Indian Elderly Male Neighbor Passed Away

A 'drought' in blogging for me with the start of 2015.

My indian neighbor passed away on 11th Jan(Sun) at around 5am. Heard noises outside which woke me up. Saw paramedics with their stretcher which gave me a shiver. A while later, i heard the wife cry - her hubby was pronounced dead by the medic.

Their flat was filled with relatives on that day which is more than Deepavali. Same phenomena as mine when my dad passed away last year. More relatives visit when the person passed away than when alive during Lunar New Year. Isn't that tragic?

My indian neighbor has been afflicted with cough since he was a smoker. Difficulty walking too so he remained at home. Is a good thing he didn't burden his family with medical/hospitalization bills. Cremation was done the next day (Monday).

According to economist Tim Harford:

Economic growth is a better life for individuals,

• more choice
• less fear
• less toil
• less hardship

The death of my neighbor got me thinking again about the long working hours which i wrote as the last blogpost for 2014.

What's the point of the damn regime harping incessantly on gdp growth?

For the masses here, economic growth is:

• less choice ($$$ sucking by the regime)
• more fear ($$$ issue)
• more toil (look at the old working at hawker centers & food courts etc)
• more hardship

Greedy hybrid regime digging its own grave at the next election.

Before the announcement of the fare hikes today by the greedy regime, there has already been an increase in the number of peasants riding electric wheelers for short commutes. So far the regime has not ban them though there has been rumors of trying to restrict them citing 'safety' reasons.



Why bother let the greedy regime suck $$$ unnecessarily? Better to buy a motorized wheeler & roll around. Or a cheap commuting bicycle.

Toll of Long Work Hours & Low Productivity in Singapore

The charts below might be kinda outdated since they are in 2010 & 2011. I was wondering if there are statistics for 2014 but unfortunately i couldn't find any. Hence I uploaded the charts first without any commentary for this last blogpost in 2014.

The latest grim statistic in 2013 still paint a pathetic picture: S'poreans work the longest hours of 2402 hours annually in the world hence little has changed. Even the workaholic japanese with their term 'karoshi' which means death from overwork work around 27% less hours than Sillyporeans.

Except for Korea,  other countries with high standards of living are working at least 20% less hours than us. 

“You can't produce a baby in 1 month by getting 9 women pregnant.” ― Warren Buffett

Personally I find that the hybrid regime's mindset is stuck in industrial age. During the agrarian age of our great grandparents, working more hours in the field isn't going to produce more crops. Certainly there are times of the year when more hours are needed in order to reap in the harvest but working overtime in winter isn't going to sprout you new harvests.

To the hybrid regime whose mindset is stuck in industrial age, it's all about getting the workers to slave long long hours to produce more. Singapore Tourism Board Still Stuck in Industrial Age Advertising is a recent example that i've elaborated upon.

Curse of the Maid

Many well-to-do households & even middle classes employ maids to do housework. We don't see this type of phenomena in other first world countries because the labor costs of hiring domestic help is expensive. Thus workers in other 1st world countries have to be more productive during their shorter working hours so as to go home to do housework etc as well as have a life outside of work.

The hybrid regime has figured that:

1. Sillypore being located in a region of cheap labor from much less developed nations.
2. So Sillyporeans can employ maids so they can slave long long hours at work to up gdp at all costs.
3. Sillyporeans slaving long long hours = unhappy
4. In order to be happy, many resort to retail therapy (gdp up up up) but alas Overconsumption & Materialism Fueling Even More Stress for Singaporeans

“We've had enough of work more, enjoy less, pollute more, eat toxics, get cancer & increase gdp. How about we work less, enjoy more, have more friends & time for them, consume less, pollute less, destroy less, owe less, live better, longer & more meaningfully.”- John De Graaf

Other collateral damage (blogposts):

- 98% of S'pore Workers Are 'Bochup' aka Disengaged in 2010

- Zombie' Workers - Plenty of Them In S'pore

- S'pore 2nd Lowest Globally for Job Satisfaction

- Sinkies Least Positive in World After Most Emotionless

- Singaporeans Among Top 10 Pessimists, Overbuying To Misery

GDP/Hr Worked Is Far More Accurate Measure Than GDP Alone

The hybrid regime likes to boast about gdp growth in their govt propaganda mouthpiece. However if we look at the output/hour it is among the lowest among developed economies despite slaving long long hours.

A contributory factor for the low productivity is wasting time doing unnecessary stuff - Following Orders Blindly – A Reason Why Productivity Is Fucked in SG

Germans work around 40% less hours than Sillyporeans yet their country is Europe's economic powerhouse.

