Half & none

Working half a day feels better than a full day....

However, the best feeling comes when one does not have to go to work ....

Too bad I have used up all my vacation leave from 2009....

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Send and send?

Did I not just cancelled my ANZ credit card????

Why did they send me a new one ....!!??

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Count back

I had retired the stock Yokohama tyres @ about 3,000 km..... This means that at 30,000 km car mileage, the tyres are about 27,000 km old.....

I plan to use them for a little while more before I try something else....

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Same cuppa

A $500 machine can make coffee while this $1 filter can also make coffee......

One uses pressurised hot water while the other uses gravity to do the work....

It's still a cuppa after all....

copper deal....

hey hey there's a piece of acrolink 6100 power cable on sale in the used market for S$1000......

this is quite a good deal but i have overspend this month.....

so i have to pass.....

ARGHHH....

Left it

It was until I reached the carpark at my workplace that I realised I had forgotten to bring my singlet....

Ahhhhhhh so forgetful ....!!!!

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Water and more water

Rain rain rain....!!!!

And need to bring along umbrella .... Worse still shoes and feet become wet....

Rain rain rain.....

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30 kilo

Finally 30,000 km.....

tough nut....

there's a used pair of Acrolink Mexcel interconnects available for sale in local audio forums .......

at S$3000, the target audience is limited....... so will anyone bite???

it seems like it can be tough to sell the truly high-end stuff.....

recce trip.....

what better ways to spend a Sunday afternoon than to check out the latest thongs and mules at a Louis Vuitton boutique...

for FANS only, first the TULUM thong @ S$700.....

then the TULUM mule @ S$700....

and the most comfortable of all, SOLSTICE thong @ S$830!!!!

OUCH OUCH OUCH...!!!!

from what i know, sizes are running out so if YOU are interested better act NOW....

2 ends

How about the extreme ends of da scale...??

Most expensive pair of slippers I saw today..... $900++ from LV....

Cheapest? $2 from daiso

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Swop deal

Armed with a $50 TANGS voucher .... I have to sboot something right?

Finally settled on 2 simple t-shirts ....

伤脑筋啊.....

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Hot air

For the lazy bum, a garment steamer is a god-send....

No more ironing....

Bye bye !!

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Leave a Mark

Many people do things their way..... Be it works of art or works of crime

I've just watched a movie by Ridley Scott..... Which bore his signature hallmarks of fine storytelling, gripping plot and beautiful cinematography....

My favourite could still be Kingdom of Heaven......

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where's the target...

now is the time for ALL da post-Christmas sales ....

metro TANGS robinsons CARREFOUR topman .... YOU name it!!!

so what should you GET...????

bedlinen..??? pillows??? shirts??? undergarments???

and not to forget, YOU will need to battle the CROWD....

good luck....

no plot....

someone is obviously dreaming......... for on Christmas eve and the day itself, the programming for free-to-air TV is CRAP CRAP and CRAP......

nothing but absolute CRAP.....

Which level

Aha this one is even cheaper @ S$138!!!!!

Miss that house

Someone wrote to the papers to complain about Audio House.... I am not surprised at all....

Oh come on look at their advertisements! So many conditions and caveat.... Special price this, use that credit card that, limited pieces then ....

Forget it....

I'd rather go somewhere else ....

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different bar....

everyone knows that the higher the pressure of the machine, the more effective it can extract the full flavour from the beans / capsules.... comparing 19 bar from Nespresso vs 15 bar from the newcomer Tiziano, what can one make out of it???

at the upcoming metro expo sale, one can get the Tiziano at only S$299 with a complete set of coffee and tea capsules FOC.... for those that love tea, a machine that serves both coffee and tea is a lovely proposition... not to forget the Tiziano has a milk-frothing attachment as well....

since they are also offering samples for tasting, maybe should visit and try things out..... on the other hand, why not just stick to instant coffee powder and condensed milk?????

spray time

need to freshen up whenever wherever .....????

then please seek out this set of atomisers from shanghai tang.....

looks fabulous right????

