New FEMA contract

[HeyBub]

Workers have been dispatched to upgrade the gas stoves in 100,000 FEMA trailers positioned along the Gulf Coast.

They have one job: To paint the gas knob red.

That's exactly right. Crews are visiting 100,000 trailers, scattered over all hell-and-gone, to daub red paint on the gas control.

"...workers in Mississippi have painted the knobs on about 85 percent of the

30,000 to 40,000 trailers there. In Louisiana, around 20 percent of the knobs in 70,000 trailers have been painted red."

The original plan called for replacing the knobs. A federal knob-census was commissioned and FEMA found there were not enough red knobs in inventories to handle the job.

Story includes goodness picture of resulting knob:

[roger61611]

I saw that and could not believe what I was reading. Probably some congressman's relative got the contract.

Here they had a new apartment complex for poor people (projects) and they had to take out the garbage disposals cause people were too stupid to use them properly.

[gfretwell]

The government is out of control

[aspasia]

Also, they had to replace the locks on umpty trailers where Katrina victims were moved? Turns out there were only three different locks, so your friendly neighbor could enter your trailer whenever they wanted.

Indeed, the govt. is rising to its level of competence.

Aspasia

[aspasia]

I'm not familiar with the situation you SAY you know about? Or just "HEARD" about?

If, indeed, there's any substance to this story, It would have been much cheaper to send in a skilled people-person to explain the garbage disposals. The tenants would have been happy to use them, once they understood.

[HeyBub]

Do you KNOW the tenants would have been capable of understanding the purpose of a garbage disposal or happy to use them, or are you just guessing?

Dunno about the referenced story but Emerson Electric is suing NBC for displaying an "InSinkErator" disposal in the latest episode of "Heros" that showed a mangled hand, so evidently there is the possiblity for misunderstanding the function of a disposal.

They used to call this "Product Placement."

[HeyBub]

The story I found said there were three "types" of locks ("type" = ?). Does that mean only three key combinations?

Still, with, say, 35,000 inexpensive locks, there has to be SOME duplication of keyways....

[gfretwell]

If it is a 5 pin lock with 5 steps in each pin there is only 3125 possible keys and some of those are not practical. The cheaper the lock the better chance the "wrong" kery will still work. I remember back in the 60s, if 10 people had a GM car key there was more than a 50:50 chance at least one would start any GM car in the lot.

[Don]

I'll do it for $75 per nob.

[Stormin Mormon]

Does that reflect on the tenants intelligence, or the government?

[aspasia]

I bet they picked that up from a great little movie called "Mother, Jugs and Speed". About a Mom & Pop ambulance company. Scene where the techs are trying to free woman's hand caught in disposal.

[Al Bundy]

aspasia wrote in news:_vCdnYdbl_yoHaTYnZ2dnUVZ [e-mail]:

Holy crap! That is an oldie. I could Google it but I'm offline. If I recall, Raquel Welsh was Jugs. A black guy, Prior maybe?, was Mother. 3rd escapes me totally.

[Kurt Ullman]

Bill Cosby. There was also a very forgettable one-season TV version.

[<aemeijers]

(snip)

Welch, Bill Cosby, and the third guy, the one that gets shot, is Harvey Keitel. I couldn&#39;t remember the 3rd guy either, so I looked it up on IMDB. A post-Jeanie, pre-Dallas Larry Hagman also had a role as a scumbag. He did several similar roles in that era.

aems ends...