Rudi, Trash Picker

This is my first profile feature of people on the street in Indonesia. I am more interested in learning how the poor live and lead their lives. Occasionally, I may interview other types of people, you be the judge. It is presented in Indonesian and English.

Rudi, Pemulung (31 tahun)
Rudi, Trash Picker (31 years old)


1. Darimana asalnya? Desa Kutaraja, Kuningan (Jawa Barat)
1. Where are you from? Kutaraja Village, Kuningan (West Java).


2. Sudah berkeluarga? Belum. Ibu masih hidup di desa.
2. Do you have a family? No. My Mom is still alive in the village.


3. Sudah berapa lama tinggal di Jakarta? 2-3 tahun; lupa persisnya.
3. How long have you been living in Jakarta? 2-3 years; I forget exactly.


4. Bekerja apa dulu di Kutaraja? Jadi buruh tani di sawah.
4. What did you do in Kutaraja? I became a daily laborer at the rice field.


5. Kenapa pindah ke Jakarta? Pendapatan saya jadi buruh tani tidak menentu. Jika bagus, bisa 30-40 ribu per hari. Pertama di Jakarta, saya jualan gado-gado di Pasar Rebo dan dapat 150 ribu sebulan. Dapat makan dan penginapan gratis. Saya jadi pemulung sudah 2 tahun.
5. Why did you move to Jakarta? I cannot make a steady living working as a rice field laborer. On a good day, I can make $3-4 per day. In Jakarta, I first worked selling fruit salad in Pasar Rebo and made $15 per month. But I got free food and lodging while working as a fruit salad vendor. I have been a trash picker for the past 2 years.


6. Dijual dimana barang loakannya? Gak tentu. Kalau ada pengepul pakai gerobak, saya jual ke dia. Kalau tidak, dijual ke toko pengepul. Sehari bisa dapat 20-40 ribu per hari.
6. Where do you sell the trash you collect? It depends. If I see a mobile trash collector with a cart, I just sell my trash to him. Or I go to a collecting store. I can make $2-5 per day.


7. Tinggal di mana sekarang? Di Kramat Jati. Saya putar dari Kramat Jati, ke Pondok Gede, Kalimalang, Cawang, terus balik ke Kramat Jati, mengumpulkan sampah dari pagi sampai malam. (Rute jalan kaki melingkar ini sekitar 25 km.)
7. Where do you live now? In Kramat Jati. I circle from Kramat Jati, to Pondok Gede, Kalimalang, Cawang, and heading back to Kramat Jati, collecting trash from morning 'til late night. (The walking route he has is about 25 km.)


8. Ingin melakukan apa 1-2 tahun lagi? Ingin dagang, tapi saya tidak tahu berapa modal untuk jualan rokok.
8. What do you want to do in 1-2 years? Want to be a vendor, but I don't know how much money I need to have to be a cigarette street vendor.


9. Bisa nabung? Bisa pak, sekitar 15 ribu per hari dan uang tabungan saya titipkan ke penjual rokok dekat rumah.
9. Can you save? Yes, about $1.50 per day. I ask a cigarette street vendor I know to keep my saving.


10. Kenapa tidak mau saya potret? Malu. Saya bilang saudara saya di desa saya kerja jadi kuli.
10. Why don't you allow me to take your photo? I am ashamed. I told my relatives I worked as a construction laborer in Jakarta.

1.91 Juta Anak Indonesia Buta Huruf

Kompas 21 November 2011 memuat data statistik 2010 tentang manusia Indonesia yang bisa dianalisa lebih lanjut: 94.76% anak Indonesia pernah mengenyam SD dan sederajat; 67.73% pernah belajar di tingkat SLTP dan sederajat; dan 45.59% di tingkat SLTA dan sederajat.

Ini berarti sebanyak 67.73% - 45.59% = 22.14% bersekolah sampai tingkat SLTP, sementara 27.03% cuma bisa mengenyam sampai tingkat SD. Saya bisa simpulkan 49.17% calon tenaga kerja di Indonesia - paling tidak 2-3 tahun ke depan - akan mempunyai pendidikan tertinggi tingkat SLTP. Mereka inilah yang akan mengisi sektor informal, seperti menjadi penjual kaki lima dan jalanan, buruh bangunan, pemulung, dan pembantu.

Artikel Kompas ini juga menyebutkan 7.09% anak dibawah 15 tahun menderita buta huruf. Mungkin saja 49.17% anak Indonesia yang bersekolah dengan jenjang tertinggi SLTP juga menderita buta huruf, dan jumlah mereka sebanyak 49.17% x 7.09% = 3.49%. Sisa anak buta huruf di bawah umur 15 tahun sebesar 7.09% - 3.49% = 3.60% jadinya datang dari keluarga yang tidak mampu menyekolahkan mereka di tingkat SD.

Menurut saya, 3.49% anak Indonesia berusia di bawah 15 tahun yang menderita buta huruf adalah korban kegagalan sistem pendidikan Indonesia. Karena paling tidak sistem pendidikan tersebut bisa membuat anak Indonesia membaca.

Saya juga berpendapat 3.60% anak Indonesia yang buta huruf dan tidak bersekolah adalah korban kegagalan pemerataan pembangunan Indonesia. Karena pendidikan juga termasuk hak anak Indonesia, selain sandang, pangan, dan papan.

Pertumbuhan penduduk disebutkan sebesar 1.49% dan jumlah penduduk Indonesia tahun 2010 sebesar 234 juta. Jika persentasi pertumbuhan diasumsikan sama 15 tahun terakhir, maka penduduk tahun 2005 sekitar 187 juta. Karena jumlah penduduk tahun 2004 diperkirakan sebesar 214 juta, maka jumlah anak usia 6-15 tahun di tahun 2010 sekitar 27 juta orang.

Jadi ada sekitar 972,000 anak Indonesia berusia 6-15 tahun yang buta huruf dan tidak bersekolah. Juga ada sekitar 942,300 anak Indonesia yang bersekolah di tingkat SD dan SLTP yang masih buta huruf. 1.91 juta anak ini hidup dan tumbuh di tengah kita: 1 per 122 anak Indonesia berusia 6-15 tahun.

Cost of Jakarta Traffic Jam

I use Jagorawi toll highway connecting Jakarta and Ciawi at least once a month to give a teaching workshop in Cianjur. Every time I go back to Jakarta, there is always a huge traffic jam - a few kilometers - where cars line up to wait to pay at the toll booths. This traffic jam is caused by a misplacement of toll booths that actually block the traffic. It is a real example of mismanagement gone horribly wrong.

There are of course daily traffic grinds everywhere in Jakarta during morning and evening rush hours. These gridlocks are quite maddening even to watch and cost big time to Jakartans. How do I estimate the cost of the traffic jam?

It is not difficult to estimate the traffic jam cost. (No need for a Ph.D., LOL!) All I need are a few facts:

(a) End-to-end length of a traffic jam per hour = 3 km. This number comes from an estimated average speed of a car crawling through a traffic jam.

(b) The amount of fuel wasted per hour = 6 liters. This number comes the Consumer Energy Center, California Energy Commission website, which states that "For every two minutes a car is idling, it uses about the same amount of fuel it takes to go about one mile." When the car idles for an hour, then it is equivalent to travel 30 miles (= 48 km). With an average fuel mileage of 8 km/liter, an hour idling will thus consume 6 liters.

Note: Does 6 liters make sense? If a car moves with a speed of 90 km/hour, it will consume about 11.3 liters. The idling thus costs about 50% of the fuel consumption. When a car idles, the only car parts that do not move are the axles that turn the wheels and the drive shaft. The engine is still running though, idling or not. The 50% fuel consumption fraction during idle corresponds to the fuel consumed by the running engine.

(c) The loss of productivity per person per hour = Rp 62,500 (about $7/hour). I get this number by assuming an average salary of Rp 10,000,000/person. A month has on average 20 working days and each lasts 8 hours. Hence, the salaryman costs Rp 62,500 per hour.

Okay, now the traffic jam cost calculation goes like this. Calculate only the cost per hour of moving a 3-km traffic jam filled with cars. Since car-to-car distance is about 10 m, then there are 300 cars in the 3-km traffic jam per lane.