Win and win

People say one cannot win all the time....

Errr then why some always win....?????

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bigger steps...

to be frank, i wasn't always a true believer in the magic of shun mook......

i remember buying first the mpingo discs and then the spatial control kit from HIFI CORNER,which was really located in a corner of The Adelphi....... each disc was S$80 and the kit maybe errrr S$800 IIRC.....

after using them for so many years, i may have become accustomed to their effects and took things for granted......

do they work?

errr i think they do but depending on how and where one uses the disc, it may not be very effective....... so the key is keep trying until you get it or give up.....

lately i decided to play around with the spatial control kit again...... first by moving the brackets back 1/2 inch and also the discs on the speaker 1/2 inch........

AHA, this time there's no doubt about it.......!! the adjustment made have given the soundstaging greater depth and dimension.......!!!

since i like what i am hearing, i will put more effort to tune the soundstage and tonal balance incrementally until the desired effects are achieved....

step by step by step.....

Join the rest

I was in orchard and needed to get to The Adelphi in 20 mins time.....

What can I do? Take the MRT of cos!!!

ERP + parking can kill all your time & money during peak hours ....

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rolling up still....

too many bids facing too small a quota....

BANG..!!!

kena big time LOR...!!

seventy-two thousands and 1 dollar only.....

Level up

My 112 dB pair of horns are up....

Yeah time to share the joy..!!!!

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Can't say more

In the latest issue of The Absolute Sound, RH eloquently and succinctly described the audio spectacular that is the latest B&W 802D.....

Clearly he is a true professional..... Well he writes and edits for a living....

No doubt still this is an amazing pair of loudspeaker..... Even at S$26,000....

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lose the certificate....

perhaps it's time to scrap the COE system.......

the ups and downs of the market prices are driving many people nuts......

i am very sure that we have been accustomed to the abnormal COE prices for the past few years and now the truth hurts badly.....

if the authorities do away with the COE, they have to counter balance the policy by increasing other upfront and variable taxes and expenses....

how about making the following changes....

increase ARF to 200%....

increase registration fee to $20,000.....

increase petrol duty to $1 per litre.....

increase ERP charges to at least $10 per gantry......

increase parking charges to $10 per hour (peak) and $5 per hour (off-peak)....... season parking to $200......

at the end of it, no more jams.......!!!!

Old habit

Lee Chay Watch has done up their decor, which is very posh & modern ....

But old habits die hard....

Auntie still reads papers at the counter...

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One sided

Looks like the right front tyre is wearing more rapidly ....

More left hand turns probably...

Top up power

I realised the Hamilton has stopped....

Time to replace battery again..???

How many metres?

The ongoing drive to give cyclists 1.5 m is laudable....

No one should take things for granted .... Right?

Well I saw a cyclist in full gear and topline equipment riding in the middle of the left lane.....

If he gives himself that big of a gap instead of trying to keep close to the kerb, how many more metres he need from motorists?

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Brown metal

Maybe it's time to buy your favourite high purity copper cables now instead of later... Prices might shoot through da roof very soon....

Look like how the prices for this metal have gone ....

多一木

既然神木棋子威力有如其名， 我打算再购买两三粒回来助阵。

问题是在本地还找地到吗？

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Brunch

Ok this is what is expected for a highly satisfying meal.....

In comparison we had paid more for less 爽.....

Electric coupe

Tesla spotted...!!!

Guess what? The roll-on acceleration is phenomenal..!!!

Of cos I was supposed to smell da smoke .... But then this one runs on batteries so where's the smoke...??!!!

Stronger

Latest mileage = 10.8 km/l....

It's getting better by the distance.....

So is it due to the anti EMI measures?

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wave and wave....

a wave of problems since 0700 hrs .....

oh my oh my....

it's a LAO SAI DAY......

day by day...

it's tough working 5 days a week once i have gotten use to the carefree feeling of having a long break......

even i cannot believe it that i could get through the week unscathed.....

only one more day to go before everything is fine again.......

counting down the hours, one by one.....

One stop

On our recommendation another colleague had new tyres from AL....

