IMG_0212.JPGThe BACnet committee has a dining tradition: when we go out to dinner, we get one bill and divide it equally among those present. The restuarant must serve beer, and have good food. The restuarant or brewery also needs to have some vegetarian fare since Carl is a vegetarian. If we have a meeting that is during the weekdays, the group dinner is held on a Tuesday. If we have a meeting that is during the weekend, the group dinner is held on Saturday.

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I heard the legend of the “J” stamp a couple of weeks ago while at dinner during the BACnet meetings held in Atlanta, Georgia. Apparently, when the BACnet standard was first published for public review, many comments flowed into the committee from some unfriendly commenters. Some comments were either impossible or nit-picky. As the legend goes, a rubber stamp with the letter “J” was purchased and was used on some of these comments to notate “Jerk.”

During the last transition of committee chair in Nashville, Tennessee, Steve Bushby handed a wooden gavel to Bill Swan. Bill now uses the gavel to signify the beginning or end of the meeting, or a call to order. It makes quite a few of us jump!

BACnet committee meetingBACnet Chairman and Secretary - Bill Swan and Carl NeilsonJerry and Sharon at the BACnet meeting

Sometimes during a meeting something is said that requires a definition. I keep a notebook of some of these words, and what they mean in the context of a BACnet meeting. Here are some examples:

  • “lame device” or “weak device” – a BACnet device implements only the minimal required functionality.
  • “data sucking” – learning the system using Who-Is and reading the object list.
  • “raising the bar” – changing the benchmark. Usually means that more than minimal functionality is now required.
  • “tickling” – a method to get a client device to do something.
  • “barf” – what a device does when it messes up. Similar to BSOD.
  • MIRV – multiple independent reentry vehicle. Used to describe the Mulitplexer object.
  • “lurking” – what an MS/TP device does before joining in on the token passing.

coleman_beer.jpgSometimes during a meeting something memorable gets said. Here are some examples:

  • “The first question to ask in response is: ‘Well, who the hell are you?’” – David Robin
  • “Choice is the enemy of interoperability.” – John Hartman
  • “Size Matters.” – David Ritter

Is there a BACnet legend, tradition, or phrase that I missed?