Each car can be assumed to have 2 workers with the mentioned salary. Thus, there are 600 salarymen got stuck and the labour cost is therefore Rp 37,500,000/hour per lane for every 3-km traffic jam.

In addition, the fuel cost is equal to 300 cars x 6 liters/hour = 1800 liters. The cost of premium is Rp 4500/liter, so that the fuel cost for such traffic jam is Rp 8,100,000.

The total cost = labour cost + fuel cost = Rp 45,600,000 per lane for every 3-km traffic jam. For a 1-km traffic jam that lasts for one hour, it therefore costs Rp 15,200,000 per lane. This is the unit traffic jam cost worth remembering!

I estimate Jakarta has about 500 km of main thoroughfares that experience daily traffic jams. Each morning and evening, these traffic jams last 1 hour (in which the speed crawls to 3 km/hour), so each day the traffic jams last for 2 hours. In addition, there are on average 2 lanes for each thoroughfare. Hence each day, the traffic jam cost is

500 km x 2 hours x 2 lanes x Rp 15,200,000/km/hour/lane = Rp 30,400,000,000!

It is a lot of money! It costs abour Rp 30 billion rupiah (with nine zeroes!) per day. In a year, it will cost Rp 11,096,000,000,000 = Rp 11 trillion rupiah (with twelve zeroes!).

Jakartans need to wake up and spend this money somewhere else, such as making more efficient rapid transit system.

Mechanics Problem 2: Friction of Box on an Accelerating Truck

A flatbed truck carries a load on its flat bed as shown in the picture above. The load is tied to the back of the truck cab with a steel cable to prevent it from sliding. Schematically it would look like below.

If we identify all forces acting on the load, then the free body diagram, whose purpose is to show these forces, would look like below.

This problem asks what should be the maximum acceleration of the truck as it accelerates from rest if we want to prevent the load from sliding, given that the load is being held by the friction force μ_s N, where N is the normal force and is equal to the load's weight m g, and the cable tension T.

1. Let us scrutinize this free body diagram. The first question is why the static friction force points to the right. The answer is conservation of momentum. Momentum p is equal to m v, where m is the object's mass and v is its velocity. The initial momentum is zero since it is initially at rest (v = 0). As the truck accelerates, it wants to conserve the zero momentum,

0 = m_truck v_truck + m_load v_load.

Since the truck velocity v_truck points to the right due to the acceleration a to the right (see the above diagram), the load tends to move to the left, i.e., v_load points to the left. Friction opposes the motion, i.e., the velocity; therefore, the friction force points to the right. The cable tension T also points to the right since it serves to prevent the load from sliding.

2. The sliding motion of the load represents a relative motion the load has with respect to the flat bed. The load accelerates with respect to the truck which is also accelerating. We say that the load moves in a noninertial frame. The Newton's second law, F = m a, does not work in a noninertial frame. F = m a has to be anchored in an inertial frame. The inertial frame is obtained when we regard the acceleration of the load is equal to the sum of the acceleration of the sliding motion and the acceleration of the truck,

a_load = a_truck + a_sliding.

Thus, the Newton's second law now reads

T + μ_s m g = m (a_truck + a_sliding).

3. We do not want the load to slide; thus, a_sliding = 0. The maximum acceleration is equal to

a_truck = T/m + μ_s g,

where T is maximum when it is equal to the tensile strength of the steel cable, which is about 400 MPa. For a cable with a cross section area of 0.25 cm², we get a maximum T of 10,000 N. Typical value of static friction coefficient is about 0.5, so that μ_s g = 4.9 m/s². For a 1000 kg load, we get T/m = 10 m/s². Hence, the maximum acceleration for these data is 14.9 m/s². 100 km/h = 27.8 m/s, so 14.9 m/s² is thus quite a high acceleration. But for a really heavy load, say a 10,000 kg load, the cable can now only bear 1 m/s² acceleration and in this case, the friction force becomes a lot more important. As a rule, therefore, the heavier the load is, the more it has to rely on friction to prevent the load from sliding.

Mechanics Problem 1: Pulley System

I want to start a blog series which focuses on applications of mechanics. I have been giving a math-physics workshop to high school teachers in the past two months. It is a problem-driven workshop, where concepts are discussed through problems. I am turning the concept of learning around. Usually, concepts are laid out first - laboriously - and then examples are given.

I find through this workshop that by working out problems my students - the high school teachers - understand the concepts better. I want to share this idea with you. If you find this blog series interesting, give me a shout. Thank you.

The diagram above shows a sytem of two pulleys, which is used to lift block B. The person who uses this pulley system exerts a force P to lift the block B. The two pulleys are connected by the blue cable that runs from A to C to D ... E, F and all the way to G.

Through mechanics analysis, you will find that this pulley system makes lifting B easier. P is only 50% of the weight of B. Directly lifting weight B without pulleys would mean requiring exerting a 100% of the weight B.

Our analysis relies on a formula called Newton's laws of motion, in particular the so-called Newton's second law. It states that an acceleration a of a body is equal to the sum of all forces T acting on the body divided by its mass m. That is, T = m a.

1. Let us apply T = m a to our problem. The blue cable and pulleys are assumed massless and rigid, so that the force P is transferred to the block B without dissipation. The cord that hangs the block B to the lower pulley transfers a force 2P since the cable wraps around the lower pulley and each cable section carries a force P. T = m a for the block B thus gives

2P - mg = m a.

The weight of block B, i.e., m g, is directed downward, while the force 2P is directed upward. This is the reason why they have opposite signs in the previous equation. Thus,

P = m (a + g)/2.

When the block B starts to be lifted, its acceleration a is not zero. But when it moves upward with a constant speed, a = 0. At this situation, we have P = m g/2. This shows that P equals 50% of the B's weight.

2. The pulley system thus provides a mechanical advantage. To lift B, one pulls only 50% of its weight. How is that possible? Is there a catch? The answer is yes. The block B moves 200% slower than it would if it were lifted directly without pulleys. You will spend the same amount of energy to lift the block over a certain distance regardless whether you exert a force 50% of its weight, or a 100%. The energy you spend per second is lower due to the slower upward motion of B, which makes the lifting work easier.

The key to understand this aspect is that the cable portion connected to the force P travels twice as far as the portion connected to the block. That is, x_A = -2x_B, where the negative sign means A and B move in opposite directions. This fact comes straight from the fact that the length of the cable is constant

x_A + 2x_B = constant,

so that by differentiating with time we get their velocity relation,

v_A + 2v_B = 0,

and another differentiation yields their acceleration relation,

a_A + 2a_B = 0.

These kinematic relations are constraints to the motion and arise independently of the dynamics dictated by the Newton's second law.

3. The work done is equal to force times distance travelled. Thus, when the block B moves at a constant speed

Work = P x_A = (m g/2)(2 x_B) = m g x_B.

This shows that the work needed to lift the block B remains the same: m g x_B. The conservation of energy is still obeyed. The beauty of the pulley system, however, is that it makes lifting it easier since per second the force needed is only 50%. The trade off is the distance travelled at A becomes twice as long.

Canadian Cost of Living

There are things I miss from Calgary: the snow-capped Rockies (I really miss backpacking in Kananaskis, Yoho, and Banff hiking trails!), clear water of Bow River and its running/bike paths, and libraries. My son would add Five Guys burgers and Banzai. It is fair to say I feel homesick while already at home now.

But there are things I don't miss as well. Cellphone rates are way too high in Canada. I pay $20/month for my smartphone in Jakarta, and yes, that includes everything you can imagine getting from a smartphone package. I paid $100/month in Calgary for an identical package, not including additional airtime charges.

House heating cost is not cheap in Calgary and Canadian winter is cold and long. It can cost $300/month to heat a house. Utilities - such as electricity, water, garbage removal, and sewage charge - add another $300/month. These costs get reduced when we moved to an apartment though as they got absorbed into a rental fee. In fact, I like the simplicity and frugality of living in a small dwelling space.

