Daphne Maia

bite-sized commentaries 

Funny comments about the Apple iPad

Today I shared a link to the best iPad review I've read so far, on Plurk, and I got a very funny response.

RN1209 said that Steve Jobs must not have been involved in the development of the iPad, because it was "an awful product".

Cartcart saw that response, and said: 

Indeed there was no Steve Jobs involvement: Hermione Granger pointed her wand at an iPod Touch and said "Engorgio!" ... Wait, I see it isn't widescreen. So, it must have been Ron Weasley doing the spell... Hermione would have kept the same proportions..."

 

Loading mentions Retweet

Comments [0]

Of race and entitlements in Singapore

Some of you would have heard of Singapore's new "double barrel" policy of race declaration for children of mixed parentage.

On the surface, this sounds great - it tells the child exactly who he/she is, who his/her parents are, and his/her bloodline.

Then this morning, I read this news article on Channel News Asia, which says that the race which "parents choose to place first will be considered the main one." (source)

"Main race?" I asked myself.

I read on about the debate in parliament, on why there is even a need to declare a 'main' or dominant race:

Paulin Tay Straughan, Nominated MP, said: "I am trying to understand why you need to have a declaration of a dominant race. Perhaps Minister can help us appreciate the implications of registration in real terms."

Associate Professor Ho Peng Kee, Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs, said: "We have got ethnic-linked policies, for example HDB's ethnic integration policy, and these are key policies. So we do need to know which classification to put the child under."

Hri Kumar, MP, Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, said: "In light of the many different permutations, and now the greater flexibility of choices given to parents, is the selection of race on the identity card going to become an artificial exercise - you pick a race of convenience?"

Clearly, everyone is going to pick Chinese as the dominant race due to the fact that Chinese is the government's "preferred" race in Singapore. So yes, it really is an artificial exercise that only looks good on paper.

I don't think this exercise is helping the situation of racial / ethnic discrimination that still exists in Singapore at all, despite our claims of racial harmony and of our multi-ethnic society that lives in harmony.

I know what you're thinking - that some ethnic-linked policies "protect" the minority races. But I'm for the school of thought that everyone should have equal opportunities, no matter what colour their skin is. If we remove this racial classification, there would be no special entitlement in the first place, or any need at all to protect people from any particular ethnic group. 

In my ideal world, race doesn't matter, and there is no racial divide

But I suppose we are light years away from that.

Loading mentions Retweet
Filed under  //   racial classification   dominant race   ethnicity   racial discrimination   racial entitlement  

Comments [2]

My take on the Singapore iPhone Price War and Data War

When M1 and Starhub first announced their price plans for the iPhones on Monday, the Mobile Marketing Association (Asia Pacific) created this Excel spreadsheet on Google Documents to facilitate conversations and provide a comparison chart for all existing iPhone plans and offerings by the three Telcos in Singapore.

SingTel, having been the exclusive carrier of the iPhone since it first came to Singapore in 2008, has been under a lot of pressure to match its offerings, namely the bundled data, as well as the excess data usage bill cap. And it did, of course.

While everyone calls this the 'iPhone Price War', I really think it should be termed the 'iPhone data war' instead. Neither SingTel, Starhub or M1 have, to date, reduced the price of their iPhone plans' subscription fees. Instead, all they have been doing is to increase the amount of bundled data for each plan. It's all a marketing gimmick. It looks as if they are offering you more value for your plan, but in reality (and I say this after being a user of unlimited mobile broadband for the last 2 years), none of us really use up the full 1GB in our basic mobile broadband plans. But, I digress.

M1, offering tariff rebates to existing SingTel iFlexi plan subscribers, are trying their hardest to get SingTel customers to jump ship (that is to say, break their contracts). However, the M1 tariff rebates apply only to iPhone owners who are subscribed to iFlexi plans, and those who have 6 months or less left on their SingTel contracts.

With the 3 Telcos fighting to offer more and more to existing or prospective customers, the war has just begun. Judging from the current situation, I think it would be best to wait out the first weekend, for those who are planning to get an iPhone from either of the 3 telcos.

Here's what may happen, in my opinion:

  1. Customers of existing VAS Broadband on Mobile may see telcos offering higher bundled data for their mobile plans, as there have been outraged cries from existing customers under contract of regular 3G mobile/data plans, to close in on the gap. (Currently, BBOM subscribers get 1GB on their basic BBOM plans at $9.90 per month, while new iPhone plan subscribers get 12GB bundled data)
  2. With M1 offering tariff rebates for existing iPhone owners to switch operators, Starhub may do the same. And who is to say that SingTel will not fight back to keep its customers by offering more value with its iFlexi plans?
And of course, with the Telcos offering more bundled data now, I think people will be wont to abusing it, and using their phone for Internet tethering (connecting your phone to a computer for internet connection) to download movies, music, etc. With the existing infrastructure, I really wonder if this bundled data war is a good idea.

