PBC Triathlon 2010

The annual PBC Triathlon 2010 kicked off at 6:40AM after a slight delay.

We saw a record number of participants this year... nearly 150 of them

Some of the young swimmers ...

... and the most senior of all. I think Ray was here for the last two years.

The sea was not kind to them...

... as expected, he emerged from the water first. I believe it took 10 minutes longer than last year.

Next, the professional from Czech Republic. Someone told me that she is world number 24.

The rough sea faced them when they got in and again when they were getting out of the water!

... next the cycling.

... and the storm arrived. The wind was strong and the rain was heavy as most of the participants were in the last part, ie, the run.

... As expected, she came in first.

As most of our participants were in team, she did it all on her own!

Sport Photography

Tomorrow, Saturday 6-Nov, the annual triathlon will take place at the usual Piasau Boat Club. If you like to try out sport photography, be there by 6AM.

Merdeka Mall

More shops are now open at Merdeka Mall. I was there last week after I learnt that Tai Kwong...

... is now opened and fully functional.

A shopping mall without food court is simply incomplete! So, at the ground floor, you will see many eating machines munching away at the many food stalls! ...

... The ex boss from Pujut 7 Seafood now open a stall here also.

The roast here looks good. I don't know about the prices....

... but if you are enterprising, I think there are stalls available for rental.

In Tai Kwong, I found Pocky! They have two flavours from Japan and costing RM9-11 each. So, next time we can just buy here.
I noticed that Tai Kwong has weekend special. The price can be crazy, ie, bargain. So, do visit them! If they allow my camera in next time, I can snap more photos for posting.

Update on Piasau Camp's Pied Hornbill Family

Checking out a tree cavity.

"In September, I was convinced that the Piasasu Camp hornbills were getting ready to nest in their usual place at house no. xx.

Several times I saw the male and the female near the ground level hole in the tree - with the male poking his head in and out, and removing bits of debris. I returned to the site very few days expecting to see her entering the hole and starting to block herself in - but for weeks it never happened.

On one occasion I saw them both together, seemingly inspecting and evaluating a hole about 10m off the ground in a casuarina tree near house 1xx, and I wondered if they were considering"moving house", but I never saw them at that site again.

Yesterday my friends who live at house no. xy told me that for the past 4 days or so the hornbills have been preparing to nest at their house. When we arrived, indeed, we found both the male and the female going in and out of the hole pictured here. It is about 1.5-2m above groundlevel.

Yesterday we saw the male picking out debris - but also apprently collecting bits of wood and bark and putting them into the hole. She was in the hole for a while, but then spent a couple hours perched on a jungle gym or a branch near the house.

At one point the male swooped down into bush just inches away from where the kids were sitting eating ice cream and plucked a sparrow out of the bush. He then spent the next 15 minutes shaking the sparrow and apparently trying to "tenderize it" or make it more appealing to the female who was perched on a branch near the potential nest site. She didn't appear to be interested in the end, and they dropped the (dead) sparrow to the ground.

This morning I went back and as you can see from the two photos attached, she seems to be settling into the hole. I will keepreturning with my camera and video - as I would love to catch some footage of her making the paste that she uses to close up the hole, as I once saw her do it a couple years ago."

Trying out the new home for size.

Fieldnotes and photos by:
Dr Gianna Minton/MNS Miri/Resident Piasau Camp/Nov 2010

Happy Birthday, Janice

Happy birthday, Janice. I know you have celebrated it already but at home, I roasted this tonight...

... for your birthday. Unfortunately, you are not available to enjoy it but the boys almost finish it off for you.


Numbers 6:24-27
24  "'"The LORD bless you and keep you;
25  the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
26  the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace."'
27  "So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them."

Shell Long Service Award 2010

Last Friday night, Shell celebrated long service award for more than 100 staff. They clocked in a total of 5610 years! The evening was marked by a sumptuous nice dinner ...

Lobster cold dish. Honestly, I didn't really taste any lobster meat. So just wonder where they have gone to! 

A large pomfret ... a nice dish

A colleague made these cup cakes!

The dinner menu

This group celebrated their 35 years of long service. Some of them look surprising young. 

My wife received her 30 years service certificate. Each one also get a special pewter photo frame engraved with the grand old lady.

You think you can't cook?

Recently our company organised a huge party with probably 500 tables of guests. To cater for all the food, the company engaged some very popular restaurants and hotels. We were all familiar with all those restaurants and we naturally have high expectation! Looking at the menu, the names of all the dishes were not fanciful, perhaps rather plain names.

When this dish was served, someone told me at another table that they are eating fried eggs, apparently with too much baking soda added for frying. At our table, I saw some unfamiliar dark bits on something! Checking the menu, the nearest we thought must be the Oyster Omelette! So, what do you think is this thing?

After sinking my teeth into this tart, I knew immediately that it was made from pineapple. Ok, the taste was good and the deco... I think it was done by kids learning how to coordinate the hand movement.
Anyway, many years ago, I went to a friend's home and I tried to cook something. It turned out to be disaster, too salty, too... Now, I realised that you cannot cook properly when you are in a new environment as proven by these cooks. So, if you are a daughter-in-law and did badly in cooking, I hope the MIL will be more understanding now.