To chew or not to chew...

Singapore has banned the sale and import of chewing gum since 1992, but a new research may force the government to reconsider its policy...

clipped from www.reuters.com

CHICAGO (Reuters) - In a study likely to make school janitors cringe, U.S. researchers said Wednesday that chewing gum may boost academic performance in teenagers.

Many U.S. schools ban chewing gum because children often dispose of the sticky chaw under chairs or tables.

But a team led by Craig Johnston at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston found that students who chewed gum during math class had higher scores on a standardized math test after 14 weeks and better grades at the end of the term than students in the class who did not chew gum. The study was funded by chewing gum maker Wrigley.

Imagine how the Singaporean parents will react!

Singapore Math is respected world-wide. It is considered "the most powerful approach to primary math instruction in a generation" by a U.S. institution for educators. It is about the curriculum, says the institution.

I'd say, it is the kiasu-ness of the parents and the ridiculous number of tuition centers around. Check how the support was recently created to ensure parents can still afford paying for tuitions in during this crisis period.

In this republic, tuition is among the most important in Maslow's hierarchy!

So if all the 'hard works' are undone by a bunch of gum-chewing American kids, we can have a serious riot here demanding supply of chewing gum...


PS. I don't wanna get into trouble here - so just wanted to make sure everyone is aware that there is no indication that the ban of sale and import of chewing gum will be lifted.

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On bullwhip effect

In a supply chain network, (demand) variability increases as orders move upstream. Eventually, the network can oscillate in very large swings as each organization in the supply chain seeks to solve the problem from its own perspective. This phenomenon is known as the bullwhip effect and has been observed across most industries, resulting in increased cost and poorer service.

Among the culprits are demand forecast inaccuracies: everybody in the chain adds a certain percentage to the demand estimates. The result is no visibility of true customer demand.

This phenomenon apparently also applies in life.

Well, how?

It's simply the attempt to impress. Unfortunately, people get inaccurate and unconfirmed information about how to impress. They end up trying many things that they think or assume will work.

This is cascaded down. And further down, with many more assumptions, in the hierarchy. Moving the herds up and down with new assumptions. The swings get bigger each level.

No one wins.

It sucks.

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In God We Trust -- 4Real!

Everyone, meet Mr. We Trust, In God We Trust.

Steve Kreuscher from Zion, Illinois, has legally changed his name to "In God We Trust". He says the new name symbolizes the help God gave him during tough times and says he can't wait to begin signing his artwork with the new moniker.

This is the latest from a string of interesting names in the past years. The previous one, I remember 4Real, who was born last year, but finally named Superman. The New Zealand officials ruled against it.

Apparently, before that there have been some interesting names (or name changes), such as Optimus Prime, Jason Megatron Burrows, Metallica Tomaro, Yahoo Serious, Byron Low Tax Looper, Depressed Cupboard Cheesecake, and GoVeg.com.

More about the Transformers guys here.

Some other sites about unusual names: here, here, and here.

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I suck at golf

I played golf this morning.

For someone who got introduced to golf nearly twelve years ago, I really suck at golf -- though I can always argue this morning's was my only fourth game since moving to Malaysia nearly three years ago - and my clubs are over ten years old.

I've tasted 92 strokes, though I scored 110 more often. I've gotten my birdie, only to be overwhelmed by my triple- and quadruple-bogeys.

I will be the big fan of this website (unfortunately not up today - but check out the About). All and all, I might be an average golfer!

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Be careful of what you say

At work, we have several required courses that everyone needs to be re-certified every two or three years. One of them is Careful Communication.

It's kind of reminding us on the right use of emails and verbal communication that may result in legal charges. For example, comments or jokes that may be interpreted as racial or sexual harassment.

We should apply it at home as well.

A few weeks ago, I carelessly made a comment about myself: "I think my tummy is getting rounder."

One event led to another. Now I am (was - as of this moment) on 'forced' phase I South Beach diet - at least when I'm home. ;) No carbohydrate is allowed... ouch!

