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February 18, 2008
Hide in Plain Sight
I work for, quite possibly, the best company in America; and I don't say that just because some of my coworkers read the blog (in their spare time, away from work and only after satisfying their significant others in the way a significant other yearns to be satisfied.).
[Before I go any further I'd like to point out that my coworkers are one of the reasons the place I work is the best place in America to work (and the good feeling is so strong it actually bleeds into Canada and Mexico just a bit); surprisingly, as good, kind, friendly, and superiorly smart as they are, they bring me very few homemade oatmeal and raisin cookies.]
Anyway, the company I work is located in an area that is surrounded other similarly-sized businesses. I'm not sure what the other businesses do, but if they're like us it's probably some sort of light manufacturing. The point is, we're not in a residential area and there's very little around us. I'm guessing that after 5 p.m., with the exception of the stragglers, most of the street is empty of people. Traffic, after close of business is very light; I often ride my bike by work in the evening and rarely see anything moving.
The other day we received a code violation. One of the city's code enforcement people drove by and noticed our sign had a spotlight on it that was still lit. Our sign is a very nice-looking brick the metal thing that is at ground level; the spotlight is in the ground as well and aimed at the sign. In all my years of coming to work I've never approached the building and had the spotlight bleed around the sign and into my eyes as I was driving. I would have noticed and said something.
Anyway, per city code, signs may not be lighted before 7 a.m. and the light has to be off within 30 minutes of the close of business. What this says is that on most days we can have our sign lighted when the sun is up. There will be that little bit of time, right around mid-December when it gets dark early, that the light will be helpful, but mostly we'd just be wasting electricity.
Of course, it's easy to argue that having our sign lit at all is a waste of electricity. Aside from looking nice at night, I don't imagine it really serves much of a purpose.
But that is not the point. The point is that the city has a person driving around, before 7 a.m., taking pictures of lighted signs in industrial-park areas.
And this person has consistently missed the guys building the mulit-unit apartment/office thing across the street from me. They wake me up most mornings at 7 a.m. backing something up (that makes a beeping), or pounding on something, or talking about the blow jobs they got last night (I made that last one up, but this was getting sort of ranty). They're not supposed to start, per the city, until 7:30 a.m.
I honestly don't care, much (Saturdays trouble me), about the construction, or the fact they start early as I'm normally up at 7 anyway.
But. But what? It just seems odd that our sign gets dinged and it is so incredibly unobtrusive. I know the thought is that the light may distract drivers or interfere with traffic lights (it was spelled out in our notice). And I accept the fact that the rules can't be selectively enforced — if you don't cite us how can you feel good about citing someone who's sign is actually in a position to create a hazard. Of course, if we bring "selective enforcement" into the equation you have to wonder about the building that's going on across the street from me.
[In all honesty, I don't care about the light on our sign. I've already said I don't care (much) about the construction (I wish they'd hurry the hell up). And I love the little city I live in. It's just that when we got the code violation I was filled with such a "You've got to be shitting me" that I had to blog about it.]
This is where I work. (Surrounded my nothing and light industrial.)
This is where I live. (You'll notice "Main" right before street.)
This is your brain on drugs… any questions?
Posted by delmer at February 18, 2008 8:31 AM
Comments
If you search the archives of the local paper, I'm sure that you will find that the city recently cited some really obnoxious lighted sign on some local business that caused 200 people to complain. Said business owner made a stink and so the city goes out and cites everyone that is violating the code. Your 2% city income tax at work making the city safe for darkness.
Posted by: Icy Mt. at February 19, 2008 9:30 AM
2 fried eggs are often a reference to something else, you know.
Posted by: Lady P at February 19, 2008 10:54 AM
I wonder if my brain's fried or something, because the last picture didn't make any sens at all. ;)
Posted by: Susie at February 19, 2008 5:23 PM
IcyMt: I wondered if there wasn't an unhappy business owner involved somewhere ... thinking back to our dumpsters.
Lady P: Fried eggs?
Susie: Years and years ago we used to have a commercial where a guy would show an egg and say, "This is your brain."
He'd then crack the egg and dump it into a frying pan and say, "This is your brain on drugs. Any questions?"
The picture/caption I used is a vague reference, even for Americans ... but I couldn't help myself.
Posted by: delmer at February 20, 2008 3:03 PM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9OGpiB7Zpo
Posted by: Greeneyezz at February 20, 2008 9:03 PM