BuzzLife

Saropah, my domestic assistant is on one month leave effective today. Without my loyal helper, I am like a handicap! Hahaha.. I just realise I made a terrible housekeeper. I am so pampered by her that I wish she is back here immediately. On the contrary note, this is a great opportunity for me to brush up my skills in housekeeping.

Hmmm.. without my assistant, if only I can have all these gadgets, life in the kitchen would be a breezeeee…. 

Apple Slicer

Pineapple Slicer/Corer

Core and slice fresh pineapples quickly and easily with this serrated corkscrew-like tool. Just snap on handle, insert into pineapple, and twist. The results of your simple effort: one perfect spiral of sweet pineapple, complete with healthy juices!

Melon Ease

Slice fresh melons with ease, using this time-saver! Simply cut melon in half, remove seeds, push Melon Ease down into center, and turn the easygrip handle. In seconds you’ll have perfect slices to serve, add to salads, or enjoy as a snack! Plastic, stainless steel.

Citrus Juicer

Squeeze fresh, vitamin rich oranges and grapefruit for breakfast, and lemons and limes for beverages, desserts, and more. Just slice your citrus in half, place it on the strainer, and pull lever down. Manual juicer delivers fresh, tasty juice right into your glass or bowl. Built-in strainer removes pulp and seeds, and nonslip base prevents spills.

Pictures and information courtesy of Miles Kimball

M-I-C-K-E-Y… M-O-U-S-E… mickey mouse lalalala.. this is the first two-words spelling that 3-year old Little J can recite.. Mickey theme song…

I am sure most of you would have some collections of Disney merchandise.. say.. something like..a book, toy, bag, t-shirt, cookies, etc..

But have you ever come across something like this?

It’s a bread toaster!! Ariete, the self proclaimed Italian household genie has a fun family range of Mickey shaped appliance. Fancy having a Mickey trademark on your bread, hmmm….

Or a sandwich maker

A smoothie for making your favorite juice

A waffle maker perhaps..

Or even an ice-cream maker..

I would love to have this special edition in my kitchen.. with these appliance to toast bread or make sandwich, it would be much easier to coax Little J to finish his bread and butter  for breakfast..

A home appliance fanatic.. I am adamant to know whether we can find these unique appliances in Malaysia. Woohoo.. good news! I found out that this brand is indeed marketed in Malaysia under their marketing arm, Innovest Marketing Sdn Bhd which made its debut in Malaysia 6 months ago. And you can find their products in Best Denki.

But the bad news is.. they have not brought in the Disney range (yet).. at least I don’t see them in the shop floor when I visit Best Denki today. They do have a fantastic range of kitchen appliances. I’ll reserve that for my next blog entry..Stay tuned..

Shinzo Abe, 52, takes reins of power in Japan today, as the youngest postwar Japanese Prime Minister, from Junichiro Koizumi, who is the longest serving Prime Minister in 3 decades.

Welcome Prime Minister Abe

Farewell Prime Minister Koizumi

Read more here.

Pictures taken from Yahoo News

Hmm.. too late lah, if you wanna bid for TAN 1 as your new car registration number, you got to be prepared to fork out more than RM80,000!! I can see that it is Trengganu JPJ’s turn to laugh their way to the bank after the JJJ craze in Johor..

My surname may be TAN, but I guess I’ll save the RM80,000 to buy another car and probably just fork out RM200 for YEKNEE 1…who wants YEKNEE 1 other than me anyway.. hmmmm..

Nearly vomit blood when I post this entry. It took me almost 3 hours!! I could have reached Ipoh from Shah Alam!! Wonder anyone of you are having similar problem with turtle crawling Streamyx…

Back to HomeDec story..

If you think that exhibition always displays the latest technology or innovative products, what about these "antique"? Reminds me of my late grandpa’s collections, the good old days products..

Black and white TVs

Radios

Clocks

At a first glance, what do you think is this?

Tired of your conventional plain stainless steel, aluminium or iron cast pots and pan? Why don’t you consider some made-over pans to add some colors to your dull kitchen? It’s a colored frying pan! The Esprit pans..

These pans are induction heater-friendly too.

Alpha, the Slimmest Sensation instant water heater. Another innovative line-up of Alpha. These models were highlighted earlier in this blog.

You may be thinking why the sliding rail to hold the shower head is so long, longer than the normal sliding rail. There is actually a water tap where you can get instant hot water for washing your hands and feet without using shower head.

