Another very funny series of e-mails featuring David Thorne. This time he’s got someone trying to get him to design a logo and pie charts. For free. Hilarity ensues.

You can read the whole thing here.

Don’t  reply  on the  PAST  to create  the  FUTURE,

reply  on  the  FUTURE  to  ERASE  the  PAST.

อย่าวางใจใช้…อดีต…เป็นตัวสร้าง…อนาคต…

แต่จงใช้…อนาคต…เป็นตัวลบ…อดีต…ทิ้งไป

I received a response in the comment for my blog post yesterday on Dzof Azmi’s article in the Star newspaper dated last Sunday. This warrants another blog post. Here is what he wrote in his comment below and in his blog.

I was directed to your blog from your email.

This comment is duplicated on my blog.

I understand your anger against snatch thieves. That, added to the fact that they seem to callously put people’s lives in danger just for maybe a hundred Ringgit seems unjust enough that you would want to hurt them grievously – kill them even.

You ask me how I feel if somebody close to me was killed by such a snatch thief.

I would naturally want to grab hold of him, torture him mercilessly, keeping him barely alive so I can inflict the maximum amount of pain. I would do this, knowing that no amount of physical suffering could make up for my emotional loss. Yet, I would endeavour to make him feel fear, perhaps hurting his loved ones too to make him know the gaping maw that lies within me. I would perhaps injure those he cares until I see the loss in his eyes, and then perhaps go beyond it for good measure. I would should practically no mercy, except for him to contrast with what absence of pain is.

This is why I hope somebody would stop me from doing it. My fear is that if pushed I would do them, and I know right now, right here that this would put me on the wrong side of civilization that I would like to see the human race to be. An eye for an eye makes everyone blind.

This is why public vendetta is illegal. This is why we don’t let a person in the street take direct and vengeful reaction on those that wrong him. This is why we say, a man is innocent until proven guilty, and that the only killing deemed acceptable is in direct self-defence or as part of a state-sponsored execution.

And yet, that anger if left unassuaged will need to find a way to vent itself. If you continue to hate those that you think wronged you, then you will want to take retribution on all those that person represents.

I would like to call you a friend, if only because I think we both understand the pain that a crime can cause beyond its immediate act. If you want to get your MP to campaign for snatch thefts to be classified as attempted murder, that I would support your right to do that too (even if I don’t fully agree with that).

But if you want to be part of a group that hunts down and kills a man as he flees, because somebody else who snatched somebody else’s purse resulted in their death, then I apologise: I have to stand opposite you and stop a criminal act

First I would like to applaud you for your courage to come forward and reply on this blog. It takes an immense amount of courage to step forward and stand up to the person who has accused you of spurting nonsense. I am honoured that you thought my reply to your article was worthy of a response (and worthy of “unsettled hornets”).

You are absolutely right. The reason for me calling you out and responding to your article was not only due to my hatred for snatch thieves, but most of all was due to the sheer nonsense of you “trying” to see their side of the story and your “call” to try to “accept” them and “understand” the motive behind their sadistic act. You don’t NEED to see their side at all! You don’t need to ACCEPT them at all! They have chosen a life of crime, a life of making other people other than themselves miserable. Isn’t that “story” enough for you? What else do you need to know?

You are calling for the public to be less barbaric and leave it up to the MPs and the PDRMs to do their job and lock them up and find them and do the necessary to ensure that they will get their end of the law. Did you know the police stood by, held the criminal and did nothing while the public had their share of vengeance? They think he deserved it too! Let me share with you a video clip of what happened to a Chinese snatch thief who preyed on innocent old people while they are doing their daily “tai chi” in the mornings. The public did call the police, and the police did arrive. But people were so angry at their grandparents and neighbours getting robbed out of their hard earned savings they mob attacked the guy.

The public is definitely committing a crime as well and probably in your argument “lowering” themselves to his level. But are we really? Do you think by the public’s anger that they don’t feel that the Chinese man deserved it at all? Do you think that low life Chinese guy will EVER do something like this again? Don’t you think the community will feel safer now that everyone’s on the lookout for such cases? If everyone turned a blind eye, nothing will get solved. Heck, the crime rate will be increasing.

You say you hope someone will stop you if indeed (God forbid) you come across being robbed or your family members being a victim of such a case. You say you wont feel like revenge will give you emotional release. Well, my “friend”, you’re wrong. You believe those high-and-mighty movies that say revenge will not give you emotional release is wrong. Well, somewhat. Let me explain.

Why then do people go to court to convict their daughter’s murderer, why do people take police work into their own hands and conduct investigations on their own? If their daughter is dead and we should just learn to “forgive” and “accept” that it happened due to some “reason” of the criminal committing the act, won’t they just go home and sleep it over since they won’t get any “release” from it anyways, according to you? Sure, their daughter/son/mother/father won’t come back from the dead. But at least it gives you that sigh of relief to know that justice has been served. Whether it be the right way or the wrong way. There is that form of “release”.

The criminals kill mercilessly or accidentally for a couple of hundred ringgits. It is not because of the hundreds of ringgits that we will go “mob” on the snatch thieves. It is what they have represented themselves. You never know when the next one is going to kill you. You will have literally NO time to stop and ask if you’re going to die. You either stand up for yourself and expect help from the public or face a chance of getting stabbed at your vital places or pulled to your death from behind a cheap scooter. You choice.

It was the ladies’ choice to chase the man, and I’m sure it was an accident knocking him over while he is fleeing as you said. But maybe there was an invaluable item in her purse that no price tag can be placed on it. She must have a reason for chasing him. And his reason for fleeing is only ONE: not being caught for his criminal act. If you are at all religious, which I am not, you will believe that it was God’s choice to take his life. I say, he had what was coming to him. This isn’t his first robbery by the way, he was convicted before.

We can sit here and debate back and forth on this and I’m sure you will have a lot to say about what I have replied. And since we know we’re not in agreement, we can only agree to disagree. Thank you again for your courageous comment and I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavours.

P/s – I still think you’re taking a cowardly stance by choosing to be on “their” side. It’s like saying, “Hey guys, I’m on your side! Please remember my face and not rob me because I understand why you’re doing this criminal act and accept you and your community for who you are.” You really need to read what you wrote again and see what message you are trying to send to us, the public in the mass of your article. However, I must say that your MAIN point in your article was a great point; that Malaysians should not be bloodthirsty and vengeful and that we should allow the law to take over and not take the law into our own hands.

“When I use a word, it means just what I choose it to mean” -Humpty Dumpty.

Nowhere has the role of Lewis Carrol as linguistic architect of the twentieth century been more apparent than in the world of politics. Nouns, verbs and adjectives are flung about with great enthusiasm, anger and sincerity, leaving mythological trails so evident that not one of them needs to be explained. Hitler is one of them. It produces a nod of instant understanding of what the whole thing is about. The issue presents itself as self-evident.

In our case, what is presented is deprived of any context. This is seen as superfluous. The sentence that irritates Mr Haddad is “Hitler was the only Mujahid of the century”. This sentence if deprived of context is open to anybody’s imagination of what it means. Yet, the genuine enquirer will ask: Was Shaykh Abdalqadir speaking about Muslims, or was he speaking about European history? Did Shaykh Abdalqadir said that Hitler was a Muslim, or was using the word mujahid as meaning “a person who fought”? In which way, was Shaykh Abdalqadir speaking of him as a fighter? Fighter against what? What was the general theme of the conference in which the talk was set? Where was it said? To whom?

No, Shaykh Abdalqadir did not say that Hitler was a Muslim. He, in fact, said in the same talk that he was a kafir. That last sentence, the last part of the discourse and the final dua was edited from the tape that “Uthman, the Italian” presented in his “Murabitun Files”. The talk was part of a Conference of European Muslims assembled in Granada entitled “Islam in Europe”. The Conference centred on issues concerning European culture, history and politics. As Shaykh Abdalqadir said: “You must understand the ways of kufr if you are going to defeat it”. To fight Riba, is well known, a matter of great importance to Murabitun. Hitler was the last Christian attempt to fight capitalism. This evident in his famous proclamation of “Brechung der zinzsknechshaft” (breaking of the slavery of usury). He fought and failed. Shaykh Abdalqadir said that they failed because of their kufr. (the actual quote and the relevant pieces from the “end of the tape” are included down below). In similar context he spoke of Wagner and Heidegger. I has never been suggested that they were Muslims, or that they are a model to us, or that we should imitate them or follow them. If someone wishes to understand how we view Heidegger, you can read my recent posts on him. If somebody does not wish to understand, then there is very little we can do.

What is interesting is how these issues are twisted and elevated to be “the matter of interest”. Then, they become the theme of a public debate. Or should we say “the illusion” of a public debate? Is this what Murabitun is talking about? Or is this the smoke screen to hide the “real themes”? Is Murabitun only talking about Hitler? How often do we mention his name? The answer to the last to questions is no; hardly ever.

