Our poor mac has been sent to the mac doctor to be fixed. Hopefully. I was planning on posting some more photos and other such stuff which I have stored randomly on the desktop. But, that will have to wait until I find out the verdict.
Here is the gross story. I had the computer in a bag, with books and other stuff, and hung it on one of those back of the door hooks in a public bathroom. All of a sudden I heard this thud and saw that it had fallen to the ground. My first thought was not about whether the computer was ok, but one of total disgust as I saw the bag lying on the bathroom floor. Blech! Gag! After retrieving the bag and trying to ignore the fact that it's probably all contaminated now, I inspected the computer and it looked to be ok. It even turned on and appeared to be functioning, but the monitor was very dark. According to the helpful Apple people, it appears the backlight is out and it may need a new screen. No idea how much this costs...I am keeping my fingers crossed and hoping it's not uber expensive.
Meanwhile, I am being forced to use a windows machine, which I do not like. The coloration just seems so off after spending 99% of my computer time on a Mac. Oh well. I guess I have now joined the majority.
Depending on the mac mode, you may be able to get the screen part off ebay. It's normally not too expensive. If you believe it would be too difficult to replace by yourself, there should be plenty of small repair shops in LA doing it for a small fee.
thanks Hans - I'll have to look into that!