Hubris

It would appear that hubris, like energy, cannot be created or destroyed. Six months ago the world's financial markets were incredibly easy places to make money - anyone could throw a dart at the board and enjoy the upside. Many investors who did so told the rest of the world as much. Now, as markets slide, it's the slow and cautious tortoise (or the squirrels depending on you choice of fable) that are having the last laugh.

Maybe there is a lesson here, that excessive hubris coupled with an unfortunate turn of events is often accompanied by proportionate amounts of schadenfreude.

We'll, they're not that worried, are they?

The BBC reports today that:

"Australia has already started a wider A$40 defence procurement programme, amid concerns about growing instability in the Asia-Pacific region."

What are they doing, shopping on eBay?

How much?

So Singapore is the 14th most expensive place on earth to live (up from 17th last year). Mercer's Worldwide Cost of Living Survey for 2007 has shown that Moscow is the most expensive city, and Algiers (in Algeria) is the cheapest. I could have told you that. How do I know? Well, paying anything like what we do for booze is unseemly. But, interestingly, there are comparisons of objects that are seemingly incomparable.

One such ranking is for coffee. The Mercer survey tells us that a cup of coffee in London had an average price of £2. £2!?! And what exactly do they mean by an average cup? Do they man a cup that is neither good nor bad, decidedly average in fact, will cost you £2? Or do they mean that the mean cost of a cup of coffee (taking into account all cups of coffee available in London) is £2?

Moreover, how valid is this as a comparator? Are they comparing Lattes from Starbucks globally (probably not, given the £2 quote for London), which in any case might not be comparable? Or are they comparing different types of coffee from different outlets of different chains?

Nonetheless, here are the coffee shorts (espresso facts, if you like):

Moscow: £3.14
Tokyo £2.33
Copenhagen: £2.55
Dublin: £2.00
New York: £1.93
Beijing: £2.32
Sydney: £1.41
Vancouver: £1.42
Johannesburg: £0.98
Buenos Aires: £0.91

Source: Mercer Human Resource Consulting

All well and good, but is the coffee in Buenos Aires any good?

Whilst I love being in Asia, there are a few things that make me wish I was able to visit London, just for a weekend. One of the things that we used to do a lot when we lived in the UK might be termed dérive, [literally: “drifting”], a term made famous by Parisian philosopher-insurrectionist Guy Debord. In essence, dérive involves wandering around a city without the usual rationale for proceeding in certain directors, allowing yourself to be attracted only by the terrain that confronts you. You might like the look of a certain street – if so, go down it. You might get lost, but that’s part of the intrigue. I think you get the idea. I used it as a metaphor in my PhD methodology for semi-structured interviews, but I think that that is a post for another day…

Anyway, I think one of the things that we miss about London is just wandering around little known (to us, anyway) back-streets and markets, scouting out shops selling anything from curiosities to cheese, and often simply curious cheese. London is a town that allows you to do that, and you can walk from one end of the city to the other and move through several very, very different districts. One of the areas we discovered just before we left was Old Spitalfields Market – well worth a trip, just for the wonderful British gourmet chocolate shop. Whilst you're there, why not try the famous S&M cafe (that's sausage & mash) if you're hungry.

Most of our wanderings began at St Pancras station.

I read to today about the re-developments of St. Pancras station in the UK, and its transformation from dank fume filled shed to a beauty of engineering. St Pancras station (and the attached Midland Grand Hotel) has been designed designed by William Barlow in 1863 and were very nearly demolished in the 1960s (a dark period for British architecture), were it not for the intervention of Poet Laureate Sir John Betjeman (yes, he who wrote of friendly bombs on Slough). The original structure was a tremendous achievement (the arch spans 240 feet and is over 100 feet high at its apex), and was an icon of London.

Now, the station has been redeveloped. I remember walking through the station fondly whilst I was working in London. Whilst I hated the diversions at the time, the new station looks to be a wonderful achievement. The Foster-designed extension of the glass roof adds a new dimension to the station.

Those of you who are still in London, you can take a guided walk around the St Pancras area and learn more about its history.

You do look familiar...

As you may have seen on Elena’s post, last Saturday was pretty busy. Time is marching towards the big day, and there are loads of loose ends to tie up. Why am I writing about this? Good point – I just wanted to talk about something, and make my blog look as interesting as Elenas (is Banality a legitimate Technorati tag?)

The day started with a trip to the Driving Centre to convert my driving license – you will remember that I passed my theory test some time ago, it had just taken quite a while to get round to it. The process is quite simple: 1) turn up, 2) take passport photos 3) fill in form, 4) argue with lady about having not worked in Singapore before, and 5) pay $50.

Step 4 was fun:

Auntie*: When did you come back to Singapore?
Me: Err, August (come back? How did she know I had been here before?)
Auntie: Have you worked in Singapore before?
Me: No.
Auntie: Are you sure?
Me: Yes.
Auntie: Are you sure? (Becoming frustrated)
Me: Yes. (Becoming even more frustrated)
Auntie: Perhaps you were here as a child, and a dependant of your parents?
Me: No.
Auntie: Are you sure?
Me. Yes.
Auntie: It’s just that your FIN number (i.e. my employment pass number) looks like you have been here before.
Me: Oh.
Auntie: Oh.

After that, it was a simple case of giving over the moolah, and getting my temporary license. The full license will be mailed to me soon, I think.

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Wikidavidia

*Auntie is a term of respect to older ladies in Singapore, a form of address for any woman of its mother’s generation, and/or a polite term of address for) a middle-aged or elderly woman who may or may not be a relative. It does not mean that you are related to her. Let’s try it out (at a food court):

Auntie: Yes?
Me: 1 bottle of Tiger Beer please Auntie
Auntie: Okay, $5 please
Me: Thank you, Auntie.

There, wasn’t that easy. You can all try that out when you get here. It’s a great Lesson One, with a real bonus that you get beer at the end of class (although you do have to pay for it). Lesson Two involves ordering food, and a gender change (not literally), from Auntie to Uncle.

Uncle: Yes?
Me: One bowl of Bak Chor Mee please, Uncle
Uncle: You want Chilli?
Me: Yup
Uncle: What noodles?
Me: Mee pok.
Uncle: $3 please
Me: Thank you, Uncle.

Be wary though. It is for people of an older generation. If I called someone my own age Uncle or Auntie, they might be a little upset.

You have been warned.