Peace...and The Peace Lily...

Sun 290309

The search for Peace in Lot 10 OFH never ends...

And this time around, the closest thing to Peace is the Peace Lily! Yup, it's one of those NASA air-purifying indoor plants. Saw a couple of pots a week ago in our local Giant but didn't quite appeal to us then. However, more such plants were spotted at Pacific Hyper in AS Mall last night.

You see, we were "enjoying" other ppl's air-con FOC after dinner while kinda participating partially in the "Earth Hour" on 28th March. And there were 5 potties of the Peace Lily aka the "Closet Plant" for sale! With such a wide choice, picking out one good pot of it was no problem...for RM9.99!

Here it is... now gracing our lounge area, replacing the Dracaena bought earlier...Next on the list? Probably the Spider Plant. Yup, another of those air-purifiers. Eyeing it for my comp room area. Dunno if it is available locally though.

Well, yesterday was also our usual COD. Yup, it's Chef's Off Day. Lunch was a simple Hokkien Mee & Econo Rice meal. The afternoon was filled with the roar of engines during the direct telecast of the 1st venue of this year's Formula 1 @ Melbourne, Australia. The "Qualifying" rounds. Race Day is today...Sun 290309. Dinner was almost limited to an indoor parking venue due to a sudden thunderstorm. Luckily it was a shortlived one and we could have our Chef's choice of Teochew porridge dinner with braised duck!

Cine Nite was a noisy but full of action affair. Punisher 3 War Zone. Bloody till the end! Ha ha!

Well, it's time for breakfast. Wonder what it is...Bye!

A fair weekend...

Sun 220309

Well, this time around, my "rollercoaster" ride in Life is ok lo...kinda smooth but with tiny ripples here & there. No dives, thankfully!

Yup, COD passed by pleasantly...ending with "The Day The Earth Stood Still" in Cine Nite session.

However, a little ripple appeared. Our Astro decoder started "spluttering" upon re-starting after it was switched off for the night before. 4 dashes blinking with nothing else! Nothing much was made of it till me decided to test if it was a fault or just a freak operational malady. And yup, it was a fault! There was no sign of any life in it whenever it was switched on. After numerous attempts at reviving it failed, me gave up & just left it be.

Wonder of wonders...it was up & going by itself after about 3 hrs! Like nothing ever happened! That was when curiosity really sort of killed the cat! Me intentionally switched it off. It was DEAD again! Left it alone and it sprung back to life in slightly more than 2 hours! Haunted? Nope. Something must be wrong with the power supply circuit.

2 options became apparent. One is to report its failure to Astro & get a replacement new unit (now a locally-made one...smaller in size, too!) @ RM76 on offer but the existing unit has to be surrendered to Astro. The other is to have it repaired ie if the cost of repair is less than a replacement unit...at least we are not saddled with a locally manufactured unit...of which I have my doubts of its quality.

So this morning, an enquiry was made at the nearest Astro agent. A repair of the power supply system would cost RM65. It was therefore decided to give the repair option a go. If it does NOT turn out fine, then we'd opt for the replacement. Well, let's see how it is & will be when we get it back later this afternoon...

Now for some good news. Our little feathered friends in the nest are almost fully grown now. Fully feathered. Kinda blurry pic of them in the nest...

During my later peeping interference, the 2 baby birds literally "flew" out of their nest! But because they were not that strong yet, they landed just a short distance away on our porch floor. Here is one of them...

The other was stronger, landed further away and when checked later, it was gone...good for him/her! Merdeka!

Well, me had to help the weaker one back into its nest & hopefully, its parents would nurse it till its strong enough to join its sibling soon. At the time of writing this, it's still in its nest and its parents are still around...

Our new collection of indoor "air purifiers" had a new addition. A Dracaena plant, if not wrong, aka a Warneckei plant...Dracaena Deremensis, according to my Google results. It replaced the vase of "money" plants which were subsequently moved to another location.

The Warneckei...Btw, the pot decor is my very own...hehe...unique, ain't it? Ha ha!

Have a great new week ahead, ok? Me? Thankful to have had another bonus week...

UPDATE @ 6:20pm :
1. The Nest : Just a while earlier, it was noticed that our porch suddenly had an uncanny silence. No more chirping nor any kind of bird sounds. The parent birds were mysteriously missing. Once again curiosity got the better of me...I took another peep. Guess what? What me saw was just an empty nest! No more baby birds. Not even a feather!

