Tattoo Has Healed

Greetings Everyone,

This is just an advance notice that I would not be posting regular updates in the following weeks because I would be tied up with moving to KL and other matters.

It will take me a while before I can setup an internet connection at my new place but I hope that I can occasionally pop into internet cafes for a quick post and to check my e-mail.

As promise to let you know, my tattoo is 99% healed and my bank matters were sorted out. Besides that, my google earnings increased just by following simple steps from the video tutorials as mentioned from an earlier post.

On a separate manner, I tried topping up my O2 Pay As You Go phone but failed to do so as every time my card was declined. The system just does not understand Malaysian Address. Well, it will be a waste to see my UK mobile number changed as I am very attached to it.

A note for celebration is that I received the most visitors this month thanks to a few hot topics that I have posted and web promotions that were carried out.

That’s all for the moment and until next time, take care of yourself.

Benny Ong XXX

Free Internet Calls With Skype

Skype is a little program for making free calls over the internet to anyone else who also has Skype. It’s free and easy to download and use, and works with most computers. It now features free video calling.

I am fairly a new user of Skype although I am aware of its existence for quite a while now. The reason that I did not install Skype earlier was simply because I was experimenting with other applications and mostly use my own cheap international call solution available at http://www.tele88.co.uk. However, most tele88.co.uk services are available within the UK and used from a landline or mobile.

Download and registration of Skype is FREE. Besides providing free internal Skype calls among users, you may call regular landline numbers and use your Skype application like a regular phone with its range of paid services at affordable prices. Do note that there is a current promotion for free calls to landlines in USA and Canada.

Below is a screenshot of the Program running on windows.

Skype Screenshot

To enjoy Skype, you would need a reasonably good headset with microphone that should be available in any good computer accessories store.

Click Here to Download Skype

Further Information:

Skype Website

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skype

Ridiculous Bank Charges

I was just at the bank about an hour ago trying to get a letter showing my account details for my employer. I had opened my account earlier that week and when I tried to request the letter from the officer, she told me that there is nothing to show since there were no transactions and it would be a waste of my money if I request the letter from them as it will cost a staggering amount of RM20.00. I politely asked if there is any possibility for any kind of statement to be printed, she once again said that is no need for one and managed to somewhat convince me that what my employer needed was just my account number and suggested that I printed one from my online banking account.

Things did not go on smoothly when I received an e-mail stating that my printed statement was not accepted. I gave the bank a call yesterday at about 3.40 p.m. when I read the e-mail which was already too late for me to personally rush into the branch. The person on the phone suggested that I come in the next day.

Today in the bank, I was told to hand write a letter because they have run out of that particular form. My patience was running out because I had called the day before and an officer had told me to come in today with me assuming everything would be fine.

The officer on duty said that everything will turn out fine with just the letter and I would most probably collect it on Monday after filling the pre dated form. All I did was just got her name and contact number so that I can hold her accountable should I fail to receive a letter.

To get that letter from the bank would cost me RM20 which I believe is overcharging its customers and without ethics. We are giving you the privilege to have us as a customer and you are taking advantage of us. Likewise, the bank can state the same in their case.

Other charges which I believe is unnecessary are for closing your bank account and setting up a standing order for internal bank payments of transfers. I can understand charges on late payments or late service of existing loans or credit cards but still do not believe in charging good behaving customers.

Lessons learned: If I were to stand firm with my decision to get the letter done on the day I opened the account, I would not have made additional trips to the bank and would have gotten things sorted out with my employer. I should not have listened to the officer as my employer has clearly stated in my employment letter that they needed a letter from my bank stating all my details.

Have you received a bad service from your bank? What was the worse? I want to hear from you.

Benny Ong XXX

French Art Festival Malaysia

I was at the P Ramlee theatre in Penang to watch a play called Men Without Shadows by Jean-Paul Sartre organized in conjunction with the French Art Festival that runs from 19th May – 24th June 2006. More information on the festival is available from http://www.french-art.org. I was there because I am avid supporter of the Arts scene in Penang and my sister Adeline Ong was the stage manager.

