Gift Shopping Guide

Gifts!? Wow! Now let me see.........actually what sort of gifts am I suppose to buy? How much am I suppose to spend? Now how many of my readers face this problem of gifts buying? Well to tell the truth I am facing this problem all the time whenever I have to buy gifts.

Now, no anymore when I stumble upon ShopWiki UK Gift Buying Guides. Now I know exactly what to buy & how much I have to spend. This is because inside ShopWiki UK Gift Buying Guides I can find thousands of suitable gifts.

For example if the gifts is for a lady then I will searched for gifts under gifts for women like buying a designer handbag, for men then it is under gifts for men like auto tools kits & for special occasions like anniversary then I will find my gifts under anniversary gifts or at least have some idea of what sort of gift to buy. Try it out & u will know what I meant. Gifts buying will be such an easy task.

Going To USA Eastern Sea Board

Fancy a trip to visit the major US cities of East Coast of New York , Washington and Boston either for holiday or for business? Now I am sure you will like to maximize your trip i.e. to have maximum enjoyment while spending a little as possible if you plan to go on a vacation or for business purposes. Now on any trips the main expenses will be transportation & accommodation. The transportation expenses will be more or less fixed, so to save expenses you got to choose your accommodation carefully.

Allow me to introduce you to Cheaperthanhotels which offers last minute discounts on affordable hotels as well as access to discounts ( up to 75% on normal room rates with last minute discounts within 28 days ) at some of the most expensive and exclusive hotels in the Eastern Sea Board area.

Now if you plan to visit Boston, you can check out Cheap Boston Hotels like the one show in the above picture.

Or you can check out Cheap New York Hotels like the one show in the above picture if you plant to visit New York.

Perhaps you can also check Cheap Washington DC Hotels out as shown in the picture of one of the hotel in the list.

Now the above are just some of the examples, I am sure you can find other hotel more suited to your need in Cheaperthanhotels.

Paradigm DSP 3400

Paradigm DSP 3400 is a 14” sub woofer for HT (Home Theater). Now on this entry I will blog about my HT sub woofer & how I end up with Paradigm DSP 3400. Have a look at the pic below:-

It shows three sub woofers (Yes! I got three sub woofers, more about that in the later part of the post. Me being a smart Alex! )10” Roger Sub Woofer ASB100, 12” Sherwood Newcastle SP-312W & 14” Paradigm DSP 3400. See the size get bigger & bigger! From 10” to 12” & now to 14” (which is a very odd size as in most other brand of sub woofer it is 15”). Now sub woofer is a very important component in a HT audio set up. It denote the .1 part as in 5.1 (5 speakers), 6.1 (6 speakers) & 7.1 (7 speakers) set-up. Now if u want a good bass reproduction then size is important. The bigger the better! A good sub woofer has the abilities to add breath & depth to your music & movie watching session.

Another view of the three subs. As u can see the Paradigm DSP 3400 is one very big size sub, the size of a small safe, u can even play poker on it. Space plays a very important role in sub woofer design. Space as in the size of the sub woofer & the space which the sub woofer is place in i.e. for e.g. your living room space in cubic feet. Since my living room has a space of 5,000 (20'WX20'LX12.5'H) cubic feet, I have no choice but to buy a big sub with at least size 12” X two & above. Best will be 15” but 15” sub woofer is very rare & very expansive (In most case 15” sub woofer are mostly uses in top range model. This applies to Paradigm sub woofer as well; 15” is only use in their servo & reference sub woofer.) in my small town. Now the Paradigm DSP 3400 is most suitable for mid size space to large space up to 10,000 cubic feet, thus it can give good bass pounding performance without running out of steam.

