John's Blog

Pop Up Restaurants

2011-12-23T07:46:00.002-05:00

A restaurant goes out of business and the landlord is finding it difficult to lease the space - so they rent out to people on a short term basis at lower than normal rents.

Hey presto, you have a pop up restaurant!

Facebook

2011-12-19T10:56:00.003-05:00

I am back on FB.

A couple of reasons:

1) I want to keep in contact with people better, especially those in Indonesia

2) /All/ the free internet PCs in Changi airport had people logging into Facebook. Just goes to show you...

Private Equity

2011-12-19T10:42:00.002-05:00

I leave a vibrant Jakarta for a miserable Dublin.

This morning a retired doctor is telling me how screwed Ireland is over a coffee in Dublin. He tells me how the English are doing their level best to bring the Euro down, intimating the the prime minister is in cahoots with big financial interests in London.

He looks for some confirmation from me, I only mutter indecisively.

Conspiracy theories are something I used to hear in Jakarta, now I am listening to them in Dublin. I suppose there's less time for a good yarn when everyone is making good money.

50/50

2011-12-01T18:04:00.001-05:00

Fantastic movie!

Hugo

2011-11-25T21:44:00.001-05:00

Scorsese self indulgent again.

Harry Potter

2011-11-05T19:22:00.003-04:00

I am reading it on my way to and from work and sometimes even at home - I am terrible about reading-off-net so to speak which is a shame.

I feel reading-on-net is throwaway for the most part, it's nice in that you read a little about a lot quickly - but good books are like long term relationships, much more meaningful.

Even newspapers are marginally better, I suppose it's easier to read longer articles on paper.

Enjoy the Colours!

2011-10-18T22:06:00.001-04:00

Every so often a blog post gives insight into another world like this one.

Americana

2011-10-12T22:56:00.002-04:00

BBC 's Americana - consigned to history. I've lived here for about 3 years and, it struck just the right tone. Pity.

Insecurity

2011-09-04T17:42:00.002-04:00

Piers Morgan had Mark Sanford on his show last night.

Sanford was squirmish - as anyone would do having to talk about his private life on TV.

In any case, he said one line in particular that I remember. While quoting the bible, he said that the only thing women need is a feeling of security in a relationship.

Inferring that the defining characteristic of women is that they are insecure.

What an idiot.

Net Positive Karma

2011-08-13T19:30:00.003-04:00

It blows my mind how the people I have met through being a blogger and have only really known over the 'net are willing to be so generous to me.

I asked this Brandon over at the Java Jive to write give a little advice for my sis about teaching in Indonesia, and he took the time to a really nice reply.

This has happened to me over and over again. Pity I am not the blogger I once was, it's such an incredible medium.

Love Hate

2011-07-02T12:26:00.006-04:00

I just read about how a Saudi diplomat enslaved an Indonesian maid in Berlin.

A German human rights organisation made a good point - human rights should trump diplomatic rights every time.

I started reading the comments next to the article. The commentators are rightfully outraged.

This story comes on the back of several brutal cases concerning Indonesian maids in Saudi Arabia. Torture (girl's faces being destroyed beyond recognition), slavery, rape, death sentences (the accusation was black magic, after a family's son left home).

The place sounds like a hell hole.

Many issues arise which have been written about elsewhere.

One is pertinent to me however, after reading the comments. Many in the west believe Islam is a monolithic religion, which is of course a gross over simplification. For example, Indonesia's Muslims have a love hate relationship with the Middle East. On the one hand, it is the ancient source of Islam on the other it can be the modern day heart of evil, which devours so many young innocent Indonesians.

Unity in Diversity/Adversity

2011-06-12T23:42:00.001-04:00

From a nation where they risked being persecuted by Muslims, they headed for the world's most populous Muslim nation: Indonesia.

Libertarianism

2011-05-11T08:01:00.000-04:00

(HT, Greg Mankiw)

Ablogaboutcrisps

2011-04-13T21:17:00.000-04:00

Check it!

The Marmite City

2011-04-10T22:15:00.001-04:00

My parents are coming to visit me in New York City this week.

New York, is an acquired taste. I hope they end up liking it!

Haiku No. 2

2011-03-20T23:21:00.002-04:00

What a GREAT wknd! : )
Here's to many more bright moons,
Muffins and teaspoons

My First Haiku

2011-03-17T22:59:00.003-04:00

Irish New Yorker;
In sunken delirium;
Asian desk steps o'er

(Happy St. Patrick's day!)

The Battle of Algiers

2011-02-26T23:12:00.001-05:00

I just saw The Battle of Algiers - excellent movie.

