Thursday, November 22, 2007

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Ohio State University


It was in the School of Business in Ohio State University. I did a short course in Auditing and Management Accounting there for 3 months, during summer 1991. That was my first visit to USA.
AP*

Friday, October 26, 2007

Leading "baris berbaris"


When I was in Senior High School, every independence day we have march competition. I lead the team of SMAN 2 with our uniform.

Junior High School - My speech


Speech of Ketua OSIS (head of student Organization)SMPN 1 Purwokerto.

high school


I remember this picture was taken in my friend house when I was in Senior High School (SMAN2 Purwokerto).

International Week in UCA


International Week in University of Central Arkansas. We wear traditional custom.

Ready to learn


Visiting other School of Business in USA.

Snow in Conway, Arkansas


Snow was coming. It was in UCA campus, Muslim from Unsyah and I.

With the President of UCA


From left:Dodi (from Jakarta), Agung, Agus Achyari (UGM), Mr&Mrs. Thomson (The President of UCA), next I forgot the name but I remember She is Indian Malaysian, Dyah (Didied wife), and Didied (Unbraw). May be 1993.

Hot Spring, Arkansas


It was in Hot Spring, Arkansas. Maybe in 1993.

Oklahoma


This picture is taken when I visited Oklahoma, USA, in 1994.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Cooling down after hard work


Sometime we need to release our stress by rilex.... I think it was in Gold Coast, Queenslands.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

BBQ in the North Beach Wollongong


BBQ to tighten 'silaturahim' among Indonesian students. I think it was in North Beach Wollongong.
AP*

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Canbera Australia


It was in Canberra, 2001. My lovely family.
AP*

Kiama Beach Australia



Two of my colleagues from Jenderal Soedirman University visited me in Australia. It was in Kiama, NSW, September 2001. From left: Purnama Sukardi, Edi Yuwono, my daughter Nadila, I, and my lovely car Holden.

AP*

Wonderful transportation System in Indonesia



Get the idea of Indonesia tansportation Systems? Are you thinking of safety? environment? noise? or maybe you just said " I don't believe it!!!!"
AP*

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Stess Management Tips


“The secret of success is constancy of purpose.”
Benjamin Disraeli

“I don’t do anything that’s bad for me, I don’t like to be made nervous or angry. Anytime you get upset it tears down your nervous system.”
Mae West

“Great men are they who see that spiritual is stronger than any material force, that thoughts rule the world.”
Emerson

“I believe that anyone can conquer fear by doing the things he fears to do, provided he keeps doing them until he gets a record of successful experiences behind him.”
Eleanor Roosevelt

“First, don’t go to bed angry, this may take some work, but it is worth it…Anger is heavy. It is a big deal to carry. If you have it on your shoulders when you go to sleep, it will still be there when you wake up. When you let your anger go, you lighten up. The same is true for every painful emotion- regret, guilt, shame, jealousy, and all the rest of them. Let them go before you sleep.”
Gary Zukav

“The mind of man is capable of anything - because everything is in it, all the past as well as the future.”
Joseph Conrad

“Do all the good you can,
By the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as you can.”
John Wesley

“There is no failure except in no longer trying.”
Elbert Hubbard

“Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.”
Will Rogers

“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”
Theodore Roosevelt

“Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice, it is not a thing to be waited for it is a thing to be achieved.”
William Jennings Byran

“Neither a lofty degree of intelligence nor imagination nor both together go to the making of genius. Love, love, love , that is the soul of genius.”
Mozart

“Work is love made visible.”
Kahil Gibran

“Fill your minds with those things that are good and deserve praise: things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely and honorable.”
Saint Paul’s letter to the Philippians

“To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.”
Oscar Wilde

“He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.”
Nietzshe

“Hope consists of two components: your determination to meet goals and your ability to create plans to meet them. In several studies…hope is linked to successful outcomes in various domains of life, such as work and school performance, and also in health.”
Christopher Peterson, PhD.

“The only medicine for suffering, crime, and all of the other woes of mankind, is wisdom.”
Thomas Henry Huxley

“How many cares one loses when one decides not to be something but to be someone.”
Coco Chanel

“Tell him to live by yes and no-yes to everything good, no to everything bad.”
William James

“It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.”
Franklin D. Roosevelt

“Let me recognize the problem so it can be solved.”
A Course in Miracles

“The world’s distorted concept is that you have to get other people’s love before you can feel love within. The law of love is different from the world’s law. The law of love is that you are love, and that as you give love to others you teach yourself what you are.”
Gerald Jampolsky, MD

“It is extremely rare to find a successful person that whines, complains, and frets about her circumstances. This is despite the fact that she may have overcome great obstacles to achieve her level of success. The real question is: What came first-the attitude or the success? The answer in virtually all cases is that the winning, positive attitude came first, followed by a lifetime of abundance.”
Richard Carlson, PhD.

