What do you guys think of Wheat beer? Have you guys ever drank Wheat beer before? If you have no idea what a Wheat beer is, then I should explain a little further. Normally, a beer is made from barley. So what they do is get the malts from barley and this is later processed into beer. However, for a Wheat beer, a portion of the grains involved is wheat. Not completely wheat but just perhaps like about 20% to 50% wheat in their brew and they taste rather different from traditional barley based beer. If you have never drank Wheat beer before, you will find the taste of Wheat beer a little lighter in taste but in my opinion, more refreshing. However, please understand that there are a lot of varieties of Wheat beer. They ranged from spice based Wheat beers to ale like beers.

The most important aspect of Wheat beer is that it should be refreshing. So a Wheat beer normally isn’t that strong in alcohol content. Its main purpose is made for easy drinking. I myself I have a few Wheat beers before and I like it. The most popular choice of Wheat beers in Singapore is Hoegaarden. Yes, it’s a sissy drink and only teenagers drink them. But I like it. I am not too sure how to put it but there is something delicious about Hoegaarden. I think it has something to do with the spices in that beer. Anyway, if you guys have been reading this blog, you would remember that I had attempted to make a Hoegaarden clone a few months back. It failed badly because the beer kit ingredients were not fresh and it turned out much darker than what a Hoegaarden should be. For the taste wise, I think I could have overdone it with too much spices. It made the beer taste sticky and weird.  I guess the reason why people (like me) like Wheat beers is because it is easy to drink. So if you add in too much spices, you will change the taste till it feels like something else.

So for my next Wheat beer brew, I will be making something simple. Just a can of Cooper’s Wheat beer ingredient kit, Cooper’s Beer Enhancer 2 (Malt, Dextrose and Malto-dextrin) and perhaps a Wheat beer yeast. I believe that I will be adding some Saaz hops into the brew as well. From what little information I have on the Cooper’s Wheat beer, I discovered that this Wheat beer kit may turn out to be a little too sweet. That Saaz hops should help balance out the extra sweetness from the Beer Enhancer 2. And truly, the aroma and flavour from the Saaz hops will really make the beer taste great.

Well, it is time for me to go order the stuff needed for this brew. And I should be brewing this weekend. Hopefully.

So are you guys worried about this? Oh, sure a lot of us aren’t really interested in buying shares and stocks and all those and yes, it is a rich man’s game but in the end, it will still affect us. Why? Because everything is interconnected somehow. Especially when it comes to money. And when the rich gets burnt (and of course a lot of smaller investors too), the effects can still be felt from the ground. When investors start to tighten their purse strings, that simply means that less money will flow into our economy. And when banks too start to reduce their risks, it also means that there is less money to spread around. That’s a major problem for Singapore’s economy which is very dependent on foreign and local investments.

So I guess we will all be affected. Especially in Singapore where the businesses and employers are famous for being miserly and also famous for being greedy and selfish with no responsibility to the public, it will only be worst. For the past decade or so, foreign labour have been replacing Singaporeans on all sectors of our economy. In the recent years, this trend has accelerated to the point where they are everywhere in Singapore. So, if you are a Singaporean and you are not one of the elites, it is time for you to consider your opinions and start saving money. The government is not going to help you one bit. You will have to expect a higher cost of living without an increase in your salary.  Seriously, if your salary doesn’t fall, you should consider yourself lucky. Employers in Singapore will take very opportunity to cut corners and using the current economic environment is the most convenient.

Well, what to do? Just take it and hope for the best. A recession is coming very soon. We can’t do anything about it. We just have to live through it.

Seriously, I am not being paranoid or anything but it is better to be on the safe side. The recent Melamine poisoning milk scare in China which caused world wide panic and baby deaths in China had started a while back, way in 2005. That’s more than 3 years these people (China Milk Supplier, mostly the middlemen) have been poisoning consumers and just for the sake of making a few quick bucks. Of course, they started with small amounts and then proceed to increase the amount of Melamine in their milk to make even more money. Just imagine, these people are more than willing to kill little children and babies to make some extra money. What do you think they will be willing to put in their foodstuff for adults? The worse of it all is that the Chinese govt officials did not inform the public about this when when they knew about it and did so only when they were exposed by the New Zealand government, was it reported in the news. I am pretty sure that a lot of people have been consuming contaminated foodstuff in China, just that there were cover-ups and most were not reported in the mass media. I have friends in China telling me that even eating in pretty expensive restaurants can be dangerous. Just recently, one of my friends opened up a bottle of supposedly high quality wine, only to find that it tasted like horrid vinegar.

