Death is here!!!

It has finally arrived. Well for me, it arrived about a week ago. Yes, I admit I was one in a few million that downloaded it over the net. But to redeem myself, I have just set an order for the coffin box set specially shipped from the UK. One thing is for sure... Metallica has redeemed themselves. They are totally back. From what I have listened throughout the past week, they are not trying to imitate what they did in the 80's with the 3 epic albums (lightning, puppets and justice). But what they did with Death Magnetic is basically the 3 epic albums rolled into 1 and revitalised for the present. I totally love the album. All 10 songs to me are solid classics. Excellent job guys, you have again proven that you are the metal lords to beat... \m/

Recuperation can wait...

I like what I hear. They're back to form. The solos are back. The bass is loud. No more gay drum snares from Lars, and James's voice is top notch. Metallica is back.. Check out one of the new songs from Death Magnetic 'Cyanide' unleashed at this year's Ozzfest in Dallas, Texas. Less than a month to go...

'Death' Track List...

A'kum all. 2 more months to go and Metallica's latest studio album will be unleashed to the masses. Being a huge fan of theirs, I can't wait what they have in store after the not so brilliant release of 2003, namely St. Anger. Compared to their previous releases, St. Anger is reportedly only have sold 1.87 million copies in the US. I really hope that they won't 'disappoint' this time around. But from I found out, one particular track name in the new album will ring familiar bells to loyalist of the band. 'Unforgiven III' will be one of the tracks listed in the new album. Oh well, the only thing to do now is wait... impatiently though...

Death Magnetic Track list

'That Was Just Your Life'

'The End of The Line'

'Broken, Beat and Scarred'

'The Day That Never Comes'

'All Nightmare Long'

'Cyanide'

'The Unforgiven III'

'The Judas Kiss'

'Suicide and Redemption'

'My Apocalypse'

Gym...

A'kum all. Three years have passed since I've joined the gym. Back in July 2005, I began my quest for a change at JPMC's gym in Jerudong, I'm currently a happy member at Fitness Zone. Through patience and endurance, I've managed to shed the unnecessary pounds and keep fit along the way. Well keeping fit is now secondary to me, because once I saw the results there was no turning back. Let's just put it this way, I was 110kg when I started off, and now I'm maintaining my weight at 75kg. A word of advise, "Never ever give up!" Remember, Rome wasn't built in a day...

You want to know how i got these scares???

The best Batman movie ever!!! Well, to me it was.. But from the applause inside the cineplex was a guide to go for, I was not the only one who thought The Dark Knight was THE summer's block buster movie. I was able to convince Mrs. SandMan and the entourage (Luq and Azmi) to catch the sneak show on Wednesday, 16th July at the Q-Lap Mall. Obviously we were not the only ones who had the idea to catch the movie before it opened. Anyways, back to the movie. Where was I? Oh yes... It was Awesome!!! Though 2 and 1/2 hrs long, the minute hand ticked faster than usual. All of us were engulfed with the story line and we wanted more. The cast ensemble was brilliant to say the least. Christian Bale played Batman to perfection. Other 'supporting' actors were non the less excellent in their portrayal of Alfred, Commissioner Gordon, Lucious Fox and Harvey Dent respectively. But Heath Ledger's take on the Joker was to die for. Jack Nicholson's Joker in Tim Burton's Batman was good, but this time around the Joker took no prisoners. He was a psychotic anarchist serial killer with a weird sense of humour. Weird being the understatement of the year. As Alfred put it best... "Some people just want to watch the world burn". It is just a sad lost that Heath Ledger is no longer with us. Words are buzzing that the 'people' are considering Heath's performance as the Joker for an Oscar nod. I say, "Give it to him". He deserves it. A 10/10 for The Dark Knight... Guys, dont even think of missing this one...

Daulat Kebawah Duli Tuan Patik...

Picture taken from here.

A'kum all. It's that time of the year again where all walks of life in Brunei celebrate His Majesty's Birthday. I for one am taking this opportunity to wish His Majesty a Happy Birthday. May Allah bless His Majesty with good health, prosperity and continue to rule our country with wisdom and stability.. Amin

Weekend is here...

A'kum guys.. Yesh! the weekend is here... For most of us, it is time to reflect and relax from a hectic week at work. Shopping with the family, dinner with friends, dates with girl/boy friends, etc. usually happens during weekends. Oh well, everyone deserves a break... Anyways, hope you guys will have an awesome weekend... mine just begun... *wink*

Lucky...

Hello all. I know, I know.. It's been quite a while that I've updated the blog. A lot has happened, and I do mean a lot since my 'break' from the blogging world. Anyways, since the blog meter showed a lucky number to some, might as well post it as a special one off update. Tell next time friends... Chao!!!

Perfection...

The wait is almost over... In the mean time, enjoy Metallica's recent concert at Rock am Ring 2008

David Cook wins...

