Photo by Tahmid Munaz �

My company started a green initiative related to electricity usage.  They’ve installed modules that make the electric system in our building “smart”.  Now, different zones can be turned off from a central location to save electricity.  This benefits both the company, which frugally cuts its utility bill, and the planet, as less fossil fuels are burned due to the decreased usage.  It’s a win-win.  Hooray!

The planet breathes a sigh of relief

Since the upgrade, the building lights get turned on at a certain time of the morning.  People who get in before the lights get turned on must rely on their desk  lights for illumination.  This part doesn’t affect me, as I’m not a morning person.  The lights are burning for a couple of hours before I set foot in the building.

Who turned out the lights?

But a new phenomenon occurred yesterday: the lights were turned down during lunch.  While this doesn’t sound like a big deal, I use my lunch break for paying bills, reading other blogs, or brainstorming articles for this blog.  I could barely see my keyboard, and for a lousy typist, this is a problem.  many other people thought this was a bad idea also.  One guy taped a flashlight to a hardhat, and walked around.  That was good for a few laughs.  Maybe they should have issued one of these to everyone:

Grin and bear it

One of the directors came by during the improvised headlamp joke, and remarked that it was indeed dark in our area.  But he didn’t say anything about changing the policy, so I guess it’s lunch in the dark.  I wonder if they’ll continue this during the winter.  That would be pretty bleak.

Don’t like it?  Go get some fresh air!

At least the lights came back on after lunch.  I wasn’t worried;  I always have a small flashlight as part of  my every day carry.  But another thought occurred, actually a quote from Office Space:

“Human beings were not meant to sit in little cubicles staring at computer screens all day, filling out useless forms and listening to eight different bosses drone on about about mission statements.”

Maybe I should take Peter Gibbons’ advice and get out of the building into the sunshine.  I can save my blog writing for the nighttime.

Thank you, Facilities Department, for making this post possible.

Follow the adventures of the Corporate Barbarian as he ventures out into the daylight: Subscribe

 Print This Post

• Self-Reliance Series #2: An Office Survival Kit Photo by  96dpi This is Part 2 of my self-reliance series.  I talked about my Personal Survival Kit in Part 1.  This post will not address the best anti-virus software, how to overclock your computer, or how to climb the corporate ladder.  I like to be able to take......
• Self-Reliance Series #1: A Personal Survival Kit (PSK) Tied in with my interest in frugality is my interest in protecting my loved ones and myself.  I became interested in emergency preparedness about seven years ago when I stumbled upon the Equipped to Survive forum.  I learned many valuable tips about survival and preparedness, stuff that I had never......
• "Save to Win" Boosts the Savings Rate for Idiots? jaqian A recent Wall Street Journal article revealed that our country's savings rate may be lower than the accepted 6.9%.  A person who has studied the savings rate for years has adjusted for the stimulus package, and has arrived at a much lower number: Charles Biderman of TrimTabs Investment......

• Do One Thing: Stop Watering The Sidewalk. The sidewalks around here sure do get a lot of watering during the day. Not sure what these people are trying to grow, but maybe concrete DOES multiply if you give it enough water! If you are watering your lawn using sprinklers, please be sure to calibrate them correctly so......
• Michigan’s Edison Sault Electric Company Offers Fluorescent High Bay Lighting Rebates High bay lighting has proven results of reduced energy consumption for commercial facilities. This type of energy efficient lighting is mostly seen in buildings, such as gymnasiums and schools. These commercial structures require highly efficient lighting to render quality output that is long lasting. Lighting efficiency measures help non-residential consumers......
• Green Home Improvement Tips The green home improvement movement is very strong these days.  It seems that no matter which direction you look, you’ll find some new article being written about it.  Some of the articles are written by people that are very gung-ho about ecologically friendly home improvement.  There is nothing wrong with......