Singapore Hail Remixed

After a week of haze, the promise of rain brought hail to various parts of Singapore, from Jurong to Bukit Batok, and Choa Chu Kang.

Many People sent photos and even videos of the tiny ice pellets that rained down in various parts of the island. And while hail storms are not common in the tropics, it is the first time that Singapore has seen hail since March 2008.



So it comes as no surprise that many were excited to witness such an event. And while there were many uploads to youtube to capture the event none was more to fun to watch than the interview given by Gandhimathi Muthusamy from Jurong West.

The surprise and delight on her face as she tells her story to the Channel News Asia reporter (who just made the surprise and excitement more evident by being so stone faced) stood out like a ray of sunshine as did the wonder in her voice as she explained what experiencing the hail was like in true Singapore style.

I remember thinking at the time that it was a prefect clip to autotune, that effect where you layer a vocal or a video clip to music bending the vocals to fit the music used. And no sooner had I thought about than the very next day one was released by Fallen Superhero (real name Mohamed Yahya),  a brilliant effort that has already received over 375,000 views at the time of writing. And one that saw him get a one page spread in the The New Paper (a local daily newspaper) on Monday 1st of July.

In his own words, "Madam Muthusamy said it in a way that only Singaporeans could understand. You wouldn't hear someone else say it fell from the sky like grapes. Such a strange metaphor" he went on to say that "I did not alter her reaction and I hope people can appreciate it as a creative video and not see it as an insult. Well personally speaking I like many think that it was a brilliant piece of work and applaud the effort.

In response to the video Madam Muthusamy has said she was "very excited and very shocked because now I'm famous already, everyone knows me already".

You can find the links too it below (I recommend the youtube video)

Singapore Hail Remix on Youtube
Singapore Hail Remix on Soundcloud

The Edward Snowden Conspiracy

The name Edward Snowden is fast becoming one of the most searched names on the internet with a lot of stories in circulation. I'm certainly not going to go into them all here but enough to say that he is responsible for blowing the whistle on the alleged information gathering activites of the USA recently. An allegation that probably has seen a gaggle of paper shredders been burnt out due to sudden surge in usage.



Of course it is rather scary if you think about it. There's been no shortage of conspiracy theories about governments prying into peoples personal affairs and a number of hollwood movies have been made on the premiss, but this is the first time that we have gotten a glimpse into these allegations in a real world sense.

The repercussions for the USA if these allegations are proven true will be very interesting to watch. It has in the past (and since the allegations) publicly made stands on its information gathering activities which are (as is to be expected) very differnt from the allegations made. And of course if we consider that what is made public is not the complete picture (after all it would be naive to think that Edward Snowden had access to every inforamtion gathering activity of the USA) the outlook for the USA is looking very bleak indeed.

I wonder how much wheeling and dealing is happening behind the scenes to smooth the many ruffled feathers is this little game of espionage?

And if any of the allegations are proven true (which lets face it is not likely to happen since damage control has most likely already been put in place) it will beg the question is the USA alone in this type of activity? No doubt there has been a few scratch our back and we'll scratch yours moves already played out in the preverbial corridors of power.

How many other countries have ears and eye's in places they shouldn't?

Yes we are living in a much scarier world these days. The information age has it's benefits it has to be said and all of us would struggle to give up using the internet or our various smart phones. But is the ultimate price going to be worth it?

And of course if there was no truth in any of these allegations why is the USA going through such lenghts to get their hands on the person in question?

It would seem he has not very many places left to hide so I'm guessing we can expect a few more reveals yet before this game is played out!

Pink Dot 2013

June the 29th 2013 passed for many as just an ordinary day. Here in Singapore it was the day on which the annual Pink Dot event was held at Hong Lim Park, an event that saw a record breaking 21,000 people in attendance and for the event itself to become the second largest LGBT-affirmative event in Asia in five years, behind the annual Taiwan Pride Parade in Taipei ....


.... Organised by a pool of Singaporean volunteers, Pink Dot campaigns for diversity, inclusiveness, and works to foster understanding for the basic human need to love and be loved, regardless of oneʼs sexual orientation. From it's early beginnings in 2009 it has seen attendance swell from 2,500 to 21,000 this year and clearly highlights the change in attitudes on the issue here in Singapore.

The event was perfectly timed and to coincide (either by design or chance) with the Singapore National day rehearsals and as the national day helicopter flew past trailing a huge national flag behind it everyone there stood up to sing the national anthem. It was a very touching moment indeed.

