Find an honest computer box technician?

PAYING FORWARD A KINDNESS

A year ago, Typhoon Ondoy (international name Ketsana) hit my family and caused considerable flood damage to our house and to the 2004 Honda City A/T that my daughter drives. I was particularly worried about the Honda’s all-important computer box, which had been submerged.

I went all over Metro Manila looking for a repair shop that could fix the computer box.  The Honda dealer in Marikina where we bought the car was no help and wanted to charge us so much money!

Finally, after weeks of frustration, I found someone.  The only electronics technician who fixed the computer box owns a small repair shop in Makati City. This is his name and contact information:

RAMSA Electronics
Mr. Ramon Samonte, owner
1879 Evangelista St., cor Pasay Road, Pio del Pilar, Makati City
884-2787, fax 751-0247
ramon.samonte@yahoo.com

I found him on the web, and got in touch with him because of positive comments on his honesty and good work.

Since he knew I came all the way from Antipolo, he readily offered to work on my computer box while I waited. He inspected the computer box with some probe instruments, cleaned it, soldered a broken contact point, and told me there appeared to be nothing wrong with the ICs, the connections, resistors, etc.

I asked him how much I should pay. After a few seconds of silence, he said I didn’t owe him anything. He felt he didn’t really do much to deserve being paid. I was stunned and speechless. I was embarrassed and again offered to pay him something but he said it was ok.

He normally charges P4,500 for repairing computer boxes — with a money-back guarantee if the repair doesn’t work, or if the client is unhappy with the repair for any reason.

My daughter’s repaired computer box has been working like a charm for a year now!

And so I would like to promote this Good Samaritan. At that time, there were so many snakes conning hapless car owners. I should know. I talked to a few who wanted to charge me as much as P50,000 for labor alone!

Brew really good coffee at home?

For my money, the only way to brew really good coffee is to use a coffee press (see photo), sometimes called a French press. It’s simplicity in itself.  Be sure to use regular grind — not drip grind.  I normally put two-three scoops for every cup of coffee.  Heat clean water and once it boils, pour smoothly into the coffee press.  Stir with about 30 strokes (I use a whisk).  Then, insert the press but do not press immediately.  Let the coffee steep for about half a minute before pressing and then pouring.  My wife and I normally take coffee with muscovado, which is raw brown sugar.

Keep kitchen knives always sharp?

By honing them with a butcher’s steel (also called honing steel, sharpening steel, sharpening stick, sharpening rod, or chef’s steel) before and after using them. Before using a knife, spend a few seconds honing it with about 30 strokes. Then when you’re through using the knife and before putting it away, hone it again also with about 30 strokes.  Do this to all the knives you frequently use.  You’ll be using a sharp knife every time!

Create filler or placeholder text when designing a newsletter or brochure?

Use “lorem ipsum”, which is substitute, nonsense text used by page designers. You can copy and paste the text below.

In Microsoft 2007 and 2010 beta, you can generate “lorem ipsum” by typing “=lorem(i)” or “=lorem(i, j)”  where i and j are natural numbers. The i denotes the number of paragraphs and j (default 3) denotes the number of sentences per paragraph. You can create up to 6,665 paragraphs.

Curious about the origin of “lorem ipsum”? It’s from a Latin text by Cicero with words altered, added and removed to make it nonsensical in meaning.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. Ut wisi enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exerci tation. ullamcorper suscipit lobortis nisl ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis autem vel eum iriure dolor in hendrerit in vulputate velit esse molestie consequat, vel illum dolore eu feugiat nulla facilisis at vero eros et accumsan et iusto odio dignissim qui blandit praesent luptatum zzril delenit augue duis dolore te feugait nulla facilisi. Nam liber tempor cum soluta nobis eleifend option congue nihil imperdiet doming id quod mazim placerat facer possim assum. Typi non habent claritatem insitam; est usus legentis in iis qui facit eorum claritatem. Investigationes demonstraverunt lectores legere me lius quod ii legunt saepius. Claritas est etiam processus dynamicus, qui sequitur mutationem consuetudium lectorum. Mirum est notare quam littera gothica, quam nunc putamus parum claram, anteposuerit litterarum formas humanitatis per seacula quarta decima et quinta decima. Eodem modo typi, qui nunc nobis videntur parum clari, fiant sollemnes in futurum.

