Exam Fever!

It has been for more than a week now. Both my children are having their mid-year exams. So they are buried in their books;looking sleepy and tired.

Everyday, as they return from school, I inquired how they did. Some days, they were happy; on others, they were downright disappointed with their performance and on the verge of tears.

My son was rather unhappy yesterday as he had to re-sit his English paper. Tomorrow will the the last day of exam for him. However, he got a fever and had to retire early. I hope he will be well to take his Living Skills paper tomorrow.

Quote of the Day:

Heartsong

Downloading Songs from the Web

My son introduced me to this world on the internet. I did not know there were so many songs that are not copyrighted on the internet. So they are royalty-free to us. Until someone takes legal action against these sites, every one will be downloading them into MP3 players.

To be able to download old songs that are no longer available in the record shops is just great. Right now I am trying to download some songs from Mark Lindsey. It is being queued for downloading now but downloading is dead slow! We need faster downloaders.

And it's absolutely great to be able to hear once more Lee Marvin singing 'Wandering Star!'

Quote of the Day:

Heartsong

The Sedap Mamak Restaurant

Killing time is an issue each time we sent our daughter for her Chinese tuition at Aman Suria. For 90 minutes we had to be creative. At first, it was sitting at Kayu's to sample their roti canai, ABC and rojak. It was expensive but the ambience was good.

We then found the adjacent restaurant known as the Sedap Restaurant. Not as swanky as Kayu's, but its prices are really to our liking. Food was good and the teh tarik was heavenly. I think it is better than the teh tarik at SS2 Pelita. The satay is good too.

Tonight we were at the Sedap Restaruant. We had our usual cup of teh tarik. Then we ordered a kambing soup and a tissue tosai. Kambing soup was a bit heavy on the ketumbar; otherwise it is okay and they are generous with 4 juicy pieces of mutton. The tissue tosai was something new. A bit costly at RM2.50, it was like eating one large love-letter.

We intend to ty their rojak next.

Quote of the Day:

Heartsong

Annual Fees Poser?

The problem with credit card these days are more cards are being given out with annual fee waivers. I thought my bank would also be giving me a waiver as I have read somewhere that they are giving three-year waivers.

After a long arduous wait on the phone, I was informed that I would have to pay for my annual fees. I then asked what would happen to my loyalty points if I should unsubscribed all the credit cards. The Customer Relations Officer suggested that I liquidate all my loyalty points before the card ends its current duration. I then should ask for a waiver; failing which it was my decision to pay the fees or cut up the cards.

So, after selecting my product, I went to the nearby bank branch and had them faxed my redemption request form. I also signed a form asking for waiver of the annual fees.

According to Jimmy, the officer at the bank branch, all I need to do is to sit tight and wait for my next statement to see whether they have entertained my request or otherwise.

Quote of the Day:

Heartsong

Where is the Bottom for KPS?

There was light selling all day but in the end it amounted to a substantial volume. From RM1.25, it slided to RM1.11 before finishing off at RM1.13. There was really no sell-down.

I think there are serious collectors bargaining off weak holders. If it goes down further tomorrow perhaps to the RM1.00 mark, it will be in oversold position and the price may just bounce!

Just because Pahang has not corporatized does not jeopardise the water transfer project. Agreements would have to be signed first between the state governments of Pahang and Selangor. That will take time. The Federal Water Commision will only operate in the final quarter of 2007. By then, the Federal Treasury may have signed the loan agreement with the Japanese Bank. It is certainly foolhardy to expect things to happen overnight.

There are other projects for KPS like the Western Corridor toll Highway. This will impact upon KPS's share prices once the project gets tendered.

So it is just a rough patch for KPS. Best to hold on to your shares.

Quote of the Day:

Heartsong

Depression on the Bursa?

So the market took the cue from Wall Street and went down more than 11 points. Second liners which were chased up recently lost all their gains. Look at KPS; it is at RM1.17 - a price it attained in February. Don't look at Genting-it is down to a new hellish low. RCE is holding well with very heavy volume.

There was not much change in the direction in the afternoon session. Prices went down but managed to finish off-lows. All in all, a very depressing market!

Quote of the Day:

Heartsong

Kissing a Tree

What can you make out of this picture? I got in off the web.

It shows a pretty girl hugging and passionately kissing a tree.

Why do you think she is doing this?



Practising before the heavy date? Need a hug and the tree was convenient?

Whatever it is, this is one interesting picture.

