think inside the mouse

So I nearly killed my mouse the other day. No, not that kind of mouse (I'm vegan after all), but the mechanical one that you probably have your own hand on right now. It had been giving me trouble lately and I could barely get it to point to where I needed it to go. Even dragging was well, a drag, as it would only drag down and to one side. Finally I got so frustrated that in a fit of computer rage (yelling, "Bad, bad mouse!" -- as if that would really help) I slammed it several times on its pad (because you know, I couldn't throw it against the wall like I really wanted to do), when I remembered that I should probably just clean it. That, as you likely know, involves removing the ball inside and scraping the little bars with your fingernail of any dirt. Unfortunately that didn't do the trick, so I sadly pronounced the mouse dead and had my unofficial computer tech give me another one. But before attaching the new mouse I decided to open her up (note: vegans are officially opposed to opening up real mice, snort) and compared her to the old one. Sure enough I discovered that I'd overlooked the little white wheel and after cleaning that as well (a pesky job I admit), the old mouse glided across her pad like a graceful young figure skater and was as good as new.

The moral of this mouse tale? Computer mice get dirty on the inside real quick, and even though they're inexpensive to replace, a bit of elbow grease will get them squeaky-clean in no time and save you both a bit of money and a whole bunch of frustration to boot.

Comments

[Krissa]

This made me laugh because it reminds me so much of me. Long ago when I did use a mouse (before my Mac laptop days) it took me a few melt downs with the mouse to learn the cleaning trick. I totally went all Chevy Chase in "Christmas Vacation" when he can't get the Christmas lights to come on. Too funny!

[have gone vegan]

Ah, another show I never did see. I wonder how many people know about cleaning their mouse? I bet a lot of them just get thrown out. Mind you, I wouldn't have known either if it hadn't been for my "tech".

[Ajf 4]

I do not like work ---no man does --but I like what is in the work -----the chance to find your self. (Conrad Joseph, British novelist)