lol happens to me too, I always keep mine real low and turn it up when I do something w/ sound, so then half the time I forget I turned it up until something makes a racket at me!

I usually have mine muted. Habit from when everyone's home page had audio attached. Good habit to keep now that every other home page has a flash commercial.

haha that's what the StopAutoplay extension is for!!

I've got a flash blocker installed. Mute is just a habit.