So today I almost died. Yes, by a G String, but it's not what it sounds like. You see, Saturday I was tuning an old bass I've had hanging on my wall to see if it needed new strings to be playable. Either the string(s) were old or I tightened the G-String an octave too tight and it popped. This was rather unfortunate, but I didn't think too much of it and threw the broken string in the trash can next to my desk. This morning there was a bad lightning storm, so I decided to unplug the power strip next to my desk because it has an LCD monitor plugged into that I would rather not get struck by lightning. Later, I needed to get some work done at my desk and the lightning had pretty much stopped, but it was still cloudy and rather dark. Needing to use the lamp on my desk I plugged in the power strip again, thinking it would be safe... The G String on a bass is rather stiff and likes to be straight, so it was not completely in the trash can. Actually, it was resting partly on the electrical outlet next to my desk, waiting for a victim. Not noticing the string resting there, I plugged in the power strip. POW! Sparks flew and so did I. Not because of an electrical shock, but more from the surprise of the very loud pop and the flaming bits of God knows what flying towards me. I probably screamed like a school girl. Then the the lights went out in my room... I managed to throw the breaker. I'm not sure how I managed not to electrocute myself, but there are now burn marks on the electrical outlet (as you can see in the picture to the left). I can now assure you that the bass string is in a different trash can, far away from anything electrical (outlets, appliances... toasters), and cut into pieces. I wonder how long it will take for my parents to notice there are burn marks on my outlet...