Optimus Primes

Just for fun, I went to count how many different versions of Optimus Primes I have.

1) Transformers Energon Optimus Prime

2) Transformers Energon Optimus Prime (and Megatron), mini version

3) Transformers Energon Optimus Prime + Corona Sparkplug (and Overload)

4) Transformers Galaxy Force Galaxy Convoy

5) Transformers Masterpiece MP-01 Optimus Prime

6) Transformers Alternity Convoy, Nissan GT-R

7) Transformers Henkei Convoy

8) Kiss Players Convoy

9) Transformers Sons of Cybertron - Optimus Prime (and Rodimus Prime)

10) Transformers United G2 Optimus Prime (preordered)

11) Transformers Movie (2007) Optimus Prime

12) Transformers Movie (2007) Nightwatch Optimus Prime

13) Transformers Movie: Revenge of the Fallen - Optimus Prime

14) Transformers Generations Optimus Prime

15) Transformers Armada Optimus Prime

16) Revoltech 019 Convoy

17) THS-01 Galaxy Convoy

18) THS-02 Convoy

Note: Convoy is the Japanese equivalent of Optimus Prime.

I have excluded figurines that have the same design as Optimus Prime but have a different colour and name, like Nemesis Prime from Transformers Alternators (black version of Optimus Prime) and Nemesis Prime from Transformers Alternity (also black). There are also Optimus Primes that look exactly the same across different product lines, so needless to say, I don't collect both. An example is Kiss Players Convoy, which is actually the same as Transformers Alternators Optimus Prime. 

Number 19 should be coming soon - from the upcoming Transformers Movie (Dark of the Moon)!

Dual Model Kit Optimus Prime

Saw this model kit of Optimus Prime here, and it blew me away.

Optimus Prime (DOTM version). Credits: www.seibertron.com

While I collect a lot of figurines, I stay away from model kits due to the following reasons:

1) It is too time consuming.

2) While assembling, I may accidentally break something.

3) Assembling the model kit is insufficient - usually some touch-ups are required, like spray painting or line drawings.

4) I don't like the idea of assembling something and yet it looks inferior to someone else's (highly likely, considering my lack of skill).

This is why I don't have a single Gundam figurine, because they require assembling. The ready-made ones are usually inferior to the self-assembly ones.

Chopin and spreadsheets

It's 1240am. I am still working on a spreadsheet which I started only at 530pm today. I worked on it till almost 8pm before leaving office. Once I reached home, after bathing and dinner, I resumed working on it at around 11pm. 

When it comes to complicated spreadsheets, once I start, I don't want to stop. This is to avoid losing momentum, and when my thoughts are still fresh and in sequence. 

While working, I am also listening to Chopin's Preludes. And it feels somewhat depressing.  

Father's Day dinner

For Father's Day, I decided on a home-cooked dinner instead of a restaurant. One reason was cost - a home-cooked meal obviously costs less. And since it was a joint effort with my younger brother, this fits his budget better, because he hasn't started working yet.

This was our menu:

Prawn bisque

Baby spinach salad with parma ham, alfafa sprouts, mini potatoes, cherry tomatoes, and portobello mushrooms, mixed with honey mustard sauce

Mixed grill - chicken chop, cheese sausages, fried egg, sirloin steak, lamb cutlet

Ice cream

My brother handled the prawn bisque, while I settled the salad and main course. The salad was quite easy - basically, after washing and preparing the ingredients, I just mixed them together with honey mustard sauce I took from Quiznos Subs.  

For the mixed grill, I marinated the meats rather simply. The chicken chops, after removing the fat, were marinated with lime, salt and black pepper. For the beef steaks, it was just sea salt and black pepper. The lamb cutlets were done the same way as the beef, but with some extra rosemary leaves.

Now comes the troublesome part - the pan-frying. While it wasn't difficult, the amount of oil that sizzled and splashed on the stove, wall and floor was... urgh. The chicken was the main culprit - I think it accounted for 80% of it! So the cleaning up after that was really a headache. 

The prawn bisque turned out pretty good - it was very rich, definitely much richer than any prawn bisque  I had tasted outside. It was a good decision to buy the better quality prawns at the wet market this morning.

So how much did this meal cost? $60 for everything, so it worked out to be only $15 per person. A meal like this at a restaurant would probably cost more than twice as much.

You are not answering my question #2

This morning, at Nex, I asked an employee at Prata Wala what time they open for business everyday. The girl's response was "Oh, we are already open now." 

Duh. As if I couldn't see that, with all their filled-up tables.

