batas psikologis kita

Pada suatu masa berlari sejauh 1 mil dibawah empat menit adalah kemustahilan, tidak cuma itu mencoba berlari secepat ini dianggap membahayakan kesehatan. Namun demikian Roger Bannister membuktikan bahwa kemustahilan ini hanyalah ilusi. Ia tempuh 1 mil dalam tempo 3:59 menit dan sejak itu sudah lebih dari 1500 orang mengikuti jejaknya.  Impossible is nothing !

Yang masih belum berhasil ditembus diantaranta adalah berlari marathon dibawah tempo dua jam.  Eliud Kipchoge, pelari dari Kenya, sudah berhasil memecahkan rekor ini namun catatan waktuya tidak resmi diakui karena dilakukan dalam setting macam laboratorium. Kipchoge berlari dibelakang sekumpulan pacer yang berlari dibelakang truk yang memancarkan sinar laser demi membantu para pelari tetap pada pace mereka. 

Pada Marathon Berlin baru-baru ini Kipchoge berhasil mendekati batas psikologis 2 jam itu dengan finish 2:01:09 atau 30 detik lebih cepat dari rekor sebelumnya yang ia sendiri cetak empat tahun yang lalu. Secara statistik sebuah blog memperkirakan bahwa rekor dibawah dua jam akan berhasil dipecahkan sebelum 2032. Sepuluh tahu lagi. Namun rekor Kipchoge di Berlin kemarin memungkinkan bahwa -secara statistik- rekor dibawah 2 jam akan pecah tahun depan.

Kiranya bukan soal mungkin atau tidak melain soal kapan. Dan sekali lagi kita diingatkan bahwa impossible is nothing! Potensi kita adalah diluar batas yang kita sangkakan. Bahkan batas-batas itu bisa jadi tempurung yang membuat kita bahkan tidak mau mencoba dobrak.

   

'Mencari' Tuhan di zaman new normal

Pada sebuah pertemuan kring saya dengar warga membahas plus minus nya misa streaming. Yang plus tentu hal kemudahan. Dari rumah orang bisa ikut misa virtual dari paroki mana saja, jam berapa saja. Disisi minus ada orang yang malas datang misa ke paroki secara fisik. Kalau ada streaming misa mengapa perlu repot datang secara fisik ? Warga kring ini mengatakan orang-orang yang malas datang misa offline sudah menyalah-gunakan fasilitas ini.  

Warga lain menimpali bagaimana ia dimasa pandemi memutuskan menjadi anggota Legio Maria - karena ia sangat merindukan pertemuan offline dan kebetulan Legio Maria seturut aturan organisasi mengharuskan pertemuan secara offline, secara fisik. Bisa dipertimbangkan bahwa gerakan  kerasulan ini didirikan tahun 1921, jauh sebelum era internet.

Warga lain mengenangkan bahwa dari kecil ia diajari bahwa tidak ada alasan untuk tidak datang misa gara-gara orang merasa sedikit pilek atau flu. Ikut  misa justru bisa menyembuhkan sakit ringan macam ini. Di masa pandemi tentu saja sedikit pilek bisa berarti positif covid dan menjadi lebih bijak kalau orang tinggal di rumah dari pada berisiko menulari orang lain. Argumen bahwa ikut misa bisa menyembuhkan bisa dipertanyakan, karena yang bisa terjadi justru ikut misa bisa membuat orang lain sakit, dan bahkan sakit berat.

Warga lain mengingatkan andai kita mengalami pandemi disaat kita tidak punya fasilitas online seperti sekarang. Isoman dizaman lampau bisa menjadi sungguh berat. Sekarang paling tidak orang bisa tetap ikut misa, meski virtual.

Pandemi membuka era 'new normal' yang mengajak orang untuk mengolah iman secara baru. Kalau dimasa lampau 'hadir secara fisik ke misa' adalah bukti bahwa orang sungguh mencari Tuhan - mestinya kriteria itu boleh dipertanyakan dizaman internet ini. 

Kalau persatuan dengan Kristus bisa dialami mana kala kita menyantap roti dan minum anggur secara jasmani Covid membuat kita melihat sisi lain, bahwa persatuan ini bisa pula dialami secara rohani. Pilek sedikit justru membuat orang harus waspada akan kemungkinan menulari orang lain. Maka lebih baik tinggal di rumah. 

Satu hal lagi yang perlu digaris-bawahi bagaimana mencari Tuhan lebih sering dipahami sebagai ibadah. Padahal ada sisi lain yang sama sahnya. Misalnya mencari Tuhan lewat perbuatan, lewat tapa asketis, lewat pertobatan pribadi. Hal-hal yang bisa dilakukan online atau bahkan dalam keheningan isolasi diri. 

 

Ready Farrokh ?

In one of Queen songs called "Crazy little thing called Love" you could hear a short question: "Ready Freddie?". That Freddie refers to the singer, Freddie Mercury and of course Freddie rhymes with Ready, obviously. 

Freddie Mercury was born Farrokh Bulsara in Zanzibar to Parsi-Indian parents. He attended English-style boarding schools in India from the age of eight and returned to Zanzibar after secondary school. In 1964, his family fled the Zanzibar Revolution, moving to Middlesex, England. Having studied and written music for years, he formed Queen in 1970 with guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor. And the rest was history.

When did Farrokh became Freddie?  When Farrokh was sent to a boarding school in Panchgani near Bombay, where he formed his first rock 'n' roll band, The Hectics. Its as during this period that Farrokh starting calling himself "Freddie". That means since relatively early age (before secondary school) young Farrokh saw himself more a Freddie than a Farrokh. More a Mercury than a Bulsara. 

Shakespeare asked what is in a name? Apparently what someone or something is called or labeled is arbitrary compared to their or its intrinsic qualities. If that is the case then we might as well pick a name that would suit us better in achieving our goals. 

A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons. A performer will often take a stage name because their real name is considered unattractive, dull, or unintentionally amusing; projects an undesired image; is difficult to pronounce or spell; or is already being used by another notable individual, including names that are not exactly the same but still too similar. 

I am sure to his mom Freddie was still her little Farrokh. At home even a prophet is known with his boyhood name. He might be famous to the rest of the world but still he is our little Farrokh. However little Farrokh new that he was destined to become Freddie the superstar.

Our name is not our boundary. Our heritages should not limit us to achieve our maximum potential. We are all mercurial inside!

Ready Freddie?

References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freddie_Mercury
https://www.radiox.co.uk/artists/queen/what-was-freddie-mercurys-real-name-and-why-did-he-change-it/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stage_name

My IKEA bias

Almost in all the cities where I lived there is an IKEA store: KL, Brisbane, Perth, Groningen. Now there is one in my current city  Bandung. IKEA was a unique experience for me. DIY furniture and Swedish food. Googling on IKEA impact the Swedish GDP I found that back in 2013, according to Statistics Sweden (SCB) and the National Accounts 2008, the manufacturing of furniture sector constitutes 0.63% of the national gross domestic product (GDP) or about 3700 Million USD which would rank 173th in the world (larger than Burundi in Africa. 

