Fun_People Archive
25 Mar
Don't surf the net, get the hell out!

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From: Peter Langston <psl>
Date: Tue, 25 Mar 97 13:25:48 -0800
To: Fun_People
Subject: Don't surf the net, get the hell out!

Forwarded-by: Vicki Rosenzweig <vr@zebra.acm.org>
From: Risks-Forum Digest  Monday 24 March 1997  Volume 18 : Issue 93
From: rj.mills@pti-us.com (Dick Mills)
Subject: On looking before you leap?

I attended a firefighter's training drill this week.  We heard from a
gas/electric company representative.  He related the following anecdote.

The gas company was called to a house in Albany, NY to respond to a
complaint about a carbon-monoxide alarm activating.  When the serviceman
questioned the woman of the house about the circumstances, she said that
the alarm had been sounding since the night before.  Astounded, he asked
why she hadn't called immediately.  She replied, "My husband charged
upstairs to surf the internet for information about what to do about carbon
monoxide in the house. I'm still waiting for an answer."

The Risk?  Letting one's mind roam cyberspace while forgetting that our
bodies remain in corporeal space.  Personally, I vow to never send the
message, "FIRE! FIRE!" via e-mail.

[Reused without explicit authorization under blanket permission granted for
 all Risks-Forum Digest materials.  The author, the RISKS moderator, and the
 ACM have no connection with this reuse.]

© 1997 Peter Langston