new point of view

"I cried because I had no door until I met a man who had no cubicle."- Dilbert (The Joy of Work)

A week and a half ago everyone in my portion of the office moved from one side to the other as part of a move to reduce the physical size of our office. The only problem was that a few things on the new side of the office were not complete, including the planned recarpet of the office that I was supposed to move into.

I was able to work out of an empty makeshift cubicle for a week, and completely move into my new office on Friday. I had been given the option of being in a cubicle near the people on my team or in this interior office, so it is partially my fault that I had to be in limbo for a while.

I am currently torn as to whether my current situation is better or worse than before. The bad part about my move is that the view from my desk is not nearly what it was before (see pictures below) and my office was so in demand before that it was previously used for storage. After a day in my office, though, I am not feeling cut off from anyone else because people visit on the way to and from the bathroom, and there is something indescribably enjoyable about being in a semi-private closed-in workspace.

View From Previous Cubicle:

View From Current Office:

Even if there are drawbacks, I have definitely worked in a lot worse locations. Plus, I should not complain if I have my very own door.

word

I witnessed two incidents involving people not knowing the definitions to specific words this week.

Bobcat
I got my hair cut on Tuesday at a barber shop where three or four barbers work. Usually when I get my hair cut I am good for about five to ten minutes of conversation, then I and the barber give up on trying to push the small talk any further. During this time, I can hear some of the other conversations going on around me.

Some guy behind me was telling his barber about how a Bobcat at work had been stolen because it was left in an unlocked container a few years ago. A year or two later the company purchased another Bobcat and when it went in for maintenance yet another year later, they found out that they had purchased back the exact Bobcat that had been stolen.

The barber sounded confused about some elements of the story, then made reference to owning a wild animal. Apparently, he had never heard of a Bobcat skid loader before.

Hubris
I have mentioned before that a few of the guys at work keep up with a "Word of the Day" daily calendar. It helps increase our vocabulary, but more importantly it provides common topics of discussion and debate.

One that we tore off the calendar yesterday is "hubris." I have come across this word often, which I assume means that it shows up in journalism quite a bit, because that is what most of my recent reading has been. Since I have read the word so frequently as of late, I made the statement that this is one of those words that everyone knows, but it sounds like a word that no one knows. I was challenged on the idea that almost everyone knew the meaning to the word, and a quick poll around the office showed that only four out of eleven people could recall the definition without any context clues. A couple of people said they could get it if the question was multiple choice. One of the four voluntarily provided the etymology.

Without looking the word up, do you know what it means? I will provide a definition later if someone hasn't already provided it.

pinko

Last week we had an incident with a red shirt and several of my formerly white articles of clothing in the washing machine. Not only did some of my socks turn pink, I also had some shirts take on a pinkish hue. The only reason I know, of course, is that other people happily told me. Due to my colorblindness, I didn't notice at all.

All my life I have known that blue is a boy's color and pink is a girl's color. Boys can't like pink, though girls can like blue. To parade around in something pink or to even own something pink was to somehow reduce your manhood. I never determined why this was the case. I just knew it was.

I know that little has changed since I was a kid because when I discussed this at work I found that few guys would be willing to wear a large amount of pink clothing in public. Obviously, some people still associate the color with something other than masculinity.

Truth be told, while I don't have any special fondness for the color pink, I don't understand why the color is so quickly identified as feminine. I think the only real problem I have with pink is that I psychologically associate the color with Pepto-Bismol, so it reminds me of all the times I have had nausea, heartburn, indigestion, upset stomach, or diarrhea. That has nothing to do with pink being a girly color, though. The only reason I would think that men should avoid the color is that I have been told that all my life. I wouldn't come to that conclusion on my own.

It is possible that my colorblindness dulls my perception of pink, and thus changes my opinion of it. For example, Here is a before and after picture of a pink heart run through a protanopia (the type of colorblindness I have) simulator. Notice how the after picture is much more masculine than the before picture.

Before Colorblindness Simulator:

After Colorblindness Simulator:

Okay, so I'm kidding. Below are the real before and after pictures.

Before Colorblindness Simulator:

After Colorblindness Simulator:

I am left with the impression that either my colorblindness causes me to not see the inherent femininity in the color pink, or that the main reason people see pink as feminine is because they have been taught to see it that way. There is no way I'll be able to figure which is the case by myself, though, since I really can't even see the color.

el presidente

Usually during the presidential election cycle I pay some attention to news about the different candidates. This is partially due to the fact that I am interested in what the politicians at least claim they want to do. This is more due to the fact that presidential politics dominates the news for this period of time.

