|
Family Money: Maintaining Flexibility
By Leslie
Wright,
Managing director of Westminster Portfolio Services (Thailand) Ltd.
Nowadays most expatriate employees are on short-term or
open-ended contracts. Permanent, pensionable employment contracts have
virtually disappeared in the name of corporate efficiency. Job security no
longer exists as it did in the past: contracts can be terminated at any
time, almost without notice.
This makes planning for your future that much harder.
But it also means you should give even greater consideration to your
short-term financial planning, just in case. All too often I meet people
who have been earning very good money on short-term contracts but have
nothing to show for it except a few hazy memories or holiday snapshots.
Important considerations
Most people on short-term employment contracts are
earning considerably more than they spend, and should be putting this
excess income to work for them effectively while they have the
opportunity.
However, one of the important criteria to bear in mind
when considering investments - especially if you’re unsure where you
will be in a couple of years time - is flexibility. By this I mean asking
yourself (or your financial advisor, assuming you have one) several
important questions about any investment you might be considering.
First, how easily could you access your money if
necessary? If you were suddenly out of work or had to seek employment
elsewhere, you might not be able to afford to continue contributing into
your savings program. Also, you’d need some cash to tide you over till
you found alternative employment. Your emergency cash reserve might be
insufficient, and you might need to tap into your investment program. Can
you?
Second, what penalties (if any) might you suffer if you
had to do so? Certain types of investment instruments carry quite heavy
penalties if you stop them early or want to take your money out. Even a
time deposit at the local bank carries penalties: you generally lose all
the interest if you withdraw your money before the contracted maturity
date. This aspect should be clearly understood before committing to any
investment program - especially a long-term savings plan.
Third, could you access your money anywhere you might
need it - in another country, for instance? Nowadays people working for
multinational corporations can be shifted around the globe at a moment’s
notice - and may not have time to rearrange their investments if these are
tied up locally. Bureaucratic procedures and exchange control can cause
delays, additional costs, or even prevent you getting at your capital
altogether.
Fourth, could you continue your investment plans if you
move elsewhere? For instance, say you had started up a regular savings
plan, and then had to move to another country. Would you be able to
continue contributing into this plan, or be forced to suspend it - perhaps
because of local exchange control regulations, or the high cost of bank
transfers, or various other reasons - and perhaps suffer penalties for so
doing, and certainly not achieve the target for which the plan was set up
in the first place?
Fifth, could you increase or decrease contributions
into your investment plans as your circumstances change? What benefits or
penalties might apply to doing so? (This is especially relevant whilst
living in a high-inflation area, where savings should be increased in line
with rising income, to offset the erosionary effects of inflation.) These
aspects of sound financial planning should be considered before entering
into any investment scheme, whether it is a bank deposit, a lump-sum
investment, or a regular savings program.
Professional advice
If in doubt, seek professional advice. Ask your
financial advisor these same questions about any investment program that
is proposed to you. Then ask yourself whether your financial advisor gave
you adequate, clear and unequivocal answers, to ensure you receive best
objective advice that will be to your benefit.
Or, as is unfortunately sometimes the case, did he try
to “sell” you a plan that would be to his or his firm’s benefit, but
doesn’t quite suit your needs or address your particular circumstances.
(Did he even ask about your needs & circumstances before making such
recommendations?)
Comparing alternatives
Although it is an important part of a professional
advisor’s function to identify and recommend to you the investment
vehicle that is most appropriate for your unique needs and circumstances
(just as it is your doctor’s function to prescribe the best treatment
for whatever ails you once this has been identified), it is, in my
opinion, perfectly in order to ask your financial advisor what alternative
vehicles are available, and how these compare with his principal
recommendations.
He should be able to justify his recommendations to you
in a compare-and-contrast exercise against alternative investment
vehicles, and have a good knowledge of these - just as a good doctor will
have knowledge of alternative treatments that may be more costly or less
effective than that he has prescribed for the particular case in hand.
The problem is that some advisors are “tied” - that
is, their firms are not truly independent, or are not in a position to
offer a wide range of investment options from a number of competing
institutions. They have secured brokerage or agency agreements with only
two or three companies and all too often tend to promote the vehicles that
pay the most commission, rather than recommend to their clients the
investment vehicles that would be the most cost-effective or most
appropriate for that client’s particular circumstances.
With so many investment plans on offer nowadays from so
many internationally-recognised firms, client-orientated financial
advisors should be in a position to offer their clients a virtually
“ideal fit” to match their particular needs and circumstances, and
address the various benefits. If in doubt about the answers you receive,
get a second opinion.
Snap Shot: Why you shouldn’t shoot slides
by Harry Flashman
My photographic friend Ernie Kuehnelt drops over his
monthly photography magazines for me to browse through and the latest one
had a section on why you should shoot slides. Having read it, this was
enough stimulus for me to start writing just why you should NOT shoot
slides!
Now remember that from where Harry stands, he shot
colour slides almost all of his professional life. Mainly 6 cm x 6 cm or
larger. Beautiful rich colour transparencies (slides) that the art
directors would throw on the light box and examine with a magnifying
glass. These were images that ended up in glossy brochures or blown up
into art posters. The directors demanded slides. They got slides and Harry
got paid for them. A “demand and supply” system.
 There
is a good reason for these art directors to demand slides. The commercial
colour scanning process to produce printing plates uses the colour slide
as a reference point to compare the final product with the original. All
very time consuming and painstakingly accurate.
