Podcast review of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice with Jason Rumpus on the popcorn panel

 

Review of Mercedes-AMG GT S by Kelly Blue Book – “It’s flat out fun!”

The Mercedes-AMG GT S continues to pick up awards: US car magazine “Motor Trend” chose the eight-cylinder sports car as “Best Driver’s Car”. In this year’s contest, the Mercedes-AMG GT S lined up against nine other sports cars at the Laguna Seca race track in California – where it easily achieved the best lap time.

“The Mercedes-AMG GT S has the sharpest, most precise steering we have ever felt on any Mercedes or AMG vehicle,” said Motor Trend editor-in-chief Ed Loh. “It makes massive power from a compact, high-tech turbocharged V8 engine. What most impressed my team is how well the GT S was able to combine these elements. It put all of its horsepower to the ground like an all-wheel-drive supercar and gripped the road through high-speed corners like a winged racer.”

With a lap time of 1:35.57 minutes, the Mercedes-AMG GT S not only kept all its competitors at bay at the legendary Laguna Seca race track, it also achieved one of the top three times ever recorded. At the end of the long and extensive series of test drives, the Motor Trend editors concluded: “The best sports car Mercedes has ever built.”

Motor Trend launched the “Best Driver’s Car” award in 2009, and has since become one of the most prestigious contests in the American auto media.

The reviews have been fantastic online – do check some of the video links on the Mercedes-AMG GT S: 1) Caradvice.com.au 2) Digital Trends 3) MotorWeek

You can visit Jati Transport Showroom at Gadong or Beribi if you are interested in the Mercedes-AMG GT S.

The Mercedes-AMG GT S is a beast. I saw this once in Brunei and it was like love at the first sight. Do visit Jati Transport showroom if you are interested to know more.

 

In today’s headline. Congratulations Soon Loo.

Soon Loo was the chief judge at the Ignite Entrepreneurship Challenge last year

By Command of His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, the Prime Minister’s Office has announced that His Majesty has consented to the appointment of Loo Yau Soon as managing director/chief executive officer of Darussalam Enterprise (DARe).

The appointment is effective March 22, 2016.

According to the interviews in the local papers, he is truly grateful to His Majesty the Sultan for the consent to his appointment as DARe’s CEO. He was previously a board member of DARe, a newly established body in hoping to spear the SME ecosystem for the betterment of the Brunei’s economy and diversification.

DARe is led by the Minister of Energy and Industry at the Prime Minister’s Office Yang Berhormat Pehin Datu Singamanteri Colonel (Rtd) Dato Seri Setia (Dr) Hj Mohammad Yasmin Hj Umar. Both of them and other board members have been very active recently, holding talks to young vibrant entrepreneurs especially the e-vendors to understand and create a better communication platform between the two parties. So far the responses have been encouraging from the entrepreneurs and they also increased their knowledge on the know-hows on the procedures and what not in building businesses.

What I feel: Well, this is definitely great news. To know someone that I truly admire on his passion in helping and inspiring others. I first saw him in UBD where he was a mentor/lecturer for one of the classes and the students then were really connected with him. He was mentoring them on creating ideas into reality and I was amazed by the presentation from the students. That alone gave a very good first impression of him. This was back in 2013 if I’m not mistaken.

Furthermore, he was a recipient of the Ten Outstanding Young Persons of the World Award in 2013. That again, it’s a super milestone on its own. He has many accolades and recognitions along the way and don’t play, play k? since he has an MBA from Harvard University.

If you see this chap in public, don’t be afraid to say hi because he is very welcoming and enterprising. I wish you to the best in your capacity as CEO of DARe and this is a sign of better things to come. Good luck, buddy 😀

Check out the interview by Channel News Asia after Soon Loo being a recipient of the Ten Outstanding Young Persons of the World Award

 

Vincent Goh, Managing Director of Netcom Computer House, and his team at the recent anniversary dinner at Parkview Hotel recently

Two weeks ago, Netcom Computer House celebrated their anniversary at Parkview Hotel (formerly known as Asma Hotel) in Jerudong. Around 100 Netcom associates and families were treated to a wonderful dinner filled with games and entertainment to the delight of the invitees.

I was also in the mood as I dressed up for the occasion, a black and white themed dinner event. Vincent Goh, the Managing Director of Netcom Computer House, delivered his welcoming remarks and thanked the team for their contribution in sustaining the company over the 20 years of established. Wow, 20 years is indeed a milestone alone.

Thank you, Vincent, for the invitation and also your support in these years. And Hassan, you’re the man behind the mic *lol* Perhaps, I can hire you as an emcee one day.

