Singapore: The Property Cooling Off

Before the bubble can build up, the Singapore authorities are already on their feet.

Let us read the Reuters report.

Singapore has introduced measures to cool its housing market, imposing a new stamp duty on homes sold within one year of purchase and capping the maximum housing loan at 80 per cent of the property value.

“While the current level of speculative activity in the market is still lower than what it was at the height of the property market boom, and overall price levels are below the previous peak, there is a risk that the market could overheat in the next few months,” the government said in a statement yesterday.

The new measures, which take effect today, do not affect first-time buyers of government-built HDB apartments who can still borrow up to 90 per cent of the property value.

Singapore private home prices have rallied strongly in recent months, with the government’s index gaining 7.4 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year following a 15.8 per cent quarter-on-quarter rise in July-September.

The government said that with the new stamp duty, sellers will have to pay up to 3 per cent of the value of the property transaction.

It added that while fewer than 10 per cent of housing loans in Singapore involve loans exceeding 80 per cent of the property value, “there are signs that more housing loans are originating at higher LTV (loan-to-value) bands”.

Mohamed Ismail, CEO of PropNex, a firm of property agents, said the new government measures will affect mainly homes in prime areas, which are the usual focus of speculators.

As for homes in outlying areas, the impact will be mostly psychological since loans exceeding 80 per cent of the property value are not popular due to the higher interest rate charged by banks in Singapore.

The Internet Will Make You Smarter

This is a Reuters report of a survey carried out on-line on the impact of the internet and its effects on users.

The outcome is certainly wonderful.

The online survey of 895 web users and experts found more than three-quarters believe the Internet will make people smarter in the next 10 years, according to results released yesterday.

Most of the respondents also said the Internet would improve reading and writing by 2020, according to the study, conducted by the Imagining the Internet Center at Elon University in North Carolina and the Pew Internet and American Life project.

“Three out of four experts said our use of the Internet enhances and augments human intelligence, and two-thirds said use of the Internet has improved reading, writing and the rendering of knowledge,” said study co-author Janna Anderson, director of the Imagining the Internet Center.

Now the naysayers.

Some 21 per cent said the Internet would have the opposite effect and could even lower the IQs of some who use it a lot.

“There are still many people ... who are critics of the impact of Google, Wikipedia and other online tools,” she said.

The web-based survey gathered opinions from scientists, business leaders, consultants, writers and technology developers, along with Internet users screened by the authors. Of the 895 people surveyed, 371 were considered “experts.”

It was prompted in part by an August 2008 cover story in the Atlantic Monthly by technology writer Nicholas Carr headlined: “Is Google Making Us Stupid?”

Carr suggested in the article that heavy use of the web was chipping away at users’ capacity for concentration and deep thinking. Carr, who participated in the survey, told the authors he still agreed with the piece.

“What the Net does is shift the emphasis of our intelligence away from what might be called a meditative or contemplative intelligence and more toward what might be called a utilitarian intelligence,” Carr said in a release accompanying the study. “The price of zipping among lots of bits of information is a loss of depth in our thinking.”

But Craigslist founder Craig Newmark said: “People are already using Google as an adjunct to their own memory.

“For example, I have a hunch about something, need facts to support and Google comes through for me,” he said in the release.

The survey also found that 42 per cent of experts believed that anonymous online activity would be “sharply curtailed” by 2020, thanks to tighter security and identification systems, while 55 per cent thought it would still be relatively easy to browse the Internet anonymously in 10 years.

Well, anonymously or otherwise, it looks like we all should get smarter, don't you think?

The Tiger Who Got Lost in His Woods

Yesterday, the famed- turned -notorious Tiger Woods admitted he is addicted to sex. He told the world he is currently undergoing therapy after his many sexual affairs.

However, sex addiction is still controversial and currently not recognized as an official diagnosis in the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, which is an authority in defining psychological disorders. They may soon list the word, “hypersexuality disorder”  in the next manual.

There are many clinicians who believe there is a clinical phenomenon of people who experience a lot of distress or get into a lot of trouble from having excessive sex,” said Dr Dan Zucker of the University of Toronto.  “Anything in the sex and gender domain is controversial. Everyone has an opinion about sex. These issues raise the boundary between what’s normal and what isn’t — and where do you draw the line,” he said.

A number of clinics — among them one in Mississippi where Woods has been reported to be receiving treatment — have sprung up to treat sex addiction.

People undergoing this treatment have included celebrities such as actor David Duchovny.

Some psychologists opposed to conferring recognition on a diagnosis of “sexual addiction” describe it as a habit or a compulsion, akin to unrestrained gambling, and not an addiction that has a direct impact on brain chemistry.

“Sex addiction by itself is not a diagnosis we currently use,” said Craig Fabrikant, a psychologist at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey.


“It’s like a lot of patterned behaviours that could be better described as obsessive-compulsive traits,” he said. “Are people in a loving relationship oversexed? Is loving sex a sign of addiction? If it feels good, you do it.”

“A chronic adulterer who gets caught might hide behind the term sexual addiction,” Fabrikant said.

“Nevertheless, treating someone who has numerous sex partners might be similar to treating a drug addict — prescribing medication to calm anxiety and talk therapy to learn techniques to handle the urge,” Fabrikant said.

