Zer0's Trash Talk: Battery Problem, not a Problem

If you owned a smart device, you probably have already experienced one or more battery problems.  If you don't, you can go kill yourself cause what on earth are you doing in 2016 without this f**king affordable technology?

Battery.  Technology's worst enemy.  Moore's law says the number of transistor in a square inch of an IC doubles every 18 months.  Processors got better, graphics got better, storage got f**king huge and cheap but batteries, batteries always stays the same.  Cause there's nothing bout that battery anyone bothers changing.  It only get bigger and bigger in capacity but still only last you for about a day.

Well, Android s**theads always argue that their $900 device got fast charging, wireless charging, kung fu kame hame ha charging that gay apple users doesn't have.  Hell, you paid $900 for a piece of junk so you better have fast charging for that big shift+244 battery, (insert yo momma joke here) or you'll be so f**king cool stuck to the wall whole day while the screen your eyes can't tell the difference and all the s**tty bloatware drains all the juice.  I love samsung stock app, says no one ever.

I don't know why apple doesn't want to take the credit for fast charging cause iphones have fast charging ever since ipad was launch.  Long before samsung and rest of android army brags about it.  All apple worshipers know, just use the ipad charger, or just plug into that 2.1A port on your power bank.

But we all know the more fast charging you use, the nearer the battery is to hell.  Batteries over time bound to f**k up.  Some phone f**ked up faster than others, like the f**king note 7.  Holding less charges, drains faster and faster, starts to swell and buldge, and worst goes f**king note 7 on your shift+244.  And fast charging speeds up that process, by a lot.

And please stop saying iphone is for the rich.  Yes, it's a lot more expensive than most of s**tty android phones out there.  But this thing f**king last, like a duracell bunny on viagra.  Cause I'm f**king cheap and I will squeeze every penny out of the $600 i pay for my iphone5.  I beat the crap out of many android users in terms of dollars per day for the phone.  4 years and it's still running.  Some marriage don't even last that long.

And what the hell happens to those S3/4 or Note2/3 that came out around the same time?  And all those china cheaps**t?  Even the nexus 3/4 or Xperia whatever.  You know what, I tell you what happened.  Android ditched your sorry shift+244.  Happy with your new $800 upgrade now?  And let me give you some good news.  Next year, you need to throw another $800 for a new upgrade.  Who's f**king rich now?

And with the recent android nougat fiasco, those who bought the wrong phone better prepare to save and waste more money for a new hardware.  Cause google doesn't give a f**k about their consumer's longevity.  Buying more google product is good for them, not good for you, unless you're f**king rich.  80% of the world isn't and one guy only have 2 kidneys to sell.  Google, apple.  The same, f**king big evil company.  A slave got to choose which master to bow to.  One you're out of kidney, better start slicing your liver.

Back to my old iphone.  Yes, it's a bit slow and sluggish cause Mr Gordon Moore says so.  But there's a workaround.  Don't upgrade to the latest and greatest apple software cause those will f**k up your phone.  That's how apple cheat you into buying their new phone.  Apple will eventually fix their software to work better on older hardware.  That's the beauty of it, so upgrade later.  But for those who clicked update now, you've been brainwashed into thinking your iphone sucked and you need to buy a new one.

Back to the battery thing.  Take your phone out of it's case now and put in on a flat surface.  Try to spin it.  If it does, then your battery is most likely already months pregnant cause you f**ked it up that much. Go get it replaced before it goes note 7.  Don't tell me I didn't warn your sorry shift+244.

This is my second iphone5, a free replacement unit cause the first one's battery f**k up so back it f**k up the whole phone.  The screen pops up, the phone a bit out of shape and of course it didn't go note 7.  Luckily.  A free replacement unit, after 2 years.  I FUBAR the phone and got one back for free.  Cause they say it's their fault, a known battery problem.  I heard samsung refused to replace or refund their note 7 amidst all those explosions until the recent global recall.  Thumbs up for apple there.

How about other cheap phones?  Well, it's like you're buying low, budget airfare.  No refund, expensive to reschedule and there were so many s**tty addons you don't need.  Some even have spyware that looked at your naked instagram photos.  And don't even think google will fix these problems.  They only fix those who buy their $800 phone.  Not for the poor.

