The hem of my pants. Way back I used to promote the use of a stapler for a quick fix. But I’ve found a better, more invisible way! Three words: double-stick tape. We’ve got some crazy industrial strength stuff here for sign making. Works like a charm. Of course this time I have to remember to remove the tape before dropping them off at the tailor. (Though he enjoyed my inventiveness.)
My laptop powersource. For some reason the power adapter for my PowerBook has gone wacky in the past week. It won’t charge my battery unless it is at a certain angle, and most recently it won’t work unless it is at that angle and has pressure on it …. ? Instead of shelling out $80 for a new adapter, I found a ten cent fix: a medium sized binder clip. Clipped that baby on and I don’t even need to find the “correct angle” any more. Also, I am a genius.
My neighbors. Well I don’t want to say I “fixed” the problem, because I certainly did not, but I found the perfect solution to drowning them out and ‘forcing’ them inside at a reasonable hour. And the solution is not only pleasing, it’s also educational for them: since we know the police don’t respond to noise complaints in my area, once it gets past 9:00 at night, if they’re still out there screaming, I hook up speakers to my PowerBook, put those speakers in my window facing their porch, shut the window over the speakers, click on a commercial-free classical radio station, and let it gooooooooo. I guess loud annoying kids don’t have an appreciation for good music. And despite the fact that each time I’ve done this and they’ve gone inside, I haven’t been reamed out by their mother for doing so. This is because I picked the least controversial music ever: no questionable lyrics, no inappropriate content, no argument around it. Because really, what is she going to yell at me for my excessive use of BACH? I think not.
The last thing I need to fix is my website. If you’re using Internet Explorer on a PC, it doesn’t line up properly and some stuff is taking a while to load. It’s totally my fault. I tried adding a few things all at once without spot checking on a PC. (Idiot.) But luckily I just backed up everything about a week ago on my LaCie. Except my LaCie is at Hooker’s so I’ve sent him a totally NOT annoying email asking him to email my entire website back up to me. Once I get that, I’ll reinstall and everything should be peachy. (Aaaaannnndddd, we’re fixed.)
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
I have the exact same problem w/ the power source on my wife’s latop at home. Won’t charge w/ out being on an upward angle and being held there while using the other hand to type/navigate.
Thanks for the binder-clip-fix idea!
Ah, Bach. /M*A*S*H
Not sure if the iBook adapter is the same as the Powerbook’s, but ran into the same issue.
And if someone is using IE, they deserve an unaligned site. Firefox is your friend. ;)
i have had duct tape holding up the hem of my brown editor pants for like…an embarrassing amount of time.
i now also have a fall coat that needs lining repair, though, so hopefully the two things combined will be enough to actually propel me to the tailor! god i am cheap.
This may sound strange coming out of the blue from someone who navigated in via Universal Hub, but I also have a WordPress blog and have had the same problem you describe. I think it’s a flaw in WordPress where it gets messed up if ANY post that loads on a page contains italics or blockquotes anyplace on the page. For some reason this seems to really mess with WordPress when it’s combined with (older versions of) IE.
Hey Jason, thanks for comment. It took me a while but I realized it was an issue with a slideshow I had embedded into an entry on Tuesday.
so glad I totally reuploaded my entire site FOR THAT! haha.
Awesome solution to the loud neighbors. I approve.
Also, be careful with the powersource. Really, if there’s a short or something be careful. If your laptop is less than a year old and/or you got the extended warranty (which I’m not advising you do – we always sell ours before the year is up and get a new one… but I digress) it’s covered under the computer’s warranty. We recently got a new one free when our MacBook’s power adapter developed a scary looking crack.
Yeah it’s not new. It’ll be 4 years old this winter. Geeez. Time flies.
You are a genius! :)
Good fix for the noisy neighbors. I’ll have to try it next time the downstairs neighbors pump up the bad synthesizer salsa.
Well first off, congratulations on an excellent “fix” for the neighbors. :)
About the power adapter; I work for am Apple Reseller, and what has most likely happened is that the solder holding the socket on your main computer board is working its way loose. It’s not really dangerous, but it will likely get worse. You just need someone handy with a soldering iron and instructions on how to take apart your PowerBook, and about an hour of time. I gave one that’s been like that for about 5 years. I keep MEANING to fix it…..:)
Good Luck!
Thanks for the info how how to fix it! I actually have friend who knows how to solder things … and is a lover of macs, so I trust him enough to actually do it!