This is a true story. If you are wondering if it means my other stories are not true, please read the intro on the home page of my blog.
I have a Panasonic music system, which can play CD, cassette, FM and AM radio. I have not used the cassette player part for a long time, and now it does not work. I decided to clean the playing head of the player to see if it was magnetic dust collected on the head that was the cause of the loss of function. So I took a brush, dipped it in methylated spirit (we use it to disinfect the skin prior to giving an injection to a patient) and cleaned the head of the player. My old practice was to use a piece of cloth soaked with spirit for this job, which I used on my old music system. But I disliked the smell of alcohol on my finger. So I used a brush. After that. I started the system, and it just went crazy. The CD tray would come out, wait for 2 seconds and close again. It continued to do this tirelessly, and I knew it would continue to do so till eternity or until the power was switched off, whichever was earlier. So I switched off the power. It was smarter than I thought. It went on again on its own and continued its antics. I was smarter. I switched off the mains before it could power itself. After giving it a rest for a few minutes, I powered it on again. Now luckily it did not play the CD tray trick again. But it rapidly cycled through all its commands - some of which I knew and many of which I didn't. I could read the commands it was executing on the display - CD1, CD2, CD3, CD4, CD5, AM, FM, Cassette, Normal, Movie, Bass, Treble, Sleep, Wake, Manual, Auto, Record, Eject, Hello, Goodbye, and a number of others I did not register in my amazement. It started making me dizzy. So I switched it off.
I powered it on the next morning. Its behavior was exemplary. It played like a music player should - a sane one I mean.
"What was wrong with it?" my wife asked me.
I thought it over.
"If we believed in ghosts and spirits, I would say it was possessed" I said. "If it were computerized and connected to the net, I would say a hacker had taken it over. My best guess, believe it or not, is that it was drunk."
"Drunk?" she asked incredulously.
"Drunk" I said. "I put alcohol on the head of the cassette player with a brush. It must have evaporated and spread inside the system's box. Having never been exposed to alcohol, it probably got intoxicated with that small amount. So it started its monkey tricks. After a day, it got sober. So now it is working OK."
"Oh!" she said. I knew she did not believe me. I did not believe myself. But then, there was no other explanation. In fact, I think the sound coming out of the speakers was a little gruff - like it had a hangover. (:-)
I have a Panasonic music system, which can play CD, cassette, FM and AM radio. I have not used the cassette player part for a long time, and now it does not work. I decided to clean the playing head of the player to see if it was magnetic dust collected on the head that was the cause of the loss of function. So I took a brush, dipped it in methylated spirit (we use it to disinfect the skin prior to giving an injection to a patient) and cleaned the head of the player. My old practice was to use a piece of cloth soaked with spirit for this job, which I used on my old music system. But I disliked the smell of alcohol on my finger. So I used a brush. After that. I started the system, and it just went crazy. The CD tray would come out, wait for 2 seconds and close again. It continued to do this tirelessly, and I knew it would continue to do so till eternity or until the power was switched off, whichever was earlier. So I switched off the power. It was smarter than I thought. It went on again on its own and continued its antics. I was smarter. I switched off the mains before it could power itself. After giving it a rest for a few minutes, I powered it on again. Now luckily it did not play the CD tray trick again. But it rapidly cycled through all its commands - some of which I knew and many of which I didn't. I could read the commands it was executing on the display - CD1, CD2, CD3, CD4, CD5, AM, FM, Cassette, Normal, Movie, Bass, Treble, Sleep, Wake, Manual, Auto, Record, Eject, Hello, Goodbye, and a number of others I did not register in my amazement. It started making me dizzy. So I switched it off.
I powered it on the next morning. Its behavior was exemplary. It played like a music player should - a sane one I mean.
"What was wrong with it?" my wife asked me.
I thought it over.
"If we believed in ghosts and spirits, I would say it was possessed" I said. "If it were computerized and connected to the net, I would say a hacker had taken it over. My best guess, believe it or not, is that it was drunk."
"Drunk?" she asked incredulously.
"Drunk" I said. "I put alcohol on the head of the cassette player with a brush. It must have evaporated and spread inside the system's box. Having never been exposed to alcohol, it probably got intoxicated with that small amount. So it started its monkey tricks. After a day, it got sober. So now it is working OK."
"Oh!" she said. I knew she did not believe me. I did not believe myself. But then, there was no other explanation. In fact, I think the sound coming out of the speakers was a little gruff - like it had a hangover. (:-)
