Date   : Wed, 03 Aug 2011 16:44:08
From   : heyrick.beebsoc@... (Rick Murray)
Subject: [BeebSoc] Auntie, dear Auntie

On 04/08/2011 01:20, Rick Murray wrote:

> Cue lots of detention. Again.
                          ^^^^^
Then there was that time we (I think "we" were the terrible threesome or 
something - no names will be mentioned) bought a second-hand motor 
(washing machine?). We brought it back (to our dormitory), wired it to a 
plug, plugged it in. It promptly burst into flames (yay!) and belched 
black smoke (ewww!).
We're looking at it wondering if smothering it with a duvet would be a 
good idea or a really bad one when a prefect comes in with a WATER 
extinguisher. After wrestling him to the ground, it was up to P and I to 
wrap our hands in a prison-issue towel <smirk>, grab the thing, and lob 
it out of the (third-floor) window.
Which we do.
Then realising it might have been better to have opened the window first.
When it's about two metres down, it runs out of power lead, which yanks 
the plug out of the wall, taking the socket with it, shorting the ring 
main and blowing half a dozen old-style fuses, plunging a third of the 
building into darkness.
The motor hits the concrete and explodes, sending flaming bits all over 
the grass. So we have to leg it down the stairs (with pathetic barely 
working emergency lamps), and outside, and stamp out the flames before 
It Gets Worse.


Epic.


Don't ask me how come we never got expelled. I guess the staff liked us. 
Or maybe we frightened them? Either way, I got used to newbies who I'd 
never met who had been there for mere minutes greeting me with "Hi 
Murray!". Yeah, hello, do I know you?!?

I was, until Bitch Maggie cut post-16 education, going to do A levels 
aiming for a job in the sector of nuclear energy, as it is something of 
interest to me... perhaps it is just as well I didn't? Or I'd "fix" 
Fukushima Daiichi with logic along the lines of "oh hell, dump some rods 
in there, get it to melt down, then just pour lead-doped concrete over 
what remains. [*]


Best wishes,

Rick.

* - A workable idea until you remember that annoying little thing called
     "the water table". Oh well.