Sunday, October 21, 2007

Taxi Touting in Singapore. Tourists Beware



It is my civil duty to educate foreign readers on the increased cases of taxi toutings in Singapore. I have never met an unethical cabby before and hence, I was fuming mad at the article, "Money talks, so cabbies keep touting" (ST, 21 Oct). Atlhough there are female cabbies on the roads nowaday, the cabbies whom The Sunday Times exposed are all males.

I never have the luck to meet these rouge cabbies, or else I will not hesitate to lecture them before reporting to the Land Transport Authority (LTA). They wouldn't target me primarily because I don't look like a tourist to them. I assure you these cabbies can tell whether you can be conned or not. After all, they are the bua-ya* on four wheels driving around (not everywhere) to prey on tourists or vulnerable passengers such as the drunkened. Notice that I deliberately bracket 'not everywhere' because they only drive to pick up areas that are lucrative. This is, however, not the issue that pissed me off. As long as they charge fair prices to passengers, they are free to choose where they wanna be.

It was reported that one cabby charged the Sunday Times team SGD25 to go from Clarke Quay to HarbourFront, a SGD6 trip normally. Some crafty cabbies were unrepentant and boasted that they could easily charge ignorant tourists between SGD50 to SGD100 per trip. SHAME ON THEM! By quoting a flat rate and not by the meter, cabbies are able to recover their taxi rentals and diesel costs for the day in fewer trips i.e. they can now take home a fatter monthly earning. Good for them. But having more money by ripping off tourists is both unprofessional and harmful to the image of Singapore.

I had encountered taxi toutings in Johor Bahru (JB), Bangkok and even at Heathrow Airport, London. I remember the incident at JB when a cabby quoted me an exorbitant fare. I board the cab nevertheless as I was trapped in a heavy downpour without an umbrella. I did not return to JB again. Although taxi toutings are common in most countries, including HongKong, Taipei, China and New York, such occurrences in Singapore are shocking to me. Cabbies caught touting or overcharging in Singapore can be fined up to SGD500 and suspended, or terminated if they get enough demerit points. How could a generally law-abiding population flaunts the laws in a country where citizens are tammed to just follow laws? The flag-down fare was increased by SGD0.10 to SGD2.50 (inclusive of 1st km or less) in July 2006. Many grumbled about the fare hike but I still see long queues at taxi stands. So are cabbies just greedy or the crowded taxi stands were illusions?

Policing by the LTA inspectors alone will not curb touting activities because the veteran cabbies will play hide-and-seek with them. LTA can consider the following suggestions:

  • Educate family members of cabbies on ethical driving through Taxi Operators' Association;

  • Increase awareness of taxi toutings to tourists at the airports and tourist information counters;

  • Terminate licences of cabbies guilty of touting and barred them from driving for other taxi companies
With the above measures in place, the co-operation of the passengers can then facilitate the effectiveness of stamping down on taxi touting in Singapore. As a rule of thumb, report all toutings to LTA. As a tourist, you could help us build a friendlier holiday destination; as a citizen, please help to protect Singapore's image as a tourist-friendly country. If taxi toutings on the streets are not eradicated, these money-faced cabbies are going to make their presence more visible at Changi Airport (Hopefully, there aren't any there now).

My last advice to tourists: always ensure that the taxi meters are on. Know what are the standard fares. Do your math. If you suspect that you have been conned, ask for a taxi receipt when you pay. With that receipt, report to LTA. Dont let these drivers take you for a ride just because you are a tourist. Don't let them cheat the money that you could use to buy something else with. You're on a holiday.

* bua-ya - a Malay word to mean crocodile. In this context, it refers to people who prey on others.

Friday, October 19, 2007

Goodbye, Curious George's Writer - Alan Shalleck

Alan J. Shalleck
November 14, 1929 - February 6, 2006


Justice was served on 19 October, 2007. One of Shalleck's killer, Rex Ditto, 31 has pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and robbery with weapon. His accomplice and gay lover, Vincent Puglisi, 56 is scheduled for trial early next year.

