Reparing my Nokia 5800

Belated post[26.04.2009 19:07]

I took a day off today because I expected to help my Dad in settling all the problems caused by TNB on Saturday. But there was a problem because none of us did compile the list of broken equipment. Rather, my Dad wanted to go to TNB and find out the procedures firsthand. Luckily we went to the Kepong TNB as suggested by the techs since our area was in that jurisdiction. But if we stayed further, it would be TNB Pantai. Weird.

As usual, we were given the run around from Ground Floor Service Counter to Fifth Floor back to Ground Floor Customer Service to Consumer bla.. bla.. bla.. But after less than 30 minutes, we got what we wanted. If we had the list, and if the Reception Lady was around, we would have solved the problem there and then.

Anyway, since I took the leave, I decided to continue with my plan to repair my Nokia 5800 as the broken screen is getting worse. Instead of going the nearest Nokia Care Centre (either KLCC or Bangsar) i went straight to Plaza Berjaya where Zitron is. I sort of guessed that most of the mobile phones being repaired would be sent there. And En. Wan (of Nokia Bangsar) confirmed my theory when he said he had to beat the traffic to get my phone back from Imbi in May 2009. The first stop was at Nokia Care int he first floor only to be told to go to the 13th floor since they have no stock on the Nokia 5800 screen.

After talking nicely to the girls at the counter, they promised to get it done (the LCD screen replacement and speaker buzzes) in under two hours. But if I wanted them to thoroughly check why it hangs so much, I would have to leave it with them for at least one working day. This is something which I could not do and so, I settled with the screen and speaker and hoped for the best. In the meantime, I window shopped at Low Yatt. There were so many things that caught my eye, especially the OEM (or is it a pirated) wireless Microsoft Arc mouse selling for RM60.00 as the original was being sold for about RM195.00. Anyway, I have ordered some wireless mice from eBay, and so, its no go for now.

I was very happy because not only did they
repaired the screen in under two hours, the
firmware was also updated to version 31. I
think its not even out yet because I was on
the Nokia Updater every day for the past
week before I sent it for repair.

I did not notice much changes but the phone feels
more reliable and slightly faster than before. So
far, it has not gone nuts when I made some calls
nor play my MP3s. Oh, one of the difference was
that the new Nokia OVI map (which is not
compatible with the old one and must be deleted
and have a new one downloaded) now sports some
clouds over the Horizon when you choose 3D view.
But since I am not paying for this, its not useful to
me. But I suspect, with the built-in compass in the
n97, the effect would be wonderful.

And oh yeah, the Satellite screen is now "floating"

The Nokia Care Centre has reformatted my phone
(except the 8GB memory card) and so I have to
upload all the backed up data back into the phone.

Not a problem here except that
I have to remove OVI 2.0 and
went back to version 1.1. But
before that, I used PC Suite
version 7 which worked too.

Finally, my Nokia 5800 is back to normal

Feeling a bit itchy, I decided to download some
free games from the OVI store such as Sims3,
Zombie Infection, Mafia Wars, and Assassin's
Creed. As usual, Sim3 is not really my kind of
game as I do not understand its concept.

Another thing I noticed was that the WiFi on
the Nokia 5800 is now always on but it does
not use much power. Either that or I do not
know how to switch it off anymore.

Here's a shot of the Zombie Infection game.
It works well on the Nokia 5800 but if I had
a kaypad, I could enter the cheat modes and
finish the game faster. The last time Kaelynn
played it, she deleted my saved game. So,
until I finish this game, I am not going to let
her play with my Phone. Same with Kristine.

By the way, after the phone was repaired, I had
some cash left and bought this miniature toy for
RM20.00 from a toy shop at Low Yatt Plaza. If I
wanted one from the Internet, it would have
cost me much much more.

