How to Plan a Vacation

Well, now it's my turn for vacation. Here's how I (a planner/scheduler in my past life) plan a vacation:

ID / PRIORITY: Need to plan 4 days worth of meals for a camping trip. Highly critical. Could even be a safety issue if not performed properly.

PLANNING: There are several things to consider. Buy-in from everyone involved in the trip is also very important. Not everyone likes Tofu. Make a note whether or not we will have electricity. This will impact what food is brought and how it is to be prepared. I account for each and every meal from day 1 until we return home. See my scratch sheet. For example, the first day we will leave home around noon, so breakfast and lunch will be eaten before we leave. This is a good day to use up any leftovers in the refrigerator that you aren't "planning" to take on the trip with you. I then continue to plan every other meal through the remainder of the trip. Depending on the mood, however, the "planned" meal may be prepared on a different day. Does this mean my schedule is now out of compliance? I guess so.

SCHEDULING: This takes time, too. We (my husband is an excellent resource) must pre-determine the right time to turn on the refrigerator in the camper. Based on this information, I set a date for doing the grocery shopping.

EXECUTE: Shop & Stock!! A little advise: Do NOT take any "helpers" to the grocery store or you WILL come home with excessive inventory!

GO CAMPING!

FOLLOW-UP: Results are based on my "happy-campers".
ANALYSIS: Review any gaps. If anything was missing add to SOP that will be used for the next camping trip!

"MEOW", says the Policeman

Have you heard this one? Thai police officers caught breaking rules for littering or arriving to work late (to name a few misdemeanors) are being forced to wear a "cute" little armband with a picture featuring Hello Kitty™ for an entire day. Apparently this is supposed to shame them so they will abide by the rules. Click here to view one of many articles featuring this story.

Have you ever been shamed by someone at work? A supervisor? Share your story on our Blog.

Hmmm, I wonder what Dave would make me wear if I came into work late?

Drag Racing Receives An Electric Shock!

Drag Racing Receives An Electric Shock!
It was just a matter of time before electric vehicles arrived on the scene of the motorsports industry. Check out the KillaCycle - The World's Quickest Electric Motorcycle. The current fastest quarter mile run is 8.168 seconds at 155.78 mph!

Unbelievable!

You see, the sparkies have known for a long time that electric motors can provide nearly full torque immediately from a standstill. Combustion engines cannot do that, and probably never will. So, even if you have a nitromethane fueled, 4000 horsepower V8 in your car, you can't compete with a comparable electric motor for acceleration. All that remains for the electric racers to do is find the best way to deliver the power to the ground. There are lots of records to beat, and most of them are still held by the conventional guys. This should be a fun thing to watch!

The weirdest thing about it is the eerie silence when these guys do a burnout. You have to see the video below to see what I mean.

See a video of the KillaCycle in action

Preventive vs Preventative

Last week, I got into a discussion with some maintenance professionals about the usage of two words: preventive and preventative.

Have you noticed that both words seem to be used interchangeably, with no obvious difference? It is common to see both forms of the word printed in documents, even in the SAME document. So, what is the right way to spell out PM? Do you know, or have a guess? Do you care?

We went round and round about the wording, and found some references that said it was OK to use either form. But, since then, we found this reference, which we like. Therefore, since this is our newsletter, it is the law. At least, inside of our pitiful little kingdom :). Check out the attitude on the definitive statement below:

from the Harper Dictionary of Contemporary Usage (1985) by William and Mary Morris

PREVENTIVE / PREVENTATIVE: 'Preventative' is not a correct word. The form does exist as a mistaken variant of 'preventive.' It is what linguists call 'an irregularly formed doublet' and should be avoided. It is listed in the 'Oxford English Dictionary' and some American dictionaries but 'preventive' is always given as the preferred form. The great English word expert H.W. Fowler remarked that "'preventative' is a needless lengthening of an established word, due to oversight or caprice." Perhaps Americans have fallen into the habit of using 'preventative' because of its similarity to 'representative,' but it represents a serious trend in American speech. The use of 'preventative' for 'preventive,' of 'filtrate' for 'filter,' of 'experimentalize' for 'experiment,' and of 'finalize' for 'end' seems to be a part of a trend toward the elimination of simple, precise words in favor of flowery, pretentious gobbledegook."

Wow! I think I know which word I will be using from now on.

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