Refers to da "shout-out" phone call dat you make to one or more local homes/businesses during a power-outage, to ask if they are without electricity, also ("Are you folks in da Dark Ages, as well?"); this allows you to reliably determine if it is indeed a widespread outage, rather than it's being "just you" (i.e., where you would need to check your home's wiring/fuse-box for unseen faulty connections).
During an unexpected power-outage, most folks will likely be at least marginally patient/understanding if you want to check wif dem about whether their electricity is off, as well, but you should still consider carefully before making said call --- usually you will want to do so only if da current weather is fairly "calm 'n' balmy" and therefore a utilities-outage would not be expected. It is generally understood dat service-wires might be downed if there is heavy snow/wind, and so in these cases your "dark ages"-inquiry phone call might be viewed as somewhat of an unnecessary/frivolous interruption, especially since those other folks will themselves probably be experiencing moderate difficulties/concerns regarding said hiccup in da flow of "angry pixies", and so at da time they may be feverishly scrambling to "batten down da hatches" while waiting for da power to come back on again. Good luck trying to call anyone, though, since nowadays da phone and electricity are no longer such "entirely separate circuits" as they used to be, and so unless it's an extremely small and "localized" outage, your home-phone service will likely be out, also, if da electricity is off. Dat's an instance where mobile phones can be an alternative means of communication, since most cellular-towers have their own "dedicated" power-source dat will remain active even if da "regular" electricity is off.
by QuacksO March 19, 2019
Get the "dark ages"-inquiry phone call mug.If you ask the top people for their opinions first, you won’t get effective advice from the people below them.
A group of people can be asked to make a decision and will march off in a direction they never would have taken by themselves.
When doctors are preparing to perform brain surgery on your wife, pull the top surgeons and physicians into a breakroom with residents and other medical staff and ask the people on the lowest rungs of the profession for their opinions on the surgery first.
Source: Astronaut Mark Kelly, husband of former Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, in 2014 at the annual Visitor Industry Luncheon at the Sioux Falls Convention Center
“I learned you do not want to ask the space shuttle commander, the flight director, the chief engineer or program manager his opinion first. If you do, you don’t get effective advice from the people below them.”
A group of people can be asked to make a decision and will march off in a direction they never would have taken by themselves.
When doctors are preparing to perform brain surgery on your wife, pull the top surgeons and physicians into a breakroom with residents and other medical staff and ask the people on the lowest rungs of the profession for their opinions on the surgery first.
Source: Astronaut Mark Kelly, husband of former Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, in 2014 at the annual Visitor Industry Luncheon at the Sioux Falls Convention Center
“I learned you do not want to ask the space shuttle commander, the flight director, the chief engineer or program manager his opinion first. If you do, you don’t get effective advice from the people below them.”
At Los Alamos, visitors Niels Bohr and brother Harald obeyed Kelly’s Rule of Inquiry by running their ideas on the current work by Richard Feynman before asking anyone higher up.
by WhatwasIsaying January 25, 2025
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