gangeshertz

Table / Table Top use for eating should NOT & NEVER be made of glass, they don't look tough, very fragile and fake unless you choose to have your 'rice-bowl' get shattered! Nothing will beat the following: Best Table Top should be made of natural material. Why natural stuff? Because if they get scratches, we can rectify it. They are 100 times tougher than glass top. Do yourself a simple drop test. Drop a glass of 250ML water from a ceiling height onto your glass table top, both glass will shattered. Drop a bottle of your favourite liquor (XO?) onto granite top from 10 storey high, you will find your liquor all over the place. If still not convinced, throw a few bottles of tiger beer and see what the outcome? Best will be Natural Granite Top - 2nd will be Natural Marble Top 3rd will be Wood (Wood type depends on the price you willing to pay) For Support: Best - will be coming from same material, e.g. for Natural Stone, the support should be made of that Stone. 2nd - Stone Top support by Metal legs (First and Last Choice - Solid Stainless steel support) 3rd - Stone Top support by Wooden Legs (best if you can find a trustworthy wood trader and get him to sell you genuine Chengal (1st choice) or Kapoh (2nd Choice). And then get a good carpenter to help customise the support for your stone top. Chengal or Kapoh are the only wood that 'love' water; they are getting rarer and rarer hence the high cost. They are use to build midsize boat or ferry. In Singapore a lot of aquarium hobbyists uses these wood to support their large size fish tank which can weight up to more than a ton. So what is that piece of Granite Top? The unique feature of these wood type is the more the wood 'touches' water, the stronger they are, unlike those teak wood or any bedframe or sofa frame wooden structure. **beware of saleman telling you that theirs are genuine marble aka natural marble. Cultured (man-made) marble will give a warmer feel even you are in air-con area. In an air-coned showroom, natural marble or granite top should give you a cooler feel when you use your palm to feel it. Best if you request the salesman to politely stand aside first while you examine the product. Unless you like to talk to people/salesman who doesn't even know what they are selling & get coned by them. The only disadvantage is natural stone is 'afraid' of coloured dye from fruit or spices like curry gravy, red wine, etc. Because stone surface is quite porous, red wine, or juices from mangosteen will seep into them.

Screw on type - this means the cap base is E27. This type of lighting is different from PL-C or PL-L. E27, or E14 concept will not need any ballast. Its electronic circuit is already in-built inside the bulb. E27 concept will be much better but the cost of the bulb will be slightly higher compare to PL-C bulb. A Panasonic PLC 18 watts bulb cost about $2.90 (the cheapest i can find) A Philips E27 base 5 watts about $3.50 (the cheapest i can find) Life span wise, PLC (non-integrated) beats E27 (integrated). There was one time, Philips built the worst first energy saver CFL bulb with a magnetic ballast built-in inside the bulb - this bulb so far has the longest lifespan of more than 10 to 15 years. So philips being a victim of his own success, immediately stop such product because no one will change bulb if theirs is still working (although, it takes a while for such bulb to lighten up fully - like those you found in badminton hall or your school sport hall). So those E27 bulbs you saw in the shop don't expect them to last for 10 years already. Philips technology team can built long lasting bulbs but this will hurt their business strategy. China made bulbs and those mixed brands will last about 1 year or last.

Hi Seashell - Yes you are right. For PL-C lighting fixture, if you install those without glass cover, it will be brighter and also have other advantages like the ease of installation without damaging your false ceiling or L-Box. It also allow you to change the wattage of the bulb (provided you install a higher wattage ballast). Those with glass cover matted surface will somehow block the direct casting of the light spectrum hence reducing the brightness, hence the manufacturer has worked around this by pairing 2 tubes. So usually those "covered" ones comes with 2 tubes. PL-C (aka known TC-D) is a short form for "Philips Linear - Compact". This fluorescent lamp is a 2 pin type. The common wattage found in most light shops are 10,13,18 watts. Seldom we see 26 watts. To power such lights, we need a magnetic ballast. How we can match the type of ballast to the type of tubes? After using PLC lamp for 15 years, also doing a bit of research on such lamps, I have the following observations: Of course, the electrician and the manufacturer of the ballast will advise you to match x wattage to x wattage; meaning both must be equal. For 10 w tube to match with 10 w ballast. My observation - practical experience based on 15 years usage. Scenario A = 13 wattage ballast + 13 watt bulb = good match, no issue, long life span, 1 or 2 fickle, bulb will deliver its stated lumens rating. Scenario B = 13 wattage ballast + 10 watt bulb (Diff is 3 watt) = no issue (life span of bulb is equally as long as above), same number of fickle observed. Scenario C =13 wattage ballast + 18 watt bulb = still can light up, brightness improve, it will take more fickles before it can light up. Lifespan shorter due to the numerous fickle. Conclusion - So if you will need to install 18 watt light tube, i advise you to fix a 18 watt ATCO ballast. Based on the above experiment, i believe to power up an 13 watt ballast with a 18 wattage will be ok but i feel the lifespan will be shorter compare to Scenario B because the wattage difference is 5 watts (higher than scenario B) All types of lighting elements will have lifespan include those HID, metal halide lamp and LED as long as there is fickle, it will have a lifespan. By turning on and off - it consider one 'fickle' Same to those LED TV, will have lifespan too.

