The Day You Became A Better Writer - Scott Adams

 

https://dilbertblog.typepad.com/the_dilbert_blog/2007/06/the_day_you_bec.html

Fanati koremsium

Ini adalah cerita tentang seorang pemuda yang berasal dari Negeri Jiran. Pasti kita bertanya, apa itu Jiran? Jiran adalah keadaan ketika sepatu bertemu dengan air hujan. Jiran adalah seikat kebersamaan yang menari di tengah api. Jiran, adalah kita. 

Cukup tentang Jiran, mari kita masuk ke inti cerita. Seorang pemuda itu menangis, menjerit, memekik sekuat hatinya mengijinkan. Tidak ada yang menghiraukannya. Semua orang sibuk dengan kehidupan masing-masing. Itulah resiko tinggal di Ibu Kota, pikirnya. Untung saja ada seorang bijak yang baik hati, mengijinkan kepalanya mengitari bahaya tersebut.

“Tolong!”, teriak orang bijak tersebut.

“Apa yang terjadi?”, pemuda tersebut tergesa-gesa menghampirinya, meninggalkan jejak-jejak makanan yang jelas terlihat.

“Aku tidak bisa memangsa cucuku,” tangis orang tersebut.

“Kamu ditakdirkan untuk itu. Hanya kamu yang mampu!”, pemuda tersebut memegang pundak sang orang bijak dan mengguncangnya keras. Guncangan itu terasa sampai ke telinga Sri Ayu.

“Cukup!”, Sri Ayu mengibaskan selendangnya dan terbang menuruni bumi. “Lepaskan dia atau aku akan teriak!”

Pemuda tersebut terkekeh.

“Ilmu kamu tidak cukup kuat Sri Ayu!”, pemuda tersebut mengambil batu kerikil dan melemparkannya ke arah Sri Ayu.

“Bagaimana kamu tahu namaku?!”, Sri Ayu yang terkejut kehilangan keseimbangan, terhuyung jatuh ke arah selatan. Sri Ayu merasakan batu kerikil melesat sedikit di atas kepalanya.

Suara letusan terdengar keras.

“Fanati koremsium”, suara tersebut diucapkan sang bijak, tetapi suara yang muncul sama sekali bukan suaranya.

Pemuda tersebut melihat ke arah seorang bijak yang masih dipegangnya, namun dia hanya mendapati sepasang mata merah menyala yang memandangnya penuh kebencian.

“Sri Ayu! Kemana tubuh pria ini?!”

“Aku mencoba menghentikanmu”, ujar Sri Ayu pelan. “Orang itu adalah Robert sang Penakluk”

“Tidaaaaak!!”, teriak pemuda tersebut. 

Namun semua sudah terlambat. Sepasang mata yang merah menyala tersebut berubah menjadi kawah putih. Pemuda tersebut seperti tersedot masuk ke dalam tanah, semakin lama semakin cepat. Seluruh tubuhnya kini telah meleleh, menyisakan dua bola mata yang melayang di udara. Kawah tersebut berubah menjadi merah, sangat merah sehingga hari seakan berubah menjadi senja. Pusaran air muncul di dalam kawah tersebut, menelan semua yang ada di sekitarnya. Sama cepatnya seperti kemunculannya, pusaran tersebut kemudian hilang, menyisakan dua bola mata yang kini berwarna merah menyala, yang jatuh ke tanah dan bergulir tanpa arah.

Sri Ayu melepaskan selendangnya, membungkus kedua bola mata tersebut dengan selendangnya.

“Terima kasih cucuku”, Sri Ayu mendekatkan gulungan selendang itu ke wajahnya yang penuh air mata.

Fanati koremsium, batin Sri Ayu sambil terbang menjauh.

Parenting Tips from A Child - Tips Praktis Menjadi Orangtua, dari Seorang Anak

Berikut ini adalah catatan-catatan mengenai Parenting, dari seseorang yang belum menjadi orangtua. Bersumber dari berbagai observasi, diharapkan bisa membawa manfaat bagi orang yang membacanya (dan untuk penulis bila kelak memiliki anak).

1. Jangan batasi kreatifitas anak.

Ketika mengajarkan anak, jangan beritahukan caranya, beritahukan konsep dan tujuannya, dan jadikan cara kita sendiri hanya sebagai contoh. Banyak cara dalam mencapai satu tujuan.

