Ultra-fast broadband for Singapore

The Singapore Government plan ultra-fast broadband for this city state to be rolled out nationwide in 2015 (7 years from now) to allow Singapore surfers to surf 10 times faster. The ultra-fast network is expected to cost some 1 billion dollars and whoever wins the bid to build it can expect some $250 million in public funds. To back up this ultra-fast network, another tender was called earlier in December to lay the cables for this network and for this project, winning bidders will get $750 million in public funds.

Singapore is playing on catch-up as Hong Kong already has such an ultra-fast network.

Singapore Flyer: One up on London Eye

All this "Eye this" and "Eye that" started with the "London Eye", also known as the "Millennium Wheel" which has become one of the most popular paid tourist attractions in the United Kingdom with over 3 million visitors a year.

Photo of London Eye is property of Jim

Malaysia followed up with the Eye on Malaysia, although you would only be able to see the skyline of Kuala Lumpur, not the whole of Malaysia. With Sabah and Sarawak in far off Borneo Island, that would be a tough act to achieve.

And now.....

Singapore Flyer, sequel to the London Eye and the Eye on Malaysia

Singapore wants to go one up on the "London Eye" with its "Singapore Flyer", a 165 meter (541 feet) high Ferris Wheel, 30 meter higher than the "London Eye" and will have 28 gondolas. Go up in one of these observation capsules, and you will not only see the skyline of Singapore, but on a clear day, you should be able to see Malaysia and Indonesia as well.

It now claims to be the largest Ferris Wheel in the world, but it will not be able to keep that record for long as Beijing, Berlin and Dubai are planning to have even higher ones.

When the "Singapore Flyer" is opened to the public, you can get a ride on it for Singapore $29.50. Pay more and you get food and cocktails to go with your 30 minute ride.

It seems it would be an insult to call the "Singapore Flyer" a Ferris Wheel with its cramped carriages. The gondolas or observation capsules are air conditioned and roomy and can hold up to 28 passengers who can walk around the capsules. Passengers will also not feel any movement or vibrations.

Used, unwashed woman panties can bring great fortune

China Press reported about a Singaporean hawker's helper going by the name of Hong wanting to buy used, unwashed woman panties and is will to pay up to RM690 (USD 208) as he hope that such used, unwashed woman panties can help him change his luck (so I assume he is not having such a good life at the moment and is hoping for something better. Hong apparently is influenced by a friend who paid RM460 (USD 139) only for worn, unwashed woman panties, put the worn, unwashed panties on his head, and that antic helped his friend win RW 230,000 (USD 69,495) in a lottery. That is a ratio of 50 to 1. Pretty good investment. Definitely worth the smell of the unwashed woman panties.

Some others have even better ideas. An enterprising student has started selling worn unwashed woman panties and bras online. Wonder if the used unwashed woman bras would bring such good fortune too. They definitely will be less smelly.

That gives me an idea of starting an online merchant store. Buy and sell. Any women who have worn unwashed panties (don't want bras as bras are not proven, panties have brought one great fortune. I will sell only proven products), please contact blog owner and name your asking price. I will then mark up the price and put it for sale in my Online Used Unwashed Women Panties Store (OUUWPS), promote it, and perhap make a bigger fortune than Hong's friend. And it will be continuous income as long as I am able to man the store.

Maiden Airbus A380 commercial flight from Singapore to Sydney

The A380 Airbus is the largest passenger airliner in the world manufactured by EADS (Airbus S.A.S.). It is a double-deck, four-engined airliner. upper deck extends along the entire length of the fuselage. This allows for a cabin with 50 percent more floor space than the next largest airliner, the Boeing 747-400. The A380 Airbus can seat 525 people in standard three-class configuration or up to 853 people in full economy class configuration. There are 2 models, the passenger model A380-800 and is the largest passenger airliner in the world, bigger than the Boeing 747. The A380-800 has a design range of 15,200 km which will allow it to fly from Hong Kong to New York nonstop. It has a cruising speed of Mach 0.85 (about 900 km/h or 560 mph at cruise altitude.

The Singapore Airlines (SIA) will have the honor of flying the A380-800 maiden Airbus A380 commercial flight on 25 October 2007. The maiden flight will be from Singapore to Sydney. SIA is offering seats on this historic maiden flight for bidding on eBay and it has obtained bids of almost 2 million Singapore dollars (USD 1.32 million) and has only 24 seats left as reported on 13 September 2007.

