Product Launch

The Icon Is Back!

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disguise

Greetings! How do you like my disguise? Heh. It’s a pair of oversized sunnies, a huge bright red bulb of a nose and a fake mustache.

the beetle

I was at the Volkswagen Das Auto Show 2012 during the weekend – it’s a two day free event that’s open to the public and all the slots were snapped up really quickly. The Icon Is Back is the theme of this year’s show and it features the new Beetle prominently.

disassembled beetle

There’s even a fully disassembled classic Beetle in the foyer!

photo kiosk

I was at the Volkswagen Das Auto Show 2011 and I have to say, this year’s show surpasses the previous one by leaps and bounds. There are a lot of interactive displays and fun stuff to do that I spent nearly 4 hours there to play around and experience everything.

facebook connect

There are kiosks that use Facebook Connect which you can interact with…

qr registration

…and you get issued a QR code wristband when you register.

beetle booth

I was there early and went for the strategically placed photo booth outside to snap a photo.

photo booth

There are no lack of things to do while waiting for the show to start.

icon is back

The Icon Is Back kicked off with a cinematic experience that is simply mind blowing. There was a countdown and the huge darkened hall exploded with a symphony of images and sound.

It started out by featuring a couple of classic Beetle commercials from back in the day…

testimonial

…and has personalities like Patrick Teoh, Melinda Ooi, JJ (from Hitz FM) and others reminiscing about owning and driving the original Beetle.

The screen is over 180 degrees and you have to crane your neck to see everything that’s going on. I really liked that – it provides a good kind of sensory overload. 🙂

light dance

The show continued on with a launch gimmick that has choreographed dancers with light and shadows before The Beetle was driven on stage.

It’s one of the hallmarks of Volkswagen events – everything is a wonder to behold and just when you thought that it was over, another feature starts that tops the previous one.

The auditorium was packed with people and the first area where The Icon Is Back cinematic experience is held was the best part for me. It was just amazing, the way they pulled off the entire thing.

new beetle

Next up is the area where you can see all the Volkswagen cars in addition to the much anticipated new Beetle. Now, this isn’t a standard static display but a highly interactive one.

like booth

There are stations located throughout that allow you to scan the QR code on your wristband to Like it and as an added bonus…

map

There’s a passport that’s handed to you when you enter – it’s a map of the entire showroom and not only does it provide you with clear signs on where is where, the “passport” also has places for stamps which you can only get once you’ve visited the area!

I think that is a brilliant idea! You get a gift if you get all the stamps from the hostess, I spent a lot of time inside until the batch I was with was nearly gone and the showroom empty. Heh.

think blue

The Think Blue initiative area is one of the highlights with interactive displays which shows how we can reduce our carbon footprint.

little bugsters

There’s also a place for kids to play with…

vw cafe

…and a cafe of sorts where you can have a drink of water and some candy after walking around – all complimentary, of course.

stage performance

The stage has constant shows merging people and cars in a unique performance.

…and of course the star of the Volkswagen Das Auto 2012 Show – The Beetle! 🙂

black beetle

There are two variants for The Beetle – the 1.2L TSI and the 2.0L TSI.

It’s the centerpiece of the show and everyone flocked to check out the interior and features. The 1.2L Beetle features a 105PS turbocharged 4-cylinder engine while the 2.0L version has a power output almost twice that, topping out at 200PS with a 7-speed direct shift gearbox (DSG) while the former is equipped with a 6-speed DSG.

das auto show

There are a lot of different colors too, I suspect the Tornado Red and Saturn Yellow would be popular but I personally like the Deep Black with Pearl Effect. There’s also a Pearl White version if you like that color.

ipad games

I would allocate a lot of time to this place – there are a lot of fun things to do, like the various iPad games which you can play. Note that it’s connected to the screen and what you do is reflected so even while you wait your turn, you’ll be entertained with people playing badly. Heh.

There are photo booths scattered throughout the space, the Beetle Photo Booth being the most popular one. I met Tung Ai while queuing up, he introduced himself as a reader of my blog and we chatted for a bit.

tung ai

This is the photo we were queuing up for – look at how interactive the screen was, that’s the two of them posing behind the screen. Thanks for saying hello! 🙂

pov

This is what the photo looks like from POV – you can see where you are in relation to the background that you choose so I saw a lot of creative poses.

beetle photo booth

This is mine. Heh. I wanted to wave out but settled on putting my arm on the window and pointing ahead instead.

photo download

There’s also a QR code at the back of the instantly printed photo where you can download a high resolution digital copy of! You can also Share it on Facebook and Twitter! Nifty.

screenshot

I managed to get all the stamps for my passport and got free gifts at the end, and also a tattoo. Temporary of course.

