Something red

So, last night, right before I was going to log off and go to bed, instead I cleverly spilled nearly an entire cup (8oz or so) of fluid across my keyboard. The computer didn’t immediately give me problems, but I turned it off and unplugged the keyboard and cleaned it off as much as I could and drained as much of the fluid as would pour out the front out the front. When I got it about as good as I could, not sure of what results I’d get, I plugged it back in and turned the computer on. And the keyboard didn’t seem to work at all. Except, it’s a USB keyboard/hub, and both my USB mouse and my printer, which were plugged into it’s two USB ports, worked fine. So I went to the Apple site and using KeyCaps (a sort of virtual keyboard) I found the Knowledge Base article I needed. It said that as long as the fluid was clear, and not greasy or sticky or sweet, I should just turn over the keybaord and try to get as much out as I can, then let it sit for 24 hours to dry. If after 24 hours, it still didn’t work, take it to my local Apple Authorized Service Provider. If the fluid wasn’t clear, or was greasy, or sticky, or sweet, I shouldn’t even bother, I should just go straight to that Apple Authorised Service Provider to have it cleaned/repaired. And under no circumstances should I use any cleaners or solvents on it, at most, just a damp cloth, if it were unplugged, and to allow it to dry completely.
Keychain
So, while my drink was not clear, it was also not greasy or sticky or sweet. I took some photos last night of it and was going to post them one way or another, but this used USB floppy drive and these hundreds-of-times-used floppy disks are fairly tempermental, so no go on those photos. Still, I’ll reveal to you that the fluid was a red one. Which means that my keyboard, which when I received it was clear and snow white, is now a bit pink in places. Only about 20 hours later, and all the keys seem to work fine, except the ‘enter’ key on my keypad, but I might just not have found an environment that has any function in yet… Anway, it mostly seems fine.

But, in honor of my keyboard getting along so swimmingly, I’m going to give away the keychain pictured at left to the first person who can guess exactly what red fluid I spilled across my keyboard last night. I mean, wow. Look at that stylish keychain! Look at that cute old sailor! Don’t you want him to be yours? And all for simply figuring out what sorts of red fluids I might have 8oz of near my computer late at night. Responses will be accepted in comments to this post, via email, and via telepathy. Good luck!

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Teel

Author, artist, romantic, insomniac, exorcist, creative visionary, lover, and all-around-crazy-person.

12 thoughts on “Something red”

  1. OkayowIkowthatwheIpostedthatearlieryspaekeyadthelettersitheottorowwereworkigutowtheyare’t.Ijusttookykeyoardopletelyapartadputitopletelyaktogetheragaiafteropletelyleaigalltheidiidualopetsutit’sstilldoigthesaethig.fuk.

    Iguessit’stietoplugthelaptopitothephoelieutilIagetareplaeetUSkeyoard.

    Sigh.

  2. OkayowIkowthatwheIpostedthatearlieryspaekeyadthelettersitheottorowwereworkigutowtheyare’t.Ijusttookykeyoardopletelyapartadputitopletelyaktogetheragaiafteropletelyleaigalltheidiidualopetsutit’sstilldoigthesaethig.fuk.

    Iguessit’stietoplugthelaptopitothephoelieutilIagetareplaeetUSkeyoard.

    Sigh.

  3. We know its not blood, as blood is sticky.

    My guess would be cranberry juice.

  4. Ah, right about the blood. Well, I guess my alternate guess is changed to… Pepsi Blue, then.

    But Crystal Light Raspberry Ice Sugar Free is still my primary guess.

  5. Ah, right about the blood. Well, I guess my alternate guess is changed to… Pepsi Blue, then.

    But Crystal Light Raspberry Ice Sugar Free is still my primary guess.

  6. Ah, that was so funny, using that trick on Iain. I knew he’d fall for it, being the only other person who knows exactly what drink that mug was talking about. Alas, it was a red herring, though his response is not substancially far off from the truth.

    Oh, and, err… In case my above comment wasn’t readable, After about half an hour or so of use, the keyboard decided that it’s lower rows wouldn’t function properly (including zxcvbnm, Ctrl, both option keys, both Cmd keys, left Shift, and still nothing from the keypad Enter key). I took it completely apart (would you believe that once I’d removed the outer shell and the circuit board & the fashionable white backing, there were still THIRTY-EIGHT tiny screws holding the metal backing to the white front with the actual guts of the keyboard wedged inside? 38!!!) and cleaned everything and looked for any visible shorts and such, and put it back together (using about 20 of the 38 of those damned screws, at least 4 of which I had stripped taking out anyway) and hooked it up and exactly the same keys didn’t work.

    I am now using my laptop until I can arrange to have my keyboard properly fixed or replaced. Sigh.

  7. Ah, that was so funny, using that trick on Iain. I knew he’d fall for it, being the only other person who knows exactly what drink that mug was talking about. Alas, it was a red herring, though his response is not substancially far off from the truth.

    Oh, and, err… In case my above comment wasn’t readable, After about half an hour or so of use, the keyboard decided that it’s lower rows wouldn’t function properly (including zxcvbnm, Ctrl, both option keys, both Cmd keys, left Shift, and still nothing from the keypad Enter key). I took it completely apart (would you believe that once I’d removed the outer shell and the circuit board & the fashionable white backing, there were still THIRTY-EIGHT tiny screws holding the metal backing to the white front with the actual guts of the keyboard wedged inside? 38!!!) and cleaned everything and looked for any visible shorts and such, and put it back together (using about 20 of the 38 of those damned screws, at least 4 of which I had stripped taking out anyway) and hooked it up and exactly the same keys didn’t work.

    I am now using my laptop until I can arrange to have my keyboard properly fixed or replaced. Sigh.

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