Last week, I was chairing a meeting of the Metal Construction Association Roofing Council. We had a very impressive guest speaker, Dr. Miller, from Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Oak Ridge, as you may know, is heavily involved in energy research, with a special focus on keeping attics naturally cooler.

At one point, Dr. Miller was talking about what sounded to me like he was saying "ducks in the attic". Now, deep down, I knew that what he was really talking about were "ducts in the attic". But, here's the scary part ... his talk ended shortly thereafter and I had to go to the podium.

I tried very hard to keep it from coming out. I really didn't want it to come out. But out it came anyway: a stupid joke about "attic ducks". In fact, I kept going, prolonging the agony, hoping against hope for a laugh. I even went so far as to suggest that, if we can keep attics cool enough, we can start a new promotion: "Six Free Attic Ducks With Every Metal Roof."

I thought it was very funny.

Unfortunately, the audience had a differing viewpoint.

And there I stood ... one of those people you look at and feel embarrassment for being a part of their species. (Or at least that is how I felt.)

Quackfully yours,

Todd "Ducks In His Attic" Miller