Heartsong

The Feng-shui Master

They are a breed of the own. They exists on the pheriphery of normal logic, clothing their explanations according to signs and symbols.

It is a classic case of either you believe him or not. If you do, you tend to follow his evry word as if he is God. If not, you dispense with his advice and go on following the faculty of your logic.

To each his won, so they say.

Quote of the Day:

Heartsong

A Visit to Echo Park, Shah Alam

Yesterday afternoon, we went to Echo Park Shah Alam.






A gated community off the NVKE near to the Shah Alam exit, it is already in Phase 2 implementation. Right now only 6 families have moved into Phase 1. The club house is just being built. Security is quite tight.












A enclave for the rich and well-to-do, it is 20 kilometres away. It will take you about 15 minutes to drive to PJ.

Quote of the Day:

Heartsong

Nandaemon and Tongdaemon

I went to South Korea sometime in 1998. It was for 3-weeks course. The course was good and they brought us around.

More importantly, was what did we do with the free time at hand. For me and a friend, we decided to shop at the two famous markets of Seoul. Seoul was and is a fort. At the northern gate is where the Tongdaemon open market operates. It attracts a lot of tourists in the weekend mornings. Nandaemon is th night market and so we have to go early and leave early because the light rapid transit ceased its daily operation for the day.

The interesting thing is how do we haggle on the price. We could not speak Korean and most of the stall-keepers were non-conversant in English. The shopkeepers knew we were foreigners. The will quote fantastic prices in US $ which they will show us on a calculator. So, if you need something, you will use his calculator to offer a bargain price. He will give you another price somewhere in between and if that did not work, he will mumbled something in Korean and stop entertaining us.

Anyway I bought a pair of boots for my son. His feet were too stiff to use it and so a cousin got it as a gift from us.

Seize the Day!

So Difficult to Get Students to Study

Be thankful if you have a child who is interested in books. The curiosity bug in them has been stirred and a habit develops. They read and they learn how to question.

The art of studying is to teach them the critical analytical skills. The 4Ws and the one H questions. The four Ws are what, who,when,where and why and the H is the how.

By using this approach the would have found the keys to the knowledge maze.

Question is: How do you get those who are not into books to study? If you can get them to put aside some time just to read, you may yet ignite the interest in them to study.




Quote of the Day:

Heartsong

The Problems with Potted Plants

I have a few potted plants. some of them are kept under the shade whilst others are open to the elements. Most are hardy. some need more watering; others don't.

Of late, some of these plants are acting up on me.

Quote of the Day:

Heartsong

Wills Can be Changed, my friend

Quote of the Day:

Heartsong

So Difficult to Get Students to Study

Be thankful if you have a child who is interested in books. The curiosity bug in them has been stirred and a habit develops. They read and they learn how to question.

The art of studying is to teach them the critical analytical skills. The 4Ws and the one H questions. The four Ws are what, who,when,where and why and the H is the how.

By using this approach the would have found the keys to the knowledge maze.

Question is: How do you get those who are not into books to study? If you can get them to put aside some time just to read, you may yet ignite the interest in them to study.


Quote of the Day:

Heartsong

Using Numbers in Writings

In written copy,there are certain conventions in the use of numbers.

All you need to remember are 5 rules.

Do not begin a sentence with an Arabic number;spell out the number

Not: 82 women were caught in the vice raid but: Eighty-two women was caught in the vice raid.

Spell out any number if less than three digits(less than 101) when the number is used as an adjective modifying a noun.

Not: During the first half of the 20th century, 28 4-year colleges and 14 2-year colleges adopted collective bargaining.

But: During the first half of the twentieth century twenty eight four year colleges and fourteen two-year colleges adopted collective bargaining.

Alway use Arabic numbers with A.M. and P.M. and do not add the redundant o'clock and morning and afternoon.

Not: Jon's first class began at ten A.M. in the morning.
But: Jon's first class began at 10.00A.M.

Use Arabic numbers for dates and page numbers.

Not: The date, July fourth,seventeen hundred and seventy-six, appears frequently on pages thirty-two, forty-eight and ninety-one of the history text.
But: The date July 4,1776 appears frequently on pages 32,48 and 91 of the history text.

Use Arabic numbers for addresses, dollars and cents, decimal, degrees, measurements, and percentages.

