Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Home 1TB Not able to detect

  Ok. So earlier this year, as I was trying to back up my hard disk to my NAS which is of course the Seagate Goflex Home.  And while halfway trying to access the NAS, my file explorer refused to respond and the next thing I knew. Everything was gone.  Tried accessing from the website stated there was no device being connected.  And you could imagine the horror I've gone through where I almost fell into absolute shock because all the pictures and videos of my baby girl gone just like that!  I did what everyone would have done, reboot the device hope that all will be well. That didn't worked.  Turn off maybe a few days for the hard disk to rest and hopefully when it's back on it will magically appear once again.  But that didn't work too.  

  So I decided not to do anything about it. 7 months after the incident had happened and I totally forgotten about it (probably trying to deny the fact that I didn't want to tell Deluxe that Esther's photos were gone).  After installing Ubuntu 14.04 onto my old desktop, I decided to try accessing the hard disk once more.  Lo and behold, I was finally able to see that it's actually connected in a sense where there is the 4 folders which by default it has.  One for backup, external storage, personal folder and public folder.  I got so excited that I tried to access it but still failed. Whereby suddenly I had the inspiration in doing this.

Flipping the hard disk this way instead of standing vertical

  Instead of letting it stand vertically, I made it lie flat on like the picture above.  Initially when I flipped the wrong side, the hard disk wouldn't run.  But after flipping this side round.  Once I turn on the NAS sweet sound of hard disk spinning and everything was back to normal.  I tried accessing it one more time, finally after 7 long months all my files are still intact!  So I quickly transferred all the videos and photos out from the NAS onto my desktop. So now, I'll most likely get a replacement hard disk for this NAS.  And probably pop the current hard disk into my desktop and see how it goes.  Never the less I'm glad that I can get back the files and once I replaced the hard disk I'll probably go and format my laptop to run Ubuntu instead :)

Been a long time since I last blogged

With so many things to do and so little time to do it. I seriously need to start writing again to pretty much get things off my chest.  Never the less.  This is going to be a short post.  Going to sort out a few more things within the next few days, and hopefully by then.  Everything will be back to normal. So stay tuned!

After Using Hotlink For 3 Months

Ok. 3 months ago I went and MNP over from Digi to Maxis due to the fact they were providing free basic internet.  And I was wondering how much I actually saved on my phone bill eventually.  Within the past 3 months I have managed to reload 3 times and used up max RM40 for these past 3 months.  Never the less, after hearing that LTE has finally arrived here in Kuching.  Only few days ago I went and subscribe for RM30 where they gave me 1.5GB quota.  And boy am I spoiled by the speed.  Of course I had to change my sim card as well in order for me to enjoy the max speed which gave me about 10mbps upload and download.
  But that is totally beside the point on how much I actually saved using Hotlink prepaid.  Well for starters, after 3 months using Hotlink.  Total cost I used was RM70 (RM40 for calls and SMS, while another RM30 was for the 4G Subscription).  Where I actually managed to slash my phone bills in half in a sense because previously I would be paying RM60++/month on contract.  While outside contract would had cost me close to RM90.
  One main reason why I managed to save a lot which I believe is due to the Data subscription.  Because most of the time I'm always situated where I have wifi connection, and of course the Basic Free Internet that Hotlink offer is just good enough for receiving Text from Whatsapp, Viber, BBM, Telegram and etc.  Plus I don't really need the speed whenever I'm out because I will be out for at most 1-2 hours, but still be able to receive messages through those social networking apps.
  Never the less, will definitely MNP Deluxe number once she uses up her credits to Maxis, because Maxis also now gives you Activ10, where their call rates would be at 0.06/30 secs and 0.01/sms (which I hardly use).  And you pretty much can save more from there.
  Anyway, only problem I had previously was when I went down to Plaza Merdeka Lower Ground, I was not able to receive any signals.  But after upgrading my sim card to 4G, seems like it managed to resolve that issue.  Not too sure yet, but will try it out again within these few days.
  So, being a cheapskate that I am.  I think RM30/month for phone bills is not that bad.  And another thing is taht I hardly call or sms people because most of the time you either skype on wifi or message through whatsapp.  No doubt that I won't be able to surf outside wifi vicinity, but hey at least it gives me chance to actually talk to people who are in front of me instead of looking at my phone the whole time.  It's all good.

