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15. August 2000 10:42
by Rene Pallesen
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The Wildlife in Borneo . . .

15. August 2000 10:42 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

the wildlife in borneo
Ecochallenge ( Sabah 2000 )

Magellan HotelMoving into SilamRepeater StationInjured CompetitorTransporting a Repeater StationBeetleKids in Village
ArrivalSilam / Jungle OpsRepeater StationsThe CompetitorsHelicopterJungle Around UsThe Village

Jungles of Borneo
The Wildlife in Borneo . . .


The jungles in Borneo are really dense, dark and humid.

You will find that some of the photos look as though they have been over-exposed, but in reality, it is just the humidity in the air.

Me in the jungle




I have a photo of this at home - Glen enlarged it for me, and framed it!

Don't ask me why - I think I look rather wasted there.

Glen and I tried to race through the jungle.

The climb to the top of the mountain is rated as a 1.5 hour climb... Glen and I have done it in 26 minutes... actually I was confident that I could do it in less than 20 and so I did!

I held the record of taking 17 minutes to race to the top of Mt Silam, covering a distance of approx 4 kilometres through the jungle, up a mountain.

I was getting really fit (My girlfriend was proud of me).

Glen in the jungleGlen in the jungleGlen in the jungle

This photo shows how dense and dark the jungle can be. It was so humid there... no, not because I hadn't cleaned my lenses.

Glen in the jungleMe in the jungle


You can see how muddy it is in the jungle - I became quite dirty after many trips into the jungle.

Look how big these trees are!Me standing in front of one of these big trees!They look almost as big as the Californian Redwoods!

I think these trees are just as big as the Californian Redwoods. They might not be as old, but definitely just as big.

Beetle



This was taken with a 300mm lens, from 1.5 metres.


The most amazing thing about them, is when they are scared, the curl up into little "marbles".

It looks like a small bug, but it is actually at least 7cm long, which is actually quite big.

Moth in palm of hand


I noticed in Borneo, most of the insects there were huge.


The wingspan of the brown moth was about 15cm wide - huge!

They are mostly active at night, which is quite common for creatures in the jungle.

A couple of the girls stationed in the jungles, was stationed here. Not a wise decision, considering these girls were paranoid about the insects.

(Note: in the photo below, I still had conjunctivitis) I had the red eyes for most of the trip.
Moth on my elbowBrown moth

Big and beautiful, don't you think? You can see how big the black moth is compared to the size of the telephone.

Black mothMoth on wall

Plant with leaves in hexagon formation



These plants were kind of special because each branch split into two, so by the end of it, they formed a hexagonal pattern.


Below, are plants known as the "pitcher" plant.

The pitcher plants are meat-eating plants - you have watch out not to fall into them because they will swallow you whole.

Pitcher plant

If you just believed that, you are very gullible! *laugh*


The pitcher plant, like other carnivorous plants, feed on insects.

They have sweet-smelling nectar that attract the unsuspecting insect to it.

When the insect lands, it finds the surface slippery and fall straight into the “pitcher”, where the plants juices drowns it and is digested by the plant.

You may have heard of other type of carnivorous plants such as the Venus Fly Trap, and the Sundew plants.

Me holding a dead snake

Yes, you see me holding the snake with a leaf.


It was a poisonous snake, and I was worried about it's venom getting on my skin.

For example a puff adder, contact with the venom numbs the skin.

I was not familiar with the snakes in Borneo, and was not about to risk it.
A Tarantella


The tarantella was sitting inside the catering tent hunting.

Everyone was looking at it and admiring it, which was pretty amazing, considering I know many people who would willingly kill a spider in sight.

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Created: 7 Dec 2001

15. August 2000 10:41
by Rene Pallesen
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Repeater Stations . . .

15. August 2000 10:41 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

repeater stations
Ecochallenge ( Sabah 2000 )

Magellan HotelMoving into SilamRepeater StationInjured CompetitorTransporting a Repeater StationBeetleKids in Village
ArrivalSilam / Jungle OpsRepeater StationsThe CompetitorsHelicopterJungle Around UsThe Village

Repeater Stations . . .

Paul and repeater Station in aircraftMe and repeater Station in aircraft

Here, you see Paul and I transporting some of the repeater stations by air.

From Silam, we flew down to DFVC. We stayed there for three days before going back to Silam.

Me at site of repeater station

I am at one of the repeater sites. Here, the top of one of the mountains was cleared, so we could safely land a helicopter there.

Oh... did I forget to mention that I almost chopped one of my fingers in half at the repeater site?

On top of my infected eye, I had another thing for the medical team to look at. The fingernail had been chopped in half and there was not much I could do about it except clean it up and try to avoid infections. The medical team was great there... they were extremely good.

Site of Repeater Station


We had a few problems with some of the communications gear.


Paul and Glen were handling it, and at times I tried to assist.

The first few days had been really tough.

Solar Panel Photo 1Solar Panel Photo 2
The top of Silam is covered in clouds for most of the afternoons, so the solar panels are quite useless. A survey of the conditions made prior to the race was useless.