IKEA is a multinational group of companies that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture (such as beds, chairs and desks), appliances and home accessories. As of April 2022, there are 466 IKEA stores operating in 63 countries. The store in Bandung that I visited today is one the 11 stores in my country. 

Once you visited an IKEA store you could say that you have visited all. The architecture is standard. If you only saw photo of one corner of the store (without any description to the name of the item) it would be hard for you to guess where the store is located. It could be in any of the 63 countries. 

However you would taste the difference in the cafeteria. The one that visited this morning is very different to the ones I have been abroad. To be honest the taste is on lower end of the spectrum. Even the ones in KL - which is in the neighboring country of Malaysia taste better. Not sure if the distance to Sweden matters as the ones in Australia are better.

Not sure if I was bias, some kind of inferiority complex. Or it could also be due the more zeroes that I saw on the price tag. Using my quick math, converting the euro or ringgit, I could see that the price is pretty much on par But not the taste.

IKEA are the same here, there and everywhere, but NOT its cafeteria 

References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)
http://datatopics.worldbank.org/world-development-indicators
https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/observatories/emcc/case-studies/the-greening-of-industries-in-the-eu/sweden-ikea-of-sweden-ab-case-study
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_with_IKEA_stores

Superworms offer hope for recycling

 I read a news about a type worm that could digest plastic. Below is my summary of that topic.

 Australian scientists have found the Zophobas morio - commonly known as a superworm - can survive on a diet of polystyrene. They believe the beetle larvae digest the plastic through a gut enzyme. That could be significant for advancements in recycling. Polystyrene (PS), including extruded polystyrene (also known as styrofoam), is among the most commonly produced plastics worldwide. 

In this study, the researchers changed in the gut microbiome of superworms (Zophobas morio) reared on bran, PS or under starvation conditions over a 3 weeks period. Superworms on all diets were able to complete their life cycle to pupae and imago, although superworms reared on PS had minimal weight gains, resulting in lower pupation rates compared to bran reared worms. The change in microbial gut communities from baseline differed considerably between diet groups, with polystyrene and starvation groups characterized by a loss of microbial diversity and the presence of opportunistic pathogens. This study confirms that superworms can survive on polystyrene feed, but this diet has considerable negative impacts on host gut microbiome diversity and health.

The minimal weight gain of the larvae on a PS diet will probably hamper their use in the PS recycling process. In particular, downstream applications such as biodiesel production from superworm fatty esters, an approach that has been proven feasible using superworms raised on regular feed,  might not be achievable. Diet diversification, for example by supplementing styrofoam with food waste, could help to counteract the dietary deficits of the unbalanced PS feed and might increase gut microbiome health and subsequently host weight gain.

The researchers hope to identify which enzyme is the most effective so it can be reproduced at scale for recycling. Plastic would then be mechanically shredded, before being treated with the enzyme. The breakdown products from this reaction can then be used by other microbes to create high-value compounds such as bioplastics. 

Despite the promise from this study, the scale-up and translation of research like this is always a challenge, which is magnified in the area of plastics by the incredible scale of the problem and the economics in terms of how cheap new plastic is to produce.

References
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-61727942
https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/mgen/10.1099/mgen.0.000842

it looks a lot like Christmas

I love carols! I love listening to Christmas songs anytime. And it is more sentimental listening to those when I was away from home. I seldom being away alone during Christmas time. I could only remember once when that happened. When I was in the US (1990-1992), I spent my Christmas time away in Azusa, California. Not completely alone as I had a couple of Indonesian friends. The next Christmas I took a holiday in Indonesia and I graduated on August 1992 so I spent Christmas of that year in Indonesia.  

I recall weeks before having vacation in Indonesia (Dec 1991) I listened to songs like "I'll be home for Christmas" when different sentiments. I am thinking about all those things that I have missed being away for half a year and a half in the US.

Christmas time where I lived in the US was without snow. Cold and wet. My only snowy experience was January 2016, after New Year. We spent our Christmas in Berlin. It was cold but no snow. We went to Copenhagen to celebrate New Year with an Indonesian family friends. Cold and no snow either. The next morning after we were back to Groningen we had rain of snow. Our very first. What a dream came true. 

This morning after my running run with the sun already up I happened to listen to a Christmas song. My memory brought me back to those cold days in Texas. I shall be home for Christmas. I wish no one would be lonely on Christmas

 

     

Fake it with Strava

A while ago I read someone's blog stating that Strava app has made each exercise a race and he hates it. Too bad that I could find the link anymore. However when I googled "why i dont like strava" I found hits that I am summarizing below

My reaction seeing strava for the first time was that Strava is essentially Facebook for runners. Strava allow user to post their work out (not only running, but walking does not count in the monthly report). People could be member of clubs and join challenges. Like Facebook we could follow and be followed by others. We would see how far some one runs, how fast, how high he/she climbs, etc. Strava would also record the path taken during the exercise. Of course users are able to post photos. 

Obviously we could (and would) compare our performance to others. How far have we run? How fast? At what heart rate? I am not sure of many elite athletes would post their exercise there, but of course their performance would be google-able and hence one could see where he/she is relative to the pros. 

One long example is the story told on ref.1 about some guy who faked his cycling time to nab a "King of the Mountain" badge on Strava. The article mentioned about the types of doping in this digital age: motor-doping, digital-doping, or just plain old ‘doping’

Point is there is limit to human capability. True that records are broken here and there, but the current men's world record is 9.58 seconds, set by Jamaica's Usain Bolt back in 2009. Hence some dude who ran faster than Bolt would likely be doing one (or more) doping type mentioned above. 

I remember last year my office had a virtual running events which used Strava to record each participant's performances. On guy was spotted to run faster than the world marathon record. It helped that the committee decided that his time was not counted. Looks like he rode a bike and recorded it as running - which is easily be done in Strava.

Like any other social medias in this digital era, Strava could be abused. Of course to some purists fake exercise records are obnoxious. So much that many would claim the hatred for Strava. See one example on the ref 2. 

Recently I stopped using Strava to compete to one another. I admit that I did that in the past. Now I am using to record my exercises. It does not matter if I ran slower or faster. I am no pro and hence I do not have to be perfect at all. If anything I am just trying to maintain my walking and running streak. I assumed that to maintain streak I need to run minimum 2K and walk 1K. I just made it up myself. Recently I injured my left knee and during the recovery I just ran the minimum at slower speed. 

No worries, I am just a regular Strava user.  

