Camera Shy

Posted on 13 February 2013 by Mark Timpany

The term “camera shy” usually refers to people who are reticent to have their photograph taken. Signs like this one which I walk by most every day make me hesitate to make use of my camera.

Talking about “graphic representation” is going to drive away any artists fearful about carrying a sketch pad into the area.

Isn’t it enough to make your anti-photo statement without the threat of violence?

Perhaps just someone who can remind you that they don’t want photographs taken in the area.

Maybe I can work to get over being camera shy.

Christmas in Dubai

Posted on 31 January 2013 by Mark Timpany

I spent Christmas in Dubai, on my way to meet the rest of the family in Singapore, on a trip that would bring us back to Indonesia. I had not returned to Indonesia since leaving in 1997.

Dubai, one of the United Arab Emirates, seems able to understand the commercial possibilities of the Christmas holiday.

Christmas decorations at Deira City Centre Mall. This mall is near the top of my list for Dubai shopping because of Carrefour and its convenient access from the Metro.

There is no manger scene to be found but gifts under a non-deciduous tree is an acceptable concept

Singapore – Part 1

Posted on 31 January 2013 by Mark Timpany

We started Christmas break travel in Singapore, thinking that this very Western looking city would let our Asian kids ease into the two weeks in Southeast Asia. In Singapore everything works as it is supposed to work. This island nation has achieved a transparency exceeding that of any other country. At one degree north of the equator it was also a place to start thawing out from the winter conditions on the other side of the flights to the meeting here.

It is very expensive to drive a car in Singapore. More so when the car is a Ferrari.

It is very expensive to drive a car in Singapore. The more so when the car is a Ferrari.

Singapore is a great place to eat inexpensively. The quality of offerings in the food stalls and food courts is high and the range of cuisines covers all of east Asia. Here we enjoy some excellent dim sum.

Singapore doesn’t impose a separation of food and religion. This shrine is at one end of a food court.

Food preparation is not something that happens in a factory many miles away

Many cuisines, many choices . . .

$Two of my perennial "must visit" locations in Singapore. Sim Lim Square is the place for retail electronics and IT shopping. The nearby Sim Lim Centre is the location for components at the level of resistors and capacitors and such. Component offerings are but a fraction of what used to be available. There are fewer electronic hobbyists and the manufacturing sector is dealing in surface mounted devices.$

Two of my perennial “must visit” locations in Singapore. Sim Lim Square is the place for retail electronics and IT shopping. The nearby Sim Lim Tower is the location for components at the level of resistors and capacitors and such. Component offerings are but a fraction of what used to be available. There are fewer electronic hobbyists and the manufacturing sector is dealing with surface mounted devices.

Clear Channel is everywhere, as are their former employees

In front of a green screen, anything is possible. In this case you can have a memento of the Singapore Science Centre that shows you exploring the arctic or ensconced in some other current theme.

It was not too late for the Singapore Science Centre Christmas tree – 28 December 2012

I believe this is called an anamorphic cylinder illusion. One of the many interesting items in the “Mind’s Eye” section of the Singapore Science Centre

A bit of Indonesian culture at the Singapore Science Centre. Wayang kulit characters assist with the global warming presentation.

A bit of Indonesian culture at the Singapore Science Centre. Wayang kulit characters assist with the weather/climate presentation.

We managed to be there at the right time for the demonstration of the Science Centre’s large Tesla coil

At the end of the Tesla coil demonstration, a balloon filled with hydrogen is ignited by the sparks. Cover your ears!

Singapore – Part 2

Posted on 31 January 2013 by Mark Timpany

Despite its modernity, Singapore respects its heritage and its unique religious and ethnic mix. Across the river from a collection of tall buildings is the Asian Civilizations Museum. Our visit coincided with a special Thai Buddhist Art exhibit. The river cruise can be boarded nearby. That is also worthwhile. The tourist restaurants just across the river are not worth a stop. Dramatically overpriced and quality not on a par with the food courts. I guess as tourists we are obliged to make at least one mistake with each country visited or transited.

The swastika dates back about 10,000 years. Still, it is a bit disconcerting for those of us from the West to see it on a religious artifact because of its 20th century associations.

Henna is said to have been in use for over 6000 years.

The FDA has not approved henna for direct application to the skin, but they can be remarkably slow at times.

Picture Me at Singapore’s Chinatown.

A walk around the Raffles Hotel is on the mandatory list. There is an abundance of souvenir items bearing the Raffles logo available in the Raffles Hotel Shopping Arcade.

Fountain at Raffles Hotel

No shortage of modern, tall buildings in Singapore. If you don’t think there’s enough, just wait a few weeks.

Outside the Asian Civilizations Museum – Office Buildings as Totems

The river cruise will let you see the city’s icon, the Merlion, without having to fight the crowds.