It is currently June 2007. When I stop and think about it, I cannot even recall when people started officially campaigning to be president. I know that there was news about the campaign before the congressional elections last November, but let's say for our purposes that official campaigning started in March. This would make the official campaigning period twenty months long. It would also mean that 41.7% of the time there is an official presidential campaign occurring. I can't even imagine what it is like to have to deal with political advertisements and attention for nearly two-year intervals in states like Iowa or New Hampshire. I don't know about anyone else, but I think that is just a bit of overkill.

At the current time, there are just short of twenty people jockying for the major party nominations. It is expected that a few campaigns will give up in the next couple of months, well more than a year before the actual presidential election. The campaign season is actually long enough for candidates to go through the process of establishing an official campaign, attempting to get people to want to vote for them, failing, and still have more than a year to spare.

Even though the election is well over a year away, both parties have already had at least three debates. Three. Think about that. We are not even close to a primary yet and there have already been three debates. A person could probably make a pretty good living just being a lifetime presidential candidate just due to the amount of time he or she can devote to the "job."

So, I think I'll start my exploratory committee to determine whether I want to run in 2016. I'm sure I am not the first. I just need to get in before twenty other people decide they are going to gun for a major party nomination.

wipe

Some of the guys in my office have been ordering food out a lot lately. I have had to resist joining the crowd because eating out is considered one of the biggest budget busters in existance. I did go in for a sub from Jimmy John's a week ago, though.

The napkins that come with a Jimmy John's sub remind customers to wipe after eating. While I found these instructions pertinent, I also determined that the instructions can be just as pertinent in other situations.

The pictures below are a little blurry, but the long and short of it is that I placed the "Wipe" napkin on the inside of one of the bathroom stalls at work in case anyone needed a reminder.

host, meal thyself

My parents are in town for a few days to see NJ, so Tuesday night Golden and I headed to the grocery store to pick up food for during their stay. This is probably the most intimidating thing for me about having people over to the house.

I am not a good meal planner as is. It is a good thing that Golden generally handles this, because she is much better than me at doing the planning. When my family comes, though, I feel like I should be helping, because I should have picked up on what my family would want to eat at some point in the first eighteen years of my life. I know that there is probably not much expectation, but I do feel like I have some responsibility to at least provide ideas.

Last night, like always, I had plenty of moments where I couldn't remember for the life of me whether my parents liked a certain type of food drink. It was like I hadn't been paying attention at the dinner table my entire life.

Don't let this make you think I am an attentive or even a good host. My role is generally to sit in the living room and be available for conversation. Golden really does all the work. I just provide the nervous energy.

psychology of money

A few weeks ago I was in a conversation with someone who had experience in finance, so the topic of discussion went that direction. I admitted that we tend to pay in more taxes than are owed every year so that we have gotten refunds in the last few years rather than having to pay. I was then informed of something I already knew. This is not a good way to manage money. We are essentially giving the government an interest-free loan when we overpay.

I have mentioned before that I am very interested in personal finance. I think that how a person manages his or her money says a lot about him or her. I don't know that a lot of people who dole out financial advice truly understand that.

The first two full years that Golden and I were married I did not really take the time to properly fill out my W-4 form. Because of this mistake, we ended up owing a significant amount of money to the government at the end of the year. Because of this, I am willing to give the government the loan for the peace of mind that I will not owe the government when April fifteenth rolls around. Mathematically, it makes sense to dramatically reduce my withholdings. Psychologically, it is not worth the stress.

I think this is probably why a lot of people don't have good financial habits. The strategies that people attempt to follow don't fully take into account the psychological fortitude necessary to implement them. This is something like going on a crash diet. There is no point in drawing up an ambitious budget if it is not realistic over the long term.

One of the biggest financial psychological hurdles I have faced is knowing how much to set aside for retirement. Any time I read on saving for retirement or use one of those retirement calculators (curse those things) I walk away with the opinion that I need to be saving more than a normal person can realistically save. I believe this is more due to fear mongering than to whatever my financial situation happens to be. I think most people would think the same way. I think that these sources are trying to scare people into saving more than they will need, but I think it can serve the opposite effect. I can imagine how this information would make some people not even bother to try saving. Without the fear mongering, I would bet that more people would actually be saving for retirement.

So, I think that one of the rules for determining who can provide personal financial advice should be whether that person sees finance as simply numbers, or if that person understands that how people treat money is an outgrowth of their personal set of virtues and vices. You don't give most people good financial habits by telling them they should save or they will go bankrupt. You give people good financial habits by playing to their specific personalities.