My question was "what time" they open. My question wasn't "are you open now?" 

So once again, my question was not answered. Actually, in the quest for new places for breakfast, I have asked this question many times - and more than half the time, I get the same response as this morning. 

Sunset Grill & Bar @ Seletar Air Base

Went to Sunset Grill & Bar (at Seletar Air Base) last evening for dinner. The place was well known for its Buffalo wings, whose spiciness levels range from 1 to 10 (officially, on the menu) and unofficially, 11 to 35. While I love spicy food, my stomach isn't really that strong, so I wisely avoided the ridiculous levels. As my friend put it before - my tongue can take it, but my stomach can't.

I was with two friends, and one of them couldn't really take food that was too spicy, so initially we decided to order half-dozen level 2 and another half-dozen level 6. But after I looked at their pricing, I decided to just order one-dozen level 2.

Which brings me to how they price their Buffalo wings. While it is understandable that the higher the spiciness level, the more expensive it is (despite chilli powder being dirt cheap), how they decide on the incremental pricing confounds me. Let's take a look at the prices for half-dozen Buffalo wings in levels of spiciness.

Level 1: $18.70

Level 2: $19.70

Level 3: $21.00

Level 4: $21.00

Level 5: $22.00

Level 6: $22.00

Level 7: $23.00

Level 8: $23.50

Level 9: $24.00

Level 10: $24.60

If we look at the incremental prices, it goes like this:

$1.00 --> $1.30 --> $0.00 --> $1.00 --> $0.00 --> $1.00 --> $0.50 --> $0.50 --> $0.60

which seems like a totally random increment. How did they come up with this, I wonder? With a 6-sided and 7-sided dice?

A dozen Buffalo wings cost significantly less than twice the price of half a dozen. For example, a dozen Buffalo wings (level 2) cost $31.60. This is only 60.4% more than half a dozen. Thus, if we had gone ahead with our initial decision it would have cost us $19.70 + $22.00 = $41.70 instead of $31.60. This also means that we would be paying $10.10 more for just some extra chili powder on six Buffalo wings!

Having said that, they were delicious. They were not too oily, the chicken was fresh and extremely tender, and the skin was slightly crispy. At level 2 it was totally not spicy for me, but they still made a great dish.

By the way, the reason why they are called Buffalo wings is because they originated from Buffalo, New York. The residents there call them "wings" or "chicken wings" rather than "Buffalo wings", though.

You are not answering my question

I have always been quite particular when it comes to making enquiries. Yesterday, I emailed Standard Chartered Bank to ask about their new online stock trading platform. This was what I sent:

"Hi, I am interested in opening an online trading account with Stanchart. Do let me know the procedures. I would prefer to be contacted via email. Thanks."

I wasn't expecting them to get back to me by today (their customer service is not really well known for being efficient) so I was pleasantly surprised to get their reply today. But after reading it, I thought that they might as well don't reply.

"Thank you for your email dated 10th June 2011. Please be informed that you may register via Online. For the online trading demo via online, kindly refer to the link below: 

http://www.standardchartered.com.sg/personal-banking/investment/online-trading/demo/demo.swf

Alternatively, you may walk in to the branch for further assistance. The application forms for Online trading can be obtained from the branches. 

Have a pleasant day."

I found this rather unhelpful. Firstly, I had tried to register online but couldn't find anywhere to do so. Telling me that I can register online but not telling where to do so is pointless. I know that I did not mention that I couldn't find the link, but if you are telling me how to do so, why not just go one step further? Not everyone can navigate through your maze of a website to search for a specific thing.

Secondly, I didn't ask for the demo. While it's thoughtful for them to recommend it, it's ironic that they provided the exact link and information for something I did not ask for, but for my exact enquiry, they gave a very brief and useless reply. 

Finally,  everyone knows that you can walk in to the branch to apply. The reason why I am sending an email is precisely because I do not want to walk in to the branch.

I replied them asking for the exact link. Let's see if they can screw this up as well.

Update as at 13th June 2011: Stanchart called me today, asking if I was an existing customer (which was already indicated in the enquiry form I submitted via their website). Since I was, I just had to log in to my internet banking account and click on the "Online Trading" link. The online instructions after that were pretty straightforward and simple, and since I was already an existing customer, no further information was required. This is definitely a plus for them.


Update as at 26th June 2011: I just read this post again and realised that maybe the customer service personnel meant that I could register via "Online Banking" - but they left out the "Banking" word. This probably explains why the "Online" had a capital "O". 

