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Small annoyances turn into bonuses

Went shopping for a wireless card yesterday to fit to a Zambian student’s computer so he could use it (& the internet) in his room instead of using up the remaining space at the kitchen table. Without long cables cluttering the hallways.

The supplier was out of stock (Xmas rush). So today I check back in while getting something else; still out of stock.

I cycled a couple of kilometers further down Wanneroo Road to Navada to ask about something different, & noticed shiny new TP-LINK boxes on the shelf behind the counter. Questions produced a PCI wireless card for $5 more than the “on special” price of the other supplier. Since TP-LINK gear seems to have about 2-3x the range of more typical stuff as well as being reliable, this was a bargain.

The other item I got requires Compact Flash for storage, but alas, the written specs in the manual say “MMC” flash rather than standard CF or the common SD. None of the computer people had any.

So on the way back up the freeway I got lazy, used the train up to Whitfords, bussed across (just rested the push-bike amongst other, chained-up bikes at the railway station, nobody touched it) to the shopping centre. Was told that JB Hifi would have some, but dropped into BigW to check for some different things. Their photo department did CF, & a staffer there happened to recognise this device, & knew that it will actually take SD. We tried it, it worked, this divided the price of the Flash by about 4.

Back on the train, I told a bloke in discussion about the OK shop, so he decided to drop in & look after getting off at Joondalup.

Visited OK myself to claim some unique items for sharing with others during my LCAish trip, told a lady there about my almond-jelly smoothies so she grabbed some jelly to try for herself.

Oh, more random shopping, I grabbed some 200g bags of chips for $1.50 en route down through Wanneroo markets, plus a bag of herbed toastlets for $1.20. This is about ½ to ⅓ of the supermarket prices for such things. Zambian student, having just dismounted from a VB flight back from Sydney, was delighted with the herbed stuff.

The little things add up, & I’m glad it can be done with pleasant things also.

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