Contoh kasus: membuka tutup botol, mencuci baju, dsb

2. Jangan pernah mengatakan "kamu ga bisa" ke anak.

Semangati anak, atau beritahukan hal-hal yang harus dia kuasai sebelum dia dapat melakukan hal tersebut.
Contoh: bernyanyi, naik kendaraan umum sendiri (asalkan sudah tahu caranya), dsb

3. Berikan tanggung jawab ke anak untuk meningkatkan kepercayaan dirinya karena dia dipecaya, belajar bertanggung jawab.
Contoh: Mengunci jendela, dsb

4. Jangan membuat anak khawatir berlebihan, jangan berfokus pada hal-hal buruk yang dapat terjadi, namun fokus pada cara melakukan yang benar.
Contoh:  Jangan mengatakan kalau pintu tidak dikunci nanti ada maling, kalau berenang nanti tenggelam, kalau tidak bergandengan tangan nanti hilang, kalau naik sepeda nanti jatuh, dsb

5. Jangan membuat anak takut dengan orang lain, perbanyak interaksi anak dengan orang lain agar meningkatkan kemampuan komunikasi dan kepercayaan dirinya.
Contoh: belanja ke warung, menerima tamu, dsb

6. Jangan membatasi jam tidur anak,  namun ciptakan situasi di mana anak termotivasi untuk bangun pagi. Bila hanya dibatasi jam tidur tanpa penjelasan, ketika dewasa anak akan cenderung merasa tidak ada orang lagi yang melarang sehingga dapat bebas bergadang.
Contoh: buatkan anak sarapan yang enak di pagi hari, atau berikan semacam hadiah bila anak tersebut dapat bangun sendiri tanpa dibangunkan

7. Selalu jelaskan alasan di balik setiap ajaran

8. Bila anak berbuat kesalahan, ada dua kemungkinan.

Pertama, dan yang paling sering terjadi, adalah anak tidak mengetahui apa yang dia perbuat itu salah. Ketika dimarahi anak akan bingung, dan bila terlalu sering dimarahi, akhirnya anak malah akan cenderung berbohong hanya untuk menghindari dimarahi, bahkan saat dirinya tidak salah. Contohnya bila dimarahi "kamu sengaja muntah karena ga suka makanannya ya?" anak akan takut dan berpikir segala cara agar tidak dimarahi, meskipun kenyataannya anak sedang sakit.
Kedua, bila anak sudah tahu apa yang dilakukannya salah namun tetap dilakukan, tanyalah alasan mengapa dia melakukannya. Tentu anak tidak akan menjawab "karena aku nakal", namun akan mengatakan jawaban yang akan membantu anda lebih memahami dia. INGAT! kejujuran tidak akan diperoleh dengan bersikap galak atau memarahi anak. Memarahi bahkan dapat membuat anak menjadi tidak menyukai atau menghormati orangtuanya.

9. Jangan pernah tertawakan kegagalan anak, karena anak bisa takut mencoba karena takut ditertawakan

10. Kadang, anak berbohong hanya karena takut dimarahi. Lebih penting anak berkata jujur dan kita bisa mengoreksinya daripada hanya memarahi anak tanpa hasil.

11. Bila ingin anak bercerita, jangan bereaksi berlebihan. Misalkan anak sekali bercerita bahwa dia diejek temannya, sering kali sang anak hanya ingin didengar dan ditemani, namun sang ibu malah datang ke sekolah dan melapor guru. Keesokan harinya sang anak malah di cap anak mami, mendapat gangguan dan ejekan yang semakin parah, namun tidak memberitahu ibunya karena takut akan bereaksi berlebihan kembali

12. Jangan pernah memarahi anak atas apa yang ada pada dirinya, namun marahi sikapnya. Misalnya jangan mengatakan "kamu anak bandel, kamu tidak berguna, kamu anaknya iri hatian, kamu anak bodoh", karena alam bawah sadar anak akan menyetujui hal itu sehingga ada kalanya dia merasa "pantas saja saya tidak bisa, saya kan anak bodoh"

13. Jangan biarkan kakak bersikap tidak adil kepada adik dan sebaliknya, jangan berikan cap "kakak baik sedangkan adik nakal" atau semacamnya. Biasanya, adik akan menyenangi kakaknya dan hanya meresponi sikap kakaknya. Bila sang adik iri, mungkin karena sang kakak egois. Bila adik pelit, mungkin karena sang kakak terlebih dahulu pelit. Ingat, seorang anak yang lebih kecil tidak hanya belajar dari ayah dan ibu namun juga melalui sikap kakak.

