More news: New Lexus IS-F

Ever wanted a quick Lexus IS? The new one, that is. I know some of you do. Logic dictates that a car as muscular as that should be massaged, stripped, raced. That's the new IS-F, seen running about the famed 'Ring - disguised of course - and now coming to driveway near you. Singapore deliveries aren't known yet, but it's near its debut in the UK, which will be in April next year.

The engine which Lexus has been so proud of is a 400bhp firebreathing monster, producing 369lb ft or torque. 0-62mph is despatched in under 5 seconds and top speed is electronically limited to 169mph, or around 220kmh. That's a seriously fast Lex - a first, if any - which puts it square in contention with the usual suspects, a la BMW M3, Audi RS4 and Merc C63 AMG. I can't wait for the inevitable shootout. Watch the video of the IS-F going sideways here

400bhp stuffed into each car with a sub-5 second sprint time...what's not to like?

More news: New Nissan GT-R

All Godzilla fans, rejoice. Pop the champagne and indulge yourselves in debauchery. The iconic Skyline zhngmobile has - after 40 long, long years - metamorphosed into a car that quite simply, looks like no other, and should drive quite well too.

Only that it's not called the Skyline now. Nissan has decided that it is going to drop the Skyline name for all world markets, and just simply name it GT-R. That should help in marketing this car as a hardcore, lightning fast Jap rocketship capable of possibly outsmarting the Porsche 911 at its own game.

So far there haven't been any stats about the car yet, the only things revealed about it are that it will retain all-wheel drive (AWD) and possess a V8 motor. Do expect it to be a huge show stealer in the Tokyo Motor Show on 24th October where the production version will see its maiden launch.

School starts

If I were to say the start of school was fun, I would be lying and making a fool out of myself for doing so. It wasn't. It was a drab and dreary affair - as all maiden school days are - which culminated in me nearly falling asleep in the last lecture of the day. There weren't any proper lessons being conducted so I suppose I can't be blamed here.

But I must admit something. Something which I thought wasn't possible but has just happened to me: the new semester has incongruously endeared itself to me. It could be just that I'm eager to see what the new modules have in store for me and possibly lapse into zombie-mode after realising that the lessons are all pants. But I doubt that, for a reason. I do want to work much harder for this term. I'm happier now - also for a reason - and I do think that I can beat him in a few modules this time round. I don't think my mindset's going to be a problem because all that I've heard about this term is nothing but good news, so I think I will be able to make good on my previous promise to a large extent. I do feel slightly more confident and better prepared.

Let the games commence.

My first clubbing experience!

Title kinda gives it all away doesn't it ;). Even now as I'm writing this, my poor heart's pounding away, thanks to two shots of vodka - mine and half of Yiming's. But more of that later.

I had to wake up at some ungodly hour to pass Amy her printout, which I spent an hour on and had caught absolutely no kip in the process - I'm right now running on only 3 hours' worth of sleep. My printer f-ed up and printed her pictures all out in some eerie shade of purple and black, as though someone had liberally sprayed blueberry juice all over the images. Obviously it didn't turn out well, so her friend - also one of her group members - got it printed properly. So much for my noble deed and a sleepless night :(

Went for Tech65's weekly Geek Terminal podcast and vidcasts afterward. I didn't pipe up much during this episode, due to the rotten fact that I couldn't manage to come up with a single coherent idea about nearly all that was being discussed. Jerrick suggested that since I was the resident car geek I should sometimes 'accidentally' butt into the podcast, rambling on about some new car and making the others try to shut me up. It would make for a good break in the podcast, possibly allowing for a shift in focus in the middle of it if needed. We did a total of 4 vids today, and I admit that I did steal some ideas when I spoke on camera from James May on Top Gear. He's extremely laconic and laid-back in his comments, which I just adore. As for Clarkson, well, he's just God. It is hard sometimes, though, to imitate his style. Richard Hammond's just absolutely infectious. I do take after one or the other's speaking style sometimes if I do a piece to camera on Tech65, but I've yet to learn how to make it not sound too scripted.

