1.) You can't change the past.
2.) You can't predict the future.
After being deluged with accounts of the Killings at Virginia Tech for merely a day, I'm already OVER IT!. TV, InterWeb, Radio, I can't frickin' get away from it. It's not the actual news that's bothering me, it's all the talking heads that are bloviating about it between the arrival of facts. The ones that have an agenda are trying to use this act as a means to their end. The ones that have no agenda are merely spewing inanities just to get on the radio or TV.
To all the armchair quarterbacks out there saying that "They should have done this or that, or should have done that or this better": The act is done. If you've got nothing constructive to add and are just trying to lay blame on anyone and everyone (however tangential), here's a factoid for you... You can't make these people not be dead (see #1 above) and even if you were there, you probably would have acted similarly (see #2 above).
To all the "We've got to DO SOMETHING!" folks out there: The act is done. Any rule or regulation that you add or omit will do nothing to make these people not be dead. (see #1 above) and whatever rule or regulation that you add or omit may or may not have any bearing on whether or not something like this will happen again (see #2 above).
To all the people who have been in the media who were on that 26,000 member campus and had no contact with the gunman or did nothing to assist the wounded: I hope you've enjoyed your fifteen minutes of fame... Was it worth it?
In my opinion, everyone just needs to calm down. For your soul, pray for the families and the wounded. For your heart, grieve for the lost. For your emotions, hold your family close and let them know you Love them. For your mind, think of ways that you could avoid being a victim in a similar situation. For your peace, turn off the damn TV and do one of the above.
Above all, remember items #1 and #2, as they are Facts that cannot be refuted, and pleasepleasePlease... Shut The Fuck Up and get on with your life. Thanks.
So, I've finally returned from the wilds of Virginia, and I'm looking forward to starting another job here in glorious Knox-Vegas. (Sleeping in my own Bed! Can you say WOOT!?) I'm working at a local High-School who is finally getting the elevator that they've been planning on since '02 or thereabouts. I thought that the principal was going to hug me when he saw the Company Logo on my shirt. I always Love it when the customer is stoked about getting a finished product.
When I arrived today, I removed the barricades from the hole, and found that the block masons had left one hell of a mess, and the contractor still needed to install a hoist beam for me. Ah well, I need to unload the equipment from the trailer anyway, so I'll just focus on that while the rest gets taken care of. No Biggie, as it were.
The building in question here, was constructed around 1969 or so, so the hoistway is an add-on to the side of the building. This wouldn't normally be any kind of big deal (and it really isn't with this one either) except for the strange architecture. There's a central area that has a stairwell, and three buildings that radiate out from it on right angles. All of these structures are two-stories, and are connected with a large roof-structure that creates a courtyard between them. My shaft sits underneath the courtyard roof, and is stubbed directly onto one of the side buildings. The challenge lies with how they cut out a ledge that runs along the upper section of the courtyard roof, and that it has been a pigeon roost for more years than anyone there can remember. Yes friends, not only is there sawdust, bricks, cinder blocks, steel chunks, and dust by the ton, I've got Pigeon Droppings in my elevator Hatch.
One of the guys from the shop had to bring me out a key to get into the storage trailer, and while he was there he asked me about the job. I advised him that things looked pretty-good "except for the Pigeon Crap." He quipped that he would have to get me an "MSDS" (Material Safety Data Sheet) for the Pigeon Dung that I could keep on the job. We all got a good chuckle over that one.
This evening, I was farting around on the old InterWebs, and decided to try a search for "Pigeon Droppings MSDS", and Lo and Behold I actually found one. I thought that working around asbestos was bad, but this "shit" could give me meningitis and frickin' Kill Me!
Sometimes folks, Ignorance really is bliss.