Lets start over again !

Today date is 24 Feb 2016, start of my fifth semester as Part Time Research Candidate at UMS, I have rejoined the Methodology Course for the second time and today is Day 2 on Research Framework. I had a few Aha moments and some minor awakening from my dubious dreams. 

POMODORO Technique

I learnt a new word and a new technique recently. Pomodoro is the Italian word for tomato. Pomodoro technique is a time management tool to help to maximise concentration, minimise distractions to allow creativity to follow that helps in reading, writing, studying or working on a project. 

I have often wondered why is the kitchen timer often in the shape of a tomato ? Beside being inside a kitchen for timing purpose, I thought it is a vegetable and a fruit and therefore it is selected and very likely because it is round and symmetrical in shape. A tomato is very refreshing and bright colour, very appertising and healthy as a food. And yet, behind this Tomato timer is a tool, a story and a name too. 

This is a Pomodoro Timer. It is more than just making sure our baking or cooking is the right amount of time.  It has a 25 minutes limit helping us to keep time at every 25 minutes cycle. People used it to help them to complete complicated tasks and do them in 25 minutes block of time.

This is the book written by Francesco Cirillo about this Time Management using the Pomodoro Technique he came up with during his studying days. 

The technique or method is quite simple. First, we set the timer to 25 minutes, within that 25 minutes, there shall be no distractions of whatsoever, be it phone, messages, internet or talking unless it is a group Pomodoro time for brain-storming. At the end of the 25 minutes and timer goes off, it is time to stop thinking or reading or writing and take a 5 minutes break. This way, the mind will be kept fresh and concentrated. Creativity is able to flow continuously and productivity will increase. Every 25 minutes task is one n cycle, if a task needs longer than one cycle, we could calculate how many n cycles this will take to complete.

The hardest part of the Podomoro technique is to protect your Podomoro time from distractions. It needs some practices and should the 25 minutes be interrupted with an activity, then it has to be reset and start all over again with a new 25 minutes.

This mind map explains the Pomodoro concept really well.

The Rules :-
1) Assign or decide on a task
2) Block all interruptions
3) Set the timer and start work on the task

The Tasks can be :-
Studying a paper, topical revision, concept write up, making a mind map, planning, tender documents, project management, project blockage, writing an essay, press release, preparing a speech, story writing, problem solving, innovation thinking, creative thinking and many more.

At the end of the Pomodoro time, check on your work if it is really completed or need more time or additional Pomodoro time. Just add to it and take note in future your realistic time needed to complete certain tasks. You could aim to improve the speed by comparing in the future.

It is also very important that at the end of the 25 minutes interval, you reward yourself with a 5 minutes break. For every four Pomodoro time intervals, have a longer break.

This method helps those who procastinate, has a huge task at hand and do not know how to start.


http://pomodorotechnique.com/get-started/

This fourth semester has been slow in progress. If anything,  I only gave a powerpoint presentation at PWTC Geosmart Conference. The presentation was on Sabah Food Security Policies Review using RIAM. The participants questioned where is the geospatial.

Here is a note from my supervisor as a gentle reminder on 19 November and giving me much hope :-

Dear Doria,

Good morning, how are things over your side. 2015 is coming to an end and the month of Nov and Dec is busy as always.

I am just trying to look back at our achievement, forced to put it in writing as part of my yearly report to UMS. For this reason, kindly help me with a few lines to list your milestone and some achievement towards your PhD with evidence (in attachment)

Also sometime back we were talking about a Journal article useful to fulfil the Postgraduate Requirement towards your PhD. I am still positive that we can co-write a paper on the following topic to be publish in international journal. We can aim this to say about Feb/March 2016. For the remaining 2015, you may start the abstract of about 250 words and email to me so that i can provide feedback say before the end of Nov.

REVIEW ON THE CURRENT USE OF RIAM AND OPPORTUNITY FOR FUTURE RESEARCH APPLICATIONS

Your current collection of RIAM articles should be enough for this Journal article.