If you ask any of the locals, they would have told us that the peak is always covered in clouds... but apparently no-one asked them!!!

Generator


We had problems keeping the generators running - they were using more power than predicted and there was no sun on the top of Silam to recharge the batteries.


The generator itself was a re-built petrol engine with a car alternator on it.

We basically tried to use a system where we used a jerry can, cut holes into it, and relied on the force of gravity to transport the fuel to the generator.

This design ended up working best for us.

Site of repeater stationSite of repeater station
Our helicopter pilot sitting on the side there, just grinning...


On the third day of the race, I hiked up the mountain three times. I was really tired and all I could think of was getting a bit of a rest and some food. I managed to get a bit once I got to Danum. In Danum I managed to get 6 hours sleep before someone woke me up and told me that the repeater had died in Silam... again all the cars had to leave in a convoy... so rush, rush to find my driver and managed (just) to get into the convoy!

The road to Danum closes at 6.30pm and all the cars had to go in the convoy.

Helicopter at Repeater Site Photo 1Helicopter at Repeater Site Photo 2
The helicopter flew all of us to the top of the mountain, and waited there for us till we were finished. Glen quite often told the pilot, "You don't have to shut down, because we'll only be here for 5 minutes." Well... quite often, we were there for as long as an hour and half! (Don't worry, the pilot was sensible enough to shut down immediately... he got to know Glen very well.)


I went up there often make sure that it was still running. It is much better getting a helicopter to fly me up there so that I can bring some fuel with me !

Glen fixing generator Photo 1Glen fixing generator Photo 2

Glen has mostly been on top of the mountain getting the generator back online.
We have to keep the generator running 24 hours per day until the end of the race.


Glen fixing repeater Photo 1


On the third night after the race started, one of the repeaters went dead.


I had to hike up the mountain on the previous day as the generator had died.

I did not leave the mountain until it was dark, so I had to climb down through the jungle in the dark!

Fortunately I had my torch with me!

Glen fixing repeater Photo 4



Paul later gave me strict instructions to make sure that I leave the mountain so that I could be back at HQ while there was still light!


I found out that I did not have any problems navigating at night... I even offered Paul to go back up when the repeater died!

Anyhow, we ended up having to send the airborne repeater up!

Helicopter at Repeater Site Photo 3Helicopter at Repeater Site Photo 4
Glen fixing repeater Photo 2Glen fixing repeater Photo 3



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Created: 7 Dec 2001

15. August 2000 10:41
by Rene Pallesen
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The Competitors . . .

15. August 2000 10:41 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

the competitors
Perfect Moments Photography | A Rene Pallesen Journal

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18. January 2013 03:23
by Rene Pallesen
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Heat Record in Sydney 46.4 Degrees

18. January 2013 03:23 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

heat record in sydney 46 4 degrees


Today was REALLY hot in Sydney.

We have had a couple of really hot (40C++) days in Sydney this summer but yesterday beat the current longstanding heat record from 1936.

In Sydney itself they measured 45.8C and at the Airport which is closer to us the measured 46.4C. At our place we measured more than 43C degrees at midday.



Fortunately yesterday was a lot cooler and because we knew that there was a hot day coming up we managed to cool down the place the during the night to a pleasant 25 degrees...and out house maintained that temperature for most of the day (apart from our study which gets really hot because of the big windows).

In the evening a cool change arrived with very strong winds and a bit of rain...we quickly opened all doors and windows to take advantage of it and cool down the place again...unfortunately this also came with a very fine layer of dust on everything next morning.


9. January 2013 04:23
by Rene Pallesen
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Blog posts for 2012

9. January 2013 04:23 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

blog posts for 2012


2012 was a record blogging years for me...77 posts over the entire year...which means one new entry every 4.5 days, or in other terms something new to look at regularly.

I am hoping that 2013 will have equally many posts. I have now been blogging for more than 15 years and most if not all the posts can be seen here:

Click here


2. January 2013 01:37
by Rene Pallesen
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Family Bedtime

2. January 2013 01:37 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

family bedtime


Here is another family photo that I had my Dad assist us with. It was easier to have him on a ladder taking the photo than trying to set it up on a lightstand.



It was lit by firing a group of flashes into the ceiling of the room...hopefully I will get a professional studio flash soon and will have some more power available for these types of photos.


I recon this is one of my favourite family photos from 2012.

2. January 2013 01:00
by Rene Pallesen
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My dad with Aiden and Lucas 2013

2. January 2013 01:00 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

my dad with aiden and lucas 2013


In September 2006 I went on a business trip to Tokyo along with a colleague of mine Tsukada-san.

Most of the trip was hard work and very long days, but I did manage to snap a couple of photos here and there.

We did get the deal in Tokyo, so the trip was worthwhile, and we are now installing our solution across all of Asia.

Girls in Kimono
Click here to see more photos from: Tokyo/Slideshow

27. February 2007 02:36
by Rene Pallesen
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Added photos from Denmark 2006

27. February 2007 02:36 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

added photos from denmark 2006


In early 2006 my Mum had a stroke while my parents were on holiday in Thailand.