Lunched with best after that with her friend Zhe Xuan. She wanted to eat at KFC but contradictorily ordered nothing when we were there. How health conscious of her. Went to eat ice kachang and tao suan for dessert after that. Oh yeah and I passed her my big assed card too. Too bad we didn't do any catching up. I would have loved to some of that before I started school, but now there's always the phone and internet.

Ah now here's the fun part. Yiming and Audrey met me for dinner, and then he and I went for the RSAF seminar after. We each got a complimentary Zouk ticket for attending, as did the rest. They were giving out Coffee Bean vouchers too which we wanted, but in hindsight I think having the Zouk tickets was far more exciting than having the Coffee Bean ones.

We headed to Zouk after the seminar, which was a recruitment drive aimed at getting more young 'uns to join as senior technicians or any other such vocations.

Initially, we debated whether to go in and whether it was a smarter idea to sell the tickets to our clubbing friends for a tidy sum. But perhaps either due to my highly infectious enthusiasm for 'trying it out' or the fact that it would be our first clubbing experience, we just whipped out our complimentary cards and went for it.

And what an experience it was.

First thing was the music. It was just booming. Zouk didn't have any guest DJ spinning that night so the dance floor was quite empty. We walked around, got used to the dizzying music and ambience and then popped into Phuture for a peek. It was rubbish. The music was just ghetto and too many people were milling about there - artsy types with their girlfriends, beng types with their girlfriends and guys who just wanted a drink. It was a bit chaotic, if you ask me. We headed back to Zouk to grab a drink and sit down and chat. I got meself a vodka orange and he a vodka lime. Bear in mind, fellas, that this was the first time we two had actually done anything like this and were feeling quite high, if you'd pardon the rubbish choice of drinks. We clinked glasses to our new school term, our first clubbing experience and our first drinks - well, for him at least. Ambled around, shot a couple of photos for memories and headed out. We didn't dare stay too long for fear that the buses would all be gone by the time we came out. But bloody hell, what an experience.

It won't be my last ;)

Holidays - holidays = death sentence

Gosh...the holidays are just flying aren't they? A blink of an eye, a flick of a hanky, a flash of lightning, and it's gone. Honestly I haven't the daftest clue where the other days have gone and boom, it's suddenly nearing the end of the hols.

It's just so...I don't know.

Empty.

A vague hollowness.

Devoid of emotion.

Colin McRae (5th August 1968 - 15th September 2007)

(Colin McRae, Scottish rally driver, 1995 World Rally Champion, 5th August 1968 - 15th September 2007)

The rallying community stands in silent respect on the 15th of September 2007 as it honors a driver, a champion, but above all, a man. Colin McRae, the Scottish World Rally driver that helped to put Subaru on the world stage together with the likes of Citroen, Sunbeam and Lotus, died in a helicopter accident, 1 mile off Lanarkshire, his hometown.

McRae began his rally career in 1986, piloting a Talbot Sunbeam. A regular competitor on Scottish Rally Championship events, he was soon making a name for himself with his speed and exciting style of driving. His driving style drew many comparisons to Ari Vatanen, the famous Finnish rally driver who McRae had always idolised. He soon progressed to a Vauxhall Nova, and then onto a Ford Sierra XR 4x4. His first WRC exposure was in the 1987 Swedish Rally behind the wheel of his Nova, and again in 1989, driving the Sierra and finishing 15th overall. Later in '89, he finished 5th overall at Rally New Zealand in a rear wheel drive Sierra Cosworth. 1991 saw McRae join Prodrive Subaru for the British Rally Championship. He was twice the British champion in 1991 and 1992, soon graduating to 'works' status for the factory team. (extract from wikipedia.org)

I don't profess to know much about Colin McRae, but I do know that he was a fantastic driver who did set a precedence for his successor now at Ford WRC - Marcus Gronholm. He was the driver who singe-handedly rose Subaru up high enough to compete with the likes of established rally car teams such as Citroen, Mitsuibishi and of course Ford. I haven't seen many of Colin's races but I have seen him take to the track at Brand's Hatch, UK, against the likes of Johnny Herbert of Formula Ford and Jeremy Clarkson of well, Top Gear fame. The race was nothing short of spectacular. Even though Clarkson had set off a good one minute earlier, the rally driver managed to catch up to him AND win him, not to mention the Formula 1 car driven by Herbert, which obviously won.