Housing cost in Canada is very expensive compared to Indonesia's. Roughly, the ratio of average house price to average salary is twice as high in Canada. We get what we pay. The road and residential infrastructure in Canada is indeed a lot better. The question is simply whether one is willing to pay for it.

The food cost in Canada is a lot more expensive than Indonesia's. It is about 500% more expensive. In my previous blog, I talked about paying $6 lunch for 6 people in Jakarta, while in Calgary I had to pay $10 for lunch. I believe this huge difference comes from stricter food and health regulations, building code regulations, and more expensive labour and transport cost.  And again, the question is simply whether it is too expensive for its benefits. We get what we pay, but in Canada this huge price increase does not translate into varieties of food choices. Indonesia simply has a lot more food choices due to its tropical climate.

If you factor in all these costs, Canadian cost of living is about 4-5 times more expensive than Indonesian. I have been asked before by Indonesians who planned to work overseas and I always advise them to not just care about salary. They have to pay attention to cost as well.

Are costs of living limited only to those I listed already? There are health and risk costs. I used to think that developed countries win hands down here, but there are many health and insurance companies - including Canadian - that operate in Indonesia now. Indonesians pay reasonable insurance rates for health and accident coverages. Health costs due to air pollution are difficult to assess, but Canada is clearly miles ahead here.

Car prices in Indonesia are more expensive than in Canada. Gasoline is, however, subsidized in Indonesia, unless you drive a fancy car that requires a premium gasoline. Roughly, transportation costs are similar, although Canada is better since roads are less polluted and less congested.

Canada though has one clear advantage: very good public school and university system. They are not free though. University tuition fees of reputable Indonesian universities are about a third of those in Canada. The quality, however, can be lower than that.

Bike-to-Work Challenges in Jakarta

Yesterday I decided to bike 14 km to meet a colleague in downtown Jakarta at nine-thirty in the morning. It took me 40 minutes through a huge traffic jam that always occurs every morning along Jakarta's main throroughfares. Had I driven a car, it would have been a lot longer. Biking during Jakarta's mad rush hours is a good alternative: cheap, healthy, and fast.

One big challenge of bike to work in Jakarta, however, is the hot weather. It makes me sweat profusely. My shirt was wet. Luckily, when I arrived at Wisma Mulia, the security staff gave me a run-around to park my folding bike and get a visitor tag; my shirt got dry during this delay. The motorbike and bike parking area is tucked way at the back of the office tower and is not easily found. (Office towers in downtown Jakarta are friendly to cars but not to pedestrians and bikes.)

The sweat issue is what concerns me when I want to bike to meet friends and colleagues. I have to pick what I wear carefully so that the sweat does not produce smell. A synthetic material wicks sweat fast but produces smell, while cotton can reduce smell if not too thick. A blend of the two seems the perfect combination so long as it is not thick. It is a good thing my head is bald; otherwise, my hair would still be wet despite the delay.

Another big challenge is the lung-clogging exhaust fume from cars and motorcycles. This problem worsens during a stand-still traffic jam since heat and fume conspire to choke a cyclist. I have resisted so far to wear a bike mask, but I have been thinking about it more and more since I bike everyday to work.

Yet another challenge is the rain season where roads will be wet and slippery. Not to mention messy and dirty clothing from dirt and muck splashes. My backpack has a rain cover and I have a thin raincoat, but I still have to get mud fenders for my bike. The prospect of mixing sweat, rain, and mud is not as exciting as mixing snow and sweat.

As it turns out, biking in a hot weather is more challenging than in a temperate weather around 0-20 °C. No wonder there are not many people biking unless you are physically fit to deal with the aerobic/agility demands or a daredevil - such as yours truly :-). The challenges of biking in Jakarta can be lessened by having dedicated bike lanes. Bike to work is actually a viable, healthy, and cheap alternative to rapid mass transit to reduce traffic congestion and improve air quality. During morning weekend, biking in Jakarta is very pleasant due to much less exhaust and less congestion. But the Jakarta government has done little to make the bike lane idea a reality.

$6 lunch for 6 people

We went to an ordinary food stall - aka warteg, a shorthand for 'war(ung) teg(al)', which means Tegal food stall, with Tegal being a city in Central Java where a lot of food stall vendors hail from - yesterday for lunch. It cost $6 for 6 of us. We had six full plates with sweet drinks to top them off. Go figure.

The cost boggled my mind. How come it cost only 6 bucks? $6 got me a decent Asian food lunch at the U of Calgary food court ... for one person, and I had tap water to drink. The food are similar in taste and use similar ingredients. Where does the price difference come from? I like to think about these problems. They always intrigue me.

The $1 lunch/person at the warteg could only happen if the vendor's cost of living is low or her sales volume is huge. The latter is not true, so her living cost is low. Where does the low living cost come from? Well, from the low food price to begin with ... and we are in an infinite loop now, trying to unravel it.

But the truth is that IT IS NOT AN INFINITE LOOP. The owner of the food court vendor drives a BMW X3 while the owner of the warteg lives in a small hut and rides a motorcycle. The BMW-riding owner is smarter and wealthier than the warteg owner. The former also has a higher expectation than the latter, and thus demands a higher rate of return from his investment.

My wife and I had thought previously of opening a small fast food place in Calgary, so I am not alien to its costs. A healthy revenue would be at least $12,000/month since the rent and utility would cost at least $2000. Two full-time staff would cost $4,000. It is reasonable to expect at least $4,000 monthly revenue. It is a hard work and actually does not make a lot of money. In fact, the food court vendor has more than 1 food outlet in Calgary.

The high cost of lunch in Calgary comes from high living cost of business and owner. The high standard of building causes the high cost and comes from continuous building code improvements over the years. The high standard of health and food regulations also make operating a food outlet expensive; I only saw an LPG stove and simple food utensils - no stainless steel friers and all - at the warteg. The continuing improvement process causes the living cost high since employees cannot be paid lower than the costs to rent a decent apartment and to buy food.

It is what I call the karma of technology. As technologies improve and get implemented, they create additional costs that banks will provide at additional costs. This increased cost gets rolled in to the next generation. When the current generation fumble and are not successful as the previous, things can get really difficult, which I think underlie the current recession in North America and Europe. Not a bad thought from having a $6 lunch for 6 people!

Tidak Usah

Yang dibilang Buddha itu benar: bahwa hidup ini samsara. Sengsara karena ingin menggapai bulan, padahal bulan tidak pernah peduli. Sengsara karena ingin menyenangkan orang lain dan mengabaikan diri sendiri. Sengsara karena besar pasak dari tiang.

Yang dibilang Muhammad itu benar: bahwa hidup ini perlu ikhlas. Tidak berguna berharap jika diluar kendali. Semua diserahkan dan cukup kerjakan sebaik mungkin. Kerja jangan mencari uang, tapi carilah kepuasan.

Yang dibilang Yesus Kristus itu benar: bahwa hidup ini perlu cinta. Semakin tua semakin sukar berbohong akan cinta. Semua yang berlandaskan cinta akan menyenangkan dan kekal. Apa yang dicinta akan tumbuh dan mencintai balik.

Orang bilang hidup ditata dengan menata hati dulu. Yang benar sebenarnya menata otak dulu. Berpikir sebelum bertindak dan tidak pernah acuh tak acuh. Semua ada sebab akibat.

Lantas kenapa masih ada yang bersilah silang perbedaan agama? Pertengkaran seperti ini sudah bukan jamannya. Bagimu agamamu, bagiku agamaku.

Split Pin v. R-pin

Split pin or R-pin is used to secure the end of a rod or a shaft so that the shaft remains in place. Which pin is more secure? In other words, which pin requires a larger force to remove?

A diagram of split pin (Cotter pin) is shown below. A split pin usually has two flat inner surfaces, so that cross-sectionally the pin would look like a circle. The two flat inner surfaces can be individually bent so that the pin can be locked in place to prevent a shaft from moving axially, as shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 1. Split pin is initially straight, but its two ends are bent to lock the pin in place. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Split_pin.)

