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| Missing Ryan |
| 11.30.04 (12:31 am) |
I miss my son Ryan. He's spending a month with wifey in Penang while I'm here in Kuching.
[image]objectzero_9948640 60.jpg[/image]
He rolled over for the first time in our hotel room in Kuala Lumpur. Now, he doesn't know when to stop rolling.
[image]objectzero_8802325 34.jpg[/image]
He's at a stage where everything he grabs goes into his mouth. My fingers will hurt once he grows teeth.
[image]objectzero_9113692 89.jpg[/image]
At times watching him sleep takes up most of my time.
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| Home-bounded |
| 11.28.04 (7:29 pm) |
I'm back home.
I'm not feeling well.
I walked into office without realizing I was still on leave. Yes, I came in a day earlier.
I'm calculating the price of my vacation. Not good. :cry:
Need sleep.
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| Sunny Tioman and Lazy Penang |
| 11.19.04 (3:50 pm) |
I love the sun.
Finally in Penang after spending the week travelling to Kuala Lumpur then on to Tioman Island and over to Penang Island.
We stayed at the Berjaya Tioman Beach Resort which is top notch. One measure of a beach resort (to me) is the quality of the food. Yes, the food was great!
Ryan got feverish on Monday night and we spent the Tioman trip nursing the poor fella back to health. In between his drug-induced sleep and the occasional shower, I managed to go sight-seeing within the confines of the resort we stayed in.
If you are into snorkelling and diving, then you should check out Tioman. It is one of the 10 most beautiful islands of the world. The island is literally surrounded by coral. Evident by the wash-up coral that you can find on the beaches.
I didn't have much to shoot in Tioman. I'm a dead-pan for landscape photography. I go dead in the brain when composing such shots. I'm more comfortable doing potraits. The best pictures for Tioman would be those that you take under-water so bring along your swimming trunks.
Now that we are in Penang, its 2nd-hand stuff hunting.
My mission for this coming week is to seek out 2nd-hand Canon EF lenses. Yup, you can find them in abundance here in Penang. The story is the same, some fella gives up film-photography and decides to buy a digital camera. So he dumps his film camera, along with the lens, at a camera store. The shop-keeper doesn't know what to do with it and sells it off cheap. Yes, dirt-cheap. Lets say that together "D.I.R.T CHEAP".
If you are patient enough and have that ability to keep a straight face in light of your good find then you will do fine.
When you discover a gem don't take it at the price they offer. Haggle, haggle, haggle. If they refuse to lower the price then ask for freebies - lens filters, bags whatever. Remember, they are desperate to let it go. If you're still uncomfortable with the price - let it go. You don't need voodoo magic to find 2nd-hand lens in Penang, there's plenty lying around.
Last year I manage to run off with a camera body plus a 28-105mm EF Lens (Ultrasonic) for about RM900. I could have run off with just the lens for RM600 but the camera body appealed to me. I manage to include a UV filter (free) and a camera bag for RM50 (worth RM120) along with the camera.
Besides lenses I am hoping to purchase either a 2GB CF memory card or a portable storage gadget like the Ranger Portabin to take on my photo assignments.
The Ranger Portabin is priced at about RM900++ and seems practical. It comes with 20/40/60 GB storage and is fitted with a 1.8" viewing screen. There is also a version without the screen.
I Will keep all my fans (all 6 of you) updated on my adventures here in Penang. Pictures will be up once I get home. I forgot to pack my card-reader so I can't upload the Tioman images until I get home.
Take care.
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| Manchester United brawls with Arsenal and Chelsea wins the League Cup. |
| 11.11.04 (2:50 pm) |
Man U and Arsenal should play FIFA2005.
They fight so much on the pitch with no apparent winners except Chelsea.
In three weeks time Man U and Arsenal will meet up in a League Cup tie. Already the red mist is floating about in their dressing rooms. Let's just call it the "Old Trafford Brawl 2004" or something.
