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Monday, September 11, 2006
when sparks aren't good
so i went to the store to get my styrofoam cutter.
i went there last weekend with yus, to survey the product,
ask the guy there about how it works.
it's not any old, cheap styrofoam cutter.
it's the one which you can bend the wire to cut a desired shape.
it was odd that it didn't come with an instruction manual.
"are you sure i can plug this into any power point?"
"yes. a 2-pin power point.."
ok.
yesterday, i met the same guy again.
asked about the cutter again.
he replied the same answers.
"can i test it out?"
"it's ok. just plug it in. if it doesn't work you can return it within 3 days..."
i bought the cutter.
$61.90
and the styrofoam
$18.90
and pieces of wire.
got to school.
bent the wires.
hooked it up.
and plugged it in.
black wire to the right.
red wire to the left.
switched it on.
sparks flew.
wire disintegrated.
i was shocked.
the last time i saw sparks was when my dad tried to jump start the car.
i didnt take it seriously because the sparks were sorta like, the bunga api kind.
small, tiny... harmless...
so, i thought, hmmm, let's put the red on the right, black on the left.
switched off the power supply.
used a thicker wire this time round.
red to right.
black to left.
i didn't even have to switch it on
and
BIGGER
SCARIER
i-think-i-could-have-died-from-electrocution kinda sparks flew out!
there was a loud noise due to the explosion within the cutter...
then the smell of burnt plastic wafted...
the power surge not only destroyed the cutter,
it caused a short circuit in the power lines.
because the people using the other power points suddenly had their laptops switched off.
one girl who was doing her report, and didnt manage to save it before her laptop went off.
and she didn't know if her laptop power supply cable was affected.
i had a whole rush of emotions going through.
a whole lot of anger, at the guy who said i could plug it into a power point.
guilt, because i caused a girl her report.
and frustration,
because i've run out of ideas as to how i could proceed with my FYP.
went back to the store.
explained what happened.
another guy, who i assumed to be the manager, then explained to me the cutter was an accessory to a bigger styrofoam cutter.
NOW THEN TELL!
the bigger styrofoam cutter steps down the current supplied to the accessory.
"i'm sorry for the misunderstanding. it must have caused you trouble."
DUH!
but the manager was nice, so i didn't get angry.
got my money back.
and now, here i am.
blogging at 12.39am
with a bad sore throat
and no clue as to how i should proceed with my FYP.
sigh.
12:08 AM
