[MyAppleMenu] Mar 30, 2008

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
====================================

**** Apple's Suspiciously Addictive World <http://www.independent.co.uk/money/invest-save/james-daley-apples-suspiciously-addictive-world-802025.html>
by James Daley, The Independent
Apple's products are very cool &mdash; and if customers get two years' good service out of them, that's probably just enough to keep them hooked.

**** Core Values That Turned Apple Into The Best Store In Town <http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/mar/30/marketingandpr.apple?gusrc=rss&feed=technology>
by John Naughton, The Guardian
How did a computer company break into a business it knew nothing about (high street retailing), and instantly join the Premiership?

**** Aperture Uber Alles? (Apple Attacks Photoshop) <http://cultofmac.com/aperture-uber-allas/1863>
by Leigh McMullen, Cult Of Mac

The Tomorrow Weblog
====================================

**** Google Has Lots To Do With Intelligence <http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/03/29/BUQLUAP8L.DTL>
by Verne Kopytoff, San Francisco Chronicle

MyAppleMenu Reader
====================================

**** Ode To An Onion Ring, And Other Fast Food In The Slower Lane <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/30/weekinreview/30itzkoff.html?ex=1364616000&en=3d2583564c10b20a&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss>
by David Itzkoff, New York Times
Fast food has always been an especially effective stimulant of the synapses that link my unrefined palate to the pleasure center of my brain, and it seems to do so in direct proportion to the obscurity of the restaurant chain that served it.

**** The Joy Of (Still) Cooking <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/30/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/30Rhome.html?ex=1364616000&en=4076ce621892a711&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss>
by Kate Stone Lombardi, New York Times
In many households, the pots and pans are all but retired with the emptying of the nest. No more countless supermarket runs &mdash; just the occasional small shopping trip. No more nightly grind of turning out balanced meals with protein, vegetables and a starch. No more scrubbing pots and pans. You trade all that for freedom.
And that's the part that baffles me. Freedom from what? Eating tasty, home-cooked meals?

**** Guess Who's Coming To Power <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/30/books/review/Bonner-t.html?ref=books>
by Raymond Bonner, New York Times
A young, well-traveled, multilingual foreign-policy scholar, Parag Khanna, suggests in "The Second World" that we are on the cusp of a new new world order &mdash; "a multipolar and multicivilizational world of three distinct superpowers competing on a planet of shrinking resources." The three are the United States, the European Union and China.

**** Uncivil Action <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/30/books/review/brill.html?_r=1&ref=books&oref=slogin>
by Steven Brill, New York Times
Grishma sticks with his formula for the villains in "The Appeal." But he paints a more complicated picture of the heroes, while making an important point about how the justice system in more than half of the 50 states is increasingly threatened by the kind of big-money gutter politics that have made so many Americans disgusted with Washington.

**** She Did What? <http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2008/03/30/she_did_what/>
by Ty Burr, Boston Globe
As one starlet after another goes off the rails, what kind of exmaple are they setting for American girls? Maybe a good one. Meet a new cultural force: the anti-role model.

**** In Search Of The Visible Woman <http://books.guardian.co.uk/reviews/politicsphilosophyandsociety/0,,2269249,00.html>
by Geraldine Bedell, Guardian
Women are in a bad way. We are still mae scapegoats and traduced and our true natures denied. Two female polemicists have published books explaining why, although they ahve come to very different, arguably opposing conclusions. One is also very much better than the other.

**** 'WIth A Few More Brains...' <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/30/opinion/30kristof.html?_r=1&ref=opinion&oref=slogin>
by Nicholas D. Kristof, New York Times
The dumbing-down of discourse has been particularly striking since the 1970s. Think of the devolution of the emblematic conservative voice from WIlliam Buckley to Bill O'Reilly. It's enough to make one doubt Darwin.

**** It's Not You, It's Your Books <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/30/books/review/Donadio-t.html?ex=1364529600&en=7de11785292c506c&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss>
by Rachel Donadio, New York Times
Let's face it &mdash; this may be a gender issue. Brainy women are probably more sensitive to literary deal breakers than are brainy men. (Rare is the guy who'd throw a pretty girl out of bed for revealing her imperfect taste in books.)

SingaporeSurf
====================================

**** Tiger's Money Manager Flies Off <http://business.smh.com.au/tigers-money-manager-flies-off/20080330-22gz.html>
by Scott Rochfort, Sydney Morning Herald
Tiger Airways has lost its second chief financial officer in less than two years, amid speculation the Singapore Airlines-backed budget airline is also struggling to retain staff in Australia.

