About the SMRT Breakdown

So my father gave me a slip of paper with his thoughts on the fiasco:

"Too many train breakdowns. Very slow communication and too few information given to commuters. It's time SMRT work with the 3 telcos on how to disseminate such emergency text messages to all mobile phone users ASAP, so that those inside the affected trains will know what to do and those inside the stations can find other alternative transport arrangement. Even those at home will be aware and not take train in the affected routes."

It seems like the logical thing to do. But what are the barriers for such an arrangement? Who do we have to grease to push such a thing through?

I'm also looking at this beyond the context of "SMRT screwed up again". Had this been a real terrorist attack, is our best option really looking at Facebook and Twitter feeds?

Cycle of Life

Three modules because it's do or die,
Seven weeks in Hell will turn you blue,
One Assignment to Acquire the Hearts of Masses.
One Assignment to Collect on Debts Past Due.
One Assignment for who knows why.

One Spreadsheet to Rule them all, but Vendor can't find them.
One Project to bring them all and in the last week bind them.
In the halls of SIS, where SMUggers lie.

Paranoir: And One Becomes Two

Ashjyr's Journal, April 17 2010, Sunday
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The Gates remain closed, as we expect them to be. My knuckles turn white from all the fist-clenching. We stand at the brink of War.

The foreign environment is starting to remind me of a scene from a movie. Can't quite put my finger on it.

We wait for our Leader to make First Contact. The General. The Man himself. The One.

He will draw enemy fire unto himself, while we head for cover.

Fearless bastard. He's got balls. And a lot of cash today. That might change soon enough.

I mean about loosing the dough, not his balls. Damn, I better not give the enemy any ideas.

We will follow our General, regardless. To the fiery pits of hell and back if need be. And we will make it back.

Because we are prepared.

Because we can do this.

But mostly because we are on a tight schedule.

“Must reach back by 11.”

Enemy Contact! Four in number. Wasn't there a movie about four people dressed in blue? I wonder which one is the flexible one...

“That's not blue. It's turquoise”.

Why, thank you, Captain Obvious. I really needed to know that now. Anything else you want reported back to the General?

“Remember to take the oranges.”

The Mexican Standoff begins. How typical.

The enemy unleashes their first wave of attack. We brace for impact.

A ginger-bittergourd kebab? What manner of vile alchemy is this? Why can't we eat snake for a change?

“Now we want you to do the Wondergirls dance. All of you”

A dance? That primitive artistic expression involving bodily movements and gestures? No chance in hell. We will do this our way.

“Let me in! Let me in!”

Well, I guess that works.

Next wave.

Ancient device of some sort, surrounded by some milky cooling agent. No wait. Freezing agent.

Deactivating this device will require steady hands, sensitive fingers, and knowledge of the Ancient Arts.

If only I can feel my fingers.

Great, now I can't feel my legs.

I remember now!

Blue species. Different physiology. Primitive weaponry. Protecting their treasure from invaders appearing in big metallic vehicles.

I've definitely seen this movie before.

Reply to KRC Regarding UBS Report

I rarely make lengthy posts about my political views but today marks an exception. It was triggered by an article from Kent Ridge Commons that was retweeted multiple times. What drove me out of my usual energy-saving mode was the fact that:

1. I found the snippet of information presented by Vincent Wijeysingha on CNA's political forum to be interesting, and was disappointed that he was not given the opportunity to comment on the "many faults" of the report as explained by Tharman Shanmugaratnam.
2. KRC took the effort to reply to every person who had retweeted the original link with an article discrediting the original one, and then apologizing to its readers.

This is a response to the article “Singapore does NOT have Third World Living Standards”, submitted to Kent Ridge Common (KRC) by Koh Choon Hwee.

Koh Choon Hwee discredits the article submitted by Christopher Ong (“UBS: Singapore has third world living standards”) on grounds that the UBS Price and Earnings Report 2009 does not make the assertion as claimed. While this is true, the Satay Club article (“UBS: Singapore has Russian standard of living”) that was referenced by Christoper does try to substantiate that claim using information from the UBS report.

