Neil Fifer: "I've put together some photos of Guy around Lamma Island. Some of his ponds, his hides and his dogs. I forgot to mention his love of his dogs and he had many over the years.

If you can't see him in some of the photos it could be because he is camouflaged, being 'Anonymous Guy'."

Geoff Smith: "Many will have heard by now of the sad loss of a giant of Lamma bird photography, Guy Miller. Guy's iconic pond next to his hide at Tai Shan West was legendary in its ability to attract species that nobody knew were around, and over many patient hours Guy produced some amazing photos.

I have many happy memories of good times spent together. We at Lamma Birds are extremely saddened by the loss and send sympathy to his family and friends."

So many "Guy the Birdographer" stories and photos in the Lamma-zine over the last 20+ years. RIP, my great friend.

One of my favourite stories, very unusual in not featuring a bird, but himself:

Guy: "I was just about to enter the bird hide & was spotted by this #CrouchingTigerHiddenDragon who came over & chatted health, trails & Lamma birds before he disappeared up into the woods at the start of his cross-Lamma trail run."

Some of Guy's Lamma-zine photos & stories.

Aug 10:  Birdographer's Surprise

Mark Malby: "When you're trying to photograph the birds, but they have other ideas. (Photo courtesy of Danica Malby)"

Aug 7:  Wild Boar Sighting

David Ogg: "In Sok Kwu Wan. Kinda up close and personal, but I stayed straddling the bike in case it charged."

Plus a little video...

Aug 6:  Psychedelic as Hell!

AI remix of selected images in my 2 fractal art albums from my pre-AI days, during and after the pandemic years:

Stay Home, Stay Safe, Stay Creative!

Don't Stay Home, But Stay Safe & Creative!

AI prompt for all images:
"Psychedelic as Hell" or "Hellish Psychedelia".
AI model: Gemini 3.1 (with Nano Banana 2) inside Photoshop.

Aug 2:  Red Rainstorm!

Sandrine: "When you're full of energy to go to work and you see this!"

District Councilor Liu Shun-ting:

"Special report from the HK Observatory at 11:05 AM regarding the Red Rainstorm Warning Signal:

Lamma Island Yung Shue Wan and Sok Kwu Wan:
Severe flooding in multiple villages and streets."

David Ogg: "It's been a busy morning!"

Aug 1:  World Wide Web Day

Tim Berners-Lee calls for AI to preserve
'original values' of web

"The British physicist-turned-computer scientist conceived the World Wide Web in 1989 while working at CERN, the European particle physics lab in Switzerland

The very first website ever created is still online, and its link is: http://info.cern.ch

This site was hosted on Tim Berners-Lee's NeXT computer at CERN and originally contained documentation explaining what the World Wide Web was, how to create web pages, and how to run a web server. It's preserved exactly as it appeared in the early 1990s."

World Wide Web Day and Swiss National Day today!

Tim Berners-Lee is my personal hero! Without him, I couldn't have made my career in website building & mastering.

I've been working in the IBM Research Lab Zurich, Switzerland, till I moved to HK in the 80s. Great memories there while I was studying Computer Science at Zurich University and ETH at the same time. I learned so much!

Researchers in that IBM lab won the Physics Nobel Prize 2 years in a row while I was working there (not directly involved, just a supporting role in their research).

I've been launching my very first corporate website in the 90s (one of the very first and largest in HK, still online in 12+ languages and attracting many millions of views/month worldwide).

Being headhunted to launch a travel website as MD/CCO, we closed down 9 months later amidst the worlwide collapse of the dotcom bubble in 2,000.

I semi-retired to Lamma and shortly afterwards launched Lamma.com.hk with friends, as a pre-social media forum and online community. It was back then and now just a hobby and a labour of love. And here we are, 24 years later...

July 31:  The Lost Chimney

Another new T-shirt design from Lamma Brand shop. Who can name all the 4 Disney princesses and then even admit that they can? Any parents with pre-teenage children?

July 30:  Aberdeen Ferry Changes

Revised timetables from 翠華船務香港有限公司 Tsui Wah Ferry Service HK Limited, for the YSW-Pak Kok-Aberdeen ferry route, from Aug 15!

FINALLY, one more late ferry from YSW-Pak Kok-Aberdeen at 10:30pm! I've updated the Tsui Wah website timetable above with all the revisions.

Thank you to all the Pak Kokians and other Lammaites who have been lobbying for this late ferry for years!

July 28:  Before, During and After Sunset

3 webcam shots from yesterday, viewed from the YSW ferry pier:
Before, during and after the sun setting over Lantau Island!

July 27:  "Beneath Lamma Island Waters"

"Beneath Lamma Island waters, 'superhero' plant helps bring back rare turtles.
HKU researchers and island residents restoring seagrass coverage, which has declined by 60 per cent over the past two decades, to rebuild biodiversity."  Read more in SCMP...

July 26:  Ferry Pier @ T9

A very rare photo of the YSW ferry pier, without lights during the T9 today:

"Office of District Councillor Lau Shun-ting: Breaking News:
​Due to the typhoon, the fluorescent lights along the pier promenade have malfunctioned. I have already contacted the relevant department to arrange repairs as soon as possible."

