nakamora

The first sunset of 2012

2012-01-01T18:30:00.001+08:00

Almost sunset, captured at Pantai Gelora, Kuantan.

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Mini resolutions...

2011-11-30T00:56:00.000+08:00

Happy New Year 1433H. The beginning of the new year was two days ago, but better late than never, hence this posting.
That is the day when some of us make, remake, and revise resolution(s) made 12 months ago (lunar calendar that is). Nakamora seems to do away with all that. He prefers to have daily, weekly, and monthly resolutions. To him several mini resolutions seem to have better chance of being realised than one big resolution. Today for instance, his resolution was to keep balance in life; there must be time, among others for work, for play, for family, for rest and for investing into the permanent future. How is that balance going to be set. That, unfortunately took quite a bit of his time that in the end the very resolution he is trying to attain was unattainable or at best attained only partly.

What's in an abbreviation...

2011-08-22T07:45:00.004+08:00

We use abbreviations a lot. With sms or texting the short form of everything becomes handy. But not every short form carries the same meaning. The photo, complete with the typos, intentionally made, I believe, is a case in point. It was taken near the Segambut eateries area, Kuala Lumpur; not in any other town in the east coast of the Malaysian Peninsular.

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It's Ramadhan

2011-08-01T07:20:00.002+08:00

At the end of Ramadhan 1431H we prayed that we would make it to the next Ramadhan. Alhamdulillah, the prayer is granted; here we are, at the beginning of Ramadhan 1432H.
Bazaars are here again. The last day before Ramadhan the shops were crowded. Restaurants, cafes, and food courts were crowded too. It was as if tomorrow it is no more... (Photo: Bazaar Ramadhan at Taman Melawati, Kuala Lumpur).

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Senseless...

2011-07-09T14:01:00.002+08:00

It is hard not to feel saddened with the plight of those businesses owners whose operations are disrupted. Who should compensate their losses. Countless people whose programs are disrupted, just because certain segments of the populace want to do things their way. Inconsiderate, incomprehensible...

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A space away

2011-05-30T09:50:00.004+08:00

Taking a break, spending time away where one can be detached, to some extent, from the usual routine, is refreshing. The sound of waves, unobstructed views, colorful fishes and sea plants, and the leisurely pace all cooperate to instill a relaxed feeling, allowing time for self re-discovery. Should have this more regularly I guess...

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Time travel - spatially...

2011-05-19T21:11:00.002+08:00

Sceneries can evoke many memories and imaginations. Memories of days past: idyllic village, carefree chores, backwardness of surroundings, quiet and abandoned looking country roads. Imaginations of what the future may look like: modern, bustling cities, rushing crowds, people glued to their gadgets.
The world is not developing uniformly, some develop faster than others. Thus, travelling from one place to another can bring us back to the days past and take us to the future to give a glimpse of what the neighbourhood come to be in the future. Time travel, undertaken spatially.
(Jetty to Samosir island at Parapat)

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Many special days

2011-05-16T17:52:00.001+08:00

Seems that this month is one that is full of special days: labor day, mothers day, teachers day...

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Know Your Roots?

2010-06-07T07:57:00.003+08:00

How far do you know your roots.. how far up?
That question came to mind after watching 'Roots', the popular TV miniseries in the USA in late 1970s based on the book of the same title by Alex Haley. He spent 12 years researching for his roots, back to Gambia in Africa.
Amazing how things changed in seven generations: outlook, worldview, values, and other things in life; and equally amazing how things do not change much, when entities are encapsulated from outside 'change agents' or influence...
As reported in an extra section of the DVD, the showings of the series on TV generated a lot of interests on genealogy. It became a popular vocation, or past time, of a large majority of the public. I recall in Malaysia a project for school children to construct their own root trees - trace your ancestors. Could it be connected in anyway?

Travel the World for...

2010-04-26T14:30:00.005+08:00

The mobility of peoples and goods, and information, has tremendously increased with the advent of modern transportation systems. It can be disrupted, severely in some occassions, as we have witnessed in the past week, but in general a lot more peoples and goods are moving from one place to another, for one purpose or another.
Some travel for businesses, others for holidays, or combine both. Nakamora's travel in the past week was of the latter type. In the process, he got stuck in Dubai, stayed three days in Vienna, and spent the weekend in Prague before due to fly home.
Still others travel the world for medical treatment, hence the term medical tourism; for recreation, hence recreational or sports tourism. Still another class, Nakamora thought, are those who travel, or being made to travel, for a living. A construction worker he met in Dubai mentioned that he has worked in a construction project in Malaysia in Bandar Baru Bangi, in Penang, and in Klang, along with a host of other countries. As he looked up at construction workers next to steel bars, scaffolds, and reinforced concrete columns at construction sites in many cities he wondered how many buildings have that worker be involved in, and in how many places has he travelled. He must have his own views and viewpoints of the city; views that are different from us altogether...

General purpose 'everything'

2010-04-24T05:42:00.004+08:00

He is tired, no doubt, sleeping, oblivious to the noise and happenings around him. But what is that he is sleeping on? It is a cart, it is a bed, it is a place to rest, a single item with many uses.
The idea of 'multipurpose' or 'general purpose' equipment perhaps originated from an old practice of maximizing the benefit of an item by diversifying or extending its uses; like what we see in that picture. It saves money, and if we don't have much money we have not much choice but to make do with what we have, and hence the cartbed - a multipurpose cart. It can't be a multipurpose bed. The name after the adjective multipurpose should be the orginal name the item is used for, not the name of items its uses are extended to.
When resources are limited, we tend to be creative.

Someone's Loss...

2010-04-22T13:52:00.003+08:00

is someone else's gain. Disruption in air travel due to the Icelandic volcanic ash costs airlines millions of dollars in lost revenue and due to extra operational costs incurred in the logistics of relocating and pacifying stranded passengers. Leaving passengers on their own or just giving them minimal treatments can tarnish image and long-term businesses. In fact, Nakamora opined that, the ability to effectively and efficiently handle situations like this is the hallmark of professionalism and service quality, of airlines or any other ventures.
On the other side of the equation, hotel industry at the city where passengers are stranded records bustling business. Occupancy rates jump. But, this is not the whole story. Would be travellers cancelled their trips, taxi cabs loss passengers going to the airports or to the city, some passengers chose to stay put at the airport, etc. There are losses, but who else gained?

Accidental Tourist

2010-04-21T08:47:00.006+08:00

Being thrown into an unpleasant situation can turn out to be a pleasant experience; an opportunity waiting to be exploited. That was what happenend at the start of the weekend as Nakamora travelled to Europe and stranded in Dubai.
Planes were grounded as ashes spewed into the atmosphere by the explosion of Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland drifted into the air. Most airports in Europe, including Flughafen Wien was closed.
Unsettling the wait as it was, staying at a hotel courtesy of the airline gave good opportunity to wander around the city. Doesn't matter the lack or absence of clothing for change and unshaven for three days, moving around Bur Dubai and other places gave a good introduction to the city for future exploration. It feels like an expensive city, especially when the extended stopover was not in the budget.
The temperature was hot, around 33 deg. C, but the air is dry and occassional winds at some parts of the city can be cooling. Cafes with shawarna-based burgers and all kinds of fruit juices with inviting names like "fifty-fifty" and "abadi," which is a combination of two or more fuits with or without icecream on top, are abound. Spending time in one can be a nice eating experience.
Overall, it was an interesting time; but could have been much better if it was planned, Nakamora made his assessment. He hopes to come again, but not due to a stranded flight.

Oppositely Dominating

2009-12-22T06:15:00.005+08:00

When at home there are many things in common between us and the masses, thus we tend to highlight our differences. When abroad, away from home, the differences between us and the masses loom large so that in meeting fellow countryman we can easily strike a conversation. We focus on similarity, brushing aside the very difference that we would be highlighting if we were home.

But, there are places in which that is not the case. We tend to be indifference or even avoid contact. Another similarity could be at play here, or could it be driven by another need? London seems like one such place.

Whitechapel's Fish and Chips

2009-11-14T19:07:00.001+08:00

What is it that make you frequented an outlet? One is preferred over another. This restaurant serving traditional fish and chip in Whitechapel, London obviously is an answer. The treatment you get is one that can be remembered and cherished.
He is cheerful, treats every customer as close friends that needs attention,. It makes coming to his place an enjoyable experience; enter with a hungry stomach, leave with your spirit uplifted.
"Take a seat, i'll bring it to you," he said respectfully in casual manner.
While you are at your seat other customers enter the premise. All are greeted as if they are long lost friend, and they enjoy being treated that way and reciprocate. The shop may be have been operating there for many many years, serving local customers that the owner knows well. But he must have known so many to be at that level of interaction with them.
If I were in that area again in the future I would definitely not miss coming to that outlet serving that traditional fish and chips.