Jacob lives in Hill Street.(address)
Tom paid $300 for his new hand-phone.(dollars and cents)
The Dow-Jones went up 69.78 points in the morning. (decimals)




Quote of the Day:

Heartsong

Cheap Sex Gets Cheaper

I don’t know whether it happens in other places but it looks like Malaysia has its share of ‘firsts’ in many odd areas.

A local Malaysian daily, Harian Metro, reported that students are selling their bodies for a mere pre-paid card top-up of 10 ringgits (US$3). Imagine that! We are really talking about basement prices here.

Modus operandi - These girl students first chat up the men on the internet and after regular telephone sex sessions, go out and do the real thing with them afterwards. All for a top-up on their pre-paid card.

A first-person's report said that most of these girls are those who have been jilted or that their boy-friends have been two timing them and in revenge, they have got into the sex trade.

Quote of the Day:

Heartsong

Why Do Girls Strip for the Camera?

Is there something that girls know and men don't?

The most probable reason I can think why they bare all for the camera is image preservation. In the prime, when their physical body are at its best, beautiful girls would like to flaunt it. Values aside, it also brings in potential advertisement dollars, modeling career or even Hollywood.

Let us not talk about hardcore pornography. These beautiful girls can act in 'softer' movies without having to get involved in the various acts. Pink movies only show actions but I believe they get involved in the act as well.

What is your take on this?


Quote of the Day:

Heartsong

Almost Totalled the Car!

It was one of those days. when things can go wrong, it can get really wrong.

I said my prayers for journey mercies and gunned the engine. Taking the short-cut through the Section 19-Section 17 housing estates, I had to turn left to proceed on a hilly road towards the SPRINT highway. Wwhat do you know. This idiotic taxi driver stopped right in front of me on the t-junction to let off a passenger. As if that was not enough, this damn taxi driver immediately did a U-turn at the bend to get to the other side of the road to back from where he came from.

As he turned precariously, a cement grinder truck careened from around the bend at breakneck speed. At that particular moment, I happened to turn left onto the main road. Just my luck. To avoid hitting the taxi, the truck driver barreled towards me. You can see the gargantuan vehicle almost hitting the car. I drove onto the grass verge. God saved me! The truck was inches away from hitting me and mind you, never did he decelerate!

I counted my blessings! If not for God's protection the car would be certainly be totaled this day and I would not know what would be my fate.

The next time, you are on the road, be extra careful of taxi drivers. They will break all the rules to chase a few ringgits. As long as it's not their life or limbs that are at stake, they do not care two hoots about other users.

Quote of the Day:

Heartsong

Facial Beauty

Quote of the Day:

Heartsong

Blogging more on Godot's Way

As I am having problems blogging on both Family of Four and Heartsong, I will be posting more on Godot's Way. The blog is :

godotsway.blogspot.com

Cheers.

Quote of the Day:

Heartsong

Hubline Hogs the Line

It was barely a month hen this counter announced a share split where each share will be subdivided into 5 twenty sen shares. Subsequent to that 2 shares will be proffered as bonus shares for every 5 shares held.

Effectively, it means you would have 7 lots of shares after the completion of the exercise. The counter has been going down the last couple of months and was hovering at the RM2.00 price range last Friday. Suddenly out of the blue, it rocketed up and continues to attract buyers. It is close to the RM2.50 sen mark today with heavy volume. I guess the company has got all the necessary approvals for the split and bonus exercise.

A small shipping company providing coastal shipping service to Sarawak, Hubline, then EOX was not really a great stock after it sold its oxygen and gas business. Thanks to the downsizing of the Bakun Dam project, it bought into shipping.

Let us speculate a bit on Hubline's potential pricing. If the maximum price the share will go is RM2.50, then after ex- the price should be 36 sen per lot.

Do you want to invest in this counter cum or ex or not at all?

Quote of the Day:

Heartsong

Free nasi lemak, really?


These days, we have been getting some packets of nasi lemak gratis from our friendly nasi lemak seller, Norm. Every time the missus goes to market, she will chat up the nasi lemak seller. When there are only a few more packets left for the day, she will give my wife the nasi lemak either for breakfast or for lunch.


Quote of the Day:

Heartsong

Quote of the Day:

Heartsong

They Love Nominal Face Value

Many know about inflation but do not know what to do about it. Some know about inflation but are risk averse. Some are happily contented to forget about inflation as they have fallen in love with nominal face value. Which category do you fall into?

