Danger of Thinking

Many months ago I was visiting my older brother and he was showing off the just installed wood fired pizza oven (the big white mass on top of the black stand). My first thought as a designer was that this would never survive an earthquake. Of course I offered my structural analysis and suggested several ways to fix the problem. After several consultations (pro bono) it was decided to add diagonal bracing (the red oxide square tubes) to three side. My brother asked me to send him the information to order the tube. Since I am the family welder, I was tasked with welding the braces in place. At this point “scope creep” started to appear. Now I was in charge of measuring and cutting the steel tube (which melted the plastic insert on my brother’s chop saw which at one point it was on fire). I was also given a grinder to smooth out the welds on the inside and then handed a can of primer. At this point I “discovered” it was too windy to complete the painting of the stand. This project kept me entertained for several hours with my welder while Maggie watched the ground squirrels in the open field next door. Now I’m waiting for the pizza dinner…