Singapore Airlines said a record Singapore Dollars 153,000 was paid for a "Singapore Airlines Suites Package" for this Singapore-Sydney maiden flight.

A search on eBay today (14 September 2007) revealed 10 outstanding bids for seats ranging from the highest bid of USD5,600 for 2 Business class seats to USD 1225 for 2 Economy class seats with 8 to 9 hours remaining before the bidding close.

Singapore Airlines said proceeds from the sales will go to charity. That will be a lot of money for charity. Lucky Singapore charities. Wonder which one will get to benefit.

Opportunity for Singapore's Vacation Rentals Owners

There is a website which list vacation rentals both for rentals and for purchase, and its site for Singapore is Singapore Vacation Rentals. Unfortunately, at the time of publishing, there are no vacation rentals listed for Singapore, so for those who are looking for places to rent for a vacation in Singapore, you may have to check back again. But not all bad news is all bad. It can also spell opportunity, an opportunity for Singapore's vacation rental owners to list their properties. There is a link on the site for you to click to register your property. There will be no referral fees, only an annual fee to pay. And for that you get your own web page where you can put description of your property including pictures, rates and contact information and a link to your personal website. You can also log in anytime to edit your page.

Singapore is a small country very short of land. I would guess the average Singaporean in this crowded city country will yearn to travel to other places in the world for a pleasant vacation. I am sure they will enjoy traveling to places like Florida where there is Epcot's Mission Space where you can enjoy (if you don't suffer from motion sickness) a simulated mission to Mars which uses centrifugal force to give the sensation of lifting off into space. You will see other things related to space there. You will of course need accommodation if you plan to temporarily leave land starved Singapore to visit Florida and for that you can try Florida vacation rentals.

Perhaps the most attraction is the famous theme park, Walt Disney World which your children will love visiting. Walt Disney World is located in Orlando together with Universal Studios and SeaWorld Adventure Park. For accommodation in Orlando, to to Orlando vacation rentals

Or perhaps you may enjoy a cruise. Miami is host to the "Cruise Capital of the World", the Port of Miami. It can accommodate the largest cruise ships and the major cruise lines are represented here. This can be your starting point for a most enjoyable cruise. But perhaps the most famous Miami is Miami Beach which most Singaporeans will be surprised to find out that Miami Beach is not part of Miami, but two separate cities, and the beach part is South Beach. Miami has been made famous by that TV show featuring the Miami Beach Ocean Rescue team rescuing swimmers in trouble. It is also popular spot for photo shots, so it will not be uncommon to see models in skimpy clothing if that is what your are interested in. It also have a very lively night life. You can find accommodation at Miami Beach vacation rentals.

The Switzerland Of Asia Shines

By Carl Delfeld

In many respects, Singapore is the Switzerland of Asia.



Begun in 1819 as a British trading colony, the Republic of Singapore was founded in 1965 under the leadership of the current Prime Minister’s father, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew. While it is only 1/5 the size of Rhode Island and three times the size of Washington D.C., it is perhaps the most strategically important global trading, finance and service nexus in Asia.



Here is why you should consider investing in Singapore.



While Hong Kong and Shanghai will argue, Singapore is the busiest port in Asia situated next to the vital trading channel, the Straits of Malacca.



Unlike South Korea and Taiwan, which are heavily dependent on the cyclical electronics industry, Singapore has a well-diversified economy. 70% of its GDP is attributable to finance and services.



Singapore’s accounting rules and regulations are amongst the most conservative in the world. For example, its rules on inventory accounting and the expensing of stock options are more conservative than those in the United States.



Trade Surplus



Despite only 1.6% of its land being suitable for agricultural activities and having to import almost everything including water, Singapore manages to have a trade surplus.



Singapore has a balanced budget, a stable currency and still manages to allocate 5% of GDP for defense.



It represents a multi-ethnic society with 77% Chinese, 14% Malay and 8% Indian.



Singapore has a parliamentary form of government, an English common law judiciary system and is corruption and drug free. Slowly but surely, a freer political climate is developing with a Speaker’s Corner instituted in 2000 and the ability to express one’s views freely anywhere with the exception of the sensitive topics of race and religion



Singapore’s educational performance is legendary. The fact that it has twice as many Internet users as television sets is telling.