I could almost see José Mourinho sharing the beers with the Chelsea lads, passing the chips around and waiting for the show. I bet he's put on a wager to see how many players get suspended this time.
The Man U and Arsenal derby has really lost it's luster. There is not much football in the match-up anymore. Everyone is talking about the match-up as if it is a boxing title fight. I bet the Indian Football League has more drama and excitement.
[line]
I'll be off for my yearly holiday on Monday. Spending my first week in Tioman Island before heading back to Penang Island. Heck, two islands in two weeks.
So happy holidays people...
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3 Comments
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| Hollywood values |
| 11.10.04 (4:02 pm) |
"The Passion of the Christ" is taking slack from Hollywood eventhough it took in $370.3 million in domestic ticket sells. Proving that you don't need sexual content or funny animated fish to get movie-goers to the movies.
In another act of true Hollywood biasy - the Golden Globe awards have classified it under foreign instead of the Drama category that Gibson initially wanted.
It shows how the entertainment world views actual fact as fantasy and fantasy as factual occurance. Where reality tv mirrors our obsession at seeing normal stuff played out on the screen and our lives played out by survivors on an island, taking money for love and singles-desperate-people looking for love with a list of 12 candidates.
Our values have now become movie fodder.
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| Run Arina, run.. |
| 11.09.04 (6:10 pm) |
[i]
Ritz Casino Plays Hunt The Princess
Nov 07, 2004
The famously reclusive billionaire Barclay brothers, last spotted receiving their knighthoods from the Queen four years ago, may now be forced into the limelight — this time as the result of rather different royal circumstances.
The Ritz casino, ultimately owned by Sir Frederick and Sir David Barclay’s holding company, is behind a deliciously fraught battle to recover a £2m gambling debt racked up by Malaysia’s Princess Arina Binti Abdullah, and a showdown in the High Court looks likely.
In September 2003, the royal punter apparently blew nearly £2m in the casino — run by Sir David’s son, Aidan — £1m of it in just one sitting, according to a writ lodged at the High Court in recent weeks.
The casino says it has never received a penny of the £2m. In addition, although the princess cashed £2m of cheques, she left the table having lost just £1,976,000 — taking the remaining £24,000 in cash. Meanwhile, the casino was left counting its losses and paying £790,400 that the bets incurred in gaming duty. Unused to such high-handed behavior, the casino’s lawyers have set off in hot pursuit of the debt. Bills and costs of more than £20,000 have been racked up in the process.
Unfortunately, the princess has proved rather elusive, so they have made a beeline for her bankers instead. The writ shows that the casino is going after [b]RHB Bank Berhad[/b], one of Malaysia’s largest banks, which gave a reference enabling her to open an account. Last year the bank said it was delighted to have such a distinguished customer. Sadly, someone forgot to mention that the princess is divorced from her royal husband, and has been for two years.
Aidan could let this one go — accounts filed last week show the casino made a £6.2m profit last year. However, the Barclay family seem determined to win this royal flush. [/i]
Malaysia Boleh! The bank in question happens to be headed by the Sarawak Chief Minister's son (biggest state in Malaysia). They have been bogged down with some problems this year including having their online banking system being compromised.
Now they have a renegade customer running around owing people roughly RM12 million. I'm taking my money out of that bank.
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| Carpet Skates? |
| 11.08.04 (9:10 pm) |
I thought that kids with those wheels-on-shoes was weird enough but carpet skates?
Beats sliding around on your back-side...don't ask.
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| I hate banks - Malaysian Banks |
| 11.07.04 (6:28 pm) |
Banks never tell the truth about money.
[b]Mistake number 1[/b] - buying a 2nd hand car from a so-called-friend, who speaks half-truth. Yes, I was suckered.
[b]Mistake number 2[/b] - going for a bank that has the largest car-loan percentage of the Malaysian market. Yup, they loose their customer touch.
[b]Mistake number 3[/b] - not asking the bank officer properly what they mean by [i]two months installment up front[/i].
