November 2006 Archives
Time to break the silence with a funny story from today.
So I was working with someone on the small speakers we have in some of the classrooms, where the teacher can wear a wireless mic and save their voice without having to always yell, and also provides a service to children who may have a hearing impairment. We worked to figure out what was wrong with some of the units, testing the cables, and sometimes swapping in a new 9 volt battery. When we were done, I dropped two of the 9 volts in my pants pocket and headed off to do whatever else was on my plate for the day.
I was working in the art room later that day, and as I was working on a printer, I smelled something funny. As the printer was just warming up, I thought maybe it was just burning off some dust like the printers like to do sometimes. Then I felt a sharp pain on my leg. I begin throwing everything out of my pocket, realizing that I was causing the smell with whatever was burning in my pocket. The ID I clip to my pocket has one of those plain metal ball chains on it if you were wearing it around you neck, but I just tuck that into my pocket. Never bothered to take it off the clip. Well, apparently one of the 9 volt batteries worked its way around to the chain, completing the circuit, and burning a hole through my pocket! Cue odd smell, leg pain, and eventual hilarity. I'll have to patch up the small holes in the pocket, and my leg is fine, but that sure took me by surprise.
Lesson of the day: Pockets are not for batteries. (Good thing it wasn't a Sony battery, or I'd be done for! Oh, the inside jokes.)
So I was working with someone on the small speakers we have in some of the classrooms, where the teacher can wear a wireless mic and save their voice without having to always yell, and also provides a service to children who may have a hearing impairment. We worked to figure out what was wrong with some of the units, testing the cables, and sometimes swapping in a new 9 volt battery. When we were done, I dropped two of the 9 volts in my pants pocket and headed off to do whatever else was on my plate for the day.
I was working in the art room later that day, and as I was working on a printer, I smelled something funny. As the printer was just warming up, I thought maybe it was just burning off some dust like the printers like to do sometimes. Then I felt a sharp pain on my leg. I begin throwing everything out of my pocket, realizing that I was causing the smell with whatever was burning in my pocket. The ID I clip to my pocket has one of those plain metal ball chains on it if you were wearing it around you neck, but I just tuck that into my pocket. Never bothered to take it off the clip. Well, apparently one of the 9 volt batteries worked its way around to the chain, completing the circuit, and burning a hole through my pocket! Cue odd smell, leg pain, and eventual hilarity. I'll have to patch up the small holes in the pocket, and my leg is fine, but that sure took me by surprise.
Lesson of the day: Pockets are not for batteries. (Good thing it wasn't a Sony battery, or I'd be done for! Oh, the inside jokes.)
