Silk_the_Absent1
10-14-2008, 09:50 PM
So Saturday there was a big storm. So big, in fact, that while we were in town, we ran into a few coaches from another Special Olympics team, who asked us if we had been in Rio Rancho during the storm (I live in Rio Rancho), to which we said no, since we were at an arts & crafts fair in Albuquerque. Turns out there was 1" hail, flooding (got that in Albuquerque at the fair), and lightning.
Get home, the computers are all off. Try to turn them on, nothing. Pull out the PSUs, pop in spares. Still nothing. Shit.
Okay, check the tv. Nothing. Go next door and ask the neighbor if there was a surge, they said no, there was lightning. Call the power company, they said yeah, there was lightning in the area. Call an electrician my friend uses, they come out, and I found where we were hit; on the roof, at the copper line that feeds the swamp cooler.
Here's the list so far (still haven't finished testing everything) of what was killed when my house was hit directly by lightning:
Both Windows systems (my system in my sig, and another X2, similarly equipped)
my 22" Acer AL22wbd
my Boston Acoustics BA7900 5.1 speakers
2Wire 2700HG-D modem
4 TVs (1*32", 2*25", 1*13")
My sister's Wii
Xbox
VCR
2 DVD players
component (RGB) selector
7 surge suppressors or line conditioners (computers were on line conditioners)
1 remote controlled floor standing fan
I got the replacement modem today, and now I'm on my Northwood 2.8 800 Ubuntu system. Homeowners insurance is going to cover the electrician (coming tomorrow to see if anything in the house wiring needs to be fixed, and to put in a better ground line. Insurance will also be covering the lost stuff, so I'll be needing to do some research on what to buy to replace the systems with.
I care more about getting data off the hard drives than any major upgrades, so we'll see how that goes.
I want to make it clear that I am *NOT* asking for donations, I just wanted to let you guys know what was going on.
Oh, as a personal request, Wicked, could you do me a favor and pop into #freedom and let BV know what is going on? I can't get this thing working on IRC yet, but I'll be working on it.
-Adam
Get home, the computers are all off. Try to turn them on, nothing. Pull out the PSUs, pop in spares. Still nothing. Shit.
Okay, check the tv. Nothing. Go next door and ask the neighbor if there was a surge, they said no, there was lightning. Call the power company, they said yeah, there was lightning in the area. Call an electrician my friend uses, they come out, and I found where we were hit; on the roof, at the copper line that feeds the swamp cooler.
Here's the list so far (still haven't finished testing everything) of what was killed when my house was hit directly by lightning:
Both Windows systems (my system in my sig, and another X2, similarly equipped)
my 22" Acer AL22wbd
my Boston Acoustics BA7900 5.1 speakers
2Wire 2700HG-D modem
4 TVs (1*32", 2*25", 1*13")
My sister's Wii
Xbox
VCR
2 DVD players
component (RGB) selector
7 surge suppressors or line conditioners (computers were on line conditioners)
1 remote controlled floor standing fan
I got the replacement modem today, and now I'm on my Northwood 2.8 800 Ubuntu system. Homeowners insurance is going to cover the electrician (coming tomorrow to see if anything in the house wiring needs to be fixed, and to put in a better ground line. Insurance will also be covering the lost stuff, so I'll be needing to do some research on what to buy to replace the systems with.
I care more about getting data off the hard drives than any major upgrades, so we'll see how that goes.
I want to make it clear that I am *NOT* asking for donations, I just wanted to let you guys know what was going on.
Oh, as a personal request, Wicked, could you do me a favor and pop into #freedom and let BV know what is going on? I can't get this thing working on IRC yet, but I'll be working on it.
-Adam