Koh Choon Hwee questions the methodology used in obtaining the figures in the UBS report:

“Secondly, as Michael Moore noted, 400 people in the US currently possess more wealth than half of the US population combined. WHOSE domestic purchasing power are we really counting in these statistics? That of these 400 rich people and their families, or one of your union protesters in Wisconsin? One should also note that New York is taken as the bar for this set of UBS’ statistics, hardly a “midway point” on an international level if you ask me.”

The criticism insinuated here is that the domestic purchasing power index offered by UBS does not take into account factors such as a wide income gaps, hence the average reported by UBS is not indicative of a good cross-section of society.

However, UBS clearly states the methodology used in their report on the first page (excluding the cover page and list of cities involved):

“To determine city specific wage levels a weighted average across the 15 professions’ salaries was calculated. The weights used for this calculation was set to be as representative as possible for the average of all cities covered in the report. However, specific weights in some cities may still differ from the ones applied here.”

And later on page 5:

“Calculation is based on the wage, social insurance contribution and working hours data for 15 occupations worldwide to arrive at a net wage level after taxes and payroll deductions.”

While not mentioned in the 2009 report, we can look at the 2006 report for a better understanding of focus of their study. The professions used in their 2006 study were:

Industrial sector

• Car mechanic
  
• Building labourer
  
• Skilled industrial worker
  
• Factory worker
  
• Engineer
  
• Department head
  

Services sector

• Primary school teacher
  
• Bus driver
  
• Cook
  
• Personal assistant
  
• Sales assistant
  
• Call center agent
  
• Bank credit officer
  

And what are these “goods and services” mentioned? Also on the first page (emphasis my own):

“The questionnaire used for the survey covered 122 different goods and services, and included 112 questions pertaining to wages, payroll deductions and working hours for 15 different occupations. Over 30,000 data units flowed into the survey evaluation. Since our basket of goods contains only a limited selection of goods and services, we adjusted the individual components based on their weighting in the European consumer price index. The weightings of the individual items in the basket were designed so that all the prices added up to the approximate monthly consumption of a European family of three.”

Now, before someone argues that the basket of goods and services used by UBS may not accurately reflect those required by Singaporeans, I should mention that some of the goods and services listed in their 2006 report include the price for food, clothing, housing, and public transport.

Like Koh Choon Hwee, I am no expert in economics. But from a layman’s perspective, the report seems to be asking the following questions:

1. What is the average wage that is being paid to these professions in these countries?
   
2. How affordable is this basket of goods and services given this weighted average?

Now refer to what Tharman said about the "many faults" of the UBS report:

"[Singapore is] quite different from Russia, quite different from the places that the UBS report talks about..."

"median incomes in Singapore, average incomes, when adjusted for inflation, are much higher than anywhere else in Asia, apart from Japan, and by some measures higher than Japan."

In light of the above-mentioned, Koh Choon Hwee's comment that “400 people in the US currently possess more wealth than half of the US population combined” and Thaman's "higher median incomes when adjusted for inflation" have very little relevance to the discussion at hand.

In fact, I would say the UBS report on the wages of these professions are a good indication of the ability for a typical Singaporean to acquire the goods and services required in order to live here.

Piety without the Pie

A video on filial piety got me into a discussion recently. One which my opinions may not have been voiced out in the degree of clarity that I would have preferred.

The video portrays one scenario which might happen in an ordinary family:

A man whose obligation to take care of his aged and unreasonable mother, causes much unhappiness for his entire family (wife and son).

Looking at this video, two questions arise:

1) What is the message that is being driven?
2) What is the message that I take out of it?

The theme is blatantly obvious. It is meant to provoke thought and awareness on the concept of filial piety.

But this being Singapore, there is usually an agenda behind initiatives of this sort. Without any background information on the origins of the video, my initial impression was that it is part of the government's efforts at social engineering, in the attempt to combat the growing problem of our elderly being uncared for by their children.

It is also due to this inherent skepticism that Question (1) takes a backseat to Question (2).

Some people may see the video as a cop-out, due to it not addressing the full complexities involved, given the dynamics of the family portrayed. Some yet may find issue with the tone of the video, with its bleak setting and unfair treatment of the characters in the story.