This mythology is further simplified by the tendency to use interchangeably the phrases with a random order. The word Hitler presented appropriately represents a self-evident means of disapproval. The illusion is so complete that we forget to ask who is arguing with such fervour against Murabitun? Who is Uthman, the Italian?, who is Mr Haddad?

Uthman, the Italian is a psychopath frustrated murderer. We know him quite well. The author of the “Murabitun Files” is an ex-member of Murabitun, who attempted to murder his own father-in-law by stubbing him repeatedly with a knife in his belly, while other person was holding his hands at the door of his own house. He survived just by miracle. He has escaped prison in Italy, but not the judgement of Allah. After he became self-persuaded that we were going to murder him, in an Italian vendetta style, he went fanatical in attacking us with the most ludicrous gobbledygook which he gathered in his “Murabitun Files”.

Mr Haddad, has personal reasons to attack us. He thinks he can vindicate the name of Shaykh Nazim by presenting us as a Nazis. The reason behind this is the recent publication of my latest book “The Esoteric Deviation”. The book is not about Shaykh Nazim, but it is rather a thoroughly argued case of the Esoterisation of Sufism and the Shariah in the XX century. Shaykh Nazim is presented as a study case of “extreme Mahdism”. Mr Haddad’s own thinking, in view of who his teachers are, forces him to deny the book. His recent attacks on Murabitun and our Shaykh, are part of this strategy.

The curious thing about our attackers, is that very few of them are ready to stand to the same scrutiny that they want to impose on us. They resist it. Instead, they hope to remain behind the barriers with no attention place on them. Still more curious, if you begin to question them, you discover that they are horrified at the prospect that they may have to explain what “do they stand for”. They are, in effect, the judges and jury, but they cannot explain, except vaguely, what their own position is. We, Murabitun, on the contrary have to do it all the time -which we do gladly.

When the matter ‘what do you stand for’ comes to the surface, their words and accusations, which they have flung so passionately, lose their entity. They hang on their words with real zeal because in the face of a real debate they have no other argument. Their words do not lead anywhere they are only intended to prevent the real debate. The real debate is what frightens them.

What we have done in the past and we continue to do, is to ignore this non-sense. We undertake them it is part of being politically active. We understand that the more politically accurate you are, the more this kind of calumnies will emerge. It only shows the frustration from the opponent.

What we are concerned with will not be altered. Our political stand against capitalism, the present face of kufr, is open and clear for everyone to know. If any one wants to know what we stand for he has no need to go to sectarian journalists, they can come and ask us directly. I have always dedicated a considerable effort in the past to make our position clear. It is written and it has been spoken. We do not hide.

I consider my contribution to the work against kufr to do da?wa and to introduce the Gold Dinar. My concern, and our concern as Murabitun, is to be in the front line of action. We are minting coins, doing da’wa, building mosques, markets, maddrassas for the sake of Allah only. The sincerity of our people and the devotion to their work is best expressed by our achievements. What we have done and what we are doing today can be seen. We have the people and the communities around the world.

The Islamic Gold Dinar is a hot issue. When it comes into your hands it forces a decision: approval or disapproval. This will grow in intensity with every new coin in circulation. If we succeed with Allah’s approval, we shall see the end of the banking system. The Dinar is a powerful tool for the unity Muslim nation, it will restore our muamalat, and will bring us closer to political union. Those who have entrenched in the moral comfort of the status quo would feel threatened. What we can tell them is that we do not live in their myths.

Umar Vadillo

Extracts from “the end of the tape” “The time has come for the Muslims to regain leadership and transform the world taken over by the usurers. [] You must understand the ways of kufr if you are going to defeat it. [] Hitler, Wagner and Heidegger fought in their way within the means of kufr and failed. Their kufr was [the reason for] their failure[]. Do not be deceived by the historical picture that kufr offers of itself. You have to see through the cracks to understand what really happened[]. kufr is one. May Allah open our hearts to His Immense Mercy and give us the determination to establish His deen in its former glory. [] May Allah give us the strength in our helplessness before Him to restore our leadership on the path to the Khalifate[] May Allah gives us the wisdom to return to the Gold Dinar and finish with the illusion of a world of false wealth. May Allah give us a strong brotherhood that gives us discrimination between Islam and kufr.”

Today is review and reply day!

Students from five learning centers have written comments on this blog for the last two weeks.

Please go back and reread at least one of the older posts.  Then, then scroll down and read the comments.  Pick at least one comment to reply to.  Look in your blogging guide for instructions.

Here is a list of the posts from the last two weeks.  You can also use the Archives on the sidebar to find old posts.

1. Reaching Our Goals (11/9)
2. What Would You Do With Extra Money? (11/10)
3. How Would You Spend Less Money? (11/11)
4. How Much Money Is Enough? (11/12)
5. What is Your Opinion? (11/16)
6. Advice on Saving Money (11/17)
7. Advice About Savings Accounts (11/18)

(If you have time, you can type a comment to this post and tell the teachers if you want to use blogs more or less in the future.)

Thank you for sharing your thoughts!

(akhirnya, ku update jua blogku ini)

Tertarik dengan satu topik perbincangan yang dimulakan oleh saudara Abdul_Jabbar di Forum ILuvIslam. Beliau membawakan satu artikel dari Utusan Malaysia (saya agak seksyen Kesihatan kot), menceritakan mengenai satu perkara yang menarik dan begitu asing dalam kalangan masyarakat kita – bersalin dalam air!

Bukan bersalin baju. Bukan bersalin kulit. Tapi bersalin anak. Proses melahirkan anak, di mana ibu akan berada di dalam sebuah kolam/tab khas lalu proses melahirkan anak tersebut dilakukan di dalam kolam/tab tersebut!

Untuk pengenalan, mari saya bawakan sedikit sedutan dari artikel Utusan tersebut. Sesiapa nak baca dengan lebih lanjut boleh click pada link tersebut ye:

Bersalin di dalam air kurang sakit

Oleh NOOR FAZRINA KAMAL

Untuk bersalin di dalam air, seorang ibu perlukan kolam dengan air dengan suhu bilik 37 darjah Celsius, tidak terlalu sejuk dan tidak pula terlalu panas.

SECARA umumnya kita mengetahui tentang kelahiran di dalam air menerusi dokumentari yang disiarkan di kaca televisyen. Penulis juga pernah melihat satu dokumentari di mana seorang ibu yang memilih untuk bersalin di dalam air berkongsi pengalaman tersebut bersama sanak saudara dan jiran-jirannya, sungguh mengagumkan.

Apabila terbaca artikel Utusan ini, saya teringat kepada buku Survival of the Sickest karya Dr. Sharon Moalem yang telah saya habiskan beberapa ketika dahulu. Buku tersebut juga ada menceritakan serba sedikit mengenai kelahiran dalam air ini, serta mengulas mengenainya dari aspek genetik dan evolusi.

Mungkin ada di antara kita yang menolak teori evolusi, namun ingin jua saya ajukan pendapat dan kefahaman saya dari apa yang cuba disampaikan dalam buku tersebut. Betul atau tidak? Wallahua’lam. Tetapi ianya adalah sains, dan sains itu adalah sunnatullah, yang berlaku semuanya kerana keizinan Allah. Maka kesimpulannya, tiada yang mustahil bagi Allah, dan tiada yang mustahil dalam sains. =)

Paksi utama perbincangan ini adalah berkisar kepada proses kelahiran manusia. Sebenarnya, proses kelahiran manusia adalah satu proses yang berbahaya. Berbahaya as in comparison with mana2 hidupan yang genetically lebih kurang sama dengan manusia.

.

Proses Kelahiran Manusia Adalah Berbahaya

Ada 2 ciri manusia yang menjadikan kelahiran manusia ni berbahaya – “otak yang besar” dan “berjalan dengan dua kaki”.

Struktur tulang manusia, berubah menjadikan kita ni boleh berjalan dengan dua kaki. Antara struktur tulang yang berubah memainkan peranan penting adalah struktur tulang punggung/pelvis. Menurut Wenda Trevathan, seorang anthropologis biologi, pelvis manusia adalah terputar (“twisted”) di tengah. Pelvis manusia bermula dengan agar lebar, tetapi menjadi semakin sempit di hujungnya, dan di penghujungnya exit adalah agak sempit untuk kepala seorang bayi keluar.

Berjuta tahun selepas manusia mula berjalan atas dua kaki, kita mula develop otak yang lebih besar. Otak besar bermaksud kepala yang lebih besar. Akibatnya, manusia wanita yang mempunyai tulang pelvis yang kecil dan exit yang sempit, mula melahirkan bayi yang berkepala besar. Itulah antara sebab kenapa manusia ketika kecil, kepalanya lembut (kalau sape2 belajar medik pun tahu, bayi xde fully developed skull tapi ade fontanelle). Dan disebabkan pelvis exit yang sempit juga membuatkan saluran peranakan menjadi lebih sempit, maka bayi tidaklah dilahirkan secara terus direct tapi kena rotate/twist along the way. Sebab itu proses kelahiran manusia biasanya memerlukan pertolongan dari manusia lain, unlike mamalia2 lain yang boleh melahirkan anak secara berseorangan.

