Movie Review : Tulpan

It’s been a long while since I had the luxury of a relaxed weekend to sit back and catchup on a film, I have alot of them waiting to be digested especially asian films . This latest one I watched is directed by a Kazakh film maker. A dramatic documentary of a sheep and goat herding family surviving and thriving in the harsh landscape of Kazakhstan. Asa (pictured),has come to live with his beautiful sister Samal, and her gruff husband, the herdsman Ondas, and their children.Asa is desperate to establish himself in the sort of life that Ondas and Samal have, he wants to marry Tulpan, the daughter of a neighbouring family but she won’t have anything to do with him.

What is most memorable to me about him , is our similar dreams to built a home out in the desert for  the family. I would not consider living in the desert, but my dream home as got to do with the sand as well =D

Dreams and wishlists aside, the brilliant aspect of the film is it’s christian theme,Some of the lyrics of the original soundtrack came from Psalm 137 of The Bible – “River of Babylon”  by Boney M a hit back in 1978. Asa also a shepherd who eventually finds his lost sheep.

This one deserves 5 stars and shall become one of my top film recommendations.

Backpacking over Land Sea & Air

My over land,sea,air to korea is finally updated, check it out here.
This was the best road trip I’ve planned since my  melbourne to sydney one back in 2006. Probably the last one I’ll do, as it’s pretty exhausting physically and mentally.

Trying to meet the schedules of different modes of transport is a very daunting task, at the same time juggling for time to sightsee and book accomodations.
In the future , I’ll be flying direct and on booked tours. Thank God I came back in one piece!

Anyway , adapted from mother Theresa

People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered.
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. 
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. 
Be honest and sincere anyway.

What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. 
Create anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous.
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, will often be forgotten.
Do good anyway.

Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. 
Give your best anyway.

In the final analysis, it is between you and God. 
It was never between you and them anyway.

Review: Fundamentals in Investing Seminar

The 6hr moneySENSE seminar I attended comprised of three separate lectures.

1. Investing in Securities- Back to Basics
   • Fiscal Policy – Government reducing taxes (more for tweaking internal economy )
   • Monetary Policy – MAS printing money , Central bank setting SIBOR interest rate, controlling exchange of SGD over a trade weighted basket ( for tweaking external ecnonomy)
   • Exchanges is a more liquid market with No counter party risk compared to OTC
   • 2 Different Investments Goals – a) Capital Gains : b) Yield
   • Capital Gain for longer investment horizon.
   • Sometimes Options come with Commercial Bond issues.
   • Business Cycles – Investment by Sectors
     Up cycle
     6> Transportation
     7> Technology
     8> Capital Goods
     9> Raw Materials ( commodities :- Dry Baltic Index )
     10> Energy & Resources
     Down cycle
     1> Consumer Non Cyclical ( perishables – luxury/food)
     2> healthcare
     3> utilities
     4> Consumer cycliclas
     5> Financials
2. Making SENSE of Technical Analysis & Risk Control
   • Different TA tools
   • Chart Patterns
3. Creating a MoneySensible Financial Plan
   • Ballpark Figure for Financial Independence
     Lifestyle $36,000
     Housing Loan $100,000
     2 Local uni education $300K
     + Total = $1.7M
   • Cash Flow Statement
   • Basic liquidity ratio
   • Saving ratio
   • Debt Service ratio
   • Non-mortgage debt service ratio
   • Budgeting
   • Undertanding a) Need b) Willingness c) Ability to take risk before making any investments
   • Create own recipe for % returns and % volatility
   • Medical Insurances
     • Term plan for loss of income
     • small 90/99 year critical illness term for AM
     • “shield” plan for medical expenses

All in all the 3 lectures refreshed my understanding of what I’ve already knew , especially on the credit crisis and TA charts. The last lecture was extremely useful to learn how to create a personal financial plan, as well as different stages in life to watch out for.

Visual Thinking

Best thing that happened on the planet besides the invention of google.
Now you can do mindmaps online and drag stuff around.How coooool can that be
I didnt like to write my mind maps on paper , because it was difficult to organise them. With mindmeister you can drag and drop items around. Useful stuff! My thesis mindmap is online at

http://www.mindmeister.com/maps/show_public/10666540

Housing SS Analysis

It’ s been a while since I posted my last technical analysis on planning indicators. And since current my job is related to planning  housing in asia and middle east, it is long over-due that I looked that the housing market around this region.  The primary data I used,

• Mid-year population
• Average number of people in each household
• Total number of residential dwellings
• Total number of new residential dwellings completed in the year concerned

The following assumptions were taken,

•  I did not take into consideration different types of housing ie luxury/low-cost
• 1 Dwelling unit = 1 household
• All Dwellings catered for local resident population use / not inclusive of rental units for expatriates

Plotting all the above information across 10 years so as to capture trends , we have

NB: Dataline for China/India follows axis on the right

Some of my observations.