**** You Are Taking A World-Class Public Transport
by Heng-Cheong Leong, MyAppleMenu
Take heart, Seng-kang-ers and Punggol-ers, you /are/ travelling on a world-class public transport every day to work. According to Sydney Morning Herald <http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/metro-will-be-too-fast-to-get-on/2008/03/30/1206850709156.html>, the North East Line is "widely regarded as a world benchmark for the latest in metro rail."
<p class="permlink">Permanent Link to This Post <http://www.myapplemenu.com/singapore/2008/03/30/id0023/>

**** SIngapore Grand Prix Organizers Mock Earth Hour <http://www.f1underground.com/archives/84>
by F1underground
WHat irony then, that at a time when Formula 1 is struggling to reinvent itself as an environmentally responsible sport that the organizers of the Singapore Grand Prix have chosen Earth Hour to debut megawatt using streetlights that will be used to illuminate F1's first night race later this year.

**** LTA May Give Cash Rebates To Persuade More To Switch To Public Transport <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/338180/1/.html>
by Asha Popatlal, Channel NewsAsia
Transport minister Raymond Lim said he has asked LTA to work with the finance ministry to see if certificate of entitlement (COE) and additional registration fee (ARF) rebates can be given in cash when motorists decide to give up their cars.
/Of course, the obvious follow up question: what about me, who "gave up" the desire to own a car even before buying the first car? :-)/

**** Possibility Of MRT Link Between Singapore And Johor Still Being Discussed <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/338183/1/.html>
by Asha Popatlal, Channel NewsAsia
Transport minister Raymond Lim said it is premature to say whether Singapore's MRT line will eventually extend into Johor Bahru.
Mr Lim said there is a working group with officials from both sides looking into how best to enhance connectivity between Singapore and Johor. While one of the options is a rail link, Mr Lim said other options are still being discussed.

**** A Promotion Bypass <http://yawshinleong.blogspot.com/2008/03/promotion-bypass.html>
by Yaw Shin Leong
I recalled that during the elections, the PAP urged Nee Soon East constituents not to vote for WP's Dr Poh Lee Guan. The reason the PAP gave was because Ho Peng Kee had ministerial potential and therefore they cannot afford to lose him.
In view of Shanmugam's promotion, has the PAP leadership changed their assessment about Peng Kee's ministerial potential?

**** Hotel Singapore Now Officially Gay-Friendly <http://www.yawningbread.org/arch_2008/yax-857.htm>
by Au Waipang, Yawning Bread
The trouble with Singapore is that we too easily see ourselves as a hotel: The guests are treated royally, and all their predilections catered to. The citizens, however, cannot talk about their rights - such talk is immediately cast as a threat to national security - nor demand respect and justice. Instead we're fed a diet of "mission accomplished" stories, telling us we're a paradise.

**** On History And Singapore <http://singaporeck.wordpress.com/2008/03/30/on-history-and-singapore/>
by Singaporeporfavor
Singapore has done a lot with itself, and, though most know nothing of it, Singapore does have an interesting culture.

**** Explording Marina East <http://tidechaser.blogspot.com/2008/03/exploring-marina-east.html>
by The Tide Chaser
Today, a group of us Semakau guides decided to go Marina East to explore the marshland.

**** First Social Media Breakfast: SIngapore A Success! <http://uniquefrequency.wordpress.com/2008/03/30/first-social-media-breakfast-singapore-a-success/>
by Unique-Frequency

**** New Cabinet Line-Up Throws Up Some Surprises <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2008/03/30/new-cabinet-line-up-throws-up-some-surprises/>
by Gerald Giam, theonlinecitizen
In the remaining three years of this government's term in power, we can expect more of the same old politics and policies.

**** Freecycle <http://mercifulrain.wordpress.com/2008/03/28/freecycle/>
by Mercifulrain
This is a group of people who reduce waste by giving and taking goods for free.

**** SM Goh Says Singapore Has Balanced Political Self-Renewal System <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/338154/1/.html>
by S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia
Senior minster Goh Chok Tong has described Singapore's political self-renewal system as well-balancd, with very experienced ministers and new ones who have been tried out gradually.

**** Power Hikes: Low-Income Families To Feel Pinch Most <http://www.straitstimes.com/Free/Story/STIStory_221882.html>
by Marvis Toh and Jamie Ee Wen Wei, Straits Times
Unlike middle-income earners, they have fewer options to cut energy use as they use basic appliances.