Unobtrusive Security

As he drove into the kampong (village) Nakamora noticed the clean lawn, old but neatly arranged flower pots inhabited by real flowers, and most obviously was the absence of fence of any sort. He imagined the contrast to city and urban residential estates. Every house is fenced in, doors and windows secured with iron grills, some with the sign 'Beware of Dogs' posted conspicuously to be seen even by guests, others have a box labeled 'Protected by XYZ' etc, where XYZ is the name of a security service provider company.
Fences may be one device that underwent function reversal or function expansion in modern time. They were erected to keep goats, cows, and buffaloes from straying out of predesignated grazing fields. In urban areas houses are fenced in to keep intruders from outside straying in. It is there for safety and security. Security in kampong areas is unobtrusive as it is inherently embedded in the way members of the community behave and interact with one another. Nakamora noticed many pair of eyes discreetly looking at his car. It must have looked unfamiliar to the beholders. Not surprising as he has not been balik kampong (returning home to the village) for quite sometime already.
In urban setting nobody really cares. In fact nobody has the time and opportunity to care. Out of the house in the morning, commute to work, and back home when it is dark again. The real community is at work, not at home, as more time is spent there, and more people know you there. The nature of work of the kampong people, not having to leave the house for too long to go to work and plenty of opportunity for interactions, strangers can easily be noticed. CCTVs are not needed as there are plenty of real eyes scanning and looking out for strangers and out of normal behaviors. Perhaps, with ingenuity the approach of the kampong folks can be adopted and modified to suit city and urban living. After all, real eyes are much better than electronic ones.

Cyber Graffiti

That blog is available, and can be shared or kept exclusive, is of help in easing stresses. It is a place to keep a journal or just for releasing temper and tantrum. Writing 'dear diary' lines seem to have soothing effect. Most people agree. In its undeveloped form itchy fingers paint graffiti on the wall or at the door of that little room called WC.
Perhaps, just for fun and not due to stresses, kids like to crayon, chalk, watercolor, pen, or pencil an entire wall with their own version of abstract arts; fuming the parents. Some parents, Nakamora heard somewhere, are more accommodating. They allocate a room or a wall in the house for the kids to crayon, chalk, watercolor, pen, or pencil. Once the wall is done, they take a photo of 'the art', and re-paint the wall. The fun starts again; and the parents have a collection of photos that could be of value, at least sentimental, many years later.
Blogs, in a way, are that walls for many to write and put everything from images, to photos, to music to video clips. The format, composition, scope, and subject matter of the blogs are left to the whim and fancy of individual bloggers. Some misuse and abuse blogs. Thus there are those who dislike blogs. Some even take the suggestion to read blogs as degrading or distasteful, not realizing that among the tens of millions of blogs there are some that are more than just cyber graffiti.

A New Year

At dusk yesterday, or today as we know it can also be, depending on which system we are using, the first day of a new year according to lunar-based Islamic calendar began. We are now in the year 1429H. The lunar calendar is based on the cycles of the moon. It divides a year into 12 months with either 29 or 30 days to a month. The Gregorian solar calendar, which is widely used now, also has 12 months to a year but the number of days in a month varies from 28 to 31 days.
Those who were born on 29 February can rejoice this year and look forward to receive birthday presents; good friends may even present gifts of 3-year equivalent. Alternatively, find the corresponding date of birth on the lunar calendar and announce to friends annually of the birthday, whatever date that may be on the solar calendar. The setback is that you get older faster, but think of the gifts, which can be twice a year.
The lunar calendar is shorter than the Gregorian calendar by about 11-13 days; and it is not linked to seasons of the year. Thus every other 33-34 years the lunar and Gregorian calendars meet. Such meeting almost take place this year as the next new year's day for the lunar calendar is on 27 December. Imagine two points, one each at the circumference of two wheels of same diameter but rotate at different speeds. Depending on the speeds of rotation, there would be time when both points meet.
On the eighth month the lunar calendar is 'calibrated' against the phase of the moon to determine the beginning of the ninth month, Ramadhan, which is the fasting month. On the 28th day of Ramadhan again the moon phase is observed to determine the end of fasting and the beginning of the tenth month, Syawal. Thus the calendar gets calibrated twice every year. Nowadays, calculations are also widely used for that determination.

Road Safety - Defensive Driving

The bag in which he put the notebook computer jumped numerous times from the front passenger seat to the floor of the car. Too many stop and go driving along the way to work. Nakamora hoped that the almost 3-year old laptop can survive the unintentional abuse.
Today is the second day the traffic is that bad. Schools started the new session yesterday; and during school session the traffic is indeed that bad. But expect it to be worse in the next 3-4 days. People have been accustomed to breezy driving during the long school break, and need to re-adjust to a different driving mode. Defensive driving. Timing is very crucial in this condition. Start late by 5 minutes and he will be late by 20-25 minutes; start early just by 5 minutes and he will arrive 15 minutes early. The trick is to find the right time to get out of the house so that the traffic is just nice and stick to within that window of time. Early is okay, but late, try not to be; all kind of drivers and vehicles would have populated the road, lorries, motorcycles, buses. The diverse driving styles of Malaysian drivers can be taxing to the nerve.
Some drive too fast, like a rocket. Others drive so slow that Nakamora would have been happier to be behind a tractor or a steamroller. The thought that these vehicles cannot move fast console him, but following a slow-moving car, especially luxury car, irked him. He started thinking sarcastically that may be by the time the driver can afford such a car age also caught up with him, and that slowed him down, no more spirited driving. In challenging traffic conditions the mind is the best friend in order to stay cool and stay on the road safely - never mind whatever it is thinking.

Time Interface

Like everybody else, last night Nakamora passed the year 2007, and entered 2008. There is no other choice. At the vicinity of this 2007-2008 interface, may be within a band of 2-3 months, people may do one or a combination of three things, or may be more:
1. in 2007 formulate new resolution, or reformulate old ones
2. in 2008 view the past in perspective across the time border
3. miss 1, ignore 2, create and define own time interface
4. none of the above
Nakamora did a little bit of everything, a combination of all, but mostly the last part of 3. Time interfaces and borders are yours to create and define: when I am 40, on my graduation, are examples. Time itself is an abstract concept which can be measured using different basis; or else there would not have been lunar calendar or calendars based on maharajah's or emperor's birthday. Going to the extreme, in some native community time is measured by the duration to cook rice, to climb coconut tree, to finish smoking a stick of cigarette, or the performance of any acts the duration of which have been accepted as standard. Of course that is compatible only within the context of its applications, like in any other measure of time.