So guys, be careful of what you say.

(on a different note, this probably is the right time to do so - with the price and supply of rice go bananas...)

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On being indecisive

"Is it better like this?"
"Or like that?"
"A or B?"
"Left or right?"
"How about the last row?"

I did my eye exam this morning.

I think I drove myself and my doctor crazy.

There's not a moment in my life that I was so indecisive as was this morning.
"Can you show A again?"
"Maybe this one... err... I don't know..."
"I'm sorry, but left looks as sharp as right."

Maybe I was trying too hard.

Like one stand-up comedian said - you don't want to get a 'D' on eye exam, and end up with big, thick, coke-bottle of glasses, with a sign 'I didn't take it seriously'.

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Déjà vu

Since the first day of our arrival in Kuala Lumpur, about two-and-a-half years ago, both Tari and I share one (of our many) impressions of KL. We think that KL today (or at least part of it) is somewhat like Jakarta around the 80's and 90's - with today's technology.

Don't get me wrong - this is mostly positive impression.

When our relocation agent took us to the Central Market, it immediately reminded us to Blok M, especially the part next to Aldiron Plaza, where Bakmi Boy and shops selling custom plaques, stickers and shirts were located - near the bowling alley. Aldiron Plaza, by the way, rocked. I remember two or three music stores on the ground floor, some video rentals on the top floor, and of course Happy Days. Those were the happy days...
(photo from Yahoo! Travel)

We also think that traffic here is comparable to that of Jakarta in the early 90's - both from the perspectives of traffic jam or congestion, and also from the number of motorcycles. Oh how we thank God for this.

The on-going development, i.e. structural construction, is also similar, in one way or another. There is hardly any places in KL that passes the day without any construction - just like Jakarta during its booming period. Even development of commercial places in residential areas is happening - which I don't think is a good thing.

Nightlife seems to be around the ballpark. I ain't no club hopper - far from it; but even then I can clearly tell the difference from what my friends in Jakarta tell me (yeah, right). You know, it's like the era of Musro, Ori, Ebony, or Parrots in Jakarta. Or when Kemang was still under control. Or Studio East in Bandung. Ouch!

The recent arrest of HINDRAF's members was also quite identical to how freedom of speech was in Indonesia in the 80's. Even Taiping prison seems to serve the same function as Nusa Kambangan prison (well, they are both prisons).

I believe there are more that, being insensitive and ignorant, I overlooked. But my take is, if history is to repeat itself, these two neighboring countries have to learn from each other.

Malaysia can learn to not repeat the mistakes that Indonesia made - whatever they were. For Indonesia, having long term plan and vision (and execute them with less deviation) is probably one of the things to copy from Malaysia.

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2007 by numbers

I like numbers. They're exact. They're not wishy-washy. They're not dependent on how one sees it.

Here's my 2007 by numbers, subject to memory bias.

1 - the sight of the Petronas Twin Towers from mi casa. Down from 2.

8624, approximately - number of visits to this blog. I'm sure the majority was my own visits. Up from, I believe, below 100.

7 - the highest number of guests staying over in a night. Up from 5.

143 - size of the group I'm leading. Up from 8.

17 - return air trips to Jakarta in 2007 for the whole family. Up from 10.

1 - number of cigars smoked. Stay at 1.

And here are two views of the towers from the balcony...

February 2007

January 2008

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Happy new year

Happy new year, everyone!

For the third time in a row, we spent the new year's eve in KL. This time, though, it wasn't in an apartment.

We celebrated the new year countdown at SouledOut, with its SoulStock theme night. We got companies too! Thirteen guests were joining us -- seven stayed in our place. Full house!

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Good coffee

Since Rizal of Café Salemba wrote today about good coffee (with economics spin), I feel obligated to share my happiness to finally find the good coffee I like - Taster's Choice from Nescafé. This is one of those things I haven't been able to find since we moved to KL.

