Smart and Skinny

“Write that down, Kaye. Puthoff called me both “skinny” and “smart” in the same week.”
- Wes Goubeaux

 

Geez, the compliments are flying around here.

Since Jeff Puthoff told Wes he was skinny and smart, might as well throw in that he had a lot of hair. In 1994.

Truth be told, it’s nice to hear a compliment from time to time. You know, like “Nice green shirt, Tony.” And, “Thanks, Brian, you have a nice green shirt on, too!” A genuine compliment is a little way to trigger a smile, make ourselves better by being thoughtful, or simply brighten someone’s day. And when you have to deal with 20 nerdy engineers every day, a day-brightener is definitely needed.

In closing, we could offer everyone a few kinds words to make your day a little better, but we figure that by having the photo above to chuckle at, there’s no compliment needed.

Keep You A-- in Line

 

 

Well, we do probably fit the roles of sheep or donkeys more than wise men or angels...

As the the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays approach, the focus often shifts to turkey eating, tree decorating, and cookie eating. (Steve and Brian Barhorst keep the office so cold it's worth putting on some "winter insulation" weight around here. At least that's our excuse...) If Choice One Engineering was making out a Christmas list, it might include "daily lunch buffet," "tunnel from parking lot across the street into building during cold/rainy weather," and, of course, "a nap room."

Despite this brilliant, reasonable list, it's important to remember the true meaning of the holiday season. For this reason we encourage everyone to share and volunteer time, talent, or treasure to make someone else's holiday brighter, whether that be by playing the role of a donkey or by just not being an a--, er... donkey.

Comfort Zone

"Geez, if Ross wants to stop working here, he doesn’t need to eat suicide wings. He could just quit.”
- Brittany Clinehens

Ross, Eric, and Jeff North were out in Indiana surveying for a new project a few weeks back. The crew stopped for dinner at The Grill n’ Grate BBQ in Syracuse, and Ross chose to order the “Suicide Wings”. Evident by his runny nose and teary eyes, the wings were, in fact, very hot. We believe he survived the ordeal (he’s been spotted in the office since), although the teary eyes probably aren’t from the heat, but from pain and suffering instead. Talk about an intensive co-op experience...

Trying dangerous foods isn’t everyone’s idea of a good time, but getting out of our comfort zones isn’t always a bad thing. Trying something new or unknown can help us find different ways of doing things or help us learn something new. If nothing else, in this example, Ross has learned to beware of any food with "suicide" in the title.

Should the survey crew get back to the Syracuse area in the near future, let's hope Ryan Francis goes along. With Ryan's help, Ross will surely find more ways to expand his comfort zone by learning all kinds of new things.