OUR STORIES : UNIQUE

EARTH: Population: 8 billion.

Every single person on planet earth that is here, present; has a story of their own to tell; whether it is in their mother tongue language, English or a different language; whether it is in the form of pictures, dance or any means of communication; with the hope that what is communicated to the audience; will be received by the audience in exactly the way that it was communicated, without losing the essence of the message. What is most important is that each story is different.

This is something that A.I. or Artificial Intelligence and ChatGPT can never do as these can only generate information that was pre-installed with data. Whatever information that is churned out from these two software is sort of a “done this, been there” information. Admittedly, “can never do” could be a bit far fetched.

Don’t surrender decision making to computers all in the name of making life easier for us. The truth is: it doesn’t.

While on your own path, wherever that leads.
Run your own race, wherever that goes.
Quit comparing your life with another.
We are all on a journey, but our paths are different.
Our stories are unique.


~ ALAN IAN ATKINSON
Writer, Author, Storyteller

HERE COMES THE RAIN, LIGHTNING AND THUNDER

A fierce electrical thunderstorm has begun in USJ Subang Jaya. Something that those with weak hearts won’t take too kindly to. Subang Jaya is one the top cities in the world as an attraction for major electrical thunderstorms.

The clouds are almost in the darkest shades of grey. Time difference between each lightning and thunder pair (1 lightning strike for 1 thunder) is getting shorter as I speak…or as I type, tap on my Samsung Galaxy Fold 5 screen keyboard. I am working on my Fold 5 because I’ve shut down my computer.

I was working on an article about coffee – one of the newest of brands, yet I believe has an amazing connection between a new brand and awesome coffee. I was hoping to have the article out by today but it may be delayed for another day.

While it has been raining near consistently almost every day over the last couple of months, it has been tampa lightning. “Tampa” is another Malay word meaning “without”.

The best way to keep your computer safe during lightning electrical thunderstorms is to power off your devices and disconnect them from the power supply.

The Fold 5 cameras need to focus on real life scenery and not what it thinks should be the scenes. You don’t get to see the greys of the clouds.

Though, when I took this picture above; the clouds had practically bawled out its contents (can’t say bawled out its eyes mah [a bit of Chinese local slang]) of rain. That is why it looks much brighter or whiter instead of the dark, gloomy, angry grey that it was earlier on.

Now, the lightning seems to have simmered down though it is quite capable of springing surprises with a sudden or two or three strikes out from nowhere. The thunder is still drum-rolling both close and far and is still quite constant. I can hear the rain pelt down, slamming against the cement ground of the porch, the stone bricks of the driveway and the tarred roads (or streets, if you are American). I still can see flashes of lightning, though they must be at a distance now.

I am back on my pc, thumping on the Logitech MX Keys. It is safe (I think). I will be leaving for PJ and then to Damansara Heights in a short while. I hope the roads (streets) are clear and that traffic jams will be at a minimum. I know, I know, it is a fantasy. Harry Porter was a fantasy made real by J. K. Rowlings. Anything is possible. As Weldon Parish said in the movie, “Shadows In The Sun”, “Writers are artists. Aren’t all artist crazy?”; something to that effect.

For those who manage to read this essay on their way home from work: Enjoy the present, be in the present if you are in the presence of people, too. The roads may have traffic backed up for kilometers (we don’t use miles here); there is nothing much you can do about that.

Like and share this essay with your friends and family. I will catch you in the next one… about one of the newest coffees in town.