Last week when I went to Singapore and had the time to do things I usually don't when I have to go there, Tari and I went to Mustafa Shopping Center. We spent some quality time until 2 AM at Mustafa (kids are with their cousins and grandma). I went home with my Taster's Choice. She got her iPod Nano. We were both happy.

Yeah, I'm not that sophisticated.

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On tex mex food in KL

Finally after more than two years in KL, we found a decent Tex-Mex food at Las Carretas in Damansara. It's been two Sundays in a row, and we've tried quite a few - Chimichanga, Quesadillas, Fajitas, and Nachos. And so far two Margaritas and a Boca Chica on the house. Good service.

Prior to this, it's been limited to Fajitas and Nachos from places like TGI Friday and Chilli's.

I'm not a big fan of Tex-Mex food, but it's one that I can easily take. Tortilla + salsa, I'm happy. Cheese nachos - great! (now I remember where all these fats came from).

Next - Taco, Enchiladas, and Burrito.

Yumm...

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Is flashlight a toy?

A typical scene at home.

*#^$%#$(*& !!!!

"Whoa, whoa. What's happening?"
Anya: "Ben doesn't let me borrow his flashlight!"
"Why, Ben?"
Ben: "Because it's not a toy..."
Anya: "It IS a toy!"
Ben: "It's not!"
Anya: "It IS!"
Ben: "NO!"

"Stop it, stop it."
"Why do you think it's not a toy?"

Ben: "Because... because we use flashlight when it's dark!"
Anya: "No..."
"Wait. Let him finish."
Ben: "So we have to keep it."
"And why do you think it's a toy?"
Anya: "Because it's a Buzz Lightyear flashlight! Buzz Lightyear is a toy!"
Ben: "But it's a flashlight! You said we shouldn't play with flashlight!"

(Oh, now it's me)

"OK. Let's not play with my flashlight, because we need to know exactly where we keep it. When it's dark, it'll be very difficult to find a flashlight if it can be anywhere, won't it?"
"But since this is a toy flashlight, you can play with it."

Both: "Yipiiii...!"
Anya: "Give me."
Ben: "My turn first!"
Anya: "But you've played with it already!"
Ben: "This is my toy. My turn first!"

... I think I found the reason why men play golf the whole day...

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He who shoots faster than own shadow

Lucky Luke shoots faster than his own shadow does. One of my favorite comics back then.

I used to collect a lot of comics available in my preteen; my dad reads a lot too. Mostly bought in Gramedia bookstore, some of my favorites include Tintin, EPPO, Album Cerita Ternama, and some more.

Lucky Luke rides Jolly Jumper, who sometimes is smarter than his master. In most editions, Luke fights the Dalton brothers, who are like dumb and dumber among them. There is one where Luke is the host to a Russian visitor or ambassador, of whom he gets in trouble a lot. And in some, Rantanplan, a dumb yet lucky dog, gets in his way. Rantanplan is his journey to look for his parents, if I'm not mistaken.

Tintin is probably one of the most successful comics ever. The first Tintin was published in 1930. It now even has its own official website though there hasn't been any new edition since 1986.

EPPO is a bit unique. It was probably not too suitable for kids in elementary schools. There was Storm, a six-pack hero, and his partner 'Rambut Merah' who almost always wore bikini-type war clothing. I never really understood the story...

I like Roel Djikstra story in EPPO too. One of the plots I remember was when Roel was shot while getting ready for a corner kick. It was all football politics and stuff. And there were Arad and Maya with their teleporter device, and I think a story about a French military guy who tried to put a bomb in the Eiffel tower... or somewhere along that line.

Album Cerita Ternama, a comic series published by Gramedia, was all about classic stories. Not only the stories were from the Western authors like Karl May or Jules Verne, but it also had stories like the Mahabarata, Pandawa, and such. A very enjoyable reading and learning.

I guess I will check out what kind of comics are available in the bookstores nowadays...

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Bleachers

I recently finished reading John Grisham's Bleachers. One of Grisham's books that do not feature court room in the story. It is around the death of a football coach and all the experiences of his former players. What they learned. What they loved, and hated. What they wanted to, but couldn't, forget.

