Thing 28: Fan Blade Replacement

A few days ago, the fan blade on my Daikin 12 inch table fan finally gave way. I think I made the mistake of not placing the cover back securely.

The blade brushed against the steel cage and broke.

With 2 pieces came off the main blade, it could no longer rotate smoothly.

I made plans to check out some fan blades for the heck of it.

Most hypermarkets do stock them, so here's what I found.

Giant supermarket sold them at RM12.20, whilst Tesco was RM12.90. Not bad pricing.
Then there was Shopee & Lazada where the cheapest one I found was around RM8.50 (excluding the delivery cost RM4.50)
Finally I spotted one for RM4.71 in Mr.DIY (that huge DIY Hardware chain that was mushrooming all over Malaysia)

Ridiculously cheap right? But upon closer inspection, some buyers had already commented on their Shopee page that it wasn't a perfect fit.
Apparently the notches were too large. That made it even more irresistable to grab one. After all Mr.DIY had a great return policy.

Here's what I found.

Blade span: ok. perfect match.
Weight: ok. Original was ...gm. Mr.DIY was ...gm
Depth:
Notch size:

That was a bit worrying but after fitting it on.. it purred like a docile cat defying all laws of cat nature.

So there you go. If you aren't certain, feel free to check my stats against your old blades before you go shopping for a cheap Mr.DIY Blade

Happy Shopping folks!

Thing 27: Extracting your SMS from your iPhones

Remember in the good old days of Nokia's Symbian Phones where you could easily extract all the messages received on your phone.  Sometimes that can be pretty handy when you need details or evidence of certain messages received or sent.

Apple clearly didn't bother with those details in iTunes but some clever folks have shared ways to access your phone's SMS database.

Here's how I did it with their help

Why do it?

1. To count the messages you have received/sent for a specific period from all or specific individuals
2. Extract these records to be stored away in ASCII Text files or comma delimited files for documentation purposes
3. You can easily clean up the information above by a specific date ranges or mobile numbers.

How to do it?

Before you begin, backup your phone data into your PC using iTunes

1. Locate the backup files (Try this location C:\Documents and Settings\Your Name\Application Data\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup

2. Rename this file "3d0d7e5fb2ce288813306e4d4636395e047a3d28" to a shorter name e.g. "sms.db3"

 3. Start SQLite2009Pro

 4. Open the "sms.db3" file we saved earlier

5. Ignore the error messages

6. Now you can use SQLite 2009 Pro to extract records using the commands below

SELECT address, flags, datetime(date, 'unixepoch','localtime'), text
FROM [message]
order by date asc

Do note that the definition of "flags" (3= Messages Sent. 2= Messages Received)

7. click the Export button (Look just above the "Query #1| LUA")
8. Select Save as CSV
9. Click on the open folder icon
10. Enter a filename

11. Add this part to the earlier query if you want to find all messages sent after a certain date (e.g. 1st of May):

         where datetime(date, 'unixepoch','localtime') > '2012-05-01' and flags=3

Thing 26: Tracking SMS Usage

You know when Telcos limit you to a specific number of Short messages as part of your plan? Somehow the more we use, the more we get carried away.

One easy way to track your monthly consumption of those free SMS is to use SMSCounter from Installous (yeah, ya gotta jailbreak yr iPhone)

Yep, this little IOS app helps you count the number of text messages you have received & sent according to the period you specify. All ya gotta do is enter the start date & end date for your billing cycle.

It can even tell you which number seems to be getting most of your attention

The only sucky thing is that ya gotta purchase it from Installous. It ain't free. And if it expires, remember to head straight back into Installous to remove it. (coz ya can't just delete it from iTunes)

Thing 25: Maxis Gameloft Ripoff

Got another complaint, feels like this space is becoming a complaints page for telco service already. I removed all the swear words... hehehe :) :

I tried to download a free game from the Maxis WAP page and accidentally ended up paying RM4 for some stupid weekly subscription.

