MONEY SPECIALIST

With the year coming to an end, it’s time to review my portfolios of mutual funds. Generally, the year 2007 has been a great time for the local stock market as well as for Public Mutual. The anticipated recession did not occur. The 10-year recession cycle that occurred in 1987 and 1997 did not materialised this year. In fact, it was a record high for the KLCI.

I did not regret my decision by not selling the mutual funds when the market was plunging in August earlier this year. I hold on to the funds and they are recovering now but not as much as I hope they would be. So hopefully there will still be an uptrend in the stock market in 2008 as well, at least for the funds that I own.

In any case, I’m prepared to sell my oldest fund depending on the market climate next year. I don’t want to be too greedy.

Here’s the summary of funds that I own. The performance of the funds are based on data obtained from Public Mutual. 

**The return is based on current market valuation of balance units as at 31/12/2007

Here’s a fact. I hate carrying a tripod whenever I’m on a trip. It’s big and bulky. So I resorted to place camera on high flat object whenever I need to take the perfect photo in night mode. When there is no suitable surface to place my camera, I have to rely on my trained steady hands. It’s definitely not the best solution.

So if you are like me, you will be pleased to know that there’s an innovative gadget called Gorillapod by Joby. Read till the end of the review to find out how you can buy it at a discount.

The Gorillapod is light and small enough to stow away in any bag. With it, you don’t need a flat elevated surface to take a steady shot anymore. The Gorillapod is able to firmly secure your camera to just about anything! It can wrap around posts, trees, railings, chairs, etc. It’s up to your imagination.

Gorillapod gripping to the railings of the lighthouse at Muka Head

Gorillapod is different from traditional tripods in the sense that the legs of Gorillapod are made up of many interlocking ball-joints. This means that the legs are flexible enough to be bended and rotated 360 degrees into almost any shape you can think of. On top of that, each ball joint has a grippy silicone band to provide the grip required to let you bend the legs around and grip almost anything without slipping.

The Gorillapod can also doubles as a standard mini tripod. It is supplied with a quick release plate that can be clicked into position and the release button can be locked for added security.

These octopus-looking mini tripods come in a variety of sizes to suit everything from compact digital cameras to full-sized, zoom-lens equipped DSLRs. The Gorillapod can be ordered from as low as $21.95 with free delivery within the US. Here’s a good deal from Joby. You can actually buy Joby products at 15% discount by using the coupon code “GorillapodLOVE” at http://www.joby.com/.