The Marina Bay Sands Casino and Hotel as viewed from the Singapore River

Fun with statues outside the Asian Civilizations Museum

There’s a story told through these statues but I don’t know the story

Modern art is appropriate in this modern city

Singapore has captured the Christmas spirit in the same manner as Dubai – as a contemporary commercial event which causes a spurt in retail sales

The bad tourist restaurants along the river at least offer a good view of the laser light show at the Sands

Singapore Marina Barrage

Posted on 28 January 2013 by Mark Timpany

A 10,000 hectare catchment area is created by Marina Barrage. The fresh water reserve and flood control project also provides an icon in Singapore’s marina area an a pleasant place to visit to relax and enjoy the views of the harbor. A visit at night made for a nice collection of photos.

Cloud obscured moon over the fresh water side of the catchment area

The Marina Barrage at night

Singapore construction has never stopped and continues into the night near the Marina Barrage

Meet your friends in the evening at the Marina Barrage

A romantic encounter at the Marina Barrage

The Marina Bay Sands Casino and the Singapore Flyer as seen from the Marina Barrage. The Singapore Flyer is, at 165 meters, the tallest Ferris Wheel in the world, 30 meters higher than the London Eye and 5 meters taller than the Star of Nanchang. It is built on reclaimed land in Marina Centre. From the top you can see the Indonesian islands of Batam and Bintan and the city of Johor Baru in Malaysia.

Singapore Ford Factory Museum

Posted on 28 January 2013 by Mark Timpany

We managed to see the Ford Museum on our last day in Singapore. It was just down the street from where we were staying on Upper Bukit Timah Road. It was definitely worth the visit.

On 15 February 1942 this Ford Motor facility became the location where British Lieutenant-General Arthur Ernest Percival signed the surrender documents negotiated with Japanese General Tomoyuki Yamashita. The factory was used as a headquarters during the war by the Japanese Imperial Army. The Museum houses an excellent collection of materials describing the fight for Singapore and life under the Japanese occupation forces.

The entrance to the museum displays a bit of calligraphy depicting He Ping (和平), (Chinese for Peace) The sculpture is from Singaporean artist Chua Boon Kee.

Peace sculpture by Singaporean artist Chua Boon Kee

Peace sculpture by Singapore artist Chua Boon Kee

Lieutenant-General Arthur Ernest Percival and General Tomoyuki Yamashita preserved in bronze

Indosiar Visual Mandiri – Unique Hybrid Tower

Posted on 26 January 2013 by Mark Timpany

I saw some video at the NAB a few years back showing the unique construction of Indosiar’s 395 meter structure. It is a hybrid design. The upper portion of the tower is guyed to a lower self-supporting section. The result is the top of the Jampro antenna residing at 1296 feet above the ground. The design preserves real estate, a precious commodity in Jakarta, and qualifies as the archipelago’s tallest structure.

In the trip to visit the Indosiar transmitter site in Kebon Jeruk I managed to connect with four people who I had worked with up to the time I left IVM in 1997. Since my visit I have managed to connect electronically to a few more. Maybe that’s appropriate. I did decide I don’t want to wait fifteen years before getting back to Indonesia for another visit.

This photo is here not because it describes the transmitter site but rather that it captures Wayang Orang postures. The two visitors from the West have adopted the poses attributed to wayang portrayals of the Dutch. The hands-on-hips stance is an especially evocative expression of arrogance. At least that is the way it is used in performance.

Some of the batteries in the UPS banks. When you get to the tens or hundreds of kilowatts it takes a lot of batteries to operate long enough for the generators to take the load.

Some of the batteries in the UPS banks. When you get to the tens or hundreds of kilowatts it takes a lot of batteries to be able to operate long enough for the generators to take the load.

A lot of what’s here are things you can find at most transmitter sites anywhere. The bulk of the terrestrial viewers are still watching PAL analog television.

It was Comark at the first Jakarta site at Joglo and the other seven sites in the first round of construction. The company was Thales and Thomson. Now we have again returned to Comark.

It was Comark at the first Jakarta site at Joglo and the other seven sites in the first round of construction. The company was then Thales and Thomson. Now we have again returned to Comark.

Indosiar had just edged ahead of a Finnish broadcaster for having the largest number of IOT sockets in use when the first eight stations were constructed. I wonder who has that distinction these days. This EEV cavity brings back some memories.

Three generators provide redundant backup to PLN.

One of the ENG vans gets parked at the transmitter since the Daan Mogot studios are subject to flooding. A little more than a week after our visit Jakarta experienced some serious flooding that probably did not spare Kebon Jeruk.

Across the block are the old and the new RCTI towers. Transmit antennas are now close enough to solve the previous problem of viewers not being able to optimize their antenna pointing for both stations.