Hectic Week

Last week Deluxe had a retreat at Santubong One Hotel, and of course the family get to tag along.  Will blog about it later, as I'm still sorting out the pictures at the moment.  Never the less, it was a busy week after the Go Bald event.  Had to clear up quite a number of back logs, so have a few minutes to spare before I go have my dinner.

Anyway, will do a video log soon as I've finished some major stuff over the weekend.  So do expect that, and as for the time being have a look at this video of "Aku Sudah Botak", a parody version of "Aku Anak Kampung".  Recorded this last Saturday evening with Lowell, Entinio and Aaron.  Working out on the video clip, but for now here's the demo.  Have a nice day!

I'm going BOTAK....

Donations are closed from Holankia. Thank you all for contributing. If you would still like to contribute, do head over to www.gobald.my for more details. Thank you!

Free Fundraising Thermometer by:
www.easy-fundraising-ideas.com

Here are the list of people who have generously donated to me. No amount too big or too small, as every ringgit counts to help kids fight cancer. Go Botak! Because of the tremendous support, I will now be accepting Paypal as a source to receive donations. Please check out Method 4 for more details.

Dear all,

  This is to inform that I will be participating in the Go Bald - Help Kids Fight Cancer Campaign this year.  It may seem a bit shocking to those who pretty much knows me, as I'm a very vain person especially when it comes to my hair.  I was inspired by a few people, in the last 2 years to go bald.  So to make long story short, this year will be the year I will go botak.

Chinese ding ware bowl sold for $2.2 million

A rare "Ding" bowl from the Song dynasty in China sold for $2.2 million at a Sotheby's auction.
(Sotheby's / March 20, 2013)

  So if you haven't heard it by now, apparently there was a Ding Ware bowl which was only bought for $3, had been sold for USD2.2 Million  (Source from LA Times).  One must wonder how in the world a bowl would ended up worth so much.  Well, guess in the world of auctions anything can happen.  Just like the painting of The Card Players, which was also sold at the price of $267 Million.  But why am I suddenly blogging about this topic?  Well, since I'm also currently in the line of antiques.  I too posses a bowl similar to the one above, and hopefully one day it will reach $2.2 Million as well. Have a nice day!

Me and my USD2.2 million bowl

Bad day in school

  I went and fetch Esther from school today.  And apparently, she didn't had a good time due to some misunderstanding which I believe.  She was so upset when I waited for her by her class.  All of her friends, told me she cried and of course while we were in the car I asked her what has happened.  Apparently after I listen to her story, I told her everything is going to be fine.
   Every daddy, wouldn't want her little girl to get hurt in any way.  So I did, what I believe all other daddy would do.  Cheer her up and make her feel she's special.  So after we parked our car, I brought her to the lower ground of the car park and told her we are going to a magical place.  And she start to fill her head with imagination thinking we're going into a secret cave only for princess.  After going one round, we arrive on a stage. I continue to let her imagination flow, as she dance around the stage making up her own fairy tale story.
  And with that, she totally forgotten what had just happen in school and couldn't wait to tell mummy what she just did.  Tomorrow will be another day, and most likely she will have another adventure of her own.  I'm just glad that I was able to be cheer up my little princess,  when she needed it.  Will probably stop now, as I have yet to take my shower.  And yes, I'm still blogging on my tab and I foresee more post from here.  You have a nice day now!

Blood Donation Drive

Back in 6th April 2005

  Ok, so last Sunday the church had a blood donation drive and of course, yours truly went and gave blood as well.  This is the second time that I actually gave blood in my life.  First time was back in 2005, which I think I should have it recorded somewhere in my album.  Never the less, I went with Ketam that time to actually helped out a friend who's grandma needed blood.  So yours truly went and buat kerja rakyat, and be a man to do the right thing.

  The first time was actually a good experience for me, considering that the nurse wasn't able to find my vein where she had to poke the second time for the blood to flow.  Because halfway while I was donating it actually stopped flowing.  And Ketam had a blast making fun of me and renamed me the guy who had to be punctured twice to donate blood.  Never the less all is good.