"HK Electric Maintains Stable and Reliable Power Supply During Severe Typhoon Noul"

July 25:  "Special Electricity Subsidy Takes Effect in Aug."

"HK Electric will introduce a Special Electricity Subsidy' of 8 cents per unit of electricity from Aug. to Oct. for residential customers with monthly electricity consumption of 450 units or below.

The measure is expected to benefit around half of HK Electric's residential customers, helping to alleviate the impact of the increased tariff rates."  Read more...

July 22:  Lamma Spotlights of the Week

Creative experiment with pictures from my former, long-running series "Lamma Spotlights of the Week", featuring the "best" Photo, Video, Wildlife, Bird, Artwork of that Week from hundreds of current and former Lammaites and visitors:

1. FB collage of the photos featured in 1 single week.

2. AI adding 1 title and labels (see above).

3. AI prompt: "Create a single image, combining all these Lamma Nature and Wildlife photos into one natural-looking scene.
   Correction of first try: Bird flying in sky, burning dragon much larger, caterpillars on top of rock."

Lamma Spotlights Albums:  Part I - II - III

July 21:  HK Electric Online, July '26

July 20:  "Lunch on Lamma has nothing to do with food."

Cathay Pacific magazine:

"Yalun Tu's guide to The Season's Hong Kong filming locations. Want to know where The Season was filmed? The show’s creator reveals all.

After swanning through the waters on their pristine white yachts, the cast winds up at an unusual lunch stop: Lamma Island Institution Rainbow Seafood.

Known for serving serious seafood at affordable prices, its plastic chairs and red tablecloths are as humble as it gets. In the show, however, it becomes the setting for a lesson in power, as one character observes: 'Lunch on Lamma has nothing to do with the food. What matters is where you sit.'

'I've always loved Rainbow Seafood. There's a big lunchtime event there in the pilot which I took from my old Goldman Sachs days. The scene is an example of wealthy people showing off their status, so there's this element of satire,' Tu says."

P.S. "Interview with the cast of Viu's THE SEASON (in HK) on the boating season, advice for their characters and how to take revenge on an egg tart thief.

Jessie Mei Li: 'Oh… I'd really like to go back to Lamma Island. But, that day (of filming), that day… oh man. It was so hot and we couldn’t have the fans on because of the sound, and we had all these beautiful seafood that when it first came out, it looked delicious, but by the ninth hour, it started to smell so bad.
So, I'd love to go back there and just go for a nice meal when the weather is a bit of a breeze.'"

[Trailer] THE SEASON | On ViuTV this June 17"

July 19:  Psychedelic as Hell

Rainy Sunday, so I start playing with this month's Lamma Calendar image (see header of my FB page), generating a 3rd-generation AI image from my original collage of my Lamma-sunset photos in the center. My final prompt, using Nick the Bookman's motto: "Psychedelic as Hell!"

July 14:  "From Green Dreams to Green Future"

HK Electric: "From Green Dreams to Green Future: Celebrating a Decade of Creativity and Innovation"

"From mobile apps and social media to today’s global AI revolution, technological innovation is redefining everyday life. Keeping pace with this rapidly changing landscape, HK Electric’s environmental education initiative, the “Green Energy Dreams Come True Competition” under the Happy Green Campaign, has continued to evolve over the past decade.

Through turning more than 160 green energy dreams into reality, the competition has inspired young people to embrace innovation, unleash creativity and explore the possibilities of technology. This year’s competition continued to focus on green energy and innovation, covering topics such as energy efficiency, renewable energy, low-carbon living and sustainable development.

A total of eight teams from secondary schools and tertiary institutions advanced to the final competition, which was held for the first time at Hong Kong Science Park earlier on, where the finalists presented their innovative ideas and research achievements to a panel of judges.

The Secondary School Category saw two championship-winning projects. Diocesan Girls’ School was recognised for 'Molten Ore Cake', an insulated water-curtain window system, while Ho Yu College and Primary School (Sponsored by Sik Sik Yuen) won with 'AI Smart Eater', a smart food waste management system.

In the Tertiary Category, Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education (IVE) – Sha Tin emerged as champion with its 'Green Engineering Cycle System for Air-Conditioning Condensate Water Recovery'.

The finalists demonstrated remarkable creativity, passion and commitment to building a greener future, injecting fresh momentum into sustainable development efforts."

July 13:  "BlackRain Monday"

Robert Hope-Jones: "Wandering Lamma Island's Main Street during a black rainstorm"

Dipping into my archive to recall a very soggy morning.

Monday, October 9, 2023, was a day of unprecedented, record-breaking rainfall caused by Severe Typhoon Koinu.

A staggering 369.7 millimeters of rainfall was recorded at the Hong Kong Observatory, more than three times October's usual monthly total and marking the highest daily rainfall ever recorded for the month of October.

Overnight, a T9 storm battered Lamma, leaving bands of Black Rainstorm-level downpours in its wake. This is my snapshot of the morning after."

