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Family Money: Investment styles
By Leslie
Wright,
Managing director of Westminster Portfolio Services (Thailand) Ltd.
Financial advisevs and their clients often show more
interest in seemingly tangible matters, such as past performance figures,
and the likely direction of the markets, than a manager’s investment
philosophy.
However, it may come as a surprise that many investment
professionals regard a fund management group’s investment philosophy as
more important than past performance.
Like an individual’s philosophy, a fund or portfolio
manager’s investment philosophy can give an insight into how he will
handle future events. The debate about the suitability of a particular
investment management style has gone on for years and will no doubt
continue.
An investment philosophy should remain consistent over
time. It should point to empirical evidence of success over the medium and
long term, be easily applicable to all markets, and filter through to
everyday investment practices. Investment style can basically be divided
into two camps: value and growth.
Value versus growth investment
The value investor aims to buy shares the virtues of
which he or she believes the market has not fully appreciated, in the
belief that at some point the market will recognise the error of its ways.
A likely consequence is that the value manager buys into low-rated, higher
yielding sectors.
At the opposite end of the style spectrum, growth
investors are more interested in the path of future profits than the
bottom line that a company is delivering.
The growth investor’s theory is that the way to make
money is through share price rises that come from companies achieving
market-beating and above consensus earnings’ growth. For the growth
investor, dividend income is generally irrelevant: growth companies will
usually need to retain their profits to fuel future growth.
Whereas value investors often hold old economy stocks,
operating in mature businesses, growth investors tend to concentrate on
new economy companies, looking for the next sectoral growth theme.
Managers at each end of the spectrum need to assess at which point assets
that meet the criteria of their preferred style become unattractive.
Many value stocks are cheap for a good reason: they
exist in a mature business and have little scope to increase revenue
through volume growth while intense competition prevents price rises.
Productivity increases and mergers & acquisitions activity appear to
be their only saviours and hence, without this major corporate surgery,
they will become value traps - that is, cheap but staying cheap.
Growth investors need to beware paying excess prices
(known as Equity Risk Premium, or ‘ERP’ for short) for future earnings
growth that ultimately disappoints. Growth stocks that ride a wave of
euphoria can become torpedoes (valued at levels that overestimate their
future earnings prospects) and crash once the market recognises this.
Until recently, value investors have been losing out to
their growth counterparts. The peak time for value investing was in the
first half of the 1990s, as falling interest rates raised the value of
future dividend income.
The balance moved firmly in favour of growth investors
from 1998 until early 2000 when the technology, media and telecoms (‘TMT’)
boom ran its course. Although any graph reflecting this growth is
inevitably weighted towards the US, which accounts for about half the
total global market capitalisation, the pattern was repeated throughout
the world.
Growth investors were happy to buy into companies with
high valuation multiples paying little or no dividends. For them, the
promise lay in the earnings that would be achieved once the cash burn
period of marketing and setting up was over.
Investment managers that adopted the value approach
could only shake their heads at the dizzy valuations given to companies
with no track record and miniscule revenues - the dot.com firms being the
prime suspects - and you’ll forgive my mentioning that I wrote
disparagingly about these in March 2000, shortly before the bubble burst.
The disbelievers lost over-enthusiastic clients, and by
the time the TMT bubble burst there were few who would willingly nail
their colours to the value mast. The euphoria of greed had taken over -
just as the panic of fear since then has reversed the situation.
Since March 2000, growth style has suffered a setback.
The earnings growth hoped for from TMT evaporated with a slowing world
economy, higher short-term interest rates and hugely expensive 3G telecom
licences. The previously highly-favoured ‘themes’ of TMT have
performed especially poorly over the past two years.
Momentum style
The two-year flurry of growth between 1998 and 2000 and
the subsequent downslide, led to another style of investment being adopted
by some investment managers and day traders.
As its name suggests, the momentum style of investment
management means going with the flow: if a share is rising rapidly, then
it is bought - and in the TMT sectors there were plenty of rising stocks
and initial public offerings (‘IPOs’) for momentum investors to jump
aboard.
But the danger of this style is it becomes a
self-fulfilling prophecy if too many investors jump on the bandwagon. That
is what happened in spring 2000. Catching that turn is the key to making
momentum investment work - no matter whether the market has risen too high
or fallen too low.
The rapid see-saw between growth and value as the best
approach underlines the fact that no single polarised investment style is
right all the time.
This does not mean that sticking to one investment
style will put an investment manager out of business. A number of pure
value managers have managed to retain more clients than their
disappointing performance suggested because the clients like their calm
& consistent approach. A single style approach does have the appeal of
consistency; but the same argument could be applied to a stopped clock,
which will always be right at some point in the day.
The continued volatility and uncertainty that we’re
seeing in the markets - with predictions of recovery one week followed by
predictions of disaster the next - suggests that a pragmatic mixture of
growth and value may offer the best alternative.
This trick seeks to optimise the upside and minimise
the downside, with a balance between value and growth.
It’s not an easy trick to work, but theoretically,
while this approach would miss the peaks of each style, it should also
avoid the worst of the troughs and ultimately lead to greater stability of
returns. Focusing on unrecognised growth is often referred to as “growth
at the right price” (GARP) and allows the manager to take advantage of
trend shifts as they occur.
When looking for an investment manager, it is always
worth remembering that no matter what style your investment manager
adopts, he doesn’t have a crystal ball or a magic wand. Performing
miracles is the province of the Vatican, not investment managers.
