Sunday, June 29, 2008

Our New "Pet"

The only plant growing in a pot in our house is actually placed outside, because we thought that we were pretty bad at the green thumb thing. So we placed it outside, near the water waste pipe from the upstairs air conditioner.
The past few months, a frog has dug in and made it his (or her?) home, well at least, bed for the daytime naps (since he/she goes off somewhere during the night). We named the frog Zuma, and claimed it as our pet, although we really don't feed it anything. I think you can figure out what one of our favorite computer games are.
Any tips on what to feed a frog?

Krayola @ Wapres

Here are a couple of pictures of our gig at Warung Apresiasi, Bulungan. Eriz forgot the chords in the middle of 2 songs, hahahaha.. but it was OK.

Friday, June 20, 2008

Birthday Giftlist

Because my dear friend Meong made a birthday giftlist on her MP blog, I was sort of inspired to make my own. But, ladies and gentlemen, the list is fictitious. I'ts not real. The least bizarre item on the list is very expensive... but read on, you'll see how bizarre the list really is.

1. Sony Ericsson P1i. Upgrade on my M600i...
2. Asus EEE PC. Gadget-boy toy.
3. 3G iPhone of course....
4. my old car! but in better shape. with a Mac installed to monitor car status, GPS maps, and so on.
5. the sudden disappearance of termites from my house, followed by a sudden automatic repair and reinforcement of the wood frames.
6. one of those Honda robots to help around the house. Just keep it charged and it'll be happy; no need to worry about giving it a phone allowance.
7. an airship company that I can convert into an alternative mass-rapid transport service, so I don't have to drive 2 hours to the office.
8. media server for the house. Since we have so many audio and video files on our computers at home it's eating up the virtual memory space.
9. one of those Honda robots to do house security, so the kids from the nearby village stop stealing lightbulbs.
10. free airline tickets to Bali for me and Saski, every year. Oh don't forget the free hotel vouchers.
11. a tandem bike. So I can ride a bike and persuade Saski to ride it with me. So very Soeharto, yes?
12. a new Macbook hahaha
... the list is seemingly endless.

So what do I actually want for my birthday?
A happy surprise will do ;)

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Krayola @ Jakarta Fair 2008

We got out first gig after a very long time at the Jakarta Fair 2008, at Kopi Kapal Api's booth. Here are the pics!

If you can't see the slideshow, here's the link.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Goodbye And Thanks, Ario

Before you read into the title too much - "Ario" is the name given by my friends for my former beloved Toyota Corona 2000 (c. 1978). At one point in college, my friends started to call the car 'Ario' since they found striking similarities with the car and its owner. Someone mentioned it was the car was 'huge but nimble'. I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions.

The Corona was bought by my Dad not long after we moved back from Sydney in 1988, when I was still in 4th grade. I gave a portion of my savings to buy it. There was a point in time when Mom picked me up after school in the car. When we moved to Bogor, the car was my Dad's main mode of transport to the office, about 45 minutes away, until the office gave him an office car to use. When that happened, the Corona stayed home and I was in charge of warming it up every afternoon. My first taste of the wheel.

By the time I could drive, my parents let me use the car for after school activities (which was mostly cramming courses because it was the only way my parents could get me to study). Well, that and then some :) I think a lot of people grew up in high school around the car - if you had a set of wheels, you were cool! But then again, my friends drove their Mercedes to school.

When I went back to Bandung for college, I didn't bring the car along as Bandung was a very public-transport friendly place (note the term was). The car joined me eventually because I had to go back and forth between Bandung and Bogor for my research, and was a big help in all those late night dinners and midnite matinees :D. I held on to the car until graduation, when it got me to and from my first workplace in Bandung.

When I finally moved to Jakarta in 2003, I wasn't inclined to drive a car in the traffic-ingested streets of Jakarta, and chose public transport, which led me to move out of my parent's house in Serpong and move closer to my office in Jakarta Selatan. The car didn't come with me and Dad didn't have the time or energy to maintain it, so I persuaded Dad to sell the Corona and get a newer car. Dad finally sold it to an office friend and got a 2003 Kijang. I said goodbye, thinking that I would never see the car again.

Fast forward to 2006 - taking cabs everyday to and from Saskia's house was starting to burn holes in my pocket, so I started seriously considering on buying a car. The thought was actually from a year earlier, when I was considering on getting a VW Beetle (good price, easy repair and spare parts), but I didn't go as far as looking at cars yet. One day Dad called and saw the Corona - the previous owner put up a For Sale sign on the car! "Do you want to buy it?" Dad asked. I said "I'm interested, since it's an old car that I actually know what the kinks are, so as long as the car has aircon, I'll take it!" Sure enough, the previous owner installed an aircon so I borrowed some money from Dad and bought the car. In the process of bringing the car to good condition, I invested in a new aircon system, some new tires, a new battery and alternator, suspension servicing and so on. Let's just say, if the car wasn't so hungry for gas, I think I'd still be using it.

The recent price hike forced me and Saskia to decide to let go of the car and buy a used Avanza. We considered on lending the car to a friend instead of selling, but ultimately decided against it. Taking care of an old car like the Corona takes a certain patience and perseverence, and it would be selfish to burden that on others just because we didn't want to sell the car. So that led to today.

We sold the car to the son of my parent's friend, married and recently started work, strapped of cash and wanting an alternative to borrowing their parent's car or taking their baby on the motorcycle. The price we sold the car was below market value (as it is a collector's item), and he bought the car in installments (not cash). Saskia and I thought that these guys really need the car more than we do and we didn't mind being paid in installments, as long as good ol' 'Ario' can be of help to someone else. So we waved goodbye to 'Ario' this afternoon... I feel so sad, but I'm glad that the car is now in a position to help someone else, and not sit in some collector's garage and eat dust.

So long, old buddy. Keep helping those in need, like you helped me and my family - and hope to see you again!

Thursday, June 5, 2008

Spread Firefox!

I think I speak for many people that have had their online experiences transformed by Firefox. Support Firefox 3 by pledging to download on the launch day! Here's the link:
http://www.spreadfirefox.com/en-US/worldrecord/

(By the way, I use Flock now...)

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Only For You

This is the 2nd single from the current youth sensation, RAN. In my personal view, the video fits the core demographic that RAN speaks to: screaming teen girls! I'm not a screaming teen girl, but the song is cool.

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

The Power Of Opinion, Yours And Mine

It's amazing when, in this day and age, when we can access any information we want from anywhere we want (well we're almost there...), people remain ignorant and full of hatred?
In the ideal utopian society, all information would be shared for a better common understanding; yet with all the information systems available since the dawn of modern times (marked by the writing of history), humans remain seperated by race, geograhpy, intelligence, religion, culture, hobbies, favorite color and so on.
It's one thing to disagree on a favorite song; and it's another thing to disagree on religious principles. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and is also entitled to respect the right of opinion of others.

Somehow, people remember the former than the latter better. Still OK, somewhat; some people just don't care what other people think.

But when anarchy steps in, when violence steps in... that is where the line crosses.

I don't care whether if someone is right or wrong; in my view the ultimate truth will never reveal itself to us as it is divine knowledge -- but somehow may people of the earth think they know better and continue to torture those who do not think alike: in Abu Gharib, in Nepal, in Myanmar, and in Jakarta, to name a few places.

It's one thing to have an opinion - it's another thing to maim or kill someone for believing something else.

So here's my opinion: FPI can rot in hell for all I care. You'd think a "leading" Muslim organization would give a positive example for other Muslims... well, they don't, and they give us shame.

What's your opinion?