Jeremy and I before going in

  So, during the second attempt in donating blood I was pretty much cool about it.  Whereby, I went inside and started munching on the goodies that was before Rev. Pau decided to step in and stopped me from having some more as it is to prevent me from high blood pressure or something like that.  So I stopped taking food, and looked at him.  As it was kinda hard to decipher if he was actually telling the truth or joking.  Never the less, I stopped taking the goodies and sat quietly while waiting for my turn to be punctured once again.

  Jeremy is actually a first timer, as he's just passed his 16th birthday (dang I feel old as I'm twice his age now) and wanted to donate as well.  Because previously he told me he wanted to give only if I give first.  Because registration was last week, I asked him to sign up but he said he's under age.  But this week, we found out that those people who are under 18 can actually donate blood but that is if and only if got consent from his parents first.  So probably the youngest dude there to give blood, he inspired his peers to donate blood in the future.  So all is good.

  But this time at least I was not required to punctured twice due to the fact the vein on my left hand was undetectable.  So decided to move to my right arm and finally able to find it.  So it was all good.  After that, due to safety measure, Deluxe had to drive back instead of me.  Just to make sure I was all right, but had a great lunch after that at Chef Special in Cold Storage.  That's all for now, currently trying to survey which bluetooth keyboard is better for my tab.  As for the coming few months, I will be busy doing a lot of typing and may need to work on my tab once in a while.  So you guys have a great one.

Jeremy and his first blood experience

Yi Yang, Hui Ho & Rev Pau

Me pretty much wasted, while Jeremy still look like a boss

My first experience in 2005

Back to writing

  Ok.  After so many weeks of being absent, I must really make it a point to start writing again.  Some may say must post quality post instead of quantity.  One main reason why the delay, as for the past few weeks been really "lazy" in a sense whereby I don't really manage my time properly.  Hence ended up doing something else, instead of something that I wanted to do.  Never the less here is something I am going to post today.

Uncle Buttons whom I've not seen over 14 years

  Last Saturday, Esther has finally managed to meet the person responsible for teaching me all about ballooning.  Apparently after meeting him again, well you could say that twisting balloons  hobby has came back and apparently Deluxe has managed to get hold of the type of balloons he was using.  Never the less, after years of not practicing, I was still a bit rusty and twisting was still a little bit messy.  But it was all good, as Esther really enjoyed watching how Uncle Buttons twist balloons.

  I remembered selling these balloons right after I knew how to get them done, and during the weekends where I would go to public places and just twist these balloons and gave them away freely.  As that time I was still working part time in my family business, and people would just buy them from me, well basically they were supposedly to fund my weekend projects.  One time while I was having lunch with a few friends in Pizza hut, and a kid who so by happened to be sitting in front of our table was feeling well "active".  Back then, I brought these balloons and my handy small pump with me wherever I would go.  Anyway, I remembered pulling up one balloon and twisted a dog for him and gave it to him to pretty much "settle down".

  The next thing I knew, children were starting to surround our table, and I pumping away the balloons while my friends helped distribute them.  And children were getting excited, plus the joy on their faces were priceless.  It went on for quite a while, before the waitress went and cleared our table and placed another pizza for us, as a complimentary lunch as indirectly thanking us for doing it.  Never the less it was a good experience, and eventually I stopped doing that after I couldn't get better quality balloons again.  As I tried the cheaper ones, they couldn't last long and hence I decided not to sell them anymore because of the poorer quality.

  Anyway, maybe one of these days when I have the time will probably go do these "kangtao" again.  As basically Uncle Buttons was actually the person who also sometimes during weekends will give out free balloons.  But for now, probably I will start practicing again my skills before heading out and probably the person whom will enjoy most is Esther.  Ah well all is good.

Esther with her Poodle & 8 Petal Flower

Chinese New Year 2013

  So I'm back to reality where everything is supposedly go back to normal in life. I was away for about a week, where I had the chance to spend time with mostly my family during this trip. Unfortunately for me, I did not had enough time as usual to spend with friends unless they came and visited me. So the only people I managed to catch up was Paran, which was also good. During this trip, I was able to fix 3 desktop pcs which was sort of an annual things which I am required to do. 

  Apart from that, everything went well. Considering this time, I didn't really had the chance to visit any of my friends. Most of the time if not all was spent on family. Because this year we had the privilege of having 3 additional babies to celebrate with us. So you could imagine the amount of time babysitting them which of course was a joy. But not forgetting Esther, she was able to have fun on the beach as well as swim at Taman Awam for the first time.