Bananation pays tribute to Alan J. Shalleck, co-writer of the cartoon, Curious George, the mischievious monkey who had animated the kids' world since the 1980s. With his success of the televlsion series (about 100 short episodes) on Disney Channel, he and Curious George's creator, Margret Rey, colloborated on a series of book squeals. In Singapore, Curious George was not a known cartoon character in the 1980s.

Born in Westchester County, NY, Shalleck's career in children's entertainment dated back to 1950 when he joined CBS and worked in its mailroom. A drama major from Syracuse University, he rose to become an associate producer for 'Winky Dink and You', a morning kid show which ran from 1953 to 1957. After producing numerous children's films, he formed his company and the rest are history. However, he closed down his New York production company and worked as a children story teller at the Boynton Beach Borders bookstore, Florida in the early 1990s. He formed a new company, Reading By GRAMPS, and appeared publicly at book stores and local events. He also tutored, mentored and conducted workshops on improving reading skills for kids. A man with a goal to excite children in reading, his death is a loss to the future of our kids.

Shalleck, 76 was brutally stabbed 80 times at the abodmen, neck and groin. His body was found under a pile of trash in the front yard of his impeccably landscaped mobile home at Boynton Beach. Neighbors had seen his murderers, Ditto and Vincent visiting, and police claimed that their acquaintance was through a sex club. However, Ditto claimed that Shalleck engaged his carpet cleaning service from a newspaper advertisment. Now, who's telling the truth about how they met?


Ditto's side of his story began like this: His attorny advised him to plead guilty (although he calimed that he didn't do it) and take a life sentence without the chance of parole. He intended to fire his attorney and defend himself but the judge advised against the idea in view of his mental incompetency. Ditto (inset: left) struggled with mental illness since the age of 18. He met Vincent (inset: right) in January; the relationship was short yet dramatic. Vincent initiated the breakup but returned with a pair of sneakers and a watch to win Ditto's heart. Apparently, both items became the evidences that police used against Ditto. He alleged that he was framed because Vincent knew he had a criminal record. Currently locked up in prison, Ditto passed his time studying his case. He sold his lunch to fellow inmate to buy a stamped envelope to mail a letter to the judge requesting for permission to defend himself. Maybe mental experts can save me the time of googling and enlighten me if the ability to think rationally remains in the subconscious mind of the insane?

So far, there isn't any wacko-jacko alike accusation towards Shalleck for his association with children. The divorced man maybe living a secret gay life, but he had brought 50 years of joy to generation and generation of children. I am not sure if our local papers reported this case. If they do and parents learned that shalleck was gay, I hope they would not boycott Curious George at Borders or worst, throw away what titles their kids already have. Like the late writer, the stories are innocent: let our kids continue to be curious with George.
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Curious George's official site

Curious George's movie trailer

Curious George's soundtrack - performed by Jack Johnson

A comphrensive report from PalmBeachPost.com - including detailed story of Ditto.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Expectations Fuel Disappointment


Think about the last time you were disappointed.

Was it because you did not get promoted? The painting you wished to buy had been sold, or just that it was raining when you wanted to go out for a picnic? Whatever the occasion is, I suggest that the disappointment was caused because you had an unfulfilled expectation. From the above examples, your expectations may have been: I am the best person for the job; that painting was meant for me; I want fine weather when I picnic.

I believe this an important concept for us to understand. Once we understand it and manage our expectations, day to day living will be less stressful. We can channel the otherwise energy wasted on stress into more productive activities. But is it so simple?

We are more resilient it seems when we have expectations about things which we have little or no control over. So we soon recover from the rainy day. We may complain about the rain but we move on and do something else. As a result, we enjoy a new experience such as a picnic in the rain but protected by umbrellas. I am sure you can think of many situations where you were disappointed for a short while but they soon passed and you moved on to something different. Can you, however, think of two similar events where at one time your disappointment passed quickly yet on the other it did not? Why is this so?

