Flip Phone Not Charging

So my mom’s flip phone stopped charging. Once I got to her, I did a quick troubleshoot.

I first confirmed that it is not charging, then made sure it was plugged in fully.

Next I moved the charger to an outlet known to have power… still no indication of charging.

Next I took a look at the charging cable which had a break at the phone. I jiggled the wires around thinking one of the wires might be broken in the bundle, but once again no indication. Another thing I did is to make sure the connection and the cable end seem clean and ok.

Next, I checked the power supply end and saw tape had been put over the cable to secure it. Bupkis.

It was time to quit. Practical considerations suggested the time being spent was no longer worth the effort. The replacement cable was a 5 minute walk away, she would be returning home in a few hours and had some battery life and thus the practical choice.

Sometimes you lose in problem solving but it’s usually more of a choice to quit than an outright surrender.

Fixing a Pencil Sharpener

Humming Pencil Sharpener

So my pencil sharpener stopped turning and went to only humming when I inserted a pencil.

This totally had the feel of clogging or dirt. I assumed I had not emptied it and all that was needed was to remove the shavings.
I have noticed that kids pencils these days are not painted, but instead there is a plastic wrap on the pencil. I assume the plastic shavings are more problematic.

Fixing The Sharpener

So I took out the tray and dumped the shavings, retried the sharpener and still was getting no movement.

Unplugging the sharpener and removing the screws that hold the case to to main part of the sharpener, I saw a mass of shavings, wood and plastic stuck in various parts of the sharpening heads.

A bit of removing of Dirt …. one of my core principles of problem solving did the trick and I have extended the life of my sharpener, not contributed to the throw away society and also make a microscopic dent in the consumerist society.