Testing Patience

2009-10-23T06:14:00.002+08:00

The computer hangs, the smartphone gets infected, the ATM machine announces it is 'temporarily' unavailable for service, the traffic jams, the junk e-mails, etc. etc. Modern-day necessities and everything that ride on them. At times, it's testing your patience. Those times are when they are taking a leave of duty, not functional. Being so used to the prompt response, available on demand situation, we forget that we used to wait in line, patiently, waiting for turn at the phone booth, at the bank counter, for busses and trains tickets.

Korea Once More

2009-10-19T04:33:00.002+08:00

There are times when you thought there'd be no more occassion for you to be at a place you once been to quite often. That thought is there just because you have changed career and moved elsewhere. But things are interrelated and the interconnection seemingly could never be severed. In fact, why should that be? Previously gathered knowledge should be retained and put to good use. Networking should be maintained. Friendships and human relationships should not be driven by 'official' needs of the vocation of the day, and be forgotten once the need is no longer there.

Hence, Nakamora once more was in Korea last week. It was for the second time this year with more places to see and new people to meet, as well as old friends with new jobs. The three-hour bus ride from Incheon to Daejeon, the exploration of Joengup, of Ulsan, and back to Seoul by the 300 km/hour KT train are all new experience.
Best of all have been meeting 'old' friends and knowing that they still recognize you.

e-Card

2009-09-19T21:27:00.002+08:00

It is the end of Ramadhan and Eid ul Fitr, or the first of the month of Syawal is coming. Few days before this the mailbox used to be brimming with cards wishing every happiness for the joyous occassion. It is different this time around however. Perhaps e-cards and short messaging system truly have taken over the role of printed cards; or perhaps all those before were actually for the seat of the receiver ;-)

The Basis of Optimization

2009-09-17T18:43:00.000+08:00

(It is true that developing something is easier than maintaining it. The long lull of this blog is a living proof of that saying. Anyway, Nakamora is back to tend his plot in the blogspace.)
The first agenda of that meeting in the morning part of the first Friday of every month, without fail, is the tazkirah. Tazkirah is a short talk to advise and remind each other of our role in life and the way we should go about it based on Islamic teachings. It was Nakamora's turn this month, and he decided to put extracts of it in this blog as in the subsequent paragraphs.
Today is the 14th of Ramadhan, the month having the most fadhilah among all of the months in a year. Let us take advantage of it and maximize the benefits, for we do not know if we would meet the next one. Let us pray that we would.
We are reminded of the words of wisdom of Imam Al-Ghazali that the farthest distance is the past, for it won't come back; the closest to us is death; the biggest is nafs; the heavisest to carry is trust; the easiest to miss is prayer; and the sharpest object is the tounge.
My tazkirah is about life in general. Looking at life somewhat philosophically, we can say that what everyone does in life is optimization.
We optimize our time so that we have some for other pursuits.
We optimize our spending so that we have disposable income for other discretionary spending.
In short in everything we do we optimize against some objective or cost functions.
What is different between individuals is the basis of the cost function - the world here or the Hereafter.
We are also reminded of the 80-20 rule - that 80% of problems are caused by 20% of all causes, that 80% of profits comes from 20% of the operations; that 80% of impact is the result of 20% of activities; etc.
We seem to adopt the same 'inverse' rule. 80% or more of what we do is for the world here. The world here, in terms of duration is incomparable to the Hereafter, let alone 20%. This is because the basis of our objective function is the world now.
Let us therefore apportion our activities appropriately to reflect the actual ratio of that durations. In fact we ought to continuously ask ourselves: with respect to the Herefatre, is the thing I do now, the best thing to do for the moment; is the place where I am now the best place to be;is what we spent on the best value for money, etc.
Before leaving for a long journey, we make preparations. The level of the preparations is commensurate with the duration and distance of the journey. Going to Europe, Amercicas, or Africa require more preparation than going to countries in this region, that are all within about 6 hours of flight time.
Prepartions to go to places we are unfamiliar with is even more elaborate. We learn a word or two of the language of the place, and we change our currency.
The Hereafter is so unfamiliar. We have not been there, and those who went there never come back. But we are told about it the al-Qur'an. Therefore, the preparations to go there should be the whole lifetime. The currency is not what we have now, but what we do with what we have - our good deeds. All will be accounted for, no matter how small. From al-Qur'an
[99:7] "Whoever does an atom's weight of good will see it."
[99:8] "And whoever does an atom's weight of evil will see it."

Hardcopy or Softcopy

2009-07-21T05:32:00.003+08:00

Both have their respective merits and demerits. Hardcopy? It is hard to imagine magazine, newspaper, and book racks disappear from bookstores. The feeling of touching the paper, weighing the book, and skimming through the pages are still influential in making the buy or not buy decision. Glancing at the frontpage of newspapers lined up infront of small stores bythe bus stand from across the road also has similar influence.
Imagine reading an e-book or e-newspaper or e-magazine in a bus, or train (or even while driving). That electronic reader called notebook must be there with you, with battery that lasts long enough.
But where would you keep all those 'expired' magazines? Old newspapers have buyers. Perhaps keep only selected ones that could be useful for future reference.
Future reference? In hardcopy they may not be easily retrieved, especially if you do not have the tendency to be like librarians, cataloguing all your collections.
For a long time to come, one would neither replace the other. Not all inventions make existing methods or goods obsolete.

Trade and Language

2009-06-27T08:25:00.003+08:00

Malay Spoken Here. That sign in the title may not be written anywhere, but approach the shop, browse around and enquire a thing or two. After a while the shopkeeper will urge you to buy.
"Oh, from Malaysa. Apa kabar."
"Belilah. Murah saja."
"Enam Ribu Won."
Yes, that conversation was in the Itaewon district, a well-known shopping area in downtown Seoul. That conversation also bears testimony to the shopping penchant of most Malaysians, Malays especially. Well, it is good for the economy.
In addition we might say trade is also a way for a language to expand, and to some extent, we see that taking place. The language, albeit a broken one, is spoken at almost every shopping or market place Nakamora has been to. Of course, the level of conversation is limited to low level transactions such as souvenir shopping, but everything has a beginning, and every beginning usually is a humble one, isn't it? The influence of toursim on language cannot be ignored.

Jeju - The Honeymoon Island

2009-06-20T06:31:00.004+08:00

It's not always you get the opportunity to get to Jeju, Republic of Korea - the honeymoon island. One, it is because you have had your honeymoon elsewhere. Two, getting there and stay there for a holiday can eat a chunk of whatever disposable income you have.
He was there many years ago. A beautiful island, the shape of a potato. Just months ago he got another chance to be there, on business trip too. Hence there was an element of cost-sharing between his own pocket and the business concern. Since mixing business with pleasure is not a sin, he extended his stay for an extra day or two.
The trip this time was a stark difference from previously in most aspects. The host, in last trip, took the trouble to purposely include sightseeing as part of the unofficial agenda. This time around, it was not so. Thus Nakamora has to be 'unguided.' But that was not strange to him. He likes to explore and discover. Explore and discover he did. But the discovery was not that pleasant, unfortunately.
Most of the taxi drivers do not speak the language of tourism. Most of the interesting spots are indicated in English in the map. Show that to a taxi, and the driver has no idea where and what it is.
To get to Bagdad Cafe, a joint written as a halal eating place, Nakamora has to get a staff manning the Tourist Information counter at the airport to write it down in Korean on a piece of paper. This is to be shown to the taxi driver. Apparently, he was not the first one using that approach. Other tourists, travelling independently, did the same.
Perhaps to see jeju, one needs to join organized tour, or else, plan the trip well in advance and get to the tourist information counter to get everything written for the taxi driver.

Seesaw

2009-05-15T07:45:00.005+08:00

When I was little I used to see kids playing seesaw by the playgrounds. The ends of the seesaw normally are so worn out. The grass there are trampled upon all the times. Modern seesaw that I saw put enough asphalt around the area to maintain the nice looks.
What I hate most is when I have to oversee my little brothers playing seesaw. Once one is above the other tried very hard to rise as well. Using every means including reducing body weight by exhaling air out, kicking the ground to push him up even though that is out of the rule of the game, etc. Then, the game continued. One went up, the other went down, as both can't be up at the same time. As the overseer I suffered. My head has to be turned left and right and up and down, so that I can see where they are. How I was very happy and relieved when they eventually both got hungry and asked me to take them home.
Nakamora just listened. He knew his friend likes to ramble. He doesn't care whether Nakamora has any idea at all about he said...