Now the first pain with taking slides is that you
become very wasteful of film. Since slide film does not take exposure
inaccuracies in its stride, you take every shot three times. Once at the
exposure you think it should be, one over exposed and the last
underexposed. This is that process called “bracketing” and some
professional cameras do this automatically. One of those three will be
correct after the slide film is processed. If you are taking a roll of 36
shots, then 12 of those will be correct. Throw 24 away.
The next pain with slides is that extremes of
brightness (or darkness) are not handled well by slide film. To try and
fill in the dark bits you have to run fill flash most times and sometimes
you have to use a split filter to hold the sky back so that it doesn’t
“blow out” into nothingness. This does require a little more expertise
than just being able to load film into the camera.
Another pain with slides is that slide film is very
sensitive to the kind of light falling on the subject matter. Electric
light bulbs will produce a distinct orange cast over the slide, while neon
light gives a pale green wash to everything. There are of course
“tungsten balanced” slide films which cancel out the orange glow, but
if any daylight is involved it makes the film go blue. And you still want
to shoot slides?
So you like to shoot in low light situations using 400
ASA film. Don’t try this with 400 ASA slide film. You will get grain on
the slides the size of small boulders. Fine if the grainy look is what you
are after - otherwise, forget it!
But for me, the final and probably most telling reason
not to shoot slides is just how do you share your photographic memories
with your friends? Do you go round to their place with a light box (colour
balanced, of course) and a magnifying glass? No! Do you lug a projector
and carousel over instead? And a projector screen which is also colour
balanced. (The beige wall in the lounge room gives a colour cast to the
images as well.) No, it’s none of these. You have to take your “first
generation” superbly accurate slide to someone who has got the necessary
scanning equipment to scan it digitally and then print it out on their
colour printer, thereby cancelling out all the supposed advantages of
“true” colour and ultimate sharpness.
Fellow photographers, relax and enjoy your images taken
on print film. A medium that has an in-built adaptability to compensate
for minor exposure problems, can be printed any size, you get the finished
product back in under an hour, you can get more than one print done at the
same time and you can stick them in your pocket to show to friends.
But then, you could always carry your slides in your
pocket and let your friends squint through them into the sun! Print film
for Harry, any time!
Modern Medicine: Statins - and why you should be taking them
by Dr Iain Corness, Consultant
What are “Statins” do I hear you ask? Well Statins
are a group of drugs that have the ability to alter the course of human
history almost more than antibiotics, the Oral Contraceptive pill and the
magic blue tablets for Erectile Dysfunction all rolled in together. That
is a fairly big claim, you have to agree.
Let’s begin by going back to basics and look at what
is most likely to carry you off this mortal coil. (Yes, you are going to
die - the death rate will always be the same, no matter how clever we get
- fixed at one death per person.) In the western world the single major
cause of death is still Coronary Heart Disease (or CHD as we doctors would
acronymically like to call it). And the major predictor of whether or not
you are going to get CHD is not obesity or diabetes or cigarettes or
alcohol excess, even though these can all have an effect - but is our old
friend (or rather “foe”) Cholesterol.
A few years back you could be excused from thinking
that the Cholesterol thing was not really proven. I can remember going to
a lecture on the subject in the 70’s and leaving with the idea that
“probably” the Framingham study (the first major look at the problem)
was headed in the right direction. Now 30 years later and many multiple
patient trials later, we know without a doubt, that Cholesterol control is
the key to controlling CHD.
Cholesterol is the basic building block for the
condition of fatty blockages in the arteries which is called
Atherosclerosis. The plaques of fatty tissue can rupture sending
“clots” through the system which can block the arteries and cause a
heart attack or unstable angina (heart pain) or just a plain old sudden
death.
Now here’s where the Statins come in. They are called
“Lipid Lowering” agents which are aimed at lowering the Low Density
Lipoprotein (LDL Cholesterol) in the blood. If by lowering the Cholesterol
we can demonstrate a lowering of heart attacks, a reduction in angina and
a reduction in resultant deaths, then it looks fairly safe to say that
Lipid Lowering therapy is the way to go. Agreed?
The turning point in the cardiologist’s assessment of
the Statins was the 4S study in which 4,444 patients were studied after an
acute heart attack. The group was split in two with half getting Statins
and the other half getting a “placebo” (an inert tablet). After 5
years of follow up, the Statin group experienced a 30% reduction in
mortality.
Another similar trial was conducted in Australia and
New Zealand with over 9,000 patients followed up for 6 years, and again
there was a dramatic reduction in mortality. The stuff works!
Dr. David Colquhoun, an eminent cardiologist and
Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Queensland, recently
published a paper on this subject and finished with, “Almost all
patients who have had an acute coronary event need to be on Statins. The
challenge for clinicians is to remember to start Statin therapy and to
encourage life-long adherence. The science has been done, we need to
improve implementation of the knowledge.”
The message for you is not to stop if you are taking
Statins. You’ll live better and longer!
Women’s World: More tips...
by Lesley Warner
Another collection of tips for you this week. Please
let me have any recipes or tips that you think others might enjoy trying.
I have to admit I have not tried this first tip for
obvious reasons. Please let me know if you do; maybe it would be ok if you
live on your own, preferably on an island? Make a garlic and onion tea
with ground garlic. Pour some hot water on them and let it stand for a few
hours and then rub it in your scalp.