So ada beberapa evolutionist sibuk memikirkan, kenapa manusia berevolusi in such that way? Evolusi mengambil prinsip natural selection, di mana secara logiknya tentulah kelahiran yang lebih mudah itu lebih di-favourable berbanding kelahiran yang berbahaya. Kenapa evolusi kita memilih untuk proses kelahiran yang cukup berbahaya juga? Otak yang besar adalah baik, kerana ia memberi kita manusia intelek yang tinggi. Maka persoalan kenapa ini membawa kepada asalnya, iaitu faktor yang lagi satu itu – “Kenapa manusia berjalan dengan dua kaki, bukan empat?”

Ada banyak teori menjawab persoalan ini, salah satunya Savannah Theory. Saya taknak kupas panjang mengenai teori ini, apa yang di-postulate, sejarah history-nya dsb, kerana ianya hanya akan memanjangkan post saya saja. Sape nak tau bleh cari kat wikipedia ye. Hehe.

Adapun Savannah Theory itu adalah conventional, dan terdapat beberapa flaw dalam teori itu. Basically teori tu kata kita berjalan dengan dua kaki supaya lebih cepat dan mudah untuk mendapatkan makanan. Tapi kalau nak kira cepat, cheetah lagi cepat. Savannah Theory also kata, sebab itu jugalah manusia tidak banyak bulu, berbanding mamalia lain. The only type of mamalia that hairless is, aquatic mamalia.

.

Manusia sebenarnya hidupan akuatik?

Maka itu teori evolution yang baru – manusia sebenarnya bukan berasal dari primates, tetapi merupakan aquatic mamalia. Alister Hardy, seorang marine biologist, membuat kajian mengenai hypothesis ini, dan beliau mendapat banyak bukti2 yg compelling. Antaranya seperti

- Lemak badan manusia melekat dengan terus pada kulit. Lihat perbezaannya berbanding kucing. Cuba cubit kulit kucing, dan kita dapati seolah2 tertanggal antara kulit dan isinya, kerana loose fat yang memisahkannya. Mamalia aquatic yang lain seperti badak, singa laut, ikan paus, dolfin – semuanya mempunyai kulit yang melekat secara terus dengan lemak. Kenapa? Ia membolehkan hidupan ini bergerak di dalam air dengan menggunakan tenaga yang minima (kurang rintangan). Dan ia juga memudahkan untuk hidupan ini terapung.

- Manusia boleh makan ikan, serta boleh menahan nafas untuk satu tempoh yang relatively panjang di dalam air. Ianya cukup untuk manusia lari dari predator atas tanah (seperti leopard dsb) ke dalam air, serta boleh lari dari predator dalam air (seperti buaya dsb) ke atas tanah.

- Menunjukkan kenapa manusia tidak mempunyai bulu yang banyak, berbanding mamalia darat yang lain. Boleh tengok lah seperti primates, atau mamalia seperti kuda dsb. The only mamalia yg x ada @ x banyak bulu adalah mamalia akuatik – untuk memudahkan berenang (streamline arus air)

- Juga menjelaskan, kenapa hidung dan lubang hidung kita develop menghadap ke bawah (prominent nose). Untuk memudahkan kita berenang dan menyelam, tanpa air masuk ke paru2. Satu2nya primate yang ada hidung sebegini adalah proboscis monkey (monyet belanda), yang kebetulannya juga semi-aquatic.

So akhirnya, kembali kepada tajuk utama post ini. Atas sebab itu jugalah, dikaitkan dengan kelahiran manusia (part pertama post saya ini) dengan hypothesis bahawa manusia asalnya adalah hidupan mamalia akuatic, maka dicadangkan bahawa naturally proses kelahiran manusia berlaku di dalam air!

.

Melahirkan Anak Di Dalam Air Adalah Natural?

Maka dari teori di ataslah, dikatakan bahawa sebenarnya adalah natural bagi manusia untuk melahirkan anak di dalam air. Malah banyak kajian telah dilakukan mengenai proses kelahiran di dalam air ini. Namun terlebih dahulu, jom tengok sejarah kelahiran di dalam air:

Legenda menyatakan sejarah manusia melahirkan anak di dalam air telah berlaku seawal abad ke 19 di Perancis. Lagendanya, seorang bidan tengah berusaha memudahkan seorang ibu ini yang telah 48 jam bergelut dengan kesakitan untuk melahirkan anak, mencadangkan ibu tersebut untuk mandi dengan air suam supaya lebih bertenang. Akhirnya ibu tersebut melahirkan anak di dalam tab mandi tersebut

Father of modern water birthing, adalah seorang saintis Russia iaitu Igor Tjarkovsky, iaitu pada 1960 beliau mereka sebuah tangki khusus untuk melahirkan anak di dalam air. Tetapi trend tersebut hanya mula mendapat perhatian di barat sekitar tahun 1980. Namun hanya setelah tahun 1999, kajian lebih mendalam mengenai water birth ini mula mengambil tempat pada ramai saintis dan pusat penyelidikan dunia.

Rata-rata, kajian demi kajian menangkis banyak misconception terhadap proses melahirkan anak di dalam air ini. Persoalan-persoalan seperti – “tak lemas ke anak tu?”, “nanti penuh darah dalam kolam tu”, “bagaimana dengan jangkitan kuman, kan lagi senang dalam air?”

Jika persoalan2 tersebut berasal dari jiwa yang dipenuhi dengan semangat inkuiri dan sikap curious, maka alhamdulillah, penjelasan yang diberikan pasti dapat menjawab segenap persoalan2 tersebut.

Namun yang saya kesali adalah apabila persoalan-persoalan tersebut berasal dari sikap kejahilan/tidak tahu disertai bersama prejudis @ sangkaan, lantas berkembang menjadi hujah yang sentimental dan emosi dalam menolak konsep kelahiran air ini seperti “sapa yang tak sayang bini/anak”, “penat2 mengandung 9 bulan”, dsb. Betapa kejahilan boleh menjadi fitnah kepada sains itu sendiri!

.

Fakta Vs Misconceptions

Faktanya – Antara kelebihannya waterbirth:

- Tidak ada peningkatan kepada risk of infection, malahan bayi yang dilahirkan secara waterbirth mendapat lebih protection terhadap “aspiration pneumonia”. Bayi yang dilahirkan tidak bernafas dengan udara selagi dia belum terdedah kepada udara. So ada kes di mana apabila bayi dilahirkan, ia terus menyedut udara dengan kuat menyebabkan sisa-sisa amniotic fluid dan kotoran lain disedut oleh bayi menyebabkan terjadinya “aspiration pneumonia”. Tetapi kelahiran di dalam air, membolehkan bidan membersihkan muka bayi terlebih dahulu sebelum mengangkatnya keluar, sekaligus mengurangkan risiko aspiration pneumonia.

- Sepertimana yang dikatakan, bayi yang dilahirkan tidak bernafas dengan udara selagi dia belum terdedah kepada udara. Kronologinya adalah setelah bayi dilahirkan, attendan/ibu/suami membersihkan muka dan badan bayi lalu diangkat keluar dari air, seterusnya baru tali pusat dipotong. Justeru, tidak timbul persoalan “bayi lemas di dalam air”.

- Juga, first-time mother yang melahirkan anak di dalam air memerlukan masa yang lebih singkat. Mungkin air tersebut menenangkan fikiran yang cemas, atau mungkin menyegarkan badan yang penat, tidak diketahui, cumanya yang pastinya proses kelahiran lebih singkat.

- Kurangnya keperluan pada episiotomy. User2 ibu yang pernah melahirkan anak tahu kot apa episiotomy nih. Hoho. Teorinya, air memudahkan otot dan kulit untuk stretch.

- Dan yang paling beneficial, adalah majority ibu yang melahirkan anak di dalam air ini tidak perlukan painkiller. Hanya 5 percent je yang meminta epidural, sedangkan dalam kelahiran biasa 66% ibu meminta diberi epidural.

Maka dari penjelasan dan kajian di ataslah, dapat dirumuskan bahawa sebenarnya kelahiran di dalam air itu lebih beneficial/baik bagi manusia! Teknik kelahiran yang unorthodox ini semakin mendapat tempat baik di luar negara, mahupun di dalam negara kita.

.

Risiko?

Menurut artikel dari utusan tersebut, antara pusat perubatan di Malaysia yang memperkenalkan teknik kelahiran dalam air ini adalah Pusat Perubatan Pantai di Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur. Sebanyak 2 kelahiran telah berjaya disambut setakat ini.