This play will be in KL at Panggung Bandaraya, Sultan Abdul Samad Building on June 2nd and 3rd at 8.30p.m. Admission is free.

The play was about during the Nazi occupation and war times. It tells the tale about 5 French revolution fighters being held and cruelly interrogated to reveal the location of their leader. All of them were in a situation that no matter what they do, they will die in the hands of their enemy.

This play was enjoyable with an amazing performance from the actors and I particularly like the set the most.

That’s all for the moment.

Benny Ong XXX

Free Google Adsense Optimization Tutorial

Like most webmasters, I use Google Adsense on roughly 50% of my sites to generate income. I am still learning how to optimize my adsense rate to increase profits. I am sure you have heard about people making thousands per day from Google Adsense which is very possible.

You may have also realized the recent craze of new Google adsense related product launches from hundreds of internet marketers. To be honest, most products are overpriced. I am not saying that all products are bad but some are of very poor quality and are mentioning the obvious.

I have stumbled upon Google’s own Tutorial videos which is totally free that you may access here:

http://services.google.com/adsense/breeze/optimization/385480/index.html

The video features three case studies and tips from the webmasters that are making a living from Adsense.

To those who are unaware of the power of Google Adsense, it is basically relevant contextual advertising placed by Google on your site that can generate revenue for your site. Registration is free.

Well, good luck and I hope you increase your earnings.

Have A Nice Day!

Benny Ong

P/S: I might even release my own adsense product as well.

Free Zodiac Calculator Download

As I spend time waiting before I move down to Kuala Lumpur next week, I couldn’t help it but to compile another program to compliment the previous widely distributed pong game. This time around, it is a zodiac calculator that will tell you your Chinese zodiac signs and Western star signs based on your birth date. I created this because most of my western friends do not know of their Chinese zodiac signs. This program is written in Java. Feel free to download it and redistribute it but don’t forget to place your comments. Here is a screenshot of it.

Free Zodiac Calculator

No proper testing has been done on the system requirements of this program and it should run fine on any platform that has Internet Explorer running. This file is only 432KB and can easily fit in any portable storage device for easy transporting. It is a small executable file with no installations at all. Don’t worry; this mini program is free of any virus or spy wares.

There are also no registration needed to download it and you the main reason you should have it is because it is FREE!

Click here to download it now.

Please distribute this program freely.

Benny Ong XXX

How to Install Love

This is another cool e-mail that I’ve just received. Enjoy.

Tech Support:Yes, … how can I help you?

Customer:Well, after much consideration, I’ve decided to install Love. Can
you guide me through the process?

Tech Support:Yes, I can help you! Are you ready to proceed?

Customer:Well, I’m not very technical, but I think I’m ready. What do I do
first?

Tech Support:The first step is to open your Heart. Have you located your
Heart?

Customer:Yes, but there are several other programs running now. Is it okay
to install Love while they are running?

Tech Support:What programs are running ?

Customer:Let’s see, I have Past Hurt, Low Self-Esteem, Grudge and
Resentment running right now.

Tech Support:No problem, Love will gradually erase Past Hurt from your
current operating system. It may remain in your permanent memory but it
will no longer disrupt other programs. Love will eventually override Low
Self-Esteem with a module of its own called High Self-Esteem. However, you
have to completely turn off Grudge and Resentment. Those programs prevent
Love from being properly installed. Can you turn those off ?

Customer:I don’t know how to turn them off. Can you tell me how?

Tech Support:With pleasure. Go to your start menu and invoke Forgiveness.
Do this as many times as necessary until Grudge and Resentment have been
completely erased.

Customer:Okay, done! Love has started installing itself. Is that normal?

Tech Support:Yes, but remember that you have only the base program. You
need to begin connecting to other Hearts in order to get the upgrades.

Customer:Oops! I have an error message already. It says, “Error – Program
not run on external components.” What should I do?

Tech Support:Don’t worry. It means that the Love program is set up to run
on Internal Hearts, but has not yet been run on your Heart. In
non-technical terms, it simply means you have to Love yourself before ! you
can Love others.

