The elasticity of time and space.

It is a little known fact, that Malaysian taxis are, in fact, time machines. They are able to stretch and compress time and space, at will. All you have to do, to show this, is to book a cab...and then very strange journeys become possible.

The other day, I had the chance to test the time travelling properties of a Malaysian taxi. We made the same journey between the same two end points, in two different taxis, in two different circumstances. The results could not have been more different. On the outward journey, the meter was running. This journey took a LONG time. The total cost for the journey was 11 Ringgits.

Now, here is the interesting part. On the way back, I had to use a "government controlled" pre-paid taxi service. This is a curiously Malaysian inconvenience in which one has to pay for the taxi in advance. The most inconvenient part about this is that, invariably, the fares are much higher than they should be. Somewhere along the line I see "government tax" written all over this service. I was charged 14 Ringgits 50 cents for my pre-paid ticket. Now, imagine my surprise when the return journey took about ONE THIRD of the time of the outward bound journey. When the driver was not working on the meter, but was working for a prepaid amount, he took the shortest route back. That route happened to be three times shorter than the outward journey. However, note it was more expensive than the longer route, owing to the price gouging of the government controlled taxi service.

So, the lesson here is that, often, a Malaysian driver will only take the optimal route if he is on a fixed sum for the journey. If the journey is on a meter he will invent the longest route possible. We "enjoyed" one fine example of this phenomenon once, when we took a cab to a new place we had never been to before. The journey distance was about 17 and a half kilometres. We thought it rather far but had no idea how far it should be - so we duly paid the driver. On our way back, we had a different cab driver. Guess what the journey distance was? Just over four kilometres. We were appalled to see by how much we had been conned.

Malaysia is a beautiful country - but it suffers from poor transport infrastructure. One of the poorest aspects of that infrastructure, is the presence of dishonest drivers. There are just too many drivers willing to take a foreigner, like me, on a scenic tour of KL every time we want to pop down the road. Mind you, this is not a uniquely Malaysian problem since I was sometimes cheated in this way, in Singapore, too. Yet, not all drivers are dishonest. It is because of the honest ones that I get the chance to make route comparisons and come to realize when I have been conned...though usually too late to do anything about it.

So, if you are visiting Malaysia, just remember this: the cab you get into might just be a time machine, and the journey length could be anything up to four or five times the correct length. The best bet is to have checked a map first, so that you know where to go and how long it should take. Then make it clear to the driver that you know what's what: only then can you be sure of not being cheated in a Malaysian taxi. Happy travelling!

Living in a TV drama.

Life, in Malaysia, is turning out to be a bit like living in a TV drama. By this, I mean that far too many unusual events seem to occur in a short space of time, to be at all possible in the real world. However, this is the real world and they are happening.

I shall explain. We are staying in a house in KL, right now. We have just begun our stay. Yet, already we are receiving odd phone calls from people claiming to be persons in authority of some kind. Today, for instance, we had three people call pretending to be from the phone company, asking us questions, whose answers the real telephone people would already know. It was all just a lead up to arranging a visit from someone who really, really shouldn't be given admission to our home. Then again, we had a visitor from the "gas company", asking our kids to open the gates to let him in the house. However, most oddly, we hadn't called the gas company and weren't in need of their services, in the least.

So, what we have here, is four attempted scams in one day. That, I must say is quite something for the real world. It is just like a TV show in which a cascade of unlikely things happen to the protagonists that everyone, who pauses to think, would not believe for a minute, could happen in the real world. Only, in Malaysia, they do.

The worrying thing about all of this is what would happen were we less aware of the possibilities of duplicitous crime, here. You see, we had been forewarned that there are a lot of "chancers" around here, who will try their best to gain admission to a home to do there what they can to rip you off - or worse. No doubt, there are newcomers here who are not so prepared. God knows what their introduction to the country might be like.

The other worrying thing is just how these people have managed to get my details. All the callers knew my name. Some of them used my full name. Some inquired whether I was my wife's husband. All of them, obviously, had our phone number - though it had only been registered three days before. I am left to assume that someone at the phone company - or at the phone store - is selling information of new subscribers to the criminals for personal gain, so that the con men might have the base material they need to work with: knowledge of identities, contacts and location.

Funnily, for the "gas man", all we did was wait. After a couple of minutes parked outside our house, he got the message and left. If he had been a real gas man, who had been really called to do some work at our house, he would rather have persisted, I think.

I am reminded of the Nigerian con men who continuously send out email scams, all over the world. Here, much the same thing goes on, but it is not based around emails: it is based around telephone calls and personal visits from people who are not who they say they are.

I am thankful that we had been forewarned about all of this. Without such warning, perhaps we would have let our guard down...and who knows what might have happened then. For now, the gates shall remain closed and unexpected callers shall receive a cool response.