For a relatively simplistic view of what I am talking about, I did find one columnist who addresses how different types of people can establish good habits. It is a little cheesy, but at least it acknowledges that there is more to money than math.

system collapse

This weekend I finished the upstairs repaint job that we started three months ago. Well, almost finished. There is a little touch-up work that needs done yet.

Since it was in the way, I removed the thermostat from the wall and figured we would just survive without air conditioning for an hour or two. I put the thermostat back on the wall the first chance I had, but the house didn't cool down. I found out later that the fan was powered on, but the air conditioner was not. This was due to a wire coming loose when I removed the thermostat. It took an emergency visit from our HVAC guy to diagnose and fix the issue Sunday morning.

Since this happened on one of the hottest days of the year it gave me some time to think about how tied I am to today's technology. There was a time not too long ago that people just tolerated hot weather because they had no choice. It did not matter if the weather made the eleven-month-old cranky, there was nothing that could be done.

When I hear this topic discussed, it almost always goes down the path of how people today could not handle life fifty, one hundred, five hundred, or one thousand years ago. When current technology fails we cannot handle the results, goes the argument, so this means we could not handle living in a world where the technology never existed. Since I know this, I started to wonder how true this perception really is.

How much of my reliance on technology is because I have grown soft from years of living in a world of microprocessors, grocery stores, television, and combustion engines? How much of my reliance on technology is selective because of the world in which I live?

As an example of why I rely on different types of technology, I think I rely on air conditioning because I am spoiled. I think I rely on a car for transportation for reasons other than being spoiled. I could not survive in today's world traveling by some other mode of transportation, such as a horse, so I have not learned how to care for and skillfully utilize a horse. Also, if I lived in an age without cars, I would not work or attend church more than a mile or two from where I live. I believe that losing air conditioning causes me to live like people in the past more than losing automotive transportation.

The question of the day, therefore, is how much of our reliance on modern technology is due to us being spoiled, and how much is out of necessity? I say we are necessarily spoiled.

handwriting on the chair

This is just something that I do when I'm sitting in the recliner and bo(red).

Step #1:

Step #2:

Step #3:

more contrived dialogue

A while ago I created a list of implausible discussions that were meant to be viewed as simple sketches. It actually got a much better response than I expected, so I decided to create a second list. Unfortunately, it takes a little time to come up with the ideas and the conversations, so this second list was a little late in coming.

Without further adieu, here's list two.

The other brother Darryl from Newhart, a Mime, R2D2, and Woodstock
Darryl:
Mime:
R2D2: *whistle* *click* *beep* *beep* *whistle*
Woodstock:'''''''''
Darryl:
Woodstock:'''
Mime:
R2D2: *beep*
Darryl:

Scrooge and Jesus
Scrooge: "I am here to meet with the Ghost of Christmas Past."
Jesus: "That's me. The 'ghost' part is just marketing, though."

A Homeless Man and Donald Trump
Homeless Man: "I was going to use my panhandling money for a sandwich, but it looks like you need it more. I know this guy who used to work as a barber and he usually hangs out under the bridge over there around this time of day..."

Young George Washington and his dad
George's Dad: "Did you cut down that cherry tree?"
George: "I cannot tell a lie."
George's Dad: "So, is that a yes or no?"
George:
R2D2: *Whistle*

The "Orchestra Conductor Bandit" and a bank teller
Bandit: "This is a stick up!"
Teller (fifteen seconds later): *sigh*

Hank Hill and a French soldier
Hank: "Would you like to buy some clean and consistent burning propane and some propane accessories?"
French Soldier: "No. I already have propane."
French Soldier (whispering to a friend): "Ha, ha, I told him I already have propane!"
Hank: "Doggone it, then why are you in a propane st—oh, never mind. Hey, are you from Tulsa by any chance?"
French Soldier: "No, I'm French. Why do you think I have this outrrrrageous accent?"
Hank: "That's why I thought you were from Tulsa."

Dirty Harry and Charlie Brown
Dirty Harry: "You've got to ask yourself a question, 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya, punk?!"
Charlie Brown: "That has to be the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me."