If you are from the first category, you must now learn how to get around it. Everyday, be it the wet market, be it the supermarket or at the hawker's stall- you see the prices of things going up. There is no falling back. Your ringgit shrinks at an incredibly fast pace. What it could buy 5 years ago for RM1, today you have to pay at least 50 sen more. Therefore your ringgit has shrunk by half. However, you continue to put your money in fixed deposits. Do you think that is a wise move?

So what options are open to you? By all means, put some money in the FD. A portion-you should look seriously to invest in feeder funds or good local mutual funds and REITS. Funds managed by ING, Prudential and Public Bank have proven track records. The balance - keep it aside to buy into some good Bursa KL counters. Look at such counters as Dutch Lady, Bursa, Maybank, Berjaya Sports-Toto, Tanjong Plc, Public Bank, CIMB Bank and Pos Holdings. When there is a fall or a serious dip, move in.

For the second category, there is no advice for you. Enjoy the sanctuary and refuge of the bank as they rob you blind.

The third category. Ignorance is bliss. Enjoy life.

Quote of the Day:

Heartsong

Shuqi- Belle of the Orient

Say what you want. To me, Shuqi is delectable, sweet, adorable and cuddly. She was truly fascinating in So Close and you can observe you up close and personal in the Hong-Kong version of the Playboy magazine.

I am very sure with a good script and in the hands of a good director, Shuqi can act. She has screen presence just like Aishwarya Rai. I believe Hollywood will soon be wooing her just like they did Gong Li, Zhang Zhiyi and Michelle Yeoh.

Heartsong

Life's Interruptions

We are subjected to interruptions in our lives. There are career interruptions. There are holiday interruptions and what have you.

A death of a loved one is always an interruption. We have to readjust our lives to the new situation. The loss of a life partner can indeed be painful and the time needed to get over it is often long and arduous.

Interruptions in studies when one change course in mid-stream or failed in our examinations is another thing to reckon with. There will certainly be costs involved.

Career interruptions is equally painful when you are bypassed by nepotism and you have to leave the organisation to seek your fortune elsewhere.

Whatever the interruptions, be resolute and pray to God and all things will come into place if only you believe and trust in Him.

Second Board - Just Waiting for Godot

So the KLSE is up, breaking all time records. Fantastic volume and value. Blue chips being chased up to the steeple of their net worth. Second liners moving albeit, less animated.

But what about the Second board? Once the playground of punters way back in 1991 and in1997, today it is as silent as a cemetery. Only a few counters are trading the ringgit category. the rest are all puny stocks. There is just no interest to hold them. Poor shareholders are burnt beyond belief. They know they have been made the ' laughing stocks' for the last decade or so.

So, what do you see the chances of the Second Board counters moving like their counterparts on the Main Board? Unlikely?

I hope they see some action soon, now that most of the shares on the Main Board are highly priced.

Or are they all waiting for Godot?

Verb-Tense Agreement

Talk with some one on English grammar. How do you think they will respond? Phobia galore that's what they will exhibit. They say there are just too many rules and it is difficult for a non-native speaker to remember when speaking or writing English.

What do you think?

I think English rules are learnable. Yes, there may be confusion of singulars and plurals; on irregular verbs and idioms and phrasal verbs. Most people however fumble with verb-tense agreement or concordance.

To me, it is very simple.

There are singular subjects and singular verbs. Subjects such as I and you will take singular verbs. For example: I walk. You walk. For subjects like he, she and it, the verbs will always be an action word with an 's' added to it. Therefore: he walks; she walks; it walks.

Plural subjects will have plural verbs. Therefore: We walk;they walk. There is no 's' added to such action words.

In the 'to be' category; it is always: I am and You are. The past tense will be: I was, he was, she was and it was . Take note: You always take the plural both in present and in the past tense. Thus, you are and you were.

Heartsong

Pretty Women

We have all set eyes on pretty women. They may not be the paramours of the silver screen or dolled up vixens in bridal make-up. But as men, they certainly appeal to us and captivate our hearts.

And how it sadden us when we see them being pursued by pretenders and 'wolves' in their fancy sports cars. But who are we to complain when we lack all these to be able to attract these creatures of comfort? The world is such. Only the lucky few that are endowed with mucho dinero can tackle these sensuous sirens. Like the flowers that bloom in spring, they must be plucked during spring-time. Comes summer, they will be side-lined. Next spring will see another carpet of lovely flowers and the flowers of yesterday will all be but forgotten.

