Auspicious dates for renovation in 2012

Here is the list of auspicious dates for renovation in year 2012, which is produced based on the Chinese almanac Tong Shu. (Click the image to enlarge)

Bear in mind that although the Tong Shu is a compilation of Chinese astrology and calendaring studies gathering wisdom of thousands of years, we should use it wisely and rationally, but not be too superstitious on it.

If you are going to renovate your house, don't forget to visit the "home idea" section of my blog to find out some of my sharing there.

Related articles:

• Auspicious dates for wedding/marriage in 2012
• Inauspicious dates to avoid for wedding/marriage in 2012
• Auspicious dates for moving to new house/office in 2012
• Auspicious dates for starting new job/post/assignment in 2012
• Auspicious dates for opening business in 2012
• Auspicious dates for baby first haircut (Mundan) in 2012
• Auspicious dates for house warming, open house, party, gathering, etc. in 2012
• Auspicious dates for marriage proposal or engagement in 2012
• Auspicious dates in 2012 for getting a baby
• Auspicious dates for signing contract, register for marriage, etc. in 2012

Auspicious dates for moving to new house/office in 2012

Here is the list of auspicious dates for moving to new house/office in year 2012, which is produced based on the Chinese almanac Tong Shu. (Click the image to enlarge)

Bear in mind that although the Tong Shu is a compilation of Chinese astrology and calendaring studies gathering wisdom of thousands of years, we should use it wisely and rationally, but not be too superstitious on it.

If you are going to move to a new home, don't forget to visit the "home idea" section of my blog to find out my sharing on mortgage, renovation, furnitures, electrical appliances, pest control, etc.

Related articles:

• Auspicious dates for moving to new house/office in 2013
• Auspicious dates for wedding/marriage in 2012
• Inauspicious dates to avoid for wedding/marriage in 2012
• Auspicious dates for renovation in 2012
• Auspicious dates for starting new job/post/assignment in 2012
• Auspicious dates for opening business in 2012
• Auspicious dates for baby first haircut (Mundan) in 2012
• Auspicious dates for house warming, open house, party, gathering, etc. in 2012
• Auspicious dates for marriage proposal or engagement in 2012
• Auspicious dates in 2012 for getting a baby
• Auspicious dates for signing contract, register for marriage, etc. in 2012

Understanding Advance Instalment and Capital Repayment in OCBC Bank home loan prepayment mode

OCBC Bank in Malaysia has been giving quite a competitive housing loan facility since they introduced the so-called semi-flexi scheme.

Unlike the fully flexible home loan provided by some other banks, this OCBC semi-flexi home loan is more difficult to understand, more troublesome to manage, and also introduces cost and constraint when come to excess payment (a.k.a. prepayment) redraw.

Anyhow, many people still consider OCBC semi-flexi home loan, as they give among the lowest interest rate, highest possible margin of financing, longest possible serving term, and short lock-in period.

If you were to take up this OCBC semi-flexi home loan, you need to understand about their definition and operation of Advance Instalment and Capital Repayment, which are the 2 options of prepayment for you to put in excess money into your loan account in order to reduce the outstanding balance, and therefore will reduce the overall interest paid as well as shorten the overall loan tenure.

These 2 prepayment modes are clearly spelled out in the Main Terms & Conditions document that come together with your home loan offer letter. I'll summarize it here.

Both Advance Instalment and Capital Repayment will reduce the outstanding balance, and therefore will immediately help you to save on interest charged the next day onwards (since the loan is on daily rests). If you have the current version of the Main Terms & Conditions document, it is stated in Clause 6.6 (a) in that document.

Advance Instalment:

• Non-redrawable. Once you banked in, you cannot take it out from your account.
• You can use it to automatically set off future monthly instalment, provided there is enough Advance Instalment in your account for the deduction. This is useful if you are going away to oversea for a long period, and might not be convenient to serve your monthly home loan repayment for quite some times.
• Can make payment with cash (over the counter), cheque, ATM machine, inter-bank transfer, etc.

Capital Repayment:

• Redrawable to your saving or current account with OCBC Bank, subject to the terms and conditions.
• You still need to serve your monthly home loan repayment on time as usual. The automatic set off mechanism does not apply here.
• Can make payment with cash (over the counter) and cheque only.

The redrawal terms and conditions for Capital Repayment is typically like this:

• Redrawing must be made at the OCBC branch.
• Need to submit the Redrawing Notice to OCBC 3 days before the redrawing occur.
• RM10 will be charged for each redraw.
• Only 1 redrawing per day.
• Redrawing must be in multiples of RM1000.
• Minimum redrawing amount is RM5000.