I had just checked the local supermarket and a lot of China made food produce have been removed from the stores. I think it is a good move by these supermarket chains as we really have no idea which ingredients have been replaced by “cheaper alternatives”. I am not willing to risk my health to save a few bucks. Definitely not willing to risk the lives of my loved ones. Of course, the other products may be slightly more expensive than those made in China, but unless you are dirt poor, keep off China made foodstuff for the time being. Even if you are dirt poor, you can surely find cheaper stuff from Malaysia or even Indonesia.

I really hope that China can get their act together and we can move on. I find that the actions of these people really deplorable. I don’t have any problem with people making money. I mean, by all means, attempt to make as much money as you can. However once you cross the line and stuff poisoning others “for money”, then it is murder. Of course, the Chinese government themselves are not much better when they are doing their best to cover such misdeeds up. Confidence in China made products have really gone down and I don’t think it is an unreasonable reaction by consumers. If they want consumers to start buying their products, then they should crank up the quality control and start punishing the high ranking officials for allowing this to happen. If not, then I am sure that a lot of people would not buy their products and it will hurt them even more in the long run.

Well, that’s about it. From where I am watching the F1 show, all I can hear is some rather loud noise, a quick flash of a car zooming by and nothing. Of course, I am watching the show from the barrier area (ground) and not from the podium or the grandstand. You really cannot see much from here. And me being not a fan of racing cars or racing itself, I don’t understand the excitement at all. When the cars first start to zoom by around the track, everyone was so very excited. You know, they start talking and prancing about trying to look at the cars like it was some sort of miracle happening or something.

I am sure the feeling from the grandstand or the podium is different. At least there, you can see the racing cars coming. Well, maybe for about 10 seconds before they disappear yet again. And before the cars arrive, you will definitely hear it coming. It is extremely loud. From where I was secretly watching the F1 show, you will have to cover your ears when those F1s pass by. It is like standing next to a jet engine. I really pity those F1 staff who have to monitor around the race track the entire time. Even with protective ear-muffs, I am betting that those won’t help much at all. You can even hear the racing from inside the hotel! Mind you, it drown out the sounds from the Hi-Fi system there. Just imagine, how loud it is for those very close to the track. Luckily for me, we are not located near the race track. If not, today I will be writing to you guys with my ear drums all banged up good and maybe even bleeding.

Yes, this is what my experience in the Singapore F1 show has been. Noisy. That’s all I can tell you. I can’t even have a good look at the vehicles that were racing. They were fast that’s for sure. Some were red, some blue, some green and all were noisy. And what’s worst is that this F1 show will be held for 5 consecutive years. Those people staying or working near the Marina area will be the most affected. Anyway, let’s hope they hope the next Singapore GP somewhere else where it is less crowded. But please for god’s sake, don’t hold it near my flat.

Remember one of the greatest game ever created - Colonization? Yes, it’s Sid Meier the same person who created yet another of the greatest game Civilization. If you have no idea what I am talking about, well, you are probably too young to remember. That or you had not been born yet. Anyway, it’s about a game where you take control of some European power and create a colony in America. Then you build up your colony, fight with tribes, other imperial treats, trade stuff, get rich and after you are powerful enough, start trying to gain independence from the original colonial power. Then you will get a big fight and after you win, you will feel happy and stuff like that. Basically what you normally don’t find in games nowadays. It isn’t about graphics, fast action, stupid water effects, bullet time or all those nonsense. It is all about building your colony and in the end, all about having fun. And most of these games I have played are all about that. Not too sure why would people want to play the others. But I guess sometimes, one man’s poision is another man’s meat, whatever that means.

Now, the latest version is build on the Civilization 4 platform, which means the graphics are about the same, as well as the user interface and navigation controls. So if you are familiar with Civilization 4, you should have no problems playing Colonization. However, please understand that this is a complete game by itself and thus you will still find a lot of difference between Civilization 4 and Civilization 4 Colonization. It won’t be just a mod of the original Civilization 4. You can surely find a lot of such mods from Civilization 4 fans online. This is designed by the game developers themselves.

