The Universe is not cutting Val a break. This week brought a twisted knee (the better one), making a trip to town impossible for two days. In the midst of that was the power outage. And Friday morning,
VAL DROWNED HIPPIE AND KILLED HER MOUSE!
HIPPIE, my HP laptop, is quite long in the tooth. I can't remember a time without HIPPIE. I think he might have been running Windows 8, before kicking and screaming could not prevent an upgrade to Windows 10.
Anyhoo... HIPPIE has grown cantankerous over the years. Sometimes going crazy and opening apps at random. Or locking up, refusing to move or even shut down. Shortly before noon on Friday, I took a pill and set down my red Solo cup of water. Only it didn't set down! It hit the edge of HIPPIE. In my haste to right the cup, I over-righted it, and water flowed across HIPPIE'S keyboard!!!
I immediately grabbed HIPPIE and flipped him upside down. Gave him a shake. Balanced him upside down across the table edge and a box of files on the kitchen chair beside me. I left HIPPIE suspended upside down as I mopped up the table water, changed clothes, and put the wet items in the dryer.
When I returned to HIPPIE, I gave him several shakes. Wiped across the keys with some paper towels while he was still upside down. When I righted him, HIPPIE was still running! Still had a window open. Still had internet. But the mouse would not respond!
That mouse didn't even get wet! Not a drop. It was not in the direction of the water flow. I set it on HIPPIE'S power cord during cleanup, lest some water creep that way. The mouse remained bone dry.
I thought that maybe I had hit a key while wiping HIPPIE upside down. There were a couple odd apps open. I used that keypad thingy to close them, and do a proper shutdown, so HIPPIE could restart and maybe get everything sorted.
NOOOOOO!!!
I got the black screen of OH CRAP! Saying the fan didn't work, and continuing might cause erratic behavior or damage. I had 15 seconds to continue or abort this mission. Well. I read too slowly, looking at the gibberish under that statement. HIPPIE shut down again. I powered him up again. Same message. I continued.
I propped HIPPIE so he was not flat on the table. Still no mouse. I took off the cover and twisted the battery around. It said it's good until 2030. I turned the mouse off and on. Each time, I'd get a green light, but then it would turn to flashing red.
I called The Pony, who has drowned a couple of laptops. The Pony said I should have turned off power the minute HIPPIE was drowned, and set him on a vent for several days, before trying to turn him on again. But that since other parts seemed to be working, that would be futile now.
The Pony said maybe it was the port used for that plug-in thingy that runs the mouse. So try it in a different port. IT WORKED! I got a chime-y sound, and a box saying Logitech was loading. I turned the mouse back on, and IT WORKED! The Pony is a genius sometimes.
The Pony says that a bad fan is a big problem. That I might be able to keep using HIPPIE, but to email myself any important files I didn't want to lose. Like my tax returns!
I actually have another laptop, new two Christmases ago, bought for me by The Pony. I put off switching over for two tax seasons, because I wanted to be comfortable using my regular method of filing taxes. I hate learning the spacing of a new keyboard, and switching over to Windows 11 or whatever laptops come with now. The Pony kept it at his house, loading some entertainment for me in the form of shows and games.
It might be time to fire up that new laptop. The Pony is bringing it out tomorrow.
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