Most the of the western expats in Sillypore would not stay long term here due to the toxic working hours. Most use SG as a springboard to visit nearby tourist spots like Angkor Wat, Mt Kinabalu, Bali, Bangkok etc during their work stint here.

As for the immigrants working here, they can toil long hours for a couple of years before moving to other 1st world countries or back to their home countries to enjoy a more humane way of life.

Industrial age mindset has ended for other countries but not for SG. Their working hours have declined considerably.

Don't you loathe it when you have friends/family members around you who often can't keep you company because they have to work long hours else they would be fired?

Singaporeans have to compare with other 1st world nations & ask themselves whether they are having a better quality of life by slaving long hours under the hybrid regime being paid $M salaries.

Following Orders Blindly – A Reason Why Productivity Is Fucked in SG

The hybrid regime's education system is designed to churn out meek workers who shut up & following instructions blindly. It works great during the early years of independence. I have blogged about it in Singaporeans' No U-Turn Syndrome & Being Screwed by It.

Recently the issue of productivity surfaced again in the local papers. Socio-political sites have reported the issue of declining productivity with the huge influx of cheaper foreign workers. Many of these foreign workers will follow instructions blindly even more obediently as they are earning the mighty S$.

Sim Wong Hoo has written 5 examples of No U-Turn Syndrome in his book 'Chaotic Thoughts from the Old Millennium' which i've recommended that you borrow his book to read. His experiences can vomit blood at the sheer meekness & stupidity of Sillyporeans following orders blindly.

I will share my example here. Can vomit blood with those nincompoops around. After reading my example you'll understand why our country is fucked with those 'Yes-men' ministers infesting the government.

I can be incisive when dealing with those nincompoops who can't see the big picture. Is a reason why those higher ups find me hard to manage. I am direct & to the point(don't waste time).

Those who can get through my bitter medicine advice will find me an asset.

In 2009, I lambasted on why be so stupid to comply with the Community Centre's bureaucracy in registering in order to play boardgames. 

Being on the 5th page of the discussion thread & 3 days into it, it shows nobody dare to question the stupid rule. Even those who do kept quiet about it. Is it any wonder why our productivity is still fucked in 2014 as that writer Benedict Ng wrote?

SOG = SG Open Gaming. No registration needed. Can walk in to play.

There are those who can't stand me admonishing frankly. They prefer sweet talk. The original heated exchange is at http://www.meetup.com/Boardgames-Singapore/boards/thread/7381908/40/

Their stomach is churning(can't stand bitter medicine) as i am challenging the status quo way of doing things.

I didn't bother to reply to their comments. It is already heated & i realized it is hard to make them see the big picture. Sim Wong Hoo wrote 5 examples in his book to hammer the point for a reason instead of 1 example.

The organiser TY can see sense in my advice with regards to the photos. With regards to my kiddy girl remark about her, she has since changed her photo when this screenshot is taken.

But alas she still carry on following the CC's bureaucratic ways(registration) till last year 2013. People already indicated Yes attending in meetup but she still want people to register as per CC's rule.

She only woke up after 47 monthly sessions.

Is so pathetic that Sillyporeans don't question nor have the guts to voice out when details like NRIC etc are needed just to go there to play boardgames. Bunch of sheep......

A nation of sheep begets a government of wolves.

No wonder the hybrid regime loves to fuck Sillyporeans through relentless price hikes.

If you are a boss, do you want these kind of dumb sheep with these type of productivity mindset?

People are advancing doing other things while Sillyporeans are stuck in registration process.

• Can you imagine how much time is wasted by those people for the registration process?
• What productivity is that?

That's almost 4 years status-quo of "Just Follow Instructions". The following are screenshots from her Games Sunday 47! (Play and Protest Special!).

How did she wake up?

It takes a 'disaster' to strike to wake her up as the community centre is asking her to move to a smaller room.

After being meek for close to 4 years, she protested 

4 fucking years passed & she used photo evidence of the crowded room which i proposed back in 2009 to prove she deserve the bigger room more.

Why the Enlightened Will Try to Avoid the Dumb

I have never attended her boardgaming sessions. I have a heated exchange with her & the rest of those who read my incisive remarks ain't going to be friendly to me since they can recognize me from my picture.

Another reason is why mix with those people who can't see the bigger picture? Those attending her sessions are very likely to be those who just follow the CC's instructions blindly in registering to play boardgames.