Tie a Necktie?

FOLLOW THESE STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS

(Here’s my favorite, the Half-Windsor.)

Find cheap but good notebook risers?

MAKE YOUR OWN FROM DISCARDED WINE CORKS

My MacBook’s battery produces a lot of heat. I needed something to raise the bottom of the notebook to spare the surface of our dining table, where I work most of the time.

I can buy notebook stands and risers in any computer shop but why not make my own? And that’s what I did. I simply got two discarded wine corks, cut them at an angle — and, voila! — notebook risers probably as good as any you can find in a shop. Cost? Zero.

I suggest using synthetic wine cork instead of real cork (synthetic corks are called “closures” to distinguish them from the organic material; they’re made from some kind of thermoplastic). Synthetic cork holds its shape even when cut, whereas real cork tends to crumble.

I know, I know, wine corks aren’t all that easy to find. Truth is, my wife and I like to drink wine and I have this thing about keeping the corks of every bottle we’ve opened at home.

Make sure I have the right kind of money for a trip to Cambodia?

THE U.S. DOLLAR IS KING

As it turns out, the currency of choice in Cambodia is the U.S. dollar — the newer the bill, the better. I’m writing this in my hotel room (Almond Hotel — not bad by the way; it has free Wi-Fi) while on the sixth day of a business trip to this country of sweet, smiling, friendly people.

A sweet, smiling, friendly people.

Cambodians will not accept soiled or damaged U.S. bills. Even tuktuk (motorized pedicab) drivers who charge about a dollar per trip will not accept your $1 if there’s a tear in it or has some kind of stain. Prepare for your trip by having on hand $1, $5, $10 bills.

The greenback is king in Cambodia.

I had a hundred dollars worth (from a money changer in Singapore’s Changi International Airport). I don’t know if local money changers will do this for you in Phnom Penh. What I do know is that every time I got change worth less than a dollar, they always gave it to me in Riel, the local currency.

FYI –
Almond Hotel Phnom Penh
N 128F, Sothearos Blvd Corner of Russian Embassy
Tel: (+855) 023 22 08 22. Fax: (+855) 023 22 07 22
Email: phnompenh@almondhotel.com.kh
Hotel Manager: (+855) 12 91 00 22
Email: manager@almondhotel.com.kh

My twin-sharing room cost $46 a night, with free a la carte breakfast. Hot water, cable TV, free Wi-Fi, small refrigerator, queen size bed, air conditioning. Meals in the hotel run from $4 all the way to $20, plus tax.

Some other useful things to know:

• Taxi from international airport to downtown Phnom Penh, US$9.This is a marked taxi with a “Taxi” sign on it (they usually give receipts). Private car owners also moonlight as “taxis” — for about $10-$13.
• Exchange rate as of this writing is 4,100 Riels to $1, but you really don’t want to be stuck with too much of the local money.
• It’s cheaper to buy a local SIM card and put it in your cell phone, rather than use your international mobile service to make local calls. But, buying a SIM card in Phnom Penh requires you to produce a residence ID card. A local can buy the SIM for you. Or you can borrown a SIM card from a resident who has an extra one. Phones are “loaded” with minutes of use. You buy “refill” cards from street vendors. Make sure you buy a card that matches both the network (or service provider) and the first three digits of the phone number (like an area code). I used a borrowed SIM card which I “refilled” with $2 before returning it.
• There is no McDonald’s in Phnom Penh, but look for Lucky Seven, a fastfood that serves good sandwiches.
• A new recordable CD-R (no-name brand) costs about 2,000 Riel or 50 cents. I bought mine in a street market stall. I think you can buy branded CD-Rs but they’re only sold by the box.
• Contact info for a car rental company I used in Phnom Penh: H.R. Car Rental Service. Look for Mr. Him Virak, mobile (855) 012 923 913.  Address: No. 540, Street 369, Chba Ompov, Meanchy, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Very reliable and safe service.