References
https://cyclingtips.com/2022/04/exposed-by-a-strava-kom-the-many-lives-of-a-fake-pro-cyclist/#seventeen

https://flowmountainbike.com/features/this-is-why-i-hate-strava/

the largest volcanic eruption in recorded history

When Mount Tambora erupted it spewed ash across the globe; blotting out the sun; poisoning crops; and bringing starvation, illness and death to millions. It may also have helped inspire great scientific and cultural advances – including the horror masterpiece Frankenstein

Tim Harford's podcast that I listened this morning mentioned a Volcano in Indonesia called Mt Tambora. He did not specify its location though which made wonder. Turns out it is located on the northern coast of Sumbawa island. In April 1815 exploded in the largest volcanic eruption in recorded history. It is now 2,851 metres (9,354 feet) high, having lost much of its top in the 1815 eruption. The volcano remains active; smaller eruptions took place in 1880 and 1967, and episodes of increased seismic activity occurred in 2011, 2012, and 2013.

It would be unthinkable to have that eruption these days. I am sure as a country Indonesia would suffers tremendously. The immediate effects were most profound on Sumbawa and surrounding islands. Some 80,000 people perished from disease and famine, since crops could not grow. In 1816, parts of the world as far away as western Europe and eastern North America experienced sporadic periods of heavy snow and killing frost through June, July, and August. Such cold weather events led to crop failures and starvation in those regions, and the year 1816 was called the “year without a summer.”

Indonesia has made many progress in building infrastructures all over the country. In the past such development were mostly centralized in Java island, not so lately. It would be devastating to experience such catastrophe today. 

Of course no one would be able to predict when the next big eruption would happen. Come to think of of it, we tend to forget that we are living in a volcanic planet. One big eruption somewhere in the planet would certainly affect the whole world, just like what happened when Mt Tambora erupted back then. 

How many active volcanoes are there? The answer to this common question depends upon use of the word "active." At least 20 volcanoes will probably be erupting as you read these words. The number is also dependent on what time scale is included, and if only confirmed eruptions are counted, or uncertain eruptions and the opinions of volcanologists are considered. Because dormant intervals between major eruptions at a single volcano may last hundreds to tens of thousands of years, dwarfing the relatively short historical record in many regions, it is misleading to restrict usage of "active volcano" to recorded human memories: we prefer to add another identifying word (e.g. "historically active" or "Holocene" volcano). The numbers will change as new research is published, new age dates are acquired, or new criteria are applied and volcanoes are reviewed.

References
https://timharford.com/2022/06/cautionary-tales-frankenstein-versus-the-volcano/
https://as hwww.britannica.com/place/Mount-Tambora

https://volcano.si.edu/faq/index.cfm?question=activevolcanoes

Genetic lottery: Excuse to do nothing or do everything?

We inherit genes from our parents like it's a lottery — a game of luck. 

I saw one overweight guy this afternoon and I thought that he might inherited that tendency from his parents. I recall this term called "genetic lottery". Our genes are something that are definitely out of our control. Each of us were assigned to a set of genes which we inherit from our parents which they themselves inherit from their own parents etc. ad infinitum. The combinations are infinite and yet somehow we are what we are - genetically. 

I am sure that our genes limit us to some degree. I would not dream that I could play basket ball given my height. Not impossible but I would need super human effort to be one. Not to mention that the odds would be against me big time. Of course not able to be an NBA star is not the end of the world. Many great footballers are not that tall. Certainly outside sports I could excel in more that one fields. I could be a scientist, an engineer, etc. 

However one's genes would be a limit if they made the person prone to have some diseases, or even worse lethal diseases. In that case what we inherit is really our game of luck. Let us assume that guy that I saw this afternoon is obese mainly due to his genetics make up. Being obese would certainly exposes him to some health issues. Eventually his fate might be pretty much determined at least the probability are already fixed.

We know that probability have wide outcomes. Even the most unlikely outcome has its own probability.  This in itself should be enough for us to keep trying. Keep being positive. Keep believing. Our genes might be a lottery, but our determination belongs to us. Always

Reference
https://www.dw.com/en/genetic-lottery-excuse-to-do-nothing-or-do-everything/a-59260696

 

the tendency to look upward

In psychology, the human drive to compare ourselves to others is called “social comparison theory” introduced in the 1950s by social psychologist Leon Festinger. He pointed out that humans are driven to evaluate and know the truth about themselves, and desire a way to define themselves. And how do we achieve this, beyond our own personal analysis? By then comparing our abilities and opinions to those of others. Part of Festinger’s hypotheses was one that stated that we are all also prone, when it comes to looking at our abilities, to look upward. We want to do better and better, so choose to compare ourselves to people slightly ahead of us in skill.

I experienced this so call social comparison more after my retirement. I felt like a runner running his final lap and realizing that he was behind. He was to far from the podium position, not even the top ten. Apparently my feeling is pretty much driven my human tendency. Of course being a retiree would make things more dramatic, that final lap feeling.

My knee jerk reaction is avoiding contact with friends who are more successful - or at least look like so. Pretty easy to do as they did not reach out to me. I just skip their Facebook or Linkedin feeds. No worries, Next would to ignore reunion invitation. All of which are easy to do and apparently no one would bother to ask about my disappearance. We all have life outside those things. 

Of course I challenge myself about my weird behavior. Why couldn't I just accept that people have different luck in life. Some eventually are more richer, appear to be more successful, more luckier etc. Some would be situated on the left side of the bell curve. That is the nature of statistic. Such thinking does not work because I still ask - why can't I be on right side of the curve? Why not me?

In the eighties, a new concept was introduced called “downward social comparison”. This is the habit of comparing ourselves to those who are worse off.

Yes indeed we could always point our view to different direction: downward ! We could say: yes my friends are more successful but in this whole world or within a radius of 5 KM there are many people would would like to trade their lives with mine this very minute. Fact is even my so called successful friends are somewhere to the left of the curve looking from higher level. I am sure that they would be nowhere in comparison to the top 50 richest people in my country, never mind in the world. 

Comparing downward does not in itself completely cures my tendency to feel less fortunate. However apparently there are things we could do to help ourselves in dealing with nagging tendency. Firstly,  practice gratitude. It was a trend for a while that then went off the radar, but gratitude is actually evidence based, proven to up your moods and even help your sleep.

Secondly, use comparison for better perspective. If you must compare, use it to widen your perspective. This can be downward comparison (I think my life is hard, but to someone in a Third World country I live like a queen) but also can be comparing upwards if used positively. For example, I am terrified of giving this presentation because I’m terrible at them, but it’s not like I am an actor give an Oscar speech in front of millions, it’s just to my colleagues.

Lastly compare yourself to yourself. Nobody needs to compare their adult body to their teenage body, but comparing your life in general now to your life in general then can be productive. Too often we forget to see how far we’ve come.

Reference
https://www.harleytherapy.co.uk/counselling/comparing-yourself-to-others.htm

out of sight, out of mind

Today I deleted one message in one of WA groups that annoyed me. I was surprised that such simple act like that help me to avoid getting more upset. Out of sight, out of mind they say. How true ! Once deleted I tend not to remember it. I might still have it on my mind but of course that message is no linger there for me to ruminate with.

It reminds me how google, twitter etc work, Based on their algorithm this smart app would predict feeds that would interest you. For example, based on people that I follow twitter would pick feeds that are being followed by those whom I follow. In a sense my world is getting narrower. I would not mind at all as I would have deleted or muted those are irritating or not suit my own taste.  Similar algorithm is used by google. My google search would not be exactly the same as yours as my universe would be different as yours. 