Just Ask Why

2009-04-30T06:36:00.003+08:00

Everyone is familiar with the five Ws and one H. Well, almost everyone.
His friend starts mumbling again; and all Nakamora has to do is listen and comment when appropriate. That is the basis of their friendship. So, he listens.
When I was small I was asked only one question by my father: why. Why this, why that, why not this, why not that. Yes, it is just one question, the same one, but different materials; and I have to answer or made up the answers. After all he wouldn't know as long as the answer seemed logical. The hard part of course is in knowing what is logical and what is not, and to follow through my previous answer. Sometimes I was trapped by my own answer when his follow-up question is combined with my previous answer, and it did not sound right.
Can you give an example, asked Nakamora.
Why is the sky blue? I can answer it is because of the reflection of the ocean. He would then asked, why is it red in the afternoon or morning when the ocean is not changing color? See what I mean? How would I answer that?
Hmm.. your father must have been using the Socratic method to teach you.
I don't know that. Perhaps your father learned of the method too.
Not likely, he said. My father is not the educated kind.
Then, he must have discovered that independently of Socrates.
Perhaps...

Receding Mist

2009-04-26T21:19:00.004+08:00

Mornings used to give refreshing sights around the place. So as after raining. Looking through his window Nakamora can see mist hanging in the air, almost blanketing the top half of that little mountain, adding welcoming contrast to the greens around it. The clear sky looks happy too with the mist around. Nice paintings indeed; a lively one that comforts the eyes.
It did not take long before modern machinery, driven by modern men with capitalist instinct, tore down the painting. The mist is receding. Soon it would be gone altogether. It can no longer be at the place it used to hang around. Men has claimed it to be theirs.
The morning scenery is now something else. There is still contrast, but an irritating one. It is unfortunately a typical picture that can be seen anywhere in the country. The onslaught of development is painting the same picture everywhere. A picture painted not by needs, but by greed. He tried to place the need in men that lead to that destruction in Maslow's pyramid of needs, but failed. There must be some other motivators...

Do Not Give Up...

2009-04-24T23:54:00.003+08:00

He must be a Pakistani. Where does he stay, how long has he been selling that, where does he get all the wares he is peddling around?
That guy, with the bags of local version of the potato chips, made of a mixture of flour and fish, must be local. That boy, going from table to table, with a receipt book in one hand and a laminated A4-size document on the other, must also be a local.
Almost every time when Nakamora is at the restaurant the Pakistani and the local potato chip guys are there doing their rounds. The boy, or some other boy doing the same kind of thing, is there only occasionally. Perhaps similar sights can be seen at other eating places too.
This particular night, however, Nakamora bought something from that Pakistani guy. Normally Nakamora only responded with a smile as the guy approaches his table with overtures inviting him to exchange his money with the goods. It has been like so for countless times; but the guy never gives up. It seems that to the guy, every time is the first time. Well, perseverance pays. If you do it often enough, there would be time when it pays off. After many trips, many encounters, the guy succeeded in making Nakamora parts with his money.

Have You Time to Spare?

2009-04-18T12:51:00.006+08:00

Everyone has 24 hours daily, and we used it all. So, how is it that some of us have spare time? Nakamora asked himself, since he thought he hasn't got any.
Spare something means setting a portion of that something aside to be used in future, when the one we presently have is exhausted, expired, or rendered useless, like spare tires and spare parts. Can time be such a thing? But then, we can always re-define spare time. Expand the scope of definition of spare or change its context, can't we?
Doing something not because of necessity, but driven by interest or hobby, a digression from normal routine and chores, can be said to be doing something in spare time. Strolling in a garden near a lake, watching movies or dvds, listening to music, tendering potted plants, or watching fishes swimming back and forth in an aquarium are possibilities; and people do that.
One could be sitting on a bench, looking at other people spending their spare or leisure time and play around with a camera...

Night Shift...

2009-04-16T06:26:00.006+08:00

The sight is much more clearer in life than in the photo. A lone watchman sits on a plastic chair, reading something, under a street lamp. That is one of the night-time jobs among several; and may be one of the most passive in terms of physical movements.

Nakamora wondered what is it that makes them stay awake? How do they finish the job? What are they thinking, as it appears that they have plenty of time for doing that, don't they miss the daytime activities when they have to make up for lost sleep at night? Nakamora wanted to ask a guard. Perhaps someday there's an opportunity to do, so in a tactful manner.

So, Where Are Hang Tuah, Hang Jebat, and...

2009-04-10T11:53:00.006+08:00

When there are so many streets bearing the same 'first' names it is hard not to notice them. That was what happened when Nakamora walked the streets of Hanoi Old Quarter. His mind could not helped but wonder, could all the 'Hang' in the histrory of Malacca back in Malaysia be related to the naming of these streets? Vietnam, after all is part of Indo-China.
Nakamora left the city for home with that questions playing in his head...Apparently, Nakamora is not the only one asking the same question. There are others too, for example who is Hang Tuah?

Tips on Crossing the Streets of Hanoi

2009-04-09T23:41:00.004+08:00

The streets of Kuala Lumpur is hard to cross. Well, try the streets of Hanoi. Pedestrian bridge is not seen anywhere. Zebra crossings and traffic lights are frequently over-ruled by the motorcyclists, and the taxis too. By the way, Nakamora noticed that there are not many private cars around, most cars operate as taxis.

So, how do you cross a busy street in Hanoi; and most streets are busy. After observing the locals, Nakamora tried the same way. It worked, but only after some practices and with loads of confidence.

Just move across the street, do not stop, but vary walking speed appropriately so that both you and the motorist have space to move ahead. Eye-contact is essential, even momentarily, or even by the corner of the eye. The trick is make sure that the motorist notice you and acknowledge your presence. He/she would steer accordingly to avoid being in a collision course.

Walking along the streets of Hanoi is interesting too. The temperature is nice, around 24 degrees Celsius at this time of the year. If too tired, then just take a taxi. But beware, you could be taken for a ride. The taxi driver may choose the longest route or drive as slowly as possible or both to maximize the fare. The alternative is obvious - trudge along, drag the weary feet. That cost may be higher compared to paying extra.

There's Always Something New to Learn...

2009-04-07T06:58:00.003+08:00

Nakamora never thought that a year later he would be visiting the place he thought he would have visited the first and last time, staying at a hotel along the same street of Hanoi, the Ly Thuong Kiet Street, and meeting the peoples he had said goodbye to last year. Well, there's always reason to come back. Never say never because nobody is master of his or her own destiny.
On map the restaurant is not that far from the hotel. On the ground the distance is magnified many times over. Thus he took a taxi. In between savoring the baryani dinner, the owner of the restaurant, who has been doing many odd jobs in sixteen countries over the last forty years, recounted the days he set-up the restaurant. Being one of the few 'halal' restaurant in this city his outfit is dong very well. Brother Ben, as he is fondly addressed by his friends as Nakamora learned throughout the conversation, was thrown to do well in what he did not plan to do in the first place. At the urgings of his friends who were coming to visit Hanoi seven years ago, he started the business. Not so much for making ends meet, as he has a well-paying job, but largely for serving the needs of certain class of people looking for halal restaurant in Hanoi. The food was good and the atmosphere relaxing. The Nisa Restaurant, located in a five-story building, all leased by him, is located in the shopping area of Hanoi.
Nakamora was pleasantly surprised to also meet a friend at the same restaurant. Before leaving he also urged Brother Ben to expand the business to cater for the needs of travellers looking for 'halal' food.

A Mouse by the Windows

2009-04-01T05:35:00.002+08:00

Context gives meaning to words. Every word has different meanings when used in different situations. Within the context there is the philosophy that the word represents. Thus, words are mere labels, if we can say it that way.
Context is also connected to culture, as words are manifestations of culture, to certain extent. So then, what are 'mouse' and 'windows?' What do they represent? They both refer to everyday 'objects' and IT 'objects'; but they hardly sound scientific and technical.
Is that a manifestation that IT has already became an everyday thing? or is it a manifestation that that particular culture has extended the use of its everyday words as technical terms, used worldwide. Is that a manifestation that using its own language in science and technology has somehow over the years makes common, mundane words become acceptable as a technical term? May be so.
'Barn,' which is the unit of the cross-sectional area representing the 'probability' that neutrons would interact with a particular atom, also has its roots in everyday word. A barn, is an area the size of 10E-24 square centimeter.

The value of experience

2009-03-29T09:02:00.002+08:00

Slumdog Millionaire becomes the best film in every sense of the word. One message is clear. Experience is valuable indeed - if only we know how to exploit it and if the opportunity to exploit it exists.

