More Street Circuits in F1: Good Or Bad?

If you're living in Singapore, Im sure you know what is the latest buzz that is currently happening in town now. No, Im not talking about next week's Hari Raya, but rather the distinguished sound of the fast and furious Formula 1 cars. This weekend, the country is currently hosting the latest race in the Formula 1 World Championship Race calendar for the first time ever on the streets of Marina Bay and it will also be the first night race in the sport's history. As an avid Formula 1 fan myself, I am very excited about it and Im sure even if you don't follow the sport closely, you are feeling just as excited as well.

When I first heard about the possibility that the race might happen in Singapore last year, I thought it was just another one of things that would never materialise, but of course I was wrong about it. So you can imagine how happy I was when I heard it will indeed happen, and even more exciting, it will be held under the dark clouds of the night. Another first about the race here is that it is the first ever street circuit race held in Asia, and that will be the topic that I would like to discuss about today. Now, street circuits isn't a particularly new thing in F1. Over the years, we have seen a lot of race being done on street circuits, with the most popular one being at the Monaco GP. Apart from Monaco GP, we have seen a lot of new and some old street circuits come and gone, either because there are plans for other street circuits race being held in other countries or because the country that used to host a street circuit race have now build a permanent race track that are more suitable for racing events. The question I guess is whether more street circuits is actually good for the sport. Just like the normal race track, a street circuit also have their positive and negative points. The negative side of it is that first of all, there is the safety concern. Being a street circuit, it means that the race will be much closer to the people and to the surroundings which could be dangerous, both for the drivers and the spectators. If we take the Singapore GP as an example, with it being held in the middle of the city, there are so many buildings and landmarks around the race track and should there be any accident, that would create a very dangerous situation despite having precaution measures such as the safety barriers.

Another concern about having the race on a street circuit is that the race might get boring for both the spectators and drivers alike as well. We have to bear in mind that the streets on the road was created only for the purpose of everyday transport, and not for high-speed cars such as the F1 cars. That is why you will see a lot of street circuits having a type tight and narrow tracks, such as the one in Monaco which means that there will be fewer opportunities for the drivers to overtake during the race, but it also means that there will be no room for error as far as the drivers is concerned. Just one mistake and you might be out of the race. So during a street circuit, you will not usually see a lot of overtaking action but most probably, incidents such as car crash. For some people, they like to see a race which has a lot of crashes while others overtaking. For me, I prefer to see overtaking action more than crashes. Its like watching football. You dont like to watch players get injured but rather, you will like it more if they do some tricks or score a goal. Even for the Singapore race, there is not much opportunities for overtaking, but that is how most of the street circuits layout are design for. The good thing about street circuits at least for the driver I supposed is that it punishes mistakes, like Ive said earlier, which will only help to improve their driving skills. The biggest winner in having a street circuit in my opinion is probably the country/cities hosting the event.

Let's take the Singapore GP for example. We are not a country that is particularly well known as a sports hub as compared to countries such as Paris or London. We have never organised a sports event of this magnitude, so getting the rights for the first-ever night race in the series is a big coup for the country and it will definitely bring in a lot of revenue for us. I heard that the race will bring an estimated $150 million into the economy and considering what the Government has paid for the event, which I believe is $90 million, it is definitely worth it. We should also remember that the race is being held in the middle of the city which means that there is entertainment close by after the event and it also means that the business in the city area will benefit from the race. Well that is what they are expecting but I heard that as a result of the road closures, most of the business there has reported a drop, but there was before the race had actually begin. Im sure things will start to pick up this weekend when the race reaches its climax. The hotels here were expected to be fully booked for during the whole period of the race, but that was not what I heard. Im not sure if this is true or not, but I heard most of the fans who come here to watch the race are staying in the hotels in JB instead, because it is much more cheaper quite understandably, considering the fact that they already had to pay huge sum of money to watch the race itself. Afterall, they are much more interested to watch the race than to have a look around of the country.