This time was Toyo DRB

Look like everyone is going there...

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welcome back my old friend

i said Wednesday is D-day...... and although i remained optimistic, i wasn't THAT hopeful that the situation will change on this last day......

till today all remained the same i.e. no emails no queries on my MSB Link 3 full nelson DAC with P1000 power supply..... thus there was nothing else for me to do except to welcome and embrace it once again as my choice of Digital to Analogue converter.....

most importantly, it's not that same DAC that came into my system years ago after it was recently refreshed with a burson clock and capacitors upgrade and improvements to the AES/EBU input board.....

it's going to be a happy reunion...... welcome back my old friend..!!

Not usual

Somehow the system didn't sound as good as usual.......

Now even though I was playing something that's not my staple, I knew it was a little off the Mark....

Unfortunately I have no idea what happened.... No prob I will try to find out tomorrow then....

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Full bloom

With enough time the reeds are now fully saturated and giving off a nice aroma within the room....

Heartily recommended...!!! Right now $29.90 from the body shop....

With 2 choices for you to pick

Help to spend

A colleague decided it was time to change tyres and after work, a couple of us tagged along....

First stop was at LS..... 2 choices, BS RE001 and Yokohama S drive....

Then we crossed over to AL..... 2 choices, RE001 and Toyo T1R...

For the sake of a few dollars our pick is the Toyo T1R.... it may not be the new kid on the block but it's been proven to be worthy at it's reasonable retail price ...

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Diffusor 2

Now this is a much bigger offering which could last up to 8 weeks....

Can't tell it's effect as I'd just put it on..... Takes time for it to work....

Diffusor 1

This paper Diffusor is from daiso - $2 .....

I couldn't smell a thing. Is that good or bad????

no interest 2....

still nothing???

no worries, i will wait until Wednesday.....

by then, i will end the For Sale advert and keep the MSB......

it's not a do or die sale anyway.......

max the time....

by the time i wake up most of the was gone .....

i remember turning off the alarm at 1130 hrs but what happened after that? must have been a complete KNOCK OUT.....

the worry next is Monday morning ...... i could end up falling asleep at 0500 hrs and waking up in 60 mins' time...

OUCH... pity me AHHHH......

Pressed coffee 2

What I saw at tangs was an offer of $50 off for Nespresso coffee machines.... Hardly enough to make people bite

Even though I have a $50 voucher I wasn't sure it's a right thing to buy now.... Of cos $50 + $50 is a $100 discount..... Plus 6% tangs rebate.....

But like I mentioned, the usage may not be sufficiently frequent to spend the $$$$$

Before i forget, do note that there's a mass order thread on Nespresso machines on hardwarezone..... The prices offered are significantly lower than the RRP...... So if you are keen, go and find out.....

Unless you are sure you could finish the bag of beans in the open-type machines in a week, the Nespresso is a better choice cos all the capsules are sealed for good......

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Pressed coffee

Intrigued by some discussion on coffee machines, I started reading up a thread on Nespresso coffee machines and capsules...

How about getting one...???? With or without milk???

What's stopping me though ..... Well I dun drink coffee at home on work days which mean I only get to use one (if I buy it) on Saturdays & Sundays....

Is is worth the money to get one then?

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r u balanced..???

recently more and more of my colleagues are catching on with this power balance business..... at first i spotted one guy with it.... and then i realised there is another wearing one as well..... and another one....

i am not sure if what this product can do what it's supposed to do..... from what i know, wood, pure quartz and precious metals etc can be used for resonance tuning..... but for holograms? well, this is the first time ......

so far no one i know who is wearing one has been able to demonstrate its power and effectiveness.... of cos i have to catch the demo video on the product website to understand the 3 PB tests......

the next time i see them i am going to get them to show me exactly how it's being done in the video.....

btw so are you wearing one?

Relative load

When idling, time flashes by....

When working, it trickles by......

I dun want it all to go away that quickly....!!?????

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Home test

How am I going to face my own setup and speakers after listening to the superb classe & B&W 802D setup earlier in the day..?????