Colin McRae will go down in history with the likes of Ari Vatanen, Stig Blomqvist, Juha Kankkunen, Tommi Makinen and more recently Sebastien Loeb and Petter Solberg as one of the greatest rally drivers who ever were. These are the people who set the stage for good, solid, exciting rallying and will undoubtedly be remembered for many years to come.

Sentosa

(cablecar shot with my cam at the corner)

(perfectly timed shot at pizzeria)

(in the dragon's bones. oooh errr)

Do take note that these aren't all the pictures, and that I also appear in none save one of them. I made it a point not to appear in too many of the photos lest I end up cracking a camera's lens or screen. Most unfortunate if it had happened. Also another reason for not putting up all the pictures: this is still a relatively family-friendly blog, and some of the remaining pictures are, well, not so family friendly. In fact, they're downright pornographic and utterly shocking, thanks to the antics of some of the pornstars in the photos you see. I maintain my innocence.

Joy oh joy, the bliss of spending a million dollars on a completely useless endeavour to go to the southernmost decently-populated island in Singapore. But for a day like this, I'll make an exception.

Was out with Audrey, Isam, JJ, Syu and Yiming to Sentosa for a little Syu's-birthday-celeb-cum-outing thingamajig today. First off allow me to complain that Sentosa is hopelessly overpriced and overrated. The only things that are worth seeing are the beach babes, I promise. But since I've already paid and I'm perfectly willing to go out with them, I shan't squeal any more.

Standard package is $38 bucks. For that you get a cablecar return ticket, a log ride to nowhere, a trip to the insectarium, a bang-for-your-buck hike to Fort Siloso and a thoroughly enjoyable and thrilling luge down the, well, Luge.

Without elaborating too much on the details, the trip was smashing. Not so much the Butterfly Park, Luge et al, but rather I did get time to spend some quality time with my friends, something which I haven't been doing much. It's quite refreshing to spend some time with them, instead of dying and rotting at home. With them, I can be at least a modicum of my actual self, i.e. the madcap, occasionally insane and offbeat Kai Yi. Of course I love the stuff, the attractions and the rides. Those were good, but Sentosa will always remain what it is: an island for idiotic foreigners to blithely ignore the perils of cunning government trickery and spend the greenbacks of their respective nations. Charming innit.

Geek Terminal Epi 38 + outing with bestest

Yes finally namecards for all! Tech65 has officially gotten our namecards, in no small part thanks to Fari. Podcast Episode 38 at Geek Terminal went smoothly as usual, with me mostly in the background just mming and aahing. I'm quite useless at podcasts sometimes. I think for the upcoming ones I really have to buck up and read ahead on the topics that are going to be discussed. I haven't been doing much of that of late and that's having quite an effect on what I say - or none at all. Again, it could be that I didn't have my breakfast, hence no blood flow to my already tiny brain. Jerrick had to leave at 11, and we had so many problems with linking up with Kevin Lim over in Buffalo NY that when NTT showed up we were 'whoa crap we're REALLY late'. We finally managed to link up with him via iChat on Jerrick's laptop, and tele-ed with him. I was doing the videotaping but I think that was in rather poor fashion, what with my deeply amateurish skills and rubbish handling. Best I could do at the moment to not appear like a complete twat in front of the others. I sure hope I don't become a liability in the future, cos these guys are great and I have no wish to see myself dragging them down in any way. Cross fingers really.

Ah yes on to the juicy parts about my outing with Best.

As usual she came dressed all in her YJ splendor. I seem to recall asking her where she got her dashing tee from and she replied rather stupidly - I quote - from "YJ. Cannot get anywhere else one." Rubbish, woman. That tshirt's worth about as much as my dog's poo and about as attractive. 'Nuff said.