I must say, watching TV dramas is a lot less unsettling than living in one!

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, please go to:http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

We are the founders of Genghis Can, a copywriting, editing and proofreading agency, that handles all kinds of work, including technical and scientific material. If you need such services, or know someone who does, please go to: http://www.genghiscan.com/ Thanks.

IMDB is the Internet Movie Database for film and tv professionals. If you would like to look at my IMDb listing for which another fifteen credits are to be uploaded, (which will probably take several months before they are accepted) please go to: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3438598/ As I write, the listing is new and brief - however, by the time you read this it might have a dozen or a score of credits...so please do take a look. My son, Ainan Celeste Cawley, also has an IMDb listing. His is found at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3305973/ My wife, Syahidah Osman Cawley, has a listing as well. Hers is found at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication prohibited. Use Only with Permission. Thank you.)

Electricians in Singapore: beware.

A few days ago, we had an experience that calls into question the idea that Singapore is a "squeaky clean" state. We called "Mr. Tay", an electrician. It seemed an innocent enough thing to do...but it was the beginning of nightmare.

We agreed a price with Mr. Tay to have his workers grout a bath and get a couple of lighting fixtures to work (which didn't work even with new bulbs in them). After much negotiation, a price was agreed.

The worker came very late, at 10.30 pm that night. He was a scrawny, mentally very slow, almost dead looking man. Clearly, he was being overworked by his employer. He did the grouting (not well), then said that he would be back the following day to complete the electrics. He asked for payment in cash, for the full amount. He wouldn't give a receipt but said that his boss would issue one. After some hesitation, we paid him, largely because he seemed too stupid to be a trickster.

The following day, three men including the one we had already met, turned up. They "worked"
for an hour on the wiring, ostensibly checking it for problems. They then demanded almost twice the fee already paid, in cash, in addition to the money already paid, before they would continue the work. Now, my wife was alone with them, for I was working. A great argument ensued, with my wife telling them, time and time again, that the full fee had already been paid. She even spoke to Mr. Tay...but he spent all his time lying down the phone, saying that the agreed fee of the day before had only been for the grouting. He wouldn't budge from his demands. When it became clear that my wife was not about to pay them an additional sum of twice the agreed fee of the day before, all three "electricians" left the house. The trouble was that they had left wiring exposed everywhere, in a real mess.

When I came home I argued with Mr. Tay for some half an hour, on the phone. This was no fun, since he spent most of the time shouting. His cries were of: "Your money so big, huh?" on the fact that we had already paid enough. "I have to pay for petrol and my men." and the real classic:"Be a gentleman". I thought this was hilarious since he was the one trying to extort extra money from us, beyond that which had been agreed.

The wiring was in a terrible mess, so we got another electrician down to look at it. He observed the wiring carefully and was clearly very puzzled. He said: "It looks like someone has deliberately messed up the wiring...it will take some time to work out what they have done."

So, during their hour of studying our wiring, what they had actually been doing, was messing it up, so that they could create problems which they then would offer to solve for a large fee. To my mind, that makes Mr. Tay and crowd, criminals.

The new electrician spent a couple of hours fixing it all - and, you know what, after all the trouble we had been through, he didn't even want to be paid. He was doing it out of kindness. We did, however, give him something...though much less than the extortionate fee demanded by Mr. Tay's crooks.

The experience was a real lesson for us. Singapore is not a haven from criminality. Criminals can easily be found in the classified section of newspapers (where we found Mr. Tay). Our conclusion is that one should only engage people, of any kind, in Singapore, by RECOMMENDATION ONLY.

There needs to be more regulation and certification of electricians, plumbers and the like, in Singapore. There needs to be a body that guarantees the skills, quality and integrity of these people. Until then, do this: NEVER book an electrician, a plumber or anyone similar, via an ad in a newspaper or anywhere else. ONLY go by recommendation. That is the only safeguard there is, right now.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, please go to:http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

We are the founders of Genghis Can, a copywriting, editing and proofreading agency, that handles all kinds of work, including technical and scientific material. If you need such services, or know someone who does, please go to: http://www.genghiscan.com/ Thanks.

IMDB is the Internet Movie Database for film and tv professionals. If you would like to look at my IMDb listing for which another fifteen credits are to be uploaded, (which will probably take several months before they are accepted) please go to: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3438598/ As I write, the listing is new and brief - however, by the time you read this it might have a dozen or a score of credits...so please do take a look. My son, Ainan Celeste Cawley, also has an IMDb listing. His is found at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3305973/ My wife, Syahidah Osman Cawley, has a listing as well. Hers is found at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication prohibited. Use Only with Permission. Thank you.)

