Pagerank from Google Official Site

Fahmi Rizwansyah says:

Technology Overview <--original posting, translated by google.
Tinjauan teknologi

We stand alone in our focus on developing the "perfect search engine," defined by co-founder Larry Page as something that, "understands exactly what you mean and gives you back exactly what you want."
Kami berdiri sendiri dalam kami fokus pada pengembangan "mesin pencari sempurna," ditetapkan oleh pendiri bersama Larry Page sebagai sesuatu yang "mengerti apa yang Anda maksud dan memberikan kembali apa yang Anda inginkan."
To that end, we have persistently pursued innovation and refused to accept the limitations of existing models.
Untuk itu, kami telah diikuti persistently inovasi dan menolak untuk menerima keterbatasan model yang ada.

As a result, we developed our serving infrastructure and breakthrough PageRank™ technology that changed the way searches are conducted.
Akibatnya, kami mengembangkan infrastruktur kami melayani dan terobosan teknologi PageRank ™ yang mengubah cara pencarian dilakukan.

From the beginning, our developers recognized that providing the fastest, most accurate results required a new kind of server setup.
Dari awal, kami mengakui bahwa pengembang menyediakan tercepat dan paling akurat hasil diperlukan baru jenis server.
Whereas most search engines ran off a handful of large servers that often slowed under peak loads, ours employed linked PCs to quickly find each query's answer.
Sedangkan kebanyakan mesin pencari berlari off segelintir dari server besar yang sering melambat di bawah beban puncak, kami bekerja terhubung ke komputer dengan cepat menemukan jawaban dari setiap pencarian.
The innovation paid off in faster response times, greater scalability and lower costs.
Inovasi yang dibayar di respon kali lebih cepat, lebih rendah biaya dan skalabilitas.
It's an idea that others have since copied, while we have continued to refine our back-end technology to make it even more efficient.
Ada ide yang lain ada sejak disalin, sementara kami telah berlanjut untuk memperbaiki kami kembali akhir teknologi agar lebih efisien.

The software behind our search technology conducts a series of simultaneous calculations requiring only a fraction of a second.
Perangkat lunak di balik teknologi pencarian kami melakukan serangkaian kalkulasi serentak hanya memerlukan beberapa detik.
Traditional search engines rely heavily on how often a word appears on a web page.
Tradisional mesin pencari sangat bergantung pada seberapa sering sebuah kata muncul di halaman web.
We use more than 200 signals, including our patented PageRank™ algorithm, to examine the entire link structure of the web and determine which pages are most important.
Kami menggunakan lebih dari 200 sinyal, kami termasuk paten algoritma PageRank ™, untuk memeriksa seluruh struktur link di web dan menentukan halaman yang paling penting.
We then conduct hypertext-matching analysis to determine which pages are relevant to the specific search being conducted.
Kami kemudian melakukan hypertext-matching analisis untuk menentukan halaman mana yang relevan dengan pencarian khusus yang dilakukan.

By combining overall importance and query-specific relevance, we're able to put the most relevant and reliable results first.
Dengan menggabungkan seluruh kepentingan dan relevansi permintaan khusus, kami dapat menempatkan yang paling relevan dan dapat dipercaya hasil pertama.

PageRank Technology: PageRank reflects our view of the importance of web pages by considering more than 500 million variables and 2 billion terms.
Teknologi PageRank: PageRank mencerminkan pandangan kami akan pentingnya halaman web dengan mempertimbangkan lebih dari 500 juta variabel dan 2 miliar istilah.
Pages that we believe are important pages receive a higher PageRank and are more likely to appear at the top of the search results.
Halaman yang kami percaya adalah penting halaman menerima PageRank yang lebih tinggi dan lebih mungkin untuk muncul di bagian atas hasil pencarian.

PageRank also considers the importance of each page that casts a vote, as votes from some pages are considered to have greater value, thus giving the linked page greater value.
PageRank juga mempertimbangkan pentingnya setiap halaman yang membuat suara, karena dinilai dari beberapa halaman dianggap memiliki nilai lebih besar, sehingga memberikan nilai lebih besar halaman yang terhubung.
We have always taken a pragmatic approach to help improve search quality and create useful products, and our technology uses the collective intelligence of the web to determine a page's importance.
Kami selalu melakukan pendekatan pragmatis pencarian untuk membantu meningkatkan kualitas dan menciptakan produk yang bermanfaat, dan kami akan menggunakan teknologi intelijen kolektif dari web untuk menentukan kepentingan halaman.

Hypertext-Matching Analysis: Our search engine also analyzes page content.
Hypertext-Pencocokan Analisis: Kami mencari mesin juga menganalisis konten halaman.
However, instead of simply scanning for page-based text (which can be manipulated by site publishers through meta-tags), our technology analyzes the full content of a page and factors in fonts, subdivisions and the precise location of each word.
Namun, daripada hanya sekadar membaca sepintas teks berdasarkan halaman (yang dapat dimanipulasi oleh penerbit situs melalui meta-tag), teknologi kami menganalisis keseluruhan konten halaman dan berbagai faktor berupa font, subdivisi, dan lokasi dari setiap kata.
We also analyze the content of neighboring web pages to ensure the results returned are the most relevant to a user's query.
Kami juga menganalisis konten halaman web di sekitarnya untuk memastikan hasil yang paling relevan dengan permintaan pengguna.

Our innovations don't stop at the desktop.
Inovasi kami tidak berhenti pada desktop.
To give people access to the information they need, whenever and wherever they need it, we continue to develop new mobile applications and services that are more accessible and customizable.
Untuk memberikan akses masyarakat ke informasi yang mereka butuhkan, kapanpun dan dimanapun mereka memerlukannya, kami terus mengembangkan aplikasi baru ponsel dan layanan yang lebih mudah dan dapat diatur.
And we're partnering with industry-leading carriers and device manufacturers to deliver these innovative services globally.
Dan kami bermitra dengan industri terkemuka operator dan produsen perangkat ini inovatif untuk memberikan layanan global.
We're working with many of these industry leaders through the Open Handset Alliance to develop Android, the first complete, open, and free mobile platform, which will offer people a less expensive and better mobile experience.
Kami bekerja dengan banyak pemimpin industri ini melalui Open Handset Alliance untuk mengembangkan Android, pertama selesai, terbuka, dan bebas platform mobile, yang akan menawarkan orang-orang yang lebih mahal dan kurang pengalaman mobile.

Life of a Google Query
The life span of a Google query normally lasts less than half a second, yet involves a number of different steps that must be completed before results can be delivered to a person seeking information.

Cheers, frizzy.

Microsoft Business Intelligence Conference 2009

Fahmi Rizwansyah says:

It's not just data anymore. It's a new form of energy.
Microsoft SQL Server 2008 and Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server 2007

Seperti biasa sob, kalo tidak ada makan-makan, bisa-bisa aku gak jadi datang ke acara ini...hihihi

Cheers, frizzy2008.

Charter Aircraft Average Pricing

Fahmi Rizwansyah says:

Mungkin ada yang butuh pelayanan charter pesawat, ini ada artikel buat overview.

Charter Aircraft Average Pricing

King Air
Turbo Prop
Rate: $1200/hr
Block Speed: 230 Kts.
No. Of Passengers: up to 9
Range: 500 - 1000 sm
Lavatory: Yes
Hot/Cold Catering: Both

All the comfort of an Executive Jet at half the cost, a great airplane for medium trips spacious cabin. Has the same short field runway capability as the piston twins.

