Cramping One's Style

Here in Singapore the sport of choice is soccer, or football as it is termed by all concerned. Coming as I do from a rugby loving nation, the term 'football' applies to the New Zealand national game and that is not soccer.

It is the S league that dominates in these parts and it is about the only thing worth watching on local television.

There has been a bevy of scantily clad young women that have recently appeared on our small screens mid week, but I expect their tenure will be short lived as their 'show' S factor has been universally panned.

I digress. The S league is lively and it is noticeable that there are large numbers of imports in all teams; aging Europeans, wiry Koreans and the odd Australian (and I do not mean this in the literal sense). There are a good smattering of Malay and Indian players but very few Singaporean Chinese.

Inter country rivalry is also to the fore when Singapore plays other countries such as Myanmar or Indonesia. It is not uncommon for players from the opposing team to violently object to a refereeing decision, manhandle the Ref and watch off the pitch en masse.

Playing at altitude is not a problem in Singapore, although the same cannot be said for a local Brazilian team. Their team doctor has decided to prescribe viagra for all players in the belief that the little blue pill will improve blood circulation.

One can only imagine that this well meaning prescription would very much cramp their style and their stride.

The other thing that is cramping everyone's style here in Singapore at the moment is the return of the heat. The past week has brought brain-curdling heat with little respite. We must just hope for a refreshing thunder storm or two to drop the temperatures a couple of degrees.

There's Money In Muck

.... or more precisely in old sewing machines.

According to a story on the BBC today there has been a collecting frenzy in Saudi Arabia.

The item of choice, old sewing machines. No doubt the Saudi populace were placing enormous bids on EBay for these items as well.

If the details are to be believed the asking price for these vintage treadles has gone as high as $50,000.

Why might one ask has the humble Singer suddenly become so collectible? The answer is simple; they were victims of a hoax.

A mythical substance called red mercury was believed to be present in these old machines and the lucky owner could make a fortune as it purportedly can help with the discovery of old gold or the making of a nuclear bomb.

How do you know if your machine has this substance? There is a simple test. If you place your mobile phone next to the machine's needle and the line cuts off, that proves the existence of the substance.

What this story actually proves is not the existence of 'red mercury' but just how gullible people are. I doubt very much that President Ahmadinejad has been stockpiling sewing machines but one cannot be sure.

Could this whole story be a CIA fabrication to divert attention away from plutonium?