01.18.2004,
yesterday, was an unpleasant one due to the raising of "stress alert" to code red.
having just washed my hands in the downstairs bathroom, i flicked off the light, and walked out. within a few steps, i noticed an acrid smell wafting from behind. i turned around to a nice sparkler display from the lightswitch. running back to it, i noticed that the switch was lodged part way between on and off and still sparking and smoking.
naturally, i knew at that point that there was a malfunction of the switch, and since it was caught between on and off, my first reaction was to turn it all the way off. unfortunately, i had been lax while washing my hands and skipped the drying step.
anyway, i punched it off quickly and was not pleased by the current that momentarily seized my hand and had its way with it. so after being so deeply insulted, i decided my next move would be the circuit breaker. luckily, it is only about ten feet away and labeled.
after switching off the power, all returned to normal -- minus lights, of course. the switch just hung there, screwed into the wall, sullenly smoldering.
the switch has been replaced and my heart has finally slowed.
a detailed image of the autopsy, performed by timothy russell, can be found by clicking on the thumbnail image.