I was Attacked by Dustbunnies

I have been computer-less for about a month now.   I'm sorry if you haven't heard from me, but now you know why.   We THOUGHT my hard drive was fried. This is a little embarrassing, but I am going to take one for the team in order to save you a little money and a mountain of wasted time and frustration.  When I had the guys from Click Engineering pick-up my CPU and run diagnostics on it they discovered the inside was covered in dust.  And trust me, this is not from lack of use (ask my kids!).  Apparently every six months or so we should be cleaning the dust out of the inside of our computers.  Who knew?  PC users-there's a little screw in the back that loosens and allows the side wall of your hard drive to glide open.  You're then looking at the guts of your machine and an empty cavity which likely has a bunch of dust sitting on it.  A paper towel and can of air to blow it out should work just fine. Since I learned this lesson the hard way, I thought I would enlighten you too.

Now, onto better gossip.

WHAT IS WITH 2CH?!!! I saw they had a nice little write-up in the Kirkland Reporter this week, which is kind of ironic because about 2 days ago I stopped there to read the small barely legible handwritten note on their front door.  It said something about being on 'vacation' and therefore closed for the next 2 weeks.  As I was turning around in the parking lot I happened to look in the window and notice there is NOTHING in there.  No counter, no register, no nothing.  Someone bringing it out the back door and loading it into a truck. That's some vacation.  This place is like a bad boyfriend and I just can't figure it out.  Are you there for us or not??

There's some good news too: the sand volleyball court on Lake St (next to Beachhouse Grill) is being re-vamped.  It's a collaborative effort between local company Volleyball USA, some Eagle Scouts and the city.  Should be super cool when it's done in just a few weeks so hold onto your swim trunks til then.

Callahan Concierge just opened in downtown Kirkland if you're in the market for a personal assistant.  They offer services for individuals, families, corporate, high end residential and housekeeping.  It's $35/hr with a two hour minimum.  They even offer a drive-up service where you can pull up on your way home from work and they'll get your items right out to you. A girl can dream, right? 

And such a bummer about Farrah and Michael Jackson.  That's a lot of heavy retro sadness.  It got compounded yesterday when I mentioned Farrah Fawcett to a college-aged kid and he had never heard of her!  As I was explaining her sex symbol icon status and reminiscing over favorite Charlie's Angels episodes, I realized I sound an awful lot like my mom and I should just embrace my old age instead of fighting it. ~j

Comments

[Kirkland resident]

2CH is so confusing. I'm beginning to wonder if it's a front for something!? In the Kirkland Reporter article, the owner mentioned using only the highest quality ingredients - but I got the feeling when we ate there that they had bought frozen patties from Costco and cooked them up! Nothing tasted fresh. I fear Gordon Ramsey would have a field day in there! I'd love to see a successful restaurant go in there, but this place is too weird!

[Kathy]

I think we need Gordon Ramsey here for not just 2CH but maybe downtown Kirkland and Juanita Bay! Maybe it's the access, maybe it's their marketing strategies, whatever?! I have seen other places try to reinvent and have been successful when they would just go out work with the "public" to create the perfect spot.

[JR]

We had written off 2CH as too flaky to stay in business (no phone number!), so we went surprised when it seemed they had closed (again!), but lo and behold, today (july 9) I saw the place was open again! Will the community have run out of patience or will they make a go? We shall see...

[Per-Ola]

When it comes to dust in computers...
Keep them off the floor, dust them out regulary and best is to even clean the fan blades on the two to three fans in there.
Most desktop computers are easy to open up these days. Just start by disconnecting power and everything else, blow it out with a can of compressed air and vacuum up the "bunnies" (w/o toching anything). Really no need to remove the hard drive/s as long as you can blow around them.

All that said, there is still nothing more important than REGULAR backups. Spend $100 (or less) on an external hard drive and USE IT! A very cheap insurance - everything else taken into consideration.

[Kathy]

Is this gone for good? or what? It's been that way for a month+ now.

[Bill]

It's permanently closed and up for sale. Never quite figured them out or the sushi place in there before them...open, closed, open, closed, open, closed. I too am suspicious of it being a front for something.