Proton Satria Neo

Proton finally launched its much anticipated SRM - Proton Satria Neo.

Johanna and I managed to have a look at the new models (1.3 and 1.6) in Proton's Platinum Showroom in Mutiara Damansara.

From the appearance, I could feel that there is a lot of improvement from previous models such as Gen.2 and Savvy. The front view spot a very Gen.2 look - the same intimidating look and feel. I find the tiger-eye-design headlamps a bit small though. The alloy wheels for the 1.6 models look great. The most improved area would be the interior design. Proton finally dropped the awful cream color interior and opt for grey instead. The new colour really work wonders. The control buttons look so much better than the cheap look on Gen.2. The minimalist design suits the sporty look and feel of the car. But the door handle and door knob are the same as Gen.2, the same cheap and flimsy look and feel. Proton has finally decided to fit a cover for the glove compartment, but the glove compartment is still to tiny in my opinion. As usual the rear seating space is quite small. But then most who would buy sporty hatches would rarely have passengers in the rear seats.

We didn't manage to test drive the car, hence I wouldn't be able to comment on handling and performance, not that I really know how to comment on these areas.

Overall this new model looks impressive. There is a lot of improvement from Gen.2 and Savvy. Looks like Proton is improving and I hope the reliability will not be a letdown.

I hope this is the turning point for Proton.

RIP our pet fish

Johanna and I found our pet fish floating in the mini aquarium last Saturday afternoon. Both of us were very shock and sad with the sight.

Our pet fish never had a name and was never intended as a pet in the first place. We used to buy feeder fish for our pet turtles - Aragorn, Shrek, Toto and Spidey, and our pet fish was the only survivor out of the many who didn't even last for few minutes. This special fish of ours managed to dodge the vicious Aragorn for around two weeks by hiding underneath the decorative wood in Aragorn's nest. Others were not so lucky. They were either being swallowed in one gulp, or got part of their bodies bitten off before being swallowed.

Johanna and I both decided that the lucky (or smart) fish of ours have made enough effort to stay alive and hence we moved him into another aquarium and feed him like how we fed the other 4 pets of ours. Johanna would replace the water in the aquarium every now and then to ensure a healthy living environment for it. Hence she was quite upset to see the fish dead. We do not know what was the cause - maybe he had lived his full lifespan, maybe he was not well, or maybe I'd over fed him... which was unlikely as I gave him the same amount of food the day before. Anyway hope it'll rest in peace. We'll surely miss it.

World Cup begins...

In less than a minute's time, the world's most watched event is going to kick-off.

For the next one month, majority of male species on Planet Earth will be sitting in front of their teles for hours everyday, munching chips and sipping beers while most of the wives will lose their husbands to 22 guys and one ball - football widows. Medical leaves will increase, productivity will slip, stock market will be quiet, economy will slow down, conflicts between nations will decrease, such is the impact of the beautiful game.

Enjoy the games!

The joy of passing exam!

I can't describe the feeling. Initially I thought I'd just feel relieved by clearing one more hurdle in life.

But the moment I saw the results on the Institute of Actuaries' website at 7am, I dashed into the bedroom and hugged my wife who was still sleeping and tears started rolling.

It feels great, after 6 barren attempts, since the last successful attempt in April 2003.

Such an undescribable feeling!

Hope the momentum will continue.

No more CT4 (survival models). Probably I can burn the notes as a celebration tonight.

Six hundred threescore and six

Today is the sixth day of the sixth month of the sixth year of this millennium.

666 - Some believe that it is devil's day while some identify this number as the mark of the beast, while at the other side of the world some are rushing to get married on this auspicious day. Just like what Robert Langdon said in Da Vinci Code, different symbols have different meanings to different cultures and some of these meanings may change over the course of history. One's man meat is another man's poison. It applies to numbers too.

Anyway, hope the remake of The Omen which is capitalising on 666, is able to bring some chill and thrill to its audience.

An unplanned visit to Cineleisure

I've planned to write this post since Wednesday night, unfortunately due to heavy workload...

Tuesday, 30th May 2006

Johanna was attending a strategic management course at Ritz Carlton today. Hence I drove her into the city instead of dropping her off at Kelana Jaya LRT station. Jalan Damansara was at a standstill even from Damansara Jaya area. I thought Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) forum was over by now. Hence I tried to take the KLGCC way. Unfortunately, the guards did not allow us to drive into KLGCC. Maybe it was still too early I thought.

We ended up taking Penchala Link from Taman Tun. All the way traffic was smooth and we managed to reach Kampung Attap area in a short while. On the way we found out that Jalan Damansara was congested due to a stalled car. So NAM forum was over after all. After dropping off Johanna near Maharajalela station, I proceed to work.

*****

Johanna came to my office after her course and we went back together from my office. On the way it seemed that Jalan Damansara was congested again. We decided to take the KLGCC way from the other direction. Unfortunately again, the road was not open to non-members. Seemed that the road is closed to public for good. Well, no choice, Penchala Link again then. Traffic was quite heavy all the way from KLGCC to Hartamas area. On the way there, I suddenly suggested to Johanna that we could check out Cineleisure on the way back since we were going to go past there in a while.

*****

I parked the car at the Curve and we walked over the Cineleisure from there. Except for Cathay Cineplex, the whole mall was still empty. I found out later that Cineleisure is a new concept by Cathay Organisation integrating entertainment, retail, food and beverage etc. It has also been established in Singapore. I also found out that there has not been any website for the Malaysian cineplex. Wonder why. They should have got ready since online booking/purchasing is a norm these days. But I'm sure very soon the Malaysian website will be up just like the existing Singapore site.

We decided to watch X-Men: The Last Stand. We got ourselves a couple seat for RM19.

Before going in we tried to grab two burgers and some drinks. One of the burgers would only be ready in ten minutes, so we were told that it would be delivered to us in the cinema... kewl!

Before the movie started, we managed to catch a glimpse of James Bond trailer. The new Bond, Daniel Craig, looked more like 003 or 008. I had a feeling it will be a flop mainly because of the casting. He just do not have the Bond look, nowhere near my favourite Bond - Pierce Brosnan.

*****

X-Men: The Last Stand

Overall the movie was great. There were some moment of sadness too - Xavier killed by Dark Phoenix (evil side of Jean Grey). The ending was a bit disappointing as I thought Jean Grey would overcome her evil half. There were also too many mutants with too many varying powers in the movie, which had to be scurried through from one plot to another.

The part I love about the movie - the way it drew parallel with many political and social issues such as war on terrorism and discrimination. "Curing" mutants is a form of genetic engineering and stirs thoughts of "cures" for many other conditions humans are born with. The fact is, most people grow accustomed to the hands they've been dealt and rather resent the opportunity to become "normal." (Normal in this context is whatever makes you more like them and less like yourself.)

Humans hate mutants because mutants are too powerful and are constant threat to human population, resulting in discrimination. Some mutants put their powers to good use, some abuse them. Some mutants think that it is a test of survival of the fittest, some choose to learn to live together. Either way human are not to be fully blamed for discriminating against mutants, vice versa. Magneto and company is akin to terrorists who tries to attack humans as a result of mutant discrimination; Xavier and company are mutants who will go to the distance to preserve peace between humans and mutants. Clash of ideologies, prejudice between people of different groups, leaders and governments trying whatever it takes to achieve their vision, all resulting in so many casualties and uncessary bloodshed. Doesn't all these sound all too familiar?