•  Upward trend of housing shortage in most of the asia/middle east countries
• Decreasing supply of new dwellings 0.13% (China) and 0.24% (India) against annualised population growth of 2.2% and 2.88% respectively
• Japan has consistent oversupply of housing given above projections

What I’ve put together are crude indicators that establishes only trends.For further analysis of specific countries I would consult detailed real estate reports from the various property developers.

Moments in Time

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider freeways , but narrower viewpoints.

We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.
We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We’ve learned how to make a living, but not a life. We’ve added years to life not life to years. We’ve been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We’ve done larger things, but not better things.

We’ve cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We’ve conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We’ve learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes.

These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throw away morality, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stock room. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete…

Remember; spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever. Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side. Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn’t cost a cent.

Remember, to say, “I love you” to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you. Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again. Give time to love, give time to speak! And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

George Carlin

Dearest Qatar

Though summer’s heat is approaching it’s end.

Temper-atures are ever rising no end,

In this cruel dessert and all your sand.

When the bucket of shit goes up the fan.

Someone’s gonna really get canned

I’ still have to think of you till the end,

Despite getting myself into a tan.

The Japanese fish story

The Japanese fish story

The Japanese love fresh fish. However, the waters close to Japan have not held many fish for decades. So to feed the Japanese population, fishing boats got bigger and went farther than ever. The farther the fishermen went, the longer it took to bring in the fish. If the return trip took more than a few days, the fish were not fresh. The Japanese did not like the taste.

To solve this problem, fishing companies installed freezers on their boats. They would catch the fish and freeze them at sea. Freezers allowed the boats to go farther and stay longer. However, the Japanese could taste the difference between fresh and frozen and they did not like frozen fish. The frozen fish brought a lower price.

So fishing companies installed fish tanks. They would catch the fish and stuff them in the tanks, fin to fin. After a little thrashing around, the fish stopped moving. They were tired and dull, but alive. Unfortunately, the Japanese could still taste the difference. Because the fish did not move for days, they lost their fresh-fish taste. The Japanese preferred the lively taste of fresh fish, not sluggish fish.So how did Japanese fishing companies solve this problem? How do they get fresh-tasting fish to Japan? If you were consulting the fish industry, what would you recommend?

Too Much Money
As soon as you reach your goals, such as finding a wonderful mate, starting a successful company, paying off your debts or whatever, you might lose your passion. You don’t need to work so hard so you relax. You experience the same problem as lottery winners who waste their money, wealthy heirs who never grow up and bored homemakers who get addicted to prescription drugs. Like the Japanese fish problem, the best solution is simple. It was observed by L. Ron Hubbard in the early 1950’s. “Man thrives, oddly enough, only in the presence of a challenging environment.” L. Ron Hubbard, The Benefits of a Challenge

The more intelligent, persistent and competent you are, the more you enjoy a good problem. If your challenges are the correct size, and if you are steadily conquering those challenges, you are happy. You think of your challenges and get energized. You are excited to try new solutions. You have fun. You are alive!

How Japanese Fish Stay Fresh
To keep the fish tasting fresh, the Japanese fishing companies still put the fish in the tanks. But now they add a small shark to each tank. The shark eats a few fish, but most of the fish arrive in a very lively state. The fish are challenged.

Recommendations
Instead of avoiding challenges, jump into them. Beat the heck out of them. Enjoy the game. If your challenges are too large or too numerous, do not give up. Failing makes you tired. Instead, reorganize. Find more determination, more knowledge, more help. If you have met your goals, set some bigger goals. Once you meet your personal or family needs, move onto goals for your group, the society, even mankind. Don’t create success and lie in it. You have resources, skills and abilities to make a difference.

Put a shark in your tank and see how far you can really go!

IHT on Indian PM Singh Speech

Gentleman, A. (2006). India, at age 59, gets ‘must-do-better’ lecture.
Internation Herald Tribune. NEW DELHI.

As India entered its 60th year of independence this week, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh might have been forgiven for indulging in a short bout of self-congratulation.