anakbrunei

Brought to you by davidcheok.com

From wikipedia : Paintball is a sport in which participants eliminate opponents from play by hitting them with paintballs (spherical gelatin capsules containing primarily polyethylene glycol, other non-toxic and water-soluble substances, and dye) shot from a compressed-gas-powered "marker". Insurance statistics show that paintball is one of the safest sports in existence, even more so than tennis. A game of paintball usually involves two opposing teams seeking to eliminate all of the other team's players or to complete an objective, such as retrieving a flag, eliminating a specific player, or other paintball variations. An average, non-professional game of paintball usually lasts around five minutes to half an hour. Since its inception, paintball has drawn a crowd of both casual and serious players. From here : Paintball is currently illegal in Brunei, as the markers are considered firearms under Brunei law. There are paintball games, though, affairs held on private land ...

Yesterday, while attending an IT seminar di sebuah hotel terkemuka di Jerudong (cewah!), I was asked very politely not to take photographs, by the MD of a pretty well-known IT firm. When I asked him why? He said it was a closed seminar for invited guests only. Fair dinkum, I obliged with very little argument. Their function, their prerogative. End of story. BUT it got me thinking... is there an underlying factor that is reducing these once publicity hungry IT firms to paranoia of the public eye? Or maybe its the competitors' eyes they are worried about? I wonder what was the real reason behind the need to minimize publicity for what obviously would have been a great information sharing session for the tech community on optimizing IT infrastructure, which would have benefited from some publicity on the web? I guess I'll never really know... The upside of this is that I got to meet two great people from the technology partner company, one of the biggest IT companies in the world...

Hats off to the organizers of last night's welcoming reception for the participants of the 2nd International Halal Products Expo which was held at the courtyard of Kompleks Yayasan SHHB in the capital. The ambience was fantastic with backdrop of the beautiful SOAS III mosque on one side, and Kampong Ayer on the other. The Halal spread was awesome, with ambuyat, soto, nasi lemak, and other local cuisine on offer! What a wonderful start for our foreign guests who have come to this blessed nation of ours to partake in the annual exposition.

Pay check came in the mail today... A happy camper is what I am :)

Following my earlier post , I finally got to interview the folks behind one of Brunei's most progressive and creative music production outfits, Projectunes early this week. Formed by Adi Rani and Diana a few years ago, Projectunes now produces a number of extremely talented young artists, Azeem , NJ (who sadly was out of town on that day), Feez Madea , and of course, Adi Rani, and Diana. The first thing that came to mind when they turned up for the interview was, "Gee, what a nice bunch of kids." But beyond the chummy exterior was a group of seriously talented and committed young individuals who have a burning desire to stand up and be recognized by the world! And when you listen to the g-funk stylings of Azeem's "Just Believe" and "Home" , and the pop musings of Adi Rani's "Bila Berdua" and "Satu" , and the masterful "mixtering" behind NJ's "Bliss" , you somehow know... these kids are gonna mak...

FPV or Ford Performance Vehicles' 40th Anniversary GT monster. Black Gold bootie-shaking BOSS 290 5.4 litre Quad-Cam 32 valve V8 driven muscle-car dream on wheels. Premier Motors! Can you just bring one in for the heck of it PLEASE! Need a temporary distraction from the testosterone rush... tks to GoD's GiFT! for the following "too good not to re-post" post: Words women use. "Fine" This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and you need to shut up. "Five Minutes" If she is getting dressed, this is half an hour. Five minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given 5 more minutes to watch the game before helping around the house. "Nothing" This is the calm before the storm. This means "something" and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with "nothing" usually end in "fine". "Go Ahead" This is a dare, not permission, DON'T DO IT! "Loud Sigh...

This here is my new friend whom I had the pleasure of meeting last week amid his busy schedule. Tengku Farith Rithauddeen , or TF for short, is Group CEO and Co-Founder of SKALI , an Internet Data Centre operator, and web applications and e-business consultancy which has set up a Lab in the BEDB 's i-Center to transfer its technology and know-how to local bright sparks. During our brief chat about what SKALI's plans are for their lab, TF outlined SKALI's technopreneurship program called SNAP , which stands for "SKALI Netpreneurs Acceleration Program", a program to facilitate the local ICT Industry by providing the necessary support structure. I think this sort of mentorship program will do well to augment the efforts of BEDB and the i-Center in nurturing and growing our local bright sparks so that they can compete in the global market. The other thing we spoke about was TF's book, Skali Lagi , which I've been listening to (yes, it comes in audio format wh...

As a prize for winning last year’s photography competition organised by Grace Heritage foundation, Brunei Tourism will be hosting renowned American photographer, Don Gurewitz . Don will be in Brunei from 6th to 23rd July 2007, doing a pictorial coverage of the Kingdom of Unexpected Treasures. These photographs will be exhibited at the 4th US-ASEAN Film, Photography and Video Exhibition in Washington DC, later this year. While in Brunei, Don will be accompanied by his brand spanking new Canon EOS 5D (grrrr!), taking pictures that will help to promote the Kingdom as a tourist destination, especially in the USA . He will also be part of the media team from Information Department to cover His Majesty’s 61st Birthday Celebration. For local photogs, Don will hold a small talk on his travels and travel photography in general. This will be held at Dewan Setia Pahlawan, Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources on Sunday, 8th of July 2007, at 2pm. Those interested to join, please contact H...

