Often, I’m admonished to: “Quit it” whenever my wife and I enter a building that we’ve not been in before. This occurs after she’s caught me staring at the ceiling architecture like a first-time tourist gawking at the skyscrapers in New York city. Apparently, she’s experienced me sharing the details of how difficult it would be to install cabling in such and such of a ceiling style one too many times, and wants to get ahead of the inevitable sharing before it even starts! I can’t help it. For at least the last 20 years, I’ve found myself looking upward almost as soon as I enter a space new to me.
This realization came to me as I researched the origins of Arbor Day, commemorated this year on April 26th. The creator of this oft-overlooked celebration day was J. Sterling Morton. A native of New York, educated in Michigan, he moved to Nebraska when he was but 22 years old. There, he started a newspaper and began a political career, gaining several different seats at the State and the Federal level. One of his many achievements was the establishment of Arbor Day. He was an astute agriculturist and with his early years on the East and North East coasts, very much felt the lack of trees in his acquired State. His initial proposal was slated for
“…April 10, 1872. Prizes were offered to counties and individuals for the largest number of properly planted trees on that day. It was estimated that more than 1 million trees were planted in Nebraska on the first Arbor Day. Arbor Day was officially proclaimed in 1874 by Nebraska’s Governor, Robert W. Furnas, and the day was observed April 10 that year. In 1885, Arbor Day was named a legal state holiday in Nebraska, and April 22 was selected as the date for its permanent annual observance.”*1
*1https://www.arborday.org/celebrate/history.cfm
The holiday has since gained prominence and is celebrated in one form or another across the Nation.
Just prior to this, Mr. Morton built a 30-room mansion in Nebraska City that his son later renovated into a 52-room mansion that very closely resembles the United States Whitehouse. It is now the: Arbor Lodge State Historical Park and Arboretum. On the property's land, and as the solicitor of Arbor day:
“Trees were a central interest of J. Sterling Morton. He imported trees from all over the country in order to test their suitability to create windbreaks and otherwise break up the monotony of the great plains. The house is surrounded by 270 varieties of trees and shrubs, including gardens, apple orchards, and acres of oaks, maples, chestnuts, and pines, including at least 10 state-champion trees.”*2
*2https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arbor_Lodge_State_Historical_Park_and_Arboretum
It was while wondering at the pictures of the mansion on this website that it came to me how hard it would be to maintain the aesthetics while cabling the place for the 21st century. Also, Morton’s son, Joy, was the creator of the Morton Salt empire.
“What's the origin of the phrase 'Take with a grain of salt'?
The idea comes from the fact that food is more easily swallowed if taken with a small amount of salt.
Pliny the Elder translated an ancient text, which some have suggested was an antidote to poison, with the words 'be taken fasting, plus a grain of salt'.
Pliny’s Naturalis Historia, 77 A.D. translates into modern English thus:
After the defeat of that mighty monarch, Mithridates, Gnaeus Pompeius found in his private cabinet a recipe for an antidote in his own handwriting; it was to the following effect: Take two dried walnuts, two figs, and twenty leaves of rue; pound them all together, with the addition of a grain of salt; if a person takes this mixture fasting, he will be proof against all poisons for that day.
The suggestion is that injurious effects can be moderated by the taking of a grain of salt.”*3
*3https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/take-with-a-grain-of-salt.html
““salt of the earth”: noun - an individual or group considered as representative of the best or noblest elements of society.”*4
*4https://www.dictionary.com/browse/salt-of-the-earth
““Rub salt in someone’s wounds”: To make a painful situation even worse (even with the best of intentions).”*5
*5https://www.phrases.com/psearch/salt
Okay, okay; what does this have to do with Tech, IT, or Telecommunications? Well, trust me when I tell you – Salt is the enemy regarding these three areas. In particular, high-tech electronics and their elements, and bare copper in any of the cable connection hardware that we install. As I’ve written about recently, care must be taken – and at DataCom Inc., we do – to choose quality products that can withstand harsher environments when needed. Also, they must be installed properly using conduit, boxes, and durable patch cords and jacks that were designed to keep the elements out.
So if you see me gawking at your ceiling, know that I am formulating how to properly install IT cables at your facility that will not only work properly, but also for the maximum longevity, all while giving a nice, neat presentation.
Happy Arbor Day!