Oil Crisis and Falling Dollar

(sourced from www.currencyfundgroup.com)

In November, OPEC had a meeting and agreed to continue their output even as demand decreased. This inevitably meant oil prices dropping by 30% to 45% and closing on $50 per barrel.

This is scary for Malaysia as we are a oil producing country and this means a big loss for our government revenue. And what does that mean for Malaysians? Cut backs on government spending and a bleak economy unless something can be done quickly. Worse is that GST will be implemented next year in April so double whammy for all of us.

All this was a response by OPEC to the rise of shale oil production in the United States that is reducing their dependence on oil imports. Some say the move by OPEC was actually a concerted move to bankrupt Russia as they fear its aggressive expansion plans after witnessing whats happening in Ukraine.

Oil prices have tumbled before, and Malaysia has weathered the storm. But with the current government on a spending binge and no control in sight i fear our gross debt might just continue to rise.

Update: Outcomes and Repercussions

I'm going back to this posting above and recap on what has happened so far due to the drop in oil prices.

Cheaper Petrol for cars

After discontinuing subsidies, the govt has also reduced oil prices with RON 95 petrol will be priced at RM1.91 a litre (-35 sen), RON 97 petrol at RM2.11 a litre (-35 sen) and diesel at RM1.93 a litre (-30 sen).

Drop in local currency

At the start of December our local currency was closing around RM3.5 to USD1. But now the exchange rate has steadily dropped with more capital flight. As of this update our ringgit it now at RM3.61 to USD1.

Malaysian Govt Cuts Spending

The govt had to revise its RM273.9 billion dollar budget and cut spending, specifically in operating expenditure. To do this they suspended national service and reduced alot of 'operations procurement' which means less corruption (hopefully)

Delay in Electricity Tariffs

There was due to be a 6-month hike in prices for electricity and natural gas but now it is postponed by 1 year.  

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Brunch Expedition to Red Bean Bag

I've been on a brunching binge lately and this past weekend i decided to check out the Red Bean Bag in Publika. It's been open for a while and follows the current trend of Australian Cafe style with breakfast menu and artisan coffee. Tried alot of them when they opened up but found most to be pricey and not worth it. I mean who pays RM25 for bacon, eggs and beans that they can make at home right?

After a quick browse of their facebook and reading reviews, i was excited and getting hungry. Why? Here's why..

Reason No.1

They have Shakshuka!

Let me explain, Shakshuka is actually derived from the Arabic dish 'Shakshouka' and its basically 'a dish of poached eggs in a sauce of tomatoes, chilli peppers, and onions and often spiced with cumin.'

And to me it is the best hangover food to dig into when you wake up in the morning after a long night out.

Reason No.2

They take their coffee seriously

Not only is their head barista, Jason Loo, the 2015 Malaysia Barista Champion but their other barista, Canon Lim, also managed to gain 4th Place at the Battle of Baristas Championship 2014.

So i'm expecting their coffee to be excellent. Plus i spotted 'Flat White' on their menu.

So after reading all this and taking in the hype, i was ready to tick this brunch place off my list.

When i arrived the place was packed and they gave us these cue cards to wait our turn. I must say it was a pretty interesting way of promoting their food. (forgot to take a pic of our 'Benedict' cue card so I found the full collection on their FB page.) Seems they used pics taken by their fans. Cool idea.

So the first order of business was to order. I had their popular 'Signature Baked Eggs' and my friend had the 'Skyscraper'.

 My order was a cast iron pan filled with lamb, chicken and beef bratwurst that was covered with eggs and cheese. Definitely a hearty breakfast!

The Skyscraper was a stack of pancakes with slices of fruit. The menu said it was caramelized but didn't seem like it when served. 

Anyways, my dish was really good as the combination of tomato paste with meat, eggs and cheese went really well with the crusty bread. Just too bad that i only had 2 slices. Definitely wanted more bread to soak up all that sauce. yum.

The pancakes were nice and fluffy with a hint of honey in their taste. Quite a delicious achievement that makes me want to order it next time i come to Red Beanbag.

I did spot a few more items on their menu that i'd want to come back and try. All in all it was a great place for brunch and i'll definitely be back for more. Coffee was excellent and lots of hearty dishes on their menu.

Red Bean Bag

A4-1-08, Solaris Dutamas, Jalan Dutamas 1

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

03-6211 5116

Open

Today 10:00am - 10:00pm

Price Range: $$

http://www.theredbeanbag.com

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Iphone 6 arrives in Malaysia! (sort of) - And how to get one for yourself

The latest iPhone from Apple was recently launched and i've been waiting to see what the price would be like once it arrived in Malaysia. Right now all 3 telcos are opening up for Pre-Purchase and its interesting to see how all the offers stack up once prices are released. Official release date is on 6th November 2014 and pre-orders start on 31st October 2014.

Celcom is starting off with a pretty standard pre-order website that takes down your details and presumably puts you in a waiting queue

https://www.celcom.com.my/personal/devices/iPhone/overview/iPhone-6-Plus

Maxis is no different with a bog standard info page and a link for pre-registration but the page also does a 'pre-check' to gauge your readiness for online purchase. Weird.

https://www.maxis.com.my/en/personal/devices/iphone6_precheck.html

Digi on the other hand is running a funny campaign called #Queli for people to submit their fan photos for 'Pine-Apple'. Lols!

http://www.queli.com.my/

Either way, we'll have to wait till the there is further info to do a price comparison. Oddly enough, even SenQ has released a teasing image on their FB Page

Pic by https://www.facebook.com/senQDigitalStation

If you ask me, the iPhone 6 is just only catching up to Android with their specs. And with Google also recently announcing their Nexus 6 and Nexus 9 phones, the comparisons don't look really good for Apple. 

