Makeshift revisited
I just got the latest issue of O’reilly’s Make magazine today. This magazine is a must for any good geek as far as I’m concerned. One of their regular sections is called Makeshift,
in which they describe a tricky situation and ask their readers to find clever solutions. For example, in volume 1’s Makeshift they described the classic ’stranded in the woods becuase your car won’t start’ scenario. The solutions were both entertaining and educational.
I like to play a nicely South Dakota-ized version of this exercise I call: “How would you escape from this [truck stop | rest area | gas station] men’s room?” It may sound lame (and indeed it is very lame), but it makes pit stops during long trips to Onida a little less boring.
Assume that the [truck stop | rest area | gas station] is under seige. I group my solutions into these three categories:
1) Get out without using the door
2) Stay and hide, while prepared to defend yourself if discovered
3) Exit through the main door as quickly and safely as possible.
It can be more engaging than it might initially sound: some restrooms have very weak walls, and you could escape simply by smashing your way through. Often there are ceiling tiles that can be moved away. Sometimes the trash cans are big enough for your to hide inside them. Hand sanitizer is considered by many to be the poor man’s mace (though you’d be hard pressed to find a roadside men’s room in the state that actually had hand sanitizer).
As you can see, driving down I90 at 1:00 in the morning makes you pretty desparate for entertainment, and the above exercise has proven to be at least as entertaining as the clever graffiti you find along the way.