This years three-hour event featured a concert by Singaporean artists, speeches by the three Pink Dot ambassadors – popular TV host and actress Michelle Chia, well-known sports commentator Mark Richmond, and acclaimed theatre director and Wild Rice Artistic Director Ivan Heng – and culminated in a giant pink dot formation after dusk with the crowd holding pink LED lights. 

During the dot formation, prominent Singaporean pop icon and singer-songwriter Dick Lee made a surprise appearance to lead the crowd in singing Home, a song he wrote and familiar to many Singaporeans as a National Day song and also the theme of the event this year.

It's unclear yet what this means for the general LGBT movement here in Singapore. Section 377a still remains on the books, with an appeal case pending the outcome of which is by no means certain. But one thing it does highlight is Singaporeans attitudes are changing as more and more people stand up for the freedom to love and for Singapore to be a more inclusive society.

And with Hong Lim Park struggling to hold those that attended this years event, Pink Dot 2014 will be an interesting event to watch!

The Facebook LIKE Scam

It's really annoying when people post those emotional images, videos or status updates that prompt people to like or comment on them. The posts usually contain some sort of promise, like “if you type ‘MOVE’ into the comments section, watch what happens to the image,” or “my sister has downs syndrome, like if you still think she’s beautiful like I do.” These types ....



.... of viral posts are actually a form of a Facebook scam called “Like Farming.” So people need to read on and wise the hell up.

These posts work by slowly gathering likes for a Facebook page, usually full of innocent content like famous quotes or heart wrenching emotional photos. However, the true purpose of these pages is often to gain enough traction in Facebook’s algorithm to begin appearing in users’ news feeds.

And of course once you "like" something you’re not only sharing the content on your wall so all your friends can see it (which by the way is becoming extremely irritating) but you’re also automatically subscribing and giving permission for future newsfeed updates to site owners. This happens EVERY time and ANYWHERE you Like something.

The owners of the page can then post advertising and links that reach a much wider audience because of the groundwork they've laid by collecting likes. They can link to whatever products or sites they wish, including products that they may receive a commission on or even to identity-stealing malware. And since you've “liked” the page, you're now accepting anything the owners want to post in your feed, including those annoying advertisements. And of course you've also just given them access to some of your personal information too.

Congratulations!

In some cases the page, with all of its well meaning "like" fan base, is sold off giving the new buyer access to a whole group of people for very little effort. In fact believe it or not there is an emerging market for buying Facebook likes. And if you think that's insane then don’t take my word for it, go ahead and do a search for "buy Facebook likes" and see how many pages you get.

So if you see a post in your Facebook feed that ……

- shows a photo that tugs at your emotions asking you to "to like or comment if you care"
- challenges you with a "99% of people get this wrong" message followed by some stupid maths equation
- promises "For every like so and so will donate $1" to some cause or other
- promises "We are going to give away such and such to 5 people who like this post"
- asks you to “enter the first word you see” from a grind of random letters
- asks you to “name a fruit beginning with the letter A” or something equally word related

…… then avoid it like the plague since the chances are it is a part of this "Like Farming" scam.

The variety and ingenuity of the people behind these “Like Farming” scams is never ending and while some of the images and posts made by them have a basis in fact, the majority are pure fabrication. But they all have one thing in common, ALL of them without exception follow the same “LIKE” or “COMMENT” format because they need you to do that in order to gain access to your information and through your actions to gain access to your friends.

I could go on but I think the point has been made and if after reading this you ignore these pieces of advise you only have yourself to blame.

Singapore Haze

The haze is back over Singapore thanks to a stack of fires in Indonesia with locals there being accused of using fire to clear land for cultivation. The effect of the haze is the worst in recorded history with the pollution index (PSI) reaching as high as 401 on the 21st June, almost twice the recorded previous high. And while Singaporeans shelter behind their N95 masks ....



.... Indonesia has accused Singapore of acting "like a child" over acrid smog from forest fires in Sumatra that has triggered the city-state's worst environmental crisis in more than a decade.

"Singapore should not be behaving like a child and making all this noise," Agung Laksono, the minister coordinating Indonesia's response, told reporters. His comments came as an emergency meeting hosted by Indonesia's foreign ministry in Jakarta and attended by the chief executive of Singapore's National Environment Agency (NEA), Andrew Tan, got under way.

