Google on a Chinese Samsung Galaxy S9+

Forgot the fact that Google and its apps do not come pre-installed on smartphones sold in China.
I knew I should've gotten the phone in Hong Kong, instead of Shanghai.

After some research, the safest way to do this without mucking around with rooting and/or installing custom ROMs is to simply download Google Services Framework. Google Play Services, and Google Play Store from APK Mirror, then sideload and install the APKs on the phone.

The APKs installed just fine. On first run, it asked me to log in with my Google account. gapps would crash during the password verification phase. Play Store recognizes my account, but is not showing any apps. Getting Server Error message. Restarted the phone. This time, I was able to access Play Store properly and download apps. All this time, I'm getting a notification that says "Google Play Services won't run unless you update Google Play Services". Catch-22 much?

When I click on the notification message, I get to the Play Store entry for Google Play Services, but the only option is Deactivate. I click on it, and pop-up window says device administrator needs to be disabled first. No such option under Settings - maybe because APK was sideloaded??

In any case, it's not really a big deal as Google Play Store is definitely working. Later on I realized that not all Google apps are working properly. For example, Calendar can't seem to see my calendars. Gmail says "Getting messages", but no emails actually show up. Google News says I'm not authenticated. Booted to recovery and wiped cache partition. Didn't help.

At this point, I decided something else needs to be done. I decided to change the firmware from CHC (Open China) to TGY (Hong Kong). The model I got is SM-G9650/DS, which is only sold in China (and HK) and Latin America. Google works in HK, so I'm hoping Play Store will come pre-installed on the TGY image. Not too sure if device needs to be rooted or OEM unlocked first. Hoping the hardware is fully compatible with the new firmware.

One thing to note: Downloading the firmware files from SamMobile took a couple of hours. (SamMobile limits the download speed to 15kB/s for free users.)

Cleanest procedure is to do factory data reset via Settings. Boot to recovery, do a factory reset, then wipe cache and data. After that, flash new firmware. Prior to factory reset from recovery, it warns you that you might need to authenticate with the Samsung account that was first used with the device. Not so sure about this part, so crossed my fingers and continued on to the flashing part. While it took hours just to get the stock firmware, flashing it via Odin took only 8 minutes.

After all the work, I now have a fully-functional Google-enabled Galaxy S9+. (Not so sure about Samsung Pay or Google Pay though as that's usually country-specific.)

To boot to recovery mode:

1. power off the phone
2. press and hold Bixby and Vol+ buttons
3. press and hold power button
4. release when the Android mascot shows up after the Samsung splash screen

To boot to download mode:

1. power off the phone
2. press and hold Bixby and Vol- buttons
3. press and hold power button
4. release once in download mode

Flashing firmware with Odin:

1. unzip firmware file downloaded from SamMobile
2. pre-fill the BL, AP, and CP fields with the extracted files
3. under CSC, put in the CSC file if you want a clean flash; otherwise, use HOME_CSC to keep your apps and data
4. reboot phone into download mode (see above)
5. connect phone to PC using a working USB data cable
6. make sure only Auto Reboot and F. Reset Time are ticked under Options
7. click on Start

Movie 2019.01.13 0 Bumblebee

Have read the reviews (mostly bad). That probably lessened the blow when we finally watched Bumblebee. I mean, it's NOT a Michael Bay movie, so how bad could it be? Having Hailee Steinfeld there probably also helped. The 3D glasses definitely did. Been years since I last watched a 3D movie, and the experience was not good. The images are vague and fuzzy, and tend to make me dizzy and disoriented. This time, the 3D effect is clear and very convincing.

Back to the movie. Main reason I didn't like it is because it's a hodgepodge of cardboard humans, metallic robots, and cliched situations. You get the gungho soldier, the quirky scientist, the troubled teen, the clueless parents, the school jock, the mean girls, the clumsy suitor, etc. Now that I think about it, it has a bit of a Superman feel to it. An alien race forced to evacuate their home planet. An emissary sent off to a promising planet to bring hope to the future. Bad guys in hot pursuit. The new immigrant learning the ropes with the help of a local. Ultimately the big showdown with the bad guys with a little help from his new human friends.

At the end of the movie, I still don't get why these robots still feel the need to transform to Beetles or muscle cars or fighter jets or canines, when they could just choose the most efficient form and stick with it. It's like what Charlie said, "All this time you could've been a Camaro?!"

Despite those, there's still some genuinely unexpected funny moments. Like when Bumblebee spit out that Rick Astley cassette tape so hard it almost broke the wall. Even the Chinese audience have been rickrolled so much, they got the joke. And the last scene when John Cena saluted the Autobot soldier, and Bumblebee replied with Judd Nelson's signature fist pump in The Breakfast Club.

Cheapest E10 Fuel

Having lots of competition is still the best way to get the cheapest price of anything.

Just near my house is a Budget Petrol. A few meters away is a Coles Express. A little further down Victoria Road, we have a 7-Eleven and a Speedway. Just across the street is a Caltex Woolworths station and a BP. That BP station has recently closed shop and replaced by a new player called Apex Petroluem. Apex almost always undercuts everybody else by one cent, which keeps prices low.

I usually check the petrol prices using the Fuel Check NSW app and PetrolSpy. If you're the betting kind, you can have a game with the 7-Eleven Fuel app. Use the app to lock in the best fuel price among the nearby 7-Eleven petrol stations. Locked-in price is good for 7 days. If the price goes up, you can still fill up using the locked-in price. If price goes down, then just pay using the lower price.

This is such an interesting idea that people started sharing notes as to where to find the cheapest fuel. If you happen to be in the vicinity of Truganina, then lock in the price. If you're not close by, then you have to find a way to pretend that you are. Apps that can detect and block spoofed locations? There's a (patched) app for that app!

The things that people do for cheap fuel, huh? Me, I normally just get 4c discount from Caltex Woolies from the weekly shop, and then pay using Woolies eGift cards.