I get a lot of direct marketing pieces from people trying to sell their software, hardware, network equipment, security programs, etc. It comes with the territory of working in I.T. and getting on just one mailing list.
I have to give credit to one guy for something catchy, though. He sent me two seed kits along with a request to meet and followed up with an email the day after I got the package. Too bad for him he was selling HR Management software because I have no interest/responsibility for that.
However, I will make anything into a competition if I can so I challenged one of my colleagues to a see growing contest. Neither of us are good plant people so it was an even matchup.
We agreed to start on a Monday and by the time I got to my seeds after my many meetings, hers had been growing for hours. I told her I would cry foul if her seeds sprouted ahead of mine.
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| After one week - a clear winner emerged. |
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| The starting kit. |
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| Initial "planting" which involved spreading the seeds on the pad and soaking them in water. |
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| Ten days from planting. |
You may guess that I was the winner because I posted about it and I would have ignored the loss. You would be partially correct. I would have posted even if I'd lost because at least I had a story.
It was a moot point since I smoked her.
Her seeds didn't sprout at all and I guessed it was because she didn't give them enough water. The directions said one tablespoon a day but I gave mine two. I also put a plastic lid over my seeds for the weekend in an attempt to mimic a greenhouse.
We tried to grow hers after the contest was called by really soaking them then putting the "greenhouse" lid on them.
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| Greenhouse sprouting. |
While it did sprout the seeds a little bit, it was too late. In fact all our attempt to grow her seeds gave us was an incredibly smelly product. Mold doesn't go over well in an enclosed area.
She tossed her seeds out before they could get much more toxic. I threw mine out a day later as my luscious sprouts were also starting to smell.
I do feel kind of bad for the sales dude because we enjoyed his gimmick and he got no return on his investment. But, I don't feel bad enough to schedule a meeting with him.
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