Here’s the drill for an emergency recovery from a spill:- If your machine is plugged into wall current, turn off the power at the
circuit breaker in your home or office.
You don’t want to touch a wet wire carrying 110 volts or so. If you’re
certain the spill is confined to the keyboard and hasn’t reached the AC
adapter, you are probably safe just unplugging the adapter from the wall;
I’m not recommending you do that, though.
If the machine is running on battery power, is still operating, and you
don’t see sparks, hear odd noises, or smell burnt electrical compo-
nents, shut it down through the normal Windows process.
If something is obviously wrong with the machine, turn it off immedi-
ately by depressing the Off switch or by removing the battery.- Ground yourself by touching the center screw on the faceplate of a
dryelectrical outlet, or by touching some other metal object that
reaches to ground. - If you haven’t done so in emergency mode, remove the AC adapter
and the battery and set them aside. - Disconnect any external devices such as a mouse, any devices
attached to the USB, FireWire, serial, or other ports.
Chapter 3: Things That Go Bump In the Night (or Day) 33
Flying through the air with the greatest of ease
So where does a very cautious laptop traveler sit
on an airplane? In my opinion, the best seat in the
house is along the window in the emergency exit
row; the second best seat is along the window in
the row behind the bulkhead that separates one
class or section of the plane from another.
I like the window seat because I don’t have to
worry about someone getting up and disturbing
me or forcing me to move my portable office out
of the way; I can do it to them, but not the other
way around. The window also allows me to
adjust the lighting for the screen.
The row of seats that aligns with one of the
emergency exits offers at least one advantage:
The row of seats in front of you doesn’t recline
(because safety engineers don’t want to block
the door). On some planes, the exit row is a bit
wider as well.The seats that face the bulkhead also are safe
from surprise reclines; on most planes, these
chairs have a tray table that lifts up from a stor-
age compartment between the seats. The prin-
cipal disadvantage here is that you have no
place in front of you to store your laptop during
takeoff and landing; you have to find a place in
the overhead compartment.