Tell us a secret you know because of your work that others might not know

[dbaldock]

The real reconaissance plane as featured in the movie ID4 was built in Greenville, Texas.

They've been doing aircraft avionics installations and retrofits at Greenville since at least the 1950's.  My Dad flew an Air Force KC-97 into there for an avionics retrofit back in the 50's.  And the father of a guy I knew in McKinney (when I lived there for 16 years) was the Military person in charge, who oversaw the civilian contractors working on the Military aircraft.


Now I work at NASA - Johnson Space Center in Houston, and if I told you our secrets, I'd have to send someone to kill you.      

Take Care,
David Baldock

EDIT: Just Kidding about sending someone. 

[midnightferret]

Many more kids get to college without being able to read than you would think. MANY more. No, more than that. A lot of them are athletes, but the ratio of athlete illiterates to non-athlete illiterates is not as high as you might suppose.

[RSLeask]

I'd tell you secrets I know because of work, but I like my freedom very much... jail time for espionage just isn't appealing... >.>

hehe, actually, there are a few I can.  We have this holiday party every year in December.  Now, to describe where I work, it is a large building in the middle of a fenced-in perimeter with a good deal of wooded area in the back.  The holiday party, by comparison, takes place on two floors of six total, running about half the total length of the main hallway of the building.

And good lord, do people take advantage of that excess space.  Last year, security found a black dress on the floor of the gazebo smoking area out back of our cafeteria.  How she managed to make it to the car, let alone leave the compound, was beyond them.  People have been in the woods during the party... bathrooms, stairwells... there was even a report of an elevator getting put on "Hold".  Which of course, prompted security to respond, cuz the elevators are rigged like that...

[Deckard And Zhora]

From the three main types of jobs I've had from the earliest to the most recent:

You can't really buy quality diamonds at Khol's. Sure they're cheap, but you can see the flaws in (most) of them without looking hard at all.

As a massage thearpist, it's not super-comfortable to massage a hairy man---you have to use LOTS of oil/lotion to get the same kind of glide as a non-hairy person.

Being a teacher is good birth control....and there are a lot of parents (at least in my school) who don't "parent" anymore.

[Rani Zemirah]

^So I take it, since you're a day's drive from the nearest ocean, you don't eat much seafood?

Nope... "lakefood" (trout, perch, etc... but no catfish) is about as close as I get these days, since spending a season shrimping many years ago, unless I'm actually on the coast...

[Lady Rosaline]

#1  My Grandfather was a shrimper and I spent many days on the boats and docks. So I have learned that if you want truly fresh shrimp, find a small "bay shrimper" to buy from. Not the big "gulf boats," as we call them in South Texas. The big boats have been out for days, maybe weeks,and they freeze or ice the catch until the boat hit the dock. But the small bay shrimpers have only been out for hours, and because they get a higher price for live shrimp they handle the shrimp with care.

#2  If you have been at the bar a "little" too long, and the bartender makes you a "special" drink and then buys it for you, it is usually non-alcoholic. We use this "trick" to help sober you up so you can get home safely. I have yet to have any one notice, or at least say anything, when i do this.

[Rani Zemirah]

#1  My Grandfather was a shrimper and I spent many days on the boats and docks. So I have learned that if you want truly fresh shrimp, find a small "bay shrimper" to buy from. Not the big "gulf boats," as we call them in South Texas. The big boats have been out for days, maybe weeks,and they freeze or ice the catch until the boat hit the dock. But the small bay shrimpers have only been out for hours, and because they get a higher price for live shrimp they handle the shrimp with care.

#2  If you have been at the bar a "little" too long, and the bartender makes you a "special" drink and then buys it for you, it is usually non-alcoholic. We use this "trick" to help sober you up so you can get home safely. I have yet to have any one notice, or at least say anything, when i do this.

See... I knew we had far too much in common the first time we met...   And now that we even share shrimp... well, how awkward is that?    LOL

[Auryn]

This isn't really a secret but 99% of the population doesn't know this.
The US Armed Forces use French made inflatable boats.
If they were the best in the world I would be all fine with that, I want them to have the best.
But the company that makes them is recognized as being the worst in the world for inflatable boats and the boats they sell to the government are grossly overpriced.

Unfortunately the US inflatable boat companies don't have a chance of supplying our men and women with better boats because they don't have a specialized lobbyist in Washington to make the deals.

[will paisley]

I'd tell you secrets I know because of work, but I like my freedom very much... jail time for espionage just isn't appealing... >.>

Can you neither confirm nor deny that this place might be a place that doesn't exist in MD (as opposed to the place which doesn't exist in VA)?

[Capt. Morgan]

As a massage thearpist, it's not super-comfortable to massage a hairy man---you have to use LOTS of oil/lotion to get the same kind of glide as a non-hairy person.[/quote]

*shudder* Oh the horror!  I hear you on that one!

[mehan]

When Orange Crush was first put in cans, they didn't dye it orange, it was clear, but tasted the same.

Although it is possible to put more than 20 Miller HighLife bottle caps up your, um..behind, what is amazing is that more than one person in this small burg has tried it.  (OK, am I naive or is this some sort of secret game - I mean we get lots of things retrieved from there, but as far as bottle caps, why Miller HighLife and not, lets say Heinekin?)

[Martin Montgomery]

 As a Jailer.......... Evading Arrest with a Vehicle = Felony   
                          Evading Arrest on Foot = Misdemeanor   
                     
                           Answer       Jog away from the scene of your accident!! 

[Gwen aka Punstergal]

Here's some "secrets" I learned from past jobs---

**You can starve an iguana to death if you think Iceberg lettuce is food -- I learned this while working for a newspaper called the "Pet Gazette". Little did I know that all those "healthy" salads that people hawk at the restaurants have very little positive nutritional value, even if you avoid all the fancy toppings. Now, I go for the romaine and greenleaf, and save the iceberg for when something just needs a little crunch. It's basically water and adds no vitamin content to your meal at all.

**In some states, a bartender CAN BE HELD RESPONSIBLE for an accident caused by someone leaving their establishment EVEN IF THEY DIDN'T SERVE THEM! It is actually a bartender's obligation to CALL THE COPS if a person is publicly intoxicated and to advise the person NOT TO LEAVE the bar, even if you are refusing them service immediately upon their showing up to your place. (Thank goodness, I never saw this happen, but I DID see one of our bartenders get fined for letting an intoxicated person leave after cutting them off and not informing the local authorities that they were attempting to drive home).

I'm sure I'll think of more... but it's hard right now, I'm going to faire today, for the first time in two years, and I'm all sorts of excited

[Morgan Dreadlocke]

The center of the ring is a damnsight softer than the apron

[RSLeask]

I'd tell you secrets I know because of work, but I like my freedom very much... jail time for espionage just isn't appealing... >.>

Can you neither confirm nor deny that this place might be a place that doesn't exist in MD (as opposed to the place which doesn't exist in VA)?

Oh, I can confirm that the place I work is, indeed, in VA.  I just can neither confirm nor deny the specifics of anything that goes on there.