Blyth's Hawk-Eagle, I Think

I was having lunch one fine Sunday afternoon when this bird, pictured above, flew onto my next door neighbour's roof. I was obviously excited since this is my first sighting of this species.

Cat Fleas

Oh.... I just hate it. There are fleas on my cat. There hasn't been any since when she was a little kitten some 8 or 9 years ago. This grey and white stray cat pictured above. I blame it on him. There were none until he arrived. Me and my wife, we always chase him away when we see him. But he will always return the following day.

In the meantime, I have bought one of those flea treatment powder for my cat from Dinos Pet called " Dinos Tick & Flea Off Powder ". I did not use it as per instruction. Being weary of such products, I just a dabble a little here and a little there at places that my cat could not reach (ie. mostly around the back of the head and under the neck). So, not surprisingly, I can still see fleas crawling around my cat.

Brahminy Kites They Are Back

I thought them Brahminy Kites have left my neighbourhood last year. Guess I was wrong. They are back now. Just one initially a couple of months ago. But I can see a pair now, since last week. Not too sure if they are nesting yet. It would be nice if they do. In any case, welcome back.

Fascia Board Repair

It has been almost a month now and it looks like my repair work to my fascia board is holding. I think I deserve a pat on my back. Not perfect and a bit rough on the edges I know but this is what I'll get by working with what's at hand. What's left now is to have it painted in the right colour.

Zap, Pop And Smoke

I wonder if my 5 year old Canon SX530 HS camera is approaching its end of life. Last week, while trying to take some pictures of the fascia board that I have repaired, there was a zap, then a pop and a second later some smoke coming out from the top of my camera. I panicked, got anxious and then had that uneasy feeling.

A quick press on the Playback mode button shows that the captured photo was alright.

I took some more pictures just to satisfy my curiosity. No zap and pop this time. No smoke either. I previewed the pictures - they look alright.

So what went wrong? Where did the smoke come from?

Additional Technical Information For Dulux Timbercolour

If you were to read the Product Data Sheet for 'Dulux Timbercolour' under section "Pre-Application -> System Information", you will get the impression that a Primer coat is not needed when painting on a wooden surface. I assume "N/A" means "not applicable" here.

But from what little knowledge that I knew, a primer or at least an undercoat is needed to ensure good adhesion for the top coat.

Confused, I fired off a question to Dulux Malaysia. I got a reply a day later from Customer Care. They said that they didn't know either and they will get back to me once that get an explanation from RDI, whoever they are. I waited, and waited, and waited .... More than a month later, the said reply has yet to come.

I then sent off a question to Dulux Singapore since 'Dulux Timbercolour' is available for sale in Singapore too. I got a reply from them 3 days later and this is what they say:

Replacing The Leather Cup With A Plastic Cap In My Bicycle Pump

The leather cup valve in my bicycle pump broke. I can't get any build up in air pressure while trying to pump my tyre. This comes as no surprise as this pump is something like 30 years old maybe more.

I tried a quick fix by supporting the broken part of the leather cup with a piece of flimsy plastic. It worked for a while, but then there was a 'pop' and the leather cup is now in worse shape than before. A bigger tear now. Needless to say, it is now beyond repair. I was obviously disappointed.

I tried a couple of things as a fix but the cap of an old 35mm film canister, that has been lying around the house for years, did the job for me in the end, believe it or not.

Leathercraft Kit

My old wallet, that very wallet that has been me for something like 20 year - is crumbling. It is falling apart.

So one day last month, I had this silly idea about crafting a wallet of my own. It looks easy enough on Youtube. So I thought, why not? Besides, I already have some of the cutting tools and self-healing mat from my last crafting project. I craft them with leather, faux leather like PU/PVC or even by recycling a Tetra pack box. As long as it is functional, it does not matter.

DIY Deerma DX900/DX920 Sponge Filter

Vacuum cleaner filters, like car filters, will lose it effectiveness with usage and needs to be replaced regularly.

For some reason, the Deerma DX900/DX920 dust cup sponge filter is sold at an exorbitant price. The worse part, they are not even a Deerma original. The cheapest that I could find is from one seller from China at Shopee Malaysia. The price is at RM12.40 a piece, if I were to buy 1 unit, but at RM20.00 a piece if I were to buy 2 or more. One strange pricing scheme here. Why?

Not wanting to pay such an outrageous price, this is what I did in the end - I made them myself.

It took me about 2 weeks before making one that I find acceptable. Functionally, it works and it traps minute dust particles. Without blowing my own trumpet, I think they are as good as the one that came with the Deerma vacuum. Not perfect in my cutting (if only I know how to make those stamping die cutters) but they fit snugly into the dust cup. After using them a couple of times over the past month, I do find them quite usable. As far as I can tell, I don't think any dust particles did slip through the filter, either through it or via its side.

The cost per piece of my DIY vacuum dust cup sponge filter - about 50 sens (15 US cents) per piece.

Deerma DX900/DX920 Hack - Getting More Vacuuming Done

I have just bought myself a new vacuum cleaner last week, a Deerma DX900. A small, lightweight portable vacuum with good suction that is budget friendly to my pocket. Also, it is easy to clean and I do not get dust flying all over the place like before with my old vacuum cleaner. The build looks good and sturdy. A squarish to round converted is included in the package. So I have the option of connecting my pipes and nozzle from my older vacuum cleaner to my new one if need be (note: additional connectors and adapters needed). Or I can get additional vacuum accessories (brushes for example) when my need arise. Good.

There is one problem though. I find the perforated metal particle steel filter to be too small. It clogs up easily in less than 5 minutes of use, even faster when used in a very dusty part of the house. Just emptying the dust container will not help as once the steel filter is clogged up, I get practically no suction at all. A thorough cleaning of the steel filter is required when this happens. You can tell that there is poor or no suction when nothing is twirling around in the dust canister.