१४ ऑक्टोबर, २०१८

Bitter ant.

Here's a product you might need if you, like me, eat crumbly food while keyboarding. I just bought that, as the K key is getting balky on the keyboard I bought just last June, when the U key completely failed. At the time, I said, "The old keyboard lasted a long time and, like the keyboard before it, went bad with the failure of one or 2 keys. I'm not disappointed at the failure, really. I use my keyboards for hours a day, day after day, and they last for years. How many hours. I think they go bad after, perhaps, 5,000 hours. That's good enough."

This new keyboard is only 4 months old, and that's not good enough. Though I must admit, I've been eating more bread because I invented a new diet, 3 half-sandwiches a day, which is my standard diet on normal days. Of course, I type while eating. I can hardly eat without typing. A difficult but effective diet for me would be: No keyboard near food.

So I'm hoping the compressed air will do enough to save the baby keyboard. Meanwhile, look at the Amazon page:



"Contains bitter ant." I'm thinking I'd be bitter too, trapped in a can of compressed air. It seems unfair to the ant, to call him bitter, considering the circumstances. Anyway, a bitter ant in a can of compressed air. Makes me think of the moth larvae in tequila.

But what's in the can is not a tiny living being, trapped and aptly cynical. It should be one word: bitterant.
Gas dusters often use a bitterant to discourage inhalant abuse, although this can cause problems for legitimate users. The bitterant not only leaves a bitter flavor in the air, but also leaves a bitter residue on objects, like screens and keyboards, that may transfer to hands and cause problems (such as when eating).
Such as when eating! Son of a bitch!

६९ टिप्पण्या:

Yancey Ward म्हणाले...

Sort of like the denaturing of industrial ethanol with methanol and other dangerous poisons.

Rabel म्हणाले...

Select the $195.01 can. It's much better than the $11.97 version.

Sprezzatura म्हणाले...

https://www.logitech.com/en-us/product/craft?crid=27

Or, if ya want a cord:

https://www.logitech.com/en-us/product/illuminated-keyboard-k740?crid=27


BarrySanders20 म्हणाले...

Quite a price range too. Is the $195 for delivery in Antarctica?

Hanoi Paris Hilton म्हणाले...

As bizarre as it sounds, you can Google up info on how to salvage a food-buggered keyboard by running it through a normal dishwasher cycle (no detergent, no heat added, must leave to air dry completely for 3-5 days). It works!

Anne in Rockwall, TX म्हणाले...

The K key. Too much Kanye, Kavanaugh, and Kashoggi.

rehajm म्हणाले...

Suck, don’t blow.

chickelit म्हणाले...

I’ve been using that stuff for years. Another simple mechanical trick is to periodically turn the keyboard over and shake the particles loose.

Sprezzatura म्हणाले...

Somewhere I've read that, early on, the Japanese needed to adapt to the way Americans exist. Specifically, this adaptation was related to building cars for Americans who are, on average, gross and untidy in their cars. And homes. And everywhere.

ALP म्हणाले...

This post is as smooth as a NASCAR driver weaving in mention of sponsorship after a race.

shake-and-bake म्हणाले...

Works great, rechargeable, no bitter ant.
https://www.amazon.com/Best-Canned-Compressed-Air-Alternative/dp/B00DYC3EKO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1539538309&sr=8-1&keywords=rechargeable+compressed+air+duster

Jimmy म्हणाले...

"Such as when eating! Son of a bitch!" I laughed at that, and almost spit coffee on my keyboard. Logitech keyboards seem to last, even when assaulted with bread crumbs, and chocolate. All my Apple keyboards died early, mostly from shards of dark chocolate.

Sprezzatura म्हणाले...

BTW, hopefully someday the middle states will hear that the food pyramid ain't so good anymore.

Less bread does more than keep yur keyboard clean.

rhhardin म्हणाले...

I doubt crumbs matter. The contacts ought to be sealed or capacitive or something. Coffee is said to matter.

Running a toothpick in the cracks to pick up dust bunnies is entertaining.

Eirik म्हणाले...

Look into Seal Shield keyboards. Easy to clean as they are dishwasher safe.

Unknown म्हणाले...

City folk ...

Clean your keyboard & inflate your tires for good mileage:

https://www.amazon.com/Compressor-Horizontal-Campbell-Hausfeld-FP209499AV/dp/B002O15NRS/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?s=power-hand-tools&ie=UTF8&qid=1539539629&sr=1-2-spons&keywords=air+compressor&psc=1

etbass म्हणाले...

Agree with RH on crumbs. Liquid is the only thing I can believe would kill a key. And wonder if it is just a happenstance that you had a KB die so early. Or has that happened repeatedly?I use an apple KB too and eat at the KB all the time, like right now. But have never felt that crumbs were an issue. But I am exceedingly careful with coffee, and regurgitated coffee too :-))

Wince म्हणाले...

Why not release captive or free-range ants, bitter or otherwise, on the keyboard to clean up any food crumbs?

FullMoon म्हणाले...

