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Setting Up A Mesh Network In Your Home - tips and links

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If you buy an older place, you need to check if the fibre cable is still working, and you also need to brush up on certain terms:

FTP(first termination point)

ONT (Optical Network Terminal - also called the modem) connects to the First Termination Point (TP)

https://support.myrepublic.com.sg/hc/en-us/articles/115003469974-Basic-ONT-Modem-Information-and-Troubleshooting



OpenNet is the local company assigned to install the FTP, now they are called Netlink Trust. Intially they have gotten a bad rep simply because they were overwhelmed. Everyone was going into fibre a few years bad. 

You need to call them to do the FTP setup. But first, find out if your home has already been reached by optical fibre. Then check if the line still works. Eg, if your builder has cut the line, then you might be in trouble.

Now those chaps will charge you $160 for apartments or $288 for landed properties. You need to give them 2 weeks notice and select from a menu of dates. Then they will survey and tell you if the…
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Setting Up My Home Theatre Den III - pictures

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Just sharing some photos whilst the construction is going on..

More notes later on 😁

- 4 Atmos speakers
- 2 wides
- laying of subwoofer cables to the rear
- 7.1 base surround
- chalk paint (black) for the front 





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Escape Plan 2 movie review

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The first instalment was a novel idea, with a decent plot and it was also a treat for nostalgic fans, hoping to see two megastars of the 80s action movies slugging it out once more on the silver screen.
This one was made with a lot of Chinese money, which in itself isn't a bad thing. But it was a case of money throw to hire an impressive international cast, and then ask for a bit more money to hire the Chinese stars and finally, use what's left to pay for the CGI and the writer.
Careless writing and a loose plot are the result. But it has one major redeeming factor: a very solid soundtrack, which makes this an interesting proposition for the HT fan. The surrounds and subwoofers are in constant use, and there are plenty of fight scenes to showoff a boisterous soundtrack and also a claustrophobia prison environment.
A rental or buy for the HT fan. 
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Mr Six 老炮儿

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Been kind of busy, so the reviews have been sparse and few in between..
But here are two that struck me:
Mr Big (no, not the song, but a Chinese title 老炮儿) Feng Xiao Gang won a best actor award for this small production made in 2015, and it's David vs Goliath, old vs new, poor vs rich show, that reflects the current situation in Beijing, China, and also in many parts of the world, where the obscenity of too much money has created a new and arrogant class of scions of society who have little patience, respect and morals in life. There is also a nice song in it, and it's quite touching, with many hard moments. You have to either enable the subtitles or better still, understand Beijing speak, and it will reward you with a hard hitting story.  Cui Jian - Greenhouse Girl (崔健 - 花房姑娘)

Cui Jian - Greenhouse Girl (崔健 - 花房姑娘)Utwór Greenhouse Girl z płyty Rock 'N' Roll on the New Long March [1989] Cui Jiana




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How to Do Renovations And Avoid Emptying Your Wallet

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Renovations can cost an arm and a leg, but like what Ikea likes to say: "you don't need to be rich to be smart"
Some tips:
- ask yourself and more importantly your 'boss' if she needs an ID or an architect. They cost around 10% or more of the project, but can be pretty useful if you aren't the hands on type. Some will take you through the buying process and work through colors and such, but they can also be pretty stubborn and only stick to their designs especially if they have a big ego.
- talk to the tiles / marble stores. Business is a bit slow right now, so ask them for run out stuff and get the remnant stuff. 
- this also applies to toilet ware. Some stores specialise in selling excess stock from condo projects and you can get the excess stock a lot cheaper than the retail price
- time your purchases to sale time, it takes good timing or luck, but it can save you a lot of $$
- your builder will also have his / her own contacts for deals, so work with them inste…
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The Sofa Hunt

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Just sharing some info from my own sofa hunt:

For HT fans, you should get a comfy sofa, which is far more important than just the looks. After all you will be seated there for hours on end.

Avoid chairs / sofas which have too high backs and cover the sides too much as they will block the sounds from the rear speakers.

Remember the chair should allow you to sit with your eyes at the same level as the centre of your screen. 
For under 2k, you can get a decent 3 seat sofa.
Even with leather. Just look for local brands like Star Living, Cellini, Om etc, especially during sales.  Do note that some are partial real leather. Eg Cellini uses real leather for those area which are in contact with your skin, eg the seats, the armrests, and use PU or 'leatherette' on the backing and sides. 
Ikea has some decent designs, but I am still looking because some are really too deep. They may look nice, but the seat depth is too deep and forces you to use a pillow behind your back. It's nice…
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Things to look out for when getting that fridge

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Each company will have their own names for inverter tech. 
Twin cooling systems aren't available for all fans, eg Samsung has separate fans for the freezer and fridge.
Door alarms to warn you about forgetting to close the doors are nice.
Note the depth, height etc, eg a deep fridge may be hard for people with short hands. 
Look at the star rating, but note, if you keep opening and closing the fridge, you may be better off with two smaller units than one big one. 
See how the shelves are arranged and see if that level of flexibility is enough for you.
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