congratulation Mr. President

Will he bring changes to the United States? There are too many expectations on this man, will he be able to fulfil them? We'll see...

chop stick warning!

I got this e-mail yesterday from a friend, which really made me think twice before using a disposable chopstick. This article is in Indonesian:

Dalam suatu kampanye kesehatan di An Ning, Profesor Chew mengingatkan masyarakat untuk tidak menggunakan sumpit sekali pakai, mengingat sebagian besar sumpit sekali pakai dibuat dan diimpor dari China. Sebelum diproduksi, bahan dasarnya (kayu) telah tumbuh bersama kuman yang mengubah warna bahan (akibat jamur). Pada proses awalnya, bahan diberi cairan kimia untuk mengawetkannya. Setelah itu dicuci dengan pemutih (yang dipercaya ribuan kali di atas standar). Dan apa yang terjadi? Bahan-bahan kimia ini dapat menyebabkan kanker, karsinogen. Profesor Chew tidak lagi menggunakan sumpit sekali pakai sejak ia datang ke sebuah pabrik pembuatan sumpit sekali pakai saat 5 tahun yang lalu. Agar tidak lupa, ia membawa sumpit sendiri di tasnya yang bisa dipakai berulang-ulang. Untuk lebih jelasnya coba kita lihat bagaimana cara sumpit tersebut dibuat.

1. Dipotong dari pohon bambu

2. Diproduksi oleh industri rumah tangga (contoh gambar dari Vietnam Tengah)

3. Di “putihkan” dengan menggunakan sulfur dan hidrogen peroxida (tanpa disinfektan)

4. Proses pengeringan seadanya

5. Di kemas seadanya juga untuk di export ke luar negeri

6. Pengiriman ke luar negeri menggunakan kapal laut (terlalu mahal jika menggunakan pesawat) Dibutuhkan waktu yang cukup lama, contohnya 1 bulan dari Vietnam ke Taiwan . Sementara itu, sumpit yang dikemas dengan seadanya akan sangat besar sekali kemungkinan untuk terkontaminasi oleh kotoran/sarang tikus dan kecoa.

7. Proses pengemasan (tanpa disinfektan)

Contoh kasus, untuk setiap penerimaan kargo sumpit di taiwan , akan langsung di distribusikan ke industri rumahan yang akan mengerjakan pengemasannya, dan tanpa proses disinfektan (sterilisasi) akan langsung dikirim ke restoran-restoran sebagai titik akhir distribusi.

8. Dan langsung masuk ke mulut Anda

9. Tahukah Anda, bahwa ada ribuan bahkan jutaan monyet yang menetap di dalam sumpit ?

10. Sudah kelihatan belum monyet-monyet tersebut ?

11. Inilah wajah monyet-monyet tersebut. Semua sisa cairan (pemutih, sulfur, hidrogen peroxida, kotoran tikus, kotoran kecoa, telor kecoa, telor ulat dsb) akan terus menetap di lubang-lubang kecil tersebut sampai Anda menggunakannya. Pernahkan Anda mendengar kasus keluarnya ulat dari sumpit saat digunakan di mangkok kuah yang panas ?

Sebuah percobaan yang dilakukan oleh para ahli kesehatan

1. Rendamlah sumpit bambu ini ke dalam air selama 1 minggu, airnya akan menjadi BAU.
   
2. Kacang polong yang ditanam dengan air rendaman ini akan tumbuh lebih lambat, dan berhenti tumbuh ketika mencapai 5-6 cm dan kemudian mati.
   