Customer:So, what should I do?

Tech Support:Pull down Self-Acceptance; then click on the following files:
Forgive-Self; Realize Your Worth; and Acknowledge your Limitations.

Customer:Okay, done.

Tech Support: Now, copy them to the “My Heart” directory. The system will
overwrite any conflicting files and begin patching faulty programming.
Also, you need to delete Verbose Self-Criticism from all directories and
empty your Recycle Bin to make sure it is completely gone and never comes
back.

Customer:Got it. Hey! My heart is filling up with new files. Smile is
playing on my monitor and Peace and Contentment are copying themselves all
over My Heart. Is this normal?

Tech Support:Sometimes. For others it takes awhile, but eventually
everything gets it at the proper time. So Love is installed and running.
One more thing before we hang up. Love is Freeware. Be sure to give it and
its various modules to everyone you meet. They will in turn share it with
others and return some cool modules back to you.

Customer:Thank you, God.

Please send this to every one you know. If you delete that is okay, God’s

love is not based on emails

May God bless you real good, remember He cares about you. I know
because He told me as I prayed for you.

Benny Ong XXX

The Da Vinci Code Audio Book

I’ve just watched the movie on the day of the premiere and heard my peers stating that the book was better. I love reading but not self motivation or computer relate books much more than fiction. So, I set on a quest to find an audio version and I found it and to those who have not read the book, here is your chance to listen to it for free.

Below is a link to a flash player that streams the audio from another source.

The Da Vinci Code – Dan Brown Audio Book

Enjoy!

Benny Ong

P/S: I am not hosting or distributing this audio book and do not know how long the source will be up for. Enjoy it while it lasts….!

Corporate Lessons

I received this e-mail a few days back and did not read it. I even decided to delete it but fortunately I did not. Each story is funny and one can relate to it very easily and remember the lessons or moral in each story.

Corporate Lesson 1:

A man is getting into the shower just as his wife is finishing up her shower, when the doorbell rings. The wife quickly wraps herself in a towel and runs downstairs. When she opens the door, there stands Bob, the next door neighbor. Before she says a word, Bob says, “I’ll give you $800 to drop that towel,”

After thinking for a moment, the woman drops her towel and stands naked in front of Bob. After a few seconds, Bob hands her $800 dollars and leaves. The woman wraps back up in the towel and goes back upstairs. When she gets to the bathroom, her husband asks, “Who was that?”

“It was Bob the next door neighbor,” she replies.

“Great!” the husband says, “did he say anything about the $800 he
owes me?”

Moral of the story: If you share critical information pertaining to credit and risk with your shareholders in time, you may be in a position to prevent avoidable exposure.

Corporate Lesson 2:

A priest offered a lift to a Nun. She got in and crossed her legs, forcing her gown to reveal a leg. The priest nearly had an accident. After controlling the car, he stealthily slid his hand up her leg. The nun said, “Father, remember Psalm 129?” The priest removed his hand. But, changing gears, he let his hand slide up her leg again. The nun once again said, “Father, remember Psalm 129?” The priest apologized “Sorry sister but the flesh is weak.” Arriving at the convent, the nun went on her way. On his arrival at the church, the priest rushed to look up Psalm 129. It said, “Go forth and seek, further up, you will find glory.”

Moral of the story: If you are not well informed in your job, you might miss a great opportunity.

Corporate Lesson 3:

A sales rep, an administration clerk, and the manager are walking to lunch when they find an antique oil lamp.They rub it and a Genie comes out.

The Genie says, “I’ll give each of you just one wish.”

“Me first! Me first!” says the admin. clerk.

“I want to be in the Bahamas, driving a speedboat, without a care in the world.” Poof! She’s
gone.
“Me next! Me next!” says the sales rep.

“I want to be in Hawaii, relaxing on the beach with my personal masseuse, an endless supply of Pine Coladas and the love of my life.” Poof! He’s gone.

“OK, you’re up,” the Genie says to the manager.

