ada cerita lain

2011-02-08T17:26:00.000-08:00

Kenapa ops sikap gaga l? Less enforcement?, Less road safety education?, Less awareness?, Less information from mass media?, Less road safety campaign?, Bad Attitude ( who's attitude? - you? me? us?.......)

Informasi dari radio ERA pada pagi yang hening ini menyatakan bahawa 2/3 daripada mangsa kemalangan jalan raya dari OPS SIKAP sempena musim perayaan CNY kali ini ialah penunggang motosikal. Berita menekankan bahawa penunggang motosikal suka menggunakan helmet yang rosak dan tidak menepati piawaian SIRIM.

Masalah mengenai kemalangan motosikal ini sebenarnya bukan sahaja terjadi di Malaysia. Malah di mana-mana pelusuk dunia, penunggang motosikal dikategorikan di dalam vulnerable road users – iaitu pengguna jalan raya yang mempunyai risiko yg tinggi untuk mendapat kecederaan parah atau kematian sekiranya terlibat dalam kemalangan jalan raya.
Penunggang motosikal di Malaysia dikenalpasti terdiri daripada mereka yang berada dalam lingkungan usia belasan hingga 40 tahun. Kegunaan motosikal tertumpu sebagai mod pengangkutan ke tempat kerja.

Saya pasti pihak berkuasa seperti JKJR, MIROS, SPAD dan sebagainya berusaha keras mencari penyelesaian kepada masalah kemalangan jalan raya terutama yang melibatkan penunggang motosikal. Ini kerana, kemalangan motosikal seringkali melibatkan penunggang yang berusia muda. Sebenarnya negara mengalami kerugian jika kehilangan satu nyawa akibat kemalangan - kerugian dari segi hilangnya satu tenaga muda, kerugian trauma untuk keluarga mangsa, kerugian kos penyelenggaraan tempat kemalangan, kerugian masa dan tenaga yang digunakan oleh pihak berkuasa untuk menyelesaikan satu-satu penyiasatan terhadap kes kemalangan tersebut.

Jadi, bagaimana cara yang harus dilakukan untuk mengatasi masalah ini? Saya yakin pelbagai kajian dan analisis telah dibuat. Namun setiap kali ops sikap dijalankan tidak ada berita yang menggembirakan. Persoalannya, kenapa? Seorang sahabat saya dari Tokyo University yang kini telah kembali bertugas di German dalam satu “debat” ringkasnya dengan saya, masalah kemalangan jalan raya atau pelanggaran peraturan keselamatan hanya dapat diatasi dengan enforcement yang ketat. Beliau mengambil contoh, Jepun yang tidak mengenal kompromi dalam mengambil tindakan kesalahan lalu lintas. Apabila di kenakan kompaun contohnya akibat kesalahan meletakkan kereta di tempat yang tidak dibenarkan, tidak ada rayuan atau belas kasihan dengan jumlah kompaun yang perlu dibayar. Harga kompaun di Kyoto dalam 15,000 yen. Saya yakin di Tokyo mungkin lebih mahal. Jika kompaun tidak dibayar dalam masa yang ditetapkan, harga kompaun akan digandakan menjadi 30,000yen. Jika masih tidak berbayar, ia akan naik sekali ganda lagi menjadi 45,000 yen. Hingga akhirnya kemungkinan lesen memandu akan ditarik terus.

Isu kemalangan jalan raya ini juga pernah saya bincangkan dengan sensei yang menjadi examiner thesis saya. Apabila saya ditanya bagaimana rakyat Malaysia mendapatkan lesen memandu, jawapan saya ialah dengan pergi ke Sekolah Latihan Memandu sama seperti di Jepun. Sensei tersebut bertanya lagi, bagaimana jika individu tersebut melakukan kesalahan lalu lintas, apa tindakan yang dikenakan dan bagaimana ia mempengaruhi pemilikan lesen memandu ? Saya menjawab bahawa saya kurang pasti tentang sistem de-merit di Malaysia jika ia telah dilaksanakan atau belum. Saya memberitahu bahawa di Malaysia, kita digalakkan membayar saman dengan adanya sistem diskaun. Sensei kelihatan terkejut. Sebenarnya, untuk mendapat lesen memandu di Jepun tidak sukar, tetapi jika melakukan kesalahan lalu lintas, mengalami kemalangan atau sebagainya, individu tersebut akan disuruh menghadiri kelas pembaharuan lesen dengan masa yang lebih lama dari orang lain. Di Jepun, lesen memandu mempunyai jangka masa. Setiap 2 tahun, lesen perlu diperbaharui, perlu menghadiri kelas dan mendengar ceramah keselamatan jalan raya. Ia adalah umpama peringatan atau mengingat kembali apa yang telah dipelajari ketika awal-awal mengambil lesen. Kita tidak mempunyai sistem ini di Malaysia. Apabila saya memberitahu sensei bahawa saya boleh memperbaharui lesen memandu di pejabat pos, memberi gambar terbaru dan membayar sejumlah wang ( yuran memperbaharui lesen dan road tax), sensei sekali lagi terkejut.

“That’s why..that’s why…we need to be reminded about the safety.” Ujar sensei. Maksudnya, untuk memperbaharui lesen, perlu menghadiri ceramah keselamatan jalan raya, dan jika pernah melakukan kesalahan, individu tersebut perlu didenda dengan perlu menghadiri lebih banyak jam ceramah.

Banyak lagi yang perlu dilakukan dan dikaji. Saya tertanya-tanya jika penunggang motosikal sendiri tahu bagaimana untuk berinteraksi dengan pengguna jalan raya yang lain dan juga sebaliknya. Seingat saya, ketika menghadiri ujian mendapatkan lesen, saya hanya diajar untuk mengendalikan motosikal, tetapi tidak ditekankan untuk bagaimana bertindak balas atau “berkomunikasi” dengan kenderaan yang lain. Saya tidak diajar untuk memilih kedudukan menunggang ketika adanya lori atau kereta di hadapan. Di mana patut saya berada jika saya ingin menunggang lebih dari 60km/h di jalan raya mempunyai 4 lorong 2 hala? Adakah di lorong paling kiri? Atau adakah di bahu jalan di sebelah lorong paling kiri? Bagaimana jika saya cuma mahu membawa dengan kelajuan 40km/h? Adakah pengguna jalan raya lain, peka dengan kehadiran dan kesukaran saya mengendalikan motosikal terutama ketika saya hendak membelok ?

Saya rasa semua ini tidak diterangkan dalam kelas memandu di Malaysia. Banyak pengguna jalan raya belajar dari pengalaman dan “common sense”. Sebenarnya bukan semua pengguna jalan raya mempunyai pengalaman dan “common sense” yang baik. Jadi pada pendapat peribadi saya, pembelajaran tentang berinteraksi atau “communication skills” di antara pengguna jalan raya perlu diterapkan di sekolah-sekolah memandu dan di samping silibus yang ada iaitu menumpu kepada bagaimana mengendalikan sesuatu jentera pengangkutan tersebut.
Untuk menyelesaikan masalah kemalangan jalan raya, tidak dinafikan ia mengambil masa yang panjang. Jepun mengambil masa 45 tahun untuk menjadi sebuah negara yang rendah kemalangan seperti sekarang. Hakikatnya peraturan jalan raya Jepun lebih “complicated” tetapi rakyatnya seperti terpandu untuk mematuhi peraturan-peraturan tersebut. Saya berharap, dengan banyaknya pendedahan dan berita tentang kemalangan jalan raya di media massa, akan juga disertai dengan lebih banyak informasi bagaimana rakyat dapat membantu untuk mengatasi masalah ini. Bagi pendapat peribadi saya, setiap rakyat Malaysia adalah duta keselamatan jalan raya. Terpulang kepada individu masing-masing untuk memainkan peranan sebagai duta tersebut.

p/s: Doakan public defend saya 21st Feb ini berjalan lancar. InsyaAllah.

2011-01-31T13:17:00.000-08:00

Pengalaman menghadiri TRB memang sesuatu yang tidak dapat dilupakan. Pertamanya Alhamdulillah...saya dapat menjejakkan kaki ke suatu tempat yang jauh dan menyertai persidangan yang berprestij dalam bidang pengangkutan. Bukan semua orang dapat sampai ke tempat yang saya sampai.

Tetapi, di sudut hati ada terselit satu rasa yang tidak dapat ditafsirkan. Ada rasa rendah diri dan low self esteem yang menyelimuti perasaan saya sejak pulang dari TRB. Saya maklum ini mungkin perasaan sebagai first time attendee. Terasa tahap research saya rendah jika
dibandingkan dengan research-research lain yang dibentang di TRB.

Ada banyak lagi perkara yang saya perlu belajar, dan saya harap saya tidak akan pernah jemu, dan terus focus mengupgrade skill yang ada. Dalam research soal competative adalah soal kedua, yang pertama ialah kepuasan diri, dan saya belum dapat merasai kepuasan membuat research itu. Pengalaman yang saya dapat ini diharap dapat menjadi pemangkin semangat saya dalam menjana research dalam bidang pengangkutan di Malaysia ke taraf antarabangsa.

Itinerary for TRB Jan 2011

2011-01-18T00:29:00.000-08:00

At last, the time has come!
Eventhough just for a poster presentation, this opportunity to attend Transporatation Research Board`s biggest transporation conference is everyone`s dream i guess(refering to researcher in transportation area). I will stay in my friend`s house instead of Five Stars Hotels in the list...

Itinerary

20th January ( Thursday)
Arrive at Dulles International Airport

21st January (Friday)
Visit White House
Preparation for TRB (study the railroads and transportation to conference hotels)

22nd January (Saturday)
9.00a.m to 6.00 p.m (Omni Shoreham Hotel)
DAWG Forum on Pavement Performance Data Analysis

23rd January (Sunday)
9.00 a.m to noon (Omni Shoreham Hotel)
Backcalculation 101 workshop

2.30p.m to 4.00p.m ( Marriot Hotel)
New and Young Attendees Welcome Session

5.30p.m to undecided (Hilton Hotel)
Travel behavior analysis laboratory mini gathering.

24th January (Monday)
8.00a.m to 9.45a.m ( Marriot)
Impact of information on traveller decision and behavior

10.15a.m to 12.00p.m (Marriot)
Understanding Traffic Safety Culture; Key to improving safety

12.15p.m to undecided (Hilton)
Kitamura’s colleagues and ex-students gathering.

2.30p.m to 5.00p.m (Marriot)
Advanced statistical method for analyzing traffic, road safety and travel behavior data. Poster session.
25th January
10.15a.m to 12.00p.m (Marriot)
Factors contributing to motorcycle crashes and their severity

1.30p.m to 3.15p.m (Marriot)
Safety, Geometric Design and Traffic Issues

3.45p.m to 5.30p.m
Innovative bicycle infrastructure: It is why? (Marriot)
Or
Nonwork Travel Behavior (Hilton)

7.00p.m to 9.30p.m (Marriot)
MY POSTER PRESENTATION

26th January
9.30a.m to 12.00p.m (Hilton)
Tan Poster Presentation

2.30p.m to 4.00p.m (Hilton)
Transport Planning and Modelling in developing countries

4.30p.m to 6.00p.m (Hilton)
Traffic Safety and Traffic Management in developing countries.

27th January
Depart from Dulles International Airport

p/s: agak time constarin sebenarnya coz...need to correct the journal, and prepare public defense`s slides...but...bz is good right? Till then!

Pengalaman di HKSTS Disember 2010

2011-01-18T00:21:00.000-08:00

Dapat byk critics especially dari sudut psychology. More photos will be uploaded in facebook.

All work and no play?

2010-11-17T07:37:00.000-08:00

Projection toward future makes me dun want to play so much.
Abstract checked. ORT checked. Form from sensei (in progress).
Visa to TRB - Checked! yeay!

Time to work on HKSTS's slides.
Ready to go back to Hong Kong again.
But this is time with different perspective.
And hoping for better hotel...!

Once upon a time in Hong Kong.

Alhamdulillah....lancar

2010-11-11T03:19:00.000-08:00

Thank you Allah for Your blessing.
Alhamdulillah....meeting dgn sensei berjalan lancar.
Hantar thesis ke office end of november.
Gambarimasu.
Noh Theatre on this coming Saturday "syoh no kai". I don't know the meaning. Wonder how can I understand/enjoy this show. Anyway, it is free from KAHF so...just feel it and experience it.

For those Kimutaku Fans..I osusume this movie...kind of tears dropping ^^!
..and Kimutaku is kakkoi like always...

Rabbi Yassir Wala Tuassir

2010-11-10T05:23:00.000-08:00

Kadang-kadang rasa pelik kan kenapa saya terlalu takut dengan sensei.

Esok nak meeting, malam ni rasa nak demam....
Ya Allah permudahkanlah. Biarlah semua berjalan ikut sebagaimana yang di rancang.

Amin.

2010-11-09T07:37:00.000-08:00

November's calender half full.

1. Meeting with sensei on 11th - hoping that he will check my thesis before end of November

2. Watching NOH performance with host family on 13th

3. Dance practice - every weekend - show on 28th

4. Interview with embassy - on 16th

5. HKSTS power point

6. TRB poster

7. Thesis abstracts before end of November...

I want to enjoy the autumn. But it is too cold!

2010-11-02T08:27:00.001-07:00

Ten tips to become a good writer

2010-11-01T05:43:00.000-07:00

1. Read as Much as You Can
You've probably heard it before, but everyone says it because it is true. You can't be a good writer without being a good reader first. So, try to read as much as you can--pick up books that you like, books you don't like and books you never pictured yourself reading. You never know what you might get out of them.

2. Write as Much as You Can
Writing is just like everything else. The more you do it, the better you get at it. Remember, you are in charge of what, where and how much you write. Take control and make every effort to write as much as you can.

3. Take a Free Writing Course
Although professional training isn't a requirement to become a good writer, it certainly doesn't hurt. If you can't afford a pricey class or a writer's workshop, don't fret. There are plenty of good writing courses that can be taken for free online.

4. Read The Elements of Style
If you want to read about writing, you need to pick up a copy of The Elements of Style by William Strunk. This influential guide to English and grammar is one of the best books ever written on the topic. It includes eight elementary rules of usage, ten elementary principles of composition, a list of commonly misused words and other rules of form that you can't do without.

5. Build Your Vocabulary
You are bound to be more expressive when you write if you have more words at your command. When you come across a word you don't know, look it up and try to use it in your writing. Seek out vocabulary building exercises and do whatever else you can think of to increase the number of words you have at your disposal.

6. Become a Better Researcher
Good writing is rooted deeply in good research. It's much easier to craft a well-written book, article or manuscript when you have a wealth of information at your fingertips. You can become a better researcher by learning how to use the Internet effectively and efficiently.

7. Write for an Audience
When you write for yourself, it's easy to be lazy. But when you write for an audience, it's hard not to write your best. Do yourself a favor and put your work out there. Ask your friends and family to read what you have written, post it on blogs and sell it to media outlets. You'll build confidence and create something special on a regular basis.

8. Have Your Work Critiqued
Getting feedback from other people (your mom doesn't count) is one of the best ways to hone your writing skills. You can hire someone to read your work or get free critiques online. Joining a writer's group can also provide the support and help you need to become a better writer.

9. Learn How to Edit Your Own Work
Laurell K. Hamilton (author of the wildly popular Anita Blake series) once said that '70% of a first draft is garbage and 30% is gold'--and she couldn't be more right. Editing is part of writing. You're fooling yourself if you think you can write a piece once and be done with it. There is always something that can be improved upon. By taking the time to learn how to edit your own work, you virtually guarantee that you will become a better writer.