Pic shows the empty nest...now removed from within the bamboo plant.

Guess our "babies" have finally grown up, flew away & left the nest...Good for them! Have a great life, guys!

2. Our Astro decoder was collected just before 5pm. And, when tested at the shop, it was working fine again! The display lit up on connection to a power supply socket and reception was smooth. RM65 changed hands & our unit was soon back in its ole location...ready to serve the inmates of Lot 10 OFH. And it's playing its role just fine...entertaining these 2 ole inmates...like nothing ever happened to it! Tested switching it on & off a couple of times. No prob. Phew!

So another not so good day ended well & fine. Like the saying goes...all that's well that ends well...or something like that...hehe....

Dwindling last generation...

Sat 210309

A sad day had just passed. We had just lost one more of my other half's elders...her 5th Aunt. News of her demise reached us only on the day after her passing. She had gone peacefully at about 5:30pm on Thur 190309. The wake was held at the Mount Erskine Funeral Parlour in Penang. We will miss visiting her on CNY 2010. May she rest in peace...

As we always do, upon hearing such sad news, we made a special trip to Penang to attend the wake. The next morning (this morning) was the funeral day.

When we crossed the Pg Bridge, it was almost lunch time. And as my other half's cousin's place was just near the bridge, we decided to drop by for a visit. The last time we had visited her family was on her birthday. We were treated to a nice home-cooked meal. Thanks a meg, TCP & Unc L!!

While we're having lunch, the sky practically rained cats & dogs! For more than an hour! We managed to leave for the wake location at about 3pm. We spent time with the eldest son & fmly of our 5th Aunt till about 6pm. We met the 2nd son as we were about to leave the place.

On our way back, we were faced with 2 bad traffic jams...1 when going towards Scotland Road and the other towards the bridge itself. It took us about 2 hours to travel from the Mount Erskine area to the mainland side of the Penang Bridge! Phew! We would have reached home in A/Star in that time span...and would even have time leftover to rest!!

Dinner was simple. A stopover at SP South solved that problem...not to say that was a problem...hehe...
Reached Lot 10 in time for my other half to watch her 2nd WLT serial. Ha ha!

Well, in every dark cloud there is always a silver lining...yup, our March "pocket" money from good ole "Kay Pa" came right on schedule! On 200309. No earlier this time tho. Now, both inmates of Lot 10 OFH can heave a sigh of relief for another month...hehe...

And that augurs well for today. And yup, it's one more COD! Dinner was announced by the Chef to be @ Lot 7 with our fav Sate side order!

Other than that, everything else is still a mystery... sorry...

New replaces the old...

Thu 190309

Hi...

Remember my re-potting the 2 Lady Palm plants from our porch into 2 smaller pots for indoor decor...in the update for my 180309 post? Yup, that left their original big pot empty...

Well, it was decided not to let that pot be empty...a sight for sore eyes...in the porch!

So we went hunting again...hehe...for a suitable replacement. If possible a bunch of bigger, yet not too big, Lady Palms.

And, after coming up empty at a new nursery along Jalan Langgar, we re-visited our regular near our Taman. There were many but all too huge...and way too expensive, too! After some "digging" around, we found one. Hidden away among the numerous others. Offered at RM30 at first, it was reduced to RM25 and finally to RM20! Most were kinda pricey at RM40 & above!

That bundle of a few Lady Palms needed some pruning & re-potting before one can call it a decent plant set! Here it is...after all my efforts...two views :

Not too bad, right? What you don't see is what's underneath the soil. I had to cut off the bundle of interconnecting parts (rhizomes) into separate lots...a couple of plants ended up without any roots of their own, being offshoots from the bigger plants. Let's hope they do produce their own roots soon & continue to survive on their own...

Will keep their progress updated in this Blog...

Btw, me bought something new in the market...hehe...a packet of Aqua Easy Bag (S) by Baba, containing 3 small-sized bags...to help in saving time, effort & water in maintenance of potted plants.

Before use, one needs to soak the packets in water for 10-20 minutes and then only embedding them @45 degrees in the soil at root level. By so doing, watering is only needed once a week.

Me put one bag each in the outdoor big Lady Palm pot and the smaller one indoors. Let's see if they do help this lazy guy...hehe...

This S-sized pack cost slightly less than RM10. The Large-sized pack cost almost RM20.

Well, that about ends the happenings to these 2 old inmates of Lot 10 OFH...