Of course people are going to make noise, in case you hadn't noticed they can't breath properly. And let's just skip over the fact that a PSI reading of 401 is extremely hazardous to health. What do you expect people to do carry on as though nothing is wrong.

What an idiot! .

And as N95 masks fly off the shelves quicker than they can be restocked and newspapers report that conditions are likely to be with us for sometime due to prevailing winds and the continued dry season in Sumatra, at least some Singaporeans are finding their sense of humour.

And while it may not chase the haze away these youtube "haze "parodies of some well known songs might bring a smile to your face.

Here's some links to my personal favourite song parodies! 
Haze (Parody of "All I have to do is Dream")
The Ex-Factor presents  - Hazy
This is Haze (a Parody by GAG)
Haze gets in my Eyes (a Parody)

And if anyone knows of any more let me know!

No More Blaire Witch!

This is a heart felt plea to all those film makers in the world. The Blaire Witch project was a novelty and nothing more. It was also totally unwatchable, and while it may have spanned a gaggle of similar style movies they are also just as unwatchable. I mean seriously do you really expect ....



.... me to spend money to go to a cinema and watch what could have been a good story totally destroyed by shaky camera footage. Just trying to watch it gives me a headache. 

Honestly it's over already, give it a rest, bury it where lost footage is suppose to be buried and don't bring to the light of day again.

 If you need this type of a gimmick to sell your movie then lets face it, it just really can't be much good since the emphasis is on the gimmick and not the movie.

 So please please dear film makers of the world, no more lost footage movies ... without exception they totally suck!

Kenneth, Gary and 377a

Reading through all the comments on the recent verdict with respect to the repeal of section 377A I was surprised at the number of ugly comments that people had left. I know people are entitled to their opinions, but there were many that were just rude and plain offensive.

It made me take ....



....a step back because this is not a reflection of the Singapore I know.

Most seemed to be religious in nature, and while everyone is entitled to follow the religion of their choice they have no right to push that belief on anyone else. Any relationship between a person and their God must be a purely personal one. And it's clear from most of the comments that many don't even understand the issue to begin with.

Many talked about the sanctity of marriage, which has nothing to do with the repeal of 377a. And of course the heterosexual community are doing enough by themselves to tarnish that already without any help. I was going to put up some examples of that but really the list is pretty endless already so there's not much point. All you have to do is read the news any day of the week and you'll find something there.

Many talked about acts of public sex between 2 guys, which has nothing to do with the repeal of 377a, in fact even if 377a was repealed there are already laws that cover that regardless of gender or sexual orientation. I think some people believe that if the law is repealed that couples will be making out on every street corner, which is totally idiotic of course.

Many talked about protecting their children and about how the repeal of 377a will send them the wrong signal. I can understand that from a parents perspective, after all what parent would want their child to be gay given the stigma, abuse (verbal and physical), hate and bigotry that they would have to endure for simply being themselves. No one would wish that on a child.

Others were so warped you wonder how those comments came from a sane individual in the first place.

And yet throughout all the many comments in the same vein as those above many of those same dissenting voices talked about how it's alright to do what you want in private. And that is the very core of the challenge to 377a to begin with and the reason both Gary and Kenneth took this matter to the courts in the first place.

Section 377a states "Any male person who, in public or private, commits, or abets the commission of, or procures or attempts to procure the commission by any male person of, any act of gross indecency with another male person, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 2 years".

So here's my solution for the ongoing debate. Since this is about 377a being a law that focuses on a specific minority then lets just simply remove the word "male" and make it an all inclusive law that focuses on "gross indecency" by anyone regardless of gender or sexual orientation. That way everyone is subject to the law equally. Then we can leave it up to society to define what it means by the term "gross indecency".

And since both oral and anal sex where decriminalised for the heterosexual community in 2007 that by default means those are already considered a social norm and at least in private would not be considered "gross indecency". Maybe that's a solution everyone can be happy with.

After all, as its stand 377a is a very specific law that according to many articles online, in the newspapers and by senior ministers will no longer be enforced which on the whole makes it pretty useless.

Meanwhile as Gary and Kenneth get ready to file for their appeal they have launched a plea to the public to raise funds for the challenge ahead. Their target of $50,000 was reached in a record 18 hours and at the time of writing stands at $92,000 and growing. That alone speaks volumes for the support the have.

