Efficiency

I'm a scientist, but I have some of an engineer's taste for efficiency and dislike of waste. If something is broken and can't be fixed, at least reuse the parts in other things. The little red wagon may have been in sad shape; but varnish a little plywood for a new seat and tighten it up, and it is as good as new. And the leftover plywood patches a hole in the basement ceiling, with some left over to make a base to repair a hole in the wallboard.

The first time I remember thinking about that I was at Ricks helping get the supper table set. I'd unwrapped a stick of margarine and put it on the dish and was about to toss the wax paper when my father stopped me, took a knife and scraped a few ridges of margarine off the paper. At first I was a bit annoyed at being corrected, but a little light bulb went on when I realized how much I'd been about to throw out--enough to butter at least one slice of bread. In the grand scheme of things perhaps a tiny amount, but why throw it away when it is so easy to save?

And ever since I've tried to find the most efficient ways to use material, and even use time--consistent with the limitations of the tools at hand. If I have to concentrate on one thing at a time, so be it; but if I can do several things at once so much the better.

Sometimes that approach bites back, as a "filler" task turns out to demand more attention than I expected. OK, maybe it happens rather often.