Burdock tea is good; rub it into your hair. If you do
it every day you have a good chance of stopping hair loss.
Honey moisturizes the skin and removes wrinkles. It
also visibly removes them before you go to a party. You put the honey on
the wrinkle, wash it off and the wrinkle goes away. It acts long term
(don’t hold me to it, I haven’t tried yet).
Egg white is very effective as a wrinkle remover. It
also makes a good face pack; my grandmother swore by it and was still
beautiful at 99 complaining at being chased around the nursing home by a
70-year-old man! It’s most effective for normal and oily skin types as
it can dry your skin. Those with very dry skin need to apply oil
afterwards.
Eye makeup remover
1 tbsp castor oil
1 tbsp light olive oil
2 tsp. Canola oil
Blend the above ingredients together. Apply with tissue
or cotton ball to remove makeup around the eyes.
Pine Toner
(I know there’s not many pine trees around here but I
like the sound of this recipe so, get someone to send you the pines.)
2 c. fresh pine needles
1 c. distilled water
1/2 c. witch hazel
For pine toner, place pine needles in small saucepan
with distilled water. Bring water to boil. Allow water to cool completely
then remove pine needles. Pine needles can be thrown away. Add witch hazel
and stir well. Pour into a clean bottle or other container. Apply to skin
with a cotton ball. Store in a cool dark place.
Lemon Toner
1/2 c. lemon juice
1 c. distilled water
2/3 c. witch hazel
For lemon toner, combine all ingredients. Pour into a
clean bottle or container. Shake well before using. Apply with a clean
cotton ball.
After cleansing pH balancer
3 c. distilled water
1/3 c. apple cider vinegar
5 to 10 drops of your favorite essential oil
Combine water, vinegar and your favorite essential oil.
Pour into a clean container. To use: moisten a cotton ball and use after
cleansing to restore your skin’s pH.
Hot oil treatment
1/2 c. olive oil
1/2 c. boiling water
Place olive oil and boiling water into a pitcher or
juice container. Shake well (until oil has broken into tiny droplets).
Massage into hair. Put a shower cap or plastic bag over your hair and wrap
your head in a towel. Leave mixture on your hair for 15 to 20 minutes,
then shampoo and condition as usual. This is another good tip and much
cheaper than the hot oils you can buy, but equally as effective.
Shaving the bikini area can be tricky but with a little
know how you can master it. Then you don’t have to suffer the indignity
of the beauty parlour or the pain of trying to wax yourself.
1. Change the blade in your razor. Your shaving blade
needs to be very sharp.
2. If this is your first time shaving this area, trim
hairs before you begin.
3. Lather the area with a good quality shaving gel.
4. Shave with the grain first.
5. Rinse.
6. Reapply shave gel.
7. Shave lightly across or against the grain.
8. Rinse.
9. Repeat step 7 until you have the area relatively
smooth.
10. Wait for a few hours to allow the area to calm
down.
11. Repeat step 7 until you have the area relatively
smooth.
12. With an electric razor, go over the area to pick up
anything that your razor may have missed. You may have a slight rash the
first time but it soon goes and if you shave regularly there will be no
redness.
Heart to Heart with Hillary
Dear Hillary,
What can I do about my lady friend who sends me
messages on my mobile phone? I appreciate the fact that she stays in touch
when she goes back to her family home in Buriram, but she only speaks a
very little English and cannot read or write it, so the messages she sends
are all in Thai. This means I have to get somebody else to translate these
for me, which can be embarrassing at times when she sends some very
personal messages. Have you any suggestions that could help me?
Trevor
Dear Trevor,
Hillary has lots of suggestions for you, Petal.
First, how long have you lived here? Have you ever thought of learning
Thai yourself? This is, “Thai” land, so your lady is working in the
right language for this neck of the woods. Secondly, you could always send
your lady to school to learn English, so that you both have some other way
of communicating other than by Braille. Thirdly, you can always change
your lady friend to a multilingual one!
Dear Hillary,
My ex-wife is sending me round the bend. She rings,
faxes or emails every day with more and more demands for this that and the
next thing. It never ends. What can I do to stop it? Before I used to
humour her but I don’t know what to do now. I don’t want to change my
telephone number and email address.
Jimbo
Dear Jimbo,
Don’t be a dumbo, Jimbo. Put the phone down,
don’t answer the emails or put a block on her email address so you do
not get them and burn the faxes. People only do these aggravating things
because they get a response. When the response is apparently zero they
eventually get the message and stop doing it and move on to bug someone
else. Pray that it is soon. You can also offer to pay for the reception if
she will get married again - to someone else.
Dear Hillary,
My husband works for one of the large multinational
companies. He was transferred here 12 months ago, and the children and I
joined him 4 months later, because we had school years to finish overseas.
I really enjoyed life here to start with, going to restaurants and
exciting new places to discover, even though his work took up most of his
week. Recently he has been going to Bangkok for business and having
meetings running till late in the evening and then spends the night there.
I was prepared to accept these meetings till last week when the maid
showed me lipstick on his shirt collar. There are so many beautiful women
in Thailand, and now since I am well past 40 I am no longer in the bloom
of youth. Do I confront him with the evidence and accept the consequences
or just let it go?
