Chronovial Tribune

Yes the above is the official released pictures from Maranello on the latest Ferrari Grad Touring flagship that will be sold as convertible-only beside the Ferrari 612 Scaglietti. Top-of-the-line, not a mid size GT that lots of car magazines were looking out for. So much for the anticipation of a more affordable Ferrari then!

Now, this has got to be the weakest design ever by Ferrari, look at the front grille that seems to be ’smiling’ giving it a cartoon-ish look (think Cars by Pixar). The rear has lines of the previous Alfa Spider, and the recent Alfa 8C Competizione. Perhaps by no coincidence, both Alfa and Ferrari is part of the larger Fiat Group. Maybe they thought with a winning design like the 8C, they could carry it over to the more prestigious Ferrari. That’s where they are wrong, for the Alfa 8C looks a lot more stylish. The bulky rear styling doesn’t do it any good either, making it look like the Lexus SC430 which is also a convertible. My guess is that they had to find space for the boot (it’s meant to be a grand tourer after all) and the folding hard top.

Now after all the styling critics, this Ferrari should still find its buyers, because it is the first Ferrari ever with a folding hard-top, (barring one special limited edition Ferrari with the swivel glass top). And because it’s still a Ferrari. On another side note, Ferrari did win the Turkish Grand Prix, with Felipe Massa taking the checquered flag!

Proteins within the body has been used as blood clotting factors. However, scientists from MIT has developed a synthetic peptide that will transform into a gel with the presence of blood, allowing blood flow to stop within a matter of seconds. This article was published by MIT’s own Technology Review. Supposedly, a company called Arch Therapeutics have worked out a licensing agreement with MIT on commercializing the technology.

Initially in clear liquid form, this synthetic peptide forms a gel in the presence of blood. Imagine its use in neuro and cardio surgery where heavy blood loss can lead to severe consequences. In the future, miniature robots could perhaps even hold a vial of such a synthetic peptide, does its operation on site and inject a corresponding amount to stop bleeding, all without the surgeon lifting a surgical scalpel. That is what I call the future of medicine.

The month of August is not yet within reach, however, I am not referring to the month, but the movie titled ‘August Rush’. The movie is about this young boy who uses music in his quest to search for his parents with whom he was separated at birth. The cast was very good indeed for what seemed like a small budget production, but the storyline and the music within is what truly brings this movie to life. Brought up in a boy’s home since birth, Evan Taylor starred by Freedie Highmore, have never met his parents and does not even know his parents’ name. Though courage, determination and listening, Evan left the boy’s home for New York only to meet a stranger, named Wizard, who takes in homeless children to train them to be street performers. Evan shows a knack for music and gains a new name to remain hidden from the NY Social Welfare Unit who are searching for the missing boy. During a police raid on the theatre occupied by Wizard and his assorted group of child street performers, Evan escapes only to arrive in a cathedral. It is within this cathedral that his genius in composing music was discovered. The movie revolves around the bonds of a child with his parents and shows the wonderful world of sounds. Whilst the storyline borders on a fantastic tale and a musical drama, it shows the power of music in touching human lives and how music can make a difference. Truly said, music is all around us, all we need to do is just to open up and listen…

For those of you who haven’t watch this show, I would really recommend it for it can manage to lift your hearts out, and makes you cheer for Evan along the way!

Its the summer holidays once again, and that signals the return of my siblings from Canada! It will be a much awaited family reunion in Indonesia with a vacation to Bali in the works. Have been searching hotel resorts for Bali and I am keen on Conrad Bali, Ritz-Carlton Bali, The Westin and The Laguna. My 1st and only visit there was ages ago, and at that time we stayed at Sheraton, now renamed The Laguna. Till now that has got to be the most luxurious resort I have stayed in. Though the best beach award has got to go to Redang!

The Bali trip should be somewhere at the end of July or in August, and I am planning to take some beautiful shots for the trip this time. Talking about this, I might need to get a photo editing software and some accessories like a tripod for my camera. Any recommendations would be welcome for this newbie photographer. My camera’s a Nikon D60 by the way.

I’ll end this post with this wonderful aerial shot of East Coast viewed from the plane on take off from Changi!

I went to do some image editing to this shot of my car which I took in Singapore. The sharp lines and creases of the 3 series makes an interesting contrast against the classical design of this building.

Israel based company have developed an interesting new technology to remove layers of lipids (fats) from the body. Instead of plastic surgeons using liposuction techniques to remove lipids out of the body, the new technology uses lasers to burn off lipids off the body. Using a thin cannula inserted into cells beneath the epidermal and dermal skin layer, it ‘performs selected heating of the adipose tissue at 60 degree celcius’ according to official brochures by Syneron, the company who manufactures the device. The new minimally invasive laser-assisted lipo-lysis machine has been cleared for market by US FDA authorities.

Now, would anyone be brave enough to try this new technology and see the effect for themselves?

It’s been a nice quiet Sunday, I had the best doughnuts in town in the morning accompanied with a pink guava for breakfast. I even managed to capture a nice shot of a trishaw in the town centre which has been uploaded on my Flickr site. It’s been one of the best photos I have taken with my new toy (Nikon D60) so far. Opened this new blog of mine and added the new photos in Flickr, but other nice shots will have to wait till I gain access to faster internet or when I have more free time to spare.

Charcoal grilled Gurame was served for lunch and it was home grilled which means a healthier serving and a more relaxed ambience for the meal. Even tonight’s dinner of Nasi Uduk was superb and something that I have missed for a long time. The rest of the day was much spent on studying for my CFA Exam on this coming June. So meanwhile bear with my sporadic updates on this blog. More good things to come

Yup, the word’s official that BMW is launching the 1 Series for sale in Singapore, and there are even word of them bringing the 135i to this small island which is car-crazy. Imagine a 135i kitted with M-Tech Kit, and bigger rims, add in BMW Motorsport bucket seats and with future tii kits for the 1 and 3 Series, BMW has brought its M-division closer to the masses.