At the end of the day, the answer to the question on whether more street circuits are good or bad for the sport is debatable. It depends on how you look at it. As far as I'm concerned, more street circuits are good for the sport but to a certain extent. It would be boring to have the race being held at the permanent race tracks everytime. It is definitely good to bring something new to the sport, because let's be honest, watching the cars going past each other for almost 2 hours get sometimes be boring, so sometimes the backdrop to the race track can be a huge distraction from the cars, in a good way. At the same time, I also think that having the race on the streets are stunts to promote tourism in the city, but for the people who are living in the city that the race will be held for the first time ever like Singapore will be a welcome news Im sure. I guess you can put it as a win-win situation for all parties if you like. One thing for sure that we Singaporeans can be proud of is the fact that we are the first country in the world to hold a Formula 1 night race, and that is something that nobody can take away from us. I just hope the race on Sunday will be a spectacular one, and to demonstrate to the critics that street circuits can sometimes be entertaining to watch.

Counting down to Syawal: Part 3...

Alright people, this is going to be the third part to my 'Counting down to Syawal' series which will focus on issues that are related to Hari Raya. Today's topic is going to be about which mode of transportation do you prefer to travel during your Hari Raya visits. When I say transportation, it does not include public transports such as the train or bus though. I know that some of you prefer to book a private bus, while others the lorries, so let's take a closer look on the different types of transportation that are popular with the majority now.

Now, some of you might think that whatever method of transportation you prefer would not matter much. I think you are slightly mistaken if you think it as that way. Which kind of transport you use to travel with is sometimes important because if you pick the right one, you could visit more house on a particular day than you had previously plan to, or you could bring along your friend or relative to travel around with after you visited their home. Let's take the bus for example. I think it is becoming more common to see families booking a bus to travel with, and Im not just talking about those private mini bus, but Im sure you have seen some of them travelling on the bigger bus, like the coach bus for example. I think travelling in the bus is a good thing because first of all, it is comfortable. I mean you can enjoy the ride with your loved ones in the cool surrounding of the bus, and if you are tired or anything, you may have a comfortable nice nap on the seat. Nevertheless, booking a bus is not cheap. So you may have to consider other mode of transportation if you are trying to save your money. Lets move now to the lorries then. The lorries is not as comfortable as the bus if you are seating at the back, but it is much more cheaper than the bus. If it is a big lorry, then I think you can fit in the same number of people in the bus. The bad thing though is that some of the lorries are not protected at the back. This mean that you are open to the rain if there is any changes to the weather, and this will not be good as you will probably need to hold an umbrella while travelling or you will need to wait for the rain to stop before proceeding to the next house.

Just for your information, I had a similar experience once. My family and I was on our way to Woodlands when it started raining in the middle of the journey. Unfortunately though, we were still somewhere on the highway and there was no bridge for us to take cover from the rain. The nearest underground bridge was about 20 to 30 mins away. We did though brought our umbrellas for emergency use and we had no other choice but to use it. It was not a fun experience at all because I had to hold on to the umbrella very strongly as the winds were very strong. I was just worried that the umbrella would slip out from my grip but fortunately, nothing of that sort happened. We did reach the underground bridge soon but the rain had not stop. Im glad that the torment was over but I didnt like the fact that my entire jeans had been wet drenched in rain. But still, I have to say that the lorries are my favourite transport to travel with during Hari Raya because you are able to be out in the open if you are sitting at the back and this is a good thing because I always like to wish Selamat Hari Raya to any other families which I spot travelling on another lorry. Then there are the cars. It is undoubtedly the most efficent way of travelling, but I just feel it is kind of boring if you are traveling with only your parents and siblings when you can do it with your entire family.

Im done giving my views on the topic. I would love to hear from you though. Which is your preferred choice of transportation during Hari Raya? Tell me please. Till then, take care.

My babysitting experience...