Hopefully, "Kay Pa" is as reliable & on time as always...tomorrow is uknowat day! Haha! Yup, that special day of each month! Manikam (Moneycome) Day! Will know by tonight...

A greener & "cleaner" home?

Wed 180309

Yup, attention is now shifted to the flora around Lot 10 OFH...kinda improving the greenery within the premises and hopefully, also improving the "quality" of the air in it...

Yup, a little curiosity & inquisitiveness brought all that about...instead of having artificial plants & flowers around, it was felt that Lot 10 would be lots more "cool" & natural with REAL plants!

For a change, our vase of artificial "roses" were replaced by this...

Now, don't you agree that that looks so much better? Yup, using the same vase, we put in a bunch of "Money" plants...hehe...the variegated leaves do give some colour & contrast, right?

The next step. Yup, it was recently reported in a local newspaper article (me also did some checking around in the Net...) that certain plants do have special properties eg some do act as "air purifiers" ie they are able to remove certain pollutants/toxic gases from the air around us. And that is according to a research done by NASA...not some grandmother's story! In fact there are 10 such plants that are in the so-called Top Ten.
Quote :

NASA and the Associated Landscape Contractors of America (ALCA) have announced the findings of a 2-year study that suggest a sophisticated pollution-absorbing device: the common indoor plant may provide a natural way of helping combat “SICK BUILDING SYNDROME”.

One of them is the Sansevieria plant aka Snake Plant or Mother-in-law's Tongue. And so it was that the hunt was on...

Yup, we found a few nice samples of the Sansevieria plant at a nearby plant nursery...we bought a couple and they were potted accordingly...

This was the larger of the two that we bought. RM12 & the pot also for RM12. Nice?

Placed at the entrance to our lounge area.
This is the 2nd plant. Found a suitable corner for it in our kitchen. Hopefully it will clear whatever toxic fumes that may pollute our chef's domain...and keep our food "clean"? Ha ha!

Finally one other important location in Lot 10...yup, our sleeping quarters! Our master bedroom. Yup, we got one Sansevieria to keep our room air "pure"...hehe...in a special pot, too! A look-alike gunny sack? From our local Giant hypermarket.
Placed right behind our heads on our bed's headboard top, it should "filter" & "purify" whatever air that is within inhaling distance, right?

Well, there are 9 other types of plants recommended by NASA (Do a Google for it if you are interested). To save you a bit of bother, below is the list of the best air cleaning plants as determined by NASA.

(You can also check out these links : http://www.zone10.com/tech/NASA/Fyh.htm or http://www.humeseeds.com/purify.htm ).

These plants remove formaldehyde, benzene, and carbon monoxide from the air.

Common Name --- Scientific Name
Bamboo Palm --- Chamaedorea Seifritzii
Chinese Evergreen ---Aglaonema Modestum
English Ivy --- Hedera Helix
Gerbera Daisy --- Gerbera Jamesonii
Janet Craig --- Dracaena "Janet Craig"
Marginata --- Dracaena Marginata
Mass cane/Corn Plant --- Dracaena Massangeana
Mother-in-Law's Tongue --- Sansevieria Laurentii
Pot Mum --- Chrysantheium morifolium
Peace Lily --- Spathiphyllum "Mauna Loa"
Warneckii --- Dracaena "Warneckii"
However, to my knowledge, the Sansevieria is by far the easiest obtainable, cheapest & a plant that needs the least care with minimal sunlight, too!! What more can a lazy guy like me with "intro AD" ask for?

NASA's recommendation is roughly one 6 inch plant for 100 sq ft of interior space OR 15 to 18 good-sized houseplants in an 1,800-square-foot home. Maybe me should look around for the other 9 types of plants. Can't have a house full of only Sansevieria, correct? Would be monotonous & yu-kno-wat!

So, when are you gonna "purify" the air in your own home?

UPDATE @ 2:45pm : These itchy and, hopefully green fingers, just couldn't stay still after making the above entry! The mind worked... & worked...and so did the fingers. Ha ha! 2 small Lady Palms that were growing so slowly in a rather huge pot outside in our porch, looked kinda miniature in their huge pot.

And so it was decided to re-pot / transplant them into 2 separate pots...

Now, don't they look better & more "comfy" in their own smaller-sized pots?
Only hope that whatever damage done to the root system during the re-potting process, would not harm the plant proper. Only time can tell...

Parental love & care...