M1 customers have been the loudest in complaining about its data connectivity and speed, while I've heard SingTel customers and Starhub customers say that the speed is drastically reduced during hours between 6pm to 10pm daily. 

If the Telcos do not do something about this data situation at the moment, what may happen is that we will all end up with mobile broadband connections that are slow and inefficient, and the Telcos will have created this whole huge mess of having to answer to unhappy customers.

 

Loading mentions Retweet

Comments [4]

Freehold vs Leasehold: The Property Debate.

Let me begin by saying I don't pretend to understand property or real estate valuation. But this morning, an article being shared on Twitter amused me:

(Read the article from AsiaOne / Business Times)

This is something I've been pondering about for a while. 

Why do people care about whether their property is Freehold or Leasehold? Why do people care what happens to their property after they die?

Do you realize that none of your kids will actually live in the home that you've bought and left behind, when you die? They'll wanna buy their own new homes, and what's gonna happen is that they're gonna sell your home anyway.

Cash talks. Ancestral homes are no longer relevant. Yes, the truth sucks, but think about it. How many of you still wanna live in your parents' home instead of buying that new flat that you can decorate and renovate to your own tastes? How many of you actually think you're gonna live in the same flat / condo / house you've bought from the early days of your marriage till the day you die?

And why on earth would you care about whether your kids will have enough money to leave to their own kids in future?

I'm not saying this because I don't care about my future generations, but I think that eventually, everyone is responsible for their own lives. You can't buy a secure future for your descendants, so don't bother. I don't hope to inherit anything from my parents to make my life more comfortable - and I really think they should spend all their money touring the world and living a high life now that they're both retired. Why leave any for us? 

If only people can get out of the mindset that "we should all buy freehold because it'll be worth more in the future", then people will also stop being greedy and hoarding material things, and instead, spend more quality time with their loved ones.

Money is good - but there are things more important than having more money than you actually need in this lifetime.

So move on. Stop obsessing about whether you should buy freehold or leasehold.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

On a completely relevant (haha) note: I want my own home to be like this (and I don't care if it's tiny with only 2 bedrooms, or even if only own it for the next 50 years):


Source ● Photo by Iwan Baan More

Loading mentions Retweet

Comments [0]

Making sense of the Flash Mob at Raffles Place and Wisma Atria

I'm sure many of you have seen the flash mob videos recorded at Raffles Place and at Wisma Atria. I'm sure as many of you have heard that it was HTC who was behind it.

What you probably haven't figured out is how this relates to HTC. Some people who are more astute might have noticed that at the end of the videos, all the dancers walk away, holding mobile phones. But what, really, is the message?

It's part of the HTC You campaign:

"You don't need to get a phone. You need a phone that gets you."

And the sequence of the songs in the HTC Flash Mob dance:

It's all about You - Mcfly
That thing You do - The Wonders
You're the one that I want - Grease
Nobody (Nobody but You) - Wondergirls

Thanks @teinhee for sharing!

Loading mentions Retweet

Comments [0]

"Bravo, Ris Low! Bravo!"

Ris Low, former Miss Singapore World 2009, now de-throned and infamous because of her bad diction during an interview with RazorTV, and also because of A Series of Unfortunate Events which were leaked to the media, somehow.

I must say that I was one of the many who laughed at Ris Low and cracked jokes about her (Boomz!). I still do think that the above interview clip is funny. But I definitely won't make jokes about her anymore. Read on! (This is a long entry, but please bear with me!)

While I cannot vouch for Ris and say that she deserves our sympathy (or even pity), and I cannot deny that she has been indeed, untruthful to ERM World Marketing (the pageant organizers), the media, and the public, my opinion of her has definitely improved by leaps and bounds after I watched a series of interview clips that she did with RazorTV, 3 months after her first interview with them.

After watching the above 8 clips, I, being the grammar and language Nazi that I am, will be the first to point out that Ris Low did not speak perfect English - in fact, at many points during the interview, her pronunciation, syntax, and word use was clearly Singlish - but she scores points for a marked improvement, and how obvious it was that she's trying very hard to improve her speech.

3 months ago, in front of that unforgiving RazorTV camera, Ris Low was nervous, and had no prior experience in being interviewed, live. Now, she carries herself with poise and a serene demeanour (note how most of the time she keeps her back straight and is aware of her actions, hand gestures, etc. Ris Low, in this interview, has show perfectly how a lady with poise should behave. At the same time, she manages to show her bubbly personality (bipolar or not) and you cannot deny after watching the clips, that Ris has definitely tried to be as honest as she could during the interview. The interviews are not perfect - I can point out some inconsistencies, but hey, she's really young and still inexperienced in life, although she has probably gone through more adversities than most of us have.