A Toast

2011-02-20T16:17:00.001-05:00

Here's to a democratic Middle East!

Back Home

2011-02-19T12:26:00.002-05:00

My grandad died and I came back home for the funeral.

I think it's only the second funeral I ever remember attending.

I was not too close with him, but it's a kind of testament to him that his family gets on so well together.

Tetris

2011-02-07T20:48:00.017-05:00

I watch Stephen Colbert most nights. His jokes can land knock out punches and reach people in a way that Rachel Maddow, Sean Hannity and their po-faced pundits could only dream of.

Satire is about analogy, it's about putting serious issues next to whacky larger than life characters who drive their points home in a garish hilarious way. Sneaking important messages into jokes - like mystic messages in flamboyant fortune cookies.

Economics and finance often use analogies. Maths models are stories about real life but with fewer jokes.

I wonder whether we could put an algebra model under a game of Tetris, so that while fitting blocks together kids are solving equations; perhaps embed stock dynamic models into how space invaders fly at you; maybe Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 could have a macro economic model underpinning it, so that volleying a ball would be like minimising inflation while maximising employment.

Obviously, you would have to pick your model and game mechanics wisely - otherwise you could have soccer balls looping round and round rather than having realistic ball goes up then comes down physics.

I love the idea that people playing Angry Birds might be sucked into intuitively understanding something completely serious and kind of useful.

Then again, you have to ask the question, even if you understand how to hit a baseball how much will you understand Newton's law of universal gravitation? Is intuition enough?

Nevertheless it could be a lot of fun!

The Power of Images

2011-02-05T22:52:00.003-05:00

I went to a talk recently where the person talking opened up with:

We value and understand the power of images

To which my contrarian mind replied - but what about the impotency of images? Their weaknesses. That seems like a more interesting topic.

Start Up Weekend

2011-02-05T22:49:00.001-05:00

Fantastic idea!

My Favourite Band Are No More

2011-02-02T23:21:00.002-05:00

Ah well...

Intersection

2011-01-31T20:42:00.009-05:00

Would you date a person of a different race? A different creed? A different sex? Different politics?

~~

I've been thinking of the intersection between people's views on society and their views on being intimate, loving someone.

What does the choice of partner (or self-imposed restrictions) say about you? What does it tell you about your culture?

New Year's Resolutions

2010-12-30T15:45:00.005-05:00

I quit beer for 2010. A year of hard liquor has done me well. I've found a new appreciation for whiskey - although I can't say the same for much else. I am Irish after all though.

I also quit the Beatles, which was good, cos I am sure I'll appreciate them much more now.

Unfortunately, looking at my Last.fm most listened to chart for 2010 I'm still listening to a lot of old bands. But then again mainly their new albums, so that's probably OK (I won't consult my inner-conscience, too afraid of what it has to say).

On the plus side my 10th most listened to album was Homocide Indonesia's The Nekrophone Dayz, which is all about Indonesian genocide in the sixties (an antidote to too much of The Beatles over the years?) and then there's Kill The Moonlight by Spoon. I haven't the foggiest who Spoon are, so that has to be good, they got be sorta indie-edgey-cool if I have listened to them for a year and still couldn't name a single song, eh?

I quit Facebook last year. Not as a new year resolution, but after a realisation that no one had much interesting to say. It's also refreshing not having someone Facebook you and dispel any mystery when they realise that yes, you too look stupid when drunk.

John Cleese - The Scientists - 2008

2010-12-25T15:20:00.000-05:00

A Clash of Civilisations

2010-12-01T01:23:00.002-05:00

I remember during the first trip to Indonesia, thinking that this country is about as alien as I could imagine. I couldn't wrap my head around it.

Not only was it alien however, it was hospitable, my then girlfriend's family bowled me over with how welcoming they were.

Back then, I didn't go anywhere without someone chaperoning me around the Big Durian. The girlfriend left me a year or so after, but my interest in Indonesia grew, so I figured I needed to cut my own way through the country (however clumsily).

Still after all these years, there are some circles I can't square. Perhaps they don't need squaring.

For example, while for the most part I feel quite at home nattering with pals who wouldn't touch alcohol, and sometimes think about whether something or other is compatible with their religion. I wonder how they would fit in back in with my pals in our godless, alcohol swilling New York.

I remember on that first trip to Indonesia, we were staying at a pal's big house in Jogja. I was pretty indignant at not being able to sleep with the girl I had been living with for a year. Moreover, I thought the little pullavah over not seeing a jilbabed guide's hair a bit stupid.