Young John Dillinger and a career counselor
John: "I'd like to get into a career where I can take as much money as I want from others and they can't do anything about it."
Career Counselor: "Well, the IRS is always hiring."
John: "I don't really want to get into government work. Do you have anything else?"
Career Counselor: "You could become a lawyer."
John: "I thought of that too. It won't work for me, though, because that requires a lot of work. Also, I would like to find a way to integrate my love of firearms into my job."
Career Counselor: "The firearms thing eliminates automotive repair, working for a cable provider, and being a wedding planner almost everywhere outside the Appalachians. I really don't think there is much left. It looks like you're going to have to be a little less picky. Outside a life of crime, you just aren't going to get what you want."

Sigmund Freud and his wife
Sigmund's Wife: "Honey, can you go to the store an pick up some milk?"
Sigmund: "Yes, slave master—I mean sweetheart."
Sigmund's Wife: "What did you just say?"
Sigmund: "Don't worry about it. I just made a me slip."

Winston Churchill and a typical American Idol contestant
Churchill: "Never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense."
American Idol Contestant: "That's why I am going to devote my life to becoming a professional singer even though I was just told I have no talent. Take that, Simon."
Churchill: "Did you not hear me say anything about good sense?"

Robert Goddard and a technical support person
Tech Support: "Right click on the icon"
Goddard: "It just highlights the icon. Nothing else happens."
Tech Support: "You're left clicking. I need you to right click."
Goddard: "This is so frustrating."
Tech Support: "It shouldn't be. It's not rocket science."
Goddard: "You don't understand. I wish it was rocket science. That's why it's frustrating."

some clarifications

I thought I would clear up a few things from some previous posts here, since I have had several in the last month where I may have not given a complete or clear enough description of what I was thinking.

Merger
I kind of wanted to say more, but this is one of those situations where I haven't completely thought through how this all should work. I don't know that either of the systems I speculated about is perfect, but I am surprised at the certainty with which people defend their preferred driving style.

What Do You Want?
I am genuinely constantly open to both good and bad feedback about the site and what can make it better. Really. If something occurs to you, don't hesitate to let me know.

Medicine Head
I had a few questions about why I hid the words in this post. The point of the hidden text was to illustrate how I couldn't think after taking the Benadryl. I couldn't even process words. In this case, I wanted my audience to have trouble processing the words as well.

Buhhh Dee
I did not emphasize that the key isn't necessarily the words, but how they are said. This is kind of like when a bilingual person who is still learning English is in a conversation. Since a lack of English skills and any apparent lack of confidence can provide a subconscious cue that this person is not intelligent, I have seen people talk to others who lacked English skills like they were children. I don't think it was on purpose, though.

Under Construction
The main problem with the parking lot construction was that the work was timed almost exactly at the same time as people were leaving. It didn't impact me, so it wasn't really a complaint on my part. It just seemed improperly scheduled.

Fractured Fairy Tales
I probably dwelt on appearance too much. I was questioned whether this had anything to do with appearance issues growing up. Sure, I didn't like being among the smallest kids my age, but it was not that big of a deal (pun intended). I do not remember ever feeling ugly, so this is probably not something I am incredibly sensitive about. If anything, I am now probably overconfident about my looks.

Whether kids make value judgments based on attractiveness was questioned as well. In my cursory searching I didn't find any study that focused on kids, but I found a lot that tested adults. Some of what I found is nicely summarized by this article by Dr. Judith Langlois at the University of Texas at Austin.

Finally, I actually think The Pied Piper from Hamelin has a good message. I just thought my one observation on it could add a little humor to the piece.

the time sink

A while back Golden was reading about how to be efficient with time. The recommendation was to avoid "time sinks," which are things that take a lot of time but don't accomplish much of anything. For example, watching a TV show every day at a time when you can be doing something more productive makes that TV show a time sink in your schedule.

I understand why a person should avoid time sink activities, but almost everything I like doing is a time sink. One of the things that I value the most is when I have the privilege of establishing the specific time sinks for my schedule. My weekend movies spring to mind as my biggest time sink, though at other times my time sinks have been video games or books.

Lately, I have been noticing that another time sink has appeared in our schedules. It is amazing how easily NJ can make three evening hours just disappear. I don't do half of what Golden does with NJ, yet he still has this impact on me. The impact has to be even more dramatic on Golden.

This is not a complaint, but rather an observation. I have been thinking lately about how frequently I ask myself how it is already 9 or 10 PM when I have hardly done anything yet.

I am thinking that if I can get NJ interested in a time sink activity of his own, maybe he won't require as much time and effort to entertain. I wonder how old he needs to be before he can maintain his own blog.

future predictions

Last night I watch Escape from New York. The movie is from 1981 and its premise is that in seven years (1988 for the mathmatically challenged) crime would get bad enough that Manhattan Island would be blockaded off and turned into a prison for serious criminal offenders. In 1997 Air Force One crashes in the city and a criminal is sent into the city to rescue the President.

