Even Ubuntu doesn't seem very bug free to me. However that said are you sure
that these problems are down to something you did?
The flickering might be due to an older kernel with the Intel graphics.
The RTL8187 might be a card going bad.
Coincidences are more common than you'd think.
And the other stuff sounds more like something is broken.. due to third party
stuff going on.
I'll assume you haven't installed the proprietary NVIDIA drivers here either
like I was thinking at first. I don't think you'd do that.