Snap Shot: Photographing houses and buildings
by Harry Flashman
We have all taken snaps of houses from time to time.
Your own new house, “special” noteworthy houses or even stately homes
seen on vacation. Or even your own condominium block when you want to
sell. Unfortunately, the shot as returned from the film processor is many
times not representative of the way you saw the house in your
recollection.
So what went wrong? In most instances it has been
brought about by unfortunate lens choices, or indiscriminate “zooming”
to try and get the building in. The commonest problem is what we call the
“Falling Over Backwards” look. The next most common problem is the
“Building Falling Over Sideways”. One is easy to fix, the other is
not.
When we try to get a whole house into the viewfinder,
we generally use a wide angle lens to fit it all in. This is where we come
unstuck. The wide angle setting exaggerates the perspective of the house
and makes it look as if it is falling over backwards.
 To
counteract this is not easy. The first thing to do is to try to elevate
the position you are taking the shot from. The higher up you get, the less
the perspective effect shows. In fact, if you have to take a 20 storey
skyscraper, go across the street and climb to the 10th floor of the one
opposite and shoot from there. The halfway up point will cancel out the
extreme perspective.
If you cannot get an elevated viewpoint, then try to
use the “standard” or even telephoto lenses and step backwards to get
the entire house back inside the viewfinder frame. These lenses do not
exaggerate perspective like the wide angles do.
Now, the falling sideways look is simply bad frame-up
by the photographer. It is very important to make sure the sides of the
house are parallel with the sides of the viewfinder before you pop the
shutter. Most people remember to get the horizon parallel with the bottom
of the finder, but forget to look at the sides. You have been warned!
Failure to check this results in a snapshot where the house looks like it
is the victim of acute subsidence.
Photographing Interiors
Interiors are not easy, and even the pros will shudder
when asked to do some interior shots. The biggest problem is lighting. If
the curtains are not drawn there is a source of extreme brightness in the
picture. This will generally confuse the magic eye in the camera and you
will either get a “normal” window with very dark foreground, or a
completely white “blown out” window with “fogging” of the picture.
One way to get over this is to draw some light drapes
across the windows to cut down the brightness. The other way is to set the
camera’s exposure readings for the view from the window, then fill in
the front of the room with electronic flash.
This is called “balancing” the flash output, and if
you bounce the flash off the ceiling you will get a very natural, bright
and airy look to the interior shots.
Of course, you again have to be aware of the
exaggerated perspective and make sure the camera is held straight, and
shoot from around halfway between floor and ceiling, otherwise the walls
look as if they are falling over, or the builder used his thumb rather
than a plumb bob. Just really concentrate on getting the edges to line up
with walls and window frames and you will get a very pleasing result.
Neglect this and your pictures will look as if they were taken in a crazy
house!
(Harry Flashman is away, so we have repeated and
brought up to date one of his previous columns from three years ago.)
Modern Medicine: An uplifting experience
by Dr Iain Corness, Consultant
The buzzwords today are Erectile Dysfunction, often
contracted to the simple acronym ED. This is a common condition in males
as they get older, with numbers in the scientific literature being 25% of
men over 55 are unable to maintain a good enough erection to successfully
carry out horizontal folk dancing (or as we in the medical profession
would say, coitus). This gentlemen, is a frightening thought and enough to
make even the hardest of us wither at the prospect.
So is there an upside to this downside problem? Yes,
there is. Medicine rose to the occasion and the “soft on” can now be a
thing of the past.
We began with a chemical called Alprostadil. This stuff
certainly did the business, but it was always difficult to administer and
the correct dose was hard to work out. It was injected into the side of
Willy the Wonder Wand and was very quick to work. The initial dose had to
be done in the surgery to try and gage the effect and to show the patient
how to inject himself with a very fine needle. I can remember instructing
the practice nurse to stop saying, before the injection, “It’s just a
little prick,” as this could be misconstrued by some patients.
The following is true - I had commenced one patient on
Alprostadil and was a little unsure of the optimum dosage for him. I asked
him to ring me the next morning and tell me how he had got on. “Went
good, Doc, but I think we should cut the dose.” “Why?” I asked.
“Doc, this morning they could have picked me up by the legs and ploughed
the front garden with me!” he replied. This is a condition called
“Priapism” and is not the answer to every young man’s dream - it can
be painful and dangerous.
However, the next major uplifting moment in the annals
of bedroom history was the release of Viagra. This drug works totally
differently from Alprostadil. It is not, as many thought, a drug that will
give you an instant erection. It acts slowly and centrally on the brain,
resulting in a situation that when you are sexually aroused, Willy will
wake as well and work! When the stimulation ceases, Willy goes back to his
normal flaccid self, or as the ladies of South Pattaya would say, “Him
go sreep now.”
The drawbacks are that you should take Viagra around
one hour before you think you will need it, and there are certain
medications that do not go well with it, notably the nitrate drugs used
for certain heart conditions, or the amyl nitrates used by some of the
drug sniffers. However, Viagra does last around 12 hours in the system, so
you are capable of more repeat performances than the UBC mid day movies.
Of course, the other drug companies have not been
hanging around either, and Uprima has come on the scene. This acts
differently from Viagra, and can even be used in conjunction with it. It
is absorbed from under the tongue so it works quicker, and I believe that
its effects last longer in the body too - but like Viagra, it needs sexual
stimulation to work.
These new drugs do have a downside, though. Cost. But
who can put a price on uplifting experiences?