Mon 160309

Feeding time! Yup, me was lucky this morning to chance upon the parents of the young birds growing in the nest among our bamboo tree branches. Pls see my entry of yesterday...

And yup, 2 adult birds were flying up & down in the direction of the nest. The moment they noticed me (esp when I moved...), they flew up to the roof of the neighbouring house. So me waited patiently...hardly moving then...

And my patience was rewarded! Below are pics I managed to snap of the birds bringing food in their beaks for their young...



The couple...way up high on the roof of my neighbour's house.Then...one step nearer & closer...still cautious...on the air-con external unit of my neighbour.


And finally, on the swing next to the bamboo trees...

And still closer...can you see the bird in the marked inserted red rectangular box?

Yup, the above (last) pic was the nearest snapshot me could get! Phew!

There were 2 of them but pls don't ask me which was which...the dad or the mom? No way me could make out either one...haha!
So sorry but it was impossible for me to snap a pic of either bird feeding its brood in the nest...

Well, that was my accomplishment for the morning. A good start for the new week ahead.

Time for breakfast now...hehe...

But before I go, here's a bit of good news! My complaints to Maxis custcare line appeared to have bore fruit. Yup, I can now access all 3 channels of my subscribed base pack of the Astro Mobile TV on my hp. However, the AEC channel is NOT the same as the one on our Astro TV & it appears to be a repetitive transmission! I accessed it last night, this morning and just now...guess what? I kept on getting the same show!! So far the CNN channel is the only one worth the while to access & watch... a few mins delayed but the same as on the real Astro CNN!

CU...bye!

UPDATE on 170309 @09:10am : A better pic of the parents "snapped" on their visit this morning...sincere apologies tho coz this is the best me could do with my N73 hp cam with full zoom.@11:20am : And the "babies" now...

My! How they've grown...lots of feathers now! Soon they'll be saying, " I can fly...I can fly..."

Supporting Nature...& Life...

Sun 150309

Yup, it was abt a week or more ago that me noticed a bird frequenting one of the bamboo plants in our porch. However, that was dismissed as nothing unusual coz Lot 10 is often & regularly visited by friends of the feathery kind...

Well, me had a peep the other day ( just can't remember when tho...), and walla! Guess what me saw...a completed bird's nest well & propertly constructed deep within the leaves & branches of the bamboo plant!Pics above show the nest (a) partially hidden by the leaves of the bamboo plant and (b) a close-up shot of the nest! At that time me didn't think of snapping any pics of the eggs inside to post here.. *sorry*

And, as the days passed, me could see the visits by one particular bird increasing in frequency! So today me decided to have a closer look. Wow! On parting the leaves slightly apart, me caught a glimpse of a brownish little head with a beak poking out from within the nest! Yup, it was a baby bird! Probably thought it was the mummy bringing home food...

Appeared like there were two of the little ones...one more active than the other! This time me took pics...hehe...enjoy looking at the little ones lo...

No worries...me support such beautiful creatures of nature. So, it is without doubt that these beautiful baby birds will continue to develop till they are able to fly away...

On the hi-tech side...although kinda delayed...it was discovered (kinda by accident) 2 days ago (on 130309) that our housing area has now 3G coverage by the telco, Maxis! It's more than a year since 3G was introduced to Alor Star! But like the saying goes...better late than never, right? Frankly, I've been using a 3G hp all this while without 3G services...

So me thought that this was as good a time as any to take advantage of an offer for Astro Mobile TV services. A basic pack of 3 Astro channels for RM9.90/mth.

Subscribing was no prob. The issue that was so apparent was that out of the 3 channels, me could only access ONE channel!! After trying numerous times, it was confirmed so. A call was made to Custcare of Maxis Hotlink. I was then sent new configuration setup for 3G cos it was assumed that that was the most likely cause. However, it wasn't. A second call to Custcare. I was told that it's probably a technical hitch by the service provider, namely Astro. So a report would be lodged and hopefully, the relevant ppl would contact me in a few days time...

The wait begins...however, me not very hopeful of any concrete improvements. Appears not many responses nor subscribers to this mobile TV service...

Finally, Saturday 140309 was a good day. A good COD passed. Cine Nite culminated with the movie "Madagascar 2". Good, light entertainment. Somehow felt the first movie was better tho. What do you think?

Well, another week is gonna be over soon. 5 more days before $$ from our "Kay Pa" comes along. So until then, this ole bird's wings are kinda clipped!

Have a great new week ahead...Be safe always!

A simple mod...