“Relief from fear, guilt, anger, depression or doubt signals movement towards recovery. Relief means a lifted spirit, a happier, healthier, more positive outlook and attitude. An increase in positive feelings such as fun, joy, humor, and happiness and a decrease in negative feelings indicate that a wave of recovery has begun.”
James Loehr, Ed.D.

“Almost always people fail not because they lack the possibility of inner strength, but because they just don’t give it all they got. They hold back a little bit.”
Dr. Norman Vincent Peale

“Feelings are our most helpful link to our relationship with ourselves, others, and the world around us, and they are an indication of what’s working or not working within our lives. Shutting them off only leads to more complex problems and physical illness. What you can feel, you can heal.”
Louise Hay

“Possibilitizing means imagining, visualizing, praying, multiplying, overcoming, anticipating, toughening, maneuvering, rebounding, and overpowering the problem.”
Dr. Robert Schuller

“Think about your favorite activity for a moment. When you are really enjoying something you like, how do you feel? As you listen to your favorite music, with full attention, other thoughts and desires fade away. You are simply in the moment. This is contentment-peace.”
Joan Borysenko, Ph.D.

AP*

Monday, September 3, 2007

About the Green Rating


The Green Rating measures a vehicle's environmental friendliness on a scale of 1 to 100. The higher a vehicle's Green Rating, the "greener" it is and the lower its harm to both human health and the health of the planet.
A Yahoo! Autos exclusive, the Green Rating was developed in consultation with Environmental Defense, a leading nonprofit that finds practical ways to protect the planet. The Green Rating covers all the major environmental costs of a motor vehicle, including:
• Unhealthy smog that comes from tailpipes.
• Emissions of greenhouse gases that cause global warming.
• The fuel a vehicle consumes.
• Pollution from manufacturing the vehicle and its components.
More and more car shoppers care about how their choices affect the planet. Yahoo! Autos' Green Rating makes it easy for anyone to comparison shop with the environment in mind.