volkswagen passport

Here’s one of us posing with it, hello Penny!

penny hb

It was a lot of fun, I didn’t realize how much time I spent inside until I realized that people were slowly filtering out. I can’t wait for the next Volkswagen Das Auto Show! I really fb like the social media interactive integration of the show this year. By the way things are going, it looks like it’s only going to get better! 🙂

One Easy Saturday Night

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1. Gas (RM 50.63)

petrol

I just did this to verify that my new debit card is working. I just got it a couple of minutes ago so I went to the petrol station and used it to verify that it’s been activated. I do this with my credit card too – for a completely different reason – to check if I’ve exceeded the limit. smirk

2. Dinner (RM 46.85)

dinner

Xinxian went the opposite of the “Look East” policy and we searched for a place that serves the cuisine that she wanted – ended up eating at Pancake House where there were savory pancakes in addition to sweet ones. I had the Classic Country Pancake.

pancakes

She had the Best Taco Special set.

halo halo

We both ordered Halo Halo coz it says that it originates from the Philippines and since we’re heading there I thought it’ll be fun to eat this here and compare it with the authentic (at least geographically) one when we head there in about a week or so.

dinner bill

Not a bad place for a quick dinner.

3. Shopping (RM 199)

clothes

It has come to my attention that my style of dressing leaves a lot to be desired – the vibe I got was that I look horrigible in what my current wardrobe repertoire offers so when Xinxian broke the news to me we went searching for attire that would not be so offensive to her eyes.

taste

I admit that my fashion sense may be slightly different – I love this pair of sneakers for example, while Xinxian just thought it was loud and garish.

shopping

I don’t buy a lot of clothes, preferring to spend the money on experiences like travel, but since there was a sale going on, and I had a self-appointed fashion consultant, I got a long sleeved checkered shirt. It was originally RM 199 but with the 50% discount, it went down to RM 99.50 which is about just slightly less than one night in the cheapest backpacker’s hostel I could find in London.

4. Movie (RM 22)

movie

We watched a Cantonese film called The Silent War which I didn’t expect much out of but it surprised me by having a well thought out plot (albeit cliched and predictable) and great production values compared to the Chinese New Year movies I tend to watch.

movies

There’s no slapstick humor and the character development is great, I’ll rate it a 7/10 – extra points for it being one of the rare Hong Kong films that’s actually good instead of something slapped together, filmed at the speed of light, and brought to you with minimal post production but a hefty dose of crude humor to compensate for the complete lack of a cohesive storyline, character development and depth.

At least you don’t see the audio boom in this movie – a endemic problem with low budget CNY movies. Heh.

I paid for everything using my debit card and managed to keep track of everything spent that night and I’m spending what I just put in earlier that evening.

easy debit card

The debit card in question is the new RHB Easy-Smart Debit Card. It’s available at all RHB Easy outlets, I went to the one in Kelana Jaya LRT. That’s the beauty of this – the outlets are all at high traffic areas and open 7 days a week!

easy by rhb

Best of all, you can get everything done in 10 minutes by just walking in!

All you need is:

Your MyKad
10 minutes of your time
RM 20 for opening an account

I timed the entire process and it actually took only slightly more than 8 minutes. I was taking photos the entire time and I have the exact time – 8:36 minutes – from the first shot that I took to the final one. Heh.

mykad

I hate filling out forms. I think I’ve mentioned that a lot of times before. You don’t have to worry about that here as everything is done automatically – it’s either pulled from your MyKad and you just tell the teller the rest of the information.

I was serviced by one Mr. Nasri Nasir who was very helpful throughout – kudos for the efficiency!

nasri

Basically, the beauty of the new RHB Easy-Smart Debit Card lies not only in:

  • 10 minute walk-in banking with just your MyKad
  • On-the-spot approval
  • No forms to fill

…but also the unique cash kickbacks that RHB offers with the use of the debit card. I’ll insert a chart to illustrate it better.

easy chart

Thus, you actually open two accounts when you get the new RHB Easy-Smart Debit Card. You get double cash savings automatically, whenever you use your debit card. It all goes into your Easy-Smart Account 2 (think of it as a savings account) while your Easy-Smart Account 1 is your primary account.

money

The beauty of this system is that you automatically save (which is an awesome way of forcing people who have problems saving to actually save) each time you use your debit card from your contribution and the bank’s even higher contribution, all of which goes into your Easy-Smart Account 2.

To add icing to the cake, you can get up to 10% interest per annum on your Easy-Smart Account 2!

balance

Thus, that night, I have saved a total of RM 0.50 (charges made after midnight won’t be tabulated until the next day), and that’s not counting the 10% p.a. interest.