Wed 110309

So sorry but feel it's better to start a new post than to add another update to my earlier post. Yup, this way it would further re-assure all & sundry that me am still around & kicking today, so to say...haha! Another bonus day?

And yup, me had just done a simple modification to the spring actuating lever of the new micro-switch just replaced for our autogate motor. The part (circled item in pic below) is taken from the old replaced item.If we look back at the pic of the new micro-switch in my post a day earlier, it could be seen that the spring lever ended in a small plastic knob...just only slightly bigger than the diameter of the spring itself. Now, that created some problems with its on-off switching functions due to its much smaller size & resulting smaller contact area.

Now, with the above modification, it's back to its previous normal operating efficiency & capability! Hip hip hooray! *cheers*

Btw, we finally managed to carry out what we were gonna do before we were sadly interrupted by the "Autogate Incident". Yup, we went to our local Tesco & re-stocked those running-low items...and had our missed "walk-walk" session as well...hehe...

Life is back to normal now @Lot 10. Excuse me, it's time for my breakfast...

Another downturn?

Tue 100309

Yup, 2009 is full of surprises! Unfortunately, they have been more of the wrong kind...or rather the UNwanted kind...

And yup, my "rollercoaster ride" in Life has changed direction once again. Hopefully it's just a minor dip. Frankly, what had happened could have been much worse...considering. So, I'm kinda momentarily encouraged to hope for better times ahead.

Well, it hapened yesterday - 090309. It did start kinda like a good day. I had sms-ed my good wishes & greetings to my fav grandson on the occasion of his birthday...here I go again...Happy Birthday, dear J!! So sorry yr grandpa could not share that special day with you in person due to reasons only your dad can explain. However, do feel assured that your grandpa was with you in thoughts that day till this unfortunate event occured...which took my thoughts away from you...

Yup, we had just come back from replenishing our supply of RO water from a nearby RO dispensing machine. And, as planned, me wanted to take my other half for a walk-walk session at the local Tesco as well as to re-stock a few items which were running low.

My other half was waiting in the car. I re-entered the car after taking in the bottles of RO water. As is always done, I then engaged reverse gear & started moving (luckily slowly...) backwards out of our porch. A loud "Poang!!"... coupled with metallic sounds of our autogate! OMG! Was the gate still closed? It was! Unfortunately so...

I moved the car forward and both got down to inspect the damage. The metal autogate was pushed out of its tracks! Luckily our gate had a hinged part and therefore it was just pushed outwards at the hinges. The only visible damage was to the end of the gear tracks for the autogate motor...the toothed bar was bent in the direction as indicated in the pic below :
Using an ole trusty hammer, I managed to straighten the bar back into its original position ... more or less. That was the least of my worries, though.

Yup, damage to our only mode of transport? Our good ole PS. How was it? Me just had a nasty case of a shattered windscreen recently. Thank God it was none the worse...most probably due to the more mobile gate which moved outwards on impact...thus saving our car from any harm!! That was a good, even great feeling!! Or else it would have been a double tragedy!

However, that good feeling was kinda shortlived. On closer inspection, it was found that on impact, the micro-switch spring lever, that actuated the on-off functions of the autogate motor, was totally broken off!

The first pic shows the front of the autogate motor w/o the actuator micro-switch spring lever and the 2nd pic shows the broken off spring lever with its rubber cover.

A replacement appeared to be the only solution...after me had tried to improvise my own "repair" but failed miserably!

Well, for now, it appears that our autogate is now temporarily a "manual" sliding gate.

To cut short the developments in this little "saga", a rep from the autogate supplier & installer had inspected the damage & confirmed that a replacement micro-switch is possible but unfortunately he did not have any in stock at the moment. However he will order for one but that will take a couple of days...

Rainy days appear to be here. So here's hoping that the replacement would be done soon & Lot 10 can be back to its normal safe & peaceful existence once again soon...

Wish us luck, won't you? Thanks...

ps. As me told my other half...in the midst of all the emotions...the above incident is just an example of many that we all have to go through in Life...solutions are purely monetary. They should be considered as minor incoveniences and should not be allowed to interfere with our overall quest for happiness in Life. Remember the "10/90 Philosophy" thingey?

UPDATE @1:20pm : Great news! The supplier rep found a new replacement micro-switch in stock!! Lucky me!! Now our autogate is back up & working normally again ...and yup, with its characteristic loud "bump" on closing each time lo...hehe...

