Thread November 1, 2014 editorial: comments

The $600 Cup of Coffee

“Arrgh!” No, that’s not my pirate impression from Halloween, it’s what I yelled (minus a few four-letter words) when I spilled an entire cup of coffee on my MacBook Pro a few days ago. I had the coffee cup on my studio desk — I know, I shouldn’t have — and I reached behind it to grab a cable, and the next thing I knew, a flood of hot coffee was pouring everywhere, including directly onto the keyboard of my laptop. I shut it down, ran and got a towel, and desperately blotted it. Then I turned it upside down and coffee came pouring out of it. Not a good sign.

In the vain hope that my AppleCare policy would cover any damage, I looked up the terms online, but, alas, no coverage for spills. Next, I rushed over to my Apple-authorized repair shop. They said they’d open up the laptop, take a look, and let me know the extent of the damage. Hoping against hope, I drove home (after stopping at Starbucks — hey, I’m a coffee junkie, spill or no spill), and awaited the call from the shop. 

When they called, there was good news and bad news: The good news was that the laptop's SSD hard drive was not damaged. The bad news: the coffee had gotten into the motherboard, and it was kaput. The price to replace it was $600, making that ill-fated cup of coffee the most expensive one of my life. 

So why am I telling you this? I am hoping my experience will give you pause before you put a drink down next to your computer or other studio electronics. I know it’s tempting. Before this incident, I always thought, “I’m careful, I won’t spill.” And for many years, I didn’t. But all it takes is once. If you get a little distracted you might not be as careful as usual, and boom, the next thing you know, you and your gear are swimming in coffee, soda, water, beer or whatever.

I plan to institute a no-liquids rule on my studio desk, and I’ll figure out a spot safely out of range to place my coffee cup. (I’m not giving that up!)

Have you had any studio disasters? Let’s hear your stories. Post a reply to this editorial, and we can commiserate.

Have a great week.

Mike Levine

U.S. Editor, Audiofanzine