If you would like to contribute to their cause click here

And so is it right or wrong, should they have even begun this challenge? The problem with that question is there's no right time to begin this kind of a challenge. It will always be seen as controversial in the eyes of many. And yet at a time when many countries in the world have already taking steps to legalise same sex marriage one has to wonder just how far behind them Singapore is willing to allow itself to become.

Singapore is keen to attract big businesses to it's shores, and many of those same businesses are becoming more vocal in their support of LGBT inclusion. Many already have written into their HR policies that they will not discriminate based on sexual orientation, and many have already included the same staff benefits for same sex couples as their heterosexual counterparts. In fact inclusion and diversity are the new words in these businesses who are trying to set themselves apart from their competition to attract the best talent. And potential employees are more and more looking to a companies inclusion and diversity policies as it speaks volumes about the company they plan to work for.

So … will Kenneth and Gary's challenge succeed, probably not. At the moment it has to be said that Singapore is a conservative society. But the fact that the challenge has been raised is just as important as it shines a spot light on an issue that ultimately will need to be resolved ....

.... and if nothing else they deserve our applause for that.

Forever and ever .... Blind!

I normally tend to steer clear of any posting on religion, but this time I feel the unbridled urge to comment on the recent flurry of activity of one Pastor Khong of Faith Community Baptist Church. You see Pastor Khong ....



....wants it illegal to be homosexual in Singapore and has already made a plea to the government not to overturn Section 377A, which criminalises sex between consenting gay men. Pastor Yang Tuck Yoong of Cornerstone Community Church also jumped on the bandwagon and called for the church to "get herself into battle-footing, and be battle-ready" adding that "This war is winnable and the church will arise victorious".

This recent activity of Pastor Khong and Pastor Tang Tuck Yoong is of course in response to an appeal to challenge Section 377A which was heard in court on February 14 2013 and was filed after two men who have been partners for 15 years said the law entrenches “stigma and discrimination against lesbian, gay, transgender and bisexual people in society”. Judgement has been reserved.

It's taken some time for me to get this comment out there simple because with all the noise, the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) pointed out that the High Court is due to hear two cases on the constitutionality of Section 377A, and public comments about the issue could be deemed as sub judice “if the statements are calculated to affect the minds of the courts hearing the case, the minds of parties who are concerned in the case itself, or if they amount to public pre-judgment of the case, and there is a real risk of prejudice”

“All parties are therefore advised to refrain from making any public comments on these matters that are sub judice, pending final determination by the courts. (The AGC) takes a serious view of any statements which are sub judice and will, if necessary, act to protect the integrity of the administration of justice.”

I firmly believe that everyone is entitled to their beliefs, even Pastor Khong and Pastor Tang Tuck Yoong, but they do not have the right to impose those beliefs on others through legislation. Religion for me has always been a private matter between a person and their God and it has always irked me when individuals take it upon themselves to try to impose those religious views on a wider society. I am reminded of Matthew 6:5 "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others."

Many share the same (in my opinion) misguided view as both Pastors but just as many do not. For example, the Faith Community Baptist Church is reported as having a congregation of 10,000 followers, much less than the number of people who turned up at Pink Dot 2012 to celebrate the freedom to love.

Interestingly it's amazing how silent these religious zealots where when the Singapore government repealed Section 498 in 2007 which criminalised adultery. "Thou shall not commit adultery". One of the 10 commandments and yet not a whimper when this bit of legislation was taken off the books. The same silence also greeted the decriminalisation of oral and anal intercourse between heterosexual couples. As for the Prime Ministers reported comments on 377a in the Asian Correspondent “Why is that law on the books? Because it’s always been there and I think we just leave it.”

Well, it would seem that doesn't apply equally to all laws now does it.

No doubt if the government makes no changes to 377a, which is highly likely, after all Singapore is nothing if not a conservative society, the same misguided people will shout out "victory" from their pulpits and pat themselves on the back as they proclaim a win for God.

But let's be clear here, any victory will be short lived. Singapore WILL repeal section 377a .... eventually. It is INEVITABLE. At the time of writing this both England and France have legalised same sex marriage and you can rest assured that more will follow. As they do Singapore will not want to be left behind clinging onto an archaic law, a law that it has already been quoted in the public domain "it will not enforce".

I could go on and on here but instead I'll leave you with a poem I wrote many years ago which sums up my own personal feelings on this issue. Enjoy!

For Ever and ever .... Blind 
You make me sorry to be a member of the human race,
and loath though I am to admit it the world would be a better place,
if God stopped it for a second and took it in his care
to give you all the option of getting off right there.

