[djmcmath]

I don't know if Ford liked it, but I'm in the Navy and I thought it was hilarious. Like so many things in life, we laugh because it's funny and we laugh because it's true. Not so long ago, I had to open a valve, then shut it 10 seconds later. This seems like it ought to be about a 20 second evolution, involving a grand total of maybe two people. Instead, it turned out to be a full day event, involving no fewer than 7 supervisors, 3 briefs (2 before, one after), and a "critique," where we sat down for 2 hours and analyzed everything that had gone wrong. Despite the fact that the operation had gone essentially perfectly, we decided that our training program was lax, that the engine room was dirty, and that the individual who had operated the valve required an extensive "knowledge upgrade program." We didn't beat a dead horse at that meeting -- we skinned it and were learning to play the drums!

I wish I was joking...