14. Biasakan anak agar tidak menunda-nunda pekerjaan. Bila selesai makan langsung cuci piring, bila ada PR langsung dikerjakan (namun juga tidak kaku bila ada momen-momen tertentu misalnya ada acara tivi yang disenanginya yang hanya ada pada jam tersebut). Hal ini akan mengembangkan kerajinan dan tanggung jawab anak yang akan terbawa sampai dewasa.

15. Jika ada masalah, bicarakan sampai mengerti perasaan masing-masing, tujuan utamanya bukan jalan keluar 

16. Bila berisik, jangan suruh anak diam, biarkan mereka mengerti alasannya. Berisik boleh, tapi ada tempat dan aturannya. Salah kita kalau anak jadi pendiam,  tidak mau mengobrol saat kumpul keluarga. Berisik boleh, semangat saat diminta guru cerita depan kelas

17. Kalau anak berbuat baik, misal sedang makan makanan favoritnya, tapi tetap memberikan ke orang tuanya, jangan di tolak. Tunjukan kalo perbuatan baik membuat orang bahagia, sehingga dia juga melakukan ke orang lain. Kalau ditolak, anak bingung apa fungsinya berbuat baik, orangnya pun tidak menunjukan kebahagiaan. Kalau niat baik cara salah juga jangan dimarahi tanpa penjelasan, misal masak untuk ibu tapi dapur hancur berantakan

18. Biarkan anak belajar melalui tugas, seperti memasak nasi, memanaskan makanan, memotong buah, dsb. Berikan anak tugas khusus, misal mengunci jendela setiap malam untuk melatih tanggung jawab

19. Ketika anak mau terbuka dengan kita, jangan langsung menjudge apakah dia salah atau benar, dengarkan saja dulu. Contoh anak bilang dia benci sama temannya. Hal ini sudah lama dipendam dan  tidak pernah diceritakan kepada siapapun. Kalau kalimat pertama yang keluar dari kita adalah "tidak boleh begitu!", anak akan malas cerita dan justru dipendam. Akhirnya dibiarkan saja menumpuk bertahun-tahun tanpa ada penyelesaian. Kalau kita mendengar dengan baik, kita bisa mulai berpikir bagaimana merekonsiliasi hubungan mereka. Semua orang tua kalau ditanya apakah mereka mengajarkan anak untuk jujur atau tidak, pasti dijawab jujur. Padahal kenyataannya sikap kita tidak mendukung dan mengapresiasi kejujuran anak

20. Kepemilikan tubuh.

Bila orangtua mau pegang bagian-bagian tubuh anak, harus minta ijin terlebih dulu. Anak berhak menolak jika tidak mau dipegang. Sehingga terbiasa sampai ke luar rumah

21. Growth mentality
Bila sekarang ga bisa matematika, jangan dilabel sebagai orang yang selamanya tidak bisa matematika, tapi bisa bertumbuh menjadi bisa

About Idol Marriage

I'm always sad whenever my idols get married.

Some people often consider it as pathetic, sad, or "halu". The most common argument that they use are:
1. Like you have a chance with her
2. You should be happy for her

My reason is actually completely logical. The one that "halu" is actually those people.

Let take Kana Hanazawa as example, a seiyuu idol, which she got married recently (sad noises). In my mind, there are two parts of Her:
1. Kanahana as entertainer
2. Kanahana as a person

Everything that can be consumed by public, whether it's her voice acting, singing, acting, even tweeting or any activity that known by public, are done by Kanahana as entertainer (no 1). This Kanahana is "owned" by public. You are free to praise her for her work, or criticize, or love her, whatever. That's how it's supposed to be.

The second part of her is Kanahana as a person. This side is unknown to public. We don't "own" this Kanahana, and we know nothing about it. She can be married to anyone, she can have completely different personality, she can do whatever she wants really. We, don't have any rights to do anything about this Kanahana. Some people like to pry to this part, then judge her for that. I'm not like that, I'm not "halu"

Then, why I am sad when her got married?
It's simply because my egoistic side as a fan. It's common that when people are married especially in Japan, they will take less work. They focus will be shifted from work to family.

In short, less Kanahana as entertainer, more Kanahana as a person.