The newly promoted Dell affordable notebook, now available at Netcom Computer House

This does come in handy 😀

If you want better charge, then go for this

 

Being slow is the only constant too. That’s how I feel lately. Things are just heading at a slow pace. The only difference is when I travel. Being away in a short span of time gives me a sense of excitement and thrill. Now I’m back in Brunei, it’s back to square one. I can feel it. The worrying signs, perhaps, of what’s in store for the country (economically). The headlines in the local media hasn’t help either but it’s good thing that it’s being identified because we cannot simply ignore it. It’s about time we step and see what we can do for the country in times of troubles.

I have two mutual friends who sought for help to see if I could connect them to the relevant authorities with regards to their termination of contracts. In recent headlines, it was stated that a major company (government linked) are carrying out “redundancy exercise” to cut costs and reducing “non-essential staff”. Of course, what we read in headlines will spark that fear that haven’t been teased for a very long, long time. We were in the comfort zone and now we are slowly getting a taste of reality checks.

Now with the ongoing LegCo, it’s an indication where our country will be heading for the next year or so, in reaching the Vision 2035 (which is in 19 years’ time). It was noted that government spending will be reduced in times of lower revenues and we will still be running in a deficit.

I still see hope in this country and I trust in the Brunei Government in overcoming the challenges. The transitional period will take some time but it’s a good start. The relevant government agencies have been pro-active in creating new bodies to see how Brunei can diversify and get out of the mentality of heavily depending on oil and gas as our revenue stream for the Brunei economy.

I’ve seen new bodies with government support being created such as DARe (Darussalam Enterprise), a statutory body that will help to empower local entrepreneurs in contributing to the local economy. The newly established is recognized in the LegCo recently and it is spearheaded by the Minister of Energy and Industry Yang Berhormat Pehin Datu Singamanteri Colonel (Rtd) Dato Seri Setia (Dr) Hj Mohammad Yasmin Hj Umar. DARe recently held a dialogue with local e-vendors in terms of helping them to set up a physical store and also issues with labour quotas and so on. With this guidance, it will hope to see how the e-vendors grow and create a more business friendly environment for a win-win situation.

Yang Berhormat Pehin Datu Singamanteri Colonel (Rtd) Dato Seri Setia (Dr) Hj Mohammad Yasmin Hj Umar, Minister of Energy and Industry, chairman of the board for Darussalam Enterprise (DARe) with other committee having a conversation with the e-vendors held at Design & Technology Building (opposite iCentre) last week. You can even visit their Business Support centre every Monday to Friday or call/sms via 836 3442. Image courtesy of @govbn

 

The winner of the Mitsubishi Lancer 1.6 Auto, Mah Wai Keun (left), as part of the “The Big Shopping Win”, a collaboration between Baiduri Bank and Hua Ho. Presenting the mock key were Michelle Lo (center), Manager of Card Brand Relationship & Business Banking Support and Lau Soon Lin, Director of Hua Ho. The event was held at Hua Ho Kiulap yesterday. You can website Baiduri website by clicking the image or you can download “Baiduri Deals” on your smartphone or follow their Facebook or IG @baiduribank. Image courtesy of Adib Noor of The Brunei Times.

Costume party at a friend’s place for Himari and Takumi’s farewell gathering. Both are my tennis buddies whom we trained under coach Aiman. It was also great to see Mr. Okochi after such a very long time. Thanks for the hospitality and great food.

My room mate for the past three nights at Taipei for our @mrbrownbrunei coverage trip with the winners of the Mr. Brown contest. We had this mini competition between us on making fun of each other on social media. It seems I’m dominating so far but we won’t have more opportunities until our next trip perhaps. Thank you, Aiking Sdn Bhd on giving us the opportunity to do coverage on the trip to Taiwan.

The Francophonie Week 2016 kicked off last Saturday and it will be ongoing for another week. Many events and activities to look forward too. This image was taken during the screening of the French movie “Win Win” at Taman Jubilee. The event is organised by Alliance Française and The Collective Arts Event. Click image to know more what’s in store for Francophonie Week 2016

The past week or so, I’ve been amazed with the stories that are being shared by my friends in their toastmasters journey. Many surprises in terms of content and I’m truly amazed by the growth of my friends. I’m still impressed with the ending of the “Helping Hand” story. Very impactful and witty. Congratulations to the winners of the UBD Toastmasters Club contest yesterday. Nice shot too, Sandy 😀

Last week, Inspire Magazine launched a new website to provide a better access to their stories. Back then, there were only magazines and PDF formats. This is a great step to reach more readers globally as well. Shaun Hoon (2nd from left), founder of Inspire Magazine, with his team during the launch of the website. You can visit www.yesinpire.com to access Inspire or click on the image. Image courtesy of Shaun Hoon.