  During this trip back home has always been a joy, and of course I was only able to enjoy certain food this time, because the ones that I really wanted to eat was not available.  Very sad indeed, due to the long Chinese New Year break!  We were there for about a week, and  was thinking that will have time to do a lot of other things.  But again this year, as I mentioned earlier in the post was spent most with family.

  Last time Chinese New Year, was a time where we actually went house visiting with friends.  But as time passes by, it changed from going out with friends to spending more time with the family.  Especially when Esther came into the picture.  It was a time where we would make sure, she knows all her uncles and aunties as well as her grand uncles and grand aunties.  That's why we always made a point for them to take pictures with them.  This is so that she will not forget, who they are.

  And of course, since we are all married and working now.  Gone were the days, when we wanted to receive "Angpaos" from our elders.  But this time round, it was more from us to give back to them.  One thing our parents thought us, because our aunts and uncles were pretty much like our parents as well.  They too helped brought us up either directly or indirectly.  So we must continue to treat them as if they were our own parents.  And because we are all working already, basically we also gave them "Ang Paos".  The content inside may not be much compared to all the years they have invested in us, but it's more of the thought that count that yes.  We are still related and we have not forgotten about them.

  And because our aunts and uncles had the same mentality that, despite we were their nephews and niece.  They treated us as if we were their own children.  And that mentality, has grown so deep into us that we too share the same impression with all our niece.  Simply because our elders had thought us well.  One of an example was when I was shopping for New Year clothing for Esther.  Immediately I would also think of my other nieces, plus Deluxe managed to source from a very good reliable supplier to source us baby clothes as well.  So not only our daughter was getting new clothes for Chinese New Year, our "other daughters" were also getting them as well.  And it's really funny, how my brothers would treat each other daughters as if it were their own daughters.  Probably one reason why, family is probably the most important things in life.  Our friends may only have a certain amount of limit to support, but at the end of the day it is our family that really stood by us through thick and thin.

  Never the less, with the Jong Dynasty slowly expanding.  We begin to appreciate the little things in life where we always use to take for granted.  Gone were the days, where we would always fight over petty things when we were younger.  And over the years as we grow "wiser", we have come to a point where we need to watch out for each other.  And I know, whenever I have problems I know who to turn to.   Anyway, this trip back to Miri was indeed a refreshing one because our time with our loved ones indeed brings us joy and knowing with their support we are able to pull through this coming 2013.  So wishing all of you a blessed Chinese New Year!

Tune 2 Big Review

AirAsia Loyalty Programme

  OK, only today I found out something which I thought would be a good kangtao.  Never the less, this is the kangtao I've been looking at.  If you are someone who always kasih kangtao to AirAsia. In other words you always fly using Airasia, then chances are you normally pay with your Credit Card or Bank Transfer.

  But wait, there's more to that.  Only today, well about 2 hours ago I so by happen to find out more what is this tune 2 big was all about.  Because yesterday I just made a booking for my boss, and apparently when I was about to pay using my credit card.  It preselect BIG Visa Prepaid, and there was no convenient fees being charge.  And I was like, seriously.  But I think it was too late for me to apply it, so never the less I went ahead and paid using my credit card.

  So today, well 2 hours ago I was curious to find out more about this kangtao.  So it brought me to that page when you visit www.tune2big.com.  Not so much information there, but never the less when I click apply these two thing came up.  One was the Free Membership having the BIG ID, and the other was the BIG VISA Prepaid Card.  Both also let you earn points when you make bookings via Airasia.  I think most of you should know more about the Prepaid Card, but today I will talk more on the BIG ID free membership instead.

  So when I first click on the apply for the membership, it will ask you to choose either your airasia login details if not sign up for a new account.  If you have AirAsia login details it will be faster for you and you don't have to key in every single details of your particulars.  Never the less, once you successfully registered.  You will be given a BIG ID.  With this ID, you can actually start earning points with AirAsia even if you don't have their prepaid cards.

  But you just booked a ticket, so your points all hilang lah? Well, not exactly.  Janji you still can modify your bookings you can put in your big points inside there.  Steady or not?  Anyway, most of the FAQ can shown in the youtube video below.

