Why does it always seem there's never enough time to do it right in the first place, but infinite time to do it over? --ff
So, I was looking over a printout of my past MOT diaries, looking for inspiration for something to write about, and there at #36 was “No Free Parking: A Good Idea. No Parking even better.” And that gave me an idea.
Morning Open Thread is a daily, copyrighted post from a host of editors and guest writers. We support our community, invite and share ideas, and encourage thoughtful, respectful dialogue in an open forum.
This is a post where you can come to share what’s on your mind and stay for the expansion. The diarist is on California time and gets to take a nap when he needs to, or may just wander off and show up again later. So you know, it's a feature, not a bug.
Grab your supportive indulgence(s) of choice and join us, please. And if you’re brand new to Morning Open Thread, then Hail and Well Met, new Friend.
MOT readers familiar with me probably know my hate affair with America’s love affair with the automobile. But if you’re not familiar with me in this regard, please don’t get me wrong. I don’t hate automobiles, I just despise our over-dependence on them and our needless overuse of them. I have little respect for anyone who will, for instance, jump in their car and drive two blocks to run a single errand, like going to the post office to pick up the mail, when the weather is perfectly fair and that person is perfectly capable of walking or bicycling, and time is not a factor.
But this diary is not about rehashing my views on that. This diary is about engineering fails, some serious, some humorous.
And yeah, yeah, I’m going to kick it off with cars, but this still illustrates how engineers can sure get it wrong even when the principle seems sound.
Several of the fails in this video are redundant (like stairs to nowhere), but some are hilarious.
One more is enough. Hope you get a chuckle. It’s pretty long, so maybe watch a little, take a break, come back. I’ll be around for a few hours at least.
Oh. And my title? True. My first gas station job. I had just turned old enough in high school to get an after-school work permit. The owner of the station lived next door. He’d come and check in on me at least a couple of times each evening. Didn’t matter if I had all my duties done (I mean, really, how many times can you dust the same shelves over and over?), if he walked in and I was just sitting down taking a minute-break, he’d say “Prince! Do something, even if it’s wrong.”
Heh heh. If he had known at the time that I would end up doing HVAC* engineering work he might have thought twice before saying that to me.
“Happy now, boss?”
*Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning
Comments are closed on this story.