Thank you and looking forward

Best

Gaim

*(GAIM JAMES LUNKAPIS, PhD)*
Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Heritage, Universiti Malaysia Sabah

Philosophy of Knowledge and Reality - Bullshit Phenomenon

bull·shit

vulgar slang

noun

noun: bullshit

1. 1.

   stupid or untrue talk or writing; nonsense.

verb

verb: bullshit; 3rd person present: bullshits; past tense: bullshitted; past participle:bullshitted; gerund or present participle: bullshitting

1. 1.

   talk nonsense to (someone), typically to be misleading or deceptive.

Would you believe that once a philosopher by the name of Harry Frankfurt published an essay entitled "On Bullshit" ? It was later published as a little book, perhaps there was a demand for it ?

Harry Frankfurt, a contemporary American Philosopher claims that "one of the most salietn features of our culture is that there is so much bullshit. Everyone knows this." How would you characterise bullshitting - how is it, for example, different from lying ?

Bullshitting is the act of exaggerating a singular act based on personal experiences for the purpose of convincing that the speaker has the most extreme experience on the related topic, be it positive or negative. Bullshitting is not telling 100% lies, it is part truth but exaggerated to be bigger than life. 

For example, if the group talks about jungle tracking, one will exaggerate his or his contact's experience as being the most extreme. Everyone is supposed to learn a thing or two from him. He is the "guru" on this topic. This will be bullshitting  It is not entirely true nor false. It is just half the truth exaggerated to be bigger than life itself.

Lying is telling the opposite of truth for the purpose to conceal the truth and deceive others to believe what has been told is the truth. Bullshit is taking part truth and making it the whole truth. 

With bullshit, one can get away with accusations in case something bad happens. With lying, once the truth surfaces, lies be exposed. Bullshit gives blurry effect. 

The two domains with the most prevalent bullshitting are in politics and in marketing. What effect does the mountain of bullshit in marketing have on our economy ? What effect does the mounrtain of bullshit have on our democracy ?


In marketing, the consumers have, time and time again, been convinced that the advertised products are absolutely essential items for daily living, for prestige, for success. All healthy or successful people use such items regularly. The mountain of bullshits are :-

• Selling cars with pretty sexy lady, as if if you buy this car, the model comes with it ? 
• Many years ago, all successful men seem to smoke, growing up in the 1980's, we still watched cigarettes advertisement depicting highly successful statue using certain brand of cigarettes.
• Drinking milk will strengthen and build up your bone structures but it does not tell you that you should drink milk on empty stomach to get the most absorption of calcium into the body system.
• Yoghart drinks are good for your stomach to be filled with friendly bacteria but it is loaded with sugar. 
• Milo is actually sugar-loaded cocoa flavoured milk drink, drinking milo does not necessary turn one into champion.
• Pretty dresses in gorgeous fashions but they are all size zero and most of the female population are size 12 and above ! So Pretty is skinny and thin.

In politics, the bullshitting is even worse, it is further justified by guarding national harmony, economic stability and so it seems that it warrants to lie a little bit in politics. In so doing, the people have been receiving a lot of bullshits and enduring them.

• The parliament has passed the new law with a good majority but most of the member of parliament do not know what they have voted for actually impact the people who voted them in a miserable manner. Most law will have the clause that grant the minister certain power and in so doing, we lose that power. 
• The new public policy is good for the common good of the people but it marginalise certain people. What good is a policy that makes certain people suffers even more ? By allowing that policy to be implemented, the people have lesser power and there is not much of a choice.
• Political Propaganda is special planned agenda of activities to convince the people that something is happening and manipulating people to form a strong opinion about that agenda. By so doing, the people cannot really think democratically, their lenses be coloured lenses ! 
• Every time something bad is exposed in politic, another unrelated bad incident will happen at the same time and the latest happening warrants focus and attention and hence the real issues will not be addressed or avoided.
• Political belief leads to changing of educational text books. Ministry of Education has instructed the textbooks to be rewritten. By removing certain historical data and changing its content, the younger students are fed with a lie which they will grow up thinking this as the truth.

The above is my homework done for the Book "The Philosopher's Book of Questions & Answers" by D.E. Wittkower, PhD. It is a book with questions to open your mind. I undertake it as an exercise to think through some of the philosophical questions pertaining to my "gardening".

Bookmarking References

https://www.zotero.org/download/