The cost of selling a property in Malaysia

If you were to buy a property for investment, you should be well aware of the cost involved in buying the property, as well as the cost to sell it later.

The typical cost of selling the property consists of:
1. Advertisement fee to look for buyer (if any).

2. Agent fee (if you engage property agent to help you to sell your house): between 2%-2.75%. Officially, it is 2.75% if the selling price is below RM500k, and 2% if the selling price is above RM500k. There is a 6% government tax on this agent fee too.

3. Lawyer fee for Sales and Purchase Agreement (calculated based on the property's selling price, if you engage a lawyer on your behalf. You can save on this if you use the buyer's lawyer):

• First RM150k = 1% (or minimum RM300, whichever higher)
• Subsequent up to RM1 million = 0.7%
• Subsequent up to RM3 million = 0.6%
• Subsequent up to RM5 million = 0.5%
• Subsequent up to RM7.5 million = 0.4%
• Above RM7.5 million = negotiable

4. Deed of Receipt & Reassignment, Revocation of Power of Attorney, Letter of Undertaking, Statutory Declaration, etc. = a few hundreds                      

5. Miscellaneous legal fee = at least a few hundreds

6. 6% government tax on total lawyer fee

7. Submission of CKHT 1A form per seller = RM300 (RM600 if the house is jointly owned by 2 owners) 

8. Real Property Gain Tax = 5% of net profit if selling within 5 years of acquisition

9. Penalty payable for early mortgage settlement (if still within lock-in period) = depends on the loan agreement

Besides, you can get back some surrender value (partial refund on premium paid) from the following (if applicable):

• Mortgage Reducing Term Assurance (MRTA)
• Fire insurance

You might probably be interested to also read about:

• The cost of buying and owning a property in Malaysia

The cost of buying and owning a property in Malaysia

The property market in Malaysia has gained quite a lot of interest, especially over the past 3 years when the mortgage loan interest dipped to historical low.

If you were to buy a property for own stay or for investment, you should be well prepared for the cost involved.

The typical cost consists of:

A. One time cost

1. The booking fee, down payment and subsequent unfinanced payment of the property (normally about 10%-20% of the property price)

2. Lawyer fee for Sales and Purchase Agreement (calculated based on the property price):

• First RM150k = 1% (or minimum RM300, whichever higher)
• Subsequent up to RM1 million = 0.7%
• Subsequent up to RM3 million = 0.6%
• Subsequent up to RM5 million = 0.5%
• Subsequent up to RM7.5 million = 0.4%
• Above RM7.5 million = negotiable

3. Miscellaneous fee for preparation of Sales and Purchase Agreement = at least a few hundreds

4. 6% government tax on total lawyer fee for Sales and Purchase Agreement

5. Stamp Duty of Sales and Purchase Agreement (calculated based on the property price):

• First RM100k = 1%
• Subsequent up to RM500k = 2%
• Subsequently onwards = 3%

6. Lawyer fee for Loan Facility Agreement (calculated based on mortgaged amount):

• First RM150k = 1% (or minimum RM300, whichever higher)
• Subsequent up to RM1 million = 0.7%
• Subsequent up to RM3 million = 0.6%
• Subsequent up to RM5 million = 0.5%
• Subsequent up to RM7.5 million = 0.4%
• Above RM7.5 million = negotiable

7. Stamp Duty of Loan Facility Agreement (calculated based on mortgaged amount) = 0.5%

8. Miscellaneous fee for preparation of Loan Facility Agreement = at least a few hundreds

9. 6% government tax on total lawyer fee for Loan Facility Agreement

10. Land/Strata Ownership Title Transfer = at least a few hundreds + 6% government tax on legal fee

11. Stamp Duty of Land/Strata Ownership Title Transfer (calculated based on the property price):

• First RM100k = RM1 for every RM100 or fractional part of RM100
• Subsequent up to RM500k = RM2 for every RM100 or fractional part of RM100
• Above RM500k = RM3 for every RM100 or fractional part of RM100

12. Consent to Charge (for leasehold property) = at least a few hundreds + 6% government tax on legal fee

13. Mortgage Reducing Term Assurance (MRTA, optional) = a few thousands

14. Deposit for water and electricity = at least a few hundreds

15. Deposit for telephone, Internet service, satellite/cable TV (optional) = at least a few hundreds

16. Renovation and moving cost = depends on you, easily more than RM10k

B. Recurring cost

1. Quit rent (yearly) = around RM50

2. Assessment tax (yearly) = a few hundreds

3. Fire insurance (yearly) = a few hundreds

4. Mortgage Level Term Assurance (MLTA, yearly, optional) = a few thousands

5. Housing loan repayment (monthly) = at least a few hundreds

6. Severage treatment fee (half yearly) = RM48

7. Water, electricity, telephone, Internet, satellite/cable TV, etc. = depends on usage

8. Cooking gas = depends on usage

9. Security fee (for gated & guarded community or apartment/condominium) = depends

10. Maintenance fee and sinking fund (for apartment/condominium) = depends

11. Car park rental (optional for certain apartment/condominium) = depends

12. Pest and termite control service (yearly, optional) = at least a few hundreds

You might probably be interested to also read about:

• The cost of selling a property in Malaysia

My YB-642 Yoobao Long March Power Bank with 11,200 mAh capacity

Nowadays it is pretty normal for us to have a few mobile devices powered by rechargeable battery, including handphone, GPS navigator, tablet, digital camera, PSP, MP3 player, etc.

Some of those high end mobile devices are fast in consuming battery, require us to recharge their battery very frequently. For example, we almost have to recharge our smartphone (Android, iPhone, ...) and tablet (iPad, Samsung Galaxy Tab, ...) on daily basis.

During the recharging period, the mobile devices are no longer mobile. They might be still usable while plugged in a wall socket for battery recharge, or they are temporary unusable because the battery is taken out to be charged by external charger. A common way to overcome this is to prepare additional batteries, so that the mobile device can still be used by replacing the flatted battery with the spare one.

However, different mobile device uses battery of different size and capacity. Their battery is charged with different charger too.

Imagine that we are going for outdoor activity in a place with no electricity supply, such as camping or mountain climbing, for at least a few days. How to solve the battery power need of our smartphone, GPS navigator, tablet, and even torch light?

I have just bought a YB-642 Yoobao Long March Power Bank with 11,200 mAh capacity at the price of RM185.50 from an online store, which I believe is the perfect solution.

A power bank is an external battery with high storage capacity, that is able to provide power to the mobile device through its charging mechanism. Yoobao produces a few models of power bank, and I have chosen YB-642 because of its high power storage capacity of up to 11,200 mAh, which is very long lasting.

The size and look of YB-642 is similar to old style PDA, and its weight is just 253g, not heavy to carry.

Inside the package, there are:

• The YB-642 power bank itself
• A micro-USB cable to charge the power bank
• A power adapter that convert AC 100-240V power to DC 5V-1000mA
• A DC3.5 switch cable that connect YB-642 to one of its connectors
• Connectors for mini-USB, micro-USB, Apple (iPhone, iPod, iPad), Nokia, Samsung phone, Sony Ericsson and PSP
• User manual

YB-642 has 2 USB output interfaces. The left one (marked as 1A) is able to output DC 5.3V-1000mA max, suitable for most mobile devices that accept 1000mA charging. The right one (marked as 2A) is able to out DC 5.2V-2000mA max, suitable for tablets and other devices that need a higher charging current.

YB-642 is very easy to use, just put it to the device and charging will automatically begin. Disconnect its cable and it will automatically turn off itself. See it in action charing my HTC Incredible S smartphone.

YB-642 is able to charge up to 2 mobile devices at the same time, by using both of its USB outputs.

YB-642 is also able to provide current to Samsung Galaxy Tab, which accepts 2500mA charging. Just plug the Samsung Galaxy Tab to 2A output of YB-642 using the USB cable that comes with the tablet. Although it cannot effectively recharge the battery of Samsung Galaxy Tab which require 2500mA current for recharge, plugging YB-642 to the Samsung Galaxy Tab enable you to use the tablet for a much more longer time.

YB-642 also has a LED light in front, which you can use it as a torch light. Push its button for more than 2 seconds to toggle the torch function. The LED torch can last for 540 hours (over 22 days) in a fully charged power bank when its USB outputs remain unused during the period. This is very handy and useful for outdoor activities.

The relationship between multi-storey building floor number and the 5 elements of Feng Shui

Nowadays, multi-storey or high rise building is everywhere in urban areas.

You might live in multi-storey building, and you might also work in multi-storey building.

Do you want to know the relationship between multi-storey building floor number and the 5 elements of Feng Shui? With that, you can find out how compatible is the floor you are staying with your own element.

Note that in Chinese floor naming convention, the 1st Floor is the floor that is same level with the ground, which might be known as Ground Floor in certain places. The 2nd Floor is the floor above 1st Floor, which might be known as 1st Floor in buildings that start with Ground Floor.

Before we proceed, please keep in mind that we are using the Chinese floor naming convention here, so do your own adjustment if your building's naming convention is different.