Women’s World: A Queen among women Part II
by Lesley Warner
On that April day in 1947 there were millions who were
willing to join in and share it. They were comforted to know that their
King and Queen had never left them for a safe haven, but stayed with them
to live through the perils of war. The people appreciated their
monarchs’ devotion and were touched by young Elizabeth’s vow to
dedicate her life to them. Willingly, they pledged their support to her.
Who would have guessed someone so young could make such a solemn vow and
keep it for over fifty years. We tend to think of her as an institution
rather than a human being. Where did she find the strength to go on even
when it seemed that so many turned against her after the death of Diana?
 On
November 20, 1947, Princess Elizabeth married Lieutenant Philip
Mountbatten, now His Royal Highness Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh.
Elizabeth received the news of her father’s death and
her own accession to the throne while touring Kenya. She returned to
England as Queen. Though she looked somber, she never broke down in
public. She was only 26 and knew her life would never again be her own.
Her Majesty’s Coronation took place in Westminster
Abbey on 2 June 1953.
The Queen does not have many of the powers or titles of
her ancestors, but she does retain her power to appoint a prime minister,
as well as her power to choose whether or not to grant dissolution of
Parliament.
As Head of State, the Queen maintains close contact
with the prime minister, with whom she has a weekly audience when she is
in London and with other ministers of the crown. She sees all Cabinet
papers and the records of Cabinet and Cabinet Committee meetings. She
receives important Foreign Office telegrams and a daily summary of events
in Parliament.
The Queen has many homes: Buckingham Palace in London,
England, Windsor Castle in Berkshire, England and the Palace of
Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, Scotland are her
official residences. She also
has private residences: Sand- ringham in Norfolk, England and Balmoral
Castle in Aberde enshire, Scotland.
It may sound like she has a castle for every season, a
large salary from the civil list and access to priceless jewels. But in
return she suffers a lack of privacy and the burden of being Queen 24
hours a day, seven days a week, 52 weeks a year for the rest of her life.
It has been said in the past that the Queen should
abdicate for Prince Charles but technically speaking it is the monarch’s
duty to rule until death in accordance with the time-honoured traditions
and rules of succession. She can abdicate the throne only with the consent
of the British Parliament and the parliament of the other nations
(including Canada), which recognize her as their Head of State.
The closest she has ever come to admitting that her
life was anything other than a life of duty, purpose and service to others
was when she admitted that 1992 was not a year that she would look back
upon with undiluted pleasure. This was all she had to say about a year
that saw the separation of all three of her married children - the Prince
and Princess of Wales, the Duke and Duchess of York and Princess Anne and
Captain Mark Phil- lips. There was also the fire that caused irreparable
damage to nine rooms at Windsor Castle, which she considers her residence,
and many exploits by other members of the royal family that kept the
tabloids very busy. She dubbed 1992 her “Annus Horribils”.
She is in her seventies now, an age when most people
would be enjoying their retirement, yet she carries on her public duties
and receives her red dispatch boxes every day of the year.
Heart to Heart with Hillary
Dear Hillary,
Does everybody have the problems I get when I go into a
boys go-go bar? The men all seem to flock round me like bees around the
honey pot and some of them are particularly suggestive. I must admit that
the attention is great, much more than I get from my husband, for example,
but I wonder how discreet are these places? After all, I know that my
husband has had the odd “fling”, so why not me too? What do you say,
Hillary?
Boy Bar Brenda
Dear Boy Bar Brenda,
I do not think you have to worry about the go-go bar
being discreet, it is the other patrons you have to worry about. You are
not paying for the worker’s company, you are paying for them to keep a
secret, but the other patrons are a totally different matter! How many are
from your husband’s workplace? Are you prepared to be found out? What
will happen then? When you are actively deciding on “cheating” in the
relationship, you should examine the motives. Are you doing this to get
back at your husband for his “odd flings” - if so, this is a highly
destructive form of behaviour. Just make sure it isn’t go-go and gone,
Brenda.
Dear Hillary,
One of the girls in my office is getting married up
country (she is Thai). We have been invited to the wedding and we are
looking forward to seeing Thai people in their own natural surroundings,
but we are very wary of inadvertently offending anyone as we do not know
all the customs or what is acceptable or otherwise. We enjoy your column
with its practical advice. Is there anything we should be particularly
worried about?
Unsure
Dear Unsure,
Normal rules of etiquette and good manners are all
that is expected of foreigners at an up-country wedding. Cavorting naked
in the hotel pool is a no-no, as is flirting with the bride and/or groom.
Enjoy the open-hearted way you will be welcomed by the local people and
take plenty of photographs - everyone likes a record of their own. There
is also a custom whereby money is pinned onto the couple. Make sure you
have currency of a suitable denomination. 20 baht is not appropriate. But,
relax, Petals, and enjoy upcountry hospitality.
Dear Hillary,
My stepson is coming to Thailand for his first visit.
His mother and I separated and divorced a couple of years ago, and I have
not had too much contact with her family members since then. He has asked
to stay with me and my family are very much against it, saying that he
will only make trouble for me. He is 32 years old and I have a live-in
girlfriend who is 22 years old. It looks fairly bizarre from the outside
looking in, but you know what the situation is in Thailand, don’t you,
Hillary? I do not want to give the boy the idea that I am just an old
lecher living in sin, but by the same token, why should I change a
perfectly good arrangement just to save the sensibilities of the boy, or
what he might think of me?
Confused
Dear Confused,
Hillary definitely believes that you have to live
life for yourself, not for others. As you say, your arrangement works for
you and I presume it also does for your girlfriend. What your stepson
thinks of it does not really come into the equation. If he does not like
it, then he can always find a hotel to stay in. By the way, at 32 years of
age, I hardly consider the young man to be a “boy” so perhaps you are
not letting your stepson “grow up” in your own mind. Let him come,
show him the fun times in Pattaya and make sure he doesn’t steal your
22-year-old girlfriend!
Dear Hillary,
We have just had 5,000 American troops here for the
annual Cobra Gold exercise, and while for the most part they all seemed
clean-shaven, close cropped crew-cutted, polite young men, it amazes me
that they can be so rude to many of our bar owners. A bar is a business
where the owner sells alcohol. Some the Americans were bringing opened
bottles of beer into the bar, beer which they had bought somewhere else.
Surely they don’t do this in America, so why would they do it here?
Barfly
Dear Barfly,
I do agree with you that the visiting American
servicemen all appear to be a well behaved bunch of boys, and the haircut
certainly means you can spot them a mile off. I really think that they do
not realise they could be seen as offending the bar owners. From what I
have seen (not that Hillary hangs around bars, I might add) they come in
with a bottle from bar A, finish it and then buy a bottle in Bar B, which
they then take to bar C on their crawl around the watering holes. I do not
believe it is a genuine attempt to defraud the bars as they move around.
A Slice of Thai History: The Revolution of 1688
by Duncan Stearn
Part Two: The rise of Constantine Phaulkon
After closing their factory in Ayutthaya in 1663
because of declining profits, the Dutch East India Company blockaded the
mouth of the Chao Phraya River the following year and demanded to be given
exclusive rights to trade in deer and cow hides.
On August 11 1664, King Narai signed an agreement with
the Dutch that gave the latter the right to trade in Thailand free of
restrictions but they were compelled to pay taxes. Thailand would refrain
from employing Chinese nationals on Thai ships and the VOC gained the
monopoly they sought for the trade in deer and cowhides.
The one point imposed by the Dutch on the Thais and
greatly resented was the clause introducing extraterritoriality. Employees
of the VOC who committed a serious crime in Thailand were to be handed
over to the head of the Dutch East India Company, to be punished in
accordance with Dutch law.
In 1675, 1678 or 1679 (depending on whose source you
read), George White, an English merchant, introduced Constantine Phaulkon,
a Greek adventurer who had been employed aboard English ships since he was
a youth, to government officials in Ayutthaya.
Phaulkon, in some accounts he is also referred to as a
Venetian although this appears doubtful, was appointed as George White’s
trade representative. He had ability as a linguist and, apart from
knowledge of a few European languages, he learned to speak Thai and Malay
fairly quickly and was au fait with the intricate nature of trading
with foreigners. These qualities saw him employed by the Royal Warehouse
Department as an interpreter and his abilities soon won him royal
recognition, King Narai conferring a Thai nobleman’s title, Chao Phraya
Vichayen, upon him.
The English East India Company was not happy at having
to deal with the Royal Warehouse Department, claiming it to be a state
monopoly. Although technically correct, the company was desirous of
maintaining its own trading monopoly, seeking to prevent private English
traders from doing business with Thailand.
Even some company employees engaged in their own
private trade while those Englishmen not connected with the company and
engaged in trading with Thailand were called ‘interlopers’.
These interlopers included George White, the benefactor
of Constantine Phaulkon, and his younger brother, Samuel White.
King Narai’s first diplomatic mission to France,
dispatched in December 1680, was lost at sea off the coast of Madagascar.
In 1682, the French East India Company sent a small commercial mission to
Ayutthaya which was well received by the Thais.
On December 6 1682, the English East India Company
factory in the city was mysteriously destroyed by fire. The English
accused Phaulkon, the interloper, with complicity.
Earlier that year Phaulkon had switched from the
Anglican faith to Roman Catholicism, an act viewed by the English as an
attempt to curry favour with the increasingly influential French.
In reality, although Phaulkon was not on good terms
with the English he tried to maintain a semblance of friendship by sending
expensive gifts for George White to distribute in London, including a
present for King James II.
The root of the difficulties and rift centred on
private trade. Although Phaulkon was a Thai government official, charged
with conducting trade in the name of the Treasury, he also engaged in his
own private trade.
Bits ‘n’ Bobs
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MAID IN THAILAND
The ingenuity of the Thai will never cease to
amaze me. I have a heavy iron front gate, the runners of which I
deliberately do not oil. The simple reason for this is that the
noise made when opening the gate is clearly audible and acts as a
back up to the alarm system. Following the recent heavy rains
however, to open or close the gate required the services of an
aggressive weightlifter or Sumo wrestler. I had a small bottle of
oil that would do the job and planned to fix it the following day.
By the time I had psyched myself up to perform this monumental task
and invest five minutes of my life in the process, the maid had
skipped off to her English lessons. I was irked, because I wanted to
show her how for future reference. Duly armed with my bottle of oil,
I squared up to the fence (having already limbered up by opening a
can of Heineken one-handed), grabbed it with two hands and wrenched
it open. The gate just took off and sped away, de-railing itself
noiselessly, until it hit a garden chair. As I was getting it back
on the runners, I espied the culprit and groaned - a 5-litre bottle
of engine oil no doubt purchased by the maid with the change from
yesterday’s shopping. Under interrogation, she confessed to having
interfered with the gate but explained that the oil had cost
nothing. She claimed that she had gone to a garage and coaxed one of
the lads to fill up a bottle with drained sump oil for free. I let
her off with a warning...