Pic shows new micro-switch installed!

And all for only RM90! Including labour charges. That's what me call real good service...and truly so at such bad times! Thanks a meg, Ah J!!

PEACE is back at Lot 10...

On hindsight - the positives...

Thu 050309

Hi...nothing interesting has happened these past few days. Lot 10 OFH has been peaceful & quiet. Which is good, right? Of course, there's lots in the political arena. However, this is NOT a political Blog. So, here's an entry just for anyone willing to ponder...

Yup, it's about plain ole "hindsight".

And yup, with "hindsight" or when one does look back in time, it is felt that one can see situations & incidents in a clearer & more positive light. Agreed?

Let's look at a few incidents that have been mentioned in this Blog...

1. The "disrespectful & ungrateful son" incident :

The negative : The sadness, frustration & deep hurt of being shocked by words & actions of a son we thought we knew differently...

The positive : We thank God for opening our eyes & showing us the kind of person that that son has turned into...someone we don't know anymore...kinda better late than never ever knowing, right?

2. The sad demise of our beloved cousin, TKS :

The negative : The sorrow & loss of someone close...

The positive : A blessing in disguise...God's answer to her prayers? For eternal peace?

3. The car bumper hitting the pillar while parking our car :

The negative : The heart "sinking" & damage to bumper. Loss of $$...

The positive : A reminder to be always on the alert...no matter how simple the task may be!

4. My recent car windscreen shattering while travelling along the highway :

The negative : The shock & inconvenience at time of incident, not forgetting the expenses incurred.

The positive : An improvement to future car & passengers' safety ie now the car has a new & better windscreen...no more fear of shattering with laminated windscreen!

Well, me can go on & on with other incidents in my life...but not gonna bore you anymore...hehe.... enough examples, right?

My point is this...with "hindsight" & looking back in a calm & rational way, we will always be able to see the good, or at least the better side, of any incident or event. True?

And yup, if we could only always remember to keep our cool, pause & look for the silver lining in any dark cloud that may hover over our heads, even at unexpected times, we would always be rewarded with a better & happier feeling. And, of course, so much less stress & a better life...

Over to you...

In the meantime, do enjoy the moment!! Life is short. And any minute lost in those negative thoughts & feelings would be lost forever...
Being positive is the only way to go forward! Have a great & positive weekend!

A new addition...

Mon 020309

Yup, that itchy hand of mine finally got "scratched" & the itch is gone!

And yup, I've been itching to get a DVD player that supports mpeg4 / DivX format videos / movies... and especially one with a USB port. Yup, features found in DVD players have increased by leaps & bounds, compared with the 1st Sony DVD player that me bought years back!

This new player that me just bought comes with a host of features not found in my Sony. And it cost a lot less, too! That Sony player cost me over RM600, believe it or not! And this one, branded as Inotec, is only RM69.90!! So much more compact in size. Almost 10X cheaper with more features...even a digital audio output socket! Phew....
It comes with the usual accessories eg remote control unit, AV cables & owner's manual. However, one needs to buy 2X AA batteries for the remote unit.

Two models were available for that price...a V5 and a V6. Of course, me chose the V6! Wouldn't you? 'Cause normally a V6 is an upgraded model of V5, correct? Certainly hope so...

And the V6 has blue LEDs lighting up its control buttons as well as its disc tray! A nice cool blue glow to set the mood, don't you think so?

Of course, there's the question of "Quality & Reliability". But nowadays, who cares? Right? As long as it play every disc that you put in & this one even reads from your thumb /flash drive!! Yup, a USB socket is provided...right in its front panel! Works, too!!
Above pic : The on-screen start up display.

Btw, the unit comes with also a 1-year warranty. So should it fail, one can afford to buy NINE more! Ha ha!

Well, me had played & tested this Inotec player since buying it a couple of days ago (on 28th Feb) and it has kept up to all my expectations. For Rm69.90, it's certainly a jewel of a player! Probably it's one of those "Made in China" products but with a Malaysian label...tons of such products in the market these days.

Have you got one of these? Good? Any complaints?

Update @3.30pm :

Surprise! Surprise! The Inotec DVD player models (both the V5 & V6) are being sold at the Pacific Hypermarket in AS Mall for RM89.90...RM20 more that I'd paid for it at the branch in Star Parade!! Now, ain't I lucky that I'd bought mine from Star Parade? Poor communications? Different pricing for same chain of stores?
Well, your guess is as good as mine...