To determine the element of the floor, we look at its last digit. Therefore, 1st Floor, 11th Floor, 21st Floor, 31st Floor, 41st Floor, ... all have the same element. The same concept applies to 2nd Floor, 12th Floor, 32nd Floor, ... and so on. (Remember: use the Chinese floor naming convention!)

And here is the associated elements:

• Water: 1, 6
• Fire: 2, 7
• Wood: 3, 8
• Metal: 4, 9
• Earth: 5, 10

There is also a mapping between the 5 elements and your Chinese Zodiac animal. Your Chinese Zodiac animal is determined based on your year of birth. The mapping is as follow:

• Water: Rat, Boar
• Fire: Snake, Horse
• Wood: Tiger, Rabbit
• Metal: Monkey, Roaster
• Earth: Cow, Dragon, Goat, Dog

It is a basic Feng Shui concept that:

• Water produces Wood
• Wood produces Fire
• Fire produces Earth
• Earth produces Metal
• Metal produces Water

and that:

• Water destroys Fire
• Fire destroys Metal
• Metal destroys Wood
• Wood destroys Earth
• Earth destroys Water

Now, you have enough information to evaluate whether the floor your are staying in has positive or negative impact to you.

For example, if you are born in the year of Rabbit (Wood element), and you are staying/working in 5th Floor (in Chinese convention) (Earth element), Wood destroys Earth and therefore Earth suppresses Wood, it seems to be not a good matching. In Feng Shui, this situation is considered Neutral and not as Bad. However, if the floor is Metal (destroys Wood) or Fire (burns up the Wood), that is considered as Bad. If the floor is Water (produces Wood) or Wood (enriches Wood), that is considered as Good.

Use Unifi HyppTV to preview new and upcoming cinema movie trailers

With Unifi HyppTV, now it is very easy for us to know the new and upcoming movies coming soon or currently on screen in local cinemas. We can even instantly and freely preview the movie trailers.

Cinema Movie Trailers is the first option inside the Unifi HyppTV iNTER@CTIVE menu.

It will list down the new and upcoming movies to be on screen in local cinemas, and also allows us to preview those movies' trailer.

Nice feature isn't it? I wonder why Astro doesn't have such feature, although TGV and GSC are both under the same group with Astro.

Clearing the doubt on My First Home Scheme a.k.a. Skim Rumah Pertamaku (SRP)

My First Home Scheme (a.k.a. Skim Rumah Pertamaku, SRP) was just launched by the government of Malaysia, aimed to help younger segments to buy their first home.

Without the scheme, most bank only offer up to a maximum of 90% financing for housing loan, and the home buyer need to prepare for the first 10% of the house, partially paid as the down payment or booking fee before S&P agreement is signed, with the rest payable within a very short period of time right after S&P agreement signed.

Under the scheme, mortgage borrower can obtain 100% housing loan from the participating banks. Cagamas SRP Berhad (a unit under Bank Negara) will guarantee the bank on financing above the 90% level. Borrower is liable to the bank for the full financing amount (up to 100%), and the guarantee indemnifies the bank for any loss incurred as a result of financing above 90%.

Here are some of the information I gathered about this My First Home Scheme:

• Borrower must be an employee in the private sector (not applicable to self-employed, non-employed or government servant)
• Borrower must be employed for more than 6 months with the same employer (not applicable for employee still under probation period)
• Borrower must be a Malaysian
• Borrower gross monthly income must not exceed RM3000
• Borrower's age must not exceed 35 years old
• The property must be a residential unit
• The property can be completed or being developed
• The property can be from developer or from existing owner
• The property must be the first property under the borrower's name
• The property must be occupied by the borrower (must not be rented out or keep vacant)
• Cost of property within the range of RM100k to RM220k
• Not applicable to refinancing existing property
• Available for both conventional and Islamic housing loans
• Not available for flexible home loan or any housing loan with redrawable features
• Compulsory fire insurance/takaful. Depends on the bank if MRTA/MRTT/MLTA is also compulsory or not
• Maximum financing tenure is 30 years
• Monthly financing repayment amount should not be more than 1/3 of borrower’s monthly gross income. This may be increased to a maximum of 1/2 of borrower's monthly gross income, subjected to approval from the bank.
• Joint application is only applicable to family member only (spouse or siblings)
• All applicants in joint application must meet all the requirements above, including citizenship, first home, employment, age, income criteria, etc.

Participating banks of this My First Home Scheme include:

• Affin Bank
• Alliance Bank
• Ambank
• Bank Islam
• Bank Muamalat
• CIMB Bank
• EON Bank
• Hong Leong Bank
• Maybank
• OCBC Bank
• Public Bank
• RHB
• Standard Chartered
• UOB

Click here to go to the official website of My First Home Scheme.

