R4VI's Blog

No Smoking. These signs are everywhere. I dont know of an office building that allows smoking inside. Perhaps the offices of Altria allow smoking and even then Im not sure. Also, the outdoor areas where smoking is allowed are shrinking. No more stepping just outside the door to grab a quick smoke, these areas increasingly have the no smoking signs posted. Airports have only small designated areas and restaurants that used to have a smoking section are becoming completely smoke free environments. Im wondering how many missed flights have happened due to the need for a quick smoke that turned into the hunt for a smoking area in an airport maze, because everyone knows there will be no smoking during the flight. More and more restaurants which used to at least have an smoking section are no completely smoke free. There is a solution for those who still enjoy the action, taste and nicotine of a cigarette. Metro E-Cigs look and taste like a tobacco cigarette, but because of the lack of tobacco in the e-cig, they are not subject to the no smoking bans. Not everyone who currently enjoys smoking can work for Altria, but they can switch today to electronic cigarettes, which are allowed most anywhere.

People seem to dismiss or make fun of things that make them embarrassed or vulnerable. That is how it is with outhouses. One serious thing about outhouses is the half moon shape commonly cut out of the top of the door as a window. Some say a moon or sun was a symbol to distinguish between the ladies outhouse and the mens place. Im not sure that many households bothered to have two. When you had an outhouse, there probably were no plumbers in Denver or elsewhere. An outhouse was a good item to pretty up. There are still places in the United States where tourists can go on outhouse tours. They are not still in use or theyd have to be moved frequently. But in Tennessee or Kentucky or West Virginia among other states, you can view a unique art form. All kinds of things are added to, painted on, or carved onto outhouses. One has a roof that looks like the top of a castle. Another features beautiful paintings of animals (more colorful than but reminiscent of cave men decorating their walls). At one site the outhouse is built to look like its twostory. The top floor is labeled faculty and the lower seating area is labeled for students. Thomas Jefferson built two octagonal outhouses at his retreat in rural Virginia. Today you can get plumbing help from Denver plumbing but youre on your own for decorating.