pagan kennedy's confessions of a memory eater
this story of a washed-up academic who gets mixed up with an old friend and his old friend's new drug (which allows the recreational user to relive old memories) was a fascinating one, and a fast read.
but what's MORE fascinating is what happened while i was reading it! i was lounging on the couch while a thunderstorm waxed and waned outside. the cable kept going in and out so i turned off my law and order: criminal intent rerun and concentrated on this novel. suddenly a burst of lightning struck just outside my window! and at the same moment, there was a weird flash over by the tv!
a little later i finished my book and went to turn the tv back on--and nothing happened. "hmm, that's weird," i said, trying the remote a few more times before getting up and hitting the power button on the tv. still nothing. i called my mom, who suggested i unplug it and plug it back in. nope.
DUDE. in a week, THREE electronic devices in my house have been totally fried by lightning strikes--my cable modem, my external hard drive, and now my sweet 27" tv. WHAT THE FUCK, FLORIDA???? is there something i can do to prevent the loss of any more of my beloved appliances? i have a call in to my south florida grandparents for some advice, but i am pretty stymied.
i mean, the tv wasn't even ON.
ETA: the tv is working again! the one in my bedroom was out too, but then i fixed them both by plugging them into other outlets. weird.
ETA again: ANOTHER APPLIANCE DOWN!!! i discovered on the way out this morning that my stereo died sometime in the night. of course, this is the same stereo that regularly blew a fuse every couple weeks till my dad one time put the fuse in backwards and it's been fine for the last three or four years. so maybe it was its time . . . but i find the whole thing to be a little fishy!
4 comments:
This can't be typical Florida weather?!?! Can it?
from casual conversations i've had, i've gathered that it is pretty typical summer weather. however, no one has mentioned fried electronics, so maybe there's some florida secret to protect their toys that no one has shared with me yet.
Electronics are "on" as long as they are plugged in. You can get surge protectors for all of your electronics, go to switched outlets (turning the switch off when you're not using the electronic), or unplug everything. Also, you could invest in a whole house surge protector that goes on to your breaker box. I don't know how much they are, you landlord might spring for it. I would be a little wary of that outlet for awhile, maybe even buying an outlet tester (they are ~3 bucks) at Lowe's to check to make sure everything's okay.
I lost pretty much all of my electronics last year in one blast. Don't give up on some of your lost electronics though. A replaced power supply was all that some of them needed, even after sparks were coming out of my computer.
I'm really sorry that this is happening.
wow, thanks for all the info!!
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