A College Degree

I have a brother-in-law that used to run around asking my wife's brothers how their college degrees were working out. At the time, there was a housing boom and he was making a seemingly huge amount of money with nothing but his high-school diploma and the knowledge of how to pound nails. Meanwhile my wife's brothers had spend large sums of money on their college educations and really didn't have much to show for it. I'm sure the "college" comment stung pretty bad at the time.

A little before my brother-in-law started taunting those around him, I threw him a proverbial bone and had him install a loft in my garage. He had been doing construction for some time and I figured he would do a better job than me. He told me the lumber to order and I had it delivered. Then I paid him quite well for his day of labor. That was a little over 10 years ago. Then last Thursday, that professionally-built loft that I mostly use to store empty boxes came crashing down. Had it not been for the garage-door rails, it would have crushed my two cars. Luckily I was able to get them out and the loft rebuilt without any serious damage. This time I consulted a close friend who is a mechanical engineer and he helped to ensure that the loft would never come down again.

I learned a lot about structural engineering this past weekend and I am glad there are people who spend a little extra time going to college and actually get degrees. Now the next time my brother-in-law brings up the topic of college, I can remind him that had he gone, my loft wouldn't have fallen down. You see, he didn't understand the sheer strength of grabber screws used to secure 2x4's to decks vs. lag screws used to secure joists to studs. I guess that is why he is out of work right now and my wife's brothers both have high-paying jobs.