When we first brought Ziggy into our family last November, I’m sure that some of you were concerned that this blog would turn into post after post about the energetic kitten. Fortunately, the Steelers’ Super Bowl victory and Penguins’ march to the Stanley Cup prevented that from happening. Unfortunately (for some of you), the Steelers used their first-round draft pick on a defensive lineman named Ziggy (Hood), so this gave me more opportunities to write about our kitten, now cat, in the context of the Steelers. A win-win for everyone!
Up until today, all of my posts about Ziggy have been positive as I shared cute pictures of him and stories about my life as a pet owner. However, Ziggy seems to be attracted to wires lately. Specifically, he discovered the power cord to our home computer. Now I may or may not have shared that this 5+ year-old laptop is terrible. It’s extremely slow and is pretty much useless except for allowing me to type and publish blog posts (which could also be useless if you’re not a fan of my blog). Anyway, Ziggy managed to chew partially through the power cord so that it no longer works. This is especially a problem since the computer battery literally lasts about 90 seconds without the power cord.
Please excuse me for a brief tangent. As part of TMI Thursday a few months ago, I shared that I am not handy and that Home Depot scares me. I also know very little about computers or how to repair computer software or hardware. I was told that I could fix the cord destroyed by Ziggy by cutting off the damaged portion, splicing the wire together, and then covering it with electrical tape. As you can probably guess, I’m not exactly comfortable doing this as I envision the cord and computer catching on fire due to my handywork. Therefore, I went to Best Buy today to see if the Geek Squad could help. They told me that they won’t touch the cord, but that I can replace it for the low cost of $105. My next stop was Radio Shack who offered to sell me the materials to splice and tape the wire but not to repair it themselves. The cost for a brand new cord at The Shack is $100.
While I’m not sure what I’m going to do (my current goal is to try to find a used cord that no one is using anymore), Ziggy must be punished for the destruction he caused. Therefore, I am sad to report that Ziggy has been banished into the wilderness. Don’t feel bad for Ziggy as the sweet kitten may actually be an evil cat as evidenced by this picture. 
We wish Ziggy well in his future endeavors!
For more TMI Thursdays, please visit LiLu and you can click here to see all of my TMI Thursday archives.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
TMI Thursday: Ziggy Broke My Computer
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9 comments:
Fortunately my two cats have stayed away from cords.
Have you checked on ebay? I lost my camera cord and was able to replace it for about $5 including shipping.
Is the top of the computer considered "wilderness" now?
Strongly concur on the ebay option. I'd be surprised if you couldn't find an A/C adapter for your laptop for under $15, including shipping.
And this is just one more reason why I despise cats, though I'm sure Ziggy has his good qualities. My computer didn't need a cat to destroy it. It just quit on it's own...
In addition to eBay, try this site.
You complain about the computer, Ziggy tries to give you a reason to get a new one. What do you do? You complain. *shakes head*
Ziggy = genius.
So...what do you mean by "banished into the wilderness?" I'm not a cat lover by any stretch, but that sounds a little harsh...
Nichole - Great suggestion about Ebay. I found one for less than $15, but I need to see if it is compatible before I "buy it now."
Messiah - Yes, the wilderness appears to be on our bed or on top of the kitchen cabinets, so nothing has changed.
Carissa - It's sad how obsessed we are about this cat. There is nothing better than coming home and having him run to me, purring and rubbing against my legs. That line may not have sounded right, but hopefully it made sense.
Godard - Thanks for the suggestion!
Lacochran - While I really need a computer, I don't want to spend the money on it until after we move to a new place. I just don't know when that move is going to happen. As for Ziggy = genius, he has also started chewing my XBox controller cord. Actually, he might be a genius. An XBox 360 or Wii would be much better than the old XBox! :)
Johanna - I talk tough, but as I mentioned in my reply to Messiah, Ziggy isn't going anywhere.
We have a cat who chews fabric and used to chew wires, and a dog who chews everything. The list of "career" losses includes:
* A laptop cord, like you (cat)
* Many holey shirts and blankets (cat)
* iPod earbuds (dog)
* iPod car charger (dog)
* Socks (dog)
* Pens (dog -- you haven't really lived until you've seen name brand poop. For example, poop with a "Pilot" pen clip attached to it.
This is just off the top of my head. I'm sure there's more.
fwiw, I have a spare AC adapter that might just do the trick...
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