Posted by tpc at October 12th, 2008

In the midst of recession and oil prices falling from $145 to below $80, the ridiculous power company announced that electricity prices are going up by 21%, based forward oil pricing. The best thing is that our electricity are generated through natural gas, not crude oil!

Even more ridiculous is the following quote taken by the report written by one Liaw Wy-Cin.

The scope for savings is high considering that power consumption patterns show that 40 per cent of households, from one-room flats to landed properties, use more than the monthly average, said Mr Khoo (Chin Hean, EMA chief executive.) EMA is the electricity and gas industry regulator.

Well, if the report was accurate, the statement defies common sense! By the very definition of average, 50% of every household would use more! I’m guessing the 40% comes because they banded the average consumption into ranges. (I made a terrific blunder here, see the comments.)

Another report from Reuters said

People who take long spells of sick leave at least once in three years face a higher risk of early death,…

What a magnificent revelation, almost as strange as rooster crows leading to a higher chance of the sun coming out. Come on, which part of ’sick’ in sick leave do you not understand? People suffering from serious ailment take sick leave and have a high chance of premature death. Common sense tells you that. Again, either it was a worthless paper in the British Medical Journal or it’s the reporters missing the point.