Eddie Rake, the coach, was a tough one. A very tough one. He swears, pushes his players to the limit, and makes them throw up during practices.

It reminds me of Pak Bobby who passed away a few years back. He was my high school sport (physical education) teacher.

Like Eddie Rake, Pak Bobby was tough and made us throw up during physical exercise. Despite that, he was like a father figure to some of us. But I believe there were students who hated him as well.

I was out of the country when he passed away. And I just couldn't make the time to visit his widow and children every time I was back. I heard they moved out of Jakarta.

It's kinda a guilty feeling that I have. One promise to myself I just couldn't keep.

Probably I managed to spend some time thinking about life.

Birthday

Thanks to Jennie for the wish. And to friends whose SMS I didn't reply until late in the evening. Like my buddy Sheque said, it's the symptom of getting old -- late SMS replies.

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Expensive communication

I find it amazing that it is so expensive to make a call to Indonesia from Malaysia. It's even more expensive than a call to the U.S. -- which takes about 10 more times to travel to (20-hour vs. 2-hour flying). It's MYR 1.80 (~USD 0.50) for a minute to Indonesia, while it costs only half of that to call the U.S. (Telekom Malaysia's (TM) rate)

Of course, there are other countries with more expensive calling rate. Like India at MYR 3.50 a minute. Or Cuba at MYR 5.00 a minute.

The calling rate from the U.S. is no different (except it's cheaper). A call to Indonesia from the U.S. costs USD 0.35 (AT&T) or USD 0.12 (Vonage). A minute to Malaysia is USD 0.22 (AT&T) or USD 0.06 (Vonage). India is USD 0.34 and 0.17 with AT&T and Vonage respectively.

Why is it so expensive to call Indonesia - more expensive than to call Malaysia?

One explanation is monopoly (or duopoly or triopoly, for that matter). But if this is the case, I don't think Malaysia is much different. In fact, TM is probably the only international call carrier in Malaysia.

Or higher initial investment required. The main telecommunication infrastructure difference between the two countries is Indonesia requires more across-islands connection, while Malaysia is pretty much two big areas (West, or peninsular, Malaysia, and East Malaysia). This will also require higher maintenance costs.

Another explanation is high operations costs due to older networks. Though this seems to be a good explanation, I don't have any intelligent information.

It could also be higher operations costs due to other reasons. Like poor efficiency. Or inflated costs. Or pungli. And so on (corruption too).

Or is it merely one of the government's cash cows?

Not to say that these things don't happen in Malaysia. It's just probably not as bad (so the rate can still be lower).

But, with Malaysian telecom companies entering Indonesia (Telekom Malaysia acquired Excelcomindo and Maxis took over PT Natrindo Telepon Seluler), will this change? It's not directly linked to international call rate or settlement rate, but there might be hope.

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Don't miss sex more than a month

"My research shows that if you don't have sex for a month you probably won't have it for a year," said Kunio Kitamura, director of the Japan Family Planning Association, in conjunction to concerns over Japan's declining birthrate. (an identical article from Guardian titled "no sex please, we're Japanese".)

The Japanese work so hard, that they prefer sleep that have sex. 34.6% married couple had not had sex for more than a month. The wives, as a consequence, look for solutions: sex volunteers.

Even a 2005 poll by Durex finds that the Japanese have sex an average of just 45 times a year compared with a global average of 103 times. That's about once a week for the Japanese and twice a week on global average. (If we look at the data a bit closer though, the bottom 8 are Asian countries: Japan, Singapore, India, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan.)

I found it a bit strange as I thought Japanese to have a higher-than-average level of kinkiness. You know, with all the cartoons, the sex industry, games and stuff. Combining these with hard-working attitude is the comment below:

"The men love their companies; they live for work," Mr Kim said. "Men don't even think it is a problem if they don't have sex with their wives. They have pornography and the sex industry to take care of their needs, but their wives have nowhere to go. They just suffer in silence."

