Life, Travel, GRACE

What was used to be duty, surveillance and reaching out, it has become insubordinate, fight for justice and plead for acceptance. One of the many themes were industrialism and militarism. These were the two elements that created conflict in the harmonious life of the native people. It happens in real life too. Think of deforestation for dam construction and palm oil plantation. Do you think the natives are not spared from involuntary relocation? That's why some quarters in the west are opposing and boycotting palm oil products. On the other hand, that's nothing wrong if you stand out to fight for fairness and preventing the wealth to be taken away, even at the cost of rebelling against your own group. After all, Jesus did pay a high cost on the cross. Again, with military advancement, wrongful decision can lead to catastrophic destruction of the habitat and even culture. That's where the birth of terrorism. Worst case when the technology is being sold without a trace. The...

What does Christmas mean to you? Perhaps we should consider generosity in our life. God has been generous to us. He's still now. He blesses his people. He forgives. And the biggest gift from him, his one and only Son. That's beyond measurable of generosity. You can be generous too - in time, encouragement, resources, relationship and even prayer. You can spare your valuable time to build a friendship. You can give words of encouragement to brothers and sisters. You can give your wealth for the blessing of others. You can even say a little prayer for others. Of course, giving from a heart is praiseworthy. Remember this: Whoever sow s sparingly will also reap sparingly , and whoever sow s generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. (2 Cor 9:6-7)

and the journey continues... with lots of steps to climb... until you reach the top, this is what you get to see - the mouth of the volcano (or the vent).... not many stays long as sulfur gas aplenty... other locals present their offering to the deity... On the way down, it's another long journey...

Benefit of 50mm lens: fast (f/1.8), light, bokeh effect.

Due to short duration of stay in Beijing, I only managed to visit the Olympic stadium, which is a stone throw away from the hotel I stayed. Unfortunately, the stadium closed for public at 10pm. So I was only able to take a glimpse at aquatics center (above). The public peacemaker (公安) chased everybody off at 10pm. What a bummer. The aquatics center (in blue light) is at the far left.

China is fast developing. And there's a price for any developing country. There will be pollution which is inevitable. There will be a drop in air quality. Last week, Beijing's temperature was between -4degC and 8degC. It came with mist, haze-like mist. Visibility was only around 2-5km. Here you are, they stay next to factory's chimney. That factory is also not far from the hotel which I stayed. Surely the Chinese need to do something to cut down the carbon footprint.

It's bad if you are in China... I was disappointed though when I was there this week. You will not be able to access your Facebook. You will not be able to follow your Twitter. You will not be able to see free video in YouTube. And last but not least, you can't blog. So Malaysians in Malaysia are lucky to have freedom of information access. Global censorship scale.

Since we've been going back to Sarawak quite often, and almost every time got the chance to taste the local kampua noodle, and not sure if we've eaten too much stuff in our life, the local kampua quality is not up to our taste. So we decided to do it ourselves. Here it is..... Though it didn't look presentable (partly due to my crappy amateur photography technique even though using a fast prime lens), it did taste good. Dare to say it was comparable to the best of the local stalls. Haha...

The view of Mount Batok, which is just next to Mount Bromo Tourists brave through the dusty landscape. Slowly ascending and the Hindu temple is leaving far behind The east view (Note: too much flare in this shot) Stairway to the top of Mount Bromo

From Gunung Penanjakan, we descended and drove across the Sea of Sand. It's a vast area of sand, nothing but the sand (and some pebbles). From the drop point, where all the jeeps stop, we walked to the volcano. Alternatively, one can hire a horse ride. The fees decreases as you ascend higher. So bargain hard to get a good price. There's a Hindu temple at the mountain base. Not a major attraction though.

The world's largest rubber glove manufacturer has this business rules: (i) Do not lose your shareholders' money (ii) Do not lose your health (iii) Do not lose your temper (iv) Do not lose your customer Talking about fruitfulness, stewardship and control. The first rule is what all investors looking for when investing. Spiritually, who is our shareholder? The creator? ...be fruitful and increase in number... (Gen 1:28). When the time of assessment come, those who are fruitful will be rewarded (Matt 25:29) . Likewise, if the organization does not perform well, investors will withdraw the fund. Any organization, in order to survive and achieve success, must have a sound set of beliefs on which it premises all its policies and actions. Next, the most important single factor in corporate success is faithful adherence to those beliefs (quoted by Thomas J. Watson).