Across the block are the old and the new RCTI towers. Transmit antennas for RCTI and IVM are now close enough to solve the previous problem of viewers not being able to optimize their antenna pointing for both stations.

Not that many viewers as yet, but about half of the Indosiar transmitter sites also do DVB-T2. The digital transmitter here is from Rohde and Schwarz

Across the block are the RCTI towers and evidence of even more construction. The tall cranes that were part of the Jakarta skyline in 1997 apparently never left.

And now the unique tower. Rohn was the designer and fabricator of this tower. Catur Mitra Adhikara was the supplier of both the tower and the Jampro multi-station antenna that extends 20 meters above the 375 meter tower. The lower self-supporting section rises to a height of 120 meters.

Hybrid Tower 02

Hybrid Tower 03

Tour over, we went for lunch at Paregu. This shabu-shabu restaurant was a great choice and there were ingredients so I could make es cendol for dessert. A nice ending to a fascinating tour.

Wayang Museum – Jakarta, Indonesia

Posted on 25 January 2013 by Mark Timpany

Wayang is a Javanese word for theatre. Wayang kulit (skin) is the most uniquely Indonesian form. These are the shadow puppets whose performances can be an overnight event and which is accompanied by music from a gamelan. The classic performances are derived from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Other characters and stories have been added to the repertoire since the introduction of Islam to Indonesia where it spread rapidly after the thirteenth century.

The Wayang Museum also features wayang golek puppets which are wooden puppets operated by sticks from below. They even display puppets from other countries like the water puppets from Vietnam.

The person who guided us through the museum was very knowledgeable and added a lot to what we learned here.

Semar is a popular character in wayang performances. He is derived from Javanese mythology.

The kulit (skin) of wayang kulit is traditionally buffalo hide.

These are Vietnamese water puppets.

I guess I wasn’t supposed to be photographing here. At least the sign did not threaten lethal force as do some of the signs on Kandahar Airfield. Nobody seemed to be bothered by my excess taking of photographs.

Male ondel-ondel. These figures house a performer and are still in regular use.

Male ondel-ondel. These figures house a performer and the performances are still quite common. You might even pass a character like this on the streets of Jakarta.

Female ondel-ondel. These puppets originated with the Betawi, the original inhabitants of Batavia.

Jakarta Kota Tua – The Old City – Batavia

Posted on 25 January 2013 by Mark Timpany

A trip to the Wayang Museum brought us to the old section of Jakarta where we got to see a magic act and to glimpse SpongeBob SquarePants.

Picture Me at Kota Tua? This should have been my indication that more photos awaited in this section of the city.

Other photographers at work.

A touch of the Old West?

There was no Chanel Number 5 to be found but the prices were very reasonable.

There was no Chanel No. 5 to be found but the prices were very reasonable.

Here the interview is used as a technique for practicing English with native speakers.

Kelapa muda, young coconut, is a cure for most anything.

We encountered a magic act in front of the Batavia Stadhuis. The Governor’s offices of colonial days are now Museum Fatahillah, the historical museum.

Flames 1

Flames 2

Flames 3

Not all the buildings are well preserved.

Recording equipment seemed a regular part of what we encountered as we toured Jakarta.

We missed getting our picture taken with SpongeBob SquarePants.

SpongeBob needed a rest. It had not rained yet. He was probably a bit dried out.

Last time in Indonesia, Kompas was just the newspaper. It’s a television station now too.

Jakarta Skyline

Posted on 25 January 2013 by Mark Timpany

Sixteen years can bring a lot of change to the look of a city. Only a few familiar buildings could be seen from the vantage point of the sixth floor deck where we were staying.

Cell phones were a new thing when I left Indonesia in 1996. They are everywhere now with good service from a number of competitors.

Cell phones were a new thing when I left Indonesia in 1997. They are everywhere now with good service from a number of competitors.

Most of the buildings along Thamrin and Sudirman are new and taller than the buildings we remembered which are hidden behind them.

Most of the buildings along Thamrin and Sudirman are new and taller than the buildings we remembered. The buildings we recalled are hidden behind the new buildings.

This city view shows that Jakarta dries its laundry in an ecologically friendly manner.

This city view shows that Jakarta still dries its laundry in an ecologically friendly manner.

We got to see wedding preparations down the street with the landmarks Monas and Mesjid Istiqlal visible in the background.

Alas Bamiyan

Afghanistan – 1973, 1975, and today

Camera Shy

Christmas in Dubai

Singapore – Part 1

Singapore – Part 2

Singapore Marina Barrage

Singapore Ford Factory Museum

Indosiar Visual Mandiri – Unique Hybrid Tower

Wayang Museum – Jakarta, Indonesia

Jakarta Kota Tua – The Old City – Batavia

Jakarta Skyline