Dismayed
Dear Dismayed,
From the evidence you have, I do not believe you
have enough to have a full-blown confrontation. Confrontation generally
brings on anger and all this is counter productive in your case. I would
certainly let your husband know that you do not like being left alone
while he is in Bangkok and you can say that the maid has told you how
difficult it has been to get lipstick stains out from his shirt collars.
Remember that you are the “lady of the house” so you have rights too.
The company does not own your husband and it is not being unreasonable to
ask him to spend more time at home with yourself and the children. Next
time he has to go to Bangkok say you will go too and see the response.
Dear Hillary,
I have a very embarrassing problem. Windy belly. This
is OK during the day as I can generally find somewhere to let a little one
slide, but at night in bed it can be so noisy it even wakes me up. My
problem is that my relationship with my girlfriend is now at the stage
where she is making moving in noises. I am worried that if she stays for
the night she will be making moving out noises after she hears my bowel
moving noises. Have you any suggestions for me Hillary? This is a very
real problem.
Willy
Dear Windy Willy,
You do indeed have a problem, don’t you Petal. You
only mention the thunderous noise. What about the aroma? That could be
even more off-putting. Hillary really believes that you have to try and
cure the excess bloating before further romancing. Go and see a doctor,
perhaps there is something wrong with you that can be helped with a tablet
or two. In the meantime it may help to avoid gas producing foods,
including beans, broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower,
eggplant, radishes and onions. Avoid filling your stomach with air and gas
by not drinking carbonated drinks. Dairy products can have this effect on
many people too, so try stopping all dairy foods for a week. That includes
milk, cheese and butter to see if this stops the problem. Have you
considered a butt plug?
Antiques, are they genuine? Signs of wear
by Apichart Panyadee
The old netsuke, those made in the golden age between
the late 18th century and the middle of the 19th, show over a century of
natural aging and wear to their surfaces. This will include, since the
pieces were in everyday use, wear to any raised portions and particularly
to the cord holes; the himotoshi. This wear is almost impossible to
reproduce realistically and the forger, if he considers it at all, fails
to make the smaller cord exit-hole display more wear than the larger hole
which accommodated the knot. If the holes were originally of similar size
one will display more wear than the other.
 This
modern resin copy of a Japanese ivory hunter was made in a flexible rubber
molding and carries considerable conviction. The reproduction is artful
with well-engraved patterning, weight and color.
In addition, a patina builds up from constant handling
and exposure to air, which is never perfectly reproduced. As ivory ages it
darkens, but in a haphazardly fashion. The staining with sepia dye on
reproductions is consistent, unrealistic and generally with an unpleasant
pinkish tinge.
General characteristics of the modern netsuke are the
crudeness of the carving and the use of black staining to emphasize
details such as facial features to cut down on carving time. They
frequently bear signatures in crude characters, albeit finely engraved.
The subjects are usually those that can be carved with the minimum
expenditure of material and time and include human figures and simple
animals such as snakes and birds.
Despite the fact that the netsuke is no longer a useful
object, honest examples are still being made and there are a number of
superb modern carvers whose pieces are avidly collected. As their work is
very expensive and obtainable only through particular galleries, the
chance of forgeries of their work being offered for sale is small. But no
doubt they will come onto the market with time.
The only advice that can be offered here is the same as
with early netsuke. The collector must be familiar with the carvings of
the artists of personal interest. One of the greatest of these modern
artists, Masatoshi, has written a biography with aid of his mentor Raymond
Bushell, and amongst the wealth of pertinent information is the
astonishing fact that a satisfactory polish can take up to twelve hours’
work and six different materials. While it is unlikely that all earlier
carvings had that amount of time expended on them, it is a fact that a
modern forgery will not have the deep patina obtained through hard work.
In fact, so rapidly have many of them been reproduced that fragments of
ivory scrapings and dust can often be found in the crevices.
 The
base of the hunter bears the signature of Seiko. The basket was engraved
on the underside to disguise the already appearing stress cracks.
The genuine netsuke sits comfortably at the waist and
presents itself logically. A horse, for example, should hang in an upright
position. This is rarely considered by the faker, who places the himotoshi
without thought. The time a buyer spends working out how the netsuke would
sit is time well spent.
The placing of the signature can also be used as a
guide. On a genuine example it was never placed where it could be seen
when in use and if the netsuke is viewed head on and then turned up to
view the underside, the signature should appear the right way up. The
forger is frequently unaware of this.
The larger Japanese carvings in walrus and elephant
ivory made after the market for indigenous netsuke collapsed in the 1860s
have not been reproduced in resin to any great extent although it is
difficult to say why this should be so. Large Chinese carvings of
Immortals and the Emperor and Empress abound, so there can be no technical
reason for reproductions to be limited to netsuke or small okimono size.
Only one large piece has come to notice, purchased in an auction by
someone who had not viewed the piece, which was added to a lot consignment
at the last moment.
Social Commentary by Khai Khem
So you want to be a writer?
Next to the defeated politician, the writer is the most
vocal and inventive griper on earth. He sees hardship and unfairness
wherever he looks. His agent doesn’t love him. A blank sheet of paper is
an enemy. The publisher is a cheapskate. The critics are all philistines.
His wife doesn’t empathize with him. The public doesn’t understand
him. Only his bartender pretends to lend an ear. And of course there is
the lifelong, horrifying expense involved in getting the words out. This
may come as a surprise to readers who assume a writer’s equipment is
limited to a sheet of paper, a desk full of pencils and a bottle of
whiskey. But it goes far beyond that.
