I’ve used computers ever since second grade (back when we had to save files on cassette tapes), but I got my very first computer a little over two years ago. I had never used a modem or been on the Internet before this.
Anyway, I was really proud of myself for setting everything up correctly – or so I thought. See, I never realized that when you have a modem and you live in an area that gets frequent lightning strikes you need to have a surge protector with a built-in phone jack.
The storm came. The lightning struck. The modem went kerblooey. I could actually smell the smoke when my brother took it out of the case.
So my computer was only six days old and I had to go spend money on a new modem.
And just to prove that you don’t necessarily get smarter with time, I learned another important lesson last week: never, ever delete the printer driver until you’re absolutely sure you have a backup on a disk or CD. It took me days to hunt down a working replacement on the Internet. And my printer’s still not working! :mad:
