news flash

Mountain Dew and laptop computer keyboards do not get along well at all. Not very well at all. No sir.

It is a bit of an odd turn of events, one might conclude, that after using and repairing computers on a personal and business basis for nearly twenty years I have at last spilled a more-than-desirable quantity of liquid into my keyboard. Not once, mind you, but twice in a span of two days.

After the water event, I had a reasonably operational computer after about twelve hours of disassembly, drying, etc.

O cruel fate! It had been but a few hours later that I knocked a can of Mountain Dew onto the keyboard. I believe I we were listening to John Hartford via RealPlayer at the time. Of course, I couldn't bear to cut the song short so was perhaps a bit tardy in my attempts to avert disaster.

As one might imagine, it is not quite so easy to revive electrical devices drenched with a sugary liquid as it would be to dry an identical item briefly splashed with pure water.

After a long day of washing with isopropanol, wiping, drying, reinstalling, reuninstall, wash, dry, fold (no starch please) etc. the Tardis is running almost perfectly again.

There were other (and ultimately much more important) disasters to deal with today. In comparison to them, a sticky keyboard is almost unnoticable. I suppose now I should consult my horoscope to learn whether I could have prepared better for such an ordeal.