Small Business Ice Machine

My wife and daughter have a small cafe.  When purchased the ice machine worked.  After cleaning it stopped working.  Ice machines are actually pretty simple.  Water runs over a chilled panel in the 'F' (freeze) mode.  Once the ice is of a certain thickness you move into 'H' (harvest) mode and the ice is released into a hopper and on and on.  That first ice machine had a couple of adjustments.  As I recall it was 1)thickness of the ice and 2) F time.  For two days I fiddled with the adjustments, knowing that the control panel had been replaced since it did not match the wiring diagram.  Finally I looked closer and realized the two controls were reversed; everything I did for two days was opposite of what the indicators said.

That machine was replaced with a new Scotsman Ice Machine.  Scotsman once had 75% of the world market of ice machines and happened to be from my home town.  It's corporate legacy was the American Gas Machine company which became large from a natural gas regulator for space heaters that began to appear after WWII as homes switched from coal and fuel oil to natural gas.  They also created what was to become widely know, the Coleman Stove and Coleman Lantern.   AGM was purchased by Coleman and then I think they were purchased by King Seely Thermos.  AGM was owned by my cousin's husbands grandfather, one of those 'who cares?' facts.

My daughter cleaned the ice machine FRI afternoon.  Living closer, I checked to see if it was producing ice this morning.  There was an error code and to make a long story short there have been three trips and four or five disassembly and re-assembly cycles.  For a while it errored out when I put the cover back on...which of course covered the error code panel.  In the IT world my help desk staff would always go to the first question "have you re-booted your computer."  At this moment that seems odd that anyone would know what 're-boot' means.  Looking up bootstrap would be a good start.  Sometimes you'd have to do a warm boot (software only), other times a hard boot (power off).  The hard boot would clean out most of the cooties.  I try to do a hard boot every night for about seven hours.  Finally I pulled the plug on the ice machine and started over.  There have been five successful 'harvests' of ice.  Once more should be occurring in six minutes.  At that point I'm headed off for other labor on my Labor Day weekend.

In retrospect much of this falls into the 'who cares?' category.

Sunday Update

As of 9 AM everything was great with lots of ice.  As of 6 PM it errorred out again.  Now it's time for an expert.

Legacy; seminar du jour & Sloan Valves

Mid-week Retrospective...

Tuesday was a major event day.  I'm still a bit haunted by the "walk toward the light" comment from my physician.  It seems that Wednesday was a logical following to Tuesday and Thursday seems logical, too.  Either I've died and being dead is just like living or the whole "...light" thing is one more urban myth.

Legacy Seminar...

A seminar at the outplacement firm carried a title about "Create You Own Legacy."   "How do you want to be remembered?"  LHH knows a lot about people in transition (I think).  There have been a lot of conversations, web sessions, etc. about making changes, picking new opportunities, buying into a franchise (yuck), retiring and just giving up.  One of my recent blog posts contained my observation that no one really cares about your past work.  Your children and grandchildren likely will have some good memories, but of course they have to.  I've always thought that doing some good work and being a decent person was enough legacy in and of itself.  Quite of few of my former charges indicated that I was the best manager that they ever had.  If that's true they haven't moved around enough but it does make me feel like I did good work there.

The #1 provider of online obituaries is www.legacy.com .  I found the seminar title a bit haunting.  One of the presenters did use the idea of writing your own obituary as part of the exercise.  In 1974 or 1975 I did do that as part of a class at the University of Minnesota.  As a student and having been a student for a long time there was a notion of a University or Washington AV bridge demise.

Around seventeen people attended the seminar.  Three or four were LHH consultants.  All were quite candid in their introductions of their concern for their own legacy.  Two focused on family and their work at LHH.  The head of the office and one of the seminar leaders spoke of broader legacies and more in terms of the work they wished to do rather than how they would like to be remembered.  Several attendees referenced grandchildren (I guess they skipped children).  These people all were in some sort of job transition and the departure from a corporate entity led to a perspective of not wishing to be part of that any more.  There was a comment something like "do you want to be part of a corporation or do you want to be a real person?"

Corporate jobs always end.  Your legacy, the public work, your real creations may last a bit longer.  There are a few legacy issues from my twenties that I wish would whither and die.

Can one have a corporate legacy as an employee and is it rewarding?  Yes, but at an age and stage it's all a bit shallow.  Some of the LHH consultants were seeing that for themselves.  

The leaders had a few slides and handouts with ideas for creating a legacy which included writing a blog, writing a book, volunteering, starting a business, etc.

Everyone had a small introduction and comments.  Always trying to be humorous I commented that I thought my legacy work was already behind me and that going forward I just wished to do things for me, do things I enjoy.  The intro also included a plug for the blog.

People seemed together but searching.  A younger woman had trouble expressing her desire to be a public speaker.  A guy gave a general, vague introduction but later asked on one really needed to have a legacy.  LHH blasts you with the need for networking, a marketing statement, a resume, ides, etc. and I think he thought this to be one more step in the LHH process.  I thought he might be a displaced Amish person.

