The Apex Of Laziness

   Some well regarded giant of industry was once quoted as saying "When I need to find the easiest way to get something done, I assign my laziest employee to the task - lazy people are great are finding the easiest and fastest way to get something done."

   Or words to that effect.

   I have always regarded that as, at best, half right. That's due to bearing witness to some incredibly lazy people going about performing tasks in the most roundabout, time-consuming manner possible.

   For example, a few days ago I was driving home from work along a street that has two lanes heading in each direction. About half a mile from the next stoplight traffic began to slow down dramatically, then it became evident that quite a few cars directly ahead of me were having to merge into the right lane due to some road crew activity in the left lane.

   As traffic slowly zippered into the right lane the view ahead of the left lane opened up and I could see one of those large trucks that carry the traffic cones and "lane ahead closed" signs was backing down the now empty left hand lane, then stopping. 

   When the traffic cone truck would stop, the driver would get out, walk to the back of the truck and over to the nearest traffic cone, pick up the traffic cone, then walk with it to the back of the traffic cone truck and stack the cone on top of the smallest stack of cones already on the truck bed.

   Then the driver would return to the cab of the truck and reverse the truck back to the next cone, and repeat the cone gathering routine. 

   I counted 22 cones collected before I passed the traffic cone carrying truck...and there were at least another 40 to 50 cones yet to be picked up and stacked on the back of the traffic cone carrying truck...one at a time.

   That right there. That's unproductive laziness.