Beware of Cyber Stalkers in Facebook!

If you’re an Indonesian, perhaps you followed the news about Devi Permatasari, 13 years old, a second grade Junior High School student in Bandung who has been kidnapped for about two weeks by a guy that she met in facebook. I’m so glad it ended with happy ending. Police can successfully save the girl at the kidnaper’s house at Oct 21th 2010 and now he’s in jail. It was the right time operation, as the bad guy – Taufik Hidayat- wanted to sell Devi to other bad men.

This crime can be assumed as cyber stalking, a new type of computer related crime going on in our society. In general terms, cyber stalking is when a person is followed and pursued on line. The victim’s privacy is assaulted and their every move is watched. It’s usually occurs with women, or children who are stalked by adult predators or pedophiles.

Cyber stalkers meet or target their victims by using search engines, online forums, bulletin and discussion boards, chat rooms, and more recently, through online communities such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and many other more. In this case, Devi met the cyber stalker in facebook. Taufik Hidayat (23 years old) faked his identity and pretended as a student of a favorite senior high school named Reno. Cyber stalkers will do and offer anything to attract the victims!

Devi is still a naive girl and she has no idea what really happened. She believed every thing ‘Reno’ said. She is more attracted to ‘Reno’ after he promised to buy her a blackberry phone and give money Rp100.000, - (about $10-11) every day. That’s why – when ‘Reno’ asked her to meet for the first time at Oct 5th- Devi felt very happy and told one of her friends that she will meet the great and kind guy. Based on her friend’s information about ‘Reno’, the police can catch the kidnapper.

As parents, you can’t watch and protect your children, especially your daughters, every minute. I think Devi’s parents don’t know much about internet and facebook so they don’t give related and enough information to build their daughter’s self-awareness.

If your daughter has been told to be always aware and alert while doing online and every where, the kidnap won’t happen. She will keep personal information, won’t be easy to trust someone that met online, won’t be easily attracted to any interesting offer, and won’t be brave to meet the guy just alone.

Always remind your daughter/child to use internet technology with smart and high self awareness. Alert, alert, and alert!

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A Little More about Ants

We, human, love and also hate ants. Why? Ants perform many ecological roles that are beneficial to humans, including the control of pest populations and aeration of the soil. For example, these ants in the photo are ‘eating’ pests on our guava tree. But on the other hand, ants can become trouble when they attack buildings, your homes, your foods, or cause other economic losses.

Like all insects, ants have six legs. Each leg has three joints. The legs of the ant are very sturdy so they can run very fast. If a man could run as fast for his size as an ant can, he could run as fast as a racehorse. Ants can pick up 20 times their own body weight. An ant brain has about 250 000 brain cells. A human brain has 10,000 million so a colony of 40,000 ants has collectively the same size brain as a human. Interesting fact, isn’t it?

The regular life expectancy of an ant is 45-60 days. Ants use their antennae not only for touch, but also for their sense of smell. The head of the ant has a pair of large, strong jaws. The jaws open and shut to one side like a pair of scissors. Adult ants cannot eat and ingest solid food. Instead, they swallow the juice which they squeeze from pieces of food. They throw away the dry part that is left over. The ant has two eyes, each eye is made of many smaller eyes.

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CC : Annoying NOs in Our Marriage

Whether you a wife or a husband, I guess you ever experience these annoying NOs from your spouse.

Let my hubby first. I’ve ever mentioned about it several times at my Couple’s Corner previous posts. My hubby forbids me going out alone. Sometimes it’s really annoying me. He keeps saying NO every time I tell him that I want to go some where; and I don’t like waiting for him until he comes home from work, as he often arrives at home very late at night. There’s no open place anymore.

Though I have promised that I’ll be very careful, he keeps saying NO. In fact, I don’t disagree with his reason of not allowing me. He said that he is afraid of some men will flirt with me. Does it mean he really protects me or just his jealousy?

I really want to take pictures of some interesting events in my city. Because of this forbidden, sometimes I miss the event, when he’s too busy to accompany me.