The Real World

2009-02-24T07:04:00.002+08:00

In this world in which things are measured in nanoscale - nano second, nanotechnology - it is refreshing once in a while to go out of the norm or the pace of things.
Nakamora was not in a hurry. He has plenty of time to get to his next appointment as the one he has just attended concluded earlier than expected. He drove slowly, perhaps much more slowly than usual, and many times slower than he usually move about in his car. He looked out of his car window and could almost see the grass by the road side blades by blades. Its like watching movie in slow motion - frame by frame. What a change.

It's Only Words?

2009-01-10T20:35:00.005+08:00

Many English words have multiple meanings depending on the context in which they are used. Take 'plant' for example. It can mean an industrial plant. It can also mean biological plant - the tree that we plant.
See, we have just used another meaning of the word. It can be a noun, it can also be a verb.
When the context within which the word is spoken and the word is received is not the same, then mismatch in interpretation also arise. Because of that it is easy to label the same thing differently, depending on context defined by the user to justify the use of the label.
Take 'terrorists' or 'terrorism' as examples. Someone's terrorists are another warriors. Who is right, who is wrong? Or does that matter as long as everybody can live in peace and make the live of others matter.
From current events it appears that the lives of some people including their children are cheaper than others. Thus, the world stood in silence, helpless or hopeless, while bombs inflict countless damage - body and soul - to another fellow human. The real atrocities rage on, and somewhere else, another kind of war is going on. The 'war' on the right to use certain words and wordings...

How About Reviewing a Book?

2009-01-05T03:23:00.003+08:00

Would anyone like to do a book review? Try it at book review. There are many guides for writing a book review. The one from the Los Angeles Valley College Library can be of help as well. Try it.

Multidimensional Life...

2008-12-31T02:19:00.004+08:00

One new year has just passed by. We are now well into the third day of 1430H. The new year 2009 is trailing close behind, and will be with us in no time.
From his new vocation Nakamora looked back. How many things now look different. How relationships and friendships change. How things that mattered before became reduced in significance. How things that were not very significant before became the center point. How similar concepts change in meaning in different context.
PESTELSS, that collection of dimensions representing the political, economic, societal, technological, environment, legislation, safety, and security spheres to him now has a new dimensions - a meta dimension, he would like to call it.
It takes on a new context and concept embodying life in general. Some remains just a thought in passing. Others could be practiced still.
Can the world prevent the senseless and cruel killings of the innocents.
Can the economic crises, if we can call it that, be cured.
Can the rise in social decadent among the youths and adults alike be arrested.
Can making the world better for everyone be the only motivation for pursuing technological progress, instead of for making better and more effective weapons.
Can the senseless and heartless exploitation of the environment be stopped.
and so on, and so on...

Caring for New Toys

2008-12-26T22:28:00.003+08:00

When we were small toys are not just meant to be played around, but also to be thrown away, dismantled, and dismembered. Small wonder that product testing includes repetitive application of force, pressure, and everything else to ensure that they can endure rough handling.
Some of us however are extra careful when having something brand new. New laptops are handled carefully, its screen wiped clean of dust and thumbprints before and after every use.
Some even go to the extent of switching off the car radio and the air condition before switching off the engine, perhaps to prevent the car experiencing a shock arising from too many 'devices' going off all at the same time.

The Slopes Strike Back

2008-12-13T10:21:00.004+08:00

Peaceful co-existence.
That's the phrase often used to describe development and the environment. Recent spates of incidents, or shall we say accidents, involving developed area at or near hillside shows that the co-existence was not a peaceful one. After some time, the slopes claim their rightful place... and we were shaken awake, temporarily.
But at the same time, elsewhere, armed with modern machines man continue to deny hills and mountains to continue their existence. They are not there to stay.

A New Ambience

2008-11-30T09:33:00.004+08:00

The campus, almost 300 acres, is split in the middle by a river flowing in the north-south direction. He crossed the river more than twice weekly. The west of the river is dominated by a cultural activity center, engineering, and architecture blocks; the east bank is dominated by a masjid, library, administration and law buildings. The masjid, near the library, sits in the middle, about equidistant from everywhere.
The buildings are big with architecture that can inspire and uplift the spirit. Almost all buildings are of square construction with a courtyard in the middle. Walking through them we can see many perspectives. As he enters a door from one side he can see another across the well-maintained courtyard. That door leads to another wide walkway lined with decorated tiles in Islamic motives. Walkways are never plain, they have motives of some kind.
The masjid, academic, and administration buildings are all situated in a valley. The marhallah or hostels dotted the hills. Perhaps to make it easier for students to walk down to classrooms and harder to go back to their rooms. And so they would spend more time in the library or the many eating places scattered in the campus. Almost every building has its own cafe, and the variety of food available is enriching.
As he drive to the 'valley' every morning he relish the view of the low hanging white cloud lining the green mountainside over the horizon. The sight is refreshing...

Step Back to Step Forward...

2008-11-21T04:58:00.010+08:00

Optimization. That is what life is all about. The cost function, that defines the objective of the optimization process, is multitude. Some are to be maximized, others are the opposite, depending on the expected impact of the activities on the final objective.
In general the overall objective is to uplift the standard of living and quality of life, according to individual definitions. Some bounded the definition of life within real life here, others projected that boundary to life hereafter. Whatever that is, in real world, individually we are presented with several choices: what to eat, what to wear, what to do, where to go, to be or not to be, etc.
How do we choose? Again, it is dictated by the need to optimize the cost function to attain some objectives. Objectives that are lined up by us as we traversed life with pre-determined time frames of attainment ranging from very short such as for transient objectives to the longer term ones or even perpetual one. In some cases we need to step back in order to move ahead. While traveling on the road, we sometimes need to slow down to change lane so as to have clear path ahead for moving forward; depending on individual concepts and definitions of what forward means. Truly, the Malaysian roads have a lot of lessons in life to offer, just by driving around. But I guess that must be true for other roads too.
Naturally we should be spending more time and efforts to attain the longer term objective compared to those expended for the short term ones, but this is not always obvious.

The Whole is Like Its Individual Parts

2008-11-19T07:11:00.006+08:00

Human ability to design, make and handle complex devices and systems increases by the day. The enormity and complexity of the world we live in today is humongous compared to the centuries we left behind.
Our age is best measured based on daily or yearly basis. The age of humanity is more appropriately measured in decades and centuries. As a person grows old, humankind grows old too, every decades, every centuries. In growing older, from a mere child to a teenager to an adult, a person becomes more adept at handling ever more complicated things and has greater mobility. He/she can travel beyond the confine of his/her village, town, state, and country. Much in the same way, humanity becoming more adept at handling complicated situations and humans can explore places hitherto unexplored - underwater, the sky, outer space.
Except for the difference in timescale the growth path of humanity is strikingly similar to that of a person, its individual constituents. Humanity then, is a person in much much more grander scale.
Do we know the eventuality of humanity? Just look at a person - its miniature "double.

Simple Pleasures of Life...

2008-11-17T08:20:00.002+08:00

The amount is not much, mere pittance, but that smile struck him. Nakamora looked at the pizza delivery guy as he made his way to the lift lobby. Nakamora closed the door of the apartment, taking the RM 29.25 meal inside. That was just one of the lazy night to either eat out or cook a meal.
Nakamora gave him RM 30.00 and asked him to keep the balance. Nakamora was sure that it was not a sinister smile. RM 1.00 cannot buy much nowadays. It was a genuine display of pleasure for a gesture of not wanting to be bothered by looking for exact change to return. At times simple things in life - saying thank you or keeping the door open for others after you - can make us happy.