  Well, the only problem with Big ID is that it must register the same person who is flying on that flight.  Because this is a loyalty program, meaning to say 1 ID = 1 Passenger.  So I cannot use my ID to book for someone else to earn those points.  So that is where the Visa Prepaid Card has the advantage. Anyway, to find out more you can check out their Terms And Condition page.  So you can't pretty much accumulate points in that way.  Thought can use to combine 3 people in one account, so can collect points faster.  But unfortunately cannot. So never mind, this will ensure you to make everyone happy by everyone must travel with you policy.  So you better start registering everyone who always book with you to enjoy the benefits.

  So that's my kangtao for today.  My project is to sign up my father, my mother, my wife, my daughter, my brother, my sister, my everyone who always fly with AirAsia and help them to accumulate points so that they can fly free in the future!  So start sign up now, since you have nothing to lose but a lot to win.

P.S This is not a paid post, but instead a community service message.  No holan one. Seriously.

I Have A Dream

I have a dream

  So this is week 2 of 2013.  And after going through what I wanted to do for 2013, I had a dream last night.  Probably it could be due to the fact that I was thinking about my project for 2013, but never the less it was indeed a good one.  Maybe that's how God gives inspiration to people, through dreams and visions.  Unfortunately I'm not someone who can see vision, so I guess I was fortunate enough to have dreams.  Never the less, it gave me an idea on what I need to do.  And how am I going to achieve it, will totally be a different story.  As I may need to figure out what I need to do, in order to get where I will be in the future.

  So right now, I may need to learn a whole new different ball game but never the less.  At least the goal is there, and I know what I want to do.  It will indeed take a lot of research, as well as learning the market.  But never the less, the goal has been set and I know I must achieve it one way or another.  It may take months or even years, but i know through perseverance and proper planning I think it could really work.  Never the less, I'm all fired up now and hopefully I will put a status bar on how much I've actually done to complete the project.

  Never the less, I think I should start to keep a journal on what I did to maybe help me achieve my goals for this year.  And hopefully, when I look back at least I know I've made it.  And who knows, if I made a mistake probably I would look back where I went wrong and correct it.  Never the less, the fire must not die and the passion must go on.

Let's get this done

  Ok, so the New Year is finally here.  For the past few years, I had always look forward to the new year.  As it would be the time I would really kick start to get things done.  Never the less, like the photo that is shown above.  Basically yeah, the passion will not stay long like previous years.  So a lot of things I wanted to do, ended up I didn't do it due to poor time management and of course unexpected things just popped up from no where.  But never the less, there were indeed a few things that I planned to do for my New Year resolution which eventually I managed to do over the past 2-3 years.

  One of my resolution back in 2010, I wanted to try something new or out of the blue.  Basically, something I never thought I would ever had the chance to do it.  The first experience was to basically take a bus from Kuching to Miri.  It was a 14 hours ride, but never the less a good experience in a way.  No doubt I couldn't sleep much during the whole time as it was bumpy in certain areas, and I was able to finally experience why people complain regarding the bad road condition.  Never the less, that was only the beginning of my journey.  Few months after that, I went to Sibu along with my Father in law on the road. And boy was that an experience, where we did made a few stops in between towns looking for antiques.  Hence, I began to think that traveling on the road is kinda fun.  But at least this time the trip was more pleasant due, which is probably due to the fact that I was able to drive as well.  As I don't really like to be a passenger, especially inside a car where I am not able to drive.  So that was probably one of the resolution I struck off my list which I completed in 2011.

That's me after losing 12KG when I completed my 3 months programme

  Another resolution of mine back in 2010, was to lose weight and drop to 80kg.  As previous years,  it was easier for me to gain and lose weight.  But alas my body was not as good as last time and I found out it was extremely difficult for me to even lose 1kg.  Never the less, with the help of TRA and support from Deluxe, I was able to drop 17KG within a period of 5 months time.  And managed to come close to 18KG and that was before the Christmas holidays that I pretty much gain back a KG after that.  Never the less, being able to finally lose those weight and gained back my health was worth the price I paid for.  Plus, I didn't had to continue to taking the supplements after 3 months.  It was like getting a second shot at life when I lost all those weight.  And that struck off another list I need to get done for since 2010.

