Kerteh day 7&8: the tale of two malls

On the first weekend in Kerteh (Friday & Saturday) we visited the capital of Terengganu (Kuala Terengganu) and Pahang (Kuantan). Distance wise Kuala Terengganu is farther than Kuantan. Kerteh is part of Terengganu but Kuantan is closer.

We thought that Kuantan is nicer than Kuala Terengganu. More trees, better city landscaping and certainly bigger (and nicer) main mall. The East Coast Mall has more branded products outlet than KTCC. 

I can see why Kerteh people would rather drive down south rather than up north to their own capital. More reasons and shorter travel time (hence pay less toll and gasoline)

On day 13 we went back to Kuantan and found out that there's more that this city has to offer. We'd certainly comeback for more.

One small note on opening hour of KTCC. On Friday the mall was closed between mid day to 2:30 PM. If not for a Chinese restaurant around the mall we would be starving while waiting for the mall to open.

Kerteh: day 3

Sulit mencari rumah sewaan disini. Tentu saja sulit itu relatif. Sulit kalau kita punya batasan budget, lokasi, kondisi, situasi, dsb. Sampai hari ini, setelah melihat beberapa pilihan, kami masih belum dapatkan tempat tinggal.

Untuk moda transportasi sepeda motor adalah pilihan kami. Disini ada motor bebek buatan lokal, mereka Kriss, harga dibawah RM4000, tapi nampaknya orang lokal pun tidak percaya merek ini. Konon merek Yamaha lebih disukai dari Honda. Harga scooter (panggilan motor bebek disini) Yamaha dibawah RM 6000, lebih murah dari Honda Beat.

Konon perlu dua hari untuk register sepeda motor disini.

Tadi pagi saya coba jalan pagi. Jam 6 masih gelap. Matahari terbit dekat jam 7. Tantangan lain adalah diluar Komplek Petronas praktis cuma ada satu track lari, dilapangan sepak bola umum Kerteh.

Hidup ditempat baru yang relatif kampung kecil memang tidak mudah. Tapi tidak pula jadi alasan untuk patah semangat. Pasti ada jalan

Kerteh: day 2

Hari ini kami mengambil kereta (Mobil) sewaan. Sehari RM 100 untuk kereta Perodua Axa. Plus ada deposit RM 100. 

Untung lah dapat mobil sewa, karena hari ini  kami pindah ke hotel yang berbeda. Lebih baik kondisi kamarnya. Tapi tetap saja kami harus mengangkat koper-koper kami ke lantai dua.

Nampaknya semua hotel disini memang mengharuskan tamu untuk menghela koper masing-masing ke lantai dua. Waktu check in juga jam 14:00. Disini kami membayar cukai pelancong RM 10 semalam, sementara hotel budget sebelumnya tidak menarik biaya apa-apa. Entahlah kenapa.

Untuk mengisi waktu kami datang lagi ke mall satu-satunya di Kerteh, Mall Mesra untuk makan siang. Mall ini cukup lengkap jenis barang yang ditawarkan. Dari penelusuran google diketahui bahwa Mall Mesra ini lebih bagus dari Mall di Chukai yang  konon lebih ramai populasinya dibanding Kerteh. Di Mall Mesra fasilitas parkirnya cukup luas kalau pun semua penduduk Kerteh datang. parkir disini gratis.

Malam ini kami dinner di Selera Thai yang kemarin kami tapau. Sehari tambahan berlalu di Kerteh. Gambaran puzzle kehidupan bertambah satu keeping lagi.

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