Osprey Fishing for Lunch

Amazing! Watch this short video ...
 

Moral Studies down the drain...

Our children went through moral studies in school until the fifth form. Yet, we are living in a society as if there was never any moral studies. Take this huge rubbish container placed at public place for the public to place rubbish....

Someone set this thing on fire! It could be because the bin was full or smelly but I couldn't find a reason to have it burnt! Can you? Surely tax payer money had been burnt here just because of some irresponsible people.

Disappointing footwear from Bata!

During my younger days, Bata was known to make good quality shoes. Now, the quality has deteriorate so much that they may be worse than those you pay much less. Or is it an issue of poor quality control?
I bought this pair of sandal and used it for about a month. You can see the tear right through the centre...

I went back to the Bata centre and was told that "this batch" received a lot of complain in W.M.

Apparently, I don't get a replacement pair because I think Bata can't afford a "recall". As for me, I think this is the last time I will buy any sandal from Bata. The quality is simply too disappointing.
In another country where consumer's right is strong, they will replace with no question asked.
Do you have similar experience? I made a complain at Bata Facebook and they made no attempt to reply.

Update: Bata did reply to me via their FB after I wrote on their fb wall. Good of them as ignoring complain, whoever is right/wrong is not a good idea.

Penang Chief Minister

Hong Kong TVB Special Programme on Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng
What I like about him is that he is humble! A very good role model to follow.  

香港无线电视节目- [檳城在望]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HA5HRSlYcY
  香港无线电视节目- [檳城在望]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmNwjX9TnGE
  香港无线电视节目- [檳城在望]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaAvEFRQkqM

More pictures of Miri from Meritz

More photos taken from Meritz Hotel. Click here to see the photos I posted on facebook.

Meritz Hotel, Miri

A landmark new hotel, the Meritz Hotel, was opened for business on 15th March 2012. The main attractions of this hotel:

1. Dinning is at the 15th floor which gave the guest a splendid view of Miri.
2. Atrium area (I think there is one atrium area every 3 floor) is provided which span three floors. This provide the guest an area to rest or simply to enjoy themselves.
3. Swimming pool is on the 8th floor.
4. The check-in area is very specious and directly linked to Parkson.
5. Special offer of RM160 nett per room including breakfast for two until October.
6. 291 rooms
I think it has the largest air conditioned indoor ballroom in Miri which can accommodate 2000.

This hotel is fully booked on opening!

For more photos, click here.

Rat Glue Removal

I read the news that even cat was trapped by rat glue. I also set up rat glue at home and it caught mostly house lizard! But the annoying part is that the glue stuck everywhere and removing them was a real pain until....

... I found an effective and easy way to remove the glue.

Just use cooking oil to rub over the glue and it dissolves readily! Then wash it off with washing liquid or soap. It is harmless and non toxics.

You need some encouragement?

I hope by now you know who is Jeremy Lin. Just in case, he is the new NBA basketball hero!
I read this motivational article "Lessons from Lin-sanity" which I thought is very powerful. Click here to read it.
I copied some of the paragraphs I like:

Lin’s favourite quote is ‘suffering produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us.’


There are so many hurdles to realising our dream that without perseverance we will surely fail. Perseverance is required to face failure and to get up to fight another day. Douglas MacMillan writes, “To err is human. But to persevere is a feat that often separates the successful from the mediocre.”


It is not that you fail, which makes you a failure. It is when you stay down, deciding not to get up to try again, that makes you a failure!


Hard work and perseverance is a necessary step to greatness. Great leaders get up early, stay up late, work hard. 

Learning perseverance

Here are some key “perseverance” tips that you can develop to become “Lin-tastic”:

1. Learn never to abandon tasks when faced with obstacles.

2. Approach all tasks and projects with interest and passion. Passion will provide you energy. This will help you to avoid “bouncing” from task to task from lack of interest.

3. Avoid distractions from new ideas and projects not in line with the tasks at hand.

4. Visualise the successful task completion. This ensures you avoid seeing a minor hindrance as a major catastrophe.

5. Engage others to help. This helps you be accountable but enables you to learn new tricks and techniques.

6. Focus on the benefits of completing the task. This generates interest, enthusiasm and energy to accomplish the task.

7. Believe in yourself. Believe that you can make things happen.

Amazing invention - take now focus later

A radical new camera that lets you adjust the focus after you take a picture began shipping this week.

The Lytro is the creation of Ren Ng, who started work on the digital camera while studying for a doctorate in computer science at Stanford University in California.

And Ren Ng is a Malaysian!

Click here to "play" with his "take now focus later technology". After the picture has loaded, just click on any part of the photo to refocus. 

Click here to see more photos on their facebook and also to see how the camera looks like.

By the way, the most expensive model cost only US$499! Before you send in your order, I was told that to view the photos, you need an Apple computer and the processing is quite slow due to the large image file of each photo.

Above photo is from Lytro website.

World most economical car - I want!

Volkswagen AG in Hamburg, made the most economical car in the world with an engine capacity of 1-litre, powered by diesel. It consumes just 0.99 litre per 100 KM. Apparently, the top speed is 75Km/hr.

I am not sure how much it cost but apparently the information I received says that it cost less than US1000.