10. Forget Spell Check--Proofread
Proofreading is just as important as editing. Careless mistakes can cost you a job, embarrass you and ruin a good piece of writing. Always proofread what you write. Do it slowly and do it twice.

Good news.

2010-10-30T08:03:00.000-07:00

1. I try to boost up myself by watching The Apprentice. It works!

2. End up with organizing my schedule for Nov and Dec

3. Got mail form TRB…yeay….gotta make a good kick on poster session, at least it is an opportunity to go to US.

(^.~)

Love is a test

2010-10-29T10:26:00.001-07:00

It is a very long time I left this bloggy thing. Yea..busy with the thesis and activities with my lovely husband. And now I am alone again. My sweet husband has went back for good. Have to start his job and new journey in USM. The feeling of being lonely is not good at all. I can feel like half of myself is far away from me. And I keep on putting myself together day by day and sometimes end up with doing nothing.

Actually, it is easier for me if sensei let me have the public defence on December...but I am hanging until February. Gosh! I don't know how can I make it. I will have a big conference in HK on Dec and might be TRB in January. Actually need to work on a lot of things but I don't feel happy because sensei is very very busy. Seems he doesn't care about us ...but I just don't know. I am wondering about a lot of things. We may be just need to swallow every uncertainty that waits for us.

Peoples say that 6 months is not a long time. But, thinking about the life after the 6 months is making me worried. I do want to be with my husband and I don't know how can I handle a life without him every night and day. The other sensei in my lab also stays far away from his family and he said he is really tired.

If one day I have to sacrifice my career because I need to be with my husband, I think I will do it. I do believe that people always have a choice to live a life that exactly good for them. But in my case, I cannot decide yet....I am praying that Allah makes it easy for us. To find a good job is hard, but to find the true love is even harder....

I maybe cheering up myself with some traditional dance performance. Yea...I love traditional dance. Dunno if I still have that skills.. because I think I am getting fat. I need more stamina and ebergy...However,I will take it as an experience and for another line in my CV!

That's all for now...Missing you very much my dear hubby...

2010-09-04T10:37:00.000-07:00

1. I just finished writing the chapter 7, need to edit according to the thesis format. Wish I could pass up the first draft to sensei.

2. I need to prepare the presentation slides for the conference but the secretariat does not email me the schedule yet. The conference is on 18th...another 2 weeks. I wonder why...

3. I need to correct the conference paper for HKSTS

4. I need to write a paper for EASTS

Both 3 and 4 dateline are on 30th Sept.

6. My mum said she wants to visit Japan in Dec. I hope I will have free time on Nov or Dec.....Nov is better because it is autumn.

Counting months

2010-08-15T21:06:00.000-07:00

I keep on locking myself in house for these days. Alhamdulillah, the early period of Ramadhan was windy and cloudy. But for this second week, it might be a lil bit hot again. Still, I will keep on locking my self in the house. Right now, I am focusing on writing the thesis. Literature review is somehow very boring and need more patient to simplify and organize the ideas. And also, I am waiting for the reviewers' comments for some journals and conference. I am aiming to have final presentatation on December so I can relax a lil bit in heavy winter. Just sitting in front of the laptop is not fun at all...But I have too. I am counting the months ( plus minus 7-6 months ) to finish everything. Of course, I am eager to have a normal life once again!

The writing tasks

2010-07-20T18:24:00.000-07:00

It has been a very long time I don't leave any 'scratch' in this blog. Sorry for not finishing the story of honeymoon. I just don't have much time to manage the blog.

I am very busy these days. I am hoping that I could finish writing on September and have a viva defence on Dec, but seems it is impossible. I am miserably did a very big false in analysis and have to re-do it again. I have Transport Policy, Accident Analysis Prevention, TRB and thesis to write. Not including the conferences.

Each time I got email from sensei, I couldn't eat well, (but I can sleep very well)... even couldn't think well. Because I am afraid of being scolded. I think most of us in Japan afraid of being scolded by senseis. I heard a lot of stories ( and some experienced by myself), that when it come to work, senseis or supervisors become very strict. Sincerely, the Japanese senseis aura are very different and I believe that only people that studied in Japan understand about it. Maybe it is culture.

But deep inside my heart, I keep on convincing myself that - even sensei get angry with my work, I learned it by myself, I bought the books by myself, I struggled on the task by myself coz my previous sensei got badly ill and then die, I don't have good basic on math and stats...I don't have classess for all the things that I want to know ( coz every class is in Japanese), I don't have friends to disscuss because I am the only PhD foreign student. I am not free....

Not only me experienced this, I believe... I just want to finish everything and pack my bags. Eagerly to reach the finish line. But.... a lot of tasks come...and here I go...back to work. Sigh!

Cuti bulan madu di Gold Coast, Australia 3

2010-06-26T06:57:00.000-07:00

Hari Ketiga

Kami memulakan hari ketiga kami di Gold Coast dengan menunggu van Scenic Hinterland Tours utk membawa kami ke Brisbane. Selain kami ada beberapa keluarga juga turut serta dalam tour ini. Perjalanan dari Gold Coast ke Brisbane mengambil masa kurang dari satu jam dan pemandu pelancong tak putus-putus memberi penerangan. Kami turut diminta memperkenalkan diri utk menjadikan keadaan lebih mesra.

Gambar kenang-kenangan di Kanggaroo Point

Lokasi pertama kami ialah Kanggaroo Point. Menurut pemandu pelancong, tempat itu dahulunya banyak kangaroo tetapi kini telah menjadi kawasan kediaman. Kami mengambil gambar Bandar Brisbane dari puncak kangaroo point ini. Seterusnya kami di bawa ke Chinatown. Oleh kerana masih awal pagi, tidak byk gerai yang telah dibuka. Kami hanya melihat-lihat kawasan sekeliling dan mengamati rekabentuk bangunan yg ada di situ.

Kami kemudiannya di bawa ke Mount Coot-tha dan Brisbane Botanical Gardens. Juga melewati Story Bridge, King Gorge Square dan AnZAC Square. Kami minta di turunkan di Big Wheel Southbank pada waktu leisure selama 1 setgh jam yg diberi utk bertemu Riduan dan keluarganya. Isteri Riduan, Zamzarina telah menyediakan nasi lemak lauk daging. Sangat menyelerakan utk makanan tgh hari itu. Tambahan pula, ini adalah kali pertama saya bertemu Raihan anak sulung mereka yg sgt cute. Raihan suka tersenyum dan tidak mengeluarkan suaranya sehinggalah malam menjelang. Baru dpt dgr suara si Raihan meng-agah2 kami. Raihan tidak byk kerenah dan tidak takut org. Semoga bila besar kelak, Raihan jadi anak yg solehah dan penyejuk hati keluarga Riduan dan isteri.

Bersama Raihan di Southbank Park (gambar atas)

Bersama Zamzarina (gambar bawah)

Oleh kerana tidak puas bertemu sahabat sekerja yg lama x jumpa, kami mengambil keputusan utk tidak mengikut tours yg seterusnya. Sebaliknya, Riduan mempelawa kami ke rumahnya. Kami berpeluang menaiki City Cat iaitu pengangkutan air di Brisbane. Harganya agak mahal utk satu perjalanan. Tetapi bg yg tinggal di Brisbane, menggunakan kad perjalanan pasti lebih murah dan cepat. Riduan membawa kami melewati kawasan yg popular utk melepak di Brisbane dan juga laluannya ke sekolah. Kami sempat membeli sedikit cenderahati utk dibawa pulang. Menggunakan City Cat kami dibawa oleh Riduan ke tempat letak kereta di sebuah kawasan rekreasi dan membawa kami pulang ke rumah. Berbanding dgn rumah saya di Jepun, rumah Riduan jauh lebih selesa dan luas. Kami berehat, bersolat dan bertukar2 cerita.

Setelah bersiap2 dan lelah mulai hilang, kami menaiki kereta menuju pulang ke Gold Coast. Kami singgah solat maghrib di masjid Gold Coast yg berkali ganda besar dari masjid yg kami ada di Jepun, baik di Kobe mahupun Tokyo. Nampaknya mengamalkan ajaran Islam lebih mudah di Australia berbanding di Jepun.

Kemudian kami merancang utk makan malam di sebuah restoran Malaysia. Walaupun makanan agak mahal tetapi ini adalah sebagai tanda kami menyokong perniagaan rakyat Malaysia di rantau org. Juga kami melihat2 di sebuah kedai cenderahati Royal Gift yg diusahakan oleh seorg peniaga berbangsa Cina yg berasal dr Sarawak. Saya sangat berkenan dengan karpet bulu kambing biri-biri yang berharga 45AUD. DI kedai lain ada yang menjualnya sehingga 200AUD!

Setelah menghabiskan masa bersama, kami mengucapkan terima kasih dan selamat maju jaya utk Riduan dan keluarga. Juga pada si kecil Raihan yg menawan hati. Mereka bertolak balik ke Brisbane dgn kereta. Jika ada kesempatan, balaslah kunjungan dgn jalan2 ke Kyoto pula. =).Malam itu, sang suami saya agak kelihatan dan tidur awal. Saya pula menonton Charlie’s Angel hingga tamat. Sungguh cantik pemandangan malam dr koridor bilik kami. Tidak sabar utk mengikuti tour yg seterusnya esok hari.

Cuti bulan madu di Gold Coast, Australia 2

2010-06-26T06:24:00.000-07:00

Delayed post.

Continue .... =)

Hari Kedua

Waktu subuh di Gold Coast awal. Jadi kami tidur semula seusai Subuh dan apabila kami bangun semula pada jam 7.30pagi, hari telah pun cerah benderang dgn jalan-raya yg telah sibuk. Kami bersiap untuk ke salah satu tour booth utk mem-booking pakej yg kami rasakan menarik untuk keesokkan hari dan hari2 seterusnya. Plan kami utk hari kedua adalah ke taman tema. Gold Coast mmg terkenal dgn taman temanya. Ttp bg kami, cukuplah sekadar satu taman tema sahaja. Bagi yg menggemari taman tema, tiket pas masuk lebih murah jika dibeli mengikut pakej yg disediakan. (Boleh rujuk di google dgn kata kunci wet n wild@ dreamworld @movieworld gold coast). Sebenarnya pagi itu, tujuan pertama kami ialah ke Paradise Country. Tetapi oleh kerana laluan bas TX2 tidak berhenti di Paradise Country ttp sebaliknya di Movieworld, jadi kami menapak sejauh 0.5km. Harga tiket bas pergi balik dr Vibe Hotel ke Movieworld ialah 10AUD. Wet n Wild, Australia Outback Spectacular dan Movieworld adalah bersebelahan tetapi pintu masuk masing-masing terletak agak jauh. Lokasi ketiga-tiga taman tema ini, dibina di kawasan yg jauh dari tapak komersil atau taman perumahan.

Sepanjang kami menapak ke Paradise Country, kami melewati kandang-kandang kuda, unta dan kambing biri2. Harga tiket masuk ke Paradise Country dlm 19AUD seorang. Kami dibawa menaiki bus train (spt yg ada di zoo Negara) ke dlm Paradise Country. Sewaktu kami tiba, satu acara pertunjukan telah berakhir iaitu bagaimana cowboy menyalakan api untuk memasak. Pertunjukan seterusnya cara-cara mengendalikan kuda dan bergambar dgn anak unta berwarna hitam. Kemudian, pertunjukan mengendalikan cemeti , boomerang dan anjing pengawal kambing biri2. Ada juga demonstrasi memerah susu lembu. Kami bergambar dan turut mencuba memerah susu lembu. Kemudian demonstrasi mencukur bulu kambing biri2 dipersembahkan. Saya

sgt teruja dan berkesempatan memegang pelbagai jenis kambing biri2. Mutu bulu kambing biri2 adalah berdasarkan jenisnya.Seterusnya, kami makan tgh hari yg disediakan. Kami memilih hidangan BBQ ikan dan makan hingga kenyang kerana kami akan menapak balik ke Movieworld. Kami sempat berkenalan dgn 2 org pelancong dr Singapura. Sebelum melangkah keluar dari Paradise Country, kami sempat melihat-lihat kangaroo dan koala. Mereka sgt comel.

Cuaca pada pukul 1 tghhari agak panas. Kami berharap agar ada yg sudi menumpangkan kami ke Movieworld. Syukur Alhamdulillah, sebuah kereta merah berhenti untuk menumpangkan kami. Steven dan pasangan berasal dr KL telah bercuti di Brisbane selama 2 hari. Itu adalah hari pert

ama mereka di Gold Coast. Mereka menyewa kereta dgn kos 49AUD utk 2 hari. Kami mengucapkan terima kasih kepada mereka dan berpisah apabila smpai di pintu masuk Movieworld.Agenda pertama kami ialah menyaksikan Hollywood Stunt. Memang superb !!!

Sebenarnya Movieworld jauh lebih kecil berbanding Universal Studio Japan. Oleh kerana hari itu ialah hari Jumaat, pengunjung pun tidak terlampau ramai.Namun masih perlu beratur utk bergambar dgn Marilyn Monroe, Cat Woman dan Super Friends. Saya sempat mencuba Scooby Doo Ride, Batman Ride dan tayangan 4D Shrek. Untuk mencuba roller coaster Superman Escape saya dan pasangan langsung tidak berani. Taman tema ini tutup pada pukul 5 petg. Kami solat jamak di musolla yg disediakan dan berangkat pulang dgn bas menuju ke hotel.

musolla di movieworld

Setelah berehat dan solat jamak,pada pukul 6.30ptg kami keluar utk mencari nite market yg dikatakan ada di persisir pantai surfers paradise setiap hari Selasa dan Jumaat. Agak lama mencari akhirnya kami dpt melihat brg2 buatan tgn yg dijual di nite market tersebut. Tidak byk yg boleh dibeli sekadar hanya mencuci2 mata. Kami terserempak dgn Nun Azim dan Haris. Kami minta nombor telefon tour agent dan diajak oleh mereka utk lepak di Starbuck. Mereka turut mnyewa kereta utk 2 hari. Kami saling bertukar pengalaman dan cerita dan pulang ke penginapan masing2 lebih kurang jam 8.30 malam. Saya dan pasangan mengambil keputusan utk menyewa internet utk 24jam. Malam itu kami berehat di bilik dan melayari internet. Saya mengambil kesempatan utk menghubungi Riduan dan mengatur janji temu di Brisbane.

Cuti Bulan Madu di Gold Coast, Australia 1

2010-05-11T00:25:00.000-07:00

Seems like I take a long rest from blogging…well, our honeymoon trip is like a closing remark to our tedious preparation for the wedding event. I would like to share our honeymoon’s experience in Gold Coast, …not focusing to the honeymoon things but more to the trips and tips, as not it is not many information we can get about trip to Gold Coast in Bahasa Melayu.So here I am going to write about our journey in Malay Language…thee hee hee

But as reminder, to go to Australia from Malaysia you need to apply for visa called ETA. And it can be apply online. Easy and need not to wait for a long time.

Hari Pertama 5/5/2010

Kami bertolak dari LCCT pada pukul 9.25 malam. Kami tiba di Lapangan Terbang Coolanggata dengan pesawat Air Asia X pada 7.15 pagi awal sedikit dari waktu yang dijangkakan. Penerbangan dengan Air Asia selesa kerana kami telah menempah makanan dan comfort kit. Cuma terasa frust dengan ‘portable movie gadget’yang perlu disewa dgn harga RM30 milik penerbangan ini. Cerita-cerita yg ada di dlm gadget tidak sama dgn yg ada dlm ‘guide magazine’. Jadi tips yang pertama, jika menaiki Air Asia utk penerbangan jauh, jgn lupa bawa portable notebook/netbook sendiri jika anda org yg cepat boring. Sebelum fly dload cerita kegemaran anda byk2.