These points really only matter to me if I was concerned with the message the film makers are trying to convey. I am not.

For me, any material that is meant to provoke some emotion or thought needs to pass one single litmus test - the latitude for different people to draw different conclusions.

So what I got out of the video is this:

That sometimes to show filial piety, you are faced with difficult choices and obstacles.

And that is all I got out of the video.

I do not care if the man did the right thing by siding with his wife or mother. I do not care if the mother should be excused for her attitude towards the wife. I do not care if the son never really did understand the concept of filial piety by the end of the story.

Why?

Why should I?

Why should I be bothered that a fictitious character in a story did not conform to my moral standards? Why should I be concerned that the characters in the story did not handle the situation in a better manner?

I am not looking for concensus on what is morally right or what is tactically superior.

My only concern is whether the characters and scenario are portrayed in manner that I find realistic.

And that I do.

Paranoir: Stakes on a Train

Ashjyr's Journal, June 20 2010, Sunday
-------------------------------------------------

The wonders of the Digital Age. Satellite communications at the touch of a button. Just that much harder to avoid someone.

“I've read your report on the penetration test at the train depot. I have some... queries.”

(Here it comes. The bullshit.)

“You stated that breaking and entering the train depot was 'as easy as walking into an open vault'. So you do agree that the security measures in place are sufficient. Like a bank's?”

(Are you fucking kidding me? Do you not understand sarcasm or... Oh I get it. You sneaky bastard, you...)

No. Security is inadequate. I recommend that immediate steps be taken to investigate the flaws.

“Well you know how it is, money-matters usually involve upper management. I can't make the call.”

(You mean you don't have the balls to tell them they need to wake the fuck up.)

I understand, Sir. But you need to impress on them that the next incident may involve more than a few cans of spray paint.

“Yes, but audits cost money. Additional security costs money. And surely you don't expect us to pay? The depot is under the purview of a corporate entity after all, one that makes profits for its shareholders. Why should the public be made to pay for the lapse in security?

(Tai Chi. One of the deadliest martial arts ever created. My opponent is strong, indeed.)

“If I may quote from another, 'it is impossible and unacceptable to require the taxpayer or the public to pay for the security of thousands of profit-making entities'.”

(Security of thousands of profit-making entities? What about the security of thousands of commuters?)

With all due respect, Sir, we are not talking about a convenience store or shopping mall with limited human traffic.

“And since when did you grow a conscience? Look, best I can do is to suggest that we establish a presence on key infrastructure and assets. But we can only provide counsel for the rest. They need to learn how to guard their own interests.”

And I suppose a train depot which houses trains used by thousands of commuters daily would be an example of “key infrastructure and assets”?

“Do you really need me to answer that?”

(Touche, asshole. Touche.)

Paranoir: What Happens in Vegas

Ashjyr's Journal, May 27 2010, Thursday
--------------------------------------------------

War never changes. But Warriors do.

I size up the squad. Veterans and mercs from all walks of life. Each a professional in their craft. All gathered for one single mission.

Infiltration.

There are others in the queue. Soldiers not among our cadre. Many, many soldiers. The higher-ups have seen to it that the gate remains closed. The long wait would build up our blood lust and hunger for battle.

But the team is restless. This pack thirsts for blood. I can smell it in them.

Unless it's just perfume. And the scent is screwing with my mind... Hmm...

“Yes! We're moving forward... Just an inch forward...”

Easy now. Recklessness is our greatest enemy. Stay with the team.

“This is 30 minutes of my life I will never get back.”

Good to know you got a refund on that other 30 minutes of your life.

Focus on the damn mission, people.

===========================

War never changes. But Allegiances do.

Sometimes you don't end with the same people you start with. But the deserters will pay for their treachery.

We will send a message to the infidels. A message that tells them you don't turn your back on comrades. A message that tells them you leave no man behind.

Comms devices start lighting up. The techs begin uploading false intel to the defectors' information network.

I think they call it “Twitter”.

We will send a message that will strike confusion into the hearts of our enemies:

“I'm glad I stayed.”