Sometimes on that trip I felt arrogant at times, feeling that I knew better than Indonesian people. Perhaps confusing wealth or might with right. I confess I still feel this sometimes, but less often.

In any case, I wonder what would happen if the Indonesia and New York side met? They'd probably get on like a house on fire!

Freedom of Movement

2010-12-01T00:56:00.005-05:00

The right to freedom of movement is the only issue I advocate - mainly because so few others do.

In recent years Ireland has seen a lot of immigration, now that is set to reverse.

The right to leave one's country and settle elsewhere, is you could say, the right to reject your own country and sign up to a new one, one that you hope will give you better opportunities.

It is the ultimate democratic right.

The Irish are lucky, they have many countries which will take them, not the case with unfortunate people from many other countries.

Richer Lives

2010-12-01T00:28:00.005-05:00

The Irish ambassador to several countries including Indonesia is in Jakarta today.

Hopefully he can rake in some Rupiah on behalf of Ireland - I never thought I'd be saying that!

Recently, I have been thinking a about Ireland's economic predicament.

I have heard a lot about impending mass migration out of the country. It is a lamentable situation.

But, I always thought the Ireland I grew up in, the successful brash Celtic Tiger Ireland was too insular. That's not unusual - you learn from your mistakes not your successes.

For example, I remember when I was in college in Germany, how I thought that while many of my fellow students came from poorer countries across the world they had much richer educational experiences in Germany than my school classmates that mostly went to college at home.

I had chosen to study in Germany on a whim; most of my international classmates were forced to study in Germany because of the woeful level of education at home.

Perhaps that's a silver lining, however sad it is that a generation of Irish people will end up living in foreign lands, many of them will lead richer lives, experiencing and learning more of the world than they ever would have if they had stayed at home.

2010-11-25T00:02:00.003-05:00

Sometimes the evil spirits can take the form of people you know. That's why you have to be careful

I.e. perhaps - don't blindly trust people, use your own judgement.

What's the difference between asking god for success for example and asking a spirit?

The spirit will take something from you in return, even though initially you seem to get what you want easily

I remember before I came to Indonesia I was pretty dismissive of people's beliefs in the supernatural. I still don't believe in a literal way like so many people seem to.

Yet there is something to what people say. Common sense couched in the supernatural.

Spirituality is a very human thing.

Gutsy Women

2010-11-19T23:17:00.001-05:00

My pal has a write up on Indonesian maids on her blog.

I always see lots when I fly through the middle east. Gutsy women.

18 Minutes

2010-11-12T23:36:00.002-05:00

Walking past the subway turnstiles, a pal asked did you see that mother and child standing either side of the barriers?

In New York for 89 bucks a month you get unlimited rides. Actually they are limited in one way, you have to wait 18 minutes between swiping your card through the turnstiles. I've been caught out by this a few times.

In any case the mother and daughter were waiting 18 minutes until they could go on their way together.

Taman Bacaan Pelangi

2010-10-15T23:56:00.001-04:00

I donated some money to this charity / project way back when, I'm surprised at what it's turned into.

Fantastic!

I looked into the Lens God's Eye...

2010-09-20T20:05:00.001-04:00

... and the great Nikkor smiled.

Here's what I just wrote my Dad.

----------

On 20 September 2010 20:03, John Orford wrote:
B&H weren't much help, too big, scale guy was clueless - and initially guffawed at me bringing the thing back after so long. I said I thought they repaired cameras and only wanted some idea of my options. He did recommend going across the street to a camera repair shop though.

The repair shop was Canon only, and recommended me to go downtown - unfortunately they close at 6 so I went back down hearted.

I rang Nikon however, and they said they would honour the 5 year warranty (even though I didn't apply for it within 10 days of purchase). As you can imagine, I was pretty ecstatic and I think the woman on the other end of the phone was pretty happy for me too! : ))

Then I found the old receipt, almost completely faded in my wallet. I think I will go back to B&H and ask for a new copy - they are pretty good at keeping everything on file by customer.

I feel like having a celebratory whiskey now! : )

Lens

2010-09-19T20:00:00.002-04:00

An expensive lens of mine is broken. Well known problem (Nikkor 24-70 locks up at a certain focal length) unfortunately I am all out of warranty also.

Hopefully the lens Gods will be smiling kindly on me tomorrow as I enter the temple of B&H. I have been generous in my offerings before, so fingers crossed.

I actually have a knot in my stomach - shows you how mundane my life is nowadays.

Back Home

2010-09-07T14:34:00.004-04:00

Indonesians go home for the end of Ramadhan, Christmas and for whatever other religion's family-get-together-holidays.