Citation
Light Jet
Rate: $1,850/hr
Block Speed: 330 Kts.
No. Of Passengers: 4-6
Range: 1500 sm
Lavatory: Yes
Hot/Cold Catering: Both

Luxurious, economic, the light jet category is perfect for one-day business meetings. If efficiency is important, this is the perfect aircraft and it includes all the amenities.

Lear
Medium Jet
Rate: $2,650/hr
Block Speed: 360 Kts.
No. Of Passengers: 6-8
Range: 2,500 sm
Lavatory: Yes
Hot/Cold Catering: Both

Our medium jet category enables you to take your marketing team or your family on long trips. Increase your productivity or even hold a meeting on board Time is Money.

Gulfstream
Heavy Jet
Rate: $4,900/hr
Block Speed: 400 Kts.
No. Of Passengers: 12 to 15
Range: 4000 to 4900sm
Lavatory: Yes
Hot/Cold Catering: Both

The perfect airplane for coast-to-coast or global trips, New York to LA or New York to Europe Once you fly on One of these Jets you will never fly on the airlines again. Large spacious cabin ideal for setting up a mobile office, Along with the convenience of a personal flight attendant, you also will have access to on-board Flight Phone, Sat Phone, DVD, Internet and teleconferencing capabilities.

* The Above Hourly prices will vary up and down depending on the 135 operator, aircraft model and aircraft age including current fuel surcharges.

by http://www.privatejetcharters.com/Charterprices.htm
Cheers, frizzy2008.

Dell - The Future of Computing Tour

Fahmi Rizwansyah says:

Pagi-pagi dah mampir ke Ritz Charlton, Pacific Place untuk menghadiri acara The Future of Computing Tour yang diselenggarakan oleh Dell Indonesia.
Seru banget acaranya, semua keynote speakernya berceramah dengan semangat mengenai produk-produk Dell untuk sistem komputasi masa depan.

Ok deh, habis kenyang makan-makan prasmanan gratis, balik kantor, meeting sama beberapa klien then posting the blog.

Cheers, frizzy2008.

Selamat buat Anandita Puspitasari, pemenang Bloggership Pesta Blogger 2008

Fahmi Rizwansyah says:

Anandita Puspitasari (23), seorang peneliti junior di salah satu LSM berhasil menjadi penerima Bloggership pertama di Indonesia yang diluncurkan pada Pesta Blogger 2008 lalu.

"Ini adalah sebuah amanat, untuk lebih mengoptimalkan sumber daya yang saya miliki supaya bisa memberi manfaat lebih untuk masyarakat. Sedari awal, saya langsung merasa `klik` dengan tujuan program ini," kata Anandita Puspitasari atau Dita dalam siaran pers yang diterima ANTARA di Jakarta, Selasa

Dengan blognya yang beralamat di www.nonadita.com, dia dipilih sebaga pemenang oleh panitia seleksi yaitu Microsoft Indonesia dan "bapak blogger Indonesia" Enda Nasution.

Empat kandidat yang dikalahkan Dita yaitu Aulia Halimatussadiah (25 thn, http://salsabeela.com), Bernardus Dian Adi Prasetyo (29, http://didut.wordpress.com), Calvin Michael Sidjaja (22, http://republikbabi.com) dan Siwi Piranti Rahayu (21 thn, http://chiw,.wordpress.com)

Sebagai pemenang, Dita berhak mendapatkan hadiah sebesar Rp 15 juta, smartphone Windows Mobile, serta perjalanan selama 6 bulan ke 3 propinsi dengan biaya ditanggung Microsoft Indonesia.

Cheers, frizzy2008.

Arsip-arsip Belanda di Indonesia Dibuka

Fahmi Rizwansyah says:

Sebuah situs arsip Belanda yang sangat menarik untuk Indonesia akan dibuka untuk para peneliti, demikian dilaporkan koresponden ANTARA di Belanda, Ronald Frisart, Selasa.
Arsip Belanda itu terdiri atas delapan puluh meter bahan arsip milik Nederlands Instituut voor Oorlogsdocumentatie (NIOD, Institut dokumentasi perang Belanda).

Arsip yang dapat dibuka lewat internet itu (www.niod.nl) akan dipresentasikan pada tanggal 22 Januari di Amsterdam dan situs ini tidak hanya dalam bahasa Belanda, tetapi juga bahasa Inggris.
Dalam arsip-arsip di situs tersebut terdapat lukisan-lukisan, koran-koran Indonesia, dokumentasi pemerintah Belanda, buku harian dan catatan perkara.

Dokumentasi pemerintah Belanda dalam situs ini merupakan dokumentasi Belanda periode 9 Maret 1942 (kapitulasi KNIL/Belanda kepada Jepang), ketika tentara Jepang menguasai Indonesia sampai 15 Agustus 1945 (kapitulasi Jepang kepada tentara Sekutu).
Baca selengkapnya...

by antara.co.id
Cheers, frizzy2008.

Student Loan

Fahmi Rizwansyah says:

Beyond free money, student loans are the best choice to secure additional financing for school.
Here are the basics you need to make informed decisions when selecting student loans:

Determine How Much to Borrow
The following steps will help you determine exactly how much money you will need to borrow for school so you don’t come up short and find yourself charging items at higher interest rates.

Step 1: Identify Your Educational Expenses
Work with your school’s financial aid office to identify all expected costs. Expenses to consider include:
* Tuition
* Fees (i.e., late registration, parking permits, etc.)
* Room and Board
* Text Books and Supplies
* Special Equipment (i.e., computer, etc.)

Step 2: Evaluate Your Existing Financial Resources
Because the total cost of borrowing can increase significantly with time, a good strategy is to borrow only what is absolutely necessary. Evaluate non-loan sources first to pay for many of your educational expenses. These sources of funding include your savings and current income in addition to the awards listed in your financial aid package.

Step 3: Calculate Funding Needed
The additional money you need to pay for the full price of your education is calculated as follows:

Total Educational Expenses – Total Funding Available = Amount to Borrow
Example
Total Educational Expenses $21,580
– Financial Aid $14,590
– Savings $ 2,000
– Gifts from Family $ 1,000
Additional Amount Needed $ 3,990

Use this estimate to evaluate your loan options. Remember, borrow only what you need by maximizing financial aid.

Understanding Student Loan Interest Rates

This section provides you the basics you need to calculate and understand student loan interest rates since they play an important role in determining how much you will pay over the life of the loan.

How Interest Rates are Calculated
The interest charged on student loans is calculated as simple daily interest. Simply put, the outstanding principal balance is multiplied by the interest rate and divided by 365 days to calculate one day’s interest amount. So, if you have a $10,000 loan, with a 7.00% interest rate, the formula would be $10,000 x 0.07/365 and the interest amount for one day would be $1.92.

Shop for Competitive Rates
Since the federal government sets the interest rates for federal loans, you can be assured that all lenders offer the same interest rate. To get the most competitive offer, focus on borrower benefits.

The range of interest rates vary on private student loans, which are typically credit based. You may apply for a private loan on your own. However, if you don’t have an established credit history, you can apply with a creditworthy co-signer to potentially receive a lower interest rate. While it's tempting to choose the private loan with the lowest advertised interest rate, it's best to compare student loans using APR examples.

APR is the Best Comparison Tool
Unlike basic interest rates, which don't represent the true cost of the loan, the APR takes into account all of the associated loan costs such as finance charges and loan fees. Each of these factors can have a significant effect on the cost of a loan. The APR adjusts for each of these items illustrating the true cost of borrowing for your education. Since all lenders provide APR examples, using them to compare two competing loans will give you a true apples-to-apples comparison of your options.

