On diversity, xenophobia and nationalism

Look at the boardroom of any regional companies - or the regional office of any global companies. The chance is that you'll see a diverse board members. From functional perspective, for obvious reason, and from nationality perspective as well.

But look at just the levels below them. The chance is that, it's not that diverse anymore.

The Indian mob rules a certain function after the new board member was appointed - he's evidently an Indian. The Thais have built their own little kingdom, while the Koreans are not far behind.

Ah, this must be an Asian thing - one might think.

But it seems the Aussies and even the Europeans want to play a part too. Seriously, I have now tripled my German and French vocabulary (from one word to three words).

So is this nationalism? Or people just being xenophobic? Or is this diversity in its true meaning beyond the common stereotypes - like diverse point of views?

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On obese, being religious and smoking

A recent study found that religious people smoked less.

It also found that religious people were fatter. The effect was large - religious people were 50-60% more likely to be obese.

The study lead put the findings as: ".... We don't really know if there is something about religious participation that leads to obesity, or if it's the other way around, and that heavier people might seek out religious and spiritual experiences because of things like stigmatization."

I smoke and am, uhm, slightly overweight *wink*. Is it time to be more religious or should I workout more seriously?

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Logically illogical

The logic behind defensiveness doesn’t stack up.

If we’re wrong, do we really want to defend a bad idea or position? If we’re right, will being defensive increase or decrease the strength of our position? Will it hurt or help the odds that others will give up their position in favor of a better way? Will defensiveness foster better listening, on either side? Will our defense or denial of our weaknesses make us stronger.

While there’s no rationale behind the tactic of being defensive, there’s plenty of emotion. Fear is the mortar that holds together the wall of defensiveness. We fear that

• We weren’t smart enough to see it first.
• We risk losing what we have or who we are if we change.
• If we admit we’re wrong, we’ll lose face.
• The world is changing and we don’t want it to – so we defend the “old world”, under the illusion that if we hold to our position long enough, the world will adjust to us.
• The past has been different from what we thought it was, and the future might be different from what we want it to be.
• We are the feedback we’re getting.

Excerpt from "Egonomics" by David Marcum and Steven Smith

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On crime, bras, coffee, topless and nipples...

Pardon the title.

As crime rises and gets more sophisticated, one must keep the new and innovative thinking of preventing and surviving from it.

In Malaysia, where snatch theft case has doubled and is the biggest jump in the crime categories, the police is using the combined efforts (of various departments). As surprised as I am to learn that, I hope this will not be another traffic-jam-causing roadblocks. In addition, KL City Hall has proposed to build pedestrian bridges and plant trees along pavements to prevent snatch thefts. While women are also advised to choose their handbags wisely.

A little root cause analysis would really help... I think now I understand why a lot of Singaporeans are concerned about safety in Malaysia.

The types of crime in Detroit are different and a bit more serious as it involves firearms. I'm not sure what the cops are doing, but a woman avoided serious injury from a gunshot - thanks to her bra. That's right. The bullet struck the underwire on the woman's bra and that saved her from a more serious injury, police said. Of course, some bra wires are made of steel.

I wonder if Vivid Entertainment will come up with a "based on true event" movie.

Speaking about bra, or the lack of it - coffee seems to get a momentum for raising its fans base. The Grand View Topless Coffee Shop in Maine started serving coffee, topless, since the beginning of this year. I drink coffee; it's a good enough reason to pay a visit. The sign says: "Over 18 only. No camera, no touching, cash only". Sounds like going to a gentlemen club, eh? See it yourself.

Do they offer franchising opportunities...? Ouch, the coffee shop was just burned down earlier this week.

Or perhaps in Japan, where topless seems to be just another part of life... and entertainment. Bored with the traditional tug-of-war or the all-time favorite flag football? Try nipple flag challenge! Yes, it does involve nipples, flags, tug-of-war, and Japanese. Sadly, this is not a team-based game, so it is very unlikely to be included in any of corporate outing games.

Pardon the topics as well.

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A message to my friends...

I have two friends who will get married in the next five months or so. Knowing them, and what their friends will do to them, I've got an important message: don't drink too much during your wedding day.

Because in Taiwan a groom just died on his wedding day after having too much wine and beer.

No one should mix wine and beer anyway - unless they're free.

Alternatively, if the wedding can be something similar to this bar in the U.K. (also shared by a friend), that would be, like, continuous yum seng. Yay!

