As I said, my laptop AC adapter power cord was near sheared through. And it's that special "three circle" type of connector that seems to be only used by power bricks.

So I figured I'd need to wait until tomorrow and buy a new cord.

Completely and utterly forgetting the power adapter for my old laptop. Which has the selfsame cord.

And, slight cracks or not, Lite-on makes some damn good power bricks.

So I'm up and running on the laptop again.

I still may do some shopping for cheap backup adapters, though.