Rop's Reflections

Going to Chiang Mai next week. Still figuring out places to visit. Weather should be better than Bangkok. Hope I can go do some runs in the mornings.

This is probably the last entry this year.

In any society where people are constantly being told what to do and what not to do, from youth to adulthood, there won’t be any progress. Societies in which people are forbidden from saying or writing certain things are sadly backward.

Thailand Ministry of ICT blocked more websites. Seems to be the only thing they do. Never innovate. Just blocking websites and preventing people from learning things on their own.

In 2008 edition of Reporters Without Borders Worldwide Press Freedom, Thailand is ranked 124th of 173 countries.

Listening and reading aren’t learning. We learn things from listening+reading AND THEN writing+speaking. I’m a teacher. I teach in order to learn. I let students teach so they can learn.

The web is taking over TVs and magazines because it provides users opportunities to interact and think.

Get out there and do things to get better. Don’t just absorb, but also present. Everyone has something to give.

It’s the end of the year. Peace and happiness to all.

A new year is coming. No new resolutions for me. Will keep pushing myself to new limits, and stay true to who I am.

Will try to be less ill as well. Got sick too often this year.

New species of animals and plants have been discovered in Mekong: World Wildlife Fund from PhysOrg.com
Over the last 10 years, more than 1,000 species have been discovered in this Southeast Asia region. The discoveries include 519 plants, 279 fish, 88 frogs, 88 spiders, 46 lizards, 22 snakes, 15 mammals, four birds, four turtles, two salamanders and a toad …

Quite beautiful diversity in nature. See vids and pics from WWF and from The Inquisitr.

US President-elect Barack Obama picks Steven Chu, Nobel-winning physicist and Berkeley lab director to become the new Energy Chief of the US. I attended his talk years ago at UC Davis. A brilliant guy. Will be interesting to see what he can bring to the table.

Start off a week with a run in KU. Running in the evening makes the dinner more delicious.

It’s hard to find place to run in Bangkok. There is no real jogging trail nearby. Traffic and pollution on the roads are always bad. It takes time to drive to public parks and parking can be a nuisance.

Anyhow, enough complaining. That’s life. Obstacles exist.

It’s always good to be active. A healthy mind is in a healthy body.

I have had three straight days with stupid meetings. Tedious and boring. I don’t know why I have to sit there for hours instead of doing real work.

Some meetings serve their purpose. I can’t stand long meetings, especially ones that run over time.

People just go on and on, each trying to get “just another point” in, swaying from the main topic. Argh, enough already. I think it’s rude that the meeting leader ignores the schedule. It shows a lack of respect of other people’s time.

Glad it’s now weekend.

Back to running again after a week-long layoff. I got muscle pains after the race on 23 Nov and got a cold afterward. I’m taking it easy now. It’s never good to overdo things.

Back in 1995, my summer school running coach told me “never stop running.” I’m following her advice.