[MyAppleMenu] Jan 8, 2012

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
====================================
**** Slippery Slopes ****
<http://www.marco.org/2012/01/07/slippery-slopes>
Marco Arment


> Auto-renewable subscriptions were obviously a huge cave-in to the big media players. Maybe Apple won’t let anyone else use them because Apple thinks they’re universally bad for users, and they want to limit use only to important media companies that wouldn’t otherwise support iOS.






MyAppleMenu Reader
====================================
**** Married Love By Tessa Hadley – Review ****
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/jan/08/married-love-tessa-hadley-review?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+theguardian%2Fbooks%2Frss+%28Books%29>
Edmund Gordon, The Guardian


> Tessa Hadley's short stories are set in a carefully delineated contemporary landscape – complete with Facebook, MP3 players and mobile phones, and in the background such current world events as the war in Afghanistan – yet they have a definite hint of the 19th century about them. Her prose style is delicate, restrained, sometimes erring on the side of formality; her narratives chart upheavals of the heart with earnest attention to psychological development. The world she writes about is ethnically homogenous but social distinctions are microscopically observed.



**** What Does A Conductor Do? ****
<http://nymag.com/arts/classicaldance/classical/features/conductors-2012-1/>
Justin Davidson, New York Magzine


> Ever since big ensembles became the basis of orchestral music, about 200 years ago, doubt has dogged the guy on the podium. Audiences wonder whether he (or, increasingly, she) has any effect; players are sure they could do better; and even conductors occasionally feel superfluous. “I’m in a bastard profession, a dishonest profession,” agonized Dimitri Mitropoulos, who led the New York Philharmonic in the fifties. “The others make all the music, and I get the salary and the credit.” Call it the Maestro Paradox: The person responsible for the totality of sound produces none.






SingaporeSurf
====================================
**** Track Fault Causes Delay On East-West Line ****
<http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1175448/1/.html>
Vimita Mohandas, Channel NewsAsia



**** Tunnel Link ****
<http://chedet.cc/blog/?p=659>
Mahathir Mohamad


> The question is whether the tunnel can provide for this volume of traffic. Because it will be far below the sea-bed it will have to begin and end far inland as lorries and trucks need gentle gradients. It can be as far as four kilometres for both ends. This, together with the undersea part will stretch the tunnel to almost eight kilometres.

> Can Malaysia afford the cost of half this project, assuming the other half will be borne by Singapore? The project will cost billions and will take very many years to complete.



**** Line ****
<http://piaroh.wordpress.com/2012/01/08/line/>
Words Of The Cze


> I appreciate what they’ve done for the card-skimming scam so far. It was quickly reported on the mainstream news (score one, but then nobody keeps count for them), DBS moved quickly to assure customers that their losses will be covered and investigations are underway. Experts were immediately put on air not to put a spin on why it’s not a big deal, but rather explain concisely how the scam probably occurred and is being carried out. It is the information dissemination muscle of the old-school media in a very quiet demonstration that hasn’t been seen in all of 2011.

> So despite the potential damage that could have been caused by this scam, probably greater than any MRT breakdown, the matter has been contained within a couple of days. It’s by no means over and won’t be until the perpetrators are arrested and charged, but at least this isn’t going to be a crisis for anyone. Not you, not me, not any DBS customer, not DBS itself. Thta’s the great job marvellously done.



**** 提款机防复制装置 ä¸ºä½•æ— æ³•é˜»æ­¢ç›—æï¼Ÿ ****
<http://www.zaobao.com.sg/sp/sp120108_006.shtml>
李蕙心, 联合早报


> å‘è¨€äººè¯´ï¼Œæ¡ˆä»¶è¿˜åœ¨è°ƒæŸ¥ä¸­ï¼Œè¡Œæ–¹æš‚æ—¶ä»æ— æ³•å…¬å¼€æ­¹å¾’å¹²æ¡ˆæ‰‹æ³•ã€‚å—è®¿çš„ä¿å®‰ä¸“å®¶ä¹Ÿæ— æ³•å›žç­”è¿™ä¸ªé—®é¢˜ã€‚



**** Revised Ministerial Pay In Singapore ****
<http://www.tanchengbock.org/my-views/revised-ministerial-pay-in-singapore>
Tan Cheng Bock


> We must bring back the public spirit of serving as our First Call and not be constantly swayed that Money in Politics will attract talent.

> The fact that the committee has not deviated from using the top private sector earners as a reference tells me the formula was only tweaked.