The Wonders of traffic Jam

It does not matter what car you have. From a RM5,000
junk to half a Million Ringgit or more, once you are stuck
in a traffic jam, everyone is the same. This is the great
Equaliser. After that, make sur your car is fast enough
to escape the embarrassment of being stuck with peasants

I got robbed!

It was on a Friday evening that the event happened. After finishing installing a Call Billing Software at my customer and bading farewell to my technician for the day, I went to my car. Because it was raining, I decided to take a turn behind my customer's office and then it happened.

I saw them before they saw me but when I tried to turn away, it was too late.

Men: Boss, what you want?
Me: Er, nothing. Nothing at all
Men: Sure or not?
Me: Yeah. Er, bye. Hey, have I seen you somewhere before? [I walked closer to have a better look]
Men: Not really.

And the trap was sprung. There was no way to escape. And I saw it with my own eyes, just in front of me, ready for the taking. Damn it to Hell. My body was ready to leave but my mind was adamant for the fix. It needed it badly like a junkie to a fresh snort of cocaine.

Me: Can you keep this for me? Its only ten days before my salary comes in
Men: Nope. You can always use this [Credit card machine]
Me: Oh, please, please. Pretty please?
Men: It might not be here in ten days time.......... [They are good, I tell you]
Me: Er, ah, uh, mmm............
Men: Its valid, we're been here for years and no surcharge
Me: Umm.............. ah what the heck. I'll take it!

Appleseed: Ex Machina and 20 discs of all Star Trek Movies [Director's Cut]
Including First Contact which I was looking for it for years

The Cable

Sometimes, when we are asked to solve a problem, we really have to use our wits and also any other (legal) means so that the job does not drag on. Because the longer you are there, the more it will cost the company. And sometimes, we really have to fight with our inner demons too.

Anyway, it all started when our customer asked us to solve the problem of an incoming line which has crackling noises. They have called in Telekom which as expected, told them the cable was not their problem. So, I had to send my technician to take a look to determine if we could solve it or not (since I was too busy with other service calls). My tech took one look at it and advised for the customer to lay a fresh cable. But since he does not have any fresh cable (as his mode of transport was the motorbike), I have to do the follow up job.

When I was there, I took a look at it and say (in my heart), "This can be repaired!". The reason why I was reluctant to lay a fresh cable was that the current cable/s are lying outside the balcony and it would be very dangerous to step out there alone. Second, well, second, the cables below the balcony are a mess and it would be a very dirty job.

This is the cable. When I moved it for a closer
look, the orange pair came off...

So! since it was not protected from the harsh
weather, the rain came in and did a little
electrolysis which corroded the cable and made
it useless.

When I opened the protective sheaths, the copper
inside were black. This indicates that the cable has
been wet before. Where the cable rusted were the
signs of copper sulfate (green stuff)

So, I took another pair of cable and used it to join
both ends. Voila! The line is not crackling anymore
and has pure dialing tone!

This is the reason why I do not want to
mess with the existing cables. I have
done this last year and it was messy

You can even see a bird nest (on the bottom left) and
a pigeon here.