Am not sure if this good or bad. This might consider be bad as we are essentially living in our own bubble We simply create our own reality by filtering things that we like. It could be considered as good as we avoid getting upset with things that we do not like. However at the same time we would never be challenged. We would circle around in a tighter and tighter space. I guess in a matter of science we want to be in the widest universe. Limiting our view in matter of science would be betraying the basic principle of science. As for others, I am happy to just seeing things that I like

I know what I like and I like what I know       

 

mad celebration

I read some tweeting about my team celebration. Despite loosing the biggest prize and the league title my team and the city which the shares the same name celebrate like mad. People do scoff them for celebrating the two mickey mouse trophies. But the guy tweeted that the city is telling the rest of the world to f*ck off. 

I thought his tweets remind of what grateful means. We are grateful of what we have and not what we do not have, nor what other people expect us to have. My team might have but two mickey mouse trophies but that does not mean they should not celebrate. If we listened to what other say than we would never be able to see our own blessings. Let other worries about their own lives. We have got ours to celebrate for. 

#YNWA 

   

The risk of being a fan

A fan, according to the American Heritage College Dictionary, is "an ardent devotee, an enthusiast." Fanatic is defined as "a person marked by an extreme unreasoning enthusiasm, as for a cause." The distinction, then, apparently rests on whether the enthusiasm is ardent or unreasoning.

Too bad that the team that I supported lost in the Champion League final. A week ago they did not win the Premier League because the team that has one point advantage also won on the last day of the competition making the one point advantage remained. Two weeks ago the fans are dreaming of quadruple titles and now we should accept the reality of winning double (both domestic competitions).

Of course I was disappointed. I thought my team had a chance to win the Champion league final, But of course the reality is the lost. They tried hard but one goal is enough for the opponent to seal their 14th titles. 

I did not bother to read news, nor watching the highlight. What's the point? I know that I still support this team. But I do need time to be away. Time is the great healer they say.  It is not the end of the world. Two titles is still better than none and of course next year we would compete in Champion league anyway. There is no reason to despair. It is only football anyway. Yes, I am a fan, not a fanatic. 

Walk on

Reference
https://stanfordmag.org/contents/fan-or-fanatic

Depeche Mode

This morning I read BBC news about the passing of Depeche Mode's keyboardist Andy Fletcher. I decided to dedicate this blog to his band

The first Depeche Mode's song that I listened was a song titled "Just Can't Get Enough". The song was released in 1981 but I recall that I listened to that song in 1982 as part of a compilation cassette issued by Aquarius titled New Wave 2. It was the first song in the cassette. I thought this upbeat song really brought the spirit of New Wave of that era.  

The next bunch of Depeche Mode songs that I listened to were from a cassette titled: The Singles 81-85. Obviously the year was around 1986. 

I did also watch their music videos. Back then we rented a bootleg VHS tape with titles like British Top Pop or something like that. I remember watching a music videos of songs like "Mater & Servant" and "People are people". I thought Dave Gahan voice is rather odd but somehow suit their music very well. 

Back to the mentioned cassette, I mostly loved the songs titled "Blasphemous Rumor" and secondly "See You". The first song is really capture the essence of the band as electronic music band. The second one reminds me of The Beatles. 

When I was studying in the US I watch MTV almost daily. Of course they do play Depeche Mode songs too. When I hear their song "Enjoy The Silence" I thought I have listened to their best ever song. I recalled buying their album "Violator" that contains that song. As a student that depends on scholarship I did not have a lot of money back then. I managed to found a discounted cassette through a mail order.

When I was studying English in California in preparation for taking TOEFL test I remember asking my teacher the meaning of "Depeche". She told me that it is a French word meaning "haste". Later when I learned French years later I found this French verb "se dépêcher". Later I found that Depeche Mode is named after the magazine and that name roughly translates as Fashion News.

Good bye Andy Fletcher, thank you for the music

References
https://www.eightyeightynine.com/music/depeche-mode.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violator_(album)

DNA don't lie

 On 24 August 79AD Pompeii erupted. More than 1800 years later archaeologists dig bones of a couple of human skeleton from the site. From the position [of their bodies] it seems they were not running away, The answer to why they weren't fleeing could lie in their health conditions.

Recently scientist analyzed the DNA taken from a "really small amount of bone powder" and find that the man's skeleton contained DNA from tuberculosis-causing bacteria, suggesting he might have had the disease prior to his death. And a fragment of bone at the base of his skull contained enough intact DNA to work out his entire genetic code. 

This showed that he shared "genetic markers" - or recognisable reference points in his genetic code - with other individuals who lived in Italy during the Roman Imperial age. But he also had a group of genes common,

The technology to extract DNA information from ancient skeleton is remarkable. Our silent bones just could not lie. It would not be too much stretch of imagination if someday our DNA data are routinely stored in a huge database. Below we could see that cost has dropped significantly. 

Of course there would be questions of legality etc but really how could we prevent our DNA data from being collected without our consent. Even our saliva contains our DNA. Whenever we dine out we would leave our saliva sample inadvertently.

References
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-61557424
https://www.genome.gov/about-genomics/fact-sheets/Sequencing-Human-Genome-cost
https://salimetrics.com/collecting-and-handling-saliva-for-dna-analysis/#:~:text=The%20DNA%20in%20saliva%20originates,then%20extracted%20by%20various%20methods.

Tablighi Jamaat

Alex Alexiev, vice president for research at the Center for Security Policy in Washington, D.C., is convinced that Tablighi Jamaat would actively involved in future terrorist activities in the US and abroad. Here is my notes on this Tablighi Jamaat movement. . 

Maulana Muhammad Ilyas Kandhalawi (1885-1944) launched Tablighi Jamaat ("Proselytizing Group") in 1927 in Mewat, India, not far from Delhi. Ilyas's followers were intolerant of other Muslims and especially Shi'ites, let alone adherents of other faiths. Indeed, part of Ilyas's impetus for founding Tablighi Jamaat was to counter the inroads being made by Hindu missionaries. They rejected modernity as antithetical to Islam, excluded women, and preached that Islam must subsume all other religions

The Tablighi Jamaat canon is bare-boned. Apart from the Qu'ran, the only literature Tablighis are required to read are the Tablighi Nisab, seven essays penned by a companion of Ilyas in the 1920s. In practice, all Tablighis preach a creed that is hardly distinguishable from the radical Wahhabi ideology. By the late 1960s, Tablighi Jamaat had not only established itself in Western Europe and North America but even claimed adherents in countries like Japan, which has no significant Muslim population. According to Pew Research Centre, Tablighi Jamaat operates roughly in 150 countries around the world. While most Tablighis still live in Muslim-majority countries, such as Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia, the group also has a significant presence in parts of Western Europe, particularly the U.K., France and Spain. Its European membership has been estimated at about 150,000 or more.

