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Win pure gold Olympics medals worth RM 12,000!

July 30, 2012 by HB

klcc fountain

It’s Olympics season and Malaysia has a contingent of 30 athletes to participate in 9 sports in the London 2012 Summer Olympics! We’ve got our very own competition here in the spirit of the Malaysian delegation and you’ll also get to win gold medals! 🙂

…but first, a little bit about gold.

forex

I’ve been monitoring the forex market lately, coz I have some Euros that I need to change to pay my rent. Just keeping an eye on the dismal Euro exchange rate – it has been steadily dropping by the day, it’s 3.78 last time I checked. The USD is also on the decline, and when things get to be this way the price of commodities like gold increases.

It’s the traditional hedge against a recession and gold is universally accepted as the basis of currency – federal banks have to hold the same amount in gold and silver for banknotes it issues.

malaysians

Anyway, back to the topic on hand Maxis is running a contest called Launch Your Way To Gold to commemorate the Malaysian contingent going to the Summer Olympiad! The grand prize (there will be 5 for each category) is a medal made of pure gold worth RM 12,000!

The contest is based on how the Olympics is run – there are 5 categories in which you can participate in. You can choose one (or all five) based on your strengths – whether it be writing, photography or even stuff like costumes and poses.

There will be a pure gold Olympic medal to be given out to the winner of each respective category, which are:

Olympian-A-Like

submit

This is where you flex your muscles and pose like an Olympian. Do you know how to do great impressions? Well, here’s where you can show off how well you pull things off! 🙂

Tribute To Our Olympians

Gifted with the written word? Write an essay or a nice catchphrase and submit your most creative tribute to the Malaysian Olympic athletes. You can also use pictures, illustrations or photos to supplement your entry.

Captioned By Fans

submission

This is for those who always has a witty remark at hand. Images will be posted here and it’s your job to caption them. I found this one particularly funny. Heh.

Rings of Creativity

You know the 5 interlocking rings symbolizing the Olympics? You can make your own here out of anything – just get that creative mind in gear and put together your own interlocking rings with cheese ring snacks, tires, or whatever that looks vaguely circle-ish. 😉

Malaysia’s New Rally Cry

raya house

Are you good in getting people riled up (in a good way)? Well, here’s your chance to submit your most powerful and stirring slogan if Malaysia were to host the Olympics!

win olympics gold medals

Besides the five pure gold medals worth RM 12,000, there’s also a host of other prizes guaranteed to make you drool – iOS and Android smart phones and tablets are up for grabs. There’s also daily prizes and daily winners for Maxis Prepaid Internet Starter Kits, cloud storage space and ebooks.

Read all about the prizes, get more details and submit your entries now and Launch Your Way To Gold!

Gold medals worth RM 12,000 awaits! 🙂

DJ Ferry Corsten @ KL Live

July 27, 2012 by HB

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.

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

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

July 25, 2012 by HB

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.

Camwhore Level Asian

July 12, 2012 by HB

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:

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?

July 8, 2012 by HB

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? 🙂

Camwhoring Level 0

July 6, 2012 by HB

fail

Fail

fail deux

Fail

pass

Pass

I only managed to get it right on the third shot and that’s coz I flipped the LCD screen 180 degrees so I could see myself and frame the shot. I was aiming for a dSLR look with a heavily defocused background. I’m really bad in self-portraits – I think the technical term for this is camwhoring. 😉

protestant church

That’s the most famous Protestant church in Dresden right there. I travel around quite a bit – I just came back from Germany and I went to Jakarta before that. I couldn’t make it to another one this month due to a conflicting date but I’ll be heading to Nepal and the Philippines next month.

bratwurst

I’m what the industry call a FIT (Free and Independent Traveler). Basically, what that means is that you’re the adventurous trailblazing type who tends to go backpacking alone. That perfectly describes my two previous trips to Europe. This is the third.

I’ve had no problems with people running away with my camera, not even in the slums of Sri Lanka (don’t ask) or going on a totally badass adventure in Georgia with strangers. You need someone to take your photos when you’re traveling alone and while I’m not a huge fan of camwhoring, I concede that it’s very useful sometimes.

sony

The picture above is of the Sony Center in Berlin – the only one that has a cinema which shows English movies without subtitles. I brought the Sony NEX-F3 to Germany. All the photos in this post was taken using that. I wanted to see if it would make me take better shots. I have a dSLR but I wanted a more compact camera that I can stuff into my windbreaker pocket. You can try that with a dSLR – but be prepared to get tackled by the London Metropolitan police. 😉

The Sony NEX-F3 uses a large, high performance Exmor APS CMOS sensor that allows it to capture dSLR quality photos even in low light. It has interchangeable lenses and it’s very easy to use.

Let me show you my awesome photos!

night

This is a view of Dresden late at night. I was surprised at the low noise and incredible detail. I used this as my Facebook cover photo. Heh.

retro

Old school cash register. Appropriately shot in Retro mode. I normally wouldn’t get a good photo in the lighting conditions of the restaurant but this turned out very well.

view hotel

Hotel Taschenbergpalais Kempinski in Dresden – a view from my room. President Barrack Obama also stayed here when he visited. I doubt it’s the same room though.

defocus

I like how you can set manually adjust the Background Defocus, Brightness, Color (compensate for Warm or Cold), Vividness or just let it go on auto in Superior Auto mode. It usually gets it right.

There’s also scenes presets and settings inside to let you easily shoot in a wide range of picture effects with the full time continuous auto focus:

flowers

Pop color. Flowers in summer. It was unusually cold for the first few days, which was why I had a windbreaker on and just a shirt for the last few days.