This 90-minute-book gives the idea of how to direct your attention to any information rather than being directed to it. After all, information will lead you to perception. So the way we perceive information is all-important. You begin to assess the piece of information by looking through each frame. The triangle frame: Purpose - what is the purpose of looking at the information? Are you just filling up time or researching for data? The circle frame: Accuracy - look directly into the fundamental accuracy of the information. Apply doubt and comparative accuracy. After all, not all information is accurate or fact based. The square frame: Point of view - is there a different way of looking at the data? By looking the information from different point of view, you get unbiased view of information. The heart frame: Interest - direct your attention to matters of interest, be it general or specific interest. The diamond frame: Value - what has been the value of the information? It's...

At some point, we check our facebook or twitter at regular basis. Some at defined interval time. Some even click the refresh button in their mailbox every second. Are we addicted? Sometimes, when activities are meeting some need other than those they are intended to meet, you can become attached or addicted to that behavior. You develop a need for it to perform some function that regulates how you feel ... If you cannot be away from e-mail for some period of time to do something vital in life, like connect with your loved ones or take a walk or play golf, then something is wrong. If you cannot go to a social dinner without checking e-mail or responding to someone, something is wrong. If you can't go on vacation without constantly checking in, are you really on vacation? What about at home when you are supposed to be having downtime? Dr Henry Cloud What does the Scriptures say? They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity— for a man is a slave to whatever...

This was a reality show in US TV some time ago (the show was only managed to be aired for 1 season though). There are 4 teams in each episode. Each team consists of pair of father and son/daughter. Of course they will need to compete with each other teams. So the kids will brag that his/her dad is better than the others. There's nothing wrong with this. Just that the kids need to be vocal enough, highly confident and at some point give a great expectation to their dads. Well, in each hurdles, they will portrait a teamwork spirit between father and kid, which is crucial in the family institution. And the mother and family members will support from the audience seats. Such a great combination of family unity. What if the team lose? They will forgive each other and continue to support each other. Maybe it's just an act. But you can see the relationship is there. Let's ask this question: how many dad-kid relationship exists in Asia family by means of rebuking and loving each ot...

Some of the non-verbal communication types: - pictures - company logos - gestures and body language - how long someone keeps a visitor waiting (try this in government office) - use of space (Why do people put outdated magazines at waiting room? Why there's mirror at lift?) The last two actually hint us that the organization has tight schedule that they have no choice but to let you wait. While waiting, you can read some materials or tidy up your dress and makeup. Or perhaps they are ego.

Yet another brilliant film by Quentin Tarantino. Kill Bill was good so as this. As a director cum writer, he gets to present the alternative ending of the WWII in Europe. All lead political Nazi are assassinated. That's how the war end from the fictional point of view. Though it may lack of depth, the plot is entertaining. Like his previous works, expect some blood gushing scenes (of course this didn't make it through our censorship).

If there's something wrong, what should we do? From ISO9001:2008 point of view, you need to correct the situation. First, you need corrections. Corrections are immediate actions. Some say it containment actions. Say you have toothache. Your correction will be to extract the tooth (could be painful). After you have taken the immediate action, so what's next? Don't you think you need to avoid the same thing from happening in future? Therefore, you need to take corrective action. An action which is taken in order to prevent recurrence. Having extracted the tooth earlier, what kind of action you need to take to prevent the next tooth or teethache. You extract all your teeth. No, that's too extreme. Probably a checkup to make sure no more cavity or hole in any teeth. If yes, maybe a filling will do. (Note: This is of course assuming the root cause is due to tooth cavity) OK, you have ensure all of your teeth are in good condition. What's next? Don't you think you n...

Where is our country in this comparison?

As sun rose higher, we descended from Gunung Penanjakan view point. While descending, we stopped at lower altitude and had a glimpse of the view.

By far, this is the best novel from Dan Brown. Unlike his previous works, there's no big surprise on the plot. The villain is introduced right at the beginning. Again, the story touches about faith, which is good and quite refreshing. Little did I know that Moses sculpture actually has horns. This was due to some translation error. The revelation at the end is somehow sweet. The secret word of the Ancient Mysteries is Laus Deo . Managed to complete the whole book in 19 hours of audio listening, which spanned within 3 weeks.

This little hill in Semenyih will be jam-packed on every weekend and public holiday. The view is not quite impressive though. Just some ordinary shots to share when we were there on Diwali day.

This is the view of Mount Bromo (the one spewing smoke) and Mount Semeru (the highest peak at the background). On the lower left is the town of Cemoro Lawang where you will get a perfect view of the volcanoes at any time.