Sebelum mendarat, declaration card yang berwarna kuning akan diedarkan. Jika membawa sebarang makanan, ubat-ubatan etc. kita perlu declare bg mengelakkan ia dibuang. Anjing pengesan turut digunakan bagi memastikan setiap penumpang yg tiba adalah bersih dari dadah. Kami tidak mengalami masalah makanan dibuang atau sebagainya kerana kami cuma bawa 4 tin tuna dan 5 bungkus mee rusky . Kami cuma perlu tunjukkan makanan2 yang kami bawa di dalam luggage. Malah desas desus mengatakan bahawa kastam Australia kasar dan tidak bertolak ansur juga meleset sama sekali. Kami dapat ucapan yang best2 apabila memberitahu purpose kami ke Australia ialah untuk berbulan madu. Walaubagaimanapun, barangan tenusu dan daging mentah adalah tidak digalakkan sama sekali. Jika bernasib baik mungkin lepas, jika tidak mungkin dirampas.

Selepas pemeriksaan keselamatan yg agak lama dan ketat, kami mula mencari ejen transfer yang telah ditempah dari Air Asia. Ejen kami ialah Holiday Tours yang akan membawa kami ke hotel. Bersama-sama kami ialah pasangan dari Kuala Lumpur – Nun Azim dan Haris yang akan menginap di Suntowers Apartment di Surfers Paradise. Mereka membawa bekalan mentah seperti beras kerana apartment penginapan mereka menyediakan dapur untuk tempat memasak. Ia adalah salah satu cara utk berjimat kerana kos makanan di Aussie adalah 3 kali ganda mahal dari Malaysia. Perjalanan dari lapangan terbang ke Surfers Paradise mengambil masa lebih kurang 45minit. Tips yg kedua, jika anda merancang perjalanan dan menempah hotel dengan Air Asia Go, jgn lupa tempah sekali dgn khidmat transferring dari lapangan terbang ke hotel (vice versa) utk memudahkan perjalanan dan ianya lebih murah.

Alhamdulillah, kami tidak mengalami masalah utk check in awal di Vibe Hotel Gold Coast. Bilik kami di tingkat 21 dengan pemandangan sungai Nerang dan juga pantai. Ia berharga RM270 semalam tanpa sarapan pagi dan kami menempahnya dgn Air Asia Go. Lebih murah berbanding tempah melalui laman web Vibe Hotel sendiri. Bilik kami luas, selesa dan pastilah romantic untuk pasangan berbulan madu. Wax Museum betul-betul berada di simpang yang dapat dilihat dari koridor bilik kami.

Pemandgan dari koridor bilik kami - Sg Nerang

Setelah berehat seketika, kami keluar berjalan-jalan untuk melihat sekeliling Surfers Paradise. Tujuan kami ialah mencari liputan wireless. Di bilik, internet hanya dapat digunakan dengan melanggan satu jam 11AUD atau 24jam 22AUD. Juga disediakan ruang computer berintenet dengan satu jam 6AUD. Jadi, kami cuba mencari wireless free kerana kebiasaan pengalaman kami wireless di tempat2 tertentu adalah free. Tetapi ini tidak berlaku di Australia. Akhirnya kami berhenti di Starbuck dan membayar liputan wireless 1jam 3AUD. Menggunakan intenet kami mencari cara ke Australia Fair untuk ke Ming Mei Asean Supermarket utk membeli makanan. Kami ditegur oleh 2 aunties yang mengatakan kami bernasib baik kerana cuaca cerah setelah beberapa hari Gold Coast ditimpa hujan. Setelah berpuas hati dgn maklumat yang kami kumpul, kami sambung berjalan-jalan melewati kedai-kedai cenderamata, melewati Hard Rock Café, dan bergerak menuju ke arah pantai. Sambil-sambil itu, kami kumpul pamphlets di booth tour agent yang mudah di dapati di kawasan pejalan kaki di Surfers Paradise.

Pantai Surfers Paradise - syurga utk peluncur.

Pulang dari berjalan-jalan, kami rasa agak keletihan. Kami berehat dan keluar semula utk ke Australia Fair selepas maghrib dalam lebih kurang pukul 5.30ptg. Malam bermula awal di Gold Coast pada waktu ini kerana ia sedang memasuki musim dingin. Kami menaiki bas di stesen yang berhampiran dan pamphlets ttg khidmat pengangkutan bas di Gold Coast amat membantu. Seperti di Jepun, waktu ketibaan bas dinyatakan di board dan ia dtg tepat pada masanya. Bas di Gold Coast mempunyai satu pintu utk keluar masuk di mana tiket dibeli dari driver bas berkenaan. Untuk memastikan kami akan turun di stesen yang betul, saya bertanya kepada salah seorang penumpang bas dan nasib kami baik kerana dia juga turun di tempat yg sama. Tips seterusnya, jangan malu bertanya jika tidak mahu sesat. Dan sebenarnya tidak perlu bersusah2 utk mencari asean supermarket ini, kerana di surfers paradise juga mempunyai kedai2 runcit yang menjual byk makanan segera Indonesia, kedai kebab dan kedai roti halal.

Kami pulang dari Australia Fair yg rupa2nya hanya sebuah shopping kompleks biasa setelah membeli roti dan air mineral. Oleh kerana malam masih muda, kami menukar pakaian dan kembali berjalan-jalan di Surfers Paradise. Untuk ke Surfers Paradise dari Vibe Hotel kami cuma perlu berjalan kaki tidak sampai 5 minit. Perut sudah merasa lapar dan kami mengambil keputusan untuk mencuba Ali Baba Kebab yang berharga 7AUD ke 8AUD. Sedang kami makan ada sedikit pertunjukan jalanan di hadapan sebuah pub. Setelah makan kami menuju ke satu booth untuk mencari lagi maklumat ttg tour agent yg ada di Gold Coast dan booking tiket masuk ke Movieworld dgn harga 67AUD seorang. Lebih murah 2AUD booking di booth dari membelinya di pintu masuk entrance. Kami turut masuk ke Ripleys Believe It Or Not. Harga asal lebih mahal tetapi kami menggunakan kad student dan dapat masuk dgn harga 18.90AUD seorang. Ada pelbagai perkara pelik yang dikumpul oleh Ripleys dan saya agak seram juga dgn jumlah patung-patung pelik yang byk. Kami pulang ke bilik dan mencari kata putus ttg tours yg akan kami lakukan untuk hari2 seterusnya.

Tips to boost up your confidence

2010-03-16T03:00:00.000-07:00

No doubt, during this PhD study I usually get less confidence with my self, frustrated with my research and the systems, besides usually shivering while thinking what will be happened tomorrow. Below are the tips for overcoming the less confidence feelings.

1. Ask yourself "what's the worst that could happen?". Too often, we place excess importance on potentual problems. We all have a certain amount of energy so let's apply it to creating extraordinary relationships, advancing our career and meeting our goals INSTEAD OF WASTING THAT ENERGY WORRYING. Take action on what you have control over and minimize risks for what you don't. Then invest your energy wisely.

2. In doing something for the first time, imagine that you have already done it in the past. Close your eyes, then vividly imagine you succeeding wildly at what you are really going to do for the first time. The mind does NOT know the difference between something VIVIDLY imagined and something real. Make it vivid by involving all 5 senses.

3. Find someone who is already confident in that area and copy them. Model as many of their behaviors, attitudes, values, and beliefs for the context you want to be confident in as you can. How can you do this? Talk with them if you have access to them. If you don’t have access to them, get as much exposure to them as you can. This could be talking to people who know the person and/or buying their products if they have some.

4. Use the “as-if” frame. I literally love this frame of mind. If you were confident, how would you be acting? How would you be moving? How would you be speaking? What would you be thinking? What would you tell yourself inside? By asking yourself these questions, you are literally forced to answer them by going into a confident state. You will then be acting “as-if” you are confident. Now just forget you are acting long enough and pretty soon you’ll develop it into a habit.

5. Go into the future and ask if what you’re faced with is such a big deal. This might be a bit morbid and yet this works tremendously well. Imagine yourself on your deathbed looking back over your life. You are surrounded by your friends and family. You’re reviewing your life. Is what you’re faced with now even going to pop up? That’s highly unlikely. Keeping things in proper perspective really diminishes fear.

6. Remember that you lose out on 100% of the opportunities that you never go for. To get what you want, ask for it. I fully believe that if I ask enough people for whatever I want, I can get it. This is not necessarily true and yet it’s a useful belief. As you think about your goals and what you are striving for, how effective would it be for you to believe that all the people out there want to help you if you only ask? Whether that is true or not in the “real world” does not matter. If you find that belief empowering, I invite you to adopt it as your own.

7. Disarm the nagging, negative internal voice. That negative internal voice can keep anyone stopped. To disarm the internal voice, imagine a volume control and lower the volume. Or how about changing the internal voice to Mickey Mouse? Do you think you could take Mickey Mouse seriously if he were criticizing you? Change the voice to a clown voice. The point is to disarm the voice by altering the way it nags at you. If I hear my own voice nagging me, it stops me. If I hear a clown voice, I laugh and continue onward .

(This article is based on the book, “Unstoppable Confidence” by Kent Sayre.)

I learnt that during PhD we might be to scared to our supervisors, afraid of others' perception, feeling biased especially when the custom,culture and language are totally different. I wonder if these experiences have varnishing my confidence during these 2 years. But I feel it does affect me somehow... so I might need to overcome this situation because I don't want the feelings affect my performance as lecturer after I come back. However, it has the pro effects where I realize that there are a lot of peoples out there that more clever, hardworking and knowledgable. Thus,actually there's no place to be egoistic in research. We usually meet some peoples that hardly to accept others' critics towards their works.Actually, we have to respect other peoples' ideas and abilities, which this basic is actually not being applied in Japanese hierarchical laboratory system. This might cause the less confidence case and low self esteem for a foreigner like me. :)

Anyway, Malaysia boleh!!! Patient is the best policy....

Cerita sikit dari simposium

2010-03-10T02:22:00.000-08:00

Minggu lepas saya diberi peluang untuk menghadiri simposium JICA/GCOE yang dikelolakan oleh Kyoto Universiti. Simposium 2 hari ini diisi dengan penerangan dan perbincangan mengenai Human Security dan dihadiri oleh negara2 yang mendapat budget dari JICA untuk kegiatan research mereka. Di antaranya ialah Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Taiwan dan Singapore. Tiada wakil dari Malaysia kerana base untuk aktiviti research di Malaysia di bawak JICA hanya tertumpu di bidang manufacturing di UM. Tambahan pula, Malaysia bukan termasuk dalam negara low income country yang memerlukan dana dari kerajaan Jepun. Negara2 lain mendiskusikan masalah banjir, bekalan air (Indonesia), runtuhan embankment sungai ( Vietnam) manakala Singapore hanya menceritakan ttg masalah lanun di perairan selat Melaka.
Walaubagaimanapun semua topik yang dibincangkan sgt berkaitan dgn Human Security.

Dari pengamatan saya, Malaysia sudah melepasi paras survive dan telah masuk ke level dimana perlu mencari formula untuk sustain. Dari segi insfrastructure saya percaya Malaysia telah hampir lengkap dengan sistem tersebut, cuma Malaysia mengalami masalah civilization dari segi minda dan sikap masyaraktnya. Dan untuk ke arah mencivilize kan masyrakat Malaysia untuk ke tahap negara maju, civil engineer perlu memainkan peranan tersebut. Oleh sebb itu, pendekatan research untuk GCOE ini lebih kepada integrated pelbagai isu dalam engineering menjadi satu bagi mengatasi atau mencari jalan menangani risk atau disaster.

Saya ingin menulis byk. Tetapi masa tidak mengizinkan. InsyaAllah..saya akan cuba menulis maklumat yg didapati di simposium untuk dikongsi bersama2 teman lain. Saya percaya simposium ini sgt bermanfaat kerana Malaysia telah mencapai level kemajuannya yg tersendiri. Dan saya menyokong suggestion dari Perdana Menteri bahawa masyarakat Malaysia perlu bersedia untuk keluar dari kepompong middle income countries. Kita boleh menjadi proaktif dan inovatif dari segi ekonomi dan ilmu dalam tempoh 10 tahun ini. InsyaAllah.

Ohhhh My Karada! Ohh My Prada!!

2010-02-24T04:17:00.000-08:00

Fuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!
What a very long fuhh!! Cerita ini bermula last week apabila saya masuk ke dalam bilik SV dgn penuh harapan dan kesungguhan untuk menjelaskan apa misi saya untuk 2010 ini. Saya sudah siap dengan lists untuk beberapa journals and conferences yang saya target untuk thn ini. Dan juga future study yang bakal saya buat dalam masa beberapa minggu sebelum berakhirnya bulan Mac. Saya juga berharapan agar dapat berdiskusi tentang apa yang saya patut tulis untuk dissertation saya.

Oh ... dan rupa-rupanya lain yang berlaku. Tiba di bahagian future study, sv mendpati selama ini saya tidak menggunakan analysis ordinal logit model sebaliknya menggunakan binary logit. SV jadi marah dan saya dihalau keluar dengan beliau meninggalkan saya dengan alasan tidak mempunyai masa. Sedangkan saya baru bertemu beliau tidak sampai 30 minit. Saya disuruh membetulkan semula semua analisis. Actually, saya baru tahu tentang kewujudan ordered logit 2 hari sebelum berjumpa beliau. Sebelum ini saya menganalisis menggunakan binary logit kerana itu yang tertulis di dalam buku statistik menggunakan SPSS yang saya ada. Seriousa, saya belajar ttg tools apa yang patut saya gunakan dengan sendiri. Saya decide sendiri , buat revision sendiri dan mencari bahan sendiri bagi menyelesaikan masalah research yang saya reka frameworknya sendiri. Paling menyakitkan dalam proses ini ialah, saya tidak mempunyai tempat berbincang selain SV yang sibuk, kerana sayalah satu-satunya student PhD di dalam lab itu. Agak sukar meminta penjelasan dari teman-teman se lab yang berbangsa Jepun. Seperti itik bercakap dgn ayam belanda. Ohhhhhhhhhhh......saya memang byk belajar melalui kesilapan dlm proses ini.

Sejak minggu lepas, saya bekerja siang dan malam membetulkan analisis. Dan paling memenatkan ialah bahagian memperbetulkan jurnal yang telah ditulis. Saya baru sahaja email kepada sv. Ini tidak bermakna kerja telah selesai. Pasti ada saja pembetulan demi pembetulan. Masih byk kerja bertimbun yang perlu dilakukan. Saya mengharapkan masa berjalan dengan laju, dan saya mampu berlari laju bersama-sama masa. Tidak sabar mahu menghabiskan kehidupan di Jp ini....

p/s: Karada = body.

Oh My Coach!

2010-02-19T20:24:00.000-08:00

Woho! Dah lama tak buat luahan perasaan. Sebb before this busy writing journals and conference papers kejar target for 2010. Plus, getting busy for the big day preparation. However, suddenly, minggu lepas masa meeting dgn sv kena buat pembetulan semula dengan semua analisis. Terkejut la jugak. Selama ni, setiap apa yang saya hantar tu mcm dah betul. This is all about the tools. Lab saya memang gunapakai statistical tools untuk majority research. Macam-macam tools ade selain SPSS, ade LIMDEP, AMOS, LISREL, TSP, R language. Kalau boleh nak belajar semua. Tapi bila ukur tahap penguasaan stats diri sendiri...lemah lutut rasanya. Dalam SPSS sahaja ada macam-macam statistical methods.