Hi all, recently i posted a very good thread, unfortunately, it was not being published out. I wrote to administrator, they also never reply. Anyway to deal with this?

not acceptable. They must redo the whole thing.

Hello All - I like to share my experience with all of you. So that moving forward, you will not make the similar mistakes that me and my wife have overlooked. 1. For those installing Split Unit Air Cons > When engaging any contractor, ask him about his roles and responsibilities. If he did tell you he is the only one managing the whole things for you, then please ensure that he also does the coordinating and also ensure the air-con man and technician do the right things for you (doing things right is no no for home owners because these people takes short cuts). >Be very sure the materials they (the air-con salesperson) introduced & supplied to you are the SAME when they bring on the day they install the aircon, also ensure you and your contractor together with that aircon salesperson to go through where you want to lay or run the aircon trunking. Remember this golden rule - All contractors, electricians, plumbers, technicians, painters, tilers, carpenters, etc, etc will ALWAYS take SHORT CUTS to finish the JOB FAST & convenient to them. So whatever they suggest to you, you and your Spouse must ensure that it make sense to you & must not compromise the design and the outlook of your end product. > Also let them know where do you want to install the blower units. Last but not least you must be around during the installation of aircon trunking. Before letting them kick start the installation, inspect the materials first. If they bring anything wrong or not tally (with the written invoice) to what you have specifically ordered, get them to send back and re-schedule the installation date. Be firm. 2. Installing Data Network points > If you have specifically tell the contractor that you will be running a Cat 6 infrastructure, please ensure that those connectors and keystones they supply to you are meant & designed for Cat 6 cables. I have very bad experiences that those keystones & connectors they used are meant for Cat5. In the end, less than 50% passed the continuity test. > Get the electrician to tell you the brand or manufacturer for that Cat 6 drum they going to use. Do not use those made in China type. All these cables will be permanently installed as fixture in your flat or condo, etc. So use a fine grade cables. > Once they patched the connections, ensure they do cable testing and you must be around. > For those who build network point onto or into your built in study desk, get them to show you how they exact run these sensitive cables. Most contractors took short cut and they treat these data cables like those normal thick copper wires and bend them & squeeze them into the built-in furniture. > You must get them to tell you where you intend to run & how you like it to run because these electrician always open the shortest path first by hacking into wall and they do not care if there are too many exposed trunking being used to house these data cables. So walk around your house, your rooms, store room, etc and see how the existing copper wires being ran by HDB or by the housing developers for private properties. Do this planning in advance before the actual installation date. 3. Installation downlights or recessed lighting points. >If you are going to use the downlight concept, again you must let your contractors/electrician know the exact locations on where to install them. Do them let them free play. > plan the switching pattern based on your lifestyle and living habit. Do you like to have a 2 way switch pattern so that you can turn them on in Dining room and switch them off when are **** room for e.g. > Get the electrician or contractors to show you what brand they proprosed. Ask the contractor or electrician to spell out the black and white and both you and him sign. you Keep the original and he keep the copy. Don't just based on contractor quote saying that my electician will bill you separately. No no. > When to install them? Normally all these lights must only be installed after the false ceiling are completed and well painted with sealer and white emulsion paint. Ensure your electrician do the installation after the ceiling people completed their job. You will ask me why me ensure these people? Should be contractor right? If you trust your contractor, go ahead as i mentioned in point 1, they all are in the same boat who love cutting corners. These people are very slippery fishes. > During the installation date, please be present. Check how your electrician do the first unit of your downlights. If your downlights are circular type, ensure your electrician use a proper tools to cut a nice circle shape; must not use those normal small hack saw and simply cut a square shape. If your electrician is doing this, he must also be a good at plastering the false ceiling. Do you think electrician can do a good job in plastering the big hole which is opened so wide due to improper usage of tool? They are specialising in electrical wiring work, not plastering walls or plumbing jobs. So stop your electrician if he is NOT using the right tool to do the job. Call your contractor to come down if he is not on site. > imaging this: If he is going to patch that hole near your brand new downlight, the chances of white plaster or paint touches your downlight is very high even they uses tape to mask out the area. But i can tell you that if the Owner is not present during the installation, they will hack care. 4. Installation of all switches and 13 Amp sockets. > If really your contractor's electrican is going to bill you. Normally contractor will give you a rough quotes e.g. saying that one 13A point is about $55 per point. Tell your contractor or electrician that you are also interested to know what brand they are using, $55 per point for a China made brand is not a good deal. Legrand switch or MK ranges will be a better choice and if you google them, you can in fact buy the parts you like and pass to your contractor/electrician to install them. So the above quotation must change to cheaper because you supply the raw materials. If your electrician spoils them or scratch them, they must buy the same replacement part number at their cost. Take down all these mistakes they have created. There are a lot more to share with all of you. i will slowly write them down during my free time. 5. Installation of wash basin in toilet 6. Installation of Pdoors/Aluminium windows frame 7. Installation of large size fish tank 8. Installation of built in wardrobe 9. Installation of built in kitchen cabinet 10. Installation of TV console or feature walls for your AV devices like LED TV, etc.