Disclaimer: The above information is gathered from several reliable sources. I have no guarantee nor liability on its total correctness. Please verify the information by yourself.

Upgraded my home Internet from Streamyx BB Deal 110 to Unifi VIP5 HSBB

I have just upgraded my home Internet from Streamyx BlockBuster Deal 110 (RM110/month) to Unifi VIP5 so-called High Speed Broadband - HSBB (RM149/month).

This upgrade increases the Internet bandwidth from 1024/384 kbps to 5120/5120 kbps, and also includes telephony voice service similar to BB Deal, with additional free Caller Line Identity Presentation (CLIP) service and a free Motorola DECT cordless phone. On top of that, there is also HyppTV service with its own separate bandwidth.

Although the Unifi VIP5 HSBB of RM149/month is considered expensive compared with the high speed broadband Internet in some other countries, I think it is still a good deal to upgrade from Streamyx BB Deal 110 by paying extra RM39/month to TM for much higher bandwidth, phone CLIP (identify the calling number) and IPTV.

However, there is also a trade-off. Unifi phone bills don't come with free itemized call log detail. It just gives you lump-sum figure on the call charges.

This is my tested Internet bandwidth after upgraded to Unifi VIP5 HSBB:

Unlike Streamyx which uses the copper line, Unifi is using fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) cable. I place my termination unit behind my monitor.

Note that the power adapter in between the termination unit and the fibre wall socket you see in the picture is actually belongs to my monitor and nothing to do with Unifi.

I put the Unifi premise gateway (D-Link DIR-615) on top of my computer.

Note that I also make use of Aztech HL110E 200Mbps HomePlug AV to connect the line to my TV some distance away. There is another HL110E near the TV, and the network between the 2 units is linked with existing electric wiring in the house. In fact, I intended to buy the HL110EP model, but unfortunately not available in the computer shop.

One "disadvantage" of Unifi is that, there are quite some equipments which need a few power points. If you want your telephone to function 24x7, the broadband termination unit as well as the telephone power supply need to be always switched on. The rest of the equipments can be switched off when not in use.

The first thing after Unifi installation is to change the default operator and admin password of the DIR-615. Operator is a more priviledged account in DIR-615 than admin, who can see and configure more options.

I placed my Unifi HyppTV Set-Top-Box (STB) beside my Astro Decoder. I think I will still subscribe to Astro as it contains much more interesting channels than HyppTV at the moment.

And this is the Unifi HyppTV channel selector screen (Channel 100) shown in my TV. I noticed that the RTM channels in HyppTV is sharper than Astro's.

There is some Video On Demand (VOD) titles in HyppTV, which can be purchased at around RM8 per movie for 24 hours unlimited access.

And I found out that HyppTV supports Picture-in-Picture (PIP) display inside Astro screen. Of course, the other way round to PIP Astro inside HyppTV is also supported.

Currently, TM is promoting Unifi by waiving the RM200 installation charge and also the 1st month subscription fee (for online registration from their website). However, Unifi is only available in certain area only and not yet rolled out nationwide.

If you no longer need your old telephone and Streamyx service, you might need to go to TM Point to terminate them after successful Unifi installation.

Changed my ceiling fans from Panasonic FM14C5 to Alpha VS-5

About 5 years ago, I installed 3 Panasonic FM14C5 ceiling fans in my house. It was an OEM of a similar KDK fan. It has pretty good looks and feels, and functioned well until recently, 2 of the 3 units gave problem and disappointed me.

The problem ceiling fans gave out noise when operating. They also no longer controllable with the remote control. And their warranty period was over.

I called my electrician friend to come and take a look. He said many household already encountered the same problem with this model of Panasonic ceiling fan. The motor control circuit is damaged and only serviceable by Panasonic.

As a result, I decided to change the 2 problem Panasonic FM14C5 ceiling fans to Alpha VS-5.

Alpha VS-5 is slightly more expensive than FM14C5, but yet within the range of RM2xx. It looks bulkier, but actually is better than FM14C5 because:

• VS-5 has 5 blades, while FM14C5 only have 4 blades
• The blade of VS-5 is ABS type, while FM14C5's is metal type

As a result, VS-5 is able to deliver stronger wind, and its operation is very quiet because ABS is used for its blades.

Hope that these Alpha VS-5 ceiling fans in my house can last longer.

Auspicious dates for renovation in 2011

Here is the list of auspicious dates for renovation in year 2011, which is produced based on the Chinese almanac Tong Shu.

Bear in mind that although the Tong Shu is a compilation of Chinese astrology and calendaring studies gathering wisdom of thousands of years, we should use it wisely and rationally, but not be too superstitious on it.