3. Asap pembakaran dari sumpit ini akan bersifat asam.
   

to live is Christ

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain --Philippians 1: 21

The believer did not always live for Christ. He began to do so when God the Holy Spirit convinced him of sin, and when by grace he was brought to see the dying Savior making a propitiation for his guilt. From the moment of the new and celestial birth, the believer begins to live for Christ. Jesus is to believers the "one pearl of great price" (Matt. 13:46), for whom we are willing to part with all that we have. He has so completely won our love that it beats alone for Him. To His glory we would live and in defense of His Gospel we would die. He is the pattern of our life and the model after which we would sculpture our character. Paul's words mean more than most men think. Many would say that Paul's words imply that the aim and end of his life was Christ, but rather, his life itself was Jesus! In the words of an ancient saint, he did "eat and drink and sleep eternal life." Jesus was his very breath, the soul of his soul, the heart of his heart, the life of his life. Can you say, as a professing Christian, that you live up to this ideal? Can you honestly say that for you "to live is Christ"? Are you doing your work for Christ, or are you working toward self-aggrandizement and for family advantage? Do you ask, "Is that a base reason?" For the Christian it is. He professes to live for Christ. How can he live for another purpose without comitting spiritual adultery? Many carry out this principle in some measure, but who would dare to say that he has lived wholly for Christ as the apostle did? Yet this alone is the true life of a Christian -- its source, its sustenance, its fashion, its end. It is all gathered up in one word:

Jesus. Lord, accept me. I present myself praying to live only in You and for You. Let me be as the bullock that stands between the plough and the altar. Let my motto be "Ready for work or for sacrifice." -- let this be our prayer

getting ready for my last semester, yay!

So in 9 days, my last semester in NUS will start. The feelings? Excited, nervous, tired and bored, sad that the a-supposedly-one-month-holiday will soon come to an end, and an enthusiasm to see the fruit of what I have been through in the last 3.5 years. I am very thankful for my result in the previous semester. My CAP stays the same (yay!), and only 0.01 below my biggest "rival" LoL. I got A for EE2009, I was really surprised, I think that module is the thoughest that I had last semester because of all the maths and the most-malevolent Fourier series (I have never mastered all Fourier related stuffs from my first encounter with it in MA1505). I got B+ for the other two modules, not really surprising because in one of that module, I didn't really do well in the final exam, and for the other one, I didn't really do well in the CAs. But, I'm thankful and grateful for all the guidance that God has given me last semester. Although I missed the first month of school because of delayed return from my Student Exchange Programme (SEP), I still managed to cope with everything well.

Self portrait with a "victory" thumb hahahaha

Okay, so for this semester, I'm planning to take 3 modules (plus my ongoing FYP). I have planned the modules that I will take this semester from my first year. One module that I intended to take (CS4275, Programming Real-time System) is no longer offered anymore! So I need to find another elective from A7 (Embedded System) area. I chose CS4271 (Critical Systems and Their Verification) and I'll be taking this module with a friend of mine in the same major. So that's for the first module. My second module will be CS2301 (Business And Technical Communication), a boring module which made me delaying taking it until my final semester :P. Now, I haven't settled my third one. My first plan was to take a module to complete my minor in Business Administration. I can only take 2 modules from Management area, they are MNO3301 and MNO3303. To my surprised, both of these modules have no exam! It's all CA based with group projects! I need to find someone whom I know who take either one of those modules. I have a number of bad experience having a project with people that I didn't know before. I have asked many of my friends who know anyone majoring in Management, but to no avail. So I'll follow one suggestion from a friend: I'll just bid for it, come to the first class, and if I found that I know no one, I'll just drop it :P and make a "backup" plan. I have 2 modules as a back up, first is CS3241 (Computer Graphic) and the other one is CS4222 (Wireless Computing & Sensor Networks). This is my first time ever in NUS doing this kind of thing..

The e-mail was about a meeting plan between my supervisor and all of her final year students. Wow this will be my first meeting with my supervisor. I was so excited and I need to prepare a lot of stuffs. She was away last semester for a 6-month sabbatical so most of the time, I did the FYP all by myself. I was quite worried about this FYP. I need to hear directly from my supervisor, how does she think about my progress so far, I'm really looking forward for this meeting!

So, I hope in this semester, God will always guide me as he has done so in the past 7 semesters. Yeah, and I need to be focused this semester. Here I come, my last semester in NUS~~!

what's your childhood dream?

Recently, I finished reading one book by Randy Pausch. You can look more about him here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randy_Pausch. So, the title of the book is “The Last Lecture.” I was introduced to this man by my friend. I watched his last lecture in YouTube. It’s really his last lecture, literally the last lecture ever because he was diagnosed with a cancer which left him with a very short time left to live. I was inspired by one blog post from my friend about this book. The book mainly talked about how to live up again your childhood dreams. Here’s a list of my childhood dreams :P

1. To be a pilot or an astronaut.

When I was still in the elementary school, I really like to play the role as a pilot on my bed, with all the pillows and bolsters. It’s like a “flight simulation” hahahaha, simulating all the “commands” that the pilot will give to the Air Traffic Control (ATC) and to his co-pilot. Yeah, I just want to fly something, and perhaps go to the outer space. I thought that will be very cool!

