While they were away

After three weekends of DIYing the stepped diffuser were finally done and installed. Not only that, the music room was also given a new coat of paint. All these in the expense of my golfing. :(
Anw, the three weekends were made possible because wifey and the three princess were away in the Philippines. Thus have the house all by myself for the DIY ie, noisy, dusty and messy.

4 pcs done

room with foam acoustic panels

all foam panels removed and room repainted

 

5 panels of the stepped diffuser installed

finally all done

repaint & redesign (R & R)

As mentioned in my earlier posting....repaint & redecorate the dining room. Ok, the wall was given a new coat of paint ....kind of orange. The dining chairs were replaced with white ones and the side table was also replaced. Some decorative pieces were added on....of course white as well. So far its still work in progress.

For the living room aka audio room, the acoustic foam diffuser will soon be replaced with a better   diffuser. There are many types of diffuser available in the audiophile world...from a few dollars to a few thousands depending on the design and material used.

In theory, sound diffuser improves the acoustics of the room. Sound waves hitting a flat wall rebound off at the same angle, meaning that the sound is not evenly spread throughout the room. The uneven surface of a diffuser breaks up the sound waves hitting it and reflects them at various angles around the room, helping to diffuse the sound.

As I am a DIY person, I will be making my own diffuser. The design by Tim Perry from Argen Acoustic seems DIYable with drawings and measurement available from his website. So last week end, I bought some cut out wooden pieces from the local lumber yard enough for 5 units of Tim's stepped diffuser. And today, I managed to finish the first unit.

finished product by Argen Acoustic

planned drawing

cut out pieces to be glued

gluing the steps module

gluing the main body

putting all together

Adding the final and lowest steps

All done for sand papering

done and to be veneered

finished product with teak veneer (the 1st unit)

Year 2014

School term has just begun and as usual another 3 months of busy work life. Good news is ..... most of the 'notty' kids have left.

Apart from all these pressures at work place, I need to have some time and some things to do for my pleasure.

1. Repaint & redecorate the dining room according to a theme.

2. Convert the living room to a semi acoustic room for music listening.

The above will take a month or two to complete....slowly but surely.

3. More time at the golf course.

4. More time with family and grand children and of course not forgetting those friends in need vice- versa.

For the new year resolution......less fatty food and more DIY.

OK I think that's too much for pleasure already.

End of school term 2013

Its the end of school term and it also means the end of pupils' laughter, cries and all the shouting and yelling. Teachers worked so hard and they deserve this term break more than any one. For the Admin and Operations people, this is also the time for a short break spending time with family and loved ones.

It has been 2 years now working in the school environment and work life has been good in Lakeside with friendly and supportive teachers, colleagues and leaders. Looking forward to the next 2 years.

Some little notes by teachers, pupils and leaders that's motivating.

The day Nat King Cole hissed

As usual after dinner and a cold shower I was at my living room listening to my favourite music via my beloved tube amp. With a cup of warm Old Town coffee in a room lighted with warm incandescent light, Nat King Cole wouldn’t sound better.

This is the time when everyone settles down with their own things. Computer keying in the bed room, TV watching in the family room and babies snoozing in another room. Ahhhhhhhh it’s a world of “to each his own”

In the living room, ambiance was just right. The turntable turns perfectly warming up for its debut display in a week time at the Noising 2013. Suddenly Nat King Cole stopped singing instead he hissed softly as if telling that something was not right. And voila……smoke blew up from the amplifier and in no time the whole room was covered with thick smoke.

It took the attention of everyone at home. Computer keying stopped, TV watching stopped and all eyes on me……kind like…. what’s wrong? I was in a shock too and it took us quite a while to react until Yanti suggested switching off the main power to the household and that was about three minutes later.

Phew…..the amplifier was on fire and lucky everything else was ok. That was two Sundays ago, two days before Eidul Adha, the day Nat King Cole hissed.

My GDs

Aliyah & Alyssa, 2 weeks young

Sofia's 1st day to school with Yai and bye bye to mummy

having 1st lunch in school

 

1st day playing in school

 

A reward of ice cream after school

Twin for Eidul Adha

Today is the 15th day of Zulhijjah, the 12th and final month in the Islamic Lunar Calendar, marking the end of the year. Zulhijjah means 'Lord of the Pilgrimage'. It is during this month in which the Hajj Pilgrimage takes place and pilgrims from all around the world congregate at Makkah to visit the Kaaba. The Hajj Pilgrimage is performed on the eighth, ninth and the tenth of this month. Eid ul-Adha, the 'Festival of the Sacrifice' is held on the tenth day. The sacred month of Zulhijjah is one of the highly blessed months. 

On the 2nd day of this blessed month, my family welcomed our newborn twin grand daughters Aliyah and Alyssa. With His blessing, mother and babies were discharged from the hospital after 3 days, in time for the "Festival of the Sacrifice" Eidul-Adha.

Aliyah, the elder. 1st hour after her birth

Alyssa, the younger. 1st hour after her birth

LPs hunting

The oldieeeee feeling continues till mid afternoon. Went down to the vinyl warehouse in the late afternoon today hunting for ..........oldie LPs of course.

Among others were 2 LPs by local Malay artist of the 70s, Sharifah Aini sings English cover version and DJ Dave with his original Malay songs.

DJ Dave......My 1st and only Malay LP.

Noising 2013

Was at the Noising 2013 yesterday at Republic Poly, the annual Audiophile DIYers meet organised by members of our local Hifi forum.

This year there were lesser participants but no doubt better equipments being built. I brought my latest turntable and the only one this year.

setting up my latest turntable built early this year

members checking out the equipment

listening session

Yes, I built this

Mid life crisis

Feeling rather 'oldieee' today, heart and soul. Was it because of someone's word slowly and surely affecting or is it because of the 3 little girls at home or perhaps the holy month of Zulhijjah?
Hahaha midlife crisis.

Anyway, am listening to music of the 60s now or is it the 70s.....songs by Ray Conniff.

The drive to Fraser's Hill

We left home yesterday morning for Fraser’s Hill at 7.30 instead of 6am. Traffic to Tuas CIQ was heavy and took us 45mins. So after all the clearance, we hit the NSE at 8.30am.

Our 1^st stop was Ayer Keroh Jejantas, for breakfast and planned to have our lunch at Fraser.

Somehow, we lost our way and have to detour and u turns few times……lol. Finally nine hours later, we arrived at our destination……..two hours behind scheduled. 

It was raining cats and dogs when we checked in at Pines Resort. Room was huge with 3 bedrooms although we only booked a 1 bedroom unit. When asked about that at the reception, we were told all units in Pines Resort have 3 bed rooms…..but we only paid for 1.

 

Today the weather was good so after breakfast we had our 1^st rounds of golf. Being the 1^st time for the ladies, we took more than 3 hours for a nine holes……that’s super long. Hahahaha.

Preparing a trip up to Fraser's Hill

Its the term 3 school holidays now and its time to tidy up my work station and updating of some filings. Will be taking a short break tomorrow driving up to Frasers Hill with wifey and Yanti. This will be my 2nd time driving up...the 1st was in 2009.

With the cool weather up in the mountain, Frasers Hill is a good place to unwind and relax. Golf.......yes we plan to have one or two rounds of golf there. This will be the 1st 'turun padang' for both wifey and Yanti after getting their PC early this year.

Uneventful

Hmmmm, no motivation to write lately. Even special occasion seems uneventful. Sign of aging?