It just so happens I too find myself at home in Ireland during the end of Ramadhan.

///

I got stuck under a big old tree in a heavy sun shower today.

The silvery rain splashed and spluttered down.

The street empty, the sun shining.

Ireland has some of the prettiest rain around.

///

Happy Leberan!

FACEBOOK!!!!!!!!!!

2010-09-06T10:58:00.003-04:00

Southpark predicted all this sh%^ exactly!

Turns out that when you deactivate your Facebook account, all your Facebook friends think you're deleting them individually, causing a lot of tut tutting among those I don't see often.

Argh!!! Facebook!!!! You won this time! Grr.

Gangs of Indonesia

2010-09-06T10:54:00.001-04:00

By far my favourite blog at the moment.

Karate Kid

2010-09-06T10:52:00.000-04:00

Best movie of 2010 so far?

Laskar Pelangi

2010-08-29T21:57:00.003-04:00

Just saw Laskar Pelangi (a movie about a school in Sumatra).

Unimpressed all in all. I still haven't seen a really good Indonesian movie.

Data

2010-08-29T02:58:00.001-04:00

Peas in a Pod

2010-08-28T19:09:00.004-04:00

Here's a story.

Imagine one of those Bird's Eye frozen pea adverts and how they only pick the ripest peas and freeze 'em straight after.

But instead of pea pickers think of those 72 poor old souls found in a mass grave in Mexico. Then instead of a happy family salivating over their dinner, think of Paris Hilton being arrested by the police for possessing coke.

You can play the same little game in your head when it comes to marijuana , any mexican border town and anywhere around the East Village in New York - chock full of those well meaning kids smoking pot.

Makes me sick!

This is why...

2010-08-22T21:17:00.000-04:00

...I call myself a feminist.

Maybe another term would fit better, at the moment 'feminist' will do.

Booked!

2010-08-21T14:36:00.002-04:00

Just booked my flights to Indonesia this year for Nov 21 - Dec 6.

As I was booking 'em Seurieus came on my iTunes. Haven't listened to 'em too much. A bit Aerosmithy.

Man, it's a good feeling having my flights booked. I feel all warm inside : ) or is that just my stomach gurgling at the prospect of some dodgy street food : )

Physics Envy

2010-08-16T23:05:00.001-04:00

An article about how financiers look up to physicists.

Ignorance

2010-08-16T22:43:00.005-04:00

Religious persecution in Indonesia and the US makes me mad. I love both countries, but there's an awful lot of racists in both also!

The minorities must be gutsy people.

VJ Day

2010-08-15T13:39:00.007-04:00

On Friday I mentioned to my pal that my granddad fought in Burma during the war. We were arguing about the necessity of war at about 2AM Friday night.

My point was that although he lived in London he probably didn't have to join the British army (he was Irish). On a personal level he must have felt it was necessary (he wasn't a gung-ho type - one of his ongoing themes was how crazy career soldiers were).

Coincidentally it's VJ day today.

I grew up on stories about his time in Burma and India. It's a pity that I can't remember any of them now. My dad once had an idea that he would record them, but I suppose that never went anywhere.

It's hard to say, but maybe those stories had some effect on me in my formative years that still live on with me today.

Far Right Nationalist Parties...

2010-08-11T22:46:00.002-04:00

... attending an international symposium of far right political parties.

Something feels incongruous about this.

California

2010-08-08T00:54:00.001-04:00

I got back from California last Sunday. Have just posted up some pictures on my Flickr account - if anyone's interested!

Printer

2010-07-06T21:52:00.003-04:00

Set up my printer today. The big problem was that the software on the CD couldn't see the printer over the network while installing.

Solution (as in most hardware installation problems) download the drivers directly from the manufacturer's website.

Advantages to this are: you get the latest drivers, things tend to just work(TM) and you get no crapware installed (your printer works and that's that!).

[If you have a problem getting the your Mac to see the Canon MP560 printer - go to the Canon website and download the drivers!]

Congo 50 Years On

2010-07-05T10:01:00.002-04:00

Fascinating portraits and stories

A Dismal Science?

2010-07-04T13:46:00.001-04:00

The current state of economics, well summed up.

Gay Google

2010-07-04T10:45:00.002-04:00

Google is paying people in long term homosexual relationships more to compensate them for not being able to avail of tax breaks which married couples receive.

I just spotted an interesting comment on the story.

A guy in CA was collecting signatures for a bill to really protect the value and sanctity of marriage. He was trying to ban divorce.
Strangely, not many of these people were willing to sign.

