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Building in public — agency life, AI workflows, weekly wins, and monthly life recaps from Kota Kinabalu.
New long reads about running an agency on AI are in the newsletter: Building Slow →
Week 42 — I checked 103 KK websites. 37 were broken.
103 local business websites checked, two new projects started, ad enquiries up from 27 to 41, and why strangers said yes to only 1 in 16 of my proposals.
September 2026 — Life Recap
A health screening I didn't enjoy, a month of chasing sleep, a burnt pot brought back to life, a pool day with the kids, and new speakers in an old truck. Notes from September in Kota Kinabalu.
Week 41 — Four reels in a morning, and a site that was down for two weeks
Four launch reels from one free tool, three new website projects agreed, and a client site that was down for two weeks before anyone noticed.
Week 40 — A government site went live, and a funeral order that never arrived
A state agency site went live, every client site now watched every 5 minutes, and the shop bug that quietly refused funeral orders after 4pm.
Week 39 — A free audit tool went live, and a care plan we never set up
A client was billed a full year for website care. This week I found out it had never been switched on.
Week 38 — 8 WhatsApp taps in 15 months. Then 80 in one.
A dental group's old website got 8 WhatsApp taps in 15 months. The new one got 80 in August alone. Here's what changed, plus a KK nightlife guide and a hacked site cleaned up.
Week 37 — I counted what one 5-minute setting cost my florist
A 5-minute checkout timer had cancelled 39 florist orders since June. This week I counted them. Plus wishing cards that had vanished from 15 products, and SabahGuide's first Facebook group posts.
Week 36 — A contact form that never sent us a single copy
A client's contact form was meant to copy us on every enquiry. For a year it sent none. Plus 16 lost pages back on a dental clinic's site and my first LinkedIn post.
August 2026 — Life Recap
One-to-one time with my dad, three Friday nights, a birthday at home, swimming with the kids, an offering for the ghost brothers, and Merdeka. Notes from August in Kota Kinabalu.
Week 35 — A city council's event site went live, and 36 domains had lapsed
A city council's event website went live. I also checked 95 client domains, past and present, and found 36 had lapsed while our alert emails went nowhere.
Week 34 — My own site said Sipadan was 65 times bigger than it is
I fact-checked my own travel site and found Sipadan's size out by 65 times. Plus a florist checkout that was cancelling orders, and a hotel notice that froze its own page.
Week 33 — Search engines were quoting my own wrong numbers back to me
I checked 36 number pages on SabahGuide and 24 were wrong. Plus a Pink Bus route finder with 19,460 journeys, and a fare that was out of date for 9 months.
Week 32 — My own website's design was never switched on
My own site's design file had never been loaded, and its newsletter form never caught an email. Plus a dental group moved to a new site, and a florist timer that cancelled 87 unpaid orders.
Week 31 — 48 hours of work, and one thing finished end to end
My biggest work week on record, and the only thing I finished end to end was a free newsletter. Plus a 1.1 GB error log, and AI images with fake brand names.
Week 30 — The scan stopped at 60, and real clinics went missing
My own directory was missing real dental clinics, because a scan quietly stopped at exactly 60 results. Plus a Malay onboarding form for HelloReply and a florist chatbot that finally checks orders.
April 2026 — Life Recap
Birthday month, Qing Ming with mum, pool days with the kids, new cafes, and a hat I borrowed from my mum. Notes from a quiet April in Kota Kinabalu.
WhatsApp Is Eating Me Alive. Starting Today, I'm Killing It Until Noon.
I wake up at 5am. By 6:31am, WhatsApp owns the rest of my day. Why I'm switching off WhatsApp until noon, starting today.
August 2025 — Life Recap
Kali training, Danny's 8th birthday, beer sessions with friends, and the quiet realisation that we are all really ageing.
The Missing Thing for a Perfect Sunset
A radio host was talking about what makes a perfect sunset. I thought I knew the answer. My wife knew better.
The Day My Daughter Stole Something From Me
My 6-year-old asked me a simple question about stealing. My answer surprised both of us.
The Hourly Check-In That Changed Everything
I used to be overwhelmed by my to-do list, always busy but never making real progress. Then I found a stupid-simple practice that fixed it.
May 2025 — What I've Been Up To
Two months of GoReview, BINGO projects, SOP building, and classic shiny object syndrome. An honest update.
Why I Pause on the Networking Game
I used to be that person at every business mixer with name cards ready. Then I asked myself an uncomfortable question: what value am I actually giving back?
The Power of Saying No — Warren Buffett's Rule of 25
I had a to-do list longer than my arm. Everything seemed urgent. Then I stumbled on Warren Buffett's Rule of 25, and it hit me like a bucket of cold water.