WORD OF THE WEEK
Incontinent (adj.) Where an Australian lives.
AQUARIUS
Sitting outside in the garden, the bottled water
truck pulled up, my two empty flagons on display having caught their
attention. As I opened the gate (gently), down jumped a rather tall,
fit-looking young lady. Rather than just shuffle the new bottles in
and let me hump them into the house, she asked me where I wanted
them. Given that it takes me five minutes to lug one bottle to the
kitchen and then have a lay down, I was more than happy to let this
Earth Mother tote them for me. She picked the brace up and proceeded
to carry them by the neck with her arms outstretched in the manner I
carry the empty ones. They contain 20 litres of water each, which I
believe equates to 20 kgs. I can hardly wrestle with one of them for
more than ten paces yet she traversed the thirty-yard distance with
the pair, chatting as she walked. She was definitely a lady of the
1st category, but I did wonder if her husband wears a dress...
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KARMA CAMILLIAN
Yes, I am making a weak pun on Culture Club’s hit,
but I am actually referring to the Camillian Social Center at Rayong. The
CSC is a facility run by Father Giovanni Contarin to care for orphaned
children infected and affected by HIV/AIDS. The common ground the kids
have is that their parent(s) died because of HIV/AIDS and had the virus
passed down to them from birth. If you have not heard of this very worthy
cause that strives to enrich and extend the lives of little kids dealt a
cruel hand in life, take a moment to go to http://www.bahtbus.com/csc.index
on the Internet. There are some touching stories for you to read and some
lovely photos of the kids at the Center. There is also a convenient way to
make a donation, should you wish. For more information, please e-mail me.
ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE
I just had to mention something about the Queen of England’s Golden
Jubilee celebrations. She is as old as my Mum, bless her and I love them
both! To view the celebrations (on Sophon Cable) along the Mall and at
Buckingham Palace was a delight indeed. To see so many people of different
ages, colour, cultures, creeds et al having a whale of a time as they
danced, cheered and celebrated together with a common purpose was truly
outstanding and says much for the harmony of global society today. I look
forward to Her Majesty’s Diamond Jubilee in ten years time.
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Animal Crackers: Bear Wisdom
By Mirin E Mc Carthy
Connection with all creatures
This story was told by Makwa of Cree Canadian
Indian/Irish descent, an elder of the Ojibwe people of Sault Sainte
Marie. This is the first publication in written form. It was a
sharing of stories between relatives and is a true teaching, which
Makwa is happy to share with others as, “teachings are meant to be
that way.”
“Respect and understanding for bears”
“One day, a father and son went hunting on a
Northern Reserve, looking for moose and partridge for their coming
ceremonial feast. As they walked through the bush, the father shared
Anishnabie teaching with his son, of where to walk, what to look for
while hunting and showed his son the need to be connected with all
around him. The father shared with his son that we are all connected
to all the wonderful living things that had been given to all
peoples.
 As
they walked further into the bush, the father suddenly stopped and
told the son to be quiet and stand still. Suddenly, a mother bear
and her three cubs appeared on the path in front of them. The son
became excited and told his father to shoot the bears but the father
turned to him and said, “Why would we shoot the bears? We don’t
need the meat and the young ones are out with their mother being
taught in the ways of the bears, they mean us no harm”.
The Father then looked into his son’s eyes and
told him that he was going to approach the mother bear and talk with
her, in a good and simple way. As the son watched, the father walked
towards the bear in a non-threatening way, speaking in his own
Indian language in soft tones. The mother bear sat on her haunches
and listened to the man, all the while, grunting in response as the
man spoke in the musical language of the Ojibwe people.
The father finished his talk with the mother bear
and walked back to his son and told him that he had spoken with
mother bear and shared with her that he was teaching his cub, just
as she was teaching her cubs and that they meant no harm to them. He
told his son that they would walk in a wide circle away from the
bears and that they would do likewise.
As the father and son continued their walk, the
son understood then that he was indeed connected to all living
things around him and he was not separate from the circle of life
but is part of it. He realized also that humans and the four legged
could still talk with each other and understand each other.
The most important lesson he learned that day was
that it was wrong to needlessly take a four legged’s life just for
the sake of taking it when they were not hunting for bear. He
learned to respect all life that day and was taught the simple
Anishabie way of communicating with bears.” Makwa.
Walk in a wide circle
It is important to remember if encountering bears
in the wild whether in Asia, America or Europe to treat them with a
healthy respect and “walk away in a wide circle.” Do not be
tempted to approach bears or other wild animals including elephants,
to try your skill at talking with them, as only gifted native people
who truly know the ways of animals can do this with impunity. A
pride of lions on the veldt in Africa will allow a solitary African
to pass close by without harm and so will a leopard in a tree, but
they will kill hunters.
Nothing substitutes for really living with and
understanding the ways of wild animals in communicating with them.
It is not enough to rely on Divine providence or blessing of the
Lord Buddha as sole protection in approaching wild creatures.
Respect and understanding is all.
Personal Directions: Letting Go
by Christina Dodd, founder and managing director
of Incorp Training Associates
I had a wonderful opportunity 2 weeks ago to work with
a very vibrant group of managers from a leading insurance firm in Thailand
- so vibrant were they that their enthusiasm is still ringing loud in the
corridors of their respective offices. It’s times like these that bring
the greatest rewards to any trainer - when the penny has finally dropped
and the message of the training is loud and clear!
