November 9, 2005
Woe Is Me
It sometimes seems like this blog is just what I do to kill time between computer problems.
I don't know if I have bad luck or am especially hard on laptops, but I'm having major computer trouble for what I'm guessing is the fourth or fifth time since this blog started up in August of 2002. I know people typically say that their computer "crashed" in situations like this, but if you want to get technical about it that's not really the case.
The actual computer is running perfectly, with all the files intact and no viruses. So what's the problem? I'm not sure how to describe it, since the people I've told never seem to understand exactly what I'm talking about. Basically, the internal part of the computer where you plug the power cord in no longer works. The battery is fine and the power cord is fine, but the plug-in is cracked or loose or just faulty.
This is the exact same problem I had with the exact same laptop about a year ago. Back then I sent it in to HP and they fixed it fairly quickly. Unfortunately, this time around the warranty is expired. So instead of sending the computer in for a repair job that someone once told me would run about $350, I am simply getting a new laptop. It's always nice when a completely unexpected thousand-dollar expense pops up out of nowhere.
That's the bad news. The even worse news is that the battery is completely wiped out, leaving me unable to even turn the laptop on. It's safe to say that I probably have more of my life revolving around a computer than about 99% of the world's population and it is my only computer, so this presents a major problem for me.
All of my favorite places are on there, along with all of my stored passwords, documents, and music library. All the links I have set up for my daily gig collecting the news for Rotoworld? Unavailable. All of the links I was saving up for tomorrow's Link-O-Rama entry? Locked away. And so on and so on. It's a huge pain in the ass.
The good news, if you can call it that, is that the laptop miraculously survived until just after The Hardball Times Baseball Annual 2006 was finished and sent to the publisher. As the keeper of all our articles, it would have been a real disaster if they would have been stuck inside a computer that wouldn't turn on.
Anyway, the reason today's entry is spectacularly boring and about something absolutely no one cares about (as opposed to marginally boring and about something few people care about) is that I am not on my homefield. As I said the last time my computer betrayed me, I feel like a carpenter without my tools.
But just so you can't accuse me of completely wasting everyone's time, here's a quick note on Joe Mauer from Charlie Walters' column in yesterday's St. Paul Pioneer Press:
Joe Mauer held off on endorsement opportunities during his first two seasons in the major leagues in order to concentrate on catching for the Twins. This week, though, the Cretin-Derham Hall graduate, who led the club in hitting this season with a .294 average, said yes to a national offer.
Mauer, 22, is in Puerto Rico for a fashion photo shoot for Perry Ellis clothing. Meanwhile, a postseason magnetic resonance imaging exam showed no damage to the left knee that sidelined him for two months his rookie season.
Good times!
Today at The Hardball Times:
- Tony LaRussa and the Search for Significance (by Dan Fox)
- Net Win Shares Value 2005 (by Dave Studeman)
Pick of the Day (135-114, +$2,145):
Los Angeles -4 (-110) over Atlanta
Saturday's Pick:
Oregon -4 (-110) over Washington