My goal for the session had little to do with my own legacy.  I wanted to see two presenters in action.  This is another venue to make an income.  My better half regularly comments that we carry a lot of valuable information on many topics, have and are business owners, and probably have a wealth of information that we simply need to package and get someone to buy.  One of the leaders was a former government planner and now helped individuals do small strategic plans for their legacy projects.  The standard engagement was one day with the end product a one to two page plan following the the standard corporate format (vision, mission, goals, objectives, tasks, etc., etc.).  Being remiss I did not ask the fee structure.  Let's assume that it was $500-1000/day.

My notion of 'legacy' was more abstract than what the seminar described, but I'm always a bit more abstract.

Sloan Valves...

Three trips (900+ miles each) were made between the Twin Cities and Chicago to deal with a faulty Sloan Valve commode. When flushed the water would run without end.  Over the course of the three trips there were four or five plumber visits.  I don't think we appreciate indoor plumbing as much as we should.

You've all seen the Sloan Valve in commercial buildings.  They are water efficient and provide a tank-free solution.  I'm assuming that we don't use them in homes either because they are expensive or we appreciate the beauty of a toilet tank.  It's an interesting company and I'd take a quick look.  There first product, the Royal Flushometer was introduced in 1906 and was not well received in the marketplace.  You can still get parts for it.

While giving the new tenant an orientation I explained the water shutoff  procedure should the water keep running.  It's simple.  Turn a big screw on half a turn.  I left a screwdriver.  Then I explained that I'd left a bucket should there be a need to turn off the water.  The look I received made it clear that she thought I was telling her to defecate and urinate in the bucket.  Realizing that after the "what?" look I explained how to fill the bucket with water from the tub and then to pour it in the commode. 

Event #2

I'm waiting for my son at the Hubert H. Humphrey terminal.  He is leaving for a convention in Washington DC and then returning to Denmark via Iceland.  In 1969 I was returning from Ft. Lewis, Washington (as a soldier) with a planeload of young men who had just had their orders changed to Viet Nam.  Halfway back to MSP then-senator Humphrey stood up in first class, walked through the plane and shook the hand of each of those soldiers.  It's one of those Viet Nam things I think of, wondering how many on that plane came home in a body bag not long after shaking Senator Humphrey's hand.  Hubert Humphrey had a great memory for names, remembering just about everyone.  It's possible, watching the evening news in that time that he turned to Muriel, stating solemnly, "I know that young man."

During my son's time at Northwestern each trip was a parking challenge or at least a bit parking stressful.  Coincidentally Northwestern's color was purple and today I ended up on the purple level.  My son is a political science professor.  He was fortunate to meet Senator George McGovern, presidential candidate and Viet Nam objector, also a Northwestern political science graduate.

This is one of those days that is clearly being woven together by a remote operator.

I also forgot to mention that in Event #1 of the day, my doctor asked me, shortly before advising me to walk to the light, what I really want to do, what I really enjoy.  It seems that I must be living with a sign on my back these days.

Event #2 & #3...Tuesday

The haircut was fine.   My barber is young and hip and updated me on Comic-Con 2014.

Lunch with my former boss was fine.  For 3/4 of the 27 years we had a supervisor/peer/friendship relationship.  Now we're just friends.  That translates into no negative stuff and probably even caring a bit about each other.

Crave was fine.  They have very nice salads.

First Event of the Eventful Day

Over the course of 63 years I've gone through a lot of dentists.  One was murdered, one became a crazy homophobic, another went to trial as a key player in a big shoplifting ring, another really had hands too large to be a dentist and another was simply personally unpleasant.  Those experiences have not carried over to physicians where I've always been more or less pleased.  My current physician is a a 49 year old woman with a great sense of humor who is helping me manage a couple of things and being supportive to the effort of becoming a bit more healthy.

My visit today was fine.  It started off well with a discussion of how the Irish change phrasing when swearing.  I recommended a Robin Williams routine on how difficult it is to understand the Irish.  Now, after the

appointment, I find that the routine I thought to be about the Irish is really about the Scottish.  It's still funny.

We went though the health issue of the day and reviewed my recent annual lab results, which like much of my accomplishments, are unremarkable.  Finally I'd exhausted more than my appointed time and I thought all was well until her departing comment "walk toward the light."

I'm obsessed with the thought and likely dialogue later today.  "What did you do today?"  "I went to the Doctor.  I had hoped she'd say 'no more monkeys jumping on the bed' but instead it was 'walk toward the light."  Does this mean my monkey days are done?

In a few minutes I'm headed off to my third haircut (fourth?) in eleven months.  Given the doctor experience my barber (a twenty something young woman) will probably tell me I have head lice or some sort of scalp issue.