Likewise, the infestation of Yes-men in the govt repels other enlightened men from associating with them. When the hybrid regime is voted out or severe losses, other enlightened men will come forward to serve. I am just a small fry & there are others more enlightened than me who are 'hiding' & have no wish to associate with the men-in-white.

Singapore Tourism Board Still Stuck in Industrial Age Advertising

"We have more degrees, but less sense." - from Paradox of Our Time

Sillypore govt likes to emphasize paper qualifications. Look at the utter stupidity of those degree holders who are flushing taxpayers $$$ down the toilet.

They are stuck in WWII carpet bombing mindset by buying ads in traditional media like newspapers & magazines to bombard the readers in an attempt to convert them to tourists visiting Sillypore. I'll write about the much more effective method of doing it later on.

The commentator has pointed out about the folly of building artificial gardens & shopping malls to impress tourists. I've expressed the same sentiments of local uniqueness in blogposts:

- American Vice President Visit Hawker Centre - Tourist Attraction
Who gives a shit about Starbucks when there are thousands around the world?

- 'Potemkin Village' in S'pore
Fake setup makes a mockery but at least it shows the heartland attraction to the british royal couple.

In Era of Globalization, It's Even More Important on Local Uniqueness For Tourism
The governor of Penang, Lim Guan Eng said his move to ban foreigners as cooks was an effort to ensure the unique local taste & flavour of Penang's hawker fare is retained so as to attract tourists. This is common sense which he has which our grossly overpaid scholar ministers don't have.

Do tourists give a shit about globalized spam like Starbucks & shopping malls filled with those spam shops like McDonalds, Uniqlo etc?

By emphasizing hawkers in Penang, its governor continues to ensure affordable food for the locals(continued votes) while generating tourism revenues. It is a high return on minimal investment. A win-win. There is no need to spam shopping malls requiring hundreds of million dollars to build like in Sillypore.

These young 'opium' addicts are not reading newspapers & magazines.

Is even worse for adults on trains, buses & eateries.

So, why the hell still waste taxpayers $$$ by advertising in a british newspaper?

From Carpet Bombing to Precision Bombing
During the Gulf War & the War Against Terrorism in Afghanistan, warplanes do precision bombing using guided munitions. Times have change from the carpet bombing method of WWII.

Amazon increases its sales by inviting trusted reviewers to write reviews on new products to help customers make informed decisions. It is known as the AMZN Vine Program. AMZN send the new products to these trusted reviewers so $$$ is spent on people who are really using the product. This is a method of precision bombing. Does AMZN need to waste $$$ to buy advertisements to promote those products?

Lest you worry that those reviewers write glossy reviews of those products should the product be mediocre, we don't have to worry as the free market mechanism of reputation is in play. Different people have different experiences but too many phony reviews & that reviewer's reputation is hurt.

Precision Bombing Has a Better Bang for the Buck
Instead of flushing $$$ down the toilet by buying ads in those traditional media, the tourism board has a better bang for the buck perhaps by offering irresistible discounts or freebies to foreigners to try out Sillypore.

Target those trusted reviewers on travel websites & offer them like free Sillypore Airline economy tickets to Sillypore & a 6 day stay at a hotel. This way the taxpayers $$$ circulates in SG instead of going to the guardian newspaper.

Then those reviewers are to write reviews of their trip to SG. Most likely they have social media amplifying their trip to their hundreds of friends. Those friends are more likely to trust those reviewers than a faceless ad on a newspaper(bang for the buck).

Even if those friends don't come to SG, memories might linger on after seeing the pictures of their friends on social media(bang for the buck). Who can remember an ad from the guardian newspaper years ago? Who knows when a couple of years later those friends decide to stopover SG for a visit?

An Example from My Blog to Discourage Participating in Local Cycling Events
In middle of this year, i urged readers not to bother spending $$$ on Sillypore's commercial cycling events - Malaysia's Johor State Helping to Bring Down SG's Hybrid Regime

What's being said on social media/blog

Vs

Cycling Event 2015 ad on local newspaper

Which is the reader going to trust more?


Not only are the ads on guardian newspaper considered wasteful spending. The salaries for those degree holders at the tourism board are also wasteful. The hybrid regime needs to be severely punished at the polls to get rid of the emphasis on paper qualifications. Their mindset is stuck in the industrial age which is detrimental to SG's future.

The industrial age method of carpet bombing ads on newspapers & tv still has its uses but the effectiveness now has greatly diminished in terms of bang for the buck.