One of the (few) perks of my job is that I get to attend crazy events from time to time - like the video below.
It's basically where we shoot a two-by-four at 100 miles per hour at two walls - each representing the two most common types of homes built - a siding clad home over a wood stud wall and a brick exterior over a wood stud wall.
For the third wall, a Poly Steel concrete form home, we shoot two-by-fours at 300 mph.
See the difference...
Another title to today's post could have been: How to get a day off work.
Apparently at sometime in the early a.m., the air-conditioning unit in our office's computer server/network room caught on fire.
Now, that's not a good thing, in any form. But the irony of it all was that the a/c unit was installed last year to prevent the numerous machines, servers and computers in the room from catching on fire.
So now the object employed to prevent fires, has itself caught on fire. Luckily, the office maintenance man came in early today and saw the smoke, called the fire department and kept the entire building from going up. The damage was contained to mainly one area - which unfortunately was right around the corner from my office.
All in all, the fire went on long enough to a.) pull all the smoke/soot into the main a/c unit for the building and send the charred smell and smoke throughout; b.) get smokey soot into all the servers (yet without burning/melting any of them) so that the entire "brains" of our entire network and system are being taken down and must be sent away for proper cleaning; and c.) make it pretty much impossible to work in the office.
So, I'm home doing what "work" I can without any of my files from the office and with no company e-mail. Fun. Photos below of what was left of the a/c unit. I didn't get any of the office or server room - sorry.
Once again, I apologize for the delay in this post, but I'm still catching up. But, I did want everyone to see my new office lamp courtesy of my in-laws.
Isn't it pretty? And of course, Sic'em bears.
So thanks to the never-ending fun of what is called Homearama (I like to think of it as Homeatrauma), my mind has been reduced to a mushy pile of goo.
Not that Homearama requires tons of thought, it just requires tons of time, energy and holding your tongue.
I really am amazed at the mind of the American public and what they think at times. Well, maybe a better to put it is what they're not thinking at times.
For instance, the concession stand at Homearama is housed in a giant tent. It's okay, but obviously a make-shift environment meant to only temporarily house this endeavor. But people will wait up to 20 minutes in line to get to the front and ask us if we're taking credit cards. First - why you'd be putting $20 of greasy carnival style food on your credit card is beyond me. But LOOK AROUND!!! We're in a tent for heavens sake. We have extension cords running everywhere just to get power enough to cook the food. We don't have dedicated lines for electricity - we won't have dedicated phone lines for a credit card machine. This isn't a 4-star restaurant people! Not to mention we didn't take that same credit card for the tickets into the event - we pointed you down the way to the ATM we had to pay someone to haul out to the site so you could still come in after not bring enough cash to get it.
And on that same concession stand thread... how about having in mind what you want to order after waiting 20+ minutes in the line. There are signs all around stating the menu. It's all in big bold lettering. And no, we don't carry whatever it is you're asking for that's not on the list. It's not there for a reason. We don't cook to cater and we didn't know 3 months ago you'd be here asking for some random item no one else wants to eat. Once again, that's why the menu's out. It's what we do have.
Next, how about not picking up every accessory an breakable thing in the house to look at. This isn't a petting zoo and it's not Wal-Mart. These items are brought in for decor, not for you to man-handle and then pocket. Those aren't freebies and they aren't souvenirs.
Also, try leaving things the way you see them. You have absolutely no reason to be moving the furniture and appliances. There is nothing behind that 300-pound freezer, sir. Just the water line for ice that you've now pulled out and caused to leak and now it's run down the wall and ruined the sheet rock and warped the floor. All so he could see this isn't a magically illusion. It's a real freezer that could freeze the real water in it if you'd just left it alone!
Common sense people! Wow. I mean, I don't think you go into your friends' homes pulling out their freezers and swiping their small accessories. I mean, I guess you could be, but they might not consider you friends for long. And before you tell me it's a home show -you're allowed to look. Yes, I'm well aware it's a home show. I know what went into making a home show and the level of work it takes to make this what it is for you to see. I know you paid money to come in and see it and look at everything. But your $10 entry fee isn't going to cover that $50 accessory you took and it's no where near the cost of the wall and flooring which will now have to be replaced. You paid to SEE the event, not steal and ruin hard work.
So, I'm climbing down off the soapbox once again and leaving you with a few comics to appreciate over the weekend. Just laugh long and loud and think of me - out working at Homearama.