So, this is my second iphone5.  I thought they fixed the battery problem on the new batch since they admitted it previously.  But no, hell no.  It doesn't make sense economically.  My battery still got pregnant cause I didn't practice safe charging.  We all know RMA process is a pain in the butt where you ended up using back your nokia.  And apple says no more replacement for this unit for battery issue.

So, no warranty left, no free replacement in case it f**ked up and the fear it might go note 7.  Time to DIY and fix it myself.  Sidetrack, if you use something every day and it's broken, f**king fix it.  I just hate those people with problems that they choose not to fix.  Drive your car everyday, signal lights or brake lights broken, don't bother to fix.  Office chair is squeaking, f**king WD40 it.  What's wrong with people nowadays,

I got myself these set of tools and the replacement battery for $10.  Try not to go to a store to get your battery replaced cause it'll cost you $20/$30 and you don't get to keep the cool set of tools.  Look for me and buy me a cup of coffee and I'll do it for you.  I'm helping you to save more money for your iphone7 so stop complaining.

Now the works.  Opening up the screws to access the insides.  These screws are f**king small and you really need to pay a huge attention not to f**k up the screw threads.  No wonder those chinese assembling phones committed suicide at the factory making these things.

Opening up the phone and sure enough the battery is inflated, as you can see here.  Inflated so fast like the inflation in my country.

Peeling the battery off is not a very easy job considering how much adhesive is used to secure the battery in place.  And for christ sake, have to take it of gently to avoid it being punctured and go kapow on my face.  But this is considered easy to remove compared to all those waterproofed phone.  All those waterproofing tape is a nightmare.  Thank you industry for making gadgets less and less repairable just so that people can smule in their showers.

Here's another look of the faulty battery at the top vs the new one.  Noticed the tummy?

Putting everything back in place and test boot.  Everything looks good.  It turns on, no spark, no smoke and no funny smell.  I get to keep my salary.

Well, here's a look of before and after the battery replacement.  My phone is slim and looking great again.  This would probably extend the life of my phone by another year or so and as long as it don't go note 7, I'll be seeing a lot more people wasting money buying new android phones in the meantime.

Lastly before I sign off.  If you're offended by my extra harsh language in this post, you can go lick the teletubbies backside.  I'm in a lot of stress trying to deliver BMWs to my bosses while what I'll probably get is a happy meal.  So throwing a few f**ks over the internet makes my evening a bit better.

And I'm not sticking to iphone because I'm rich.  Probably many who bought apple products are.  But because it's worth my hard earned money.  Many android phones are just a piece of sh*t.  I owned 5 android devices and only 2 apple devices so I'm not a sh*tty apple fanboi.  I used android more that you think and have solid fact to back up my claims.  I'm just refraining myself from buying a $600/700 android device for many reasons you probably won't agree, you bias bloody apple hater.

If you're not happy with what I'm saying here, throw me your concern.  I can give you loads of brainsh*t why android is f**king horrible.  And apple fanboi's don't f**king lansi saying godly things about apple cause i will definitely f**k you up with all the sh*t apple is doing to your backside without you knowing,

And please don't get me started about electric cars. Wubba Lubba DUB DUB!

Zer0's Guide: How to Become Ash Ketchum

If you're reading this, chances are you are one of many people walking around in the middle of nowhere with a phone and a power bank in your hands.

And if you wanted to become a super ultra mega powerful poke master, you've come to the right place as a fellow geek will make a geek out of you too.  But I won't teach you how to plus plus your poke experience using ehem... ehem... hack... ehem.. tools but some more official ones.

I won't go through the basics of the game like how to do this, how to gym and bla bla bla cause there's plenty of other guides teaching you on those kind of stuff.

Number 1: Never underestimate the power of dumb people in large group.
Choosing between teams of different colors is totally up to you.  But please take note that you might want to ask your buddies to decide which color to go for.  Once you have 4 or 5 people on the same color, taking over and holding gyms will be much easier.  Go all out, counter strike style.

I tried going solo, but fighting the same few guys at all the gyms in the vicinity is not that fun.



