Failing to plan is planning to fail. Well said. Understood. That probably is the first phrase uttered in a lecture or course in planning. Indeed in a blog entry on planning, such as the one we all are reading now, too.
But plans, good or bad, can fail because they cannot be implemented or improperly executed. On the funny side, Nakamora is reminded of a story he read somewhere, sometime back, about good but unimplementable plan.
Once upon a time a community of mouse felt so helpless, down, and fed up with the constant harassment and victimization of their young ones by a nearby cat. They got together, brainstormed, and came up with a suggestion that was to be started right away. Thus, that night the headmouse and senior members of the community went to see the wise creature, the owl, and seek its proposal on how to overcome the problem that are haunting them, night after night.
The solution: tie something that make noise, such as a bell, by the cat's neck, so that any mouse that hear the noise can alert others to hide and take shelter.
The headmouse and its entourage were jubilant again and headed back home to inform the rest. But alas, they had to brainstorm again. They know not how to tie that bell around the cat's neck. No one among them can finish the job before or without being eaten by the cat. Definitely another method must be sought. So they went back to see the owl for another consultation. They were not lucky this time. They did not get the answer for the owl responded that it had already proposed the plan, it was the mouse that must implement them.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Friday, March 28, 2008
The Value Of 90 Sen...
It costs nothing. That is not an unfamiliar phrase. We have heard of it said at one time or another. But is it true? It ought to be to some people, depending on how they value things.
Consider this. There is no such thing as free lunch. It is paid in different forms, in one way or another, at one time or another. But they are cost, nonetheless, that are not measured in ringgit and sen. Some may not be countable at all. Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted - a saying attributed to Einstein. The value of anything is then a relative quantity depending on the reference point against which it is measured, or compared.
That was what Nakamora tried to come up with recently when traveling from point P to point B. The toll cost 90 sen only. He has a fair bit of time and not in a rush, thus he took the non-toll road. He was actually paying the 90 sen with his available time.
He was not lucky. The road was congested. He ended up spending more time on the road than he expected, and to him it worths more than 90 sen. But that was the risk that he took.
At times even the toll road is congested, especially at the toll booth. He could end up the same, spending more time than expected for a toll road. That thought console him a bit. It was preferable not to spend 90 sen and arrive late to spending 90 sen and arriving not early enough. The frustration would be doubled.
Consider this. There is no such thing as free lunch. It is paid in different forms, in one way or another, at one time or another. But they are cost, nonetheless, that are not measured in ringgit and sen. Some may not be countable at all. Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted - a saying attributed to Einstein. The value of anything is then a relative quantity depending on the reference point against which it is measured, or compared.
That was what Nakamora tried to come up with recently when traveling from point P to point B. The toll cost 90 sen only. He has a fair bit of time and not in a rush, thus he took the non-toll road. He was actually paying the 90 sen with his available time.
He was not lucky. The road was congested. He ended up spending more time on the road than he expected, and to him it worths more than 90 sen. But that was the risk that he took.
At times even the toll road is congested, especially at the toll booth. He could end up the same, spending more time than expected for a toll road. That thought console him a bit. It was preferable not to spend 90 sen and arrive late to spending 90 sen and arriving not early enough. The frustration would be doubled.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Robeless Emperor
Accept that some days you are a pigeon, some other days you are a statue.
Nakamora came across that saying several years ago. It stuck to his subconscious mind, and now it comes back. Current changes in public figures in the government could be the trigger for it to resurface. But changes will come to those in other positions too, albeit not in a massive scale and all at the same time. Hence it is less noticeable, but the situation is the same nonetheless.
Some day you are the boss, later you would be the statue, if while holding office you failed miserably to adopt good IPR practice (IPR as in interpersonal relationship, not intellectual property right). Once the robe is shed, or the tittle stripped, on expiration of office you'd be the statue - peed or pissed or both by pigeons, and ignored at some corner under a tree, gathering fallen leaves.
If everything goes well, however, you would be the pigeons.
Is that right?
Nakamora came across that saying several years ago. It stuck to his subconscious mind, and now it comes back. Current changes in public figures in the government could be the trigger for it to resurface. But changes will come to those in other positions too, albeit not in a massive scale and all at the same time. Hence it is less noticeable, but the situation is the same nonetheless.
Some day you are the boss, later you would be the statue, if while holding office you failed miserably to adopt good IPR practice (IPR as in interpersonal relationship, not intellectual property right). Once the robe is shed, or the tittle stripped, on expiration of office you'd be the statue - peed or pissed or both by pigeons, and ignored at some corner under a tree, gathering fallen leaves.
If everything goes well, however, you would be the pigeons.
Is that right?
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Life Is Like That
The value of anything increases once it is needed. Waste is like that too. Look at what happen to empty fruit bunches (EFB) and other wastes in the oil palm industry. Its disposal at one time incurred cost, it is the reverse now as many products can be made out of EFB.