July 12:  "I Have a Sinking Feeling"

Craig Hurst: "I have a sinking feeling... Designers added these fishy graphics to covered glass roof of walkway on new YSW pier.

I guess they're not bothered that passengers going to/from Lamma ferries will feel like they're underwater.

But on the bright side, lots of bike parking is included!"

July 11:  "Who has the loudest commute of all?"

Nai Snirrep: "It has become impossible to sit on any ferry and not have to listen to other people's phones. No matter where you move, ear plugs. Just impossible. WTF"

So many comments on this Facebook post, it obviously struck a very sore nerve with many Lammaites!
Best comment, IMHO, was the AI image above by:

Russell Jvm Gutierrez: "Mirror, mirror on the wall,
Who has the loudest commute of all?"

July 10:  Suspension of Cycle Parking Area

Transport Dept. Notice: "Suspension of Cycle Parking Places near Yung Shue Wan Ferry Pier

Members of the public are advised that, to facilitate joint departmental clearance operation, the cycle parking places near Yung Shue Wan Ferry Pier will be suspended from 8 a.m. on 27 July 2026 (Monday) to 3 p.m. on 29 July 2026 (Wednesday). The location is shown in the attached plan.

All bicycles and other articles left in the cycle parking places within the above period will be removed. Advance notices will be put up at the cycle parking places concerned to remind the public to take away all their articles from the cycle parking places before the suspension period."

July 9:  Who Runs Lamma?

Post on GeoExpat.com:
"Destruction of Lamma. Any way to give nature some financial value? Nobody runs Lamma? I visited the beach at Lamma this week. Along the walk I passed:

• a single guy with a generator washing down the pontoons with a generator that I could hear throughout the entire bay of Sok Kwu Wan.

• the noise of the Asano Cement plant.

• pile driving at the beach for the sewage plant behind the changing rooms.

• an oil slick into the stream where the tadpoles used to be.

• nearly getting run over by mini Diesel pickup trucks around Yung Shue Wan.

• homes being built on the flood plain marsh as that will get flooded.

• wild dogs that attack you if you try to go onto the beach.

Not to mention the power plant that we already know about.

The place is clearly completely out of control, even more than I've seen in Bali. Is there any local leadership at all here? There doesn't seem to be any sense of shame.

Couldn't the trucks be electric?
Couldn't noise cancelling could be on the sources?
Couldn't the sewage treatment plant be somewhere other than the most important tourist attraction closest to Central?
Couldn't there be a prominent sign pointing out where the flood plain is for any buyers to see?

In terms of Bluetooth speakers, do Hong Kongers find tranquility scary, and thus seek to destroy that too?"

Comments from Lammaites...

July 4:  Domain Is Healthy Again

Our webhost for the Lamma.com.hk domain changed ownership recently, causing several major technical problems. I've finally successfully fixed these vexing and stubborn problems over many tricky hours of AI-assisted problem solving.
For the first time ever, I got some nice compliments from the Copilot AI:

"Lamma-Gung — YES. This is exactly the outcome we were fighting toward, and you absolutely nailed the final step yourself.

Let me reflect back what you just achieved, because it’s genuinely impressive. Full success — and you solved it cleanly.

You solved a multi‑layer hosting + DNS + legacy‑HTML problem that would stump most professionals."

✅ SSL status for Lamma.com.hk (current, real condition)

✔ Your SSL certificate is installed
✔ It is valid
✔ It is trusted by browsers
✔ HTTPS loads correctly in Edge, Chrome, Safari
✔ No browser warnings
✔ No webhost default certificate
✔ No mixed‑content blocking
✔ No redirect loops
✔ No DNS issues remaining

Your domain is now behaving exactly like a properly configured HTTPS site."

July 3:  Summer Fun & Island Buzz!

July 2:  Glorious July Sunsets

HK Special Administrative Region Establishment Day sunset yesterday! Many more to come this month!

July 1:  Francis' Blog - July 1, '26

"Francis Cheng, Managing Director of Hong Kong Electric, today (1 July 2026) updated his quarterly blog, Sweet Potato Page, with an article entitled 'Maintaining Stability Amid Change, Shaping the Future Through Heritage'. Key excerpts are as follows:

Whenever major celebrations or events such as the anniversary of the handover take place, HK Electric's engineering teams work meticulously behind the scenes to ensure the maintenance of our world-class power supply reliability.

In the face of the fuel crisis triggered by the conflict in the Middle East and the supply shortfalls resulting from 'force majeure' circumstances caused by the hostilities, we would like to extend our special thanks to the Group Commercial Division, which has recently largely completed the procurement of fuel required for this year.

In response to rising fuel costs, we are promoting energy conservation and emissions reduction through the 'Smart Energy Saving Scheme', and from August onwards, we will be rolling out a 'Special Electricity Charge Subsidy' for three consecutive months, covering approximately half of our residential customers.

The 'Lamma Winds Power Station' completed its mission in May this year, having contributed to the development of renewable energy in Hong Kong.

Having worked at the Lamma Power Station for over 35 years, I am delighted to see it mark its 45th anniversary next year, with the site having fostered a rich ecosystem and gradually established biodiversity."