Robographer Photography http://robographer.com Mon, 20 Feb 2012 02:49:35 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.2 Struck by lightning http://robographer.com/2011/06/wow/ http://robographer.com/2011/06/wow/#comments Tue, 14 Jun 2011 12:24:19 +0000 admin http://robographer.com/?p=1857 That was quite a night yesterday, we almost got struck by lightning!

Well, not we but our house.

struck by lightning

It started quiet, we were just watching a movie, when we had a power-cut. That is not so strange here because that happens 4 -5 times a week and after 10 minutes the power came back already. But then... after another 20 minutes it started to rain and the rain was so massive that we couldn't hear the sound of the movie anymore and shortly after that the power was gone again. That was not all!! There was a thunderstorm and in the beginning is was still far away but the time between the lightning and the thunder became shorter and shorter. Our cats started to panic and crawl under the couch and under the cupboards and then it struck!!! About 30 meter from our house the lightning struck with a deafening sound!!! Our hearts stopped beating for a few seconds and a second lightning was followed by a thunder a few seconds later so the thunder storm was passing by. A few more bursts and every time a little further away so the worst was over.

Corinne went to the bedroom and Robert was still sitting on the couch when he thought at first that he became a little dizzy but soon realized that it was something else. The whole house was shaking. An earthquake!!! Thank God a very mild one and only for a few seconds but it was definitely an earthquake.

The rain got less fast and because we still had no electricity we went to bed quite early to find the sun shining again this morning as if nothing happened last night.

A fascinating country North Sulawesi, Indonesia is!! Multiple power cuts, earthquakes and almost got struck by lightning all on one evening!

]]> http://robographer.com/2011/06/wow/feed/ 0 Apologies!!! http://robographer.com/2011/06/apologies/ http://robographer.com/2011/06/apologies/#comments Sun, 12 Jun 2011 04:53:43 +0000 admin http://robographer.com/?p=1848 I just saw that the last post in here in our private blog is from February the 26th... well THAT's a long time ago... sorry for that.

The reasons for this I will try to explain to you although not one is really an apology for not writing here.
Of course on of the reasons is that we were (are) very busy in the Resorts. At the moment we are building a Spa in Mapia Resort and it has to be finished in July because we already have a reservation for a massage... Another reason is that we didn't have internet at home until 2 weeks ago. The next reason is that Robert ( who is mainly writing the posts here) was very busy with a new website for our Spa and a new website for our Celebes Divers Blog

Anyway... I will try to write more often...

I think you might wonder what the hell the photo above has to do with this post. Well, the other day when I went diving with our guests from Onong Resort I forgot my camera on the boat and I asked somebody to bring it when he would come back to the restaurant. So he also did, but not after taking some great model-shots from our Electrician Iwan and I thought it would make a nice illustration about how I looked when I found out how long ago I wrote here...

You can see the rest of the photos here

]]> http://robographer.com/2011/06/apologies/feed/ 0 New office, our house and “old” friends http://robographer.com/2011/02/new-office/ http://robographer.com/2011/02/new-office/#comments Sat, 26 Feb 2011 11:58:49 +0000 admin http://robographer.com/?p=1794 Today we worked the full day in our new office for the first time and I think we will get used to it real quick... A very comfortable place to work!

Our house... well that is another story... After the workmen were finished and left the house we found out that not everything was as it should be. When we opened the water-taps water came out everywhere... except from the tap :-) . Luckily one of our employees was able to fix this problem and now water comes out of all the places where it should come out.

While painting the walls they must have thought that it was a good idea to do the floor as well... but after 15 centimeter they let go of that idea and continued with the wall again. Funny is that they got this idea over and over again so we had to scrape paint of the floor through the whole house.
The house was connected to the electrical system here in Manado but the connection was only 900 Watt... problem... Corinne's hair dryer is already 1600 Watt... So we ordered another connection with 5500 Watt (as a start...) and that was not a problem... so they said... it would take a few days only. That was 3 weeks ago... and surprise!!! Yesterday they connected us!!!

The next step is a telephone connection for internet. We are curious how long that will take! We will keep you informed.

In two weeks the first of a long row of people arrive with whom we had the pleasure already before to spend a part of their holiday with them as our guests and because of that became more than "just guests". We are very happy to see them all again...

The last great development is the way our cats get along with each other since we are here. For the people who know our cats these photos are rather strange... even more when we tell you that they were NOT staged... we just took them as it happened.
Since we are here they are the best friends and they cannot do anything without each other. Even MekMek, who was always on her own until now, is running, playing and sleeping together with the other two...
Just look at the photos and enjoy...