Therapists who specialise in sex addiction say it is comparable to substance abuse and not merely a case of habitually accepting other people’s offers of sex.

The stigma of sex addiction can keep people from getting help, but the problem is “eminently treatable,” said Dr Mark Schwartz of the Masters & Johnson Clinic in St Louis, who treats patients for the condition.

Chinese Parsley: Kidney Cleaner!

Believe it or not, these humble Chinese parsley leaves  can be effective kidney cleaners.

Since we were born, our kidneys have been filtering the blood by removing excessive salt, poison and any unwanted substances from entering our body. With time, these salt accumulates and our kidneys need to undergo cleaning treatments. How are we going to overcome this?

This is a home remedy.

It is very easy. First take a bunch of parsley (Malli leaves) and wash them clean. Cut them into small pieces and put it in a pot with  clean water. Boil for ten minutes and let it cool down and then filter it and pour the contents into a  clean bottle and keep it inside refrigerator to cool.

 

Drink one glass daily and you will notice all the salts and other accumulated poisons coming out of the kidneys during urination. For those who have tried it, they testify that they felt a marked difference they have never felt before.

Parsley is known as best cleaning treatment for kidneys and it is natural! It only cost a dollar to try this treatment!

The Meneki Neko Bobtail cats

I just went to the One-Utama Shopping complex this evening and was surprised to see all these giant-sized cats at strategic points of the complex.

Strangely, there were no ferocious tigers around to paw in the lunar new year. Amidst huge clusters of red lanterns,there were three Meneki Neko cats, or Beckoning Cats in Japanese, at the concourse beckoning customers with new wealth for the new year.

These Meneki cats or better known as the Japanese Bobtail Cats are usually placed at business entrances. It beckons with its right paw. A raised left paw is to attract customers while the raised right paw signifies wealth is coming. These days both paws moved in tandem as they are battery-powered.

As and when these Meneki Cats have entered Chinese New Year folklore is anybody's guess.

Water Users or Abusers?

 

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has come out clean. Penangites use an average 285 litres of water each daily in 2008, the highest compared with people in other states. How sad!

He said although the state did not experience water shortage, Penangites should use water with care due to the hot spell sweeping across the country.

“Penang is facing a big problem as there is a lot of water wastage,” he said.

He then gave a comparison with other states usage of water.

In 2008 the usage of water per person are Johor (207 lit), Selangor (234), Kedah (236), Negeri Sembilan (239) and Melaka (268).

The standard fixed by the United Nations (UN) is 165 litres per person daily.

Lim said the high water usage by Penangites could be due to the tariff of 31 sen per cubic metre, the lowest compared with the other states. [This could be use as a deterrent to ensure a better usage in future].

On water level at three dams in the state, he said Air Itam Dam was at 84 per cent capacity and capable of supplying water for 100 days.

Mengkuang Dam was at 95 per cent capacity capable of supplying water for 166 days and Teluk Bahang at 86 per cent capacity capable of supplying water for 276 days.

“Penangites need not worry as water supply in the state is still adequate to meet daily needs,” he said.

I am sure Penang under the CAT philosophy can economize water usage. I do hope the Hon Chief Minister can do something about this.

Auspicious Opening of RWS

Judging from the swanky wheels parked at Resorts World Sentosa (RWS), it appears that amid the thousands of punters at Singapore’s first casino over the long Chinese New Year weekend, were several local high-rollers.

Valets revealed that they had parked or seen at least 20 Ferraris, Lamborghinis and other high-end cars. Their owners had mostly arrived late in the evening and left the next afternoon. Many Singaporeans were also seen taking photographs of the cars, most sporting local licence plates.

For high-rollers, defined by the casino as those with at least S$100,000 (RM243,711) in credit to gamble, there are 120 private gaming rooms with concealed entrances. Personal butlers attend to their every need, serving bite-sized delicacies, drinks and cigars. Those gambling in the common playing area are unable to peer into the upper-level rooms which ensconced these high-rollers.

On teh first night, more than 60,000 visited  the casino. Apparently, more than a third of the gamblers were Malaysians and RWS had supposedly raked in an estimated S$40 million in the first two days.

With the Chinese New Year holiday over, fewer visitors are expected from today (17 February 2010). But yesterday, due to the overwhelming number of overseas patrons, the queue for foreigners was allowed to spill onto the second level, to prevent some of the disorder seen on the first day.

Despite this, some tourists had to wait for up to two hours under the sun — leaving them hot and bothered under the collar. However. Mr S Raghaven from India, who stood in line for about 90 minutes, said the wait was to be expected because of the festive season.

Other glitches were also still being sorted out.

Several cashback machines broke down yesterday, leading to a delay — of up to 30 minutes in some cases — before patrons could collect their winning profits. The croupiers were also get better with time. According to an RWS spokesman,“They started training as early as August last year ... but nothing beats the real thing ... many are learning on the job,” she admitted.

But despite the teething problems, there was a general carnival atmosphere all round.

A 19-year-old guide, hired to help direct the crowds soke of  the visitor pattern she had picked up after three days on the job.Older folk typically arrive in the afternoon, excitedly discussing their game strategies, said the teen, who is waiting to enter university.Younger gamblers arrive after dinner, talking about which games would help to earn them the most profits.