Fortunately I can....

Even thought my speakers are outclassed in all areas, they are still listenable and liveable with .....

But it makes me wonder how the 802D will sound in my room..?????

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Still the same dollar

If one sticks to using $50 wallets, $3.50 flip-flop slippers, $15 t-shirts, $100 wrist watches and so on, it's not difficult to be reasonably rich in no time .....

But...... But if one decides to go for $600 wallets, $600 slippers, $20,000 watches, $1,000 power cords etc then forget about getting rich .....

Stretch your dollar or enjoy the luxury?

Your choice.....

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For my ears

To satisfy my curiosity I did what I have to do: listen to the new B&W 802 diamond ....

In a few short words, this is a one of a kind world class loudspeaker...!!!

Extremely resolving and superbly transparent, it was almost devoid of colorations and distortion in the midband......

With an even tonal balance, it's an easy match for most systems and its alluring qualities come forth slowly but gradually to draw the listener in....

Now where do I find $26,000 to pay for it..????

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no interest....

alamak..... !!

almost 24 hours gone since the FS post and so far there's no interest in the MSB DAC....

aha looks like i am destined to keep it for good....

sonically there's nothing much to criticise but i was bitten by the upgrade bug.... after all i have been using it for years and the urge to change cannot be eliminated easily......

can someone just take it off me for a good price.....

If only you did

When the COE was in the hundreds I told my friend why not u buy another car....

Of cos he said what for? He said he ain't got money (I never believed him once when he used to say that)....

Well could have earned him some good money today within 18 months...

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pay & pay...

i was soooo distracted and forgetful that i paid my citibank credit card bill TWICE.......

and now citibank owes me money ....

to get back the money i have to spend and charge to the card until the account is back to NIL.....

gosh what have i done.....

Hold on

I have this on site but it's still sitting in the box ....

What am I waiting for?????

Errrr if I can sell the DAC, then I no longer need this....

If I can't sell, perhaps I can get cardas RCA to XLR adaptors so that I can get 7N cables.... Oopps that means more money ...

Ouch..!!

Moved?

As I sit here listening I asked myself, is there anything I didn't like about the MSB DAC..???

If there's none, why am I selling it?

Am I being foolish?

While I'm sure the new one I am eyeing is definitely better, am I doing the right thing by spending more money than I should?

On the other hand what am I saving up for? Time once it passes will never come back .....

By being too rational too prudent one may let chances go pass when one should not....

Anyway I will let fate decides ... If I can sell it for a reasonable price I will.... If not I will keep it...

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Next to go

Ok everyone...

Have decided to put my beloved MSB digital to analogue convertor up for sale to fund an upgrade....

Pls support if u r looking out for one.... It's been very well kept and loved....

Condition and performance is still *thumb-up*....

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whose bid

as usual who are the people bidding..???

the dealers of cos.....

as usual who controls the COE supply..???

the government of cos....

as usual who to blame....

who else of cos...

what diplomacy

i was chatting with a ex-classmate over lunch .... and when the talk came
to work, he mentioned that he found someone i know to be a "nice
person"......

being a true and true cynical person, i told him that people usually try to
be nice when you meet them at work........

and most recently, wikileaks have shown that people are never honest of
what they say to you......

deep down inside or behind your back, there lies all the ugly and
unflattering comments .........

new goal-post...

i used to think that i would never spend more than $500 on a pair of interconnect cables  .....

not that they do not make a difference but because something in my head told me so.....

well well, that was all in the past for i have broken my self-imposed limit quite awhile ago when i switched to acrolink 6N-S3000 speaker cables......

it was followed by the 6N-PC6100 power cord..... and now 7N-A2070 interconnect cables......

i can only say these are truly exceptional audio cables........ together they have brought me closer to the music, which is the most important isn't it...?

one may achieve sparkling highs, thumping lows or magical mids but if the audio system cannot communicate emotionally, then what's the point of having one .......

Too narrow 2

It's been confirmed....

The biggie acrolink RCA plugs are too big for the adcom preamplifier....

