Pujut Bypass opening today

Today, a new road will be opened, ie, Pujut Bypass. This means that road users from Permy can go straight to Medan Kerbau directly, cutting the jam and extra distance. This also means that people wanting to go to the airport will probably cut travel time by another 10 minutes.

This gate will be opened for good this morning. But drivers must still be careful because the construction site is just beside the road and I expect people will be walking around.

One interesting note, I hope the photo above is the correct one because when I went to the site, a worker were blur and only said that the road will open this morning and then he was also pointing to the next road!

My new toys

After a long hiatus (have been very busy after retirement), I think I just have to update this blog as I think it is an important event in our life! Believe it or not, we bought a low end smartphone. Nothing to sing about as compared to those having a thousand ringgit iPhone 6, etc, this is just a humble RedMi 1S 8GB costing just over RM400 from Lazada. The idea is to be able to access Wifi and I think Maxis or whoever will probably be disappointed if I tell them that I have no intention to purchase their "packages" yet unless there is a very good reason for me to do so. Everything need to be cost justified before subscribing or buying.

 So, this is the phone, so called smartphone!

And these are the well used phones we currently use... we called this sweating the asset! Actually the HP is a smartphone from the yesteryear!

In addition to smartphone, we also bought some cubes from China. The two younger boys wanted to challenge each other!

Fire at Lutong Baru

Yesterday evening, there was a big fire at Lutong Baru. It was at a site where waste plastic material was stored for recycling. The smoke can be seen miles away.

More photos can be seen on Facebook. Click here.
I have uploaded a video which you can find it on my fb. Click here for the short video.

Post by William Ting.

Another job scam using Exxonmobil

This is another example of scam!

Very quickly, you will notice that his email address is using qatarexxonmobil.com but there is no such website! Immediately this should raise questions and doing a quick google search would review that he is sending this email to many and is a scam!


Dear Professional/Expatriate,

We wish to use this medium to inform you that you are needed as an expatriate in the on-going oil/gas exploration in Qatar. Your profile and qualifications were found via linkedin.com. Kindly send your CV/resume and certificates to back up your qualifications stated on your CV to us via email : hr@qatarexxonmobil.com


After assessment and proper scrutiny, you shall be contacted if we find your qualifications suitable for immediate employment.



Thank you.




Thomas Hardley
Head, Human Resources Dept.
EXXONMOBIL QATAR.
Tel:+97470953951
Email:hr@qatarexxonmobil.com www.exxonmobil.com

Beware and beware of job scam...

I received job offers in the last one week. They look genuine but they are actually scam!! One from job4u.com and this is a scam site! They use the email address: webrecruitment@job4u.com

How do I know that this is a scam? He signed off as:
Colston, Arlo
Adecco UK

BUT.... the reply email is webrecruitment@job4u.com. No company will use an email address with different domain name, ie, job4u against Adecco!

If in doubt, do a search in google!
..............
Hello,

We are currently looking to recruit Engineers, Admin Officers, Accountants, Project Managers, Translators, Developers, Business Analysts and more! Adecco is a recruitment provider, working with some of the most exciting companies in the UK.

If you are a skilled worker willing to live and work in the UK, Adecco can provide you with that opportunity.

Send us your Resume/CV in reply to this notice.

Regards,

Colston, Arlo
Adecco UK

Pain,you have such experience?

For more than three months, I was down with chronic pain on my shoulder and later spread to my arm. X-ray showed that I have disc problem in my neck.
Unless you have suffered such pain, which I hope you should never, you would not understand it. When people shared with me about their pain, I can only pity them and not knowing how to help them.
I went to do physio in GH and one of the therapists there understands it. She pressed "here and there" and my pain dissipated but return again later, but with less intensity. After a few visit, the pain is completely gone.
I asked where she learned this art of "pressing the points", she simply said, it is from the internet! Ok, for those who are more interested, there are a couple of books about this type of pain I am suffering from. Just check out "Trigger point" in google. There are two famous "Red Book". Just in case you are really interested, click here for the book title in Amazon.

 

兔子是怎樣吃掉狼的

【真愛好故事--告訴你兔子是如何吃掉狼的】

一天，一隻兔子在山洞前寫文章，一隻狼走了過來，問：“兔子啊，你在幹什麼？”答曰：“寫文章。”問：“什麼題目？”答曰：“《淺談兔子是怎樣吃掉狼的》。”狼哈哈大笑，表示不信，於是兔子把狼領進山洞.

