Thursday, July 01, 2004

Silica gel hazard.

We know not to eat it. When I got a laptop about 20 months ago, unbeknownst to me, there was a little packet of the stuff in the bag. It ruptured and spilled its non-toxic little payload somewhere in the bottom of the bag, where I generally stuff the mouse.

I never saw the beads themselves, hiding in the bottom of the bag, but every once in a while I'd notice that one of the beads had gotten stuck between the mouse button and the mouse case so I couldn't click anything. It's not a big deal since I can get the little buggers out with my fingernail or a pen.

This morning, I noticed two beads in the USB connector on the mouse. This would explain why it seems I can't get the connector all the way in anymore. Getting them out was a pain, using a bent paper clip, and I was afraid briefly that I wouldn't get them out at all.

So now I'm on a crusade to eliminate millimeter-sized spheres from the interior of my computer's otherwise happy home. Humidity be damned, these things must die.

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