Haha ok I shall look at 6N copper cables for now.....

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over fill

i was reading this long thread in mycar forum about 3/4 tank rule.... as usual some motorists were caught tampering with the fuel gauge and have to face the law of the land.....

to me, checks on fuel gauge are conducted randomly and if there are reasons to do it more frequently they will do it....

well isn't it too troublesome to try to catch all these people...... instead of motorists having to make sure of a 3/4 tank, why not ICA / customs install petrol dispenser pumps at woodlands and tuas and make sure every Singapore car that passes through will be filled until petrol overflows...!!!!!

in this way, no need bother with whether one has remote control, tampered fuel gauge, damaged fuel gauge, 3/5 tank, 3/7 tank and so on .....

all Singapore cars will be FULL TANK ..!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...!!!!!!!!!!

Too narrow

I have a strong feeling that the huge RCA plugs on the higher end acrolink cables can't fit between the narrow connectors on my preamplifier ....

So?

Even if I have the $$$$ to buy them, I can't use these cables at all...!!!???

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No two

Since money is never enough I have to tell myself that I can no longer sustain improving the HT system significantly without compromising the budget for the stereo system....

So the onkyo & friends will have to remain for a longer period of time unless something else happens e.g. strike lottery or find hidden treasure, both which are highly remote ....

All eyes can only be on the stereo .......

Right now even watches have to take a back seat cos there is nothing at sane prices that interest me at the moment....

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19 years..

How does it feel to meet people one has not seen for 19 years ..... ????

All ever since the last A levels paper.....

Wow..... It's a strange feeling all of a sudden......

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Dun jump

Some people are good at telling others off but they never remember their own mistakes or shortfall.....

I can do that too if I want.....

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First try

Before it ended I didn't have confidence to pass the fitness test...

Ever since my injury I longer feel the same....

And even after a few months I could still feel the effects occasionally .....

That last time I went for a jog is about 2 weeks ago but somehow I managed to maintain a consistent pace this morning to beat the "to pass" time....

Other than the dreaded 2.4 km run, my injury also affected the shuttle run & standing jump ....

I think I am officially a damaged person....

Thank you....

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what to sell..??

what will happen to petrol stations when electric cars invade roads in countries around the world....???

what will happen to them if carparks begin quick charging outlets...???

can they switch to selling other things..???

who will foot the bill for this new electric grid...???

and if you happen to stay in HDB estates, how do they provide charging facilities..???

Who took it

What a bad day.... !!!!

And then at the end of it someone stole my umbrella & I am stuck without one...

Damn....

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Wrong time

8 to 10 pm was sooooooooo tired & sleepy

Now? Errr awake ....

What's wrong?

If only I dun have to wake up at 6 in the morning ...

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The one only

Tons of information are available to anyone who wishes to build a dedicated audio desktop PC system.....

Casing, power supply, mother board, RAM and so on can be picked up from places like Sim Lim Square and put together in the comfort of your own home...

Users also have a wide choice of ripping software, playback software, direct or wireless connection to choose from...

However a full size desktop PC is way too big and most audiophiles into computer audio use a portable laptop computer as their source...

Compared to their desktop cousins, there is no easy way to build your own laptop computers.... One is stuck with whatever the market is offering e.g. from ASUS, Samsung, Acer etc...

One favourite right now is the MacBook Pro which is still not ideal in terms of power supply and available connections.....

I am waiting at the sidelines to see who will be the first to launch a dedicated audio quality laptop computer with high speed & low noise SMPS and how about I2S and AES/EBU digital outputs to go with the usual USB connection....

Give it to us.... Come on!!!!

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First strike

Wowo this afternoon i struck the equivalent of "lottery" at work when the surprise came to me when my bosses were not in...

Wahaha damn but in the end everything was OK....

Whew....!!!

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Red swell 2

Fortunately the swelling and pain has subsided .....

Even though it's still red and bruised I didn't feel much pain throughout the day...

I was afraid I might not be able to wear boots when I woke up as the pain was bugging me...

Thank you for the quick recovery.....

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