Pakar perbidanan dan kelahiran, Pusat Perubatan Pantai, Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur Dr. Choong Kuo Hsiang berkata, di Malaysia, kaedah ini tidak begitu diterima rakyat Malaysia memandangkan ia agak bertentangan dengan adat dan budaya sesetengah kaum di negara ini.

“Memang ada permintaan untuk kelahiran cara ini di Malaysia tetapi kebanyakan yang memilihnya adalah wanita Inggeris yang menetap di Malaysia kerana mengikut suami bertugas di sini,” jelasnya ketika ditemui di kliniknya di Kuala Lumpur, baru-baru ini.

Justeru, katanya, Pusat Perubatan Pantai telah merasmikan pusat kelahiran air yang pertama di Lembah Klang awal tahun ini. Sejak dari tarikh tersebut sebanyak tiga percubaan melahirkan anak di dalam air, namun hanya dua yang berjaya dilahirkan dengan kaedah ini.

Pun begitu, segalanya terpulang kepada pilihan pasangan itu sendiri. Proses kelahiran, sama ada di dalam air mahupun di luar air masing-masing merupakan satu proses yang cukup kompleks. Pastinya terdapat kemungkinan berlakunya komplikasi, dalam mana-mana cara sekalipun.

Cuma pada hemat saya secara peribadi, memandangkan kelahiran konvensional secara biasa itu sudah lama established dan para attendan/doktor juga pastinya lebih berpengalaman menguruskannya, terutamanya jika berlakunya komplikasi. Adapun bagi kelahiran dalam air ini, ianya masih baru diperkenalkan dan kemungkinan terdapat beberapa lompang dan kekurangan yang belum dapat dikenalpasti.

Justeru, seriously, pemilihan untuk bersalin di dalam air atau kelahiran secara biasa, is really up to the choice. Kedua-duanya mempunyai pros dan kontras yang tersendiri. Bagi ibubapa/pasangan yang berkeinginan akan sesuatu “kelainan” yang pastinya akan diingati sepanjang hayat, maka kelahiran di dalam air merupakan satu cabaran yang menarik dan berbaloi untuk anda cuba!

Bak kata user ammcreative, “baby tu besar nanti jadi perenang handalan la!“. =)

.

Bacaan Lanjut:

Saya sertakan di bawah senarai jurnal-jurnal mengenai waterbirth ini, juga saya sertakan sinopsis salah satunya. Sila klik

- R.E Gilbert and P.A Tookey (1999) Perinatal mortality and morbidity among babies delivered in water: surveillance study and postal survey. (BMJ 319(7208):483-487)

- For a beautiful illustrated book with many photographs of mothers giving birth and swimming with their children, see J.Johnson and M.Odent : We Are All Water Babies (Berkeley, CA: Celestial Arts Publishing, 1995)

- E.R Cluett, R.M. Pickering, K. Getlife, and N.J St George Saunders (2004) Randomised controlled trial of labouring water compared with standard of augmentation for managemeng of dystocia in first stage labour (BMJ 328(7435):314

- E.R Cluett, V.C Nikodem, R.E.McCandlish, and E.E Burns (2004) Immersion in water in pregnancy, labour and birth (Cochrane Database Syst Rev (2): CD000111).

- For the Italian study mentioned in the text, see A. Thoeni, N.Zech, L.Moroder and P.Flooner (2005) Review of 1600 water births: does water birth increase the risk of neonatal infection? (J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med 17(5):357-361)

- Water birthing is not without controversy; to see a study that found no possitive correlation, see K.Eckert, D.Turnbull, and A.MacLennan (2001) Immersion in water in the first stage of labor: a randomized controlled trial (Birth 28(2):84-93)

A. Thoeni, N.Zech, L.Moroder and P.Flooner (2005)
Review of 1600 water births: does water birth increase the risk of neonatal infection?
J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med 17(5):357-361

Objectives.
We reviewed 1600 water births at a single institution over an 8-year period.

Methods.
We compared 737 primiparae deliveries in water with 407 primiparae deliveries in bed, and 142 primiparae on the delivery stool. We also evaluated the duration of labor, perineal trauma, arterial cord blood pH, postpartum maternal hemoglobin levels, and rates of neonatal infection. In 250 water deliveries we performed bacterial cultures of water samples obtained from the bath after filling and after delivery.

Results.
The duration of the first stage of labor was significantly shorter with a water birth than with a land delivery (380 vs. 468 minutes,). The episiotomy rate in all water births was lower with a water birth than with a delivery in bed or a delivery on the birthing stool (0.38%, 23%, and 8.4%, respectively). The rate of perineal tears was similar (23%, respectively). There were no differences in the duration of the second stage (34 vs. 37 minutes), arterial cord blood pH, or postpartum maternal hemoglobin levels. No woman using the water birth method required analgesics. The rate of neonatal infection was also not increased with a water birth (1.22% vs. 2.64%, respectively).

Conclusion.
Water birth appears to be associated with a significantly shorter first stage of labor, lower episiotomy rate and reduced analgesic requirements when compared with other delivery positions. If women are selected appropriately and hygiene rules are respected, water birth appears to be safe for both the mother and neonate.

Keywords:
Water birth; delivery methods; duration of birth; perineal trauma; shoulder dystocia; pool contamination; neonatal infections

A typical blond trying to figure out the cause of her coarse throat. A typical smartass suggesting that it’s either too much intercourse or simply her understanding of intercoarse. Butt, Off Coarse!

http://www.thinkaloo.com

I was working in the State Bank, as Accountant, when my father phoned me, insisting that I come home immediately. He refused to give any reasons, as is his nature, being something of a Hitler. He still treats me as a child. I must confess that I am slender, weak minded and lack the will power of my father. It was his suggestion that I must join the Bank. My preference was for literature. Only fools read poetry, he would say.
Mother died early in my life, and father wanted me to marry early, so that there will be a woman in the house, which was quite big and the estate a few acres in size. I hated it, as he would tell me to count the coconuts, before taking to the mill, for extracting oil. I always made mistake in counting, as my mind will wander here and there.
When I reached home, he told me to see a girl, whom I knew from childhood. I cursed my fate. She was one among half a dozen brats, black, dirty with a running nose and always babling about whatever came to her mind.
Their house was in a village which can be reached by a local train, starting early morning. The next train is in the evening. I was to go alone, as they had been informed in advance. Of course, father was too busy to come wth me.
I was thinking about Sushma, of our office,who had a liking for me. I too felt happy in her presence. I missed the station, where I was to get down. So I got down at the next station.
To my surprise and relief, my class fellow was the Station Master there !
As soon as the train left, he took me to his room. When I explained my plight, he burst out: let him go to hell. You are earning a salary. You can live with your income. One day, the old man will surely die. Don’t marry now. Wait for some years. You are only twenty two!
At lunch time, we went to his quarter, a few  steps from the station. He had infrmed his mother and  they were expecting me. He had a sister, extremely beautiful, but unhealthy. She went on talking to me, as to an old friend, though it was our first meeting. I liked her.
When I returned home, by the noon train, my father did not say anything. When I told him about my missing the place, to get down from the train,
the only comment was: what else can be expected from a dreamer?

The station master, my friend, and I belong to the same caste, Tamil Brahmins settled in Keralam. He lost no time in contacting my father and before I could think of it, my marriage with his sister was fixed. I was not unhappy.
I hired a better house and we started our life on a good note. The mobile phone enabled us to be together, even when we were separated, and I enjoyed her sweet voice almost always. Sushma, though a Nair girl, used to come to our house off and on. My wife knew how to make vada, dosa, muruku and a  host of other dishes, available only in Tamilnadu. She would teach the technique to Sushma, and sometimes, my wife would sing. She had a pleasing voice.
Every month, my wife had fever, with high temperature. I think, the doctors did not understand her problem. They went on prescribing new medicines, which were of no avail. When she became pregnant, they cautioned about her inebility to survive a delivery, but my wife was bent on having the baby.
Sushma too tried to avert the calamity, advising a D and C.
 I tried to believe in His powers. We went to all temples and offered prayers. When the time came, we went to Calicut medical college hospital, where I had friends. Sushma too came to give moral support.
Even when I recollect those times, I feel the utter helplessness of we human beings, our prayers and aspirations. I was mentally prepared to hear the worst, but was spared of the necessity. She delivered a boy and survived.

