Gerakan Bawah Tanah - Mr. GBT

I love coffee. Black coffee without sugar. The good thing is that Bandung is a heaven for coffee lovers. There are a lot of coffee shops with local coffee beans. These days, I love coffee from Flores. But the thing is ... I cannot make good coffee myself. Ugh. Every time I make one, it's too dark (bitter) or too soft. I don't have a coffee machine, although I have aero press and V 60 kits. I love coffee made manually. If the coffee is made by machine, that it is actually made by somebody else (or something to be exact). Back to the original topic, making good coffee. I was told that the important aspect of making coffee is the water (the exact temperature and stuff). Or, the way to make the coffee (brew, filter, etc.). But, I just cannot make good coffee. I think it has something to do with my hands ... ha ha ha. They are too cold. ha ha ha. Anyway, let me enjoy this (bad) coffee. Made it myself. Good morning ...

While updating this blog, I got notification that I should try to use AdSense. Ok, I said. Let's give it a try. It, then, gave me a form to register. I filled the form and waited for the confirmation email. Email came in and said that my request was rejected. Oh well. The thing that I don't understand is that it seems Google AdSense thought that this is a new blog. Need more content, it said. Whoa. Seriously? I guess I have to try again next time (don't know when).

Last night, I was in a brand new coffee shop. This is just one of the newest coffee shops in Bandung. I can safely say that every month there is a new one in Bandung. (I could stretch it to every week.) Bandung is a coffee shop city. Last night was the second time I went to this coffee shop. The first one, I went there a few days ago. It was weekday and not many people were there. I ordered a local coffee, Flores. It was great. In fact, it was perfect. Last night was different. It was Saturday night and it was packed with young people. I guess they found out that this is the place to be for this particular time. So everybody and their friends were there. (This is incorrect though. Neighboring coffee shops were also packed!) Food was a little late. They ran out of the Flores coffee. Ugh. So, I ordered whatever they have at that time. It came late. Yes, this is the down side of being popular. Fortunately, the coffee was good! So, it canceled whatever un-coordination that happen...

I've been crossing the midnight too many times. Woke up before midnight and could not sleep afterwards. For many, this is requires special effort. For me, it's just the norm. So, this time it feels the same. Going to a brand new day. Yes, this time there is a bonus; it is a new year too. So, happy new year. It's dawn ...

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...

Looking at the statistics of this blog, I realized that I am missing one of my targets. I wanted to write more for this blog, but in the end I have too many things to do so that I've been neglecting this blog. I did write many things but they are in my wordpress blog. Next year, which is starting tomorrow - ha ha ha, must be better. I want to write more. I want to re-design the blog. I want ... Well, I guess too much want is not good. I'll stick with simpler target; next year write more than this year.

There have been dreadful events lately. People are being killed for no apparent reasons. And, the fingers are pointed to Muslims (as the persons) and Islam (as the religion). All Muslims must be responsible for these actions. Since no Muslims are voicing their disapproval, then Muslims are supporting those actions. That's the message that I read in many news forums. Over and over again. And here I am. A Muslim. Confused. In my mind there is a clear message. No decent human would approve terrible actions done by those people. Note that I use the term "human" because it has nothing to do with religion, race, or whatever. We, human. All of us. (I always think about "human vs. nature" or "human vs. robots".) This (the disapproval) is so obvious to me that I think I (or Muslims) don't need to say it explicitly. It's as true as motherhood. Unfortunately, in this information age, people are too lazy to seek, read, think, and understand this...

Technology does help me to be more healthy. At least that's what I believe. For the last month, I've been wearing Mi (Fitness) Band. It's a bracelet that keeps track you movement. It records the number of steps you have done at a particular time of the day. It can also record the number of hours you are sleeping. But, I am mainly focus on the number of steps (and the associated kilo meters I have walked). I can synchronize the data with my iPhone. Here's an example of the result. I can set a goal in terms of the number of steps per day. I set it at 8000 steps. Usually, I couldn't make it. Ha ha ha. I usually go from my car to my office, which is probably only 500 meters from the parking spot. That's not enough to achieve 8000 steps. Sometimes, I purposely park my car further so I have to force myself to walk more. I also use Nike+ to track myself when I walk. But, Nike+ requires GPS and that sucks my battery really fast. So, I use Nike+ when I know t...

Ok, so I failed to update this blog regularly. My excuse is still the same, busy. No, I am not joing. I am super busy. I thought, when you're ageing, you're supposed to be winding down. I believed in that. But, again, I was wrong. Now, I am busier than ever. Yeah, I know, I choose to be busy. It is my fault. I am not supposed to complain and I am not. This is just to let you know what's happening in my life. These days, I am doing lots of things and wearing various hats. I am still a lecturer at the university (Institut Teknologi Bandung), still running business, and still contributing to society through various organizations. I cannot document all of the things I do, but trust me, there are a lot of them. ... and now ... back to my busy life ... (winding me up, just like Alan Parsons' song)

I guess nobody is listening at Google. Let me say it again. Gplus (g+) is not popular in Indonesia because it is VERY SLOW to open the page. That's the first problem. It takes me a while to open and interact with my gplus page. This is Indonesia. You have to come down here to understand it. (Google reps are in Singapore and only occasionally come to Indonesia. You wouldn't know the reality.) Second, it is difficult to interact in gplus. There is no notification and threads about the interaction. For example, if somebody comments in my post, I wouldn't know. I know there is a notification feature, but it is not as visible as Facebook, for example. I have more than 9000 followers in g+ and 5000 in Facebook, but there are MORE interactions in Facebook than in g+. In fact, there is close to zero interaction in my g+. Are you listening Google?

Want to know something hot in the Indonesia's start-up domain? It's Go-Jek . It's the Uber of Indonesia. What is Go-Jek ? It's an application to search for " ojek ". Ojek is a motorcycle transportation for public done by individuals. Or a motorcycle taxi. It's an Indonesian - or, I should say, Asian - thing. Many places in Indonesia are easier reached by motorcycle; streets are narrow. Motorcycles are much cheaper compared to cars. Everybody owns motorcycle here. And, if there are traffic jams, ojek is your best friend. It can get you there faster. Ojek is not regulated in Indonesia. Everybody can become an ojek operator (driver), while if you run a business using cars you have to get a license. It's a grey area. In any case, if think Uber can be illegal in Indonesia. Ojek is perfectly legal. You can also transport goods using ojek. It's a threat to courier business. By the way, this is yet another reason why you should be in Indonesia. T...

If you want to know, gemstone currently is very popular in Indonesia. I repeat, VERY POPULAR . There, I shouted. At least, this is true in Bandung. Everywhere you see, there's gemstone. Even on the sidewalk, people just open their own gemstone "store" or "boot". ("Lapak", in Bahasa Indonesia.) I believe, now the gift from Indonesia is "batu akik", the Indonesian's name for gemstone. To be frankly, I have no idea why gemstone is this popular right now. I've seen people wearing rings with gemstone from as far as I can remember. But, those days, they were not this popular. What causes this popularity?

There is a classic reason why I have not updated this blog, busy. Yes, I've been too busy with many things. No, really, I am not trying to make excuses. I am truly, really, busy. Sometimes, I wonder why other people seem to be relaxed. Nothing to do. But, then again I could be wrong. They might be busier than I am. Although, I doubt that. I know that there are people who are as busy as I am, and some are busier, but most people have simple things to do. Being busy is a choice. I cannot blame others but myself for being too busy. So, I guess, I should enjoy being busy. This is a good problem. Meanwhile, I should find time to blog again.