Lewis Hamilton: Up Close And Personal

Lewis Hamilton. For all f1 fans , you can either love him or just hate him to the core. At a tender age of 22, he is having a blast enjoying what most of us can only dream of; driving an extreme piece of machine called F1 car. He's got the looks, the money, and don't forget the fact that he's dating a Nicole Sherzinger of PCD (dammit!). To be honest, I don't really fancy him. Throughout his debut season, I kinda thought that he's overhyped as the rookie of the year and so on. But as the season goes on, I have to admit, he's got some sick talent in driving. And only later on I found out that he's among the individuals who rise up to the occasion from wrecks to riches. He was not born...privileged like some other people (and some people that I know of who proved to be lame posers, having the money and privilege to venture into expensive motoring sports such as karting). I found this video interesting, and I surely hoped that you will enjoy it as much as I did. Enjoy:)

Video Link

Malaysian F1 Grand Prix: Even The Bomohs Can't Act God...

So, have you guys watched the race yesterday? To the mat salehs, may we present you the Malaysian weather at it's best potential. If there's such heavy downpour which can stop races, this is it. And with the time shifted later in the evening, the visibility and light penetration is getting poorer by every minute. In the end, safety car was launched, and the race was red-flagged, and Jenson Button of Brawn GP went on his second consecutive victory of this season. Bravo Brawn! The underdogs have done it again! Boy oh boy will the favourites have another rivalry this year.

Well, I wish not to talk much about the race, you can just read it elsewhere. I'll be sharing some of my experience and my thoughts throughout yesterdays happenings. So, my brother and I, and a couple of his friends went together, car-pooling. We happened to have two parking stickers, and unsure of what to do with the second one, we decided to make ourselves an easy fortune; we'll sell it, haha. Upon arrival in the KLIA toll plaza, we begun our marketing strategy. With proper 'product positioning' (that is at the side windows of the car), we managed to attract some looks from fellow motorists. One Indian dude was staring so seriously even after his car went pass us. Looks like more and more people got interested. We then stopped our car at the area where parking tickets sold, and started offering. One by one cars asked for it. One Malay dude asked for a mere 30 bucks. I mean come on! The sticker alone costed 50! and the location is far from the main entrance. What we had is so much better; the sticker with 'SIC' on it, it is like the best parking spot! (after the paddock club, of course). About 10 minutes later, a group of interested Chinese started asking for it. 50 bucks! or you may queue at the line. Without further hesitation, a friend of his started pulling out 50 ringgit note. Ka-Ching! A sale was made! hahaha. Now we got ourselves a free dinner money. Now, off to the track.

One thing I realised this year is the traffic. I know that in the news report everywhere, the police force has given a guarantee that the traffic flow will be smooth. Judging from what I saw yesterday, it seems that nothing much has been done. Cutting queues were still there. And when there are policemen watching over, the motorist started switching to the right lane. And there's a group of ass clowns taking opportunity over police escorts passing to let the VVIPs through. Talk about Malaysian typical mentality. Sighhh, when are we gonna change ourselves eh?

Fortunately, all is not lost with the race stopped about halfway due to the rain. We were heavily entertained by the UK megastar by the name of Jamiroquai! Wooohoooo! He is truly a showman, 90 minutes of fast paced, pulsating tunes that surely rocked the stage and the crowd. And with some string pulled out, we got to party VIP style. There's free food, drinks, the lovely people dancing and enjoying themselves. What a crowd! The only downside is the slippery, muddy surface and the light drizzle. I wore white yesterday, and let's just say, it turned brown. It was that bad. We didn't Jay Kay's performance to be this long and awesome. We kinda expected it to be like a short 5,6 songs. He took the whole 90 minute; it was practically a Jamiroquai concert live in Malaysia, not just some entertainment for Formula 1. And guess what, should you purchase the cheapest ticket (50, I think?), you still got to enjoy the concert. I mean, it was like the cheapest gig ever! To the organizers, good job man! Hope to see more interesting acts next year. And Jay Kay, what can I say, you rock dude!

And after all that just happened, I'm just too tired to work today, so I took a day off! Hahaha...please please don't tell my boss (I kinda told him that I had a fever). Till the next post, Jaane!

