Don't Think About Silos

I attended a meeting at work today about a certain database system named after a fruit (cough *apricot* cough).  I struggled.  After a 3 week vacation I struggled to even think about data and data bases.  I struggled because I'm fighting a cold.  I struggled because one person asked in the middle of a database discussion, "You mean like a silo?"  A silo?  Seriously?  I picture a red barn and three tall metal silos and wonder what a silo has to do with data bases.  Silos are for storage.  Databases store data.  Silos store corn and wheat and possibly other grains.  Sugar beets don't go in silos.  Does cotton go in silos? People die in silos. People fall into silos and they can't breathe and they die.  Silos are dangerous. Silos are a part of the farming culture.  Silos can be seen from great distances. I had to force myself to STOP THINKING ABOUT SILOs because I was falling behind in the discussion.  This meeting was a conference call and also one of those "Go To Meetings" where we share a view of a computer screen on the internet.  We had six people physically at the meeting and three more attending from Texas.  The discussion was going fast and furious and my brain struggled to keep up the pace. The Texas people work for the fruit named database system.  Customer service is a priority with them and these three people had excellent customer service skills.  I noticed a pattern.  After one of us speaks the data base people respond with a positive statement (such as "That's great!") followed by a recap of what we said and another question.  We have done a lot of work on this database but haven't really been able to reap the benefits yet.  That is why we called the meeting.  Instead of saying "a lot of work" euphemisms were being tossed about.  "Meat and potatoes" was used and because of the great customer service technique meat and potatoes got repeated quite a bit as they validated what we said.  But one of the database people scored BIG  points with me when she recapped one of our statements by saying, "You have put a lot of work into the meat and potatoes or tofu and potatoes of this program."  For once my mind was on topic.  "Hear, hear!" I say applauding her inclusion of those of us eating a plant based diet.  The carnivores at the table snickered. I have never heard anyone say tofu and potatoes instead of meat and potatoes.  I know quite a few vegetarians.  None of them has ever used that phrase with me.  I like tofu too but only if Offspring #1 cooks the tofu.  I've tried making tofu and it turned out inedible terrible every time.  Now that the meeting is over and I'm at home, I am free to think about other things, like silos.