If you are going to renovate your house, don't forget to visit the "home idea" section of my blog to find out some of my sharing there.

Related articles:

• Auspicious dates for wedding/marriage in 2011
• Inauspicious dates to avoid for wedding/marriage in 2011
• Auspicious dates for wedding/marriage in 2012
• Inauspicious dates to avoid for wedding/marriage in 2012
• Auspicious dates for moving to new house/office in 2011
• Auspicious dates for baby first haircut (Mundan) in 2011
• Auspicious dates for house warming, open house, party, gathering, etc. in 2011
• Auspicious dates for marriage proposal or engagement in 2011 
• Auspicious dates for opening business in 2011
• Auspicious dates for starting new job/post/assignment in 2011
• Auspicious dates for signing contract, register for marriage, etc. in 2011 
• Auspicious dates in 2011 for getting a baby
  

Auspicious dates for moving to new house/office in 2011

Here is the list of auspicious dates for moving to new house/office in year 2011, which is produced based on the Chinese almanac Tong Shu. (Click the image to enlarge)

Bear in mind that although the Tong Shu is a compilation of Chinese astrology and calendaring studies gathering wisdom of thousands of years, we should use it wisely and rationally, but not be too superstitious on it.

If you are going to move to a new home, don't forget to visit the "home idea" section of my blog to find out my sharing on mortgage, renovation, furnitures, electrical appliances, pest control, etc.

Related articles:

• Auspicious dates for wedding/marriage in 2011
• Inauspicious dates to avoid for wedding/marriage in 2011
• Auspicious dates for wedding/marriage in 2012
• Inauspicious dates to avoid for wedding/marriage in 2012
• Auspicious dates for baby first haircut in 2011
• Auspicious dates for house warming, open house, party, gathering, etc. in 2011
• Auspicious dates for marriage proposal or engagement in 2011
• Auspicious dates for opening business in 2011
• Auspicious dates for starting new job/post/assignment in 2011
• Auspicious dates for signing contract, register for marriage, etc. in 2011
• Auspicious dates in 2011 for getting a baby
• Auspicious dates for renovation in 2011

Guidelines for Gated Community and Guarded Neighbourhood by JPBD

The Department of Town and Country Planning Peninsular Malaysia (Jabatan Perancangan Bandar dan Desa Semenanjung Malaysia, JPBD) has finally published the Guidelines for Gated Community (GC) and Guarded Neighbourhood (GN) in their website.

By definition, "Gated Community" refers to a gated and guarded residential community, either in highrise or landed properties. The properties in a Gated Community need to have strata title (including landed strata). This kind of community is only allowed in limited location in urban area.

Meanwhile, "Guarded Neighbourhood" refers to residential community with individual land title properties which has security service either with or without security house. It can be of "guarded only" (without fence) and "guarded and gated" (with fence).

For Gated Community:

• Minimum area under the scheme is 1 hectar and maximum is 10 hectar (200-500 house units)
• The roads and shared amenities inside the GC belong to the community, and managed by Management Corporation elected by the residents
• Building of wall to separate the community from its neighbourhood is not allowed
• Social Impact Analysis needs to be carried out before the establishment of GC be considered
• Need to have 2 entrances/exits (one for main usage, another for emergency)
• Perimeter fencing of height not more than 9 feets and at least 50% visible from outside is allowed
• Boom gate is not allowed
• Guard house of 1.8m x 2.4m
• The houses cannot be more than 4 levels (18.5 meters) from basement
• Visitors' parking must be allocated

For Guarded Neighbourhood:

• Only allowed in urban area
• Establishment of GN needs to be proposed by Residents Association and supported by majority of the residents
• Guard house of 1.8m x 2.4m or smaller
• Manual boom gate with 24 hours security control can be considered
• Guards need to registered with Home Ministry

Click here to download the Guidelines for Gated Community and Guarded Neighbourhood by JPBD.

Am I scammed by the electronic ultrasonic insect repeller?

Insect and pest repelling using the electronic way isn't something new and has been around for many years. However, until today, there is still debates and doubts whether it works or not. There are lab tests showing that it totally not working, and other lab tests showing that it does work but not very effective.

In fact, there are 3 common kinds of electronic insect and pest repeller in the market:

• Electromagnetic - the device changes the wavelengths of the frequency signals that already exist in the wiring of homes, thus claimed to be able to agitate rodents and insects with these signals.
• Ultrasonic - the device emits high frequency sound above 22 khz which is unheardable by human being (thus called ultrasound) but is detectable by certain insects and rats. The effect is like putting a loud siren beside their ears and chase them away.
• Ionic - it is said that certain insects and rodents are sensitive to negative ions, so they won't go near an ionizer.