Borrower Benefits Reduce Interest Rates
Many lenders offer money-saving benefits for services such as auto-debit payments. When shopping around, ask lenders how much you can expect to save over the life of the loan with their borrower benefits.

When you look at borrower benefits, consider selecting a lender that will provide service for the life of the loan. Some lenders offer great borrower benefits but will sell your loan to another party or servicer upon repayment. Another servicer may not provide you with the servicing levels you expect.

Graduated Repayment Plan
With a graduated repayment plan, you make interest-only payments for the first two or four years, or $50.00 a month, whichever is greater. After the initial period of lower payments, your payments will increase to include principal and interest for the rest of the term.
When you reduce your monthly payments, you pay more interest over the life of the loan because you repay the principal at a slower rate.

Extended Repayment Plan for Federal Loans
An extended repayment plan reduces your monthly federal loan payments by spreading them over a period of up to 25 years.
Since payments are stretched over a longer term, total interest costs are higher when compared to a standard repayment plan or graduated repayment plan.

by Citi.
Cheers, frizzy2008.

What Does a Sex Therapist Do?

Fahmi Rizwansyah says:

How would you describe the role of a sex therapist?

Answer:
A sex therapist can be a psychiatrist, a marriage and family therapist, a psychologist, or a clinical social worker. We are specially trained in sex therapy methods beyond the minimal amount of training about sexuality that is required for each of those licenses.
There are a few graduate schools in the U.S. that specialize in training for sex therapy. Some people assemble their training by rigorous self-study and by attendance at the major sexological organizations' annual conferences. We have about a dozen scientific journals dedicated solely to sexual research. There are about six major organizations that hold conferences and trainings.

So seeing a sex therapist is like going to a gynecologist for gynecological problems rather than to a family practice physician. Both have specialized particularly in that area. That isn't to say that one couldn't get good help from a non-sex therapist for a sexual issue, it's just that the likelihood might be a bit less.
Most sex therapists have a particular awareness of sexuality that rises above personal opinion or personal experiences. We usually have several choices of ways to treat a particular issue when someone presents it. We tailor our treatment to the person(s) before us. We are not a "bigger hammer" there to coerce a person who wants less sex into wanting more. There is a sexological method to treating sexual issues. With the exception of when separate sexual surrogate therapists are added (in a very small number of cases), sex therapy is completely talk therapy.

Sex therapy views sexual issues as being resolved by specifically addressing them, rather than by the assumption that when the individuals in a relationship work out the relationship issues, the sex will just fall into place. For years, I have had a practice full of couples for whom that simply was not true.
Sex therapists also tend to have much greater than average knowledge about the physiological processes that are a part of human sexuality. We tend to work collaboratively with physicians to address the entirety of the causes of sexual concerns.

I would venture to say that there is near unanimity in the sex field when it comes to acceptance of sexual orientations and transgender existence. I have never met a sex therapist who tried to cure homosexuality -- though there are other mental health practitioners who do attempt to do so.
We hold a positive outlook on the beneficial influence that sexuality can have on people's lives and in the world in general. And we are not naive about the ill effects that come as a result of sexuality. We simply try to address those issues from a rigorous scientific perspective, rather than from an ideological perspective.

Louanne Cole Weston, PhD, is a licensed marriage, family, and child counselor and a board-certified sex therapist in practice since 1983. Her work in the field of human sexuality includes extensive experience as a therapist, educator, and researcher.

Cheers, frizzy2008.

Avoid Mosquitoes and Prevent Bites Naturally

Fahmi Rizwansyah says:

By MIHealthCoach, eHow Member

Step1
Clear away any standing water if possible in buckets, pool covers, etc.
Step2
Mosquitoes hate garlic. You can use this to your advantage by rubbing a little onto your exposed skin, or eat it and it will permeate through your pores.
Step3
Citronella candles are effective and also can be rubbed on your skin
Step4
Vitamin B-1 (thiamine hydrochloride) is known to give off an odor through the skin that repels mosquitos and also gnats, no seeums and black flies. A 100 mg. tablet, taken once daily should be effective.
Step5
Plants such as marigolds, lavender, cinnamon, rosemary, catnip, and peppermint repel mosquitoes and can be planted in your garden. Centerpieces made of the same plants will also work and can be planted later.
Step6
Bats are natural predators of mosquitoes. Take advantage of this by building bat houses to encourage them to take up residence.
Step7
When sitting outside, place a large electric fan by you. Mosquitos are too weak to fly against the air current.

Cheers, frizzy2008.

Mosquito bites human, how to...

Fahmi Rizwansyah says:

By Nic Fleming, Science Correspondent

Scientists have worked out why mosquitoes make a beeline for certain people but appear to leave others almost untouched.

Specific cells in one of the three organs that make up the mosquito’s nose are tuned to identify the different chemicals that make up human body odour.

To the mosquito some people’s sweat simply smells better than others because of the proportions of the carbon dioxide, octenol and other compounds that make up body odour.

It is those people who are most likely to be bitten.

The researchers believe the discovery of the way the mosquito smells will lead to the development of a new generation of repellents that would block mosquitoes’ nose - preventing them finding humans prey - within five to 10 years.

While helping those people who always seem to get bitten and people with allergic reactions to bites, such substances could also save millions of lives in the fight against malaria, most prevalent life-threatening disease in the world.

Mosquitoes use three organs to smell and taste – a feathery antenna which can identify a wide range of different chemicals, a proboscis used for short-range detection and the maxillary palp for longer range smelling.

US scientists, whose research was published today in the journal Current Biology, have produced a detailed map of the maxillary palp.

They found it contains a series of highly specialised receptor cells used to detect the different components of human body odour.

Laurence J. Zwiebel, professor of biological sciences at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, who led the study, said: “What makes mosquitoes such good transmitters of malaria is that they are extremely good at finding people to bite.

“The amazing thing that we found was that all the sensory hairs that line the bottom of the maxillary palp are identical.

“They are all attached to three neurons - one which is tuned to detect carbon dioxide, one which is tuned to detect octenol, and one which serves to enhance general olfactory reception.

“We are looking to make a new generation of repellents based on targeting these molecular components in the mosquitoe nose.

“If you can block or hyper-stimulate these receptors, the mosquito would not do nearly as well at finding human prey.”

Prof Zwiebel added he expected the new repellents to be available for use within five to ten years.

The tips of the organs that make up the mosquito nose are perforated with thousands of tiny holes that let aromatic compounds to penetrate.

Once inside chemicals encounter the receptors that detect specific molecules that identify potential targets as human.

Co-author of the research Tan Lu, also at Vanderbilt University, said: “These receptors are highly sensitive, which suggests that the maxillary palps serve as the malaria mosquito’s long-range detection system.”

Most of the reason for people believing they are targeted more frequently by mosquitoes is in reality down to their suffering more serious swellings and allergic reactions.

However it has been shown that some people are bitten more often because of differences in their body odour.

The researchers carried out their work on Anopheles gambiae, the mosquito species most responsible for spreading malaria.

They believe it can be applied to other malaria-spreading species.

Malaria infects some 650 million people per year worldwide and kills between one and three million, mostly young children in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The work is part of a large international collaboration led by the US National Institutes of Health aimed at developing a chemical strategy to combat the spread of malaria in the developing world.

Cheers, frizzy2008

Blogger, sikap membuka diri

Fahmi Rizwansyah says:

Keputusanku menjadi blogger, salah satunya adalah keinginan membuka diri seluas-luasnya, namun aku sadari, aku harus memiliki etika dan pemahaman dalam menjalani kehidupan blogger. Sudah lama mencari-cari bahan untuk menyampaikannya, eh ternyata muncul di kompas online pagi ini, 1/1/2009.