The movement's rapid penetration into non-Muslim regions began in the 1970s by large-scale Saudi financing of Tablighi Jamaat. As early as 1978, the World Muslim League subsidized the building of the Tablighi mosque in Dewsbury, England, which has since become the headquarters of Tablighi Jamaat in all of Europe.

The austere and egalitarian lifestyle of Tablighi missionaries and their principled stands against social ills leads many outside observers to assume that the group has a positive influence on society. However, the West's misreading of Tablighi Jamaat actions and motives has serious implications for the war on terrorism. According to Pew Research Centre, the group’s missionary activities and loose organisational structure can be exploited by radical elements. 

References:
https://www.meforum.org/686/tablighi-jamaat-jihads-stealthy-legions 

https://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/the-history-of-the-tablighi-jamaat-and-its-place-in-the-islamic-world-120040300331_1.html

https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2010/09/15/muslim-networks-and-movements-in-western-europe-tablighi-jamaat/

The future of Wahhabism

Following the take-over of the region from the Ottoman Empire, with the help of Western powers, the Saudis needed to come up with a quick and easy method to consolidate power. They turned to Wahhabism to help secure control of their kingdom while silencing dissent. It worked.  

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman commented that his country is returning to "moderate Islam, open to the world and all religions". He added that "We won't waste 30 years of our lives dealing with any extremist ideas. We will eradicate extremism". His statement was greeted with boisterous applause by the audience. He made the comments after announcing the investment of $500bn (£381bn) in a new city and business zone. Investors particularly have long been weary of the implications of Wahhabism in Saudi Arabia and its future there.

With an exploding population and massive increase in oil wealth, came many challenges that many Saudi kings have had to deal with. The dominance of Wahhabism in Saudi public life made conducting business in the country very difficult. If Crown Prince Mohammed's plan is successful, Saudi Arabia will be able to return, as he put it, "to moderate Islam." This will allow it to get along with its other Muslim neighbors. The export of Wahhabism has also been very costly for Saudi Arabia and has caused sectarian divisions among Muslims internationally. 

On January 27, 2022 King Salman bin Abdulaziz issued a royal decree designating February 22 as a national holiday called the “Founding Day.” This day commemorates “the beginning of the reign of Imam Mohammed ibn Saud and his foundation of the first Saudi state,” The event has substantial political significance as it signifies a radical break with the Wahhabi political influence that had legitimized the Saudi political projects since 1744. electing 1727 instead of 1744 as the country’s founding year does not only signify a break with the Wahhabi political myth.

The Wahhabi political myth refers to the narrative that the first Saudi state was born out of a covenant made between Muhammed ibn Abdul-Wahhab and Mohammed ibn Saud in 1744. This political myth legitimizes the Saudi state by presenting it as an indispensable tool to apply, spread, and protect Wahhabi Islam. Although theoretically it puts the Saudi project in a subservient position in relation to the Wahhabi mission, it gives the state a divine mandate, while it also frees it from the historical responsibilities resulting from the agreements that the Saudi leadership made with different local elites during the state-formation period in the early 20th century.

By selecting the beginning of the reign of Mohammed ibn Saud as the state’s foundational moment, it creates a new myth that leaves no room for Muhammed ibn Abdul-Wahhab and his movement. What is different now is the deliberate departure from this foundational narrative. The official erasure of Wahabism is an ongoing process and it is not restricted to national holidays and official narratives. The new history textbooks do not mention Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhab. 

Prospective changes that further dampen the crown’s ties to fundamentalist Islam could prompt pushback, either by other members of the royal family or by religious leaders, or by a combination of both. Other royals are resentful that they have been marginalized, and the once well-funded clerical establishment has been steadily undermined by Mohammed bin Salman’s tactics. Additionally, some may sense this is the last chance to stop Mohammed bin Salman from becoming king. Measures by the royal court to block such opposition can also be expected.

References:
https://www.dailysabah.com/columns/taha-meli-arvas/2017/10/26/what-death-of-wahhabism-means-for-mid-east-economy
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-41747476

https://agsiw.org/the-saudi-founding-day-and-the-death-of-wahhabism/

https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/saudi-arabia-adjusts-its-history-diminishing-role-wahhabism

the Wahhābī

In 1740 Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb began promulgating his teachings which became known as Wahhābī. The Wahhābī stress literal interpretation of the Qurʾān and Sunnah and the establishment of an Islamic society based only on these two bodies of literature. The political fortunes of the Wahhābī movement were closely allied to those of the Saudi dynasty since Muhammad ibn Saud in 18th century.  The activities of Ibn Saud in the 20th century eventually led to the creation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932 and assured Wahhābī religious and political dominance on the Arabian Peninsula. The preeminence of the Wahhābī religious establishment has ensured that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia remains markedly more conservative than other states in the region. A large religious police force (known as the Muṭawwaʿūn) enforces strict codes of public behaviour—including, for example, mandatory observance of Islamic rituals and gender segregation.

Strict Wahhabis believe that all those who don't practice their form of Islam are heathens and enemies. Critics say that Wahhabism's rigidity has led it to misinterpret and distort Islam, pointing to extremists such as Osama bin Laden and the Taliban. Wahhabism's explosive growth began in the 1970s when Saudi charities started funding Wahhabi schools (madrassas) and mosques from Islamabad to Culver City, California. Some analyst claimed that over the last 30 years is that some 85 to 90 billion dollars have been spent fostering and spreading Wahhabism in the world. He continued that even though not all young men who go to Wahhabi schools and madrasses in Pakistan become disciples of Osama bin Laden or terrorists. But that is the soil in which Islamist terrorism is growing.

References
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Wahhabi

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/saudi/analyses/wahhabism.html

https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2005/05/03/the-global-spread-of-wahhabi-islam-how-great-a-threat/

Historical background of Sufism

 I am interested to understand the historical of Sufism so here is my summary

The close contact between the Muslim and the Christian communities during the formative years of Islam had its influence on the development of the Sufism – the mystic traditions of Islam. Sufism established itself within the traditions of the Islam.  The Sufis believe that communion with God is possible through Muhammad, who was the recipient of the knowledge of the heart (Ilm-e-Sina) besides the outer knowledge (Ilm-e-safina). Ali, one of the Muhammad's companions and son-in-law, is considered to be the first Sufi to whom the Ilm-e-Sina was revealed by Muhammad to be taught to those capable of understanding it. The concept of God, the possibility of esoteric knowledge and the ways to access God through purification of self by means of prayer, fasting and repentance that form the foundations of Sufism find their source in the Quran and the teachings of the prophet known as Hadith.

Sufism in the beginning was primarily an individual endeavor. The Sufis would usually live in isolation practicing self-mortification and were distinguished by a cloak of wool (Suf), a tradition of Muhammad, which is believed to be the origin of the word Sufi.

