Konnyaku

I have always known Konnyaku as a dessert. Sweet. Filled with fruit. I've never figured it to be a health food. But as it turns out, it is. I have been adding it to soups, and stir-frys. There is hardly any notable taste from Konnyaku, it is more prized for its texture. Very smooth. A little chewy, sort of like a jelly which takes more effort to eat. It is usually a rule of thumb that anything healthy tastes awful - look at weetbix for crying out loud.
=======
But I am glad to have found another food that is both healthy and good for the whole endeavor of weight loss. To top it off, its not all that expensive either. SGD$2.30 for about 200gm. If you would like to know a little bit more, you can go here. Here is a quick glance at its nutritional facts. (I chopped the page off, for the full table, go to the link and dig about)

NEW LONG SLEEVED BUSINESS SHIRTS

Finally found a shop that stocks business shirts that fit me. Most of the time the sleeves are too short and I find myself being 'trapped' in the shirt. I'll be a little like frankenstein, bcos i'll only be able to move my arms at a certain angle. Most of my shirts are large and most of these large shirts have way too much cloth around the waist, so in general, I will be able to fit into the shirt, but the extra cloth would make me look sloppy.
====
I have no difficulty getting short sleeved business shirts, it is the long sleeved ones that I have trouble with. I would go to the tailors if I do want a long sleeved business shirt to fit.

I was quite pleased to walk into this store - T M LEWIN - to find shirts that fit very well. I did not even know this brand existed. I believe up until a few months back, this brand of shirts is only sold in London.

I bought the 3 you see above (sans the ties). Very nice. The cloth feels soft and rich. the cut is fitting, and it is rather affordable. I got it at SGD$249 for 3 shirts with an additional 5 percent off because I used a certain credit card. I always imagined that these clothing shops frown on fat men, because they need more cloth to make a shirt for us and that would certainly bring their profit margin down.

I have to be more disciplined in the month of September, seeing how I have splurged quite a bit this month. But no regrets, all my purchases are quality ones, products that will last.

PINKEYE - Problem Identified

I do believe that I have identified the cause of my recurring pinkeye. It is neither an allergic reaction to a certain food, nor is it because of prolonged usage of the computer (although I think that contributes to the illness in one form or another). It turned out to be the environment that I have placed myself in for prolonged periods of time.
======
Air-Conditioning. I was in an air-conditioned environment during work (for the most parts) and when I reach home, I immediately turned the air-conditioning in my room on as well. I did not consult a doctor about this but my theory is that my eyes were very very dry. My eye ducts did not manage to lubricate my eyes fast enough nor was it ample enough. I guess the dry air-conditioned environment made it so. Also, the dryness of it all caused my eyes to itch. I would then proceed to rub it. That is one of the causes of bacterial infection too I'm sure.
======
In a spur of the moment, I made a bee-line to the electronic store and got myself an electric fan. I made a commitment to use the fan instead of the aircon for at least one week. Previously, I resisted the idea because I always thought the night was very hot and the fan would not be sufficient. Also, my previous fan rattled so much, it just disturbs my rest. I was pleasantly surprised that the night turned out to be much cooler than expected. At certain periods, I actually had to lower the speed of my fan because it was getting too chilly. Also, the fan that I bought was much quieter. That was one point of consideration when I was testing various brands of electric fans.
======
I have reduced the amount of time I spend in an air-conditioned environment drastically. My pinkeye recovered and I have not had it since.
======
I am one happy camper.... me and chocolates are best friends once again.

WESTONE UM3X - Part 2

It has been a week since I bought those earphones.
I have been listening to it everyday.
My opinion of it only gets better.
==========
I was telling this colleague of mine that the more I listen to them (the earphones), the more it seemed to sound better. I told him it might be a psychological thing.

He begged to differ and started to educate me on the topic of earphones and sound reproduction.

He told me it was a matter of both the ear as well as the earphone.

He likened it to an amateur drinking a $1,000 bottle of wine. During a blind test, he could very well think that the wine taste normal or even terrible for that matter. But as he continues to drink wine, his taste buds and senses get acclimatized. Once that happens, that same $1,000 wine will impress him. In a nutshell, he told me our ears had the potential to 'mature' to differentiate a 'good' and 'bad' sound production.

