7 points dropped by MU

13 years and going strong. I remember the stories that Vincent Pao, General Manager of Concepts Computer, shared on how it all began and the history was pretty interesting too. What I am amazed is how their company is one of the most successful in the IT field.

From what I can see, Concepts Computer’s competitive edge lis on the demand driven by consumer, government spending as well as capital spending by businesses. With the right market products and innovations such as Acer, Epson (printers), Microsoft, TechOneGlobal and Timetech, it has positioned Concepts Computer as one of the IT market leaders in Brunei Darussalam.

Vincent Pao is very thankful to his customers for being supportive of Concepts Computer. Congratulations buddy on being the driving force behind Concepts Computer and keep it going :)) Sorry about the Manchester United’s recent drop of form though *lol* Images below courtesy of Concepts Computer.

Vincent Pao delivering his speech during the 13th year anniversary

The cake cutting ceremony

The door gifts for the invited guests

The mingling session with the invited guests, media and staff of Concepts Computer

The group photo of the team of Concepts Computer

Here are some of the products that made Concepts Computer the one that people sought for

Delicious, freshly made, and oh so satisfying. Double the taste. Double the enjoyment.

Be dazzled by the two patties of golden and juicy chicken housed on a perfectly tasted bun and dressed to thrill your taste buds is the Double McChicken.

Dive into two golden flakey, fish fillets and tasty cheese which is topped with tangy sauce in a lightly steamed bun. A favourite amongst others is the Double Fillet-o-Fish.

McDonald’s Brunei is bringing back the doubles favourite to satisfy your every craving. Meal prices range from B$6.00 onwards or hurry down to McDonald’s for your next scrumptious meal or call 2449669 for deliveries. Text courtesy of McDonald’s (Brunei).

McDonald’s Doubles are back!!

“Creativity amongst individual is always encouraged by McDonald’s” said Dk Kemariah Pg Hj Duraman, General Manager of McDonald’s Brunei. “Activities like art and photography will encourage them be innovative and creative, and give the local artists a chance to express their feelings through their work”.

As the main supporter of the “Spirit of the Games” Art Competition which is organised by the British High Commission in Brunei Darussalam and the Brunei Art Forum, McDonald’s Brunei will be contributing food vouchers to lucky participants who joined in the competition, whereby they can either dine in or takeaway.

McDonald’s commitment to the Olympic Movement began since 1968 and this year marks the ninth consecutive Games for McDonald’s as the Official Restaurant of the Olympic Games.

The “Spirit of the Games” Art Competition is open to all citizens and residents, and is divided into three categories, Art, Photography and Sculpture. Deadline for all art submission is 15th May 2012.For more information please visitwww.bruneions.com or the British High Commission. Text courtesy of McDonald’s (Brunei).

Azimah of McDonald’s with the Art Forum poster

The caption says it all. Image taken from Soccernet.

The header that separated both sides. Image taken from Soccernet.

It wasn’t a classic but it was a good professional win for Manchester City as they have leveled on points with their better rivals Manchester United. It was quite a surprise to see MU dropping points unnecessary and we are talking of 7 points which is unlikely of Manchester United. For the past few seasons, they would finished better in the final third of the season.

So what went wrong? Was it Sir Alex’ formation and choice of players? Are the players to be blamed? Was it the Cardiff break trip that backfired before the derby match? Looking at the stats, MU didn’t muster any shots on target at all which is very rare coming from the defending champions. A win for United would have virtually handed United the title or even a draw at Etihad Stadium. So what gives??

The title race is definitely not over and Manchester City have Newcastle to play against which will be a tricky tie. MU will be hoping for the results to be in their favour. Will City win their first title since 1968 or the experience of MU will haunt City as a title pretenders? Interesting final games to watch and also for the neutrals :))

I was invited to the official launch of Butra Home Concept (BHC) launch last week. I remembered Shaun Hoon, Growth Engineer of Catalyst (under Mixmediagroup) ever spoke off creating a magazine of some sort and now his baby project was made possible. He presented the idea and the vision of BHC for the benefits of the sponsors and the readers in front of a packed audience at the Brunei Hotel.

In my opinion, this is the right track for Catalyst to launch a home, lifestyle magazine as the demand for housing is increasing especially for the young generation. For your info, the BHC magazine was made possible by Butra HeidelbergCement (or where we are familiar with the name Brunei Cement) and the magazine is also free with contents relating to home improvement and lifestyle and also future businesses that relates to home and living.

