The Thrill of It All...

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...

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...

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

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

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

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.