The above pics show the three subs with the grill on. As shown in the previous pic the Paradigm DSP 3400 employed the ‘ported’ system to achieved good bass with low frequency respond down to 19Hz (although I believed it can go much lower than that as there are no distortion at all when I play some blu ray with good LFE effect), hence it got two very big port in front! Because of this two very big port (big enough for me to poke in my big hand) I think I have no choice but to put on the grill as it will be very bad if some mousy decided to crawl in & build a big nest inside (He! He! Before it did that I am sure the high sound pressure will kill it!) & the very real danger of some kids poking in his hand inside & worse still leaving his toys inside (This did happen to my front speakers which is also ported!)! But it does look very nice with the grill off, especially watching the huge Paradigm DSP 3400 14” woofer in action!

This is the backside view of the three subs. All the three look similar & very simple. Both Roger ASB100 & Sherwood Newcastle SP-312W are 100W RMS using class AB amplifier, while the Paradigm DSP 3400 use a 300W RMS sustained with peak power output at 900W digital amplifier which Paradigm called ‘Digital Sound Processor’ hence DSP. Now apart from size, if u wants to have good heart pounding bass the other factor to consider is power! The more powerful the sub amp is the better will be the bass performance! Now most new top range sub woofer employed powerful digital amplifier usually 1000W & above, as digital amplifier are more efficient (almost no heat at all). This is necessary as all top range sub woofer employed the ‘sealed’ enclosure type of sub woofer. The advantage is smaller size sub woofer, an important factor as ur ‘home minister’ (wife/gf) might not like the idea of a big black box being place in the living room! Actually for me size is not a problem as I do prefer a big size sub woofer to a small one as I got to brag to all my friends that I got a big sub woofer that can kick ass, & it did kick ass!

As mention before ported sub can give good bass respond minus the huge power needed to drive the sub woofer. Now being a cheapskate why should I pay extra (cheaper electric bill) for the huge power (1000W vs 300W) when I can have a better & more economy sub woofer with similar bass pounding performance? Hence that is why I buy Paradigm DSP 3400. Ok how is the performance? I will compare it like 10” vs 12” vs 14”.

The 10” Roger ASB100 is an entry level sub woofer. Previously I am using a Pioneer HTIB (Home Theater In a Box) with a 6” sub woofer so buying a Roger 10” sub woofer is a very big ‘improvement/up-grade’ for me!

Its performance? Well let just say it is like eating a plate of chicken rice with some chicken meat! Chicken rice without chicken is just like HT without a sub woofer! The Roger 10” did do what it is supposed to do that is bass production. Now this will be OK if u has a small space but my space is big so I end up cranking the sub at full blast. This resulted in heavy distortion & Ompppprarrarar! Ompppprarara!!! Most frustrating for me! So the Roger ASB100 to me is just like a plain plate of chicken rice!

Now I went & have a audition of my friend 12” sub woofer (Velodyne CHT-12R) & wow! It is good! Just an extra 2” but it make a big different! Being a poor fellow & a ‘smart Alex’ I go looking around for a cheapo 12” & I manage to find a ‘new old stock’ Sherwood Newcastle SP-312W 12” sub woofer! Well it performance is much better than the Roger! It can produce bass much better than the 10” Roger! It is now a Boom! Boom! Now it is like having a plate of ‘special’ chicken rice! Taste much better!

Should I be happy with my HT audio now? Well by right I should if I have stay at home & do what a man should do! But noooooooooo I got to go & listen to some sub woofer in action & that is what happens to me & the result is a big black ‘safe’(Paradigm DSP 3400) hiding in the back corner of my living room! Now when I listen to a really powerful sub woofer in action I not only get to hear the BOOM, but I also get to feel the BOOM! Well after some ‘consultation’ & the parameter (5,000 cubic feet) & my sub woofer usage (99.9% movie) the recommended sub for me is at least a 15” preferably a big power sealed enclosures type like for e.g. Velodyne SPL1500R, Velodyne DD15, Paradigm Servo 15” or Paradigm Reference 15”………..Wow! All these are top range sub woofer, buying it will cost me my arms & legs plus my ‘didi’ as well! Well out of my budget! Then I get to know about the Paradigm DSP 3400 which is the top range in the DSP series, the other in the range are the DSP 3100 10” & DSP 3200 12”.