]]> http://robographer.com/2011/02/new-office/feed/ 1 Why seahorses look like they do… http://robographer.com/2011/02/why-seahorses-look-like-they-do/ http://robographer.com/2011/02/why-seahorses-look-like-they-do/#comments Mon, 07 Feb 2011 10:56:01 +0000 admin http://robographer.com/?p=1713

The seahorse evolved its arched head and curved S-shape body to help it hunt more distant prey, says a new study.

The strange yet alluring creature is completely different to its closest relative, the straight-bodied pipefish. Scientists wanted to find out why the delicate seahorse had gradually adapted its body, the journal Nature Communications reports.

While pipefish have to swim towards their tiny prey, seahorses sit and wait for small shrimps and fish larvae to come towards them and then strike, according to the Daily Mail. The seahorse's flexible arched neck acts like a spring that stores energy allowing it to attack more distant prey, the study adds. It is a vital hunting technique to compensate for the fact that the seahorse is a weak swimmer.

Lead researcher Sam Van Wassenbergh of University of Antwerp, Belgium, used high-speed film footage to watch seahorses operate at 66 times slower than their normal speed. He then applied mathematical models to show how the 'bend and snap' of a seahorse's neck gives it a 20 percent larger strike zone than the pipefish.

'They rotate their heads upward to bring their mouth close to the prey,' he said.

Source:Sify News Photo: Robographer Photography

]]> http://robographer.com/2011/02/why-seahorses-look-like-they-do/feed/ 2 Silence before the storm… http://robographer.com/2011/02/silence-before-the-storm/ http://robographer.com/2011/02/silence-before-the-storm/#comments Wed, 02 Feb 2011 15:46:08 +0000 admin http://robographer.com/?p=1690 As you know Manado is situated almost on the equator (150 km north of the equator to be precise…) and 99% of the time we have beautiful weather with high temperatures and sunshine, but there are also huge storms now and then.

Today was such a day and we had a beautiful view from our restaurant to see the storm approach. The normal view we have on the islands Manado Tua, Bunaken and Siladen was completely gone and all we could see was this enormous fat cloud filled with rain slowly coming towards Manado; a spectacular view. Shortly after I made these photos the wind started and then within minutes it started to rain… well rain… I think your shower at home gives less water…

The good thing about this part of the world is that the temperature stays more or less the same and the rain just does its business and then disappears again and after that the sun shines as if nothing happened. In northern Europe (where I come from) the weather needs at least a week to recover from a storm like this one…

]]> http://robographer.com/2011/02/silence-before-the-storm/feed/ 2 Just an update http://robographer.com/2011/01/just-an-update/ http://robographer.com/2011/01/just-an-update/#comments Thu, 13 Jan 2011 04:05:58 +0000 admin http://blog.robographer.com/?p=1256
We both had a bad cold (Yes that's even possible in the tropics) but we are almost healthy again. At the moment the website is undergoing the translation and we hope to have it all online before the BOOT in Duesseldorf. In 6!! days Corinne is flying to Germany and will stay there until February 4... that means we will be separated for more than 2 weeks :-( The longest separation since we are together.)

The work in the resorts is building up. Roofs are being renewed, boats get a face-lift and a new boat is going to be build. You can read more details on the Celebes Divers Blog. The garden of Mapia Resort is looking like the Garden of Eden more and more. Ripe fruits are everywhere... just next to our cottage there is a mango tree and the fruits are just there to pick. Also pineapples, coconuts and several fruits that we get served as desert every day but of which I still don't know the names. Vitamin-shock alarm!!!

Our house is almost finished and after Corinne comes back from Germany we are going to buy our furniture and finally move there. Yesterday we had a job-interview with a candidate-housekeeper and if all goes well she will start her work on the 1st of March (if she doesn't find another job until then).

Well that's about it for now... I think I take another mango...]]> http://robographer.com/2011/01/just-an-update/feed/ 2 First price http://robographer.com/2011/01/first-price/ http://robographer.com/2011/01/first-price/#comments Mon, 03 Jan 2011 06:38:27 +0000 admin http://blog.robographer.com/?p=1252
A few days before I filled out a little form in the shopping mall, just for fun, and they told me that IF I would win a price they would call me. Yeah, Right! Knowing myself... that will never work!