Many-a-times she could just vehemently deny something, or tell a little white lie. But she tells the truth now (and good that she's learnt, too), even though she knows it makes her look bad. She had the decency to at least appear apologetic, without compromising on who she is deep down, without compromising on her confidence in herself.

She did wrong, no doubt - she cheated and lied, but all of us have made mistakes at some point in our lives. What gives you the right to stand on such moral high grounds and look down at her and say that that lie you told your parents last weekend is not as bad as the fact that she deliberately stole credit cards and used them? What makes you think that lying to your boss about being ill when you were really nursing a hangover is not as a bad as her hiding the fact from pageant organizers that she had a criminal record? Are you so perfect? No. And neither is Ris Low. I won't say she's not guilty - she is - but if someone has committed mistakes, we don't necessarily have to pelt them with stones. Let's give her a chance to make up for it.

Detractors say that Ris Low is not drop dead gorgeous and hence, not worthy of the crown. I agree that she's not drop dead gorgeous, and neither is she what I would call a perfect beauty (although I must admit that the few clips we've seen of her during the pageant don't look half as bad, probably due to the make up, hair-do and dress). Then again, that's what's all matters during a pageant, isn't it? That you look your very best on that night, and carry yourself the best you can on stage.

But back to my point. Ris Low face does still score higher than the average girl you'd find on the street, and that's because she's got this sweet, bright and cheery smile that lights up her face and her eyes when she breaks into one.

As Jerrick mentioned on my Plurk thread earlier, "It's always easier to tear people down. But some people won't give credit where credit is due."

I definitely think Ris Low deserves a bit of credit now. She has come forth and admitted to all her mistakes, and yet, she maintains that she will be strong enough to carry herself through this bad episode.

So I say, Bravo, Ris Low! Bravo! Don't make the same mistakes again, and we'll see you at the Miss Singapore Universe pageant in 2011 or 2012! I would give her a 2nd chance. Wouldn't you?

Food for Thought: Was Ris Low a victim of the media and the public? So who are the 'villains' here? The media, for leveraging her dark history to sell papers, and possibly sensationalizing news about her to sell even more papers? 1st runner up, Claire Lee, for breaking the news to the media, with information that had been shared with her in confidence? The public, who love a scandal any time, and played a hand in making the news worse? Netizens who were completely relentless, ruthless, and unforgiving in shooting down every thing about her? Everyone. You and I and everyone else had a part to play in it. And now that she's come clean, now that she's cleaned up her act, I say we should give her a chance to continue with her life - she may never be in another pageant or be in the lime light again, but everyone deserves a chance at the rest of their lives.

Loading mentions Retweet

Comments [3]

Quotes by Audrey Hepburn

I've always been a fan of Audrey Hepburn, and she does say the darnedest things sometimes (in an outrageous but good way). And at times, some of the quotes by her that I come across inspire me so much. So here are some that I particularly enjoyed:

I was born with an enormous need for affection, and a terrible need to give it.

For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone.

Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, it's at the end of your arm, as you get older, remember you have another hand: The first is to help yourself, the second is to help others.

People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone.

I don't want to be alone, I want to be left alone.

Success is like reaching an important birthday and finding you're exactly the same.

A quality education has the power to transform societies in a single generation, provide children with the protection they need from the hazards of poverty, labor exploitation and disease, and give them the knowledge, skills, and confidence to reach their full potential.

If I blow my nose, it gets written all over the world.

I decided, very early on, just to accept life unconditionally; I never expected it to do anything special for me, yet I seemed to accomplish far more than I had ever hoped. Most of the time it just happened to me without my ever seeking it.

Pick the day. Enjoy it - to the hilt. The day as it comes. People as they come... The past, I think, has helped me appreciate the present - and I don't want to spoil any of it by fretting about the future.

It's that wonderful old-fashioned idea that others come first and you come second. This was the whole ethic by which I was brought up. Others matter more than you do; so don't fuss, dear; get on with it.

I love people who make me laugh. I honestly think it's the thing I like most, to laugh. It cures a multitude of ills. It's probably the most important thing in a person.

I heard a definition once: Happiness is health and a short memory! I wish I'd invented it, because it is very true.

I may not always be offered work, but I'll always have my family.

If my world were to cave in tomorrow, I would look back on all the pleasures, excitements and worthwhilenesses I have been lucky enough to have had. Not the sadness, not my miscarriages or my father leaving home, but the joy of everything else. It will have been enough.

It is too much to hope that I shall keep up my success. I don't ask for that. All I shall do is my best - and hope.