The free energy per unit length of a bent rod is EI/2r², where E is Young's modulus, I is moment of inertia of the rod, and r is the radius of curvature of the bent section. The force required to bend the bent rod is equal to the derivative of the free energy with respect to r, yielding EI/r³. Assuming that the length of the bent section is one-fourth of a circle (= π R/2), where R is the rod's radius, and given that I = π R⁴/4, we get the force required equal to π²ER⁵/8r³.

When we bend the rod, it is quite reasonable to assume that the radius of curvature is equal to 10 times the rod's diameter: r = 10R (see Fig. 1). With this assumption, the required force to remove the split pin should be equal to π²ER²/8000. For a steel split pin with a rod radius of 2 mm, the force required is about 986 N. The maximum force a bare hand can deliver is about 100 N, so a tool - wrench, for example - is needed to leverage a bare hand in order to remove a split pin.

While the split pin removal relies on bending the rod, the R-pin relies on combined action of bending and friction, as shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 2. The straight edge of an R-pin is inserted through a hole and the middle curved section will wrap around the rod to secure it. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R-clip.)

To remove an R-pin we have to push away the curved section, which effectively bends the top loop of the R-pin. The radius of curvature for this top loop is clearly several times larger than the rod's radius. The force required would be smaller than π²ER²/8000 and tools are not required since the curved section serves as a lever as well. This is an advantage for the R-pin: a human hand can remove the pin. In addition, the R-pin is reusable while the split pin is not due to fatigue stress.

Friction holds the R-pin in place. The coefficient of friction for steel on steel is quite large, about 0.75. The bending force multiplied by this friction coefficient is required to the force required to release the pin. It is smaller than the bending force for the split pin. To remove the R-pin, however, requires first bending the top loop, followed by the friction force. The friction force is perpendicular to the bending force, so this creates redundancy and can make an R-pin more difficult to remove than a split pin.

The split pin requires a larger force to remove, but it does not have increased redundancy that the R-pin has. A human hand can remove the R-pin, but the split pin requires a tool to remove it. It is a case of a clever engineering design that achieves both safety and ease of use.

Dumb Memorization

I don't know why Indonesian school system is so difficult. Too difficult for its own good, I say. My son complains that his elementary school experience is not fun anymore since moving to Indonesia. He wised up a bit - a sign of adaptation - when he said that he would be more clever than his schoolmates when returning to Canada.

The perverse side of the school system is that once the graduating high school students go to university, the level of difficulty of their education starts to slide downward. This is opposite to what happens in North America where the level of difficulty is almost zero in elementary school and gradually increases to a crushing weight in university.

I was one of Indonesian kids who actually benefited from the Indonesian school system. I was very good in memorization and could cruise through chemistry, geography, or history exams with flying colors. It was great for me, but I realize now that a lot of these memorization drills are really useless. Times changed a lot of things, but not the Indonesian school system, apparently. Who cares if a kid now could memorize the capital of Burkina-Faso when a google search will get that information in 1 second.

The obsession with stressing too much memorization causes much less time spent on learning to think, present ideas coherently, and argue. Students are judged on their memory retention, which will only get worse over time as we age anyway, instead of on their thinking and judgment process. Mathematics becomes arithmetics instead of geometry and pattern recognition. Physics becomes a huge encyclopaedia of formulas instead of wondering about and explaining nature's machinery.

When kids are not trained to think properly, the effect is long lasting. Dumb memorization strategy founded in school does a huge disservice to a nation that really cries to move forward.

Trading Nation

Indonesians are a nation of traders. Everybody is selling something. To make ends meet when salaries are not enough. To help friends who started a trading business. To start a dream of owning a trading company.

Trading activities are everywhere. On the road, you will find street hawkers peddling their fried tofus and bottled water when traffic jams fill highways. During family or friend get-togethers you will be greeted politely by friends and relatives selling from stoves to muslim wears.

One has to be polite to everyone since the opposite could hamper a chance of making that important connection or big sale. One cannot offend other people while at the same time makes a point that her item is better than everyone else's. One has to keep a trade secret tightly while being as open as possible to reveal where she buys her item from. Appearance becomes very important: the more attractive the person is the easier for her to sell her items.

With coastal lines measuring tens of thousands of kilometers, Indonesia is impossible to patrol. There must be a lot of smuggling activities, where goods from China and other countries flood the market freely. However, I think it is futile to try to patrol the coastal lines. It might be more productive to control the market by demanding high quality standard for goods sold and taxing them than to use customs to control the flow of imported goods.

Trading nation seeks a quick return of investment. Money needs to circulate quickly and steadily. I notice business people in Indonesia are not patient to a long investment horizon. They are correct in some respect: if I can make money from trading, why should I bother making a long term investment?

This is not surprising. Indonesia is an archipelago, where each island offers its distinctive products. From candle nuts to rice to oils and minerals. We need each other and from this trading activity comes a healthy profit since its land remains fertile despite increased land and water pollution.

A lot of imported goods flood Indonesian market. It makes manufacturing challenging since many tools have to be imported. Cost to purchase tools is much higher than salary cost. Craftmanship is poor. It is not that craftmanship is poorly appreciated since Bali and Yogyakarta - two artisan cities - are well known for their arts and crafts. But craftmanship is still confined to only arts products.

Bowl

I love my stainless steel bowl. I always carry it when backpacking in the Canadian Rockies. I use it as a plate and a mug – in that order so that often I don't have to wash it after a meal. I use it to eat cereal in the morning and drink water. I use it as a mug for tea when my Japanese ceramics mug seems too small for my thirst. The stainless steel material keeps it sturdy and easy to clean. The bowl and a spork (spoon-fork) are the only kitchen utensils I need.

It seems the bowl has additional use in Indonesia. Food is excellent here and my appetite is even better, so I have to watch out for overeating. This bowl helps me ration what I need to eat. At least, that's the theory. If you are struggling with controlling your weight, you might consider carrying around with you such bowl, so that you always know how much you can only eat.

We live in a small apartment and the kitchen is much smaller than it used to. Reducing the amount of kitchen utensils I use helps reduce the dishwashing load. It helps reduce my domestic water consumption as well. Using fewer utensils helps preserve our environment.

The bowl needs some design improvements. To make it more useful as both plate and mug. To make it easier to grip. To make it more thermally insulating. I am obsessed to make it better. If I can make it better, would you be interested?

Exodus

Every year, a few days before and after the Iedul Fitri holiday, tens of millions of Indonesians travel far and wide in this huge archipelago to meet their parents and relatives. This collective annual pilgrimage is amazing in its scale and speed. 8 millions of Jakartans, for example, leave Jakarta within a week before and after the Iedul Fitri (also called Lebaran in Indonesia) which this year occurs on 30-31 August.

The pull to go home during Lebaran is very strong. It is the only opportunity in a year to meet relatives at the same time. It is in fact a rational decision due to several reasons.

Indonesians do not have a month-long summer holiday. Contrary to what you might think, Indonesians are hard workers. I see myself they have to wake up at 5 in the morning, take sometimes a 2-hour commute to work, spend 9 hours of work, and then take the long commute heading home everyday. They only get a 12-day holiday per year and they often decide to take them during Lebaran.

University students do not have a 4-month long summer holiday either. They get at most a 2-month holiday per year. Since Muslim calendar is lunar, the 2-month holiday often does not coincide with it. Students who are not from Jawa island might as well decide to wait for Lebaran to travel home.

This annual exodus creates a massive traffic jam of tens of kilometers long along the intercity roads and highways in Jawa. Airports are congested as well for people leaving Jawa for other islands - Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Lesser Sunda islands, Papua and other islands numbering in thousands. Train stations are brimming with people to the platform edges as trains are the cheapest means to travel intercity within Jawa.

The logistics associated with this mass exodus must be staggering. Gas stations need to have enough gasoline for 2 weeks for those traveling on road. Hotels are fully booked everywhere, except Jakarta. (Jakarta will in fact be empty during the 2-week time as 50% of its inhabitants are gone that long.)

The 8 millions of Jakartans gone in 2 weeks show how the money circulation in Indonesia is still concentrated in Jakarta. It is a bad policy since Indonesia is as large as the US.