After 19 weeks of waiting, the results of this year's American Idol came last night. And as a huge David Cook fan it came as a surprise that he won. Every survey, every vote that I came across through the net all pointed to David 'Archie' to win the finale. Even the judges were on 'Archie's' side on Tuesday's final performances. But hey, I'm not complaining. The better man and singer won. Another high point for me during the finale show was the Gladys Knight's and 'The Pips's never seen before audition. Who on god's earth could have thought of that idea must be a genius. Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Robert 'Iron Man' Downey Jr.'s dancing antics was just hilarious. Apart from the results, this segment was not to be missed. 

Finally, 'Mr' George Michael's performance blew me away. Though having a flu at the time, he managed to mesmerise everyone in the Nokia 7000 seated hall to a stand still. He was able to belt out 'Praying For Time' flawlessly. Rarely do we see Simon Cowell giving a standing ovation, but even he was awed by the performance. Now since American Idol is over, I'm left to ponder what to do on Wednesdays and Thursdays evenings. Oh well, it will start all over again in January 2009. Not holding my breathe though...

Hit me!!!

Just wanted to share with you guys this new poster from the upcoming Dark Knight movie. The Joker putting on a dual faced make up scheme reflects the direction of the movie is going (hint: coin tossing villain). I just can't wait for July to come around...

I vote for DC...

A true talent in the making. David Cook has exhibited originality through out this year's American Idol. Good luck David. C!! 

Mission:Metallica...

The countdown has begun... 4 months to the new album and counting...

Yesterday's storm...

As the saying goes, 'a picture says a thousand words'. Ok, ok since there are 3 pictures, there'll be 3000 words.. hehehe. Yesterday's early evening storm came from no where, and it came as a surprise. One minute it was bright and sunny, another minute it's already dark... Mrs. SandMan went into panic mode as she was in the process of preparing dinner.  But as I told her, 'What to do?' It's not like we can just go somewhere and switch off the storm. The only thing we can do is be patient and hope for it to settle down. I've read incidences of flying sign boards in Gadong and a few more in Serusop. Alhamdulillah, in Brunei these 'minor' storms are what we are used to. Unfortunately, other parts of the region are not so lucky. Starting off with the cyclone in Myanmar (100k dead and counting) and the earthquake in China (3k dead and counting). My prayers are with those who are affected... 

By the way...

Wishing all mothers out there, a Happy Mother's Day.. May you all be blessed and showered with all the love in the world. As for my mother, thank you for being there for me. I love you Ma.. and for Babu, I will never ever forget you..

This is my card...

A'kum all. Just a short one today as I'm still very tired from yesterday's Ulu Temburong visit. Anyways, just want to show you guys one image from one of the most anticipated movies from this summer block buster season. Can you guess who it is?? (such a give away... hehehe)

Always Be My Baby...

Luq's Birthday...

Another year passes and its that time again where I pay homage to one of my closest partners in crime, Luq. Happy 30th (you wish you were younger... NOT!!) mat.. a year older a year wiser *wink*. Semoga panjang umur, murah rezeki and capat2 kawin.... oppsss, did I say that out loud?! Anyways, hope you enjoy your special day bro and many happy returns... AMIN...

Update:

Sorry about the surprise mat, but I was sworn to secrecy... But it wouldn't be a surprise if I told you, right??? Anyways, Happy Birthday bro...

Productive Saturday...

Hello friends... What a saturday it turned out to be for yours truly. Don't get me wrong, nothing bad happened or anything. As most you guys now, I'm a Civil & Structural Engineer by profession and have a few ongoing project in the 'pipeline' to over see. One of which is the Development of the National Park in Ulu Temburong. And yesterday was one of those days the other consultants and myself had to do a site visit to Belalong. As usual the day started off early where I had to be in Kianggeh boat depot as early as 730am. Though I was a few minutes late (no thanks to the traffic in Jangsak) everyone else was too. Anyways, the site visit took longer than expected. Hoping to get back to bandar around noon time, I could only get back by 330pm. Had to inform Luq (partner in crime) that I was running a bit late cause we had plans to visit DST road show. Luckily Luq understood and continued with our plans just before 5pm. 

Main objective for the roadshow visit was to speed test the GO! broadband hailed by DST to have 7.2Mbps download speed. Expectations were high but (yes there is a but..) it was not to be. 3 kiosks tested, 3 results obtained and average speed was.... 900+ Kbps. Luq and myself was hoping to see at least 3megs on the speed test, but to no avail could only achieve 1.7Mbps on one of tests. Reasons were given by the attending staff member that they are clearing the cache servers and that normal speed will resume shortly. As I mentioned in my earlier post, it is still early days to jump the boat and migrate. We'll see in next few weeks...

Dinner was a totally different affair altogether. I wouldn't say it was subdued, but it was a totally different fun and obviously filling. Mrs. Sandman and myself decided to take my young girlfriends (cousins Adik Nisa and Alai Era) to The Airport Restaurant. The food as usual was excellent. They are currently having the Singapore theme nights until next week. So it was an opportunity for myself to minimise my food cravings. The Kolo Mee and Chili Crab was awesome. Credits to the chef!! The young ones certainly enjoyed their dinner and the smiles on their faces was enough to make my day. I certainly hope that each weekend would be like last night, but we can't expect the same thing every week. However, to spend quality time with Mrs. SandMan after a long day at work was definitely priceless.

