Rant Thursdays: The Automation Nation

Greetings my fellow Blog-o-sphere members,
             This week's rant actually come from some female members of my office in the SUUSA offices. While I have had only a small encounter with this rant topic I have been assured that this is a major problem on our campus. We are taking a journey back to the bathrooms of SUU.
             As many of the members of Thunderbird Nation know, most of our toilets on campus are automated and flush automatically once the motion sensor determines you have stood up after finishing your business. While this can be a nice deterrent to the spread of germs that tend to be found around the porcelain throne. My first issue is that this is a depressing snapshot of our country in that we can't even muster up the energy to pull the handle of a toilet in order to flush. However, I do see a much larger benefit to stopping the spread of germs.
              Now while we have the automatic flush there are some serious issues with the calibrations on some of the toilets on  campus. The number one complaint I have heard from the girls in my office is that the flush is WAY too powerful, because it splashes and the water droplets from the small hurricane in the bowl gets all over the seat. While most men don't have to endure this issue very often due to our evolutionary prowess at being able to stand and to get things done, girls have to deal with this issue every time they are in need of the facilities. So the tiny droplets of toilet bowl water on the seat always can create little surprises that you weren't expecting.
            Furthermore, the timing on the toilet is just a little too fast. As soon as you stand up the toilet flushes, even if you may want to blow your nose (which forces you to have to make the toilet flush agin to get rid of your tissue) or haven't quite moved away to the safe distance that will keep you from being speckled with the water from the bowl. It is almost like a grenade where you have a safe zone about 15 feet from the bowl in order to avoid the explosion.
            One quick applaud for the campus is the water-free urinals that are starting to make appearances in some of the buildings on campus. I fully support the green initiative here on campus and would love to see many other changes like this to help cut down on our waste.
           Check in this next week for more events, observations, and rants about SUU!
            

Rant Thursdays: Phones and Follies

Now I have been involved in some awkward situations and complained about some annoying things but I feel as if this week I have something to really rant about. When one takes a journey to the rest room it is always fairly appropriate, especially for men, to just get in, follow the one full urinal stall away man code (ladies if you are confused by this read rule 2.1 at http://guycode.wordpress.com/), take care of business, wash the hands and leave. Now another part of this is that men don't talk to each other while in the bathroom.

So as I was in the bathroom the other day, going to take care of business, I was confronted with a seemingly increasing problem from what I hear. I was one stall away, as dictated, from this other gentle man and there was another gentleman on the porcelain throne. Then the guy on the throne, let us call him Max, gets a call on the phone. Now, social rules would say, let it go to voicemail and call them back when you are in a more appropriate venue. Not Max though, he decided right here and now was appropriate for him.

Now the major problem is that everything echos in the bathroom. Even the quietest sounds are magnified ten-fold in the restroom. So me and the other guy at the urinal both froze up once Max decided to answer. It is awkward to have people hear you relieving yourself especially someone you don't know. So Max is chatting it up enthusiastically with someone who I believe may have been female. Urinal User #2 and I have both at this point given up on finishing do to performance anxiety and so we both have quietly moved to the sinks to wash up before attempting to leave ASAP. Then things get weirder because Max starts taking care of his business in a VERY LOUD fashion while still on the phone with undisclosed female, which of course is magnified. Now I personally would be mortified, but it is just amazing to me that this guy wasn't discussing anything life threatening and felt the need to be one the phone in the bathroom. Completely absurd.

So my advice for the week is please, please, PLEASE do not join this growing trend. Save your cell phone calls for when you are out of the bathroom and not making everyone in there uncomfortable. Plus there is an increased possibility of dropping your phone in the toilet by doing this activity which would just be terrible all around. Be classy!