Nowadays they are even 3-in-1 products which combine all the features above, but selling at high price of above RM100.

I have 2 electronic ultrasonic insect repellers in my home, which I bought for about RM20 each in Giant hypermarket. Picture as below.

In fact, you can easily find in the Internet for circuit diagrams about electronic ultrasonic insect repellers, and can DIY make your own with some electronic knowledge and devices. Some are very simple, and here is a more complicated one from Electronic Circuits website.

Beside that, there also exist computer software that make use of the speakers to generate pest repelling ultrasonic waves, such as SEA Anti-Mosquitoes XP, KP-Anti Mosquitoes, Ultrafobos, etc. Similar applications are available for mobile devices including iPhone, Palm, etc. For normal handphones, there are also ultrasonic ringtones that you can find and download from Internet.

Is the small electronic ultrasonic device that I've bought effective to me?

I put one in my kitchen, quite near to the dining table.

Well, before using it, I used to disturbed by one or two mosquitoes at night when I used my laptop on the dining table. After using it, so far no more such mosquito disturbance.

And before using it, sometimes I saw cockroach in the kitchen when I turn on the light there during midnight. Now, so far no such engagement after using it.

It seems like it works fine for me so far, and I don't feel like scammed, although I've found quite a number of reports in the Internet saying electronic insect repellers are useless.

Common types of fire extinguishers

If you were to experience a fire situation, what would your first reaction be? Would you grab the nearest water source and throw water at the flames? Would you throw a blanket over the flames? Would you simply run out of the house?

Fire is not a force people want to experience, especially in their home or office. Fire moves quickly to devour everything in its path, holding no regard for valuables of any sort. But while we hold a certain fear of fire, unfortunately only few people take the necessary steps to add the right kind of fire extinguishers to their homes and offices.

Lets look at some common types of fire extinguishers so that you can decide which is the best type for your location.

Water fire extinguishers can be used in homes and businesses, schools, theatres, warehouses or anywhere with paper, cardboard, curtains, cloth, wood, carpet. Many people like the water extinguisher because this type is easy to refill.

However, water fire extinguishers are not suitable to be used as the only extinguisher in the home or office. Water can fight Class A fires, but NOT fires involving electrical equipment.

Powder extinguishers are also very good to have in the home or office. However, the powder extinguisher is also very good for truck drivers or those who enjoy boating. Powder can leave quite a mess when used, but the mess of powder is far less than the destruction a fire would cause.

It is important to look at the certifications when purchasing a powder extinguisher for your home, business, boat or truck. Powder fire extinguishers also require factory refilling or service-exchange every so often. The maintenance is worth it, though, as this type of fire extinguisher is suitable for virtually all areas, able to fight Class A fires (wood, paper, material, cloth, etc), Class B fires (flammable liquids such as petrol, spirits, and diesel), Class C fires (flammable gas) and electrical equipment fires.

Foam fire extinguishers (a.k.a. AFFF) are quite popular for their advanced capabilities. Aqueous Film Forming Foam or AFFF (pronounced A-triple-F) covers Class A fires (wood, paper, material, cloth, etc) and Class B (flammable liquids such as petrol, spirits, diesel).

While the AFFF foam spray versions are fitted with a special nozzle that reduces the electrical risk (tested to 35,000 volts), it is recommended that this NOT be sprayed directly on live electrical equipment. The foam extinguisher works well in homes and offices; hotels, and places where there is a risk of flammable liquids.

Carbon dioxide fire extinguishers will cover electrical fires as well as Class B fires involving flammable liquids. The Carbon dioxide extinguisher would be one that you reach for if you work on machinery that catches fire.

While this is a reliable and popular fire extinguisher, the Carbon dioxide fire extinguisher doesn’t cover all types of fires. This extinguisher would need to be paired with a Class A extinguisher (AFFF or water type) in order to provide full coverage.

Disclosure: This is an original article contributed by Fire Protection Online Ltd exclusively for this website only.

My CLiPtec GZJ160 universal travelling plug adaptor with USB charger port

This 85 gram, light and compact CLiPtec GZJ160 universal travelling plug adaptor with USB charger port was purchased in Digital Mall at the cost of RM25.

Its 2 main functions are:

• International universal plug adapter that supports 150+ countries
• High power auto-switching USB charger for any electronic gadgets that support battery charging with USB

I find it to be a very handy travelling companion, as it can be used to convert the power plug from one type to another, and it can also be used to provide charging power for USB devices without the need for computer with USB port.

This is how it is in action charging my Garmin Nuvi 255w GPS navigator with its DC 5V 1A USB output.