The Garden Below

2008-11-03T23:53:00.007+08:00

Close to the end of year is the time for cleaning up, including the computer.. purging orphans and unwanted files, storing important information in CDs, etc. It was during such activity that Nakamora stumbled upon a journal entry he wrote on his first dive at Redang Island at about 8 years ago; and he is sharing it here:
The speedboat eased out into the open seas steadily. Gradually the white sandy beach turned to look more like a mere line and the surrounding islands like series of dots at the horizon. Once at the deeper water the second engine kicked in. The boat sped ahead leaving wakes marking its trail. The line and the dots were now lost, completely hidden from view. It’s a trip back to the mainland.
I sat at the starboard side. My sight traveled to an unknown space beyond the stern, and stayed there. Images of the undersea garden flashed rapidly, vividly, and colorfully in my mind.
The ride was bumpy, but not as bad as the inward journey a few days ago. As the speedboat pounded ahead memories of trips on a dive boat to the dive sites were relived. The pounding was familiar, the engine noise was familiar too; but I was now without the tank, the mask, and the fin. I wished I was, but diving has its own discipline. I had two repetitive 18-meter dives the day before. To fly home today I shouldn’t be diving for at least twelve hours so that excess nitrogen level in the body can decrease. Those dives placed me as Group V divers.
At the end of every dive, divers belong to any of the A to Z groups representing excess nitrogen level in the body, which increases with dive depth and duration. Group Z is the highest. Progressively a diver moves from a higher to a lower group by staying longer at the surface as more nitrogen would be released. Excess nitrogen appears in body tissues as micro bubbles, which would expand in response to pressure reduction such as due to increase in altitude.
***
I recalled my very first dive into the deep end, twelve feet, of a swimming pool during training. That was already deep to me. I had to gather enough courage to jump in with my back facing the water and let my body fall rolling back into the water – the splash back entry. The pool was not deep. It takes only a few kicks to resurface, but as a first timer, the anxiety was always there. Having learned how to handle abnormal situations such as out of air, flooded mask, dislodged regulator, and buoyancy control, hovering, excursion, descending, ascending, remaining afloat, and pressure equalization I found that to be in and under water is quite manageable and interesting.
Despite those trainings anxiety still greeted me, and with heightened levels, as the day to my first dive at sea drew closer. It was hard to silence the inner voice that every so often cast a cloud of doubt. Yes, it was okay at the pool, but now it is going to be 60 feet, five times deeper, the pressure would be much greater, what about the temperature, would I be able to do all the things that I did in the pool. Yes, I wouldn’t be alone, as divers ought not to be, but still I am responsible for my own safety.
***
The day came. It was a beautiful morning. Everybody got ready and boarded the dive boat for a short boat ride to the dive site. Once there one after another we splashed into the sea. The moment I was in the water I inflated the buoyancy control device a bit more. I peeked down and I saw the seabed. It was comforting. It was beautiful. It looked like a faraway settlement seen from above. Meanwhile, the small waves lifted me up and down, turning my stomach inside out much like when riding a roller coaster. After checking buoyancy settings, we descended. Under the surface the waves have little effect. While descending I whispered to myself the rules; breathe deeply and continuously, do not hold your breath, do not ascend faster than your smallest bubble, etc. As I reached the seabed the place looked even more beautiful from close range, but the “test” kept me occupied. The dive and the test went well. I know that I earned the certificate and would be a certified Open Water Diver. With that I gained confidence and was able to enjoy the sights a bit more.
.....
I felt a sense of accomplishment. I noticed an ephemeral smile of the instructor - satisfied of making this bunch of student able to scuba dive. The facial expression seemed similar to some that I have seen before, displayed by dedicated people who take pride in their works at the completion of successful missions
***
The beginning of the last dive however was a bit different. It was in the afternoon and visibility wasn’t very good. All I could see below, as I floated waiting for the rest to enter the water before descending, was a seemingly bottomless deep blue water. I felt alarmed, but regained my composure a moment later. I was able to invoke the rule – never let panic overcome you, stop, think, reason out, take necessary action.
***
It was a significant and an eventful occasion. My view of the underwater world was initially shaped by visits to aquariums, snorkeling trips, and National Geographic documentaries. Its all different now. I was there. I understand it better than before and somehow I feel I can relate to it. At 18 meters below the surface it’s a different world, a new world, a new experience, and a different kind of existence. The corals are so vast in coverage, so diverse in shapes and sizes, and the surroundings are so vibrant and lively in colors. Yet, except for the bubbles and the sound of my own breathing through the regulator it is quiet and serene.
...
The fishes swim peacefully and the plants wave gracefully. It is their home, their playgrounds, their world – the world of marine life that I now come to like much more. And I swam too, among and between them, to explore and to appreciate. The feeling accompanying my realization that I was seeing stingray, angelfish, jellyfish, batfish and the rest in and within their own natural habitats is hard to put in words. I was fascinated and exhilarated. I was also indeed humbled by it all, by the sight and feel of the magnificent garden below that the Creator has let us to enjoy, and yet others are intent at destroying them through uncontrolled and unscrupulous activities in the name of development...
***
The trip back was laden with a heavy heart, but other activities must go on as well. Nonetheless, I take comfort in knowing that now I can have return visits.

Old House - but not in the Prairie

2008-10-22T00:23:00.004+08:00

Sometimes he wondered how an object can be a gateway to the subconscious mind to wonder to the things of the past, or imagine things of the future. There is no particular time that would take place. There is no particular weather pattern either. But he became aware that he sees things differently when the sun is bright and the sky is blue. The same thing seems to invoke different images and memories, depending on the time of the day.
That was what happened one morning many years ago when he drove to work. That old house, seemingly under continuous construction, tucked in the midst of tall trees and well kept bushes, on the swampy side of the winding road was erected only a few months back. There seemed to be a lot of activities around it, but changes or progress were not noticeable.
That old house brings back memories of the one in which he spent his childhood years - that must have been many decades ago. That isolated, lone house at his village or kampung. It's no longer there. Being abandoned uninhabited for many years termites feasted on it. Once upon a time, it stood strong in the remoteness of the area, in the serene silence of the surrounding of rows of oil palm and rubber trees. Occasionally, rubber tree seeds pop up in mid-air to hit the zinc roof before recoiling to the ground.
A single track of about 500-meter dirt road connects it to the main thoroughfare. That track is much more improved now many times over compared to the times when he had to leave his car by the main road and walk that 500 meter to the house. It even has a name now. But the place is still as desolate as it once was and the real reason for visiting it has long gone.

Discovery...

2008-10-19T07:53:00.002+08:00

Being away in the jungle gives an opportunity to discover yourselves. Going alone, however, can invite danger. When accompanied by others, preferably those familiar with the area, one can sort of put aside the thinking about general safety - the place to venture into and the place to avoid - and concentrate on personal safety.
Nakamora has been in the jungle fairly often. he felt the difference. It is a different world altogether. Peaceful. Only the birds are making noises - beautiful, soothing noise. Occasionally the monkeys chip in too. This is the place where money is valued less, or not much at all. The currency in the jungle is trust, and respect. Respect the animal, and they won't be mad at you. Interact with trust with the aborigines, and they will trust you. Betray their trust and forever you will not be trusted anymore.

Traveling Back In Time...

2008-10-05T05:09:00.008+08:00

Ramadhan officially ended in Malaysia, and most countries in this region on Tuesday, which is the end of September. Wednesday, October first is also 1 Syawal 1429, the first day of Eid Mubarak for Malaysia, and most countries in the region. Nakamora was told by a friend that Austria celebrated Eid a day earlier.
As usual there are many of people doing the same thing at the same time. Thus major shopping districts in Kuala Lumpur were flooded with crowds of shoppers at the weekend before and a few days before the end of September in preparation for the Eid. Monday and Tuesday saw traffic build-up in major highways leading to kampungs (villages). "Balik kampung" or returning to the village to meet folks and elders still residing there,the familiar annually recurring event, is here again. It is an opportunity to renew contacts, to touch-base, to meet relatives and friends, to revisit the roots, to keep up with the latest there, as it were.
Idyllic villages transformed overnight to bustling, instant towns.
Nakamora too spent the holiday in villages. Some do not have much differences from what he saw daily in Kuala Lumpur. Kids glued to TV screens, computer monitors, or little screen of the handsets - trading short text messages, multimedia files, or exchanging MP3 tunes. In a particular village in Jerteh, Terengganu, however, he saw a different sight. A sight that he has not seen for a very long time - a sight that reminds him of his childhood days. Those kids really have a good time looking for fish in the mud.
They don't seem to bother about baju raya' - new clothes to be worn on that special day, or about collecting 'duit raya.' It was only the third Syawal. Most kids would still be making the rounds collecting 'duit raya'. Probably they have already done so. After all, in a kampung like this there may not be that many 'duit raya' that can be expected - not as many as their catch, may be.
If it was not for the lack of proper clothing to replace the ones he had on Nakamora would have joined them too. The mud looks smooth. A tourist from Europe or somewhere staying at a homestay may jump right in. Mud is good for the skin, and most of them are crazy about it..

How To Decide...

2008-09-21T22:27:00.005+08:00

Deciding what to eat for 'iftar' (breaking fast during the month of Ramadhan) can be challenging from two standpoints.
Heading towards the Ramadhan bazaar and well within it, surrounded by countless food stalls selling varieties of food, Nakamora found it hard to decide what he should get for the day. There are stalls selling traditional delicacies that are not normally found outside the month of Ramadhan. Naturally, that would be the first thing to buy. That settles the first challenge.
As Ramadhan progressed, and as Nakamora continued to get traditional food one after another for his iftar, it became clearer to him that what he thought is traditional is actually not traditional. They look traditional, but the taste is far from it. Thereafter he avoids patronizing such stalls and in the process builds his own list of 'blacklisted' stalls.
he realized that it is quite easy to see such stalls are those that are in business only during Ramadhan. They are no longer a going concern after that and thus have little motivation to 'do it right.'
The second challenge then is not to choose among many, but to choose which ones, as the options are getting smaller. Quite a number of stalls are already in his 'stall to avoid' list. That includes stall operators who do not dress properly while handling food items.
He also noticed that some 'traditional' delicacies looked like being centrally-prepared. Hence many stalls sell similar looking delicacies - same look,same texture, same size, same packaging, and perhaps taste the same as well. The price too, is the same everywhere - high, much higher than what it has been just weeks ago, before the Ramadhan bazaar business starts operating. Some are just in it for the money...

