Regular features from July 2004 103rd Issue

The Digital Doctor - Picture This!

While strolling around the recent jazz festival last month I couldn't help noticing how many people are now sporting new digital cameras. It seems that the days of the good old SLR film cameras are truly numbered and the new fad amongst the trendy Benz driving Bangkokians that populated our town over the musical weekend is the digital camera. Whether its just a flashy mobile phone replacement to show off to the friends or an essential tool for the avid photographer, the digital camera has now become a daily commodity. This month I'll be taking a snap shot at the technical aspects of a digital camera and how to get the most out of one whether you're an owner already or just thinking of joining the club.
Firstly I'll look at the considerations you will take when considering a purchase. In the same breath as the question "how fast is the CPU?" asked for computers, "how many megapixels?" is asked for digital cameras. A digital camera's resolution (a measure of how much fine detail the camera can capture) is rated in megapixels. The higher the number of megapixels used by a digital camera, the higher the resolution and the sharper your pictures can be.

Larger and clearer photos will require a digital camera with a higher megapixel rating. Here are a couple of examples:
· High-quality 5x7 prints - If you need photos no larger than 5x7, a two megapixel digital camera is ok. A two megapixel camera can produce photos that are made up of approximately 1600x1200 pixels, which is about the size required for a 5x7.

· High quality 8x10 prints - A three megapixel digital camera is capable of producing images using approximately 2048x1536 pixels, which make a great 8x10.
Digital cameras available today can be over 6 megapixels however anything over 3-4 megapixels is probably un-necessary unless you will be printing extremely large, high resolution photographs. As with computers memory is probably more of an important factor with regards to its capabilities. The higher resolution photographs you take the more memory they will use, your camera will come shipped with an internal memory stick for storing your photographs, this is usually between 32Mb and 64Mb. A 32Mb card will hold around 55 photos at 2MP and only 35 at 3MP. So instead of looking at how many megapixels it has, it may be better to upgrade the memory stick to allow more shots before you need to download.

Aside from megapixels and memory there are several other factors to consider when looking at digital cameras. Zoom is often something that is overlooked and many cameras now days have good zooming capabilities. Standard is the optical zoom which acts just like a regular camera (3x optical zoom equates roughly to 35mm to 110mm). If you want something with better zoom capabilities look for a camera with around 6x optical zoom, you may also want to invest in a tripod if telephoto digital photography is required as shutter release is slightly slower on digital cameras often resulting in blurred images.

Don't be fooled with digital zooms as really they're only "tweaking" the image with digital enhancement software, you often get a noticeable loss of quality when using the digital zoom. It works by selecting a progressively smaller and smaller area of the picture which is then modified electronically to fill the frame and become an image at the pre-set resolution.

Several other aspects such as battery life, manual control, flash and night capabilities, and LCD size should also be considered.

Downloading your precious portraits is also something to think about, most (if not all) digital cameras will connect to your PC via a USB cable. What happens next is the important bit! Depending on the brand of camera (and I wont mention the culprits) they will either be recognized instantly as a mass storage device (Windows 2000 and XP only) and automatically installed allowing you to "see" the camera as an additional drive and simply copy your photos across to the hard disk. Or you'll be prompted to install a mindless quantity of bundled software and un-necessary programs that insist on taking over your machine in order for you to access your pictures. In all honesty you don't really need the 6 photo viewers that come on the CD, if you want them then go ahead. One handy little program called ACDSee does everything I have ever wanted to do when managing my pictures. When it comes to tweaking and editing you may need something a little more powerful such as Adobe Photoshop, this is also used to re-size the photos and file sizes so you can email them without sending a 1.2Mb attachment and overloading mum's meagre Hotmail inbox.