2. To be a world renowned archeologist and discover an ancient ruin from an unknown civilization.

I was so fascinated with history (and still do, I think there are many reasons why people should study history), especially those related with ancient civilization like Mycenaean, Egyptian, and Babylonian civilization. Maybe this dream is also inspired by “Indiana Jones” LoL.

3. I want to discover something!

The point is, I want my name listed in one of the patent list as a discoverer of “something”:P. Sounds really funny huh? I once had a small notebook. Do you know what’s in it? Sketches of weird “tools” that I have “invented.” What I can remember so far is this tool: a machine that can iron all the clothes and fold them automatically. In fact this machine do exist, but at the time I was “inspired” to “invent” it (I think I was still a 5^th grader at that time), my family didn’t have it, and I never see such a machine.

4. Going in a trip around the world

This dream is mainly driven by my love for history. I really wanted to see all the buildings that I saw inside the encyclopedia that I have at home such as Taj Mahal, Forum Romanum, the Pyramids, etc.

5. To be a renowned mangaka

I like to read comics; I also like to draw my own comics. Yeah but the quality is far than what you can call a comic LoL. I once had this “great plan.” I had prepared a story, not too long. I had prepared all the characters. I have done the “character design.” But in the end I only managed to draw 3 pages of manga hahahaha. What did I do after that? I gave up with that “great plan” and just randomly draw stuffs whenever I get bored :P.

6. Study overseas

I really wanted to continue my study somewhere overseas. At that time, I really wanted to go to the United States. I’ve heard so much from my uncle on how good the education in the States is.

7. Get married, have a family, and live happily ever after

Hahahaha, this one is just like the closing part of many fairy tales, “… and they live happily ever after.” Yeah, believe it or not, that’s one of my childhood dreams as well :P.

How many have I achieved? Only 1! I managed to continue my study overseas! Yeah, although it’s not in the States, but I’m really thankful that I can study in Singapore. I won’t be able to be a pilot or astronaut, neither an archeologist. The field of study I am going through right now is totally far away from being a pilot, astronaut, or archeologist. But who knows, maybe I can be a “part-time” astronaut, being sent to the outer once to do some research on something. Or perhaps apply what I’ve learnt in the world of computer engineering to help archeologists? We’ll see.

I’ve seen many places in the world, but yeah still far from “around the world.” Maybe I could achieve this dream someday. To be a renowned mangaka? Now, I thought as this only as my hobby. I still like to draw in my free time. Get married, have a family, and live happily ever after? Yeah I'm still 21 years old, still have a lot to learn, and a long way to go~~

So what are your childhood dreams?

my new year's resolution

Not in the order of priority :P

1. Finding the right path for me to go after graduation.

Whether it’s working with industry and then continues pursuing PhD degree or giving my life fully for God’s work. I’m still praying for both of them. I pray that God give me a clear vision for my life.

2. Listen more, and think before you talk!

I’ve tried to do this from this year. Sometimes my “pleasure of talking” disrupts this commitment. But I won’t give up. My goal: be a good listener, able to speak out my feeling and discontents, and know when to talk and when to keep my mouth shut! To listen more also means to have a better self control of one self. Yeah, I need to improve on self control

3. Finish reading the whole Bible

Actually, I have already taken this resolution in the year 2006, but sadly I couldn’t complete it. But now, it should be different. In one year, I need to finish reading the whole Bible. I’ll use this website as a guide: www.oneyearbibleonline.com.