It performance is I should say excellent! Perfect for mid to large space! It is really powerful & can produce a very big bass without distortion down to below 19Hz. Now I get not only to hear BOOOOMMMM! BOOOOMMMM! But also get to feel all the BOOOOMMMM! BOOOOMMMM! It did rattle all the glass panels & even the ceiling board! Now to me the Paradigm DSP 3400 is just like having a plate of very special chicken rice with all the added spices up chicken meat plus side dishes of strew pork leg!!! The sort of chicken rice which make u feel happy & satisfied after eating & which will make u want to eat some more!

That is how good the performance of Paradigm DSP 3400! So good in fact I am now re-watching all my blu ray collection! U-571 deep charge explosion is most addictive…..so are all the LFE effect in most of movies.

So the conclusion is? Well as mention before this is a sub for medium to large space! Definitely not suitable for those living in Condominium or those with fuzzy neighbors (it has the abilities to vibrate floor & wall as well). Size! Very big & heavy (29.5kg) so ‘Home Minister’ (wife/gf) might not approve! Simple control! In fact not control at all just the normal adjustment like cross-over, gain & phase! Not even a simple power-on switch! Everything is in ‘auto’ mode. Well I don’t really mind as for me being a lazy bum I just prefer to forget about the sub presence & just sit back to enjoy & feel all the BOOOMMM!!! Now to me being simple is also a plus as fewer things to broke down. Beside I am sure it will be more reliable as it is ‘Make In Canada’! So I am happy with Paradigm DSP 3400. In fact it get ‘award’ as one of the Home Theater-2008 Products Of The Year !

Phew!!! What a long post! I do hope my dear readers’ u r not bore reading this post! Well if u r bore how about reading an ‘alternative vision’ similar but different. However this ‘alternative vision’ is ‘unrated’ (horny) & not suitable for ‘holy’ reader!

Chow for now ………..I got to watch ‘Transformer’ against at full blast!!!

Have Hope! Things Don't Turn Out It Should Be!

Two traveling angels stopped to spend the night in the home of a wealthy family. The family was rude and refused to let the angels stay in the mansion's guest room. Instead the angels were given a small space in the cold basement. As they made their bed on the hard floor, the older angel saw a hole in the wall and repaired it.

When the younger angel asked why, the older angel replied,

"Things aren't always what they seem."

The next night the pair came to rest at the house of a very poor, but very hospitable farmer and his wife. After sharing what little food they had the couple let the angels sleep in their bed where they could have a good night's rest. When the sun came up the next morning the angels found the farmer and his wife in tears. Their only cow, whose milk had been their sole income, lay dead in the field. The younger angel was infuriated and asked the older angel how could you have let this happen? The first man had everything, yet you helped him, she accused. The second family had little but was willing to share everything, and you let the cow die.

"Things aren't always what they seem," the older angel replied.

"When we stayed in the basement of the mansion, I noticed there was gold stored in that hole in the wall.Since the owner was so obsessed with greed and unwilling to share his good fortune, I sealed the wall so he wouldn't find it."

"Then last night as we slept in the farmer’s bed, the angel of death came for his wife. I gave him the cow instead.Things aren't always what they seem."

Sometimes that is exactly what happens when things don't turn out the way they should. If you have faith, you just need to trust that every outcome is always to your advantage. You just might not know it until sometime later...

Tomorrow a mystery.

Today is a gift.

That's why it's called the present!

To all my dear readers, have faith & don't give up hope in life. I know time is tough with retrenchment everywhere. Remember it will not rain forever.

Buying Gifts For Kids! What Types???!!!

So & so kids birthday is on whatever date & get ready to buy gift for the birthday kid! Now here come the problem! What sort of gift to buy? I just can’t simply buy any gift I want from the nearest toy shop because I have discovered that on a few occasion that poor birthday kid end up with several very similar toys.