Most of the major photo stores around Hua Hin will also take your pictures and burn them onto a CD for a nominal fee if you're travelling or you don't have your own computer. If you have any questions on this months or any articles don't hesitate to call the Doc on 01-1911742. Back issues of the Digital Doctor can be found on www.digitalmetrix.net

The Hedge Index

Last year when Warren Buffet called Hedge Funds "weapons of mass destruction" we took a cursory look at them (the hedge funds not the weapons) in this column. Our conclusion was more on the Han Blix than the George Bush side. We could find no evidence that these weapons of mass destruction were about to wipe out the investment world as we know and love it.
A year on what has happened to the hedge fund industry?
Well if you'll excuse the pun it has continued to expand at an explosive rate.
According to industry think- tank "Hedge Fund Research", assets under management by hedge funds rose about 60% between the end of 2000 and the end of 2003
to US$815 billion and now in the middle of 2004 has reached valuations of US$1Trillion.

Japan's largest pension fund is looking to allocate assets to alternative investments including hedge funds. This will probably open the way for other Asian institutional money managers to follow suit.
Germany also joined a host of other European countries in easing regulations governing hedge funds, as the asset class continues to gain widening acceptance from investors and regulators alike.
In the UK which has traditionally lagged behind other countries in investing in hedge funds, Man investments (The biggest hedge fund in the world) have signed a new institutional mandate and entered into a distribution agreement with a major retail financial services group. They feel confident that this market will continue to evolve.
Can it be that hedge funds are moving into the mainstream as an established asset class because they have proved their ability to deliver solid risk adjusted returns in almost all market conditions?
It is difficult to give a snapshot here of how the investment philosophy of a multi-manager hedge fund can generate risk adjusted returns superior to those gained from mainstream equity and bond markets. But let me try.
"Glenwood", one of the most experienced funds of hedge fund managers believe that returns are a function of the risk taken. We can look at an overview of the investment process.
Phase 1 Strategy Selection. Identify and assess strategy opportunities and risks. Select strategies with definable source of added value.

Phase 2 Managers Selection. Identify managers with attractive prospects. Manager due diligence.

Phase 3 Portfolio Construction. Intelligent combination of strategies and manager. Balance investment objectives and optimal risk diversification.

Phase 4 Monitoring and Risk Management. Set an appropriate monitoring level for each manager. Actively monitor managers, strategies and portfolio.
Avoid potentially damaging allocations and make appropriate changes.

This qualitative analysis is not what hedge fund critics either expect or understand. Critics usually dismiss the industry as reckless and devious with client's money. The opposite is true. Good hedge funds usually attract strong demand which allows them to be extremely selective about who invests with them. They avoid "hot-money" that trade in and out of the fund with short time periods and demand that investors add value to be eligible to invest Furthermore potential investors should understand the strategy the fund manager is pursuing to avoid asking for meetings with the manager during difficult market environments.
Glenwood is well known in the hedge fund industry and benefits from a good reputation as a reliable and knowledgeable investor. Hedge funds are comfortable with Glenwood being one of their investors since any investment is only done following an in depth due diligence report.,
And finally let me put a smile on the face of Man investors.
Man Investments won in four categories at the first ever Euomoney Private Banking Awards. The awards included Best provider of hedge funds and Managed Futures in Western Europe, Asia, Hong Kong and Singapore. They also added to their laurels by winning the hedge fund category of the ninth Global Investor Awards for Investment Excellence.
None of this seems detrimental to client's best interests.
For further information on this article or any area of Personal finance, please contact Jerry at info@swissinvestcenter.net

Dog Rescue Update

There has been some confusion about the future of HHDRC (Hua Hin Dog Rescue Center) since it was announced that Maureen (one of the managers) had breast cancer for the second time. We initially thought we would have to close down within the next few months and we subsequently renewed our 'push' to find homes for the dogs, stopped taking in new dogs and have not published anything new on the website.

While we still cannot be 100% sure about the future, it is looking somewhat brighter for us. Maureen has had her operation and her first two chemotherapy treatments, and is dealing with everything far better than we had anticipated. She is still managing to do her shifts both in the center and the shop (apart from when shuttling to Bangkok for hospital appointments). We have also had an offer from a Swiss lady to finance the purchase of land and the building of a new center, which would house 150 dogs instead of the present 40. The center would have a hospital wing and clinic, so we could nurse the sickest dogs in the center, instead of in our homes! Again, we are seriously looking into this possibility and are searching for suitable land.