You preach tolerance and loving yet you yourself have none.
Your morals are double standards, you use religion like a gun.
And though no blood is ever drawn from the weapon that you wield
your words, akin to poison, foul the air I breath.

You blindly follow doctrine and expect others to do the same,
and cast those out that don't conform, those that go against the grain.
You are trapped in your mortality seeking salvation for your soul
and you justify your actions saying this should be my goal.

The inquisition is long gone but you keep the fires ablaze,
history conveniently forgotten, you continue to fan the flames.
You walk this world blindly, though you think your eyes open wide,
so pompous in your belief that God is always by your side.

After all how could he not be, for you live life by his law,
where bigotry and discrimination are concepts you ignore.
You preach love and understanding even though you fail the same,
Isolated from reality, you only have yourself to blame.

So don't quote me from your bible, I've evolved beyond that you see.
For God is in my heart which is the only place he needs to be.
You can shout out from your pulpit, let fire and brimstone fall,
I've heard your petty speech before, unimpressive all in all.

My wealth is beyond your measure and far beyond your ken
you who strive to place your shaky values among the hearts of men.
And as this world progresses, it is you who will be left behind,
Forever walking backwards, forever and ever ..... blind.

Copyright © Barry Smyth, all rights reserved

Singapore Airlines Standards Drop!

I happened to fly Singapore Airlines to Bali recently and thought to myself it's been a while since I used this airline. Given its the almost the most expensive airline to fly from Singapore normally I'll end up taking one of the budget airlines, value for money and you know what you are getting. So it was a pleasant surprise to reacquaint myself with SIA ... and of course totally validate my reasons for never not using them to being with .....


.... From the time I first arrived in Singapore and through the years SIA won several awards and there was a time I would fly them religiously because the service and standard of service was impeccable, but then things started to go down hill, most noticeably with the standard of inflight meals (and I'm talking economy here). Food just got bad, cheap, nasty, and is now almost worst that the food you can buy on budget airlines.

For my trip back from Bali I was given a soggy hash brown, tasteless sausage, and dry rubbery omelette with .... wait for it .... baked beans. I mean seriously, baked beans. What supposedly world class airline serves baked beans. I mean seriously! I stared at the plastic tray for a few minutes in shock at what was there. Baked Beans! The things that come from a can at your local supermarket.

Baked Beans, can you believe it. How can Singapore airlines justify its fares when its inflight catering is so bad that they have to open a can of Baked Beans.

I expected more, after all this is Singapore Airlines, the flagship airline in a country that prides itself on the variety and quality of food it has available. Great food at fantastic prices. But Singapore airlines decided to chuck all that out the window and open up a can of Baked Beans.

I won't be travelling Singapore airlines again, I've learnt my lesson. Standards haven't just fallen, they've crashed completely. And whoever in their catering department thought that was a breakfast that was of a standard fit to serve on Singapore airlines has obviously lost the plot completely.

Such a shame really, it use to be fantastic (emphasis on use to be), but alas not any more.

iPod Nano 7th Generation - Epic Fail!

After waiting to see what many people have had to say online about Apple's latest releases it's no surprise to find so many articles with the word "disappointing" in them. They are of course referring to Apple's decision to go back to the candy bar format for the iPod Nano, a direction that many (including yours truly) is not impressed with at all.


It seems as far as the iPod Nano is concerned that Apple have totally lost the plot. The 6th generation of the iPod Nano had become a wrist accessory, loved and worn by many. For the 7th generation expectations where high that it would have bluetooth capability and tight integration with the iPhone for displaying things like caller ID and SMS etc.

But no ..... Apple decided that they would take something innovative with stacks of potential and go backwards instead. Steve Jobs is rumoured to have once joked that soon everyone will wear one in reference to the iPod Nano 6th generation. It seems like the everyone heard him expect the people at Apple because for the iPod Nano 7th generation they have got it so very very ..... very wrong.

They could have taken the 6th generation iPod Nano, made it slimmer, added bluetooth, integrated it with the iPhone for things like Caller ID and SMS. They could even have gone a step further and tightly integrated it specifically with the iPhone 5. Given an estimated 263 million iPhone 5's will be sold the revenue potential was huge. And lets also not mention how perfect an iPod Nano on the wrist with bluetooth capability would have been for the gym and joggers among us. But no, Apple instead went backwards on the form factor and gave us something that we left behind more than a generation ago. Disappointing is almost too mild a word to use.