This exodus - or called affectionately "mudik" which literally means going home - is a labour of love. It costs a lot of money to take the trip but Indonesians still do it dutifully every year. They renew their hope for their children and ensure they do not lose contact with their grandparents and relatives.

It is a cultural tradition we inherit and rhapsodize. Right around this time Indonesians - who are extreme foodies - crave for all traditional food we eat along the road trip and back home. Lebaran is euphoric since most Indonesians fast for a month before the holiday. I understand why Indonesians abroad always romanticize the Lebaran food. I understand why Mudik remains a romantic affair we Indonesians would keep doing year after year.

Sogok

Pertama kali menerima sogokan (kickback) bisa terjadi secara tidak sengaja. Tiba-tiba pelaksana proyek meminta nomor rekening anda lewat sms karena dia merasa dibantu. Terus anda mau gimana?

Jika anda tidak mau memberi nomor rekening, rekan anda bisa berujar tidak baik itu, menolak rejeki. Atau dia bisa bilang ini sekedar ucapan terima kasih karena anda sudah sangat membantu dia selama ini. Atau dia bilang tidak usah takut, ini kan wajar. Atau ketiga-tiganya.

Kenapa tidak? Toh proyeknya sudah selesai, pasti anda berpikir demikian. "Jika saya menerima hadiah ini, maka ini tidak berpengaruh buruk kok ke kualitas proyek," pikir anda untuk meluruskan langkah menerima hadiah yang ditawarkan.

Kenapa tidak? Berarti keuntungan pelaksana proyek sangat besar sampai bisa menawarkan memberi hadiah. "Bagi bagi lah, saya kan juga perlu uang," pikir anda sambil mungkin menyitir pikiran Milton Friedman tentang perilaku individu untuk memaksimumkan kegunaan atau melihat kebutuhan sebelum Lebaran.

Kenapa tidak? Sudah waktunya anda menikmati jerih payah kerja. Bos anda baik orangnya tapi kurang memberi gaji. Anda sudah sekolah berlama-lama dan merasa kurang mendapat apresiasi selama ini. Anda melihat teman-teman sekolah sukses dan ingin seperti mereka. Anda pasti juga berpikir: enak juga dapat uang tanpa kerja seperti ini.

Kenapa tidak? Anda berpikir rekan anda ini sudah menjadi teman baik. Tawaran dia sekedar datang dari teman untuk teman. Teman itu berbagi keuntungan jika dapat. Teman semestinya berbaik hati dan tawaran ini akan merekatkan pertemanan kita.

Yang hanya membuat anda untuk bilang "Tidak" ke rekan anda adalah keinginan untuk merdeka. Merdeka untuk menilai pekerjaan dia. Merdeka untuk tetap tidak dipengaruhi oleh siapa pun dalam membuat keputusan. Tinggal sekarang berapa harga yang anda pasang untuk kemerdekaan ini. Dan harga anda adalah uang sogokan yang anda dapat pertama kali.

Teaching

By this time I would usually be busy preparing for Fall term courses. Creating a course outline. Revisiting my lecture notes. Meeting with a lab technician. Determining the teaching assistants assigned for my courses.

But I am not doing that this year. I am preparing instead for a workshop to be constructed. Determining a new pay structure. Reviewing draft agreements. Calculating manufacturing costs.

My work has changed and I find both offer meaningful work. Both are sufficiently complex to not bore me. But I have to say that industry job offers a faster reward and punishment feedback, which is thus more exciting.

Teaching a course at a school or university can be repetitive. If the course is right up my alley, then I am excited the first two years I teach it. I cannot hide this enthusiasm from my students and they see it. When I teach it the third time, I am very familiar with it and would be able to teach it well. Beyond the fourth time I teach it, it usually becomes less interesting since it will have become a chore.

I thus marvel at a high school teacher who can have a stamina to teach the same course over many years. He can perfect his course material and delivery style, but both aspects have limits.

I miss teaching though and starting next month I will be volunteering to train math and physics high school teachers. It gives me time to teach and opportunity to give back to people who have been very generous to me.

I have been dreaming of blending industry job and teaching job for a while. Maybe this opportunity can give me a fertile ground to make it happen.

Car

Cars sold in Indonesia are very expensive. It costs about 50% of the price of a nice house. (In Canada, a car costs about 7% of a nice house.) When I have engine oil changed yesterday, I learned a new Isuzu Panther costs about Rp 270 million. That's almost USD 32,000! With that money one could get a nicer VW Jetta with a turbo diesel engine.

Prices of same cars in Indonesia and Canada are identical, yet the cost of living is a lot cheaper in Indonesia. I can only conclude that the government of Indonesia taxes too much for each imported car and motorcyclists are the smart people on the road. (Where does that tax money go, by the way?)

We use a beat-up 1999 Isuzu Panther. It has a great fuel economy (13 km for 1 liter). It is great during traffic jam since nicer cars don't have the guts to tangle and lock horns against it. Toyota cars, in comparison, have a really bad fuel economy (8 km for 1 liter). I don't know why Indonesians still buy Toyota despite this poor fuel economy. I'd rather buy a Hyundai since it is cheaper and has a better fuel economy.

Buying a new car is a losing proposition. The only strong reason I have heard for doing such is that a new car is new: there is no hidden mechanical problems or other problems. But that is bullshit. I bought a new car back in 2002 and I was afraid of exactly these potential problems. I then bought a used 1998 car. Both cars never gave me serious problems. The only difference is that the new one cost me CAD 15,000 more. It all depends on how I select the used car I want to buy. I can pay a mechanics I trust to check. I can run through the car thoroughly to see if it's been flooded in or its chassis had been welded after crash.

Indonesians worry about depreciated values of their cars. That's why Toyotas and Hondas still dominate the market. Personally though, if I feel I might have to sell a car in 3 years after I buy it, then I cannot afford it. A car is worth buying if I can use it for at least 15 years. Otherwise, it is not worth buying at all.

Dull

Last year when I was in Indonesia for my sabbatical leave, I made suggestions in academic conferences and workshops that Indonesian academics focus on practical applications of their science and knowledge. Bringing clean water to poor people at very cheap cost. Creating microhydro electrical generation unit, or solar thermal, or anything else that can provide cheap electricity. I should have said to make my message clearer: "Forget our academic pretensions that we do research that matters since we don't; and let's not (fucking) kid ourselves." But I didn't. I was too polite, sadly.

We become inactive although we live in a society that rapidly changes. This can happen to me now as well. My brain can become dull if I do not remind myself constantly that time will pass me silently if I remain as usual. I moved to Indonesia to shake my life a bit. To start a mission: to practice what I have been teaching in an engineering school, to learn the ropes of business, to start a business with friends I trust, to create real positive impacts to people I lead.

Once in a while, I forget my life mission. I am lulled by routines. By the easy convenience of modern life. Caught up with mortgage, loans, cars, family, brothers, sisters, and high school reunions. Fuck - I said to myself - let's not fucking forget why I am here for. (I often swear. My sons know me well; God bless them!)

It is thus funny that I got married young. I am barely older than 40 years old, but my older son is going to university next year. I am still saddled with heavy financial burden of raising growing kids, but I feel better now since by the time I am 50 I should be free to pursue whatever I wanna do in life. I didn't plan it, nor was I aware about it when I got married, but it works out so far.

Having said that, family remains a constant source of stress. Time commitment I have to make and money we have to pay to raise kids. It is a long term investment I make, such as life itself. It is a precious thing and on practical level serves as a fallback position if my personal life mission fails along the way.

Too much focus on family, however, can sideline me from pursuing my life's dream. People who love their families too much don't have activities outside their families' routines.

Besides family, a regular job can dull my mission. When job becomes routine, it is time to move on. It's been 3 months in Indonesia and so far my job is more interesting than being a university professor. I get to interact with all kinds of people - from pipe fitters to managers to expat skilled workers. I get to deal with different types of business in oil and gas industry.

What satisfies me is not material goods. I honestly couldn't care less about them. That's why we moved to Indonesia since I did not feel any satisfaction from owning faster cars and bigger houses. It is the freedom and life's challenges that I want.