My portion of Kanahana that I "owned" is reduced. Less content of her that I can enjoy. Furthermore, the marriage probably will affect the Kanahana as entertainer. Maybe it will be affecting her interaction with her friends. Not because she want to change, but you cannot joke about yuri anymore once you married right? Not only the portion is reduced, the content will probably changed also. Some content that I might love so much from her.

So, regarding the common arguments from people that judge people that sad when their idol is getting married,

1. Like you have a chance with her
I don't. I know from beginning. Marriage belong to Kanahana as person, which I don't touch from beginning. How about you?

2. You should be happy for her
I'm her fan, not her mom. I don't act like I have any personal relation with her. How about you?

Get Soo Sored That Doing Boring Stuff Seems Fun

So this video was on my recommendation and I watched it because it gave more dopamine than the thing that I should do.

What is Dopamine?

Dopamine is what makes us desire things. That desire gives us motivation to get up and do stuff. Motivation come from how brain expecting how much amount of dopamine it will get after did certain things.

Easy Work and Hard Work

"Easy" work such as playing games, checking phone, internet release high amount of dopamine
"Hard" work such as working, reading, release less dopamine

How Dopamine Addiction Destroys You

On the experiment on a rat:

1. When exposed to high level amount of dopamine each time it pulled a lever, the rat did not want to do anything else rather than pulling the lever until it died of exhaustion
2. When the dopamine was blocked, the rat lost will to life and did not want to walk to get food (but still will eat if the food is in front of the rat)

Point 1

Brain does not care whether the activity is bad or good as long as it get dopamine

Point 2

Homeostasis

When brain is exposed to high amount of dopamine regularly, that amount become the new standard.

Lost motivation to do all things that do not give high amount of dopamine

Dopamine detox

1. For 1 whole day, have as little fun as possible

2. For a certain day in a week, do not do thing that give you most dopamine

3. Always do the thing that give the least amount of dopamine first, and treat high dopamine activities as a reward at the end of the day. Ratio 4:1 

4. Change the easy work that harms you, such as porn to something that less harmful

Application

Easy work

1. Youtube
2. Game
3. Twitter, FB, IG
4. Anime
5. Overeating 

Hard work

1. Sate
2. Working
3. Reading good books
4. Self reflection, writing
5. Do things from the to do list
6. Learning new language 

Detox

1. Every Sunday, do not do any easy works and do the hard works
2. Sate every morning, working, then do easy work as a reward for 3 hours

First Impression: Xenoblade Chronicles 2

I am currently playing Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (XC2), and I am falling in love with this game

Pro:

1. The where to go system is really nice, telling you the direction and distance from you to the target. I really hate lost while trying to clear a quest, so this feature is huge for me
2. The story and character are interesting. I usually skip all the story, but the XC2 cutscenes are quite good, like watching anime. The characters are adorable. Homura, Nia, Hana, and Hikari are all top tier girls
3. The combat system is somehow not boring. It's a mix between auto attack and manual, getting the excellent result are satisfying

Con:

1. Overly complex tutorial. Instead of showing you one by one, this game throw everything at you without giving you the chance to try it. On other aspects, this game decide to tell you nothing about it. Only after 15 hours of game play I managed to do a blade combo (after watching YT of course)
2. Some quest doesn't have a clear direction. As stated above, I really hate getting lost. Some quest just tell you to search [object] without any further explanation. I don't know if that [object] is a monster, flower, wood, gear, or what, and where to find them. I need to Google for that, and I always think you must be able to clear a game without any outside resource.

The con seems longer than the pro, but actually it's just my complaint because I need to depends on YT or Google to advance in a game. The actual gameplay and story is engaging, so I will keep playing this for now and enjoying every second of it.

Review Nintendo Switch Game: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Yes. I am reviewing the game that already out for almost three years. This is my personal review for a game that universally agreed as the best Nintendo Switch game ever.

And I have a different opinion about it.

0 - 60 Hours

The first 60 hours of playing Zelda was amazing. I couldn't play it without spoke to myself that this is the best game ever. It gave me the same feeling when I first played Portal game, in sense of how the game stands above other game decisively. 

The first thing that left me in awe was how big the game is. It felt really really big, like I can run, climb, fly, and warp without limit. I felt free. I can go anywhere while sensing a progression. The story is wrapped so nice so I didn't even realize that you can do the divine beast in any particular order. I always thought that story is linear. 