To give you an idea on the economy, it cost less than 2 cents per km or less than 30 cents from Lutong to Miri.
More information here. Or search google.

Dog play dead to avoid bath

Something to amuse/de-stress yourself

My blog is now wider

I think it is high time for me to adjust the blog window to 1200 pixels across as most display is now capable to display such resolution. The major advantage is that the photos will now be larger.

I still use back the same banner photo. Somehow I like this photo. Maybe, one of these days I will change it.

I hope you like it!

Tasik Mas, Limbang

Tasik Mas, Limbang is a popular spot for joggers, etc. I was there last year and attempted to climb the slope to the top of the hill. I climbed that hill, which is just behind Limbang Town, a couple of times in the early 70's.

The Tasik Mas is above sea level. It is well maintained and the lake is surrounded by greens....

... and flowering plants. The lake itself is full of lilies.
To see all the photos, click here.

Fake or Real. Can you tell?

Lately, I heard of people buying iPhone and was conned. What they got could be just toy, simply fake or used.


This morning, a certain bird nest exporter from Miri told me about the ban by China of all Malaysian bird nest except those canned. The newspaper reported that one of the reasons could be fake bird nest from Malaysia! 

This gentleman frequented China and he told me that in China there are fake chicken wing being served, fake kangkong, fake eggs, rotten meat made into delicacies, etc. I knew of someone who bought a bagful of beef tendon from China which turned out to be made of nylon (plastic)!

He further told me that the worse are those stops made by tourist buses cos everyone earned a commission! Prices are double those of the real stuff. Worse, fake clothing passed off as real branded stuff looks good only once. When washed, they crumble and looked like preserved veggie (as he described it)!

So, watch out!

Just in case you wanted to buy bird nest, click here to find out more, especially how to differentiate a fake and a real one.

Meritz Hotel Miri

Soon, an additional hotel will be opened to the public in Miri. This is next to Bintang Mega mall.

The new hotel is the one on the right. On the left is Imperial Hotel.
I was told that the soft opening is on 15-March-2012. The hotel has the largest private indoor hall on the 6th floor (maybe 5th floor) and can accommodate 5000. In mid April, Hopoh Associate World Conference will be held in this hotel. I hope they will invite me over to take the group photo as I am the only one in Miri with a 39MP camera.

Nikon Club Walkabout at Canada Hill

I arrived at 6:20PM today at Canada Hill to see what Nikon Club Walkabout is doing. Then, I noticed that everyone was busy clicking away at models. So, I also shot some... here they are, enjoy!
I used my prime 200mm F4 Nikon Lens for all these shots.

Serene Jelita

I was invited to take photos for Serene Jelita Housing project. Out of about 200 shots, the following five were chosen and they appeared in various newspaper advertisement yesterday.
Jiajaya Sdn Bhd launched their show house for their Serene Jelita Project yesterday(Friday). Serene Jelita has 74 units of exclusively designed one & a half storey link houses. They welcome visitor to their show house. It is opened for viewing this Friday to Sunday from 9am to 5pm. If you visit them, please remember to mention that you saw the photo from my blog so that more people will use my photography services!

The front view

Kitchen and dinning area

One of the bedrooms downstairs

Romantic master bedroom upstairs

Living area

Prices start from RM259,888 and for the first 10 bookings.

If you have projects that needs photos for advertisement, etc, you can call for my service at any time.
For enquiry on this project, just call the developer Aaron Hii on +60198548907.

Nikon coming to Miri again

Walkabout
Nikon Club Walkabout - Miri (18 FEB 2012)
Event Date: 18/02/2012
Event Time: 5:00 PM - 7:30 PM
Venue: Grand Old Lady, Canada Hill, Miri
Registration Date: 13/12/2011 to 18/02/2012
Description: Nikon Club Walkabout - Miri

Photo 2 Building your Picture Techniques 
Ideal for beginners
Ideal for those wanting to have a better feel and in depth understanding of the creative modes available with the DSLR and looking to have a stronger approach to photography.
Participants will learn the digital camera terminology and an in depth understanding of the operation of the camera. Hands on instructions and practical sessions.

Syllabus Building your Picture Techniques
1. Reading your Focal Length - Understanding Lenses and Perspective
2. Shooting in Manual (M) mode.
3. Exposure Overrides
4. Metering
5. Shooting in Aperture Priority

• Aperture and Exposure
• Aperture and choosing depth of field 
• Understanding depth of field 

6. Shooting in Shutter Priority

• Shutter speed and Exposure
• Shutter speed and Movement
• Pre-requisites: Basic introduction photography knowledge is required or those have completed Photo 1.

Flowers Album

Some of these photos were taken last year ...

Orchid

Not sure what is this called ... but from my garden taken this morning.
'To see all my photos on flower, please click here.

Nikon D800

Nikon D800 is finally announced today!
 

Kentaro Kusakari, Product Planning Manager, Nikon UK said: "The D800 sets a new benchmark for photographers shooting both still images and video. The combination of the powerful 36.3 megapixel resolution that records detail like never before, and the comprehensive video options will captivate photographers and moviemakers of all disciplines. He added: "We're excited about the D800 and how it will help to shape the future of the way we capture images and movies."
To read more, click here.