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WHAT'S COOL, MAN?
The Star, In.Tech, June 16, 2005
THE IT people we spoke to were volunteered by their peers because of their “coolness.” Some are aware that friends call them cool, others were puzzled and some just shrugged it off.
What is a cool geek?
Hot wheels
When he’s not driving his BMW, ISA Technologies’ Lim Fun Jin is online checking the latest news on F1. He follows the teams’ progress through the testing stages as well. This includes reading up on which parts are being tested and which new parts are being installed on the cars.
“I don’t think about (coolness) because I guess I don’t really view other people as cool so I don’t know how you associate coolness to an individual,” says Lim. “I view myself as a normal individual who has very unique passions. Some people out there share my passions with me and they belong to my circle of friends. But, I do get out quite a bit as well.”
By “getting out,” Lim means the clubs he belongs to – the BMW car owners’ club and the Honda car owners’ club (he used to own a Honda and his wife now drives one). One of the clubs’ notable activities is spending a day at the Sepang International Circuit where club members take their cars for a drive around the track.
The vehicle you drive seems to be associated a lot with coolness. It’s not just the cars, either. Bikes are also hot on the list of cool toys for the techie.
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Zeffri Yusof and his family.
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Hill & Knowlton’s Zeffri Yusof says his “coolness” could be associated with the look he had in his 20s. “The hair, the music, the ‘honeys’ and big bikes contributed, I guess. It’s not important anymore. Besides, cool is not something you aspire to be; it’s something you happen to be. It’s not really that important because life’s too short.”
What makes a person cool?
“Just being themselves,” says Zeffri, now a happily married man with three kids.
Easy rider
Dinesh Nair is also into bikes. He has three, in fact – one for city riding, one for long distance riding, and then there’s the Harley. “It’s what we call a Bangsar bike – more show than anything else,” says Dinesh.
According to him, cool is relative.
“What’s the definition of cool? Some people say I’m cool because of the technical aspects of what I do – I write some new code and that’s cool. Then you have the greater part of society that sees the bike-riding part and says that’s cool. So, what’s the definition of cool? It’s so relative.
“Let’s take the bike-riding part – some people say I’m cool, some people say I’m nuts.”
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| Dinesh Nair on the road with one of his three bikes. |
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Perhaps Dinesh’s coolness also has to do with the way he dresses – jeans and T-shirt and an ear-ring. He’s also recently shaved his head bald.
Explains Dinesh: “I’ve had the ear-ring since Form Five. The last time I took it off was easily two years ago. But even ear-rings are common today. When I first started wearing an ear-ring it was novel, not too many people had it. But today I think a lot of people have it and they wear it to work too.
“A lot of things that people say is cool have already become mainstream.
“I’m dressed like this (in jeans and T-shirt) whether it’s work or non-work. I’m actually trying to break the stereotypes. I never wear a tie. When I’m at work and I’m not wearing jeans, it’s (because of) a really important meeting. And the standing joke in the company is that I only wear my jacket when I’m meeting the Prime Minister!”
Songbirds
Harres Tan may look like a regular businessman today. But just 30 years ago, he was very hip … or should that be hippie?
“I had long hair. I was dressed in smart three-piece suits all the time. But when I was not working, I was dressed like a hippie. That was the time when everybody dressed like that,” explains Tan.
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| Harres Tan in the 1970s when long hair was the 'in' thing. When not at work he used to dress like a hippie. |
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“Do I think I’m cool? I was,” he says, laughing. “Not so much anymore. Today, I’m trying to be a businessman.”
People in the industry still think Tan is a cool dude. Apart from being friendly and easy to talk to, he can also pick up his guitar and belt out a few songs in his tenor voice. He performs with his Pikom band, MP3plus. “When I first started the band, I played the guitar. As better guitarists joined, I stopped playing the guitar. Now, I manage the band and I’m also one of the lead singers,” explains Tan.
Being in the band is a form of networking as the band members also talk business as they jam.
Azril Hisham Abdul Aziz is another person who sings on the side. According to him, a cool IT person is one who is not just techie all the time. “Someone who is more of an all-rounder, who does sports or sings, for example.”
Although he doesn’t belong to a band, Azril performs at many company functions. We’re not just talking about solo and group performances. This man has also been known to lead a group in the dikir barat!
He also plays a guitar, by the way.
His suggestion on how to be cool: “Don’t stay cooped up in front of the PC all day.”
Again, who cares?
Is coolness really associated with your car, toys, bikes, dressing or social activities?
Perhaps it’s the epitome of all of this and the confidence to be your own person and not care what the world thinks.
Says Jean Tan of GameBrains: “(My husband Brett and I) don’t try to fit in to whatever situation is presented to us. As long as we’re happy and contented at that time, that’s cool for us. And everybody’s opinion is different, anyway. What’s cool to somebody may not be cool to another.”
Her husband Brett Bibby agrees, adding “People who are living their own lives don’t care what other people think. So why would I even expand an ounce of wasted energy convincing them to see it in a different way. I couldn’t care less.”
Copyright Star Publications (M) Bhd
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Mobile apps developers show the way, August 25, 2005
Renting a book on the Net, August 9, 2005
The business of blogging, July 21, 2005
Still waiting for the smarthome, July 19, 2005
Appealing to old and young alike, June 23, 2005
Debunking the geek myth, June 16, 2005
Tech Doors Opening to the Blind, Oct 14 , 2004
Learning The PC Starts At 60, June 10, 2004
The HTML's On The Blackboard, May 25, 2004
New Technology, Old Methods,Dec 04, 2003
Soaring Into Digital Art, Apr 15, 2003
Santa Goes High-Tech, Dec 24, 2002
Bringing Art Home, Oct 01, 2002
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