What the Ducks!

Captain’s Blog,  Stardate 7.18.12  We have encountered something unexpected or maybe not so unexpected.  I am trying not to read too much into the situation but it is, to say the least, unnerving.  Coincidence?  Act of God?  Or, as my chief science officer* suspects, Act of (Steve) Jobs?  As soon as we get something from the technology team, we will know with what we are dealing.  Maybe.  In the meantime, I wait.  And hope…

If you’ve been following this blog in the past week (and if not, read here) you may recall an entry that took a strong (for me) point-of-view about a certain technology company’s recent advertisement.  It was, shall we say, more con than pro.

A brief pause to listen for distant thunder.

OK, so here’s the story.  First thing you should know: I’m writing this on my old, previously-shelved MacBook Pro (circa 2006) not my brand-new iMac, so new it barely had dust on it when I put it back in the box and hauled it to the Genius Bar.**  Second thing you should know:  I posted the mildly inflammatory (!) blog entry on Sunday, July 15^th, early in the morning, got a few likes, a comment then went about my busyish day.  A few hours later, the clouds rolled in.  It hadn’t rained, really rained, in many a dusty week.  We craved a good soaking but since this could’ve been another thunder-but-no-rain tease, I scrubbed down the ducks’ pen because it needed it.  (The ducks couldn’t understand why I was inside the pen and they were outside but enjoyed the hose overspray all the same!)  Just as I finished up, we heard the first tropospheric grumbles.  Andrew and I had a dinner date so I hustled the waterfowl to bed a bit early but not a moment too soon.

Rain blitzed the skylight as I ironed off a fancy dress***, slightly wincing at each sonic clap.  After so many years in the desert of L.A., I consider myself, however, someone who likes rain and actually enjoys thunder—from a safe, interior space, that is.  And this was one of those Frankenstein Comes to Life storms: operatic ebbs and flows, flashy, attention-getting.  Still, the houselights flickered only the slightest bit and the microwave and oven declined to go through their Power Outage blink show.  We escaped to the car between downpours and took a convoluted route to the restaurant as we bypassed minor flooding and watched for fallen trees.

A few hours later, I came home and went to check email.  My computer was dead.

Was it on?  Maybe.****  Was it in a surge protector, yes, and everything else on that strip—and all the other electronic devices in the room— were still on and working.  I plugged and unplugged everything then plugged and replugged the computer into various assortments of outlets.  I cried.  I prayed.  I cried some more.  (OK, not real crying, just barely suppressed mental anguish.)  Most of the computer was backed up but there is always—always—something you forgot to back up; it’s axiomatic.  You will have multiple copies of some dumb household correspondence and badly exposed photos from 2004 but not the brilliant phrases you concocted before (super?)natural forces attacked your PC.  I’m not saying it was the caliber of  “Ozymandias” or anything but was this dis on my iPhone ad, ye Blogger, and despair?!*****

Meanwhile, we wait for the call from Apple.  And, since weather.com says expect more T & L today, I’m locking up this laptop away from windows, phone lines and plumbing.

Wouldn’t you?

*Andrew, my husband.  Technically more a math guy than a true science guy but it’s hard to get good help in outer space.

**I might make a comment here but dare not.

***Not going to look too swell with galoshes, you’re thinking.

**** FYI, the Apple tech told me that the only thing to do is make sure everything is unplugged, not just off.  I routinely unplug stuff before I leave town but leaving the room?  I DIDN’T KNOW!

*****The aforementioned blog entry references Prometheus.  Maybe it was Zeus who didn’t like that.

Captain’s Blog Supplemental: Contacted an inhabitant of Planet Apple and received message regarding the nature of the computer’s affected components.  Contactee stated that “logic board” needed to be replaced…of course!  Have asked Mr. Sulu to chart course to arrive tomorrow morning. Until then, I dare not think further about the contents of the machine.  Which is, as Mr. Spock would agree, only logical.

Stardate 7.19.12, Captain’s Blog Extra-Supplemental:  The landing team restored power–all systems go.  Everything seems to be operating normally.  In addition, we have heard of others in the area who encountered similar problems in the aftermath of the electrical storm.  So clearly we were not the sole target of this phenomenon.  I think.  (What’s that?  Arrrrrgggggh, Bones, hel……………)

NB: The preceding was final entry in recovered document.

Copyright 2012, Lori Fontanes