Well I think I have solve the problem since I discovered Classic Kids Toys. Yes it is an online shopping mall for Kid’s Toys. Actually there is nothings classic about it, in fact just the opposite! In it I can find some very high tech toys under Robotics & RC Toys & if that is too high tech well how some good old faction Action Figures & for the ladies Dolls & Dollhouses will be my choice to choose a suitable toys. Now with so many types of toys to choose from I am sure my toy for birthday gifts will be very unique! The joy of receiving my special gift will be priceless!

So to all my dear readers if u r having problem finding & decideding what sort of toys to buy why don’t u have at look at Classic Kids Toys. I am sure it will sole all your toys buying problem!

Employed & Job Loss..........

Read the newspaper everyday & u can see the word 'Job Cut! Retrenchment! Salary Cut!' Well salary cut is better then job cut............at least u got some monies to pay off ur loan & maybe some left over to buy some food & entertainment!

Ever wander why some of ur friend get lay off first or have the first cut in salary while some still remain the same or worse still got some salary increment? Well read the following stories......

Story #1

Fox: "Do you know the time, because my watch is broken"

Lion: "Oh, I can easily fix the watch for you"

Fox: "Hmm... But it's a very complicated mechanism, and your big claws will only destroy it even more."

Lion: "Oh no, give it to me, and it will be fixed"

Fox: "That's ridiculous! Any fool knows that lazy lions with great claws cannot fix complicated watches"

Lion: "Sure they do, give it to me and it will be fixed"

The lion disappears into his cave, and after a while he comes back with the watch which is running perfectly. The fox is impressed, and the lion continues to lie lazily in the sun, looking very pleased with himself.

Soon a wolf comes along and stops to watch the lazy lion in the sun.

Wolf: "Can I come and watch TV tonight with you, because mine is broken"

Lion: "Oh, I can easily fix your TV for you"

Wolf: "You don't expect me to believe such rubbish, do you? There is no way that a lazy lion with big claws can fix a complicated TV.

Lion: "No problem. Do you want to try it?"

The lion goes into his cave, and after a while comes back with a perfectly fixed TV. The wolf goes away happily and amazed.

Scene : Inside the lion's cave. In one corner are half a dozen small and intelligent looking rabbits who are busily doing very complicated work with very detailed instruments. In the other corner lies a huge lion looking very pleased with himself.

Moral : IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHY A MANAGER IS FAMOUS; LOOK AT THE WORK OF HIS SUBORDINATES.

Management Lesson in the context of the working world :

IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHY SOMEONE UNDESERVED IS PROMOTED; LOOK AT THE WORK OF HIS SUBORDINATES

Now if u r the 'subordinates' of such a Boss then u r safe from job cut b'cos ur Boss need u & what u can do. In bad economy period it pay to 'protect' ur Boss as indirectly u r 'protecting' urself!

Story # 2

It's a fine sunny day in the forest and a rabbit is sitting outside his burrow, tippy-tapping on his typewriter. Along comes a fox, out for a walk.

Fox: "What are you working on?"

Rabbit: "My thesis."

Fox: "Hmm... What is it about?"

Rabbit: "Oh, I'm writing about how rabbits eat foxes."

Fox: "That's ridiculous ! Any fool knows that rabbits don't eat foxes!

Rabbit: "Come with me and I'll show you!"

They both disappear into the rabbit's burrow. After few minutes, gnawing on a fox bone, the rabbit returns to his typewriter and resumes typing.

Soon a wolf comes along and stops to watch the hardworking rabbit.

Wolf: "What's that you are writing?"

Rabbit: "I'm doing a thesis on how rabbits eat wolves."

Wolf: "you don't expect to get such rubbish published, do you?"

Rabbit: "No problem. Do you want to see why?"

The rabbit and the wolf go into the burrow and again the rabbit returns by himself, after a few minutes, and goes back to typing.

Finally a bear comes along and asks, "What are you doing?

Rabbit: "I'm doing a thesis on how rabbits eat bears."

Bear: "Well that's absurd !"

Rabbit: "Come into my home and I'll show you"

Scene : As they enter the burrow, the rabbit introduces the bear to the lion.