I really cannot wait till I get my hands on this game. It has been like a decade or more since the first Colonization was released. And now they have combined both the gaming elements of 2 of my favourite games! Although it is based on Civilization 4, you don’t need Civilization 4 to play this game. This is a standalone set. I am sure that I am loving it once I get hold of the game.  I remembered playing the original for hours and hours on end. Yes, it is very addictive. Just imagine, it comes now with multi-player options!

If you are would like more information, please visit the Firaxis Games website.

The below image tells it all:

Don’t you just love such a nifty script which helps you filter off all the stupid spam comments you get in your blog? And don’t you just hate it when spammers go around and continously attempt to spam you, even after they have failed? I mean, don’t they know that their attempts have been unsuccessful and no matter what they do, it is still going to be unsuccessful. Not to mention, nowadays blog comments need to be approved first by the editor before it can be posted. So it is very unlikely the editor would be willing to allow spam in their comment box right?

Anyway, if you are looking for an effective way to cut down on the number of spam you have to remove, try Akismet. It works for me.

I am here to introduce to you yet another company listing I have done. This time it is for car or vehicle leasing/rental. So if you or your company is looking to lease vehicles in Singapore, you should take a look at the list I have created.  I am very sure it is not comprehensive but I guess it can be a good start for anyone looking to lease cars. The thing about leasing vehicles is that sometimes it can be rather difficult to get the right vehicle with the right budget at the right time. This is due to the fact that there are always seasonal demands for certain type of vehicles and most leasing companies have only a limited stock of vehicles. So unless you are real lucky or if you are willing to sign a long contract (2 years or more), you will probably not loan that “dream” car you always wanted. So it is much better to have a wide choice of rental companies for you to choose from.

I think the most important thing for anyone when they are looking to rent vehicles is the budget. How expect a million dollar car for a rent of a few hundred bucks per month.And another important factor is how old is the vehicle. You won’t want to be driving a 5 year old car which have been in constant use since there is a good chance that it will break down and break down often. I mean if you lease a vehicle, I am sure you want it to work for you, instead of spending all it’s time in the workshop. You never know what the previous driver(s) are doing and from what I see on the roads, some drivers are really crazy when it comes to braking, changing gears and speeds. More so if the car is not theirs. I would prefer to get a newer vehicle with a lower milege than a vehicle which is more powerful. It is obvious why.

For companies, they should get a very trusted provider and look long term.  It is very important to get a reliable leasing company so transportation is extremely critical for businesses nowadays, even if the rental fees are higher. Sure Singapore is well connected by the public transport, but if speed is of the essence, then you will need car replacements and car repairs fast. Your staff cannot be waiting for their vehicles to be repaired or in the long run, you will probably lose efficiency.

Anyways, please take a look at Singapore Car Rental and Leasing Companies. Hope that they will come in useful one day.

We have often read horror stories about people getting stalked online nowadays. If you have been online for quite a while, you would agree that there are in fact quite a number of cases of cyberstalking. In fact, it is getting pretty common to have stalkers in forums, blogs, social networking sites, chatrooms and so on. I guess these are the places which are popular and hence, the best people for stalkers to seek their prey. And some of these stalkers are pretty IT savy and are using all sorts of methods and techniques to stalk their victims. Sure, we see laws against cyberstalking but they are usually ineffective and merely for show only. They are not effective one bit.

Anyway before you lose all hope, I have a few ways you can protect yourself.

1. Use different usernames. Stalkers usually do an easy search on Search Engines for their victim’s username and stalk them throughout the Internet. My simple advice is to use different usernames which are not in any way related. Or if you have been already been stalked, simply create a new username for yourself.
2. Never use your real name/address/birthday/number/email address anywhere. Not matter how safe you feel, you must always understand, the Internet is never safe. There are all kinds of wackos and weirdos on the Internet and they will find all ways and methods to find more information about their victims and to stalk them further. Giving them a little information here and there, it will just get worse.
3. Never respond to stalkers. Stalkers usually want attention, just like little kids. In fact, I am fairly certain all stalkers want attention. So just don’t respond to their threats, remarks, insults, jeers, abuses and whatever and they will get bored. After a while, they will just fade away because they are not interested anymore. It’s the response from the victims that these stalkers crave. Boredom is what usually drives these stalkers and boredom will drive them away. Do not let them get to you or else they will win.
4. Keep track of all the stalkers comments/remarks and what he/she says. Record everything (and I mean everything) down.
5. Don’t let them get to you. Seriously, they are nothing, just loney people who probably have too much free time on their hands. Just don’t worry about them and let them continue their way or let them pull off all their hair trying to make you get pissed. Poetic Justice.
6. Go offline. Go take a long stroll at the park. Then go to the mall and then watch a movie. Come back home, go and sleep. The next day do something else instead of sitting in front of the computer. After a few weeks, you will have found your stalker trying to find another victim and you would be free.

