Today’s title is courtesy of Denora: thank you!
As much time as I have spent around computers of all sorts ever since the prepress industry moved from hot type to computerized cold type on mainframe and minicomputers in the late 1970s, this is something that has never, ever happened to me before today. I have had numerous monitors fail on me, of course, but never in flammable fashion.
I was preparing to do some updates to the operating system on our Snap Server. The updates were downloading and I was reading information and instructions for the update when the image on my screen blurred, contracted, expanded and then disappeared. As it disappeared, I heard a “pop” and white smoke started wisping out of the back of the monitor.
I immediately unplugged the power strip and thankfully the smoke started subsiding rather than proceeding into full-blown ignition and combustion. Shortly, all that was left was a slightly nasty burnt-plastic smell. It wasn’t even as bad of a smell as burnt popcorn in the microwave, so on the scale of emergencies this was maybe a 0.7. Didn’t even make it to a 1, let alone a 10.
I am somewhat afraid of electricity, and I also have a fear of accidentally setting something on fire and somehow having it torpedo my firefighter husband’s career. I could just see the headline: Firefighter’s wife sets Bill Kurtis’ office building on fire. This is a perfect Chicago headline, by the way. It blames fire or police for something, and also drops a name.
I spent the rest of the work day using an ancient 14″ monitor and suffering eyestrain. A new monitor should be arriving at work shortly after I do tomorrow. Not a moment too soon!
That was probably the most exciting thing that happened in my world today, sadly enough. Oh, except for the wonderfully nice weather. I got home in time to enjoy at least a little of it with the Rottweiler wrecking crew. Good thing, too, as rain is on the way tomorrow.
I can’t wait to see what might almost catch on fire tomorrow!