Cars are often an extension of the owner's personality; it is a reflection of who he/she is.
Is it then possible to use car ownership to filter out drivers who have the propensity to drive dangerously? Are owners of heavily modified cars, or cars that have that racing image more likely to speed on the roads, accelerate and weave through traffic dangerously, or become a nuisance or menace on the roads? Do such drivers tend to be of a particular personality or temperament? Are they more impatient? Short/hot-tempered? Daredevillish? Inconsiderate?
If research can prove that a higher than proportionate number of such sports/race cars (either in terms of actual performance or the 'feel' it gives to its driver), can we then push for curbs against such vehicles? Higher insurance premiums (to make them think twice about smashing their cars) perhaps?
Of course I am not suggesting that ALL drivers who modify their cars, or drive the racing breed of cars (think Subaru WRX and Evo) are speed-sters. But logical reasoning (or is that plain ol' stereotyping, pure and simple?) will conjure a very different image when you try to visualise who would be driving a WRX and who would be driving a Toyota Camry.
Even Subaru's own advertising campaign seems to recognise that their cars reach out to a very specific segment of the market. Remember those radio ads about Ah Seng Aquarium and the killer whale? (I think the campaign is still running and it a real pain to listen to... one of the reasons why I stopped listening to Class 95!)
So, Subarus are for the Ah Seng types, or so think Subaru themselves. And if you're selling a Lexus, you won't even think about marketing to anyone close.
Now the question would be: Are Ah Sengs more likely to get into or cause a car accident?
It's very rare to see men chatting openly in the toilet. And even more unusual it is conducted over the urinals!
I happened to visit the washroom when the brass at some management meeting were having a toilet break and overheard them discussing the government's forecast on the economy. (Come on, these are men! You don't expect them to be talking about last night's episode of Campus Superstar, right?)
Anyway, it was a perculiar conversation to hold in a perculiar environment...
A: Wah, the growth forecast this quarter is dropping to minus 5%. So drastic ah...
B: Do you think the government's growth forecast was the truth or just managing expectations?
A: (Laughs) Maybe it's the managed truth?
Lesson Learnt: Don't talk too much in the toilet.
If you think you have been harassed by insurance agents before, think again.
I was having lunch (alone... needed some "self time") today when suddenly this middle-aged man came up to me and asked, "Excuse me, are you a Singaporean?"
After I answered him, he went on to talk about Singaporeans' CPF accounts. At first I suspected he could be some disgruntled ah pek who just wants to find someone he can grind his axe with. Maybe he's not happy with the government's resilience package payouts. Maybe he's got some grudge against Singapore's CPF system. Maybe he just came from an inspiringly invigorating time at the nearby Speaker's Corner?
I quickly stopped him and asked him what he is getting at. Sensing my "interest" he immediately offered his name and a handshake. Big mistake.
After one too many of such experiences, I declined his handshake and didn't even give him my name. (Sorry, I'm not trying to be rude, but I don't want to be 'conned' into something deeper!)
What was more shocking (other than the fact that yes, Matthew can actually be rude) was, this man was so undetered by my "unfriendliness" that he actually SAT DOWN at my table WITHOUT ASKING. Now, that's rude! What if I was waiting for a friend? Does he not have respect for a person's personal time and space?
Anyway, without prompting, he immediately launched into this whole barrage on CPF and testing me on Medisave and Medishield: "Do you know what's the difference between Medishield and Medisave?"
Now, I don't mind him asking, but it's the way he asked it... You're made to feel like a dumb student mockingly quizzed by a sinister teacher who has long 'marked' you in class.
But from Medishield, he went on to talk about how instead of using medisave to pay for medical bills, you can use the money to buy medishield-like insurance policies that offers higher payouts. From there, it went (even more) downhill...
He sat there talking for at least 10 mins while I tried to be nice and patronising. I definitely do not deny the fact that I spent that same 10 mins wishing him away in my mind. Still, being the nice guy that I am (ahem), I politely abided his questions and the patronising I-know-it-all-and-you-probably-don't smirk throughout the bizarre conversation (more like monologue lah) that had him asking from whether I have kids, who my current insurance agent is, to whether I have invested my CPF money.
After 10 mins, enough is enough. I VERY NICELY told him, "Sorry I don't mean to be rude, but I was hoping for a quiet lunch today, which is why I'm out alone? So if you don't mind, I don't think I'll be buying or reviewing my policies anytime soon."
His reaction? HE $%@$#%^ WENT ON TALKING!
Good thing for him the fish & chips I ordered hasn't come yet, or I swear I would have stabbed him with the knife.
So traumatised was I that immediately after he left, I called my insurance agent to complain!
