Sunday, October 30, 2005
The $100 category
Succos vacation is over in 3 hours. At that time, I must have everything I brought home and everything else I'm bringing back packed away and ready to hit the van. I don't know how I'm gonna do it. Now don't think I'm about to get caught up in the last minute rush- everything i can think of is currently packed up and sitting in two bags by the front door. It's what I can't think of that bothers me. Clothes, hygeine products, miniscule amounts of food, english books, not english books, teffillin, hat, jacket, not hygeine products, shabbos shoes... is there anything else? Oh! Hot cocoa! Ima go get that right now. Alright, what else? I know I'm forgetting an entire category of something. And I'm going to know exactly what it is the second I get to WITS. What do I do? I'm gonna panic. Last year on the first Sunday out, I forgot all my pants at home. Has this ever happened to anyone else?
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
The ultimate hardware solution
It has finally arrived. The one you've all been waiting for. at least, the one y'all who've broken ipods, computers, televisions, palm pilots, game boys, or anything of the sort have been waiting for. the ultimate tech solution. ok, scenerio #1: You're listening to music on your ipod. suddenly, you drop it and the screen pops out and the speakers stop working. it costs something like a hundred bucks to fix, so you unscrew the back (can you do that? i don't have one) and start poking around. big problem: ALL YOU SEE IS A BIG GREEN DISK WITH WIERD WIRES AND METAL PARTS STICKING OUT OF IT. You have NO IDEA what you're doing. you're afraid to break something. what do you do?
ANSWER: stick a rubber eraser in it. that's the key. Just unscrew whatever it is, stick a rubber eraser in it, and screw it back shut. don't worry if the thing start randomly squeaking, or sparking, or if little purple dots start dancing across the screen. it's better than the alternative, right?
I discovered this when trying to fix my palm pilot. I have a Tapwave Zodiac, which is a nifty little device that i do believe would have toppled Sony, Nintendo, and all the other major outlets if Tapwave hadn't gone bankrupt a couple months back. pity. well, my zodiac is about 2 years old and showing it. the buttons are popping out, the casing is scratched and deformed and dented, and it doesn't respond well to headphones. none of this bothers me. however, recently the backlight for the screen died. it just stopped working. i didn't even drop it. after consulting some online techies, and also some of my friends and family (who know what they're talking about), and started beating the thing against a woodeen desk. this has actually worked in the past. but this time was different. my efforts were wasted. unperterbed, i borrowed a hammer from one of my freinds at WITS and started bashing the thing. I think i got some of the dents out. but the backlight still didn't work. the screen was unviewable.
finally, i did the unthinkable. since I'm not exactly afraid of the warranty expiring (see "Tapwave went bankrupt", above) i got a tiny little screwdriver, opened up the back and started poking around. I immediatly encountered the problem that all the buttons, lights, cables, switches, or anything else in the device that could POSSIBLY need fixing or be fixed, was locked away behind a large green chip. the chip is unmovable. it takes up the entire case, with just a small hole for the battery, which is also unmovable. i was unable to reach the backlight. not ready to give up, i started gently tapping the various parts with the hammer. no effect. i tried sticking the tiny screw driver into every hole i could find and jerking it around. still nothing. then i just starting moving things around with my fingers. I 'd like to thank the Zodiac (or as i call it, "the Z") for being so resilient throughout my little expedition into its inards, and not crumbliong into a hopeless pile of broken parts and microchips. i really appreciate its cooperation.
finally, i struck gold. the green chip has, every here and there, these little square black pads sprouting up. i don't know what they are, some of them have writing on them, some don't. whatever. well, the biggest one i could see had "DM X1" clearly printed on it. i think it's the video card or something. curious, i started shoving the thing with my index finger as hard as i could (dont try this at home). suddenly, the backlight went on. i backed away, astonished, and the light went off. I experimetned a bit and found that when i shoved the thing in as hard as i could, the light went on, but whenever i removed my finger, it went back off. jackpot. obviously, whatever was loose in there was beneath it, unreachable. what do i do? i got a rubber eraser, stuck it right on top, and screwed the back on. it didn't fit. i mean, it REALLY didn't fit. the Z started bulging and squeaking in protest, but i wouldnt let out. Finally i reinserted everthing i'd taken out, and turned it on. THE LIGHT WORKED! HALLELUKA! only one small problem, one half of the screen is somewhat dark, and in the center of that half is a not-so-small black spot the shape of an eraser. oh well. nothing i can do about that. i'm certainly not going back in there. i mean, better than the alternative, right?
i think this just shows that you don't need to be a techie genius to fix hardware stuff. you don't even need any brains at all. just a tiny screw driver and a rubber eraser. the hammer's contribution remains somewhat questionable.
ANSWER: stick a rubber eraser in it. that's the key. Just unscrew whatever it is, stick a rubber eraser in it, and screw it back shut. don't worry if the thing start randomly squeaking, or sparking, or if little purple dots start dancing across the screen. it's better than the alternative, right?
