Total Black Out!

I'm experiencing what could be best described as 'Every Geek's Worst Nightmare', namely, his Computer Being Stuck by Lightning!

My laptop powerbrick had been having some trouble and I was unable to charge my laptop. Now that my desktop and BSNL Wi-Fi modem being fried by the stupid lightning — I'm experiencing a Total Black Out!

I'm sorry to all those folks to whom I cannot mail, scrap in Orkut, talk in IRC, or any other net nonsense that I used to engage upon (I'm composing this on a borrowed laptop; thanks Remya).  I must have probably angered some Gods, who might have gotten displeased that I was giving my attention elsewhere.

Here's my sad episode...

Last Saturday, I was sitting in my bedroom, reading PBM notes (ok, don't believe it, if you don't want to), when I heard a distant roar of thunder.  I looked outside and saw darkened sky and lightning streaks glowing outside.  Usually, in a similar situation, we used to plug off our telephone.  I rushed downstairs, to plug off the phone, lest it be fried by lightning or something.  Mission accomplished, I proceeded to the refridgerator (I should mention that I was alone in my house, the 'other' members were out on some errands).  Suddenly, I heard a crack of thunder, a streak of white lightning, a *buzz-clank*, and the circuit-breaker switched itself off! 

I checked the TV, which was not connected, then I remembered that my desktop's UPS was plugged in.  Not powered on, but plugged in, along with the Wi-Fi modem.  I rushed back to my room, and yanked the plugs off.

It was during evening that the power came, and I went downstairs to switch on the circuit-breaker.  Sometimes afterwards, I came upstairs and switched on the desktop.  Nothing!  I weeped!  Then I tried the modem; blink-blink.  I weeped harder!

Now I have nothing left to read except for my exam notes. Maybe the Gods want it that way.  I hate deities that get irritated in short notice and wenge their anger on us poor humans. Back to exams and revisions... maybe I'll sell of my desktop or laptop or both. :(

But I feel like quoting Morpheus, "Fate, as it seems, is not without a sense of irony!"

/etc/init.d/network start

Hurray! I should thank my parents for the greatest thing they've done to me (in the recent times, of course). They've availed me a Net connection. What more can you ask for? The connection is BSNL DataOne, slow as it always is (since when has net been fast enough?), is equipped with a WiFi modem. Kewl! The configuration is a simple point-browser-at-ip thingy. The router is a good one — comes with NAT, WEP/WAP, MAC filtering, and whatnot. Have to poke around and learn the ropes. I got the connection today morning. I should thank Venkat from the depth of my hearts for taking the burden of riding here in the evening a week ago, and being grateful enough to lend his NIC. Thanks a zillion, Venkat! March 02, 2008 update: The only boring thing is the lack of my laptop. I'd have given anything to browse the net through WiFi. The desktop is only a barebones installation — Debian Etch, with no saner apps for the web (err.. Web 2.0 to be precise). I also see that IceWeasel swaps around too much. Gaelon is OK, but some sites don't even like it. But this connection is on a trial basis — the Rs250 scheme. I might get a job in the near future, and I'll definitely go for the Rs900 unlimited scheme. Maybe then I'll swicth to Debian Lenny. I did try telneting into the router. I think it's runnig Busy Box. Anyway, I'm the happiest soul around here (except for my power brick, laptop battery, and may lacking a ULB). Cheerio...