It’s an easy way to budget too, since you’re on a debit card you’re using money you already have instead of purchasing on credit. Granted, credit cards have its own place in the entire system especially for travel but a debit card is a good and almost essential addition to your banking arsenal, almost as good as Umay Plus in Thailand.

savings account

Using the new RHB Easy-Smart Debit Card allows me to carry less cash and use the card instead, which is mighty convenient. You’re going to spend that money anyway, so I figured using the debit card instead of cash would be more useful in the long run due to the awesome and unique savings method that funnels all purchases made into a special “savings” account called Easy-Smart Account 2.

gas

RM 0.99 might not sound like a lot but you know how it goes – sikit sikit lama lama jadi bukit. I’ve already saved that from one night out alone while if I’ve used a credit card, cash, or a different debit card, I would not have managed to save anything at all. It’s a great alternative to cash for me and it’s an easy way to save each time you spend! 🙂

DJ Ferry Corsten @ KL Live

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system f kl live

DJ Ferry Corsten a.k.a. System F came down to spin at the new Heineken bottle launch at KL Live. The entire place has been transformed into something that looks like Emerald City from the Wizard of Oz.

invite

Even the invites look awesome!

emerald city

It was all Heineken green – the entrance was emblazoned with an asymmetrical neon light feature that gave off a new and different, exclusive even, ambiance once you stepped into the threshold and embraced the pumping music inside.

dirty nelly

I arrived early and had dinner at Dirty Nelly’s – it’s right beside KL Live. I opted for the Sausage with Mustard Mash and Sweet Sour Red Pepper. It’s described as a “jumbo pork banger” but I was taken aback at the sheer size of it when it arrived.

It almost made me feel inadequate. 😉

ee lin

Thanks for dinner Heineken! Cheers to Ee Lin from the brand team for picking up the tab.

heineken k2 launch

Anyway, I was surprised by the sheer amount of people inside. KL Live was packed. I met a lot of new people and got reacquainted with plenty of old friends that night.

june desmond

It was awesome!

friends

I happened to be wearing a white shirt that day, and after a lot of festive merry-making to the beats of Lap Sap (the opening act), DJ Ferry Corsten came on stage and got the entire crowd cheering.

dj ferry corsten malaysia

There were bouncers in front getting everyone to stand back while the crowd pushed forward to take photos. I had wisely *cough* positioned myself in the front before DJ Ferry Corsten’s set was on so I was right in front. I didn’t know why the bouncers were keeping people away until he came onstage, the music started, and fireworks and flames went off in a dazzlingly well choreographed moment.

cindy

I was caught by surprise by the wonderful pyrotechnics display that I didn’t manage to take a shot of it – some of the debris landed on my (white) shirt. So that was why the bouncers were keeping people away from the stage – there was going to be pyrotechnics . Heh. *hindsight 20/20

DJ Ferry Corsten kept the energy going high and with the free flow of Heineken beer going, the crowd was moving right along to his beats. He played a great set.

heineken k2 malaysia

It was the launch of the new Heineken bottle with nifty new practical and aesthetic features detailed in my Heineken contest post and Heineken threw a huge party with an international DJ just for it.

dj ferry corsten

It’s just how Heineken rolls, being a premium beer.

uv

You’ll be seeing these new Heineken bottles replace the old ones right about now. I nicked the photo below from Heineken’s Facebook photo album to better illustrate it. 😉

heineken girls

Oh and before I forget, there’s a contest going on with truly awesome prizes! The 3 grand prizes includes a trip to Sensation in Taiwan! You need 50 points to stand a chance to win and there are 3 ways to gain points:

1. Toasting Friends

You basically send your Facebook friend a new Heineken bottle and if they send it back to you, you’ll get 1 point. I’ve detailed this in my previous post and you can refer to the app for more details.

2. Check-in via Facebook

check in to win

This is where you check-in via Facebook when you go out for a drink at participating outlets.

check in

Here’s an example. You can earn a maximum of 1 point per day and you’ll need to verify the check-in via the app after you’ve done it. Don’t worry if it doesn’t appear immediately, each check-in can only be verified after 12 am on the next day.

outlets sibu

There’s a list of participating outlets – I see a lot of familiar places in my hometown of Sibu. Heh. You can filter via state to see which are the ones that will earn you points.

