I know it's just words. But he bothered to write in, with proper grammar, and correctly spelled my name. =D Not to say the intention is less without those, but the intention is felt more with those.
It's Thanksgiving Day where he's living now. My gratitude to him in return, for rekindling this precious sentiment in me.
mengapakah kucari
pemicu hati
di dunia lain
kemilau asing
lupakan nantimu
nyata menyentuh
pembuluh hidup
cinta sesungguh?
It's that time of the year again,
November with much rain.
Winter's coming to some parts of the world;
I'm not there, but still I feel the cold.
Umbrella while out, jacket while in;
My toes in wet shoes complain.
Ridiculous as it may be in this tropical weather
I wish air conditioners had a mode for heater.
---
rime[1]
n.
A coating of ice, as on grass and trees, formed when extremely cold water droplets freeze almost instantly on a cold surface.
rime[2]
n. & v.
Variant of rhyme.
What makes an orator?
Attended the Computing in the 21st Century 2008 in Suntec yesterday. It was part of Microsoft Research Asia's 10th Anniversary celebration, and I was invited since I interned there last year as one of the 2006 Fellows. I thought the logo was nice, though Bernard thought the color scheme (the bits floating around) was too similar to Google's. =D
-- Talk to Me
There were the welcome address and opening speeches. While everyone did read from the script, I noticed our NUS Provost, Prof. Tan Eng Chye, delivering it sort of 'newscaster-style' -- with an engaging tone and much pause/emphasis on strategic places. It gave me the feel of being spoken to (even though it was still a recognizable 'recital'), and kept my attention better. That said, I did feel guilty for drifting away from some others from time to time because their contents were all pretty interesting. =P
But anyway, that brought my thoughts to a great orator most Indonesians are proud of, Bung Karno, who never needed a script. (I vaguely remembered hearing about this from my mother. If even she was impressed...) Apart from the gift, I think it might have come from the extent of his passion for the subject-- I really imagine him as someone who lived and breathed patriotism (putting aside the infamous other side of his personality).
-- Look and Feel
Then there were the PowerPoint talks, which I usually labor a lot on myself, being fussy in the department of idea presentation. =)P
Tony Hoare (quicksort, Hoare logic) jogged up the stage stairs. (He is going to be 75 in a few months.)
His slides were plain black-on-white pure text in contrast to the colorful others with the cool demos, but I think I still like his best, emotionally speaking. =) (My own favorite slide design is the 2003 'Edge'.) They stood out in their simplicity, unclogged and easy to read. There was a kind, humorous ambience in the way he spoke, too.
The topic was his dream on zero-defect programming, with the scientific basis and a comparison to the established reliability of the Engineering disciplines. He likened it to a wave of Harry Potter's magic wand to make the errors disappear, and Bernard pointed out that it helped that he had the accent already. =D
That aside, I am still kinda lost on what to talk about to these big names in research. =P People will have technical questions or ask for inspirational advices or talk about life I suppose? I'm probably having too clear a separation between my social and technical associations... And when I feel the gap in our level I tend to fall back on silence (not necessarily awkward if you ask me) or small talk that I am not good in, either. =PP