Nokia E90 Communicator - the legend evolves into an all-inclusive Nokia Eseries business device. The Nokia E90 Communicator sets the standard for an uncompromised "mobile office" experience. The latest technologies at the core of the device bring business necessities and personal amenities to the hands of people independent of time and place. Fast and inexpensive connections over WLAN and HSDPA-enhanced 3G accelerate the mobile use of data- and transmission-rich applications. The interface to business and leisure applications and the Internet, the stunning Nokia S60 browser, with 16 million colors, is capable of displaying the full width of a web page at once. The Nokia E90 Communicator is now based on the S60 platform, making a wealth of additional mobile applications available for its users. The Nokia E90 Communicator also has an integrated GPS and Nokia Maps application to provide help in finding routes and locating services. For increased personal convenience, the Nok...

Following from the success of the TEH TARIK SESSION , the BEDB is organizing a workshop for bright young sparks who registered their interest to be part of the i-Centre on Friday 29th June 2007 at the i-Centre in Anggerek Desa . This'll be an opportunity for participants to learn the basics of writing a business-plan and I think there will be a session on Intellectual Property Rights as well among other topics. The workshop is also open to those who missed out on the first session or were unsure whether to register during the first session. You will need to register FAST as limited seats will be available on a first-come-first-serve basis! More details on the BEDB website.

The rear wing of the Merlin EH101 taken yesterday at Bridex 2007 at ICC. The military version of the EH101 is powered by either three Rolls-Royce Turbomeca RTM322 turboshafts ( UK , Japan , Denmark and Portugal ), or three 1,491 kW General Electric CT7-6 turboshafts ( Italy , Canada , Japan TMP). Engine inlet particle separator systems provide protection when operating in sandy environments. Each engine is supplied by a separate self-sealing fuel tank using dual booster pumps. Each tank holds 1,074 litres of fuel. A fourth tank acts as a reservoir supply, topping up the main tanks during flight. A fifth transfer tank can be added to increase range, as can airborne refuelling. The engines power an 18.59 metre diameter five bladed main rotor. The rotor blades are constructed from carbon/glass with nomex honeycomb and rohacell foam, edged with titanium alloy. Computer control of the engines allows the EH101 to hover reliably in winds of over 80 km/h. Cool bananas...

I just love this baby ... I would've ordered it... but it didn't come with a coffee maker ...

More about this here and here . Stylish, retro design 10.0 Megapixel digital camera with 6x Optical Zoom with Optical Image Stabilizer Technology for steady, long zoom shooting DIGIC III Image Processor with Face Detection Technology for superior image quality, fast operation and low power consumption Large 2.5-inch LCD monitor with wide viewing angle for easier on-camera viewing ISO 1600 to reduce image blur and expand low-light shooting capability Compatible with a number of auxiliary lenses and EOS Speedlite flashes for extended photographic capabilities Easy to access ISO and Mode dials for convenient, customized shooting Improved High-Resolution Movie Mode at 15 fps XGA (1024 x 768) Print/Share Button for easy direct printing and downloading, plus ID Photo Print and Movie Print with Canon CP and SELPHY Compact Photo Printers

This morning, BEDB hosted a teh tarik session called THINK BIG . It was basically an open session aimed at creating awareness for the BEDB SME Innovation Center which is scheduled to open its doors in August. The forum was one with a difference in that it was very informal. Even the invitation card stated dress in whatever you're comfortable in . I contemplated coming in my usual Friday morning Jing Chu attire, shorts and t-shirt but decided against it. Good call as I would've stood out like a sore-thumb!! The turn-out was fantastic with many familiar faces including fellow bloggers Emma complete with bun, LSM aka Joshua heheh, Rezafaizal , the Geek in Pink and perhaps a few others I may not have spotted. Some new faces also and I'm assuming these are the bright sparks with tech ideas they want to take to the next level. The morning got off to a good start with Stanley Han giving an account of his experiences as an incubatee in NUS' incubation program . Very inspi...

There's been a lot said about the proliferation of PC Fairs and how they are getting boring etc etc. Personally I think they're great! Kinda reminds me of Funan center but on a much smaller scale. Its great because you get to shop around for stuff in one location. And because all the booths are in close proximity, there's definitely a sense of competition among the sellers with the competition being only 3 feet away! With the many new buildings and shophouses sprouting up like mushrooms, I wonder if anyone's thought of doing a mini Funan center or Imbi Plaza with all shops dedicated to ICT related products? If that happens, I know where I'll be spending my weekends shopping for my next tech fix heheh!

anakbrunei.org is proud to support: Are you a tech-wiz? Got a tech idea which you're just so sure will be the next killer-app ? Well, the Brunei Economic Development Board welcomes you and your friends to a stimulating morning of discussions on "Turning Ideas into Business Opportunities" over teh tarik, at 8.30am on Friday, 4th May 2007 , at the Songket Hall on Level 4 of the Rizqun International Hotel . This may be that break you've been looking for so: MARK IT IN YOUR DIARY/CALENDAR/PDA/PSP! To register for FREE , call lovely Samantha on 2230076 or 2230111 ext 201 or charming Hj Aziz on 2230111 ext 209

When da missus decided to give Yoga a try last week, I had to opportunity to sit in on (and photograph hehe) a beginners' Yoga session conducted by this wonderful woman . It was different from the open air sessions as the acoustics in the studio meant you could hear her soothing voice very clearly. The woman has an uncanny ability to sooth and calm a restless mind and by the end of the session, even I felt somewhat relaxed! Went for a colonoscopy for the first time in my life today. The procedure involves inserting a tube with a video camera on the tip, into one's nether regions, and having a look around to find any unusual growths or ulcers in the colon. The process starts the day before with two doses of mild laxatives that have you parked on the loo for hours. This is necessary of course to ensure a clear picture when they go in. Before the procedure, a sedative is administered that puts you in the twilight zone. You can still feel the tube going in and its not so bad... ...