3. Scan Heineken ads with iSnap

the star mobile

This is an interesting one – if you have an iPhone or Android smartphone, download iSnap (it’s part of The Star Mobile app) from iTunes Store/Google Play respectively. I have it on my Sony Xperia S. Search for a Heineken ad in The Star newspaper and scan it. It’ll earn you a staggering 5 points! 🙂

The prizes that I mentioned? The grand prize is a trip to Sensation in Taiwan! It’s held in Kaohsiung and there will be 3 winners for this dance music festival! There’s also 200 personalized editions of the new Heineken bottle to be won. Imagine how cool it would be to own that! I won’t even drink it, it’s the kind of stuff you display.

prizes

Go to the Heineken to.a.star app and start collecting points now and you might be on your way to Taiwan! 🙂

pamela

I had an great Saturday night at KL Live. I had a few beers from the new Heineken bottle (which is the real star of the night), enjoyed mingling about and Heineken was thoughtful enough to provide water (Evian, no less) to rehydrate yourself after dancing. 🙂

How to smell manly 101

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girl scouts

I have this peculiar habit. I use shower gel when I’m in KL and soap when I’m in Sibu. It’s not like there’s no shower gel back home, in fact that is what we use. Only problem is, it makes me smell like a little girl. Considering it’s either belongs to my mom or my niece (probably the latter), I’m not very surprised.

Thus, I end up being the only one using a bar of soap in Sibu.

I usually get it myself.

dettol soap for men

I don’t know what my dad uses but I think it’s the generic flowery one, which isn’t exactly what you want. It’s considered ungentlemanly to smell better with more floral notes than your date.

Okay, I just made that up but you get my point.

dettol high performance men

I’ve always used Dettol and last year they came out with a range of shower gel for men. Dettol High Performance for Men is the first product by Dettol designed exclusively for men (if you didn’t get the label ;)). There are two variants – Extreme and Aqua.

I’ve been using Dettol for Men Aqua and Extreme for almost a week now and I like how the shower gel is in a container that has a proper grip.

This is very important in a bottle that doesn’t stand and use a pump to bring up the shower gel. A hand-held container has to have grip (see side) or else you’ll end up dropping it when you reach for it with slippery lathered fingers. I don’t know how many times I’ve dropped my shower gel in unsavory places while backpacking.

dettol extreme aqua

(loofah isn’t mine)

Dettol for Men Aqua has a more invigorating smell and keeps your skin feeling hydrated while Extreme is a classic masculine smelling shower gel that lasts the entire day.

I’m already a Dettol user so the question for me is:

Would I use Dettol for Men Aqua instead?

The answer is no. I’ll use Dettol for Men Extreme instead. Heh.

dettol for men

I’m switching to that coz I love the manly smell and it provides the same germ protection qualities and deep pore cleansing properties inherent in the Dettol brand. However, since everyone has a different olfactory perception – check out both and see which one you prefer more.

I personally like the smell of Dettol for Men Extreme – it’s a matter of preference, really. I love it coz it makes me smell masculine. Seriously, it does, try it out and see!

You know, sometimes you just grab whatever is available (there’s a bottle of shower gel here that one of my ex-girlfriends left and I use it when I run out) and go out smelling like a rose.

rose

Smelling like a rose is perfectly fine, a highly exalted attribute even…for females. It doesn’t work the same way for men.

Fun fact: I also noticed that if a couple uses the same shower gel, you practically cannot smell each other! You have to use different shower gels so you can smell your girlfriend/wife/It’s Complicated (TM).

unlease the man

There’s a fun and funny survey going on that asks a lot of quirky and sometimes thought-provoking questions on Facebook and tells your your “Man-Level”.

men

I won’t spoil it for you but some of the questions are truly laugh out loud funny. 🙂

fb face

You also get to upload your photo, choose one from FB or take one on the spot – it’s important for later.

click fest

…and there’s this mouse destroying click fest that is a surprisingly fun mini-game (gotta love a bit of destruction) before the results are unveiled. 🙂

punchballs

What type of man are you? I won’t say I’m close to Bear Grylls (don’t drink my own pee) but Poh “Punisher” Punchballs seems pretty manly to me. Heh. Find out when you take the survey at the Dettol Malaysia Facebook page. There’s a lot of interactive stuff that you can play around with plus a RM 150 Dettol hamper to be given out each day for the lucky 50th person to complete it.

The new Dettol High Performance for Men range is my choice for showering right now. I won’t make you want to poke your eyes out with shots of me doing that so go check out the Unleash The Man app instead. smirk

Camwhore Level Asian

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sony center

I was walking through MidValley on the weekend when I saw that the Sony Center over there had a contest for the Sony NEX-F3. This is exactly the very same camera that I used to take awesome photos like this in Germany:

germany profile pic

This incidentally became my profile photo for Facebook, Twitter and my other social media sites. Heh.