Yesterday, I was rudely shaken by a letter saying that I have not paid my car installments. Hey, didn't I just pay two months of installments when I got the car? Shouldn't I only start paying after the third month since my up-front payment should cover the first two months?
Called the bank today and found out that the two months installment upfront acts like a deposit payment for the car (which was never mentioned to me), I now owe the bank a sizeable amount which will down-size my family vacation next week.
I am really frustrated at the bank and at myself. Though I can pay the money owed but that is money which I saved up for a family vacation. I can make back the money in about two months from various odd jobs but it still doesn't lighten the feeling of disguss that I've been duped.
In Malaysia when dealing with banks - read the really, really fine lines. Don't listen to the officer, ask everything to be written down and counter-check with another officer. You will be surprise how in the same bank two officers may understand the same thing differently. Malaysian banks love to dish out money (the proadly advertise it) and they love to make an extra buck out of ignorant and financially illiterate people like me.
Sometimes I just hate myself for being too naive.
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| Adsense Amazing |
| 11.07.04 (5:22 pm) |
Googles' Adsense amazes me.
In my last blog, I mentioned [i]cats grow horns[/i] and then I get a wildlife centric ad from Google's Adsense. We can start a game here. Let's see what sort of Ad we can get with weird titles like laughing balugas or naked wallabies.
I know indecisive got a hoobastank ad when he blog that he hated hoobastank and britney spears.
I wonder if you can get Malaysian centric ads?
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| When cats grow horns |
| 11.04.04 (9:36 pm) |
Couldn't think of a blog-title.
How much of 2004 do I remember? Not much. Two things stick heavy in my mind. The birth of my son and the death of my friend.
It seems a coincidence that one is birth and the other is death. Probably it is God's way of reminding me that in life only two things are certain - that you were born and that you will die.
As this year comes to an end, I am looking forward to a better year ahead. I plan to move ahead with dreams of opening a photography agency with some friends, building up a house of my own and travelling more. I've already got my 2005 vacation plans worked out...
Life is too valuable. You either take it by the throat and live it full or allow it to pass you by. You can choose to sweat the small stuff and live a life of worries or trust in destiny and allow destiny to takes it's course.
You don't have to wait for things to be perfect in order to live life. We already live in an imperfect world. Grap all opportunities thrown at you. Hold on to those that you win and let go of those that you've lost.
Cats will never grow horns no matter how long you wait. If there is one thing that I want to remember my years by, it's that I lived them full.
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| Beating around the Bush |
| 11.03.04 (4:19 pm) |
Bush wins again.
Though I don't really agree with the US foreign policy especially under Bush, I'd even be more confused if Kerry was president.
Up till now we don't really know much about Kerry's agenda for the US. The only major thing tounted in the press was about Kerry's self-confessed lesbian daughter. Kerry is a flip-flop character whose agenda remains an X-file mystery.
I believe Bush got enough bad press to allow him to win. Yup, he said no to gay-marriages which sent christians to the polls and gays screaming at him. He got battered for his policies in Iraq yet some think he is the man that can best keep America safe. The world on large hates his guts yet he still won the popular vote.
The next four years will be interesting.
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| Over-exposure works... |
| 11.01.04 (6:49 pm) |
Over-exposure is a nightmare to people new to digital photography.
We go to great lengths to snap a picture only to see that various areas are over-expose and turn up white. Digital cameras nowadays can compensate for over-exposure and under-exposure. But used correctly, over exposed images can be very appealling
[image]objectzero_3084336 98.jpg[/image]
Indoor lighting with help from the 10D internal flash. Having a low temperature set on the camera gives the bluish hue. The whole white area (one piece A4 paper) is over-exposed.
[image]objectzero_3077006 80.jpg[/image]
My office is behind this bigger building. The sky (white area) is over-exposed towards the top right-hand corner. But the blueish sky turned up well.
Experiment and you'll see that over-exposure can turn up some dramatic images.
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