4. Finish my Final Year Project and graduate!

I’m really bored with my FYP now, so monotone ><. But still, I need to complete it. "Lord give me the strength to finish what I have started and give my best for this FYP." Lately, I felt somehow I was so lazy. I need to fight against this laziness. Jiayou to myself:P

5. Read, not only buy!

I have quite a number of books which I bought but I haven’t read :P. But at least now I can finish one book in more or less one month. But books are stacking in my room, I can say that 40% of them still left unread L

6. Be a witness of Christ to my family

My dad attended church service several times. But I’m not really that sure whether or not he has really understood the Gospel. I never talk to him about this kind of think. In fact, I hardly talk to my father. But no, I can’t stay on like this. I want to share my conviction to him as well. He’s already 60 years old now, who knows how long the remaining time that he has with us here. I don’t want to regret anything. I’ve praying for him for some times now, and will keep praying for him. Not only to my father, but also to my younger siblings…

7. Get a cholesterol test, eat healthy foods, live a healthy life

The last time I got a cholesterol test was three and a half years ago. I didn’t really care much about my cholesterol because I think “thin people should be free from cholesterol” but in fact not. I also need to do more sports, most of my time this year was spent in front of the computer :P

first sermon this year

This morning I went for a New Year’s service in my church. It was a relay from the service led by Rev. Dr. Stephen Tong from Messiah Cathedral, Jakarta. The service started at 8am WIB or 9am SGT. I managed to wake up early today, but a bit sleepy since I arrived back at 2am last night after a new year’s countdown celebration and dinner in Effendi’s place. I would like to share some points which is mentioned by Rev. Tong during the service this morning.

Rev. Tong started the service quoting one of the parables that Jesus mentioned in the Bible. It was from the Gospel of Luke 13: 6-9:

And he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. And he said to the vinedresser, 'Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?' And he answered him, 'Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.'"

Rev. Tong relates this parable of a barren fig tree with Christians. The ground resembles all the blessings and talents that God has given to all of us. Many different interpretations exist for this parable. The Reformation Study Bible that I use, the note for this passage is like this: “A vineyard was fertile soil for a fig tree and ‘three years’ points to an established tree. It was unlikely that it would ever bear fruit, but it was given one more chance. That God does not punish sinners immediately does not mean that He approves of their sin. Rather, His patience shows He is merciful and they should repent while there is time.” A different interpretation that Rev. Tong used in his sermon was maybe because he wanted to relate it to the concept of God’s sovereignty and justice.

Rev. Tong explained that to every human that God has created, God has granted them with different talents. Some of us are given a lot of talents, but some of us maybe only have a few of them. Why? Does this means that God is unjust to His creations? No! The concept of justice that we as human have is totally different. God in His own sovereignty has the right as a Creator to create us according to His will. Rev. Tong gave one analogy related to this. He said, aluminum can be casted into a pot and something else (I forgot what is this something, but definitely something more expensive than a pot. I will just put an airplane here, as it doesn’t really change the meaning). Clearly, an airplane has a much higher value than a pot, but what can the aluminum do? One creator has decided to make the aluminum into a pot, and another one into an airplane. The creator has a so called “his own sovereignty” to decide how he wants to shape the aluminum.

But again, every of us will have the same responsibilities related to the talents that we got from God. As Jesus mentioned in another parable about talents from Matthew 25:14-30, all of those servants that had received the talents from their master should work on the talents they got with a full responsibility. Rev. Tong reminded us that those who had received more talents, more will be demanded from them; and those who had received fewer talents, less will be demanded from them. Have you work on your talents with full responsibility, or do you act like the servant with just one talent which did nothing with the talent he had received? I kept pondering upon this question, and tried to relate it with my own conditions.

Rev. Tong also quoted something from the “Analects” (论语) from Confucius. Confucius mentioned about four qualities that differ a “gentleman” from a “little man.” Those four points are: prudence, fortitude, sense of justice, and self-control. A gentleman must have all of these four qualities, and a little man lack one or more from these four qualities.

I didn’t take any note during the sermon; all that I wrote here is based on my memories. Yeah, I think I should start taking notes during every sermon that I attended so I can re-read them and reflect on them one more time. So, from today’s sermon, the most important message that I think Rev. Tong wanted to deliver is that we should use this new year wisely, to really work on those talents that God has given us with a full responsibility. What are your talents? Have you work on them responsibly? Or do you prefer to act like the servant that received only one talent? Have you thanked God for all things that God has given to you, although they seem to be less than others had received?

happy new year 2009

wishing everyone a...

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009!!

quoting from a friend: "more wisdom, more joy, more faith, more hope, more love!"