Facebook and online privacy

Recently, it was reported that Facebook has compromised the online privacy of millions of its users. How? Because it had turned on the facial recognition module without asking for their consent.

I actually find this module quite helpful - after I upload my pictures, this module automatically identifies the people in my photos and tag them at a preview page. If I am okay with the tags, then Facebook 'mass-tags' all my photos. 

How the technology works is that it analyses the faces in the pictures, and then tries to find matches among all the pictures. If it does, it will suggest the tags. 

While I do agree that Facebook should have asked users for their permission before rolling out this feature, I don't really see what the big deal is. This is because this feature is not done retrospectively - Facebook does not go back to all your old photos and tag all your friends without your consent. It is only done on new photos uploaded, and the user still has the final say as to whether to accept the tags or not. Secondly, only your friends are suggested. It's not as if Facebook tags everyone on the photos, friends and strangers alike. 

Self-contradictions

A few days ago, I had dinner at Spageddies (Orchard Central outlet). I had $30 worth of Orchard Central vouchers, and it said "Valid for use with other promotional items."

At the same time, Spageddies was also having an AMEX offer of 15% off the total bill, and the T&Cs include "not valid with other promotions".

So which is correct? According to the OC voucher, I can use it with other promotions, so this should include AMEX. But if I were to use AMEX, the condition is that I cannot use the OC voucher. 

This reminds me of the chinese term '自相矛盾'.  

98% is very high! Wait, is it?

Today, the Straits Times reported that "Singapore's rail network experienced 40 service disruptions lasting more than 10 minutes each in a one-year period between April 2010 and March 2011 - or nearly one per week."

Actually, 40 disruptions in 52 weeks - that's only 0.77 disruptions per week. It's surprising that the Straits Times actually rounded 0.77 to "nearly one", since it is rather misleading. 

Still, both SMRT and SBS Transit were not fined despite the high frequency of disruptions. This was because performance standards were still met, with train services being available "at least 98 per cent of the time".

While 98% sounds like a pretty high minimum standard, this cannot be further from the truth. Let's see what 98% is. Assuming that trains operate for 18 hours a day for 365 days, it means that it is perfectly all right for trains to be unavailable for 131.4 hours, or around 5.5 days in a year. This is, of course, based on operating hours as an assumption. 

So is 98% very high? I think not.

Portfolio repriced

My unit trust buys and switches have been priced, after my recent top-up (in red fonts).

Core portfolio - 69.43%

Asia ex Japan Equity - 11.10%

Asia ex Japan Balanced - 5.12%

Emerging Markets - 9.79%

Europe Equity - 8.24%

Global Bonds - 6.18%

Singapore Equity - 11.77%

Singapore Fixed Income - 9.26%

US Equity - 7.97%

Supplementary portfolio - 30.57%

Commodities - 4.80%

High Yield - 4.07%

Taiwan Equity- 4.44%

Technology - 6.02%

China Equity - 9.81%

Russia Equity - 1.43%

By asset class, this would be 75.36% equity, 5.12% balanced, and 19.51% fixed income.

In terms of profit, my core portfolio has made a 9.92% profit, but my supplementary portfolio is down by 4.96%. The biggest culprit is my Taiwan Equity, which I bought in 2008. It fell significantly even before the crisis, and has never recovered till now. 

Smallville

A very Christopher Reeve-like moment.

I finished watching the season finale of Smallville a few days ago. Looking back, I was pretty amazed that I actually managed to sit through all ten seasons of it (okay, I actually gave up by season 6, and it took me three more years to pick it up again). Many series have their own ups and downs, and Smallville undoubtedly had many more downs than ups, with a generous share of terrible moments. It was never short of lame conversations, lousy acting, and stupid plots, so it was somewhat of a miracle too that it survived ten seasons, while series like Heroes didn't make it past four. (Hell, Flashforward didn't even make it past Season 1.) Perhaps it's because I am a geek for superheroes that I managed to stick through it?

For those who have no idea what Smallville is about, it's basically about how Clark Kent grew up, learnt to control his superpowers, and finally became Superman (Smallville is where he grew up). While he learnt some of his powers quite early in this series - super strength and speed, impenetrable skin, x-ray vision, eye beams, super breath - it took a full ten seasons before he learnt how to fly, something which many people were looking forward to most of all. And because of some contractual issues, he only donned on his trademark red and blue tights on the series finale - and there was no complete view of him in the suit either (damn). Still, considering the producers' restrictions, this was handled pretty well. The finale was also full of references to the original Superman movies acted by Christopher Reeve, which most fans would be delighted with. Finally, it was a nice touch to use the original Superman theme song near the ending.