I really liked this Enterprise

Then I realised why the price was so cheap.
The description on the base was for another
ship. But I am not bothered at all. Maybe I
will be lucky and get an Enterprise-D

Repairing my tools

Belated post[25.10.2009 23:09]

The trip to Sungai Wang was fruitful and everyone go what they wanted. Except for Mommy. Kristine and Kaelynn each got a bottle of nail polish (apart from Kristine's accessories) while I got my military belt. I was eyeing this belt for a very long time. And when I asked about it last year, it was RM150.00. Now, its only RM58.00 but despite trying to haggle for a lower price, the young urchin wouldn't budge. Anyway, with my waist pouch's belt going, I have to buy it. If I waited any longer, the belt would snap and my pouch would be useless, just like the old one.

This is my pouch. Notice how worn it is now

The yellow part shows where the missing piece has
snapped off. Its a sign that (I am getting fatter) the
buckle is going to go anytime soon.

There is a reason why I chose this design not
because of its military link.

The real reason is that the buckle is replaceable.
And right now, it is being held by velcro. Which
is very nice but since this is the biggest size, I
have to hold it in when I bend down as the belt
will be tied above my existing pants belt.

I had to turn the belt inside out so that one side has
the velcro patch (on the outside) which the pouch
easily clings while the inner side is smooth.

But I am not done yet. As the pouch is worn,
it cannot keep its shape and so, most of the
time, I feel that the tools are being crushed

As I have less than an hour to do this, I took
a piece of scrap trunking and shaped it into
a makeshift case.

There. Now all my tools are more or less organised.
But I would need some smaller casing to make some
smaller compartments which I will do later.

With the casing in place, which by coincidence, is
the same size as the pouch's, it now looks better.

With everything done, I was just in time to stop
the mischief by both girls. Yeah, they helped
themselves to their nail polish........

This one was more difficult as its not easy
to remove nail polish when someone is
sleeping. Because when she sleeps, she
tends to suck her fingers........

Unfortunately, I just remembered one other thing. How to power/test my Notebook when the power supply is burnt. The problem is that although I can whip up a makeshift power supply circuit but it needed more than 1Amp.

This is the fried power supply unit. In reality,
this is my third power supply.

This was my second power supply.

And so, devoid of a 15volt 5Amp power source,
I tried my luck with a 12volt PC PSU and it did
work! But there are some side effects such as
running at a slower speed, the hard disk is most
of the time, running and then I cannot charge
the batteries. Which is not a problem since the
batteries are dead; it cannot be recharged.

Finally, just before bedtime,
Kristine showed us her new
Tiara (which lasted a week)

Lunch at La Bodega

Belated post[25.10.2009 14:00]

After having a restless night in the other room, I was still in a good mood. So, why am I in a good mood? Its not because I scolded the new neighbours yesterday but because we're going to have lunch at La Bodega, Bangsar! Actually, its my Sister-in-Law's treat as a reward for getting her nuvi GPS up and running. Funnily enough we know where La Bodega is and after all these years, I have never stepped foot in there. I mean, with a name like that, I am not even sure what it was all about. Then again, I am a chap-fan/tai-chau sort of person.

Still, this will be a great experience because, there will be no mistake about ordering the wrong/expensive type of food and still look like a fool. The only fact I realise is that its a Spanish restaurant/bar and not Mexican. Anyway, my SIL said to go for the tapas which I think was similar to side dishes or something. When I looked at the menu, I understood what she meant. The main dishes were all in one single boring page while the tapas was literally everywhere else.

The pictures looked weird because it was very dark
in there and I had to stop myself from using the
flash in case other patrons get annoyed. So, I lost a
lot of good pictures as they all got blurred.

The first dish to arrive was the prawns. I am not sure
what the real name was since I was not the one who
did the ordering. But its prawns soaked in hot boiling
(olive?) oil along with slices of garlic and chili. But do
trust me, its salty as well. Throughout the whole time,
Kristine and I could not get enough of dipping the mini
french loaf into the oil and eating them. This is easily
the most favourite dish for me.

The second dish was the chicken with mashed potatoes.
I loved the mashed potatoes because it was mixed with
butter and some herbs. The chicken was delicious too.
But I kept eating the bread dipped in prawn oil......

Then came the asparagus, which is nice but then
again, I am not used to the (really) cooked ones
and served with butter and or garlic or something.
So we dipped the bread into the prawn oil.......