Seriosanyer memang sedih dengan ilmu stats yang ade dlm diri. A lots of methods tak tahu. Dan penguasaan math and stats orang-orang Jepun ni memang tahap ichi-ban. Buku-buku math dan stats diterjemah dalam bahasa mereka. Patutla cepat faham. Sedangkan kita ni....belaja math dan stats ikut English ( dulu kat UKM belaja campur2 BM/BI).....Walaupun bagi sesetengah orang tools itu tak penting, tapi bagi saya ia sangat penting. Sebb nak guna tools kita kena faham dari foundamental. Teringat satu software backcalculation di Lab Pavement. kalau setakat guna software tu tahu tak tahu macam mana backcalculation berfungsi, tentu-tentulah data yang dimasukkan tu x bermakna...it's just numbers. OK! Transfering tech dah bermula. Harap-harap berguna.

Oh My Gurl!

2010-01-27T01:34:00.000-08:00

My head feels like want to explode. The dateline for wctrs is on 1st February. OMG! I am running out of the time .The problem is I have already paid the 5% of the fees for the paper reviewed by myself but I had already sent my previous writing to Transport Policy Journal as what sensei asked me to do. The writing was actually for the wctrs but in order to accelerate the process to get published journal, sensei ordered me sent the paper directly to the journal publisher.
Actually the reviewed paper in wctrs will be also evaluated for publishing in Transport Policy. It is likely sensei actually don't have grant to send me to the conference so he considered as if the paper is ready why I have to wait. Now the problem arises on how I should construct the flow for the wctrs paper. Now, every day I write write read write read write................bah!

2010-01-13T19:46:00.000-08:00

It's getting freezing here. I delayed my post for new year's resolution story but actually I don't have any new resolution to make. Just, I am a little bit worry with my performance in this winter season. I am very slow. Very very slow.

I am working on my second paper to compare the psychological and behavior impact to the motorcyclists while they are using different type of motorcycle lanes. My words and ideas also freezed and nothing much I have done for this past a month.

I can't waste much time for blogging right now...better I pen off and do the important thing first. ;p

2009-12-26T07:25:00.000-08:00

Saja entry kali ini tulis dlm BM. Hari ini cuaca tak berapa sejuk. Oleh kerana rasa happy dengan weather yang baik, so tgh hari tadi masak asam pedas ikan terubuk Sarawak. Santai2 sedikit, tetapi bila dapat email sensei terus rasa yabai. Memang banyak kerja, kalau tak pandai control stress ni, mmg tak akan ada mood langsung untuk buat semua kerja...Sigh! Selagi x habis PhD ni, takde la holidays. Lagi2 next april dah start thn D3. PhD ni pun kerja juga, tiap2 bulan gaji masuk...jadi anggaplah SAYA BERKHIDMAT UNTUK NEGARA hingga grad.

Di bawah email sensei...rajin betul sensei ni...saya sent malam semalam pukul 12.30 malam, ptg sbtu dia balas. Adoyai...



Hi, Nur san;

It is a good first step for the next analysis.

Beore the regression analysis, you need compare means for all the variables 
(by ANOVAs and t-statistics) between conditions. Make a table for comparing 
means and standard deviation for all the variables with the information of 
ANOVA result. If you find any significance of ANOVAs,you can do t-test 
between any pair of conditions for that variable.

Best.

Satoshi

second baby has a problem

2009-12-24T19:51:00.000-08:00

see the red circle ...it suppose to be less than 1. but it's not. grrrr....it makes my day turn upside down.

2009-12-22T06:08:00.000-08:00

Tonight my lab has a bounenkai party – the end year party but I skip it. It is better for me to not join because it starts at 9p.m and maybe ends at 11.00p.m. It is too cold and tiring to walk back from station in this kind of weather.alone .Plus, each of us has to pay 4000yen for the party which I think it cost too much. The price is expensive because of the beers. And I am not drinking of course, so if I go I will waste such amount of money (that I can buy for four new shirts )just for paying their beers.

We had a long presentation day today from 1.00p.m to 8.00p.m and after that my lab mates rushing for the bus to go to the party place before 9.00p.m. The senseis also join the party.

It is very different between young professor and old professor. I think I am lucky because get the opportunity to do my PhD under two different professors. Late Prof Kitamura was very famous and respectable person. I was under his supervision until the early of this year and had met him for several times only. Each time I met him, I always felt want to cry and stupid. His question was hard to answer and almost every time I felt like had been scolded. He was 60 years old when he died because of cancer and I am his last PhD student. Yesterday before sleep I cried because suddenly I remembered his words while I was doing the presentation. It was like a sharp knife that made a really deep cut which I will remember those words maybe forever.

Those memory came suddenly because my 婚約者 had faced the hard situation for 彼のlast プレゼンテーションの準備. What we face here is something to be reminded when we become a supervisor for our students one day. Either the student will ‘success’ in his/her research is actually depends on the supervisor’s way of guidance. I don’t know in the places other than Japan but, what I and 婚約者have been experienced here is might be the bitter part of medicine. We hate it but we have to swallow it.

Picture of 2 years ago when I first came to the lab. Late Prof Kitamura asking Petr about his life showing his concern to his student.

2009-12-21T07:04:00.000-08:00

True love is not measured in hugs and kisses, but in struggles and fears, and those who can work though those...they possess true love. - Adam Murphy

SD , error . logit and phobit

2009-12-17T00:11:00.000-08:00

Yesterday sensei asked to divide my standardized coefficient with PAIxPAI/6 which is 1.644. It made me trumbled up and down because I can't figured out what is the purpose. He said that standrd deviation for the error term for phobit is 1, but logit is 1.644. So I need to divide the value to normalize the value at same level with phobit. Alhamdulillah I have settled the prob after searching in the internet (thanks to Kenneth Tran for his book Discrete Choice Method), but still dunno yet if it is correct or not. still waiting for sensei's reply. Headache smashs me and the weather is very cold like I can't even left my desk. I want to cook something for dinner but it is soooo chilly. The thing that I hate the most for winter season is going to the toilet which is freezing me.

my new bag of obsession. cute isn't it?

2009-12-14T23:26:00.001-08:00

Good.

I think you do not have to wait untill
your submittion to Transport Policy
submittion to WCTR.
So, you can submit it to Transport Policy
immediately after we finished
writing.

Best.

Satoshi

I have already paid for WCTRS's revision. How about make it two hits!
I am too ambitious sometimes, in fact I work really slow - as slow as snail ...
This email gives me an impact to write and write and write
But I think I need to go for window shopping for a while.
The temptation to spend money on clothes, shoes or accessories is really killing me.

nobody wants to be left behind

2009-12-13T01:24:00.000-08:00

Waiting for sensei replying the email was something that made my heart thumping. Also, when I opened the email and saw there was sensei’s name, I tried not to read it directly but just read it through. After I felt better and all prepared for any circumstances, I read it once again. Suddenly, I am relieved! No big correction this time. But still, I have to do some revisions and he added some sentences and ideas. But still I don’t know if the paper I am making now is suitable for the Transport Policy Journal. Anyway I had tried. Effort does count! I am about to challenge myself for not delaying the small tasks because when tomorrow comes, I can freshly figure out on how to write the second baby in the proper way. Plus, there is an idea on another paper for ITS conference in Busan, Korea for next year. Owh! Hope that I can manage it too.

Hope my dear, hope.

Autumn in the blur

2009-12-05T05:51:00.000-08:00

I am on my way to write my second baby. I had already satisfied with my first even though I still do not receive any comment from sensei yet. The problem with the second paper is I can’t easily compare the psychological factors between two conditions. There are some factors restricting the comparison logically. So I have to figure out, what am I suppose to report. Plus, I have to write another paper on ITS and need to prepare my second data collection, that is tougher than before.

I really hope I can stop the time for a while.

2009-11-17T01:42:00.001-08:00

The weather is no good. Too cold and I can't read even a sentence. Gosh....too stress and gloomy for all the day. Nope two days...started yesterday. And might be continued to weeks and weeks after this. But I heard that the cold season is the best season for Japanese to work. Yup, they are bz in these nov, dec, jan and feb...

Hurm...I need to motivate myself . Help!

Malaysian and attitude

2009-11-05T22:07:00.000-08:00

Is it true that our attitude out of control?

I wonder how Japanese can follow the rules - mostly all the rules. I did some blogging to search on speed limits in Malaysia and what I have got is something that shameful. Most of the repliers to speed limit’ topics show inconsideration towards the rules. Malaysian want to drive like drivers in Autobahn but it is not possible. First, it is because we are very far from the automobile technology. Second, we don’t have that matured attitude – respects to the laws like the matured motorized countries have. Sometimes I feel that Malaysian peoples are too demanding.

I keep on sighing since I have got the results from my experiment. It is hard to make the arguments and contradictions. The results are of course, on the track of hypotheses and previous researches, but I can’t give the robust solution towards Malaysian attitude. It is not only in terms of road safety but mostly for all social contacts.

My findings show that social norm is the highest predictor for the behaviors. Social norm is perception on what other peoples’ do. As a human we are usually attracted to do the same things as others. For example, in my study it is shows that, if the motorcyclists perceived other motorcyclists did involved in speeding and not using helmet, they likely to engage with the behaviors too.

I do agree that sensation of speeding is something that hard to control. Some peoples are really confident that they can manage their speed, but some peoples are actually over confident. In my point of view, what we can do is by educating them by why they can’t speed, where they can’t speed and how to speed safely.

They need to be informed that, speeding had caused the highest severity in road accident because high speed increases the accelerations and this could cause skidding especially while an emergency break is needed. I wonder how many cars in Malaysia do equipped with ABS systems. Our motorcycles… of course don’t have the ITS (Intelligent Transport System)’s equipments yet. However, if they really confident that their machines are fully prepared, then they have to know how to control the environment, which road they can speed fast and which path they have to show respects for the vulnerable road users.

Well, there are a lot of things that I want to exclaim for examples the peoples’ trust to government/ authorities like JPJ, PDRM etc, the education systems, our moral obligation… but it might be too long lonely discussion for this blog. As a conclusion we, Malaysian, do not matured yet in many things. In terms of technology (of course), our mind, our attitude, our perspective … still learning and searching for the best way to become a better country. I am hoping that the opportunity to explore the knowledge in developed countries that the government had given to the lecturers/researchers, will result in better understanding in order to tune the Malaysian’s negative attitudes and perspectives to positive.

end of oct

2009-10-28T20:22:00.000-07:00

Should I call it as a lucky day, when the first person I met at school was my sensei. I said ohayou gozaimasu and he remind me to have some meeting according to my results. Well, I am now working on paper and hoping to finish it in this week. But, October will finish in two more days and seems that I will never make it.

I am waiting for the reply from LISBON and really hope that I can join the conference there. It will be my first! But I know that sensei is more interested in writing journals than sending student to conference (while there is no budget for that I think!) UTHM is giving incentive for staff that wrote papers in high impact journals. That’s push my eager button to write journals. Besides, there is also incentive for writing books! If only I can concentrate on that!

My moving activity was finished, yet, I still need to meet the previous house’s oyasan for the checking day on 31st. And the contract for parking will be also stopped. So, the car will be parked in school’s parking which is free until we decide when to send it to be scrapped. From now on, I am a public transport user and getting more focus on the bus schedule but it is fun actually.

I think that’s it all for this morning. How I wish I have a better English to make me easy to write those journals.

jya!

Jadual

2009-10-04T04:36:00.000-07:00

Jadual sensei bulan 10 dan awal bulan 11

10月5　午前中東京→夕方から大阪（近畿地方整備局＠塚田さん）
6　東京（土木学会JABEE委員会→夕方からIBSで打ち合わせ）
7　新潟（新潟国道事務所）
8　新潟→4時から学内会議→終了後京都市内会議
9　終日在室予定1
0から12　社会心理学会＠阪大
13　午前中東京→夕方5時から学内会議
14　東京（国土交通大学→虎ノ門で会議）→宿泊
15　東京→京都へ移動10時から市内で京都市の所用→午後在室
16　午前中調整中→午後大阪
19　午前中調整中→午後京都→夕方東京
20から26　スウェーデン27　午後京都市委員会
28　東京（土木学会コンサルタント委員会）
29　在室予定
30　座間市委員会
11月2　午前中吉田講義→午後在室予定
4　東京（早稲田竹村先生研究会）→宿泊
5　東京（土木学会コンサルタント委員会→IBS会議）
6　午前中KBS京都ラジオ→京阪奈で研究会8～10　土木学会の所用で不在

Jadual saya bulan 10 - packing barang dan pindah rumah + siapkan report dan paper.
Sudah cukup untuk membuatkan kepala saya dilanda headache dek kurang rehat sejak akhir2 ini.

Congestion - is it really bad?

2009-10-01T21:22:00.000-07:00

I had another happyo last tuesday. It is not as good as in Nagoya. But sensei said that from what I have done, I am supposed to have 2 papers on that. Majide? I myself don't really satisfied with the result but well, I should try to write a journal before Dec.

I am trying to understand the transportation condition in Japan. Not much can be discuss with sensei and other nihonjin friends. I tend to observed by my own and compare as much as I can to Malaysia's condition.

I read a lot of comments in internet about congestion in Malaysia. I believe that people want to get to their destination as fast as they could. But a lot of vehicles caused the traffic jam. In Malaysia, this is the most important research focus in 90's era. Then, the authorities such as DBKL, PLUS etc started to install the foundation of ITS system to reduce the congestion.

In this era, another big issue has been raised up. It is about road accident. It just being realized that speeding is a big issue. First, we want to make the traffic flow goes smooth ...then it's turned to disaster due to road accidents.

It is not just problem occurs in Malaysia. It is same with Japan and all other countries in the world. Plus, the traffic congestion in Japan is worse than Malaysia. The number of cars on the road increasing year by years. It takes one hour to get from a place like KLIA to Bangi where we can to make it in 20-30 minutes . The traffic calming they use is traffic lights. There are a lot of traffic lights in Japan which Malaysian hate the most!

However, because of this slow speeding, the number of fatality in Japan is really low. The car accident is rarely happen but, the accidents involving the bicyclist and pedestrian are getting rise in numbers.

I can't say that what I see in Japan is good where people rely on public transport, bicycle and walking. But, this is what happen in developed countries. They try to switch the mode of transport from motors to people energy. However in Japan, it is more complicated where when all people walking, the congestion among pedestrian occurs. The pedestrians need to share the narrow lane with bicycles, motorcycles and cars. Then, they become very vulnerable in roads.

I believe, relying on car means a lots. It makes our life easier to move. But sometimes we take advantage and drive without realizing it is beyond our limit of conscious controls. And the traffic congestion - it is good in certain ways such as controlling the accident rate that caused by over speeding as long as it not make you stuck at the same point more than 5 minutes. That's the aim of traffic calming in Japan.

Another failure for OPS SIKAP

2009-09-25T09:08:00.000-07:00

It is my area of research. So maybe that's make me very concern about this matter. But who else out there do recognize this is a public health problem in Malaysia. The drivers, the riders...they don't care about whatever the slogan is when they started the engine. That's true and that's is human nature.

Back to my previous presentation and when I got feedback from a guy from Tokyo University. He claimed that attitude is hard to change ~ The only way to stop the behaviors is by enforcement. I am pro on attitude can be control by environment. Because I am an engineer. I need an engineering solution for my PhD. But I do agree that to solve the community's social dilemma, we need a very big team integrated all authorites...not only Tan Sri Musa ~
Tan Sri Musa claimed that our road users are too brave even brave for die on the road! But I bet, if Malaysia follow the way of Japan in order to control the accident and fatality, many peoples' life will be miserable..