The volunteer and financial situations are more dire. Christine and Jean Claude have been forced to return to France, due to health problems, and Verity will be in UK for a well-deserved holiday during July. That leaves Dawn, Du and Maureen to perform all the duties in the center. We are luckier in the shop, having some lovely ladies who give up their time to help out. Sales in the shop and donations (both financial and of things to sell in the shop) have lessened of late and we are only bringing in enough for basic care of our existing dogs. We cannot afford to take in new sick dogs, to vaccinate dogs outside the center, or operations of any sort at the moment. Thank you to everyone who has donated recently, we are so grateful, but we would always be pleased to get more!!

We'd like to give a special "thank you" to some businesses that thought of us when they had a little misfortune. Both Lorraine & Bill, owners of Buffalo Bill's and Fisherman's Wharf and Wayne of Koala Blue had refrigeration problems with some of their meat supplies in the past couple of months. This meant that some of their meat stock was not up to the usual high standards that they use in their restaurants. Instead of throwing it away, they donated it to us, to the great enjoyment of the dogs. Thanks, guys. Also thanks to Hua Hin Ham and Bacon Company who regularly donates bones and dry food to us.

To sum up, HHDRC are still very much in operation and will be for at least six months. We hope to continue for much longer than that and remain a permanent fixture in Hua Hin. Our dogs still need homes (thank you to everyone who has adopted a dog; 16 have found new homes since October, largely thanks to Verity and Thep), we still need volunteers, particularly in the center, and we are still taking care of sick and injured dogs (funds permitting). For more information, or to meet the dogs, please call 01 9814406 or 01 8534586.

Tantawan’s Kitchen

Yum Pla gra ponk or Tinned Fish Salad (spicy):

1. Can of fish 2
2. Lemon grass slice 3 stalks
3. Thai chilli sliced 5 (depends on how hot you need )
4. Red onions sliced 5
5. Lemon squeeze ? soup spoon
6. Fish sauce ? soup spoon

Method : Open can of fish and place on the plate put sliced lemon grass on top followed by the sliced red onion, chilli, splash fish sauce, and lemon juice over the fish. (Do not mixed fish) This dish is normally served with rice but it can be a tasty snack on toast, try it, I think you may like it.
See you on the next issue, Thantawan

Mack and Jamras London celebrate their wedding

Martin and Da tie the knot

Dave and Johnny return to the UK

Porns birthday

Lenny, Nick and Alex share their birthdays

Diva Dao enjoys her birthday with Martin

Siriwan and Brain on their wedding day

Sopa helps Dave celebrate his birthday

Useful Telephone Numbers for Hua Hin

Railway station
032-512 770, 032-511 073

Bus station of Hua Hin
032-511 654, 032-512 543

Bus station of Prachuabkirikhan
032-601 901

Bus station of Pranburi
032-621 443

Hua Hin Hospital
032-520 401

Dog Rescue Center
0-1981 4406

Wild life Rescue Center (Tayang)
032-458 135

Department of Land Cha-am office:
032- 430 846-7

Department of Land Hua Hin office:
032-536 164, 032-512 407

Department of Land Prachuabkirikhan:
032-611 211

Department of Land Pranburi
032-622 199

Local Government (Hua Hin)
032-521 340, 532 471

Local water supply
032-511 677

The Power Board of Hua Hin
032-512 215, 032 513 165

Observer office:
032-531 078

Red Cross.
032-512 567

San Paolo Hospital
032-532 576-85

Polyclinic International
032-516 424, 032-516 425

Shell Cooking Gas
032-511 144, 032- 515 620

The Communication Authority of Thailand
(Hua Hin)
032-511 351

Rotary Club of Hua Hin
0-1916 6637
Meeting every Thursday 8.pm
at Hua Hin Grand Hotel & Plaza

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