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March 22, 2014

Ear-marked for trouble - when one is ungrateful

In my life, the one thing that remains constant, is my ability to 'discount' personalities which generally are unhealthy.
As a younger person - I was more patient and polite when such people cross my path.
As I got older, I realised that people cannot 'improve' in the absence of 'lessons' - which was how it got me to 'burn bridges' even if it means some cost to myself.

It is so unfortunate that some people just don't deserve to be around other well meaning people.  Yet its almost ALWAYS that the well meaning people are the ones who walk away gaining nothing at all.

I have documented my story about a person I know who went ahead to disappoint not just me but people who are not even my closest friends, by swallowing all the help they gave during his time of need - NOT monetary, but a criminal matter where money wasn't going to solve it for anyone.  You do the crime, you do the time.

Unfortunately, the evidence was slow in coming in and eventually, it became a cold case only to be dismissed - but not after he sought help from high profile criminal lawyers and law-makers for his defence.

Never mind that he walked away without a thank you.  He walked away with his head held up high telling everyone, he did it all by himself and that he did not seek any help from anyone.

Now, he goes on to say that every other day via email.

Being an alcoholic, he goes off the bend by calling people on a weekday past midnight and expects the person to be available to hear his ranting on about his successes.  When ticked off, he gets upset and goes off the rails!

Frankly, what do people do about a person like that?
Let him continue being a nuisance?
I don't think so.

Someone needs to set this person right.
He doesn't just need a wake up call.
He needs another hard life lesson where NO ONE will help him again.

Is that terrible to wish upon a person?  I don't think so because to help ONE person in need because of the law, took a lot of resources and time....we all could have helped another genuine person who IS deserving of the help.  People who enlist help then shun the very people who helped deserve nothing but the full weight of the legal system.

This is why people stop helping.
What a waste.

March 12, 2014

MH370 - Was dissemination of information Chaotic?

The press conference today actually shed light for me on what the confusion was all about.

We need to reflect and consider that Malaysia was forthcoming in providing the rest of the world information, so much so that, they 'forgot' that people reading or following the updates will literally just digest that information at face value.

STRAITS OF MALACCA
After 5 days, I understand the reason Malaysia decided to look in that direction - a 180-degree angle from where the plane disappeared on a civil radar.  Their military radar picked up an unidentified 'bleep' heading NW (of Penang) coming from the South China Sea direction.
Malaysia was correct to just sweep the area.  They were being proactive in conducting the search by being exhaustive.
Had they released a statement to that effect, confusion could have been avoided.
Most of us, who follow the Nat Geo series on Air Crash Investigations would know that radars generally have identifiable 'bleeps' but not every one of us will know what the military radar picks up.

ADMISSION OF 'INEXPERIENCE'
I also applaud the Malaysian panel comprising of the respective heads in the press conference for sharing with the media that they sought radar recordings from Indonesia who willingly handed over whatever was requested.  Malaysia also informed everyone that the US experts are studying and analyzing all the data that they have at hand to try to establish the scene that fateful morning since the 2 black boxes have not been located yet.
The entire panel was calm although some questions from the press were more accusatory than information seeking.

What we now know is why Malaysia always used the statement 'POSSIBILITY OF A TURN BACK'.

Because no one knows for sure, if that 'bleep' on the military radar WAS MH370.  It could be another commercial aircraft or a private jet.  Authorities tasked to clarify this 'bleep' would have to search not just ONE radar equipment but ALL radar equipment surrounding that zone.

Yes, it is irritating, annoying and for the families of those on board, frustrating.  BUT what the whole world needs to do now is to provide relevant information which they might have OR help by asking correct questions which could open up another area for others to look into.

Questions should have a point and throwing blame is not going to help a press conference move forward.

If air crash reporters have ideas, then it should be directed to the panel just in case some past incident could shed some light or provide some idea as to where else to look for clues and/or a trail.

The initiative for a satellite website for the world to dump photos or data was commendable - and it was proven when the site crashed because too many were accessing it.

What we need are fresh ideas - but not players who are only interested in the blame game.

A plane is missing along with its crew and passengers.  Lets keep the focus on why so many nations are flying, sailing side by side for a search and rescue mission.

Each nation is culturally diverse.
Each nations' main language is also different from the next.
As anxiety builds, let us not forget that we are still all people who want answers.

If the world values instant sharing of information, the world must be prepared to seek further clarification on statements BEFORE coming up with conclusions of their own, because of their understanding of the statement by the standard of their national language and culture.

Chaotic it may seem - but being forthcoming means, the information is expected to be sporadic and brief.
Information will be chaotic only if we choose to comprehend it as such instead of seeking further clarification on what it was about or how it was derived.

March 11, 2014

Missing Plane : The bottom line is...?