Is "Made in China" any good?

We have all seen "Made in China" stamped on goods of all kinds. Such goods are often cheap - but are they any good?

Now, most of us have heard of the food adulteration scandals, of people being poisoned, some even dying in various incidents regarding Chinese products, around the world. That, however, is not the subject of my post. Something smaller but also of significance has drawn my attention.

Today, I was shopping when I noted a food item from China marked: "Organic". It was also cheaper than the non-organic alternative on offer. Naturally, therefore, I thought it a bargain and got two packets.

As I was about to pay, I hefted the Chinese food items and noted something odd. They seemed lighter than I expected from the stated 125 grams a pack. Curious, I took the packages to the weighing centre in the supermarket and duly weighed them. The first was not 125 grams, but just 106 grams. The second was 112 grams. Both were underweight.

Now, that surprised me, for it meant something very clear: the goods, far from being cheaper than the alternative, were actually more expensive - because the weight was much less than the label stated. Thus, rather than being the bargain they seemed, they were actually a con.

So, the next time you are shopping and you have the odd sensation that your purchases are lighter than they should be, perhaps you should weigh them. You might be surprised at what you find, particularly if the goods are from China.

It seems that the Chinese food suppliers are creating a competitive advantage for themselves by advertising a lower price than the competitors, putting the same weight (as their competitors' products) on the labels, but then putting less of the product in the container than they should. Ultimately, they are creating a situation in which the customer voluntarily pays more per gram of product than they otherwise would, while convincing them that they are buying a bargain. What a con.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

We are the founders of Genghis Can, a copywriting, editing and proofreading agency, that handles all kinds of work, including technical and scientific material. If you need such services, or know someone who does, please go to: http://www.genghiscan.com/ Thanks.)

The shame of a nation.

How much should a book cost? What is a fair price? In particular how much should a book used in school cost? Think of a reasonable price, a price you would feel comfortable with.

I have learnt of a private language school, in Singapore, that disagrees with you, over the proper price for a book. A foreign student of that school was complaining that they had been charged SIX HUNDRED DOLLARS for their course books, for their language course (about a three month course).

Now, I would like you to guess how many books she received for her 600 dollars. How many books would have to have been priced fairly to come to a total of 600 dollars?

Two. That's right - she received two, quite slender, English language teaching books for her 600 dollars. One was a Student Book and one was a Workbook.

Now, this girl was upset enough over what she had been charged, but I bet she would have been even more upset to learn just how much those books actually cost. I would like you to have a guess at the standard retail price of those two books.

They cost just twenty-five dollars each, in any well-stocked bookstore. Thus, her 600 dollars of books could have been had for just 50 dollars, had she known to go to a bookstore rather than suffer the predations of the school salesman.

Singapore is aiming to be an "education hub" for the world. It aims to attract - and is already attracting - students from all over the world to come to study here and better themselves. There is nothing wrong with that aim. However, it must be implemented with integrity. Such abuses as the one I have just described must not be allowed to sully the reputation of Singapore, as an educational centre.

That girl has a tongue. That tongue will tell the tale of the 600 dollar course books to many people in the years to come. Rumours will spread about the extortionate cost of things in Singapore. There is no telling how many people will get to hear that tale. Most of the damage, of course, will be done to the reputation of the school in question. However, some of that poor reputation will attach itself to Singapore as the location of the school.

I am unaware as to whether charging 600 dollars for a couple of books is school policy or whether it is opportunism on the part of the salesman, who may, indeed, be pocketing 550 dollars for himself. Whoever is ultimately responsible, it should be stopped. Such practices are criminal in a moral light, whether or not they would be regarded as criminal in law.

Singapore speaks often of how "clean" it is of corruption of all kinds. Yet, it seems, there are dubious practices happening everyday in Singapore that appear to be overlooked. They usually centre on overcharging or exploitation of the customer in some way. To me, such dubious practices are as unwelcome as any corruption in high places might be. Society should do what it can to stamp out such abuses before Singapore becomes known not for its "clean" society, but for being a rip-off.

Truly, that private school is the shame of the Singaporean nation. It is also, of course, doing irreparable harm to the reputation of its nation. Just think of this: what if all the students at that school are being massively overcharged for books? What if thousands of students a year are being ripped-off? Just how many hundreds of thousands or even millions of people would ulimately get to hear of how they had been cheated? That hardly benefits the reputation of Singapore.

There is one way to handle this. It should be an offence to charge higher than the cover-price/standard retail price, for any goods, within the borders of Singapore. That would put an end to it.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

We are the founders of Genghis Can, a copywriting, editing and proofreading agency, that handles all kinds of work, including technical and scientific material. If you need such services, or know someone who does, please go to: http://www.genghiscan.com/ Thanks.)