Something that works well tend to be forgotten. Its presence were felt only after it was lost. A case in point - electricity.
Something may be left idle, not used, or used only sparingly or selectively. Its importance suddenly rise once it is lost. Life is just like that, we value less what we have until it is taken away...
Something that works well tend to be forgotten. Its presence were felt only after it was lost. A case in point - electricity.
Something may be left idle, not used, or used only sparingly or selectively. Its importance suddenly rise once it is lost. Life is just like that, we value less what we have until it is taken away...
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Ineffective Classroom Delivery or ...?
If I were to go to school again, starting from standard 1 and go through all the examinations so that at the end of the process I would be a university material, I would give it a miss.
It seems that attending classes in school is not enough to know or understand all there is to know and understand. They must be supplemented by tuitions at night.
Are the subjects too difficult, the syllabus too wide, the levels too deep? or is the classroom delivery not effective that largely kids must be 'taught' twice - at school and at tuition centers? I do not know.
Which one is more effective in imparting knowledge? Schools or tuition centers; or can we say that it is a shared two-step process? Schools introduce the topic, tuition centers drive in the substance and understanding? I do not know.
I breathe a sigh of relief realizing that I do not have to go through it all, and here I am at the very end of the formal education spectrum.
It seems that attending classes in school is not enough to know or understand all there is to know and understand. They must be supplemented by tuitions at night.
Are the subjects too difficult, the syllabus too wide, the levels too deep? or is the classroom delivery not effective that largely kids must be 'taught' twice - at school and at tuition centers? I do not know.
Which one is more effective in imparting knowledge? Schools or tuition centers; or can we say that it is a shared two-step process? Schools introduce the topic, tuition centers drive in the substance and understanding? I do not know.
I breathe a sigh of relief realizing that I do not have to go through it all, and here I am at the very end of the formal education spectrum.
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Democracy At Work...
It is hard not to write about it. After all this election scores so many firsts. For the sake of record, Nakamora put it down anyway.
Call it winds of change, a nightmare, a wake-up call, a glorious joy, or the beginning of a new landscape. The people has spoken, but the voice is different this time.
Five states fell out of the hand of the incumbent; the incumbent fails for the first time to secure the traditional 2/3 majority; scores of ministers and presidents of component parties lost the election; massive swing of votes to the opposition by all three main ethnic groups; the number of state capital cities under the once 'opposition' parties increased.
It was an unexpected and unprecedented avalanche. The political landscape definitely has changed. So as the habit of voters to seek alternative source of information, particularly in cyberspace such as blogs, as the mainstream traditional media was saturated with one side of the story and thus unable to accommodate other point of views.
Saturday, March 08, 2008
General Election
It is nice to put on record some of the events of the past two weeks in summary. The country is having the 12th election since gaining independent 50 years ago. The 13 days allocated for campaigns ended just about 3 hours ago. It must have been adequate for the voting public to make decision and exercise their rights. In less than six hours polling booths are scheduled to open.
Flags, message banners and posters spring up almost everywhere. Driving on such heavily 'decorated' roads is an experience. The EC canceled the plan to use indelible inks just three days before the election. It caused several reactions. The spraying of the EC Chairman's home compound with red paint by dissatisfied people is said to be related to that decision.
I am going to vote anyway...
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Supply of Ideas
One of the advice given to aspiring writers by those already there, and those not quite there but provide sorts of courses, is write, write, and write everyday. Even a paragraph will do. Never miss a day without writing.
But what to write about?
There are plenty of things to write about. But writing about one's daily chores for everyone to read, or most likely ignore, is not useful unless there is lesson to be learned from it. Nakamora feeling like being at that stage recently laid down his pen and let the keyboard rest for a while. Instead read and read and read.
Some of the titles/writers he found interesting include The Alchemist and The Zahir by Paulo Coelho, Nelson Mandela's Long Walk To Freedom, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man by John Perkins, and even some titles by John Grisham. Perhaps no need to mention that book Mukadimah by Ibn Khaldun or Memahami Keutamaan (Understanding Priority) by Yusuf Al-Qaradawi.
In between daily chores, reading and writing become only filler activities most of the time. But they add a breather to hectic life.
But what to write about?
There are plenty of things to write about. But writing about one's daily chores for everyone to read, or most likely ignore, is not useful unless there is lesson to be learned from it. Nakamora feeling like being at that stage recently laid down his pen and let the keyboard rest for a while. Instead read and read and read.
Some of the titles/writers he found interesting include The Alchemist and The Zahir by Paulo Coelho, Nelson Mandela's Long Walk To Freedom, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man by John Perkins, and even some titles by John Grisham. Perhaps no need to mention that book Mukadimah by Ibn Khaldun or Memahami Keutamaan (Understanding Priority) by Yusuf Al-Qaradawi.
In between daily chores, reading and writing become only filler activities most of the time. But they add a breather to hectic life.
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