I don’t think there is a simple answer to this. Our mood, the situation details, the people involved, the strength of our expectation and many other external factors could influence any particular situation. For example, I was to take a loved one on the picnic as they never get out of their home but couldn’t because of the rain. Emotionally for me and my loved one, this is important and hence my disappointment is high. This could be impacted by a feeling that I let the other person down.

I think the biggest disappointment arises when it involves us individually. Not getting a promotion when you are convinced that you deserve it often takes a long time to get over. I know people who carry this scar for years and it impedes their quest for a fulfilling and enjoyable life. Some reasons for this maybe we have looked at others and made comparisons, or we may look at our contribution to the sections success, or we may believe that we are a potential leader, or perhaps we have been thinking about it so much we convince ourselves our blemishes are minor and our strengths are overwhelming. Why is this disappointment so big?

I think it is our natural bias that fuels an unrealistic expectation. When we compare our performance to that of others, we are doing so knowing all the details of what we have done and weighting these favorably to fuel our expectation. On the other hand, we do not know all the details of what the other person has done and we may undervalue some aspects of their work or contribution. We may also unfavorably weight their performance characteristics. The more we think - utilizing this approach - the stronger our expectation of promotion grows and the greater the disappointment if it is not realized. Expectations can be reasonable, achievable and logical but may not be met due to other factors out of your control. They also maybe unreasonable, unachievable and illogical and are destroyed by factors totally in your control. So what can you do to limit the disappointment caused by not meeting your expectations?

I think you must understand that you can have dreams and targets and these, in themselves, do not fuel expectations. It is the inflexible, over optimistic and often poorly founded actions and plans to achieve your dreams that cause the disappointment. Remember, there are many ways to achieve our dreams. The path is neither clear nor will it remain fixed for any length of time. We must always look at alternative pathways and choose one of these at a point in time. But we have to understand that this will change. We are faced with continuous changes in all aspects of our daily life, so why should we think that the pathway we choose today to achieve our goals will not need to be adjusted or even abandoned tomorrow? Ho-hum you say. Well try managing expectations by having a focus on our dream, our goals and looking at the many ways we can achieve them. There are options and they are changing, and every door that closes on your journey opens up many more. Our challenge is to look for these opportunities and to be able to adjust to take advantage of them.

I am not saying to stop planning the steps you need to take to achieve your goal but think broadly about what you are trying to achieve with each step, and what options you have if things change. I believe by doing this, the rigidity in our plans is loosened and our ability to adapt to the changing circumstances is increased. If we do this and what we had thought might happen on the course we have chosen does not eventuate, we don’t feel disappointment, failure, disaster but instead look at what are the other ways to continue going towards our goal. Having an expectation only means that we will be challenged in the achievement of our goals, and that we are ready to adjust with the confidence that we will still achieve our goals.

Contributed by maipenrai, Sydney






Also by maipenrai:

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Is Britney Spears Insane or Justin Timberlake too Vain?


If there is one reason that people are buying the October issue of Star Magazine (inset above), it must be the shocking photo of a ballooned Britney Spears on its cover. I couldn't believe my eyes that a bespectacled woman with a triple chin and a bulging belly is the sexy vixen who was once a toxic in the man's world. She looks like a 40-year old woman who hasn't slept and washed her hair for days. What's wrong with her? From shedding her goldie-lock to become Demi Moore in G.I. Jane to Rosie O'Donnell, is this woman insane or just thirsty for media attention? (see caricatures).

Source: illustrations from galleryoftheabsurb.com
If you could remember the baby one more time, she was the sweet little girl from the Disney Channel's New Mickey Mouse Club. What could have driven the ex-sex goddess to abandon a body that every woman dreams of and every straight man desires, to become a deranged woman who has forgotton all about social decorum and her celebrity image? Her failed marriage with publicly acclaimed gold-digger, Kevin Federline, or her overwhelming popularity?

