A Momentary Lapse of Reason
25 11 2007I yell a lot. Just ask my kids. Heck, ask my wife and she’ll tell you that all too often I let the kids get to me and I raise my voice. I hate it. I’ve tried taking a deep breath and reacting calmly when they ignore me, but it’s much easier to just yell.
Take, for instance, video games. I have a seven-year-old and a four-year-old who both love video games. But these games are expensive so I tell them not to leave them on the floor to get broken. I have to tell them every day and they still do it. Jonathan especially like stepping on things. So this bothers me when I see it:
A game controller on the floor. And this really bothers me:
See? Not only are they on the floor, but there’s a disc missing. Where’d it go? Don’t you realize how expensive these games are? Of course not, you just ask for stuff and it magically appears, doesn’t it?
You get the idea. We need to take care of things. So when we decided to get a video game for our nephews for Christmas I wanted to make sure it arrived at there house in pristine condition. Except this game isn’t available new any more so I had to buy it used. I saw lots of scratches on the surface of this disc and, although it worked perfectly, decided to “clean it up” a bit. So I reached for my trusty bottle of acetone.
Let’s call this my second Public Service Announcement. Acetone destroys discs. I’ll assume this happens with CD’s and DVD’s too, but I haven’t tried that yet. If any one is willing to make a donation I’ll be glad to try it out on a Shrek the Third DVD.
Acetone Mark? Acetone? Not rubbing or drunking alcohol? Not methalated spirits? Sheesh….less we forget that women use acetone to remove month old nail polish….
A very little dishwashing liquid and water works well….use your bare hands under running water.
Acetone?
one word…skipdoctor
Every parent with small children who owns CD’s or DVD’s should most CERTAINLY invest in one.
I have to say, when I heard this story the first time, I had the same reaction as Lawrence. But, seeing that it was my rotten children that caused this debacle, didn’t feel free to express the same level of amazement. Glad I’m not the only one.
Come on, people, cut me some slack! It’s not like I’ve got an engineering degree or anything. no, wait…
Oh you have plenty of slack from me. It’s a common household problem, just as common as the grime in your shower. This why I DO own a skipdoctor. However, there is no cure for the ones that have been stepped on. They’re fun to watch cook in the microwave though! (Kids don’t try this at home…..)
OK, Shelly, so was the microwave thing your idea or thiers?
It was actually my husband’s!!!!!! :O
I felt as if my husband wrote this post, except for the alcohol. We’ve both given up on fixing the broken ones. It is no use!
Acetone????????????
Yes, acetone. And, I don’t even own nail polish! The acetone in question was bought as a general purpose solvent for cleaning marker scribbles off Jonny’s arms and legs.
Lemon Pledge really works. My one year old would find dvds and chew on them…yeah… But Pledge really works. And I use permanent marker on the label side for parts of the label that have been scratched off. It works on CDs that skip too.