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.

Perfect way to fry chicken

An article from Yahoo gave us just 6 steps to perfect fried chicken. Please click here to read the full article. Let me know if you tried to fry the chicken.

Why I never buy insurance

In my working career, many insurance agents approached me to buy all sort of insurance. As we are not familiar with the jargons they use, I just felt very insure to buy any insurance at all. Looking at the reports from the newspaper, I am grateful that I didn't buy anything. Just prudent saving to cover for the rainy days.

Making it hard for claimants
Consult a doc and read the fine print before signing up for a health policy
Hundreds of true-life trials of the insured

My policy of buying insurance, if at all necessary, is to buy "fit for purpose", eg, never buy life insurance to cover house loan. Just a housing loan insurance will do ... cheap and do the job!
Just to clarify, I am concerned about life insurance and critical illness insurance. Terms insurance is a form of saving and is normally straight forward.

Day 2 Chinese New Year

During day one of Chinese new year, most people reserve it for visiting close relatives. During the second day, friends started to visit each other. And that is what we did. We went to a few friends and VVIP houses, I mean they are politician or businessmen.

For a collection of photos, please click here. New year also means ang pow (small money in red package) time. In the good old days, this ang pow is meant for parents to children. Now, they are freely given.

Chinese New Year 2012

At midnight on the new year eve, the firecracker/firework went off like crazy! The authority may have banned the sales of these stuff but it seems that obtaining them is no issue! Jonathan, Timothy and myself went over to Krokop to witness some firework at ...

...this temple. Instead, we saw the lighting up of the huge joss sticks! More photos of fireworks can be viewed here. He was holding my other camera to snap those shot!

Gong Xi Bazaar 2012

I have posted all the photos on my facebook. For reason unknown to me, this blogspot has problem letting me upload photos! So, please click here to see them.
Tonight, the bazaar was full of people. There was hardly any place to move!

Food to eat and not to eat during CNY

I just realised that you should not eat ...

...  bitter gourd, or anything known to be bitter!

It is  believed that if you eat bitter foods (the Mandarin words for bitter has the same sound as the Mandarin word for suffering), your life in the coming year will be full of trials and tribulations.

The food you should serve on the table is  fish as the Mandarin word for fish “yu” is a homophone for the Mandarin word “abundance”. Fish is best to be served whole, with head and tail, this signifies a whole year’s worth of prosperity, from beginning to the end.

ok, so much about "sound like" Chinese words. Definitely 88 is good plus a 99 is even better. This sound like prospering forever!

Haha... crab! Don't believe the above but just work hard and be healthy to be happy and prosperous. Ask God to bless you and family and pray always.

May God bless your Chinese New Year. If you drive, be safe and arrive safely.

I won 1,000,000 pounds!

This scam job is out again, but this time, the English is slightly better written. However, he is telling you NOT to tell anyone so that it is easier for them to do their con job! So, if you receive e-mail like this, please ignore it! There is no free meal in this world. Respond to him if you want to lose all your hard earn money!
Read on for the content of the email I received! Click here if you want to read more. By the way, it seems that this Barrister keeps changing his last name!

This e-mail is to congratulate you as your email address has won you a cash prize of One million pounds in the ongoing UK-National Lottery Promo. To file your claims, contact your claims agent Barrister Mark William with his following below:
Claims Agent Barrister Mark William
Name: Barrister Mark William
E-mail: mark.william.uknl@email.ch
Tel: +447024058329

 Fill In Your Claims Information.
Serial No: S/N-472-9768-79
Full Name:
Contact Address:
Tel:
Age:
Country:

NOTE: Do not reply to this e-mail, you are to contact your claims Agent Barrister Mark William with his information giving to you and keep your winnings Serial No: S/N-472-9768-79 confidential do not give anybody your winning detail OR tell anyone to avoid lost of winnings claims.

NIKON D4 Preview

A 30 minutes preview about Nikon D4! It cost US$6000!

Clothes that poke eye

It is so funny that our Ministry of Defence blamed Google Translate for all the "funny translation". To me, it just shows that our people in MINDEF are sloppy and don't do a first cut validation of the translation or is it that they no longer understand English any more?! It is simply so embarrassing!
By the way, I just wonder whether they understand the instruction manuals that came with all the weapons they bought.
Read main story here.

TRAFFIC SUMMON CHARGES

Not sure whether the following is true as I just got this through the mail. Anyone can confirm?
Price quoted below are nett without further discount:
Speeding:
Exceeding 1 - 20km/h = $130 + 4 Demerit Points.
Exceeding 21 - 30km/h = $150 + 6 Demerit Points.
Exceeding 31 - 40km/h = $180 + 8 Demerit Points.
Exceeding 41 - 50km/h = $200 + 12 Demerit Points + Court.
Exceeding 51 - 60km/h = $200 + 18 Demerit Points + Court.
Exceeding 61km/h = $200 + 24 Demerit Points + Court.
Careless Driving = $150 + 6 Demerit Points.
Inconsiderate Driving = $170 + 9 Demerit Points + Court.
Dangerous Driving = $200 + 24 Demerit Points + Court + Vehicle Compounded.
Illegal Racing = $200 + Vehicle Confiscate + Court.
Fail to put on Seat Belt = $120 + 3 Demerit Points.
Double White Lines = $130 + 4 Demerit Points.
Phone and Drive = $200 + 12 Demerit Points + Phone Confiscate.
DO NOT hold your mobile in your hand when you drive even with loud speaker or ear piece.

Drink Driving (1st offence) = Up to $5,000 Fine and, or Jail Term + License Suspended + Court.
Drink Driving (2nd offence) = Jail Term + Fine + Court.

Making an illegal U Turn when there's no U-Turn sign = $70 .
Fail to Signal when changing lanes = $70 .
Driving at night without Headlights or Taillights Switch on after 7pm = $30 .
No Number Plate = $70.
Obstructed Number Plate = $70.
Obscured Number Plate = $70.
Number Plate Of Unapproved Type = $70

Demerit Point System :
Let's say you have 0 point on 1st January 2011, and you committed the offence of Failing to Put on Seat Belt. So now, you will have 3 demerit points and this will last for 1 Year.
If during this 1 year you have no demerit points offence at all, your 3 demerit points will be gone on 1/1/2012.
But, if during this one year, From 1/1/2011 - 1/1/2012, you committed another offence with demerit points, your very first offence will be extended for another year until 1/1/2013.

7 resolutions for 2012 to keep fit

1. I will manage stress better
2. Every time I eat, half my plate will be veggies
3. I will do things to sleep better
4. I will watch less TV, and surf less internet
5. I will train 30 mins at least 3x per week
6. I will take care of my soft tissue
7. I will eat more home-cooked food

To read the full articles on the above, click here!

A Merry Christmas to you all

We wish everyone a merry and blessed Christmas and a happy new year. May you be blessed throughout 2012!

Don't forget to drop in at the church to celebrate the birth of Christ on Christmas day.

Awesome things people do

Just want to share this awesome stuff people do. Click here to see them! I am sure you will be entertained. But please don't do this at home as they are too dangerous for the untrained.