But the joy was short lived. She died of a very severe fever, becoming delirious and then uncoscious.
Sushma remained with me to look after the baby.
I was transferred to Calcutta.
When I joined the branch there, my boss was a Miss Swamy. She came and I wished her. Seeing the new comer, a flick of recognition passed through her eyes, just a momentary ray of light. She motioned me to come into her cabin.
On being seated, her smile burst into peals of lauhter. I could not understand it. How can this fashionable lady, though jet black in colour, know me, living in far away Keralam ? Yet her eyes, so magnetic and fiery, reminded me of the past. But how?
Are you not from Vallapuzha ? she asked. I was dumbfounded.
Yes.
You have a big estate there.
Yes, Madam.
OH! Forget the madam. I am simply Geeta. Once you were coming to see me, but you didn’t turn up. My father was very upset then.
I kept mum.
Several customers came in and she dismissed me.
I could not believe it. How that dirty girl has metamorphosed into this vivacious, bright, fashonably dressed, Senior Manager of a Nationalised Bank, where I am still an unknown accountant, was beyond my comprehension.
During lunch break, she called me in and we had tea and biscuits. She asked me to stay on, till she took me out to have dinner. As I was new, I didn’t have much to do. She called me in, at about four.
I must thank God you have come. I came here only one week back. I have not settled yet. Have you brought your family?
 I told her what happened.
I am so sorry man. Any way, we will stay together. I have plenty of friends here. They will fix me up.
Then she took me in her car and drove to a posh restaurant. She behaved, as though we are friends for a long time. She even ordered non-veg. items. I chose dosa which was avalilable luckily.
Why did you not try for officer’s post.
I am happy as it is.
My father pressed me hard to marry. All others are married. Now he is no more. What about you?
Mine is still alive. Very weak. Can’t hear or see.
In the night, she persuaded me to stay in her hotel room. There is plenty of room for two. We are not teenagers. I had enough sex. Now I a not interested, unless you want to.
Can I speak to my people at home?
She asked the hotel to connect the number I gave her.
Who is this Sushma? Is she attached to you?
Yes and no. See, she is looking after my son. She is very much devoted to my late wife and our son.
Well, good night! Have proper rest. Talk afterwards.
In the office, she asked my advice, even for small matters. There was a case, involving a loan of some twenty crores. She wanted me to study it thoroughly, especially the risk factor. Some minister is interested.

We shifted to a house, in a posh locality. Why not some cheap one, I asked.
Life is to enjoy. Whom shall I save money for? Will they not forget it afterwrds, when we need their help? – I had no reply.
Every one was happy, it seemd. Not some people in the office, though.
What is the relation between the two? People were curious. In our society two individuals may not live together, if they happen to be of different sex. Some anonymous letters reached H.Q. They forwarded it to our lady. She showed it to me. WHAT DOES HER ADVISOR SAY?
On the one hand, I undrestood her philosophy. But we are living in a society. We have to respect their sentiments.
Sushma wanted to come to Calcutta. I was eager to see my son. In the photo he seemed very handsome. He is now two years old. I never went home, during these two years.
That evening we went to a park. The full moon was rising in the East, spreading its milky sprays in the whole world. Geeta sat very near, encircling me with her arms, warm and soft, loving and tender. Her lips were nibbling my cheek. A celestial fragrance emanated from her body. We lay down, curling against each other. She removed the buttons of her jacket and I brought my mouth very closed to those soft buttery heaps, when we heard footsteps coming towards us…….
She bought some fine whisky and we went back home. The maid brought our food and she dismissed her. Sipping the drink and tasting the chicken, no more objectionable to me, we spent a pleasant evening.
I slept soon. In the dead of night, something was creeping over my body. When I switched on the light, I saw Geeta  licking my body, every inch of it, herself stark naked, her breasts full and the nipples erect. My body began to get hotter and hotter. She was lying over my body and almost bit my lips off.
My stuff stood up like a pillar and went into the tunnel in the valley, as easily, as a sharp knife into the soft cake……
Nex day, Sushma came with the kid. I had taken leave and went to the railway station to receive them. The boy was looking healthy and smart. Sushma looked even more bright. No one will say, it is not her child. On the way she asked me a number of questions, some very difficult to answer. Why am I staying with Geeta?
We used to go sight seeing. She was in a metropolitan city for the first time. The child too enjoyed the atmosphere in the children’s park etc. But she was very critical of Geeta. She is capable of doing anything, she said.

I told Geeta that Sushma is willing for a transfer to Calcutta. Will Madam help?
The day for their departure came. The boy was crying, but no response from Sushma. When  we went into her room, she was lying dead. Blood was coming from her mouth.
Geeta: I always kept a bottle of cyanide for emergency. She must have taken it inadvertently.
I took the baby and Sushma’s baggage. I went to the railway station, without saying a word.

So, for this to make any sense, you may have to read my past two blog posts, or at least just the last one.  (I think that recaps everything, or at least links to the beginning.) It started when I began an email exchange with Subway that I thought was going somewhere… but, it’s been over a week since they’ve written back to me.

My short attention span got to wondering on Facebook the other day, and a friend suggested that I call Quiznos.  Well, I’m not one for phone calls, but why not write to them, right?  I decided to forward my comments to Sheetz, Quiznos, and Jersey Mike’s since I mentioned them all.  So far, I’ve gotten two responses from Quiznos, and nothing from anyone else.  Score one for them, even if the torpedoes are just bread sticks trying to be sandwiches.

I’ll even post ‘em in “how you should read it” order so you don’t have to go from the bottom up like last time.

I started with…

From: ERiC AiXeLsyD [mailto:world.and.lunar.domination@gmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, November 10, 2009 11:52 AM
To: CreativeRequests@quiznos.com
Subject: Fwd: Subway [Customer ID: 1918316]

Hello friends at Quiznos!

I hope this message finds you well.  I recently wrote to someone who is a competitor of yours and mentioned your name.

You my friends, are true contenders in the sub business, and I thought you deserved to know how some of the other sub places in the area are faring against you… specifically Subway.

Never forget that you, my friends, were the first to toast the sub!

Please review my original message to Subway (at the bottom of the chain) at your convenience.

As you can see, my latest message to them as gone unanswered.  Perhaps they’re too ashamed to reply.

Warmest Regards,
-ERiC AiXeLsyD

And, I got this…

From: HelpDesk <HelpDesk@quiznos.com>
Date: Wed, Nov 11, 2009 at 3:23 PM
Subject: RE: Subway [Customer ID: 1918316]
To: world.and.lunar.domination@gmail.com

Mr. Aixelsyd,

Thank you for taking the time to share this with us.  I found it to be a great read and with your permission I would like to share it with our marketing folks.

Thank you,
Gregory Boudreaux

Help Desk Lead

QUIZNOS^®
Subs • Soups • Salads

I wrote back, but I’ll hold that until I get a response.  (If I get one.)

As you know, I hate webforms, so I submitted through the Quiznos webform asking for the email address of a real live person.  Well, it worked:

From: “Jones, Tony” <TJones2@Quiznos.com>
To: world.and.lunar.domination@gmail.com
Sent: Wed, November 11, 2009 8:16:52 AM
Subject: Quiznos Brand

Greetings Eric,

I am Tony Jones, the Vice President for Quiznos representing the Ohio/Indiana/Pennsylvania/Illinois region; Your Customer Comment was forwarded to my office, and I wanted to get back with you.

My Contact Info:

Tony Jones

Quiznos Corp

6429 Crofton Court

Burlington, KY 41005

cell: 859-806-1730

e-mail: tjones@quiznos.com

So, of course, I wrote back…

From: ERiC AiXeLsyD <world.and.lunar.domination@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Nov 11, 2009 at 12:43 PM
Subject: Fwd: Subway [Customer ID: 1918316]
To: TJones2@quiznos.com

Hello Mr. Jones,

May I call you Indiana?  My original message is below.  I look forward to hearing your thoughts!

-Eric

Well, he ignored the goofy part…

From: Jones, Tony <TJones2@quiznos.com>
Date: Wed, Nov 11, 2009 at 1:03 PM
Subject: RE: Subway [Customer ID: 1918316]
To: ERiC AiXeLsyD <world.and.lunar.domination@gmail.com>

Hi Eric,

Very interesting how other folks in the Sandwich segment of the restaurant business respond to customer input.  As you probably already know, our niche in this business field is usually a more ‘personal’ one.  That factor alone, is one of the distinguishing marks of the SUB businesses vs. other QSR’s burger, pizza, Mexican … Our customer base is one that is accustomed to being serviced with a much more personal touch.  The interaction is more detailed as sandwiches are personalized, and often, we get to know our repeat customers by first name, and even their favorite sandwich as they will come in the door to order…  With e-mail, and technology today, for multiple areas of customer feed-back, it really is a mistake for any business to not utilize all of these methods to get to know their clientele and service their needs.  Obviously, you’re discovering some poor choices that other competitors have made with respect to customer accountability issues.   In a world, that continues to become more and more demanding of peoples time, we should never lose sight of the importance of ‘good communication’.  I think it’s very interesting on what your finding out about how effective communication is being ‘lost’ from the customer/service provider relationship;  I find it extremely poor taste to use a ‘generic’ letter to address these areas of concern.  Before I hurl the ‘judgmental javelin’ at Subway or other competitors, I do know that much of this customer response decision making is left up to area developers, DA’s, and local manager’s choice.  Before Quiznos, I was a VP for the Kentucky region of Subway, and I always tried to personally respond to customer feedback.  So, some of this is probably a time-management issue for a local representative of the larger entity.

