Between the devil and the deep blue sea...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070617/ap_on_bi_ge/ethanol_refineries;_ylt=AntmaLHebvkdB4h9dQ9d0Ahu24cA

Increased governmental support for renewable fuels = less incentive to build fossil fuel refineries = higher fossil fuel prices

True cost of renewable resources = higher taxes + higher travelling expenses?

Back at last!

Its good to be back. A few points to note:

1) Singapore is more humid than it is hot... in my opinion that is.
2) You never realise how much you don't sweat in london until you get back to singapore and gotta get used to the slightly sticky feeling on your skin again
3) You never realise how much easier it is to breathe in london as compared to singapore, until you get back and try to breathe the much thicker, humid air
4) Anti-jetlag 101: Once you get on the plane, change your watch to the destination time and try to live as though you were already there. Also, arriving in the morning and enduring the day without sleep and then sleeping normally at night is the best way to combat jet lag... i even went for a run today and felt fine! (except for point 3 above)

On the good side:

5) You realise how much poorer the food in london is, and its good to know that you havent gone crazy fantasizing about singapore food because it really is as good as you think it is. =)
6) For those flying SIA, i felt tt the food has improved since i flew to london 9 months ago. Or maybe I just miss singaporean food too much =P

Stop donating to the poor...you are only making it worse?!?!

Interesting read of an interview by a Kenyan economist begging, not for more money, but for less.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,363663,00.html

I'm no economist, but the case studies that he presents, if true, are quite compelling. For example, he states that if, during a mild food shortage, the rest of the world donates food to african countries, the farmers in the country will be undercut and thus some will give up farming, ensuring that the next time round, there is even less food, resulting in more aid, and so on. In the meantime, the jobless farmer goes and asks for aid. He is basically saying that giving aid to africa encourages the people to just freeload, and alot of the aid goes to the corrupt politicians anyway. I can't verify what he is saying, but it is an interesting viewpoint you should take note of the next time you donate money, whether it is to a country, and organisation or a person. The situation seems alot like the worst qualities of a welfare state.

The Law of Unintended Consequences

Odex, the notoriously unreliable anime distributor fining illegal anime downloaders in co-operation with SingNet, with no apparent legal authority.

NETS, the equivalent of debit cards in Singapore before debit cards became popular raising its prices...in conjuction with the rise in GST.

Seems like people will be even more disinclined to 1)Buy Anime locally 2)Use SingNet 3)Use NETS.

I wonder if these companies did a proper Cost-Benefit analysis before going ahead with their actions? Maybe thieves will become more prevalent in Singapore as a result of more hard cash in wallets... :(

Super Mario in 3D... with a twist!

Check this out! Play super mario in 3D.... but different! Change from normal 2D view to 3D and u find that mario and his enemies will become paper thin (i.e. a 2D plane in 3D space) and u can side step ur enemies instead of jumping on them! really makes me wanna get the Wii. Check it out!

http://www.wired.com/gaming/gamingreviews/commentary/games/2007/06/gamesfrontier_0604

Bush's lasting legacy?

"Presidential hopefuls rally the faithful in US" --Article in Straits Times, today.

Seems like seperation of church and state is no longer feasible in American politics, at least at the present moment. Thanks a LOT Mr. Bush. Looks like the war against terror is going to become even more like a religious war, and we all know how religious wars turn out =(

At the same time, Malaysia has blasted the international media for decrying the death of religious freedom in their country. If you will forgive the analogy, that's like China denying that the Tiananmen massacre occured. In both cases, freedom was lost--if it existed in the first place.