alsa 1.0.21 no mic

[jewfromdahood]

ok upgraded from 1.0.20 perfectly fine working mic minus everytime i booted i had to unmute the capture (which i also want to find how to fix) and now it don't work at all
alon@kosher-dragon-laptop:~$ cat /proc/asound/card*/codec\#*|grep -i codec
Codec: Realtek ALC269
Codec: ATI R6xx HDMI

any other information let me know
i use ubuntu 8.10

but it works perfectly minus my internal mic does not work!!!!

And i need skype as i am in a yeshiva in israel and need to contact my family in america often!

And unfortunately all the linux guys are in Haifa at Technion university, and i am here in Jerusalem, and the only guy who even knows of linux, minus a few netbook users, for miles of me