Stand keyboard against wall outside.
Position Meade with leaf blower(NOT CHAINSAW)

Blast away.

D 2 म्हणाले...

the ubiquitous "they" are likely trying to make keyboards obsolete with all the voice command prompt stuff "they" make a marketing commotion over.
Imagine all the people, it's easy if you try
sitting in an easy chair, eating half a sandwich,
blogging verbal -ly -lee ooh.

FullMoon म्हणाले...

Grabbed a piece of candy in the dark once.
Ants actually are very bitter tasting.

Marc in Eugene म्हणाले...

Am still using the first of the two cans I purchased last year. Went to look and the can itself mentions the addition of a 'bittering agent', eliminating the possibility of bad-tempered insects altogether.

Bill, Republic of Texas म्हणाले...

1. Worm is in mezcal not tequila.

2. Turn keyboard upside down and purposely tap the keyboard against the desk.

Aggie म्हणाले...

Tap upside-down keyboard against desk surface briskly to get all the loose nasties out, as others have mentioned. This is deeply gratifying and sometimes it gets the dogs barking too, thinking someone is knocking on the door.

Put the small round brush on the Shop Vac, hold the unplugged keyboard upside-down and vacuum while briskly brushing all the keys, hard enough to depress them - thus opening up wider temporary air channels around the keys as you brush. This gets most everything out. Usually though a failed key is not due to physical objects jamming them, in my experience. Good Luck!

Jim म्हणाले...

I used to buy those air cans too, then I discovered this, works great and cost less in the long run. puts out plenty of air to get the job done. https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B01BI4UQK0/ref=dp_olp_new_mbc?ie=UTF8&condition=new

madAsHell म्हणाले...

Three half-sandwiches?

What becomes of the fourth half?? This like the mystery of the missing sock in the dryer!!

Hagar म्हणाले...

There are lots of micro air blowers advertised from $5 and up, up, up. Many from used blood pressure devices, f. ex. One of those and some plastic tubing and you would be in business, it looks like.

walter म्हणाले...

Retirement putting way more miles and crumbs on your (home) keyboard.

Fernandinande म्हणाले...

The bitterant not only leaves a bitter flavor in the air, but also leaves a bitter residue on objects,

If that's true, it means that type of "Dust-off" is worse than useless for photography.

Makes me think of the moth larvae in tequila.

You just read the misleading headline.

The article says "So no, you’ll never see a worm at the bottom of a tequila bottle." Busted!

gadfly म्हणाले...

No solution here for laptops with sticking click keys. Turning the computer upside down and tapping may be hazardous. Sometimes compressed air works and I have even tried the toothpick as a weapon ... but the only consistent helper is spellcheck.

And to help madAshell with math and the Dryer Zone - a half-sandwich is made from a single slice of bread.

buwaya म्हणाले...

Insect politics leaves a lot trapped, and aptly cynical.
Lots of bitter ants out there.

Eva Zukotynski म्हणाले...

If you suck air into your mouth as you're biting into something crumbly, all the crumbs will end up in your mouth and not on your keyboard.

Ann Althouse म्हणाले...

1. had already done the upside down tapping thing

2. In the okd days the “worm” was in tequila

Paul Mac म्हणाले...

Sadly had a loved one who abused Dust Off. It was pretty horrible to watch/listen to what it does to someone and how dependent he became on it, not a physical dependence but straight psychological one, to the point of calling cabs to take him to the store to get bottles when he could thankfully not drive. Very luckily no one else was injured.

He is in a slightly better though not out of the woods place. I do hope he is eventually able to be a little more free in life without dependence on this or other things he turned to it avoiding.

Fernandinande म्हणाले...
ही टिप्पणी लेखकाना हलविली आहे.
Fernandinande म्हणाले...

Hi yash rawat! Thanks to you and PBUY for the information about "free ebooks"!! If you keep practicing the lingo, pretty soon you might be able to fool people into thinking you actually read the blog post which you're pretending to respond to!

2. In the okd days the “worm” was in tequila

Busted!

Bill Peschel म्हणाले...

When Ivan the Terrible was my desk kitty, I would have to take up the keys to pry out bunches of white hairs. Or, I could avoid work for a half hour or more carefully running toothpicks between the keys.

He was a Good Kitty.

traditionalguy म्हणाले...

A Bitter Ant warning label must be an entomologists secret.

Joan म्हणाले...

Son of a bitch!

This is my favorite kind of humor. Look, a helpful post about cleaning crumbs out of a keyboard and what's actually in compressed air. The humor just sneaks in at the end. Perfect!

tcrosse म्हणाले...

Put Saran Wrap over the keyboard and type through it. That should keep the food out.

Laslo Spatula म्हणाले...

'Bitter Aunt' sounds like something David Sedaris would use in a story.

I am Laslo.

BUMBLE BEE म्हणाले...