I wanted for us to go to The Rice Table at Food Lane beside Centerpoint but those idiots had their last order already and I was practically fuming. Not the best of eateries but I guess it was ok la. I had staked it out about a half hour before I met Best and they still were serving. Crap.

Disappointed, we wandered aimlessly around a bit before an idea hit me. See, my previous German class classmate had treated me and another classmate to this smacklicious ramen place before next to Meridian and I thought it would be excellent for us to try that place out. That place is Ken Ramen btw, I'm sure many would know where's that. They serve - and still serve - one of the most delectable ramens I have ever tasted. And I have been eating ramen for some time now.

We ordered side dishes, or attempted to, but that was rubbish because they had run out of gyozas and fried chicken so we had to resort to char siew. Idiotically enough both our 12 buck bowls of ramen had char siew in them too, enough for both of us to grow pig ears and start flapping. Sorry bad image. Anyway we finished in record time, as I so aptly told Best: we ate at approximately Mach 2, so fast that I couldn't hear the last noodle slurp until 2 minutes after it was eaten. That woman complained to no end about getting fat etc etc so in my usual spirit of friendship I told her to stuff it and just eat. She surprised me with a card she had made. Now it's not that I'm indifferent, but I really haven't been making her cards as much as she has me, so I promised her one the next time we met.

I think I'll remember.

Headed off to Far East Praza after that to eat Han's (again) and to look for some tees she fancied. Again Best ordered those two pies - blueberry and whazzat, apple? - and I bought tiramisu and curry puff. Jalan-ed a bit afterward to Hyatt for the toilet and then back home. Obviously there's more to it than all this la but I've left out some parts to maintain privacy =P excuse me.

A day out with Best is always something quite refreshing and a proper respite from the daily grind - not that holidays are much stress. She's someone I truly feel comfortable with and whom I can talk to with a carefree attitude. Kinda like an old pal, really. It's so neat to have someone like that around. She's my best and I'll do anything for her. All her future boyfriends beware - y'all have to come through my screening test first.

Randomity + Quiz

Yes Patrick I grabbed this from your blog. Here goes nothing:

1. person who tagged me: Patrick Lim
2. my relationship with him: Very good flen, 'nuff said
3 my 5 impressions of him: Neat, smart, methodical, cool, intellectual
4. most memorable thing that he had done for me: took part in a devious exercise in sec 3 (tgt with 2 other you-know-whos) to conspire to put up a sign saying Kai-Yi-(heart)-Priscilla
5. most memorable words that he said to me: cue laughter after sign was put up
6. if he becomes my lover, i will?: get him a bouquet. hey, it's an IF after all =P
7. if he is my lover, he has to improve on: now this has gone too far. I not gay
8. if he becomes my enemy, i will: find 101 ways to murder him with an NTUC plastic bag
9. if he becomes my enemy, the reason is: He back seat drives every time i offer him a lift
10. the thing that i desire most to do for him now is: get him to pass his A's without a hitch
11. my overall impression of him: mad bball player with an ability for prose extraordinaire
12. how do i think people around me will feel about me?: funny, insane, passionate, gloomy, cheerful, car-mad
13. the character i love about myself is: you can always reposition the goal posts, but I still know where to aim
14. on the contrary, what character i hate about myself: I hate hating
15. the most ideal person i would like to be: Jason Bourne. Smart, silent, deft, athletic, talented, uncomplaining, deadly
16. a message to those around me and those who care for me: Drive On!
17. pass this quiz to 10 people whom i wish to know how they feel about me: of which i shall randomly and hypothetically assign, whether they see this or not. no reply is expected.

