Post-Mortem

Aha! I see what the problem was. It seems there were six holes on the underside of the console, three of which were meant for screws, and one of which... wasn't. Guess where I put screw #5? Eep. I'm going to call the manufacturer on Monday (or whenever I happen to be awake during the day) and see if I can get a replacement part. I hope they don't charge me too much for it, but then again, there probably ought to be punishments for this kind of stupidity. On the up side, it was an interesting experience. I've never seen batteries do that before.

Um, why, yes, there were good reasons why I barely passed my mandatory electronics lab in college. In fact, looking back on it, I suspect I was lucky to have escaped with my life. I'm sure I have my lab partners to thank.