Need to get Go! 'ing'...

Hi all... leave it to me for not listening to what DST had in store. Not being properly connected to the world wide web took its toll about a few weeks ago (E-Speed roadshow) when I took the jump and applied for the unlimited access plan. I've been a happy bunny for the past few weeks, until an advert in the local paper hinted that DST had something huge coming. At that time, all I thought was they were planning to launch their 3G service for the Prima and Easi subscribers. But little did I know, it was something more special than that. Not until recently, about a week ago did most of us find out that DST are launching their all new GO! broadband service nationwide. And did it ever impress... 7.2Mbps on the 'go'!!! Now that is what I call fast surfing. Though the dedicated speed hasn't been proven to reach that fast, but just the thought of being able to surf (downloading movies is the more correct term here...) several times faster than our existing speed is just mind boggling. And the price for unlimited access... BND78!!! Now that is what I call a good deal. But it's still early days for me to jump the boat and migrate to GO! However, the temptation is clearly present to say the least. I'll probably drop by to DST's road show in the next few days and have a feel on how 'reliable' the new service is. Congratulations are however in order for DST in introducing a long awaited competitor into the local broadband service provider market. Healthy competition is always good for both the provider and the consumer. We'll have greater choice, and the providers will always find better and more attractive ways to keep or gain more costumers to join their 'band wagon'. Let the price war begin... Happy days is certainly upon us...

'Starky' Fun..

A'kum all. It has been quite a while I have reviewed a movie on my blog. Either lack of any good movies released or just lack of good movies (did I say that already?). But hey, last night was the start of this year's summer movie season. And what a start!! A few more to wait for ie. The Dark Knight, The Incredible Hulk, Indiana Jones, (Get Smart).... but Iron Man was an excellent start. Robert Downey Jr. played Tony Stark to perfection. He was witty, charming though purposely clumsy at times but when he introduced the suit for the 1st time, it was like being in the comic book itself. It was mesmerising (well, for me it was... nerd alert!!). The Mark III suit was brilliantly translated to the wide screen, with a touch of 'hot rod red', of course. The CGI was flawless, dare I say it... was 'transformers' territory. You'll get engulfed in the story line, the supporting cast was top notch. An almost unidentifiable Jeff Bridges played Tony Stark's business partner. For you guys not in the know, Hogan (Tony's personal driver) was played by the director himself. Anyways, though the ending was a bit predictable but 98% of the movie was wall to wall 'oooooo's and aaaaaa's. All in all, 9/10 from me. Now where's my Audi R8? 

THE Blackout...

  

Fitness Zone in the dark

A'kum all. About a decade or so ago, electrical black outs (or as we call it.. 'Tutup Karan') is a normal occurrence especially during the festive season. Not a year goes by in the 80's or even early 90's where every time Ramadhan or Hari Raya rolls around, we in Brunei will definitely experience black outs. 10+ years has passed and we rarely have these cut off episodes anymore. Once in a blue moon only then it 'strikes'. But when it happens, it happens with a bang (punt intended). As everyone in greater Brunei Muara district experience last Saturday (26th April 2008) was one day (2 days for some) to remember (or forget?). I was lucky, where I lived everything was fine. The TV was on, air-conditions blasting at high speed... well, you guys get what I mean. It was different in 'Bandar'. Gadong was pitch black, so was Kiulap. And the sad thing was, my whole family had already made plans to celebrate my nephew's birthday in Kiulap. Minutes passed by, hours rolled and still no electricity. The watch was ticking 8.30pm, our guests started to arrive and still no 'lights'. Like it or not, we had to go through with the bash with or in this case without lights. This was a first for me. A whole birthday party (enclosed) in a room for 60 guests and the only thing that we had to brighten our night were tons of candles. Anyways, to make the story short, it was a fun (but dark) evening. My nephew still got his presents, everyone still had a wonderful dinner and BSB was still in the dark when we finished. Though it is not the authorities' fault the black out happened, but in my opinion they should have a 'Plan B' when something like this happens. Maybe they do, maybe they don't... who am I to speculate? Hopefully no one got hurt because of the darkness. Now that would be bad news...

I'm back!!!

A'kum all.. now that is what I call a long post raya syndrome. My apologies to my readers (if any) that have been waiting (or even longing.. i wish) for updates. To tell you guys the truth, there were a lot of things that contributed to my hiatus to the blogging world. One of which was the internet connection. Oh well, what is in the past has long gone.. I'm off to the gym in a few minutes, so I'll probably update my blog sometime tonight (since ada udah e-speed ani.. hehehe.. kesian ah? ketinggalan zaman) Adios guys, and thank you for your support.