Hope that these tips will help you. If all else fails, report to the authorities and see whether they can help you. They can trace the IP addresses of the stalker and hopefully get him/her to stop disturbing you.

Eh? Do you think so? Just look at Singapore. It is small, overcrowded and the streets are narrow. Worst of all, they are not meant for racing. They have never been designed for fast moving vehicles to travel on and when we are talking about the GP, we are talking about super fast vehicles. Even those road legal super cars are considered slow when we are comparing them against those vehicles meant for the tracks. So now, they come up with an brilliant idea to host the F1 show in Singapore at night. Yes, it is a night race. Again, imagine driving a super fast vehicle at night when there will be at least a little less visibility. Sure you will have flood lights but are they really that good for drivers? I am sure that there are a number of drivers who will still find problems driving at night.

How about the racing fans? People come to F1 shows to watch fast moving racing cars. They want excitement. They want speed. They want all the fancy vehicles. But the show is at night.  And due to the road conditions and the visibility of the area, I am sure that the drivers will be driving slower than what they usually do if it was held in the day. Oh, and how about the road? Are they used to the narrow, winding roads in Singapore? After driving in big open spaces in real race tracks in other countries, we would want them to drive their vehicles on roads surrounded by buildings, malls, overheard bridges and big circular things called the Flyer? I think even those drivers used to street circuits will find Singapore streets rather different from what they have driven on before. And this will definitely impact on the excitement in the show.

Well, let’s hope for the best. We have 4 more years to go. If this time the show isn’t exciting enough, perhaps our million dollar ministers can think up of better ideas to make the show more exciting next year. I am sure that they are definitely free enough to think of such things, considering that they don’t do much after all. And they are the best talent money can buy. Now if they can’t think of brilliant ideas to help Singapore succeed, nobody can.

I really don’t understand how these people can live in this world.  I mean if you sell fake watches or fake clothes to make a quick buck, sure go ahead. In does not kill anybody or anything. Of course a few very rich people will get very pissed and their feathers start to stand up but that’s about it. Not really much of a harm to society. But if you selling milk powder (especially for young kids or for babies) and you are adding some harmful chemicals to it, then that’s something very wrong with you. Seriously, if you are the one doing that, you got to go and have both your brain and your conscience checked. I am very willing to come and open up your brains for you and have a look see inside. Perhaps something is rotting in there.

The fault in the China milk scare should lay with the government officials, the milk provider middlemen and the company that manufactures the milk products. The milk provider middlemen are the ones who add the chemical so that’s a no-brainer. The company is at fault for acting like nothing has happened and trying to cover it up and by not stopping the products from being released to the public even when they knew that the milk products had problems (due to numerous complains). The government officials are also at fault to not pulling the milk products off the shelf and for not telling the public when they knew about it. And kudos to the New Zealand government for reporting to the press and the central government about this. If not, I am quite sure many more would have died. If I have to point my middle finger at someone, it would definitely be the government officials who had the power to stop this early but didn’t do anything. They could have saved a lot of children and their families from misery but alas, did squat. This is not unexpected I guess. China doesn’t have much accountability to it’s people anyway, so I guess they don’t really bother much. As you can see, it was the involvement of a foreign government that forced the hand of the central government to stop the sales of the contaminated milk products.

I don’t really know what to say regarding this. It is shocking to see that such people still exist in the modern world. They left thousands of sick children and 4 dead babies and we don’t even know how many more will die from this poisoning. Come on, it’s food for god’s sake. And it’s food for young children and babies. I am very very disappointed with the world and with China in particular.