PH00

Last week was interesting. It stemmed from an incident with my daughter and turned out to drive me on- to some extent. A few months ago despite being told not to take her beloved Nintentdo 3DS to the bedroom she did so and subsequently sat on in- or dropped it, the stories are conflicting. The upshot was a broken screen and so virtually no 3DS. It has therefore been sitting untouched. Apart from the broken screen between the three children someone managed to change the parental lock to a code no one knows and a secret question no one knows the answer to which requires a phone call to Nintendo and too much palava to contemplate. Basically it was forgotten about despite its expense as another broken item discarded to the pile. That was until my daughter saw a game she simply must have- and either save for or ask santa for. But the game is no use without a workable device.

Given she broke the thing and I am trying to teach my children the value of things as they get things too easy thanks mostly to generous relatives I told my daughter if she wanted her 3DS fixed she would have to pay for it herself. She asked how much. So I looked I checked the Nintendo site. They have two prices depending on whether its a major or minor repair, the difference between the two is something they determine on receipt of the device. A screen? A major repair surely. Prices are £47.50 for a minor and £77.50 for a major. Oh dear, you better get saving then girl. That just about deflated her- an me to be honest. And even if the screen did one day get repaired there was still the parental lock to contend with which basically locks the console down making it almost unusable. Depressing for her.

Well I looked about and found you could buy replacement screens for £15 so I said if she wanted to buy one, with the endless pot of cash she always seems to have, then I would fit it. A job I volunteered for blindly- maybe stupidly. So she agreed and while we waited for the screen to arrive I found a way to unlock the parental lock without the need to deal with Nintendo. One problem eliminated at least. The screen arrived and I expected just to undo a few screws, click it in and away she goes. How wrong I was.

When did screws change so drastically?  I think back to changing the wheel on the car and how that had changed from a simple procedure. So much passes me by in this little cocoon. The world moves on and technology in all walks of life progresses with it into smaller and more awkward and more pain in the arse varieties. When I was a lad if you had to unscrew something there was one simple question: flathead or Phillips? How many screwdrivers and screws are there now? In various guises I had about 7, past tense which I coming to, and none of them fitted these little sods. Apparently I needed precision screwdrivers. As my wife was going to the shops I went alone. I stayed out a long time and ended up get roped into shopping- which was fine strangely. 3 different shops and 3 different checkouts I went through which is really something for me. I came home with a set of 12 screwdrivers, opened the packet and set to work to find none of them would turn a screw either. On a side note: Isn't it a annoying how so many things come in these sealed plastic packaging you have to cut open and so cannot take back if it not what you want? Or is that just me?

I had to look into a bit more. What I needed was called a PH00 and the pack of 12 I had bought had a PH0 and a PH000 but not a PH00. Bollocks! So frustrated I marched out the door and along to the local supermarket and it was only when I felt the panic biting as I stood in front of packs of screwdrivers that I realised that I had bit off more than I could chew. Not so long ago I bought my wife a Google Play card. It was swift but still an achievement. This was a lot harder. Unplanned and fuelled with determination and frustration which was ebbing quickly as I botched my way through the self serve only, thankfully, in the end to be rescued by a neighbour who was luckily in the opposite queue. Back home I went pleased with myself with another 6 screwdrivers and at home I sat about tearing my hair out as none of them turned a screw. I had seen "00" but it turned out to be NO rather than PH. Too complicated for the likes of me. But a good anxiety workout, a long time out in normality. In the end though despite my now large collection of screwdrivers I had to order one more online and wait for it to arrive.

It arrived at the start of the week which was when I realised the quick job in my head turned out not to be so in reality. It took me two days to take the thing apart bit by bit to the mess you see above and took all today to put together again. Success? I have about 7 screws and 3 different little wotsits which I haven't a clue where to put so have put them in storage. The things works though which I guess was the point. And did I teach my daughter a lesson in the value of things? Judge for yourself. She came in, I told her it was fixed, a hug, a thank you, a quick shot, a list of 4 things not right, put it down and hasn't touched it since. Ah well. I had some fun anyway.

Just wandering now what else I can take apart and put back together with my new ensemble of screwdrivers.