an embarrassing story of rocking out too hard

I've been all up in the Skype idea lately. For those who haven't heard of it, Skype is free voice-over-internet software. Load it, and if you have a microphone, you can call people for very cheap or free (the latter if they also have Skype, which I'm having a hard time convincing my lazy friends to load, but that is another story.)

If you have Skype and your friend doesn't, you can still call them on their regular non-computer phone for reduced rates. Germany, just as a for-example, is 1.7 euro cents a minute, or about two American cents. Score. So yesterday, in anticipation of a certain birthday that a certain someone in Europe is having today, I bought ten euros worth of SkypeOut credit, and treated myself to a new set of headphones, as the travel pair are spindly and unconvincing. The new pair have those big puffy ear protector thingies that make you feel all closed in and cozy, and there's a rubber strip running under the headband so you don't get a ridge in your hair, and so on. I set a mental alarm for midnight my time, by which time MonkeyScientist should be boiling some soft-boiled eggs in Berlin. Praising my ingenuity, I decided to listen to music while I did some transcription.

Ended up really liking the music. Ended up having a Risky Business moment, sans boxer shorts. Gang of Four, "I Love in a Man in a Uniform", how can one bellydance to this? Look at how far this cord will reach! I marveled. I can get all the way over to the fridge! It's almost as good as being wireless!

Key word: almost.

Because as I was executing a modified Z'ar head move, eyes closed, sweaty shirt discarded, completely blissed out, suddenly there was

no music.

And I was trailing input jacks. And...there was no sound coming from the computer proper. Examination revealed that the little things you stick the jacks into had retreated into the laptop's case and could be heard rattling about.

So much for my sound card. Damn. I had the machine unplugged, flipped over, and divested of a dozen screws before it occurred to me that maybe I should wait until someone who had a CLUE could help me; while I'm really good at taking things apart, putting them back together so they work is sometimes frustrating. And I hadn't backed up any of the stuff I'm working on right now.

Sigh.

Looks like it's time for the Geek Squad. Although I'm not sure if I want people who boast that "we don't date!" touching my computer.