www.ncbuy.com/news/2003-12-08/1008414.html

New York City Drowning In Bird Droppings

PARSIPPANY, N.J. (Wireless Flash) -- When people tell New Jersey businessman Phil Waldorf he doesn't know crap, he can easily retort "Why yes, I do!"

Waldorf is an expert in the removal of bird droppings and has spent the last 10 years cleaning piles of pigeon poop off buildings in the New York area with his business, Bell Environmental.

It may sound funny, but dung is serious business. Waldorf says bird populations are skyrocketing and many buildings are endangered by built-up droppings which can cause respiratory diseases if sucked into ventilation systems.

Besides that, the acidity of the dung can cause damage to the building, zap power outlets and even cause roofs to collapse.

Shoveling dung may not sound like an ideal career, but Waldorf isn't complaining. He says in this day of companies moving work overseas to cut costs, he has no fears about losing his job because -- quote -- "you can't clean up sh*t from China."

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Just great.  Something for people who have lost their job to outsourcing... shoveling bird shit.

"Why yes, I used to be a Programmer for a Fortune 500 making 80k a year but my job was outsourced to a guy who they pay 10 bucks a day.  I now I shovel bird shit to stay alive."

I'd LOVE to see some stories like that on the front page.  Might get Joe Sixpack and Wally Wal-Mart mommies attention.

True but disgusting story: During my college summers, I used to work construction in various capacities.  Once, I was working as a general laborer in the heart of Washington, DC near the red-light-district.  Our job was to renovate an old row-house that had been vacant for decades.  Were were the first humans to enter the dwelling in perhaps 50 years.  

Several inches of pigeon shit, dead birds, broken eggs, and the remnants of nesting material made the floors sag under their combined weight.  It was the job of me and two others to shovel all this shit down a chute to a waiting 10-wheel dump truck below.  The job took us 3 days but we filled truck!  All I had to cover my mouth and nose against the filth was a bandana.  At the end of the work day, we'd blow out black snot.  It's a wonder the airborne parasites didn't kill our asses!  [puke]

Oh, I'm sure they're killing your asses, just slowly.