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Old 12-07-2006, 17:09   #1
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Back from the dead ..... so to speak :)

Those of you who are regular readers, may have noticed my absence the last month & 1/2. I would love to tell you that I have been out cruising ... sadly that's not true.
About 45 days ago, I was seated at my trusty Gateway laptop, drinking some red wine, the boat pitched a bit, and a small dollop of the wine left my glass and landed on the keyboard ... the Gateway died an immediate death. Laptops & red wine? ... Who knew? A friend loaned us an old Dell laptop so we could at least watch DVD's ... then as if to prove some sort of point ... Lynn was drinking some red wine .. the boat pitched a bit and ..... Damn ... guess it's true, laptops just can't tolerate red wine!
Am writing this from our new Acer 7100 ... 17" screen Oooooooohhhhh neato! Have a beer neatly placed where there's no chance ....
In the meantime ... didya know that stress can cause the muscles surrounding the Aorta to clamp down so tight as to restict the flow of blood to the heart? This mimicks a heart attack ... but it can last for months! I get to testify to that one too! Source of stress? In this case it was primarily the job (new management) and going a bit overboard working on the boat. Currently unemployed ... still working on the boat (still plan to head for the Carribean at the end of hurricane season) but not at the same break neck pace.
So for those "enquiring minds" ... that's where we've been .... did I miss anything?
Bob & Lynn
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Old 12-07-2006, 19:56   #2
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Nah ya didn't miss much. Just solving questions to lifes problems, you know, the same ole same ole.
Although we did do a quick change of the place. someone said, Quick, while Wahoo sails is away, lets change the furniture.
Good to see ya back.
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Old 12-07-2006, 23:36   #3
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Yes you were missed And no, laptops can't handle their liquor
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Old 13-07-2006, 03:39   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wahoo Sails
About 45 days ago, I was seated at my trusty Gateway laptop, drinking some red wine, the boat pitched a bit, and a small dollop of the wine left my glass and landed on the keyboard ... the Gateway died an immediate death. Laptops & red wine? ... Who knew? A friend loaned us an old Dell laptop so we could at least watch DVD's ... then as if to prove some sort of point ... Lynn was drinking some red wine .. the boat pitched a bit and ..... Damn ... guess it's true, laptops just can't tolerate red wine!
I didn't know laptops couldn't handle wine.....thanks for the warning!


Quote:
Originally Posted by Wahoo Sails
... didya know that stress can cause the muscles surrounding the Aorta to clamp down so tight as to restict the flow of blood to the heart? This mimicks a heart attack ...
We found that out in January with Rick....same kind of situation...lots of stress from work relating to a new boss....delivered a pretty good scare and sent us on a 5 week roller coaster ride of medical tests and proceedures. Rick is still at the same job, but happily his "new" boss isn't.

Welcome back!

Lori, Rick and Shadow
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Old 17-07-2006, 08:02   #5
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I have 'fed' laptops with beer, wine, and various other fluids and they have always (so far) come back to life after a night or three in a warm dry place, such as an airing cupboard.

Generally, if you turn them off quick (and dont be tempted to turn them back on again too soon) you can get away with it.
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Old 17-07-2006, 20:26   #6
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Glad that you're still with us Bob.

Stress can do alot of crazy things to the human body. And I can attest to that. So far nothing as severe like what you had. Hope that I never do. And I hope that no one on this forum does either!!

Glad to hear from you once again!!


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Old 12-09-2006, 23:22   #7
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Just a note regarding laptops and liquids. It looks a little ridiculous but wrapping the keyboard with saran or similar will protect it-just watchthe heat!
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Old 02-10-2006, 08:03   #8
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Understand the issues with liquids and keyboards but like you have tended to find myself on the keyboard and beer close to hand.
Well worth investing the $30 of so on one of those flexible plug in but waterproof jobbies.
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Old 02-10-2006, 10:40   #9
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didnt your momma tell you not to drink and C:/drive?


(get it, C-drive? Sea Drive? snarf snarf giggle.....)
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Old 02-10-2006, 15:22   #10
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OK Boys & Girls,
For the record, we're now using an Acer 7100 laptop with a Cingular air card .... and everything is working pretty good. We enjoy watching DVD's on the computer and the 17" screen works well for that ... also have some "kick a@#" external speakers for surround sound and they really add to the experience.
The air card is slower and more expensive than the WiFi we were using ... but as there is no WiFi available at our new location ... well? On the positive side, the air card seems to work 100% of the time ... something the WiFi never did for us.
Bob & Lynn
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Old 02-10-2006, 18:06   #11
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I use the Sprint 775 card for work. It is amazing the coverage it has. So, are you still feeding th computer red wine, or have you switched to rum
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Old 02-10-2006, 19:30   #12
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Those of you who are regular readers, may have noticed my absence the last month & 1/2.
Delayed I would say or perhaps just late. The rules of the forum prohibit a strict tally of comings and goings. More a matter of noticing would be more correct. We always miss the folks with the best stories and of course you were missed but just as easily welcomed back.

I try to avoid computers and drinking in general as I do the former for a living and live for the latter. Getting them, mixed up runs the risk of drinking for a living and we all know you can't do that long enough to make a living at it.
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Old 03-10-2006, 10:39   #13
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One of my illegal Haitian friends says you should drop off your old laptops in Haiti....they have some thing they do over there re: bringing stuff back from the dead...
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Old 03-10-2006, 13:50   #14
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Coffee doesn't do laptops any good either. <sigh>
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Old 03-10-2006, 14:06   #15
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About a year ago I replaced a keypad on a Sony VAIO laptop. I bought the replacement keyboard from a computer parts site on the internet for around $ 80. It was literally several little bitty phillips head screws, sliding a hold-down panel sideways, and a ribbon connector. Keyboard lifted right out. Let me clean out the insides and fans while I was in there. The new one fit perfectly, of course. swapping them out took about ten minutes, following instructions. Would have taken 5 min to do it a second time.

SO you dont necessarily have to chunk the whole laptop cause you shorted a keyboard. Hey, give it a try. What have you got to lose? I figure I saved $1400, and my son is still using that Sony laptop. I got a cheapo Dell Inspiron now.
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