http://www.selfstoragetalk.com/ Forum for non-self-storage discussions relating to government, religion, politics, economics, philosophy and other volatile topics. Please obey all forum rules. Disclaimer: The opinions here do not reflect those of the owners or advertisers and neither assume any responsibility or liability for content. en Fri, 24 May 2013 17:20:04 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.selfstoragetalk.com/images/styles/RoyalFlush/misc/rss.png http://www.selfstoragetalk.com/ http://www.selfstoragetalk.com/outside-industry/7831-oklahoma.html Tue, 21 May 2013 16:55:39 GMT Prayers for all the folks affected by the storms and tornados in the Midwest, particularly in Oklahoma. Prayers for all the folks affected by the storms and tornados in the Midwest, particularly in Oklahoma. ]]> Outside the Industry Mel Holsinger http://www.selfstoragetalk.com/outside-industry/7831-oklahoma.html http://www.selfstoragetalk.com/outside-industry/7822-white-sox-vs-cubs.html Fri, 17 May 2013 01:40:45 GMT Who has the best fans? Vote for your team for your chance to win a pair of tickets to White Sox vs Cubs on May 27, 2013 at 6:10 pm at U.S. Cellular Field. White Sox vs. Cubs (http://www.storage-mart.com/blog/contests-giveaways/white-sox-cubs-fan-rivalry-sweetpstakes/) Who has the best fans? Vote for your team for your chance to win a pair of tickets to White Sox vs Cubs on
May 27, 2013 at 6:10 pm at U.S. Cellular Field.

White Sox vs. Cubs ]]> Outside the Industry Satyra From PhoneSmart http://www.selfstoragetalk.com/outside-industry/7822-white-sox-vs-cubs.html http://www.selfstoragetalk.com/outside-industry/7812-space-oddity-history-made-space.html Wed, 15 May 2013 00:38:40 GMT As you all know I'm a bit of a 'Space' nut both the 10x10 type and the one high above your head!

The Canadian Commander of the International Space Station who returned to earth yesterday posted up this great video on Sunday and I thought it was worth a share.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?featur...&v=KaOC9danxNo

Enjoy! ]]> Outside the Industry Madman http://www.selfstoragetalk.com/outside-industry/7812-space-oddity-history-made-space.html http://www.selfstoragetalk.com/outside-industry/7801-mothers-day-gift-idea.html Sun, 12 May 2013 00:03:02 GMT Pocket Tazer Stun Gun, a great gift for the wife.

A guy who purchased his lovely wife a pocket Tazer for his anniversary submitted this:

Last weekend I saw something at Larry's Pistol & Pawn Shop that sparked my interest. The occasion was our 15th anniversary and I was looking for a little something extra for my wife Julie. What I came across was a 100,000-volt, pocket/purse-sized Tazer.

The effects of the Tazer were supposed to be short lived, with no long term adverse affect on your assailant, allowing her adequate time to retreat to safety...??

WAY TOO COOL! Long story short, I bought the device and brought it home... I loaded two AAA batteries in the darn thing and pushed the button. Nothing! I was disappointed. I learned, however, that if I pushed the button and pressed it against a metal surface at the same time, I'd get the blue arc of electricity darting back and forth between the prongs.

AWESOME!!! Unfortunately, I have yet to explain to Julie what that burn spot is on the face of her microwave.

Okay, so I was home alone with this new toy, thinking to myself that it couldn't be all that bad with only two AAA batteries, right?

There I sat in my recliner, my cat Gracie looking on intently (trusting little soul) while I was reading the directions and thinking that I really needed to try this thing out on a flesh & blood moving target.

I must admit I thought about zapping Gracie (for a fraction of a second) and then thought better of it. She is such a sweet cat. But, if I was going to give this thing to my wife to protect herself against a mugger, I did want some assurance that it would work as advertised.

Am I wrong?

So, there I sat in a pair of shorts and a tank top with my reading glasses perched delicately on the bridge of my nose, directions in one hand, and Tazer in another.