Number 2: Only hotspots, no camping out in random locations

If you live in an area without poke stops, you can consider moving to another area or just give up the game entirely.  Here's a few super hotspot in Penang.  If you're not in Penang, try checking the local community or just locate campers at your nearest park.

a) Georgetown heritage area.
My favorite spot now.  Lots and lots of poke stops but are scattered around.  Good for hunters who're on the foot all the time.  Here's some locations not to be missed.  Esplanade (Dewan Sri Pinang and Mee Sotong), LGE eating noodle place, boy on chair street art (Lebuh Cannon), Kung Fu minion + all along jetty, kids on bicycle, and many more locations of street arts.  Touristy and fun.

b) Karpal Singh Drive.
Particularly this junction.  I was there during last weekend and had a huge loot.  But words of mouth spreads too quickly and now it's flooded with poke catchers.  Come here if you choose to camp at the junction of 5 poke stops.

c) Shopping malls e.g. Queensbay, Paragon and Sunway Carnival.

Number 3: Use a supplementary map 
There's a lot of mapping service online that provides details on what pokemon are available around you such as pokemonradargo.  But Niantic is actively taking down these sites because it indirectly making the hunt easier. So use it while you still can.

Number 4: Do not ignore Magickarps
Never ignore magickarps.  Penang is blessed with a lot of water and surrounded by sea thus aplenty of magickarps to catch.  Magickarps evolves into Gyarados, one of the stronger, more attainable pokemon.  I caught around 20 karps per day and now I have a 1700+ CP Gyarados (brag!).  Hunting karps are fun and easy.

Number 5: CP is not everything, IV is.
Now the most serious part.  Ever wonder why your 2000+ CP pokemon lost to a 1500+ CP pokemon?  This is where the fine line of casual player vs ultimate geek takes effect.  CP is derived from a complicated formula of pokemon's IV.  To be exact, CP = (Base Atk + Atk IV) * (Base Def + Def IV)^0.5 * (Base Stam + Stam IV)^0.5 * Lvl(CPScalar)^2 / 10.

So what is IV.  IV is the individual value of the pokemon, i.e. the attack, defense and stamina, in the scale of 0 to 15.  IV's can't be changed, just like my IV is very much different from Shaquille O'neal.  IV's are not published in the game and will need a bit of research to find out the IV of a pokemon.

You can use IV calculator from pokeassistant to find out the IV of your pokemon.  Pick a pokemon with the best IV to evolve.  Ideally, all 3 stats should be greater than 10.  Never mind the low CP cause CPs can be built, and a strong foundation is genetic.

I chose the one with highest CP to evolve.  Which is totally wrong and ended up with a 800 CP tofu pokemon with 0 defense and 0 stamina who fainted almost instantly at gym fights.  RTFM bro!

Number 6: Go to gym
Finally, go to gym.  Not poke gym, but the real gym.  Cause a f**king ratatta already weighs 5 f***king KG.

Zer0's Talk: The Awesome 80's and 90's TV That You Probably Grew up with

If you're growing up in the 80's and the 90's, you probably had an awesome childhood unlike iphone infested kids nowadays,  We had all the awesome toys; guli, gasing, layang-layang, you name it, we had it.  The richer kids had Gameboy and Micro Genius, and almost all neighborhood boys had their BMX bikes.

At that time, our access to the fat box in the middle of the living room called TV is limited.  TV channels starts at noon and ends at midnight.  And TV channels are limited too.  Back in the days, there are only RTM1, RTM2 and TV3.  Only the more fortunate who lived in urbans gets metro.  And kids in Johor gets to enjoy wider varieties of Singapore TV channels.

And for the rest of us who're stuck with 1, 2 or 3, we'll watch all the sh*t the TV channels throw at us.  We'll open the newspaper early in the morning, looked at the TV programs for the day and booked our time slot for our favorite shows on TV.

And true enough, lots and lots of TV programs, commercials and whatever sri pentas and angkasapuri is throwing at our face is a bloody brainwash that everyone remembers until today.

Here's the list of TV stuff that you just can't get rid of from your brain.

1. The limited TV broadcast schedule



Remember switching on a TV and saw this?  It's a signal either for you to go out and play or off to bed.