So do not blame these beautiful girls for falling head over heels with "wolves" and pretenders in their spring-time of life. Nature makes them such. Only experience will tell them that the 'wolves' are after only one thing. Like bees they will be after new flowers when spring comes along once more.

Will they never learn, these pretty girls?

Dutch Courage Bursa ?

I am really surprised at the guts shown by fund managers and their derring-do pushing the market. Obviously there are gamblers in the market and they are there for trading gains. Will this market sustain or will it go into a tail spin when some bad news overwhelms the world markets?

There is a saying. When the fishmonger, butcher and the taxi driver starts talking about shares; you better watch out. This is the clearest sign that the market is going to turn turtle.

RCE Juggernaut?

Looks like RCE is on a big move today, amassing volume and strength. It went up almost 5 sen but settled down for a 2 1/2 sen gain when trading ends.Do you think these buys are short term investment buys or speculative buy?

If it is short-term investment buys, then the counter may go up steadily. If it is mere speculative buy, then when T+3 arrives, expect 'lorry loads' of delivery and for the price to go down the next few days.

Buying of RCE continues to be strong today (24 April 2007). Let us see when selling pressure will start?

Happy trading on RCE.

Sanjaya-The Life of American Idol 6

So Sanjaya was sent home last Friday. American Idol has now lost most of its fun element. We love his joyous presentation almost every week. He was quick to smile and was an entertainer extraordinaire in the making. How we enjoyed his rendition of Besame Mucho and his differing hairstyles each week.

We knew he 'would be going' sometime as the time draws nearer. He is no great vocalist,I grant you. We certainly would not expect him to win American Idol. We knew he would be crying tears of defeat. It would have to be sooner or later.

As we say goodbye to Sanjaya, let us see who is likely to quit the scene this week. Will it be Phil or Chris?

Quote of the Week:

"Advice is like snow -- the softer it falls, the longer it dwells upon, and the deeper in sinks into the mind." Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Heartsong

Fast food Fight

Lately,there have been so many promotions between the fast foot outlets. Chiefly, we have the straight fight between McDonalds' and BurgerKing. Also, Pizza Hut has gone into the act as well as Delifrance.

Looking at the offer, the best is still from McDonalds this April which is their 25th Anniversary. You get a free meal item for every purchase above RM3.00.

Killing time

Killing Time

What do you do when you have 90 minutes to killed every week?

I used to have this problem when my son was taking Mandarin tuition in Taman Tun Dr. Ismail. It was on Saturday afternoons just after lunch.

We would bring him for lunch first at Restaurant OK where they served the best curry mee and char keuy teow this side of KL. Then off we whiskd him to his place of study.

Initially, we did not know what to do with the 90 minutes. We would literally walk around TTDI aimlessly, spend sometime in a mamak shop and do some by-the -way shopping at the neighbourhood supermarket.

With time, we knew we could go over to One-Utama by parking on the other side of the shopping complex. We did just that and we soon were shopping at the Jaya Jusco and Giant Supermarkets buying our week's marketing requirements.

Now we are once more saddled with time to kill. Our daughter is taking up Mandarin tuition in Aman Suria. We do not have the pleasure of a supermarket nearby. We only have a 2 mamak shops and a Watsons.

It is really difficult to kill time and so I have to order a teh tarik and read until its time to fetch my daughter.

Heartsong

At a Cyber Cafe

It is interesting the first time you go to a cyber cafe. You pay the RM2 and then you do what you want to do.

First you have to get used to their desktop. As there was no Mozilla Firefox, I just typed in the web-page and went to see the stock pages as well as visit my blogs. I did some correction.

When your time runs out, a small meter on the desk-top will give you the count-down to zero and then you vamoose!

Another Mirage?

Bursa went up this morning as if nothing serious is happening in China. So the impending interest rate rise in China which will make funds more costly to dabble in the stock markets seems to affect only China?

Talk about contagion effect. It looks like the market will believe what it believes. Until the news of the interest actually materialised, I think the markets elsewhere would operate as if they are closed economies; which is not the case. So what gives?

I believe this morning upward bias is because shares have become cheaper and some fund managers have money in the kitty to buy in. Speculators may be more cautious as yesterday was quite a jolting experience!