But even though Sufis wore suf, wool, from the very beginning of Islam, the word “Sufism”, according to Arab grammar, is not a derivative of the word suf, and not whoever wears suf is a Sufi. Or as Sheikh Saadi, a great Persian poet and sage said: The goal of the people of the inner path is not their outer garments. Serve the King yet remain a Sufi. 

Other scholars believe that the word “Sufi” derives from the word “sufateh”, the name of a thin plant. Sufis were usually thin because of extreme mortification and fasting. Thus they were likened to sufateh as symbol for their emaciation. But, as in the preceding theory, this assumption is not linguistically or grammatically correct.

Another group of scholars claim that the word “Sufism” is a derivative from the Greek word “Soph”, meaning wisdom or knowledge. But this assumption does not seem right either. Aside from the different spellings, Sufis, and especially the Sufis of the first few centuries, denied that philosophy could be a fitting tool for understanding reality, since through its reliance on verbal descriptions and limited reasoning philosophy would actually obscure rather than reveal the truth or reality.

There is also yet another idea regarding the word Sufism. It seems that before the time of the Prophet Mohammed there was a group of very pious people who worked as the servants of the Kaaba. These people were called “Sufe”. Their practices included mortification and the avoidance of any physical pleasures. Some assume that the word “Sufism” is a derivative from the word “Sufe”, but this assumption does not bear close examination, as the rules of Arabic grammar as well as the different styles of the practice make its fallacy evident. Etymologically, “Sufi” is not a derivative of the word Sufe; historically Sufis were a group of Moslem intellectuals forming a School of an inner path based on the instructions of the Prophet Mohammed and the teachings of the Koran. Necessarily, this school had to be established after the advent of Islam and not before.

A group of such devouts lived a life of poverty and incessant prayer and fasting on a stone bench in front of Muhammad's mosque. These people of the bench (Ashab-e-suffa), 45 to over 300 in number, were given to much weeping and repentance and are believed to be the origin of the Sufism. However, the name Sufi was given to such ascetics only around the second century of death of Muhammad. The Sufis in the early period were primarily ascetics and Sufism had not yet evolved into a fully developed system of theosophical doctrines, which became the core feature of the later Sufism.

The companions of Muhammad like Bilal, Salman Farsi, Ammar bin Yasir were the early mystics. Later with the spread of Islam Sufism flourished in Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Persia and Central Asia and gave birth to the renown Sufis like Rabia Basri, Hasan Basri, Junayd Baghdadi, Dhun Nun Misri, etc., around the 9th and 10th century.

As the early Sufi masters started teaching those in search of divine, a distinct tradition in the form of closely-knit communities centered around these masters flourished. The transformation of such communities into those, which shared a spiritual lineage, took place around the 11th century and led to the formation of Sufi orders (silsilas), chains through which they would eventually link their disciples to Muhammad.

The Sufi orders practiced presently run in hundreds but most of these represent the off shoots of the earlier ones. The 13th century considered the golden age of Sufism was marked by the development of comprehensive mystical and theosophical doctrines of Sufism by the Sufi scholars like ibn ul Arabi of Spain, ibn ul Farid of Egypt and the popular Persian Sufi poet Jalal ud Din Rumi After the golden era the Arab-Muslim world produced only few notable Sufi scholars though the influence of Sufi orders continued to grow.

Sources: 
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3705685/
https://ias.org/sufism/origin-of-word-tasawouf/

Sufism

Listening to an audiobook by  Robert B. Spencer made me wondering about Sufism. Below is my google search summary  

Sufism, known as tasawwuf in the Arabic-speaking world, is a form of Islamic mysticism that emphasizes introspection and spiritual closeness with God. Sufi practice focuses on the renunciation of worldly things, purification of the soul and the mystical contemplation of God’s nature. 

For a time, beginning in the 12th century, Sufism was a mainstay of the social order for Islamic civilization, and since that time it has spread throughout the Muslim world. Sufism has shaped literature and art for centuries, and is associated with many of the most resonant pieces of Islam’s “golden age,” lasting from roughly the eighth through 13th centuries, including the poetry of Rumi. 

Sufi thought and practice extends beyond the Sunni-Shia sectarian divide, across socio-economic boundaries, geographies, and languages. Followers try to get closer to God by seeking spiritual learning known as Tariqa. 

The basic components of Tariqa are that of the murshid, the spiritual guide, and the murid, a follower who pledges allegiance, bayah, to the murshid. These spiritual guides derive their authority and legitimacy from a chain of successive tutelage and instruction, silsilah, which through continuous generations may reach back to a prominent saint or mystic and eventually to the Prophet Muhammad himself. The role of the murshid is to act as a facilitator to the murid, instructing them on how to experience the divine.

A central component of Sufi worship is the rite of dhikr, which involves constant, meditative remembrance of God, done both communally and individually, geared towards cultivating greater connection with the divine. The concept of dhikr is rooted in the Quran as an instruction to all Muslims to devote time towards specific acts of remembrance and repetition of the names of Allah, praying supplementary prayers, and can be extended to other activities that contribute towards achieving an experiential connection with the divine.

Other practices or rituals that Sufis engage in, which vary from order to order, include prayers and fasting, the celebration of the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday, the visitation of, and performance of rituals at shrines and graves, meditation, and abstinence.

Some Sufi orders use devotional music and ritual movements, akin to dance, to further enhance the experiential nearness to God they are seeking. This practice is most commonly associated today with the Mevlevi Sufi order’s Dervishes of Turkey, often referred to as the ‘Whirling Dervishes.’

Identification with Sufism is highest in sub-Saharan Africa. In 11 of 15 countries surveyed in the region, a quarter or more Muslims say they belong to a Sufi order, including Senegal, where 92% say they belong to a brotherhood. In the other regions surveyed, affiliation with Sufi orders is less common.

Sufi leaders, communities, and sites have frequently been targeted by acts of violence perpetrated by extremist groups in different parts of the world. Pakistan has seen considerable violence aimed at Sufi targets, with dozens of shrines bombed and prominent Sufis attacked. In Egypt’s restive Sinai region, a deadly assault on a Sufi mosque in the town of Bir al-Abed in November 2017 saw over 300 people killed and at least a 120 injured. 

The Islamic State targets Sufis because it believes that only a fundamentalist form of Sunni Islam is valid. Some consider Sufis to be apostate, because saints were not part of the original practice of Islam at the time of the Prophet Muhammad.

References
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/24/world/middleeast/sufi-muslim-explainer.html
https://institute.global/policy/what-sufism
https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2012/08/09/the-worlds-muslims-unity-and-diversity-1-religious-affiliation/

Goodbye Vangelis

 Vangelis died on May 17th 2022 at the age of 79 years old. This blog is the tribute of his memory.

As mentioned many times here I firstly knew his music after hearing Aquarius "The Best Of". I am sure it was released due to Vangelis newest soundtrack album at that time (1981) of a movie titled "Chariot of Fire". I didn't watch the movie but the soundtrack (song no. 2 on the cassette) is a great song. I remember watching a documentary years later that mentioned about Vangelis's break through in soundtrack music. I recall it was mentioned that Vangelis was the first in this genre of soundtrack. 