With respect to my territory (Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky), I wouldn’t ever want to lose touch with my customer base.  They are a crucial ‘gage’ to what we do at Quiznos;

Thanks for sharing this,

Tony

I’m still amazed that I can push a little, and still get articulate and thoughtful answers to these kinds of emails.  I decided to write one final good note…

From: ERiC AiXeLsyD <world.and.lunar.domination@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Nov 11, 2009 at 4:43 PM
Subject: Re: Subway [Customer ID: 1918316]
To: “Jones, Tony” <TJones2@quiznos.com>

Thank you for the quick reply, Mr. Jones!

I appreciate that you take a more personal approach from the ground up!  Technology can make things more personal if a company allows.  Thank you for the opportunity to provide some feedback.

I can assure you that Quiznos restaurants are far superior to their direct competitors in the area surrounding Pittsburgh, PA.  I have noticed that they have been scaled back in the recent years, but they’re still available where needed.

Keep up the good work!
-Eric

P.S. – The “We like the subs!” thing was a million times more awesome than the Jared or $5 Footlong campaigns.

I found it amusing that Yahoo! news linked to this article today calling it “Subway’s $5 recession buster“:  The Accidental Hero

Perhaps Yahoo! and Subway are in a world domination plot of their own?

The last few days have been something of a roller-coaster of emotions for me, as I continue my struggle to establish whether or not there really are thousands of uses for Blu-Tack.

Firstly, having recovered from my shocking discovery, I contacted UHU. Their English language site is still under construction, and although they have a very small UK site, the contact form on their website doesn’t seem to work very well (or at all), and I wasn’t able to find an email address. As a result, I had no choice other than to fill out the Kontaktformular on the German website:

Hi,

I recently bought a pack of UHU White Tack and noticed that according to your packaging, White Tack has “thousands of uses”. I was just wondering if you perhaps had a list of all these uses, as I have struggled to think of more than fifty possible uses for your product and so am obviously missing quite a few.

Thanks,
James

I didn’t have much hope of getting a response to be honest, so I was thrilled when a couple of days later, I saw an email appear in my inbox from someone at UHU. My excitement quickly turned to frustration, however, as soon as I read their response.

Dear Mr. Ward,
Thank you for your inquiry on UHU White Tack. There are really multiple applications of UHU White tack such as fixing posters, postcards, memos, pencil boxes, decorations, photos and much more but we do not have a real list of applications at hand. Maybe our German UHU patafix Web-site (UHU patafix is the brand name use in Germany for UHU White tack) can give you some inspiring ideas of how to use the product in a creative way of which you right now have not thought yet. If you click on “I love patafixer” you will find our 4 patafixer teenagers who really use patafix in a creative way (http://www.uhu-patafix.de/). I hope this will be helpful for you.

Best regards,
Simone

Sound familiar? This is exactly the same story Bostik tried to fob me off with. Yes, I KNOW there are multiple applications for White Tack; as I said in my original email, I had counted more than fifty (this is actually based on the number of uses I had established for Blu-Tack a while ago. I’m assuming all of these also hold true for White Tack as well). I’m not asking whether or not White Tack is versatile, I know it’s versatile, I just want to know if there is any truth to their claim that it has “thousands of uses”. And so it begins again.

Fortunately though, there has been some good news. I feel like I’m really getting somewhere with Bostik. Michelle and I are really bonding. I think it’s safe to say she admires me. Perhaps even loves me slightly. I’m sure she looks forward to my emails.

After her last email to me, I wrote back and explained precisely what the issue was:

Hi Michelle,

Sorry I haven’t had a chance to reply. I’ve been a bit busy, you know how it is!

I thought the artwork you sent through was very creative and illustrates the many ways in which Blu-Tack can be used, but at the same time, it highlighted the precise point I’ve been trying to make all along.

The artwork you sent me describes Blu-Tack as a “multi-purpose re-usuable adhesive”, this is certainly true. My problem is that your packaging states that Blu-Tack has “1000s of uses”. This is a different, and specific, claim. I still haven’t seen or heard anything which backs up this claim. Blu-Tack does have many uses, it is very versatile, but does it have thousands of uses, rather than simply hundreds of uses or dozens of uses? This is what I am trying to clarify.

I noted with interest that another product, WD-40, makes a similar claim, however, they have actually compiled a list of over two thousand applications for their product (http://www.wd40.co.uk/media/images/a/8/LIST_OF_2_000_USES.pdf).

Perhaps Bostik could follow their example and produce a similar list?

Regards,
James

Now, in all honesty, the WD-40 list leaves a lot to be desired. Many of the uses listed are pretty spurious to say the least, and I’ll be raising this issue with WD-40 in good time. For example, I question whether or not this can really be considered a valid use for WD-40:

This seems overly specific:

And surely this:

And this:

Are just specific examples of this:

I didn’t mention any of this to Michelle of course. Some might say I was acting disingenuously, I would say I was being strategic. And I think the tactic worked. Michelle replied today:

Hi James

I hope you have had a nice week and looking forward to the weekend.

I am really glad to hear that you agree that Blu-Tack is indeed a multi-purpose product but obviously disappointed that you do not agree that Blu-Tack has indeed 1000s of uses – or at least maybe you do agree, but want to see these in writing?

We have been asked this question many times before but most have been appeased! – but please bear with me.

The thing is that Blu-Tack uses tend to be so personal and so random to the user that it is hard to identify specific uses. I can only say that by way of the numerous letters and emails we have received over the years stating their uses, that this gives us full confidence that Blu-Tack does in fact have 1000s of uses.

The thing is – Blu-Tack is all about fun, creativity and imagination – this is what we say about the brand. Now if we were to come up with 1000s of suggestions for people then it would kind of take a little bit of that magic away. Also on the same note, we kind of feel that who are we to suggest what to do with your Blu-Tack? I hope that makes sense.

It’s not about stating a random claim just to “big up” our product – as I said we’re a genuine company.

What we have done as part of our website www.blu-tack.co.uk is to put an area on the site where consumers can load up their own suggestions for Blu-Tack as well as their models and animations (other good uses for Blu-Tack). Please check it out – I hope you like it.

I was not long ago sent a rather large list of uses by a customer which I would forward however, quite a number of them were not really suitable for publication – but were read with much interest and amusement the team here.

However, having said all this above if you are still not satisfied then I can do something further. This week I spent a day with my counterparts from Bostik Australia and Bostik South Africa. Both have said that they have lists of thousands of uses for Blu-Tack by way of competitions they have run and both said they will send me a copy once they return to their respective countries.

Therefore, when I will receive them, I will happily forward the lists which I hope will then give you the confidence in us that our 1000s of uses claim is correct.

Kind regards
Michelle

I must say, when Michelle mentioned how listing the thousands of uses for Blu-Tack would take away some of its magic, I was quite moved. And such modesty! Even Bostik, the people who make Blu-Tack, don’t want to prescribe how it should be used. I look forward to receiving the lists from Michelle’s international counterparts; but when I get the list, I might not read it. I want to keep the magic alive.

There is this new agency that has cropped up in the US. Goes by the name Victors & Spoils and their guiding light is this term called crowd sourcing. We think it’s something like creative collaboration, and we liked what we saw. Therefore wrote them a 6 pointer letter asking whether they’ll be interested in seeing our work. To our delight they replied back, and we are now busy finalizing the work. We know it’s nothing big or gigantic, but it’s a start worth being happy.

A story in the Sun today about yet another “new” Beatles song – this one, Silence is its Own Reply, was about George Harrison’s relationship with John Lennon and was left, uncompleted-lyrics-only, on the floor of Abbey Road before being picked up by Beatles biographer and ex-Durham student Hunter Davies.

Well, now it’s finally been ‘finished’ by what the Sun calls “contemporary songwriter” (what, you mean, musician?) Dean Johnson – all for BBC Radio Merseyside. Have a listen:

I have to say, it’s not particularly impressive to me; and maybe that’s because, really, it’s not a song written by George Harrison. Who, it needs to be said, was dead before the lyrics were even finished.

People are often better when they’re just left to do songs completely on their own. Go on Dean Johnson’s Myspace and I actually vastly prefer A Life Away – it’s cool and chilled, and amazingly, sounds more like the Beatles than the so-called Beatles song does. Take a listen and tell me what you think. Perhaps you could do that instead of buying Love, or more to the point, watching the following monstrosity. You’ve been warned.

A response to James Winter’s article ‘The Capitalist Manifesto’ from the Socialist Workers Student Society. (From the Courier Website)

There’s only so many times a man can witness idiots misguidedly ranting defending free market capitalism. James Winters is one; this article is in reply to his tirade of factually incorrect assertions and his candid views about ’socialism’.