Berikut tulisan yang disampaikan oleh Nilam Widyarini, MSi, dosen pada Fakultas Psikologi Universitas Guna Dharma, Jakarta

MEMBUKA diri terhadap orang lain (self disclosure) itu ibarat mata uang, memiliki dua sisi. Di satu sisi berarti memasuki hubungan yang lebih matang. Di sisi lain, terdapat risiko dicemooh dan dikhianati. Bagaimanapun, self disclosure merupakan isyarat berkembangnya hubungan yang sehat yang perlu dikelola.

Kadang-kadang kita dibuat kagum oleh seseorang yang dengan sangat terbuka dapat menceritakan apa saja yang ia pikirkan, rasakan, dan inginkan. Meskipun banyak kesulitan atau kekurangan, hidup seolah dirasa sebagai hal yang ringan, dan dilakoni tanpa beban.

Kita dapat menjadi lebih nyaman berinteraksi dengan pribadi seperti itu. Karena ia terbuka, kita pun dapat menjadi lebih terbuka, dan akhirnya relasi berlangsung lebih akrab dan saling percaya.

Namun, pada kesempatan lain kadang terjadi sebaliknya. Kita justru merasa muak dengan seseorang yang terlalu membuka diri sampai ke hal-hal yang sangat pribadi, yang menurut kita tidak pantas untuk diceritakan kepada orang banyak.

Hal yang Diungkapkan
Ada rambu-rambu dalam pengungkapan diri agar hubungan menjadi efektif:
- Lebih mengungkapkan perasaan daripada fakta. Bila kita mengungkapkan perasaan terhadap orang lain, berarti kita mengizinkan orang lain mengenali siapa kita sesungguhnya. Misalnya, informasi bagaimana kita mengembangkan hubungan dengan saudara-saudari kita membuat orang lain memahami kita, daripada sekadar memberikan informasi bahwa kita memiliki saudara.

- Semakin diperluas dan diperdalam. Mungkin kita masih mengalami perasaan tidak nyaman berbagi pengalaman dengan seseorang yang seharusnya dekat dengan kita. Untuk itu perlu dilakukan pengembangan hubungan ke arah yang lebih dalam (lebih mengungkapkan perasaan terhadap isu tertentu) dan diperluas (dengan mendiskusikan berbagai isu, seperti pekerjaan, keluarga, pengalaman religius, dan sebagainya).

- Fokus pada masa kini, bukan masa lampau. Bila berbagi pengalaman soal masa lalu menjelaskan mengapa dulu kita melakukan tindakan tertentu adalah bersifat katarsis (melepaskan ketegangan), tetapi dapat meninggalkan perasaan bahwa kita lemah. Hal ini terjadi terutama bila keterbukaan tidak berlangsung timbal balik. Jadi, lebih baik kita fokus pada situasi sekarang.

- Timbal balik. Kita harus selalu mencocokkan tingkat keterbukaan kita dengan tingkat keterbukaan orang yang kita jumpai. Hati-hati, jangan terlalu membuka diri secara dini, sebelum melewati masa-masa pengembangan hubungan yang familier dan saling percaya. Di sisi lain, bila diperlukan, tidak perlu menunggu orang membuka diri. Jangan takut untuk memulai langkah penting membangun hubungan. Berikan contoh, dan orang lain akan menyesuaikan diri. Bila orang tidak merespon secara seimbang, hentikan langkah tersebut.

Banyak Manfaat
Keterbukaan diri memiliki manfaat bagi masing-masing individu maupun bagi hubungan antara kedua pihak. Dengan membuka diri dan membalas keterbukaan diri orang lain, kita dapat meningkatkan komunikasi dan hubungan dengan orang lain.

Secara rinci manfaatnya adalah:
- Meringankan. Berbagi dengan orang lain mengenai diri atau persoalan yang kita hadapi, dapat memberikan kondisi psikologis yang meringankan. Misalnya, cerita tentang ketidakmampuan menghadapi ujian atau berakhirnya hubungan dengan seseorang. Bagaimana kita mengatasi hal itu? Bagaimana pandangan orang lain? Dengan membuka diri, kita memperoleh tambahan perspektif yang membantu diri sendiri melihat titik frustrasi dari sudut pandang orang lain.

- Membantu validasi (menguji ketepatan) persepsi terhadap realita. Dengan sudut pandang sendiri, kita mungkin cenderung menggunakan ukuran yang idealistis menurut diri sendiri. Bila kita mengomunikasikan hal tersebut dengan seseorang yang tepat (yang memberikan simpati, suportif, dapat dipercaya, dan pendengar yang baik), kita tidak hanya mendapatkan persetujuan, tetapi juga informasi yang diperlukan untuk lebih memahami diri sendiri, yang kita perlukan agar memahami dunia secara lebih realistis.

- Mengurangi tegangan dan stres. Bila kita menghadapi ketegangan atau stres karena suatu hal, bila tidak diungkapkan akan berkembang menjadi eksplosif (mudah meledak). Sebaliknya, bila diungkapkan kepada orang lain, kita akan menemukan jalan keluar. Andaikan tidak mendapat jalan keluar, setidaknya lebih ringan karena kita merasa tidak sendirian. Hal ini justru dapat membuat kita menjadi lebih dekat dengan orang lain dan menambah rasa nyaman pada saat itu maupun dalam relasi selanjutnya.

- Meringankan fisik. Terdapat keterkaitan antara pikiran dengan sistem tubuh kita. Adanya pengaruh positif pada pikiran (akibat pengungkapan diri), berakibat pada fisik. Berbagi atau mengungkapkan diri dengan orang lain, membuat stres kita berkurang, kecemasan berkurang, dan meredakan juga detak jantung dan tekanan darah. Dengan kata lain, pengungkapan diri dapat berpengaruh positif terhadap kesehatan fisik, selain emosi.

- Alur komunikasi yang lebih jelas. Dengan menunjukkan keinginan untuk membuka diri terhadap orang lain, dan menghargai pengungkapan diri orang lain, berarti kita meningkatkan kemampuan untuk memahami sudut pandang atau perspektif yang berbeda. Dengan demikian, kita akan lebih percaya diri untuk mengklarifikasi niat-niat atau makna-makna dari orang lain. Adanya umpan balik lewat diskusi terbuka, kekaburan dalam komunikasi diminimalkan.

- Mempererat hubungan. Bila antarekan lebih saling mengenal satu sama lain, terjadi efek timbal balik: keterbukaan mengembangkan rasa senang yang semakin meningkatkan keterbukaan dan berakibat makin kuatnya rasa senang. Tanpa pengungkapan diri, tingkat keeratan hubungan dan kepercayaan berada pada level rendah. Dengan keterbukaan dihasilkan kepercayaan, dan dengan kepercayaan dihasilkan kerja sama. Di dalam organisasi, kerja sama dan saling percaya ini menentukan inovasi yang sangat penting agar tetap survive dan mampu berkompetisi. Lebih dari itu, hasil riset menemukan bahwa bila antarekan kerja semakin menyukai kerja sama, mereka lebih produktif dalam mengerjakan proyek atau dalam situasi tim.

Cheers, frizzy2008.

Arsip foto resepsi pernikahan Demian dan Yulia Rachman

Fahmi Rizwansyah says:

Karena datang sudah jam 21:05, jadi lewat deh seremoni pernikahannya dan para tamu sudah berkurang. Untung masih bisa dapat beberapa spot.

