Indonesia Today

Icon Big Ben not only exist in England, but Indonesia also have it. While in England called Big Ben, in Indonesia, placed in Bukittinggi, West Sumatra, well known with Jam Gadang. It was constructed on 1926 by architect named Yazin and Sutan Gigi Ameh, whether this Indonesian big ben become a symbol in this province.

Staring Jam Gadang at glance, will not find any peculiarity to this building with height 26 m. The form is circle with diameter 80 cm and the monument is 13x4 m. It uses roman figure starting from I, II, III but for the next figure written IIII not common roman figure IV and being normal for the next figure written until XII.
Based the story around the society, figure four made out by line figure meant to show the total victims (4 persons) died whether constructing the building. The possibility to be wrong for roman figure written is not acceptable because jam gadang was made out by clock expert in USA.

The machine of jam gadang is believed only exist 2 machine in the world, which other machine was installed on Big Ben, England. It was created by England aristocratic Forman, then named Brixlion.
Long ago at Dutch colonization, on the top monument was installed a cock statue but at Japanese colonization substituted become temple ornament. Substitution after Japanese colonization by installing rumah gadang (Gadang House) and become icon in Bukittinggi, West Sumatera.

Rumah Gadang is one of Minangkabau's symbol, the most common housing forms have traditionally been wooden and raised on piles, built of locally gathered materials, with steeply pitched, roofs. Their culture is matrilineal, with property and land being passed down from mother to daughter, while religious and political affairs are the province of men. The Minangkabau are strongly Islamic, but also follow their own ethnic traditions, or adat. Minangkabau adat was derived from animistic and Hindu beliefs before the arrival of Islam, and remnants of animistic beliefs still exist even among some practicing Muslims. As such, women are customarily the property owners; husbands are only tolerated in the house at certain times and under special conditions, and must return to their sisters' house to sleep.

The external walls of a rumah gadang are covered with various motifs, each having a symbolic meaning. A communal rumah gadang is a long house, rectangular in plan, with multiple gables and upsweeping ridges, forming buffalo horn-like ends. They normally have three-tiered projections, each with varying floor levels. They are broad and set on wooden piles that can reach as high as 3 meters (10 feet) off the ground; sometimes with a verandah running along the front face of the house which is used as a reception and dining area, and as a sleeping place for guests. Unlike the Toba Batak homes, where the roof essentially creates the living space, the Minangkabau roof rests on conventional walls. Cooking and storage areas are often in separate buildings.

The house is largely constructed of wood; an exception being the being the rear longitudinal wall which is a plain lattice woven in a chequered pattern from split bamboo. The roof is of a truss and cross-beam construction, and is typically covered with thatch from the fibre of the sugar palm (ijuk), the toughest thatch material available and said to last a hundred years.The thatch is laid in bundles which can be easily fitted to the curved, multi-gabled roof. Contemporary homes, however, are more frequently using corrugated iron in place of thatch. Roof finials are formed from thatch bound by decorative metal bindings and drawn into points said to resemble buffalo horns - an illusion to a legend concerning a bullfight from which the 'Minangkabau' name is thought to have been derived. The roof peaks themselves are built up out of many small battens and rafters.

The women who share the house have sleeping quarters set into alcoves - traditionally odd in number - that are set in a row against the rear wall, and curtained off by the vast interior space of the main living area. Traditionally, large communal rumah gadang will be surrounded by smaller homes built for married sisters and daughters of the parent family. It is the responsibility of the women's maternal uncle to ensure that each marriageable woman in the family has a room of her own and to this end will build either a new house or more commonly additionally annexes to the original one. It is said that the number of married daughters in a home can be told by the counting its horn-like extensions; as they are not always added symmetrically, rumah gadang can sometimes look unbalanced.

by aditya bagaskara

Have you ever invested a hefty sum of money on expensive products just to realize they were not worth the investment? It happens to most of us and we could have avoided such pointless waste of money if the products we purchased had samples in the first place. There are many businesses which offer their products to consumers for free in order to build attention around their brand, but most people have no clue that they exist. From software to health products, you can find free samples of pretty much any kind of product you're looking for. The key is to do a little research before you head out to buy expensive products.

One of the reasons why many people don't want to take some time to collect coupons which may lead them to free products is because of the "time" factor. It doesn't make sense to have to wait days for products to arrive while you could make a quick trip to the store and get what you want, this would be the fastest solution but not necessarily the more cost-effective one. By doing a little bit of research you can save a lot of money in products you use on a daily basis.