I also took quite a few in Sibu, you can see the sheer quality of photos here:

sibu backyard

My backyard. It used to be bigger and filled with mango, rambutan and apple custard trees but it was chopped down and paved with concrete to make way for parking. There were five cars at one point before my dad sold one off, junked one and I drove mine to KL.

largest temple asia

The biggest temple complex in Asia or South-East Asia. I think it’s the former and it’s located in Sibu.

snail

One large garden snail. We eat this in Sibu. It’s considered a delicacy. I’m kidding, just took a photo of it to show the incredibly low noise in low light conditions. I snapped this after midnight when I went out back for a smoke.

I’m telling you, it sure was hard to return the review unit, I really fell in love with the dSLR quality images with easy shooting modes that the Sony NEX-F3 affords.

promoters

Thus, I tried to enter the contest. It’s quite easy, really. Just head into any of the 10 participating Sony Center outlets on a weekend (Saturday or Sunday) and go to the counter where the Sony NEX-F3 is.

sony nex f3

You won’t have any trouble finding it – there are promoters there to help you with the process.

sony nex f3 promoters

Basically, what you do is to take a photo of yourself using the 180 degree tilt function (a camwhore photo self-portrait in other words ;)) and they’ll help you upload it to the official contest website.

sony nex f3 launch

I did mine at the Sony NEX-F3 media launch with Kim, Rachel and Shah – didn’t win anything though – and asked the promoters if I can do this again at the Sony Center.

camwhore

It turns out that you can – just take a self-portrait of yourself and upload it to The Ultimate F3 Photographer Contest. The contest requires you to upload shots taken with the camera at the Sony Center itself. However, you can also bring your own SD card and slot it into the Sony NEX-F3 if you want to keep the photos. 🙂

One of three Sony NEX-F3 units awaits you! I hope one of them is mine, this is really a nifty camera to bring traveling.

What’s under the tarp?

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tarp

I totally missed this event. It’s the all-new Ford Ranger launch in KL but unfortunately I was overseas at that time. I’m reading the official Ford Ranger Facebook page and it seems that everyone had a blast.

shake that

Shake that. There was a lot of beautiful people performing at the launch and the best part was when they towed in a bus with the Ford Ranger.

pickup pulling bus

The all-new Ford Ranger is completely re-designed from the bottom up – everything is new, from the engine to the frame and even the interior of this compact pickup. It is powered by a Duratorq TDCi 2.2L Variable Geometry (BG) Turbo diesel engine with six-speed auto or manual transmission producing 150 PS and 375 Nm of torque. The 3.2L version comes with auto transmission and has a power output of 200 PS with a staggering 470 Nm of torque.

However, despite all that barely constrained power under the hood, the fuel consumption is quite exceptional.

The all-new 2.2L Ford Ranger offers 8.1L/100 km2 while the 3.2L weighs in at just 8.91L/100 km2.

This is one pickup that knows the fine art of sipping diesel instead of guzzling it. 🙂

It’s no surprise that Ford Malaysia has already surpassed 800 pre-bookings for this vehicle.

winners

The higher fuel efficiency and exceptional driving experience is not all it has to offer. There are several active and passive safety features besides the usual ABS and EBD – LAC (Load Adaptive Control) optimizes the vehicle stability when carrying heavy loads, EBA provides additional brake pressure in emergency stop situations and the EBL (Emergency Brake Light) will kick in the indicators when the Ford Ranger suddenly decelerates to alert other drivers.

The Wildtrak 3.2L variant ups the ante by having ESP (Electronic Stability Program) built in so there’s advanced sensors that monitors the road (what road? ;)) or unforgiving terrain the pickup is driving down and compares it to the path the driver wants to go from the steering wheel.

It also has Hill Descent Control (HDC) to make steep downhill descents easier, Hill Launch Assist (HLA) to give a boost when you want to go up a steep climb and Roll-Over Mitigation (ROM) which is quite self-explanatory – it helps prevents the vehicle from rolling over.

ford ranger malaysia

The all-new Ford Ranger is also capable of wading through 800 millimeters of water even when fully loaded! Some variants can even pull a payload of 1,400 kgs which is quite impressive and demonstrated by the bus pulling.

There are three variants that’s available in Malaysia:

  • 2.2 XLT 4X4 6-AT Double Cab – RM 95,888
  • 2.2 XLT 4X4 6-MT Double Cab – RM 89,888
  • 3.2 Wildtrak 4X4 6-AT Double Cab – RM 116,888

(all prices OTR for Peninsular Malaysia and private owners)

ford ranger launch

This is one pick-up that you can really drive anywhere. The all-new Ford Ranger has a comfortable interior too, with user-friendly technology like Bluetooth Voice Control! Heck, in a perfect world with no border controls, I can drive this all the way to China, swing back west and trail-blaze through Mongolia, Russia and Europe.