Last but not least, came the duck. Its nice, but tasted
too much duck. And the mashed potatoes that came
with it was pink in colour. So I ate most of the duck
and the decorations that came with it.

And then I spreaded the pink mashed potatoes
onto the bread that was dipped in prawn oil.

As the (or my) Salmon dish did not arrive, I was
not too bothered with it since I had to finish all
the duck but at the same time, going through the
third basket of bread which I dipped in prawn oil

Kristine and Kaelynn looking out of the window. I had
to use flash here. I wanted to order the paella out there
but I think at RM30.00 per person, it was not worth it.

Anyway, after the lunch, my Sister in Law needed to go to KLCC while we had to go to Sungei Wang to look for Kristine's accessories. I wanted her to come along but this would mean detour and lateness to the second destination. By the time we reached Sg. Wang, the entrance turn into Imbi Plaza/Low Yatt was sealed off and so, I made a U-turn in (in front of the traffic police) and parked nearby BTS.

Some quiet moment

Belated post [23.10.2009 21:50]

Kristine tried to read some books to Kaelynn
so that she does not play too much with my
Nokia 5800. Her reading skills even surprised
me because if I were at her age, I couldn't even
read that much.

No steroids needed

Belated post[24.10.2009 14:40]

Ladies and Gentlemen, presenting the
all natural beauty enhancement! Let
me say, its one of the most effective
product of all time and it works!

The result is instantaneous and its
very quick to apply. No need for
those old fashioned surgery and
creams. Even girls love them.

And we have a lot of satisfied customers.
Why, you can even apply them from a
very young age. And let me tell you this:
there are no side effects.

What are they? Yes, the Okachi balls.

Curry Breakfast

Belated post [23.10.2009 09:02]

Yum yum! Mom packed this for me. Its a corn,
peas cooked with curry and then mixed with
crunchy prawn chili and chicken floss. So, I just
spooned most of them out and finished the rice.
For lunch, I just mixed them with oats.

Kristine's Something

Belated post [23.10.2009 08:21]

I forgot what it was but she's
dressed up and I was late for
work.

Going to Tesco's

Belated post [24.10.2009 22:02]

After simmering in the heat waiting for TNB to arrive, I could not take it anymore and so, heeded my Wife's plan to shop for Kristine's costume at Tesco. I mean, there is only so much I can do. Either I wait for TNB to show up or complete Kristine's costume. I know why my Mom is so desperate for me to stay as the she hopes that I can talk to the TNB guys and relate what happened so that they could do their job and she can watch her Astro. And I am beginning to hate Astro.

By the time we got to Tesco, we were quite lucky to find a nice parking spot. But this is not what I wanted to tell you about. The whole place was literally empty. During the weekends, Tecso would be packed but not today. Its already near to the end of the month which means everyone is out of cash and not only that, Hari Raya was last month which means most of them got paid in advance and had to suffer for the rest of the seven weeks to come.

Kristine found a small shopping
trolley which she pushed about
and then got me to push it for
her when she got tired. Yes, all
other customers were looking.

Wanted to get Kaelynn a new pair
of shoes but never got the chance.
Yeah, this time, at Tesco, they did
not have her size unless you want
to pay more than RM30.00 for it.

New designs to milk more cash from the parents.
I did not show this to Kristine in case she wants
one too. The push button in the Ben10 symbol is
very fragile and the batteries cannot be changed
unless you're willing to break it open. And the
price is obscene for a LED flasher in a shoe.
I showed it to Kaelynn but she's not interested.

Wrap your non-Ramly burgers here.

No one took notice since they're very
quiet in doing it. Not even the Guard
nearby knew what was happening.

Back home, the house was still in darkness and
just sitting there waiting for the bath water to
boil really sinks it in.

12 minutes of Destruction

Belated post [24.10.2009 0640]

Around this time, the only person who was awake at this time would be my Wife as she needs to do her chores. And just halfway through, I was woken up from the smoke in the room. Seems like the night light was flickering and the room lights were giving out very bad smell. So, I quickly switched everything off. But stupid me went and switch it on again for no apparent reason only to have the lights making those alarming popping sounds. The next clue which really woke me up was in the opposite room where the fan and my Notebook was on; the fan was spinning wildly as if someone set the speed to maximum.

