AIWA CR-D06 AM/FM stereo radio receiver

I bought this Aiwa CR-D06 AM/FM stereo radio receiver in 2002. During that time, I was taking the bus to work a lot and I did not have  Walkman tape player as MP3s had totally replaced tapes and CDs. I had lost my MP3 player only recently and this was my player. I used to listen to radio in the mornings on the bus on the way to work. The station I tuned into was the BBC World Service. I remember that it only ran off one battery and it was very economical to use. I forget how much I paid for it but it was pretty affordable. I even used it to make some recordings off radio back then. At one time, it functioned as my night radio while being connected to a set of computer speakers. It got lost many years later and I wondering what happened to it. It was a good buy though and really kept me company.

Coffee Workshop at the coffeeshop next to COVE LRT does not accept CDC vouchers

A couple of days back, my wife and I went to this coffeeshop run by Broadway next to Cove LRT station. We paid for our food with CDC vouchers. However, there was one stall there that did not accept the CDC vouchers. That shop was the drinks stall named The Coffee Workshop. When asked, they did not want to give an explanation. I aim to do this now. Since they do not want to accept the CDC vouchers, I will just buy my drinks next door at the supermarket. Simple as that.

Terrible Shopee collection point

Many people are buying things online these days. Online shopping sites like Shopee and Lazada are very popular. For the stuff that you order online, you can have several options of how to get them. You can opt to have it delivered to your door for a fee of about $1. Or you can get it from a collection point.

The collection points can be the automated ones like in those machines under void-decks of flats, or they can be collected from a house whose owner has delegated it as a collection point. If you are the owner of an apartment or shop, you make it a collection point for parcels as per the Shopee guide here. You get paid 30 cents per parcel collected.

My wife recently had an issue with a Shopee collection point at an apartment in a block of flats. Apparently, when the parcel arrived in Singapore, she was told via an SMS that the collection point had her parcel. The SMS also gave the operating hours of the collection point. However, when she went to the collection point, she saw a notice on the gate that the place was closed…but it was supposed to be in operation as stipulated by the hours! So she went back home and told Shopee and they said that they would check. After checking, they told her that the place was open but when my wife went there, she faced the rudest reception from the flat owner. The flat owner gave all sorts of reasons why the collection point was closed. However, that is not the buyer’s problem. No one put a gun apartment owners and forced them to become a collection point. So if you want to become a collection point, you had better be there when people knock on the door!

Electric Light Orchestra keyboardist Richard Tandy dies at 76 years old

I really had a shock this morning when I heard the news about Electric Light Orchestra’s keyboardist Richard Tandy passing away. He played a range of keyboard instruments including the clavinet and the Minimoog synthesizer. Richard Tandy’s riffs provided the foundations for some of E.L.O.’s most famous songs such as Evil Woman, Mr Blue Sky and many others. Jeff Lynne was the one who made the announcement about Richard Tandy’s death in a social media post. Rest in peace Mr Tandy. ELO will not sound the same without you.

https://x.com/JeffLynnesELO/status/1785754392437625134

JBL 4344 loudspeakers

I remember seeing a pair of JBL speakers like these JBL 4344 speakers at my cousins place about 40 years ago and I really wished that I owned them. These older JBLs oozed class and could make your hifi system sound absolutely magnanimous. These speakers are 4-way units and they were good in a biamped system. Being a bass-reflex type of system, these speakers could handle great bass. I actually heard it myself and I really loved the sound of these. sadly, JBL is not like the days of old anymore and you would be very lucky to find a pair like these these days.

Hot weather in Asia

It has been very hot these last few weeks. Temperatures in Asia have been on the upswing. In Myanmar for example, the temperature was 40 degrees Centigrade. In Singapore, it is hovering around the 31 to 32 degree Centigrade mark. Drink lots of water and keep hydrated. Stay out of the direct sunlight if you can help it.

Decathlon Oxelo inline skate wheels replacing Brompton roller wheels

I am quite appalled at the cheap and ineffective roller wheels that are shipped with Brompton bicycles. I mean, you pay a premium for a quality foldable bike like the Brompton and they are shipped with roller wheels that are bloody useless. So what I did a couple of days back was to go to Decathlon and bought a couple of Oxelo inline skate wheels. Now these wheels, unlike the roller wheels shipped with Brompton, have actual bearings. After taking out the Brompton roller wheels, I looked around and found some longer screws and screwed the new wheels in. I did not have access to Loctite so I used some of my wife’s nail polish. The bike rolls much better now with these wheels. Now to hunt for the wheel that comes with the fender and replace that.

Brompton Cherry Blossom Edition

I bought this Brompton Cherry Blossom for my wife for her early birthday present. This model is the C-Line series. It also came with two complimentary bags and my wife loves it. It was ordered online and came all the way from London. My wife loves it very much and she thinks that it is great. I must say that the paint scheme is striking and it stands out in a crowd very well. My wife is getting used to it because it comes with 6 gears. Her previous Brompton was only a two-speed. I got her a seat cover for her and took off those awful roller wheels and replaced them with skate-wheels. Now it rolls better. Can’t wait for my wife to try it out and let me know.

XLR connector order from Shopee

I bought these XLR connectors from Shopee about a week back and it arrived in Singapore a couple of days back. I bought 10 male ones and 10 female ones, making a total of 20 connectors. The price including shipping came up to $16. These connectors admittedly are not as robust as the Neutrik ones or even the Seetronic ones. But as they say, you pay your money and you get what you pay for. These connectors will be used for projects where cost is a concern. These new connectors I feel cannot beat those ITT Cannon type ones that I ordered also from the same online shop. However, they work and that is all that matters. I just made a couple of cables with these connectors and they seem to work fine.

Peach Garden in Thomson Plaza operations suspended

I read in the news that Peach Garden restaurant in Thomson had their operations suspended after more than 40 people had gotten ill after consuming their food. This is an excerpt from the article:

SINGAPORE — Operations at Peach Garden’s Thomson Plaza branch have been suspended after more than 40 people fell ill with gastroenteritis symptoms. The authorities added that they are investigating eight incidents of gastroenteritis affecting 43 people who consumed food prepared by the Chinese restaurant between April 17 and 18. In view of the “suspected ongoing transmission”, SFA has suspended operations at the Thomson Plaza outlet from April 22 until further notice.

I am glad that the authorities took Peach Garden to task. The last time we went there, my wife cracked her tooth after eating food from that restaurant. Calls to the restaurant went unanswered. Also, their food is overpriced and not worth it. So if these restaurant is closed indefinitely, I will not miss it. This action by SFA serves them right. Maybe they will “wake up their ideas” and realise that they need to do something about the quality of their food.