Is it really even a question for PR folks anymore? Probably not.

However, there are plenty of beginners and lay-people who have never used twitter before, or at least aren’t using it correctly. I will admit, at first I misunderstood twitter. I wasn’t using it right and fell off the bandwagon shortly after I had started tweeting. But I decided to do a little digging of my own and self-taught myself how to use it.

Develop a following

Think of them as your audience. As the VP of a Michigan PR firm I visited in the recent past said: “Otherwise, you’re just talking to yourself.”

“But how do I do that?” you ask.

Start following people who have the same interests/ aspirations/ hobbies/ etc as you. You can also look at who they are following and follow them if you find their tweets interesting. Type in keywords to search bars and see who comes up. (WARNING: Do not mass follow people or follow people who have no relevance to your life; it’s deemed rude in proper twitter etiquette.) However, following does nothing if you don’t take the next step.

Initiate conversation

“Twitter is a conversation,” is the best description I have found so far about how to utilize your time on twitter. It’s meant to facilitate conversation between you and people you follow. If you watch tweets without engaging in the conversation, then you’re just a spectator instead of being in the game! If you still have trouble with the whole “tweeting” scenario, think of it in terms of text messaging: you get 140 characters to say what you want to say.

“But why would I tweet someone I’ve never met before?” you ask.

Use twitter as an icebreaker

Most people think there is too much risk on facebook since pictures, posts, etc can be viewed by friends (don’t be naive enough to think facebook is totally secure: there are ways around privacy settings). Trying to friend someone on facebook before they know of you will probably lead to a rejection. This is where twitter comes in. “Following” someone doesn’t seem like coming on too strong. If you see tweets on your twitter feed that pique your interest, reply and give your 2 cents. The worst that can happen is that they ignore you and don’t tweet back: nothing gained, but also nothing lost.

Basics of twitter

Profile Picture: a must if you want anyone to follow you. it let’s people know you’re a living-breathing human.

Background: twitter offers a variety of simple yet pleasant backgrounds, but there are other sites that have more intricate backgrounds. Type in twitter backgrounds in google and see what you find.

Tweets: Type @username followed by what you want to say to that person in order to tweet at him/her. To see who is tweeting at you, click on the @yourusername on the right-hand side

RT: aka “retweet.” It means you’re helping spread the word. Copy and paste someone else’s tweet in your tweet box. Begin it with RT @username followed by the rest of the retweet. It is proper etiquette to give credit where tweeting credit is due, like a citation.

Direct messaging: aka DM. Basically, private tweets. It’s essentially the same as a tweet since it has limited characters (140), but it doesn’t show up on the feed/ wall. I usually use this if the tweet-count goes beyond 3+ tweets.

Hashtag (#): Put the hashtag symbol in front of a key word (ie #keyword) This keeps tabs on your tweet and allows others to see that specific tweet when they search the key word. It also activates it as a link to others who have the same hashtag in their tweet.

Spammers: An annoying reality of social media. However, you can help twitter cut down on spammers by blocking or reporting them. To do this, view your followers and click on the little wheel next to that username. A list should come down that allows you to block or report them, which will remove them from your list.

Lists: A fairly new feature/ tool, lists allow you to create a list and publicly or privately add followers/ following to it. When you click on the list, you will only see tweets made by people on that list. You can also follow other users’ public lists. Private lists do not show up on anybody’s twitter besides your own.

Privacy Settings: You can protect your tweets so only people you approve can see them. To do this, go to settings and click on the box that says “protect my tweets” at the bottom of the account page.

Name/ Location/ Website/ Bio: Type in your real name if you want other tweeters to know you are a real person and not a spammer. Location isn’t necessarily as vital unless you wan to network with people in your area. You can also put you country or state instead of city name if you like to keep your privacy. Add a website: something that is identifiable to you ie personal blog, company website, personal website, facebook or LinkedIn account, etc. Include a few words about yourself in the bio ie your career title, student, etc. Other tweeters will be more likely to follow you back if they know a little bit about who you are.

The neatest thing about twitter

You can tweet with people you would have never even dreamed of meeting beforehand. Talking with professionals, pundits, authors, advice-givers, and likeminded people is available at your fingertips. As a student, the connections I’ve made and the relationships I’ve maintained have been ultimately rewarding — both in a personal and professional sense. Twitter has become an everyday priority for me. After all, it’s not always what you know, but WHO you know.

I define “Internet trolling” as posting comments on blogs, chat groups, forums, or any other venue on the internet that makes disparaging remarks about other people, their statements, theories, questions, beliefs, or anything else they post on the internet. It’s irrelevant whether the troll’s comments are intentionally constructed to cause other people anger and pain or the troll’s communication skills are just so uncivilized that that they incidentally infuriate and hurt other people. As long as the end result is anger and pain the perpetrator is trolling.

Every troll is unique, and each has their own motives for their actions, but after watching trolls in action since the birth of the internet and even questioning them directly I’ve gathered that most trolls are trying to accomplish one (or more) of five goals by attacking strangers on the internet.

1. Correct other people’s mistakes.
2. Force other people to better refine and articulate their ideas.
3. Punish stupid people for being stupid.
4. Reinforce their own sense of self-worth by proving to themselves that they’re better than other people.
5. Derive pleasure from other people’s pain and discomfort.

Let’s take a look at each of these goals and see how well trolling accomplishes them.

1. Correcting other people’s mistakes: Regardless of whether your intentions are pure or even if you’re right, insulting people makes them angry. When people get angry they don’t think rationally; they think emotionally. This makes it nearly impossible for them to think about your point of view objectively. Thus, if your goal is to change people’s minds you’ve just shot yourself in the foot.

Another reason insulting people reduces the chance of you successfully arguing your point to them is because it changes the subject of the argument away from the topic altogether and turns it into a personal argument about the quality of the individuals arguing. Abortion, gun control, politics, immigration, health care reform, drug laws, religion, and other sensitive subjects have many compelling arguments on both sides, none of which are addressed by the statement, “You’re fucking stupid.”

When you make people angry and steer the conversation away from the actual topic you’re destroying any chance of changing your opponent’s mind. In fact, you’re accomplishing the opposite, You’re shutting down their brain and reaffirming their belief that people who belong to your school of thought are arrogant dick heads. Even if you “win” the argument the other person is going to walk away more convinced of their position, which may in fact be wrong about, but they’ll never know it because of you. Trolls aren’t the agents of truth they believe they are. They’re the harbingers of ignorance.

2. Forcing people to better refine and articulate their ideas: Again, starting a flame war shuts down people’s minds and changes the subject to an irrelevant straw man argument. I’ve seen many trolls defend themselves against this criticism by saying things like, “I don’t have time to sugar coat reality for your dumb ass.” Or “If you can’t take a joke then fuck you.” Or simply “You’re a pussy. Fuck you.”

Regardless of whether or not there’s any truth to those defenses, the reality of the situation is that the only people who are going to listen objectively to someone who insults them personally are the most brilliantly stoic and objective thinkers society has to offer. Thinkers of that caliber are probably going to objectively challenge their own ideas themselves without waiting for a belligerent stranger on the internet to offer them that service. So your criticism isn’t likely to help anybody who isn’t already helping themselves.

What your criticism is likely to do is cement ignorant people’s beliefs, discourage budding minds from reaching out to society for help in their quest for understanding, and hurt innocent people who are making the same honest mistakes you’ve made in the past.

3. Punishing stupid people for being stupid: Imagine a parent who beats his children when they misbehave. The parent doesn’t explain to them what they did wrong, why it was wrong, how they can correct their behavior or what the benefit of correcting their behavior will be. The parent just beats his children while screaming at them that they’re bad people who can never do anything right.

After years of this kind of abuse the children will learn one thing from their guardian, that they are inherently bad people who can never do anything right. That “truth” will define their reality, and they’ll go through the rest of their lives hating themselves and destroying themselves and everyone who comes into their sphere of influence (including their own children). They’ll never be motivated to fulfill their human potential because they’ll be convinced that their individual potential is crap.

That’s what punishing people for being stupid accomplishes. It breeds stupidity.

4. Reinforcing your own sense of self-worth by proving to yourself that you’re better than other people: Self-esteem is something that everyone struggles with. Defining your self worth is an essential and inevitable part of growing up. It’s also one of the most difficult parts of growing up, especially when your parents and the bullies that stalk society have taught you to hate yourself.

We should all be honest with ourselves that there is an intoxicating lure to establishing your self-worth by putting others down. However, it’s just a quick fix. It creates an external illusion of self-worth. Your true value is internal and has nothing to do with the value of the person next to you.

This is an honest mistake that most people, if not every person, makes a couple of times in their life. If you do it consistently though, that’s a sign that you don’t believe your value as a person is good/solid enough to stand on its own. That or you’re just ignorant of what determines a person’s worth. Either way, trolling provides written documentation in a public forum definitively proving to everyone who crosses your path that worse than everyone else, and everyone knows it except you.

