A long time ago, in a different career...
I was at a military training facility for electrical engineers (remember that bit)

One of the guys on teh course (let's call him 'M') lived in the room downstairs. According to his room-mates, M's evening rotated around the various soaps and refused to wear headphones as the other room-mates wanted to watch alternative programming.

I was asked to intervene. (as a fully trained elec. eng before starting the training)

One day his TV miraculously stopped working. nothing difficult, i just opened the plug and screwed the live down onto the insulation. The plug would look sound to non-techincal types, however, as he was in training to do such things as fault finding on electrical equipment, i expected M to easily identify the issue.

Not so. M comes to me the day after asking if i'll take a look at the TV. I can hardly say 'No', can I. I take the back off and complain at him for not keeping the inside of the TV clean and get him to hoover it out. I take a quick look around, do a few tests, but 'can't find the fault'. I offer to take the TV to a friend of mine who happens to do TV repair. M agrees.

the TV spends the rest of the course in my cupboard - obviously not being repaired - until the last day at which i hand him the TV back, plug having been sorted, and charged him £20.

It bought a round for the class at the leaving do.

Sorry M.
( Another_tragic_case wished he hadn't eaten all the cake, Thu 26 Aug 2010, 14:36, Reply)