Fotile, a new Kitchen Expert in Hobs and Hoods in Malaysia. The parent company is based in Shanghai, boasting a high market share of their products in China. Their designs are innovative and price are relatively cheaper than established brands such as Fujioh, Rinnai, Electrolux.

Panasonic and Rinnai, regulars in this event.

As I strolled down the tunnel linking the convention center to KLCC shopping mall, I couldn’t help noticing the strong advertisement war between the giant electrical companies.

Panasonic

LG

Samsung

Alpha

"We want to assure you that our SK-II products are safe for consumers". P&G Malaysia today runs a full page advertisement on Malaysia tabloid to assure consumers that product safety and quality are their highest priority.

For those of you who may have missed the advertisement, let me re-print here verbatim. (Err.. I nor any of my family members are in any way associated with P&G), so that SK-II users who read this blog can sleep well from today onwards…Oh yes, their ad is not eye catching, grey background with white wordings stressed my eyes.

We want to assure you that our SK-II products are safe for consumers.

All SK-II products comply with standards and regulations, and we believe are in compliance with government rules and regulations around the world, including the Ministry of Health Malaysia, Health Sciences Authority in Singapore and Taiwan Department of Health. (Err.. no mention of China, Hong Kong).

The trace levels of chromium and neodymium found in SK-II products are well within limits and recognized as safe by regulatory bodies around the world. The trace levels of these ingredients do not pose a safety or health concern.

Trace amounts of chromium and neodymium exist naturally in the environment. They exist in a range of everyday products, including :

* Food
* Water
* Milk powder
* and other cosmetics products

(aiyoh.. these statements made me more nervous…. )

The amount of chromium you would get from the use of any of these SK-II cosmetics is 100 times less than what the World Health Organization considers safe in your everyday diet. Similarly the level of neodymium exposure is 1,000 times less than what is considered to be a safe level in your everyday diet.

Therefore, we would like to reassure you once again that all our SK-II products are safe. Consumers everywhere can continue to use SK-II with full confidence.

Signed

Patrick Lockwood-Taylor
Country Chief Executive Office
P&G Malaysia

SK-II
23 September 2006

Disclaimer : This blog does not endorse usage of SK-II products. This humble blogger is allergic to SK-II products.

Home Decor 2006, this time round, boasts exhibition of 430 over booths, displaying products and services from more than 180 companies. Regulars in this quarterly exhibition, take note that the Exhibition is held in Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, KL City Centre instead of the usual MidValley Convention Centre. Exhibition ends this Sunday, 24th September, 2006.

I was there on 21st Sept and my focus was on home and kitchen appliances. If you guys are hoping to get some interior design or furniture tips, sorry ya..

Found some interesting products.

What’s this? A very nice docorative ceiling light..

Wait a minute.. how come it is opening? It has Petals!!

Tata… it’s a decorative CEILING FAN with light.. Blossom like a flower, hmmm.. very innovative..

Alpha Blossom Ceiling Fan priced at more than RM1200! If you have a big bungalow, and don’t mind to pay more than 4 times higher for a remote control ceiling fan, you may consider this model. This state of art design coupled with unique function is something worth showing off..

Aerogaz.

A Singaporean company specialized in Hoods and Hobs now expanding their business in the water heater. This company has a factory in Klang, Malaysia. Some of the water heater displays of this newcomer.

This innovative full body shower with 4 misty jets is from Alpha.

Home Dec has attracted the attention of the Fan Specialist who makes her debut in this exhibition.

I just love their baby fan. I have previously highlighted their ceiling fans in this blog entry. Seeing is believing. The baby fan is fantastic!

Streamyx is getting on my nerves (again). Posting this entry took me more than 2 hours!! I better stop now before I start to behave out of norm. Will post more in the next entry. Stay tuned for more exciting products infor.

Updated : 21st Sept 2006

Head office issues relaxation on travel restriction to Thailand today. Schools and businesses has resumed today and our sister companies had resumed their business operation late yesterday evening. Streets in Bangkok and other cities have return to normalcy following the formation of the interim government to draft a new constitution which will lead to a fresh election in 2007.

The Council for Democratic Reform (CDR) chaired by General Sonthi was formed following yesterday peaceful coup d’etat. The CDR was reportedly to have the support of King Bhumibol. Read this.

20th Sept 2006

Yet another disturbing turn of event in Thailand. The military coup in Thailand has affected business transaction. All the 21 of our sister companies in Thailand are unusually closed today due to uncertainties. Head office immediately issued an advisory travelling, prohibiting all business travelling to Thailand until further notice.

Let’s hope that peace be maintained and our counterparts in Thailand do not have to resolve to leave the country.