So it was with much relief that I finished the finale feeling satisfied. After investing so much time in it, I would be really pissed if the finale sucked like most of the series.

Life insurance coverage

Instead of talking about my unit trust portfolio, this time I shall blog about my life insurance coverage.

My limited premium whole life has a coverage of $60,000 for death and TPD, and $50,000 for critical illness. I bought it in 2007 when I was 26 years old, and the monthly premiums are $148.15 for 20 years. I also added a rider that covers me for disability income, with a payout of $2,250 every month if I am not able to work. Premiums are quite affordable, at $17 a month, but this is payable until I am age 60.

I have a regular premium ILP with a monthly contribution of $140, and it covers me for death, TPD and critical illness with a sum assured of $60,000. The policy allows for triple claims - i.e. if the policyholder is down with critical illness, he can still claim for TPD thereafter, and finally death. Usually, life insurance policies lapse once you make any claim. The underlying fund of this ILP is a balanced fund.

My term plan provides me with the bulk of the insurance coverage I need - $300,000 for death, TPD and critical illness. It was purchased in 2007 for $80.24 a month, and will expire in 2037. Term plans are the cheapest way to boost one's coverage, but many people still shun them as they don't have any cash value.

Another term plan has a sum assured of only $100,000 for critical illness, but it is an early payout coverage. Normal critical illness policies only pay when the disease is at a rather advanced stage, but this policy splits the sum assured into several payouts, depending on the severity of the illness. This allows policyholders to use the money earlier to seek treatment, in the hope of preventing the disease from advancing to a further stage. For this amount of coverage, this policy is quite expensive - $68 a month, bought in 2009 - but I still think it is worth it. 

I have two small endowments which I timed to mature on various years nearer to my retirement. The first one matures when I am 55 with a projected maturity amount of around $33,000 with a premium amount of $60.75 per month. The second one would mature when I reach age 58 for around $36,000 with a monthly premium of $53.45.

Finally, I have two hybrid plans - a combination of a whole life and an endowment. The first one covers $50,000 death only, and payable for 5 years, at $181.69 a month. I bought it in 2006, so it will be fully paid up by end of this year. At age 62, it will pay a guaranteed amount of $25,000 (this is like the endowment portion). After that, the death coverage will drop to $25,000 and it will function like a normal whole life policy.

The second one covers for $50,000 death as well, but this is payable until I am 55, at $81.82 monthly. This policy pays the guaranteed amount of $25,000 at age 55 instead of 62, and after that it will behave similar to the first plan.

In summary, this is my current life insurance coverage:

Death = $570,000

TPD = $420,000

Critical illness = $510,000

Disability income = $2,250 per month

Total monthly premiums = $836.05 ($654.36 at end of this year after one hybrid plan has been paid up)

Misleading deals

Today's deal at BigDeal.sg had the following offer:

While the offer doesn't look too special to me (also because I don't eat bak kwa), the claim that you get a 72% discount (below the Buy! button) is a bit misleading. While some may think that yes, they are paying $2 for $7 of discount, you need to factor in the whole purchase for it to be accurate. Put it in another way - if you buy this deal and do not use it, are you getting any discounts?

In actual fact, you are paying $21 ($19 + $2) for $27 of bakkwa, so the discount is only 22.22%, not 72%.   

This reminds me of Citibank's Gourmet Pleasures. They advertised it as a "100% Voucher Rebate", and on the newspapers, they said "100% dining rebates. Your next meal free. Powered by Citi." So they issue vouchers that is worth 100% of your bill - for example, if you spend $100, they will issue you $100 worth of vouchers. 

I fell into their trap in April, when I treated my parents to Mad for Garlic, a restaurant at Suntec. Thinking that it was really a 100% rebate for your next meal, which is effectively a 50% discount if you take both meals into consideration, we went there for dinner. When they gave me the vouchers (in multitudes of $10), I read it carefully and realised that 1) you can only use one voucher with one main course, and 2) you can only use a maximum of two vouchers per meal. While you may argue that yes, it is actually a 100% rebate but spread over several meals, how Citibank advertised it - "Get your next meal free" - is extremely misleading. No matter how you view it, the next meal is not free at all!

Then they put a disclaimer "Voucher terms and conditions apply", which they will obviously rely on if anyone complains.

It is one thing to make a potentially misleading statement and then clarify it in the T&Cs, but it is another thing to make a blatantly false statement and then use the T&Cs as defence. Duh.