There's no such thing as a free lunch...Or is there?

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It's official. The next president of Indonesia is former army general Prabowo Subianto. Quite how the next five years will pan out is anyone's guess but hopefully the foreign pundits who always bring up his dodgy human rights record will be proven wrong. Nonetheless, on policy making, Prabowo's popularist move to literally offer the poor 'a free lunch' every day of the week does not augur well for the future. Such a policy - if it ever came to fruition - would cost a phenomenal amount of money and likely lead to huge inefficiencies (food waste) and poor incentives (make people lazy). Another concern is Prabowo's strong nationalist bent. Thus, in the possible event that he finds himself with his back against the proverbial wall in the face of stern economic challenges, there is a big chance that he will simply scapegoat foreigners. But he will have to be careful. Construction of the new capital city, Nusantara, for example, is highly dependent on foreign in

The Honda Tiger 1997 and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

Logic presumes a separation of subject from object; therefore logic is not final wisdom. This is Zen. This is my motorcycle maintenance. 
> Robert M. Pirsig (Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values) 

Back in 1997 Honda launched the single cylinder 197.00 ccm Tiger 2000. I bought one straight away. Over the years, this trusty motorcycle has served me well and saved me many hours that would otherwise have been wasted in soul-destroying traffic jams. 

 She is very reliable (always starts first time) and is never prone to ailments like PMT, MT or post-MT (although her carburetor did leak fuel for a while). This is the point where I could throw in some smutty innuendo about “what a good ride she is” but I won’t go down that particular “route” (or should that be root?)

When it comes to motorcycle maintenance in Indonesia the key is to focus on the basics and never to overlook stuff like regular oil changes; keeping the tires well inflated; and even keeping the bike clean and free of dirt. 

 It’s truly the important things in life that matter; everything else is superfluous. And no need to get your hands dirty. Just bring the bike to a regular bengkel (workshop) and they’ll take care of everything. 

 Yep, this is the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance in Jakarta: like pretty much anything else in this waCky city, forget about the ethics and just pay someone to do it for you!

Honda Tiger 1997 Honda Tiger 1997 Honda Tiger 1997

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