The problem from which all other problems spring is
that writing takes up the time that could otherwise be spent earning a
living. The most humble toiler on Wall Street makes more in a month than
ninety percent of writers make in a year. A beggar on the street, seeing a
writer shuffling toward him will dig deep into his rags to see if he can
spare a dime. The loan officer in the bank will hide under his desk to
avoid saying no yet again to the wild-eyed and desperate figure looking
for something to tide him over until he finishes the great novel. He knows
that a scribbler is not a good credit risk. ‘Writers’ and ‘money’
(like military intelligence) are not two words which should be included in
the same sentence.
Money does occasionally turn up in a writer’s pocket.
Its stay there is short. Not because of any foolish extravagance, but
because of the demands of the profession. The first of these is the need
for peace, which is not easy to find these days. City living disturbs the
concentration. That traditional haunt of the urban writer, the garret, has
become unsupportable. The landlord is always hammering on the door for the
rent, and in the brief moments between his visits, the cockroaches make
grating noises and the dripping tap bores into the brain. Immigrating to
the country is the solution. Look what it did for Thoreau.
Of course it can’t be a wooden shack in the middle of
nowhere. That would be too much peace. Writers need a place to go when
work is done, where a sympathetic ear can be found - ideally another
writer. Who could be more sympathetic? That’s how writer’s colonies
are founded. Not long after they are established the editors, real estate
operators, owners of funky restaurants follow and peaceful country life
disappears. The favorite watering hole sprouts ferns and a wine list, and
whole place goes to hell. It’s time to move on again.
Research, to the outsider, probably suggests a few
hours in the library or a half dozen phone calls. Maybe that was all it
took in the old days. These days writers are expected to produce work that
is totally authentic in all its details. Imagination and a few blobs of
color are not enough. The reader needs to know the writer has been there.
Writers in the throes of research can often be seen in the world’s most
uncomfortable and dangerous corners of the earth. One meets writers in the
old quarters of Jerusalem, steamy El Salvador, the stews of Hong Kong, the
brothels of Ho Chi Min City, the ovens of the Australian outback, and even
crouched over a notebook in a Pattaya beer bar. After a few months of this
and a brief but costly stay in hospital for treatment of exotic diseases,
he is technically ready to start work. The ream of blank paper waits.
Pencils are sharpened, and a saga of epic proportions swirls around in his
head.
But can he get the bloody thing out of his head and
onto the paper? He paces up and down. He stares out of the window and
monitors the progress of a fly on the wall. Eventually he recognizes the
problem is a severe case of writer’s block. The words aren’t ready to
come out yet. A catalyst is needed, something to start the creative juices
flowing. Of course whatever the catalyst is, the writer will not find it
in the room where he works.
Cures for writer’s block are many and various and
usually involve getting into debt or trouble. Women and drink are old
favorites. Writers are usually too ingenious to take the straightforward
approach to women and drink. They also need a change of scene as well. A
few days in Paris, London or New York, draining life’s cup to the dregs
until the credit cards are cancelled can perk up a blocked writer in no
time at all. Hemmingway once described this as the “irresponsibility
that comes in after the terrible responsibility of writing”. Of course
in most cases, the writing hasn’t actually been done yet.
After the block has been unblocked, it’s time to call
in all the modern technology so that the torrent of words can flow as fast
as thought. The primitive pencils must go and be replaced by the latest
desk-top computers and software packages. This means ambushing the bank
officer for another loan. Finally, when the words begin to come out, the
specter of a deadline has become a constant companion. Calls from an
editor that used to be friendly now take on the characteristics of a
haunting. A thinly veiled threat is made that if the manuscript is not
delivered soon, the advance will have to be returned.
The period between finishing a manuscript and seeing a
book is bleak. No one calls anymore. It’s too soon for galleys; too
early for reviews. It’s also too late to change anything. The work has
vanished and post-natal depression sets in.
Now is the time thoughts of plunging into new
flesh-pots are born. Take another trip without the notebooks, look up an
old flame, start a new hobby. Whatever the scribe decides on to cure the
blues will certainly require another trip to the moneylender, because no
consolation worth having comes cheap. What the heck. Better to live one
day as a lion, than a thousand as a lamb!
Roll over Rover: Crates and cages
by C. Schloemer
Crates are not mandatory in every situation but they
can be very helpful when used in moderation. They must be used humanely.
Dogs can go nuts if left in a crate more than six consecutive hours day
after day. Like us, they have active minds that demand companionship and
stimulation. If you must leave your dog for long stretches, enclose the
dog in a kitchen or bathroom, buy a fold-out dog pen from the pet store,
and/or hire a dog sitter or impose on a friend to break up the monotony of
the day. Given more space the dog can play a little and move about while
it waits for the owner’s return.
Dogs are sociable creatures and pack animals. When
leaving a dog alone it is best to place the animal in a dimly lit area to
encourage sleep. A helpful tip is to leave the radio turned on low to a
classical or easy-listening station. Music and the sound of human voices
will sooth the dog and its isolation will be more tolerable. When
departing, avoid grandiose exits which your dog will interpret as “Oh,
no! They are leaving me again”. Stay cool during arrivals. Good manners
start with the owner. Be casual about departures and your dog will begin
to react with equal cool. Avoid corrections for anxiety behavior such as
chewing or messing. That only increases the dog’s anxiety and the
chances for the behavior to be repeated.