Because all vehicles -- sedans, coupes, vans, SUVs, trucks, etc. -- are rated on a single 1 to 100 scale, you can use the Green Rating to find the most environmentally friendly vehicle that meets your needs. For example, a 3-point gain in Green Rating between SUVs that score 40 and 43, cuts pollution just as much as a 3-point Green Rating gain between compact cars that score 60 and 63.
You might already look at fuel efficiency when you compare vehicles. But since the Green Rating also reflects tailpipe emissions and other factors, it simplifies the task of weighing the many aspects of a car's environmental friendliness. Some car shoppers think that they need to buy a hybrid, use an alternative fuel or buy a small car in order to buy green. While such vehicles can indeed tread more lightly on the planet, the Green Ratings can help you make a greener choice no matter what kind of car you choose.
How are the Green Ratings derived?
Automobiles degrade the environment in many ways. Because vehicles stay on the road a long time, the largest effects occur during driving. Car pollution includes greenhouse gases, which cause global warming, and smog-related emissions, which trigger asthma attacks and raise the risks of heart and lung disease. Pollution also occurs when vehicles and their parts are manufactured, and again when a vehicle is scrapped at the end of its life.
A vehicle's total environmental impact
A scientific method for adding up all of the environmental damages associated with a product is known as lifecycle assessment. The Green Ratings were developed following principles of lifecycle assessment, using publicly available information to evaluate all vehicles uniformly. Thus, the ratings represent "apples-to-apples" comparisons between different makes and models. The Green Ratings rely on government-certified data and do not consider marketing assertions, "promises," or other unverifiable claims about environmental friendliness.
Major pollutants covered in the ratings include:
• Greenhouse gases, primarily carbon dioxide (CO2)
• Fine particles (particulate matter, PM)
• Nitrogen oxides (NOx)
• Hydrocarbons (HC)
• Carbon monoxide (CO)
These pollutants are emitted from tailpipes as well as during the production and distribution of fuel. Environmental impacts from auto manufacturing are incorporated by basing part of the Green Rating's derivation on a vehicle's weight.
Scientists evaluate car pollution in two broad categories: greenhouse gases that cause global warming (such as CO2) and emissions that directly harm human health (such as PM, NOx, HC and CO). The Green Rating gives equal importance to these two categories. A vehicle's global warming pollution depends largely on fuel consumption, so it is calculated from fuel economy data. A vehicle's health-harming pollution depends largely on the emissions standard that it meets, which forms the basis for that part of the calculation. In others words, a "green" vehicle is one that is both clean and fuel-efficient.
The data behind the ratings
The data used to derive the Green Ratings are a vehicle's official fuel economy numbers and emissions standards as certified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), plus curb weight. Fuel economy and emissions information comes from tests performed by automakers and accepted by the EPA, with a vehicle subject to recall, penalty or withholding of the certification required for legal sale in the United States if the data are found to be false or misleading. Thus, Green Ratings are based on the most accurate and unassailable data available for all cars and light trucks, ensuring fair comparisons among competing models.
Because of concerns that the EPA miles-per-gallon (MPG) numbers overstate the fuel economy that most consumers experience, the agency is updating the way fuel economy ratings are determined. Revised MPG numbers are planned for model year 2008. Pending EPA's revisions, the Green Rating calculations adjust the fuel economy numbers downward. Because the adjustment is applied across the board, it does not bias comparisons among vehicles or types of vehicles relative to the official EPA numbers. This adjustment will be dropped in future model years once revised MPG data become available.
The Green Rating rates just the vehicle, not how you use it
In interpreting the Green Ratings, keep in mind that they are intended strictly for vehicle-to-vehicle comparisons. For example, a vehicle's Green Rating does not improve if you carry four passengers in it instead of just yourself, even though the per-person environmental impact will clearly decrease. Similarly, the Green Rating doesn't go down if you drive aggressively, even though the environmental damage due to your driving goes up.
To enable fair comparisons among vehicles regardless of how they are used, the Green Ratings are based on uniform assumptions about how far the vehicle is driven over its lifetime and good maintenance practices. Your own effect on the planet when using a car, of course, depends on how you drive, how well you maintain the vehicle, and how many miles you drive it.
Unless a vehicle is designed for exclusive use on a particular fuel (such as a car that runs only on natural gas, like the Honda Civic GX), its Green Rating is based on commonly available motor fuel (gasoline or diesel). While Green Ratings are designed for fair comparisons among vehicles in the showroom, you might reduce your own vehicle's pollution by using an alternative fuel. For example, a flexible-fuel vehicle able to run on E85 (a blend of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline) can have lower greenhouse gas emissions when using E85 rather than gasoline. Similarly, biodiesel can emit less global warming pollution than regular diesel produced from petroleum.
Because most of today's biofuels were not originally developed to solve global warming, their greenhouse gas reductions vary. Farmers and refiners are working on new ways to produce cleaner fuels that will provide greater climate-protection benefits as time goes on. Consumers should stay tuned.
More information on the pollutants factored into the Green Ratings
Greenhouse gases
Greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide (CO2) and other emissions from the production and use of fossil fuels as well as deforestation. These global warming pollutants are accumulating in the atmosphere and causing the Earth to heat up at an unprecedented rate. Global warming brings many dangers and its consequences are already being felt. Glaciers and mountain snow packs are melting. Sea ice is thinning. Many communities will experience more sweltering days. Hazards from extreme weather events, such as intense hurricanes, are rising -- as is sea level, which heightens the impact of coastal storms and risks human tragedies and economic ruin for the many population centers located near a shoreline. Other dangers of global warming include spread of tropical diseases, destruction of habitat and disruptions to forestry and agriculture, bleaching of coral reefs, and adverse impacts on wildlife and fisheries.
Fine particles
Also called particulate matter (PM) and sometimes "soot," fine particles from car and truck fuel combustion are generally invisible. Many are so small they are labeled "ultra-fine." Fine particles are an especially deadly form of air pollution that can affect breathing, aggravate existing respiratory and cardiovascular disease, weaken the body's immune defenses, and contribute to cancer and premature death. Fine particles are especially hazardous for children, the elderly, asthmatics and people with cardiovascular or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Nitrogen oxides
Nitrogen oxides (NOx) are harmful in many ways. In addition to being a direct irritant, NOx are key contributors to ozone smog, which damages lung tissue, worsens asthma, and recently has been found to increase the risk of premature death. Smog alerts bring health risks not only for people with asthma and other conditions that make them sensitive to air pollution, but even for normally healthy adults and children who can experience lung inflammation and shortness of breath if they are active in smoggy air. NOx contributes to fine particle pollution, with its dangers as noted above, and is also a cause of acid rain.
Hydrocarbons
There are many kinds of hydrocarbons (HC), and the hazardous ones emitted by cars fall into categories known as "volatile organic compounds" or "reactive organic gases." These pollutants are another key contributor to ozone smog, bringing all of the health dangers noted above for NOx. Some forms of HC directly irritate the lungs; many contribute to fine particle pollution and some hydrocarbons are also air toxics, including compounds having known cancer risks.
Carbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide (CO) is a poisonous gas that is deadly in high concentrations, notorious for sometimes killing people who leave a vehicle running in a closed garage, for example. CO is colorless and odorless, and when inhaled, it impairs the blood's ability to supply oxygen to the body. Even short of fatal exposures, exposure to too much CO can cause physical, mental and visual impairment and presents grave risks to individuals who have cardiovascular disease.

