Coral Beta 8

Well, before I disappear for 3 weeks reservist, I thought I should just post one more. ;)

These vintage drivers from the now defunct Coral Corporation are quite sought after. They are high effeciency fullrange drivers. At 8" with huge Alinico magnets, they are a nice sight to behold.

It's really quite difficult to get a pair in perfect condition. Some people have searched for a long time to get their hands on such specimen... Just take a look at these beauties on diyaudio.com.

I actually preferred the sound of the 8" better compare to the 10". No doubt, the 10" had better bass response, but it seemed a little too in-your-face for my comfort. Also, the 8" would be easier to integrate into my room than the 10". Well... this is one of those future projects in my backlog.

For now, enjoy the pics here.

Xu Beihong in Khatib?

The "Xu Beihong in Nanyang" solo exhibition is now on at the SAM till July 13.

Seems like he is also in Khatib, at my in-law's place... now, we only need to validate the authenticity of the painting...

Some pics here.

Jacob Ballas Children's Garden

We went to the Singapore Botanic Gardens last Sunday in search of the Jacob Ballas Children's Garden. It was right after lunch, in the hot sunny day. We dropped off at the Visitor's Centre (wrong move) and had to walk all the way towards the other end along Bukit Timah Road.

Lucas was all ready to play in the water area. We brought along his sun-screen and swimming shorts. We also brought along bread so that we can feed the swans, fishes and tortoises in the pond.

Besides playing in the water area, we went onto the suspension bridge, the children's maze. Then we went back to the Eco-Lake within the Botanica Gardens to feed the creatures there. We saw a monitor lizard devouring a dead bird, fed the swans and fishes, and also the pigeon.

After a long hot afternoon, we went to Grandparent's place for McDonald's. Map of the Botanica Gardens can be found here.

More pics here.

cut lips

was supposed to be at cheryl's birthday party, but lucas had a last minute mishap at home.

we were watching tv when he appeared with blood on his lips. he somehow fell and had 2 cuts on his upper lip. it took around 45 minutes before the bleeding stopped.

had to used a few hankies wrapped with ice and apply some pressure. the cut did not look that bad. at least i thought so.

i cut a plaster so that it is able to stick over the cuts.

comic life

just saw this cute application on my mac... after i upgraded to leopard 10.5.1.

i quickly browser thru available pics that can be made into a comic strip and came up with this...

enjoy. ;)

my first PAM

i've long admired panerais for their large and simple clock face. these are big watches. i'm also a fan of IWC chronographs, with a liking for the portuguese automatic.

i finally settled for a historic series, the PAM 177H. it's complete gibberish to the uninitiated. i too, feel that panerai is not easy for the casual buyer to get into.

the subtle differences in model, dial colour, lug sizes, movements, sapphire case backs, manual/auto wind, steel, pvd, titanium, etc... are just too much. then comes the straps, deployant buckles, tang buckles, and the multitude of OEM strap makers. and the straps don't come cheap. the alligator strap that came with mine is around SGD420. and then the authorized distributor has no stock of any pams on hand.

the above is a poor pic taken of the pam and the speedmaster. i knew that such shots are difficult to take, but i never knew it was so difficult. will take more in daylight when i have the chance.

the pam 177h is a 44mm diameter titanium case, with sapphire case back to display the movement. it is a sandwich dial, meaning that it has a layer of luminous material at the bottom, followed by another layer on top, that is already cutout with the numerals. it has a second hand and is manual wind... meaning i have to wind it everyday or when i want to wear it (may have to set the time). the winding is suprisingly smooth and has a spring back feel. much easier to wind than the speedmaster. perhaps due to the larger diameter of the winder. you can actually see it moving two other gears via the case back. cute... there's actually a FAQ on panerais on the web. paneristi is another site that has lots of information on panerai.

for now, this is the start of my path to get more straps. 2 are already on the way. ;)

some pics here.

itchy itchy itch...

and that was how the rockwool left me feeling...

it took around 35mins to "staple" each of the panel together. and it was a mess thereafter. had to vacuum up all the leftovers.

best recommended to be done in an airy place as the rockwool will cause some particles to be released into the air when compressed.

luckily for me, it was not too difficult squeezing the 2' x 4' rockwool panels into a slightly smaller frame.

the results when listening to just 2 panels are simply stunning... it really is the icing on the cake. i never knew bass had so much depth and layer. it is really worth the itch.

will see if i can mount these panels on the ceiling... was supposed to have one directly above the speakers and one directly above the sofa.

more pics here.