Malioboro

Malioboro is the name of the street in the city of Yogyakarta, which stretches from Tugu Yogyakarta to the intersection of Post Office in Yogyakarta which consists of Pangeran Mangkubumi and Jend. A. Yani streets, This road is an imaginary axis line of Yogyakarta Kingdom.

There are several historic objects in this street include Tugu Yogyakarta, Tugu Stasiun(station monument), the Great House, Market Beringharjo, and  March 1 Attack Monuments.

Malioboro crowds and splendor can not be separated from the many vendors lined along Malioboro street hawking wares, almost everything is offered goods / objects of Jogja as a souvenir / souvenir for tourists. They traded handicrafts typical of Jogjakarta, among other crafts Imitation Key Chain rattan, leather, batik, silver, bamboo and others, in the form of batik clothes, leather bags, leather shoes, rattan ornament, leather puppets, keychains bamboo, spoon / fork silver, blangkon batik [is kind of typical cap Yogyakarta / Java], t-shirts with various models / writings and many others.

jogja famous as a gathering place for artists who often express their abilities such as playing music, painting, hapening art, mime and others along this path.

Walking along Malioboro street is just like entering into a big craft market where crafts sellers sell handicraft to the visitors. There are hand-made crafts and batiks, also sandals, sarongs, hats and bags all made from leather, dry plants, shellfish, coconuts, and rattan. You can barter the price for crafts and batiks and can purchase them for quarter of the price and often half the original asking price so don't hesitate to bargain!. The holiday season during July - August is the busiest time in Malioboro street and it can get very crowded with international tourists as well as visitors from around Indonesia.

If you are feeling hungry on Malioboro street there are many options of restaurants and places to eat and drink and there are plenty of food vendors available in the night from 10pm-4am. Local food is sold on the side of the road and includes gudeg, steak, onion sauce, tea, coffee and juice. You can choose whatever food you like from the Lesehan Vendors, put it on a plate, then sit on the footpath and enjoy!

There are many places available to stay if you intend to visit overnight or for an extended period near Marlioboro street. At the northern end of Malioboro street there are two main streets; Pasar Kembang and Sosrowijayan where several hotels and motels open 24 hours for guests. It's easy to get to Pasar Kembang and Sosrowijayan as you can walk to the north until near Tugu Railway Station. The hotels and motels are the most strategic places to stay as they are located in a central position and you can go anywhere from this point and there are many options for transportation available.

Spa Watch: Week 5

--Brian DiDonato

After a week of mostly uninspiring cards made even less interesting by heavy rain, this weekend's action at Saratoga features full fields of maidens and a short, but very intriguing running of the historic Alabama. See below for analysis of some of those events.

SATURDAY
Race 2 - MSW, 2yo, (S), 1 1/16mT
Unbridled Command (Master Command), a slow-working OBSAPR buy who figured to want more ground than he got in his July 14 Belmont debut, had one of those rough first-out trips that young horses return from much better for the experience. He was green and bounced around several times, but showed a few flashes of interest that hint that there's more to him than meets the eye (TDN Video). The grey has had three steady works over the turf in the interim, and trainer Tom Bush is two-for-three over the past five years with 2-year-old second timers going dirt sprint to turf route, according DRF Formulator.

Race 6 - MSW, 2yo, 7f
If statistical records were kept for owners like they are for trainers, Klaravich Stables and William H. Lawrence would boast some incredible numbers with their 2-year-old firsters. Klaravich/Lawrence debuters win at an inordinate rate and often at nice prices, seemingly regardless of conditioner. They successfully unveiled two babies just last Saturday--Clip the Coupons (Congrats) here last 6.5-1 with Chad Brown and Managed Account (Malibu Moon) at 6.8-1 at Monmouth withTerri Pompay. Pompay also shipped Currency Swap (High Cotton) up to Saratoga for a jaw-dropping, 98 Beyer-earning debut two weeks ago for the Klaravich/Lawrence team at 9.9-1. Dale Romans, a capable enough debut conditioner, sends out News Pending (Harlan's Holiday) here for the connections in question. The $250,000 Timonium grad shows just five published works for this demanding seven-furlong test, but being a 2-year-old sales grad who worked fairly quickly (:10 3/5) means he's probably more seasoned than just the drills would lead one to believe. News Pending is out of a half-sister to Adore The Gold (Formal Gold), who took a maiden seller by 10 3/4 lengths first out at two before annexing a 1 1/16-mile stakes race a month later and the GII Swale S. at seven panels the following winter.