In Japan, people who has involved with fatality accident or causing other people severed is label as same level as criminal. These kind of peoples can be fired from their job or will face the hard way to get a job. What else? The procedure after involve in accident will make u think more than twice to drive or ride aggresively. The police will take your picture, record every single details and demerit from your driving license. Plus...it is very expensive to pay the damage that you make caused by accident. Everything is about money!

I think, Malaysia need a very strict policy and rules towards the road users. No discount for summon. But doubled it when they not pay it ~ make sure no body can run. Plus, it can increase our economy just by collecting the summon ( this is sarcastic sentence). Road users not afraid of being caught - that is one clear reason. But for my study, I will figure out more, I wish.

p/s: but the results not showing the significant relationship .... sigh!

SELAMAT HARI RAYA
ANDA TAHU ANDA MAMPU MENGUBAHNYA
BUT U DON'T CARE.

Preparation for presentation

2009-09-09T03:23:00.000-07:00

Busy. The only word to story everything about my life recently. I have to prepare slides for presentation in Nagoya next week. This would be my first presentation out from the zemi hall in Katsura Campus. Kinchou suru. Suddenly they pick me to represent the lab. Maybe because there is no other PhD student in the lab. The senpais - Ari, Petr, Yilin and Owen already graduated. Yay!
Only few days left. ..

The interesting part is there will be an award for the best presenter. Get to go back to work.

saaa....tsukarechatta nee

2009-09-03T06:04:00.000-07:00

Another one and half year to go!...and I have already tired living in Japan.Huhuhu...

It is not about my study. I think percentage of difficulities on managing life in Japan is highly "adventurous" than my study. In a week, maybe only 2 or 3 days that I can fully concerntrate on my study. Problem with car, parking place, policeman, bank, letters, bills etc. ~ it is not that difficult if it is in English. But all of them are in Japanese character that would make my head dizzling. Beside of that, the kibishi (strict) rules in Japan make the life harder. Now, after nearly two years living in Japan, I really afraid of being penalty, It is very expensive and no compromize!

When I came back from Malaysia, I just realized that a few problems occur. First, my credit card is totally terminated because of late payment. My lab's secretary confirmed that the money for the flight ticket will be paid into my account in June while I was in Malaysia. But it didn't. So, because of that, the credit card company add some penalty and suddenly terminated my credit card. I can't apply for credit card anymore by using the same account. No more credit card now...^^!

Second, before I went home to Malaysia, I haved already put some amount of money in my bank account for car parking's payment. Usually they will deduct from my account. But today, I received a call from fudo-san saying that the car parking's owner didn't received my payment for two months. It supposed to automatically debit from my account. But , the owner received the payment for August. There must be something wrong with the bank system - wrong because maybe I don't understand. I have to go to the bank tomorrow. And face the difficulty in Japanese Language.

I will move to new mansion in the middle of October. In this new mansion, I have to set up a new internet network which I need to gain help from Japanese friend. It is because, for the cheaper one, I need to negotiate about the contract etc. Usually the contract is for two years. I can say that everything in Japan is about a contract. When we say that kerenah birokrasi, I think Japan is worse...too many document, but they are effective. They always follow the rules. No space for mengelat.

I am getting busier and busier after got the data. Alhamdulillah, analysis with logistic regression is already finished. I take about one month to learn the statistic and SPSS. Not so bad! Quite fast... Next Monday I have a meeting with sensei at 2p.m. I need to ask him to be my guarantor for a new mansion. After that I have to go to settle up the contract. Gheez... Busy is good but it is really tiring. =)

2009-08-31T07:46:00.001-07:00

SELAMAT HARI KEMERDEKAAN KE 52.
Suddenly I wanna ask Anwar Ibrahim, why he become an opposition?
Isn't he is the one who open the stage for the unfinish debate about racist.

Right to talk~~~

2009-08-19T20:26:00.000-07:00

Well,it is 20th, and maybe we will celebrate Ramadhan in 22th. It's mean that it is already 20 days I came back from Malaysia. I now working on regression analysis. Have to learn the multiple regression before can use logistic regression for my data. Who said statistic is easy? It is simple to play with the tools whatever it is, but it is hard to interprate every single numbers and symbols. Ghezzzze....PhD.

It is not my first aim for writing today. Again, it is about my lab. It is not easy to live in Japan. It is what I feel after nearly two years I am living here. Maybe it is because my lab's environment.

We will have 4 days conference and I am not being invited to join while the other labmates are busy working on preparation. That is what I feel. They held a meeting with everybody involved but not me and another foreign student. Feel that my lab has a little bias towards foreign students. I have face this situation since I came here. I feel lonely, no body to discuss about how hard living in Japan, how hard to understand this and that in research works, even what the agendas for lab, usually I know nothing. I tried to approach them but seems it is hard for them to mingle around with me.

That's why I don't really suggest if there is any of my friend that want to pursue their PhD here in Japan (especially my lab) if they don't have the basic Japanese. If they really want to, please make sure that the SV has grants, be able to speak english and had supervised a lot of foreign students. Do not choose by the rank of University. But choose depends on the SV.

I admit how I admire Japan very much before I came here, but it is very different that what you see in JDrama. Living in Japanese communitee sometime can make you suffer inside, and you have to know how to deal with it.

About research in Japan, especially for my area, it is not about the outcome, but about the learning process. I learn to be patient, I learn to think, I learn to learn....and I learn to keep my feeling deep inside. I believe people will say that it is PhD. But I do say that PhD in Japan is different because of their culture.

Well, again, it is just my experience. I don't really want to express this feeling but I just want to state something for myself, which is - PhD is not totally about academic,journals, conference etc, but it is about building our self esteem, knowing and understanding our weaknessess and strength, and also learn how to spread some love even we are stress and depress~~~ :)

Small 'da' - paddy field in my area. Can you see that yellow thing? It is used to fright small birds from eat the paddy, I think....but I actually dunno the purpose...hehe.... It is very calming bicycling near the paddy field sometimes....but I think the sceneries of paddy field in Malaysia are more beautiful.

Data investigation in summer holiday.

2009-08-06T23:55:00.000-07:00

The people in Japan are in the mood of holiday, I think. It is a time for many festivals and fireworks. But, I just came back with files of data to analyze. I really want to see hanabi (fireworks) but I think I have to skip it again for this year. I see some trees start turn to red and I wonder why, because it is still in summer. I like the scenery of autumn but I like summer more. Feel like in Malaysia.

Well, I want to write about a lot of things but seem that I don’t have enough fingers to work with me. Today entry is more about my work for these few days after I came back to Japan.

I am in a stage of describing and investigating my data. Before I can use it into AMOS, I have to assure that all the variables are fit with normal distribution curve bell or else it might be affecting my analysis. But the AMOS program that I used in school don’t has the summary of normality test like has been stated in books or notes. I wonder why. I am using the AMOS Basic version 5, and the part for testing the normality and outliers is also there.

However, I think it is ok because I can examine the normal distribution with SPSS. The normal distribution can be checked through the critical ratio of Skewness and Kurtosis. It is suppose to be in range of positive to negative 2.58 for each variable and also for the sum of variables (multivariate). If the data is non-normal then, have to check either there is any outlier and delete the strange data before test the bell curve once again.

About more than 50% of my respondents are in the range of 15 to 25 years old motorcyclists. When I take out the older respondents from the analysis, it shows that attitude has played the role to influence their behaviours.

I want to write about the content of my discussion with the director of MIROS last month, but maybe I will write it later. I am now learning how to interpret the numbers in AMOS output. I feel relief now, because I already have data and it is time for me to write the papers and go to some conferences. I have to make it fast!

Happy summer!

Even the dragon has problem to soar

2009-07-20T10:11:00.000-07:00

Maybe It Is A Language Problem. (click here to read)

playing with SPSS

2009-07-17T06:04:00.000-07:00

I am not good in statistics. But I have to master SPSS and Structural Equation Modeling to figure out what is hidden inside my data. It is fun to play with the data. There are a lot of things can be interpreted by using SPSS but I realized that we in Malaysia don't have a good reference for a person who want to use SPSS and learn statistics in one time. But of course we can buy a lot of statistical and SPSS books in English and I suggest a book from Andy Field. He described the usage of SPSS and statistic in easy way and sometime include funny stories to make it less bored.

Below are some of my data displayed in bar chart from crosstabulation , I wish I could put a bigger ones to show the speed desire in different areas. The risk compensation theory seems to be occured but I need to analyze it more. ^^

it's time to play with numbers n words

2009-07-09T08:14:00.000-07:00

ML is one of my task.

Ok. Now it’s time to analyze the data. For the first part I will do some descriptive analysis to investigate deeply who are my respondents and what actually their perspectives towards safety. Which one is fits to our community’s level of probability – uncertainty or risk? It is quite interesting for me to figure out. If our motorcyclists know that they are exposed to the traffic accident each time they ride the motorcycle, it means they are willing to take a risk by doing the risky behaviors such as speeding and not wearing the helmet, but if they don’t have the clue and blur about the danger – they are playing with the uncertainty.

Previous research by Pang et al claimed that 75% of motorcycle’s accidents involved with other road users and about 25% more involving the road-side objects. I would like to compare this report with my study. One of my friends is doing his PhD also in motorcyclists with Intelligent Transport System (ITS) as the objective to improve their safety. This is a very good research while I have another girlfriend doing her PhD focusing ITS in Germany.

My task is quite different because I try to see more into psychological, cognitive impact and also more into risk management and communication. When the ITS tools are ready to be used in Malaysia, motorcyclists need to be told on how to use it in a correct way. That is my job to find out how and when to inform them about how-to-use and when-to-use the tools. If not, the tools will be a gajah putih like Smart Tag or Touch n go , because our people don’t know what the system can do for them.( And become more helpless when sometimes the electronic toll collector’s company can’t manage their things in a good way.)

Malaysian is busy talking about the PPSMI. Well, I don’t want to comment more than I should, just read this entry from Muhtar Suhaili.

That's why my labmates eat bananas everydy!

2009-06-29T01:41:00.000-07:00

Bananas... This is very interesting.

After Reading THIS, you'll NEVER look at a banana in the same way again -

Bananas. Containing three natural sugars - sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fiber, a banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy.

Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world's leading athletes.

But energy isn't the only way a banana can help us keep fit. It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions, making it a must to add to our daily diet.

Depression:

According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND amongst people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a banana.

This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.

PMS: Forget the pills - eat a banana. The vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood.

Anemia:

High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of haemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anemia.

Blood Pressure:

This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it the perfect to beat blood pressure.

So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration has just allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit's ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke.

Brain Power:

200 students at aTwickenham (Middlesex) school were helped through their exams this year by eating bananas at breakfast, break, and lunch in a bid to boost their brain power. Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert.

Constipation:

High in fiber, including bananas in the diet can help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without resorting to laxatives.

Hangovers:

One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to make a banana milkshake, sweetened with honey. The banana calms the stomach and, with the help of the honey, builds up depleted blood sugar levels, while the milk soothes and re-hydrates your system.

Heartburn:

Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body, so if you suffer from heartburn, try eating a banana for soothing relief.

Morning Sickness:

Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness.

Mosquito bites:

Before reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing the affected area with the inside of a banana skin. Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation.

Nerves:

Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the nervous system.

Overweight and at work?

Studies at the Institute of Psychology in Austria found pressure at work leads to gorging on comfort food like chocolate and crisps. Looking at 5,000 hospital patients, researchers found the most obese were more likely to be in high-pressure jobs. The report concluded that, to avoid panic-induced food cravings, we need to control our blood sugar levels by snacking on high carbohydrate foods every two hours to keep levels steady.

Ulcers:

The banana is used as the dietary food against intestinal disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness. It is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chronicler cases. It also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.

Temperature control:

Many other cultures see bananas as a "cooling" fruit that can lower both the physical and emotional temperature of expectant mothers. In Thailand, for example, pregnant women eat bananas to ensure their baby is born with a cool temperature.

Seasonal Affective Disorder

(SAD): Bananas can help SAD sufferers because they contain the natural mood enhancer tryptophan.

Smoking:

Bananas can also help people trying to give up smoking. The B6, B12 they contain, as well as the potassium and magnesium found in them, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.

Stress:

Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalize the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body's water balance. When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, thereby reducing our potassium levels. These can be rebalanced with the help of a high-potassium banana snack.

Strokes:

According to research in "The New England Journal of Medicine,

"eating bananas as part of a regular diet can cut the risk of death by strokes by as much as 40%!

Warts:

Those keen on natural alternatives swear that if you want to kill off a wart, take a piece of banana skin and place it on the wart, with the yellow side out. Carefully hold the skin in place with a plaster or surgical tape!

So, a banana really is a natural remedy for many ills. When you compare it to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrate, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals.

It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around.

So maybe its time to change that well-known phrase so that we say,

"A banana a day keeps the doctor away!"

sikap tamak tidak boleh ada dalam kejuruteraan

2009-06-25T19:40:00.000-07:00

Melihat dokumentari berkenaan tragedi empangan pecah di Stava, Italy di salah satu saluran dokumentari di Astro menguatkan lagi pendirian saya bahawa ketamakan akan membawa bencana. Tragedi yang mengorbankan 268 nyawa pada 19 Julai 1985 itu diakibatkan oleh sikap tamak pemaju lombong yang tidak bersetuju untuk menanggung kos keselamatan yang tinggi sedangkan laporan penyelidikan telah dikeluarkan bahawa empangan kedua yang dibina oleh mereka bagi menampung sisa perlombongan adalah tidak selamat. Kawasan penempatan di kaki pergunungan Alphine itu akhirnya tertimbus oleh banjir lumpur apabila empangan kedua yang dibina di atas empangan pertama tidak dapat menampung beban air limbah dari lombong bahan pembuat kaca dan menyebabkan kedua-dua empangan itu pecah.

Kilang kayu

Kemudiannya, saya terus mengaitkan permasalahan ini dengan persekitaran tempat kerja saya di Universiti Tun Hussein Onn (UTHM). Tidak boleh dinafikan bahawa sudah banyak kali aduan dilakukan berkenaan masalah kilang kayu di sebelah universiti yang mengganggu kesihatan dan keharmonian bukan sahaja warga universiti malah penduduk setempat. Tetapi aduan ini seolah-olah tidak di ambil endah atas alasan bahawa kilang kayu itu dibina sebelum kewujudan UTHM lagi.

Tetapi bagaimana pula dgn kesihatan para pelajar dan suasana pembelajaran tidak kondusif yang terpaksa mereka hadapi. Mungkin kira-kiranya nampak tidak serius bagi sesetengah pihak kerana kesannya adalah jangka panjang. Bagi menghasilkan para jurutera yang cekap, modal yang bukan sedikit telah dilaburkan untuk prasarana dan insfrastuktur sesebuah universiti. Sayangnya, para pelajar yang menghidu bau-bauan bahan kimia selalunya tidak dpt menumpukan perhatian , sakit kepala dan mengalami masalah pernafasan. Malah mereka sering tidak dapat mengulangkaji pelajaran dengan baik. Mungkinkah kerana kos pemindahan kilang kayu adalah terlalu tinggi maka kesihatan para pelajar dan staf harus menjadi bayaran untuk itu? Bagaimana pula dengan persepsi para pelajar ini terhadap etika kejuruteraan yang mereka pelajari di dalam pengajian sedangkan persekitaran mereka menunjukkan realiti yang sebaliknya?

