eureka - but i hope this isn't another false alarm

ok i did say i wasn't gonna write here anymore but i gotta write this down somewhere.

I SOLVED IT.
I SOLVED THE GODDAMNED PROBLEM.
The outcome isn't positive from an immediate point-of-view BUT I STILL SOLVED THE PROBLEM.

not airtight, but good enough on the balance of probabilities.

now to move on.

i've been wrong before, but what the heck?

i don't update this anymore

talk to me in person, or remote contacts available via facebook.

beyond marx

the great lie of capitalism as it is taught is that growth and progress are driven by incentives, rather than the responsibility that these incentives encourage.

responsibility is the difference between the command and capitalist economies.

but where incentives are distorted to the point where responsibility is abdicated, where does that lead us?

the gears turn.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all!

Mad Dogs and Englishmen

Realised the last post was #100. But anyway, here's an old 1930s song that captures the correct attitude towards afternoon naps.

Mad Dogs and Englishmen
(Noel Coward)

In tropical climes there are certain times of day
When all the citizens retire, to tear their clothes off and perspire.
It's one of those rules that the biggest fools obey,
Because the sun is much too sultry and one must avoid
its ultry-violet ray --
Papalaka-papalaka-papalaka-boo. (Repeat)
Digariga-digariga-digariga-doo. (Repeat)
The natives grieve when the white men leave their huts,
Because they're obviously, absolutely nuts --

Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun.
The Japanese don't care to, the Chinese wouldn't dare to,
Hindus and Argentines sleep firmly from twelve to one,
But Englishmen detest a siesta,
In the Philippines there are lovely screens,
to protect you from the glare,
In the Malay states there are hats like plates,
which the Britishers won't wear,
At twelve noon the natives swoon, and
no further work is done -
But Mad Dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun.

It's such a surprise for the Eastern eyes to see,
That though the British are effete,
they're quite impervious to heat,
When the white man rides, every native hides in glee,
Because the simple creatures hope he will
impale his solar topee on a tree.
Bolyboly-bolyboly-bolyboly-baa. (Repeat)
Habaninny-habaninny-habaninny-haa. (Repeat)
It seems such a shame that when the English claim the earth
That they give rise to such hilarity and mirth -

Mad Dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun.
The toughest Burmese bandit can never understand it.
In Rangoon the heat of noon is just what the natives shun.
They put their scotch or rye down, and lie down.
In the jungle town where the sun beats down,
to the rage of man or beast,
The English garb of the English sahib merely gets a bit more creased.
In Bangkok, at twelve o'clock, they foam at the mouth and run,
But mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun.

Mad Dogs and Englishmen, go out in the midday sun.
The smallest Malay rabbit deplores this stupid habit.
In Hong Kong, they strike a gong, and fire off a noonday gun.
To reprimand each inmate, who's in late.
In the mangrove swamps where the python romps
there is peace from twelve till two.
Even caribous lie down and snooze, for there's nothing else to do.
In Bengal, to move at all, is seldom if ever done,
But mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun.

try to fight off the ADD long enough (@)

Recently, there has been a flap in Singapore over the winning of the rights to the English Premier League (football) television broadcast rights by SingTel, which is the other big cable TV company in Singapore (the first being Starhub, which has had rights for the past... 10 years?). Starhub's last bid, about 3 years ago, was rumoured to be about US$150 million (S$240 million), while some rumours place SingTel's latest bid at about US$400 million (S$550 million). This is almost 2.3 times the previous bid, and is frankly a preposterous number for a (wealthy) market with only 1 million subscribers.

As a result of the ever more astronomical bids placed, the price of watching EPL has risen from about $10 / mth ten years ago to about $27 / mth today (as an add on above your regular cable subscription. SingTel has promised not to raise households' prevailing rates to view the EPL, but as a good gahmen official I know full well the scope of prevarication available ;)

If the original intent of the media regulatory authorities in Singapore was to promote competition (which according to proper economic theory results in lower prices and better results for all), this surely must be egg in their faces. My view is that what actually occurred was that the establishment of competition in the form of SingTel, did nothing to challenge the actually monopoly of the EPL in selling its rights. In fact, this was likely a form of wasteful competition, which ends up pushing up prices and making overpaid football players even more overpaid from excess TV money than before.

Due to the high costs of entry and small Singapore market, SingTel and Starhub already enjoy a nice monopoly in Singapore. An idea would be for them (with a little bit of "encouragement" by their majority shareholder, the government) to form a monopsony with regards to EPL rights. I am not sure about the way the bidding process works, but could they not submit a joint bid? The EPL would definitely want the incremental revenue from a place like Singapore, so they would pretty much have to accept any (reasonable) bid from a market like this. Less money for fat cat footballers and agents means more surplus for the consumer.

try to fight off the ADD long enough (!)

ok, so today was one of those days where i did a mini-screwjob on someone else. i hope he wasn't too affected by the fact i smoked out.

and poetic justice being poetic justice, later in the day someone turns around and does a similar screwjob on me.

i think part of the melancholy stems from the fact that next week, my best friend will officially leave me for a woman, and being a dutiful person, i will stand behind him, cheer him on, take the shit work on the wedding day, speak in foreign languages, make flowery speeches, all the while wearing a suit possibly 2 sizes too small (since the HUGE weight gain episode). not to mention smile too.

you're a different man now, brudders no more. au revoir, doctor! enjoy your new life! don't forget your company who stand this side of the river!

*light bulb*

i realised today i am thoroughly unchurched. is that a good thing or not... hmmm?

REMINDER to self to send emails to visited usa peeps.

ctrl+alt+delete

i think i've hit the reset button too many times in my recent life, the past year or so. maybe this time i can give it a good hard PRESS and something will actually happen.