What’s the difference between a crate and a cage?
Good question. Cages are strong and are used specifically to confine and
house the animal. They are usually large, strongly built and provide
adequate space and facilities for exercise, food and water as well as
cover and shade. Sometimes they are referred to as “dog-runs”
Crates are not designed to cage dogs. Crates are
supposed to replicate a den area. Since dogs are instinctively drawn to a
den, many of them find comfort in a crate. The problem with crates arises
when owners confine their dogs in crates for long periods. Undesirable
behavior patterns will develop in a dog that is confined to a crate for
hour upon hour. Frenetic barking, overly enthusiastic jumping, excited
nipping, and chewing are all signals that the dog does not get enough
freedom and social contact with people.
There are some long-term effects of over confinements
which can develop and will be difficult to correct once established. Too
much isolation produces extreme anxiety in canines and the result will be
hyper behavior. While a dog is confined, he is not learning to behave
well. When finally permitted some freedom his pent-up energy will explode
and he’ll run around the house like a lunatic. Yelling and chasing makes
matters worse. When faced with this excess of energy, some owners resort
to more confinement and the vicious cycle is repeated.
Used with care, crates can be used during sleep time,
for a puppy which has not yet been house broken, for a dog which is
destructive when left alone, or for safe confinement when transporting in
a car. If a dog is recuperating from an illness or surgery, or an
accident, the crate is also ideal place of confinement.
A Slice of Thai History: The Growth of Bangkok
Part Two - Expanding inland 1860-1910
by
Duncan Stearn
As foreign trade grew, it became necessary for the
government to dig canals in order to shorten the length of time it took
for rice barges and the like to bring exports from the Thai hinterland to
the port of Bangkok. Therefore, between 1860 and 1910 some 15 new canals
were constructed to facilitate this growth in trade. At the same time,
road construction also continued, although generally it followed the lines
of the canals.
The port area grew apace after 1865 with the formation
of the Bangkok Dock Company, supported by British capital. Interestingly,
Bangkok’s growth was largely restricted to the banks of the Chao Phraya
River rather than extending very far inland.
New building tended to concentrate close to the river
and the major canal feeder network, giving Bangkok a kind of snaking
expansion. This style of growth continued well into the 20th century.
Any inland incursions that did take place tended to
follow the line of the great canals, leading to the eventual expansion of
major traffic thoroughfares such as Silom and Rama IV.
In the 1880s, Thailand was an attractive alternative
for many Chinese migrants. They could earn twice the money available in
China, especially those who came from the southern provinces. The Chinese
diaspora was significant throughout most of Southeast Asia, but it was
particularly influential on Thailand and its expanding economy.
According to sources, in 1883 wages in Thailand were
allegedly three times higher than in Japan, a country perceived to be on
the fast track to modernisation during this time.
During the 1880s, a Danish consortium was given the
task of installing a horse-tramway. It was electrified and extended in
1893, the year the first railway out of Bangkok (to Ayutthaya) was opened.
In 1898, the Danes appropriated an American-backed
electricity supply company and, after amalgamating with the tramway
operation, ran both until 1950, when the Thai government took control.
Rice, the classic Asian staple, was the main export
earner for Thailand, representing 75 percent of the foreign exchange
earnings of the nation in the period leading up to the start of the First
World War in 1914.
Around 1914 the population of Bangkok was estimated at
some 360,000 people, roughly half of them Chinese, or of Chinese
extraction.
It was the Chinese who provided the bulk of the
labourers (as, for example, in the construction of the fledgling railway
lines) but who also were the mainstay of major and minor business.
The significance of the Chinese as a source of cheap
labour as well as creators of industry cannot be downplayed. Most of the
major industries and light manufacturing operations were in the hands of
the Chinese. Equally, Chinese employers far preferred hiring Chinese
migrants rather than locals.
Prior to the 20th century, Bangkok’s population
increased at around one percent per annum. Basically, there was no real
incentive for people to relocate from the rural regions to the city, as it
was perfectly possible for villagers to earn a comfortable and not
strenuous living from the land.
By the 1920s, Thailand was selling over one million
tonnes of rice a year to foreign markets. During the 1930s, even with the
availability and expansion of a new rail network, around 80 percent of
Thailand’s rice exports were still being delivered to the capital by
waterways.
Apart from rice, highly prized teak wood was also a
major export earner and contributed to the expansion of Bangkok.
As both European and Chinese businessmen established
sawmills in Bangkok, the raw product was collected in the forests of
northern Thailand. In 1896, the Thai government created the Royal Forestry
Department in an effort to re-establish control and bring a form of
regulation to forest management.
The third major revenue earner for Thailand and the
government was tin mining. This took place mainly in the south of the
country with the resultant ore being exported direct, rather than going
through Bangkok. However, apart from being a major revenue earner, tin
mining was also one of the first major industries to be placed by that
great reformer, Prince Damrong, under direct government control.
The Message In The Moon: Sun in Leo-Moon in Libra
by Anchalee Kaewmanee
The Crowd Pleaser
Natives born into this Sun-Moon combination are
friendly and charming. People are drawn to their sunny personality and
easygoing disposition. These individuals truly thrive when they are
holding center stage or in a position that requires diplomacy. Blessed
with grace and a calm manner which helps to still conflict and dissention,
others sense this immediately and are drawn to them.
