Arung Jeram (Mileak 2)


Pada
kelok,
arus deras
dan bebatuan-mu
Perahuku menyisir

Pada
hempas,
hanyut,
tenggelam olehmu
dadaku berdesir

selama kau biarkan,
rasanya aku akan kembali,
mengulang-ulang,

hingga kadang tak peduli,
Seperti apakah akhir menemu datang

(Pangalengan, April 2019)

"Touch Disease"


So my cellphone is "sick". 

Google calls it "touch disease". The risk factor is a thin and wide metal casing. The screen wont respond due to loosened grip on the casing; possibly because of falling on hard surfaces, physical stress on the body, being bent inside tight pockets, or expanded by heat and humidity. There are a number of cures available. The first and the simplest form is "physiotherapy": straighten the bent edges with hand palms. 

The second method is by opening the case, tightening loose ends using power glue, and firmly put the casing on again. The third way is tightening the screws on the edges, using pentalobe screwdriver 0.8 millimeter in diamater. The screws are located near the bottom, beside the lightning power cable jack. I have a pack of 31 small screwdrivers often used by my family to fix eye glasses, but none of them happens to be 0.8 pentalobe. I think I need to find one at ACE Hardware. However, the safest way is to bring the phone to official after sales service ... especially during the one-year guarantee period. 

Lesson from this event is that I see a complex system is more fragile than a simple system. Older version of cellphones are more durable than newer smartphones. Of course the numbers of things they can do is limited. Please expect no internet, no MMS, no QR codes, no PDF reader, no social media etc. However, rarely these "classic" phones complain nor demand attention. They just work and done. They are also famous with patience, which is indicated by battery life. 

On the other hand, newer versions of smartphones can do many things, and always upgrade their intelligence by updating operational systems. However, once you break their heart (or brain, or casing, or integrated circuit ... whichever suits your metaphor in this matter) they will stop working and leave you dumb and desperate. Don't believe me? Well you can try to leave your smartphones at home for a day just to see. 😋 Good luck.