Saturday, December 29, 2007

Virtues of Thrift

Angah pegang, Along suap, k? (You hold, I serve, agree?)
The older brother, Along, said to his younger brother, Angah, while giving the cup of ice-cream he has just bought. He was to hold the small spoon for doing the serving acts. With only one cup of ice-cream they have to resort to sharing. Only minutes ago the mother gave the older brother just enough money to buy a cup from the fast food outlet nearby, under her watchful eye. She looked like one who can actually buy bucketfuls of ice-cream, but may be doing so out of need to train the kids to have just enough, and not getting everything too easily.
It seemed that synergy or win-win partnership has been practiced even by the young. Even perhaps by us, unconsciously or naturally, when we were young. But as we accumulate our age, it gradually becomes unnatural, and we have to re-discover it in order to practice it once again. We give it new expanded meaning: synergy, win-win partnership, smart partnership, cooperation, etc. It works, but not all the time since one important ingredient must always be part of the deal, and sometimes that ingredient is simply lacking or non-existent. That ingredient is trust. Angah trusted that Along, in holding the spoon, would be fair in serving the ice-cream. Along trusted Angah that he will not be running away with the only cup of ice-cream. The mother also helps the cooperation to work, by acting as an arbitrator, if the partnership did not work; and the kids knew that.
On the first serving of ice-cream by Along to Angah, Nakamora made his way to the escalator towards the parking lot. Another lesson today, he talked to himself, and he was grateful.

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Roads of Life - Bumi Kenyalang


Nakamora was in Kuching, Sarawak - Land of the Hornbill or Bumi Kenyalang in Bahasa Melayu - recently. While there he didn't hear any sound of hornbills though. The one he thought he noticed was actually an inanimate metallic sculpture. Definitely, sculptured hornbill is a mute. Except for solid cats gracing the island of a roundabout in the city center, Bandaraya Kuching (City of Cat) is devoid of cat.
An afterthought told Nakamora that expecting to see the namesake of any place or city nowadays are not reasonable. It is a legacy or a reminder of what once was there, not what it is supposed to be now.
While driving from Kuching to Kota Samarahan, via Jalan Tabuan, to take the ferry to cross Samarahan River to go to Asajaya, Nakamora didn't fail to notice the prevalence of roundabouts along that road. At least eight of them dotted that 25 km stretch, an average of one for every 3 km; and they are big. A large one has a diameter of typically more than 200 m, longer than the width of a soccer field. Those who are frequenting that area, where UNIMAS and UiTM are located, must have been familiar with each of them, Nakamora thought. Familiarity is overly important as road signs, being barely legible or even visible from a comfortable driving distance, unless traveling at bicycle speed, can easily be missed. The signs are placed low and right smack at the mouth of the road. Missing the right spoke means adding extra distance, which can be up to 700 m; and this is one mistake that Nakamora could not avoid repeating, at least once for every roundabouts.
The ferry plying the river can take on board about 18 vehicles at any one time. Two units serve this river. While one is discharging passengers and taking on board another, the other is doing the same at the terminal across the river. The operation looked nicely in sync.
The Kota Samarahan - Asajaya road from the terminal has an inherent, but effective, speed restraining system. Drive fast, like what Nakamora is very fond of doing, and the vehicle will wobble up and down, and could be sideways too. The wavy road simply humbled him, but he didn't mind as he wanted to savor the beauty of the countryside. The occasional roadside stall selling Sarawak durians, dragon fruit plantation, and pineapple plantation too. This particular road is dotted with mini bridges crossing small rivers. Nakamora passed no less than 20 of them. He released a sigh of relief and satisfaction as finally he reached his destination - Kampung Semera.

Monday, December 17, 2007

Lifefull of Deja Vu

How many deja vus have you experienced?
Hmm... for me life is deja vu, most of the time.
Nakamora not too happy with that response, but he put up with it anyway. After all he is his friend, and he will tolerate that.
When I first set foot there, I recall it was as if I have been there. The black stone of Glasgow buildings, chimneys jutting out to the sky, strong wind, fish and chips with salt and vinegar, and hangovers by the roadsides. That was the first time I experienced this deja vu thing.
Pictures you saw or the brochures of the university that you read before going there could've influenced you. Nakamora tried to deny his friend the claim.
May be; but after finishing my study, I returned home. The plane descended above the oil palm plantation heading towards Subang International Airport. It was deja vu again. The warm and sweet greetings "to our visitors we wish you selamat datang; to Malaysians, welcome home" of the Malaysia Airline stewardess sounds familiar.
Nakamora barely heard what his friends said. He was drowned in his own thought. It was as if this meeting and that particular conversation has taken place before. May be that was deja vu for him too.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Platform Products