Over the weekend I was at my in-laws' place and as usual was watching Discovery Channel and History Channel on cable. On that episode of Mythbusters, they looked into the science of firewalking and it was just amazing!
They concluded that charcoal is a bad conductor of heat and the layer of ash is a very effective insulator! And because even when walking normally, each foot will be in contact with the burning coals for about 0.5 sec at any one time, it is not long enough for the heat to burn the soles!
The most amazing thing was how the scientist proved his point by breaking up a piece of hot coal and placing it on his palm! Then, he put a piece of paper near the glowing inner half and ignited it!
Does that mean that people have been 'purifying' and 'piercing' themselves during Thaipusam for nothing? Hmm...
(My personal tongue-in-cheek response to current issues)
World News
Malaysian Ministers Fight Over “God” Malaysian Home Ministry: Non-Muslims not allowed to refer to God in publication
In an amusing twist to the “Don’t Use Allah” saga, Bernard Dompok, leader of the Upko political party in Sabah and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, said that Christian bibles in the Indonesian language refer to God as “Allah”, adding that the terminology is widely used in Indonesia and also in Arab countries by Christian.
Mr Dompok was rebutting the Home Ministry’s earlier declarations that the word “Allah” was “the preserve of followers of Islam in Malaysia” and should not be used by other religions to refer to God.
“There is no reason for the Home Ministry to continue harassing the Catholic Herald,” said Mr Dompok, referring to the Ministry’s threat to shut down the weekly Catholic publication with a circulation of 14,000.
Some of Mr Dompok’s Cabinet colleagues, however, disagrees. In a fiery response printed in Mingguan Malaysia, Mr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi retorted: “This is Malaysia. Do not equate us with another country. Don’t play with fire and challenge the Muslims. We are willing to do anything to protect our religion.”
Interestingly, Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has meanwhile been quietly meeting church leaders in Sabah to seek the support of the Christian community.
No prizes for guessing who is the cleverest among the trio.
More English, or Less? I refer to your article “More protest against policy to teach in English” (TODAY, Feb 2, 2009) It was understood that The Movement for the Abolition of Teaching and Learning Science and Maths in English wants to revert to teaching Maths and Science subjects in Malaysia’s national language, Malay.
However, your article also stated that the President of the movement proposing this protest, Datuk Dr Hassan Ahmad, felt that “the teaching of English should be improved, so students could master the language.” The article quoted him saying, “We should improve the techniques of teaching English, expose children to good literature and get experts to devise a method that works.”
I’m confused by the stand the movement has taken. Does the movement intend to abolish the use of English, or was it pushing for promoting better English standards? Was the confusion caused by the Movement’s own non-proficiency in the English language?
Entertainment
Now Showing: Opera Showdown! Long anticipated finale raises curtains and eyebrows
After more than 17 months in the making, the Opera Showdown!, finally raised its curtains at Takashimaya Shopping Centre. Backed by a stellar cast, including Stephane Le Peletier playing the Gallery Director, across Toshin Aw Eng Hai as the Landlord, and debutants from rock band, Seven Guards of Cisco.
The story plot revolves around the true story of Le Peletier, who locked himself up in the gallery premises to protect over $20 million worth of art pieces and to prevent Toshin from forcibly taking over the premises after failing to negotiate with the landlord for a lease extension.
Classic case of the good standing up against the scourge of corporate evil? You decide.
Popcorns:4/5 Comments:Free at Takashimaya SC, limited period only. Catch it while you can! Full review here.
Perhaps it is just an extension of the big lie underlying the movie plot, but after watching the movie last night, I found it plain, formulaic and highly predictable.
Granted, there were a few funny scenes (funny as in giggle-hrmph-funny, not the hahahah-funny, get it?) here and there, but you can almost guess what will happen next. Overall, if not for the stellar cast and familiar faces, this would have been like another B-grade HK production.
It was only when I was on the train home did I realize that I had left work at 6.30pm... when my working hours were only until 6pm. Looks like I'm appearing like a diligent, hardworking ox after all! Haha...
No wonder the office was DEAD QUIET when I left. And to think I thought they were mean to switch off the air-con at 6.20pm! It was me who was the boo-boo.
Maybe it has been too long a break. Maybe too much bak-kwa. Maybe both.
I shall remember to go off in time today. Promise.
Ok, first, I'm a DRAGON, not an Ox, but since everyone (including President Nathan) is talking about how the ox is a symbol of diligence and perseverence and how we should be like an ox in the new year, I shall indulge in it for a bit.
The problem is, my first day at work is proving myself more like a lazy ox than one who is diligent and persevering.