Brazil, Russia, India, China and...

2010-06-29T21:32:00.003-04:00

...Indonesia!

Just heard the CEO of Nissan declaring that Indonesia will buy a lot of Nissans in the future. It's one of the biggest growth markets apparently.

Fingers the supposed good times last this time!

MLK Soccer

2010-06-26T01:37:00.002-04:00

My friend teaches at a school around the corner, it's a tough school by all accounts.

On the eve of USA vs Ghana, this is her school's soccer team's story.

Ironing

2010-06-26T01:11:00.002-04:00

Recently I complained about being a tad bored. My sister suggested I take up a hobby.

Over the past week or two, I have taken up ironing clothes. It's meditative, in a washing the dishes sort of way.

In any case, the only thing that has been unsettling in my overly tranquil world recently has been a sense of sensory overload. I am one of those people that needs media when I am not engaging with people.

Having breakfast I listen to Irish radio. I listen to podcasts going asleep and walking to the subway. I skim my RSS feeds on my phone while sitting on the toilet. MP3s plug the rest of the silence.

I soak up information throughout the day, and, it doesn't feel good anymore. It's becoming information gluttony.

Maybe that's why I am becoming to love ironing, cooking and washing up.

Top of the Class Tries to Top Herself

2010-06-20T20:40:00.004-04:00

A top-of-her-class girl tries to top herself because she couldn't continue school

Teenager Passes Out Marrying Cow He Had Sex With

2010-06-20T19:43:00.000-04:00

Poor fella.

Closer to God

2010-06-15T08:01:00.001-04:00

When you are closer to sin you are closer to god

Just as a thief might be intimate with the criminal justice system.

Genocide

2010-06-15T07:58:00.001-04:00

Genocide is not just about people killing but story killing

Raja Ampat Baby!

2010-06-08T23:18:00.002-04:00

I wanna go!!

Where I live II

2010-06-08T22:54:00.000-04:00

Click this link to see the picture!

Sis on Veils

2010-06-08T22:23:00.001-04:00

From our correspondent in Belgium.

Thanking People in Indonesia

2010-06-08T22:02:00.001-04:00

I remember the venerable Ausdag posted on the same topic years ago.

Nevertheless a good read!

iPhone 4

2010-06-08T21:36:00.000-04:00

Looks like I can get an upgrade for $18.

Decisions, decisions...

Flash

2010-06-08T21:26:00.002-04:00

I have stopped using flash on my browser.

Way too many flash security issues and viruses out there.

Youtube has a html5 video version which should more than suffice for my needs.

Facebook

2010-05-18T19:35:00.002-04:00

I quit!! I only ever joined to see what all the fuss was about. Now I know.

Where I Live

2010-04-24T22:27:00.003-04:00

99 Problems

2010-04-13T21:39:00.001-04:00

Another hat tip is required - just can't figure whom to!

Link.

A Kite with a Broken String

2010-04-13T21:16:00.002-04:00

[...] he appeared tearful at times when the subject turned to his family and he described seeing their shoes when he returned to his Beijing flat for the first time on Tuesday.

"I completely lost control of my emotions, because to me these are the three dearest people in the world and now, we're like a kite with a broken string," he told AP.

The Big Durian

2010-04-13T20:47:00.002-04:00

I read this and it struck a chord. There is something about landing back in Jakarta. A feeling. A fantastic feeling.

Nevertheless, I can understand a few of this Australian travel blogger's points!

I remember three pals and I went to Bogor in October. We ended up eating at an outdoor stall - and embarrassingly for me, all I could do was think of the hour long train ride back and the possibility of getting the runs. What a whimp!

If you plan to visit Jakarta you need to be sometimes brave, sometimes inquisitive and most of all open minded!

I Wish I Learned this...

2010-04-13T20:28:00.000-04:00

...while I was a little younger!

God v Satan

2010-04-13T20:16:00.001-04:00

God is bad ass!!

[Btw, not 100% sure where I got this link from - hat tip is in the post...]

The Devil's in the Detail

2010-03-28T19:50:00.004-04:00

While on the topic of food, in Bukittinggi Delvi and I had lunch at a Sunda restaurant.

I love Sunda food - I reckon it would go down a storm with hip westerners - it's such a fresh smorgasbord of a cuisine.

In any case Delvi told me how the local Minangkabau never really got Sunda food and the restaurant was mostly empty.

I chuckled to myself. West Java and West Sumatra seem so similar to this person that lives on the other side of the planet. It reminds me of my Korean pal who told me (straight-faced) that Ireland and Germany were pretty much the same.