I know that I am not used to share about my personal life here, and that is because Im the Blogging God, so I can do whatever I want. However, there is a problem currently that is happening to me, which I would like to share with others, and I dont think there is any other group of people which I think would be better to share my problem with than you, my fans. I just have to let it out so that I will feel much better. The problem that I am having right now is that I have been babysitting my cousins for a few times now, at first I was fine with it, but after a while, it has become an irritating experience.

First of all, I would just like to tell everyone that I love kids very much and I always thought that babysitting would be an easy thing to do, well at least for the newborn babies. Unfortunately my cousins have grown up a bit. The whole thing actually started from my aunt. She currently has 4 kids, all boys, the oldest of them is in Primary 3, the second one in Primary 1, the third in nursery and the fourth, well he will start schooling next year. Now their father, which is of course my uncle, doesnt earn much with his job, so you can imagine how difficult it is to support his family, especially when he is having 4 young kids and he is in his late 40s. So his wife, which is my aunt decided to help in and so she got a job at some factory I think. In the past, she only went to work during the night and came home in the morning, but right now, she she also going to her work during the days as well. Obviously, she isnt required to come during the days, but because she wants to earn extra income, hence the decision. The first time she had to do that, it was because she was asked to came down, but after that, she is going on her own accord. So with both her and her husband out working, there is nobody to care for her child so she has no other choice but to dump them here for me to look after. During the first few occasion she did that, I had no problem with it but it has now.

I cant exactly remember how many times she had dumped her children here, probably about 4 to six times now. I will tell you why I am unhappy. First of all, I think she is taking advantage of my kindness for her own benefit. She knows that I am a guy that is difficult to say no to something, so that is why she keeps on asking me whether I am willing to babysit her children. She knew the answer is going to be yes, in actual truth, I am not willing at all though, but I dont know why it is difficult for me to say no. It is unfortunate that we live close to each other, just one bus stop away, which doesnt help my cause. So usually, she comes at around 11 in the morning, dump her children here, go to work and come back 4 or 5 in the afternoon. You might say, what's so difficult looking after a few kids, well Im sure you know that all kids are not the same and unfortunately, my cousins behaves like some small little devil, especially the second and the third one, so I always have problems handling them. If given a choice, I rather take care of a small pet, such as the cat than taking care of them. It is fine with me if my aunt wants to go to her job once or twice every month, but not every week though. I dont know if her main intention for working in the afternoon was because she wants to earn extra income or whether she wants to meet up with her friends. I hope its the former because I hope she knows that my house is not a welfare home for her to dump her kids as and when she like.

My situation has been made tougher by the fact my grandfather is living with me now as well. It tough for me to multi-task, especially when I have to babysit and elderlysit at the same time. During the morning and early part of the afternoon, I am mostly at home alone. Even when my sister come back home in the afternoon, she hardly tries to help with anything. I would like to think Im the most hardworking member of the household after my mum. I would also like to say that my grandfather is also not the typical kind of grandfather that most of you have. He is just difficult to handle with too. I know some of you are saying how could you say such a thing about your grandfather, but I have known him for 18 years so I think I should know what I am talking about. The good thing about all this is that my aunt is giving me some money for my service, but I dont think it is worth the job I am doing. She pays me pennies, the most that I have ever got was $5. It's during times like these that I really wish I had a job. As I am writing this post right now, the little devils are at my home for the second consecutive day. I hope they wont give much problem like they gave me yesterday. God help me please.

I hope this will be the last time I have to babysit them, next month will be the month of Hari Raya, so I would like to think that I should be kept busy to be doing my aunt's dirty works. After October, I think my life will get back on track after almost a year. Im not sure what will happen but as long as it is not babysitting them, I will be fine. Put in me Tekong or anywhere else that I will not have to see their faces again. Well till then, I got to take care of the little devils.

Counting down to Syawal: Part 2...

