Always something to do during a con-call

Just to show that there is more to do than Oracle . . . I was recently on a long con-call. And you can always find something to do during a long con-call. I had to switch phones to make the call because a couple of the keys on my cordless Motorola phone (md400 series) had stopped working. It happened over time, becoming more and more annoying until a few just don't work at all. Of course, the "1" doesn't work--and I live in the Boston area, where you need to dial a 1 to call next door. So, I grabbed another phone, dialed the call-in number, and got to work.

The hardest part, of course, is to just get the darn thing apart. At least nothing was glued together. It just required some prying and determination (and removing a few screws, 2 obvious, 2 hidden under a panel).

Then off to figure out the problem. The contacts were all good, and the keys all looked the same, but a few just wouldn't cause the contacts to connect.

So, I added a little piece of aluminum foil over each key and reassembled (you can see the first five in the picture). Now it works great, maybe a little too easy to get a number, but I suspect that will change over time. Now I don't need to buy a new phone, and it didn't take me any time because I was on a con-call.