Dampening Coil Whine

Oooh ... That high pitch noise that is coming from the power adapter/brick of my SMSL class D amplifier, they are so annoying. Yes, coil whine. It is audible even from 6 feet away. The worse part of this all: this problem began on the 13th month after purchase. So no warranty claims here for me for a 12 month warranty only.

A replacement power adapter from SMSL is not cheap either. Quite hard to find too. A quote from the seller that sold me this amplifier says that it costs RM 100. A bit too steep for me. Plus there is no guarantee that the same thing will not happen again weeks or months down the road.

So what am I to do?

I did try a couple of things.

Obsolete, Discontinued - Canon EF-S 55-250mm IS STM

Oh what luck. Just when I have the budget to purchase the Canon EF-S 55 - 250mm IS STM lens, it is now obsolete. This was confirmed by an email by Canon Malaysia after I ask them about it.

Himalaya Nefrotec Side Effects?

For the last couple of days, my cat has been showing initial signs of cat constipation. Nothing serious but its there. This is something that has not happened for something like more than a year now. The only thing different that I've made over the last couple of weeks is that I have been giving my cat Himalaya Nefrotoec. Yes, problems with her urinary tract as described here.

Female Cat's Urinary Discharge

I found some white discharge with clumps of blood in my female cat's pee last Tuesday morning, 17th May 2022. I am obviously shocked and worried. What is this? Some infection in her urinary tract?

She was in heat about a week ago. A few days after that I started noticing a tinge of red in her urine. And then this discharge pictured above.

A Good Combination: Budget DAC + Fosi Pre-amp Tube-P1

The aim was to improve the audio playback quality of my existing hi-fi. The objective was to upgrade my budget DAC.

But believe it or not, I achieved my goal in the end by getting myself a budget friendly "Made In China" tube pre-amp instead, the Fosi Audio Tube-P1. The cost: about ⅛ of the price of a mid-range DAC.

With this pre-amp, my hi-fi audio experience is much better now. I can hear a lot of improvement. More rumbling bass, more thumping drums, better sound-stage and much better clarity. And mind you, I am just using the stock vacuum tubes that was included in the box, the China made 6K4. I don't think I will be upgrading to the GE5654 tubes. My ears are telling me that these 6K4 tubes are good enough. They are quite economical too.

Now, I have never owned nor have I experienced listening to mid-range or high-end DACs before. I'm sure these products can give much better sounding audio playback. But I do not have deep pockets. So, this Fosi Audio pre-amp addition will just have to do for now. For me at least.

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?