I browsed through the magazine and I’m very impressed with the layout and the content though I thought the pictures could have been sharper on some of the pages. Other that that, this magazine has the appropriate content and highly recommended for those interested in buying a home or looking for ideas.

“The project has been around for six months and it was Stuart Lee’s idea (from Butra HeidelbergCement). One of the challenging part is to get consent for taking photos of people’s houses for the magazine’s content, ” said Shaun of Catalyst. “But I’m quite fortunate that most are willing to agree for their interior to be featured in BHC. Another challenge is to get advertisers on board in the beginning.”

Shaun is thankful to Butra HeidelbergCement for entrusting Catalyst to execute the delivery of the magazine. The cement company also have worked with Mixmediagroup on previous CSR projects and the relationship between the two have soared to new heights and prompted to engage their services on new projects.

For those who wants a digital copy, you can actually download the PDF file on www.ButraHome.com :))

Shaun Hoon of Catalyst explained the objectives and vision of Butra Home Concept magazine during the launch

The invited guests at BHC launch at the Brunei Hotel last Thursday

One of the guests flicking through the home lifestyle magazine

Guest of honour Hjh Normah, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources (MIPR), handed the certificate to HSBC

Hjh Normah handed the certificate to Valor Property

Hjh Normah handed the certificate to MaxTrack Company

Shaun was much relieved after the launch of the magazine

Marcelino Ugarte, Managing Director of Butra HeidelbergCement, spoke to the media on BHC’s vision and their reason for BHC’s existence.

“We realised we (Brunei cement) is the foundation of the home. We want to get involved in building and helping customers and end users to complete their homes. We feel that there is a need to consolidate the ideas of the architects, constructors, end users and others and collaborate with each other to build a perfect home, ” said Marcelino.

“It’s exciting time now for home owners and most of them want to have nice home or stylish one and of course, a functional home. There’s also a gap that we feel the magazine will help to bridge that gap in creating a home.”

Marcelino also revealed that he doesn’t want the BHC magazine to end up with too many advertisers with lesser content especially articles on home. The content is very important to draw in more readers. As for now, BHC have 5,000 prints which is being circulated. He’s very confident that the magazine will be sustainable.

It’s pretty interesting to see a cement company launching a home lifestyle magazine and this shows how diversify Butra HeidelbergCement as they are not just focusing on producing and supplying cement. When asked, Marcelino won’t revealed just yet on their other ideas or projects for the community but there will be more coming from Butra HeidelbergCement in the near future.

Butra HeidelbergCement have worked with the Ministry of Health (on their diabetes campaign) and Ministry of Development under JASTRE (on their No Plastic Bag weekend initiative). They have also sponsored international events such as Tour de Brunei. So do look out for Butra HeidelbergCement for updates and they surely have contributed positively to the Brunei community. Two thumbs up!!

Deno Goh of The Brunei Times interviewing Marcelino Ugarte, Managing Director of Butra HeidelbergCement

Shaun posing with the first edition of Butra Home Concept magazine

The Brunei-Australia Association (B-AA) held the “Brustralia3: Foodie Challenge” last Sunday. The event was held at the residence of the Australian High Commissioner Mark Sawers. Also present were representatives from Royal Brunei Airlines, Schlumberger, HRD Global Education Services, as well as members of B-AA.

Members of B-AA prepared 12 dishes, which guests of the event got to taste. The guests were then asked to vote for their favourite dish. The winner of the challenge was Thanis Lim for his Sour Plum Lamb Stew with Rice. Lim won a return air ticket to Melbourne sponsored by Royal Brunei Airlines.

Member of the B-AA Reeda Malik said, “It’s a pretty informal thing as members just turn up and bring a dish to participate. It’s good fun and quite a number of the members are very good at cooking.”

The association has more events in the pipeline this year, which includes its annual gala dinner. The B-AA consists of Bruneians that have studied or worked in Australia and Australians who are currently in Brunei. Events such as Brustralia3 were organised to rekindle old friendships as well as providing an opportunity to make new ones. Text courtesy of Zatty Joanda of The Brunei Times. Images courtesy of SocMedBN.

Thanis Lim won a return ticket to Melbourne for his popular dish sour plum lamb stew

Australian High Commissioner Mark Sawers welcoming his guests to his residence

Some of the guests who showed up at Brustralia 3

Guests had the chance to try all the food that were brought for the event