Tropis

Iklim tropis itu enak. Tidur di luar bisa; tidak butuh ongkos mahal untuk pemanas ruangan seperti di Canada. Rumah bisa didisain asri dan terbuka. Tidak ada angin dingin menusuk dan salju menimbun. Di kantor, saya mematikan alat pendingin ruangan (AC) karena udara hangat sebenarnya nikmat sangat. Kenapa harus didinginkan? Bahkan tidur pun saya sudah terbiasa tidak memakai AC.

Negara tropis seperti Indonesia lebih enak lagi. Punya banyak gunung berapi dan tanahnya subur minta ampun. Tinggal petik daun ketela dan sawi di kebun, dan goreng ikan asin, serta tomat dan lombok untuk sambal, jadilah makanan yang lezat. Kemudahan ini ada di hampir semua desa di Jawa dan Bali. Di Canada, kemudahan sumber makanan lokal ada di Quebec dan Ontario, tapi hilang sekitar musim dingin dari Oktober sampai April.

Keseharian di Indonesia - terutama di desa - bisa berjalan santai. Ini saya rasakan setiap kali berkunjung ke desa. Tapi begitu sampai di Jakarta, otak seperti berubah pikiran dan jiwa seperti dipacu untuk kerja, kerja, dan kerja. Mungkin melihat ribuan sepeda motor menyemut lalu lalang, ribuan deretan orang di pinggir jalan terlihat rapi di sela asap hitam mikrolet rongsokan, saya termotivasi untuk aktif seperti mereka. Energi kota besar - seperti Jakarta - memang luar biasa, mengingatkan saya akan energi kekal yang tampak di Toronto, Vancouver, dan New York.

Udara tropis ditambah dengan kesuburan tanah luar biasa membelai lembut orang Indonesia. Gaya hidup rileks sebenarnya bukan masalah asal kita semua tetap kreatif dan produktif. Kerja tidak perlu terburu-buru tapi kualitas kerja mestinya bisa sangat bagus. Udara tropis yang konstan mestinya mengajarkan kita untuk tekun dan tidak terburu-buru. 

Puasa

Cukup kaget aku tadi bisa berpuasa penuh di hari pertama bulan puasa. Hari pertama puasa berlalu dengan biasa. Tanpa letih lapar dahaga. Bahkan masih di tempat kerja sampai jam 17:30.

Beberapa hari lalu aku keluar kantor jam 10:30 dan ditanya, "Pak, mau kemana?" "Perut saya lapeerrr. Repotnya kalo gini, saya gak bisa mikir." Tawa berderai memancar dari raut muka ibu-ibu yang selalu ramah ke saya. Ya itu takut saya jika berpuasa: saya gak bisa mikir kalau lapar. Dan ini sudah berkali-kali merusak niat puasa saya.

Saat bergulir ke arah Bogor siang tadi saya sempat terbersit, "Boleh juga tuh, berhenti sebentar, makan di tempat peristirahatan Jagorawi." Tapi saya urungkan karena sudah jam 14:00. Hampir sore. Sayang jika saya tidak bisa tepati janji kali ini.

Jujur saja, jam 08:00 tadi saya makan permen tidak sadar. Tiga perempat habis Ricola saya untuk menahan batuk, baru saya sadar saya puasa. Saya ikhlas kok. Gak berpahala juga gak apa-apa. Saya sudah senang bisa merasakan bulan puasa di tanah air setelah lebih 20 tahun di tanah rantau.

Price

It is not easy to determine a fair price. Fair here means the price I charge is equal to the price I am willing to pay. Usually I know what I want to charge: as high as possible (LOL!), but it is more difficult to imagine the price I am willing to pay. In my current job I have to approve a lot of purchasing, need to know their fair prices fast, and to teach my pricing strategy to staff.

Let me share my pricing strategy. The easiest pricing strategy is by comparison. This strategy works well when comparing two competing price bids.

Allow me to give one example. My teenage son bought $40 shoes at Zara in Calgary. It took him 3 months to outlast the shoes as one sole was torn apart. When I protested him for being not caring enough about his shoes, he replied that my Asics running shoes cost 3.5 times more expensive. What to do? I told him that my Asics shoes lasted for 3+ years, so even though I paid $150 for the shoes, per month I only pay $3.75, while for his shoes $13 per month. Zara shoes ended up 3.5 more expensive than Asics shoes because the latter last a lot longer. We can make the calculation more complicated by applying a constant depreciation rate, but it is clear that the Zara shoes' depreciation rate is ridicuously much higher than Asics'. This means the Asics price is actually cheaper than Zara price.

A more complicated price comparison example is the Equipment Rental Rates published by State of California Business, Transportation and Housing Agency. This list could be converted into a good estimate of a rental price for any country if I at least know the cost-of-living index ratio (using say, the Big Mac index). There are a lot of price information available in North America, but I have to convert this information to a relatively fair Indonesian prices using this approach.

One very important variable in business decision is time. (It's a pity that the time variable is often ignored in most engineering courses, except in applied mechanics and engineering economics.) A good business decision made today may be a bad decision if made 4 months later. One main reason is cash flow. So, Asics price is better than Zara price if the time horizon is > 3 years. Most business decisions need on average a 3-years horizon.

Another pricing strategy is by determining its components. This computation is good for estimating labour cost. What I usually do is to come up with the price for a unit task. For example, if I want to estimate the labour cost of building a warehouse, I would then break down this construction project to a sequence of tasks: from digging the construction site to installing the wall cladding. Each task requires a number of workers and I build the price using estimated labour cost per hour by including efficiency factor based on the number of shifts required per day and the speed of the workers based on the construction site's geometrical information.

I have previously used this component-wise pricing calculation to determine the profit margin of a contractor. I was able to get a good discount, as a result, when this information was communicated nicely. One reason I cannot just brag to the contractor that he takes too much margin above a fair price is that the pricing has to accommodate delays due to unexpected fluctuations like weather, work interruptions, and sickness. This random factor, for a competitive sector, could very well be what makes or breaks a profit margin. If I am willing to assume this random risk, then the price would be lower. It is like paying insurance premium. (That is, if I am entrepreneurial, this "random" margin is a business opportunity.)

Impact

I used to think research impact should be equivalent to the journal impact factor of a research journal, which indicates the extent the journal is cited. I believed then that my research had a significant impact when it was published in a high-impact-factor journal. It is a convenient association - really - but I have to admit a lazy one.

It is a lazy association because most researchers - as most workers - follow what their pioneers have done. University research is no different and has become an industry, complete with its leaders and followers. Researchers who founded new areas become leaders and they define research areas. 90%-plus of all researchers are followers and they naturally worry about the impact factor.

To be a research leader is a lonely road and one has to often fight a conventional wisdom. There are many examples. From Albert Eistein's theory of relativity, which was done while he was a patent officer, to Theodore Maiman's ruby laser invention, to Andrew Wiles' proof of last Fermat's theorem. It is not a stroke of luck, since Feynman has always been genius from the get-go, as it requires years of deliberate preparation and determination.

A lot of areas in physical sciences have been researched to great details. From astronomical length scale to atomic length scale. From attosecond to geological time scale. This type of research is analytical: to find the mathematical laws that govern how things behave. It is very rewarding, but once it is completed and proven by experimental data, it is really d-o-n-e.

Physical science researchers can still do applied research. One can do applied research by first knowing a problem and then working on a solution. A lot of academic research, however, work for a long time on specific areas without caring whether there are problems to be solved. Applied researchers who do their research based on working on the same area for decades usually say, "Well, we have a solution, but we are waiting for a problem." Now, that's funny and might as well be a memorable line from a Jerry Seinfeld episode. More and more I feel though that a better applied research is problem-driven, not area-driven.

Now, there are a lot of problems in developing world. Most have to do with structural poverty, where someone becomes poor - not because he does not work hard - because he is trapped in a conspiracy of low wage, low skills, and low opportunity. A question worth-solving is how do we solve this structural poverty. I don't care whether efforts to answer this question can be published in a high-impact-factor journal, but it is definitely a question worth-solving.