The actual movie bordered on outright stupidity, but I found one thing very entertaining about the movie. It tried to predict the future, and very innacurately so. I think it is a lot of fun to watch old movies that try to predict a future that is now past. It is also fun to watch new movies that try to predict what the future will be like.

Typically, a futuristic movie feels often obligated to take a somewhat politically charaged cautionary tone. If humans aren't careful the world will be dominated by a police state. The world will be on the brink of annihilation from something like nuclear fallout, pollution, or technology that has turned on humans. Mankind will have advanced technology that looks almost identical to the technology of the time when the movie was made.

I am actually surprised in the number of movies that are structured to take place within twenty years of the movie's release. Unless the movie gets some stuff right the movie will probably lose some of its timeless appeal. Movies like Soylent Green and The Running Man are not entertaining to me because they forecast an actual future, but because they were so predictably wrong about what the future would be like.

I know the purpose of futuristic stories is not accuracy, but to present a possible extreme and entertaining worst-case scenario. That doesn't mean it is not fun to tear those movies apart when they get things wrong.

performance and composition

I took piano lessons for several years. I played around with the guitar for a while as well. It has been so long since I seriously played that I don't think I could just pick up either instrument and play. In retrospect, I think that I would have been more successful in sticking with music had I focused on writing music more than playing it. I didn't realize that at the time, though.

I have played in several recitals and church functions and I have accrued a number of horror stories of performances only a mother could love. Sometimes the problem is nerves. I don't know that is all it is, though. I don't think I care enough about people hearing me play to put the necessary effort into perfecting my performance.

I always figured it would be helpful to know an instrument for things like church or entertainment, but I didn't really count on the fact that I am not a performer. I don't really know why, but I do a lot better creating things than performing them. I am a horrible actor and a subpar singer, but I wouldn't mind writing a story or a song.

I think this attitude influences my opinions about entertainment, specifically the movies I like. I don't usually notice it when an actor or actress has a spectacular performance. I do sometimes notice if an actor is exceedingly bad, but not always. I almost always notice the storylines that I think are well-written and the ones that are poorly written.

When movie awards are handed out, I usually don't have a strong opinion about who should get best actor or actress. In fact it seems a waste of time to me. I do care about things like the best screenplay. I (probably wrongly) think that actors are a dime a dozen, but a good story is difficult to find.

I know that I am probably just rationalizing why the people who are more like me are better than people who are not like me. What else is new? Everybody does it. At least I composed a post about it.

window shopping

Often someone will ask my opinion about a technical purchase. It probably makes sense to ask me. I do have something of a clue about what to look for, just probably not as much as some people suppose. This is because I don't like to window shop.

I long ago determined that if I was not going to be purchasing something specific in the near future that it did more harm than good learning all the details about that product. So, if I am not going to buy a sports car in the near future, it is best that I don't spend much time reading about sports cars. If I am not going to be going on a cruise in the near future, I should not read up on cruises. If I don't expect to purchase a ham sandwich in the near—oh, you get it.

All of this means that I generally only read up on stuff like computers, digital cameras, game systems, and so forth every few years. Before I make the purchase I usually read up on what I am planning to buy, but if it has been a while since I made the purchase I will probably know very little about the information requested. The information I have may technically be accurate, but it is probably a little obsolete. My knowledge about features and pricing will be solidly stuck back at the last time I had to make a similar purchase.

I am not telling people not to trust my opinions. I am just saying that even doctors often require a second opinion. It's your money.

fractured fairy tales

I decided to brush up on some fairy tales since NJ is not too far away from hearing bedtime stories. A lot of the stories have good lessons that are applicable to life. Some are questionable, though.

I have included some of the least complicated and most questionable stories below with what I think they teach the audience. I am actually somewhat serious about this. I do not particularly like the lessons from a lot of fairy tales.

Cinderella

A beautiful woman is forced into slave labor by her stepmother and her ugly stepsisters are given preferential treatment. All the women want to land the rich and handsome, yet somehow not spoiled, prince. Cinderella gets the prince's attention through a series of magical steps, but must leave at midnight. He finds her shoe and is then able to track her down because no other woman's foot in the entire kingdom fits in the shoe.

What we learn from Cinderella:

• Beautiful women are selfless and ugly woman are self-centered.
• Men who are born into immense money and power and who have good looks are by default good-natured and looking for a monogamous relationship.
• Fairy godmothers' magic requires that there are serious strings attached.
• If your life is rotten, getting married to someone rich and attractive turns things around.

