james_davis_nicoll: (Default)
james_davis_nicoll ([personal profile] james_davis_nicoll) wrote2011-02-06 04:59 am

This is why I can't have nice things

Bus went missing. A bunch of us at the Stanley Park Mall split on a cab. That got me a few blocks from my place. Slog home, put a snack in the microwave, the power dies before I can hit on. I put the frozen snack back in the freezer, wait the power cut out. Power comes back on. I turn on the microwave.

White smoke comes out. See, I forgot to put the food back in before turning the microwave back on....

Fuck fuck fuck.

At least I didn't burn the house down.

Well, I know what my next major purchase is....

Any recommendations for cheap, reliable brands of microwave ovens?

[identity profile] halfassured.livejournal.com 2011-02-06 06:05 am (UTC)(link)
Microwaves operate under the assumption that most of the actual microwaves will be getting absorbed by water in the food. If they're just kicking around in there with nothing else (or with something the microwave frequency is incapable of heating), the actual microwave ends up absorbing them and gets fried.

...I think?

[identity profile] oh6.livejournal.com 2011-02-06 06:50 am (UTC)(link)
Well, modern microwave ovens are supposed to be able handle being run empty. Unless this one is from the 1960s or earlier, it probably failed in some unrelated way.

[identity profile] james-nicoll.livejournal.com 2011-02-06 06:55 am (UTC)(link)
Well, it was at least 15 years old.