Gerakan Bawah Tanah - Mr. GBT

This is my last post of the 2016. As if I write often to this blog. Ha ha ha. It has been a while since I posted in this blog. I just hope I can post more in 2017. At least more than 2016.

For the last two or three months, I've finished reading three books. That's not a big achievement for most of you. For me, it is. My reading speed has been degrading for the last few years. I blame it on my reading glasses. (I used to read without glasses.) Another reason for the slowing down is that I read too many social media, Facebook specifically. Now, I am reducing my activity on it. (This is a lie. ha ha ha.) I just skip reading negative postings on it. Thus, I have more time for reading books. I hope I can keep up with this trend. Next book, please.

Many people thought that I got off easy. That's just nothing farther from the truth. I had to overcome too many things. Scarred in the process, too. But, I choose not to show them all. Thus, people think that everything was easy. Many people are afraid of facing the hurdles. They choose to run away from them. Maybe that is easier. I don't know. Maybe I am wrong, as others are wrong about me. Life is not easy. Enjoy the ride ...

The drawback of social media is that now you'll find a lot of experts in everything. They read one book - no, one post - and then they become an expert. Ouch. I know I am no expert in everything. Not even trying to be one. I am just a simple ordinary man. That's all. (This is actually a lie. I am not *simple*. ha ha ha. But, that's another story.)

Pusing juga kalau punya singkatan yang sekarang digunakan untuk singkatan lain yang konotasinya negatif. Saya berbicara tentang "GBT", yang jadi nama blog ini. Selain nama blog ini, saya juga menggunakan GBT sebagai "Mr. GBT" dalam proyek musik yang saya lakukan. GBT berasal dari singkatan "Gerakan Bawah Tanah". Kalau diterjemahkan ke dalam bahasa Inggris adalah "underground movement". Serem dengernya ya. Cerita dari nama ini cukup panjang. Lain kalai ceritanya. Yang ingin saya angkat adalah penggunaan singkatan "GBT" yang konotasinya negatif dalam "LGBT". Saat ini LGBT adalah singkat untuk "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender". Waaa. Jauh berbeda dengan singkatan yang saya gunakan. Jadi bagaimana ya? hi hi hi

Reading at several posts in various groups, I got a feeling that some coders think that they are holier than others. They think low of people who can code, especially in code-related projects such as open source projects. Granted that the main attraction of the open source project is the code itself, but don't we need testers, people who write documentations, trainers, public relations, and such? Don't they have important roles in the projects? I've been coding all my life. I love coding. I code for fun. In fact, I coded a few minutes ago before writing this post. (Tomorrow I am presenting my codes in a local CodeMeetUp().) My code is so-so. Being an old coder, I could not keep up with current programming methodologies. But code is code. The principle is still the same. Back to the topic, I don't look down on non-coders even in a code-related project. I know that writing documentation is a pain in the blip and appreciate people who would do it. But, that's just ...

Ever since I was a kid, I always knew that I am different. For example, my taste of music would be different with my peers. When my friends were into pop or even soft jazz, I was into progressive rock early on - like in my junior high school. I learned English when I was still in elementary school. I listened to music abroad through short wave radio. I was reading many things when my peers were doing other things. Further journeys in my life also make me different. No, I was not a loner. I had and have many friends. Since I know that I am different, I can appreciate people who are different. So many of my friends are outcast. I am befriend with people who are weird and have no friends. I can appreciate their weirdness. I tend not to criticize others and at the same time I don't want to be like others. This has consequences. I tend to be anti-mainstream. When most people do one thing, I do other things. When people write to get popularity, I write for myself. Being different...