And so it begins

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And so begins the rejuvenated, out-of-the-woods, post-hard drive crash, five-pounds-lighter-due-to-stress phase of Hollywood Elsewhere, with only five days to spare before the flight to Cannes. The new hard drive is installed, all the programs are re-installed and running, and pretty much everything is back to normal.

Before anything else I need to give a shout-out to Angelo Moratta, the guy who got me out of this mess more than anyone else. Angelo runs a shop about 50 miles north of Manhattan called Mindtrain Computer Services, and if you're ever in any kind of serious dutch with your computer you need to call this guy, seriously. He's got one of those great remote control hookup systems in which you let him see your computer screen and access everything in it, and it's just like having a house call. Plus Angelo's got a relaxed and gentle voice (with a slight New Yawk accent), and he never gets riled and always figures it out, whatever the issue is.

Never trust the Geek Squad, never trust the Geek Squad, never trust the Geek Squad. They're nice guys and they know what they know, but they're not smart all the way around the track and they charge too much and they take forever. Or the fairly smart guy you spoke to the day before is taking a day off and the other guy who's half-acquainted with the situation doesn't come in until 3 pm. Forget 'em, bad news, exasperation time.

The only problem now is that it's pretty warm outside and fairly stuffy in here, and the Oscar-winning lease holder on this apartment removed the air-conditioner -- the one I bought a couple of years ago from the second-hand guy down the street -- and put it under a bunch of boxes in an overstuffed hall closet. Do I spend an hour hooking it up (i.e., buying an extension cord and electrical power strip, cutting out a precisely cut slab of cardboard to seal off the window, finding masking tape to make sure it's nice and tight) or just get down to today's column items? These are the choices and the terms....and it's always something.

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on May 10, 2007 at 9:45 AM

comment #1

dixiedugan says ...

Did you pick up a back up hard drive?

Posted by dixiedugan at May 10, 2007 10:35 AM

comment #2

Noah says ...

Why in the world would someone remove their air conditioning in NYC? I keep mine blasting at all times, I need it to be cold when I sleep. And during these summer months, slightly warm weather in NYC is a nightmare. You feel sticky all day, unable to breathe. Yikes, Jeff, hook up that AC and get it cranking.

Posted by Noah at May 10, 2007 10:53 AM

comment #3

Mike Schaefer says ...

Noah: assuming it was a window A/C unit, many NYers remove them during the winter to keep out the cold. I know I used to. But now I'm in SF where A/C isn't necessary. But where AC/DC is another story entirely.

Posted by Mike Schaefer at May 10, 2007 11:15 AM

comment #4

NYCBusybody says ...

Is there anyone in NYC with air conditioning who doesn't have a window unit?

Far from removing my window unit during the winter to "keep out the cold", I actually had my A/C blasting on a 26 degree night in January. I can't control the heat in my apartment very well, and it was sauna-like that night.

Posted by NYCBusybody at May 10, 2007 11:17 AM

comment #5

jeffmcm says ...

Because it's probably Michael Arndt and he's probably in San Francisco, getting paid way more money than a mediocre screenwriter deserves (not that it stopped them before).

Posted by jeffmcm at May 10, 2007 11:18 AM

comment #6

OddDuck says ...

Yep, my NY apartment felt like the inside of a furnace in the winter, frequently causing me to opening windows when it was freezing outside. That seems to be the norm in almost all of the old buildings in NY.

Posted by OddDuck at May 10, 2007 11:20 AM

comment #7

alynch says ...

Michael Arndt is a son of a bitch. Removing the air conditioner, how despicable. Wells, it is your duty to launch a takedown campaign against this inconsiderate bastard.

Posted by alynch at May 10, 2007 11:22 AM

comment #8