Before I start, I would just like to let you know that this is a continuation from my previous post "Counting down to Syawal" in which, as you can read in that post, I will talk about issues that are related to Hari Raya. The first topic was about whether you think that there is a need to buy everything new to replace your old stuff such as curtains or carpets in preparation of Hari Raya, but my second topic for the series will talk about everyone favourite part of the celebration, well at least for the children, and that is the green packets or in malay we like to call it 'duit raya' which means raya money.

I know that the Chinese also have their own red packets as well but since Hari Raya is coming up, lets just focus on it. I would like to know at which age do you think someone should stop receiving the green packets. From my experience, I can say that the 'official age' is at 18 years-old. I think most people will stop giving green packets to someone who have completed their secondary school years. That was what I noticed from my previous Hari Raya experience. When it is time for you to leave, you will have to shake the hands of the elderly, and they will then give you the green packet. Now for people of my age, Im sure you would agree with me that it is becoming a much more awkward situation for you to shake hands with the elderly, especially with someone whom you dont really know. If you are fortunate, he/she will give you the green packet without asking your age or whether you are still schooling or working, but if you're not, then they will ask your age or whether you are still a student. The definition of student though varies with different people. Some of them will give you even if you are not schooling in a secondary school anymore, but some of them will stop giving once they hear you are studying in a higher institution such as the Polytechnic or ITEs.

Then there is another group of people, and these are the ones who doesn't ask you anything when giving out the green packets. They will try and make a guess on your age or whether you are schooling anymore by looking at your body size or your looks. I think you should have some friends who do not look like most of the people their age. They might be 18 but their physical appearance might give them the impression that they are only 15 or 16 or otherwise. They could either count themselves lucky or unlucky because it all depends on what others think of them. If they are lucky, then they will receive the green packet without any question asked, even though most people of their age doesn't get it but if they are unlucky, then of course they will not get any even though technically speaking, they are 'eligible' to get them. You dont expect them to ask the guests why they didn't received any green packet because that is just a rude thing to do. You still can though 'cheat' the guest of their green packets. If you are going to somebody house that you dont really know of, it could be your parents friend, and you are really sure that they have no idea of what your age is or where are you schooling, you should ask your parents to start a conversation with them about their child's education, and then tell them about yours, by lying to them. What I mean is, you should tell your parents beforehand to lie about your age or your education status, if it is being ask by someone that you dont really know of by telling them that you had yet to graduate from secondary school when in actual truth, you have.

Well, thats it from me. Last year, I still managed to get some green packets, it was not much, but still who doesn't love money. Im not sure about this year though, maybe I will get, maybe not. I think this year, even if I get, it will mostly be $2 especially with the current uncertainty in the global economy. $2 is better than having nothing, so if anyone gives me money, I cant say just say no. If I can get at least 100 bucks, I would be grateful. Till then, share your views on the topic.

Conservative Aso chosen as Japan PM...

Japan's ruling party Monday chose conservative Taro Aso to be the country's next prime minister, tasking him with steering Asia's largest economy away from recession and running in high-risk elections. Aso, 68, an outspoken former foreign minister, easily won the party's leadership election, paving the way for him to succeed Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, who stepped down three weeks ago amid plunging approval ratings.

The flamboyant but gaffe-prone politician - who supports public spending to revive the Japanese economy - won in his fourth try for the top job in the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), defeating four other candidates. Aso saluted his rivals as he was proclaimed the winner at the vote inside the LDP headquarters, where the walls are filled with giant portraits of other leaders from the party that has ruled Japan almost continuously since 1955. Aso received 351 out of the 527 votes, party election chief Hideo Usui said. Kaoru Yosano, the minister for economic and fiscal policy and a critic of Aso's economic policies, trailed in second place at 66 votes. The other candidates included former defence minister Yuriko Koike, who was the first woman to seek to become Japan's prime minister. She came in third with 46 votes. Aso enjoyed strong support in struggling rural areas as he has promised to use public money to stimulate the economy, a break from a long push in the LDP for free-market reforms, which Koike had pledged to bring in. Rivals accused Aso of putting Japan's ailing finances further at risk, and popular former prime minister Junichiro Koizumi, who championed economic reforms during his 2001-2006 tenure, openly backed Koike.

