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Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Testing from mobile
A new life
I am experiencing a second wind as a freeagent (short for being unemployed)
I must admit its a bit scary, with 3 kids to feed and no regular income. But it sure as heck beat what I have been doing for the past 4 months in my previous job where I took a regular pay, but did nothing at work.
Some may say this was the ideal job, but for me, I fear that any longer and it would dull my "edge" and make me into a complacent chap.
But now, it's quite exhilarating and yet scary. I am more busy than ever (so I will keep this short) because I know if my projects do not move I will not get paid. So in a funny way, I am unemployed and yet stressed out for tight timelines that I have put myself on.
As compared to no stress and regular pay.
You may think I'm a sado-masochist, but I would prefer to think of myself as driven.
I must admit its a bit scary, with 3 kids to feed and no regular income. But it sure as heck beat what I have been doing for the past 4 months in my previous job where I took a regular pay, but did nothing at work.
Some may say this was the ideal job, but for me, I fear that any longer and it would dull my "edge" and make me into a complacent chap.
But now, it's quite exhilarating and yet scary. I am more busy than ever (so I will keep this short) because I know if my projects do not move I will not get paid. So in a funny way, I am unemployed and yet stressed out for tight timelines that I have put myself on.
As compared to no stress and regular pay.
You may think I'm a sado-masochist, but I would prefer to think of myself as driven.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Political Baggage
As one who likes to watch Malaysian politics from afar, I was pleasantly surprised the government in Penang is coming together, and more importantly, one member (or rather ex-member) of the BN component party has decided to cross the unsaid line to work with the DAP government.
What is wrong with that, I ask. If the guy believes he can contribute the well being of the state of Penang, then all the more better. I would like to commend the CM of Penang for putting politics aside and welcoming Lee Kah Choon into the state government to head up the InvestPenang team.
What should matter more is:
1) He is the right man for the job
2) He is willing to work for the people
3) He does not mind working for people, who just weeks ago were considered his opponents.
Like a good lawyer I know likes to say: Let's call a spade a spade. If he's the right man for the job, then no one else should say anything to the contrary.
But his motivations must be sincere for I believe Penang will be in for a hard time getting assistance from the federal government until the next election.
And I say to the people in BN. GROW UP! Don't bite the hand that feeds it. Penang needs all the help it can get to continue to attract high tech jobs into the country, it is still a state of Malaysia and has not annexed itself out of Malaysia.
But with the childish approach that the BN government has done so far, I would not be surprised if the PR states will hold a referendum to annex itself out as independent states since it will not be getting any help from Putrajaya.
But back to Kah Choon. I can sincerely emphatize with him, for I have just also experienced a similar situation. But I laud Kah Choon for bravely taking on the position, for I took the opposite direction and declined to take the job.
But perhaps that is what that sets me apart from Kah Choon. He aspires to help all Penangites on his shoulders, whereas I just want to go on making a living and hopefully provide my family with an above average lifestyle.
What is wrong with that, I ask. If the guy believes he can contribute the well being of the state of Penang, then all the more better. I would like to commend the CM of Penang for putting politics aside and welcoming Lee Kah Choon into the state government to head up the InvestPenang team.
What should matter more is:
1) He is the right man for the job
2) He is willing to work for the people
3) He does not mind working for people, who just weeks ago were considered his opponents.
Like a good lawyer I know likes to say: Let's call a spade a spade. If he's the right man for the job, then no one else should say anything to the contrary.
But his motivations must be sincere for I believe Penang will be in for a hard time getting assistance from the federal government until the next election.
And I say to the people in BN. GROW UP! Don't bite the hand that feeds it. Penang needs all the help it can get to continue to attract high tech jobs into the country, it is still a state of Malaysia and has not annexed itself out of Malaysia.
But with the childish approach that the BN government has done so far, I would not be surprised if the PR states will hold a referendum to annex itself out as independent states since it will not be getting any help from Putrajaya.
But back to Kah Choon. I can sincerely emphatize with him, for I have just also experienced a similar situation. But I laud Kah Choon for bravely taking on the position, for I took the opposite direction and declined to take the job.
But perhaps that is what that sets me apart from Kah Choon. He aspires to help all Penangites on his shoulders, whereas I just want to go on making a living and hopefully provide my family with an above average lifestyle.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
No backbone.
I am most amused recently by the news of the BN (Barisan Nasional to non Malaysians) big wigs jumping on the blog bandwagon, after it was announced that BN lost the cyberwar.
It's like the MasterCard ad, where the tagline is priceless, as prior to the election, the bloggers were heaped with insults. Now, everyone in the government is on it, and I am really curious what they have to say, or perhaps there isn't much to say anyways.
Then even more amusing is how the knifes are finally out in the UMNO circles asking Pak Lah to step aside. THis is politics to the max. Before its all for one and one for all, and now with a wee bit of encouragement, it's everyman for himself!
With this kind of leadership, I am glad that 60% of Malaysia's GDP is now in the hands of people not accustomed to such idiocy. Or is it?
We'll have to wait 5 years to see if my Philosophy prof was right in saying, absolute power corrupts absolutely. I certainly know it be true for the BN government.
