Who buys computers these days? Build your own instead

Six years ago my son and i decided to build a computer,

 rather than buy one off-the-shelf.

It was time well spent together!

Now he's built his own gaming machine,

all by himself!

Need help building your own computer?
Ask us

Replacing the capacitor in our Carrier Air-conditioning unit

Although the AC was running through the hot summer night,

it wasn't cooling the rooms.

Figured it might be a problem with either the thermostat or the capacitor. 
Although the compressor wasn't coming on, 
It was definitely not a compressor failure, 
since the system is only 5 years old, 
and Carrier units last a lot longer than that 
(based on past experience)

Thermostat seemed fine, but replaced the battery anyway

Got someone to check the capacitor, since I don't have a multimeter,
And I don't know how to check a capacitor,
And sure enough, the capacitor had failed

Got a spare temporary capacitor from a friend, 
till the one I ordered arrives.
The temporary one has the same specifications as the old one,
But it's a different shape

Replacing the battery in the Audi A3

Diagnosing and replacing a car battery is no big deal, 

but I learnt a very valuable lesson that I want to share with other car owners.

And that is ...

Don't be fooled by technology 

(Sensors, ECU fault codes displayed on your dashboard, car diagnostic scanners etc)

 and don't let someone use technology to fool you.

Yesterday after driving for 20 minutes, I parked the car and waited for about 15 minutes,

and when it was time to leave, the car wouldn't start.

When I turned the ignition on, the ECU showed me several faults

With 8 years experience owning 2 Audis I knew it was impossible to have so many faults

I did a scan using my gadget and app

No fault codes, even though the display on the dashboard shows me there are faults

I suspected a dying battery, as the headlights would come on, 

flicker and go off in a few seconds.

The horn worked, so did many other electrical components.

But this is where many get fooled, and get their cars towed to a service center.

I ignored the towing suggestions of others, and asked for the battery to checked first.

Got the car jump started.

The ECU still showed me faults, but fewer faults like 

electronic stabilization control, brake fault, steering malfunction etc.

All of these would scare anyone into towing their car to the service center 

☺

But I wanted to know the source of the problem

Got a detailed battery report for FREE

Clearly, the battery was dying, and not powerful enough to start the car

Confirmed that the charging system was good

Got a new battery

No faults on the dashboard

Common sense stuff I learnt:

1) The faults that the ECU displays on your dashboard can mislead the owner 

to take their car to a service center 

and you could end up repairing or replacing parts that have actually NOT failed.

This can be time consuming and very expensive!

2) The more technologically advanced a car is, the more sensors it will have. 

And several components like the throttle pedal, 

use sensors that are highly sensitive to tiny voltage fluctuations.

So a dying battery could trigger a malfunction in any voltage-sensitive sensor, 

the sensor will send signals to the ECU saying there is a malfunction in that component, 

the ECU will send signals to the dashboard to you and me, 

saying something terrible is wrong with your car.

Once again, don't be fooled by technology, 

and don't let someone like a technician with a computer, 

use technology to fool you

☺

I have 2 suggestions for car manufacturers:

1) Instead of the Owners manual that is provided in a book form, 
provide a tablet with diagnostics software. 
This will be more useful and it will also occupy less pace in the so called "glove" compartment.

2) On the dashboard, provide a digital battery indicator that shows battery usage, 
just like what we all have on our phones

Happy and safe winter driving!

See all my Audi related posts here

Moving photos from a Canon DSLR camera to an Android cellphone via USB without a computer

On our last road trip we lost our laptop and miraculously got it back. 

Next time, I don't want to take the laptop, instead I'd like to download photographs from the Canon camera directly to my cellphone for 3 reasons:

1) It's a backup in case something happens to the SD card in the camera

2) It's easy to share photos online from a cellphone

3) It saves space not having to carry a laptop!

Most of the folks I met (including the store where I got the cables from) said it was impossible to connect the Canon to an Android device via USB without additional software and hardware, so I said let me try.

