Today I was writing an email when my laptop suddenly made a high-pitched squeak and went deadly black. I sat for a moment, terrified, then closed the laptop and waited for the little light to blink, letting me know it was still alive.
Nothing. I opened the laptop back up and hit the power button. It made the usual sound, but the screen remained black for what seemed like too long a time - so I grabbed the phone and dialed my personal computer tech support guy. He told me to restart the computer. :)
By that time the screen was on again and things seemed normal. Until a little window popped up saying that my computer's clock was set for some date in 2001 and I needed to do something manually.
Personal tech support guy talked me through it. It had already reset itself to "Apple Time" by that point anyway. Files opened. I had lost the email. I thought I had lost Firefox. Tech support talked me through re-finding it.
I asked what it meant, that the computer had done this.
"Was there a power flutter?"
"No."
"Nothing happened with the electricity?"
"No."
"Must have been a Cosmic Ray."
I thought at first he was teasing me. Then I thought maybe it was some new Eckhart Tolle thing. Tech support guy googled something and read it out loud to me. Something about a, yes, Cosmic Ray, knocking out computers, something called soft errors.
By this time, I was completely charmed by the idea that I Had Been Hit By A Cosmic Ray.
:0
I'm convinced it forebodes amazing, fabulous things.
:)
Sorry, I was unable to obtain a photograph of this amazing experience.
billie hinton’s camera-obscura:
life and lessons on November Hill Farm
5 comments:
LOL Hit by a Cosmic Ray! I LOVE it! Bummer for the computer, but beautiful for you. Take it as a good omen and run with it.
The Cosmos reached out and touched you - how cool is that!?!
Actually, the computer seems to be running better after the Cosmic Event ...
I mean, heck, my laptop is my partner in the writing zen, and we have both been energized by the Cosmos!
Surely this bodes well for book deals. :)
billie
You're so wonderfully creative!
PTS
OK, This is funny. My husband's cell phone/PDA just went kerflouey and as I was talking to him on the house phone he was smacking it against his hand to get it to even turn on because he couldn't get it to turn on all morning.
And turn on it did.
I (after reading your blog) suggested that maybe it had been hit by a cosmic ray. My husband had never heard of this phenomenon, so I Wiki'd cosmic ray. In the entry is a reference to the "Oh-My-God particle". Which I then had to look up. I had no idea something like that had been seen!!! Fascinating (I'm a geek at heart).
So Billie, please tell your Personal Tech Support Thank you. I have now learned something new today! LOL
What is the "oh my god particle?"
I will have to look it up... my curiosity likely can't wait for you to get back here to tell!
billie
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