The problem is that it says send "stop gc" to terminate the service.


But the service never gets stopped. (see my jpg file) The &^%$#@ Gameloft will take money every week from my Maxis account.

Send HELP also no use. (see second pic)

Thing 24: Digi Mobile Internet AGAIN!

I didnt really realize that anyone was following this blog until I got this mail:

Dear S,

I am writing to tell you that your data on Digi's mobile internet charges is WRONG!

I signed up for the RM3 daily package for several days, and this is what happened.

Day 1. I was charged RM3 immediately.
Day 2. They charged me automatically at around 7:20AM.
Day 3. Again got charged RM3 automatically around 7:20AM.



Day 4. 1AM I tried to stop the service using *116 at around 1AM. Although I managed to receive a message that says the service was successfully terminated, it STILL CHARGED ME ANOTHER RM3

Day 4. 7:20AM, They charged me AGAIN!! RM3!

What a CHEAT this damn digi mobile internet is! Something stupid must be wrong with their damn systems!!##$%^$%

I have added some pictures from my phone. See for yourself la.

Thing 23: Group Kliks SMS from Maxis

Finally, someone in Malaysia has launched a Group SMS product.

Group SMS is where ordinary folks like us can :

1. Create a network of friends using Short messaging services
2. Support unlimited types of handphone models and softwares. (Stuff like WhatsApp comes pretty close but they won't work on cheaper models)
3. Save battery & money without being perpetually connected to the Internet on our phones
   

I think Maxis did a good job coming up with this little advertorial video or whatever



And this is where they put it on their portal.. Those colors won't attract anyone to this site.


Guess they meant to say Cliques SMS but Kliks sure had me confused with some online service.

Never mind about that. In principle, the service is pretty handy for ordinary humans with diverse friends that refuse to be iPhone iDiots.

To get started, all you got to do is type "ON" and send it to 28881.

The whole service seems to be fully menu driven so I don't need to remember special keywords.

I found this out when a friend introduced me to a group called "traffic". It crowd sources traffic information. Think it's similar to the Twitter feed but it's cleaner with less "noise".

Here are a few screen captures (I ripped out of my pal's iDiotfone) of what they have been talking about in there:

I circled out "Penguins" as its the general nickname they seem to give Traffic Cops who wear white top & black pant uniforms. Any warning on Penguins are related to roadblocks for speed traps, road tax / alcohol / registration /etc. checks.

Think I'll create a private group for my own pals to arrange our infrequent Futsal sessions.

Oh before I forget, the pricing is fairly cheap at only 99sen per month (noting that Twitter SMS is about RM4/month).

Sending messages costs 5sen an SMS but it can reach hundreds (assuming your group is that big :P)

Receiving is FREE!! (obviously, that's the best part)

I just wish there was some way to mute the service when I don't want that incessant beeping over quiet dinners.

Another failure is that they don't seem to work with Digi. That is a big big mistake!

Anyway, I will try it for a month and will post an update later.

Thing 22: Xhin Fhong BKT in Sungai Way PJ

Yet another 3 layer pork stopover. This is the 3rd time this year.

Quaint little house cum shop located in Sungai Way area (not to far from Ah Sang BKT)

Finding the place takes some effort with most of the one-way roads so please be prepared (i.e. have a printed map or use yr GPS Navigators)

Table selection is crucial here. Pick the wrong one and it'll get pretty warm when you start drinking hot soup along with hot tea.

If you come early in the morning, this is a nice place. The whole family helps out & they are a cheerful bunch.

This is a breakfast & lunch only place. Also, the ingredients normally gets wiped out by 1:45PM but come earlier or you won't get your preferred cuts. (this Tip is clearly for the 3 layer pork addicts)

What I do like about this place is the taste of the meats & not-so-commercialized feel of the place. (in comparison to that BKT giant less than 200 meters away)

No 557, SS9A/2
need to check the address

Gmaps: N 3.087532, E 101.615821