4 days have passed - no news from satellites, sophisticated radars or anything.
Planes are fitted with more sophisticated tracking systems - aside from the 2 black boxes.

On land, vehicles can be tracked.  I am assuming, the aviation industry WOULD have the same for an aircraft which costs millions.

Yet, nothing has popped to-date.

Yes, I agree, we should not speculate. Yet, I doubt people can just read this as any other piece of announcement for cheaper electronic products because souls are missing.  Souls with names.

The longer it takes to get some signal, the more questions will be raised on just how efficient our state-of-the-art technology really is.

As with anything else that happens daily, no one will bother to question anything, until disaster strikes.

Does that mean we are reactive rather than proactive?
Looks like it.

This brings to mind how the human race has totally gone into the inverse mode in our thinking and behavior to that of the progress in technology.  Instead of focusing on the matter at hand, humans tend to have a need to blame someone or something OR better still, be 'creative' and come up with solutions which should have come up BEFORE any incidents.  Its so easy to share our solutions RETROSPECTIVELY.  Any person with half a brain can do that !

AND so, organisations continue hiring people who may seem to be towing the corporate line or safe people (people who will never say anything out of line even if the truth hurts) whilst the THINKING people go about their daily lives in jobs NOT in the spotlight.

I have met so many people who deserve a better job position but never will get it, because of some red tape somewhere.

Had this plane stayed on course and landed as scheduled, there will be no posts/tweets about immigration clearing 2 people using stolen passports OR that families were not informed earlier because the plane had enough fuel for another 5/6 hours.
What happened to ALL THE MOBILE PHONES that each and every adult passenger has? They also stopped working because of the 'might be total electrical failure'?

Bottom line is : don't blame the Malaysian Government - ask yourself why your family member DID not use their phone to call or text either? Governments do not and cannot announce unverified reports.

As easy as it may be to issue blame from coast to coast, I ask : did every single passenger/crew not pay their mobile bill to have it all disconnect at the same time too?   Even if the plane was in an irrecoverable dive, phones can be switched on and there are those who never even turn them off ! In the case of a hijacking, there is definitely time to send a short text like SOS.

Every search rescue volunteer/staff IS OUT THERE - doing their best to find something, anything.  Every Government personnel is also rallying their various departments trying to piece together the dribs and drabs they have collected from radar etc...

Too late for the blame game because everyone is equally baffled by the disinterest of all on that ill-fated plane to communicate.

All we can do now is pray for the search n rescue to find something.
That is the bottom line.


March 10, 2014

How could a plane disappear?

Seriously, how could a plane just vanish?

Strange thing is, most air craft accidents which I have watched over Nat Geo and read about almost always had the pilots communicating with their respective ATC.

For me, this would be the 2nd asian airline accident where there was NO COMMUNICATION.

WHY?

Has anyone actually wondered why pilots in this region DO NOT have the same protocols as their counterparts in the West?

Now, years after 911, cockpit doors have been kept locked and a slew of security measures have been implemented both prior to boarding and during flight.  This is why it baffles me, that there was zero communication.

Some people I spoke to thought that perhaps authorities in this region prefer to keep people in the dark until they confirm everything.  Well, THAT is really fair yet doesn't answer my question of why, south east asian pilots DO NOT think reporting back to ATC is the responsible thing to do.

Do they think they 'know it all' and that they can handle it?

WAKE UP.

Protocols are put in place for the obvious.  It cuts speculation and it allows investigators a clean shot at figuring out what went wrong.  A jet at cruising altitude doesn't just disintegrate.

If there was a malfunction - WHY NO COMMUNICATION?
If there was a hijacker(s) on board, WHY was no one informed as well?  I'm sure at about 40 minutes into a long haul flight, some refreshments were about to be served.  It cannot be that NO ONE could get to a phone.

OR were the hijackers just suicide bombers who blew up the plane without warning?  Yet, before the plane actually disappeared, another pilot managed to get a hold of the flight deck albeit the communication was unclear because of static interruptions.

In a tragedy like this, where it involves many nationalitites its best to disclose.  When people are left in the dark, emotions WILL run high and speculation will run amok.

Silence is not always golden.

Time for pilots in asia to come off their high horse and focus on whats more important - their real job - which usually only kicks in when a 'horrific tragedy' is about to unfold.  Pilots should be chosen not just by their ability to fly the plane BUT whether they have this 'god complex'.

They should keep to flying by the book - if there is a problem, REPORT BACK, no matter how small.  It is common courtesy to keep everyone in the loop at all times, because outside the flight deck are people, with families, loved ones and a future.  Pilots a paid so much in Asia and yet I wonder, when it matters to be a pilot, WHERE is the pilot?
Busy with his God Complex I guess.