As I left home this morning I grabbed a "good" laptop.  For some reason I think one might do "better work" on an expensive, feature rich PC.  Once in the car I thought about the sequence of commitments today and

ran back in the house and grabbed the $219 Samsung Chromebook as a backup.  The doctor appointment and the haircut were separated by ninety minutes and it seemed reasonable to get an iced tea and steal some wireless connectivity.   The "good" laptop needed a charge and no outlet was to be found.  Leaving my tea on the table I ran out to the car and grabbed the Chromebook.  We used to go out for coffee to talk with friends.  Now I leave with two PC's and an iPhone and obsess about connectivity and hotspots.  As I look about this coffee and bagel place I wonder how many of these individuals, all alone, all occupying a four person booth or table left their home with two PC's and a smartphone.  I know not all of them are writing thoughtful blog posts and planning changes to their life...or just killing time until their haircut appointment.  Maybe they are sitting alone because they have head lice.

What is one's legacy...

TUE=Busy Day

This is a weird week near the end the end of month eleven in the "no dumb job journey."  Tuesday I have several commitments; 1) visit my doctor who makes me feel good about irreversible aging and provides encouragement and hope for everything else 2) my third haircut in eleven months with the best barber I've ever had (and that's another story) 3) lunch with my boss of 25 of the 27-year gig 4) meeting my son at the airport for an hour or so before he leaves for Denmark via Washington D.C. and Iceland.  It's possible that there will be a "5," a rooftop beverage at Crave with former co-workers.

Such a schedule.  The downside and the good side is that it keeps me away from the small business which has been growing each week.

THU=Legacy Day

I'm attending a seminar given by my LHH outplacement consultant who is in the process of writing a book, which any of us would like to do.  We just can't seem to get it done and neither can he.  Recently I found a five-day session at the Madeline Island Artist School taught by a woman who has published 13 books.  She has a formula.  I've missed the last session of this year but will attend next summer whether I am working or not.  The other person teaching the seminar focuses on what one wishes to leave as a legacy.  In some ways this sounds like "ok, you are done working, you'll probably run out of money, so what do you want people to remember about you?"  I guess that would be other than your family.  Our family has shrunk to a handful.  I have seven cousins left who I talk to at funerals.  The aunts,  uncles and parents are all gone.  Our two children certainly will miss us but I think they'll be too busy dealing with our life debris to be concerned about what others consider a noteworthy legacy.  On the positive side there is at least another 18-20 years to be productive, perhaps a few more.  There is time.  It's not my goal to be remembered by the 27-year gig but by the creative work that began last Oct 1.

I've learned a lot from books and seminars but I have read a few too many and attended a few (or more) too many in search of key information, looking for that person or approach that will answer all the questions, dot all the "i's" etc.  It's not there.

Squirrels & Mission Statements

A red squirrel chewed up the wiring in all three cars which has cost about $2500 to diagnose and repair.  My friendly, never-helpful insurance company says I have a $1000 deductible per vehicle.  I argued that it was one squirrel and they've insured all my property and cars for more than twenty years.  They suck.

Over the years I've spent countless hours in meetings arguing about content and phrasing and interpretations

of mission statements.  There were many discussions, too, of vision statements versus mission statements and just to make sure we have this in the legacy knowledge base the vision statement is about where you want to be and the mission statement describes how you will get there.  As well as I understand all that stuff and as much as I've participated and facilitated there are times I don't care.  Friday I picked up one of the squirrel-damaged cars, paid the $1300 bill and drove about half a mile before the "engine" light came on and it noticeably started running on four of it's six cylinders.   I don't think any mission statement or vision statement that I've been involved in or read has resulted in me feeling better or getting better service or giving better service.

Work Residual

We look at the exterior of a building and describe it's character and often it's attractiveness or lack thereof.  Cleaning garage usually starts at the door.  Usually we don't look at the supporting structures of the building and we rarely get to the back corners of the garage.  We start where we should be finishing.

Eleven months has gone by quickly and slowly.  Regretfully I've not put my hands or eyes in all the recesses and dark corners that I had wished.  This morning I started at the darkest corner which happens to be the electronic collections of my life (computer).  That was overwhelming so I had a Coke and decided to work on the debris surrounding one of many of the household's workstations.

When I left my 27-year gig I brought home four or five boxes.  Most of that has been recycled.  What I have remaining fits in a legal sized expanding folder, primarily documents from before my move to almost exclusively electronic storage.  The work ranges primarily from 1986 to 2001 with a few documents later, and nothing after the great recession of 2008-2009.  There is no reason to keep this.

One of my favorite dark films is About Schmidt.  Jack Nicholson plays an
insurance actuary in Omaha who is retiring or being forced out.  His legacy, in his mind, is an actuarial forecasting model for one of the company's insurance products.  During a later visit he finds it next to the dumpster.  Interestingly, I believe it was about four or five boxes.  Hopefully in the imagined world surrounding this movie he has one remaining legal sized expanding folder.