The Meanings of a Day...

2008-08-16T07:48:00.005+08:00

The sun rises, the sun sets, and a day ends. The night is another chapter, supposed to be a time of rest, of recollection, of planning. To make ends meet some continue to work to and through the night.
Nakamora was out and about the other day when he noticed a man having lunch of only a plate of rice and gravy and a glass of plain water. There was no meat, no fish, no vegetable either. Could he be someone on the way to amass a lot money to become a rich man, even a millionaire, by being thrifty to a fault? or honestly he is minimizing his cost of living expenses to finance the needs of his family. The man looked like the latter to Nakamora, and he both pity and respect that man for his sense of sacrifice and responsibility.
A day means different things to different people. For Nakamora, that particular day was for walking around and get connected with life outside his study. To others it could have been a hectic day at the corporate boardroom, in the laboratory, or traveling on the road. To others, particularly some teens seen loitering around, it could just be another day; without meaning whatsoever. Being able to meet friends, be together and have fun is all what a day means. They do no have any ends to join.
Everybody else are going their own way. Making their own ends meet. Some are concerned not just to make the ends meet, but to overlap, many times over.
Some of that overlaps perhaps belong to that man having lunch with a plate of rice and gravy and a glass of plain water... or for setting the meaning of a day, and of life, to those loitering aimlessly...

Forget the Engine, Let's Ride a Bike...

2008-08-08T00:31:00.003+08:00

It's already more than 60 years ago. It is something that we should forget, others are beginning to forget that too; or are they? It happened so far away, not here. Why should we bother having anything that day, like some sort of commemoration?
Nakamora is not alone in asking those questions. Many others wonder the same too, but he got it cleared after the event. He followed the whole program of the Hiroshima & Nagasaki commemoration day, or H&N08, as the organizer, the Malaysian Nuclear Society (MNS) dubbed it. It was on Wednesday, 6 August, at USIM campus, Bandar Baru Nilai.
He took note of the officiating speech of the university's vice chancellor on the importance of tempering knowledge with morality and having good moral values, of using using knowledge only for the good of mankind, and the environment. The program showed that there are many ways of using the technology to benefit mankind. Hiroshima and Nagasaki happened, but that should not be reasons to abandon the many other benefits of the technology.
That was the message he got, and he could not agree more. After all, he thought, the engine that powers his car uses the same principle as the one that moves tanks used in battlefields. To be consistent, we should hate the engine too; let's ride a bike. But of course, he rationalizes, human is not always rationale, is not always logical, is not always consistent...

Environmental Consciousness

2008-07-20T09:12:00.005+08:00

Normally Nakamora prefers to listen to debates in his head while driving through traffic jam of Kuala Lumpur. Occasionally he tunes to the local radio stations. Today is one of that occasion and he keeps on changing stations hoping to catch Carole King, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, or even Bob Marley or Michael Buble singing. None of the station have any of them on at that time.
But wait, here is something that catches his attention. The melody is strange and yet familiar. He could not understand some of the words but can make them out with a little bit more efforts.
It was a Kelantanese song. It starts by introducing a hungry squirrel, its tail cutoff, looking for food by a rambutan tree. The song goes on saying that squirrel is a mammalian that can jump from tree branches to another with ease. But sometimes it falls due to impatience.
Villagers used to chase squirrel away from their fruit trees like rambutan and durian using catapults and by throwing stones, woods, or even a piece of tree branches. They run away, escape, and still stay alive.
With the advent of modern technology nowadays squirrels are shot at. Most of them are dead. They cannot escape. The song goes on regretting that killings. Its hard to see squirrel nowadays. We cannot make even one of them, no matter how high is our education.
Finally the song introduced a thin, tired looking baby squirrel. It is on the ground, instead of up at tree branches, trying to cross a small stream, but cannot make it. Some of its feathers are lost, perhaps it has just escaped from a farm nearby, looking for food. Perhaps its mother cannot make it and lost its live there. The singer was touched by that scenery and appealed for more compassion to animals. They are part of our environment.
Nakamora felt moved by it too. It was a good song; while entertaining, it has a strong message. He later learned that the singer is Halim Yazid. That reminded him of a similar song years ago about a turtle by Abu Bakar Ellah. Hmm... we are not poor of songs and singers with good renditions of the environment and the living things around us.
Motivated by the song, Nakamora searched around in the hope of taking a photo of a squirrel. He wanted to make a tribute by posting its photo here; but he needed more time to find one, squirrel is not easy to see anymore. Thus he put the photo of a tortoise just finishing its meal given by a forest ranger at Kubah National Park in Sarawak.
In between Bob Dylan and the rest, he now make a mental note of that local singers and keep on tuning if there would be more such songs in the local environment.

The Thrill of It All...

2008-07-12T10:57:00.004+08:00

What is it that make a person travel a distance from home to the office early in the morning, and back late in the afternoon, driving on the same road, going to the same office, daily for weeks, months, years, and tens of years? Are they not bored? or is it not boring?
Nakamora used to ask that questions to himself, only to be asked the same much later in life by another - but by that time he already has the answer.
It may be the same road, same place, same job but they are different if we care to look at the differences. At macro level they are the same, but at other levels they change everyday. It is that changes that we have to look at and keep in mind. They get accumulated and become what we call 'experience.' Interest and personal motive or goal could also be the driver for the incessant drive.
Look at teachers, lecturers, professors - or the teaching profession in general. Are they not bored telling the same 'story' semester after semester, even though to different set of students? It is linear algebra again, nuclear physics, or digital systems, control systems, etc. The same topic, different audience.
Imagine we have a good story. We like that story. We definitely would like to tell about it to as many people as we can,to everyone who care to listen, to everyone who has to listen. We never feel bored to repeat the same story. It must be the thrill of letting everyone knows... or letting everyone knows that we know.
Nakamora thought that could have been the reason that teachers can say the same thing, can repeat themselves, as long as to different sets of people. It would not be fun to tell the same story to the same people, isn't it?
Just wonder what is the motivation for that cable repairman to do the thing that he does. He was spotted at a road junction somewhere in Hanoi, Vietnam.

If You Have to Know the Distance, Then...

2008-07-07T01:18:00.003+08:00

Traveling in some parts, or most parts of Sarawak in a compact car can be like having a boat ride during mildly rough sea. The continuous wobbles up, down, and sideways can over-exercise the joints. But then that was part of the experience. The drivers too are a patient lot. They can trail a lorry for miles or kilometers without any attempt to overtake. Nakamora envy such patients because he lost most of it along many roads in Kuala Lumpur and the highways. But then again, the idea is to enjoy the beauty of the countryside. In Kl there is no country side. Along the highways the view is monotonous - palm oil plantation most of the way.
Nakamora got to Santubong only to find that there was not a park by the foot of the mountain. Anyway, he was able to admire the beauty of the 'princess' from afar.
He would have thought that Tebedu, the border town towards Pontianak, would have duty free shops like our border town with Thailand. It has only immigration and custom checkpoint. But the view there is magnificent. Sirikin, on the other hand is a different story. That border town has something to offer to shoppers. In fact most of the thing one see at the Satok market in Kuching are sold there, and the choice are plenty more.

Out in the Open...

2008-07-05T23:53:00.003+08:00

Living in a confined space once in a while can be an interesting experience, as long as the view is not confined. The 10m x 50m 'training' vessel is big enough to weather rough sea but small enough to induce sea-sickness in such weather condition in some of the expedition team members. During that 4D3N that he was with them, unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on what argument is used, he was spared that experience. The sea was as calm and flat as football field.
Away from the Internet and unreachable by hand phone he has all the view to see - wide expanse of blue sea, as far as the eye can see. Watching the sun rise and set is some of the events to look forward to everyday. Another is reaching the next sampling station, anchoring, and performing the sampling itself. While the vessel sails from a station to another most of the samples collected have been treated or pre-processed before analysis at land-based laboratory. All the while, the steady roar of the engine as the vessel sails the sea provides assurance that all is well and on the move.
The vessel made a call at the newest segment of Kuantan port Saturday 21 June. He disembarked there after joining them using a boat from a public jetty at Redang 4 days ago. He noted that the port is about 10-12 m deep. At the outside of the port the depth is about 20 m, compared to 5-60 m or more that they have sailed the previous days. The vessel anchored just outside the port by the night before making the call in the morning.
The success of any endeavor depends on good teamwork, respect of the role of individual team members, and realize that everyone has to contribute to ensure successful completion of the endeavor. He noted those spirit thrived in the expedition.

