Pete's Write

The attraction of having your own pool can be great, the icing on the cake to complete that landed home. But do beware of the costs. Firstly to construct a pool it can cost upwards of 100-200k, the more custom or irregular it is, the more it costs. Access to the land, the effort in digging also costs. If you really want a long lasting pool, use rebar and concrete, with many layers of waterproofing. It may cost more, but it will last. Think of how to site the equipment, eg the pumps, the piping, the outlets, the sump etc, and work with an experienced contractor to fulfil your dreams.  Understand how much noise it generates, so you can see how close you wish to site it to your home.  Remember to account for some landscaping around it, be it decking, granite or even trees. But remember trees can dump a lot of leaves into the pool giving you more work.  Use reliable parts, and good piping, valves etc so you don't end up with repairs sooner than you think. Having a nice counte...

Simple rules of thumb and not every will agree - over power or get it right instead of underpower - from the numerous posts I see many underpowered setups so if you think you overpower you might just be right 😆 - two blowers instead of one eg one 12 and one 18 instead of a single 24 - for better distribution but check your room shape - more compressors - don’t just buy on price That applies to brands and contractors Squeeze them too hard and quality drops Think hard on blower position - gradient of drain, noise and route. Make aesthetics secondary Likewise for the compressor- sometimes you don’t get a choice but if you have it outside your master bedroom it may get noisy as the compressor gets older Think about servicing too be it blower or compressor- make sure you can open the cover adequately Clean the filters and service it to make it last Some sites that offer calculations: https://www.omnicalculator.com/construction/air-conditioner-room-size https://silverbackaircon.sg/aircon-bt...

In the old days, when you wanted a home theatre system, there will be at least 5 speakers, a subwoofer and plenty of cables snaking around the home, plus a host of boxes of Blu Ray, CD players, a radio and more. These days, your TV is smart enough to have all the apps to stream the latest movies and a single HDMI cable to your soundbar will allow you to experience better dialogue and potentially a decent surround experience. But not all soundbars are created equal and just because there is an Atmos sticker on the box does not guarantee a wonderful surround experience. Bose has been rather late into the game of Atmos, having entered earlier with decent efforts like the 300 and 700. These gave a very significant boost to the vocals and dialogue, some left and right directionality and sounded more than half decent for music too. They also had internal streaming options which allowed you to listen to the internet radio and other music streaming options. Then came the 900 and it has bee...

It has been more than a decade since my first Haiku fan and my review: Choosing a Haiku Fan And I have followed up with another  Mounting a Fan and Using more than one Fan Since then, I have gotten more fans, so I have at least one of each generation. They are a thing of beauty, but nothing lasts forever.. However the one that broke down first was the newest one I have, which is just coming to three years old. Now, most of the time, the motor last pretty long, and even the remote sensor works fine. However the power supply is the weakest link here, and it's not something that's plug and play.  The motor can also give issues less frequently, and you can hear it give out, or the ball bearings can wear out, but these give warning. If you have a sudden failure, especially if there is a thump or pop, then it is more likely to be the power supply.  So unless you are really handy and competent, you will definitely need to reach out to the local tradie or technician for help....

Some background: I have loads of data, I have photos, music, data from work etc, so I decided, having a NAS (network access storage) will be useful. There will be data stores, a Time Machine for my Mac, and I will also let my wife use it. With a help of a buddy who kindly dropped by, I got my Synology set up today.. Initially there was a bit of a scare as I couldn't find my HDDs haha He also suggested to avoid using all the HDD from the same batch, just in case there are manufacturing errors. So I am doing a 8+8+8 and later on as 12 TB in a four bay Synology DS920+, all Red Plus There are no screws needed, you unpacked the HDDs, there's a latch for each bay, you remove the sides, slot in the HDD, then place the plastic sides back. It only goes in one way, so you can't really make a mistake. Which bays get used first is fine. The initial steps were intuitive enough, you go to the "Find Synology" link, which quickly finds the 920+, and that's the easy part. Howe...

The appeal of music, played through a stereo setup, with a pair of good speakers, be it floorstanders or bookshelves with a good source and a solid amplifier, is a nice experience that does not get as much exposure these days with the draw of home theatre. It takes some time to wind down, sit down with a good book or drink, turn the lights down a little and play something that will keep you happy for hours. There has always been a stereo amplifier in my setup, and the day it came to replace the Marantz PM 11S3, which I have been keeping for quite a while, I was at a loss, it was almost like losing a family member. It was also the last of the Reference amplifiers with an analogue power source, and one that had the feedback of their guru, Mr Ken Ishiwata. ( https://peteswrite.blogspot.com/2014/04/marantz-pm11s3-review.html ) In my journeys, I have reviewed quite a few amps as replacements, and I had to be particular, as the Dynaudio Confidence Platinum C1 that I use them with do apprecia...