Singapore’s New Resorts



Singapore is also changing with the times. To generate more investment, tax revenue, and add a bit of sparkle, Singapore recently approved the development of two large casino resorts. It is part of a strategy to reduce the country’s dependence on manufacturing and to position itself as a livelier tourism destination. Of course, there will be restrictions. Singaporeans will have to pay a $60 entry fee and the gambling areas will be restricted to just 5% of the resort. According to projections, the resorts will lead to $4 billion in investments, $3.5 billion in annual revenues, 35,000 jobs and $350 million per year in taxes and fees.



Singapore has also made great strides in patching up misunderstandings with its neighbor to the north, Malaysia, from whom it split in 1965. Tax issues, water supply agreements and transportation arrangements are all moving much more smoothly.



Singapore is adept at holding on to its manufacturing base even as several large semiconductor manufacturers such as National Semiconductor announced plans to move plants to China and Malaysia. For thirty years, Singapore has relied on electronics as the backbone of its manufacturing sector but is making the transition to a more service and R&D economy. Electronics is about 40% of manufacturing output but accounts for only 5% of employment. Surprisingly, some firms are moving manufacturing centers from China to Singapore due to its infrastructure, logistics and laws protecting intellectual property. Exxon Mobil, Shell and Sumitomo are expanding petrochemical facilities and Singapore added 27,000 manufacturing jobs last year by moving up the food chain.



After 8.4% GDP growth in 2004 and a weak start early this year, Singapore’s economy posted 12% plus growth in the second quarter and should be a solid performer over the next few years. Continued strong global demand for transportation, communications and logistics services, increasing IT spending, rising consumer spending and property prices and expanded tourism all point to continued growth.



An easy and smart way to invest in Singapore is through the Singapore iShare (EWS) which tracks the Singapore Straits index. It is up 26% over the past year and up 9.4% year to date. Its largest positions are in Singapore Telecom, United Overseas Bank and DBS Bank. Even better, it is tax efficient and has an annual expense ratio of only 0.59%. Trading at 14 times projected earnings, the Singapore market is still attractive. By comparison, the Switzerland market and iShare (EWL) is trading at 18 times earnings.



The epitome of quality and increasingly creative, Singapore is a great core holding for any global portfolio.



About the Author: Carl Delfeld is head of the global advisory firm Chartwell Partners and is editor of the “Chartwell Advisor” and the “Asia Investor Intelligence” newsletters. He served on the Executive Board of Directors of the Asian Development Bank in Manila and is the author of The New Global Investor (iUniverse: 2005). For more information go to http://www.chartwelladvisor.com or call 877-221-1496.




Source: www.isnare.com

Increase traffic: feed for your blog

Blogger Buzz: Attention FeedBurner Fans

Feed

Feed is a way of getting updates on your website without having to visit it by subscribing to the feed either through an online feed reader or by subscribing to the feed via email. In practice, feed can be set to full or short. If set to short, the feed is supposed to display the first few lines, and if this attract the attention of the feed reader, then he/she will surf over to the actual site to read the full content. However, I have noticed that when I set my feed to short, in many cases, what is displayed is only the post title, so for it to be meaningful, you will have to use a very descriptive post title.

If you are trying to keep track of what is going on in many sites and have no time to keep visiting them to see what is new, this is a great way to keep updated. You can read the feed online with sites like
www.google.com/reader (Google Reader)
(to be continued)

You can also chose to subscribe to feed by email.

Previously, Blogger only offer Atom feed. Many have been hankering for the more popular RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed, and in New Blogger, they have added RSS feed. You probably have come across the familiar icon or the less common button. Other common feed subscription button includes the "Add to Google Reader button , "Add to My Yahoo" button , "Add to Bloglines" button , "Add to Newsgator" button , and a whole lot more.

Adding a feed subscription button to your blog

I will first deal with the popular Feedburner subscription button. You will first have to go to "burn" a feed for your blog. Go to
http://www.feedburner.com/
and type in paste your blog URL. Click "Next" and Feedburner will look for available feed for your blog. For Blogger, there will be Atom and RSS. I normally chose RSS.

Blogger and Feedburner

Recently, Google have bought over the popular Feedburner and now you can integrate your Blogger feed with Feedburner. The advantage of doing this is that you can get statistics about your blog subscribers via Feedburner.

Putting links for visitors to subscribe to your blog

(to be continued)

Adding a feed email subscription form to your blog

(to be continued)


Blogger previously only offer Atom feed

Official Google Blog: Adding more flare