| Codecs | |
|---|---|
| Philips HTL9100 soundbar | SBC |
| Ugreen BT 5.4 2-in-1 T&R | SBC, AAC |
| Baseus Bowie D05 headphone | SBC, AAC |
| Logitech BT Adapter | SBC |
| Jabra Evolve 65 SE headset | SBC |
| Table lamp speaker | SBC |
| 61-key Foldable Piano | SBC |
| Mooncake box speaker | SBC |
Oops, only SBC and at most AAC.
SBC is generally good enough for casual listening.
LDAC is the current state-of-the-art High Fidelity Bluetooth audio, but only when it is using 990 kbps. At 330 kbps, it is worse than SBC.
Previously the fan for my Daikin MA56EV16 outdoor unit was always spinning even when all FCUs were off. It has escalated. Now the compressor is always on. And it just has to happen on a day where I had to leave it on the whole day — Missus was home and I didn't know if she would use the air-con. It turned out she didn't, but she might as well have.
The green line is when it is working 'properly' — fan is always on. The y-axis is power in Watts. It is normally around 100 - 150W. The power goes to 0 cos I turned off the power using the 20A isolator switch.
The orange line is the day it stopped working. From the chart, we can see it happened around 5 am.
The blue line is the day I left the power on the whole day. It consumed 37+ kWh — this is 60% of my fridge's monthly usage!
When the fan is always on, it consumes 750 mA, or 180 W. This is quite high, but it is not catastrophic. (In comparison, a stand fan consumes 45 W.) When the compressor is always on, it consumes 6.5 A, or 1.56 kW! It is around 50 cents/hour.
Although I can switch off the power when the air-con is not in use, the power usage is still higher during use — because the compressor is never turned off. Previously the average is around 150 W, now it is 260 W.
A free NETS Motoring Card is given to you when you upgrade to OBU. This is nice, not everyone has an existing FlashPay card, especially those with a first-gen IU — though I observed previously most vehicles have a 2nd gen one. (2nd gen IU came out in 2009.)
The pamphlet that comes with it promotes the Auto Top-up feature: never run out of money again and have to manually top-up!
The idea is you can leave the CashCard in the reader all the time. But this is not possible for bikes cos the card will be stolen. (Ask how I know.)
This begs the question, why do we even need CashCard?
Indeed, NETS itself allows you to create a vCashCard account, where you can link your credit card to your IU. It will be deducted whenever you pass through a ERP gantry and topped-up when the value is low.
But it only works for ERP gantries. If it works for carparks, we won't need CashCards at all.
However, if NETS provides this feature, it will destroy its own product!
The IU has spoilt on my CB400F. Most likely it is because it was disconnected for an entire year — it used to work in the past few years, but the internal battery must have died.
It is a hassle to have a non-working IU. I need to call the operator twice to open two carpark gantries due to season parking — and twice when I come back. For other carparks, I can insert the cashcard into the machine. I also cannot pass through any ERP gantries.
It is a sign to upgrade to OBU — I've gotten the notice in March.
With OBU, I can no longer disconnect the battery. This means I need to ride the bike at least once a month, maybe more frequently.
Previously, I observed most bikes have upgraded to OBU, whether on the road or in carparks. In my carpark, 9 out of 11 bikes have upgraded (one non-upgraded is my YBR125). In another carpark, it is 10 out of 10 bikes (including my CB400F).
As a first-gen OBU, the bike version is still not too bad. The car one... er, it feels like obsolete tech.
A related note is that my last NETS CashCard (first-gen with chip) has expired. The only place that sells it is NETS Customer Service Centre. The new card expires in Feb 2030.
I just need this card for another six months or so. I intend to change to OBU for my YBR125 soon. I have not gotten any notice for my MX5.
For my MX5, I intend to put the Antenna Unit on the dashboard (where the IU is today), the Processing Unit and Display Unit on the center console — there is a slot where the radio/CD player used to be. All are non-standard configuration. This is definitely not allowed by an authorized installer, but workshops should be more flexible.
Also, I should enable vCashCard for my CB400F. I don't know why I resisted doing it. I won't need to worry about forgetting to put the cashcard in or forgetting to remove it. There is no downside.
The in-thing now: vouchers!
Take from car owners and give it to the 'genuine needy'. This is as socialist as it can get!
Every year, every car owner has to contribute 1% of his car's purchase price (including COE) to the Genuine Needy Transport Fund.
Suppose a car is on average $100k (this is low cos cars were 'cheap' in the past), 1% of $100k of 500k cars = $500 mil/year.
Genuine needy can be grouped into:
Each trip is subsidized up to $25.
At $500 mil/year and $2k/mth per person, this can support 20k people.
There you have it: an alternative way to support the 'genuine needy'!
The vouchers are non-transferrable (*). Unused portion is not rolled over.
(*) This must be foolproof, so it has to be implemented using an app — a Wallet app!
The user must tap on the app at pickup and dropoff points with Location enabled. There will be some leeway per month.
The driver will have an app too. He needs to take a picture of the user at both pickup and dropoff points. This is optional, but frequent non-compliance will be flagged — for both the driver and the user.
The above is not 100% foolproof, but is meant to raise the barrier of misuse.
If found to be abused, the user will be dropped from the scheme.