He told me my earphones had gold plated plugs, sliver cables and triple balanced armature drivers. Because of this, there was a lot of potential for these earphone to 'mature' too. In audiophile terms, it is called 'burn in'. As time goes on, and as I prolong the use of these earphones, the sound will be better. Just like a bottle of wine that is placed in a cellar for years to allow it to 'mature'.
===============
I proceeded to ask this colleague of mine if there were something wrong with my earphones, because I heard a sound that does not seem to match the song's melody. He gave it a listen and smiled. He said this 'anomaly' was not a fault caused by the earphones, it was a case of the music production. Turns out that the production company that made this CD did not do a very good job. The thing is, I never noticed this when I listened to it on my Bose earphones. He concurred. He said with my earphones, there is no way to 'hide' poor quality music productions, every beat and every tone is reproduced with such clarity, that even the slightest fault is amplified.

He proceeded to find a song of his for me to listen. He told me to listen carefully to the first 30seconds of the song.

Guess what, at the far far background, I can actually hear a 'cough'. YES, someone made a cough during that CD's production and it was captured. I was amazed.
=============
Now I begin to understand why in places like HMV and Tower Records, there are dedicated sections for AUDIOPHILE quality CDs. All the CDs within those sections are labeled as such because they meet the audiophile standard. There isn't a single blemish in the CD's production. I guess that's why it is costlier than 'normal' CDs.
=============
Interesting huh.

OMEGA GENEVE DYNAMIC - 1968

This week is such a happy week.
I got so much gratification from material things (possessions)
First I got my top of the line earphones, and now, after waiting for 18 long months, YES 18 LONG MONTHS, my Omega watch is finally fully refurbished.
It looks FANTASTIC. Even my dad was amazed by the quality of workmanship that has gone into restoring this watch to its former glory. I really do take my hat off the guys at Omega, I wonder how they managed (or even bothered to attempt for that matter) to restore a 41 year old watch.

I took a picture of the components which they replaced. Get a load that strap ! My dad really used this watch to the max. I understand from the Omega representative that it was Omega's practice to use original parts for all it replacements. They have a warehouse full of spare parts even for their very early watches. I guess that is the difference between buying a watch of an established brand and say... Kenneth Cole.

The lady told my dad that the reason why the watch took so long was because of the DAY/DATE dial. They (Omega) were trying so hard to refurbish the original dial. They failed their quality control department twice and the watch was sent back to the start of the line twice. After several attempts, they decided it was easier to search for a brand new original dial than to attempt to refurbish the old dial any longer.

I am glad about the way things worked out. Initially, 19 months ago, I wanted to purchase a brand new Omega Seamaster. After much thought, I decided I was better off having money in the bank that an expensive watch on my wrist. My dad felt it was a wise decision too. It was then that he remembered he had 2 old Omegas which he kept. I almost fainted when I saw the 2. Old, worn out, a little rusty, a little dull, those are the many thoughts that went through my head when I first saw them. My dad suggested I send the watch to Omega for refurbishment, he told me it'll cost only a few hundred dollars. It was within my budget so I decided to go for it. I also like the idea of wearing an antique watch.

You would not believe my dismay when the Omega rep kept informing us (me and my dad) of the delay time and time again. In fact, the both of us were quite amazed by the amount of patience we had showcased. But in the end, I share my father's thoughts when he said to the rep, "After looking at it, I feel it is worth the wait, thank you."

The entire cost of the refurbishment + the cost of 2 new straps (one steel and one leather) is SGD$1500. But because of the huge delay (and I believe also because of the patience we showcased), Omega simply charged us SGD$60. That is the administrative fee. That is way too cool. In fact my dad was quite curious so he went to assess the value of this watch at a watch shop. The person leaped forward and immediately placed a quote of SGD$6,000 to buy the watch from my dad. He even said he has the cash ready in hand. My dad just smiled and calmly walked out of the shop.

I am going to take very special care of this watch. Not just because of it's monetary worth, but because this is one thing that I can pass on to a later generation. If I am fortunate enough to have a son, I will pass it to him and tell him this story. A watch for generations to come.