Sometimes - well more than just sometimes - training
can be rather boring and quite honestly simply misses the point. With this
group - as indeed with all the groups I work with in my training programs
- instruction is enjoyable and informative, getting down to the basics to
address fundamental behavioural issues before we begin to build. There’s
no point in bringing all these executives together just to have a good
lunch and chat over copious amounts of coffee and sticky cakes, is there!
And no matter how senior managers are or how
“executive” they appear to be, I have always found that they all share
a similar problem when it comes to the subject of goals, be they personal,
professional, company or whatever. That is their inability to pursue their
goals to the fullest because they can’t put the experiences of their
past behind them. We all carry around huge trunks of negative emotions and
conditioning, failure, fear and the like, and these trunks - so to speak -
are so heavy that in our struggle to keep holding on to them, we have no
way to hold on to or grasp anything new. It’s rather like having a
cumbersome and heavy suitcase in each hand and being confronted with
having to walk up a flight of stairs but you have no way of doing it - not
unless you offload some heavy baggage!
When I was growing up I often heard teachers and
parents exclaim to their students or children how stupid they were for not
being able to do something! When this is compounded over time, the effect
is a lasting imprint in the mind of the child - so much so that the child
carries the experience with them into their adult life with disastrous
results. We all carry some scars from the past, but unless we acknowledge
that there is absolutely nothing gained by dwelling on them or even living
with them day after day - as some people tend to do - then we just won’t
be able to get on with life. “Letting go” is so integral to moving
forward. It doesn’t mean you should forget the past and all its
experiences - that’s impossible - but it simply means to put the past
aside, realize there is nothing - nothing - to be gained from living it!
If you don’t let it go - it will hold you back. Nothing is more certain!
So, let me ask the question - are you living your life
immersed in the past, or are you living your life looking toward the
future? Which is it?
It takes some inner searching and perhaps reflection to
understand this fully, but it seems that most people do understand it only
too well. The difficulty is that most people just don’t want to or
don’t know how to let go. But if you’ve ever seen the changes in a
person once this has happened - they are extraordinary! Life is suddenly
rich with ideas, challenges and hope. Things to do, places to go, people
to meet! A sense of purpose becomes overwhelming and the subsequent
inspiration and enthusiasm - zest for life - brings out the incredible
abilities from within. Goals become achievable and the sky is truly the
limit!
Which way are you headed? The past or the future?
For more insights... catch me next week.
Christina can be contacted by email at christina.dodd@
incorptraining.com or direct- ly at Incorp Training Associates in Bangkok
- tel. (02) 6521867-8 or fax: (02) 652 1870.
Social Commentary by Khai Khem
Why good men can’t meet nice girls - in Pattaya?
If I had ten baht for every time I heard a perfectly
lovely gentleman, young or old, ask this question through the years, I
would probably not be working as a newspaper hack. Depending on who does
the asking and how off-guard they have caught me, I will now admit to
having responded in a typical Thai way; vague, polite, and never, NEVER
really giving a straight answer. I think the time has come to come clean.
In print.
Let’s call a spade a spade straight away and clear
the air for more honest comments. Pattaya does not have the ‘nicest’
reputation throughout the world. We seem to be notorious for promoting a
very sleazy and undisciplined way of life which the so-called respectable
layers of social society, both at home and abroad, hold in total contempt.
This reputation is not undeserved. The problem with our
image is that what others perceive us to be is not the whole picture, but
only a part of what makes our city tick. Those of us who live here
permanently and those who visit frequently know for a fact that our
seaside tourist resort is also a complete community with many facets.
Every city of a similar size and diversity has
innumerable components which if scrutinized from only one point of view
does not create a clear picture. The Big Picture needs to be viewed with a
wider lens. True, there are those who see Pattaya for the multi-faceted,
multi-cultural town that it is. And we are grateful for this open-minded
approach. These are the individuals and groups who will make a real
difference in the future of our city.
But of course life is not just a series of good deeds
and community service. Pattaya seems to attract a lot of very sincere men
of all ages who are looking for lasting relationships and seem to think
that our town is full of women (or men) who will supply them with the
emotional connection they are searching for. The plain truth is that this
search is the equivalent of walking through a minefield; unprepared and
unaware that at any moment, in any given situation, the whole situation
can explode like a land mine, with approximately the same tragic
consequences.
Most male newcomers to Pattaya head straight for the
bars or nightclubs. Why? Because that is where they will most easily meet
the local ladies. This is what I call the Path of Least Resistance. In
fact, there is NO resistance. That’s part of the scene. These women work
in an environment where it is their job to flirt and play with total
strangers. For them it is a simple business transaction.
The men, on the other hand, often take these encounters
seriously and plan whole scenarios that foresee them rescuing the bar
girls from a life of hardship and ambiguity. Some liaisons last months,
even years. Most don’t make it past the mark after the man hands over a
huge payment of cash, a house or a kilo of gold jewelry. When the money is
either gone, or seriously depleted and the gentleman finds out that no
matter how much he gives, how many problems he has solved for his lover
and her family, how generous and understanding he has been in every
situation, it will never be enough, and he feels shocked and betrayed. Now
he finally gets the picture and may very well be cured. So where does he
go from here?
By this stage he is probably ready to meet one of the
many truly nice women who live in this country. After all, Thailand has a
population of about 70 million people and a large portion of them are
eligible and respectable ladies. Here’s the rub. The terrible truth is
that once a woman finds out a single foreign man has been in Thailand for
more than one week, and that week was spent in Pattaya, he’s pretty much
‘done for’ in her eyes. Bite down, boys! Here is the plain unvarnished
truth. What lady is going to get involved with a man who’s been trawling
the South Pattaya brothels? Which respectable woman is going to take a
chance with a man who’s been partying in Pattaya?
