July 08, 2009
I was in the lab yesterday fairly early in the morning. It was early enough that the commute was a breeze, which was nice! I started rebuilding a machine for testing. A couple of hours later, with glazed-over eyes, we rolled it into the chamber, and tested it. It looked quite good, and I breathed a sigh of relief. I've got a couple of projects where the communication protocols are giving me a lot of difficulty in controlling the emissions. Confused? Good. Join the club. We have t-shirts.
Well, after a moderate success, I moved on to working on the other problem project. We were not making any progress. The data was confusing. I was frustrated, and my stomach was getting in a knot. Normally, I get in a zone at work, especially in the lab, and I skip eating. It takes too much time, and distracts me. Damned distractions. I need to be a solar creature. I can go pace in the sun for a while and think, and absorb the energy. However, I don't want to have a green tint... Anyway, I decided to run get something to eat. It was only 10:30 in the morning, but I had been up and at 'em for a long time.
My first thought was to go find something healthy. I punched the GPS for local food, and decided it was going to take too long. I was willing to accept the grease in a bun from Jack in the Box because it was close. I scooted down to Jack in the Crack, and found a parking space right in front of the door. Within two minutes, my order was being grilled and I was patiently waiting to receive it. I looked towards the end of the restaurant and saw a kid of about fifteen bouncing around outside, literally. From that angle, I couldn't see my beautiful car. I dismissed it, the kid came in, went to the bathroom, and started talking in Spanish to a lady behind the counter. She was either his mother, or he worked there.
My food was ready, and I happily ventured out of the restaurant with my grilled chicken and Coke in hand. I took two steps out of the store, and came to a stop. I haven't washed my car in a couple of months, and it had developed a thin layer of dust. Undisturbed, it was not too bad, but now? On the hood of my car was the obvious imprint of a butt. On either side were swipes in the dust from hands. Someone had freakin' sat on my hood, leaned back, and wiped their hands on my car. I was ticked. I am 85% sure that it was that kid. Aside from the employee that I saw earlier out there, and the mother and two kids I saw leave, he was the only one out there. I turned and considered going in to confront him, but decided he would deny it, and the establishment would argue in his defense. In frustration, I drove away.
Please, people, teach your kids to respect other people's property. Teach respect. I'm not saying I was always great when I was a kid. I did some things when I was kid for which I am not proud. I confess that I still laugh. Getting into the Volkswagon minibus and moving it two blocks down cracked me up. It hurt no one, and the person got up the next morning wondering how the vehicle ended up there. Probably wondered exactly how many joints had been smoked the previous night. My crowning moment was when my friends and I unscrewed all the light bulbs at the local electric co-op. We broke NOTHING. The place was lit up like a Christmas tree, and I found it ironic that an electric co-op would burn that much power. Without exaggeration there were three times as many lights on this small building as were necessary for security. The lights obviously did not provide security given that five of my friends and I were able to climb all over the place and unscrew them. I know I have written about this before, but I still find it hysterical. We turned that place to darkness, and ran away laughing. I felt a tiny bit guilty that it was reported in the newspaper that vandals had broken all the lights. I felt guilty only because I had underestimated the intelligence of the people working at the electric co-op. Honestly, who takes out a light bulb without looking at the filament to see if it is broken or not, screwing it back in, and checking to see if it works. I guess it was easier to replace them and push the cost to the co-op members, which is my second feeling of guilt. I never intended for anyone to have to pay for that. Not my style.
Yes, I made some mistakes, and it certainly wasn't because my parents didn't teach me respect. I guess I pushed it further than I should have. I never would have sat on a car that was not my own. I am probably just digging a big hole here. I'd better stop...
I hope the dust doesn't come off his pants...
TEACH!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well, after a moderate success, I moved on to working on the other problem project. We were not making any progress. The data was confusing. I was frustrated, and my stomach was getting in a knot. Normally, I get in a zone at work, especially in the lab, and I skip eating. It takes too much time, and distracts me. Damned distractions. I need to be a solar creature. I can go pace in the sun for a while and think, and absorb the energy. However, I don't want to have a green tint... Anyway, I decided to run get something to eat. It was only 10:30 in the morning, but I had been up and at 'em for a long time.
My first thought was to go find something healthy. I punched the GPS for local food, and decided it was going to take too long. I was willing to accept the grease in a bun from Jack in the Box because it was close. I scooted down to Jack in the Crack, and found a parking space right in front of the door. Within two minutes, my order was being grilled and I was patiently waiting to receive it. I looked towards the end of the restaurant and saw a kid of about fifteen bouncing around outside, literally. From that angle, I couldn't see my beautiful car. I dismissed it, the kid came in, went to the bathroom, and started talking in Spanish to a lady behind the counter. She was either his mother, or he worked there.
My food was ready, and I happily ventured out of the restaurant with my grilled chicken and Coke in hand. I took two steps out of the store, and came to a stop. I haven't washed my car in a couple of months, and it had developed a thin layer of dust. Undisturbed, it was not too bad, but now? On the hood of my car was the obvious imprint of a butt. On either side were swipes in the dust from hands. Someone had freakin' sat on my hood, leaned back, and wiped their hands on my car. I was ticked. I am 85% sure that it was that kid. Aside from the employee that I saw earlier out there, and the mother and two kids I saw leave, he was the only one out there. I turned and considered going in to confront him, but decided he would deny it, and the establishment would argue in his defense. In frustration, I drove away.
Please, people, teach your kids to respect other people's property. Teach respect. I'm not saying I was always great when I was a kid. I did some things when I was kid for which I am not proud. I confess that I still laugh. Getting into the Volkswagon minibus and moving it two blocks down cracked me up. It hurt no one, and the person got up the next morning wondering how the vehicle ended up there. Probably wondered exactly how many joints had been smoked the previous night. My crowning moment was when my friends and I unscrewed all the light bulbs at the local electric co-op. We broke NOTHING. The place was lit up like a Christmas tree, and I found it ironic that an electric co-op would burn that much power. Without exaggeration there were three times as many lights on this small building as were necessary for security. The lights obviously did not provide security given that five of my friends and I were able to climb all over the place and unscrew them. I know I have written about this before, but I still find it hysterical. We turned that place to darkness, and ran away laughing. I felt a tiny bit guilty that it was reported in the newspaper that vandals had broken all the lights. I felt guilty only because I had underestimated the intelligence of the people working at the electric co-op. Honestly, who takes out a light bulb without looking at the filament to see if it is broken or not, screwing it back in, and checking to see if it works. I guess it was easier to replace them and push the cost to the co-op members, which is my second feeling of guilt. I never intended for anyone to have to pay for that. Not my style.
Yes, I made some mistakes, and it certainly wasn't because my parents didn't teach me respect. I guess I pushed it further than I should have. I never would have sat on a car that was not my own. I am probably just digging a big hole here. I'd better stop...
I hope the dust doesn't come off his pants...
TEACH!!!!!!!!!!!!