Kalo yang ini si, pesulap afkiran...hehehe

Kronologi kisah frizzy:
Jumat, 19/12
16:15, Aldy: Bos, jadi ke resepsi Demian - Yulia Rachman?
, Frizzy: Oh??? Sekarang tanggal 19 ya? waa lupa, ntar aku tanya istriku dulu deh
Call si Bunda
, Frizzy: Bunda, sekarang kan hari resepsinya si Demian, mo dateng gak?
, Bunda: Oh iya ya, waa undangannya sama ibu. Gimana ya? barusan aku nolak nganterin ibu ke terapi, gimana mintanya ya? gak enak nih
, Frizzy: Yah, gimana dong padahal kan sudah kita rencanakan dari kemarin2
, Bunda: Ya sud, aku coba ngomong sama ibu deh.

16:40, Bunda: Ayah, tadi katanya undangannya dibawa dek Ary kerumahnya terus ditaruh di kamarnya, dikunci. Dek Arynya sendiri dihubungi masih meeting di kantor, katanya si sampai malam
, Frizzy: Oooo, alamat gak jadi datang dong ni, waa. Coba telpon dek Ary, Bunda.

17:30, Bunda: Ayah, dek Ary katanya sudah di jalan.
, Frizzy: Waa, bisa berangkat dong kita...(lanjutin browsing2)

18:20, Aldy: Bos, data-data client dah ada ni, coba dilihat. (Aku ajak Aldy dan Dandy diskusi)
, Frizzy: Kita harus analisa dulu sebelum dapat solusinya. Apa sudah dicek requirement detilnya
, Dandy: Itu tinggal disamakan dari beberapa sisi bos, semuanya harus telly. Makro yang sekarang hasilnya beda-beda bos.
, Frizzy: Oke deh, kita pelajari dulu lah yaa...

18:40, Bunda: Ayah kok blom berangkat dari kantor!!!(bunda agak geram)
, Frizzy: iya iya bunda, aku turun sekarang.

18:50, Mau keluar parkiran, sistem parkirnya rusak. Terjadi antrian panjang ditambah klakson orang2 yang mau keluar.
, Frizzy: Wooiiii, benerin dong, gue ada janji lagi nii.
, Parkir: Pak, muter aja ya lewat pintu masuk.

19:40, sampai di rumah.
, Bunda: ayah, kamera kita ada di rumah bapak joglo.
, Frizzy: oh ok deh bunda, mestinya kan sudah kita siapkan.
, Frizzy: bunda ganti celana panjang aja soalnya kita pake motor buat ngejar waktu. (secara si bunda dah siap pake gaun, hihihi...)

Ambil kamera di joglo, trus tancap gas ke gedung PTIK.

21:05, Sampai di TKP, trus foto2in beberapa seleb n' gak lupa...makan sampai kenyang.
22:10, Sampai rumah, tidur.

Sabtu 20/12, Izhar sakit, aku dan bunda ngurusin ke dokter.
Minggu 21/12, Bapak joglo ke Riau membawa kamera yang berisi foto2 resepsi demian - yulia yang belum aku transfer.

Minggu 28/12, Bapak joglo pulang
Senin 29/12, Foto baru didapat dan langsung diposting.

Cheers, frizzy2008.

China Company's Mission

Fahmi Rizwansyah says:

Corporate philosophy
The aim of our corporation is to constantly develop and create a highly efficient and productive organization that operates under any circumstances with the ultimate purpose to achieve a durable organizational that can adapt to any environment.

This is measured by the external objectives of firstly, profit; secondly an expanding market share; thirdly information gathering and finally the enhancement of our corporate image.These are based on our belief that: information is a resource, time is money, management is profit, and people are assets. Thus we treat information as the resource, time as the money, management as the profit and talent as the capital.

Our Operational philosophy
☆ The user is our first priority founded on mutual trust
☆ communication
☆ cooperation
☆ a quality of life
☆ Timely delivery is the our strong point
☆ change is an opportunity
☆ price is prosperity

　　　Our Action philosophy
　　　☆ Thought guides action
　　　☆ action changes habit
　　　☆ habit builds character
　　　☆ character changes life

Our Environmental philosophy
☆ Adhere to the natural laws
☆ save energy and lower
　 consumption
☆ and address pollution
☆ Sorting out and rectification

Our Quality principle
☆ Advanced technology, produce top products, perfect service and satisfied the customer.Technology advancement, quality products, service perfection and customer satisfaction.
☆ Full participation, process control, continuous improvement, quality assurance

Our Quality objective
☆ 100% product inspection rate
☆ 98% qualified rate of outgoing inspection
☆ 100% handling rate of the user’s complaints
☆ over 98% of the user’s satisfaction rate

by Changzhou
Cheers, frizzy2008.

Code-cracking and computers

Fahmi Rizwansyah says:

By Mark Ward
Technology correspondent, BBC News

Bletchley Park is best known for the work done on cracking the German codes and helping to bring World War II to a close far sooner than might have happened without those code breakers.
But many believe Bletchley should be celebrated not just for what it ended but also for what it started - namely the computer age.

The pioneering machines at Bletchley were created to help codebreakers cope with the enormous volume of enciphered material the Allies managed to intercept.
The machine that arguably had the greatest influence in those early days of computing was Colossus - a re-built version of which now resides in the National Museum of Computing which is also on the Bletchley site.

Men and machine

The Enigma machines were used by the field units of the German Army, Navy and Airforce. But the communications between Hitler and his generals were protected by different machines: The Lorenz SZ40 and SZ42.

The German High Command used the Lorenz machine because it was so much faster than the Enigma, making it much easier to send large amounts of text.

"For about 500 words Enigma was reasonable but for a whole report it was hopeless," said Jack Copeland, professor of philosophy at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, director of the Turing Archive and a man with a passionate interest in the Bletchley Park computers. Hut 6 during wartime, Bletchley Park Trust

The Allies first picked up the stream of enciphered traffic, dubbed Tunny, in 1940. The importance of the material it contained soon became apparent.

Like Enigma, the Lorenz machines enciphered text by mixing it with characters generated by a series of pinwheels.

"We broke wheel patterns for a whole year before Colossus came in," said Captain Jerry Roberts, one of the codebreakers who deciphered Tunny traffic at Bletchley.

"Because of the rapid expansion in the use of Tunny, our efforts were no longer enough and we had to have the machines in to do a better job."

The man who made Colossus was Post Office engineer Tommy Flowers, who had instantly impressed Alan Turing when asked by the maverick mathematician to design a machine to help him in his war work.

But, said Capt Roberts, Flowers could not have built his machine without the astonishing work of Cambridge mathematician Bill Tutte.

"I remember seeing him staring into the middle distance and twiddling his pencil and I wondered if he was earning his corn," said Capt Roberts.

But it soon became apparent that he was.

"He figured out how the Lorenz machine worked without ever having seen one and he worked out the algorithm that broke the traffic on a day-to-day basis," said Capt Roberts.

"If there had not been Bill Tutte, there would not have been any need for Tommy Flowers," he said. "The computer would have happened later. Much later."

Valve trouble

Prof Copeland said Tommy Flowers faced scepticism from Bletchley Park staff and others that his idea for a high-speed computer employing thousands of valves would ever work. Valves on Colossus, BBC

"Flowers was very much swimming against the current as valves were only being used in small units," he said. "But the idea of using large numbers of valves reliably was Tommy Flowers' big thing. He'd experimented and knew how to control the parameters."

And work it did.

The close co-operation between the human translators and the machines meant that the Allies got a close look at the intimate thoughts of the German High Command.

Information gleaned from Tunny was passed to the Russians and was instrumental in helping it defeat the Germans at Kursk - widely seen as one of the turning points of WWII.

The greater legacy is the influence of Colossus on the origins of the computer age.

