December 2013 Meeting Overview

Last night's meeting was a real treat for a select few!  It was great to see Brad, Denny, Kathy, Dana, Alan, Pat, Sandy, Bob from USA Central Station, special guest Nate from Allegion and ....drum roll ... what a suprise to be joined by Gene from Lab, Major & Jet!

Which - the latter takes the prize for long-distance haul seeing as he's in from Chicago.  Wow!

The meeting was conducted at even more blinding speed than usual due to the lack of attendance - which, just to be straight - if you didn't make it (and, statistically speaking, you did not) - no one is going to judge you poorly.  It was just brutal out there.  The folks who did make it were most certainly intrepid, committed, and skilled at winter vehicle navigation, hear, hear! But we also maybe suffered a touch of poor risk assessment.

More after the break - including the education summary from Nate Spitz with ALLEGION (what?):

Meeting tonight! That's right, even with the weather!

I'm leaving now - and I've heard one other person promise to attempt.

We're in the back room this time, so if you don't see the usual suspects in the usual spot, keep looking!

*Click here for location and details*

Nate Spitz is on the schedule to present updates from Ingersoll Rand Allegion for the education portion of the meeting.  

November meeting re-cap and minutes

The November meeting was modestly attended - in particular we missed our regular Sargent at Arms as well as our Hospitality Chair - our waitress, Deb, specifically inquired after the "cookie lady" so just so you know, Rosemarie, you are a little bit famous now.

The meeting was brief but effective and, in keeping with the previously noted trend, uncontentious. 

Matters of note:

Dana only has 2 people signed up for the Education weekend. There's going to be an introductory masterkey class and an in-depth safe certification prep class - but only if we get participants. The registration forms are on the website (click the tab above for the Learning Curve).

Mike Sullivan may organize another prison tour at Oak Park Heights. There's no date yet as interest is still being guaged so if you think you would like to attend let us know (for now you can drop a line to mnaloa(at)gmail).  This is a rare opportunity to see detention hardware in the field and learn about the job of a locksmith at a supermax prison facility.  In the past the tour has been conducted on a Saturday and pre-registration is required (you must supply your name, birthdate and drivers license number).

The education presentation was very good, as usual, with Mark Lundblad delivering quite a lot of information very efficiently - summarized below the break.

Reminder! Meeting this Wednesday, November 6, 6 pm, O'Gara's Bar & Grill, St Paul, MN

*Particulars*

Come to the meeting!  Stay for the education!  Mark Lundblad is doing a slide show presentation on antique lock tools (and will probably have a few actual items on hand).  It's going to be great!

Friday, November 1 Door Knob of the Day

The whole wide world awaits you.

There's that thing with door knobs that if you stare up at one long enough, it will open.  Dogs and cats know it - it's really their only recourse if there is no pet-flap - they must be furry little Yuri Gellars, willing the knob to turn, turn, turn until it does! Never mind there always seems to be a person attached to one side or the other when this happens - we should count our blessings that they leave the spoons alone.

There are no dogs or cats in this house - but there are 2 little boys.  They figured out door knobs as soon as they could reach them, but haven't got the keyed deadbolt yet - so this particular door knob is still the recipient of a certain daily dividend of longing gazes.

It's good to get down in front of a door knob now and then to recall that time in our lives when this was an obstacle that was nigh insurmountable*.

On the floor in front of a door knob is also a really great place to review - what's out there?

Grass, rocks, bugs, dirt, adventure, sun, sky, weather, traffic, swingsets, lawn mowers, sheep, lawn darts, danger, dog poop, bocce, holes, thorns, parties, skateboards, bonfires, rain, trees, lakes, Slow Construction Zones, steep hills, ragweed, flora, fauna, fowl, wind, wastewater treatment faclilities, bus stops, rainbows, shopping malls, oceans, airplanes, elephants, ducks, puddles, sidewalks, ditches, ball fields, fences, butterflies, florists, cemetaries, drug stores, potholes, potheads, train tracks, thickets, rabbits, valets, schools, hi-rises, underground bunkers, ice rinks, manhole covers, nematodes, sunsets, corn fields, waterfalls, speed traps, alpine slides, neonatal intensive care units, pigeons, sewers, stars, escalators, hot dog vendors, squirrels, strange smells, lightning, shrubberies, post boxes, curbs, herons, moss, bakeries, libraries, continents, antilock brakes, street lamps, manatees, rugby pitches, precipitous drops, roses, circuses, planets, geese, gravel, tulips, stop lights, happly little trees, cess pools, parking lots, operas, laundromats, toll booths, hammocks, mountains.

Sometimes, sitting on the floor looking up at the door knob is a really great place to be.



*Before we became locksmiths, hah!

Education update: Next week's meeting and next year's PLT CEUs

Our regularly scheduled first-Wednesday general meeting is coming up next week - November 6th - at O'Gara's Bar & Grill in St Paul, MN.

From 5:30 pm to 7 pm there's social hour(and-a-half) and dinner will be available in the meeting room from a limited menu (if I recall correctly, we've got the $10 $15 chicken sandwich, $15 cheeseburger and $20 steak - the former come with fries and the steak comes with potato and salad - and I think you can sub a fish fillet for the steak).



The meeting will start at 7 - nothing too controversial on the docket, it should go pretty quickly - and then we'll have the education presentation, which is why I'm actually posting this reminder, because the November education is going to be really, really cool.

Once a year Mark Lundblad does an education presentation and it is always a real treat.  In addition to being a professional locksmith, Mark is also a full-time afficianado - a collector of locks, lock tools, lock stories and most particularly the antique and/or esoteric.

Folks, if you come to Wendnesday's meeting, I guarantee you'll see [a slide of] something you've never seen before and you'll learn something.  It may not be the sort of thing that makes you dollars starting tomorrow, but it will enrich you overall as a human being and make you more interesting at parties.*

This year, the presentation is antique lock tools.  Antique lock tools, people!

I'm looking forward to quite a turnout.



In other news, we've just added a class to the calendar for Wednesday, October 15, 2014 for a PLT CEU class hosted by Tri-Ed distibuting.  It's a great opportunity to meet the continuing education requirements associated with the Minnesota Power Limited Technician license - 8 hours, convenient location, very reasonable price and now with unprecedented anvanced notice!

PLT services website wasn't updated when I checked last, but I'm sure you can register now via the contact listed on the static page - here's the link to that.



*Especially parties with a high proportion of locksmith attendees.

UPDATED 12-9-13:  The chicken sandwiches went up to $15.

Friday Doorknob of the Day, October 25

Hand forged insolent punctuation.

It's the last Friday in October so we are featuring this door knob dressed-up for Halloween.

What is this door knob supposed to be?

A happy little ghost?
A mustache-and-a-half (with a twist, on the side)?
A Who from Whoville?  Or two?

Question marks?

Wait - is it sticking it's tongue out at us?  Is it insolent punctuation?

Very clever!

Somebody give that door knob a Bit-O-Honey.