過了一會，兔子獨自走出山洞，繼續寫文章。一隻野豬走了過來，問：“兔子你在寫什麼？”答：“文章。”問：“題目是什麼？”答：“《淺談兔子是如何把野豬吃掉的》。”野豬不信，於是同樣的事情發生。

最後，在山洞裡，一隻獅子在一堆白骨之間，滿意的剔著牙讀著兔子交給它的文章，題目：“《一隻動物，能力大小關鍵要看你的老闆是誰》。 ”

評:說的是員工的技巧，其實也可以用在那些初創企業的創業者身上，因為在市場上，相對很多大型企業來說，就是獅子和兔子的關係，如何與他們合作相處或者說不被競爭者吃掉也是一門很深學問。

這隻兔子有次不小心告訴了他的一個兔子朋友，這消息逐漸在森林中傳播；獅子知道後非常生氣，他告訴兔子：“如果這個星期沒有食物進洞，我就吃你。”於是兔子繼續在洞口寫文章。

一隻小鹿走過來，“兔子，你在幹什麼啊？”“寫文章！”“什麼題目？”“《淺談兔子是怎樣吃掉狼》”！ “哈哈，這個事情全森林都知道啊，你別胡弄我了，我是不會進洞的”，兔子曰：“我馬上要退休了，獅子說要找個人頂替我，難道你不想這篇文章的兔子變成小鹿麼？”小鹿想了想，終於忍不住誘惑，跟隨兔子走進洞裡。過了一會，兔子獨自走出山洞，繼續寫文章。一隻小馬走過來，同樣是事情發生了。最後，在山洞裡，一隻獅子在一堆白骨之間，滿意的剔著牙讀著兔子交給它的文章，題目是：《如何發展下線動物為老闆提供食物》。

評：這裡其實談的是一個欺騙手段，並沒有講發展動物下線去提供食物，但是這個題目應該是很有啟發的，可以改成《如何發展合作夥伴為企業提供食物》。沒有合作夥伴企業是做不大的，現在是競爭協作時代，每個企業不可能把所有的事情做完，必須依靠合作夥伴才能找到企業充足的食物

隨著時間的推移，獅子越長越大，兔子的食物已遠遠不能填飽肚子。一日，他告訴兔子：“我的食物量要加倍，例如：原來4天一隻小鹿，現在要2天一隻，如果一周之內改變不了局面我就吃你。於是，兔子離開洞口，跑進森林深處，他見到一隻狼：“你相信兔子能輕鬆吃掉狼嗎？ ”狼哈哈大笑，表示不信，於是兔子把狼領進山洞。過了一會，兔子獨自走出山洞，繼續進入森林深處，這回他碰到一隻野豬----“你相信兔子能輕鬆吃掉野豬嗎？ ”野豬不信，於是同樣的事情發生了。原來森林深處的動物並不知道兔子和獅子的故事！最後，在山洞裡，一隻獅子在一堆白骨之間，滿意的剔著牙讀著兔子交給它的文章，題目是：《如何實現由坐商到行商的轉型為老闆提供更多的食物》。

這裡的啟示是尋找自己的客戶資源在哪裡

時間飛快，轉眼之間，兔子在森林裡的名氣越來越大，因為大家都知道它有一個很歷害的老闆。這隻小兔開始橫行霸道，欺上欺下，沒有動物敢惹。它時時想起和烏龜賽跑的羞辱，它找到烏龜說：“三天之內，見我老闆！”揚長而去。烏龜難過的哭了，這時卻碰到了一位獵人，烏龜把這事告訴了他。獵人哈哈大笑，於是森林裡發生了一件重大事情，獵人披著獅子皮和烏龜一起在吃兔子火鍋，地下丟了半張紙片歪歪扭扭的寫著：山外青山樓外樓，強中還有強中手啊！ ！ ！

如果做企業猖狂到自己都不知道自己是誰的時候，離死亡也就不遠了，我們的企業還是“兔子”不是“獅子”的時候，不管你的靠山再強大，你都不能把自己太當回事情了，居安思危。

在很長一段時間里森林裡恢復了往日的寧靜，兔子吃狼的故事似乎快要被大家忘記了。不過一隻年輕的老虎在聽說了這個故事後，被激發了靈感，於是他抓住了一隻羚羊，對羚羊說，如果你可以像以前的兔子那樣為我帶來食物那我就不吃你。於是，羚羊無奈的答應了老虎，而老虎也悠然自得的進了山洞。可是三天過去了，也沒有見羚羊領一隻動物進洞。他實在憋不住了，想出來看看情況。羚羊早已不在了，他異常憤怒。正在他暴跳如雷的時候突然發現了羚羊寫的一篇文章題目是：《想要做好老闆先要懂得怎樣留住員工》!

企業再好，待遇在高，也不能忽視員工，也要善待員工，再偉大的理想、再好的項目，你一個人不可能做大的，想做大事的老闆和只想賺錢的老闆，那是不同的；想做大事的員工和只想求生活的員工也是不同的；如何吃人而不被別人吃，如何幫人吃人而不被別人吃-。社會就是這麼現實！

Changing Miri Skyline

On the far end, you can see that Miri is developing at a very fast pace! That is Marina Bay area. Lots of shops are coming up. 

I hope to shoot more pictures of the area and post them here!

Piasau Nature Reserve

After much uncertainty at the beginning, the state government of Sarawak finally approved and gazetted the former Piasau Camp into a Nature Reserve. Last weekend, we saw the earth breaking ceremony by the governor of Sarawak.

 Signing ceremony ... it is official now!

 There is an exhibition hall... all the wallpaper photos (with the exception of one with a huge frog) were taken using my Hasselblad medium format camera. Photos were taken together with Lo of Median Lab.

