What might be making you a tad apprehensive, but might not, as it's too soon to tell

[Clodfobble]

Originally Posted by Pete Zicato

Have they had practices yet? How's he doing?

He knows his lines when we practice at home, at least. (And he always makes me read past his last line to the end of the scene, because he has a stage direction to smile and wave, and he wants to be sure to practice that part too. ) But the memorization's the easy part. We'll see...

[limey]

Lamp I spilled coffee (just a couple of drops) onto my keyboard and at first it wouldn't stop peeing (well, they do say coffee is a diuretic!). Then it wouldn't pee at all.
I gave up and got a new one.

[glatt]

I've read that you can put a keyboard into the dishwasher on the top rack and it can clean them without harming them. I've never tried it though. Sounds totally wrong.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by glatt

I've read that you can put a keyboard into the dishwasher on the top rack and it can clean them without harming them. I've never tried it though. Sounds totally wrong.

This guy did it.

Three days later, with no evidence of any remaining dampness on the keyboard, I plugged it into an Apple laptop. The Mac OS X keyboard-setup assistant automatically popped up... but then nothing happened. I pressed the "z" key as it instructed, but the computer never registered that input. Much the same thing happened on a Lenovo netbook running Windows XP: The computer realized that there was a keyboard on the other end of that USB cable but didn't detect any keystrokes.

Update: It seems I typed, or tried to type, too soon. Last night, after a day of baking in the same sunny room, the keyboard came to life when I plugged it into each of those two laptops. All of the keys appear to work properly, and the Caps Lock and Num Lock LEDs even illuminate. (Yes, the keyboard did function before; it was just too disgusting for my colleague to want to keep using, and somebody in IT decided it would be simpler to swap it out for a new unit.) So that seems to be the trick--letting the keyboard dry for what seems like enough time, then give it another day or two to air out.

[Pete Zicato]

Originally Posted by glatt

I've read that you can put a keyboard into the dishwasher on the top rack and it can clean them without harming them. I've never tried it though. Sounds totally wrong.

All the crumbs that get in my keyboard would probably gum up the dishwasher.

[limey]

It was cheaper to buy a new keyboard than a dishwasher ...

[Ocean's Edge]

I have washed keyboards out - I usually use the spray attachment on the sink, and warm water - NO SOAP! .. and then leave em somewhere warm - top of the fridge fer instance to dry out for a few days to a week.

I've got about a 75% success rate with them surviving the procedure.

There's a reason I won't buy a fancy ergonomic $150 keyboard.

Years of forbidding the children to have food or drink at the computer, means I'm the only one who's dumped a full coffee or a can of coke into the keyboard.

[Lamplighter]

The opitical mouse seems to be working fine.
But that was a $50+ cup of coffee (including a new cup)
Of course, it will take years to attain the same patina.

With nothing to lose now, I'll try the old keyboard in the dishwasher,
and maybe we'll end up with a full-sized keyboard on the iPad

[chrisinhouston]

Today I have to try to finish fixing my wife's car and put it back together. She drives a 1996 Toyota Avalon and it's hovering at 280,000 miles. It began making a noise, kind of a grinding grown that was there until you hit the accelerator and revved it such a when you speed up or get out on the highway. Then it would subside but come back once the engine was at a steady rpm. It is a transverse engine and it sounded like the noise was on the passenger side where the belts are.

After listening to it while idling in the driveway I felt it might be the water pump or one of the big pulleys for the timing belt. We are way overdue for a timing belt change and since the water pump is only replaceable when the belt is removed I am doing replacing it as well which is what Toyota suggests. I suspect it is the water pump bearing making the noise as the shaft might get repositioned to not make the noise when you accelerate and water is forced harder through the impeller blades, sort of refloating the shaft to a centered position and not pushing the bearing off center.

I had to drain out all of the coolant, remove lots of stuff including the air plenum, engine mounts and brackets and today I need to break free the nut holding the big pulley on to the crankshaft. I need to insure that everything is perfectly lined up for cylinder 1 at top dead center or the timing could get off. I ordered the necessary parts, timing belt kit, water pump and several gaskets and they are all here.

So, I am uneasy because I always doubt my skills even though I did the timing belt a few years ago (supposed to be every 90,000 miles but this is only the second time) and I have successfully rebuilt a few engines in my youth. I just worry I will screw it up, something will go wrong or worse yet I will get it done and the noise will still be there meaning it is something else. And the last thing we need is for the car to just not be repairable (something worse or I fuck up), we just don't have room for a new car payment what with the kitchen redo and other things. I will have let my wife down or at least that what my Leo ego will think.

So why am I doing it? Well, having a shop do it would be $600-$800 as for them it's almost an all day job and they mark up parts. I took the car apart last week and ordered the parts, then I cut my thumb so I've waited for it to heel up mostly so I can use it. And the parts I have purchased only cost about $160 so far. I am also changing out the valve cover gaskets as they get old and brittle and let oil seep out.

Can't put it off any longer, it's like a tax return or getting in your thesis on time.

[glatt]

Good luck Chris! You know what you are doing, and that's why you are nervous. Sometimes it's better to be ignorant about the possible problems.

[xoxoxoBruce]

As long as you get #1 at TDC, the worst that could happen is a leaky gasket or something simple that you'd have to redo, along with checking for children within earshot.

Like you said, the noise could be something else. The only other thing might be the alternator, but I'd bet on the water pump too. Besides, what you're doing needs doing anyway so all's good.

Oh, have you checked the radiator fan? Pullers, sometimes when they get worn, start to rub the fins and could slide back under acceleration. Just a thought if this doesn't solve it.

[Clodfobble]

So that whole school performance thing? Turns out that, despite asking the kids to memorize their lines, the plan was always to have copies of the script in everyone's hands. They just gave the speaking parts to the most fluent readers, duh.

So yeah, he read his part just fine. No viral YouTube fodder here.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Was using the scripts so nobody gets embarrassed forgetting their lines, or give them something to focus on so they didn't wander?

[footfootfoot]

It was a fun sponge PC move. God forbid there are any cute moments when some undiagnosed Tourette's kid blurts out ASSWIPE during the nativity play.

Sorry. I'm cranky this morning.

[Clodfobble]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

Was using the scripts so nobody gets embarrassed forgetting their lines, or give them something to focus on so they didn't wander?

Nah, it takes a lot of embarrass a 7 year old, they don't give a damn. The scripts saved the whole production from falling apart, to be honest. Even with them, there were at least 3 or 4 times when everyone just stood there silently for up to 30 seconds, until the kid who had the next line suddenly realized what was going on. (Not my kid of course, because we'd actually made sure he had memorized his lines. ) The whole thing was just sort of slow and painful.