Jalan Ayer Hitam – Batu Pahat

Juga telah diketahui umum bahawa Jalan Ayer Hitam – Batu Pahat yang telah dinaik taraf sejak tahun 2006 merupakan jalan raya yang paling merbahaya dengan jumlah korban tidak kurang dari 36 kematian dengan anggaran 1000 kemalangan setiap tahun. Secara logiknya, pemanduan laju di jalan ini tidak boleh dibenarkan kerana kawasan tersebut merupakan kawasan penempatan luar bandar selain mempunyai universiti, sekolah, pusat-pusat latihan, dan kilang. Tetapi secara psikologinya, semakin luas dan selesa jalan raya yang disediakan semakin tinggi keinginan untuk memandu laju. Pihak berkuasa perlu mencari kaedah kejuruteraan yang terbaik untuk mempengaruhi psikologi pengguna jalan raya agar tidak memandu laju di kawasan tersebut sebagaimana yang telah digunakan oleh banyak negara-negara maju bagi mengatasi masalah kemalangan jalan raya.

Sesuatu kawasan yg membangun tidak dikira dari kelajuan pengguna jalan raya tetepi diukur dari aspek keselamatannya. Kos RM50 juta yang diumumkan oleh Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor. Menteri Kerja Raya untuk membaiki taraf keselamatan Jalan Ayer Hitam – Batu Pahat ini mungkin satu nilai yang besar tetapi jika dihitung kos jangka masa panjang ia tidak setinggi kos yang melibatkan kehilangan nyawa terutama para penuntut universiti yang merupakan pelapis para jurutera di masa akan datang.

Berada di dalam situasi ini, para pelajar kejuruteraan UTHM seharusnya dapat melihat dgn jelas bahawa ketamakan dan sikap tidak mengambil berat di dalam kejuruteraan membawa kesan negatif kepada masyarakat. Tidak dinafikan bukan sahaja di kawasan Parit Raja malah di Malaysia sendiri kesedaran tentang etika kejuruteraan masih cetek. Jika tidak masakan begitu banyak bencana akibat dari kesilapan kejuruteraan berlaku. Bagi pihak penyelidik UTHM, ini adalah cabaran dalam penyelidikan kerana kajian dan analisa yang mampu memperbaiki masalah setempat itu mendatangkan faedah bersama. Bidang kejuruteraan bertujuan membangunkan negara tetapi kejuruteraan tanpa kesedaran dan rasa tanggungjawab terhadap masyarakat hanya akan memburukkan keadaan.

Kesimpulannya,pengajaran dari tragedi empangan pecah di Starva,Itali adalah hampir serupa dengan permasalahan di negara kita sendiri. Jika pemaju lombong pada awalnya bersetuju dgn kos keselamatan tinggi tersebut ia mungkin dapat menyelamatkan ratusan nyawa yang terkorban serta kenangan pahit yang tidak terganti dengan wang ringgit.

Peace in mind

2009-06-06T15:57:00.001-07:00

There is no day in life without a story. Sometimes it is full of joy but sometimes it brings a distraction to your aims. But we always have a choice. Being distracted or focus straight. But I highly recommended that to be a successful person, we don't have to afraid of making mistakes and do admit it. Furthermore, don't put our attention too much on what other peoples say about us. Just do what we think is suitable and reasonable for us. We know ourselves more than others.

Two days that full of agendas and no relax for me on this weekend. But, insyaAllah, it will brings barakah and rahmah for my future life. ;-). This poem is really inspired me. I have wrote it once and I would like to write it again here. It just so calming.

Do it anyway by Mother Teresa

People are often unreasonable, illogical, And self-centered;
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you
Of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some
False friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank;
People may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building,
someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness,
they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today,
people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have,and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you've got anyway.
You see, in the final analysisit is between you and God
It was never between you and them anyway.

My qualitative research begins.

2009-06-04T23:42:00.000-07:00

Mencabar. It is a word that I think enough to explain this task. I have to gain 300 respondents in kampung ( rural area) for my survey and it is not easy. In engineering research it is less likely to use questionnaire as a main tool and seems that not so important rather than using technological tools, experiments, software, simulation, etc. That is what I thought previously before I involving myself in this kind of methodology. I also thougt that - Ah! My thing is not a robust research. It is simple, no adventure.

But actually no. It is an adventure.

Qualitative data is usually used by researcher in education, social science or marketing. But don't forget that human engineering needs this! To educate people to use technology, infrastructures, and what so ever that engineer s/professionals have invented is started by understanding how they react, behave and accept those things. If we don’t have a clue on their perception, we can’t never know either our invention/work/policy/rules etc. are good for community or we just following the trend of development/research. We need a top-down communication to gain the trust from our society towards the development for this country. Thus we really need qualitative datas.

Mendekati masyarakat bukannya mudah. Masyarakat terdiri dari pelbagai lapisan dan mempunyai kepelbagaian pendapat. Tetapi jika kita tidak berani untuk turun padang, kita tidak dapat menyelami masalah sebenar yang mengekang kemajuan dalam penyelidikan kita. Cara untuk mendekati masyarakat sangatlah mencabar.Tetapi jika tidak dimulakan dengan cabaran, kita tidak akan belajar. Namanya pun belajar membuat research, kan?

Okay. I start my work today – distributing the questionnaires in Muar. I would like to focus on motorcyclists that use motorcycle lane in Jalan Abdul Rahman. I never have an experience and this is the first time. The hard thing is to explain to old respondents what actually my questionnaire wants from these pakcik and makcik. They hardly understand my questions. I asked about their perception while using motorcycle lane and while not using motorcycle lane and it is repeated for purpose. I want a different perspective for both conditions. But they said it is confusing while it is repeated. It is something that I fail to recognize while designing the questionnaire. I forgot about the pakcik and makcik and their ability to understand it. Well, I can’t handle a pilot study while I was in Japan and my respondents in Malaysia. It is really a risk to my analysis. Fuh!!

Their ability to examine and understand the question is very low and I have to read and explain to them what the questions really want. It takes time and patient. ( I am also studying the community then.) Another thing is, it is hard to get cooperation from non Malay. They don’t want to answer the questions and think that my work is rubbish. From 300, today I just gain 18.

A lot of things I have learned actually. My hypothesis that it is not easy to educate community is true. But it is not their false at all. It is just not our culture for being helpful. I realized that there are too much skeptical to the authorities or even individual. Believe me. It is easier to work with computer and tools rather than to work with people. But in travel BEHAVIOR analysis laboratory we have to study about human and understand how engineering today effects and improve their life. Are they understand enough, are they have moral obligation, thankful and realized that we need a strong union to develop as a successful country.

Maybe my research is a tiny little thing, but I hope it is a good start for me to help my nation. I just inspired from my sensei. ;)

Can we have the society like they have in developed country one day ? When we will fully developed, or we just love to be as the unmatured country?

Big Aims (?)...Its time for savings!!!

2009-05-17T23:12:00.001-07:00

Moral obligation and SD

2009-05-12T06:57:00.000-07:00

Ok. Perak is in chaos. It makes history - a state that has two MB. I am not going to comment on this situation. This is not my expert thou.... It is just I need to construct a visual of a reality. (?). How am I suppose to say this ... It is hard to write than throw it in verbal.

Let me make it clear. My SV inspired me when he talked about moral obligation and his responsibility for the young generation in Japan. He write a book entitled Social Dilemma and he has a class for this subject. It is in Japanese Language so I cannot attend the class. Two phases "moral obligation" and "social dilemma" hit my mind and patriotism. Or it is a moral obligation feeling!

It is hard for me to describe moral obligation and social dilemma stuff here. I am lack of words. But if anybody interest about it, just hit the Google and read about it. Yup, it is a kind of social psychology thing but what it has to do with transportation anyway? If you have the opportunity to live in this Japanese community, you must be surely understand what it is all about. It is not just about the area or field of knowledge but it is about the fundamental of a society's mind set.

When I first came to Japan, I asked myself...why is this community has such as this kind of manner - respect others'. It is just like what everybody else thing about. Then, me and my friend got the opportunity to understand the meaning of 'I have rights for my own thing, don't dare to disturb. Please respect!' - Japanese are really strict for their own things - like car park, private stuff, even tranquility. However, they are also very respect to public/sharing stuffs...if you have a dog, so you have the responsibility for the dog's "excrement"... Please pick it up!

What is this all about? It is a fundamental of moral obligation and social dilemma. They fix the social dilemma by educating the nations with moral obligation. Sounds easy but how did they make it? Back to Malaysia's situation with political error (?), mat rempits, accidents, bribery, crimes, etc.... we actually lack of this fundamental of moral obligation. It is because we cannot understand what is our social dilemma all about and we never make a pure, focus and vigorous step to make a research on it. So, we failed to educate our nations what is the meaning of tolerate and success. ( Read more on Prisoner's Dilemma.)

The interesting fact here is these kind of social psychology things play with probabilities, statistics and mathematics which the Japanese are really strong. It is about the Game Theory that has something to do with transportation modelling and travel behavior analysis. It is also play rules in economic and urban planning. Is it means that because of we are lacking this math things we failed to understand the dilemmas?? Is it means because we don't know how to build up a prediction model, so we failed to fix the social problems??

We, researchers have a lot of works to do. Called by my SV's determination towards his young Japanese - I feel a moral obligation towards mine too...How about you?

p/s: our politic is just suits the prisoner's dilemma case!

AMOS the analysis of moment structure

2009-05-10T21:50:00.000-07:00

Weather is getting hot here. I am fasting today and quite sleepy. Maybe coz yesterday I cycled quite far - from my home Katsura to Arashiyama. It was very nice and unforgetable journey even just about for two hours... :)))

I just want to put some information about my modeling progress. I believe modeling is easier than programing. I try to memorize back the AMOS that I had play with a year ago. Yikes..I forgot it... not totally but I wonder how can I play with it with out user guide. So I try to relocate the memory. After about 3 hours I gained it back. My mistake is just because not go through the document carefully. Theee heee heee..... So greedy to learn but not in smart way I think. I learn that make notes is sometime make your life easier - management thing!!!

This SEM tool actually opens the door for nonstatistician to solve estimation and hyphotheses testing problems that we would have required the services of the specialist. But by this tool, we can test the hyphotheses by ourselves. It is just about how to learn it and many people like to learn by doing. That's why the user guide is important.

Talking about the AMOS, it provides methods for estimating these structural equations

Maximum Likehood, Unweighted Least Squares, Generalized Least Squares, Browne's asymptotically..., Scale Free Least Square.

I wonder why I don't know these thing and what had happened in my statistic class in my old days! Just one thought - MALAYSIAN we need Math & Sc to survive!

Spring time..

2009-05-07T02:51:00.000-07:00

It is a tulip season in Japan

Wow it seems thaat I take quite a long time to write again! A lot of things happened of course and it is hard for me to report everything. The winter season which I don’t really prefer had finished and the weather turns to very nice and warm suits with my feeling. Even almost every day it is raining but the colorful flowers seem blooming everywhere.

The Golden Week has passed by. A week before that, I had an academic camp with my lab mates with our new sensei in Biwako in Shiga prefecture. Well, I can say as a – mengeratkan silaturrahim purpose -. Our new leader, I mean our new sensei has a very different perspective than our last Kitamura sensei. He is younger, more energetic and somehow very sporting. I had a chance to chat with him. He told us that, when he was 25 or 26 years old he used to join a band as a vocalist. I heard that he is really good in singing. One interesting thing about him is when he talks; he will use very loud voice and become very enthusiastic. Each times, he will asks the student to live this life for God, not only for the sake of oneself.

He believes in God (but he doesn’t has religion) and he said that recently, young generations of Japan facing the social dilemmas. They become selfish and lost respect to old peoples and traditions. What he thought is something that really different and mostly of Japanese don’t really care about God. He wants to change the perspective. That’s why he always gives a kind of motivation for Japanese students. In Nihon – Go of course….

But what important for me is – he makes my work easier. I have finished designing the questionnaire and waiting time to collect the data. He likes it - that is the most important thing. I have two months to accomplish everything before I can analyze and write journals. I heard he has a lot of PhD students that can finish the PhD in 2 years. I am not hoping to come back before the time but hoping to gain the PhD on the time! I have a lot of plans after that…. Life is not easy, thou!!!

I need to discipline myself a little bit. Put effort on writing practice, working more on mathematical models, and be fast. Well...The season that I love the most has come!

Introducing the cute little fella

2009-03-19T21:00:00.000-07:00

Last week we had visitors from Ampang. It was their first visit to Japan. Before - I always heard about this lil fella from his 'Pak Ngah.' His Pak Ngah told us that this little fella has a lots of talent. When I met him - Yes, he does! He can express his feelings in English very well even he is actually just 6 years old boy (he is studying in International School-lah, that's why..). He likes cartoons very much and almost for all the time he talked about the characters that he had saw. PSP was always in his hands. He is so sweet talker (in a positive way) and talented. Friendly, charming and easy going.

Me and the Pak Ngah entertained this lil fella with his beloved mom and dad to Kobe, Osaka, USJ and also Shogetsu (for yakisoba and okonomiyaki). This lil guy really had a great fun in USJ . Wonder how he did it but his figure and character naturally attracted the Japanese peoples. So he got Japanese friends on that day. Sometimes I had a lil chat with him and he really likes acting and making faces.

On last Tuesday, they went back to Malaysia. It is another experience for the ryugakusei like me -living far away from my family and entertaining the visitors that come and go really makes me miss my home- my parents-my siblings-my stuff in Malaysia.

But I do have a great time as a tourist guide!! These are the photos of lil Firdaus.

Firdaus made a scary face becoz we just finished the Jurassic Park's Ride. But he was the one who resisted to join.

Me and Lil Firdaus before entering the 4D Sesame Street

Owh....this is the Pak Ngah (?) before has the new cut.

This week we will busy for satsugyo-shiki for the undergraduates students. Yana, Farah, Kimi and the boys will go back for good. Nesh and Hannin will extend for Master study. Congrates to Ee and welcome to Kyoto University!! I wish I have a time to send them some appreciation on this 25th.

Kenkyuu...is still upside down like alwizz...^^

Check your bicycle before moving towards PhD

2009-03-11T04:04:00.000-07:00

Are you ready to work independently?

Are you have enough energy to fight loneliness?

Is your brain smart enough?

Does your sv fits your research's interest?

What is your secret weapon towards sudden blurr in research?

Are you confident with your topic?

Are you really want to ride the bicycle or use other mode of transport?

sometimes we may feel that we are not good, but never stop the willingness to learn.

I try to be positive - but its getting hot in my head!

2009-03-09T23:38:00.000-07:00

With Note
Dear Nur, As for the cycle lane, please visit the web pages below. If you cannot understand the detail, please ask someone Japanese student to translate the article.

Gimme sustainable 'Minyak Cap Kapak'

2009-03-03T00:59:00.000-08:00

2 weeks after sensei left us.

Macam-macam perkara berlaku, siang dan malam, malam dan siang bertukar ganti. Tetapi kalau di namakan pening tentang hal kenkyuu ini, ada masa ia berhenti ada masa ia terus memenngkan. Pendek kata mungkin hidup selama 3 tahun dalam kepeningan.

Walau bagaimanapun, jangan putus asa! Walaupun jalan yang dilalui kadang kala menunjuk ke arah jalan yang berbengkok-bengkok.

Associate Prof saya nampaknya sangat berminat untuk menggantikan Kitamura Sensei sebgai sv baru saya. Juga cakap-cakap mengenai pengganti tempat Kitamura Sensei iaitu Fujii Sensei dari Tokyi Institute Technology adalah sangat kibishi.....Juga kerana saya terpaksa menanti kehadiran beliau sehingga April ini...menyebabkan saya mendapatkan khidmat Associate Prof ini terlebih dahulu.

Tetapi, bertambah pening kepala saya apabila, saya terpaksa UP sedikit kerja untuk membandingkan antara risk perception sang motosikalis di Malaysia dengan sang basikalis di Jepun. Memang di Jepun basikal merupakan kenderaan berdaftar paling tinggi walaupun tidak bermotor. Tetapi apakah mungkin dapat di bandingkan antara 2 jenis pengguna jalan raya ini, dan perbandingannya adalah di antara negera maju dan negara (yang mahu maju tetapi sibuk dengan hal politik (?) )yang membangun?