And ladies - or the brides to be, there is another reason to not let your loved ones get drunk in your wedding day. Because a study found that after drinking alcohol men actually see women as less attractive. You don't want that to happen on that D-day. At least not before they say "I do".

All the best for your weddings.

Cheers!

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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 sex-ed in Singapore

Having only legalized blow job less than two years ago, Singapore with it's latest buzz around sex education amazes me.

TODAY newspaper has a topic on sex-ed provided by a non-profit organization, AWARE (which itself has been on the news recently).

Some excerpts from the article are:

"Anal sex - can be healthy or neutral if practised with consent and with a condom."

"Pre-marital sex - people might place pre-marital sex as negative, but it is really neutral."

The "AWARE Comprehensive Sexual Education: Basic Instructor Guide", from which the excerpts were taken, was copyrighted in 2007 - the same year as when the oral and anal sex were legalized.

The guide, as TODAYs wrote, has been posted online. If this is the correct guide, the topics include virginity (as a state of mind?), pleasure (sex is a pleasure act), fun (sex is meant to be fun), orgasm, and so on.

A very good move, in my opinion. It's just I don't expect that from a country where even some websites are blocked.

The neighbor Malaysia is definitely way behind, as only last year it was considering sex education in National Service.

So as I posted before: is sex education solution or problem?

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Speed clicking

The world record for speed clicking may be 15.5 clicks per second, but no one beats average Singaporeans in speed clicking the close button in elevators. And the clicking rate gets faster when they see someone walking towards the elevator...

I must be exaggerating and somewhat stereotyping, but the fact is it does happen (plus, the elevator at my work is indeed dumb.)

Seriously, the way these people press the close button reminds me of the Olympic Decathlon game back in early 1980's - somehow. And they do so with innocent look - the same look as when they block your way out of the elevator.

Aargh.

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Appreciating and understanding others

This is the period where people forgive each other - though we should do so everyday, every moment of our life.

To forgive, or to ask for forgiveness, in a way is like corrective maintenance. You know, we correct or replace what is wrong.

The better way is preventive maintenance. That is, maintain it before it fails. Or in this context, try not to do stuff - intentionally and unintentionally - that will require you to ask for forgiveness later.

To do a good preventive maintenance, one may require to perform analysis and, in some cases, simulations.

One of the biggest challenge in social life is the interaction between men and women (one of which men usually apologize without knowing exactly what was wrong). Time Out New York did a little simulation to better understand each sex, particularly in the area of bouncing boobs and dangling dicks. Their reporters traded parts to find out how it feels.

And here are the verdicts:

Guys, I’m not moved by your penis plight. Granted, had I been wearing a pair of loose-fitting boxer shorts, I may have had some motion-control issues—it couldn’t be any fun to run or bike with a set of sweaty objects thwacking against your thigh. But dudes, take advantage of the fact that American Apparel has brought back the brief and as far as I can tell, you’ll be golden. I’ll never make fun of your tighty-whities again. —Kate Lowenstein

I experienced no chronic back problems or sore nipples; the problem that plagued me the most was the punching-bag effect that occurred when doing arm curls. Though this was catnip to my perpetually fifth-grade male mentality, had the boobs actually been attached to my chest, the overwhelming feeling would’ve likely been one of pain, not fascination. —Drew Toal

Let's better appreciate and understand others.

Happy Eid, selamat lebaran, mohon maaf lahir dan batin.

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On investing and porn

Stock market has been performing badly. Wall Street goes banana.

It was the banks. Bear Stearns collapsed, Merril Lynch is about to be acquired, and Lehman filed for bankruptcy.

And now it's the insurers. AIG needs a savior.

Investing looks bleak.

Some people say that I work in a safe industry - consumer products. No matter what, people still need to go on with their life. They need to bathe and wash their hair. And people still make babies too.

But there is another industry whose demand never dies, thus ought to be less volatile than technology or banking: porn.

And we can now invest in porn industry. Adult Entertainment Capital, Inc. went public yesterday in NASDAQ, under ADLE ticker.

MSN Money says the porn stocks are worth watching. With yesterday's closing at $0.0065, you can easily be a shareholder.

An article says that it's a big market, around $57 billion globally. Looks like a huge market that can still be exploited...

A classmate once interviewed with Vivid Entertainment for an internship position in finance. The whole school enjoyed his story about the interview.

Can you imagine the experience of attending ADLE's annual shareholder meeting?

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