5. Deriving pleasure from other people’s pain and discomfort: If you derive joy from causing other people pain then you don’t have room to criticize anybody else’s personal or intellectual flaws because you possess the greatest personal and intellectual flaw humanly possible.

Furthermore, while the pleasure of hurting others may seem intoxicating at the moment, when you look back on your life years from now your memories won’t be defined by honest, solid happiness. They’ll be defined by torture. While the happiness you experience by hurting other people may be real it’s also a lesser form of happiness that can be attained by helping other people and celebrating life. Think of gaining happiness in your life like a business gaining money in the economy. You’re like a business that’s making a profit, but if you changed your business model just a little you could make a lot more profit. While you may be happy with the profit you’re making, the fact of the matter is that the money you’re not making is money you’re losing. Now, how important is money? Money can do anything. Money is a medium of exchange that represents all the hopes, dreams, fears and values of mankind. Money really does make the world go ‘round.

What I’m talking about is more important than money. I’m talking about your life.

Whether your goal is to correct other people’s mistakes, help other people to better refine and articulate their ideas, vanquish stupidity, define your self worth, or achieve happiness, trolling won’t help you accomplish any of those goals; it will accomplish the exact opposite. What will help you accomplish all of those goals is reaching out to your fellow man in kindness, objectivity and patience to help everyone arrive at truth in a productive manner. In doing so you’ll make other people smarter individuals, which will help them fulfill their potential, which will cause society (which is nothing more than a large group of individuals) to improve and fulfill its potential. By being an agent of truth and productivity you’ll fulfill your own potential and prove your worth to the rest of the world and have written documentation in a public forum definitively proving to everyone who crosses your path that you were/are a great human being. Finally, when you look back on your life years from now you’ll have a long history of creating happiness in this world, not just for yourself but everyone you’ve met and everyone they’ve met, and everyone they’ve met and so on across the world and across generations yet to be born. The happiness you experience from those memories will be compounded a billion times, and when you die you will be one of the few humans to ever live who knew true greatness and true happiness.

Or you can just keep being a dick and devote your life to creating a world defined by ignorance and hostility, chipping away at everything good in this world until the apocalypse wipes humanity off the face of the earth in a fiery ball of stupidity and resentment ending the life of all the good hearted geniuses around the world along with you, who spent your life sitting in your mom’s basement cursing the world you created.

I sent an email back to Michelle saying I hoped she had a nice holiday and saying I was looking forward to hearing back from her.

It was nearly another week before she replied. I assume this must be because she was so busy catching up on all of her work following her time off. I forgot to ask her where she’d been. I hope she doesn’t think I’m rude.

Hi James
I hope you had a good weekend – and are looking forward to this one!

Sorry again for not being able to get back to you sooner – we finished our Blu-Tack yellow Marie Curie link up this week that you will see in the press if you look.

Regarding Blu-Tack® and its 1000s of uses. We originally changed our packaging to show this in 2005 and since then have been often asked about it from our customers since.

We are an open and honest brand and company and would certainly not put on a claim we weren’t 100% happy with.

The uses for the product are so random and varying and often unique to an individual that its hard to just identify them all. There are more obvious uses such as using it for modelling, holding wires in place, using for speakers to stop vibration, holding a screw on a screwdriver, using it to remove another piece of Blu-Tack® off a wall. However, to give you a flavour of more random uses – here are some below that we have been sent more recently:

- The University of Cambridge contacted us asking about the softness because they hold insects feet down with it,
- another one (see quote below) about using in the aerospace industry.
- We also had an enquiry from a professor of ear surgery at Leicester hospital saying he told children to use it as earplugs after surgery because it was the most effective method – and subsequently similar by a doctor in Wythenshaw hospital. I also saw it recently in the press about using it in actual ear operations. So just for ears alone it tends to be multifunctional.
- We have worked with the police (they approached us) about promoting the use for using Blu-Tack® for holding Sat Navs in place so there are no marks on windscreens for thieves to see.
- We are also asked many times about different colours than blue and someone asked us for flesh coloured tack because she used it in her first aid course to hold objects on their dummy in class.

We also have a website www.blu-tack.co.uk which gives loads of information on Blu-Tack® and also has a section for people to upload all their uses for the product – so hopefully we will have eventually the couple of thousand listed – but check it out!

Finally, a graphic design student sent us in some advert posters this week which I thought showed a funny use on front – and also shows a list of many uses – so here it is attached.

I hope that you are satisfied with our response and will continue to use our famous Blu-Tack brand.

Kind Regards
Michelle

Aerospace enquiry
“The reason for the question is that we use it as a cleaning aid and we then clean off any residues from any remaining Blu-Tack. Our parts are used for sensors within the aerospace industry and any contamination may lead to an issue and we are therefore particular in these matters”

Hmmm.

I’m not entirely sure if I should post the artwork Michelle attached as it’s uncredited and looks like it was done as some sort of design project. Anyway, here it is (if it’s yours and you want it taken down, just let me know. I am nothing if not reasonable):

Now, do you see the crucial detail in this artwork which Michelle appears to have missed? The artwork states that Blu-Tack is a “multi-purpose re-usable adhesive”. I have no problem with that claim. It’s true, it’s definitely true. Blu-Tack is a very versatile product and it can be used in a wide number of situations. I’m not denying that, only a lunatic would deny that. My objection is to the specific claim that Blu-Tack has “1000s of uses”. I am still no closer to identifying what these “1000s of uses” are.

I don’t feel like I’m getting anywhere with this. I just keep getting told Blu-Tack has lots of uses; that it would be impossible to list them all because the list would be endless; that it’s hard to identify them all.

I don’t want to identify them all. I’m not asking for an exhaustive list of every single possible use. I just want some indication that it is true to say that Blu-Tack has “1000s of uses”. Not “lots”, not “many”. “1000s”. They say on the packaging it has “1000s of uses”, show me it has “1000s of uses”.

But how much further can I push this? Michelle seems like a nice person. If she’d been rude and patronising, this would be so much easier. But she seems quite nice.

I went to a course at work this week. At the start, there was one of those “ice-breaker” activities where you have to tell everyone your name, explain your role and responsibilities and share one interesting fact about yourself. I hate these things. There are very few interesting facts about me. Under pressure, I said that the interesting fact about me is that I’m currently embroiled in a dispute with Bostik over the accuracy of their claim that Blu-Tack has “1000s of uses”. When I said this, everyone laughed, but I’ll be honest with you; I think they might have been laughing at me rather than with me.

Am I losing my nerve?

But then, shouldn’t this story give me hope?

Disney is offering refunds to millions of parents in the US who bought its ‘Baby Einstein’ learning DVDs, after being threatened with legal action over its claims that the DVDs provided educational benefits.

I need to be stronger.

By Con George-Kotzabasis–This was written on June, 2009

Andrew Lebovich continues pessimistically to ruminate on his doubts about the surge and on General Petraeus’s counterinsurgency plan. He states, “The strategic outcome of the surge cannot be determined now” as it depends on the establishment of a democratic Iraq “after our occupation…has ended.” And if the gains of the surge are so fragile and can be lost with a resurgence of al Qaeda how can one say that “Petraeus’s counterinsurgency plan is proven,” as is stated by McCain? He is also concerned about the “Sons of Iraq and other local militias’ being integrated “into the Iraqi security forces” and some of the corrupt practices of the Iraqi government.

Starting in reverse of his concerns, it’s decal like clear that he has not learned anything from the mistakes of the Bush administration when in toto disbanded the Iraq army instead of integrating it in the new army of the Interim government that would have forestalled the future insurgency. The Maliki government is integrating the Sons of Iraq and other militias and hence effectively disarming them instead of letting them hibernate until a possible next round of violence. Lebovich also is oblivious of the fact that corruption affects all governments that have not as yet found their point of stability and their members have a strong proclivity to get as much as they can from an assumed short term in office. However, with the stabilization of the government, as it seems to be happening now in Iraq, corruption can no longer be a stable staple feeding the mouths of corrupt officials.

As to the gains emanating from the surge, Lebovich apparently is unaware that one may have a perfect investment plan that will give one immense gains but if one “misinvests” or squanders these gains in boondoggle projects one is bound to lose them. This however does not impugn or diminish in any way the perfection of the original investment plan. And Petraeus’s counterinsurgency strategy falls in this category. The danger lies in squandering these gains, as McCain correctly says, before they reach their stated goal, i.e., a democratic Iraq.

Lastly, Lebovich does not perceive that even the most successful of counterinsurgency strategies can only be effective in a different geopolitical milieu if they make the necessary improvisations and modalities in the new context of their implementation. And this elementary principle applies in Afghanistan.

I rest on my oars: Your turn now…