Some deeply unhappy, some deeply cool

[annathepiper]

-0: Grrr. A small part of me just knew that if I persisted on trying to play with my handheld while bathing, I would drop the damned thing into the water. Which is exactly what happened last night. It wasn't in the water long, but long enough to get wet. I wound up taking the battery out as I frantically wiped it off, and while I was able to reset it and get my data back on it, I am now wondering what kind of an impact this is going to have on the device's ability to function. I have already noticed a couple small quirks of behavior--such as, when I powered it up this morning and clicked on the Start Menu, the playback of the little 'beep' got stuck in a bit of a loop. At least two of the buttons are not responding if I run the Self Test program. And when I tap on the screen with the stylus, I'm getting little beads of water coming up out of the screen. :( DAMMIT!

And yeah, some of the keyboard is definitely fucked up. Several of the letter keys aren't making any characters now. DAMMIT, DAMMIT, DAMMIT! And I have nobody but myself to blame for this, either.

solarbird says I need to leave it to dry, but gods, I hope I haven't irretrievably screwed it up. I'm already deeply upset with myself about this.



+1: On the other hand, I got to see a bit of the Northern Lights last night that were visible over Seattle and points north. I'd never actually seen any before, and while I didn't stay out to watch them as long as Dara--stupid having to go to bed so I'd be conscious for work this morning--I did stand outside long enough to get me an eyeful of the white light washing all over the sky. It waved and pulsed, and once, we saw what looked like a huge meteor, though that might have been part of the entire phenomenon. Seeing it all, I remarked to risu that it looked like the sky needed to be degaussed.



+2: I did actually write some last night, getting Chapter 10 of Lament of the Dove underway, but I didn't make my five hundred words. I'll have to see about making a post about that tonight.



+/-3: So, I wore my new shoes and my new jacket to work today, and I have already noticed that I'm walking differently. I have had a tiny amount of back pain, but nothing serious, and I am trying to figure out whether a combination of a jacket that isn't too small for me, shoes that aren't worn out, and no fannypack putting pressure on my waist might help realign whatever screwed-up-edness I've had going on with my hips ever since I broke my stupid arm.

It would nice to walk somewhere without my back hurting. I miss that.



+4: A good thing about the new jacket, at least, is that it has an inner pocket more than big enough to carry my iPod. It may also be big enough to carry the iPod and the iPaq at the same time... which would be nice, as I am still trying to figure out the proper configuration of stuff to carry in the new red monkey bag for maximum ease and comfort.

Comments

[gerimaple.livejournal.com]

is it propped up vertically somewhere so the water can all drain out? there may be hope yet - a friend's spouse washed his cell phone after he didn't clear his pockets before tossing pants in the hamper. five days later his spouse reported the phone as "working perfectly, camera and all".

*hugs*

[annathepiper]

Right now I've got it sitting on top of this monitor, which is all warm and stuff, as that's the warmest place I've got to put it. (Dara suggested I stick it in front of a fan, but I don't have one handy here at work right now.) I took the battery and the stylus out, and have it lying screen-and-keys-down on the warm monitor.

This seems to, at least, have done something about the screen. For a little bit after I set it up there, if I checked the screen by tapping it with the stylus, I kept getting the water beads. Now I'm not getting them.

Trying very, very hard to make myself let it sit. Dara has advised me to not mess with it for the rest of the day, but agh, the worry. :|

[gerimaple.livejournal.com]

i COMPLETELY empathise with the urge to mess with it. were it me, i'd have left it at home where i COULDN'T mess with it.

and though it's caused you pain, i do appreciate the reminder of why "reading e-Books on PDA in tub is a *B*A*D* idea"

[annathepiper]

If I'd left it at home, it would have driven me nuts all day anyway worrying about it; if it's here, at least, I have the small consolation of being able to pick it up every so often as it warms up on top of the monitor, and check whether the screen is still wet.

Which pretty much means 'being able to do something about the problem', which helps some.

And yes, the moral of this story is, indeed, "do not take electronic devices with you into the bath". ;P

[murson.livejournal.com]

Modern solid-state electronics (like most PDAs) are in fact quite good at getting over getting wet - I do agree with solarbird, though, in that you REALLY need to let it just sit and dry out before you start playing with it again!

(I managed to get my Zaurus more than a little damp - note to self: CLOSE YOUR JACKET POCKETS PROPERLY BEFORE RIDING INTO A 20 MPH HEADWIND WHILE IT'S RAINING!!! - and after about a day and a half on top of a shelf over a radiator, all was back to normal...)

[annathepiper]

It does seem to have taken well to sitting on top of a warm monitor for most of today. I could not resist the urge to futz with it some more, but fortunately, its behavior has significantly improved--and I took the battery right back out and am letting it sit some more. So, big ol' sigh of relief.