Source: http://autos.yahoo.com/green_center-article_144/?p=2

See also: http://autos.yahoo.com/green_center-top100/

AP*

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Book Review: Why We Want You To Be Reach



The book entitled "Why We Want You To Be Reach" is authored by two rich men "Donald Trump" and "Robert T. Kiyosaki". This book was published in 2006 and translated and published in Indonesian language in 2007.

This book does not discuss "how to be reach" but more about "why these two men are rich".

AP*

Friday, July 27, 2007

National Accreditation for Higher Education Institution

In Indonesia right now only has one institution for higher education accreditation called National Accreditation Body or Badan Akreditasi Nasional (BAN). Several days ago I had opportunity to be an assessor of BAN. It is an honorable job, and I have to do right.
The selection to be an assessor start with administration review. After administratively accepted, BAN will invite the candidate to do psycho test. After we passed psycho test, we have to do training for assessor. We will get the job to do assessment in university just if we successfully finished the training. Viva BAN!!!
AP*

Sunday, June 17, 2007

SHOW ME THE MONEY


It is an honor for me to be a ring master in the Seminar of Marketing Revolution by the best speaker in Indonesia Mr.Tung Desem Waringin. It was on Friday 8 June 2007 in Dynasty Hotel, Purwokerto. More than 750 people attended the seminar!!! Wow...marvelous!!!

Mr. Tung indroduced a simple concept of marketing called "show me the money". This concept allow all strategies used in marketing as far as the money come to us. He called this as street marketing strategy. Use simple thing to make money.

Thanks and congratulation for Rotary Purwokerto Satria as the organizer and also BRI as the main sponsor.
AP*

Tuesday, May 8, 2007

Acounting in Corruption

On Monday, 7 April 2007, Student Association of Accounting, Jenderal Soedirman University, conducted a National Seminar entitled "ACCOUNTING IN CORRUPTION". The presenters were from KPK, IAI, Finance Department of RI, Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW), and successful investigator.

The following is the summary of the seminar:

Corruption occurs usually because there are no transparency, lack of accountability and insufficiency of law enforcement. Why people do corruption? Usually because they (corrupter) have some pressure that need money for the solution. For instance, they should pay their debt, financing second wife, and buy luxurious car to maintain their life style. Second, because they have chance to do corruption. Third, because the have arguments that what they do is not considered as corruption. This is called rationalisation.

Accountants play important roles in minimizing corruption since the have competence in auditing and controlling area. These two competences are important elements in reducing corruption. Accountants should produce credible financial report, stand to public side, and sponsor good governance.

Corruption can be minimized if people control each other. And the important one is someone who has power and position can play as a role model as the one that against corruption.
AP*

Sunday, April 29, 2007

Sharing: How to go to KL from airport

I used Airasia to go to Malaysia. From Jakarta is about 2 hours fly. We landed at LCCT, an airport special for Airasia. LCCT is Low Cost Courier Transport. How to go to KL? the cheapest is by using Air Bus, a bus service affilated with Airasia. Air Bus goes to KL Central. From KL Central we can go to other places by using bus, train, van, or taxi. Fare for Air Bus? 9 RM.
AP*

INTERNATIONAL STUDY OF MM UNSOED

MM UNSOED this year will visit Thailand and Malaysia again as part as its yearly activity called MM INTERNATIONAL STUDY. Before, we visit Europe, Thailand and Malaysia. And again, this year we visit Thailand and Malaysia. Why these two countries? Because of money reason.

When? July 2007 ( 8 July to 12 July)
Where? Thailand and Malaysia
Where in Thailand? University visit, company visit, and place of interests
Where in Malaysia? University visit, company visit, and place of interests.
How much? About USD 500 to USD 600 depend on how many people follow this program. The more people the cheaper will be.
What this cost include? air fare, hotel, local transport overseas, food overseas (breakfast, lunch, and dinner, cost to enter all places in the schedule), tips for tour guides.
What are excluded? fiscal, cost for extra schedule, souveneers.
Contact person? Please contact Elly in 628623 or Agung at 0811281199.
The latest date for registration is 30 May 2007.

AP*

Friday, April 27, 2007

English Version of My Blog

Welcome to my web blog. This blog is the English version of my blog. I hope all contents and comments are in English too. If you want to visit my Indonesian version, please visit http://praptapa.unsoed.net. Besides, you can also visit my e-learning web site at www.praptapa.com.

Again, thank you. Have a nice day.

Agung Praptapa
Your success partner.