Apple have really missed the boat on this one not only on the potential revenue side but on the ability to move away from a phone war and starting to sell a "lifestyle". It could have set itself so far apart from its competitors. Instead however, we get a retro iPod Nano that is disappointing beyond belief. In my own personal opinion I believe that the cracks in Apple's ability to innovate are starting to appear.

I've already sent an email to Tim Cook on the above (no doubt it was a bogus email address) but it felt good to vent. For now I'm off out to snap up a couple of iPod Nano 6th generation models while I still can!


Update
And now it looks like the iPad mini is going to hit the shelves after all. Another Apple product that I've been waiting for, and yet another offering from Apple thats set to be an epic fail as well.

And why is that you wonder?

Well if rumours are to be believed the LCD screen is going to be a step backwards in terms of resolution and quality from the current new iPad (or iPad 3 as many refer to it).

Now .... WHAT is the point of that .... I hear you all cry.

Indeed, I couldn't agree more!. Apple you are starting to fail to impress!

City Harvest Church …. Baaaaaa!

I have to admit that I'm not surprised by the out pouring of love and support for Kong Hee and his would be popstar (sic) wife Sun Ho. I'm sure they are both overjoyed as they sit in their $9.8m condo on Sentosa cove to know that so many people still care. No doubt as they look back 4 years ago to their humble 197K HDB apartment they can only thank God themselves for how blessed they have truly been.

What people don't seem to understand though is that the investigation into Kong Hee and others has been going on for a while, its not something that has suddenly appeared out of the blue. And for all of Kong Hee's teary eyed speeches and quotes of "I maintain my integrity" he has yet to declare himself innocent of the charges in question. So read into that what you will.

I also love the fact how .... another member of the church's Crossover Project spoke out in defense of Sun, giving his testimony on how the Project had helped convert Thai teenagers to Christianity via "hip" and "popular" music and dances .... I mean talk about scrapping the bottom of a barrel to try and bring some religious (sic) credibility to Sun Ho's musical (sic) career.

Of course the City Harvest Church is known to emphasize tithing, the give us your money and God will reward you with more kind of speech constantly backing this strange philosophy with many testimonies for people who have prospered financially after giving to the church. Yes that's right, forget ending hunger or diseases, or war or famine, give us your money and God will give you more. Naturally God has nothing better to do with his time after all.

The whole things is laughable on so many levels that just watching the sheep "Baaaaaaa" has been amusing and you can be sure that I will be watching from the sidelines with my bucket of popcorn to see how this story unfolds. That said of course I can pretty much guess how that's going to go. After all it's very difficult for sheep to be anything other than sheep when all is said and done.

I'm Watch ….. Sucks!

I've loved the idea of a decent digital watch ever since the watch strap for the iPod nano mad an appearance so I have to admit to being intrigued by "I'm Watch" and what it promised from their website. That of course was some time ago and my feelings have since moved to ones of frustration and disappointment.

I ordered my "I'm Watch" and paid for it in full and waited. Then for some reason I got a request for another payment which I paid without thinking (stupidity on my part I know). I realized afterwards I'd overpaid for the product and wrote to them explaining the fact and asking for a refund.

Several unanswered emails later I eventually got a reply agreeing that I had overpaid.

At the same time as I got the above reply "I'm Watch" announced that the delivery of their product would be delayed by several months. They sent out emails to all of their customers asking them if they would like to wait or offering them a full refund. By this time my anticipation of their product had dwindled to an all time low so I opted for the full refund.

I wrote to them again (several more emails) asking them to refund me in full including the over payment I had made as well. They agreed. A few more days passed and I got an email asking for my bank details so that they could transfer the money to me. I replied with the details requested, and got an email back stating my previous email was not received (obviously in order to get that email they would have had to receive something from me, right).

So I then contacted their support department with another email asking what happened, and got the same response that my email was not received.

So as a last resort I have left ticket in their support department and that's where currently things are. I've no idea if I'll see the "I'm Watch" or if I'll ever get my refund since the company is pretty unresponsive all round.

Those thinking of buying this product should beware. In my opinion in all of the online purchases I have ever made this is the worst company by far that I've had to deal with .... quite frankly it sucks.

So if you are reading this after being directed here by a search engine before you've made your purchase then don't say you haven't been warned!


And if you don't believe me ....

I waited 7 months for this!
Don't Buy "I'm Watch"