In the other part of the world, ironically, it is difficult to control birthrate. A couple in Pakistan sold their newborn baby to pay the hospital bill (for delivery). This couple already has six children. (detik.com)

Back to what I had in mind when I started -- well, I will just leave Mr. Kitamura's comment as our food for thought...

------

A bit about the Durex poll results:

• People in India are the oldest to lose their virginity (19.8) followed by the Vietnamese (19.6), Indonesians (19.1) and Malaysians (19).
• Men have sex on average 104 times a year, while women do it 101 times a year.
• The Turks have the highest number of sexual partners and the most extra-marital affairs. Indians have had the fewest sexual partners (3). Indonesians have 5.1, while Malaysians have 5.8.
• The Turks, again, top the charts when it comes to having had an extra marital affair (58%). Indonesians and Malaysians are 16% and 14%
• 35-44 year-olds have the most sex, and the most sex is being had in Greece.
• The most popular "sexual enhancer" is pornography.

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Kill the messenger!

No one wants to deliver bad news. Particularly to the management. The urban legend is, they will kill the messenger.

That was the mission last Monday - for my boss and me. I was pretty close to having some all nighters. I got sick; probably hoping there would be some empathies to a sick-looking messenger. I broke several promises to the kids. The whole week was just unproductive.

We didn't get killed. In fact, I would consider it a good day as we managed to catch the flight in Singapore despite getting off the presentation just 45 minutes before the departure time. The cab driver was comparable to Queen Latifah in Taxi. I was the last getting into the plane. My boss ran faster than I did. I guess it's time to hit the treadmill.

Penang

So I decided to take the Friday off to Penang with the whole family. Despite the long, four-hour drive, we had a good time. Good food, good fun, and good rest. My third time to Penang, and I'm still amazed that an island of 293 square-kilometers has a 65-storey building. As a comparison, Jakarta's area is 661 square-kilometers and Wisma BNI 46 is 48-stories.

I was probably the only United fan in the hotel bar. I'm pretty sure I was the only one jumping when O'Shea scored the goal, and also the only one left watching the post-game analysis. Whatever, it was a good game - for United.

Fire incident

Got a call from our neighbor on Sunday morning - bitching that we were still sleeping in Penang. One of the units on the ground floor of our condo building was on fire. Everyone was evacuated through the stairs, at 2 AM. Except my Iranian neighbor who decided to keep on sleeping (probably there were some others).

The fire was extinguished without any fire trucks entering the complex. Apparently, everyone found out last night, the building entrance is too small for the fire trucks.

Additional checklist the next time we move: is the building entrance big enough for fire trucks?

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Main root of capitalism?

A valuable lesson, I guess. But on the other hand, and at the same time, it could turn the religious people into capitalist... or turn capitalism into a religion. Someone has summarized the story below: "pennies are a message from heaven... pick it up!"

.......

A man and his wife were invited to spend the weekend at his employer's home. She was nervous about the weekend. The boss was very wealthy, with a fine home on the water-way, and cars costing more than her house. The first day and evening went well, and she was delighted to have this rare glimpse into how the wealthy live.

The husband's employer was quite generous as a host, and took them to the finest restaurants. The wife knew she would never have the opportunity to indulge in this kind of extravagance again, so was enjoying herself immensely. As the three of them were about to enter an exclusive restaurant that evening, the boss was walking slightly ahead of his guests.

He stopped suddenly, looking down on the pavement for a long, silent moment. She wondered if she was supposed to pass him. There was nothing on the ground except a single darkened penny along with a few cigarette butts. Still silent, the man reached down and picked up the penny. He held it up and smiled, them put it in his pocket as if he had found a great treasure.

How absurd! What need did this man have for a single penny? Why would he even take the time to stop and pick it up? Throughout dinner, the entire scene nagged at her finally, she could stand it no longer. She casually mentioned that her daughter once had a coin collection, and asked if the penny he had found had been of some value.