Kerja-kerja untuk mengenal pasti kaitan antara risk perception dan risky behavior saja masih belum selesai, sudah terpaksa di tambah dengan satu framework baru....

Kata Yoshii sensei....kajian ini kan jadi omoshiroi...harap-haraplah.. saya paste kan satu senario basikalis di Jepun yang saya dapati dari Japan Times untuk bacaan umum

Dear Alice,
I was more than a little shocked, upon moving to Japan last year, to see people riding bicycles on sidewalks. Back in Arizona, in the United States, sidewalks are for pedestrians, and it's illegal to ride a bike on one. Each time I ride my bike in Tokyo I wonder if I'm breaking the law. A friend told me it's OK to cycle on either the road or the sidewalk, but another said riding on the sidewalk is only permitted where there are signs that say so. I don't think I've seen such a sign and am not sure I'd recognize one if I did. What the heck are the "rules of the road?" (Or should I say "sidewalk?")

Mark J., Tokyo

Dear Mark, Your second friend is correct. Sort of. Officially, cycling is permitted on sidewalks only where there is a sign that says it's OK, and you could be cautioned or ticketed by the police for riding on a sidewalk anywhere else. Unofficially, the situation is more complex. You're unlikely to get in trouble with the police for riding a bicycle on any sidewalk in Japan, but it could depend on how you're riding and the discretion of the officer who sees you. How's that for a definitive answer?

There is indeed a sign that permits bicycles on sidewalks, but I'm not surprised you're unfamiliar with it. I've been biking around Tokyo every day for six years, but until I got your question I had never noticed one. Known (to an official few) by the unwieldy moniker of jitensha oyobi hokosha senyo doro hyoshiki (bicycle- and pedestrian-use only road sign), it's a blue circle with a silhouette of an adult man walking with a child, and below and to their right, a bicycle.
Until about 1970, when these signs first started appearing, it wasn't permitted to ride on sidewalks at all. But the rapid increase in the number of automobiles during the first postwar decades forced bicyclists up onto the sidewalks for sheer safety. Traffic was chaotic, and there were few of the safeguards we take for granted today, like guardrails and pedestrian lights. Readers who were in Japan in the '60s and '70s may remember the term kotsu senso (traffic war), coined when traffic fatalities first exceeded the number of Japanese who were killed in the Sino-Japanese war. Dangerous traffic became a social issue, and one strategy to reduce deaths was to change the law to allow bicycles on designated sidewalks.

The trouble with that is that pedestrians and bicycles move at different speeds, and forcing them to share the same space increases the likelihood that they'll crash into each other. In 2005, there were 2,435 collisions between bicycles and pedestrians in Japan that were serious enough to be reported to the police. In six of those accidents there was a fatality.

Other countries have reduced traffic fatalities by providing separate space for motor vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians, but Japan has been slow to adopt the idea of dedicated bicycle lanes, partially because of a lack of space. Not surprisingly, riding a bicycle in Japan is a lot more dangerous than in other developed countries. According to data from the International Road Traffic and Accident Database, more people die on bicycles in Japan than in Germany, France, Italy and the Netherlands put together. Japan also has far more cycling fatalities than the U.S., despite having less than half as many people.

The National Police Agency recently held a symposium on how to make cycling safer. The attitude of the police representatives, according to one participant, was that bicycles should be moved off the roads completely, even if they've got no other place to go but straight into pedestrians' paths. This is one reason why I say you're unlikely to get stopped by the police for riding on a sidewalk, even where it isn't permitted. They like you there. Another reason is that all the police officers I spoke to assured me they look the other way unless the cyclist causes an accident or is doing something else illegal.

That's a good reason to learn the other rules concerning bicycles. Japanese law defines a bicycle as a conveyance for one person, although an adult is allowed to carry one child up to the age of 6, as long as the child is in a seat designed for the purpose. Which means all those moms who ferry two kids at once are breaking the law. So are the high school students and lovey-dovey couples who engage in flagrant futari nori unten (two people on one bike).

You'd never know it from casual observation on a rainy day, but kasasashi unten (riding with an open umbrella) is also against the law in Japan. So is doing anything that impairs your ability to operate the bicycle safely, including talking on a mobile phone. But except for occasional crackdowns on riding at night without a light, the police rarely go after cyclists. They're certainly not likely to chase after a mama chari (mommy bike) because there are two kids aboard.
However, the law against inshu unten (driving under the influence of alcohol) applies to bicycles too, and while rare, there have been arrests for drunk riding. So it's a good idea to walk your bike home after hitting the bottle. Just be sure to stay on the sidewalk, and watch out for plastered pedestrians!

Belasungkawa

2009-02-19T18:50:00.000-08:00

Hari ini pagi Jumaat sangat redup. Awan berat dengan tanda-tanda hujan akan turun lagi. Saya menulis ini dari meja sebelah. Owen dan Petr sedang berdiskusi tentang list publications milik sensei hingga tahun 2005.

Belasungkawa

Sensei saya telah lama mengidap kanser perut sejak dari sebelum saya datang ke lab ini. Saya hanya berpeluang menemui dalam meeting hampir 1-2 jam tidak sampai 10 kali. Setiap kali hendak meeting, kecut perut akan terasa yang amat sangat. Kali terakhir saya meeting dengan sensei ialah pada bulan November di rumahnya. Pada ketika itu, beliau baru sahaja selesai operation tumor.

Sebagai seorang yang sangat terkenal di TRB, sensei saya pernah menerima Lifetime Award dalam bidang kariernya pada tahun 2006 sebaris dengan Ben Akiva dari MIT, US.

Sensei saya mempunyai minat membaca pelbagai jenis genre buku.
Semalam, apabila kami berkesempatan ke rumahnya, hampir setengah jam kami membelek-belek rak yang penuh dengan buku-buku, baik novel mahupun akademik. Sungguh memberikan inspirasi. Ada 2 buku tentang Malaysia, dan sebuah buku terjemahan 'The Koran'

Sensei minat kepada model keretapi. Ada beberapa model keretapi dan buku-buku mengenainya. Rupa-rupanya sensei mempunyai hobi yang menarik. Ia memberikan pengertian kepada saya bahawa untuk menjadi seseorang yang 'besar' kita perlu ada sesuatu yang 'unik' dalam diri.

Saya tidak mudah mengalirkan air mata semalam. Malah melihat wajah teman-teman lab yang kemerah-merahan menahan esak menjadikan saya 'blur.' Saya rasa saya bukanlah seorang yang dekat dengan sensei. Saya baru setahun setengah bersama beliau.

Tetapi untuk mengenali seseorang itu, lihatlah pada buku yang dibacanya. The Perception of Risk tulisan Paul Slovic menangkap mata saya dan saya segera tahu bahawa idea kajian saya berpunca dari buku ini. Owen dan Petr sedang sibuk berganbatte mencari kerja. Bulan 9 ni mereka akan tamat Phd. Nama sensei akan memberikan impak yang besar pada mereka. Mungkin juga pada Ari.

Tidak lama lagi akan tinggal saya sendiri. Anggap saja saya tidak bernasib baik kerana tidak dapat berpayung di bawah sensei untuk jangka masa yang lama. Pagi ini, barulah saya terasa betapa banyak peninggalan sensei untuk saya pelajari. Barulah terselit satu rasa untuk memahami cara pemikirannya dan apa kemahuannya.

Sukar untuk meluahkan apa yang tersirat di fikiran. Hidup perlu diteruskan. Berbanding dengan rakan-rakan lain, saya telah mempunyai pekerjaan tetap dan scholarship yang bagus. Tiada masalah untuk saya melebarkan sayap biarpun saya akan bertukar supervisor. Dan supervisor yang baru mungkin tidak sehebat sensei Kitamura.

Tetapi, tuhan telah menyediakan jalan untuk kita susuri. Sekiranya kita percaya kepada sifat ubudiyyah, maka segala ketentuan dan ketetapan yang berada di bawah tangannya akan dapat kita terima dengan redha. Ini adalah satu pengalaman yang mengesankan dalam hidup saya. Tugas penyelidikan saya akan berjalan seperti biasa. InsyaAllah.

Penghormatan terakhir

Esok - Sabtu dan Ahad, kami satu lab akan membantu di majlis pengkebumian. Majlisnya hampir sama dengan majlis untuk orang-orang beragama Buddha mungkin. Saya akan membantu sebagai tanda penghormatan. Di samping itu dapat melihat kepercayaan orang-orang bukan Islam.

Hidup di perantauan memang bukan sesuatu yang mudah. Tetapi kita dapat melihat banyak sudut yang berbeza. Ada waktunya kita perlu terbang jauh melebarkan sayap melihat bahawa dunia milik Allah ini terlalu luas dan penuh dengan pelbagai penciptaan yang tidak pernah terjangkau dek akal. Dan...satu hari nanti, apabila sudah puas terbang, seperti fitrahnya sang burung, kita akan pulang ke sarang...dengan membawa apa yang telah kita lihat untuk dilihat oleh mata orang lain.

Sabda Rasullullah S.A.W - Sebaik-baik manusia ialah manusia yang banyak memberi faedah kepada orang lain.Semoga kita menjadi salah seorang dari manusia yang terbaik itu. Amin

Ryuichi Kitamura Sensei, houtouni doumo arigatou gozaimashita...

Thinking about you

2009-02-17T21:56:00.000-08:00

I don’t really know how the Malaysian people thinking. I just assumed that publics don’t get enough information about what is happening and what will happen. I think our people lack of information about knowledge but too much info about gossip and entertainment. ( plus bad politics’ situation)

When I take a look at the pool from PDRM’s website about the risk of not using the backseat seatbelt, the percentage of arguing is higher. I think, our road users are not really recognizing the risk around them. In order to say that maybe our people just don’t really care about safety, I rather claim that our people are lack of education about safety. Some will say that it is because of the enforcement. Our roads need police averywhere. But,our people are not really cared of being penalty or ticketing, aren’t they? People, who have money and power, will not be affected with this kind of enforcement.

In Japan, police seems has nothing to do rather than ticketing the bicyclists and drivers. Japan is somewhat very secure place even for kids. No robberies, no criminals. You are safe to walk alone at night. No body will take your wallet if you let it freely on the table in family restaurant. You will get your hand phone in safely return if you suddenly left it on the train. etc

So, how to change our people’s way of thinking and behave? A lot of things have been done according to this matter but the appropriate way is to understand what actually they are thinking and the factors that influenced their behavior. Questionnaire is a way how to get the information.

I just realize that data that we got from the questionnaire could describe the internal situation that the researchers never recognize. The raw data can give a lot of interpretations that would lead to other deep research in order to understand the human behaviors. Thus, it is better to share the results with the public, so they will know the exact situation rather than they keep on arguing about the policies.

In the easy way, I can say that the researchers gain the knowledge from the experiment towards the public and returning back the result to the public in the informative way. People might be more aware if the policies that been made is based by the strong and supportive research. This is the way to build up the trust towards policy. In risk management study, it is called as risk communication.

I think, we must develop research culture in our people’s mind since they are young. Do it in the interactive way. I found out that internet is very effective used in Japan, and for many other developed countries. People supposed get more information about the risk around them. But first, develop the culture of reading the academic materials not the comic!!!

However maybe, Malaysia is a country that lack of natural disaster or phenomenon like earthquake, volcano’s eruption, tsunami etc (but we have flood problem, landslides, higher numbers of accidents, cases of criminal, disease because of too much eating ……), we don’t really want to care about the matter of risk.

It is an interesting topic for me thou. It is related on people’s way of think and behave that are practically developed by the culture of one country. Culture and policies somehow mingle in a related way.

Komen

2009-02-11T20:55:00.000-08:00

Tak terasa selera untuk makan tengah hari hari ini. Bukan kerana tak dapat menerima komentar Petr dan Owen tentang framework saya. Bertuah sangat mereka dapat luangkan masa 2 jam untuk meneliti kerja-kerja saya. Maklumlah, sensei masih belum cukup tenaga untuk mengendalikan student. Email tak berbalas dan thesis pelajar-pelajar B4 dan M2 tidak dapat juga diperiksa.

Cuma yang mengganggu di benak saya ialah apakah sebenarnya standard kajian saya ini? Kalau diturutkan idea, memang banyak perkara yang hendak saya buat. Tetapi banyak juga limitasi. Dengan sensei yang tidak dapat memberi penyeliaan secukupnya, serta pelbagai keterbatasan.

Petr banyak memberi pandangan dari sudut decision making dan probability. Theory yang telah diselidikinya selama lebih dari 2 tahun. Ada sedikit persamaan tetapi ada juga perbezaan dengan kajian saya. Owen lebih banyak memberi pembetulan dari segi membina questionnaire.

Saya sedang menanti email dari Prof Farhan. Semoga Prof Farhan dapat memberi satu nasihat yang baik. Setiap masa saya rasakan research saya berada di hujung tanduk dan masa terus berlalu. Pun saya kuatkan diri dalam kebimbangan bahawa saya akan sempurnakan topik ini kerana ia menarik biarpun Peter kata ia tidak memberi kaitan yang kuat antara lorong motosikal dan kajian terhadap persepsi.

Berita dan data kemalangan mengenai penunggang motosikal yang tidak pernah surut yang menjadikan saya terus kuat untuk stay dalam topik ini. Saya selalu bertanya pada diri untuk menjadikan topik ini menarik di mata penghuni-penghuni makmal ini. Maklumlah, setiap kali orang lain membuat pembentangan, apalah sangat yang dapat saya fahami dengan pengetahuan nihon go yang sekelumit cuma.

Buat yang ingin melanjutkan PhD, perlu latih mental menerima tekanan dan keupayaan untuk menyediakan plan-plan susulan. Nasib kita mungkin telah ditentukan. Tetapi jangan sesekali mengalah. Sesekali untuk mengatasi masalah hilang kepercayaan kepada diri, kita perlu berdegil bahaya kajian kita adalah kajian yang baik dan berfaedah. Itulah cara saya memujuk diri………..

2009-02-01T15:29:00.000-08:00

Minggu baru bagi bulan Februari. Pantas sungguh masa berlari. I am getting very busy after this. Target untuk data collection adalah pada bulan Mei. Tapi sekarang still setup framework for modeling, belum pun tunjuk pada sensei apa-apa lagi. Juga belum contact orang-orang MIROS. Selagi tak kukuh nak defend framework ni, selagi tu tak boleh maju selangkah lagi.Btw, proses design questionnaire sedang berlangsung sekarang ini. Ini merupakan step ketiga dalam list things to do.

Kemudian kena pastikan tiada masalah bagi pihak Unit Cuti Belajar di UTHM untuk balik collect data. Juga dengan pihak KPT. Juga dengan kewangan untuk collect data. Banyak wang yang akan dikorbankan kerana lab saya tak mempunyai grant research. ^ ^ !!

Well, there's nothing special to share. Just to built up the mood. My M2 labmates sedang sibuk menyiapkan rombun. Tidur di dalam lab secara berjamaah. Pagi-pagi Isnin ni, saya datang awal untuk gain back the momentum. Tapi,budak-budak ni sedap tido lagi.

Sebenarnya, pada musim-musim sejuk ni, saya suka makan strawberry. Tetapi sejak mengalami krisis ekonomi, dan harga strawberry yang masih 350yen ++ menyebabkan saya bertukar kepada satu kegemaran baru iaitu cherry tomato.