Her fellow mouseketter, Justin Timberlake, on the contrary showed off his six-pack abs and defined pecs when he took off his shirt at the end of his FutureSex/LoveShow tour recently at Sacramento. His body just gets better while Britney's deteriorates by the days. In a world where beauty is the language of women, shouldn't Britney still looks as hot as she was before? I have never heard a male sex icon in Hollywood today who would allow himself to disintegrate in the way Britney did. Well, Maybe males celebrities manage their private life better than the female celebrities. Even when the former's appearance went into a drastic change, the man has a statement to make. Marlon Brando turned himself fat so that Hollywood would take him seriously as an actor and not just for his pretty face.

I know Justin will continue to work out at the gym and surprise the media with a hotter body. As for Britney, she can't be any worst, can she?

Monday, October 08, 2007

Give me the Green Card but Spare me the Gun

Another young man snapped and took law in his own hand. 20-year old, Tyler Peterson (inset: left) stormed into a Duplex in Crandon, North Wisconsin and killed 6 teenagers in a rampant shooting. This happened on Sunday - a day after my friends had advised me against relocation to the U.S. Their reason being the Land of Freedom is unsafe.

A failed attempt to reconcile with his old girlfriend invited mockery from guests who were present at that house for a pizza party during the school's reunion weekend. He was called a "worthless pig." This enraged Peterson to retrieve the AR-15 rifle from his car outside and marched into the house firing 30 rounds that killed everyone except one who is critically injured. Hours later, he was found dead after fleeing the crime scene when the Swat team nailed him. Whether he shot himself or died in an exchange of gunfire with the armed police, the authority is not revealing yet. Peterson's killing raised many eyebrows: how could a sheriff's deputy and a part-time police officer possibly commit such heinous crime? Who could have guessed that a 'non-trouble maker' as his good friend described him would become a bersek gunman? Can you tell from his photo that the cherubic face smiling at you is capable of killing? I can't. News leaked that apparently he did not undergo psychological screening piror to his acceptance as a law enforcement officer.

This brings me back to my friends' comment. In a country where gun control is luke warm, It is better to get a good insurance scheme than to worry when will I be gunned down. According to handgunlaw.us, most States allow gun ownership provided that the applicants satisfy the minimum age requirement of which varies from States to States (inset: left). Most States require the applicants to be at least 18 or 21; only Missouri has the exception - 23.

The Wisconsin's tragedy is the 2nd rampant shooting after the VirginiaTech massacre on April 16, 2007. 23-year old Korean, Seung-Hui Cho killed 33 people at the campus before shooting himself. This marked one of the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history. The minimum age to apply for Carrying Concealed Weapons (CCW) for private citizens in Virginia is 21 which Cho is eligible for. Although Wisconsin is denied the right to CCW, Peterson, is however, a qualified law enforcement officer. Sadly the case.

Reported by Reuters and quoted sources from National Rifle Association (NRA), an estimated 34 percent of the citizens in the United States owns firearms and 200 million firearms are in private hands. Considering that private resales of guns is largely unregulated and that the U.S. popluation to be 300 million, it is highly possible that in the most densely populated State such as New Jersey, 6 households out of 10 are likely to own a gun.

Singapore has no history of rampant shootings. Primarily, possession of firearms by citizens is a criminal offence that warrants caning and imprisonment. The terrors that struck the heartland so far were cases of soldiers who went missing with rifles and bullets. The first case was in 1984 and another happened recently last month. Singaporeans at large are either too tame or too sane to commit massacre. I can safely generalise that 99.9 percent of the population is capable of shooting from water guns; the 0.01 percent may be potential gunmen but they have a 99.9 percent chance of not finding a gun in the first place. So what's my take - Singapore or U.S?

Give me the Green Card but spare me the gun.

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Wisconsin gunman Tyler Peterson 'snapped over rebuff by ex-girlfriend' - Times Online


Bananation Condolences to the families and vicitim of Virginia Tech Massacre.