In reply to SVreX:
So you think if code enforcement 100% wasn't there then somehow buildings would be just as safe as they are now? Refer back to my comment to Tuna. That simply is not true. And I say this as someone that has to deal with inspectors and the inflated fragile egos they have and the overcharging our city loves to do for permits. No the system is not perfect but without it we would be significantly less safe.
curtis73 wrote: In a not-so good mood one day, I sauntered into a Starbucks. There was one family sitting at a table with drinks and no one in line. I walked up to the counter (not around the coffee display) The Barista told me I had to go around.
When I go through a fast food drive through, I play a little game: I'll say, "give me a hamburger, fries and a medium Coke, and that's it", to which they always reply, "do you want anything else?"
I know it's part of their procedure and they have to ask, but you'd think that just one time they'd hear the end of my sentence.
stuart in mn wrote:curtis73 wrote: In a not-so good mood one day, I sauntered into a Starbucks. There was one family sitting at a table with drinks and no one in line. I walked up to the counter (not around the coffee display) The Barista told me I had to go around.When I go through a fast food drive through, I play a little game: I'll say, "give me a hamburger, fries and a medium Coke, and that's it", to which they always reply, "do you want anything else?" I know it's part of their procedure and they have to ask, but you'd think that just one time they'd hear the end of my sentence.
We all do that stuff, though. How many times have you told the ticket agent at the airport "you too!" when they tell you to have a nice flight?
tuna55 wrote: We all do that stuff, though. How many times have you told the ticket agent at the airport "you too!" when they tell you to have a nice flight?
You're right. I remember at my high school graduation, standing in line as people walked by to shake my hand and say "congratulations." After a while I was saying "Congratulations!" right back at them, and no one raised an eyebrow. 
NOHOME wrote:
Do you have a permit for that?
stuart in mn wrote: When I go through a fast food drive through, I play a little game: I'll say, "give me a hamburger, fries and a medium Coke, and that's it", to which they always reply, "do you want anything else?" I know it's part of their procedure and they have to ask, but you'd think that just one time they'd hear the end of my sentence.
The first time we decided that it was "us" vs. Them... We all lost. It's us. Who voted for these people and who can vote them out? A government is only as dumb as those who voted it into place..
Wall-e wrote:NOHOME wrote:Do you have a permit for that?
Wall-e,
Bhahaha, you owe me a monitor.
In reply to Fueled by Caffeine:
Except, no one votes in bureaucrats or their policies. They are parasites, feeding on the waste fat, of a bloated organism, called government.
And when dealing with code enforcement, it's always a us vs them.
Those who can, do. Those who can't, inspect. They can't even agree among themselves on what the code books say. I have nothing but contempt for the majority of them.
In reply to Toyman01:
I don't 100% agree with you. I do understand your feelings. We vote for people who make the laws that require the infrastructure to enact.
Fueled by Caffeine wrote: In reply to Toyman01: I don't 100% agree with you. I do understand your feelings. We vote for people who make the laws that require the infrastructure to enact.
Actually regarding the building code, that's not technically correct. Building codes are not written by legislators or municipalities. They are written by for-profit organizations, then adopted en mass by local governments.
Lawmakers almost never even know what is in them (which is part of the reason they feel free to over ride them for political gain).
Maybe if communities actually cared enough to write the laws they enforce, there MIGHT be a possibility of the laws making sense as a tool in the local communities.
Maybe.
dculberson wrote: Don't edit what I said. It's literally putting words in my mouth.
dculberson wrote: So you think if code enforcement 100% wasn't there then somehow buildings would be just as safe as they are now?
Irony.
Well, I doubt I have anything constructive to say here.
When this job is over in 16 weeks or so I'll be swearing off 'gubmint work for good. Had enough, cross that off my list.
Nope, ain't doin' that no more.
SVreX wrote:dculberson wrote: Don't edit what I said. It's literally putting words in my mouth.dculberson wrote: So you think if code enforcement 100% wasn't there then somehow buildings would be just as safe as they are now?Irony.
Reading comprehension fail. Maybe I should have put "do" in front of "you" but the question seemed clear to me.
(Also, I did not edit what you said, no?)
In reply to dculberson:
Call it what you want, but I didn't say that.
If you would like my opinion on that statement, I don't mind taking the position as a debate position, but I think we both know there is most certainly never such thing as 100% of anything.
In reply to SVreX:
You said:
SVreX wrote: However, those of you who are defending Building Inspectors because you think they are providing a service that makes buildings safer are sadly mistaken. It's just not the case. Ever.
Seems pretty clear to me. I don't understand what your statement means if it is not functionally equivalent to "if code enforcement 100% wasn't there then somehow buildings would be just as safe as they are now," since building inspectors are the mechanism through which we enforce code. So what are you claiming when you say building inspectors do not ever make buildings safer?
I am simply claiming that they do make buildings safer. By having to go through inspections the buildings are more likely to adhere to code, which is a safer standard than no code and no inspections.
I do 100% agree that the way code is written and administered in this country is awful. Even just the fact that you have to pay to get access to the codes is awful. I thought we had learned something from Hammurabi. Fortunately that's changed a lot - mostly for the better - in the last few years. I still think the laws should be written by the government or the people and not by for-profit companies though.
When I read codes, and see home inspectors "inspect" things, and look at some houses, I look back on my engineering degree and think to myself:
"Man, I am super glad that wood and steel are really strong"
The other problem with government, besides politicians, is the stereotypical lazy government employee - and sadly it's many people's career goal to live up to it. 
SWMBO has been a federal employee almost her entire adult life(if you include active duty USAF as "employment"), with a brief 2.5-year stint working for a state-funded university in between, and she's had to deal with these type of people daily in every position she's held. It completely infuriates her, and I'm sure overall it must have a huge negative impact on the daily functions of numerous government offices.
We just put up a new 80x72x18 pole building and the inspector showed up and only asked who built it. Nothing more, nothing less. Didn't want to see anything in it, nor even the electrical. Dude probably just got paid for a 2hr appointment for just signing off on it in under 15min.
Granted, this pole building is nice, but you'd think they'd want to check things.
I started this thread to post a little silliness I had encountered. Thought others would post their anecdotes, and we could all laugh a little.
I must have touched a nerve, because some of you seem to have checked your sense of humor at the door, and are taking this waay too seriously.
Our system is broken. Badly. It will never begin to be repaired until we can all look honestly at it, laugh at the absurdity, recognize our own involvement in it, then roll up our sleeves and get to work fixing it.
Sorry I offended some folks.
petegossett wrote: The other problem with government, besides politicians, is the stereotypical lazy government employee - and sadly it's *many people's career goal to live up to it*.
As a federal employee myself, I have to concur. And it seems that often, the more you berkeley up, the better your chances of getting promoted to management you have...(come to think of it, I've seen that in the private sector, too...) I work in facilities management for a large federal agency and have a fairly heavy workload, but the rank and file of the agency and what it does is filled with people that are merely taking up space. Luckily, our agency is getting smaller year by year, both in numbers of employees and in number of buildings we occupy, so we're doing our part to reduce federal budget and getting rid of the lazy or unnecessary employees, but it's hard.
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