You know the Stephen Wright joke about the phone with no five on it? I feel the same way. Our cordless phone has ceased to dial 1. That means we can’t dial 911, or enter our bank or answering machine pins (both “1111,” in case you were wondering). Normal people would probably trash it and buy another. Me, I did what any self-respecting geek would do: I took it apart to see if I could fix it.

The electronic parts are fine. It turns out the problem is in the conductive rubber keypad. The 1 key’s pad is missing some conductor, which probably wore off over time. I’ve put in a note to the phone manufacturer to see if a replacement part is available.

In the meantime, don’t think because we don’t call you that we’re avoiding you, especially if your number has a 1 in it . . .