A few months later in April when I was in Europe for work I used the opportunity to go and visit and check up on how my mum is doing.

She is now in a wheelchair and still getting used to finding new ways of doing things.

I didn't do much while I was there, because it was mainly a social visit to help my mum and dad.

My mum
Click here to see more photos from: Denmark/Slideshow

27. February 2007 02:17
by Rene Pallesen
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Added a photo album for various photos 2006

27. February 2007 02:17 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

added a photo album for various photos 2006


I have a number of photos that don't really justify being in individual albums. I have now added all these photos from 2006 into one album.

Who's the clown? Click here to see more photos from: Miscellaneous/Slideshow

27. February 2007 01:41
by Rene Pallesen
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Added photos from USA 2006

27. February 2007 01:41 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

added photos from usa


In early 2006 I went a trip to Seattle for our annual kick-off event.

Some of us flew over there a few days early to go skiing in Wanatchee east of Seattle. If was a weekend of perfect skiing. It was my first time skiing so I took some lessons after which I was doing fine (blue slopes).

During the week we had lots of meetings and dinners. There were award nights as well as just social nights where we could meet up with the rest of the company.

The following all of us in International went down to Crystal Mountain at Mount Raineer to do some more skiing. It was a lot of fun and we all had a great time.

Me with Mount Raineer in the background
Click here to see more photos from: USA/Slideshow

27. February 2007 01:30
by Rene Pallesen
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Added photos from skiing in Thredbo 2006

27. February 2007 01:30 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

added photos from skiing in thredbo 2006


Mid 2006 I went with Soeren and his family (visiting from Thailand) to Thredbo to do some skiing. We drove down there Friday night and returned Sunday night. Thredbo is located in the Australian Alps 5 hours drive south of Sydney.

Generally the skiing conditions are pretty good, but last year was pretty bad, but we did get some skiing done. Soeren on skiis
Click here to see more photos from:Skiing in Australia 2006/Slideshow

27. February 2007 01:05
by Rene Pallesen
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Added photos from Holland 2006

27. February 2007 01:05 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

added photos from holland 2006


In 2006 I went to Holland a couple of time for work. We have an office in Vianen 50 milometers outside Amsterdam.

I normally don't take a lot of photos when I go there, but if you click on the link below then you can see some of the ones I did take.

Amsterdam
Click here to see more photos from:Holland/Slideshow

4. January 2007 12:27
by Rene Pallesen
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2008 has started

4. January 2007 12:27 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

2008 has started


The year 2007 as you can see was a busy year with lots of traveling and adventures.

It is now time to move onto 2008 and see what this year can bring.

You can follow my adventures in 2008 by clicking on this link.

Can I at the same time suggest that you bookmark this page and I can highly recommend using the new RSS feed features on this website.

2. January 2007 10:02
by Rene Pallesen
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New Years Eve 2007

2. January 2007 10:02 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

new years eve


New Years eve this year was celebrated on the Lawn at the Botanical Gardens near the opera house. We had a nice combined view of the fireworks in the city, on the harbour and on the bridge. We were there with a group of friends and and we brought picnic blankets and food to eat.

The 9pm fireworks were a bit disappointing compared to other years but the midnight one was really good. This year they use the whole area, so simultaneously fireworks were being fired from the harbour, the bridge as well as the high rise buildings in the city.

Click here for more photos

Fireworks are illegal to buy and sell here in Australia, so instead the city (and most other cities) instead put on large firework displays. This means that you every year get professional firework displays instead of the sporadic stuff you get in other countries where people themselves buy it.

Besides, if firework was allowed then the State Emergency Services would be spending three weeks after New Years Eve fighting bushfires every year. Click here to Download video of Firework Display #1
Click here to Download video of Firework Display #2
Click here to Download video of Firework Display #3
Click here to Download video of Firework Display #4


Click here to see more photos from New Years Eve

20. March 2006 01:50
by Rene Pallesen
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Tokyo 2006

20. March 2006 01:50 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

tokyo


In September 2006 I went on a business trip to Tokyo along with a colleague of mine Tsukada-san.

Most of the trip was hard work and very long days, but I did manage to snap a couple of photos here and there.

We did get the deal in Tokyo, so the trip was worthwhile, and we are now installing our solution across all of Asia.







Click here to see more photos from: Tokyo/Slideshow

19. March 2006 03:56
by Rene Pallesen
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Thailand 2006

19. March 2006 03:56 by Rene Pallesen | 0 Comments

thailand


In Mid 2006 I went to a work meeting in Krabi in Thailand.

This happens to be a few kilometers away from one of the best rock climbing destinations in the world. So, after the meeting I took a few days off to go rock climbing.

Kim happened to be travelling in the Northern part of Thailand with some friends who had to leave on the same day my meeting ended. Kim flew down to Krabi where I picked her up at the airport.

Unfortunately it was rainy season, so most of the time in Railay it was raining, but we did manage to get one day of climbing done and the rest of the time we spend in the restaurants and playing cards.

Romantic sunset photo
Click here to see more photos from: Thailand/Slideshow