The Frog Prince

A beautiful princess finds a frog who makes a deal to find her golden ball if she will befriend him. She welshes on the deal, so the frog stalks her. When her father finds out about the deal he forces her to eat with the frog. Eventually, the frog sleeps on the princess' pillow and he returns to his rightful form as a prince. They marry and live happily ever after.

What we learn from The Frog Prince:

• No matter what a guy is like, he can be changed.
• It is best to wait until someone gets attractive before committing to a serious relationship.
• Doing a good deed negates any evil deeds you may have done.
• A prince and princess who barely know each other are good candidates for marriage.

The Gingerbread Man

A man and wife live in a cabin where she makes a gingerbread man. He comes to life, realizes his predicament, and flees. At this time he is chased by the couple, a pig, a cow, and a horse who all want to eat him. He reaches a river and cannot cross without help. A fox offers to help and uses the gingerbread man's trusting nature as an opportunity to eat him.

What we learn from The Gingerbread Man:

• If you are made out of gingerbread, give up. You're screwed.

Hansel and Gretal

Hansel and Gretal's mom convince their dad to dump them off in the middle of the forest to reduce the grocery bill. The kids then find a gingerbread house inhabited by a witch who imprisons them with the intent of eating them. Gretal tricks the witch into climbing into her own oven, which allows the kids to escape. They eventually find their way back home where they learn that their mom died. They live happily ever after with their dad.

What we learn from Hansel and Gretal:

• Witches who live in gingerbread houses would rather cook and eat kids than eat gingerbread.
• Witches have IQs that rank them somewhere between tapioca pudding and an intelligent head of lettuce.
• A dad who leaves his kids in a forest because his wife told him to deserves a second chance.

The Pied Piper of Hamelin

A piper is hired to rid the town of rats. He plays his pipe and leads the rats out of town and into a river where they drown. When the townspeople decide not to pay the piper he plays his pipe and leads the town's children out of town, and they are never seen again.

What we learn from The Pied Piper of Hamelin:

• If you are going to stick it to your pest control guy, invest in earplugs at the very least.

The Princess and the Pea

A queen decides that she should find a real princess to marry her son. To prove that the woman she found is a princess, she places a pea under twenty-something mattresses and has the candidate sleep on top. The woman is proved a princess because the lump the pea creates in her mattress keeps her up all night.

What we learn from The Princess and the Pea:

• Princesses are the ultimate divas.
• Even a princess will do anything to marry a prince.
• Don't let your mom develop the criteria for how to find a spouse.

The Ugly Duckling

A mother duck notices that one of the birds who hatched from her eggs is different from the rest. She tries to accept him, but no one else does. He is harassed and decides to leave. After a rough winter where he almost dies, he finds that he is accepted by a group of swans. Only later does he realize that he is a swan.

What we learn from The Ugly Duckling:

• Kicking the ugly duckling out of the family will ultimately lead him to discovering his true self.
• Only people who look like each other can accept each other (passive segregation).
• The class you are born into is your class for life.

under construction

This past week I noticed two instances of poor planning in construction around the office.

First, on Thursday as I pulled into the office I noticed some machinery in the parking lot that I assumed was there to reseal part of the parking lot. Fortunately, the area where I usually park was not where everything was set up.

Not much happened in the morning that I could see, but throughout the afternoon I watched as workers drilled trenches into areas of the parking lot for some purpose that I could not deduce. About 3:30 I realized that an entire section of the parking lot was blocked in by the trenches. They were not so deep that people could not drive over them, but they had some black substance in them that looked like a thin layer of tar and they were still not real shallow. Around 4:45 PM the workers filled in the trench with asphalt and people were driving over it within five minutes.

I borrowed a camera phone from a coworker to snap the picture below when it was about 4:30.
Second, throughout the week there has been construction in my office, as new offices are being built and all the walls are getting painted. On either Wednesday or Thursday I headed to the kitchen to grab a grape juice and microwave my lunch. When I got to the kitchen I found that everything in the room had been moved to the center of the room and that someone had just started painting the room. Fortunately, somebody else had already plugged the microwave into an outlet in the hallway, so I was able to heat my lunch outside the kitchen. I found out later that the guy painting that room had literally started half an hour to an hour before lunch. Maybe it was considered a minor enough inconvenience that it wouldn't be a big deal, but I think it would be better to start a job like that after lunch.

What do I know, though? I just work there.