Won’t that be the perfect road trip? 🙂

The all new Toyota AE86 Hachi-Roku!

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ae86

This truly iconic car from the 80’s is probably one the most recognizable vehicles in the world. Fans of Initial D would immediately recognize the AE86 as the car the protagonist Takumi Fujiwara drives. If you’ve ever read the manga or watched the anime and live action movie (featuring Jay Chou) you’ve probably dreamed of having one to drift with.

keiichi tsuchiya

One interesting fact that I gleaned during my obsession with everything Initial D is that there really is a “Drift King” who popularized the drifting style of racing and downhill driving. Keiichi Tsuchiya is a real life racer who started out in underground and street racing and the character of Bunta (Takumi’s dad) is actually based on him.

toyota 86 black

He drives a Toyota AE86 Sprinter Trueno and has appeared in Initial D as a special guest. He also had a cameo role in Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift. He actually said “This is fun! I wish that Toyota could make cars like this again!” when asked about the AE86.

toyota 86

His wish just came true.

I was at Sepang International Circuit for the all-new Toyota 86 and Camry launch and was suitably impressed with the launch gimmick.

toyota 86 launch

They drove the original AE86 and Camry into a garage and the new models came out amidst smoke and much fanfare. The car is beautiful. It’s a work of art.

hachi roku

It’s the new Toyota 86 “Hachi-Roku”!

I also went on a drive on the all new Toyota Camry with Rachel. 🙂

tetsuya tada 86

The chief engineer of the Toyota 86, Tetsuya Tada, came down to talk about the features of the brand new car. I had a lot of fun listening to him talk about the 86 – it’s illuminating to hear why certain things are done that way and the heritage from the man who designed the 86.

86

The Toyota 86 is the “spiritual” descendant of the original AE86 – I first saw photos of it in 2009, it was designated FT (Future Technology) then – a concept car. It has gone through some changes and there’s a lot of “86” features in there – the tailpipe is exactly 86mm, the bore and stroke of the engine is also 86 mm.

toyota 86 engine

It’s supposed to be a fun-to-drive sports car instead of a full-on competitive muscle car (though it excels in the latter too). I’ve talked to a lot of people about the Toyota 86 and all of them fell in love with it.

toyota 86 interior

Bucket seats, key-less ignition and advanced aerodynamics considerations makes this a beautiful car that performs excellently.

me 86

I just came back from Jakarta and brought the brochure along (it was in my bag when I packed) and it was the object of much lust from everyone who read it.

toyota 86 front

There’s a lot of technical specifications for you to gawk at – too many to list here, so surf on over to the Toyota 86 site for more information.

The 86 comes in six colors (love the Crystal Black Silica) and it’s priced at RM 243,000 for the manual transmission version and RM 249,000 for the automatic version.

toyota 86 back

The latter has a VSC SPORT mode for a more adventurous semi-manual driving experience.

toyota 86 usb

This is my dream car. I can’t stop talking about it and I want it sooo badly that it’s not even funny. I wish this is the real key to the 86.

toyota 86 pit girl

It’s a legendary car that I can’t wait to save up and buy for…drifting. 🙂

A private dinner at the penthouse of KEN Bangsar

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private dinner

KEN Bangsar has exactly four penthouse units with an amazing view of the Klang Valley. It is also the highest residential building in the entire Klang Valley. This one spans three (3) storeys and has it’s own swimming pool and lounge area complete with a wet bar and a steam room. KEN Bangsar also has 76 apartments for a total of 80 units with 4 design styles and layouts and incredibly good security. The basement car park is rather unique too – it has perforated walls to allow better wind flow so you won’t get the stuffy “ambiance” common in traditional car parks.

dinner

This is where we had our private dinner of various savory and sweet canapes cooked right in the kitchen of the penthouse.

canapes

I particularly liked the Green Vegetables Risotto with Herbs Emulsion…

king prawn ravioli

…and the King Prawn Ravioli with Melted Leeks and Cardamom Sauce. Sorry for making you hold the platter so long, anonymous server.

lap pool

This is the private lap pool at the penthouse. I would love to stay here. Your very own pool, imagine the legendary parties you can throw.

