Did you follow Dilbert in the early days? I used to look at that cartoon strip every day and wondered how Scott Adams had gained access to our work-group? Did he have an informant, was it Mel, maybe Stan? What I found out later is he worked in a technical environment in the Phone Company just like I was doing at the time. He witnessed the same irrational stuff my work group experienced. Why make it up when you are surrounded by real life examples of insanity?
A joke?
The following may be another example of Dilbert ideas; you can’t make up stuff like this. Unlike the Author of Dilbert, you may be able to use the Freedom of Information Act and actually name the real characters in the story. Scott Adams had to do his best to keep his job or he’d have no new material to write about I’m sure his Boss enjoyed the comic strip less than we did.
Looking for an Idea that might generate a lot of traffic to your WEBsite? How about a collection of ideas like the following with a hand picked example added everyday? You would inform the public about what our Tax dollars are being used for and as far as I know this idea could qualify you for an educational grant too!
So sit back watch this video and then read on, there’s two ways for YOU to make some serious money.
Have you ever studied the efforts and research done to develop a paint that would stay on the road for any length of time? They spend millions to study and develop a better paint and then place test strips to see if it is both visible after dark and durable enough to last a few years, just keeping the centerline painted (where people seldom drive) is a huge expense. Ever study the damage studded tires do to a road in one season? Ever see the windshield damage people get every year driving over mountain passes and on snow covered roads where salt and sand are applied? They are lucky to go two seasons on the same windshield. Now imagine a glass roadway and its ability to hold up to the elements, cleats, chains, aggressive treads that trap all kinds of material that are considered hard on the Rockwell scale… they act as a serious and aggressive grinding compound to any roadway, and would turn glass into wind blown sand overnight.
But that’s just the beginning of concerns many transportation engineers would raise. I think the key to limiting grants to the more rational studies is to make the public aware of who approved the funding. This information needs to be available via the web and citizens should know exactly who was involved in approving their tax dollars be spent in such a way.
Of course I am a little envious; I could have created Dilbert, (or at least I had the same material to work with). I could have applied for this grant and turned out the same work, but many of us could and that’s what makes the story. Think how much fun it would be to have spent all that money playing around. Think of the expenses you might charge, maybe even a trip to Spain with your friends to study an acient Roman built roadway. You know that Dogbert would have done exactly that.
In exchange for lifting one of Scott Adam’s gems, perhaps I should suggest you visit his blog? Do remember to hit the back arrow and return.
All the best,
George B.