"Tommy Flowers was the key figure for everything that happened subsequently in British computers," said Prof Copeland.

After the war Bletchley veterans Alan Turing and Max Newman separately did more work on computers using the basic designs and plans seen in Colossus.

Turing worked on the Automatic Computing Engine for the British government and Newman helped to bring to life the Manchester Small Scale Experimental Machine - widely acknowledged as the first stored program computer.

The work that went into Colossus also shaped the thinking of others such as Maurice Wilkes, Freddie Williams, Tom Kilburn and many others - essentially the whole cast of characters from whom early British computing arose.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

Cheers, frizzy2008.

Windows XP allowed to live again

Fahmi Rizwansyah says:

Microsoft has given yet another reprieve to its seasoned Windows XP operating system.
The cut off date for PC makers to obtain licenses for the software was 31 January 2009.
But now Microsoft has put in place a scheme that will allow the hardware firms to get hold of XP licences until 30 May 2009.

Previously Microsoft extended XP's life until 2010 - provided it was installed on netbooks and low-cost laptops.
Windows XP was originally due to disappear off shop shelves on 30 January 2008. It was to be removed so as to make way for Windows Vista which went on sale to consumers early in 2007.

Despite Microsoft's claims that Vista has sold well, consumers have reacted badly to its release.
Microsoft granted the reprieve largely because of customer's preference for XP.

Many PC makers also got around the restrictions by exploiting a clause in Microsoft's licensing terms that allowed them to offer a "downgrade" licence. Issued with a new PC running Vista it allowed customers to replace it with XP.

The latest reprieve affects PC makers and resellers who were working to a 31 January 2009 deadline to order licences for XP.

Many feared they would have to stockpile licences before the cut-off and hope they could sell them in the coming months.

Now, Microsoft has changed the terms allowing the resellers to order before 31 January but take delivery at any time up to 30 May.

The change in policy is another indication of the general resistance to Windows Vista.

Early versions of Windows 7, the replacement for Vista, are due to appear in late 2009.

by BBC
Cheers, frizzy2008.

BBC Playwriting Competition

Fahmi Rizwansyah says:

Link for bahasa

The biennial International Radio Playwriting Competition is run by the BBC World Service and the British Council and is now in its eleventh year.

It is a competition for anyone resident outside Britain, to write a 60 minute radio drama for up to six characters.

There are two categories: one for writers with English as their first language and one for writers with English as their second language. The two winners will come to London and see their play made into a full radio production, which will then be broadcast on the BBC World Service. They will also each receive a £2,500 prize and there are also prizes for the runners up.

The play must be in English, unpublished and must not have been previously produced in any medium. Whether you're experienced, new, or somewhere in between, we want to hear from you.

Just check the Rules and How to Enter sections to find out more about sending us your play.

Once again, we have two first prizes: for the best play by a writer with English as their first language and for the best play by a writer with English as their second language.

These two winners will each receive £2500 sterling and a trip to London to see their play being recorded for broadcast on BBC World Service in the World Drama slot.

* £2500 sterling for the overall winning playwright of the best play written with English as a first language and a trip to London to see the play being recorded and to attend a prize-giving evening.

* £2500 sterling for the overall winning playwright of the best play written with English as a second language and a trip to London to see the play being recorded and to attend a prizegiving evening.

* A prize of a digital or short wave radio for the best radio play to be written from each of the following geographical areas: The Americas; Europe; Africa and the Middle East; South Asia; Russia and the Caucasus; Asia and Pacific.

* BBC goodie bags for all writers whose plays reach the judges' final shortlist.

Playwriting Competition 2009
BBC World Service Drama
Room 118 East Wing
Bush House
London WC2B 4PH
United Kingdom

Cheers, frizzy2008.

What's your water problem?

Fahmi Rizwansyah says:

“Rotten egg” smell?
The presence of hydrogen sulfide in water gives it an unpleasant smell, sometimes even rendering it unusable.

Cloudy water?
Raw water comes into your home with any number of impurities that cause turbidity.

Chlorine taste or smell?
Municipalities use chlorine to disinfect water. However, not only does it taste and smell unappealing but it also has a drying effect on skin and hair.

Musty, earthy, fishy taste or smell?
Caused by algae, molds and bacteria that live in water and can multiply within a home’s plumbing system.

Metallic taste or smell?
Generally caused by metals such as iron and manganese, these substances not only taste and smell bad but can also be harmful to your health.

Hard water?
Calcium and magnesium ions in water create hardness, which is what causes soap scum in tubs and showers and spots on faucets and fixtures. Hard water is also what causes scaling in appliances, which results in less efficiency and costly repairs.

by Kinetico
Cheers, frizzy2008.

Maintaining Intimacy in Pain Management

Fahmi Rizwansyah says:

Chronic pain can cause some sexual problems. When you are in pain, the last thing you probably want to do is be intimate with your partner. But it is important to remain close to your loved one. A healthy intimate relationship can positively affect all aspects of your life.

Many people living with pain often have fears about sexuality, including:

* Fear of rejection by a partner: It is common for people with chronic pain to feel that a partner is no longer interested. You may wonder if a partner is less attracted to you because you are in pain. Share your feelings and fears with your partner and listen to your partner's concerns.
* Fear of pain associated with sex: It is natural to worry that sexual intercourse will cause you physical pain. You can address this concern by experimenting with different positions that are more comfortable.
* Fear of failure to perform: Pain, depression, alcohol and medications all may affect sexual performance or the ability to get aroused or have an orgasm. Sometimes, failure to perform is due to stress and anxiety. In many cases, patience and understanding can help in overcoming performance problems. Many medications can reduce your sexual ability and/or cause impotence. If you suspect a medication may be affecting your sexual performance, don't stop taking the drug without first consulting your doctor.

If intercourse is undesirable, there are other ways to remain close, including:

* Touching: Explore your partner's body through touch. This may include cuddling, fondling, stroking, massaging and kissing. Touch increases feelings of intimacy.
* Self-stimulation: Masturbation is a normal and healthy way to fulfill your sexual needs.
* Oral sex: This form of contact may be an alternative or supplement to traditional intercourse.

You may also want to experiment with having sex at different times of the day or in different positions. If you have more pain in the evening, having sex earlier in the day might help. Try different positions some may feel better than others. You may also want to use lubricants when there is a lack of natural lubrication. Lubricants may ease or prevent pain associated with sexual contact.

Intimacy Without Sex
Sexuality is only one form of intimacy. Non-sexual ways you can be intimate with your partner include:

* Sharing feelings: Discuss your feelings with your partner. Talking and listening can help you both better understand each other and may bring you closer.
* Participating in common interests: Couples that play together often stay together, so the saying goes. Hobbies, sporting activities, or volunteer activities can bring couples closer together when they share interests.
* Making time to be alone together: Try taking a bath together, sharing a candlelight dinner, taking a walk, or just holding each other in bed.

There are many additional ways of creating non-sexual intimacy. Explore various things that you and your partner can do together to bring you closer.

Intimacy Is Possible
You can have a healthy and satisfying relationship in spite of chronic pain. Remember that intimacy begins with honest communication. You and your partner need to talk about how you feel, what you miss, and what you want or need from your relationship. In any relationship, an effort must be made to maintain what is good and change what needs improvement. In your efforts to become more intimate, you may discover something about your partner that you did not know before. Your relationship may become stronger than it was before you faced the issue of chronic pain.

If sexual problems continue to be an issue, consider speaking with a counselor or sex therapist.

by webMD
Reviewed by the doctors at The Cleveland Clinic Center Department of Psychiatry and Psychology.

