while, I managed to get the thing working -- only if I restart the computer while holding the CTR key, essentially by-passing all my start-up programs in the Start-up folder.

In the end, I got fed-up (I never did manage to find the offender) and did a complete re-install of Windows 2000. I had to re-install all my applications. The big headache was trying to install the plethora of patches Microsoft has posted on its Windows Update site (almost as if they were proud to be patching their own software); my only connection to the Internet is a pitiful 28.8 kbps connection (well, it actually is a 56 K modem working on a poor quality land line), and I was debating between installing the patches and doing my usual web roaming.

In the end, the huge download didn't justify the bill I would have to pay at the end of the month (as an infantry private, my pay isn't exactly a lot), so I figured that I would have to postpone my download until I felt free enough to do it...

You net evangalists need not worry. I've gotten enough preventive software to avoid being a nuisansical presence on the Internet: Grisoft anti-virus which I update religiously, Lavasoft Adware, Spybot Search and Destroy, Spyware Guard, all of which are updated as and when possible. Not to mention Zonealarm, which is the firewall of my choice. (Actually, I was getting worried about it, judging from recent reports from end users... Perhaps it is time to start shopping around for alternatives?)

Censorship in Singapore

2004-05-16T16:21:00.000+08:00

Judging from my previous experiences with censored films in Singapore, the degree of censorship varies wildly from film to film, something which somehow suggests a non-uniform approach towards screening the tapes.

The censorship board is itself not new to controversy. I myself had no doubt that a local satire film on the censors "Cut!" would have been banned had it not been the widespread reporting by foreign press.

True, given the multi-racial society, it is easy for something perfectly natural towards one group of people to be downright insulting, or even abusive for others. But isn't tolerance what the PAP administration has been extolling since 1965? It cannot be that the racial and religious harmony which has existed for 40 over years to be destroyed by a film! Such a scenario, if possible, would underscore a sorry state in our society.

Perhaps a major rethink is needed.

The story:

Subject: Singapore censors missed point of film

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/entertainment/8613014.htm?1c

Posted on Fri, May. 07, 2004

Singapore censors missed point of film

Associated Press

NEW DELHI - Singapore censors missed the main point of "Final
Solution" when they banned it from the city-state's annual film
festival, director Rakesh Sharma said.

The film chronicles Hindu-Muslim rioting in India's Gujarat state in
February-May 2002. It was banned from this year's festival because
it "was potentially inflammatory and could create racial and
religious tensions," Wang Chee Yann, spokeswoman for the Singapore
Media Development Authority's board of film censors, said Wednesday.

In an e-mail Thursday to The Associated Press, Sharma responded: "If
anything, the film specifically addresses the issue of ethnic
violence and urges its perpetrators to desist from causing such
tragedies.

"I am deeply shocked as the Singapore censors seem to have missed the
very central point of the film."

"Final Solution" won two awards at this year's Berlin International
Film Festival. It was among three movies banned from the Singapore
film festival, which ended Sunday.

Singapore has a majority of ethnic Chinese - mostly Buddhist, Taoist
or Christian - and minorities of Muslim Malays and ethnic Indians of
various faiths, including Hinduism.

Censors routinely say their decisions are based on the need to
maintain ethnic and religious harmony.

Email competition heats up

2004-05-16T15:54:00.000+08:00

The saga continues between Google and Yahoo, as Yahoo ups its email storage quota to 100 MB.

View the news here!

Competition does bring about improvement to customers! Hopefully, Microsoft joins in the fray, something which would up the ante immensely. Will GMail, the yet unlaunched email service prevail?

Energy disparity

2004-05-16T14:27:00.000+08:00

Signs of a disparity in energy levels are starting to appear. While previously, I was easily tired out and wasted by a simple game of basketball, now it seems that my friends are the ones pleading with me to stop the game. Even though it is a refreshing change, this new found energy is becoming a nuisance...

Evidence 1:
Sitting through a 3 hour movie like "Troy" proved to be torturous to me. My butt was akin to being placed on a cushion of pins -- extremely restless. Even my friends got annoyed by my need to move around. Perhaps I should up my consumption of heavy food to dampen it?

Evidence 2:
Swimming 150 metres without stopping proved too easy for me while my friends are struggling to finish the first 100 metres. At first I couldn't understand their lack of energy, because being the soldier on course here, I am supposed to be the one with the lowest energy level, especially after a long day of training.

Could it be that I have accidentally consumed steroids? Or does chicken cutlet (which I had for lunch) boost one's energy levels?

I guess I would have to go and run down the energy for now...

Welcome to my personal blog

2004-05-16T14:13:00.000+08:00

This is where you will find unrelentless ranting, outstanding reviews and raves about technological, science, political, and many other areas of human interest. This blog, obviously created by a political lefty, is about to blow you away.

Ok, so I've over exaggerated a little. But hey, how else am I supposed to promote my blog as The place to go to for entertainment? Need things to read? Come here!