Here’s a video tour of the penthouse to coax the good ol’ green eyed monster out of its lair.

pool

Okay, starting from the beginning, KEN Bangsar is built as an ecologically friendly green residential unit. I love how their swimming pool has in-pool lounges. I was staying at this resort once and fell asleep in one. Very comfortable, if you like the water. The premium KEN Bangsar also has 18 carat gold mosaic pieces embedded in the bottom of the pool!

lobby

There are boring looking corridors that actually provides an important function – it’s a wind tunnel to displace the hot air and provide cooler air into the lobby lounge area. There are no fans in the lobby, the use of natural wind is used so the result is a staggeringly low condo maintenance electricity bill of just RM 2,000 per month (!!!).

living room

This is made possible by the complementary system that conditions and recycles condensate water into an evaporation feature wall. I don’t know what exactly this means except that it reduces the temperature using technologically advanced systems.

This acronym explains it pretty well:

THE CHEEL SYSTEM
Condensate water harvested from the management office air conditioner, a
Heat pump drawing heat from the air-conditioner compressor and providing
Energy for hot water to the common toilets and cool air piped into the
Evaporative waterfall at lift lobby to
Lower the temperature of the double volume lounge and lift lobby for additional indoor thermal comfort for the residents

water feature

This means the water feature isn’t for show either, like most of the things here. The interesting textured facade inside the building is made of excess recycled tiles – note the uneven surface, it’s an aesthetic consideration that took place before KEN Bangsar was built so they can have enough excess tiles (these are the odd sized ones you cut off at the end of the unit – look at the corner of your floor) to use as a decorative feature.

ken bangsar

The windows are tinted with a special coating that makes it invisible (so there’s no dimness associated with traditional car tinting – all light is preserved) while providing 100% UV protection. You won’t have to worry about someone running into the glass and breaking it too coz it’s strengthened laminated glass.

view

This is the very same KEN Holdings who built Ken I and II beside Tropicana City Mall – I thought the name sounded familiar. KEN Bangsar is their first foray into green and ecologically friendly developments and they also have another one in Shah Alam called KEN Rimba.

ken rimba

This time KEN Holdings used their experience constructing a green building (KEN Bangsar) to develop an entire green township – KEN Rimba! It’s the first one in Malaysia and the guarded community has ecologically friendly features which includes:

  • Breathable roofs to keep the interior cool and lower energy costs
  • Rainwater harvesting for reuse in lawn irrigation, car washing or janitorial purposes
  • Extensive landscaping with lush gardens surrounding a pool for the corner units
  • North-south orientation and louver windows angled to admit light and air but to keep out rain, direct sunshine and noise

ken rimba legian residences

KEN Rimba is a two-phase development with the first (Legian) due to be handed over next month. Legian Residences has 328 terrace homes and with all the ecological features, it’s set to be the new gold standard for true green living! They’re preparing to launch the next phase of houses – Jimbaran Residences (love the Bali vibe) – it’s open for registration so contact them if you want to embrace a green lifestyle!

Website: http://kenholdings.com.my/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KEN.Greenbook
Twitter: http://twitter.com/samCS10

penthouse

It’s interesting to see that more development companies are going the green route with technological implementations that makes it ecologically friendly without sacrificing functionality and comfort. I personally wouldn’t mind living in KEN Bangsar – the units are beautifully designed and if it contributes to the environment, then all the better.

me

…now if only I don’t have a really bad habit of draining my condo fund consistently at the most random moments when the urge strikes me.

What are your social media habits?

by

Type #1

fb iphone4s

Prefers to text and call. Goes on Twitter once in a while. Updates Facebook occasionally.

Basically, if you’re on a bit of a budget and you want to have free SMSs and call time thrown in, this is the plan for you. There are two to choose from – Value Plus Internet 50 and Value Plus Internet 30 – both with a very low monthly commitment fee, starting from RM 30.

maxis iphone4s plan budget

They both come with 250 MB of data allocation and either 100 SMS + 100 call minutes or 50 SMS or 50 call minutes depending on the plan.

You can get a iPhone4S 16GB for as low as RM 1,950 with a 24 month contract with this new iPhone4S plans from Maxis! 🙂

Type #2

social apps

Heavy data usage. Updates your social media apps each time you’re out with photos or videos. Constantly on the social media sphere and communicating with you takes a few seconds at the most. Foursquare, Google+, Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest, you’re on them all!

We’ve been talking lately about how to boost your business marketing with Instagram. Contrary to what many people still believe, Instagram isn’t just a fun app where you can post food, holiday and family pics.

Instagram has become a powerful brand-building, audience-building and content-marketing tool for businesses. It has over 200 million active monthly members sharing 60 million images and 1.6 billion likes per day.

A note of caution: there are plenty of people out there who promise to grow your Instagram followers by the thousands, but beware. Most of them use fake accounts created by bots to inflate your numbers.

These types of followers have zero value. In fact, they can even be dangerous, wanting to steal your password or photos or infect you with a virus.

