We were working on a laser system recently (and by we I mean someone in the group other than me, because if it were me, I would say I’ve been working on the laser, all the live long day. But I digress…) The laser system is fiber-coupled, which means it is now umbilically tethered to other equipment, and can’t venture far from its mommy. Which puts it right behind a door, and that puts in danger of being whacked (Honeymooners style rather than Goodfellas style), so we wanted to eliminate traffic through the door. It’s been my experience that simple signs* (like “Keep Out”) are ignored, so I posted a warning on some yellow label tape, and snark ensued.

(click to unleash the full tiger)

(N6 is our IT department, and NMCI is a locally-much-reviled navy/marine computer infrastructure + network that almost everybody tries to avoid using. We hates it.)

*We all have experience with “Wet Paint” or “Danger — Hot” signs, and people touching, just to make sure, or some reverse-psychological compulsion. As a result I’m tempted to put “Do Not Lick” signs on some equipment, because of the inner Homer Simpson some people have will shout, “Oh Yeah? I’ll show you!” and tongue marks will appear. Best to put them on the high-voltage devices.