James and the Lightning Strike.

I had to have a visit from a telecoms engineer today to investigate internet woes on my computer. They had assumed a terminal nature, you see, and I was bit miffed. Said engineer (whose name was James, by the way, in case it should be of any significance) eventually tracked the fault to the final piece of extension cable which connects my computer to the phone line.

He pointed out a substantial degree of corrosion on the metallic bits in the socket at the end of the cable into which the micro filter is plugged. That wasn’t so surprising because this room enjoys a much higher level of humidity than a room in a domestic premises is supposed to enjoy. It does so every summer. What came next, however, was rather more dramatic.

He then pointed out that the connecting clip on the micro filter was warped and a little melted, a fact which, in the absence of any other possible explanation, he could only ascribe to a lightning strike.

‘You mean my house has been struck by lightning?’ I enquired.

‘Not necessarily,’ said James (who seemed to know what he was talking about.) It could have been anywhere on the network.’ He went on to explain that the electricity from a lightning strike follows any old route until it finds a place to rest and discharge its heat. In this case it was about six inches from my left foot when I’m using the computer.

So should I now feel victimised or honoured? Should I be concerned that the fire god chose me to be the recipient of its wanton mischief, or should I be pleased that such an elemental force of nature found in me a kindred spirit? (Of course, it might have been a rather dull case of meaningless coincidence, but I dislike that one.)

But back to basics…

I happened to have a few old micro filters lying about the place, and I also had the old extension cable from when I last renewed it. James took them both, changed everything around, and voila! The internet was back. So the engineer came, invested the situation with his knowledge, and solved the problem. How often does that happen these days when everything is awash with mysterious electronic components which either choose to work or not to work and nobody really knows why?