We’re talking about a number of negative factors
here. The most dangerous one is disease. Everyone is so focused on AIDS
they seem to have forgotten there is a long list of other sexually
transmitted diseases including syphilis which if caught early and treated
still takes about a year to cure. If it is not diagnosed quickly, second
stage syphilis can continue for a lifetime. It can also be passed on to a
fetus. I won’t list the entire spectrum of other horrors which sexually
irresponsible people pass on to each other. I think readers are getting
the point.
Even if the man escapes a dreaded sexual disease, there
is still the question of character and behavior. I know a number of men
who think that Thai women are generally “mentally out to lunch” and
don’t care ‘two hoots’ about anything Westerners take seriously. Big
mistake. Thai women keep their mouths shut and eyes open. They are acute
judges of character. If anyone is competent to spot a drifter, a loser, or
a man who is on a path to destruction, a Thai woman is just as likely to
spot a walking disaster as anyone.
Even a bar girl can spot a loser. That’s just the one
she hits the hardest. Thai women from other sections of society are
reluctant to get involved with these foreign men because they are aware
there is no future for them with these ‘passing’ personalities. There
seems to be a natural law which is as pertinent in Pattaya as elsewhere.
People tend to ascend or sink to their own level. All else is wishful
thinking.
Roll over Rover: More tips on stationing
by C. Schloemer
Once you’ve mastered the stationing technique, and
have created station spots inside your home you’ll find this training
method is invaluable once you and your dog are outside. For example, if
you’re into gardening or you have kids who like to shoot hoops in the
driveway you can plan nearby stations. When you take your dog in the car
it’s safest to confine him while you’re driving. It protects him like
a seatbelt protects you.
Driving is a job in itself. Avoid being preoccupied
with your dog while doing it since it’s a safety hazard for both of you.
Letting your dog ride in your lap or hang halfway out the window may be
fun for both of you, but your dog is too precious to lose in an accident.
Confine your dog while driving. There are car gates, crates, harness belts
and the Car Lead! The handle of the Car Lead fastens to a seat belt. It
can be left in the car permanently.
You can create a station for your dog in the car.
Decorate it with a toy and a blanket if you like. Bring the dog to the car
and give him your command for stationing. Hook the dog on the buckle
collar (not a training collar) and ignore all initial protests. Praise him
when he’s calm. The Car Lead is quick and easy to use and your dog will
feel more secure and calm knowing his place.
Decorate stations. Create a familiar theme at each
station. Similar bedding and chew bones will help your dog learn faster.
Showing your dog his station is important. The first time you secure your
dog, hang around. Sit down and scratch his ears. Offer a bone or chew toy.
When he’s content, say “Wait,” as you walk away for no more than 15
seconds.
If you come back to a hyper dog, ignore him until he
settles down. Pet a calm dog and you get a calm dog. Increase your
departures steadily. He may fuss a bit, but those preliminary steps will
ensure him of your return. Always secure your dog near you. Give him just
enough room to lie comfortably (about 3 feet). Given too much leeway, dogs
may pace, bark or worse - eliminate.
Give your dog attention
The unsupervised dog often gets attention for being
unruly. Poor thing; he can’t help himself. On the other hand, a
stationed dog doesn’t have a lot of room to act up. He may bark or
whine, but if you ignore it he eventually stops. He may roll around and
act goofy, but you can ignore that as well. Stationing encourages good
behavior. So whenever your dog lies down to rest or chew, you can
reinforce that GOOD behavior with attention.
Give your dog a break
The amount of time you can station a dog depends on you
and your dog. Age and temperament are important factors. Add time of day
and weather to the equation. Puppies under 12 weeks can have stations.
They just cannot be attached to them very long. Use your common sense.
Young dogs need breaks more than older ones do. Rainy days usually mean
less exercise making it tough for active dogs to sit still for too long.
What if your dog won’t stop barking?
Close your ears and wait it out. Get a squirt gun and
surprise him with a squirt of water. Say, “Shhhhh.” Don’t let him
know where the water is coming from or he’ll think it’s a game. No eye
contact. Look disappointed as you lead him from the station and ignore him
for 15 minutes and try again.
What if your dog chews his Teaching Lead?
In this case, avoid using the Teaching Lead to station
him until he’s learned better manners. Nylon leashes or ropes soaked in
ground chilies or Tabasco sauce won’t taste as yummy. If all fails get a
chain lead to station him temporarily until he gives up the idea.
Must you leash your dog forever?
Of course not! Some dogs catch on to the “settle
down” command so quickly they’re eagerly participating by the end of
the second week. Others take longer, so have patience and don’t give up.
Whether it takes weeks or months, once your dog learns this little trick,
it lasts a lifetime. Some dogs will be very cooperative right from the
beginning when no one is around, but when friends drop in, all the
training goes out the window. Owners often find that ‘lead time’ needs
to be re-introduced from time to time; a refresher course, so to speak.
The Message In The Moon: Sun in Virgo-Moon in Taurus
by Anchalee Kaewmanee
Old Faithful
This is perhaps the best-rounded of all the Virgo
combinations. These individuals are calm, patient and determined. A model
of good character, resolve and pragmatism, there is very little that this
Sun-Moon sign cannot accomplish in life. The nature of members of this
group is responsible, sincere and reliable. Their values are old fashioned
and firmly rooted. For them, the old way is often the best way. Other
people often turn to them for advice because they sense a worldly wisdom
and realize that any council proffered will always be reasonable and well
thought out. Both Sun and Moon are earth signs so there is little conflict
between the outward personality and the inner emotional self.