Who says white goods are dull and stupid?

Certainly not Originalhouse! Fancy giving a make over to your fridge, washing machine or dish washer? The choices of apple, lemon, beans, orange, strawberries, and how about broken eggs?!

Haa.. very creative way to bring some instant excitement and renew look to your dull kitchen or bathroom and DIY way, too. The 2006 Original Panel de Coleccíon boasts hundreds of designs for your choices :

And if you think that’s not cool enough.. how about these?

or this

Or even this..

You can even customise to put your own picture or any graphics..

The big question now is how do you put those cosmetic on your appliances?

Here’s how you do it.

These are not printed on the "face" of your appliances. It is actually a decorative removable panel. The concept is similar to wall paper, you cut and paste. It is made of flexible plastic and easy to cut with scissors. The magnetic nature enables it to be easily stick on metal surfaces, even around curves. Hey, the manufacturer claims that the digital printing is of high quality.

Too bad that we can’t get it in this part of the world. Ehh.. if you are keen, try contact their distributor Vincon, see whether they want to do your business or not. Err.. price starts from Euro 100 (Euro1=RM4.70) without tax and shipping cost!

But then, I am still cracking my head how will these face lift suits to my present kitchen interior. hmm…

All pictures courtesy of Originalhouse.es and Vincon.

TheStar reports it too in today’s news. P&G Japan disputes these claims.

Remember the case of Bausch & Lomb ReNu multi-purpose solution withdrawal from the shelves?

Feb 2006 : our local daily reported that the solution was linked to the sharp increase of eyes infection cases. Cases were reported in Hong Kong and Singapore.

2 days later : B & L announced that their solution are here to stay.

One month later : Health Ministry ordered ReNu be withdrawn.

The case of SK-II, another "overlook" by the Health Ministry?

"We will also check on the authentication of the products and whether they are registered with the ministry," said Health Ministry Paliamentary Secretary.

He further said, "All cosmetic products need to be registered before they are marketed and we have the ‘stop, test and release’ mechanism to make sure the imported products are safe before they are made available on shelves.” 

Err.. how come he is making such statement? He is doubting big brands like SK-II is not registered? Scratching my head in disbelief…

I never swear in my blog, but today I am going to break the rule!!!! @#*!&% (is that the correct way to swear?) son of a b**tch, bugger virus. Can you imagine? BKDR_HAXDOOR.BC planted 435 viruses right into the heart of my laptop!! Thank goodness, the Anti-virus software detect, delete but was unable to clean up the mess.

Send an SOS to ISD, laptop was hospitalized for treatment, reformatted, re-download all the softwares and three-quarter of the day gone without access to pc.

Lesson learnt: Don’t hop around in alien blogs or websites. You will never know the son of a b**tch is waiting to attack you!

How do you know whether to install a pump or a non-pump water heater? Simple answer. Install a pump model ONLY when you have low water pressure. Common sense will tell you that if your water pressure is high, you won’t need a pump model. This is because the hot water temperature may drop due to excessive water flow rate.

Panasonic DH-3BP1M

How do you check whether the pressure is too strong for you to install a pump model? If you have a current model or a normal shower head, turn the shower head upward. On the water tap and the splashing height should be not more than 110 cm.

An efficient pump water heater should be able to boost up water pressure from as low as 4.9kpa (0.1kgf/cm2).

Beebest BWH-6688EP

There are basically 2 types of pump models in the market. The DC pump (Carbon brushless system) with brands such as Panasonic, Beebest. and the AC pump (carbon brush ystem) with brands like Alpha, Joven . So, what’s the differences and which type should you choose?

Price difference by almost RM100 
AC : Cheaper
DC : More expensive

Noise level:
AC : Noisy
DC : Quiet (Beebest claims to be world 1st high efficiency silent pump)

Pump lifespan :
AC : Shorter life
DC : Longer life (Panasonic and Beebest give 5 years warranty for its pump)

Joven 830

Most of the water heater brands in the market come with AC pumps with prices about RM400 level. But then the AC pumps get overstressed easily and have shorter life span.

Alpha SH-88EP

If you can bear with those noisy pump sound, or if you can afford to change the pump every two years* (depends on how frequent the set is used) use the AC pump type. Otherwise, it is recommended to buy the DC pump type which is longer lasting and slightly more expensive.

Panasonic and Beebest comes with DC pump range. Beebest has additional pump control function but comes with a much higher price tag, RM580 vs Panasonic RM479. Check out the nearest electrical or hardware shops for more information. Happy shopping..