Technology greatly extends human capability and effectiveness in doing works. It also makes possible the propensity of our mind to move forward or backward in time and pick up matching activities. Thus, the kids in us, adults, can remain so and be entertained so. The adults in kids, viz. the urge or rush to grow up and do the things adults do, also to some extent can be fulfilled.
Nakamora saw an adult playing FreeCell and Solitaire games on his laptop while at an airport lounge the other day. He was oblivious to his surroundings. He was immersed completely in the game. Isn't kids like that too? We were like that when we were kid; if we can still recall. That person playing computer game at his laptop was not the first one that Nakamora saw. he has seen it before, elsewhere. But the current thought occurs to him only at this occasion.
Think of the mobile phone. It's now in the hands of kids just graduating from kindergarten. Isn't mobile phone an adult-oriented product?
That perhaps is a trend that is going to become ever more familiar with new technology products. They no longer answer the needs of any particular age groups. They now serve purposes that are defined by their users. User-defined purpose product that can be useful to all, irrespective of any age groups. If we can borrow the concept underlying the phrase 'platform technology', then these products are actually 'platform products'.

Monday, December 10, 2007

KK in Perak

Whereas KK in Sabah is Kota Kinabalu, in the Peninsular it stands for Kuala Kangsar, the royal town of Perak. It is a nice town, easy to drive around, and everything seems to be within reach. Everything reasonable that is; food, rest area, place of attractions, etc. Direction to the KK Swimming Pool is generously placed at various part of the town. The Masjid Ubudiah, just next to the Istana, is within walking distance, by Western standard, but only a short drive away, by the local standard, from the riverside food stalls. Perhaps the high humidity here in Malaysia makes the local populace prefer the comfort of an air conditioned car to walking even a short distance to move around.
Not very far from the the town center is Kampong Sayong, well-known for Labu Sayong - a specialty pottery. Access to the area is by a narrow and winding asphalt road. It may seem isolated, but once inside the atmosphere of a traditional village is obvious. The pottery is synonymous to the village, it is quite unique in design. In fact several pieces of Labu Sayong are also used as landscape components for the Sultan Azlan Shah Gallery.

Thursday, December 06, 2007

Land Below The Wind

The left and right sides of the road from Magellan Sutera to downtown, where the Centerpoint, the Wawasan, Philippines Market, and the riverside stalls and markets are located are busy with constructions. Huge hotel and commercial complexes will be a feature of this area in the future. This trip is a bit special as he was also able to take a photo of Kota Kinabalu, or KK as it is affectionately known, coastline as the plane approached the airport. He has been wanting to do that for quite some time; but some things just have to wait. The last time Nakamora was there was two months ago. But then it was only for a while, most of the time was spent traveling to Kudat and the Tip of Borneo. The return trip, by bus, take a good 6 hours or more. The long ride nevertheless was an enjoyable one.
He has seen quite a bit of this part of Malaysia. Sempoerna, Sipadan with beautiful diving spots. There is also a sea weed research station somewhere along the ride by boat from Lahad Datu to Sempoerna. The water is blueish, clear, and peaceful.
It was in early 2000 that he went to Danum valley. It was Ramadhan. Taking a 4WD from Lahad Datu again to the middle of the Danum Valley, where a resort is located, at the late hour of the day their path was crossed by two pigmy elephants, perhaps on their way going home, wherever that was.
Taking the ride on a small bus through the Crocker Range from KK to Tenom was also an experience that is hard to forget. The journey is filled with beautiful sights. Tenom can be reached by train from KK, and the journey would have taken less time, but the service was closed at that time.

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

Yes. Nakamora believes that.
So, he takes many photos whenever possible; and he started using it in the last posting at this blog.
But he thought a picture cannot be left alone to do the talking. The 1000 words, constructed by the viewer may not be what he wants to actually convey, and the original intention of the photo being there can get twisted. Hence, a picture need to be accompanied by some texts, words of the one who put the picture there. At the very least there ought to be a caption.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Aomori, How Could It Not Be Memorable?