Nuclear Insights

2008-07-02T07:10:00.006+08:00

Nakamora has been pre-occupied lately with lending a hand to his friend completing a book. He is relieved now that it was done. He has more time now to tend his blog - cybergarden, the plants of which are his rumblings and wandering thoughts, he said to himself. The book, according to his friend, is now available for USD12 or RM30 including postage.

Here's what others say about this book:

"I have great interest for your philosophy of research and being scientist. I appreciate much your describing details of your association with TRCRE after I left for IAEA." ----- Dr. Sueo Machi, FNCA Coordinator, Japan.

"Your review and commentary on your R&D experiences interwoven with your thoughts on current issues as well as your ideas for positioning for the future will find resonance with your readers and assist them as they pursue their various quests and journeys across the R&D landscape." ----- Dr. John F. Easey, ANSTO, Australia.

Well, what would you say?

The book is also available at several bookstores in Kuala Lumpur including Pustaka Mukmin, Mehraj Bookstore, Nufair Street Bookstore, Universiti Malaya Bookstore, and INTAN Bookstore.

Swallows' Paradise

2008-06-14T03:40:00.003+08:00

Nakamora used to wonder what the building is for. He noticed not just one, but several. He noticed not just in the east coast but also in the west coast. To take it for a place to store grains (rice and corn as well, may be) to replace the old construct of inverted long slender bucket may not be quite correct. The building is not that tall. They are located not necessarily anywhere near paddy field. Thus it cannot be that place for storing anything, especially food item. Birds can easily enter it and finish them all.
The building is about 3-4 story tall with several small, slightly less than A4 paper size openings near the top floors walls. Other than those openings there are no other windows. The wall is plastered with cement and the owner did not bother to either paint it or smoothen the surface of the wall.
It was only a few months back that Nakamora learned that indeed the building is for birds to enter. Only now Nakamora has the opportunity to write about it. Not just any birds. It is for swallows to nest. Birds nests fetch good price as they are used as medicine.
It is nice to know. But at the same time a flash of thought on how that could alter the lifestyle of swallows in the future, or succeeding generations of swallow played in Nakamora's head. Perhaps future generation of swallows would no longer be interested to nest elsewhere, except in that kind of building... or could they lose the ability to nest except in buildings such as those swallows' paradise...

We Too Can be Fooled

2008-06-12T20:28:00.004+08:00

With rising fuel price even Nakamora, a speedy driving super enthusiast, has to suppress his urge to floor the accelerator pedal. No, it is just too expensive.
It is one good outcome of the increase in the price of oil. He remembered that he used to have to train his eyes hard on life-size cardboard cut-out of traffic policeman and policewoman, normally placed by the roadside. He wanted to ascertain if it was real or dummy. The difference between the two is like the difference between the pleasure of speed driving and the pain of paying the fine. The dummy law enforcers are supposed to scare motorists that they are being waited upon, told that they exceeded the speed limit, and presented with a non-reusable speeding ticket. Non-reusable since if down the road they were caught again speeding, a new ticket will be issued. The cut-out looked so real and prompted quite a number of motorists to slow down. It works.
Nakamora thought of the 'orang-orangan' (scare-crow?) used to scare birds away from padi fields. It works. It manages to keep birds away. They are fooled. Well. It seems that we too can be fooled.

A Note from Kota Kinabalu

2008-06-04T07:14:00.002+08:00

Nakamora landed at Kota Kinabalu airport again. It was about 4.30 in the afternoon of Monday. He has just realized that suddenly it is June. Almost half of 2008 already gone. It was quite hot. Work for the expansion of the airport is still going on.
He managed to walk a bit at Centerpoint again. It was very hot. He was told that air conditioning was out since last week or so. Some of the elevators too were not working.
A day of joy for Sabahan as 'anak watan' will now be the state financial officer. Yusof Sarangit of Lahad Datu with a geology degree from University Malaya. Come 18 June another Sabahan will be at the helm of University Malaysia Sabah as its vice chancellor. Datuk Dr Kamarulzaman Ampon.
Conversation in a taxi with the driver can be interesting and informative. This one that Nakamora took to the airport from the hotel described the culture of the various tribes(suku) in Sabah. Outsiders marrying someone from suku Murut have to be contend with the view of the in-laws that once their daughter is taken, they reserve the right to claim ownership to any of their son-in-laws belongings. Sometimes he said the father in law comes for a visit and takes home the refrigerator or TV sets. This practice continues until the daughter conceives a child.
Nakamora arrived at the airport. Most part of the airports are still hot as the air conditioning is not working too at sections where renovations were being done.

Presents for Self...

2008-04-28T20:25:00.006+08:00

As he is looking at the calendar filling in all the commitments that he has, categorizing them into must attend or do, nice to attend, or attend or do when nothing else to attend or do, Nakamora also noted the many special days allocated for special causes or subjects. There are Earth Day, Children Day, Mothers Day, Fathers Day, Teachers Day, etc. days.
All those special days come together with special deeds, vows, gifts, and presents that are of course nice to give and nicer to receive.
When he was small, many decades ago, everyday was just a day; fun day. Nakamora remembers that when visiting relatives there will always be presents on hand. Often times they were just fruits or produce plucked from the farm, or even chicken or sugar - simple, down-to-earth, everyday things; nothing special except the intention and the sincerity of giving the presents. There were no presents for kids or if there was, it was not the norm.
Presents have the positive effect of lifting the spirit. It is a mark signaling approval, of sharing the joy of success. That approval need not come from others all the time. Nakamora thought it could come from within himself. Thus sometimes he just give himself presents, or rewards. Nothing complicated or expensive. At times the presents or rewards were just driving around the country side, strolling by the park. The are low cost, in terms of hard cash.

Hanoi, Viet Nam...

2008-04-11T10:52:00.004+08:00

It's 7 am. The street, Ly Thuong Kiet Street in Hanoi began to cry, to shout. Endless sound from car horns fills the air. It is like that all day long and into the night when the street gets tired and started to keep quiet, and perhaps go to sleep. Nakamora did not wait that long to see if the street ever goes to sleep. But it was much more quieter than in the day time.
Being here only a few days, and mostly spent away from the noisy and crowded street, Nakamora could not fully taste the city or understand its heartbeat. But the roads of Hanoi, one of the major cities of this country, Viet Nam, with population of over 80 million are filled more by motorbikes and bicycles than with cars. Driving in Hanoi definitely is not for the weak-hearted and non-spirited driver. Even while riding motorbikes Hanoi bikers can read and reply sms on the hand phone. No problem. Can you beat that, asked Nakamora.
Nakamora has seen the name of the country spelled in two different ways, Vietnam ad Viet Nam. Both are correct but perhaps the later is a closer description of the old history of the country. Viet represents and ethnicity of the people at the south, Nam, of China. It was not after looking at a map, subsequent to asking his host, that Nakamora realized that Hanoi, this almost closing parenthesis-like country is actually slightly to the West of Kuala Lumpur. His mental image has always been that Vietnam is a country east of Malaysia, and hence would see the sun rise earlier.
The seriousness on which they market and promote their crafts to tourists impressed Nakamora. There are actually so much to learn.

One Sen No More...

2008-04-05T13:00:00.002+08:00

Just for a record. 1 April saw the disappearance of the Malaysia one sen coin from circulation. The lowest denomination is now five sen. Physically, it followed the footstep of the RM one coin, that has similar brownish color, but bigger that was also discontinued last year. The value, one sen, still exists. Goods are still priced at that lowest denomination, but rounded up when transacted in hard cash. No rounding-up or down to the nearest five sen for other, non-hard cash transaction.

The Devil Is In The Details

2008-03-29T21:41:00.003+08:00

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.

The Value Of 90 Sen...

2008-03-28T22:13:00.005+08:00

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.

Robeless Emperor

2008-03-19T19:06:00.005+08:00

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?

Life Is Like That

2008-03-15T08:06:00.002+08:00

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...

Ineffective Classroom Delivery or ...?

2008-03-11T01:42:00.005+08:00

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.

Democracy At Work...

2008-03-09T16:07:00.007+08:00

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.

General Election

2008-03-08T02:59:00.003+08:00

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...