If you think you wanted the wall paper for your home, please do let me know!

More photos can be viewed on my facebook photography page.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.700408490026098.1073741840.163457400387879&type=3

More scam warning ....

Another warning from me....

I just got a call from a bank.

A recorded message is played and told me that I have a transaction outstanding which needs approval, or something like that. There is no physical person talking but instructed me to press various numbers for ....

As usual, I couldn't understand the message due to poor recording and I hangup.

My wife told me that there is such a scam. As reported in the local newspaper, a businessman received such a call and was conned not long ago by following the instructions to press certain number which led to the leaking of personal information. Apparently, the conman has knowledge of some of his personal information (IC, account number, etc) which made the call very convincing.

Upon checking, we found that the telephone number displayed on my mobile is a valid 24-hour number from the bank on their website. So, is this an inside job or is it some high tech conman who can replicate another phone number?

Please be warned and share this message if you wish. Remember, never give out personal information over the phone.

p/s: Be warned about the scam regarding some Shell lucky draw.

Graduation Photography Services for Curtin University Sarawak

Curtin University graduation is coming up round the corner. As for this year, there are many who asked me to take graduation photo for them. After looking through the price offered to them, no wonder many are looking outside. However, there is just one issue... the package offered by the official photographer bundle the certificate presentation with their graduation portrait. As a matter of fact, the certificate presentation photo is considered non essential in all oversea universities which I came across. No one is allowed to take those photos and only the official photographer, standing at one corner. But, no one actually asked to order the photo! So, if we can break this barrier of viewing this certificate presentation as unimportant, then whether the photo is bundled or not becomes unimportant.

I have approached Curtin to let me use one of their lecture rooms so that I can set up my studio. So far, this has been rejected because of obvious reason.... as I request too late!

With or without studio, I have no big problem to turn a photo taken literally anywhere into studio style... as long as I am the one taking it! Someone told me that their hair will all be "trimmed"! No worry... this is the smallest problem I need to worry about as it can be seen from the sample photos below.

Studio style photos where you may choose one of the available backgrounds I have:

The family of my friend taken outside the graduation hall!

The photos above were taken just outside the graduation hall. I have to turn this into "studio style" shooting, perhaps with the hope that the result is even better than those taken in studio.

The photos below were taken outside and I turned them into studio style:

This is my eldest daughter, Esther. 

This is my youngest daughter, Janice.

Photos taken outside with nature and with friends:

Pricing:

i) Packages:

Package A: two 8Rs of the same graduand (eg: self + family) + high quality frame + 2 4R + soft copy of images.

Package B: two 11Rs of the same graduand + high quality frame + 2 4R + soft copy of image.

ii) Non-package:

1. Studio style: 8R (8"x12") (laminated + editing for up to 3 persons)
2. Non-studio style: Portrait taken outside around the university 8R: (laminated, no editing

Please msg me on facebook for prices.

Notes: 

• Other sizes are available.
• If printing beyond 16"x24" is required, please inform me in advance, ie, before shooting to ensure excellent printing quality.

• Booking: Please book with me on 012 8782007 or 012 302 0178 or facebook.com/williamting99.
• Outstation delivery: Separate charge for PosLaju.
  
• Full payment in cash during ordering
  
• Delivery can be up to three weeks.

Con man on the loose in Sarawak ... beware!

A word of warning to everyone:

There is a gang of con man (骗子)and con women who work in group of 3-4. I was told that there are 3 women and a man. 

First, one of them will approach you and talk to you. Once you look into the eyes, somehow you are hypnotized instantly (催眠) and from then on, you will just follow instruction!!

They will ask you to withdraw money. When you are at the bank counter, a woman (one of the gang members) will hit your shoulder - from there on, you will follow everything she said including withdrawing everything you have!

You will remain in a daze for up to 3 days not knowing what you have done!!!

A friend in Miri was conned of RM100K! So be warned of this gang! This friend of mine knew about not looking into the eyes!! And yet got conned!

In today's paper, there is one case in Bintulu (RM64K)and one in Sibu (RM39+K). They take both jewelry and cash! They will get you to withdraw even fixed deposit!

Share this warning out so that more people are aware of it. Perhaps, you shouldn't carry your bank book, too many ATM cards and FD certificates with you! Perhaps as precaution, you should leave FD cert with someone you trust.

24-April-2014

The Day My Neighbourhood Disappear

I just realised that it has been almost three month since I last update a post here. I have been on hiatus as my right arm had been in severe pain and hence I hardly took any photos, could hardly type and cannot hold a mouse to edit any photo. Never mind, that is behind me now! I am now back!

Yesterday, my son took the picture below. We saw a huge smog moving across the sea line in Miri. Someone had been doing open burning again!

Yesterday!
This morning, pungent smell and ....

I looked out of my balcony and my neighbourhood disappeared! This is not the magic of David Copperfield!

Visibility is at a very dangerous level. Will all flights be cancelled this morning?
Yesterday, we saw Anwar being sentenced to 5 years jail for alleged sodomy. One commentators said that it should not even be a crime. But whatever, we shall see whether anyone is being charged for open burning here!