1) Gilbert
2) Amy
3) Jerold
4) Syu
5) Yiming
6) Shery
7) Eunice
8) Jerrick
9) Audrey
10) Renhao

Is no. 9 a male/female? Female
If no. 1 and no. 10 be together, is it a good thing? No. Never. Ever. Don't.
How about no. 3 and 4? No. Never. Ever. Forever.
What is no. 2 studying about? Sorry bestest you're Science or Arts :P Science la right. studying how to be smart, anyway.
Last time i chatted with no. 3? That day go out makan.
What kind of music does no. 8 like? Eh, classics. No heavy metal. Jazz, pop
No. 6 have any siblings? Cos she does
How about no. 7? Ditto
Is no. 4 single? I think he is, unless he's found himself one. Tsk.
Surname of no. 5? Tay
Hobby of no. 5? Watching TV and studying. No really. Sorry YM, I have no idea. Chasing girls?
Where's no. 3 studying at? Nanyang JC. He really loves the place
Have you tried developing feelings for no. 8? GOD no
Where does no. 9 live? Yio Chu Kang
What colour does no. 4 like? I think blue. Right, RIGHT?
Does no. 7 like no. 2? Lesbianism is frowned upon, isn't it? NO THEY DON'T.
How do you know no. 2? Oh it's a long story. The Tale Of Two Friends. We've known each other forever.
No. 5 have a pet? If you count goldfish then yes

New Audi RS6 breaks cover!

Oh. My. God.

(pictures courtesy of topgear.com)

Ladies and Gentlemen.

Feast your eyes on the most powerful production estate and sedan car ever made. This is the brand new Audi RS6, breaking cover in the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show.

Starting with some statistics, this car has some of the most astronomical numbers ever seen on any car. On an Audi, actually. The engine is a twin turbo version of the current S6's V-10 5.2 litre, producing a rocketship-like 572bhp at 6250rpm with 480lb ft of torque from as low down as 1500rpm. 0-62mph(100km/h) is demolised in 4.6s, same time as a BMW M5. Top speed is again limited by the German automakers' gentleman's agreement of 155mph, or 250km/h.

The transmission is Audi's standard 6-speed Tiptronic auto, possibly available with paddleshifts. As with Audi, the RS6 comes with quattro all-wheel drive, and a Torsen differential splits torque 40:60 front-rear. Electronic nannies like ESP and something called Dynamic Ride Control - for suspension setup, probably - come as standard and can all be switched off when needed (rather, NOT). Traffic-light stops are handled by enormous drilled discs front and rear, with ceramics available as an option, hinting of the enormous power that lurks within.

The styling, again, is typical of Audi's S and RS cars. A deeper front air dam from the standard A6's precedes the front wheel arches, which are flared and house large 20-inch alloy rims. Twin chromed rear tailpipes round off the styling at the back which includes a rear diffuser to prevent the RS6 from doing a 747. Subtle styling, nothing too extravagant. In fact, even less ostentatious than BMW's M5, which - together with the Mercedes-Benz E65 AMG - the RS6 will invariably be compared with. I await the shootout between all these 3 cars at some point in the future.

Strangely enough if you look at the numbers, they're really not that much different from the M5's. 0-62mph is nailed in 4.6s which is exactly the same as the 507bhp Beemer. Why? The RS6 has nearly 72 more horsepower than the M5 yet produces the same launch time. I think it has to do with weight. Audis have always been rather hefty, with a front weight bias, even with aluminium construction. The AWD system probably doesn't help with the weight either, though you could argue that the performance gains far outweigh the detractions that AWD brings. Not much more is known about the RS6, and the sedan version, so wait patiently for the Frankfurt Motor Show next week to find out more.

A little personal stuff now. Went out with Renhao after SPCA to get the namecards for Tech65 done. I'm quite excited that we're getting them done, as is with many other things happening to the group now. I think I have to get more involved. I feel rather a cock sometimes, not knowing what's going on. I admit I do get lost in the discussions sometimes, but I shan't take that as an excuse. I volunteered to join and that's why I should be even more active.

Met with my dearest Amy after that at Macs at Suntec, together with her pals Casper and Ruben. I honestly was trying hard not to crack a joke about a friendly ghost in the midst, seeing that it's 7th Month and all that. She was supposed to come over to my place today, but ended up studying at Suntec. She wants to come over tomorrow, but it's no better because tomorrow I have SPCA duties in the morning and have to go buy Syu's present in the afternoon. Sorry babe, lunch on Saturday as promised ok? Don't ham chee now la.