Malaysian Taxi Drivers, Wannabe Posers & Brawn Domination: My Two Cents Worth

My internet connection back in my home in Malacca is not working, so I can only update my blog during the weekend. Anyway, a few things caught my attention throughout the week. One comes from a comment sent by a reader in The Star's webpage about the disgrace of our very own Malaysian taxi drivers. We have heard so much about them; about them overcharging their fares, not using their metres, being snobbish and rude, and picky about destinations. In a way, they have portrayed such a bad image towards Malaysia. The government has spent millions of ringgits in tourism, promoting Malaysia as 'truly Asia', yet the attitude does not represent Asia at all. According to the reader, even taxis in the Philipines and Thailand are better and more ahead than us, not to mention our closest neighbour, the Singaporeans. Are we too late or is there still something up on the Government's sleeves to solve this problem? All Malaysians ever want is a decent ride to get us from A to B with comfort, drove by a decent, well-mannered Malaysians. You may search in Google for answers, but may I suggest the search engine in The Star as a good start to understand to the core the frustrations faced by all of us. Dear CVLB (Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board), do something!

Thursday was the Malaysian premierre of the long awaited Fast and Furious. This time, it goes back old skool (yeah, just like the first movie). Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster (damn she's hot!) is back in action. I would not say it is as good as the original (nothing beats the original), but an entertaining action flick I must say. I would give it a 7 out of 10. Actually I'm not here to comment about the movie. You've got to see it for yourself! What I'm interested to write about is what happens after that. My friends and I were queuing up to pay the parking ticket, and there it was; a bunch of immature wannabe posers who suddenly acted as if the're in the movie. They started revving their not so powerful engines to the max, trying to create a scene with hope everyone starts to admire of their ride's 'potential'. I mean come on! it's not that you're riding a R-34, a Sylvia or even a Golf GTi!! You guys drove only a mere timid Proton Satria with some add-ons and mods. Big deal! If you asked me, I'm not at all impressed. You will get my attention and respect if you're in one of those real rides. And the funny thing is, those who are in this genuine rides did not show off at all. They acted all poised and cool. Not like them posers. God I hate them. At one them, I just wished them to bang at some lamp post or wall or something. That will teach them a lesson.

Anyway, today is the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Sepang. It's the tenth anniversary of Malaysia organising this prestigious event, and yours truly is going! Formula 1 has always been my regular staple in my life calendar. And looking at the qualifying yesterday, Brawn has done it again! Button has scored yet another pole. Wow, this underdog is a must watch. The favourites (Ferrari, McLaren & BMW) have not been impressive in the track. Well, today is the race day, and we'll see if Brawn can do it again! You know what, I'm gonna look up for a Brawn cap. I have 'switched' my allegiance to Brawn GP (Sorry Sauber!). To top things up, Jamiroquai will be performing in a post race concert. Hopefully the weather is on our favour, and we're promised to a top notch racing action.

Till the next post. Vroom Vroom!

Honda City: Test Test...

My mum was heading back to Kelantan for the royal annual dinner via flight, so I sent her to the LCCT at about 6-ish this morning. I also took the opportunity to put my car on a performance test, just to see how did it behaved. Cruising speed wise (we're talking 100-120km/h), ride is such a breeze. The City has been very stable, noise insulation is also good for a sub 100K car, everything just feels good. I was on 120-140km/h throughout the 60km stretch to the LCCT.

On my way back, I decided to kick in another notch and pushed it harder. The iVTEC has been revving pleasantly at speeds of 100-120km/h; not much problems encountered. Going 120km/h onwards; that is another story. The engine feels a bit sluggish going to 140, and even more so to 160. Eventually I managed to hit 160, and suddenly i heard some squeaking sound. I'm not entirely sure where it came from. I've decided to slow down and try it again. Again at about 155, 160 the squeaking sound reappeared. Perhaps this is something to be brought up during the5K service. But all in all, I'm satisfied with the car's performance. It can go to 140 (which is the usual speed I drive in highways) which is OK, and the fact that it feels comfy at cruising speeds delights me even more. Pushing up to 160 is something I'll do on rare occassions (especially in a 1.5litre car!), but I think I'll need to get it checked later. I sort of have a feeling that I can push even more (given the power of VTEC), but unless I'm really sure what the problem is with the sound and it has been resolved, I'll put that on hold. Safety first people!

Anyway, today is the start of another season of Formula 1. There's a new kid on the block; Brawn GP, and at the moment, they have been performing well. Scored the pole and 2nd spot, this team is definitely worth checking out. Will it become the dark horse against the favourites of Ferrari, McLaren and Sauber? We'll see about that. I also found out about this KERS system implemented by some cars which allows extra boost power during pressing situations. Will it be practical to be used in this race, given the consideration for weight and so on? All this answers should be answered as the race kicks off. Till then , roger and out!