A smile crept across the man's face as he reached into his pocket for the penny and held it out for her to see. She had seen many pennies before! What was the point of this?

"Look at it," he said. "Read what is says."

She read the words, "United State of America."

"No, not that; read further."

"One cent?"

"No, keep reading."

"In God we Trust?"

"Yes!"

"And?"

"And if I trust in God, the name of God is holy, even on a coin. Whenever I find a coin I see that inscription. It is written on every single United States coin, but we never seem to notice it! God drops a message right in front of me telling me to trust him. Who am I to pass it by? When I see a coin, I pray, I stop to see if my trust IS in God at that moment. I pick the coin up as a response to God; that I do trust in Him. For a short time, at least, I cherish it as if it were gold. I think it is God's way of starting a conversation with me. Lucky for me, God is patient and pennies are plentiful!

.......

Here's the official history of "In God we Trust" in the U.S. coins from the Department of Treasury...

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Smacking and best/worst place for children

The irony of a recent UNICEF report is that the two, arguably, most pursued places for work are the two worst places for children to live - among wealthy nations. They're the U.S. and Britain, at 20 and 21 out of 21 nations.

The British government, of course, said that the data used by UNICEF was outdated. Duh!

The study was done in six main areas: (1) relationships, especially with their peers, (2) risky behaviour such as sex, drink and drugs, (3) children's own assessment of their happiness, (4) poverty and inequality, (5) education over the long-term, and (6) health and safety.

Overall rankings of the study is:
1. Netherlands
2. Sweden
3. Denmark
...
19. Hungary
20. United States
21. United Kingdom

When I first met our Iranian neighbor, I wondered why their parents migrated to and now live in Sweden. Now, perhaps this study answers my question.

Almost a third of British youngsters aged 11, 13 and 15 reported being drunk on two or more occasions, against just an average of under 15 percent in the majority of OECD countries.

But I guess this is not a surprise. Nor when the United States ranked 21 for health and safety...

Another article, however, disputes the results as some of these nations, and most notably the Netherlands being on top, have not banned smacking. I don't really have strong opinion on either way - ban or not ban. Because parents have more problems with smack down on TV...

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Hair-pulling disorder

Trichotillomania.
trich·o·til·lo·ma·ni·a (trĭk'ō-tĭl'ə-mā'nē-ə, -mān'yə). n.

Some definitions:

• Dictionary: the compulsion to tear or pluck out the hair on one's head and face and often to ingest it.
• Medical: a compulsion to pull out one's own hair.
• WordNet: an irresistible urge to pull out your own hair.

What? Pulling your own hair (and ingest it)?

It came to my attention as a printed article on the Sun last week briefly discussed this type of disorder. Here's some of it:

Trichotillomania is a poorly understood disorder in which a person repeatedly pulls out his own hair, leading to visible hair loss. This disorder can have a crippling effect on the sufferers and treatment is rarely effective, notes a survey of patients with this condition.

“It has a much larger impact on people than I think even most mental health practitioners understand,” says lead author Dr. Douglas W. Woods, of the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. “A lot of people will look at this and say it’s just a nervous habit, but it’s not really.”

....

I would seriously think this is just a nervous habit. In fact, I can't recall I saw anyone that I know of show the symptom of trichotillomania as defined above. Not until I found the definition of Trichotillomania from Wikipedia.

Trichotillomania (TTM) or "trich" is an impulse control disorder characterized by the repeated urge to pull out scalp hair, eyelashes, beard hair, nose hair, pubic hair, eyebrows or other body hair. It may be distantly related to obsessive-compulsive disorder, with which it shares some similarities.

So it's really about pulling many types of body hair. Now I can see why the study says up to 3.4% adults may suffer from this disorder. I think the number should be even higher. I can now recall some people doing it regularly.

Perhaps we need to worry about this not only because its negative effect on health (e.g. fatal balls of hair in the stomach), but also because it's disgusting.

Yes, because it's also disgusting...

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