2. Brainwash advertisement


If you're reading this, you probably know where I'm going.  Ubat batuk cap ibu dan anak.  One of a few advert that definitely burned a hole in your brain.


And McDonalds and KFC ads, very-very catchy.

"Masa riang..., rasa hebat..."
"KFC, idaman ku selalu..."

And the "Ibu... ibu... engkaulah ratu hatiku..." of fernleaf.

3. Catchy Patriotic Music Videos
Back in the days, everyone loves Dr M and loves the country.  Unlike all the bullshit 1Malaysia, janji dicapati and GST music videos, songs are much more patriotic and easy on your hearts and brains.


You'll definitely remember setia.


And how about the 5 ladies of Sejahtera Malaysia?  Definitely miles better than those crappy music jibby and co managed today.  Best of all, these songs made it to schools where teachers and kids gave their full devotion singing the tunes.

4. Aedes and AIDS are natural born enemies
There are Aedes and AIDS documentaries almost every hour on the TV.  We know our enemies. Not jibby and FLOM but dengue fever and AIDS.

But best of all, the broadcaster even managed put in brainwash music to educate people on the danger of these diseases.  No kangkung bullshit, just pure music.


To top that, there's even dikir barat.

"A. I. D. S. berbahaya, aedes pula mengancam manusia..."

Bloody brainwash tune.

5. 4pm to 5pm is not playtime
4pm to 5pm every weekdays.  There won't be any kids running in the neighborhood.  Because Baja Hitam and Gaban is being showed on TV back to back.




Well, there are more and more Japanese super sentai series and super robot series like choushinsei flashman, tosho daimos, grandizer and voltron, flooding the TV flooding the TV afterwards.  But nothing is as iconic as baja hitam and gaban.

If you grew up with these and many more, then your childhood is definitely AWESOME!

Hobby Talk: Model Kit Review, MG MS-06F Zaku II ver 2.0

Link to revised review here.

One of the most recognizable icon of Gundam.  The mono eye.  The bad guy's grunt.

Why this kit
I was looking to complete my collection with the MS that started the Gundam franchise.  The Zaku and the grand daddy Gundam.  The latter was kind of hard to get.  Plus, I can't go wrong with the most popular green MS of the entire Gundam series.

Kit Details
The Zaku II 2.0 kit was released in March 2008, a A2 box kit with 13 runners and 300 parts. You get 1 sheet of stickers and 1 sheet of dry transfer decals .  This kit is priced at RM 125.

Build / Difficulty
(Score: Neutral)
The build for this kit is on the easy side.  A departure from regular gundam-type of build is definitely refreshing.  You get lots of rounded parts.  Plus the green is definitely easy on your eyes.

Lots of detailing and panel lining is needed.  Stickers and decals alone just don't bring much out details.  The kit is going to look like a plain green mushroom without the extra effort.

The highlight of building this kit is probably these m***erf***ers.  The idea behind these pipes for the Zaku II is good.  Just cut off the small pipes and transfer it over to the main pipe right?

Partially right.  Except the whole process of doing this difficult because of the very small parts and it's a pain in the butt to cross over the small parts cause the pipes are super tight like a virgin.  You'll end up with a very sore hands.  Do this as the last item of the day, put your hands on ice and continue tomorrow.

Looks / Details
(Score: +1)
The zaku looks fantastic.  Its simplistic looks plus the details of a 2.0 kit.  Thumbs up.  I went for the basic F-green model.  There is of course other models like the J, S or R.  Or you can even go zaku crazy and collect all the different colors.  Gotta catch them all right?

Accessories
(Score: Neutral)
You get a quite plain looking machine gun, a bazooka and a heat hawk.  Not an impressive arsenal of weapons.

Articulation / Pose ability
(Score: +1)
You can expect the great pose-ability of a 2.0 kit.  Being a simplistic kit, it can get into almost any pose without wings or armor or shield getting in the way.  No problem moving at all.

Plus this kit also has some pretty cool gimmicks e.g. the moving mono eye, retractable shoulder and waist armor, 2.0 manipulators etc.

