mgbinspect

I see a joint venture forming, Steven... Make room, Bill Gates! Mult-scented vehicle fumes has arrived! [:-party]

Oops my bad. (a joke) Actually, I did see a month ago where a guy featured on The Learning Channel actually did check in to a hospital with eye sight problems. It turned out he had a nail in the center of his brain from a nail gun mis-fire. Everyone was staring at the xray in disbelief. He realized that some 20 years ago it had scooted past his eyeball and in and he just never realized what had occured. They told him there was nothing they could do for him now. Leave the nail where it was.

He just posted yesterday. He's alive and kicking...

Lol.... Oh, I'm still laughing hysterically over this post. I thought about going down this path myself but used restraint. This truly is the ultimate recycle. You might end up bigger than a house, but you can both live and drive on French fries. All you need is spuds and vegetable oil. It's just a darn shame that the nutrition side of it is so bad for you. Sigh... that had to be the laugh of the week... Life!.... There's a price for everything!... Still laughing... must be the Johny Walker Black... Hey! It's the weekend... I earned it.

Well, so far I only have the 17 footer and I must admit it is considerably heavier and a bit more cumbersome than my fiberglass 5' step ladder, but that's ok. Now, the real question in my mind is: 1.) Shall I get the 13 footer just for attic hatches? 2.) Could I handle the weight of a larger Little Giant to eliminate my 28' extension ladder?

Good Choice! I am deathly allergic to Poison Ivy. Last time I got it I looked like a burn victim from the elbows down (blisters on blisters... no smooth skin whatsoever!) and it took two full series of Prednisone (a steroid) to beat it. As soon as I came off the first series it just started coming right out again. And, the steroid after about three days made sleeping practically impossible. I did learn a lot about the stuff though. It's actually systemic meaning it does not have to show up where you came in contact with it. It simply gets in your blood stream and when you reach your tolerance it just starts coming out wherever it pleases. It does tend to show up where you've scratched (traumatized yourself) In my case, I had been trimming hedges loaded with it so I was literally scratching and injecting it into myself for probably 45 minutes. As careful as I am now, my Springer Spaniel still gives it to me now and then and it doesn't take very much to get me in bad shape.

Well, right now I have an F-150 six cylinder (19 MPG) and a 2005 Hemi Durango (14 - 16 MPG) gulp... That's a lot of senseless gas guzzling.

I'm really thinking it might be time to go to a little 4-banger pick up as much as I'd miss the room. $60.00 fill ups are a sobering event.

Is anyone currently running their vehicle on propane or considering a conversion?

Do you think you'll completely quit, Paul, or continue to do one now and then?

I hit 55 on September 27th myself, Mike.

I know you are dead right, George. Heck, 24 years ago there was no margin in residential masonry. One little trip up and your profit was gone and you were struggling to break even. I just got told yesterday by a home seller that her HVAC man said those (gaping) gaps arounnd the refrigerant line into the evaporator coil are "fine" and I'm just being "picky and stupid". (I bet there aren't gaps like that in his home HVAC system...)

When I used to probe drain fields for a relocation company I simply made one out of metal dowel from Home Depot. Boy, was that a long time ago. I disclaim them now.

Wayne, I bought the real McCoy tonight at Sears for much less than the advertised price. You da man!

I avoid it like the plague. Once in a while I agree when it's an agent I really trust and I tell him that it's his responsibility to see that I get paid at closing or he/she compensates me. I don't even like taking credit cards, but I do. Cash, check or money order is my mantra and the few times I've receieved a bad check I simply say, "You do understand that writing a bad check for over $100.00 is a felony dont you?" Miraculously, everyone has immediately made the check good somehow.

About 5 years ago I saw a Westinghouse 50's vintage ELECTRIC water heater still kicking. I was amazed and it looked great too. (Both obviously built prior to the 8 - 14 and 15 - 20 year life span conspiracy I suppose.)

It truly makes the entire process understandable. Please feel free, Les! I used it in my hand out book The Home Care Guide.

You know, It's hard to believe that 10+ years ago these presentions were pretty much a normal and acceptable Operating Proceedure. No one thought much about it. Back then, probably only 40% of home buyers in my area were even having home inspections. And, it was most likely the Realtors that made it where today it's almost 100%. In fact, now if a home buyer opts not to have a home inspection, Realtors in my area insist that the home buyer sign a waver stating that "they had their chance" to have one! We really can't forget that when we get on our demonization tangents regarding Realtors. There are definitely wise and well-meaning professional Realtors out there.

That's the kind of stuff I used to do. But, believe it or not... the show stopper was always a very simple and general explanation of the cooling system. People were always shocked to realize it's a "de-heating" process and not a "chilling" process. I used to use a piping hot cup of coffee as the image of the Summertime house and the insertion of a metal fork upside down with the tines up as the addition of a cooling system. People would always say, "Oh... I get it!" "Amazing!" I used to further explain that trying to de-heat a house with a cooling system that's low on refrigerent is like trying to bail out a boat with a thimble instead of a bucket. And, since all the lubricant is in the refrigerant, running an air conditioner low on refrigerant is as bad as driving a car low on oil! No doubt, they'd forget a lot of it after I left, but they were on the edge of their seats during. And, I bet a lot of them went home and had their cooling systems serviced. Not too many folks really comprehend refrigeration...

That's kinda what I was expecting and envisioning anyway. I agree with Kurt that you can't get very technical. And, Steven beat me to a clearification of my suggestion and intent. The only real education that a Realtor needs is: Why a home inspection is so valuable and important for all involved. Why an educated, certified and experienced home inspector is the only ticket and worth the fee. And a basic description of what we do and do not do with an emphasis on protocol and ethics. End of HI 101

Ok, I'll bite. I haven't done any presentations for Realtors since probably 1996, but if you stick to education and push certification and professionalism, I don't see how you can go wrong. No doubt you will get TONS of negative opinions, accusations, insinuations, etc.. etc... etc... But, if what they asked for was education and that is what you give them and that only, more power to you and thanks for promoting "our" industry. You might even see if a couple of your local collegues would assist just to keep the whole thing honest and above board. How about that? There's my two cents.

And, my second...

BTW, Bill, is that wood, plastice, bakolite, ???

Not to mention, "CMU" = Concrete masonry unit... concrete?

What a blessed and powerful combination, Steven! Awesome!