Both men and women born into this combination usually
have remarkably soft, gentle voices and fine manners. Unwilling to battle
through life, they develop a charismatic persona which invites cooperation
from others. Skilled in the art of negotiation and willing to compromise
within reason, natives of this sign are usually endowed with a sense of
justice and prefer to create situations where everyone wins.
Like most Leos, these individuals have a romantic and
idealistic view of life. Those rose-colored glasses that they wear may
often prevent them from seeing the world as it really is, however. And
when cold reality intervenes, they become confused and anxious.
Inherently kind, trustworthy, and benevolent, the
Leo-Libra expects that everyone else possesses those qualities as well.
This can often impair a judgment call. They eventually discover that many
people do not live up to expectations. Fortunately this sign is endowed
with a wonderful nature, and oodles of charm so a little na๏ve
innocence often brings out the best in others and works to the advantage
of the Leo-Libra.
Leos have strong leadership drives, but it is not easy
for the Leo-Libra to be a boss. They really hate to infringe on someone
else’s territory and they fear hurting other people’s feelings. They
also prefer to be liked by everyone and usually are very popular. So
naturally it’s hard for them to give orders. Therefore, they often
don’t. That natural diplomacy of the Libra Moon finds inventive ways to
get things done in the form of a request or suggestion.
Decision-making is also difficult for this combination.
Often these natives will take a survey of everyone else’s opinion before
they form one of their own. And when opinions clash, they are often
baffled. But their refined nature makes them reluctant to become
aggressive. Luckily this sign usually defers to the Leo sun personality to
eventually come to important decisions. Leo’s have acute perception and
accurate hunches.
Vanity is a very strong factor in this Sun-Moon
combination. These individuals often judge themselves by the way others
see them, rather than how they see themselves. They tend to use their
close friends and associates as parameters and are often swayed by
criticism. Too much criticism can throw them off balance and make them
inhibited or self-conscious. They must learn to maintain a strong and
healthy self-image by remembering that their own opinion is just as valid
as the next person’s, and stop paying so much attention to what others
may be thinking.
An abundance of natural charm assures the Leo-Libra
many friends and a crowd of admirers. On the other hand, all those adoring
fans can drain precious energy and time. But a need for flattery and
approval is strong in this combination and when these natives feel
unappreciated, they run the risk of lapsing into states of indecision,
anxiety, and worst of all, lethargy.
Both Leo Sun and Libra Moon are comfort and
leisure-loving, so naturally the combination will demand time for
relaxation and sensual pleasures. But laziness can become a way of life,
especially if a native feels he or she is not getting enough attention and
recognition.
This combination will excel in professions that offer
glamour and prestige; film, the arts, advertising, and design are perfect
choices. These people are well-suited to all fields involving human
relations, and settling conflicts is their specialty. A career in
diplomatic service is tailor-made for this sign.
Loyal and constantly in love, the Leo-Virgo will
nonetheless love to flirt. This should be seen for what it really is; only
a way to bolster pride and vanity. Although they may consider themselves
great lovers their affection usually belongs to one special person and
these individuals are usually happy and stable in life-long relationships.
Coins of the Realm: Banknotes to be auctioned in London
by Jan Olav Aamlid
President - House of the Golden Coin (http://www.thaicoins.com)
On the 25th of April a very important sale of World
Banknotes took place in London. Spink, a numismatic firm established in
1666, conducted the auction with 832 lots representing banknotes from 150
countries.
Spink of London also has offices in New York City and
Singapore. Until recently the company was owned by Christie’s, but is
today owned by a Singapore investment company Abaca Capital. One of the
investors of Abaca Capital is the former lawyer of Nick Leason, John Koh,
according to the Times of London. Abaca Capital paid around 600,000,000
baht for the numismatic firm Spink.
 The
lot with the lowest estimation in the sale comes from Germany. It is a
Wehrmacht issue, a set of the 1944 issue comprising 1-, 5-, 10- and
50-Reicmark, value at right and center, eagle and swastika at lower left.
These banknotes were used as clearing notes for German armed forces, and
according to the Standard Catalogue of World Paper Money the value is
about 1,700 baht. This set is estimated in the auction at 1,200 to 1,800
baht.
From Palestine we find the lot with the highest
estimation in the sale. From 1922 to 1948 Palestine was under British
Administration. During this period the Palestine Currency Board had six
different banknotes issued, 500 mils, 1-, 5-, 10-, 50-and 100 pounds, in
the period of 1927 to 1944. All the banknotes are rare, and according to
the Bank of England only six of the 100-pound notes are outstanding, and
only four are known.
 A
proof obverse of a 50-pound note is offered with the estimation of 240,000
to 300,000 baht. The note shows the Gazer mosque at Acre. Several other
proofs from Palestine are offered, and the notes have historically
interesting motifs like Rachel’s tomb, the Dome on the Rock and the
Crusaders tower at Ramleh. The proofs are all very rare, and the lowest
estimation is on a proof of a 500-mills note showing Rachel’s Tomb,
36,000 to 48,000 baht.
The notes from Palestine were all produced by Thomas de
la Rue Company Limited of London, the same producer that made most of the
Thai banknotes printed from 1902 until 1969. On the 24th of June 1969 His
Majesty the King presided over the opening of The Note Printing Works of
the Bank of Thailand, and from this time most Thai notes, with a few
exceptions, have been printed in Thailand.