Supply of Ideas

2008-03-05T18:23:00.004+08:00

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.

Bucket List

2008-02-26T18:24:00.009+08:00

The oldest candidate seeking office in this election is a 89 year old grandma in Terengganu. I do not know what ticked her to run for office and what her manifesto is as an independent candidate. I am only reminded of the movie Bucket List, starring Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson. It is about two patients diagnosed with cancer, prepared a list of things they wanted to do before leaving this world, and did them. That list includes skydiving and other things that fit people decades younger than either of them, but they wanted to do them anyway.
Kalimullah Hassan wrote about the same subject in a column in his New Sunday Times last weekend, 24 February.
I guess everyone has a bucket list. Even Mat Jenin in the Malay folklore of the same title has one, if his wish list or daydream can be considered so. The difference is that only a few put the efforts to overcome the odds of realizing the list. Mat Jenin was not one of the few.
How about you, Nakamora...

Flag Carnival

2008-02-24T15:42:00.005+08:00

It is hard not to notice. It is even harder to ignore. Blue, green, not so blue flags and banners and buntings of other colors flood every major junctions. Make shift 'service centers' sprang up at major spots in residential and business areas. The 12th election is coming 8 March. A total of 222 parliamentary seats and a bit more than double of that state seats are at stake. Today is the nomination day. The parliament was dissolved ten days ago on 13 Feb.
But why would one want to ignore? Exercise the right. Vote, do not not vote.

Which Queue?

2008-02-23T02:33:00.006+08:00

If you are to line-up at a fast food counter, which line would you prefer? The normal or natural choice is the shortest one. But that is not necessarily the fastest. It depends also on who is in front of you, and who is serving the counter.
If you have a group of teenagers in front, not too bad. They may have made up their minds based on previous orders, or based on the depth of the purse which depends on what part of the month it is. A family with several kids can take quite a while to constitute the order, or to get the approval of the sponsor. Pensioners? seldom that this breed of people seen lining up there. At the most they sit it out at a table somewhere while a proxy is in the queue.
Too bad if you have a family with several kids served by a trainee cashier. The delay will be multiplied, and your patience gets shorter. Supermarkets sometimes like to put trainee cashier at the express counter, thinking that it is easier than dealing with bulk buyers. But the very spirit of expediting the transaction more often than not are compromised. The advantage of the express counter, to the customer, is nullified or reduced, which can sometimes be frustrating as gap between expectation of speed and reality begins to develop in the mind of customers and widens as the moment ticks by.

Get Away, Get Real, Get Moving...

2008-02-21T21:41:00.004+08:00

Life is not what it is if there was no trials and tribulations. We go though it simply by managing them. Some of us do well, others falter and succumbed to something worse than what they were. Digging deeper into the rut, as it were. Nakamora began his advice to his friend.
Everyone has faced at least a difficult situation. So am I, he continued. But I didn't let it eat myself away. To me there are three steps in handling situations like that. First, get away from the problem so that you can think afresh. Distance yourselves from it so that you can see things in better perspective, including your own fault. Get busy, revisit the hobby and do the things you longed to do but have not the time.
Second, get real. Accept the fact that everyone make mistakes, including yourselves. Accept the fact that things have happened. Everybody has problems, everyone has difficulties. What makes everyone different is how they handle and overcome the problems. You have the choice of brooding over it endlessly or move on.
That brings me to the third step, that is get moving. Make the best out of the situation. The best in the worst situation is better than the worst of a good situation. For in the latter you are moving backward instead of forward, regressing instead of progressing.
So, remember: get away, get real, get moving, Nakamora concluded.

What's In A Name?

2008-02-17T12:52:00.011+08:00

Papan (planks), Dinding (wall) - and one thinks of a house.
Add Lumut (weeds) - and one thinks of old house by the river or stream.
Add Parit (drain, stream) - yes, it is old house covered by weed by the stream.
Add Titi Serong (inclined bridge) - aha.
The old house with weed is accessible by an inclined bridge across the stream. Or all those could have been objects in an oil painting.
But no. They are all names of places in a state called Perak (silver) in the northern half of peninsular Malaysia. Actually, the mineral should have been tin or timah instead of silver or perak, as the state was the tin mining hub, if we can use the fashionable word 'hub', during its golden era.
In Kedah, a northern state there are places called Langgar (knock) and Pokok Sena (a kind of tree). Imagine another place named Gajah Mati (dead elephant), and a story unfolds - Gajah Mati Langgar Pokok Sena. Elephant dead after hitting a Sena tree. That story was told by a friend of a friend.
Not many places now named in that manner. We are getting more modern and successful that new residential areas and settlements bear words such as:

jaya (success) as in Subang Jaya, Putrajaya, Cyberjaya;
perdana (prime) as in Perdana Putra;
seri (radiant) as in Seri Kembangan;

or names such as Beverly this and that!
I guess the same trend is followed everywhere. Many years ago I traveled in New Mexico, USA and spotted the name of a town 'Truth or Consequence.' I wonder what was the story behind that name. I know what happened at Alamagordo. Its well-documented. But Truth or Consequence? I don't know.
Who then said what's in a name.

Global peace...

2008-02-16T22:58:00.004+08:00

About a year ago it was proclaimed that the world was safer than it was before.. may be the same would be proclaimed this year too.. Is it true?
and, but peace for whom?
The question was posed this morning in a keynote speech by non-other than the former PM Tun Dr Mahathir at a seminar in Kuala Lumpur. Global peace should be truly global, should be for everyone.. but sadly, not everyone agrees with that..

Cable Dependency: The Burden of Modern Living

2008-02-02T16:52:00.002+08:00

Nakamora carefully dialed the number to unlock his bag. He needed to re-open it. He blamed it all on his checklists, which he prepared. He was then blaming himself, but he hated to do so directly. The travel checklist was just not complete.
It should have listed all cables, not cluster everything under a single item 'cable' and expects him to reconstruct the list of all cables he has to bring along for that 10-day trip. Yes, that's modern life. Everything depends on cable to continue to be useful, all types of cable, visible or otherwise.
He got the bag opened and started checking. Cable for the laptop, yes he got it. Cable for the digital camera, he got that too. Cable for the hand phone, no problem, it's in. Yes, that was the one not yet in. Cable for his personal digital assistant, PDA. Cable transfer for the digital camera, yes that was in too. There is just one more cable, for his MP3. And, he almost forgot, another one for the card reader. He may want to transfer the photos from his camera to his laptop, if time permits, and if the camera memory is full, whichever comes first.
Except for the digital camera all the rest are some form of communication devices. With his laptop he can use the internet, e-mail, messenger, and even Skype phone. Definitely the hand phone can be used to communicate too, so as the PDA. There are function overlaps, and he wondered if he could just leave some home. That would relieve the burden of checking all the cables. But perhaps no. Yes, they all can be used as communication devices but the condition and mode of communication each of them operates are different. It's a complicated world, isn't it. One mode of communication is no longer adequate.

Unobtrusive Security

2008-01-20T19:05:00.000+08:00

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

2008-01-15T23:48:00.001+08:00

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

2008-01-10T04:31:00.001+08:00

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

2008-01-04T22:14:00.002+08:00

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

2008-01-01T08:29:00.001+08:00

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.

Virtues of Thrift

2007-12-29T06:02:00.000+08:00

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.

Roads of Life - Bumi Kenyalang

2007-12-26T16:12:00.000+08:00

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.

Lifefull of Deja Vu

2007-12-17T00:06:00.000+08:00

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.

Platform Products

2007-12-12T13:23:00.000+08:00

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'.

KK in Perak

2007-12-10T04:09:00.000+08:00

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.

Land Below The Wind

2007-12-06T13:02:00.000+08:00

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.

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

2007-12-05T12:16:00.000+08:00

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.

Aomori, How Could It Not Be Memorable?

2007-11-28T04:54:00.000+08:00

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.

Swords Should Stay Alone

2007-11-21T22:27:00.001+08:00

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.

The Sun Rises There First

2007-11-19T19:57:00.000+08:00

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.

Who Could This Be?

2007-11-14T07:43:00.001+08:00

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.

Home Is The Office

2007-11-07T13:24:00.000+08:00

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..

Writer's block?

2007-11-05T15:10:00.000+08:00

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?

Floating....

2007-09-24T04:46:00.001+08:00

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.

Away

2007-09-20T13:43:00.001+08:00

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...

Learning on Your Own

2007-09-06T21:01:00.000+08:00

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.

'Freedom' - at a cost

2007-08-27T01:38:00.000+08:00

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...

Solitude at the Edge of City...

2007-08-21T23:02:00.000+08:00

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...

It's not the machine

2007-08-17T07:51:00.000+08:00

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'.