Let's face it, a nice creamy chocolate cake does a lot for a lot of people; it does for me.

My own life has been much more than a fairy tale. I've had my share of difficult moments, but whatever difficulties I've gone through, I've always gotten the prize at the end.

Not to live for the day, that would be materialistic -- but to treasure the day. I realize that most of us live on the skin -- on the surface -- without appreciating just how wonderful it is simply to be alive at all.

Opportunities don't often come along. So, when they do, you have to grab them.

When you have found it, you should stick to it.

When the chips are down, you are alone, and loneliness can be terrifying. Fortunately, I've always had a chum I could call. And I love to be alone. It doesn't bother me one bit. I'm my own company.

The 'Third World' is a term I don't like very much, because we're all one world. I want people to know that the largest part of humanity is suffering.

Living is like tearing through a museum. Not until later do you really start absorbing what you saw, thinking about it, looking it up in a book, and remembering - because you can't take it all in at once.

And my latest favourite:

I believe in pink. I believe laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day. And I believe in miracles.

Loading mentions Retweet

Comments [0]

#SingaporeSlingers and @BrewerkzSG joint blog contest - [re-posted from daphnemaia.sg]

Calling all Singapore Slingers fans, basketball fans, bloggers, sports enthusiasts, and Brewerkz beer fans!

If you're curious about what it is like to watch Singapore's basketball pride in action, in a stadium full of enthusiastic fans, while enjoying cold beer courtesy of Brewerkz, here's your chance to find out!

This week, I'm giving away TEN pairs of tickets to the upcoming game where the Singapore Slingers meet Barangay Ginebra Kings in what is set to be the most explosive game of the season! We played against Ginebra last season, and boy, was it a physical match! And now, they're back with a vengeance! It's going to be interesting to see how our new Slingers team deals with their play, and hopefully, defeat Ginebra again! But the Slingers need your support, your cheers, your applause!

Tickets are already on sale now, but since we know nothing beats FREE tickets and FREE beer, the Slingers Management and Brewerkz Management have kindly agreed to sponsor this giveaway!

Date: Wednesday, 30 Sept 2009
Tip-off time:
2000 hrs
Venue: Singapore Indoor Stadium

To win one of the 10 pairs of tickets for the game and join me for the match, all you have to do is to post a comment on this blog entry, and complete the following sentence:

I want to watch the Slingers in action because: _____________. (You can write a sentence or an essay, I'll read them all!)

Do leave your valid email address so I can contact you for ticketing details! All 10 winners will be informed by Monday, 28 Sept 2009! [CLOSED!]

Wait! That's not the end of it yet!

Anyone who blogs (you can even start up a new blog to participate in this), can stand to win a Dinner for 4 at Brewerkz!

All you have to do is to attend the game, either by winning tickets through this contest or buying them from SISTIC, and blog about the game! After you're done with your blog entry, submit your link here. Best entry as selected by judging panel wins!

All bloggers who participate will also be given 4 tickets (for yourself and to give away on your blog entry) for any chosen game on the Slingers' game schedule after 7 October. So please blog about the tickets that you're gonna give away too! Terms and Conditions: You have to insert the logos of Singapore Slingers and Brewerkz in your entry, with hyperlinks to the Slingers and Brewerkz websites.

Closing date for submission of blog entries: 7 Oct 2009, 2359 hrs.

Judging panel will consist:

  1. A representative from Singapore Slingers management
  2. A representative from Brewerkz management
  3. A representative from FLY Entertainment
  4. A representative from Ping.sg management, the Community meta-blog for Singapore bloggers

Judges' decisions are final. If you need any clarification, please use the comment form below, or email me at contact [at] daphnemaia [dot] com! First, hurry, comment below with the completed sentence and win one of the 10 pairs of free tickets!

Loading mentions Retweet

Comments [1]

@Uzyn, The Stealth Guy, on Digital Life! - 23 Sept 09

Awesome article! Great photo!

And Uzyn's got almost the entire page to himself! Great photo, too. Uzyn has definitely come a long way since graduation, although he started freelance work during his undergrad years. Really proud of him, too, just as his girlfriend @Sekling is. Congrats!

I guess when you've achieved something worthy of mention, you don't need to keep telling everyone about the things you do and how important you are, because everyone will know anyway.

Psst. Uzyn, so what are your other secret projects? :D

Loading mentions Retweet

Comments [0]

Horrifyingly fresh Sushi in Japan

Excerpt:

Mmmm! this is really fresh! This is possibly the freshest sushi in Japan!

... Stupid.

Of course it's fresh! It's still moving in front of you! You're eating part of a fish that hasn't died! In fact, I believe it died ON your plate!

Talk about animal cruelty!

Loading mentions Retweet

Comments [5]