Yes. Voltage Overload!!!

So, I quickly switched both the fan and my Notebook off. And there was an awful smell from my Notebook's power adaptor which means its burnt but luckily, the Notebook was safe. Then I rushed down to my wife....

Only to be greeted with darkness. Switching the lights on and off was the most stupidest thing to do. But also, I went and switched off every electrical appliance that was on, standby or not.

Then I got my meter out and measured the voltage.
Sure enough, it was 415volts.

I remembered my Dad telling me this
house was running on three phase, I
took my meter downstairs and also
got the same reading. This is very bad.

I have heard about other people being the victims but this time, we're the victims. By now, almost everyone was up and I told my Dad not to switch anything on as it was an overload. So, my Dad called the electrician to help get things done but he was in Kuala Lupis. By the time I came back from work (Yes, I have to work on Saturdays), we all agreed to make the call to TNB (15454) where the first team arrived in less than half an hour. Why did I call them the first team?

Because there's more. Heh

After checking our meter and so on, they went up to the sub-station and came back to tell us that there is some cabling fault which they will call the second. By this time, they have disconnected the fuses, but promising us that the second team would put it back later. I called back to TNB to confirm the second team and told them the situation about our house and the fuses. Not only that, the whole row of houses was also disconnected in case they had the same problem. Some of the neighbours saw the TNB van parked outside our house and started to demand/complain. I stepped in and tersely told them that it was ME who made the call and they have to be patient while I finished my business with the TNB guy. Some of these rich people piss me off as they think they have the right to command. And no manners too. I really told the lady off and her son looked at me knows that they're not going to get anywhere with me in the way and so, he quietly herded her back to her house. Oh yeah, they just moved in a month ago. Ha ha ha.

With nothing much to do, we decided to go to Tesco for some of Kristine's costume for her upcoming concert in two week's time. This did not go down well with my Mom since I was the only person who spoke to them and could converse well in Malay. Anyway, halfway through our shopping, we got the call from my Dad saying they needed some candles. This is bad news as the only reason we need candles would be that the second team either did not turn up or, they could not do anything.

By the time we came back, it was already late evening and of all the houses, our was still in darkness. So, I made another 15454 call and was told that the second team did come but they only did the sub-station and did not receive any information about re-connecting our fuses. And, it was already nearly eight in the evening, or slightly more. So, the third team came about an hour later. And yes, he told us its not his area of expertise. I was called back from Terasek around half past nine while I was visiting a friend and customer on their Deepavali open house. Yes, as usual, it was always up to me to visit customers since my Boss never shows up for these open houses. I think, one day, the customer is going to get pissed off and never call us anymore.

And so, we have to wait for another team, which came around eleven at night. By this time, everyone was very restless since it was difficult to sleep especially when Kaelynn does not understand why the house was in darkness.

And so, the fourth (and last) team
came in two lorries. After about
half an hour, our electricity was
restored and at the correct voltage

By the time electricity was restored, Kristine was
fast asleep as she was really exhausted from all
the complaining in the dark and also the trip to
Tesco. So, Kaelynn took the opportunity to play
with her sister's golf set.

The next morning, I still could not see the difference in the
work that was done. But you can see a lot of tapping here.

And so, now, we have to assess the damage and draft a letter to TNB. The casualties were:
1) 2x Aircons
2) My Notebook
3) Two washing machines
4) Two fans
5) Lots and lots of lights
6) A water pump
7) And more.

And funnily enough, the Astro, VCR, TV, Fridge, Internet Modem and router survived even though they were turned on. On the next Tuesday, I handed the letter bu Hand and surprisingly, in the afternoon, a technician came to see the damage for himself. Still, I am not too confident about the compensation but we did stress on repair costs and not new units.

Unfortunately, for the time being, the four of us had to move to my sister's room until the lights, fan and the air-con is fixed. I wanted to pay some but with my September salary being so late (and most probably by November) I could not even do anything but suffer in silence. Sometimes, I really hate the job.