Cherry tomato ni tak pernah jumpa di Malaysia. Kalau jumpa pun maybe tak makan sebb saya bukan penggemar sayur. Tetapi tahun ni, saya berkenalan dengan cherry tomato ni. Rangup dan sedap. Saya makan dengan susu yang sepatutnya di makan dengan strawberry. Salah satu cara untuk jaga kulit dan juga elakkan kanser.

Yosh! La la la la... kerjalah!

Hoshi that I have.

2009-01-19T19:33:00.000-08:00

Hey hey…. Ari and Owen had come back from TRB’s conference and a lot of storytelling and sharing happened today. Still, I wish that one day I will have that opportunity too. For now, I haven’t attended any conference yet except the seminars that had been held by my laboratory and mostly in nihon go. Yeah, how I wish to go further and meet more peoples. How they make research, how they think and develop the ideas and learn some more knowledge. Ari gives me a lot of motivation. He said that I should prepare for 2010’s TRB conference. I just tell my self that one day I could join it. There’s nothing that impossible for the wishes.

Hey there, my friend M.H Jabbar. Welcome back to blog. Nice to hear that he write and write and write. Seems he really use the magic pen that I had gave to him before. Well, my advices for his phd’s study is try to find the supervisor that has some grants and active in journals or conference. And also that has a lot of foreign students. Of course he will be strict to you but, he will supervise you to become a better researcher. Best wishes my friend!!!

Yesterday, I went to my host family’s house for the first time-the Yamaguchi’s family. My mom is a housewife aged 64 and my father had already retired from Matsubishi’s company aged 66. They have a son and a daughter. At first, I was worried that I can’t talk well in nihon go. But the meeting is very nice. They are warm and we had interesting conversation. Thus I can practice my nihon go. Just I really hope that Ashraf Kun also can enjoy his moments that only a year left here. We actually share the same family.
A lot of things happened. And I have a lot of hoshi’s. Need to get back to work and focus. Love is in the air. Hoping that the air is really clean from any viruses and bacterias!!!

the poem influenced me the most ...

2009-01-14T19:43:00.000-08:00

People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway.
What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.
Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway.
In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.

-mother theresa-

The Original Version: The Paradoxical Commandments by Dr. Kent M. Keith

People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.Love them anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you win false friends and true enemies.Succeed anyway.

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.Do good anyway.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.Be honest and frank anyway.

The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.Think big anyway.

People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.Build anyway.

People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.Help people anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth.Give the world the best you have anyway.

Small thought for road safety

2009-01-12T07:39:00.001-08:00

It seems that nowadays, Ministry of Transportation, MKJR and MiROS are busy with their agenda. A shot from TV3 showed some motorcyclists riding helmets has opened up my eyes again. Somehow, as a researcher I feel needed to find some resolution for this social matter. Authorities need to do something not only focusing in enforcement. We cannot have police traffic everywhere to watch and assure the road users are obeying the rules or not especially in rush hours.

Malaysia is actually lack of a lot of things in road environment technologies. Our VMS (Variable Message Sign) are not everywhere. We have it in KL of course but they are not giving so much information as what they have in Japan. ETC systems in Japan are actually similar to Malaysia but they have better in incident-detection management. I have the opportunity to see how they manage the traffic flow for Hanshin Expressway when I went to the Osaka Hanshin Expressway Headquarter last year.

The screen shows the route that facing the traffic jam with red colors.

There are a lot of things to talk about our road signs also. Road environment in our country is better than other East Asia country maybe but, we need more research or transfer technology in order to build up our roads towards ‘Safety First’.

Campaigns, commercial, enforcement or free helmets can’t solve the problem. We know the reality to change the attitude will take longer time than we thought. Maybe, our road users need to be alerted. If only we have the ITS technology that built in the vehicle that could aware us to use helmets or seat belts, maybe the road users will get the safety message. Or we maybe we can have the road signage that can make the road users alert about their environment. Well, it is all about the communication between the vehicle, the road environment and human. Japan did manage the communication between these sub sets.

And me, I am doing in psychological way and will try to find a way to think as creative as those Japanese!

Getting blurred

2009-01-09T04:10:00.000-08:00

For this time being, I am still searching for confidence values in my research. No special plan for 2009. But yet, it is a graduation year for some colleagues – the KIT’s undergraduate boys and girls, Firdaus Kun and also Kak Farihah. Not forget our charming Kojek. But Kojek will come back to Kyoto University for PhD. Also for Mahendra – I heard that he will buy a Volkswagen before go back to Malaysia.

Still after a year, my progress is like an escargot crawling on the ground. Pi Mai Pi Mai Tang Tu jugak! It is not an easy thing to defend your objective and idea of the research. Of course, the sensei s just eagerly comments and condemns the ideas. I think for these time, I am lack of confidence on what am I doing. Thus, one year of PhD is just like building the confidence in the research or understanding on what actually happen to me. This psychological phenomenon happens, I think is because of my less knowledge and experience in the topic that I work for.

It is not because I am not trying hard, but it is the case of I don’t know which part that I am suppose to focus more. I found out that my objectives for this study still not has been strengthening yet. That’s why each time after presentation or meeting, I am getting blurred and blurred. I have the basic idea, but have difficulties to explain this idea to sensei because actually I don’t have confident on it. I want somebody to discuss about the idea but sometimes I feel environment in my lab is not so supportive. Foreigner is still a foreigner. But luckily I have Petr besides me. Recently, we talked a lot about the research. The problem is, Petr likely to talk in philosophy’s way.

After a year and 4 months, the words regrets and frustrated always come into my mind. Yet, I never give up finding the strong research and knowledge that I can bring back for Malaysia’s society one day. I am still standing even I don't know the correct path to split or maneuver or whatever it is....For this time being, only Allah can help me…..

Some say that, road for success is always underconstruction.

pictures of 2008

2008-12-30T21:29:00.000-08:00

Nagano (Iwatake Hakuba) Jan 2008

Arashiyama (winter) Feb 2008

Kumamoto (Mount Aso) Feb 2008

Fukui Ken Mac 2008

Tokyo Disneysea
Kansai Taikai Bowling (Osaka)

Amanohashidate & Gion Matsuri Julai 2008

Mount Fuji August 2008

Aidil fitri Sept 2008Hong Kong Sept 2008

Mount Rokko Oct 2008

Arashiyama (Fall) Nov 2008

Nagoya and Ise Trip Dec 2008

Meota Iwa Dec 2008

Too many pictures in 2008. These are some of it. More to go in 2009. But 2009 is a hard year for kenkyuu...... But experience is another thing needs to be explored. JAUH BERJALAN LUAS PERMANDANGAN.

People just don’t care about others….that’s why…

2008-12-22T04:24:00.000-08:00

People's in HK don't really care about others. They just want to make sure their business in a good run.

Well I’m talking about my research. I’m searching for the answers of tons and tons questions that apparently appeared from my sensei’s mouth and also from the black hole inside my brain. Na…..I’m not going to develop a new theory of attitude or behavior. I just want to understand and make other people understand (one day if I could) that people’s are just so self- centered, selfish, egoistic and so on. They just don’t care about others. That’s why the accidents happen. Why people like to exceed the speed limit and claim that they have the power (machine, money, status), so why need to follow the rules? People that always point out their fingers towards others just don’t care about others…. People who don’t care about others just live in this world according to their own perception without noticing that it could be influence other peoples too.

For many cases in this life, self-centered are the causes of the unbalance situation. Politic, economic, management, social relationship, family matters, etc. It is just so human nature. That’s why when we are dealing with the human behavior, it takes longer time than we expected…. It is so complicated if people don’t want to understand that their behaviors have an impact to the society, world and others’ feelings or life. For us, let’s be more noble and generous. Try to be unselfish. Maybe we can help other people to understand the appropriate way to behave.

Don’t speed! It could increase the fuel consumption and it is danger for you and also other vulnerable road users. You can change it!

P/S : Thanks to some friends – who are not being selfish in this relationship.

Sayonara Random Walk!!!

2008-12-17T02:47:00.000-08:00

Perjalanan masa tidak pernah berhenti. Tetapi pasti ada saja sesuatu yang akan berakhir. Satu-satunya kedai yang menjual majalah dan buku-buku bahasa English di Kyoto – Random Walk- akan ditutup pada 15hb Januari. Sekarang sedang berlakunya SALE 50-70% bagi semua majalah dan buku-buku. Inilah satu-satunya kedai di mana saya dapat melampias rindu atau gian untuk membaca buku-buku atau majalah ringan seperti Reader's Digest. Atau lebih tepat tempat membunuh rasa bosan dan stress apabila perlu.

Random Walk akan ditutup kerana satu-satunya syarikat yang mengedar buku-buku international telah jatuh bankup. Aduhai sedih, kerana sangat sukar untuk mendapatkan buku-buku bahasa English di Jepun. Jika ada sesiapa tahu di mana kedai buku atau majalah bahasa English di Kyoto ini, sila maklumkan kepala saya. Biarpun pada zaman ini, segalanya mudah dengan maklumat di hujung jari, tetapi saya kurang gemar membaca melalui internet. Pergerakan terbatas. Teknologi internet tidak dapat menggantikan nilai sentimental yang ada pada buku………

Sayonara Random Walk, harap-harap 15hb Januari saya dapat menjejakkan kaki ke jualan SALES buku-buku tersebut untuk kali terakhir………………

time to change

2008-11-16T18:36:00.000-08:00

Hari Isnin datang kembali. Hari Isnin adalah hari yang penting kerana ia merupakan permulaan bagi satu minggu bekerja yang baru. Hari Isnin perlu ada azam baru dan keinginan untuk memperbaiki hidup.

PhD bukan sahaja berkenaan memperolehi ilmu penyelidikan untuk membawanya pulang ke Malaysia. Bukan saja hanya sekadar untuk mendapatkan gelaran Dr, tetapi tempoh pembelajaran PhD itu adalah satu proses mematangkan diri, memperbaiki kesilapan dan berubah menjadi lebih baik. Bukan sahaja dalam konteks keilmuan tetapi juga insaniah. Ianya lebih banyak berkisar tentang bagaimana mengawal kecelaruan emosi, berdiri atas kaki sendiri, mempelajari proses menyelesaikan masalah,menerima kelemahan, mengatasi ketidak seimbangan hidup, dan memperbaiki kehidupan. Kejayaan di hujung PhD bukan sahaja terletak pada graduasi, berapa banyak paper journal dihasilkan atau berapa banyak conference yang telah di hadiri. Tetapi objektifnya tentu sahaja menghasilkan manusia yang cemerlang duniawi dan ukhrawi - pendidik, penyelidik, pemimpin,'manusia' serta hamba tuhan yang baik.Dalam proses ini, ada banyak kesilapan, rasa lelah, letih dan penat tetapi Tuhan tidak akan menduga manusia di luar kemampuannya. Dan proses tarbiah dari Tuhan ini berbeza-beza pada setiap individu.

Hari ini

Saya memulakan hari dengan agak baik. Alhamdulillah. Mata tidak terasa mengantuk dan badan tidak terasa sangat letih sebagaimana yang saya sangkakan akan berlaku pada setiap hari Isnin kerana sindrom Monday Blues. Saya cuma terfikir, jika saya terus berada dalam lingkungan kemalasan, kemurungan, tidak ceria, tanpa pemikiran positif dan tidak berusaha berubah, saya akan terus menjadi diri saya yang banyak kekurangan walaupun bergelar Dr. Jadi pagi ini, saya bingkas bersiap dengan semangat yang jarang-jarang saya ada.

Rantai Aisyah

Sedang bersiap-siap, saya terpandang rantai pemberian Aisyah, anak perempuan Dr. Mail. Saya kemaskan simpulannya dan saya gantung di dinding. Ajaibnya, tanda ingatan dari seorang kanak-kanak mampu memberi inspirasi. Terharu juga bila Aisyah ingat pada saya dan menghasilkan satu imiginasi yang kreatif. Keikhlasan dan tanda ingatan ini menyebabkan saya rasa saya perlu jadi orang yang lebih bersemangat untuk merealisasikan bermacam impian yang ada. Jika ada kesempatan lain, saya akan ceritakan tentang anak-anak Dr. Mail yang menghiburkan ini.

Ini pula satu lagi suntikan semangat pagi ini. Bunga-bunga mawar ini segar mengembang di tepi meja. Saya cuma mengikut nasihat mama, agar letakkan bunga di dalam rumah agar rasa lebih ceria dan bertenaga.

Perjumpaan dengan Yoshi Sensei

Yoshi Sensei telah memberikan idea-idea menarik untuk kenkyuu saya. Tetapi terasa susah kerana memerlukan banyak maklumat dari Malaysia. Ini belum jumpa dengan Kitamura Sensei lagi. Memang pening dan pening dan pening lagi tetapi....saya harap akan ada jalan penyelesaiannya. Saya juga berharap supaya ada 'luck' yang membantu. Saya akan cuba berusaha sedaya mungkin.

Saya menanti-nantikan Hari Rabu untuk melawat ke headquater Hanshin Expressway Management. Mungkin lebih canggaih dari sistem ITIS DBKL di Malaysia? Saya akan buat wrap up tentang itu...insyaAllah.

Jya. Sama-sama kita berusaha untuk minggu ini!

2008-11-16T07:19:00.000-08:00

Cuba dan terus mencuba!

Ya Allah permudahkan jalan.
Ya Allah tali peganganMu jadi peneman.
Tiada aku tanpaMu
Tanpa kasih sayangMu
Tanpa lindunganMu

"Ya Allah, aku berlindung kepadaMu dari rundungan sedih dan duka Aku berlindung kepadamu dari sifat lemah dan malas Aku berlindung kepadaMu dari bacul dan kikir. Aku berlindung kepadaMu dari beban hutang dan penindasan orang."

Amin.

Kaeru ka?

2008-11-13T00:12:00.001-08:00

Minggu ini minggu yang tough. Walaupun begitu, semalam saya gigihkan juga menyusun senarai variables yang mungkin untuk data statistik saya. Lewat dan sejuknya menggigit ke tulang. Tetapi mungkin juga kesan efektif dari Nescafe membuatkan mata saya gigih hingga ke larut. Pulang ke rumah juga, saya masih sempat masak untuk hari ini.

Cuma, rakan-rakan lab yang lain agak sibuk dengan tugasan masing-masing. Sukar untuk saya meminta tunjuk ajar. Akhirnya saya print out dan berikan kepada Ari. Minta dia membantu walau mungkin selepas Sabtu baru dia akan mempunyai masa. Saya juga menyusul email untuk Yoshii sensei. Mahu tak mahu saya terpaksa libatkan associate profesor itu dalam hal ini. Mana tahu beliau boleh menolong. Sukar bekerja seorang, memang rasa keseorangan. Seperti orang yang tidak tahu berenang dan sedang lemas. Tetapi saya cuba bertahan. Bukan mudah hendak memahamkan satu demi satu perkara tetapi saya tahu orang lain juga rasa demikian.

Cabarannya belum tiba lagi, tahun hadapan mungkin lebih jerih. Manakan hendak mengumpul data sendiri. Menganalisis dan menguji hipotesis. Tidak tahu sama ada saya sekuat itu atau tidak. Cuma saya harapkan, ada sinar cahaya yang sangat-sangat terang selepas PhD ini. Jalan menujunya cukup susah, berjalan di dalamnya juga memerlukan ketabahan yang luar biasa.

Malam ini malam Jumaat. Rasa sungguh letih walaupun saya hanya menghadiri kelas nihon go sahaja hari ni. Mungkin dalam mengejar semua ini, ada sesuatu yang saya lupa. DIA.
Maaa....kaeru ka..?Siapa lagi yang tahan mendengar rintihan hati dan sedia menerima walau bagaimana buruk nya kita..? Maaa....kaeru ka?

p/s* malam usrah.