Until I manage to extract the blog notes I've entered all this week from my laptop, this minimal blog entry will suffice.
Why do I need to do this, you ask? Well, I blame The Mountain Bean - specifically, their electrical outlets.
A few weeks ago, I was typing away at the Bean on my older laptop and after a while I decided to plug it back in to charge the battery up again, as it only holds a charge for about 30 mins or so now, being aged and all. Lo and behold, as soon as I did that, the screen began to flicker strangely and I heard the AC adapter making a buzzing sound. I quickly unplugged it and then fired off an email to the eBay seller I had purchased the adapter from asking for a replacement under their Lifetime Warranty, then thought no more of it.
On Saturday, I went over to the Mountain Bean on the first of my days off, thinking to spend some quality time relaxing, surfing and so forth to the accompaniment of hot tea and peanut butter cookies - was I ever wrong. I sat at my usual window spot, set the tea down and plugged in my laptop... only to smell something burning a minute later. Imagine my shock when I looked at the AC adapter to my left to discover wafts of white smoke pouring from it! I whipped the plug out of the wall socket and fearfully checked over my newer and much-more-irreplaceable Gateway FX laptop for damage. Thankfully, it seemed unharmed.
Unfortunately, that leaves me with two laptops without power and batteries that will soon run out - it will be a week or more before replacement AC adapters arrive from eBay, which thankfully are still available and don't cost too much overall. I'm quite miffed at The Bean and I'll be talking to their manager Monday, though in the main I'm just concerned that there's an electrical problem and that it doesn't happen to anyone else. If I have the replacement costs of the adapters covered along with a few free cookies, I'll be satisfied - though a LOT warier about plugging in my expensive and delicate machinery into any old strange socket.
Why do I need to do this, you ask? Well, I blame The Mountain Bean - specifically, their electrical outlets.
A few weeks ago, I was typing away at the Bean on my older laptop and after a while I decided to plug it back in to charge the battery up again, as it only holds a charge for about 30 mins or so now, being aged and all. Lo and behold, as soon as I did that, the screen began to flicker strangely and I heard the AC adapter making a buzzing sound. I quickly unplugged it and then fired off an email to the eBay seller I had purchased the adapter from asking for a replacement under their Lifetime Warranty, then thought no more of it.
On Saturday, I went over to the Mountain Bean on the first of my days off, thinking to spend some quality time relaxing, surfing and so forth to the accompaniment of hot tea and peanut butter cookies - was I ever wrong. I sat at my usual window spot, set the tea down and plugged in my laptop... only to smell something burning a minute later. Imagine my shock when I looked at the AC adapter to my left to discover wafts of white smoke pouring from it! I whipped the plug out of the wall socket and fearfully checked over my newer and much-more-irreplaceable Gateway FX laptop for damage. Thankfully, it seemed unharmed.
Unfortunately, that leaves me with two laptops without power and batteries that will soon run out - it will be a week or more before replacement AC adapters arrive from eBay, which thankfully are still available and don't cost too much overall. I'm quite miffed at The Bean and I'll be talking to their manager Monday, though in the main I'm just concerned that there's an electrical problem and that it doesn't happen to anyone else. If I have the replacement costs of the adapters covered along with a few free cookies, I'll be satisfied - though a LOT warier about plugging in my expensive and delicate machinery into any old strange socket.