Minang Asli

2010-03-28T19:41:00.004-04:00

I went to a restaurant called Minang Asli in Queens last weekend.

I surprised myself at how excited I was to eat Indonesian food.

My date and I had...

1) Pempek Palembang. Is there any other type of Pempek?

2) Sate kambing. Which was translated as lamb satay. I am not sure whether it was a translation error or whether they were trying to fool the Westerners - or maybe they were trying to fool the Indonesians (suspect goat meat is hard to find in NYC).

3) Nasi goreng with ikan asin - fried rice with small salty fish.

It was all delish and I was so happy. So much better than the last time i went to an Indonesian restaurant in Queens - Upi Jaya. Although I should really go back to Upi Jaya and make sure it's not as good. Then I'll also go to Minang Asli to be doubley sure which is best : )

Eleven Years of Erlang

2010-03-14T17:56:00.001-04:00

Nice article about my fave programming language.

Century Bank Fallout Article

2010-03-14T17:48:00.000-04:00

SBY smelling of roses?

Wild and Whacky Stuff in Indonesia

2010-03-13T23:47:00.003-05:00

When people ask me about Indonesia I want to tell them about the bizarro, whacky mind altering stuff (at least to the average Westerner) that happens over there.

So the list could include something about how the Minangkabau is a matriarchal society - I need to learn more about Minangkabau culture!!

How the Timorese rever chickens (at least I think they do).

Or how everything can be eaten with a chocolate and cheese topping.

Any ideas?

Doing a Bono

2010-02-21T10:23:00.022-05:00

Every so often my pals and I argue about Bono.

The question is should you dislike him or like him for his promotion of causes. Are Bono and the like vainly trying to prove their worth and greedily self promoting themselves? or are Bono's efforts a net positive?

In any case a pal of mine asked me to promote her charity a little after I made my yearly donation. Why not eh? But to avoid any risk of doing a Bono, I am gonna dredge up some embarrassing story as a confessional ying and yang thing.

Over the past few years I have been supporting POTA. Lieke runs the charity. It's a Christian charity and although I like to think of myself as a strictly kosher atheist - Lieke is deeply passionate about helping the less fortunate in Indonesia.

She has lots of stories. When you hear these stories they draw you in and you feel part of the story.

They're better if you hear them from Lieke in person, but one of them was about a Christmas party they gave to some poor kids. KFC donated all the food. Everything was going well. Lots of fried chicken (Indonesians love fried chicken!!) and good times had by all. Thing was Lieke noticed one boy (or was it a girl?) that wasn't eating his KFC. She was sort of dumbfounded as all the other kids were eating away.

Lieke went over to the boy and asked him why he wasn't eating. He told her that he wanted to save his KFC so he could bring it back to his siblings back home and share it with them.

~~

In New York we don't do KFC we do fried chicken from trendy brunch places and cool divey bars.

~~

Now for the yang.

Last night I got hammered. Made a lot of lewd jokes. Then went on to interrogate this girl (with whom I am semi obsessed) about her ex.

That is too fresh. Let me dredge up something else.

How about the time when we were coming under huge pressure from a hedge fund client of ours. These guys are huge. Their risk was out of whack. I was newly arrived in New York, and was getting phone calls from big wigs.

So anyway, it was getting late and I was trying to figure this out and I had to call up our tech support people. The guy who was supposed to be on duty went home early. I got onto him on his Blackberry and went through him, I was fuming.

A week later it turned out his kid was diagnosed with cancer.

Moon Cake

2010-02-17T22:48:00.001-05:00

I was Chinatown this morning.

I ate three quarters of a moon cake - apparently you are only ever supposed to eat one quarter at any one time.

Stomach troubled ensued - lesson learned!

An Indonesian Prisoner

2010-02-14T18:12:00.004-05:00

I proposed to an Indonesian girl before. It didn't work out.

However paying $50k to the Indonesian government to marry an Indonesian is a bit steep.

Breathing

2010-02-13T18:02:00.001-05:00

I have finally realised how much breathing correctly can help you when you're working out.

Not sure what the mechanics are, but it seems to help a lot!

Probably the most Xenophobic Country in the World(?)

2010-02-13T17:53:00.002-05:00

Is Japan the most xenophobic developed country in the world?

Judging by the number of refugees they allow in every year they probably are.

Mirror of Pride and Pain

2010-02-13T17:51:00.003-05:00

I heard this great quote about how countries teach history:

"It's a mirror of pride and pain"

It's true, and not all that encouraging eh?