Aso is thought likely to take advantage of the moment to call snap general elections - possibly for as early as late October - in the hope of thwarting an increasingly popular opposition. But some pundits doubt whether the LDP leadership race did much to incite enthusiasm among the general public. The leadership race came as Japan wrestles with the impact of the global financial crisis and a scandal over pesticide-laced rice that was served to hospital patients and schoolchildren. Aso is expected to be installed by parliament on Wednesday. General elections must be held by September next year, but calling a snap poll could also be a risky strategy for the LDP. The party last year for the first time lost control of the upper house of parliament, and the Fukuda government's approval rating last week stood at a mere 15.6 per cent. His popularity plunged after he raised medical costs for the elderly, whose growing number is badly straining public finances. The opposition has promised to scrap the medical plan and Health Minister Yoichi Masuzoe hinted recently that Aso would do so as well. At its own convention Sunday, the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan gave another two-year term to its leader Ichiro Ozawa, 66, a veteran political tactician who stormed out of the LDP in 1993.

News reports said that Aso would likely give posts to his defeated rivals in a bid to ensure party unity, including keeping Yosano as fiscal and economic policy minister. The other candidates were military expert Shigeru Ishiba and younger-generation reformist Nobuteru Ishihara. [End of report]

Well, I dont think I have to mention that it was an expected result, one that I welcome very much. I have always supported Aso right from the start, that is why I am very happy with the result. There was never any doubt in my mind that he would lose in the contest because quite honestly, there wasnt much competition from the other candidates. I have to admit though that I am surprise by how well Yuriko Koike, the only female candidate in the contest did. She managed to finish in third place, even though the number of votes she received was relatively small, as compared to Aso's. I think she will be one to watch for the future. Anyway, back to Taro Aso, even though his LDP party's popularity has plunged over the last few years or so, as a result of the failure from his previous two predecessor Shinzo Abe and Yasuo Fukuda, he remained a largely popular guy with the Japanese people. I think the reason why he is popular with the people is because they are able to relate well with him, not just as a politician, but as a normal individual as well. If you ask me, I think he should be the Prime Minister a long time ago, after the departure of Koizumi. I mean as you can read from the report, this was his fourth try in his bid secure the top job in LDP. You just got the feeling that he would eventually be the leader of the party sooner or later, and his time has finally arrived.

Having secure the leadership position now, he can now focus his effort in rebuilding the country, which will not be an easy task. The foremost problem that he would most likely to deal with first is the country's sagging economy. Inflation is at all time high and the economy hasn't been doing well ever since Shinzo Abe took over from Koizumi. Aso advocates an increase in public spending and tax cuts to stimulate the economy, which as you can read from the report is not something that is popular with most of the people. It is difficult to say whether it will work or not, so Im not going to judge it until I see the true results of the move. You can also read on the report that the LDP is expected to call a snap election, as early as next month. Now, I have talk about my views regarding having an early snap election in one of my previous post, so I wont comment much on the issue. I just think it would be a very risky move on LDP's part. Im not sure if majority of the Japanese people share the same view they have on Aso along with LDP. What I mean is that they might like Aso, but I dont think the same could be said on LDP's part, not with everything that has happened when Abe and Fukuda was in charge. The party has already lost control of the upper house of parliament last year, and to lose again in the election would be a huge blow.

As far as I am concerned, the LDP should not rush into having a snap election. They should not expect to get the support that Aso is receiving from the people as quickly as they would like to just because they have chosen him to lead the party. The plan could backfire and any gains they have made to get back the trust and support from the people could be jeapordised. I think they should wait for at least a few more months before calling an election. They should give Aso the time to do what he needs in order to gain back the public trust before they decide to do anything else.

*The report was taken from AFP.

Counting down to Syawal...