The manager says, “I want those two back in the office after lunch.”

Moral of the story: Always let your boss have the first say.

Corporate Lesson 4:

A crow was sitting on a tree, doing nothing all day. A rabbit asked him, “Can I also sit like you and do nothing all day long?” The crow answered: “Sure, why not.” So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the crow, and rested. A fox jumped on the rabbit and ate it.

Moral of the story: To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very high up.

Corporate Lesson 5:

A turkey was chatting with a bull. “I would love to be able to Get to the top of that tree,” sighed the turkey, but I haven’t got the energy.”

“Well, why don’t you nibble on my droppings?” replied the bull.

“They’re packed with nutrients.”

The turkey pecked at a lump of dung and found that it gave him enough strength to reach the lowest branch of the tree. The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch.

Finally after a fourth night, there he was proudly perched at the top of the tree. Soon he was spotted by a farmer, who shot the turkey out of the tree.

Moral of the story: Bullshit might get you to the top, but it won’t keep you there.

Hope you have enjoyed reading and learning from it as much as I did.

Share this with your friends…

Benny Ong XXX

Getting My First Tattoo

I finally got my tattoo done today. It is a tribal one just on my lower waist back. I wanted to have a tattoo done when I was in London but it was just too pricey and I finally met a cool tattoo artist in Prangin Mall Penang and just had to checked it out of my to do lists. It took me a while to find the right design and remembered spending two days in Camden Town looking for the right one. I was fortunate to find the design I wanted a week ago while accompanying my sister and her friend. I made an appointment for it to be done a week later which brings us to today.

As this was my first tattoo, I was very anxious as I am getting something that will stay with me for life. It will also make me easily identifiable if they were to find my body after a plane crash or accident. The tattoo artist started by tracing the design onto a piece of paper before applying some alcohol and transferring the imprint on to my back. He suggested that it was a good height for my tattoo to be on my lower waist and I just simply agreed. Arguably most people would say that only the ladies get their tattoos there but it is common for surfer dudes to have tattoos on their lower waist back.

My Tribal Tattoo

I usually wear my jeans low cut just because I feel comfy and at times reveal my butt crack which can be sometimes an unpleasant view. Now, with the tattoo there, hopefully it will distract them and make it something pleasing.

The moment the needle first pierced into my skin, it felt exactly like an injection or an ant bite but when he was carrying on with the outline, it felt like he was slowly slicing my skin apart as he drag the needle. As the design consists of mostly curves, he tried to drag it as smoothly as possible each time which was torturing. Remember, no pain, no gain. The most painful moments was when he was working near my tail bone as I believe it is close to where my central nervous system is. The sides of the waist were painful as well and I was imagining myself going for a liposuction. The stinging feeling while he was working on the outline was not something unbearable. Try to think about something happy and not focusing on the needle movements. It was exactly what I was doing the whole time.

When the outline was done, he promised that the shading would not hurt as much but to me, it was all the same. The shading process is adding the color into the drawn outline. Using the same needle, he would slowly fill up the whole area meant to be shaded. It took a while as it was a large space to cover. The shading process did not require the needle to pierce in as deep as when drawing the outline.

I always assume that it will be very bloody while getting a tattoo and one might even suffer major blood loss but it wasn’t the case. Throughout the entire approximately an hour and half process, I chatted with the tattooist and kept bugging him about the progress. He would kindly give it to me in percentages like 10% left.

I was in joy when the whole gruesome process came to an end and saw the final work on the mirror. All I have to do from that moment on is to wait for it to heal and was warned not to swim or go for sauna. I will most definitely keep you periodically updated with the healing process.

Someone asked me whether I would consider a second tattoo. My answer is when the time is right.

According to my friend, I can’t donate blood for a year which is something I am planning to do as I am O positive, the universal donator. My blood type is rare and most wanted.

That’s all for today as I need to go to bed now after a long day and deserve some rest I guess for my sore sore.. back.

Take care.

Benny Ong

P/S: If you really want a tattoo and can’t take the pain, try an airbrush one or a henna tattoo.