School's Out / In

2010-01-17T16:04:00.003-05:00

I remember the number one reason for getting off school in primary school was frozen pipes, leading to a lack of water and probably heating.

That and a sprinkling of snow - Ireland rarely gets much, so everything comes to a standstill when we get a smidgen!

It looks like these students are a hardier bunch.

Reaffirmation

2010-01-10T21:53:00.002-05:00

When I tell people that I love Indonesia people often look at me as if I have two heads.

I like seeing Indonesia getting a bit of good press.

If nothing else it means I am not stark raving mad.

New Year's Resolutions

2010-01-01T16:09:00.003-05:00

I am giving up beer and the Beatles for 2010. It's gonna be one hell of a year!

Worthwhile-ness

2009-12-28T13:59:00.000-05:00

me: well doing anything worthwhile involves a bit of masochism...

look at me and indonesia for example : )

Hanum: haahahhahahahahahhahahahhahahhahahahahahhahahahahahahahaha

That Time of Year Again

2009-12-23T15:34:00.001-05:00

It's cold and I am in a retrospective mood (along with many others).

Snappiness

2009-12-14T22:20:00.007-05:00

One of my pet hates on Facebook is that people only *ever* show the best sides of themselves.

I think the blogosphere is populated by a slightly more deranged sort, which makes for a good read.

~~~~

In any case, I feel bad tonight. Cos I snapped at one of my gym's receptionists - quite a minor 'snap' - but a 'snap' nevertheless. It's one of New York's posher gyms - I pay a fortune for the monthly fee and a personal trainer and yet they call me 'Jonathan' all the time.

(What a horrific malformation of my name! : )

Why? Cos they haven't bothered to correct it in their system, even though I have brought it up tonnes of times.

There's nothing worse than fake personalisation that get's your personal details wrong!

I will apologise to the receptionist once I see her again. She'll have probably forgotten, but nevertheless (also she's pretty cute, any excuse to strike up a conversation!!).

Sissy

2009-12-09T19:49:00.003-05:00

You have got more bodyguards than you can shake a stick at - and you're afraid of being assassinated by terrorists - when you should protect your people getting blown up by terrorist bombs.

Your party has a majority in parliament and have just won a landslide presidential election - yet you are afraid of some sort of political coup when you should be joining your people and rooting out corruption.

Who are you? The biggest sissy in Indonesia of course - the Indonesian president - SBY.

How could this bloke be so effing paranoid and feel so sorry for himself while at the same time there's so much his people need him to do!?

Embryonic

2009-12-08T19:23:00.003-05:00

I just bought the Flaming Lip's Embryonic album - it's gotten rave reviews don't you know! (I say this, because as I am listening to it for the first time I don't 'get' it - hopefully it's another Bends or something?)

You know you're becoming old fart when you can't be bothered to surf around and download a pirated album but you surf around for the cheapest legit download.

So here's how much it cost at various sites:

1) iTunes: $11

2) Amazon: $10.49

3) WalMart: $10.00

4) Lala: $7.99

No wonder Lala's just been taken over by Apple. That Lala price translates to E5.50 - a far cry from the 15-18 Euros you used to have to pay at HMV for new albums.

I wonder whether I could've found it any cheaper though - if I looked longer than 10 minutes...

By the way, those who say the music industry is dying are off their rocker. MP3s are purer profit to record labels than CDs ever were.

How you will Probably Die

2009-12-04T20:29:00.002-05:00

[Link]

Happily I have never had suicidal tendencies.

Weird how different races and sexes have such different deaths... Are our lives /that/ different?!?!

Sneaking into Auschwitz

2009-12-04T20:26:00.001-05:00

Fascinating.

Swiss Minarets

2009-11-29T23:01:00.004-05:00

[Link]

How well thought out this banishment is.

While we're at it, let's ban church spires, funny statues on top of Hindu temples and Chinese style rooves.

I now nominate Switzerland as the Malaysia of Europe (I previously said somewhere that Malaysia is the Homer Simpson of countries).

The Swiss are afraid of Muslims. Too often I encounter a similar sentiment here. It's utterly depressing.

Let me try to describe a scene that is ingrained in my mind since my last trip to Indonesia. Be warned it is very terrifying.

I found myself in a small village / community in part of Jakarta where the original Jakartans live - the Betawi.

The fun fair is in full swing. It's a very small amateurish affair that's pitched on a small communal patch of land, nevertheless the local village kids are having a great time playing the quaint games.

The smallest kids are learning how to 'fish' at a tiny blow up rubber pool. Using magnetic hooks to fish the small colourful plastic toy fish up. A parent or two is on hand to help them out if they need help but soon they're merrily fishing away.

Shivering in your boots?

The Swiss tell us more about the Swiss than anyone else after this ban on minarets. Shameful.

The KPK Camp

2009-11-28T23:41:00.001-05:00

Simon Pitchforth's night out at the KPK.

Blog Post Drought - Or - Miscellanea - Or - It Never Rains but it Pours

2009-11-28T17:00:00.020-05:00

One of the first rules I had when I started blogging was not to write about blogging.

Nevertheless I have been on a posting hiatus of sorts, so I thought I'd jot down some things that have been swirling around my mind recently.