There was hardly a crowd on the train to work this morning, and when I came in, the office was Q.U.I.E.T. Don't tell me everyone is on leave ok... But anyway, the rest of the day was as such - quiet.
The usual bustle in the office is almost non-existent, and by now (about 2.30pm) I have received a grand total of 3 emails (all automated news updates) and ZERO phone calls.
And after the event just before the new year, there just isn't much work left for me to do, at least not right after the festivities ended.
And so the whole day today, I'm just surfing for news and such, posting blogs and figuring out the cross-posting function between Multiply and Blogger (I'm currently cross-posting from Blogspot, by the way).
Interesting stuff I discovered today?
1. Obama doesn't like zoos very much, because they were excluded from Government bailout funding. 2. Some think the world will end (again) on 21 Dec 2012, according to the Mayan calendar. 3. There are more Nyonya stuff in the media than I previously thought! Grr... 4. 60% of the stalls at the hawker centre are not open for business. Result: l-o-n-g queues... 5. A man in the US shot (and killed) his wife and 5 kids before committing suicide after losing his job.
If even the world defending champion can crash out due to the heat, so can ordinary people like me!
I was just heading this headline in the lift on my way to the office this morning and then found out that the whole office's air-con has not been switched on!
After a super long Chinese New Year holiday, the place has become hot and stuffy and was not the kind of place to start work for the new year!
Just because the ox works under the sun all the time doesn't mean we have to sweat at work, right? Grrr....
It's the year of the Ox and Mediacorp seems to be trying a little too hard in milking the Nyonya cow!
First it was the extra 5-min encore that served no purpose, then it was another 1-hour free-for-all talk show for all the actors and actresses in the epic drama to talk (some more) about the show.
Not to mention the endless live appearances, TV shows and endorsements of Nyonya cuisine and bird's nest, complete with traditional Nyonya costume etc etc etc.
I say to Mediacorp, know when to stop please. It's really better to go while you're still at the top. Try too hard and you'll end up leaving a bad after taste in your once-supportive audience, and negate whatever good-will and loyalty the show had achieved.
All Singtel mobile users, be wary the next time you receive seemingly harmless SMSes from "SINGTEL SVC" and make sure you read the full message carefully!
You see, I just received a message that read:
"Dear customer, respective charges for your content subscription service(s) will be renewed next month. To unsubscribe, pls key *1626 then press the call button."
Wondering what services I had subscribed, I traced my SMSes back to about 1-2 WEEKS ago and found:
"Dear subscriber, yr FREE MP3 Music Pack 30 days subscription ends on 18/01/09 & a $5.35/mth charges applies till you unsub. To unsubscribe, key *1626."
I immediately unsubscribed and uncontented, called the customer service hotline to confirm my unsubscription (including whatever pro-rated charges I might have incurred, since I was already a week late in unsubscribing).
When I asked if I opt out of ALL such future promotions and free trials, I was told that it was stated in the service contract when I signed up with Singtel and there is no way I can "get rid" of it, though I totally did not want it.
He did advise me that the next time I recontract with Singtel, I should tell the service staff to specifically leave me out of such services, and when it's requested at the point of signing, it will be done.
I was flabbergasted, to say the least. Why should such a service be opt out and not opt in in the first place? If I had been busy and simply deleted or ignored such promotion 'junk' SMSes, I would unknowingly be billed for a service I never ask for, didn't need and will not use! I wonder how many subscribers had unknowingly "signed up" for that dumb service (I still don't know what it is and I'm now not interested at all to know!) and would be shocked to find extra charges in their next bill.
Sure sounds better than the gong xi gong xi songs blasting at the shopping malls... though a little reminiscent of the "Negara Ku-ku" rap I heard some time ago...
This is my first foray into cross blogging and I'm setting up this new account to see if whatever I post here will be reflected on my facebook and multiply blog.
Even then, this would allow me to have a larger audience than the closed circle I have at multiply.
Don't get me wrong. It's great fun at multiply, and I appreciate the privacy (of sorts) at times, but there are also ocassions when I need a little bit more flexibility and opennes than is available now.
Not to mention that the strict IT policies at my workplace are causing my old blog to act up, and are making blogging there quite a hassle.
Let's see if blogspot does better?
(For those reading this on multiply, I've set up a blogspot account [mattisglossy.blogspot.com] and cross-blogged it here so that I can blog on both sides and I can use it to circumvent any acting up multiply has been giving me lately. Have fun reading!)
We have all come across something interesting or noteworthy while surfing the Internet, and being avid bloggers, can’t wait to document our observations, thoughts and emotions in our personal virtual space, the blog.