In the London sale there are 18 lots of Thai notes
printed by Thomas de la Rue in the period of 1925 till 1968. A specimen
1,000 baht note printed around 1948 is estimated at 120,000 to 150,000
baht. The note was printed and delivered the Bank of Thailand, but never
distributed. From 1944 till 1992, 1,000 baht notes were not in
circulation; the highest denomination was 500 baht.
 The
reason for not distributing the 1,000 baht note I have been told was to
keep inflation down, and try to control bringing Thai money illegally out
of the country. On 11th August 1992, on the occasion of Her Majesty the
Queen’s 60th Birthday, the Note Printing Works issued 1,000 baht
denomination notes for the first time since 1944, and it is the highest
denomination ever issued in Thailand.
The 1,000 baht in the auction shows the portrait of His
Majesty the King to the left and the Temple of Dawn at center. It can not
be considered to be a really rare note as the Bank of Thailand does have
bundles of them in their safe. But the note in the auction does have the
serial number of A/5 000000, and is perforated CANCELED. I understand the
ones with the Bank of Thailand are notes with regular numbers and with
signatures, which were ready to be put in circulation. It is not likely
that the notes will ever be put in normal circulation due to the fact that
the notes were printed more than 50 years ago. They are not up to
today’s standards when it comes to security and I belive collectors
would be willing to pay much more than face value for this beautiful note
showing the young portrait of His Majesty the King.
Another interesting Thai note in the London sale is a
1-Baht note from King Prajadhipok, Rama VII. The note is dated 28th of
February 1935, only two days before King Rama VII abdicated. The note is
estimated at 12,000 to 15,000 baht. King Anand Mahidol, Rama VIII, became
the new King on March 2, 1935, and a 1 baht note with his portrait is
offered. The only difference of the obverse of the note printed during the
reign of King Rama VII and King Rama VIII is the change of the portrait.
The note from Rama VIII is also estimated at 12,000 to 15,000 baht. Both
the notes are rare specimen notes numbered 100 00000, so do not mix them
up with the regular notes that can be found in the market from 500 baht in
decent condition.
Animal Crackers: What do dolphins communicate?
by Mirin E. McCarthy
Dolphins are joyful, playful creatures that spend the
majority of their time playing. They love to surf waves, ride bow waves of
boats, leap into the air for fun and enjoy precision aquatics where they
dive over, under and past each other, fast and fabulously, to rival any
aerobatic team. All the while giving high pitched whistles, squeals,
squeaks, chirps, clicks and slaps that are fascinating to hear.
It was at Tangalooma Island, a family resort in Moreton
Bay off Brisbane, Australia that I first witnessed their amazing behaviour
up close. Groups of wild bottlenose dolphins come in for free handouts of
fish there (as they do in many other places in Australia and New Zealand
on both the east and west coasts). The rangers set up underwater
microphones attached to amplifiers on the jetty.
 Later,
groups of us waded out into the water to hand feed them fish and gently
pat them. They were still playing exuberantly and once in the water,
without the need of microphones, you could hear them distinctly whistling.
Each dolphin has an individual whistle and they use
other dolphins’ personal whistles to call their attention. A young
dolphin will create its own signature whistle using sounds similar to its
mother’s.
Dolphins are extremely and almost constantly vocal.
They are capable of two kinds of sounds. A specialised mechanism in the
nasal passages just below the blowhole enables them to emit short,
pulse-type sounds. These sounds, called clicks, can be produced in such
rapid succession as to sound like a buzz or even a duck-like quack.
The clicks are beamed forward, with the oily melon
serving as an acoustic lens and the bony forehead as a reflector. The
clicks are used as a form of sonar, in which echoes of sounds from
surrounding objects enable the animals to detect obstacles, other
dolphins, fish, and even tiny bits of debris in the water. This ability is
termed echolocation and is found in a few other animal groups, most
notably the insect-eating bats. Some scientists have speculated that
dolphins also use the sounds to deliver an acoustic shock for stunning or
killing small prey.
Deeper in the respiratory system, presumably in the
larynx, dolphins produce another type of sound, a high-pitched whistle or
squeal, which is capable of rapid pitch changes. The whistles differ from
the clicks in being essentially single tones. Apparently the dolphin uses
the whistles to communicate a particular emotional state and thus
influence the behaviour of other dolphins. Typically, the squeals denote
alarm or sexual excitement.
Do not be mislead though, dolphins are not all about
all play and unconditional love however; they are known to harass sharks
and even ram the odd unsuspecting fearful adult they take a dislike to.
Robin Williams the actor being a notable example. Menstruating women are
advised not to go into the water with them, as they are likely to be
rammed by a male dolphin.
Amazingly, they never display aggression to children or
adults with disabilities. They are simply unique creatures able to sense
human emotional, even sexual states, telepathically.
It seems that two-way lines of communication are open
and receptive in the presence of dolphins. They fill us with so much joy
we quickly experience our loving feelings.
Thanks to Tangalooma Wild Dolphin Resort
www.tangalooma.com/start.htm, Australian Explorer for travellers
www.australianexplorer.com.au/dolphins.htm and Dolphins Down Under, Bay of
Plenty, New Zealand www.dolphinswim.co.nz/index.htm for help with this
column.
|
