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Thread November 1, 2014 editorial: comments

12 replies
8 participants
4,993 views
7 followers

Mike Levine

Author

First post

1 Posted on 11/01/2014 at 11:00:03

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

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johnnygo

New AFfiliate

2 Posted on 11/01/2014 at 11:20:03

cats running all over the pc keyboard,over the mixing desk,everywhere-result-total chaos and lost work.

Be Reasonable

Demand The Impossible

Synnic

New AFfiliate

3 Posted on 11/01/2014 at 12:17:08

My own rule is no drinks without firmly seated lids. I use a travel mug at the desk.

Also, I've rescued other people's spills before by immediately turning the laptop upside-down and using a shop vac to remove as much liquid as possible. (The longer the liquid stays the worse it gets.) Then you go for service.

[ Post last edited on 11/01/2014 at 12:23:13 ]

Guitorb

New AFfiliate

4 Posted on 11/01/2014 at 15:23:08

Many , Many , Many years ago I had a few friends over to my home for a jam session (that's what we called it back in the day). The wives would socialize upstairs while me and the fellas pretended to be a band in the basement. My good friend and neighbor had a sweet SG that had grape clusters carved into the top. His wife called for him from up the stairs and obedient-as-always Jay stopped in the middle of playing , leaned his SG neck against the table top with the strap button resting on the floor , and headed up the stairs at a gallop. The rest of us just kept on playing when , lo and behold Jay's beautiful SG slipped off the table , the neck striking the floor with a terrible sound. We stopped playing then. The neck was cracked crossways somewhere around the 12th fret. Well,Jay was convinced that someone deliberately broke it out of jealously or whatever (it was the best guitar in the room). So, we had words and I never did find out what the repair cost was nor did Jay ever show for another Jam Session.

Psycom

Honorific member

5 Posted on 11/02/2014 at 00:55:27

Sorry about that Mike! And thanks for sharing this absolute rule - rule that everyone should follow!

In France I know a sound engineer who told me that story: one of his clients spilled coke on the $xxx,xxx mixing desk (!). To "solve the problem" he decides (the client, not the sound engineer) to pour water on it to remove the coke... Katastrophe, as you can guess.

So... It would have been worst

Mike Levine

Author

6 Posted on 11/03/2014 at 04:52:23

Quote:

cats running all over the pc keyboard,over the mixing desk,everywhere-result-total chaos and lost work.

If only there was a way to teach those cats some mixing skills... :mdr:

angelie

AFfluent Poster

7 Posted on 11/03/2014 at 05:10:20

Moving from one continent to another.
Not realizing ( thinking) the difference in electrical power.All the active monitoring went up in flames along with the console top they were standing on. Smoke everywhere.....

Thank god we did that first insteat of the mixing console.

The new controle room couln't be used for almost a week due the terrible smell.

It's not about what you got to use .... but how you use what you got...

[ Post last edited on 11/03/2014 at 05:22:45 ]

Mike Levine

Author

8 Posted on 11/03/2014 at 05:29:49

Quote:

Not realizing ( thinking) the difference in electrical power.All the active monitoring went up in flames along with the console top they were standing on. Smoke everywhere.....

Yikes! That's a truly scary story. It's fortunate the whole studio didn't burn down.

sonicboom

New AFfiliate

9 Posted on 11/03/2014 at 05:30:33

Quote from johnnygo:

cats running all over the pc keyboard,over the mixing desk,everywhere-result-total chaos and lost work.

What do you DO in that case?! I want a cat, but my home studio would be a kitty's paradise and my nightmare. I have no idea how to efficiently protect all wires, monitors and cabs from the wrath of a kitty's claws...

Quote from Psycom:

In France I know a sound engineer who told me that story: one of his clients spilled coke on the $xxx,xxx mixing desk (!). To "solve the problem" he decides (the client, not the sound engineer) to pour water on it to remove the coke... Katastrophe, as you can guess.

Many say Pro Tools is killing analogue studios around the world. They neglect to mention the idiots that destroy irreplaceable unaffordable analogue gear.

Quote from angelie:

Moving from one continent to another.
Not realizing ( thinking) the difference in electrical power.All the active monitoring went up in flames along with the console top where they were standing on. Smoke everywhere.....

I feel like that's happened to anyone who moves countries. Back in college I studied abroad in Madrid (I'm American) and immediately destroyed my phone chargers. The only reason other valuable chargers worked (ie my macbook charger) is because they have built-in converters. You just gotta hope that whatever you fry is cheap, because after the first BBQ, you learn your lesson :-D

angelie

AFfluent Poster

10 Posted on 11/03/2014 at 06:57:47

It's just stuppid, first line in the manuals... Check your power line voltage.
Oh well i guess it was the sort time and lots of things to do, what caused this..
But yeah this is what you do ones and never again. ( i hope)

It's not about what you got to use .... but how you use what you got...

[ Post last edited on 11/03/2014 at 06:58:42 ]

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