Race 9 - $50K OC, f/m, 3yo/up, 1mT
Mega Dream (Medaglia d'Oro) needs to improve significantly to contend here, but she'll be a very big price and has a chance to pull of the shocker as she tries turf for the first time. An allowance winner over Keeneland's turf-like Polytrack in April, Mega Dream is out of a half-sister to 1991 champion turf horse Tight Spot (His Majesty) as well as GISW Valiant Nature (His Majesty). Another one of Mega Dream's siblings produced MGISW Premium Tap (Pleasant Tap).

Race 10 - GI Alabama S., f, 3yo, 1 1/4m
It's Tricky (Mineshaft) is the one to beat, but an extra furlong does not seem to favor her or Plum Pretty (Medaglia d'Oro) if they take it to each other early here as they did in the nine-furlong CCA Oaks. Of the three alternatives, Royal Delta (Empire Maker) is the most formidable--and offers the best value if her 6-1 morning line proves accurate. Royal Delta was 2-1 last time--double the price of It's Tricky--off her smashing win in the GII Black-eyed Susan S., but will now be abandoned by the wagering public because of one dull race that she probably needed considering the time she missed in her training and her conditioner's well-documented patience. The Palides homebred runs like more distance will suit her, and hails from a good, stout family. She can bounce back in a big way at a price that will reflect the public's fickleness.

SUNDAY
Race 6 - MSW, f, 2yo, 5 1/2fT
Fly to the Sky (Lone Star Sky) didn't do anything particularly encouraging in her sloppy-track debut here July 25, but the Walter New homebred was entered that day for the turf and will get it this time if Mother Nature cooperates. The chestnut is the first foal out of Flying Circle (Pembroke), an accomplished turf sprint stakes winner for these connections who broke her maiden at second asking. Trainer David Fawkes does extremely well in turf sprints in general and all of the relevant subcategories therein, and scored with 9-1 2-year-old second timer Valley of Avoca (Intidab) towards the end of the Belmont meet when putting her on the turf for the first time.

Don't Read This Post!!!

You are instructed not to read this post.  Reading this post will result in the most severe penalties known to IT personnel - from restrictions on your Internet access, constant monitoring of YOUR Internet activity, to not being allowed to speak, message or even think of things that do not pertain to your job.

Repeat offenders will have the most dire of consequences - the substitution of tofu in your diet to replace bacon.

If you made it this far in the post, you are a rebel (like 99% of the working population) and likely knew I could threaten you with all kinds of evil and vile things but would have absolutely no way to enforce these rules.  You are smart enough to figure that out, so why do you think differently of your users, or if you are a manager, your team?

I have come into two organizations where the "rule book", A.K.A. the "IT policy manual" is filled with arcane rules that could not ever be enforced.  These rules typically fell into one of two categories.  They were created when "somebody" abused common sense (e.g. calling home to their overseas parents on a daily basis from their work phone) and instead of reprimanding the person, they created a rule (i.e. NO personal phone calls!).

The second category of rules are the ones created for the sheer benefit of the IT team, not the end user. (e.g. NO service if you don't jump through several hoops, I don't care if your monitor is on fire!).

There are a third category of policies and processes that are legitimate, but they tend to get lost in the "silly" rules.

There is hope.

I would suggest that you review your IT policy manual.  Not just you, but collect a group of willing users and strike a Silly Rules Committee (SRC).  Together, you can review each policy and determine why it makes sense to leave in the binder.  If you cannot pass the "reasonable" test, turf it.  You will save a lot of trees and create happier users and employees.

If you treat your team like the adults they should be (Nerf wars aside), and give them a common sense structure to work in, you will be amazed at what a small group of dedicated people can accomplish (Thanks Margaret Mead).

I'm not against rules, but if you want an innovative organization that can be responsive, create your SRC to get rid of the silly rules. Then put in the policies and structure to allow your organization to be nimble, to be secure, and be in compliance with regulatory requirements.

The large organizations are using Six Sigma to build efficiency into their processes.  Use Six Sigma tools if you have them, but a SRC is a good start.

What are the first "policies" a SRC would tackle in your organization?

Anime: 'Redline' (2009)

Saw this last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. A movie developed over seven years with great animation and soundtrack about a dangerous outer-planetary space race.



A pleasure for the senses.