Cheers, frizzy2008

JADWAL PEMILU

Fahmi Rizwansyah says:

...kalo-kalo ada yang perlu, mungkin ada potensi bisnis :)

1. Pengumuman hasil verifikasi KPU
7 Juli 2008

2. Pengundian nomor urut partai politik peserta pemilu 2009
9 Juli 2008

3. Pendeklarasian kampanye damai pemilu 2009
12 Juli 2008

4. Pelaksanaan kampanye pertemuan terbatas (tatap muka, pers, penyebaran bahan)
12 Juli 2008 - 5 April 2009

5. Pengambilan formulir calon
15 Juli - 13 Agustus 2008

6. Pengajuan bakal calon
14 - 19 Agustus 2008

7. Verifikasi administrasi bakal calon
15 Agustus - 7 September 2008

8. Penyampaian hasil verifikasi
16 Agustus - 9 September 2008

9. Perbaikan syarat dan penggantian bakal calon
10 - 16 September 2008

10. Verifikasi hasil perbaikan syarat calon
11 - 19 September 2008

11. Penyusunan dan penetapan Daftar Calon Sementara (DCS)
12 - 26 September 2008

12. Pengumuman dan tanggapan masyarakat atas DCS
26 September - 14 Oktober 2008

13. Penyampaian klarifikasi DCS kepada Parpol
10 - 18 Oktober 2008

14. Pengajuan pengganti DCS oleh Parpol
11 - 22 Oktober 2008

15. Verifikasi pengganti DCS oleh KPU
12 - 25 Oktober 2008

16. Penyusunan dan penetapan Daftar Calon Tetap (DCT)
26 - 30 Oktober 2008

17. Pengumuman DCT
31 Oktober 2008

18. Pelaksanaan kampanye rapat umum
16 Maret 2009 - 5 April 2009

19. Masa tenang
6 - 8 April 2009

20. Pemungutan dan penghitungan suara
9 April 2009

21. Penetapan hasil pemilu
19 April 2009 (KPU Kab/Kota), 24 April 2009 (KPU Provinsi), 9 Mei 2009 (KPU)

22. Pengajuan permohonan pembatalan hasil perolehan suara ke mahkamah konstitusi
10 - 12 Mei 2009

23. Penetapan perolehan kursi
15 - 17 Mei 2009 (DPRD Kab/Kota), 17 - 18 Mei 2009 (DPRD Provinsi), 19 - 20 Mei 2009 (DPR dan DPD)

24. Penetapan dan pengumuman calon terpilih
17 - 18 Mei 2009 (DPRD Kab/Kota), 19 - 20 Mei 2009 (DPRD Provinsi), 21 - 24 Mei 2009 (DPR dan DPD)

25. Pemberitahuan kepada calon terpilih
19 - 24 Mei 2009 (DPRD Kab/Kota), 21 - 28 Mei 2009 (DPRD Provinsi), 25 Mei - 4 Juni 2009 (DPR dan DPD)

26. Peresmian keanggotaan
Juni 2009 (DPRD Kab/Kota), Juli, Agustus 2009 (DPRD Provinsi), September 2009 (DPR dan DPD)

27. Pengucapan sumpah/janji
Juli 2009 (DPRD Kab/Kota), Agustus 2009 (DPRD Provinsi), 1 Oktober 2009 (DPR dan DPD)

Artikel terkait, Daftar Partai Politik.

Cheers, frizzy2008.

Salah Satu Analisa Krisis Global

Fahmi Rizwansyah says

Bertahun-tahun lamanya, Bernard Madoff yang dikenal berprilaku manis dan tampak bisa dipercaya, menarik miliaran dolar AS baik dari dalam negeri AS maupun luar negeri untuk dikelolanya dalam lembaga investasi Bernard L. Madoff Investments Securities LLC.

Seperti sejumlah spekulan yang percaya naluri adalah segalanya dan kemudian berubah menjadi penipu seperti pelaku arisan berantai di Indonesia, Madoff menjanjikan banyak orang akan satu rumus kuno investasi; untung besar, risiko rendah.

Banyak investor yang kepincut dan 50 miliar dolar AS (Rp550 triliun) berhasil diraupnya lalu kemudian tiba-tiba raib tidak dapat ditarik ribuan investor yang diantaranya nama-nama beken seperti BNP Paribas, Kingate Global Fund, sutradara Steven Spielberg dan raja real estat Mort Zuckerman.

Para investor tertipu mentah-mentah, namun yang paling menyakitkan dari praktik curang Madoff ini, mengutip Der Spiegel (15/12), adalah tereksposnya kekeliruan fundamental dalam perekonomian global.

Seperti halnya para investor Madoff, dunia menyebut risiko dalam perekonomian AS rendah sehingga menjadi situs investasi menguntungkan, bahkan asumsi ini ada dalam benak pemimpin China komunis.

Keyakinan ini lalu menyelubungi keseluruhan struktur perdagangan dan keuangan global dalam sepuluh tahun terakhir, sampai kemudian krisis kredit perumahan yang menciptakan krisis keuangan global itu menunjukkan asumsi tersebut salah.

Sejak krisis ekonomi Asia 1997-1998, dunia beramai-ramai memompakan uang untuk membiayai defisit perdagangan AS yang terus membumbung dari tahun ke tahun

Investasi asing yang diserap AS dari seluruh dunia mencapai lima triliun dolar AS (Rp55 ribu triliun), namun ironisnya kebanyakan berinsentif lebih rendah dibanding misalnya suku bunga di negara asal penanam modal.

Bermurah hati

Tanpa aliran uang panas dari luar negeri ke dalam perekonomian AS, maka globalisasi pada tingkatnya sekarang mungkin tak akan pernah terjadi, sebut Mingguan Jerman, Der Spiegel (15/12).

AS adalah konsumen andalan semua jenis komoditas dunia, menyerap produk otomotif buatan Jerman dan Jepang, barang elektronik dari Taiwan dan Korea, sandang dan furnitur China.

Michael Mandel dari Der Spiegel beranalogi, warga AS menggamit laptop buatan Taiwan setelah menyicilnya dengan jaminan rumah yang sudah diagunkan ke bank.

Jika semua itu ditelusuri jejaknya, kata Mandel, maka akan diketahui bahwa uang asinglah yang telah menghidupi orang Amerika.

Tapi ada misteri mengapa uang asing demikian mudah mengaliri kantong ekonomi AS. Apa yang membuat investor asing rela meminjami Amerika dengan modal demikian banyak hanya karena janji untung para pengelola dana yang terbukti banyak membual itu?

Para ekonom dan wartawan ramai mengajukan satu hipotesis ke hipotesis lain tanpa pernah bersepakat mengenai apa yang sebenarnya menyebabkan semua itu terjadi.

Namun, sekarang agaknya waktu tepat untuk menjelaskan mengapa orang-orang seperti Bernard Madoff begitu mudah menipu. Mari lihat apa yang terjadi di Amerika sana.

Para penghuni Wall Street --dari pemodal kakap seperti Lehman Brothers sampai pialang kelas teri seperti Bernard Madoff-- membujuk pemodal asing menanamkan modal di AS dengan alasan perekonomian negeri ini paling aman di dunia sehingga investasi apapun bakal menguntungkan.

Ternyata, demikian Mandel lagi, semua itu bohong belaka. Madoff benar-benar sudah menjadi penipu layaknya pelaku arisan berantai di Indonesia yang membuat ribuan ibu-ibu lemas tanpa daya tertipu keuntungan kilat tanpa menilik risikonya.