However... no kits are perfect.  The feet are wide but the kit doesn't seems well planted to the ground.  The ankle joints are a bit loose.  The major weak point?  The lower abs.  The hinge that holds the upper chest and the nuclear abs are just weak.  It's a big sacrifice just to get the nuclear sticker onto the reactor.

Being a rock solid kit with some minor flaw, it's impressive nonetheless.  Some 2014/015 kit can even beat this old timer.  Looking at you wing fe-ni-ce.

Shelf presence
(Score: +1)
If you ever watch or heard about Gundam, you'll most probably recognize this green beast at first glance.  A Zaku is not that hard to spot on your shelf despite the kit being a bit dwarf in comparison with other taller and larger kits.

Bonus
(Score: +2)
The Zaku II is by far the most popular kit.  It has tons of variants and it's greatly popular with kit modders.  It has tons of add on accessories.  The armor has plenty of room for weathering and battle effects to be applied.  Plus it's a very cost effective kit to start gunpla modding.

Summary and Rating
(Total Score: +5)
The base kit provides enough entertainment for builders.  It is solid and a very good looking, very pose-able kit.  The strong point of this kit, or rather with the whole Zaku phenomenon is how Zaku crazy you can get.  Collect all the variants, colors, modding, modding, modding...

Being a bad guy, it might not attract beginners to start with this kit.  Hell, this is my number 9 MG kit.  But once you caught the Zaku fever, the possibilities are limitless.  For me, I wish I had more display space.

Gundam: Zaku II F
Code: MS-06F
Series: Mobile Suit Gundam
Faction: Neo Zeon
Weapons: Zaku Machine Gun, Zaku Bazooka, Heat Hawk
Release: March 2008
Box: A2
Runner: 13
Parts: 300
Price: 3500 yen

Pundit: Highly recommended.  A good place to start your Zaku pokemon collection.

Variants
There are too many variants for the Zaku.  Just listing out a few.
1) Zaku II 2.0 S Mats (2008) - white variant
2) Zaku II 2.0 J Ridden (2008) - red variant
3) Zaku Cannon (2008) - tan variant
4) Zaku II 2.0 J (2008) - different design + rockets
5) Zaku II Minelayer (2008) - with mine laying accessories
6) Zaku II 2.0 Black (2008) - you know it, black variant
7) Zaku II 2.0 Char (2007) - Char's pink
8) Gegloog 2.0 (2008) - plus other variants
9) Hi Zack (2004)
10) Rickdom (2003)
11) Gouf + variants (2000)
12) Marasai (2012)
13) Geara Dooga (2013)

And.... many more.

Dalong's Review
Dalong's Score: 108

Up Next: Sinanju Anime ver

Hobby Talk: Model Kit Review, MG MSN-00100 Hyaku Shiki ver 2.0

Link to revised review here.

I was never a fan of the Hyaku Shiki before this.  Well, at least once in the Super Robot Wars (SRW) 4, this MS has a very good map weapon.  Hyaku Shiki kind of being over shadowed by the more popular Z Gundam and the Gundam MKII.  This 2.0 kit is the best redemption for this MS.

Why this kit
I was looking to add more colors to my display cabinet.  I already had red of Aegis, blue of 00 and strike, green of fenice and awesomeness of unicorn and nu.  One of the best gunpla kit of 2015 will make a perfect choice.

Kit Details
The Hyaku Shiki 2.0 kit was released in May 2015, a D0 box kit with 14 runners and 342 parts. You get 1 sheet of stickers and 1 sheet of dry transfer decals .  This kit is priced at RM 240.  A very huge price tag for a kit with only 3 gold runners.

Build / Difficulty
(Score: +1)
The build for this kit is easy.  Being a 2.0 kit, there's a lot of small parts for detailing.  Watch out for small parts from especially from the A plate.

But the highlight of the build is the gold parts.  You can feel how good the gold is going to look by just opening the box.  Almost all gold parts are undercut, which hides away all the nub marks and greatly improves the look.

But there are some really tiny scratch looking lines on the gold parts.  I initially thought I accidentally scratched the gold runners but when I searched online, the marks seems consistent and almost everyone who built the Hyaku Shiki 2.0 also mentioned it.  In-perfection in the coating process I guess.  Not that obvious but once seen, it cannot be unseen.