My hubby is a smoker. My dream is to see him quit smoking. I have asked him several times, but he’s seldom said something, and keeps smoking until now. It bothers me a lot. He doesn’t say NO, but for me, it’s the most annoying NO from him. I avoid forcing him, as I prefer to give him explanation and my arguments. But it hasn’t been successful yet. He’s ever answered once, “I want to stop, but it’s very hard”. Sigh.

What about my NOs? When we’re going shopping to a mall or hypermarket, it can happen a little argument. My hubby isn’t a frugal buyer; his shopping behavior more tends to be spontaneous buying. I often say NO. “No, we still have much of this”, “No, we still don’t need it”, “No, it’s not in our list”, “No, it’s too expensive for our budget”, etc. But when we’re going shopping to a flea market, I never say NO, I let him totally. And most of the times, I just wait in the car, hehehe.

If you want to share your story, come and join Couple’s Corner! We can learn from other’s stories, right?

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Outdoor Bathrooms

This time I don’t share the beauty views. Along the flowing water (Katulampa water channel, Bogor, Indonesia), you can see several bathrooms. It’s not healthy thing, of course. In a developing country like mine, local people that live near the flowing water still prefer to build and use outdoor bathrooms every day.

Poverty isn’t the cause. Perhaps it already becomes their old tradition. Several years ago, I’ve ever visited a village of onion farmers in Brebes, Central Java, Indonesia. They aren’t poor; but most homes in the village have no bathrooms. They prefer to use the river to get all their water need -for drink, wash, cook, bath, etc. The river is one of their favorite gathering places.

For me, they have polluted the water straightly. I really hope that one day, all local people there don’t use these bathrooms anymore and each home has at least one bathroom. They must have wills to change their unhealthy habits! 

Watery Wednesday

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You are Also Invited!

Dear blogger friends, Faye is holding another blog contest. Isn’t it great? It’s open for international bloggers, so, you can also join!

First, check out the lovely prizes :
1st prize - Fossil Ladies Watch
2nd prize - Fossil Ladies Watch
3rd prize -Kate Spade kikay kit (orange)

The mechanics are still simple. I quote it from her blog :
1. Subscribe to my feed via email located right side bar (REQUIRED ) - 1 Entry
2. Blog about the contest along with the Prizes {You MUST include the Prizes and My link}- 5 Entries
- If you have multiple blogs, much better. Each blog post along with the Prizes -5 Entries.
3. Leave a comment in this post telling me what you did and give me the link of the blog post. 1 Entry.
4. Comment to any of my post. From Oct 12,2010 to Dec 18,2010 and you’ll have 1 entry each comment.
-Make it sure it's at least three word ! LOL And NO SPAMMING, PLEASE!

The Contest ends on December 18, so if you wish to participate you must enter before that date. Winners will be announced on December 28,2010! The winners will be picked through Random.org!

Good luck to all participants!

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Caterpillar’s Eyes

True eyes or eye spots?

Caterpillar's true eyes are on the side of their head. What can they see actually? Caterpillars only see light and dark. Some caterpillars have eyespots. An eye spot is a circular, eye-like marking found on the body of some caterpillars. These eyespots make the little ones look like the face of a larger animal and may scare away some predators.

I saw this creature at my front yard. I think the eyes are true ones.

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CC: Am I a Yes Wife?

I’m not proud to say this; but in fact, I don’t say yes or agree with everything my husband’s wants and thinks. I guess that’s why he wants me to less stubborn. Sometimes, we have different opinion and point of view about things and we decide to let it. We are two different people; we can’t always have the same thoughts, right?

But when it comes to big and important things in our marriage life, we always try to discuss and compromise, to get one decision that we agree together. But don’t misjudge me, I’m not the kind of wife that doesn’t trust the husband and often forbids when the husband wants to go out besides work. It’s not me at all. Every time he wants to go somewhere (after work hours), he always tells what he will do and who he will meet. He also always asks my permission; and I’ve never said no.

My hubby forbids me leaving far from home alone. Sometimes I don’t obey it and go out to the place by myself. I usually tell him after I’ve arrived at home again, hahaha.

I guess as long as I can give clear and reasonable argument and reason, it’s okay if I sometimes don’t say yes or disagree with hubby. And for his understanding, I always say thank you.

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