I was electrocuted by my Mac.

[Peterkro]

No, YOU are wrong.

Do you know what, I am sick of know-it-alls that know next to nothing. Time and time again I come across this misplaced indignation on this forum, telling me I am wrong, telling me that other people know better. Even then it isn't done in a courteous way, it is done in a belittling and demeaning way

It is getting too much, it is making my forum viewing become some what displeasurable.

I said it with best intentions (even made a joke about being pedantic) but I thought I would stand up for the original poster and I also thought I put it nicely to a poster that I respect.

Peterkro, I am sorry If this seems like I'm venting at you, you are simply the straw, don't take this personally because it is aimed more at the 10 thousand people that did it before you. However, if you decide to take it personally then that is fine too. Feel free to PM me.

Telling me that I don't know the meaning when it is you that doesn't just rubbed salt into an open wound.

For the record, here is the dictionary's definition.

Err, I think your confusing meaning and usage.Electrocute is a portmanteau word from electro and execute,so the meaning is death by electricity.As I mentioned it's been misused so often the meaning has been forgotten.Also if you look at dictionary definitions you'll see there is considerable number who make clear the difference between meaning and usage.I don't take it personally,you get differences of opinion that's life.

 

[BakedBeans]

It's nothing to do with opinion.

Electrocute means exactly what I said, and to say that he had been electrocuted is fine. I'll stick with the dictionary on this one.

 

[Peterkro]

OK fair enough I'll stick with the OED which is the dictionary of record for the English language others differ.For instance the Compact Oxford differs.This particular argument has been going on in alt.english.usage for some time, feel free to join in.

 

[Silentwave]

That's a pretty scary story! Glad you're OK overall though.

About a year ago we had a big T-storm that came through and lightning struck and zapped power and some other things momentarily...

the aftermath:

1) DSL modem shot
2) TiVo internal modem shot
3) scanner/fax/copier/printer completely fried
4) LAN card in my HP laptop completely fried
5) more than a few other problems with electronics around the house
6) HP laptop subsequently began having further problems....
7) other printer never quite worked the same again....

As a result, they took my HP in for 2 months of service...even though my service plan promised it back within a business week. The first month they didn't even touch it and gave it back to me. the second time they wiped my HD without making the backup I requested and paid for. And didn't install XP SP2, and in the few minutes on the windows site it took to try and download the updates and the time needed to download my firewall, I needed I got over 250 viruses and spyware apps! I had to run my security suite and two additional spyware zappers just to get it to install SP2.

The HP never worked as reliably (i know reliable and windows...) again, and as an indirect result, I believe, I was able to get my mac faster! And I now have a new DSL modem that is much better, a better scanner/fax/copier/printer, got my TiVo on wireless (and now it was replaced with a new version so I hve the modem back if I ever need it). However, it was a costly mistake...and yes all this stuff was protected by surge protectors and UPSes. In fact, I had the phone line going to the DSL modem going through the UPS first, then through the power strip surge protector, and only then into the DSL modem and it still managed to fry both the LAN and phone parts of the modem.

It worked out for the best, but paid through the nose.
As a result, when a storm comes depending on the severity I do a number of things:

1) shut down/sleep my mac
2) unplug EVERYTHING from it...power cord, FW and USB cables, LAN, speakers, literally everything.
3) unplug my power adapter from the power strip
4) turn off all devices and unplug them. In the case of my DSL modem, this means phone line and power. In some cases I unplug the whole power strip while i'm at it. You can't get a surge if you don't have any power going into it . I prioritize by value/usefulness...mac first, then DSL, then R2400 Epson printer, then my other peripherals.
5) if it gets realllly bad I shut down my TiVo and unplug it for the duration of the storm. Normally I like to watch recorded shows. But there are limits to what is safe.
6) as a precaution, my external HD that mirrors my internal and acts as my primary backup is *always* unplugged from everything unless I'm specifically backing up or using it as a scratch disk for editing. This prevents me from losing everything in case a storm hits and i'm out of the house.

 

[Bobdude161]

Actually, the saying is that you have a better chance of being struck by lightning than winning the lottery.

lol i guess that guy was trying to get me to gamble. I forgot it was the other way around.

 

[Bobdude161]

In fact, I had the phone line going to the DSL modem going through the UPS first, then through the power strip surge protector, and only then into the DSL modem and it still managed to fry both the LAN and phone parts of the modem.

Yeah you need like a $10,000 UPS to have close to complete assurance that lightning won't kill anything. I figure your damages were greater than what had to be replaced over here.

Also, the spring in our garage door had snapped right before the storm and after the storm, to add insult to injury, the electric motor for the garage door had fried. Got the spring replaced and just installed the new garage motor today. And my Mac HAS been affected by the lightning. The built-in ethernet is non-functional. Thank goodness I have a buttload of Mac spares and found a 100 base ethernet card. Works fine.

 

[emotion]

Mine is not that bad but if i have my powerbook plugged in and open using the latch, it gives me a little shock. Not sure why but it can be really annoying and sometimes painful.

Sounds like static, in this office I'm in now all the powerbook users get this occasionally.

 

[Killyp]

haha!

The advantages of having a wifi connection and a battery

Now as long as I don't go outside and browse the internet which is what I usually do with the wifi...

 

[portent]

OK fair enough I'll stick with the OED which is the dictionary of record for the English language others differ.For instance the Compact Oxford differs.This particular argument has been going on in alt.english.usage for some time, feel free to join in.

For what it's worth, the Merriam-Webster definition is
http://m-w.com/dictionary/electrocute

1 : to execute (a criminal) by electricity
2 : to kill by electric shock

...which is historically the correct definition. The common usage (synonymous with "electric shock") is more recent.

BTW, the "Oxford Dictionary" included with Mac OS X is not the same as the OED (which includes etymologies, and is vastly more complete.)

 

[MongoTheGeek]

Yeah you need like a $10,000 UPS to have close to complete assurance that lightning won't kill anything. I figure your damages were greater than what had to be replaced over here.

Once upon a time. I worked for a company that took a lightning hit on the phone line. It went down the line into a mac, killed it and went out through the ethernet card, killed the ethernet cards in 20 other macs and then the router.

 

[ReanimationLP]

All of the appliances in our house got fried, except for the Vampire TV ((Old Sony TV from 1982) which had to be killed with a stake through the CRT when we finally bought a replacement TV).

I have one of those too.

Damn thing just keeps going and going.

 

[SpookTheHamster]

It's nothing to do with opinion.

Electrocute means exactly what I said, and to say that he had been electrocuted is fine. I'll stick with the dictionary on this one.

What dictionary are you using? The OED has no mention of injury, only death. It even makes note that the word is formed from "electro" and "execute"

Back to the OT though. The exact same thing happened to my sister a few years ago. Lightning came through the TV aerial, from the TV to the power lines, up the laptop power supply and through the screws in the bottom of the laptop into her legs. It blew up all of our TVs and VCRs, destroyed our phone line for a few days and left her with scars on her legs.

 

[WildCowboy]

What dictionary are you using? The OED has no mention of injury, only death. It even makes note that the word is formed from "electro" and "execute"

The built-in dictionary (The New Oxford American Dictionary) for OS X says "injured or killed."