I discovered this when trying to fix my palm pilot. I have a Tapwave Zodiac, which is a nifty little device that i do believe would have toppled Sony, Nintendo, and all the other major outlets if Tapwave hadn't gone bankrupt a couple months back. pity. well, my zodiac is about 2 years old and showing it. the buttons are popping out, the casing is scratched and deformed and dented, and it doesn't respond well to headphones. none of this bothers me. however, recently the backlight for the screen died. it just stopped working. i didn't even drop it. after consulting some online techies, and also some of my friends and family (who know what they're talking about), and started beating the thing against a woodeen desk. this has actually worked in the past. but this time was different. my efforts were wasted. unperterbed, i borrowed a hammer from one of my freinds at WITS and started bashing the thing. I think i got some of the dents out. but the backlight still didn't work. the screen was unviewable.
finally, i did the unthinkable. since I'm not exactly afraid of the warranty expiring (see "Tapwave went bankrupt", above) i got a tiny little screwdriver, opened up the back and started poking around. I immediatly encountered the problem that all the buttons, lights, cables, switches, or anything else in the device that could POSSIBLY need fixing or be fixed, was locked away behind a large green chip. the chip is unmovable. it takes up the entire case, with just a small hole for the battery, which is also unmovable. i was unable to reach the backlight. not ready to give up, i started gently tapping the various parts with the hammer. no effect. i tried sticking the tiny screw driver into every hole i could find and jerking it around. still nothing. then i just starting moving things around with my fingers. I 'd like to thank the Zodiac (or as i call it, "the Z") for being so resilient throughout my little expedition into its inards, and not crumbliong into a hopeless pile of broken parts and microchips. i really appreciate its cooperation.
finally, i struck gold. the green chip has, every here and there, these little square black pads sprouting up. i don't know what they are, some of them have writing on them, some don't. whatever. well, the biggest one i could see had "DM X1" clearly printed on it. i think it's the video card or something. curious, i started shoving the thing with my index finger as hard as i could (dont try this at home). suddenly, the backlight went on. i backed away, astonished, and the light went off. I experimetned a bit and found that when i shoved the thing in as hard as i could, the light went on, but whenever i removed my finger, it went back off. jackpot. obviously, whatever was loose in there was beneath it, unreachable. what do i do? i got a rubber eraser, stuck it right on top, and screwed the back on. it didn't fit. i mean, it REALLY didn't fit. the Z started bulging and squeaking in protest, but i wouldnt let out. Finally i reinserted everthing i'd taken out, and turned it on. THE LIGHT WORKED! HALLELUKA! only one small problem, one half of the screen is somewhat dark, and in the center of that half is a not-so-small black spot the shape of an eraser. oh well. nothing i can do about that. i'm certainly not going back in there. i mean, better than the alternative, right?
i think this just shows that you don't need to be a techie genius to fix hardware stuff. you don't even need any brains at all. just a tiny screw driver and a rubber eraser. the hammer's contribution remains somewhat questionable.
Sunday, October 23, 2005
Forgotten/not at all scary
OK I think i've discovered the cause of my blog's sudden drop in popularity. I forgot it existed. also, i did not figure out how to post on it untill tonight. it's wilting away now. I send an urgent plea for help to the PT: Please link to my blog! It will shrivel away into nothingness if you don't! also if i forget about it again, i can remember by going to your blog.
on a very much different note, today i went out to see a movie, like the in-a-theater type. it was called DOOM, based on a popular videogame from the early 1990s. it was supposed to be really scary, and my brother larry (yeah whtvr u all know who i mean) who is a big fan of DOOM, wanted to see the movie. "Larry," i said, shaking my head, "you can't stand scary stuff. this movie is bound to be very scary! why would you want to see it?" to which he replied, "moe, just cuz you're too scared to watch it, doesn't mean i should be." Well, i couldnt let that one go. oh no. so i went with him, just to prove to him that his big brother isnt a sissie. of course, it also helped that i haven't done anything else yet all succos break.
The movie was rather dissappointing. I honestly expected it to be scary, but it wasn't. somewhere they botched it up, turning it from an action-packed horror film into a rather-boring action film. maybe it was the cheesy generic rock music that seemed to start up at random places. when we walked out, my brother said to me, "ha, moe, that wasnt scary at all!" as much as i love arguing with him, i had to concede the point.
wow, my first movie review. catching up on you, fudge!
on a very much different note, today i went out to see a movie, like the in-a-theater type. it was called DOOM, based on a popular videogame from the early 1990s. it was supposed to be really scary, and my brother larry (yeah whtvr u all know who i mean) who is a big fan of DOOM, wanted to see the movie. "Larry," i said, shaking my head, "you can't stand scary stuff. this movie is bound to be very scary! why would you want to see it?" to which he replied, "moe, just cuz you're too scared to watch it, doesn't mean i should be." Well, i couldnt let that one go. oh no. so i went with him, just to prove to him that his big brother isnt a sissie. of course, it also helped that i haven't done anything else yet all succos break.
The movie was rather dissappointing. I honestly expected it to be scary, but it wasn't. somewhere they botched it up, turning it from an action-packed horror film into a rather-boring action film. maybe it was the cheesy generic rock music that seemed to start up at random places. when we walked out, my brother said to me, "ha, moe, that wasnt scary at all!" as much as i love arguing with him, i had to concede the point.
wow, my first movie review. catching up on you, fudge!
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