Nakamora is back home now flipping the tourist brochures given to everyone in his group while they were in Japan. The cover exclaimed "A Memorable Journey, Aomori/Japan." How could it not be memorable, he thought. It was snowing starting from the day they arrived, and stopped only on the day they left.
It was indeed an interesting assignment. Yes, he went there on duty, not as a tourist. But he thought part of learning is to be sensitive and observant of any new surroundings.
Aomori is the northernmost prefecture of Japan on the Honshu Island. It is served by two airports: at Misawa and Aomori City. Every prefecture has regions, and in Aomori they are the Tsugaru, Nanbu, and Shimokita Regions. The Tsugaru Region makes the prefecture famous for its apples, and mount Iwaki, which is dubbed as the "Fujiyama of Tsugaru." It is also home to Shirakami Mountains, which is one of World Heritage Sites. The Shimokita Region, facing the Pacific Ocean is home to Rokkasho Village, or Rokkasho-mura, an important site for nuclear energy in Japan. It is called a village, but the village is a big one, measuring more than 250 square kilometers, with a population count of more than 11000 in 1998. Nuclear fuel reprocessing, uranium enrichment, and low level radioactive waste disposal centers are located in the village. The region has one BWR nuclear power plant operating at Higashidori, supplying 1100 Megawatts of electricity. Those are just technical details.

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Swords Should Stay Alone

The three groups should unite, settle their differences and give Europe the leadership, said Sakawa. Chris couldn't agree more. His friend shares his view.
Nakamora just listens. He toys around the chopsticks. A range of Japanese food already laid out on the table. He marvels at the rich spectrum of taste in a Japanese meal - miso soup, tempura, kikkoman sauce, radish, wasabe. Ranging from something that is more or less tasteless to something that tastes good at first but gradually bites you like hot peppers. All are served in one serving, but each in small quantities.
This is the first time this Belgium guy, Chris, is in Japan. On chopstick he agrees that the Japanese ones are easier to operate than the generally lacquered, and hence slippery Chinese ones. He remarked how his other half lost weight while in China just by using chopstick when eating. The conversation moves on to about traveling, about seeing the world, learning from experience, and the many different peoples and cultures. Sometimes they are much more different, and the opposite of what we originally expected.
So, why is it that in Japan you drive on the left hand side of the road, asked Chris.
There are reasons for everything, quipped Sakawa. A sword worn by a Japanese should not touch another. It is an invitation to fight. Swords are worn on the left so that it can be drawn out easily using the right hand. To avoid accidentally touching other people's sword while passing each other, they walked on the left hand side. When we have cars, we just follow the convention. Sakawa explained, but did not confirm if that is the truth. Doesn't matter. There is always something new to learn. Nakamora too did not know that.

Monday, November 19, 2007

The Sun Rises There First

As the plane breaks through the layer of clouds the white snow covered landscape appears on sight. The plane hovers above the lake heading towards the runway before landing smoothly at Misawa airport. It's about an hour flight time from Haneda, the domestic airport in Tokyo, which is about 2 hours and 3000 yen away by bus from Narita International Airport.
It has been a long time since he last saw snow covered anything. He is delighted, but wary as the temperature is recorded at -1 degree Celcius.
Haneda is quite a busy airport. It has two terminals serving 5 airlines. Like most airports that he has seen, and unlike KLIA, the counters are all lined-up perpendicular to the entrance to the departure hall. KLIA is unique in that sense. The check in counters are in line with the entrance to the departure gate, which makes it looks smoother and compact.
Obviously Nakamora is in Japan, the country where the sun rises first, where persons with the name Nakamora would be more readily found. While stuck in his small hotel room, outside being cold and already dark, he recalls of not seeing any foreign workers cleaning the floor at the airport, replenishing the vending machines, loading the luggage into the bus, or serving the toast and coffee that he had for breakfast at the airport.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Who Could This Be?

The New Year is making a return visit soon. Nakamora realizes that not many months after that he has to leave the office to the care of someone else. He is leaving for good after serving his term in office.
He has started actually clearing up things in the office little by little, taking home his personal belongings that need not be at the office other than creating the atmosphere that it is a nice place to be all these years. He should not feel it that way come the day he is leaving. Otherwise it can be a problem. It is also to avoid the last minute rush of throwing everything into a box and do the sorting at home. No, he is not going to do that.
"Well, who could this be?" he murmured while scratching his head.
In front of him on his desk are three stacks of name or calling cards. He must have given the same number of his calling cards, in exchange for those that are in front of him now. One stack of cards are those he has sorted out, and would like to keep, at least until his last working day. The other is the one he has yet to work on. The third is the one he is working on. In his hand is name card that prompted him to blurt out the question to himself. He has forgotten, when and what occasion did he gave his name card for the one he is holding now; and who exactly is he. The name and designation and affiliations and all other details on a name card is there. But, his memory is failing him.
This probably happens to other people too. After keeping something for a while, or for a long while, we tend to forget about it all, especially if it is not or rarely used. Shall he keep the card until he can recall all pertinent details? or shall he just put it away. After all, he has not used then, would there be occasion he would be needing it again? He has no answer to that. The best bet, to his mind, is to keep it for the time being. May be while attending whatever official functions he has to attend, or while driving home and got stuck in the traffic jam, the memory will come back.
He remembered someone said, the mind wonders when the body is at rest, and the memory may want to pay a visit at that time.

