in much the same way that bricks don't

[freckles_and_doubt]

Woe! I was reclining peacefully on the sofa last night watching Eureka, and got a sudden yen to discover where I'd seen the geeky café chef before (answer: the Toyman on Smallville, this series seems to be stuffed with Smallville alumni), and when I tried to switch on Winona she imitated the action of the brick and refused to respond in any way at all. Plugging her into the mains makes absolutely no difference. The ON button simply doesn't do anything. Taking the battery out and putting it back in again also doesn't do anything. I have so little experience with laptopoid objects, I have no bloody idea what's going on. Is there a secret handshake or something similar of which I am blissfully unaware? Help!

I should also add that I'm really enjoying Eureka, which I cheerfully admit is not quality television, but which offers sufficient in quirk, zan, mad science and slightly off-the-wall moments and characters to keep me happy. It also, after a discussion with maxbarners revealed that he and smoczek hated it, vouchsafed me the sizzling insight that tastes in bad/cheesy television or movie are infinitely more personal and individual than those in the good versions. It's wierdly akin to Tolstoy's statement that "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." High-quality cultural product has far more norms in common than low-quality: whether or not you buy into a cheesy series is about the particular and personal buttons that it presses, rather than any objective sense of its worth as an artefact. Which is fine by me. I'm defiantly enjoying Eureka, in pretty much the same way that I enjoy puppies and kittens and chocolate éclairs.

And, while we're mentioning the Russians, however tangentially, last night I dreamed that I was a small boy escaping an oppressive Russian regime with the assistance of friendly townsfolk, who put me on a train with my giant trunk. This turned out to have been filled, behind my back, with young men being smuggled out of the country, which I assisted by carefully covering them with my coat and wiring the trunk shut. Dream-history does not relate whether they escaped or not, but I don't think I was stopped or searched. Also, I'm tending to blame China Miéville.

Comments

Laptopoid help

[rumint.livejournal.com]

Oh noes. It sounds like she may literally have blown a fuse. Brick-like behavior without any lights or plaintive beeps on power-up is generally a power problem, and if it is the same whether on battery or plug power then it isn't just a battery failure. I'd hand it to your local PC repair spot or call the manufacturer if it is still under warranty. Good luck!

Re: Laptopoid help

[rumint.livejournal.com]

You may also want to try it on plugged in power without the battery attached, just in case the battery has turned evil.

Re: Laptopoid help

[extemporanea.livejournal.com]

It is a sad state of affairs when one is driven to wishing for an evil battery. I have tried the no-battery plug-in as you suggest, but alas, still a brick. It's at the point where pressing the on button does so absolutely nothing I'm beginning to wonder if I hallucinated it being an on button at all. Sigh.

Thank you for the suggestions, it's helpful to know that I'm not missing anything obvious. Warranty explorations ho!

Eureka!

[first-fallen.livejournal.com]

I watched some of it on Netflix in Vancouver. It didn't grab me but apparently it gets better. It lacks the something that Fringe and the X-files have, I'm not sure what it is.

As Zoe pointed out, there's no tension. It's a town full of geniuses so you know someone's going to solve the problem eventually.

I'm sure it gets better when Wil Wheaton shows up :)

Re: Eureka!

[first-fallen.livejournal.com]

Also, it's filmed in Vancouver and the comic shop where WW has been spending all his time is close to Zoe's. I never got my act together to go and see if he was there, maybe because secretly I was afraid I'd fansplode all over him and hump his leg. Zoe says I would've uttered my characteristic squee and blown his eardrums :(

Re: Eureka!

[wolverine-nun.livejournal.com]

She's probably right about the squee. I will go so far as to doubt the leg humping, but the squee ... yeah.

Re: Eureka!

[first-fallen.livejournal.com]

Hmmph. Maybe if he was holding a kitten.

Re: Eureka!

[extemporanea.livejournal.com]

You mean the squee you use when seeing Hobbit? That squee? The supersonic one that melts earwax? I think Mr. Wheaton is to be relieved that you never actually coincided with him, however much I might cherish the mental image of you humping his leg.

I am quite able to see the "no tension" point of view, but fortunately at the moment Television Without Tension is absolutely where I'm at. I will have my TV fluffy. It's working for me.

Winona

[bumpycat.livejournal.com]

If the power trick hasn't fixed it, you can try powering it up with your ear pressed to the keyboard. If you hear any sort of whirring or clicking, it's a drive issue; if you hear nothing, I'd guess it's RAM. If you're really unlucky, it's the motherboard, in which case the warranty is your only hope.

Re: Winona

[extemporanea.livejournal.com]

Dear Doctor Bumpy,

Thank you for your suggestion. I can hear no whirring or clicking at all, nor does the power light come on. Please send under separate cover further instructions on how to remove this netbook from my ear.

[bumpycat.livejournal.com]

Wow, they're making them really small these days ;)

Step 1: lift head from keyboard.
Step 2 (simultaneous): hold netbook down on level surface.

If these two steps do not fix it, please consult physician and technician simultaneously (or some sort of techie doctor or medicky techie*).

* I wrote that just so people would say it out loud.