The directions said that:

a one-second burst would shock and disorient your assailant;

a two-second burst was supposed to cause muscle spasms and a major loss of bodily control; and

a three-second burst would purportedly make your assailant flop on the ground like a fish out of water.

Any burst longer than three seconds would be wasting the batteries.

All the while I'm looking at this little device measuring about 5" long, less than 3/4 inch in circumference (loaded with two itsy, bitsy AAA batteries); pretty cute really, and thinking to myself, 'no possible way!'

What happened next is almost beyond description, but I'll do my best.

I'm sitting there alone, Gracie looking on with her head cocked to one side so as to say, 'Don't do it stupid,' reasoning that a one second burst from such a tiny lil ole thing couldn't hurt all that bad.. I decided to give myself a one second burst just for heck of it.

I touched the prongs to my naked thigh, pushed the button, and...

HOLY MOTHER OF GOD. WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION. WHAT THE... !!!

I'm pretty sure Hulk Hogan ran in through the side door, picked me up in the recliner, then body slammed us both on the carpet, over and over and over again. I vaguely recall waking up on my side in the fetal position, with tears in my eyes, body soaking wet, both nipples on fire, testicles nowhere to be found, with my left arm tucked under my body in the oddest position, and tingling in my legs! The cat was making meowing sounds I had never heard before, clinging to a picture frame hanging above the fireplace, obviously in an attempt to avoid getting slammed by my body flopping all over the living room.

Note:
If you ever feel compelled to 'mug' yourself with a Tazer,
one note of caution:

There is NO such thing as a one second burst when you zap yourself! You will not let go of that thing until it is dislodged from your hand by a violent thrashing about on the floor!
A three second burst would be considered conservative!

A minute or so later (I can't be sure, as time was a relative thing at that point), I collected my wits (what little I had left), sat up and surveyed the landscape.

My bent reading glasses were on the mantel of the fireplace.
· The recliner was upside down and about 8 feet or so from where it originally was.
· My triceps, right thigh and both nipples were still twitching..
· My face felt like it had been shot up with Novocain, and my bottom lip weighed 88 lbs.
· I had no control over the drooling.
· Apparently I had crapped in my shorts, but was too numb to know for sure, and my sense of smell was gone.
· I saw a faint smoke cloud above my head, which I believe came from my hair.
I'm still looking for my testicles and I'm offering a significant reward for their safe return!

PS: My wife can't stop laughing about my experience, loved the gift and now regularly threatens me with it!

If you think education is difficult, try being stupid!!!! ]]> Outside the Industry Storman http://www.selfstoragetalk.com/outside-industry/7801-mothers-day-gift-idea.html http://www.selfstoragetalk.com/outside-industry/7796-howdy-everybody-telematics-world.html Thu, 09 May 2013 16:14:30 GMT It's been awhile! A bit over a year I think...

Since my last stint as a self storage manager, I went back (sort of) to a technical job. However, skills translate from job to job, and in some cases from sector to sector. The sales end of managing a Self Storage place came into play with my current job. I started off as a "retention" agent, working on a phone bank (for incoming calls only) to be one of the schmucks that tries to talk people out of cancelling a service. I survived about 8 months of that (sales goals and everything!) before being selected to move to our internal support. I'm quite happy!

I word in a field known as Telematics. That name isn't popular yet, but you know one of the bigger/older forms of this as OnStar. This is the technology inside a vehicle that does everything from automatically notifying our center if your vehicle has been in a collision, to the ability to hit a button and get directions, send a text message by talking, all kinds of stuff.

Over the last year or two this kind of thing has really taken off, and I predict that in about 5 years time, you won't be able to buy a new car without this kind of service being available in it.

Anyway, just recently got an email from a thread I had been involved with, thought I'd pop in and say howdy! I hope everyone is doing well! ]]> Outside the Industry LLLVIS http://www.selfstoragetalk.com/outside-industry/7796-howdy-everybody-telematics-world.html