These are all shot on the Autobahn from a fast moving vehicle to demonstrate:

red

Partial Color: Red

green

Partial Color: Green

blue

Partial Color. Blue

yellow

Partial Color: Yellow

backlight

Back-light auto compensation of a faux stained glass window. There’s also a built in flash that pops up if the scene is too dark! 🙂

Videos are shot in HD and you can use the modes available – this is shot using Retro mode. 🙂

Schloss Charlottenburg

Schloss Charlottenburg (Schloss means Palace) in Panoramic Mode. You can also do this in 3D (it saves in an MPO file) and display it on a 3D TV.

Automatic scene detection and Auto HDR makes skin tones amazingly natural. I literally shot this from the hip so you can get a sense of how fast the auto-detect works:

kids

Imagine the stuff you can do with this! There’s lot of customization possible. You can make the sky bluer for example.

Please…tell them, I am God. 😉

Do you want your very own Sony NEX-F3? Join The Ultimate F3 Photographer Contest and get a chance to win one of 3 cameras! It’s very simple – all you need to do is drop by any of the 10 participating Sony Outlets on a Saturday or Sunday, take your own photo using the Sony NEX-F3 and upload it (the promoters will assist you). Click on the link above for the Sony Outlet closest to you.

I love it! The Sony NEX-F3 makes me look like a better photographer than I really am. 😉

Beer ergonomics

July 3, 2012 by HB

Ergonomics is important, particularly if you’re doing something for a long time. You know, like how they have ergonomic keyboards for cubicle warriors. Now, beer lovers in Malaysia will have the same consideration – this is of particular import for those who loves their beer. 😉

Finally beer drinkers everywhere would have a more comfortable bottle to hold on to! I reckon that’s quite thoughtful of Heineken – designing a new bottle that’s not only looks cool, but feels good. The new bottle has an embossed curve on the neck and back with an embossed Heineken logo and the iconic star. It’s also slimmer but don’t worry, it contains the same amount of liquid.

The new bottle of Heineken is going to replace the current ones for a more modern and easy to hold long necked design. I like it coz I can hold the bottle by the neck and not unintentionally warm the beer with my hand. There’s also a thumb groove that gives a bit of traction and grip! Nifty eh?

…and with Heineken being a premium beer, they’re not pinching pennies with the launch. It’s going to be an exclusive party where YOU can get a chance to attend as well. 😀

Let me tell you about the party, my friends. There will be plenty of Heineken flowing to fuel the energy, which is turn in provided by DJ Ferry Corsten (a.k.a. System F) who will be spinning that night with VJ UTT as the host. It’s another money-can’t-buy experience that is a signature of Heineken events – it’s invite only and there’s an extremely limited amount of open spots.

The only way you can score an invite is by participating in the Heineken to.a.star app on Facebook.

I’ve already received a couple on my Facebook Wall. All you need to do is to send your friends on Facebook a virtual new bottle of Heineken. Quick, send one now! Here’s how it works:

Go to the Heineken to.a.star app and virtually scan your palm to pull out your Facebook details.

Toast Your Friends by sending them a Heineken bottle. Choose them carefully coz you only have a limited amount (20 bottles) to send and you want them to return the toast. 😉

Be a nice person and send one back coz it’ll give them points in the form of “bottles”. I currently have 3 bottles.

Collect as many bottles/points as you can, you need to receive at least 10 bottles to qualify and you just might win 2 exclusive invites to the Heineken bottle launch party! DJ Ferry Corsten is coming in all the way from the Netherlands, which is the birthplace of Heineken! 🙂

It’s going to be big. It’s going to be epic. It’s going to be…wait for it…legendary! 🙂

See you all there! 🙂

The all new Toyota AE86 Hachi-Roku!

June 22, 2012 by HB

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.

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

June 6, 2012 by HB

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.

…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.

Shock and Awe

May 22, 2012 by HB

gung ho

I was rather intrigued by this device. It has grown men grunting and groaning. I just *had* to investigate.

This gym-worthy device pits you against a counter-weight that you need to sign an indemnity form to even attempt. I tried it at the default setting and just managed to press it down. *ego deflates

There’s also a harness to test your strength which I managed to pass with a bit of effort at full power. It’s all part of the All New Ford Ranger roadshow which had contests galore, including the main Ford Ranger Challenge.

girl kid

(girl and kid ~~are optional extras~~ not included)

…and now, the finalists has been announced!

The voting phase for the best 5 videos from the Ford Ranger Challenge contest will be held from 21st May to 22nd June 2012. There will be three (3) winners chosen from these five finalists and they will receive:

ford ranger prize

Grand Prize
A brand new 2012 Ford Ranger XLT 2.2L Manual Transmission with the approximate value of RM 100,000 plus merchandise

First Runner Up
RM 9,888 in cash and a RM 10,000 voucher to purchase the All New Ford Ranger plus merchandise

Second Runner Up
RM 3,888 in cash and a RM 5,000 voucher to purchase the All New Ford Ranger plus merchandise

Anyway, if you didn’t win, all is not lost. You’re still in the running for some awesome prizes!

What has that got to do with me?
Well, you have been vested with the power to decide who wins by casting votes. 🙂

Why would I want to do that?
You’ll stand a chance to win special merchandise like a G-Shock watch, Ford t-shirts, thumb drives (I want!), caps, tumblers and so on.

This won’t be a popularity contest so it’s all down to your skills (and a bit of luck) – voters will be chosen at random (50th, 100th, 150th etc etc) and you will need to answer a tie breaker question to win the G-Shock watch.

ford ranger crew

The voter with the most creative answer will snag the G-Shock watch while the rest will get one item from the smorgasbord of Ford merchandise.

Do you feel like your wrist needs a bit of accessorizing? 😉

Well, register at http://fordrangerchallenge.com.my and start voting now to get a chance to win that G-Shock!