Each year without fail, even during the current epidemic, manufacturers have to introduce new features to entice us to part with our money for their latest models. However, how do we filter through the information thrown at us in the info brochures and by the sales staff? Firstly ask yourself, what is your viewing diet? GIGO - garbage in, garbage out is the advice, so if your source is more low res, you can't make pearls out of pigs ears.. even the best video chips can't make a DVD look like UHD. Are you mainly watching youtube videos, or subscribe to the basic Netflix tier which does not have 4k streaming for example.  To give another example, if you're merely watching or actually listening to the news, a top tier TV may be a pure waste of time.  Then see what's your viewing distance, and make sure you use the TV to it's best performance. Using a 40 inch TV at 10 feet will not give you the kind of resolution and picture quality you are asking for. Also, using a vie...

Tecno - I've been using their hoods and hubs since 2018, both chimney and the slim line, plus their oven. Got them at a warehouse sale for a good price. My logic for getting them?  It's a local brand, so parts should be easy to find and the price was really good. Under 2.5k for two hoods, a hub, an oven, an induction cooker plus some freebies including a microwave. Here's a link to the items: This is a real sucker: https://www.tecno.com.sg/product/tecno-high-suction-chimney-cooker-hood/ Also got this: https://www.tecno.com.sg/product/th-999d/ Another powerful item, albeit a bit thick https://www.tecno.com.sg/product/tecno-3-burner-90cm-stainless-steel-cooker-hob-with-inferno-wok-burner-technology/ It's nice to have a middle section to place a bowl or two: Key Features Powerful flame with 1 large Inferno Wok Burner, 1 Rapid burner, 1 Semi-Rapid Burner; Smooth turning valves; Ergonomic design fits 1 XXL-sized Wok and 2 medium pots all at once; Premium grade SU304 stainles...

- switch on heater - get stool ready - bring up hot water flask to fill up tray for cotton balls  - place 10 cotton balls inside - get cloth for cleaning teeth, soak in warm water - turn off fan - place incopad under baby - get new clothes ready, swaddle cloth, two towels for bathing and bath towel - fill up tub, check temp - take cotton balls and wipe outwards - eyes, forehead, nose, face, chin, ears - take clothes off - bring baby to bath, wrap in swaddle cloth - hold baby with head facing bath, lower baby a bit  - take bath cloth and wipe head, use lots of water - place baby perpendicular to body / tub on towel - dry baby's head  - change grip, hold baby parallel to bath, but such that water falls out of bath tub - rinse private areas copiously  - change grip, grab thigh, with arm under head R hand, use left hand for washing - hold L thigh with L hand, place into warm water facing up - take one towel covered in water and place on chest - take other ...

If you are like many and have been forced to stay home for the past two years, a good system to watch those movies will be a nice thing to have.  If you have grown beyond those soundbars, and the entry level home theatre systems and want a decent system, I think a good price point is the 10k mark. Firstly, what does it NOT cover: - no TV or projector - no furniture - no blu ray player - no calibration - unless you're a good negotiator, it's not standard for such a low budget - room treatment and acoustic professional  What will this cover: - 1 sub - centre / sides / rear / front - cables - Atmos speakers - stands You can top up for better speakers / cables and change the fronts to towers or add an extra sub I would suggest around 2.5k to 3k for the front three, i.e. front R&L and centre Then around 600-800 for the side, rear backs and top Atmos speakers - four pairs.  Keeping them in the same family helps. Using the same speakers all the various surrounds helps, but m...

It's a balance of power. Too little and your compressor works too hard and runs the risk of breaking down earlier. Too large a compressor, you may pay more in electric bills than needed. I've checked a few places and some sites have excellent info, such as this: https://silverbackaircon.sg/aircon-btu-calculation-guide/ https://www.homeanddecor.com.sg/design/home-tips/home-tip-how-to-choose-the-right-aircon-for-your-home-and-save-money/ 1. Calculate the amount of cooling capacity you need per room using the recommended formula below Cooling capacity required in kW = Total area to be air-conditioned [m2] ÷ 5 *to convert to Btu/hr, multiply the kW result by 3412 2. Then look at which combination suits your place. It has to be either equal or higher than your calculations. 3. Then compare the rated kW of the same combination per room against your calculations. Again, it has to be equal or higher than your calculations. MKM85 Combination Room 1 Room 2 Room 3 Room 4 Total 2...

A while back, noise canceling headphones were mainly used in aeroplanes, and other places with a constant drone. These days, they not only allow less of the ambient noise in, they also pack other functions and have become wireless. A good microphone, long battery life and good Bluetooth performance as well as sonic performance are de rigueur, and with Covid and conference calls being part of our lives these days, almost everyone owns a Bluetooth equipped headphone that has noise cancelling functions built in.  In the past, Sennheiser ruled the roost for noise cancelling headphones, but the early models have an extra dongle, and the sound quality was not great. Later on, Bose got into the act and these two have been the dominant force for quite a few years. Just check out the cans you see on an aeroplane. Sony has also been involved in headphones with some very decent models, and I still have some of their early in ear models dating back to the 80s from the Walkman era.  The So...