The first song in this cassette was more interesting. Turned out that for years it was used by Indonesian government television TVRI as the opening soundtrack of the news program called "Dunia Dalam Berita" (World News) which was aired at prime time. Back then TVRI was the sole TV channel in this country and I recall waiting for Dunia Dalam Berita each night. I have no idea if TVRI got permission from Vangelis to use his song for years. 

When that cassette was released "Jon and Vangelis" had issued two albums. From that collaboration, of the two songs in the cassettes I thought "I hear you know" was much nicer song (song no.3 of the cassette). But of course to me the best song of "Jon and Vangelis" is "Deborah", from their third album "Private Collection" which was issued in 1983.

I thought it has great chord progression. Took me years to find the chords. I did not google it but rely solely on my ears. When I got those I posted on my Facebook. Some kind achievement to me.

Good bye Vangelis

Thank you for the music 

References

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-61514850

electric heat pumps

One of  EU strategies to stop using Russian gas is to speed up the transition from fossil fuel burning boilers to electric heat pumps. I have never heard about is electric heat pump. Below is what I learned about it. 

A electric heat pump is an electrically driven device that extracts heat from a low temperature place (a source), and delivers it to a higher temperature place (a sink). Heat naturally flows from places with higher temperature to locations with lower temperatures (e.g., in the winter, heat from inside the building is lost to the outside). A heat pump uses additional electrical energy to counter the natural flow of heat, and pump the energy available in a colder place to a warmer one.

So how does a heat pump heat or cool your home? As energy is extracted from a source, the temperature of the source is reduced. If the home is used as the source, thermal energy will be removed, cooling this space. This is how a heat pump operates in cooling mode, and is the same principle used by air conditioners and refrigerators. Similarly, as energy is added to a sink, its temperature increases. If the home is used as a sink, thermal energy will be added, heating the space. A heat pump is fully reversible, meaning that it can both heat and cool your home, providing year-round comfort.

Sources: Two sources of thermal energy are most commonly used for heating homes with heat pumps. Air-Source: The heat pump draws heat from the outside air during the heating season and rejects heat outside during the summer cooling season. It may be surprising to know that even when outdoor temperatures are cold, a good deal of energy is still available that can be extracted and delivered to the building. For example, the heat content of air at -18°C equates to 85% of the heat contained at 21°C. This allows the heat pump to provide a good deal of heating, even during colder weather. Ground-Source: A ground-source heat pump uses the earth, ground water, or both as the source of heat in the winter, and as a reservoir to reject heat removed from the home in the summer. Their primary advantage is that they are not subject to extreme temperature fluctuations, using the ground as a constant temperature source, resulting in the most energy efficient type of heat pump system.

Sinks: Two sinks for thermal energy are most commonly used for heating homes with heat pumps. Indoor air is heated by the heat pump. This can be done through: a centrally ducted system or a ductless indoor unit, such as a wall mounted unit. Water inside the building is heated. This water can then be used to serve terminal systems like radiators, a radiant floor, or fan coil units via a hydronic system.

Advantages of Heat Pumps are: lower running costs, less maintenance, reduces Carbon Emissions, long life-span. 
Disadvantages of Heat Pumps are: high upfront cost, difficult to install, requires significant work

References

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-61497315

https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/energy-efficiency/energy-star-canada/about/energy-star-announcements/publications/heating-and-cooling-heat-pump/6817

https://www.greenmatch.co.uk/blog/2014/08/heat-pumps-7-advantages-and-disadvantages

transactive memory

Reading "The Bomber Mafia" I caught this interesting term called "transactive memory". I thought I wanted to do some googling about it to understand more about it.

The psychologist Daniel Wegner has this beautiful concept called transactive memory, which is the observation that we don’t just store information in our minds or in specific places. We also store memories and understanding in the minds of the people we love. You don’t need to remember your child’s emotional relationship to her teacher because you know your wife will; you don’t have to remember how to work the remote because you know your daughter will. That’s transactive memory. Little bits of ourselves reside in other people’s minds. Wegner has a heartbreaking riff about what one member of a couple will often say when the other one dies—that some part of him or her died along with the partner. That, Wegner says, is literally true. When your partner dies, everything that you have stored in that person’s brain is gone.

Such specialization reduces the memory load for each individual, yet each individual has access to a larger pool of information collectively. For transactive memory to function effectively, individuals must also have a shared conceptualization of “who knows what” in the group.

Unlike the literal and straightforward ways that computer networks update directories, and locate, store, and retrieve information, transactive memory systems among human agents are often flawed. Transactive memory systems can vary in accuracy (the degree to which group members’ perceptions about other members’ expertise are accurate), sharedness (the degree to which members have a shared representation of who knows what in the group), and validation (the degree to which members accept responsibility for different knowledge areas and participate in the system). 

Transactive memory systems can lead to improved group performance on tasks for which groups must process a large amount of information in a short period of time and on tasks that require expertise from many different knowledge domains. However, there may be situations in which too much specialization may impede group performance, for example, when assigned experts are unavailable, unable, or unwilling to contribute their knowledge. Even when specialization leads to better outcomes, some redundancy may be useful. It helps members to communicate more effectively, it can encourage group members to be more accountable to one another, and it can provide a cushion for transitions in relationships when, for example, the designated expert leaves the group. 

References
http://psychology.iresearchnet.com/social-psychology/interpersonal-relationships/transactive-memory/

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/transactive-memory-how-trust-your-team-mike-rea/

Handling insults

I am wondering how could some people seem do not affected by any insults. I am sure they knew that there are the target of insults and mockery. I am talking about opposition throwing insults to the President. It appears to me that this lowly political strategy does not work at all.  However still I wonder what are the tricks to handle insult. 

In a verbal society, such as the human one, physical aggression is less often used to settle issues of status: These are mostly deferred to verbal interactions. An insult can thus be interpreted as an attempt to reduce the social status of the recipient and raise the relative status of the insulter.

The purpose of a put-down is to reduce someone else in the imaginary status hierarchy. So it is hardly surprising that insults will often refer to a person's social status in terms of ancestry, lack of prestige, or membership in a despised out-group. Otherwise, the content of insults across the ages is monotonously predictable: Many insults feature a sexual component. In addition to status and sexuality, insults inflict shame by mentioning unappealing traits—fatness, shortness, baldness, spottiness, and contagious diseases.

Another way of taking a person down is by questioning their intelligence or general mental competence; for insult purposes, recipients are invariably "stupid" or "crazy."

So, what’s the best way of dealing with insults ?

Acceptance may seem weak but can be the strongest response of all. When someone insults us, we ought to consider three things: whether the insult is true, who it came from, and why. If the insult is true or largely true, the person it came from is reasonable, and his or her motive is worthy, then the insult is not an insult but a statement of fact, and, moreover, one that could be very helpful to us. Hence, we seldom take offence at our parents, teachers, or friends, who, by telling us the truth, are trying to help rather than hinder or harm us. if you think that the person who insulted you is unworthy of your consideration, you have no reason to take offence, just as you have no reason to take offence at a naughty child or a barking dog.