We would have to wait until the witching hour to see whether the market has found its legs and is ready to climb somemore. Gentings, KPS and RCE look good this morning. hope they can sustain in to the afternoon.Quote o f the Day:"Don't Talk unless you can improve the silence." Unknown. Heartsong

Predicting the Market

As I look at the Malaysian stock market, I am very suspicious especially of the recent run-up. Breaking the 1,314 psychological level set in 1994 has been an obsession. It has been breached. Today market went down 18 points in early morning trade. So what next?

For those who bought into Gentings and Resorts, the best thing to do is not to look at their on-going prices but to lock up the stocks. Look if you still want to bargain buy at lower prices.

As for KPS,it looks like there is something afoot given the heavy buying pressure yesterday. Unfortunately it was only a momentary bubble which fizzled out. It is now going down the tube. The last time I looked it was RM1.37.

Observing the market is no fun.

Quote of the Day:

" We can only do no great things; only small things with love." Mother Theresa

Heartsong

Sexy Malaysians

Durex International's worldwide survey of the the length of love-making shows Malaysians are not bad after all. We have been given third placing. Malaysia Boleh!

I do not know what the Nigerians do during love-making but Durex have placed them chamber champions.

Quote of the Day:

"The values we live by are woth more when we pass them on." Mahatma Gandhi

Heartsong

The Joy of Being Young

Every time you see young people around, you wished secretly that you are in your teens. They seemed so blessed. Life can be fun. They have friends to hang out with. They carry the latest hand-phone and they drink coffee lattee at Coffee Bean or

Rolling War Wagon KPS

It has been a long time I have blogged on KPS. Ever since I chanced upon the underlying value of this counter way back in November 2006, I have been observing its price movement and volume keenly. And it has performed true to form. It has broken out from its Rip Van Winkle state and have rocketted upwards from 38 1/2 sen to above RM1.50 in a short period of 5 months.

There are many rumours in the market. The main ones are the Water Transfer project from Pahang and the Western Tolled Highway. Then there is the bonus possibility of Perak siphoning water as well to Selangor. The last rumour to hit the market is the possible takeover of Puncak Niaga by KPS. All these are good for KPS shareholders.

So what remains in the horizon is for the rumours to come true. The Water Transfer project is a matter of time. The earlier agreement between Kumpulan Darul Ehsan Holdings and KPS will most possibly be nullified now that water is both a state and federal matter following constitutional amendments which was passed. So KPS may be negated a bit here since it is no longer the honcho for the waterworks project per se. Any how, all is not lost.

The corporate takeover of Puncak Niaga is interesting. How is KPS going to fund this purchase? Not through a 100% loan as it would impact upon its operating and dividend capacities. I see a rights issue as well as warrants thrown in as sweeteners. To do a rights issue, KPS shares must go beyond RM2.50.

We are only a ringgit away from that level. Any news will push KPS up. It could be an announcement of the agreed water rates for the water transfer project; potential early discussion with the Perak Goverment on another water transfer project or the tendering of the Western Corridor tolled highway project.

I am watching for this to happen.

Heartsong

Regrets

Every one has some regrets. Some are understandable but most can be avoided. I have mine too. Poor choice of the course I took at university. Poor career choice. not saving enough money. Buying a house in the wrong neighbourhood. Buying a wrong car. Many, many more.

Talentime

I remembered the talentimes when I was at school. Kwai Wah and his rendition of “Fall in Love with You” and Richard Bateman on his accordion were memorable. I do not know where Kwai Wah is today but Richard was killed while hunting, donkey years ago. School Talentimes were generally forgettable.

Then came the era of the Bintang RTM and we had great discoveries the likes of Sudirman Hj Arshad. That era came and went. Sudirman himself has gone too.

Then came our Malaysia Idol. This national contest did attract some attention. Jaclyn Victor certainly deserves to win over Dina. Malaysia Idol 2 was an upset, though. That squeky Daniel won. Nita should have. See how she spin her magic with “Big Spender”.

Akademi Fantasia-I did not watch the earlier ones as it catered to an almost Malay audience. Mawi, however, during the last Akademi Fantasia was good and deserved it. One in a Million- the worst contest as the winner should have been Dayang from the word ‘Go’…. A tragedy of the worst kind… Suki is just a baby!

So what kind of contest do we have for 2007? The Chinese are having their Superstar finals but they appeal only to the Chinese speaking community particularly to the Cantonese. So far nothing in sight.

So let us look at the current American Idol contest. We are now down to the Final 7 after Haley Scarnato was sent home. Not a great singer but great legs! It looks like a two-horse race now with two possible outsiders as well. I must say farewell to Phil,Chris and Sanjaya. The hot breath fight will be between Melinda Doolittle and Lakisha. Jordin and Brad may caused an upset but quite unlikely.