This adaptor can be plugged into 3 types of socket with its detachable 3-in-1 design as shown below:

It supports 4 international plug standards, namely:

• Europe round pin
• UK
• USA
• Australia

this makes it supports for 150+ countries.

Even at home, we can still use it as a USB charger without the need of a computer to recharge the battery in GPS, handphone, digital camera, MP4 player, etc.

Handy mini portable first aid kit

I got this mini portable first aid kit in a white box, as a door gift from the exhibition booth of ECS ICT Bhd in the Investor Expo 2010.

Seems like it is one of the "Happy Collection" gadgets from HP.

Opening the white box, is a cute black case.

And opening up the case, here are the items inside:

• 5x plasters
• 2x antiseptic wipes
• 4x gauze pads
• Small scissors
• Bandage
• Adhessive tape
• 3ml medicated oil (风油)

Pretty handy and useful, isn't it?

How an automatic fire extinguisher can save your life

There are a great deal of benefits involved with having an automatic fire extinguisher. Whether it is for your home or office, it can certainly save your property and can also serve to save lives.

If you don't know what an automatic fire extinguisher is, it can be explained pretty quickly. Basically, it is an extinguisher or water sprinkler that is installed in the ceiling. Depending on the model of extinguisher, it is either turned on by heat, smoke or emissions.

These can be extremely useful in the case of a fire starting when no one is around, or even when the occupants of a house are asleep. They have served to save thousands of lives over the years on top of the millions of dollars in property.

But if you are thinking of installing an automatic fire extinguisher, you need to know what to look for.

First of all, you need to understand the classes of fires. Depending on the room that it is installed in, there will be a difference in the type of extinguisher that you need.

If you are installing one in a room filled with electronics then you will require a Class B or C automatic fire extinguisher. But if you are installing one in the bedroom, then you will likely only require a Class A. In order to make the proper decision, it is advisable to talk to a fire safety professional about your specific home or office. They will be able to advise you of the best and safest choice for your specific living conditions.

The main point of an automatic fire extinguisher is to keep the fire at bay until the proper personnel arrive on scene. Although, depending on the size of the fire, they can in fact serve to completely put it out. But in the case of a large fire, their purpose is to contain the fire and to ensure that it doesn't burn out of control.

Although they can be used in homes, they are most often found in large office buildings and warehouses. Especially in a working situation that has a high chance of a fire erupting.

One thing is for certain no matter what type of fire situation you find yourself in: if you don't know the different classes of fires, you are putting yourself in even more danger than is already presented.

Using some methods, such as water in a Class C fire can prove to be deadly. But water in fact works wonderfully in a Class A fire. Therefore, it is crucial to know exactly what kind of fire you are dealing with before taking the appropriate action. You want to make the fire less harmful, not more. And you certainly don't want to risk your life will trying to save your home or office.

Automatic fire extinguishers are proven to save countless lives every year. So if you think you could benefit from one, start the research process as soon as possible.

Disclosure: This is an original article contributed by Fire Protection Online Ltd exclusively for this website only.

Sell your used items for instant money in CA$H CONVERTERS

Wonder what to do with your old PC, old laptop, old printer, old fax machine, old handphone, old television, old CD player, old PlayStation, old camera, old massager, ... after you upgraded them with better, more powerful, latest technology one?

Well, you can probably:

• Keep the old one in your storeroom
• Give the old one to your friend, relative, neighbour, charity house, etc.
• Dispose the old one into recycle bin
• Sell the old one for some cash

There are a few ways to sell out used items for cash, including:

• Sell to your friend, relative, neighbour, etc. on COD basis
• Sell in the Internet auction websites or forums
• Sell to a shop

CA$H CONVERTERS is an international franchise dealing with used items. Their retail shops buy used items as well as sell used items.

You can find CA$H CONVERTERS in these 3 Southeast Asia countries:

• Singapore - Admiralty, Ang Mo kio, Bedok North, Jurong East and Toa Payoh.
• Malaysia - Ampang Point, Klang, Sunway, Taman SEA, Plentong and Sri Selayang.
• Thailand - Pattaya

The advantages to sell your used items in CA$H CONVERTERS including:

• You are very unlikely to be cheated (compared with selling in Internet and other methods)
• You can get rid of your goods and collect the cash right away in the shop

If you are moving house and got a lot of used items to dispose off, you can even call CA$H CONVERTERS to collect them onsite and pay you instantly.

On the other hand, if you don't mind buying 2nd hand or used items, you can probably get some from their shop at a lower price than brand new one.

Click here to visit the website of CA$H CONVERTERS for more information.