Humor, if successful, can be an especially effective response. Make a mockery of the insult and, by extension, of the insulter. Humor, unfortunately, has some of the same downsides as returning the insult: Your reply has to be funny, and it has to be well-timed and well-delivered

Ignoring the insult is much easier, and, in fact, more powerful. Ignoring the insult works well with strangers but may not be a sensible or viable strategy when it comes to people with whom we have an ongoing personal or professional relationship. 

We need never take offence at an insult. Offence exists not in the insult but in our reaction to it, and our reactions are completely within our control. It is unreasonable to expect a boor (=ill-mannered person) to be anything but a boor; if we take offence at his bad behaviour, we have only ourselves to blame.

Avoid returning insults. It can be tempting to match insult for insult. Ultimately, though, it is best refusing to engage whomever insulted you. "The best way to upset this person is not to insult them in return, but to let them know their words have no impact on me."

References
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-human-beast/201611/the-psychology-insults
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/hide-and-seek/201302/how-deal-insults-and-put-downs

https://www.wikihow.com/Be-Confident-when-Someone-Insults-You

You never know when it’s going to be your last

Just heard the news via my WA group about one my high school friends who is sick. His wife writes that my old mate could only lay down on his sickbed. I still can recognize him albeit he looks pale, weak and thin. Oh how fragile are we. 

Just last month a colleague of mine passed away. He was almost twenty years my junior. The last time I saw him was the day I left Malaysia. I had no idea that he had a lethal disease. I did not think he knew either. The future is not ours to see.

Recently I read a news that really capture the spirit that you can't take anything for granted in life. Jemas Milner -one my Liverpool heroes-  said “You never know when it’s going to be your last. You go into the dressing room after the game and all of the lads are straight on their phones. I’m saying: ‘You’ve won the FA Cup - get off your phone!". The Reds defeated Chelsea on penalties at Wembley Stadium last Saturday to secure the trophy. Liverpool left-back Kostas Tsimikas scored the decisive spot kick. Come the end of the game, Milner said that he was going to enjoy the victory because it could be the last trophy that he ever wins. “Yeah, you get 40 or 50 messages but you get on the bus and you can deal with that. You are lucky to be a footballer, lucky to play in any final and to win ten medals, if you’ve said that to me at the start of my career then I’d have been pretty happy!

We can see where Milner is coming from. The reality is, the Englishman is 36 years of age. In other words, Milner is at the backend of his career. He is going to enjoy winning a trophy more than others simply because he may never get another chance to lift some silverware.

Indeed, life is short and uncertain. We should enjoy each moment and cherish whatever we have as there would be time that those would no longer possible for us.  

You never know when it’s going to be your last

https://anfieldwatch.co.uk/you-never-know-james-milner-reflects-on-fa-cup-final-victory/

St. Basil the Great - talking points

St. Basil the Great, Latin Basilius, (born AD 329, Caesarea Mazaca, Cappadocia—died January 1, 379, Caesarea; Western feast day January 2; Eastern feast day January 1), early Church Father who defended the orthodox faith against the Arian heresy. As bishop of Caesarea, he wrote several works on monasticism, theology, and canon law. He was declared a saint soon after his death.

1) Came from family of Bishops
One of Basil’s uncles was a bishop, as later were two of his brothers (Gregory and Peter of Sebaste). 

2) One of Cappadocian Fathers
Basil, together with his brother Gregory of Nyssa and his friend Gregory of Nazianzus, are collectively referred to as the Cappadocian Fathers.

3) Did not consider life as Ascetic 

On returning home he began a secular career, but the influence of his pious sister Macrina, later a nun and abbess, confirmed his earlier inclination to the ascetic life. With a group of friends, he established a monastic settlement on the family estate at Annesi in Pontus. Basil’s health was poor, perhaps because of the rigours of his ascetic life.

4) Famous quote:
The bread you store belongs to the hungry. The clothes you accumulate belong to the naked. The shoes that you have in your closet are for the barefoot. The money you bury deep into the ground to keep it safe, belongs to the poor. You were unfair to as many people as you could have helped and you did not. 

5) Most of the liturgies bearing the name of Basil are not entirely his work in their present form
The extent of Basil’s actual contribution to the magnificent series of eucharistic prayers known as the Liturgy of St. Basil is uncertain. But at least the central prayer of consecration (setting apart the bread and wine) reflects his spirit and was probably in use at Caesarea in his own lifetime. Patristics scholars conclude that the Liturgy of Saint Basil "bears, unmistakably, the personal hand, pen, mind and heart of St. Basil the Great". 

6) Basil is most characteristically revealed in his letters, of which more than 300 are preserved. Many deal with daily activities; others are, in effect, short treatises on theology or ethics. 

References
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Basil-the-Great
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basil_of_Caesarea

The Saint Whose Father was a Bishop

St. Gregory of Nazianzus's father also named Gregory, was converted to the Christian faith from the monotheistic sect known as the Hypsistarii under the influence of his Christian wife. He was soon afterward consecrated bishop of his native city, Nazianzus (the exact location of which is not known), by bishops on their way to the Council of Nicaea in 325.

After six years in Athens studying rhetoric, poetry, geometry, and astronomy Saint Gregory returned to his parents at Nazianzus. At thirty-three years of age. against his will, Saint Gregory was ordained to the holy priesthood by his father. 

After the death of the Arian Emperor Valens, Gregory was asked to go to Constantinople to preach there. For thirty years, the city had been controlled by Arians or pagans, and the orthodox did not even have a church there. Gregory went. He converted his own house there into a church and held services in it. There he preached the Five Theological Orations for which he is best known, a series of five sermons on the Trinity and in defense of the deity of Christ. People flocked to hear him preach, and the city was largely won over to the Athanasian (Trinitarian, catholic, orthodox) position by his powers of persuasion. The following year, he was consecrated bishop of Constantinople. He presided at the Council of Constantinple in 381, which confirmed the Athanasian position of the earlier Council of Nicea in 325. Having accomplished what he believed to be his mission at Constantinople, and heartily sick of ecclesiastical politics, Gregory resigned and retired to his home town of Nazianzus, where he died in 389. His last days were spent in solitude and austerity. He wrote religious poetry, some of it autobiographical, of great depth and beauty. He was acclaimed simply as “the Theologian.” 

Gregory's most significant theological contributions arose from his defense of the Nicene doctrine of the Trinity. In contrast to the Arian and Apollonarian heresies common in his day,[45] he emphasized that Jesus did not cease to be God when he became a man, nor did he lose any of his divine attributes when he took on human nature. Conversely, Gregory also asserted that Christ was fully human, including a full human soul.

References
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Gregory-of-Nazianzus

https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2022/01/25/100298-saint-gregory-the-theologian-archbishop-of-constantinople

https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-gregory-nazianzen

http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bio/155.html

https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Gregory_of_Nazianzus