Mice do not like beer!

[Guest]

Oooh, the diddler!

She'd wear this wild costume with special cut-outs to enable her to reach those naughty places.

And while performing her evil deeds against society none of the superhero men would be able to defeat her.





(Because they'd all be too busy watching!)

 

[wishfulthinking]

Colly: Totally off topic, but is there a feminine equivilent of wanker?

Is wankette plausible?

Pop 54:Bloody fibber, you knew I'd go there

Caught!


But if someone has already gone there, so can I. Perhaps the Didler has a secret weapon if the evil nemsis is gay - venomous juice?

 

[Colleen Thomas]

I think wnakette sounds like an auxillary for the wanker, once his hand gets tired and all

The diddler is awesome, tell me there isn't a cheesy faux superhero story in there somewhere!

-Colly

 

[DVS]

To bring this thread out of the dirt for a second...

There is a way to save your keyboard if something liquid spills into it. You must act fast, and tip it upside down. Shut down the computer (use the mouse for that) if it will do so fast enough, or just turn it off.

There isn't much current going through a keyboard, but there is a little. If the liquid gets into the electronic works, you could sizzle something needed. But, if you are quick enough, you then have time to clean out the keyboard.

To clean it (this is for most keyboards, as some are not made as well as others), you can use a small amount of water on the keys, and underneath. Don't go overboard, because if water gets too far inside, you could have a problem later.

The idea is to clean out whatever the liquid was without replacing said liquid with another (the water). But, keep in mind, water is not as sticky or colored or smelly after, as the original liquid probably would be.

Sugar is bad, and wine can end up being a sticky mess when most of the moisture is gone. In cases like this, it is best to get to the task as quickly as possible. If you can get most of it while it is still in the liquid state, you might be home free.

You can also usually remove the key caps (again, this is on most keyboards) to get underneath. But, use a method of some sort to be sure you get them back where they belong. But, in case you didn't know, an O with a P cap will still type an O.

Isopropyl alcohol will work wonders. Get a roll of paper towels, or some thin dish clothes and something thin but stiff. For the thin but stiff thing, an Emory board comes to mind. It might not be stiff enough, if it gets wet, and you don't want to Emory your keys, either. But, something along the shape and size of that (without its hazards) would be ideal.

Wrap the thin sturdy thing with the towels and then wet with the alcohol. Run this in-between the keys as deeply as you can without getting too deep. Use care with this, as paper towel can shred and you will have the difficulty of getting it out from under the keys.

Do this in all cracks between keys until satisfied the original liquid is all gone. After this, use a spray cleaner (don't use one that will remove the cap labels) to lightly spray the keyboard and dry with another clean towel.

Then, visually inspect for areas you may have missed. It's also likely you will have to do this whole cleaning procedure more than once, depending on how much liquid got into the keyboard.

Rest the cleaned keyboard, keys down, on a mat of towels. Let dry over night, to make sure you don't turn the computer back on with a wet keyboard attached.

Before you turn the computer back on with your freshly cleaned (repaired) keyboard, run your fingers over all of the keys in a swift motion to make sure they all work. The flat of the palm is best for this, as you can usually feel the ones that are still sticking. Then, individual testing of those will tell you the obvious ones you need to give another cleaning to, before you do much more computing.

If you do find sticky keys after this process, it isn't necessary to clean them right away, if you don't use them that often. And, some may eventually free themselves with repeated use, if not too sticky.

The main thing to keep in mind is fast thinking. Most people don't react quickly enough when they spill liquids into the keyboard. You have to act fast or the cleaning option above won't be necessary.

MICE

A mouse is pretty easy to clean. Underneath, a little round area holds the ball inside. You should be able to tell that it's not part of the mouse housing itself. We will call that the cap.

While pressing on the cap with one hand (fingers will be best) and holding the mouse with the other hand, turn the cap the direction of the arrows (counter clockwise in most cases). The cap and the mouse ball should come loose at this point. Don't lose these parts, as you will need them, later.

Inspect the ball and cap for residue of the liquid, and clean with towels wetted with isopropyl alcohol. Inside the mouse, itself are three rollers. These and the mouse ball are what make the cursor move around on the screen.

First, check to see if there is anything in the area the ball sits in that needs to be cleaned out. After you have done that, each roller should be cleaned.

The ball itself might need some extra attention. That is what gets dirty the fastest, in normal use. If your mouse ball gets dirty, it can cause your cursor to seem to jump around on the screen. This is obviously not fun. And, if you are drinking wine, it might seem you are drunker than you really are.

Clean it well. It should have a slightly tacky feel to it, as friction against the rollers and mouse pad is how it works. Don't worry if yours seems to get your towels extra dirty. That black is not always dirt. It's really a good thing that black is coming off, as it will be rejuvenating that tackiness. Don't go overboard, as that black will not stop coming off. Just get it clean and dry it with a non-lint towel, if you can.

Think of the rollers inside the mouse as wheels on a roller-skate, or such. They should roll freely, and without restriction. A cue tip soaked in alcohol should do the trick, or even a finger in place of the cue tip. Get them good and wet to make sure you get any sticky stuff out. When all three are rolling freely, you have done your best.

Now, if you have gunk in the buttons, that is more difficult to deal with. There is no good way to get under those, so you will have to use your own judgement on what to do. A mild spray of alcohol underneath and then repeated clicking of the buttons until they stop sticking is usually the only thing you can do. If you have a wheel on top, the same thing can be done with that. Just be sure you use as little spray as possible to get the stickiness to leave.

Again, be sure you let things dry. Let the mouse parts dry before you reassemble it. It will dry quicker. There is even less current in a mouse than in a keyboard, but there is some. Don't temp fate. Wait until it's dry before you turn the computer back on. Reassemble the mouse in reverse to how you opened it.

Check the mouse pad for loose debris. Actually, you could live without a mouse pad. A flat table surface is good enough, if your spill damaged the pad. But, a mouse pad seems to be a method of expression, with some computer users. So, just keep these points in mind.

What is on the mouse pad will eventually end up in the mouse. The mouse ball works best with it is a bit tacky, and something tacky will usually adhere to things. If you want to keep your mouse working a long time without interruption, keep your mouse pad free of cookie crumbs, M&M bits and BBQ sauce.

No, I won't say anything about other substances that might end up on a keyboard, mouse or pad. We will just leave all of that for the imagination.

But, with a little minor cleaning with alcohol dampened cloth or dry dust cloth, all of your input/output devices should live long and happy lives.

In closing, I want to thank anyone who actually read this far. Your computer just might thank you for it, too. A clean computer is a happy one. Now, check the vent in the front of your computer...is there any dust or lint in there? If you keep yours on the carpet, I'm sure there is some. That computer has to breathe, you know!

EDITED FOR SPELLING. I HATE BAD SPELLING, DON'T YOU?

 

[whispering_surrender]

If you want to keep your mouse working a long time without interruption, keep your mouse pad free of cookie crumbs, M&M bits and BBQ sauce.
...
In closing, I want to thank anyone who actually read this far. Your computer just might thank you for it, too. A clean computer is a happy one.

My computer thanks you DVS. *smiles*

Whisp

Ps. *picks up the M&M's with a slightly guilty expression*

 

[whispering_surrender]

The diddler is awesome, tell me there isn't a cheesy faux superhero story in there somewhere!

-Colly

Once you finish the portrait one... get cracking girl! *grin*

Whisp