Answer his questions honestly. If he asks you if you spilled a hot cup of coffee into the exhaust fan and you did, then tell him yes. This is along the lines of lying to your doctor; giving the most correct information you can is the fastest way to get to the bottom of the problem and lying does nothing more than prolong the process and bug the crap out of the guy helping you out. Even if you thought spoonfuls of banana baby food were what belonged in the DVD drive, he might even appreciate the effort you put forth in solving your own problem (misguided though it may have been). Just tell him.
—
How to Ask a Nerd for Help (and Get It) Without Looking like a Huge Jerk (originally linked from The Brooks Review)
some of this is just sarcastic filler, but other bits of it ring true - especially the bit above. the following is also (mostly) true:
if you don’t give enough of a crap to try to rectify your own situation, then neither does he.
