Totally worth it.

I was just tweeting how utterly necessary it was to go outta my way trying to fix something I didn't even need.

@palmerpink: So I've been trying to McGyver my laptop's AC adapter back to life without actually whipping out my pocket knife on a moving bus. #smartkid
@palmerpink: All of this so I can blog from the bus--which I could as easily have done from this phone. #smartkid
@palmerpink: I have at least figured out what the problem was. Now all I need is some electrician's tape and a pocket knife--oh. #smartkid

Seriously, there I was trying every gadget on my pocket knife but the fork & spoon to pop open the adapter to see if a wire had come unsoldered. Only to remember once I'd popped it open that the problem was with the wire at the other end of the adapter. Le sigh.

I tend to go through these adapters every few months. I'm bot sure if I'm especially abusive or they're especially defective, but I've gotten used to hawking up 10bucks every couple months for a cheapo replacement online.

But no more.

I figured--it already wont work anymore, so worst case I foul it up worse and still end up replacing it anyways. Not that big a risk when you think about it, really.

As I suspected, something pretty straightforward was amiss. A wire in the power cord going into the adapter had become worn/fatigued/twisted and begun to snap in its sheath. All I gotta do is cut that part of the cable and stripping the wires and threadin'em back together and taping it all up to create....ghetto adapter!

But I still hafta wait until I'm home to do any of this. Sigh.