Yet, when we come across an issue that affects the integrity and reputation of someone else, do we suddenly become paparazzi who are more concerned about getting the “big, fat, juicy” news out as quickly as possible, never mind if it is true?
Far too often we jump on the popular bandwagon of slamming someone, simply because “everyone else is doing it”. Sure, it is popular to criticize challenging issues like ERP and fare hikes, but much of such criticism is usually carried along by herd mentality and the sense of strength and security it provides.
When we say that ERP is bad bad bad, do we say it because my neighbour next door, the auntie downstairs, the pork seller I met yesterday and the taxi driver I spoke with this morning, all said ERP was bad?
Or do we say it’s bad AFTER we have made an effort to find out more and after weighing both (or more) sides, make an INFORMED decision whether ERP is a good or bad thing?
Very often, we take the easy way out and “go with the flow” of public opinion. Surely, no one wants to be the sore thumb sticking out? Or perhaps we’re just too lazy to search for the truth. It’s definitely much easier to comment on one-sided facts we hear from SOMEONE ELSE (best with quote and URL link) because when the shit hits the fan, we can always point at that someone and say “it was not my personal view… I was just echoing HIS!”
Let’s take for example the recent discussion about the senior civil servant who wrote an article about how he took 5 weeks of leave to go for an expensive holiday with his family. How many of us made our first online comment/judgment simply based on OTHER PEOPLE’S OPINIONS? How many of us criticized the man without first reading exactly what he wrote in the article to decide for ourselves if he had indeed sounded proud, arrogant or insensitive?
These are some reflections after reading so many discussions on blogs, forums, Facebook and elsewhere about that Civil Servant’s expensive holiday and more recently, the MP’s “lesser mortal” comment.
Indeed, of whatever accusation you feel I have made so far, I am guilty of them… and maybe a few more. And then some.
I ask myself: “How true are all these (rumours/news)?” “Why do I tend to believe the critics and naysayer more than the person in question?” “By commenting on the issue negatively, am I positioning myself to be part of the solution, or am I becoming part of the problem?” “If a half-truth is a full lie, then am I helping to spread a lie when I post comments based on such half-truths?” “Would I then be unknowingly counted as a liar, or a gossip monger?”
With blogs and the internet, we have all become – to a certain extent – gatekeepers to the flow of information in the virtual world. This means we all have a shared responsibility to make sure that whatever passes through our gates are accurate and true, and not biased opinions echoed from dubious sources.
Be responsible bloggers. Be part of the solution and comment responsibly and impartially. Don’t be part of the problem and help spread unfounded lies and personal attacks.
Started my day today with an email from my boss. All she said was: "Someone wants to test you..."
Apparently some Director from another department has 'arrowed' me to be in the organising committee for the upcoming Staff Conference in March. Not even sure what I'll be doing yet, but a bit apprehensive about the new responsibilities.
It came and it stayed only with the fortunate generation of MEN who heard it and let it impact and change their lives.
Just after lunch today, my (female) boss commented: "Just to let you know, you're the first gentleman in our whole department so far that would open doors for women."
A huge compliment to me, no doubt, but it's sad when you realize how sad the situation must have become for her to have made such a comment.
I'm losing interest to blog (although I do have things to write about) because everything I post up comes out as one big mess of words. Probably some obscure settings on my office computer, but knowing that no one wants to read posts that are inherently impossible to read, the desire to write has waned by quite a bit.
Looks like I can only blog from home now... =(
Update: See? Can be done liao! Somehow the default setting for my office computer is set to write in HTML and I can't seem to change it. Anyone knows how?
Some Director of what a friend calls “a language cram school” wrote a letter to the ST forum bemoaning the fact that NTUC Childcare recently rebranded itself as My First Skool and that the new name “Skoool” encouraged mis-spelling among young kids.
To me, it was clearly a VERY CHEAP SHOT at free publicity on the writer’s part. If you are truly concerned, then write in as a parent, an anonymous educator, or whatever. There is no need to spell out your name, title and which (private tuition) school you come from. The fact that she owns the business makes her motive even more suspect.
But motives aside, I think the writer is just creating a mountain out of a molehill. If spelling school as ‘skool’ will lead to mis-spelling, then don’t let your kids play “Play-doh” because that’s equally mis-spelt. Not to mention Kids Central/Okto programmes that spell “rocks” as “rocs” or “rawks”, replaces “s” with “z” (eg girlz) or use sms-like language.
I personally have no issue with the new branding… do any parents here?
hello bro matthew!!! this is xiaowei........ glad to see you in mulitply! didn't noe u have a blog till i see u in xuan's multiply comments........ happy blogging :o)