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

Home Is The Office

Can we work at home and achieve the same productivity as we ought to be? Can all the technological gadgets and facilities that we have be set-up for working at home? Yes, and No. The answer depends on the type of work we do.
Those who are making sales, like salesmen, can definitely not work from home. They have to meet customers and create leads to sales and other new products offered by his company. Yes, there is e-business; products can be displayed and ordered on-line. Well, not all products fit that mode of selling. Books? Yes, Amazon.com proved that its is possible.
What about doctors? No.
What about teachers? No.
So, what would be the conditions to be fulfilled?
1. the work must not require physical interaction with another beings
2. does not require special equipment, jigs, or tools that are expensive and require special set-up
3. does not require handling or use of hazardous items, chemicals, gaseous, bacteria, or radioactive material
4. does not disturb the neighborhood; residential areas are place for people to relax at home
Perhaps those whose work mainly need to communicate with others, e.g. for consultation in meetings, etc. can operate from home.
While trying to think of some other criteria, Nakamora thought perhaps he ought to take a break. Really, today is his off day..

Monday, November 05, 2007

Writer's block?

It was six weeks ago since I wrote anything in this blog. It's not that there is nothing to record, there was.. but I guess I must be better able to manage my time.
Finally, Nakamora started writing one of the titles he wanted to write all along. He has only started thinking how to finish the book, how to have it published, promoted, and distributed. Who'd be possible sponsors? or should he fork money from his own pocket?

Monday, September 24, 2007

Floating....

As he leaves the airport in a car driven by his other half he saw a plane hovering, almost floating approaching the airport. It is amazing to see such a big chunk of object floating in the air with perhaps 400 or more people on board each with luggage on the average of say 30 kg.
Nakamora is in his way back to his home after being away for 10 days. He remembers how small things were while in the plane in the air. Everything looks small. He remembers looking at a passenger plane flying just above a layer of an expanse of clouds and a host of other planes as the one he is in approaches Heathrow airport.
Heathrow airport is one large complex. Getting from one terminal to another is quite a journey and an experience by itself.

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Away

Nakamora has been wanting to have at least an entry in his blog done at some faraway places, away from where he usually resides. This time he has the opportunity. This entry of his was written and posted from a place where the sun rises a full six hours late compared to his usual place of residence. He is happy...

Thursday, September 06, 2007

Learning on Your Own

Not everything we have to learn in formal classrooms, organized courses, or training programs. Some skills, be it for everyday life, or even at work, we have to learn on our own- self learning. Nobody taught us how to ride a bicycle, we just explore, some times, or most of the time the hard way. We stumble and fall, and ride it again, until in the end we get the trick. Once there, it never leave us, even though we have not ride the bicycle for ages, once we are given the opportunity to do so many years later, we would still be able to do it.. without tumbling down.

Monday, August 27, 2007

'Freedom' - at a cost

Some freedom you can actually afford -- just pay for it. Freedom to talk on your mobile while driving-- just buy a hands free, or pay for the fine. So as the freedom to speed along the highways, just pay the fine...

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Solitude at the Edge of City...

Away from the hustle and bustle of the city a quiet place really allows you to listen to your inner self. It has been waiting to tell many things, but you seem to have no time for it at all. Its voice is faint in comparison to the blaring sound outside...

Nakamora found that out last weekend. In the solitude of a small surau in a residential complex he realized the value of tranquility and serenity. There are still some noise outside, but not as loud as further out into the city. Kids playing in the nearby playground, occasional motor bike revving its engine, but the ambiance of the place helps him filter most of it. The place, to him, at that moment, is peaceful, and quiet...

He listened to his inner self... that he is small, that life has many dimensions...