Tip it over a pillowcase that is headed to the washer. Knock it around, shake rattle and roll. Disgusting stuff will fall out. Proceed with caution. I used to maintain the computer lab in college. BTW, electronics repair shops often refuse things like amplifiers and tuners that appear too fouled. They don't want the exposure to whatever is in there. Keyboards in particular can contain some grizzly shit! Don't blow out anything you don't want to breath.

JohnAnnArbor म्हणाले...

"The Bitter Ants" would be a good name for a hipster jazz band.

Unknown म्हणाले...

The worker ants are all female and none of them mate. No wonder they're bitter.

madAsHell म्हणाले...

And to help madAshell with math and the Dryer Zone - a half-sandwich is made from a single slice of bread.

It was performance art. Senseless anxiety as humor!!

tcrosse म्हणाले...

My Auntie rants 'cause bitter ants bit her pants.

walter म्हणाले...

Deodor ants cam be desirable

Ken Mitchell म्हणाले...

Crumbs in your keyboard? Pick it up and invert it, and tap the corners of the keyboard several times.

tcrosse म्हणाले...

Clouds in your coffee? Don't be so vain.

chickelit म्हणाले...

“2. In the okd days the “worm” was in tequila”

It’s still in certain bottles of mezcal, but I forget which brand.

Ants don’t actually taste bitter — they taste sour.* The tartness comes from formic acid that they carry in their abdomens. The Latin word for ant is “formica.”
_______________
* I learned this first hand as a child: after an extended slaughter of ants, I tasted my fingers.

chickelit म्हणाले...

Formic acid is ant acid.

अनामित म्हणाले...

a vacuum cleaner ?

Anthony म्हणाले...

I am devoted to the old Type M IBM clicky keyboards. A good knockoff is made by Unicomp. Dumb things last forever. They'll fix most of them for free unless you've somehow managed to trash them yourself.

Unknown म्हणाले...

Solves the problem 2 ways, removes crumbs and prevents them.

Big Mike म्हणाले...

Back in the day you could buy a clear, flexible, cover that fit over the keyboard and prevented anything from dropping inside the keyboard at all. But I have no experience with them myself and don’t know if you can still get them. I didn’t — still don’t — eat at my desk so a can of compressed air to clear away dust sufficed.

Ann Althouse म्हणाले...

I’d rather buy a new keyboard every 4 months than try to type through Saran wrap or some sort of rubber or plastic membrane!

I’d rather give up my habit of eating while typing. I could just use my iPad while eating.

cubanbob म्हणाले...

If turning upside down and tapping it along with blowing out with compressed air doesn't work Target has a Mac keyboard for $18.29

Macally MKEYECOMBO USB Keyboard and Mouse Combo
18.29
$34.99
(Save 47%)
local_shipping
Free delivery Thu, Oct 18–Wed, Oct 24 info_outline

Gojuplyr831@gmail.com म्हणाले...

Just to clear things up:

May 3, 2011 - So tequila is a type of mezcal, but mezcal is not tequila, and only mezcal has worms. According to Anthony Dias Blue's Complete Book of Spirits, that "worm" is actually a larva from one of two types of moths, known as maguey worms, that live on the agave plant.

Mescal can be made fro any of the agave cactus varieties, tequila is only made from the blue agave.

Gojuplyr831@gmail.com म्हणाले...

Buy one of those keyboards that are sealed and you can just rinse it off under running water.

Darrell म्हणाले...

I’d rather give up my habit of eating while typing.

A feed bucket might work. I never saw a horse get crumbs on a keyboard. Just make sure to stay out of the rain while using it. I've heard of horses drowning.

Quaestor म्हणाले...

The formican victim of a parasitic worm is probably a bitter ant, or at least slightly resentful.

Gahrie म्हणाले...

I buy the cheap basic keyboards three or four at a time, and replace periodically. I think of it like buying tires, or maybe windshield wipers on a regular basis.

Gahrie म्हणाले...

So tequila is a type of mezcal, but mezcal is not tequila, and only mezcal has worms.

I had a friend in college who used to bring mezcal back from Mexico about once a week. We used to hold races to see who could drink the whole bottle and eat the worm first. I won (or possibly lost from your perspective) several times. The shots get easier after the first three or four, the worm never does.

Narayanan म्हणाले...

* half-sandwich is made from a single slice of bread*
And schmeer after.

Narayanan म्हणाले...

Diagonalization.

Kirk Parker म्हणाले...

Just be careful not to anger your insect workers, or you'll end up with piss ants.

Scott Patton म्हणाले...

Keyboards are Disgusting

Bart Hall (Kansas, USA) म्हणाले...

I suspect you're using a relatively new MacBook. The switches on those keys are very sensitive to interference of any sort. There are a number of light plastic keyboard covers available to match the various MacBook formats. In the trade they're jokingly called "condoms", and you need one -- for sure -- with any of the newer MacBooks.

They're not bad at all, despite your comment above. I do a lot of technical writing (hours a day) and wouldn't be without it.

stlcdr म्हणाले...

One of those things that now cannot be unseen.

Bitterant will now always be bitter-ant.