Using the power of the internet, finding free samples has become even easier. Every major company has a website which provides more information about their brand and products, and with a little hunting you're bound to find free sample offers that could provide you with free products in a matter of a few days. Oftentimes, all you have to do to receive samples online is fill out a short form detailing your address and shopping preferences.

In fact, even much more expensive products may offer free samples as a marketing strategy to get interested prospects to buy their products which results in a win-win situation for both parties. It goes without saying that a company would not send you the full version of a product, a game for instance, without charging you a dime; what they would do is send you a sample of the game which would include a few levels for you to try, if you like what you see then there is a bigger chance that you will end up buying the product. The same applies to beauty and any other product.

So before you rush out to the store to buy an expensive product, it is recommended to open up your browser and do a little research to see if there are free samples available, while it does take some work it might just save you hundreds of dollars in the long run.

he Principle of Connecting:
Most of us want to know how to connect better with others in relationships of every kind, including business relationships. We often feel the desire to connect, but sadly realize that our attempts have not truly been successful. However, we can all experience consistently satisfying connections when we understand the hidden dynamics by which they are ruled.


Connecting occurs when one is simultaneously intra-connected and inter-connected.
Intra-connection is the connection of one to oneself.
Inter-connection is the connection of with others.
These must occur at the same time, although the intra-connection is the foundation of inter-connection, and must be cultivated in order for connection to really take place.

Imagine that our attempts to connect with others are like an iceberg.
The tip of the iceberg represents what we say.
The foundation of the iceberg, the base that holds the tip above the surface of the ocean, is how we feel when we say what we say.
The feeling beneath the words provides an emotional current that gets infused within the words as they are spoken.
The reason why we feel as we do is the point of origin of the feeling that becomes infused into our attempt to connect.

A great majority of the time, people are not aware of the true reason that gives birth to their feelings. Because we mentally attach a reason to the feeling based on past conditioning and programming, that reason no longer reflects accurately who we are and what we desire in the present moment.
Interestingly enough, the tip of the iceberg is approximately 8% of the total formula of connecting. The remaining 92% are the foundation of the iceberg, the part that is underneath the water. Although we may not perceive this 92% with our five senses, we feel it through the multi-sensory dimension of who we are.

A great question to now ask yourself is “What is getting in the way of me being intra-connected?” As you ponder this question, here is a wonderful concept to embrace: You do not have to create connection with others. Such connection already exists. Therefore, your responsibility is simply to remove any emotional or spiritual debris that is getting in its way.

To express it in medical terms, we have become de-myelinated emotionally. Myelin is a substance that surrounds many vital nerve pathways within our bodies. It is like the insulation surrounding an electrical wire, functioning to assure that the electricity is only delivered to the place where we wish to make use of it. What we must do is re-myelinate the emotional pathways that conduct the natural, pre-existing sense of connection between our personal and social selves and our higher Selves.

In essence we just have to let go of whatever may be getting in the way of communicating from the standpoint of who we already are. As we do, we begin to notice that our sense of connection to others becomes easy to feel, and we conduct all our relationships within the shelter of that ease.

by : Ian Mathers

West Papua has some of the most challenging and dangerous flying on the planet. Its high mountainous terrain and unpredictable weather as well as remote strips make for very intense flying. Even the slightest off course deviation could mean smacking into a mountain. This type of flying can kill those that are not ready or comfortable with it. On bad weather days it can become very intense and demanding. My name is Ian Mathers. I am a Canadian professional pilot and Susi Air captain on Cessna Caravans. We operate brand new state of the art Caravans, two crew and operate on the islands of Sumatra and Papua, Indonesia. Flying passengers as well as cargo into remote strips. I love it here. The flying is amazing. This video shows a landing into Ilu. A mountain strip which we use as an alternate when we cannot get into Mulia due to weather, which was the case this day. Notice all of the people on both sides of the runway. The clip continues as we taxi back to them and get out of the aircraft, waiting for the weather to improve at Mulia. You can also notice a MAF Caravan that had just landed before us. As with many other strips in Papua it has an upslope of 10 degrees or more leading to only one way to get in. It all makes for exciting flying. You can see many more aviation and travel videos and pictures on my site at www.worldtrip.ca as well as on youtube