Hi guys,

Just wanted to let you all know that my modem was fried by a lightning stike yesterday in the early afternoon. I forgot to unplug my modem and am now paying the price. :-(

Ruth and I had to run errands today in town (in addition to now having to buy a new modem) so I'm at her place of work using her computer to post this message.

Hopefully the lightning didn't damage anything else on my computer so I'm hoping to be back up running with a new modem later today or early tomorrow.

Keep your fingers crossed that everything works as I can't afford to buy a replacement computer yet! :-/

-- Anonymous, June 02, 2001

Answers

Hope you are back up and running soon Jim, sorry to hear about your modem. Just happened to my daughter also. Quess I had better start unplugging??

-- Anonymous, June 02, 2001

Sure sorry to hear your bad news, Jim, boy, everyone around here has had that happen to them too, IF they forget to unplug the 'puter! Dear Geek brother told me to not count on the surge suppressors to be able to stop a near or direct hit, but to be sure, and unplug at the sound of an approaching storm! He said no matter how expensive the suppressor, a near hit will jump across the connections and find a ground somewhere! So much for "modern technology" and Mother Nature playing by the "rules", tee-hee!!!

-- Anonymous, June 02, 2001

Are you a lightening magnet? You haven't ever been hit by lightening, have you? :oD

Just wondering.

My bro in law was and lived to tell the tale.He's a bit odd,but he's still pretty loveable.He has an excuse,at least.

Remind me to stay far away from you in a thunderstorm. Hope you get everything up and running.

-- Anonymous, June 02, 2001

Fried modem. Hmm. Is that another one of those delicious low-fat recipes? Think I'll pass on trying that one...

-- Anonymous, June 02, 2001

Hmmmm.... must be a bad case of it going around... cuz two weeks ago mine's fried too... that's 10 days of no reading of BTS...

-- Anonymous, June 02, 2001

LOL! I think I'll pass on that too, sheepish. Too many fried foods really don't go with my weight-loss program.

Well, I wonder when I'll learn my lesson? I get lazy over the winter and leave my modem plugged in at all times. Then, when spring arrives, I end up losing a modem to lightning and THEN I start unplugging after each use. (grumble)

Oh well, at least I'm back up and plugged into my virtual world again.

Annie: I'm in full agreement with you and your brother.

Sharon: This has only been a problem since moving to our current home - I never experienced this problem while living in town. My guess is it's because we have so many large trees around the house and that makes the house and wiring much more of a target. At least that's my theory - but who the heck knows. I do get pretty tired of it, though...

Diane: Yep.

-- Anonymous, June 02, 2001

Yarrow: Yeah, I was only off for a little over 1 day and I was still going through withdrawl. I can't imagine what I'd be like after 10 days... But it probably wouldn't be a pretty site.

-- Anonymous, June 02, 2001

Jim - Are you blowing out light bulbs prematurely,too? Or electronics like a microwave for instance? (that's right,I didn't put it on a surge protector,bc I forgot.)

Are you at the end of the line,by chance? We are,and need to get a whole house surge protector,bc of it.Maybe you need one,too.My uncle had been an electrician for the electric co.before he retired and he advised that.

Plus we are the high point on our side of the river,so lightening hits here alot,too.That's the disadvantage of being high up.My electric goes out weekly,at a minimum. Advantage is it would have to rain 40 days and 40 nights for us to flood,tho.

So far I've remembered to unplug.Wish me continued luck.Glad you are back online.

-- Anonymous, June 02, 2001

O.K. so the high priced surge protector is not going to do what they say it will. So I unplug everything?? Like how about the connection to the phone line?? Glad you are back up and running Jim.

-- Anonymous, June 02, 2001

Are you at the end of the line,by chance? We are,and need to get a whole house surge protector,bc of it.Maybe you need one,too.My uncle had been an electrician for the electric co.before he retired and he advised that.

Yes! We are on the end of the line. I had thought about a whole-house surge protector but put it off thinking it was probably an extravagence that we really didn't need. Are they very expensive?

BTW, we don't have problems with other electronics or light bulbs, just the computer modems. As for the electricity flickering or going out entirely, we don't have nearly the same problems as you. That sort of thing happens maybe three or four times a year - maximum.

Plus we are the high point on our side of the river,so lightening hits here alot,too.That's the disadvantage of being high up.My electric goes out weekly,at a minimum. Advantage is it would have to rain 40 days and 40 nights for us to flood,tho.