While building is easy, handling of the gold parts is not.  When removing the nubs, take care of the edges.  Although it's undercut, mistake is still deadly.  When doing the panel lining, do it slowly and hold your grip.  If you mess up, it's really hard to clean.  And the gold is really sensitive to cleaning agent.  I ended up with some surface less gold than others.

Just remember, the more money you spend on a kit, the more time you should spend building it.  This one is no exception.  Take your time on the gold parts.

I took 3 weeks building this kit.  Not my best effort as I kind of rush through the decals.  And the panel lining is not as clean as I would have hoped.

Looks / Details
(Score: +2)
The glory of the gold.  This kit looks amazing!  Some of you may like the original 1.0 chromatic gold look but for me, this shade of gold makes the kit shines brighter.  And a lot cleaner look too. P.S. No longer a fingerprint magnet.

And this kit is never short of details.  Yes, the gold armor may not cover the whole body of this kit but the exposed parts have excellent details.  Take an example of the exposed legs/ankle area.  The silver plastic for the piston + silver/red armor lining make up for the non gold area.



Although the gold parts are literally flawless from nubs, the rest aren't that kind.  Nub marks are quite bad on the blue torso and red foot.  But the gold cleverly takes the attention away.  Unless you're eyeing for flaws, the nubs can be forgiven.

Probably another bummer could be the stickers.  The stickers doesn't look that good on the gold.  The square of the sticker is too g-d d--n obvious on the gold plates.  The dry transfer looks top notch good, but the stickers is really a let down.

Accessories
(Score: Neutral)
There's nothing to brag about the accessories department.  You get a rather plain looking beam rifle and clay bazooka.  There are some color options on these 2 weapons but nothing fancy.

You also get 2 really cool light saber looking beam saber.  Possibly the coolest beam saber I have seen so far.  But despite that, this kit is kind of thin on the accessories.


Articulation / Pose ability
(Score: +1)
This kit will do what a 2.0 can do.  Double bending elbow and knee gives a 180 bend, but agin, another thigh bending kit similar to the 00.

There are lots of other gimmicks that allows additional pose ability e.g. moving the shoulder out of it's socket and move-able hip joints.

All the joints are generally tight and requires some effort to move the limbs into a pose.  But some joints feels a bit looser than the rest e.g. waist and shoulder joint.

This kit is a little back heavy, just a little.  It has no problem standing on its own without needing a lot of weight compensation.  On ground or on air, this kit is very pose-able.

Shelf presence
(Score: +2)
Gold is the attraction magnet.  Enough said.

Bonus
(Score: Neutral)
The Hyaku Shiki 2.0 already looks good as it is.  Since the Hyaku Shiki does not have commonality with other kits, there's no valuable add on available.  Oh, except for the ballute system from the old Hyaku Shiki kit.  But trust me, don't.  Cause the ballute system is not particularly good looking, and you'll ended up with another yellow shiki which doesn't even look good.

Summary and Rating
(Total Score: +6)
A superb looking kit.  Simple but the lack of accessories might be troubling for some fans.  This kit appears 10 years after the series protagonist gets his version 2.0.  But that 10 years is worth the wait.

A very fun build, very good pose-ability and a simple kit.  Drawbacks include requirements for lots of attention to details so definitely not for beginners, and the price tag is very steep for a kit with almost similar contents as the Aile Strike ver RM.  The latter cost Rm 100 less.

Gundam: Hyaku Shiki
Code: MSN-00100
Series: Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam, Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ
Pilot: Quattro Bajeena
Faction: Anti Earth Union Group
Weapons: Beam Saber, BR-M-87 Beam Rifle, AE/ZIM.C-BAZ-531300mm Clay Bazooka
Release: May 2015
Box: D0
Runner: 14
Parts: 342
Price: 6800 yen

Pundit: Highly recommended, but for serious and thick pocket collectors only.

Variants
There are 2 entries for the MG Hyaku Shiki before this one.  The only one worth to get is the 1.0 if you prefer the chrome gold.  Don't spend the money on the ballute system.  Use the same money and get MK II ver 2.0 instead.

Dalong's Review
Dalong's Score: 103

Up Next: Zaku II version 2.0