Google has definitely surpassed Apple with their specs and the some areas are really found wanting. 

	Nexus 6	iPhone 6 Plus
Price	$649	$749 - $949
Display	5.96" AMOLED	5.5" IPS LCD
Resolution	1440 x 2560 (493 ppi)	1080 x 1920 (401 ppi)
SoC	Snapdragon 805	Apple A8
CPU	4x 2.7GHz Krait 450	2x 1.4GHz (ARMv8 based)
GPU	Adreno 420	PowerVR GX6450
RAM	3GB	1GB
Memory	32GB / 64 GB	16/64/128 GB
MicroSD	No	No
Battery	3220mAh	2915mAh

Source - http://www.androidauthority.com/nexus-6-vs-iphone-6-plus-540926/

Screensize for the Nexus 6 is much larger with 5.98" AMOLED vs the iPhones 5.5" IPS LCD. The Android phone also uses the QuadCore Snapdragon 805 compared to the DualCore ARMv8 in the iPhone. 

RAM is also an issue as the Nexus 6 comes with 3GB of RAM for the resource hungry apps while Apple only has 1GB. This might be an issue as iPhones now feature more multitasking ability.

	Nexus 6	iPhone 6 Plus
Rear Camera	13MP, OIS, f/2.0	8MP, OIS, f/2.2
Front Camera	2MP	1.2MP
Data	LTE	LTE
Speakers	Dual front	Stereo
Fingerprint Scanner	No	Yes
Wireless Charging	Yes	No
Water Resistance	Yes	No
Size (mm)	159.3 x 83 x 10.1	158.1 x 77.8 x 7.1
Weight	184 g	172 g

Looking at the unique features the Nexus 6 offers more with 13MP Rear Camera and a 2MP Front Camera. But pixel size only tells part of the story. Can't really know until I can see some test shots myself. However, the Nexus rear camera has a f/2.0 aperture so low light performance should be good. 

There are a few more comparisons so head over to the source article for the entire write up - http://bit.ly/1zlESIG

What about myself? Which phone am I most excited about? 

Neither one. Nada. 

Nope nope nope. 

Why you ask? 

Cause i'm waiting for this baby to land on Malaysian shores. 

http://www.androidpolice.com/2014/02/24/yota-devices-announces-the-new-yotaphone-now-with-full-touch-enabled-rear-e-ink-panel/

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Healthy bagels on the run!

Can’t decide whether eating bagels is considered healthy or not. But sometimes when I am on the run, it is stuff like these that is easy, filling and sort-of healthy. Anyway, these bagels are from this place in Subang SS15 called Brooklyn Bagels. Pretty interesting I must say.

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Can't live without this in Seoul

Was on a business trip to Seoul and Busan in Korea, and let me tell you this: if you need good quality, cheap and reliable data connection throughout your trip, you should think about getting this WiFi dongle from Olleh. 

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Upgrade: Scott Spark 29er + Shimano Deore XT = Trail Eating Love

As some may already know, I recently got back into biking and after a long hiatus I decided to put down some cash for a Scott Spark 29 Team mtb. (this bike)

It comes with some pretty sweet accessories and the specs on it are not bad but lately the brakes were not really responsive and I was feeling that the bike was getting sluggish coming down the slopes. I've been trying to tune up the front and rear shocks but didn't really achieve what I desired. All this didn't really concern me though as I really invested in this Scott model for the full sus frame with it's tapered headtube and the adjustable BB height. That gives me a few options to upgrade in the future.

But now the brakes have seized up and a little googling tells me that its a fatal design flaw with the brake pistons. Crap! Seems Avid and all the other models from SRAM have had this design flaw up to a point where people were selling special upgrade kits to fix this. Screw that man, no time and patience for all that nonsense.

So first thing I did was go online and shop for something i've always wanted since seeing it at my local bike shop. The Deore XT brakeset with Ice Tech Rotors and Ice Tech heat pads (to dissipate heat quickly and not boil up the hydraulic fluid)
Images -

Deore XT brakeset. All Mine!

While at it, i couldn't really help myself and saw a good deal for this XTR Cassette from Wiggles UK. I had been reading about the Dyna-Sys technology from Shimano and how it helps with smoother shifting with optimized gear combinations and closer gear ratios. This means out of shape peddlers like me can actually stand a chance at attacking steep climbs and maintain cadence.

I've just sent the bike into the shop for an upgrade and will post more pictures soon of the finished product. Can't wait to hit the trails and see how they perform.

On the horizon, I'll probably look out for a front fork from DT Swiss to pair up with the DT Swiss M210 on my rear sus. Saw a few of these models over at KSH in Taman Tun but all of them were using thru axels. Crap! That means another potential upgrade by having to change the hubs. More money flying away to this new hobby of mine. Hahaha!

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Work trip in Bangkok

Just arrived in Bangkok for a work trip. Awesome stash of titbits found in the room at Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok. Perfect for late night munchies tonight as I go through my presentation slides.

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Happy Birthday Malaysia

Happy birthday Malaysia. It's been a pretty crappy few months with so many tragedies. I really do wonder if this has pulled the country together or drawn us further apart. 
I'm optimistic about the future generations and hope things can only get better from here. Gen X Gen Y and newer millennials all seem to have different views on how they fit in. Let's see where the next few years till 2020 takes us. This blog will be that witness and then some.

Selamat Merdeka!

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I don't always create a blog...

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