We are high here, too. Our land to the south of the house starts it's long slope down to the river. And the land to the east also has a very long (3 mile) gentle slope downhill too because the river to the south snakes off toward the east. It makes for a beatiful view looking out our big picture window in the living room - I just LOVE sweeping vista views like that...

We would never flood here, either, contrary to when I exaggerate about biblical floods in our basement. :-D

-- Anonymous, June 02, 2001

O.K. so the high priced surge protector is not going to do what they say it will. So I unplug everything?? Like how about the connection to the phone line?? Glad you are back up and running Jim.

It MAY protect your electronics but, like Annie mentioned, a direct hit or near miss can jump the connection and still nail your electronics. You're best bet is to unplug anything you really don't want to lose. I don't think you wasted your money on the surge protector, Diane. Think of it like wearing a seat belt. The seat belt won't protect you against EVERY conceivable accident, but it will go a long way in REDUCING your chance of death. Your surge protector is simply reducing your chance of damage through electrical surges.

BTW, I found out the hard way a couple of years ago that my surge protector didn't cover the cost of replacing a modem destroyed by lightning strike. I had failed to read the fine print when I bought the surge protector and only discovered this little piece of knowledge after the fact. Man was I Pi**ed off!

So, if you do have a surge protector, read the fine print. It may or may not cover the cost of replacement for a new modem. The cheap surge protectors seem to be the worst offenders when it comes to this matter...

And yes, unplug where the phone line runs into the computer. That will be your ultimate protection from lightning strikes.

I hope I haven't rambled... it's getting to be near my bed time so I'm probably not firing on all cylinders tonight. Hope that all made sense...

-- Anonymous, June 02, 2001

I got the whole house surge protector from the Electric Company when they first came out. Mine is round and plugs in behind the glass ball on the meter. It is 6 dollars a month, but with that comes 3 in- house surges and a phone line surge, and a quarantee. The TV and all the electronics are plugged into the biggest one, up to $25,000. replacement, the PC, printer and scanner on the medium one, up to $2500., one for $2000. and all the other appliances in the house are covered for up to $1000. each. Any electrical damage at all, even lightning.

None of those surges you can buy under $200.00 really work good. You must pay 200 upwards for a good one.

I still shut down the PC when a storm comes up. I unplug the whole thing at the wall, and I unplug the phone line from the wall about 50 feet away from the PC. Even though it's covered, I could never replace all the work and photos I've got inside my hard drive.

-- Anonymous, June 03, 2001

Thanks for the info on your whole-house surge protector, Cindy.

I'm gonna call our electric company this week to see what options they may offer.

-- Anonymous, June 03, 2001

You just think that it was lightning that stuck your modem. Really it was Vinny and Guido, they put a hit out on your computer. It's all part of their master plan to add this forum to the Rumpledcatflunkyskin crime family empire!

PS I'll take my cement shoes in a size 71/2 please.

-- Anonymous, June 04, 2001

ROTFLMAO!!

Wish I'd said that!

PS - You can hide out here, Sherri - no one can find this place WITH directions so I'm sure you'd be safe from Jul...err Guido and Vinnie here!

-- Anonymous, June 04, 2001

LOL!

Hey Polly! What am I - chopped liver? No room for me at your place, too? I'm the one they tried to take out after all.

Sheesh! I set up a nice forum for you guys to enjoy and this is the thanks I get...

-- Anonymous, June 04, 2001

Dang - didn't mean to hurt your feelin's there Jim!! So, okay - here's an open invitation... all you folks come down here and see us sometime - yeah, even Guido and Vinnie; I'm sure we could round you up some sackrete at the Rural King store, if needs be!!

-- Anonymous, June 04, 2001

Is anyone really safe?

Actually, I always wondered if after a lightening hit you could do the Uncle Fester thing and light up a lightbulb by sticking it in your mouth...

-- Anonymous, June 04, 2001

We wuz framed! (Sherri, sweetheart, you're next, baby!)

-- Anonymous, June 04, 2001

What is sackrete? Does it taste good?

-- Anonymous, June 05, 2001

Well, Cindy - can't say as I've ever TASTED sackrete....

It's a cement mix that you just dump water in...thot Vinnie and Guido could use it in their ummm...shoe factory!

-- Anonymous, June 05, 2001

Never mind.

-- Anonymous, June 05, 2001

Sakrete's ok but leaves a kinda lump in my stomach. I do enjoy a munch of bentonite occassionally when I tend to be loose at the bowel; stops me up right good.

-- Anonymous, June 06, 2001