Friday, August 17, 2007

It's not the machine

It's not the machine, but the driver... Yes, Nakamora could not agree more with that, or else every model would move at the same speed.

He has one of the average car. It has a steering wheel, 5 tires including a spare, an engine, means to move forward, reverse, accelerate, and stop. Often he travels on the right most lane, passing others, some of the same model as his. Equally often he travels on the left most lane - the slow lane. This lane normally is clear and deserted. The fast lane cannot live up to its name. Many drivers perceive that by virtue of being in the fast lane they would be moving fast, or that they simply think that they are faster than everyone else and hugs the 'fast lane'.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Vaporizes

... Nakamora has always wanted to be a writer. There are a lot in his mind that he thought could be put to immortality on paper so that others after him can read, learn, benefit from, if any..

He thought that he is procrastinating. He thought again, and he is not. Time and again he abandons the initial urge to write. As soon as pen and paper are ready, or his fingers at the computer keyboard, the ideas that flow so smoothly and abundantly in his head vaporize, abandoning him. Alas...

At this moment his book is yet to be written. There are plenty of titles in his mind...

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Waiting...

Waiting is one of the things we do everyday, whether we like it or not.. We wait at the post office, at the banks, at the clinics and hospitals, in traffic jams, at the commuter station, even in some restaurants... Waiting is also the time when time moves the slowest, if we are looking forward to something; and the fastest, for something that we wish never come.

Individually we can estimate the %tage time we spend on waitings, for whatever... Actually, everyone of us have the choice of reducing time spent on waiting. But, perhaps due to principles or strong ideology, we opt not to do so, instead wait it out, no matter how long it takes...

We can go to the private clinics, use the internet to pay the monthly bills, or just cook at home... but of course, everyone has personal preferences...

Thursday, August 02, 2007

Freedom, independence

There are many dimensions of freedom, independence. At times we tend to look at it only geo-politically. The very meaning of independence, I believe, is not to depend on anyone or any factor beyond our control to fulfill our needs and wants; and able to adequately control or manage factors that could badly influence or negatively affect our well-being.

Beyond the usually known meaning, we must extend it to also include independence of drug, mat rempit, bad culture, etc. We may not be able to totally eliminate these but as long as they do not sap away significant amount of energy and resources, they should be tolerable and taken as the unavoidable in life...

Wednesday, August 01, 2007

Times A Changing

Yes, to some degree kids are a reflection of ourselves when we were that age. We can see that, feel that, relate to that. But perhaps that similarity does not extend to other things; and in some cases it is exactly the opposite.

  • It is shameful to tell your parents that the teacher scolded you, what more, lay his/her hands on you in school. It is okay now.
  • We go our way to contribute to the efforts of making ends meet for the family.. have to postpone studying in deference to earn salary -- making ends meet even just for themselves they need the assistance of parents now. Parents today do not expect any contribution from their kids, said a friend while on a post coffee appreciation session...

Monday, July 30, 2007

Rejoice

Sports, can be a cause for celebration and a unifying element. To some extent that is true. Iraq won the Asia Cup Football (soccer) and that throws the country into jubilation. There are also sad stories - the bombs. Against the background that we know of the country, the success is hard to imagine. Kudos.

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

The Other Nakamora

Up until this time I have actually maintained or neglected to maintain two blog sites, one of which is the one I am typing now. Well, in the era of consolidation, I might as well do the same thing. Thus, the postings below are those that I have migrated here...

28th September 2006

7:59am: Where to?
Being able to know where we want to be or what is it that we want in life is actually an achievement by itself. There is always the possibility that we might not get there, but we know where we want to be, and that's good enough.

One can go on dreaming the obsolete dream or start living a new one..

A thought that could console the desolate beings..

4th January 2006

3:20pm: Reflections
Looking at some antics of kids today reminds us that we were once like them too... They are a reflections of us... the language of kids are universal...


26th October 2004

4:47pm: Bad Traffic
It was almost lunch hour, I was just driving along the road heading south.. the traffic wasn't very heavy, not at this hour. It happens so suddenly. Just as I looked at my side mirror that lorry on the other side of the road, ramps through the road divided and moves exactly across my side of the road.. I saw the aftermath. a car has it front crushed. I imagine the driver must have been shocked.. I was shocked too. I feel cold, and I come to the realization that it could have been me..

Time Moves Fast

Perhaps only to some people, to others time moves slowly, still others time crawls. I guess the speed of time depends very much on the past and the future. The past - the thing we want to forget; the future - the thing we look forward to...