  Currently there are 2 more things I wanted to do back in 2010.  And I'm still working on how am I going to get it done.  One of them was to cut an album, which I think is way off from my current situation now.  Due to the lack of time, I'm not able to come up with inspirations on new songs like I used to.  Never the less, I'll shelf that project for now and probably look into something else to help support my next resolution which is pretty much to get a house.  But getting a house would seem near impossible compared to 5 years ago where we seen property prices sky rocket over the past few years.  Never the less, that will not stop me from achieving my goals and dreams as some would have put it.  So I guess I may need to start planning now my next step in order to achieve that goal hopefully by this year, if not next.

  Anyway, will probably stop now as I'm going to do more research into something new.  And just placed an order for a new gadget which will help me understand more into this thing.  Hopefully, by doing so it will help me achieve my dreams sooner than later.  So I'm off to my next project now and will try to allocate an hour or two in a day to get this done.  You guys have a good day now.

So Long 2012, Hello 2013

Ok so it's already the end of the year. So what has happened so far for this year? Guess pretty much a lot. And hopefully one day I will be able to do something about my life in a sense, where I want to change the world. But I guess that would be impossible for now, who knows in 2013 I may get lucky and able to do something with my life and change the world. But from now till then, I'll prolly live a holan life for now.

So much for an introduction. So 2012, did not bring a lot of joy but pain as well. That's why I seldom really blog much nowadays, as nothing really spectacular happen in my life. But anyway I probably would think that if I met these people below, would be the highlight of 2012 for me.

Me and Jackie Chan would be cool.

Me and Jason Mraz

Having a moment with Jin And Reuben would be cool.

President Obama would be a nice person to meet

And of course riding on his popularity Psy may boost my ranking

But alas things above may not happen to me in 2012. So I guess I may need a few more years or even decades should I ever have the chance to meet these people. So instead of having wishful dreams, let's get real on what actually happened throughout 2012.

2012 bore a lot of good news, as well as bad news. One in particular where my family lost our beloved Aunt Lina to colon cancer. As she was battling it for 6 months, where by she was misdiagnosed with gastric instead. When we found out, it was a little bit too late but I guess my brother managed to prolong her life here on earth a little longer. But through her passing, we know no matter what family stays together. There were of course other people who were sick, and we had to serve them throughout the year. But I guess sometimes we need to serve those who are sick, as Jesus instructs us to love thy neighbour as thyself. At least, they know that even their own family pretty much given up on them but they were still able to find comfort through our serving.

Never the less 2012, also brought many blessings in disguise. One major achievement I could say probably is finally able to reach 80KG. In other words I have dropped 17 KG within the period of 6 months, and boy it was an awesome adventure for me. Seriously, I would have done it if it wasn't for Deluxe who supported me throughout the time while I was TRA. As I managed to change my lifestyle from eating all sorts of unhealthy food, to pretty much choosing the right food to eat. Hence I went and closed down my main blog at alexjong.com, to pretty much dedicate my weight lost programme there. And share my experience through that website.

And there were times, when we thought that we wouldn't have enough to cover for rental, but the good Lord never failed us for one second. He always provide even at the very last minute during one of the month. Maybe it was a sign telling us to put our trust in Him more and HE will surely not Holan us. Hehehe.. But this year, despite all the misfortune that I've gone through. God has been there through out the whole time. To pretty much make sure He'll see us through.

So what to expect for 2013? Well, I'm not too sure yet. But I know, our fate is in His hand. And basically, just put our trust in Him and hope for the best. Despite the fact that, there will surely be uncertainty for our future. We shall see which direction He leads us and guide us. So on behalf of my family and I, I would like to wish all of you a blessed 2013. And may God bless all of you for the upcoming 2013.

It's On

Durian Season Soon!

  Ok.  It's been a very long time that I last update on this blog.  And since I will be closing down my main website at http://www.alexjong.com to pretty much going to convert that to a more business like website.  I will still use this blog here to update more on things that I should be updating for a very long time.

  As of late I have been extremely busy with work hence not so much updating on this website here.  Also on my main blog.  Currently, I'm converting my website to a more portfolio type of blog where things will be more different and I don't think I will be posting personal stuff anymore.  As most of my personal stuff will be stored on my local drive.

  Anyway, this will be more frequently updated as i think one day when I am no longer around, at least this blog will continue to remain here.  Who knows it may be useful in the near future. Oh well, life goes on.  See you in the next post!