Therefore I was very surprised to receive a phone call the day before Christmas that I actually did win a price. I was in town anyway so I decided to pass by the mall on my way home and see what they had let me win... probably a candy bar or so.

The surprise was even bigger when I finally got there and they told me that I won the first price in their raffle! A "laptop" computer!
With a big smile on her face the lovely young lady gave me a box the size of a shoebox (size 4) and told me that my "laptop" computer was in there. Hmmm, did they fold the thing to make it fit in this box? She brought me to the shop that donated the price for the raffle and told me that they would help me with the rest.

In the shop we opened the box and there was my "laptop"... the size of a postcard... sweet!
The man in the shop installed the software and home I went.

The little thing is great by the way... fully functional with Windows 7 and all. I just need to adjust my reading glasses to read what is on the screen...]]> http://robographer.com/2011/01/first-price/feed/ 3 Dreaming of a white Christmas http://robographer.com/2010/12/dreaming-of-a-white-christmas/ http://robographer.com/2010/12/dreaming-of-a-white-christmas/#comments Sat, 25 Dec 2010 10:04:58 +0000 admin http://blog.robographer.com/?p=1246 The last week the weather here is just as messed up as is Europe and in contrary to other years we had more rain in one week as usually falls in the whole rain season! As you read in one of the previous posts in our blog we already lost one boat and a few days ago we saved the second one from the waves in the last minute. Yesterday evening we kept watch by boat number 3 for hours until low tide sat in.

Today, the first day of Christmas the weather doesn't look different as you can see in the photo. So for us... it meant staying in today and celebrate Christmas just the two of us, very cozy. Some reading, watching a movie, eating all the wrong things you normally eat at Christmas and drinking the occasional beer. Tonight dinner in the resort restaurant, so we still have to go through the rain though...

]]> http://robographer.com/2010/12/dreaming-of-a-white-christmas/feed/ 3 Our new house http://robographer.com/2010/12/our-new-house/ http://robographer.com/2010/12/our-new-house/#comments Wed, 15 Dec 2010 14:01:03 +0000 admin http://blog.robographer.com/?p=1236 Indonesia. The photos from the inside of the house do not reveal a lot but the one from the outside is quite nice.

the livingroom

the diningroom

Some people asked us what they are doing inside...

Basically the house has a living room, a dining room, 3 bedrooms and a huge kitchen area with a space I really cannot describe because I have no clue what it is for.
It's about the size of a large room in between the maid quarters (Bedroom and bathroom) and the kitchen. It is not really good for anything... maybe we just put the fridge there and a cupboard...

One of the bedrooms, the one directly next to the master bedroom, we are transforming in a bathroom. They made a door in the wall between the two rooms, a new floor with all the plumbing, tiles one the walls and of course a new toilet, shower and 2 sinks. All the doors in the house will be replaced, everything is fresh painted and 2 AC's, a water heater and a water pump on our well will be installed. It is amazing to see these guys work... they took out the old tile floor from our bedroom with a small hammer, the short guy in the living room made the complete bathroom alone and BAREFOOTED!! He walks around over stones, dried cement residue, splintered wood, nails and screws with nothing on his feet. A woman (about 1m 50cm tall) painted all the walls 4 times and the tools they use... well... never mind.

As soon as the bathroom is finished I will try not to forget my camera and take some photos for you...

sampai jumpa (see you... )]]> http://robographer.com/2010/12/our-new-house/feed/ 0 Storm!! http://robographer.com/2010/12/storm/ http://robographer.com/2010/12/storm/#comments Sun, 12 Dec 2010 03:08:17 +0000 admin http://blog.robographer.com/?p=1225 high-tide the wave went over the jetty and the boats started dancing wildly in our marina. Of course with a storm like this we had a power-cut to complete the whole thing...

After dark we went to check on the boats in turns and parked our truck on the waterfront to light to boats with its headlights. Around 21:30 one of the boats had to give up its fight against the huge waves and went under water. Within minutes the sea took the complete boat apart as if it was made out of paper. It was terrifying to hear the screaming and cracking of the boat when it broke, it sounded as if it was hurting...
Because there was nothing we could do anymore we went home after the low tide set in and we knew that the second boat would survive.


This morning we saw the battlefield and we discovered that our boats crew and captains already salvaged the 3 outboard engines that went down with the boat.

For the boat we cannot do anything anymore but clean up the mess it made.]]> http://robographer.com/2010/12/storm/feed/ 3