WESTONE UM3X

WESTONE - UM3X

I bought myself a new pair of earphones, for this case, they are called in-ear-monitors (IEMs).
I never figured myself to be 'sound' guy, much less an audiophile.
============
I remember the earphones that used to astonish me way back when my dad bought himself a Sony Walkman. The earphones came with the walkman and boy did it impress the heck out of us. I recalled being upset with my dad because he kept shouting at me. He cranked up the volume of his earphones and spoke, he too did not know he was shouting for in his audio bliss, he was merely whispering.
===========
I take this purchase as sort of a graduation of sorts. I have tried the ordinary no frills earphones which cost 15 bucks. Just 16 months ago, I bought myself a BOSE. I was not being wise then. I did no research whatsoever, I wanted a better pair of earphones and believed in what BOSE had to offer. I was not disappointed, but that again, ignorance is bliss. In the past month, I did think to myself, 'Why does my earphones sound so dull and the voice projection of the singers a little muffled and why does the instruments all seem to be all jumbled up?' Again, I was no audiophile, but I had begun to notice these things, and quite frankly, I was rather irritated.
===========
I was speaking of this to my colleague in a casual conversation, and lo and behold, he just burst forth into a deep conversation about this topic. He was ever so passionate about the topic of sound reproduction and by the end of the conversation, I knew he was a bonafide audiophile. He brought his pride and joy the following day to the office for me to try out (he seems to believe that I was not convinced and felt compelled to provide a demo). It was a set of Headphones. He even brought a portable amplifier. When I questioned the need, he looked at me as if I had said something sacrilegious.
===========
I was totally blown away by the sheer quality of what I heard. The clarity of the singer's voice. The clear disticntion between the sounds of the drums and guitar and other instruments. Although these were played as a single ensemble, one could clearly differentiate one from the other. Amazing. (By the way, the term for this is sound-staging, I learned this last weekend)
============
I went on to ask if these qualities was available in the form of an earphone as opposed to the huge headphones. I figure it was not convenient to bring such 'equipment' onto buses and trains.
He said such earphones were available but warned that I had to be prepared to pay a premium for such a high-end product.
============
He suggested that I invest in triple-driver earphones. To put things in perspective, most 15 dollar earphones have typical magnets and wound coils to produce a basic sound reproduction. One step up is the single armature driver earphone. This goes on until it reaches triple drivers. (this is the best that is available with the technology of today)
============
I spent almost the entire weekend bench testing a few of these earphones. There were only a handful of reputable brands that produce earphones of this calibre - SHURE 530, ULTIMATE EARS TripleFi 10 Pro and WESTONE UM3 (and UM3X). After much testing and re-testing. After reading tons of reviews by professionals. After listening to all 3 with a set of songs from across all genres. After looking about for the best prices. I finally picked the WESTONE - UM3X.
===========
Most editor's choice goes something like this (1st>2nd>3rd>4th)
530>UM3>TripleFi 10 Pro>UM3X
But I guess these things is considered a very personnel choice. I rate them this way:
UM3x>TripleFi 10 Pro>530>UM3
===========
In terms of cost from most expensive to least
530>TripleFi 10 Pro>UM3>UM3X
I had to make a conscious effort not to lean to the stereotype of "The best product must be the one that cost the most" I know that is not true although I must admit it took some convincing to really believe that.
===========
When I listened to the UM3X, I was convinced, this is the earphone for me. It satisfied all of my harsh requirements. It even considered the ergonomics of the ear. Impressive. After listening to Josh Groban - February Song, I was so moved (yes I was moved!) , I made a beeline to the cashier. I must, MUST, have these.
==========
I guess if I had stuck to regular 15 dollar earphones, I may have been contented. Afterall, I did not know what was 'out there'. But now that I do, I have no regrets. I am not going to go crazy and start purchasing all the very expensive sound equipment. I still do not consider myself an audiophile. But some might contest this statement, for I most certainly did pay a WHOLE LOT MORE than a pretty penny for the UM3X. But you know what, I seem to sport a very wide grin everytime I listen to a song with these babies. It is hard to explain, I'm just very pleased.