leptospirosis, environment

last Saturday my kids and I went to search for a recreational area last visited by me 25 years ago. we are commoner, so we need to go where commoners go. no Bahamas or the like. so I asked several people the route to the place. to my shocked one man told me that the place was closed due to the contagious of leptospirosis. later I got the information that the place was reopened after the disease was cured.

so we got there (as in picture). however I noticed that the water was not as clear as 25 years ago. there were people having their good time in the water though I was reluctant to let my kids to go into the water. there were plastic containers and other rubbish being dumped all over the place. the coolness was still there but so was the danger.

so once again human being are able to destroy their own planet. due to their inability to keep the world clean, the disease comes and kills. and how on earth human being prefer dirty water compare to clear water to dive in? my kids, who born just 15 years after my first and last visit to the place can no more cool themselves in the cold water. they just only 15 years late to be born.

people, help us all to help us all, including our kids. you don't need a damaged nuclear power plant to spoil the earth. you need just your hand.

Fukushima nuclear power plant leak plugged

I read about engineers at Fukushima nuclear power plant have finally plugged the radioactive leak. in my country, currently there is no such power plant though the is a plan towards building one in a decade or two. I'm in favour for nuclear power plant for one reason - its technology. someone told me that aeroplane is the safest transportation available. but of course if something (fatal) goes wrong, the result would be catastrophic. I believe that nuclear power plant is somehow the same. such advanced technology will certainly spin-off to other field. I hope I can contribute in realising the idea.

in the article, the most interesting paragraph is this:

"In order to stem the leak, Tepco (the Tokyo Electric Power Co) injected 'water glass', or sodium silicate, and another agent into the pit. Desperate engineers had also used sawdust, newspapers and concrete in recent days to try to stop the escaping water".

so the engineers have tried with all sort of method before they were able to conquer the problem. Mahatma Gandhi once said "freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes". I don't know the background from which he delivered such statement. but common human being do make mistake.


I believe by advocating nuclear power won't make me an aristocrat or a technocrat. I'm just a commoner who want to delve into such an advanced technology which until now is evolving in the hand of elites. 


what ever it is, hail to Fukushima's engineers for teaching the world.

freedom

I made a mistake! after I wrote about "freedom is all what the commoners want" yesterday, I was burdened by the meaning of 'freedom'. I believe freedom is the last thing oppressor will give to us. they would bribe us, threat us, demean us etc just to rob the freedom from us. make no mistake.. I'm no politician or aristocrat. I'm a commoner.

I remember lyric from a song called 'Civil War' by Guns N' Roses on freedom. it says "That you can't trust freedom, When it's not in your hands". on this note, Martin Luther King Jr. said "Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed". on the same tune, Ronald Reagan once said

"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same". and so many thoughts  on the meaning and desire for freedom. it is an easy desire, but it is not an easy struggle.


so when does a commoners has his or her freedom given all the oppression. I guess I must turn to a speech by one of opposition figures in my country "they can jailed my body but not my mind".

pretty heavy stuff, eh?

Ivory Coast

I read in www.bbc.co.uk that several generals representing Laurent Gbagbo, the defeated President who didn't want to step down, is currently in surrender talk. I hope that everything will be ok and ended in 'happily ever after'. please give us, the commoner, the life that we want, freedom. we want no more. when two giants collide, the tiny people will eventually suffer. whether the people is on giant A side or giant B side or even just don't bother, they'll suffer.


happily ever after, what say you?

partner, 'Partnering in Design and Construction', Kneeland A Godfrey Jr.

above is a picture of dinosaur sculptured by my son. I bought the kit so that my kids can practice their art skills. by the way, dinosaurs are prehistoric, extinct creatures. we know them only through bones.

I have a partner in a business. I have long suspected that my partner need me only because I have certain qualification so that we can register the business. but our company never carry out any business activity because my partner himself tied to other kind of business. recently he made friend with someone whose wife is going to get that certification. so got I side lined and I was even told that I can leave the company once the company is well registered. my partnership will be replaced by that woman. that partnership is broken now. what I'm afraid most is that a friendship will also be broken soon.

two years ago I read a book entitled 'Partnering in Design and Construction' by Kneeland A Godfrey Jr. it was a good book in about construction. it give a new meaning in working through people in construction industry. once (while I'm working in Project Management Organisation), I talked about this idea to my MD when he kept on talking about the need to get tough in construction industry. he replied "ok, you try first. I want to see it happen". of course I not dare to practice it. to practice the partnership I need to revise the working frame work within the company and may be also need to break certain clause in the existing Condition of Contract.

so is it safe for me to say that partnership in its pure definition is like a dinosaur. you can see and touch its teeth and bones but you will never see, touch, smell and feel its body and soul. we can only imagine to have all that only in movies.

lesson: how to get a good partner in business?

belief, 'The Fearless Executive - Finding the Courage to trust Your Talents and Be the Leader You Are Meant to Be', Alan Downs

last Saturday my family & I went to this nice park by a river. We brought two bicycles along so that my kids can ride and have fun. it was raining before we arrived so the condition is fresh. while on the way to go home, I noticed the lamp post in the picture. the park was opened to public about 4 or 5 years ago. so I suspect that the lamp post has been there ever since, giving its service.

I left my jobs because of belief (the other word for principle). not religious belief, but professional belief. some says I'm "stupid", "wait for your turn", "don't expect perfection" etc but for me it was a plain principle. if I believe the situation is not conform to my system of belief, which I'm pretty sure right, than what else. 

last year I read a book entitled 'The Fearless Executive - Finding the Courage to Trust Your Talents and Be the Leader You Are Meant to Be'. the author wrote that he was a highly successful HR manager but he quit his job because of something about principle. but he advised other people not to follow his step. however at that point of time, I found my self done the same thing that Alan Downs advised not to do.

in one incident or example about principle, I was accused of breaking the team spirit only because I'm promoting (actually urging) a system in which every unit in the organisation need to play their part 'actively'! (later I was actually forced the idea to go on unilaterally without the consent of the organisation. why should I stopped if the idea is right?)

may be the system of belief is not as important? or may be only a 'selective' system of belief is important?

to believe or not to believe. it's your choice.

Japanese

yesterday I saw in the news that the Japanese government has launched a massive deployment of personnel in finding victims of tsunami. suddenly I remember that more than 20 years ago I was taught Japanese language by two Japanese teachers. I couldn't remember their names but I really wonder their whereabout.

they were very dedicated teachers in teaching Japanese to us. but it were us that, at that time, never realised the importance of learning new language. I was once expelled from the class for making noise! I learnt the language for 4 and a half years but it was a missed opportunity. The teachers and the Japanese government are, as far as I concerned, were very keen to get us to learn Japanese. I remember that there was a language lab in the school which was, someone told me, donated by Japanese government. we were also shown animated movies in Japanese (at that time Japanese animated movie was not as popular as it is now) and then we got a crew of Japanese television visited us and taking picture while we were learning. some of my friends who were good in the language were even invited to the Japanese embassy.

I hope that my Japanese teachers are in good health. and I want to tell them that "arigato, sensei" for teaching me the knowledge. I never had the opportunity to say that during that time.