A Lazy Fan Shortcut

The midday sun was baking through the lobby glass, making my paperweight throne unnecessarily warm. Walking over to the main AC controls sounded like unpaid janitorial work. Right on the edge of the blotter sat a mini USB desk fan with a flexible gooseneck, plugged into the unattended computer monitor. Instead of marching across the wood to twist the head, I found a curved plastic paperclip and a heavy metal key ring lying by the register. I hooked the clip onto the fan's outer wire guard, looped the key ring over the end as a counterweight, and kicked a wooden pencil under the cable. The sudden weight pivoted the fan housing three inches downward, blasting cold air right across my sneakers. Perfect climate control, zero footwork.