Here's how I connected the Canon 60D DSLR directly to the Sony Xperia X Performance via USB with just two cables.

All you need is an OTG cable like the one below in my hand, and the USB cable to connect your camera to a computer (although in this case you don't need a computer)

Plug one end of the (camera/computer) cable into the camera, and the other into the OTG

Turn the camera on, and then plug in the micro USB end into the cellphone

You'll see a popup on the phone like shown below letting you know that the USB is connected

Select the downloads application to do the transfer

The cellphone is now connected to the Canon camera 

From your cellphone, select the photos you want to move from the camera to your cellphone

Select the folder on your cellphone to where you want to move the photos to

DCIM > 100 ANDRO is where the cellphone camera stores pictures by default, so I've selected that same folder

And select Move

That's it!

The photos are now on your cellphone, with the originals still on the Canon camera.

Why Social Media networks may not be for you

For those like my mother who have no idea what ‘social media’ is, be grateful and consider yourselves blessed that you don’t know what it is. Because you have a better, socially interactive and productive network of friends and strangers, doing good for this world, quietly, than many of us do.

And for those who are privileged to read this article, because you have been given another day in your life, and a gadget called a mobile phone or a computer to spend hours on away from real human interaction, hope this enables you to be a better citizen of the world. Because if it doesn’t, social media networks may not be for you.

Consider the answers to these questions.

     1) Why am I using social media?

     2) Why do I network?

Everyone has different answers to these questions, but one thing is true for everybody.

If you take the ‘social’ out of your network or media, you’ll be left with …

Here’s how to be more social.

If you are a photographer connect and interact with photographers.

If you are a mother, connect and interact with others like you.

If you are a business owner or company, connect and interact with your customers.

If you are pastor, connect and interact with everyone.

If you are recruiter, connect and interact with your connections.

If you are a sales leader, connect and interact with your team.

The key point I’m trying to make is, social is all about interaction.

Nobody is interested in your title, your accomplishments, or the number of connections or followers you have. If one of your connections asks you a question, please answer it, or disconnect. 
Ignoring is apathy. And apathy has been socially viewed as far worse than hate.

I have a very small network of friends globally, across cultures and languages, who I interact with mainly face-to-face, by phone call and email. I find that those interactions and relationships are more meaningful to each other than those in my social networks using social media. I am open to connecting with anybody, anywhere for the sole purpose of interacting and learning anything new. In my social networks, I value interactions and relationships much more than the number of connections, so I have enabled messaging to anyone. Even if we don’t follow each other, you can message me!

Btw, if you are a public service organization or law enforcement agency, you should enable the ability for the public to contact you, without having them to connect with you.

If you cannot interact with your own connections and followers, then why are you connected to them in the first place? 

Add the social element back to your network of friends, family & strangers, and be happy!

Because life is too short, and nothing is more important to us as humanity, than to love, and be loved.

No more printer cartridges!

Filling ink and initializing the Epson ET 4550 and hoping not to buy ink for the next few years

☺

Search tips

Turning off Signed-out search activity in Google
https://www.google.ca/history/optout?hl=en

Adblock Plus 
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/search/adblock%20plus

Replacing the camera lens cover on a Samsung Galaxy S5

 

When the camera lens cover shattered on my daughters phone, I figured I could fix it.

 

Remove the rear cover of the phone.

Remove the metal ring that holds the lens cover in place.

 

The glass/plastic cover was completely shattered so I had to make sure no broken pieces fell on to the camera

After removing the debris ...

Make sure that the phone is well protected from moisture and dust
by taping up with a temporary cover till you get a new lens cover.

 

Ordered a new replacement lens cover and bezel ... 

 

... which arrived in the mail in less than five days,

and cost me less than $8/- delivered at home!

Replaced the parts

 

 

All fixed and ready to take photos again!

 

From a design perspective, I don't like how the camera lens cover projects out on the Samsung.

This makes it easily prone to damage.

 

Which is why I prefer my Sony Z1 ☺

Check this video