These developing-world problems may look at first glance like mostly social or economic problems, but a lot of them have strong physical-science components. Basically, the economic problems - in my opinion - have the same underpinning: how to increase purchasing power of the poor. It means manufacturing costs need to still go lower to reach the poor billions without sacrificing the environment.

The social problems also have another common underpinning: how to empower the poor through education and civil actions. Internet technologies can help solve these social problems if done at low or no cost. A school system that is faster than 12 years to complete will help young generation to acquire practical skills and thinking frame that will help them adapt continually as they work.

When I think about these developing world problems, I face a dilemma whether to plow ahead with doing research by following my curiosity. "Am I not wasting my time?", I often ask myself. It was one the reasons that made me decide to take a leave from doing research and to spend time living in Indonesia.

Doaku

Aku rasakan kemurahanMu

Semua untuk keluargaku

Aku cuma ingin sendiri

Buktikan langkahku benar

Anugrahi yang kucinta

Tak perlu tunggu surga

Beri kita kekuatan sepadan
Biar yang benar menang
Saat musuh menerjangku

Jangan biarkan aku sakit

Berbaring lama tanpa ajal

Sudahi cepat waktuku tiba

USD 2.35

I have been in Jakarta for 2 months and have eaten out at least one meal each day out of convenience. I have tried prices from Rp. 5,000 to 100,000 per meal. Here in Jakarta, food quality is not proportional to price. I can squeeze food expense if I have ample food quality information, which means I have to be adventurous.

My equilibrium meal price that balances wallet, health, and taste seems to sit at Rp. 20,000 (USD 2.35) per meal in Jakarta.

I had bought breakfast and lunch meals for Rp. 7,000 from roadside food stalls in Jakarta. I accumulated a 50:50 record of upset stomach for that price but haven't gotten bad diarrhea yet (thankfully). The food was not bad or rancid, but I suspect there are food stuff used that are "too strong" for my stomach; they could be overused frying oils, food coloring agents, unsanitary water, fly infestation.

My observation was proven again today. I had vegetable-salad rice combo lunch (aka nasi pecel + tempe) for Rp. 10,000 in Denpasar (located in Bali island) and I felt nauseous 1 hour after that. (It was almost likely due to stale vegetable or peanut sauce.) Luckily I took Pepto Bismol from our Balinese friend whom we visited in Legian. I drank a lot of tea and it seemed to have helped. The symptom went away after 5 hours.

Denpasar's living cost is similar to Jakarta's. In other cities the equilibrium price could be lower due to cheaper cost of living. In Bandung, for example, I won't hesitate to eat a Rp. 15,000 meal. In Solo, I can safely eat out for Rp. 10,000.

If I approach the equilibrium price from the upper bound, there is no need to spend a Rp. 50,000 meal or above, unless in a business meeting.

I am clearly ripped off if I pay more than Rp. 20,000 in a roadside food stall. Furthermore, I feel I am being ripped off if I pay above Rp. 20,000 even if still below Rp. 50,000 at most restaurants. I usually pick the cheapest food at a fancy restaurant, and I can always find a Rp. 20,000 meal there.

The USD 2.35 equilibrium price is what Jakartans pay when they eat out including ice cold sweetened tea. I usually ask for hot unsweetened tea (at no cost) if the price is rather steep to stay at my equilibrium price target.

Overtime I could train my stomach to meet the chemico-physical demands of lower than USD 2.35, but I am reluctant to risking it now (having had two bad food poisoning cases last year).

Having said all of these, if you are ever stuck with little options and are hungry, pick a roadside food stall with the most costumers. The food there is likely more fresh. Pick also a safe bet: steamed rice and fried or BBQ chicken. Don't try hot chilli paste (sambal pedas) unless you have a death wish (LOL!).

Cinta

Kemarin mataku basah dua kali

Tak kuasa, begitu saja mengalir

Lewati desa pura sekitar Ubud

Lihat tari Bali elok menggoda

Aku bersyukur bertemu

Cinta yang telah lama hilang

Wajah perempuan berberas tiga

Kaki lelaki bersarung kotak

Pekat hijau daun bertebaran

Aku bisa tinggal di pulau ini

Mereka tahu nikmati hidup

Berbaju putih memuja dewa

Gelak hangat tawa senyum

Kokok ayam di pagi hari

Airport

Airports in Indonesia have a lax security system. When I saw this the first time a couple of years ago I was worried. But I now understand why it is much more casual than in North America. 

Indonesians do not appear worried at all individually with this lax security system and regard airports no differently from other transportation terminals. They arrive with their big grins in their faces and tease each other - so much so that even my teenage son cannot fathom. The airline counter staff are much more relaxed as well. I was never asked to show my ID by most domestic airlines so long as I bring the e-ticket. That's all they care about: that I paid my ticket and show my willingness to fly.

At one of my domestic flights, my plane was 1-hour delayed and I could walk back past the security system to buy dinner. When I asked whether I could pass the security gate and come back later, the guard smiled at me and said "of course, you can." He understood there are delays - a lot of them - and allowed us to pass for meal. 

North Americans would be upset if they see that the airport security personnel act in a relaxed manner like that. Although they would complain with too much security, but in the end they obey the tighter security rules. Such tighter security rules will never stand in Indonesia. Indonesians here are just more trusting to each other.

Trusting each other does seem naive since Indonesia has had terrorist bomb attacks before, but Indonesians accept fate with more forbearance. I used to see this as ignorance, but I am not sure anymore since victims of such attacks are by definition randomly targeted. Wouldn't it be wiser to accept such fate with forgiving hearts? 

Bottom line: I am not worried with the lax security system in Indonesia. Because frankly Indonesia does not have international security concerns; it never has aggresive foreign policy. 

It is a valuable lesson when I understood the difference and it shows that the developing world has a different mentality and a set of ideas different from developed world.

Sederhana

Saya cuma iri orang yang lebih merdeka dari saya. Karena mereka sebenarnya lebih tahu arti hidup. Saat saya ditanya teman baik baru saya apa itu sukses. Dan saya jawab seperti itu: jika saya merdeka maka saya sukses.

Makanya saya bingung dengan pemimpin politik yang haus terus kekuasaan. Jadi pemimpin seperti itu tidak merdeka: kemana mana diikuti, dikawal, dan diteropong. Apa gunanya hidup seperti itu? Disanjung orang tapi sebenarnya semua ada maunya. Hanya maunya si pemimpin yang tidak kesampaian. Maka, jadi pemimpin haruslah berani, biar urusan cepat selesai. Biar cepat merdeka. Tapi banyak yang tidak seperti ini. Mungkin pikiran sederhana saya tidak mampu mencerna pikiran canggih pemimpin-pemimpin politik kita.

Merdeka buat saya jalurnya dua. Yang pertama adalah kemerdekaan finansial. Ini yang hampir semua orang upayakan dengan bekerja keras. Semakin kaya semakin merdeka. Ini benar. Tapi ini bukan jalur satu satunya. Karena pada akhirnya, kesenangan yang kaya tidak ada bedanya dengan kesenangan yang miskin. Tidak percaya? Coba anda pikirkan lagi.

Jalur kedua yang lebih mantap - dan sederhana akhirnya - adalah melatih jiwa untuk tidak tergantung ke apa pun. Ini yang diajarkan oleh Buddhism: no attachment. Ini juga diajarkan Islam, menurut teman baru saya, walau saya lupa istilah Islamnya. Dasar pemikiran tingkat kemerdekaan ini adalah tidak ada yang kekal di hidup ini. Semua berubah: umur, rupa, otak, harta, teman, istri, anak, semuanya.

Apa kemudian kita tidak mencintai anak istri kita? Ya tentu tidak, karena anak hasil buah cinta saya dan istri saya. Anak itu saya yang membuat, jadi saya yang bertanggung jawab mendidiknya. Istri saya juga dulu saya yang melamar, jadi saya yang bertanggung jawab mencintainya. Tapi apa yang saya harapkan dari mereka tidak melebihi apa yang bisa mereka berikan. Jadi tidak ada sedih jika saya ditinggal mereka. Atau saya meninggalkan mereka.