My placings are: Melinda Doolittle for a win, Lakisha and Brad for a place. Jordin will come in 4^th. and Sanjaya 5^th.

So, let us see how it will materialise as the weeks go by.

Quote of the Day:

Heartsong

The Beggars' Syndicate

I was having a walk recently at the SS2 morning market.

'Look at that beggar. Do you ever wonder how he comes here daily?' asked my wife.

The thought had never crossed my mind.

"Well, they are ferried here daily by a syndicate. They will watch over these beggars and observed their takings. After that, they are whisked away,"said my wife, knowingly.

A very plausible explanation indeed.

So the next time, you see a beggar on the street and takes pity on him, remember you are contributing to a syndicate.


Quote of the Day"

Everybody is ignorant,only on different subjects."Will Rogers

Heartsong

Good Malay Fare in SS2

If you loved nasi lemak, then there’s one place you cannot miss. That is the warong behind the BH Petrol station in SS2. This nasi lemak is special, a bit similar to that famous nasi lemak at Tanglin near the Lake Gardens in KL.

Except for Sunday, it is opened to a large crowd, that lines up patiently for their food. A basic package cost RM1.20 and if you add the chicken rendang or fried chicken, it will cost you merely RM3.80. Good food; inexpensive pricing Ho Chiaak!

While you are at that vicinity, try the warong next door as well. It sells Kelantanese fare-laksom and nasi kerabu. Cheap, tasty and authentic. For me, I love their fried kueytiau and mee goreng. Reminds me of the mee goreng served in the canteen when I was in primary school. Simply delicious and nostalgic!

Quote of the Day:

“In a great romance, each person plays a part the other really likes.” Elizabeth Ashley

Heartsong

The Gentings-Resorts Poser

Both counters went ex-subdivision on 11 April 2007, amassing huge gains. Gentings added 50 sen and Resorts took in 28 sen. However, on the following two days, the mood turned nasty and they sold both counters down the river. Gentings went as low as RM8.35 and Resorts to RM3.40.

Why is there this contrasting scenario before the subdivision and after the subdivision of the shares? No facts have changed. The negative news of UK 's intention to subject betting licences to additional taxes or for that matter the uncertainty of the Sentosa Island casino licence has not changed. The market is fickle!

The only logical explanation is that those who had the extra lots wanted to dispose of them because there believe there was no longer any “up-side news”. To play safe,they will just hold a lot or two as keepsakes and locked away all the profits. Similarly, some Singapore fund-managers could have sold on Day 1 because of the good profit margins. Then, there are the jittery sellers who saw the breaching of the 1,300 level as Bursa Armageddon and have been liquidating. Other than that, there is just no good reason for the selling pressure.

Both Gentings and Resorts are solid blue-chips and should pay well in the medium term. As we take cognizance of the downsides of both counters, let us not be unduly disturbed by short-term analysis. Analyses are based on static facts but the market is dynamic. Anything can happen. To me, both counters are dynamic and resilient.

From time to time, I will make my comments on both theses counters. The important thing is to look for the new support price of both counters. It appears that the support price of Gentings is RM8.75 and Resorts -RM3.50.

Resorts had never offered an IPO to the investing public except for a restricted bumiputra public offer way back in the late 80s. At the current price level, Resorts is now going for RM3.50–dirt cheap by any standard. Good to collect for the medium term.

As for Gentings, when was the last time you could confidently buy up a lot or two? Just like Resorts, it is rather inexpensive at RM8.75. The Bursa seems to have run out of good counters at this point of time and my belief is, Gentings still possess good ‘intrinsic value’. So do not hesitate, invest in this counter.

For your information, I have seen the market collapsed during the First Gulf War and during the Asian currency meltdown in 1997. Believe me, on both occasions, the counters that rebounded the fastest were gaming stocks like Gentings, Resorts, B-Toto and Tanjong. Also during recession, these are the best defensive stocks. Dividend-wise, Gentings and Resorts have been paying fair dividends.

The world is Gentings’s and Resorts’s oyster. Good news can be created by the dynamic Gentings Group when opportunity arises. A changing scenario can impact prices again towards a northerly direction for both counters.

Quote of the Day:

‘All progress occurs because people dare to be different.’ Harry Milner

Heartsong