Playing the game felt so rewarding. Exploring the new places will unlock the shrine or tower that I can warp to anytime, so any journey is not fruitless. Once I found the shrine I don't ever need to do my long journey ever again. If I came to the place with no shrine, at least it almost always have korok seeds, a little compensation that still made me happy. 

The orb system is amazing. I always wanted to do one more shrine before I stop playing, because the orbs reward can be used to increase my stamina or health, which will make me able to go to the places which I cannot reach before.

60 - 70 hours

Past the 60 hours mark, I started realizing that I don't have to kill all enemies that I met. It will be faster if I ran past them. The red moon will bring them back anyway. I only did the bokoblin camp that have chest reward, only to find the disappointing item inside.

Zelda do not have level system, so my stats will not grow. The only real permanent upgrade is a gear set. No matter how powerful a sword or a shield is, it will break anyway. Arrow is fun and it seems like I got a lot of it, but one big fight can cost me around 50 arrows, so I never feel safe with the amount of arrows that I have. My stamina wheel was maxed out long ago, the the heart doesn't matter after a certain point. Fights in Zelda is never about the battle of stamina. It either I kill the enemies without taking damage (unless a small amount of damage when I messed up, which a certain amount of health really helps) or the enemies killed me no matter how much health I have. I never have a situation when I trade hits with enemies and won because I have a lot of health. So in this point, almost all rewards are disappointing.

I then try to complete 100% of the shrines per area. I had to sit in front of my computer, having the maps open while playing the game. Often times even that doesn't help. I need to watch YouTube to find the exact location. I lost countless time at this point. I climbed the highest mountain for minutes only to find that my sight was blocked by another mountain in far away. The sheikah sensor is useless. It just keep beeping randomly, and one I found the exact location of the shrine (with YouTube help, of course), it was nowhere near the loudest beeping location shown by the sensor. Some of the side quest is nonsense. The quest does not have the "in game pattern" so sometimes the answer is just random. I like the clever one like the secret club in Gerudo Town, it has a clear clue and a clear logic, but the one like "find this person" just went without any hint. It was impossible for me to clear without having to Goggle it. It is not playing the game then, it's just cheating and not satisfying.

70 - 90 hours

I lost countless times, hard to find shrine or do quest without have to Google it, I have a really good sets of gear so there are no rewards that interest me anymore, I was 70+ hours into the game. I felt burnout. I am tired. I just want to finish it.

So I went to Hyrule castle to fight Ganon. I was really craving a sense of progression. I was thinking that maybe I will feel better after defeating Ganon, then I can complete the shrines and quest in peace.

Oh God.

It just end after Ganon was defeated. My disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined. I always thought that you can continue playing after that. It just doesn't make sense for me, after a lot of grinding the story just end right there. And I got a little star on my save file. I want to enjoy the result of my hardwork. I want to explore Hyrule in peace. I want to see the joy of the people which I just saved. I want to have a long deep talk with Zelda. I don't care how that will fit in the story, but just make it work somehow.

90+ hours

I was at 90+ hours of gameplay and I just didn't want to play the game anymore. What is the point. I cannot go crazy in fight because the source is limited. I didn't want anymore grind. And I was sad. Really sad.

My suggestions for the game

Below are the things that I want to be implemented in Zelda. It is not possible in BOTW, but I hope somehow BOTW 2 will have something like these *finger crossed*.

1. Make the freaking sheikah sensor better!. I think it is best to have it as a reward for defeating Ganon. A real sensor with some obvious arrow or some shit. I will certainly find 100% of the shrines or korok seed or the side quest if I have that. I beat the game, right? I just do not want to lost anymore, I want a clear direction.
2. Make the resources infinite! Again, I think it also best to be a reward for defeting Ganon. My idea is you have an area full of enemies (just say they are the leftover of Ganon power or something like that) and in that area, your swords and shield does not break, and your arrow stocks does not deplete. I want to go all out, releasing the steam by overkilling those poor enemies. I want to swing my thunder sword infinitely. I want to bombard them with my meteor rod. I want to see the enemies stuck when I keep them frozen with my ice arrow. Doesn't it sound like a lot of fun? 

With those feature, I am sure I will enjoy Zelda BOTW a lot more. Despite all of that, I still rate Zelda BOTW 8.5/10. It is a really good game. I just want it a little bit different and it will be 10/10. I definitely will play BOTW 2 once it come out, and I wish it will erase my frustration.