According to the data security company Imperva, these bad bots account for 28.9 per cent of bots on Instagram.

The best way to build your Instagram followers is to check out,how to buy real Instagram followers.

You’re always online and consume large amounts of data from YouTube and frequent Apple Store app downloads. Skype video calls is what you look for when you think of communicating with someone. You need Internet Value 50 or Internet Value 75.

maxis iphone4s plan heavy

The latter allows you a very comfortable 3.5 GB of data per month and with this plan, you’ll get an iPhone4S 16GB from only RM 1,990 with a 24 month contract. However, if this describes you, a 16GB iPhone4S won’t be enough, will it? 😉

All those apps you download needs to go somewhere so go for an iPhone4S 64GB from only RM 2,690!

Type #3

www maxis

You already have a plan with Maxis. Now, all you need is Internet so add Mobile Internet to your existing plan and get an iPhone4S from as low as RM 1,750!

There are two plans to choose from – depending on your data usage habits – Mobile Internet 1GB and Mobile Internet 3GB.

maxis iphone4s plan internet

You can tether your iPhone4S to your notebook for instant HSDPA access when you’re out and about or use it as a Wireless AP so keep that in mind when you’re an existing Maxis Value Plus user adding on a Mobile Internet plan. Find out more about the new Maxis iPhone4S Rate Plans.

wireless ap iphone4s

It’s very useful both for work and play, being able to have your very own wireless hotspot so you can be connected using your notebook or tablet anywhere 24/7. 🙂

FML moments in life

by

I have been recognized and talked to at the most unexpected and weirdest places since I’ve started blogging in 2002.

toilet

I remember one guy who thought it was perfectly normal to talk to me while I was in the middle of taking a leak with him doing the same at the next stand up cubicle.

There was no privacy barrier in that toilet.

He said he has always wanted to meet me and finally managed to. I thanked him and we shook hands. I don’t remember if the shaking hands part was before or after we washed our hands.

I have a strong suspicion it was right after we respectively relieved ourselves.

I appreciate everyone that reads my blog, I just thought it was really funny.

Since then I have learned not to wear my tatty, comfortable clothes out and always brush my teeth even if it’s a short walk to the corner grocery shop to get some milk.

I once bumped into someone eating at the restaurant downstairs right before the convenience store. I just woke up and thought I’ll just change and brush my teeth later.

tatty shirt

I literally froze and was tempted to run away when I saw this hot girl waving enthusiastically at me and calling out “Hey, you’re the Sixthseal guy right?”

(This reminds me of how everyone can manage to remember my blog name but not my real name but that’s another story)

Anyway, I reluctantly walked over coz I was very self-conscious with my two day old body odor (didn’t shower the night before after partying right after work) and said hello. I had bak jui sai (eye gunk), bad breath and I stink all over.

I’m quite sure I made a really bad first impression.

bloggers

It’s quite normal to be recognized by readers and photographed while out and about if you’re a public blogger. I’ve had anything from bank tellers to flight attendants to cinema ticket booking counter clerks saying hello and telling me how they like my reading my blog.

I thank everyone who comes up to me and says that, it’s nice to feel appreciated. It has also made me more conscious about my appearance so I dress properly, brush my teeth and put on deodorant before I head out.

The problem with the last bit is that it tends to leave an ugly stain on your clothes. Even most of the ones who claim not to stain your clothing does. I want to be confident and be my usual self while I’m out, not trying to hide my deodorant stain while pretending to listen to the conversation when in actual fact I’m trying to think of ways to explain why I’m shifting around and keeping my hands around my body to hide the stain.

I’m not trying to act cool okay. I’m actually a very nice and friendly person in real life. Really. 🙂

The problem with using deodorants
(below is an over-the-top reenactment ;))

white stains

Deodorants produces white marks on dark clothes (directly after application) and yellow stains on light colored clothes over time. The latter will never wash off. You should see the amount of my white shirts that has a yellow patch under my armpits!

This happens because deodorants creates a coat on the skin that does not absorb instantly. Thus, when it is mixed with sweat, it stains white and black clothes. However, the new NIVEA For Men Invisible For Black & White Deodorant has a formulation that allows for quick absorption so it does not stain black OR white clothes! 😀

Thus, I’ve found a solution to the deodorant problem and its name is NIVEA For Men Invisible For Black & White Deodorant. It’s a new product and the only one that can prevent white stains on black tops and reduce yellow stains on white or light colored shirts.

I have seen people scrutinize photos at blogger parties and laugh in offices while they gather their coworkers, with everyone looking at that stain in your armpit. It’s very visible in flash photography. You don’t want to be one of the people in the photos. I’ve heard very mean things said about them. 😉

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