The Taurus Moon gives warmth to the Virgo’s rather
cool and undemonstrative Sun. It also lends a youthful vigor to this
combination. Intelligent, healthy and endowed with great stamina, natives
are usually well-balanced in mind and body. There is a wholesomeness here
that is much admired by others. Most are solid citizens in the literal
sense and exude a quiet self-confidence without flash or flamboyance.
They may not be as jolly or entertaining as some
combinations. Honesty and integrity are more important to them than
grabbing center stage. Like all people who inwardly value themselves and
have confidence in their abilities, they go about their lives without much
ado, usually achieving whatever goals they set for themselves. They do
tend to be a little smug and are occasionally a tad judgmental.
Of course no one is perfect. These natives try to
appear stern, tough and exacting. But behind that gruff exterior lies a
very soft heart. Unfortunately the great sensitivity of these individuals
is perceived as a weakness, and they continually try to hide it behind a
callous exterior. Lucky for them, most people see through this disguise.
Dedication, industriousness and sincerity all combine
to make the Virgo- Taurus a role model for others to emulate. The only
thing this combination should be careful of is the tendency to become a
little lazy.
This sign is a harmonious combination so there will be
few obstacles in life for natives. Thus, despite all of their
resourcefulness and built-in work ethic, they often run the risk of
slipping into complacency.
What we have here is a
conservative nature which tends to resist any change or innovation. This
Sun-Moon combo really needs to keep an open mind to changing lifestyles
and new ideas. There is always something to be gained from new
experiences, so taking a risk now and again will open new doors of
opportunity. In social life it is a good idea to broaden vistas and
friendships. These natives often play it safe here too, thus tend to
associate with others who are similar to themselves and miss out on the
interaction of people with different ideas and lifestyles and a chance to
expand their horizons. Travel is often an excellent tonic for the cautious
Virgo-Taurus who has slipped into a social rut.
Professionally, this combination is ideally suited for
business and financial endeavors. Long-term projects that
require patience and a
practical approach are recommended. The keen intellect and incredibly
logical thinking process of the Virgo Sun sign allows success in technical
fields such as engineering. Fine organizational skills make business
management and administration obvious career choices. Anything which
requires precision planning, such as financial advice, the stock market or
any kind of money management is a ‘piece of cake’ for these natives.
In love, the Virgo-Taurus is a consistent and reliable
partner and will search for matching qualities in a lover. The comfort and
stability of home life is important for overall happiness and security.
These natives make fine parents and loving spouses. Most prefer big
families and their homes will be filled with lots of noisy, active
children.
Virgos can often be aloof and withdrawn with people
they don’t know very well. But the Taurus Moon assures friends, good
food and fine hospitality will always be a part of domestic life. Loyalty
and convivial bliss with this combination is assured if a partner is
chosen wisely. However, many natives do wait until they are older to
marry. Their slight timidity with the opposite sex requires a long
engagement to make sure they are not making a mistake. Once they are
married, however, it’s usually for keeps.
PC Basics: What’s lurking on your PC?
Bay Computer Services
Had an email from your Internet Provider about the W32/Klez
virus? This is one of a new generation of destructive programs that are
capable of doing some very nasty things on your PC. It spreads itself by
going through your address book in Outlook Express and mailing itself to
your contacts. It can also attach a file to the outgoing email that it
chooses at random from your computer. So it could well be emailing your
bank account details, password lists or anything else you may have on your
PC.
As it is a worm virus, even going through the procedure
of clearing it from your computer may not actually get rid of it. It lurks
in your system and re-emerges later to violate your computer again. But it
gets worse. Unless you have a special patch program for Outlook Express,
once you have received an email containing the Klez virus, it runs itself
automatically. You don’t have to look at the attachments on the mail for
it to start spreading itself through your system. Some Internet Cafes will
not have Outlook Express on their systems for this very reason.
Perhaps you have anti-virus software on your PC and you
think you are safe from this. Unfortunately, W32/Klez is capable of
disabling your anti-virus software, so you may never know that you have
been infected with it.
Viruses are the scourges of computer users around the
world. The malicious authors of virus programs must have a bizarre sense
of fun. Besides getting a virus from an email or from an infected program,
there is another type of virus called a script virus. These bury
themselves in HTML language, which describes how a Web page is viewed on
your PC. This means that you can get a virus just by surfing the Internet.
There are a number of effective anti-virus programs and
two of the most well known and equally effective are from Norton and
McAfee. If you are using the Internet or software from a questionable
source then one of these anti-virus programs should be installed on your
computer.
You should also consider installing a firewall program,
which will guard against other harmful software which can allow another
person complete access to your PC via a program called a Trojan. Again you
have a wide choice and everyone has his or her favourite. Norton Antivirus
2002 for XP/XP Pro/2000 Pro NT/ NT Win Me and 98 costs just over 2000 baht
and can then be updated to deal with new viruses. Norton Personal Firewall
2002 for the same operating systems is the same price. Other anti-virus
programs would be about the same price.
But to be certain that you are well protected, you must
ensure that your program is up to date. Anti-virus software is normally
self-updating over the internet, and as long as you are updating the
program every couple of weeks, and are running a full scan every month,
then you will be as secure as possible.
If you have any PC related questions please send them
to e-mail: [email protected]
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