The key differences: MNC - Benefits usually are better - a lot of approvals need to be sought to do very minor thing. Email approval only e.g."Approve, Yes, Ok" Some didnt even read your justification and they approved blindly. - a lot Processes and Policies. - Compulsory Web-based compliance training to be attended - You will not see the layer 0 (CEO) and layer 1 to 2 executives as they are classify the 'gods' - a lot of unnecessary reports to be generated. - A mixture of qualified employees and 'good-for-nothing' fishes including most bosses. Most big bosses will introduce their 'friends' into his or her own team hence creating gang or groups in case there is a 'game' to play. - game here as in politics. A very good place to be learn how to be a dam good 'politician' or if not victim. - have proper escalation process. - CEOs or any senior management for that region e.g. APJ, SEA or EMEA will send out e-greeting to people when there is a public holiday such as Chinese New Year. - You will NEVER received any personalised email from CEO unless you are in the 'gods' groups. - CEO and gods will NOT be able to attend your farewell party or lunches. Probably just reply your farewell email with "Good Luck" or "All the best" if you BCC your farewell email to them. Some will just delete them away because they don't even know you! Small setup, SMEs - Benefits less attractive - lesser levels of approvals need to e.g. buying printer toner. Just an sms from the registered owner of the shop, firm is sufficient. - lesser internal processes and some (whose clients are govt related) will grumble a lot about the required procedures set by some statutory boards, etc -" how come CxF, M*M, H*B so troublesome one, why hah???" - no formal training on company policy, perhaps just some face to face meeting and some notes for your to read and normally you will not read them. - you will always see your big boss face sometime happy, sometime bad mood, sometime tab your shoulder, etc... - less stringent on weekly or monthly reports unless some kind of complains from customers or when the sales are not doing well. - The big boss usually hire "5 star general" compare to MNC hiring so many soldiers. But the 5 star general usually work like mad horse. 5 star general meaning very capable people. - no formal escalation process. Even cleaner auntie will walk straight to the big boss and complain. - boss will hand over ang pow personally to you during chinese new year. - you will always received emails directly from your boss chasing after you for something. - Boss will throw a farewell dinner for you and most bosses will charge the bill under company as "Entertainment Expenses" Only one similarity - Both are just a job, even you have their stock options, so what. Even CEO can be get rid off! Remember if you work for someone, after you signed the letter of employment - an agreement which make both parties an employer and employee status only, it is just a JOB only.

Hello PorkyPig, all, human nature is like that, when or the moment when we asked a question like that, the 'natural' first instinct is a No, a negative answer. Why? because you are not convinced, you are skeptical, you have fear. So just trust your natural instinct - that is all our secret power given to all of us human. Any route/path/direction/decision we have decided to choose to go, there bound to have obstacles. The differences between a contract and a perm role differ very much on individual's goal (aka WHAT YOU WANT?). If his or her goal is **to do something they love to do, they will NOT bother much about benefits, status, title, distance, working hours, etc, etc, in short overcome all these fears because the level of your 'wants' superceded the fear factors. **to work in a premises, a company branding they love to be at or proud to be in **to work for a boss that they feel great to serve or someone they respect ** to pick up a skill and later move on to do something (set up your own firm) The only similarity between a contract and a permanent position is : They are just a job. For job seekers - your reason of leaving a contract role - you should never just tell your future employer, interviewer or headhunter or recruitment consultant that "it is a contract, contract ending, looking for a perm" For headhunters, hiring managers, in house recruiters, HR folks - you should further question them " why your contract is not renewed, why you choose not to renew or continue, did you resigned, if yes why."