Randomity and a quiz

Meeting of Tech65 yet again. Had plenty of discussions, more to tell you in coming weeks. But what I can say is that a lot of exciting new things are gonna happen. Walked back to City Hall MRT to meet Gilbert but before that got stopped by this sweet pretty girl to do a survey on Comex. I didn't go to Comex but did it anyway. Should have asked her number, damn it. Went out with Gilbert after that. Lunched at Carl's Jr then trawled Suntec for good deals on earphones cos he wanted a new pair cos his old one was shit. Unable to find good ones we hit Funan and he decided - after much deliberation - on a pair of gooey green Sennheisers, while I bought a laptop cooler unit. Can't go far wrong with Senns, that's what I said.

Quiz from Amy's blog. Here goes:

Fill out this fun survey and then share it with your friends

Last person you hugged
My best: Amy ;)

Last car ride
Yesterday night after organ concert and a full supper at Quality Hotel

Last time you cried
When I...er...can't remember la.

Last movie you watched
The Bourne Ultimatum. I dare anyone to say it sucks

Last food you ate
Teriyaki Burger at Carl's Jr. Heaven in between two bread buns

Last item you bought
A 425 Hemi-powered Dodge Charger. Uh no. A laptop cooler from Challenger.

Last shirt you wore
A shirt. How to bloody describe 'a shirt'.

Last phone call
Dad. Asking me whether I was coming home for dinner

Last text message
From Audrey Tan lol. Telling me something about a car.

Last kiss
And what about it? Shall I describe?

Last thing you touched
My 425 Hemi-powered Dodge Charger. No. Still touching my keyboard

Last funeral
Can't remember

Last trip to the mall
Today. Yay

Last time you were excited for something
Getting my 425 Hemi-powered Dodge Charger. Driving for the first time, actually :D

Last person you saw
Dad

Last thing you drank
Sprite with lemons. Lots of them. Thank you Carl's Jr

Last person that broke your heart
My dustbin

Last time you were happy
Today, actually. A lot of things fell nicely into place for me

Last plane ride
To Australia couple of years back

Last dream
Strangely enough I dreamt about some of my old friends. I hope this isn't a bad sign

COMPLETE THE SENTENCE

My ex...
was a rather nice person unlike me, who was absolutely crap

Maybe I should...
wander downstairs to see what's for dinner

I love...

A 425 Hemi-powered Dodge Charger

People would say that i'm...
Crazy, bonkers, fun, introspective, extroverted, shy, daring, geeky, car-mad, car-obsessed, car-crazed

I don't understand...
Why some girls tart themselves up and make up so much they look embalmed, why American muscle and sports cars cannot handle

When i wake up in the morning...
I wish I hadn't set the damn alarm to ring at all

I lost...
A little bit of the fun me

Life is full of...
Surprises, shit and sorrow

My past is...
past.

I get annoyed when...
My computer lags and dies and gets virused (not necessarily in that order), people ignore me, I get sick, my phone shuts itself off for no reason, I cannot corner in a car, I get last in a sprint race, people talk to me in a condescending tone and manner, people talk down to me, people think they're down one notch on being God, people think they know everything, people ask me 'wedder got gurlfren anot'

Parties are...
For people to network, get drunk and get laid

I wish...
my stupid Acer laptop would stop malfunctioning every 5 minutes and that I had a 425 Hemi-powered Dodge Charger

Dogs...
are God's gift to humankind, along with cars

Cats...
are animals whose crap I clean whenever I volunteer at SPCA

Tomorrow...
will be driving lesson number 2 and a trip to school

I have low tolerance...
refer to "I get annoyed when" and when people ask me "wai you like cars so much"

If I had a million dollars...
I'd buy a 425 Hemi-powered Dodge Charger, and with the remaining money get my bestest one too.

I'm totally terrified...
of crashing on my practical driving exam, cockroaches, exams and running out of witty comebacks