It's like the MasterCard ad, where the tagline is priceless, as prior to the election, the bloggers were heaped with insults. Now, everyone in the government is on it, and I am really curious what they have to say, or perhaps there isn't much to say anyways.
Then even more amusing is how the knifes are finally out in the UMNO circles asking Pak Lah to step aside. THis is politics to the max. Before its all for one and one for all, and now with a wee bit of encouragement, it's everyman for himself!
With this kind of leadership, I am glad that 60% of Malaysia's GDP is now in the hands of people not accustomed to such idiocy. Or is it?
We'll have to wait 5 years to see if my Philosophy prof was right in saying, absolute power corrupts absolutely. I certainly know it be true for the BN government.
Blogged with the Flock Browser
The new wave - part deux
After I wrote the piece, I keep seeing the current effort to re-engineer the food chain for the future.
But unfortunately, not many investors have caught on.
Is biofuels to blame for the recent price increase in food commodities.
Yes and No
Yes because the world has only such a defined amount of feedstock available. It is not an ever-growing pie. So when it becomes more lucrative for the middle mens and farmers to sell to biofuel customers than to food customers, you bet they will do that. That is the beauty and the horror of the free market.
No because if companies wayyy back had come to realize the even oil is a limited commodity, they should have pushed harder to develop technologies such as the hybrid, fuel-cells etc etc.
Yes, it is a bit simplistic, but I do try to keep it short and simple.
But unfortunately, not many investors have caught on.
Is biofuels to blame for the recent price increase in food commodities.
Yes and No
Yes because the world has only such a defined amount of feedstock available. It is not an ever-growing pie. So when it becomes more lucrative for the middle mens and farmers to sell to biofuel customers than to food customers, you bet they will do that. That is the beauty and the horror of the free market.
No because if companies wayyy back had come to realize the even oil is a limited commodity, they should have pushed harder to develop technologies such as the hybrid, fuel-cells etc etc.
Yes, it is a bit simplistic, but I do try to keep it short and simple.
Blogged with the Flock Browser
Friday, April 11, 2008
The next big thing in investment?
I met a friend over the weekend, and one of the more interesting topic of discussion was the recent press on food shortage, and the increase in food prices plus food producing countries taking steps to ensure they have enough to feed themselves before exporting.
It seems that a big shot consulting firm forecasted sometime back that food producing countries are producing more efficiently, coupled with improvements in the supply chain, that soft commodity prices would stay depressed for a while.
Companies, having paid mucho bucks for that piece of report, naturally under invested in their technologies and products that form the basis of agricultural usage, such as fertilizers etc etc.
What the consulting firm did not envisage is crop disease, weather that have gone amok and competition from another sector for the raw feedstock: energy.
So today we see the following trends (this is by no means exhaustive and represents my own view OK?)
1) Biofuels: government subsidy meant that the farmers or middle men get more money to sell their corn, sugarcase, palm oil etc etc to biofuel makers than to traditional food processors. As a result, soft commodities have seen their prices increase, which naturally leads to increase cost for end processed material such as flour, rice etc etc.
I advocated once back that I thought Biodiesel would partially offset the world's hunger for energy. I still do, except now, I advocate that the suppliers seek out alternative feedstock; in particular feedstock that does not compete in the food chain. There are aleternatives out there, one of them being jatropha.
Jatropha does not need as much maintenance palm oil, plus it is able to survive in inhospitable land. Therefore, in theory, it would be better for the citizens of Beijing (or the outskirts) to plant jatropha to prevent the yellow desert from encroaching Beijing and the reduction of sand storms in the capital.
But I digress.
2) Due to global warming, we have seen the weather turn upside down. At least in Singapore, what was dry season is now innundated with rain. In Australia, when there was supposed to be rain, it is dry as a bone. Recent pictures have shown the Artic shelf shrinking, thus leading to increase in the sea level.
3) Diseased crops. Because of the factors above, plus the liberal use of pesticide, I believe that the insects have grown resistant to the pesticide, plus leaving the crops prone to more diseases
4) There are genetically modified plants available, but due to the bad press and lack of legislation (or progressive, sane legislation) it meant that these GM plants are not getting into the food chain. To some it may be good, but to other, it would be bad as investment into GM food research would be channeled elsewhere, and we would never know the long term effects of consuming GM foods.
But these GM foods hold the promise of better yield and shorter growth cycles and hardier plants. Does that not justify additional research into GM foods? Who are all the people making noise about GM foods? People with a full stomach and more than enough food on their plates, or the poor and hungry in Africa?
5) Under investment from suppliers. Chemical companies supplying into the agricultural industry have been under-investing in their product segment due to the misguided belief that the soft commodity market would remain soft, therefore the margins would be kept in the lower range.
But now, they have been pressured to produce more, and manufacturing efficiency can only increase the output by so much. Additional facilities need years to build and tool-up and tested before they too can come online and produce at great volumes.
Therefore as I see it, the next growth cycle in investment would naturally go into the soft commodity business sector.
Where are areas of opportunity?