Madoff dituduh mengoperasikan satu skema investasi abal-abal yang mengakibatkan rugi miliaran dolar AS di seluruh dunia, termasuk empat miliar dolar AS di Swiss dan tiga miliar dolar AS di Spanyol.

Derivatif

Tentu, pelakunya bukan hanya Madoff. Masa keemasan Wall Street sebelum ini dibangun di atas skema menjual cerita "risiko rendah, untung banyak" pada pemodal asing, termasuk mungkin investor Indonesia.

Fakta yang terjadi kini di AS adalah kebanyakan inovasi keuangan yang dibuat belakangan ini adalah justru mencari investasi aman untuk pemodal asing. Jadi, para pemilik modal seluruh dunia kecele.

Alih-alih mencari aman, yang diperoleh investor malah satu tempat yang sedang mencari cara aman berinvestasi.

Tapi fakta seperti ini dikaburkan oleh gambaran tumbuh besarnya volume transaksi berjangka (derivatif) valuta sehingga pemilik modal seluruh dunia merasa investasinya terlindung dari risiko fluktuasi mata uang karena modalnya memang didenominasikan dalam dolar AS.

Masalahnya, risiko investasi kian terkuak, namun sebelum investor asing menyadarinya, maka AS berinovasi memperbesar eksposur transaksi derivatif untuk konversi kredit gagal bayar (CDS, credit default swap).

Langkah itu ditempuh untuk melindungi investor asing agar tidak bermasalah dengan negara asal investor, terutama China, Jepang, Uni Eropa, Arab dan Asia belahan timur.

Surat utang-surat utang kolateral itu lalu dibagi AS dalam dua model; obligasi risiko tinggi dan obligasi risiko rendah. Model obligasi terakhir kemudian dilego di luar negeri.

Tatkala obligasi risiko rendah yang digantungi iming-iming untung tinggi ini ditawarkan ke pasar-pasar atraktif seluruh dunia, diantaranya Hongkong, Dubai, Shanghai atau Singapura, para investor langsung kepincut.

Dalam bayangan mereka, kapan lagi menambatkan investasinya secara aman sekaligus menguntungkan.

Tak heran jika Lehman Brothers yang menawari obligasi risiko rendah yang dinamai "mini bonds" senilai dua miliar dolar AS (Rp22 triliun) ke para investor Hongkong yang diantaranya para pensiunan, serta merta obligasi itu dilahap dengan ganas bagai piranha menggasak mangsanya.

Namun ketika Lehman jatuh bangkrut, para investor Hongkong ikut bangkrut, lebih sengsara dibanding PHK pegawai Lehman. Sebagian diantaranya mendadak linglung, depresi, bahkan gila.

Ternyata, demikian Mandel, iming-iming risiko rendah dan untung besar itu isapan jempol semata, setidaknya jika melihat dua alasan berikut.

Alasan pertama adalah asumsi bahwa perekonomian AS dikenal unggul dalam inovasi. Masalahnya, inovasi perekonomian AS tergantung pada pengembangan teknologi yang umumnya kegiatan-kegiatan bisnis berisiko tinggi.

Jenis inovasi seperti ini memang menguntungkan, tetapi juga sering merugikan. Jika menguntungkan, tentu mendorong perekonomian seperti terjadi selama paruh kedua dekade 1990an.

Tapi inovasi dalam beberapa tahun belakangan banyak yang jalan di tempat. Bioteknologi dan nanoteknologi misalnya, buahnya belum memuaskan. Begitu pula energi alternatif yang tersendat dan setengah hati didalami otoritas AS.

Akibatnya, perekonomian AS ambruk lebih cepat dari perkiraan, tak lagi menggendong untung di punggung, tapi malah semakin dibebani tumpukan utang.

Alasan kedua bahwa iming-iming risiko rendah insentif tinggi itu tidak lebih dari karangan, adalah miskinnya pengaturan transaksi modal.

Nah, soal terakhir ini yang menjadi penyebab utama Madoff berlaku curang yang kini menyayat kredibilitas regulator seperti Securities and Exchange Commission atau SEC (Bapepam-nya Amerika).

"Jika lembaga-lembaga pengelola dana, institusi-institusi keuangan dan orang-orang super kaya begitu mudah diperdaya, maka Madoff sangat mungkin bisa mengakali SEC," kata Carl Loewenson, pengacara pada Firma Hukum Morrison & Foerster, New York seperti dikutip Reuters (16/12).

Tidak rumit

Carl mungkin ada benarnya mengingat skema investasi Madoff bukan model sekuritisasi yang rumit, jika orang mau mereferensi model-model mutakhir transaksi derivatif.

Model investasi Madoff sebenarnya sama dengan Skema Ponzi yang kuno itu sehingga seharusnya mudah dideteksi dan diawasi lembaga pengawas pasar modal.

Skema Ponzi dikembangkan Charles Ponzi pada pertengahan abad lalu dengan menarik dana dari sebanyak mungkin nasabah dengan janji keuntungan berlipat dalam waktu singkat.

Skema ini dianggap penipuan sehingga terlarang di AS. Anehnya, Madoff memakai skema itu di masa kini yang pola sekuritisasi assetnya berkembang demikian canggih.

Madoff bahkan mempraktikannya di depan batang hidung SEC yang dikenal sebagai salah satu lembaga supervisi keuangan sangat kredibel di AS.

Keadaan semakin aneh manakala, Harry Markopolos yang menjadi rival bisnis Madoff, telah meneliti strategi opsi saham yang diadopsi Madoff dan terang-terangan menyimpulkan strategi itu akal-akalan saja.

Dalam sembilan tahun terakhir, Markopolos rutin mengirimkan laporan kecurangan Madoff ke kantor SEC di New York dan Boston, namun sampai kedok Madoff terbuka pun, SEC enggan berkalimat kendati itu dinanti masyarakat banyak.

Kritik pun muncul, bahkan September lalu, Inspektur Jendral SEC menyebut SEC gagal meraba praktik bisnis tidak jujur dari bank pengelola kredit KPR, Bear Stearns, yang menyalahi batas ketentuan risiko kredit (semacam batas penyaluran kredit atau jumlah kredit bermasalah atau NPL di Indonesia).

Bahkan saat tanda-tanda ketidakberesan Bear Stearns semakin jelas saat JP Morgan Chase & Co mengakuisisinya Maret lalu pun, SEC gagal mengingatkan bank itu untuk patuh pada batas risiko kreditnya.

Sebenarnya, Departemen Keuangan AS telah menerbitkan rangkaian rekomendasi untuk mengefektifkan sistem regulasi industri dan sektor jasa keuangan yang membuat otoritas keuangan AS berhak mengawasi para pialang dan penyalur kredit KPR, juga transkasi CDS.

Depkeu juga merekomendasikan langkah bersama SEC dan Komisi Perdagangan Komoditas Berjangka, serta menggabungkan dua lembaga pengawas perbankan dalam rangka mendisiplinkan sistem perbankan.

Semua itu ditempuh agar praktik bisnis liar dan mengabaikan keselamatan sistem keuangan ditekan serendah-rendahnya sehingga orang-orang seperti Bernie Mandoff tidak bisa seenaknya menipu investor.

Akhirnya, mengutip Der Speigel, globalisasi tidak boleh lagi terjadi seperti sekarang di mana risiko-risiko bisnis diabaikan. Kemakmuran ekonomi tergantung pada berhasil tidaknya sistem perekonomian berinovasi, bukan pada bagaimana investor seluruh dunia diiming-imingi realitas palsu. (*)

by A. Jafar M. Sidik (Antara News)
Sumber: Der Spiegel (15/12) dan Reuters (16/12)

Cheers, frizzy2008.