"What's goin' on, boss?"
"Hey, what's up?"

The security guard walks toward me across the top deck of a local bank's parking garage. From the far corner, I should have a clear view of the last orange glow from the sun on this Saturday evening. The parking garage is the least restrictive high place in the area; there is a twenty story bank adjacent and a four story apartment complex behind. There is a sloping field to the northeast, which is where I was originally headed to take in the evening spectacle. But from the field, the bank, the apartments, and the parking garage blocked my view. So, I walked west until I found the exterior stairwell for the parking garage.

"Do you work at this facitlity?"
"Nope"
"Well, this is private property."
"OK"
"Sir, you're not allowed to be here."
"I'm just headin' over to that corner to see if it's a good place to watch the sunset."

I hold up the camping chairs in my hand as proof of my claim.

"Sir, this is private property. You're not allowed to be here in case something happens."
"Well, I won't hold you or anyone else responsible if something happens."
"Sir, I'm gonna have to ask you to leave."
"Really?"
"Sir..."

I turn and walk back down the stairs I just climbed. I normally sympathize with blue collar work; I would hate for my job to be to tell people that they're not allowed to be in a certain place. And his employers would probably tell him that he did his job well. But that's just the problem. Why in the world do we need psuedo-authority figures defending parking garages from sunset watchers? What kind of world is this?

Posted by nicomachus at 5:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Survey: M.B.A. students more likely to cheat
Preparing for the world of business
By Stacey Burling
Philadelphia Inquirer

When it comes to cheating in graduate school, a new study finds that M.B.A. students are the champs.

A survey of 5,331 students at 32 graduate schools in the United States and Canada found an "alarming" amount of cheating across disciplines, but more among the nation's future business leaders. Fifty-six percent of graduate business students admitted they had cheated at least once in the last year, compared with 47 percent of non-business students.

The students, who were surveyed between 2002 and 2004, told researchers from Pennsylvania State, Rutgers and Washington State Universities that the most important reason for cheating was that they thought that other students were doing it.

With "the business model" becoming the paradigm for running anything these days, from non-profit organizations to sports teams, is it any wonder that we're seeing a culture of questionable ethics infecting decision-making positions.

If profit becomes the bottom line, then you're asking for a race to the bottom.

Posted by nicomachus at 10:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Out for a ride this past weekend, my friend and I came across this...

Not sure what it is/was, I came home and did a little research. Words in relief were still legible on the front flap, despite decades of rust. All it says, however, is AB Farquhar York, PA. But that was enough for me to track down a photo of what this steel cylinder might have been years ago.

Posted by nicomachus at 9:34 AM | Permalink

why you should wear eye protection while chopping wood.

Posted by nicomachus at 7:23 PM | Permalink