Greetings to all of my fans out there. How are you doing? I hope everyone is doing fine and for those of you who are fasting, continue to do so. As you all know, we only have a few days left before Ramadan leave us once again, so use every time and opportunity given wisely. After Ramadan, the Muslims will of course be celebrating Hari Raya Aidilfitri and over the next few days leading to Hari Raya, I am going to talk about some topics that are related to the celebration.

My first topic is going to be about new accessories. Today, I want to ask you whether you think it is necessary to buy new accessories such as furniture, curtains or cushion covers everytime when it comes to Hari Raya. For me, I dont really think that it is necessary because I dont see why we should be wasting our money, especially during the current surrounding, where everything, from food to electricity bills are going up when we can use the old ones, considering it is still in good shape. I think about 90% of the people who come to our home during Hari Raya only do it once, and that is during Hari Raya itself, so I doubt that they will remember if we are using the same stuff from the previous year, unless you have any pictures taken from the Hari Raya last year and place it in the living room or something for everyone to see. Actually to be honest, there is nothing for you to be embarrass about if you are planning to use the same stuff to decorate your house for this year. Afterall, it is your house and you can do whatever you want with it. I know that it is important to give your guest a good impression of your house, but I dont that is the reason for them to visit, but rather it is because Hari Raya is an opportunity for everyone to get together and get updated on what has been happening over the course of the last one year or so.

Well, accessories and decorations aside, lets move on to talk about something that is much closer to your heart, something that you probably bring along for most part of your Hari Raya visits. Yes, I am talking about your 'baju raya' or raya clothing of course. I dont know about you, but for me, it is a must to buy them every year. I just dont feel very excited if I dont have a new baju kurung every year. It just doesnt feel right. I am willing to use the same 'kain samping' every year but not the baju kurung. Some of you might argue why the need to buy a new one when you only use it for a few times during Hari Raya. You are in someway right in saying that but there are other occasions that you can use it again such as going to the Friday Prayers or any religious related event. I think it is much easier for the guys to select a baju kurung but for the girls, it is much more complicated because from my experience, most of them prefer to have it tailored to their liking and most of them prefer to have at least 2 sets of baju kebaya which is understandable I guess.

Alright, I have shared some of my views regarding today's topic. I would love to hear from you now. Do you agree with me or do you have a different opinion. Please feel free to tell me. Hari Raya is coming in a few days time and I have yet to buy my baju kurung for this year, got to rush down to Geylang soon! Until then, happy fasting!

The Blogging God will help to inject in new tags...

For Immediate Release

Office of the Press Secretary

September 20, 2008

As most of you probably know already, the world is currenly experiencing trouble times in the economic sector. It is very unstable at the moment and the world is trying to come up with every kind of steps they could think of to ease the situation a little bit. The core of the problem seem to have started from the U.S. and the U.S. government is now trying to find a bailout plan to prevent the problem from escalating further.

Here in the blogging sector, the Blogging God has also noticed a similar problem, but it does not involve anything with the economy, but if left unresolved, it could be facing the same fate as the global economy, which is a total meltdown. The world major central banks has pumped in a lot of cash into their financial market to stabalize their own situation, but the Blogging God has decided to pump in new tags on blogs for anyone who needs them. He understand that for some of you, having a chatbox that is not active is not a good sign because you feel that nobody is reading your blog. You will start to panic and you will start asking people to tag your blog because if it does not start happening soon, you will start to think of closing down your blog. That is not the worst thing though. For him, there is no person that is more pathetic than the ones who tag their own blog using a different name and continue to tag again using a different name, thus creating a situation in which he/she is talking to him/herself to attract attention. These are the people who are suffering from, what the Blogging God like to call, the 'Blog-al Depression.'

The Blogging God does not wish to see such thing happening not especially to his friends and as such, he has came out with a rescue plan of his own. He will be offering unlimited tags for those who really need it so that those people will at least have a sense of feeling that their blogs are being visited by others and will then feel better to continue blogging. Therefore, feel free to ask him to tag your blog anytime you want. This offer will end in 1 week's time.