Knives and tape and power, oh my!

A couple of weeks ago the power adapter on my laptop decided I was using my computer too much, and that the only way to make me cut back was to stop providing power to said computer.

In other words, my power adapter broke. The little metal bit, the part that actually plugs into the computer, came off of the cord. Now, being the computer-addicted internet junkie that I am, I couldn't let that stand. I shoved the recalcitrant little piece of metal back into place and, although it now required more careful wiggling once in a while, made the power adapter work again.

Flash forward to today. The power adapter cut out, and no amount of careful wiggling would get it to work again. Even wiggling that was less careful and more forceful provided no effect. And so, wielding my +1 knife of geekiness, which for some reason is kept in a drawer in the kitchen, I did battle with the broken end of the cord, slicing it open and exposing its tiny metal innards.

After all that, I grabbed the piece that had broken off weeks ago and, making sure all the little metal bits were connected to the other little metal bits, tried it again. Nothing. I resigned myself to using the shared desktop, which didn't even have Firefox downloaded. After using Internet Explorer (ew) to download my favorite browser, I surfed the web for a while until someone else wanted it, then I went back to my room.

Once there, I noticed that the power adapter to my laptop was unplugged. And had been the entire time. That's right, it's not any more broken today than it was yesterday. Well, at least it wasn't until I went after it with a knife. I felt very stupid for a while.

With the help of some handy electrical tape, I got all the metal bits back into their proper place, plugged it all in, and behold! Power! In addition, while I had the tape out, I taped the cord into position on my computer to eliminate all the careful wiggling that had occupied my time in the last couple of weeks.

If I had a camera, this would be where I'd post a picture of the final product. But, I don't, so I can't, so you'll just have to visualize the electrical tape-covered cord that is taped onto the left side of my computer.