~~~

I joined a gym recently. First time ever. It's a bizarre place - very little interaction between members. I also realised how unfit I am (I hadn't exercised since I came to New York).

~~~

In a previous post I linked to Project Euler - a site which has maths problems which you try to solve with the aid of your computer and some cunning.

The way I tried solving the few problems I have tackled successfully was to write down the problem in Erlang (my programming language of choice) and go from there.

That only gets you so far, to solve any of the later problems you really need to know about what makes numbers tick (the problems are number theory flavoured).

Working on these problems is a bit like going to the gym for the first time in a long time - I am sure I can improve if I just devote a little more time and energy to it.

~~~

I heard on the Beeb today that an Indonesian minister says that TV's immorality is the root cause of Indonesia's recent spate of natural disasters. It was at the end of the bulletin - sounded like it was in there just to lighten things up a little.

As Ms. Delvi Wahyuni pointed out to me when we hung out a few weeks ago, morality /is/ the root cause of the misery inflicted on people in earthquakes or tsunamis or whatnot. It's the bloody immoral politicians that pocket the aid and took bribes to allow multi-story tall buildings to be built in Padang.

Are these politicians cynical or just completely and utterly idiotic to blame tsunamis on women wearing trousers while they're directly involved in leeching the resources from society that would deal with these catastrophes?

~~~

I was listening to a documentary about employee owned companies last night.

It's a very interesting way of running a company. Management science does what it always does and argues for the general status quo - i.e. that companies owned by a very small cabal will be more efficient operations.

I am not so sure. Sure the management need to be highly incentivised, as they have the most direct control over the company - but I think underlings have been underestimated.

I would love to read some studies on these companies.

~~~

Ireland got knocked out of the World Cup by France a week or two ago. The winning goal was set up by a blatant hand ball.

Cheating has become such an integral part of football nowadays - and yet because it's been slowly seeping into the game everyone seems to accept it nowadays. It reminds me of the widespread use of steroids in American sport - everyone knows it's happening but mostly people turn a blind eye.

In the same week, police uncovered a massive match fixing scandal across Europe.

Video technology would take away a lot of the ambiguity surrounding match turning events. It's inevitable - the game's only getting faster and harder for refs to keep up with.

~~~

Indonesia has had its own Watergate unfold over the last few months (that is if Watergate involved hundreds of millions of dollars of fraud, blow jobs, assassinations, geckos and crocodiles - I hope we get to see the movie soon!!).

I remember in my first few days in Indonesia, when I tried to comprehend the depth of Indonesian corruption, I was saying to myself - "so what does it mean when literally every policeman, judge, official and politician can be bribed?" - and then having a fleeting feeling of looking into an abyss.

Everyone knows that the justice system ( the "strongest pillar of government" as they say in the US) is completely and utterly broken.

The surprise was seeing the corruption commission fighting to rescue several of its leaders from being framed and inevitable jail time - they somehow managed to record 4 hours of conspiratorial meetings between higher ups in the attorney general's office, the police and several others.

All in all one of the most positive episodes in recent Indonesian current affairs. Civil society in Indonesia is finding its voice.

Now if we could only have a few more of these scandals - this time having president SBY front and centre maybe? Hint hint nudge nudge.

~~~

I've earned almost 100% returns on my investments this year - mainly from emerging markets.

The iShares emerging markets index dropped by 4% since Thursday though, because Dubai looks like it might go under.

I don't see Dubai's demise pulling Brazil, Russia, China or Korea down with it. Although stranger things have happened I suppose - like er the credit crunch ; )

Is it just me, or do I sense a little schadenfreude in Dubai's recent unease?

Movember

2009-11-22T18:50:00.004-05:00

I'm growing a moustache cos I am passionate about facial hair and er testicles everywhere.

Donate to help the fight against testicular and prostrate cancer here: http://www.movember.com/m/290696

The Art of Quitting

2009-11-22T17:30:00.000-05:00

Fantastic post from Parvita.