My prayers go out to the souls on that flight - and I pray they will find peace eventually.  I pray for the families who might never know what really happened (since admission of error is usually not something that is done openly in a tragedy like this).  People don't want to admit to anything, because they fear they will be sued.

Have they ever thought that all the money in the world, CANNOT bring their family member back to the dining table?
Keep worshiping money, its no wonder, society is in this state of always not being forthcoming and always being evasive.

This should not be about saving the payouts.
It should be a wake up call for this region to stop this mentality of selfishness and start working for what you are paid to do.

March 03, 2014

Something's GOT TO give

We have heard that famous line : If it ain't broke....BUT what if it has broken?

Then comes the next line : Something's Got to Give

BUT WHAT?

NO one ever wants to 'give in'
because this society isn't 'giving enough' especially if NOTHING is in it for them.

For altruistic people, this is a horrifying revelation because such people, who are far and few, help for reasons specific to the helping cause;  their helping hand DOESN'T have anything to do with them at any personal level except to extend assistance.  They do not gain in whatsoever way.

BUT what if a person WAS altruistic then somehow drew the shorter end of the stick over and over again.  Even though such people will continue helping as if they fully contained the 'abuse', they will be less likely to continue on this path IF their personal space was compromised over time.

It is not their fault for not wanting to help all without discrimination any more.

The title of this post is that of the Jack Nicholson, Diane Keeton movie - I wish I could say the movie script is pretty much what I am blogging about, but it is not.  I enjoyed the movie terribly and I have re-watched it too many times over the years, whenever I wanted a laugh.

In the end, Jack N gave in to his awe of dating a woman about his age.  He gave in because a meaningful friendship is worth far more than one where he was always in control.  We cannot always be in control, because life isn't like that - many people do not get an opportunity to realise or learn that, until it's way too late.

So I wonder if all this bitterness about people seeing me as a meal ticket out will somehow diminish over time and I will be less hesitant about being me again.

Till today, people still try to push buttons - thinking, I will not retaliate.

Well they are so wrong.
I don't just retaliate.
I make sure I burn the bridge so bad that no one can ever rebuild it.

When someone lets you off the hook, just walk away quietly.
Don't try to outsmart someone who has 'fed' you.  Never bite the hand that feeds you.
Never also bite the hand that has kept you fed, because one tomorrow, there will be no more food for you, because everyone will know what a low life you are and they will say "YAYY, HE GOT THAT COMING"

Somethings' gotta give 
You pissed someone off - leave them be - apologise if you are big man - don't, if you think you are untouchable.
In life, NO ONE ever is untouchable.
What goes around, comes around.

March 01, 2014

Did you NOT read it?

The favourite line of a lot of self-imposed important people :
Did you NOT read the notification?

As parents of young school going children, reading a notification from school IS tiresome.
Not one week goes by without some sort of notification - which could come by way of the School Diary OR a printed A4 sheet.

School Diaries are easier to read since the message is usually TO THE POINT.
example : Dear Mr/Mrs X, Kindly sign the Spelling Book for your ward/child for handing up tomorrow.

NOTIFICATIONS - are lengthly and so far, I have YET to read one that gets straight to the point.

The writer goes on and on - as if to validate the message.
By the time the reader gets to the end of Page One, the attention span would have lost its gusto and parents who are like me, will just skim through the rest of the pages.

The last notification I read was FOUR pages long - about a school camp.

Teachers teach the importance of keeping to the point when writing a piece, yet they fail terribly when tasked to deliver the information.

There is no need to get into the WHYs IF there is already a school portal that provides the WHYs - what is critical is the programme venue, day and attire IF the activity is within the school grounds.

As such activities are repeated yearly, it would be more effective to actually have a kit that is given out in the form of a leaflet - which could be 3-fold and most definitely an easier read.

This is the state our educational facilitators are at - incapable of proper social contact with adults who are not their colleagues.

They become so accustomed to being the Gospel truth in their profession that they lack the ability to interact with the rest of the world who do not need to SHOUT and THREATEN to get their job done.

Yes, too much of shouting in classrooms and in school halls.
Too much of threats used in school halls like Keep quiet or you will have to stay with me in the hall.

Many times I felt like I was watching some bad movie.
Some psycho who is lonely kidnaps someone because his reality is warped.

I enjoy teaching - the imparting of knowledge.
I do not enjoy watching children having to listen to bad spoken English.
I do not enjoy watching children being threatened just so they obey.

As much as teachers expect parents to read notifications, they themselves should read the gospel on the qualities of a good teacher.

Give anyone, adult or child, a good read and THEY WILL READ IT.

Garbage in Garbage OUT.
You write garbage people like me will discard it like some flyer I do not need.