Friday, March 27, 2009

We Should Bottle This Stuff And Sell It

I have never been a fan of static electricity. It makes your clothes stick in places they shouldn't, makes your hair stick up where it should be lying down, causes your husband's socks to disappear into your flannel pajamas and your cats' fur to adhere to every surface of the house except the dust rag.

It can cause pain, especially if you grew up with a brother who liked to slide along the carpet in stocking feet and then shock you with the electric current he had managed to work up, or if you married someone who likes to slide along the carpet in stocking feet and then shock you (or the cats) with the electric current he manages to work up.

Despite this, static electricity has never been anything more than an annoyance. I mean, it's not like you can blow out entire electronic devices with one ill-timed slide and shock maneuver, right?

Hubby and I were playing Guitar Hero recently when some friends stopped by. Now, some people have video game addictions. I am not one of them, but I do enjoy myself a little Guitar Hero from time to time. It's just the right mix of mindless and enjoyable. It's not so hard that it requires more brain power than I have at the end of the day, but it's not so easy that it can't hold my interest. It is more expensive than your average video game, but really, can you put a price on hours of mindless entertainment? That's right. I think not.

Anyway, the day that these friends stopped by happened to be one of those static electricity days. You know, when, despite your best efforts to not generate static electricity, you still manage to shock everything you touch? One of them wanted to try his luck at Guitar Hero, so I handed him my Guitar. I say handed because it was still about 10 degrees outside and I refused to get out from under my electric blanket, so he had to get up from where he was sitting and walk a couple of steps to get the guitar. That's the kind of host I am, for those of you thinking about visiting, by the way.

When he grabbed the guitar it produced the loudest shock of static electricity I have ever heard. But it didn't just produce sound. It produced damage. That one little bolt of static electricity completely fried the guitar controller?!???!

Static Electricity: 1, Guitar Hero: 0. Proof once again that you just can't make this stuff up. And that Guitar Hero was overpriced to begin with.

4 comments:

:corinne: said...

Bummer! Now if I was a concerned friend I'd ask if your guest was okay or if you or he felt any pain...but I'm more interested in the fact that now you have to go buy another guitar hero. Poopey! Me and my hubby like guitar hero and we're really big fans of rockband too. Good times!

Mrs. R said...

Corinne: LOL! I didn't feel it so much, but he definitely did. For some reason I can't get into Rock Band--I can only manage the guitar controllers, and even those not so well.

Colleen said...

Wow! I can't even imagine static electricity that strong! I'm like you - I'm not much of a video game person, but I did just get a Wii game that I might actually enjoy - "All Star Cheer." I'll have to let you know if it's any fun after I get around to trying it out.

Mrs. R said...

Colleen--I love it. Did you ever get to try it?