1) Green pesticides. Many of these plants have in-built mechanism to keeping itself safe from insects and such. One key items is how do we find and couple these defense mechanisms from different plants to achieve the ideal outcome.
2) Green fertilizer, or at least greener ways of fertlizing the ground.
3) Hardier seedlings. TO be quite honest, the fastest way to get results is through genetic modification (GM), but the GM monster is still very prevalent among the learned and noisy. What I do not advocate is a chimera seed, where animal gene is inserted into plantform (if at all possible - I am no scientist), but in between plants I believe should be OK. I could be wrong. Also along the same vein would be seedlings that grow faster, and yield more end products.
4) Improving the production efficiency. Simple and yet impactful. Can Statistical methods and efficiency programs such as TPM and 6 Sigma be used in the harvesting and later on, producing process? I bet there are areas of opportunity.
I had the opportunity to learn a bit about social entrepreneurship, and I think this could be in line with what I am advocating. So in essence labs like Temasek Life Sciences, AVA and a lot of Malaysian Uni should gear up their research to reap the returns in a few years time.
Will I be right, will I be wrong. Only time can tell. I'll revisiting this again in a few years and perhaps so a post-mortem!
End.
It seems that a big shot consulting firm forecasted sometime back that food producing countries are producing more efficiently, coupled with improvements in the supply chain, that soft commodity prices would stay depressed for a while.
Companies, having paid mucho bucks for that piece of report, naturally under invested in their technologies and products that form the basis of agricultural usage, such as fertilizers etc etc.
What the consulting firm did not envisage is crop disease, weather that have gone amok and competition from another sector for the raw feedstock: energy.
So today we see the following trends (this is by no means exhaustive and represents my own view OK?)
1) Biofuels: government subsidy meant that the farmers or middle men get more money to sell their corn, sugarcase, palm oil etc etc to biofuel makers than to traditional food processors. As a result, soft commodities have seen their prices increase, which naturally leads to increase cost for end processed material such as flour, rice etc etc.
I advocated once back that I thought Biodiesel would partially offset the world's hunger for energy. I still do, except now, I advocate that the suppliers seek out alternative feedstock; in particular feedstock that does not compete in the food chain. There are aleternatives out there, one of them being jatropha.
Jatropha does not need as much maintenance palm oil, plus it is able to survive in inhospitable land. Therefore, in theory, it would be better for the citizens of Beijing (or the outskirts) to plant jatropha to prevent the yellow desert from encroaching Beijing and the reduction of sand storms in the capital.
But I digress.
2) Due to global warming, we have seen the weather turn upside down. At least in Singapore, what was dry season is now innundated with rain. In Australia, when there was supposed to be rain, it is dry as a bone. Recent pictures have shown the Artic shelf shrinking, thus leading to increase in the sea level.
3) Diseased crops. Because of the factors above, plus the liberal use of pesticide, I believe that the insects have grown resistant to the pesticide, plus leaving the crops prone to more diseases
4) There are genetically modified plants available, but due to the bad press and lack of legislation (or progressive, sane legislation) it meant that these GM plants are not getting into the food chain. To some it may be good, but to other, it would be bad as investment into GM food research would be channeled elsewhere, and we would never know the long term effects of consuming GM foods.
But these GM foods hold the promise of better yield and shorter growth cycles and hardier plants. Does that not justify additional research into GM foods? Who are all the people making noise about GM foods? People with a full stomach and more than enough food on their plates, or the poor and hungry in Africa?
5) Under investment from suppliers. Chemical companies supplying into the agricultural industry have been under-investing in their product segment due to the misguided belief that the soft commodity market would remain soft, therefore the margins would be kept in the lower range.
But now, they have been pressured to produce more, and manufacturing efficiency can only increase the output by so much. Additional facilities need years to build and tool-up and tested before they too can come online and produce at great volumes.
Therefore as I see it, the next growth cycle in investment would naturally go into the soft commodity business sector.
Where are areas of opportunity?
1) Green pesticides. Many of these plants have in-built mechanism to keeping itself safe from insects and such. One key items is how do we find and couple these defense mechanisms from different plants to achieve the ideal outcome.
2) Green fertilizer, or at least greener ways of fertlizing the ground.
3) Hardier seedlings. TO be quite honest, the fastest way to get results is through genetic modification (GM), but the GM monster is still very prevalent among the learned and noisy. What I do not advocate is a chimera seed, where animal gene is inserted into plantform (if at all possible - I am no scientist), but in between plants I believe should be OK. I could be wrong. Also along the same vein would be seedlings that grow faster, and yield more end products.
4) Improving the production efficiency. Simple and yet impactful. Can Statistical methods and efficiency programs such as TPM and 6 Sigma be used in the harvesting and later on, producing process? I bet there are areas of opportunity.
I had the opportunity to learn a bit about social entrepreneurship, and I think this could be in line with what I am advocating. So in essence labs like Temasek Life Sciences, AVA and a lot of Malaysian Uni should gear up their research to reap the returns in a few years time.
Will I be right, will I be wrong. Only time can tell. I'll revisiting this again in a few years and perhaps so a post-mortem!
End.
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