Merdeka memakai jalur kedua pasti langgeng karena tidak tergantung saya kaya atau miskin. Merdeka itu akhirnya disederhanakan menjadi denyut jantung dan desah nafas tiap detik.

Quality of Service

My son - having only arrived from Calgary last week - is astounded. In a positive way. He was amazed by the courtesy and quality of service he got when having meals at restaurants in Jakarta. He said, "I never have to pick up food; the waiter always brings it to me." He was even more floored by the strength and math ability of Padang restaurant waiter who has to bring 6-12 dishes on his arm to the table and later tallies up the food we ate by looking at the colors of the curry dishes. The girls serving us at KFC or Pizza Hut always appear happy, courteous, and infinitely patient, even after we spilled water on the floor. She would smile back at us and made me embarassed at our clumsiness.

Indonesians are trained at giving great services. At school we were brought up to follow orders and be obedient. It pains me, therefore, to know that our menial workers sent to Saudi Arabia are not treated well and, even worse, abused. Our courtesy and politeness are taken for a ride. I only wish the next government of Indonesia would have more backbone and 'cojones' when dealing with its counterparts.

Regardless, I think the quality of service we have been getting is an indication of a - dare I say - absolute advantage that other countries lack. Indonesia should focus on bringing out this exquisite level of service to the front to lure more foreign tourists and visitors. Indonesia should use this advantage as a huge leverage to promote tourism, eco-adventure travels, and exchange study programs.

What still lacks is the website gateway for tourism information on Indonesia. I have been in Indonesia for 2 months and have still little idea on how to get good accomodation and travel tips to Krakatau, Karimun Jawa, Bali. It is sad to say that I am still thinking of buying the Lonely Planet's Indonesia guide to show me where to go and what to do, given that I am here already.

Things have got to change. For the better. And hopefully sooner than later.

Korupsi

Sudahlah, lupakan aja usaha keras memberantas budaya 'korupsi' di tanah air. Terkadang saya berpikir seperti itu. Bukannya saya mendukung korupsi merajalela, tapi korupsi itu ada karena aturan kerja/interaksi dan tingkat ketrampilan yang ada di tanah air mendukung hal ini berkembang biak.

Korupsi timbul karena ini adalah jalan untuk memuluskan transaksi berbagai urusan dan akhirnya menjadi keharusan agar berbagai urusan ini berjalan baik.

Dari pengamatan sebulan ini, saya berpendapat budaya ini datang karena memang ada kebutuhan nyata. Pada saat saya hampir ditilang sebulan lalu karena masuk ke lajur busway, saya memutuskan untuk 'berdamai' saja karena diberitahu urusannya akan repot: SIM ditahan dan harus diambil di kantor pengadilan. Peraturan pengambilan SIM dibuat berbelit. Saya merasa naas; banyak sekali mobil yang nyerobot di lajur busway, tapi kok ya saya yang kena? Kalkulasi di otak saya langsung bilang: "Udah deh, damai aja, toh hampir sama ngeluarin uangnya." Bahkan lebih murah sedikit jika 'berdamai', belum lagi keuntungan waktu.

Contoh sederhana ini bilang korupsi itu memang diadakan oleh aturan kerja/interaksi yang njelimet (baca: birokratis) bukan main. Sementara saya melihat orang Indonesia itu gak mau dibuat sulit. Ringkasnya, orang Indonesia itu sering maunya sendiri. Kemacetan di Jakarta mengingatkan saya akan karakter kita ini. Orang Indonesia itu ingin seefisien seperti semua orang di semua negara lain.

Kembali ke contoh sederhana saya tadi, terlintas di benak saya saat alat 'perdamaian' berganti tangan: gak apa lah, dia kerja keras mengatur lalu lintas; mendingan saya beri langsung ke dia daripada ke meja administrasi pengadilan yang saya tidak tahu kemana uangnya pergi setelah itu. Ini bisa jadi pembenaran di kepala saya agar saya tidak terlalu merasa bersalah.

Faktor tingkat ketrampilan juga berpengaruh ke merajalelanya korupsi. Saya ambil contoh proyek tender pengadaan barang. Perusahaan-perusahaan yang ikut tender berlomba untuk menang tender dengan memasang harga bersaing dan faktor konten teknik memadai. Tapi karena tingkat ketrampilan kita rendah, tidak ada faktor menguntungkan lain yang bisa perusahaan-perusahaan ini tawarkan agar menang tender. Jika tingkat ketrampilan kita tinggi, kita bisa menawarkan inovasi produk buatan sendiri yang berpotensi mengalahkan perusahaan-perusahaan saingan dengan telak. Ini jarang terjadi.

Harga-harga yang ditawarkan perusahaan-perusahaan akhirnya tidak berbeda jauh. Tidak juga beda jauh konten teknik mereka karena inovasi-inovasi yang ada di alat-alat yang akan dipakai untuk berlomba tender tidak berbeda. Persaingan harga ini membuka kesempatan korupsi yang sebenarnya merugikan perusahaan pemenang: profit margin turun karena harus bagi-bagi. Korupsi di sini berupa uang imbalan yang dibayarkan pemenang tender ke yang bisa 'membantu' memenangkan tender.

Perusahaan-perusahaan ini jelas tidak mau melakukan korupsi, tapi mereka butuh hidup dan membayar gaji karyawan. Mereka butuh menang tender dan mereka diberikan jalan untuk menang tender. Jelas buat saya korupsi ini dibutuhkan dan perlu ada karena aturan kerja/interaksi/peraturan pemerintah yang njelimet dan kemampuan inovasi produk dan tingkat ketrampilan kita yang rendah.

Lari

Sudah sebulan aku tinggal di Jakarta. Dimanapun kita mudah terperangkap kegiatan sehari-hari. Apalagi jika jadwal kerja sibuk. Sampai di kerja sebelum jam 8 pagi dan balik ke rumah setelah jam 6 malam. Sebelum itu tidur dan mandi. Sesudah itu, makan dan tidur lagi. Kapan aku bisa merasa segar dan jiwa ini terisi harapan dan perasaan terkoneksi dengan alam dan sekeliling?

Lari buatku memberi waktu dan energi untuk membangun koneksi dengan alam dan sekeliling, yang mungkin pudar karena sibuknya hari-hari kerja. Lari buatku me-recharge baterai yang pudar dan membugarkan badan yang letih.

Aku lari mulai jam 6:30 pagi kemarin, dari pucuk Jalan Otista di bilangan Cawang dan terus merangkak ke arah utara. Melewati Kampung Melayu - yang masih sepi angkot - dan pasar Jatinegara - yang sudah ramai dengan kerumunan penjual dan pembeli mengadu nasib.

Aku selalu diingatkan waktu lari kalau aku anak semesta. Aku selalu diingatkan untuk membuka mataku ke sekelilingku. Bapak tua yang termangu di sisi gerobaknya. Lima anak kecil berlari. Ibu dan nenek yang belanja di pagi hari. Tukang parkir yang menunggu mobil pertama. Sapa ramah mbak penjaga toko tempat aku beli air. Aku bisa merasakan kerasnya hidup mereka karena aku merasakan letihnya lari ini. Polusi udara Jakarta yang berbau harum hitam pekat. Trotoar jalan yang tidak ramah buat orang tua karena sangat tinggi letaknya.

Melewati Salemba aku berhenti sejenak untuk beli teh botol. Udara tropik sangat menyengat dan sebenarnya lebih keras dari udara dingin sejuk Canada untuk berlari. Tubuh mengeluarkan banyak uap air dan aku haus letih cepat sekali. Di Calgary aku bisa lari 90 menit tanpa minum air. Di Jakarta maksimum 60 menit. Belum lagi dengan riak di tenggorokan yang menggumpal karena polusi udara.

Aku sebenarnya mau terus ke Ancol sepanjang Jalan Gunung Sahari. Tapi aku tidak kuat lagi. Sudah 80 menit aku lari. Keramaian pasar Senen dibelakangku. Pasar Baru di sisiku. Aku teruskan, lari sedikit lagi, mendekati Mangga Besar. Waktunya berhenti. Badanku terasa sangat segar dan aku siap menyongsong hari.