Moral: IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW SILLY YOUR THESIS TOPIC IS; WHAT MATTERS IS WHOM YOU HAVE AS A SUPERVISOR.

Management Lesson in the context of the working world:

IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW BAD YOUR PERFORMANCE IS; WHAT MATTERS IS WHETHER YOUR BOSS LIKES YOU OR NOT ( No longer applicable in bad economy time )

This is a very simple logic! Unpopular, unproductive stuff are the first to get the boot! So it pay to be 'productive', it might be a good ideal to learn new skill & most importantly show to ur Boss that u r a company 'asset' & not a 'liabilities' & of cause be in your Boss good book!

Pajero V46 2800 InterCooler Turbo Air-Con

My Pajero is giving me trouble. It is her air-con! It is suppose to blow out cool air but instead it blow out hot air ( the heater is not on, if fact it is not even connected ). I happen to be rather cold resistant ( since I am a big guy, beside if it get too cold I can always wear more cloths ) but I can’t stand the heat ( I am totally in-active when I get heated up. I have being on ‘heat’ lately whenever I drive my Pajero to work ). Not much choice really as it has being raining lately & part of the road is floated & so my Pajero is the only safe option as it is stand up to two feet of water!

Normally a car air-con is not cool if :-

1.the air-con gas is gone or not enough ( due to gas leakages, depend on where the leakage is the problem can be fixed inexpensively )

2.the air-con cooling fin is dirty ( so it is no longer efficient, just took out the cooling fins & clean it, not expensive but time consuming )

3.the air-con compressor is faulty ( have to buy a new compressor very expensive, in fact the most expensive component of a car air-con system )

4.the air-con control unit is faulty ( rather expensive, problem is finding parts or circuits but it is very rare to have this problem )

5.the air-con heat radiator ( located in front of the Pajero cooling radiator in the engine bay ) is blocked ( with dirt or cracked hence gas leakage, expensive as a Pagero has two air-con heat radiators one big & one small )

6.the air-con heat radiator’s fan is not working ( not too expensive a Pajero has two air-con radiator fans one big & one small, but it is time consuming to change them ) .

As the most common problem is dirty air-con cooling fins I agree to have it cleaned. A lot of work in taking apart the air-con cooling fins as my Pajero has dual air-con.

The Pajero front air-con is located just behind the glove compartment. The white box thing.

While the hind air-con is located inside the right ( driver side ) back panel.

The front air-con cooling fins inside the white air-con box. See it is very dirty with death insect stuck inside.

The hind air-con cooling fins, also very dirty, not death insect is found but got hairs ( I wander how the hairs got suck into there? ).

It is discovered that the front air-con cooling fin is leaking gas ( the second most expensive component of a car air-con system ) & because the leak is inside the cooling fin it can’t be sealed by aluminum welding. So no choice but to buy a new cooling fin. See the new & the old. Pajero air-con cooling fins ( Denso brand ) is the ‘bee hives’ type double layers with dense cooling fins. Dam expensive, cost me RM450-00 ( half of my salary gone ). And to keep the cooling fins clean & prevent insect from getting in I seal up the air-con outside air intake ( it is always advisable to close the outside air intake as insect will always end up in the cooling fin including dust & dirt ). With the new cooling fin installed the Pajero air-con's performance is now very cooling.

Inside temp is at 34C ( late afternoon, see I go to work inside an oven, arrive at office with my ‘ball’ half-cooked! How to drive & work like this ) before air-con is switch on.

Inside temp at 25C after half hour with air-con on at full blast! The temp will drop to 21C in two hours, at night it will drop to 19C! Very good performance! Money well spend ( but I have to forgo a few other ‘activities’ )!

To me a car air-con is very important part of a car. To me a car is worthless if its air-con is not functioning or not cool enough ( like a Kanari or Kancil both very nice car apart from it lousy air-con system ).

So to my dear readers, do u place a good car air-con highly when u buy a car?