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You mean, especially in this country. "I personally believe that U.S. Americans are unable to do so because some people out there in our nation don't have maps and I believe that our education like such as in South Africa and Iraq and everywhere like such as and I believe that they should our education over here in the U.S. should help the U.S. or should help South Africa and should help Iraq and the Asian countries so we will be able to build up our future for us"[:-graduat Ms. Upton Honestly, we all have our stupid moments. How about this one: "Home inspectors in NY can't inspect new construction." What kind of idiot says something like that? Knowing how to laugh is often the most intelligent skill.[:-slaphap

Your agreement with Brother Katen misled me since he states, "Attitude is great, but it doesn't make up for lack of brain cells." (And I'm not trying to get all picky here - just having some fun with someone I respect.) You are saying attitude is a direct result of brain cells. In fact everything about a person is due to his/her brain. I have to agree with that! I can't feel, reason, or do much of anything but piss with my kidneys. And the kidneys are useless without the brain. Personality, motivation, and attitude all come from the various regions of the brain. In artificial intelligence circles - over 20 years ago - programmers viewed the "brain" as the hardware of a person and the "mind" as the software running in the hardware. I don't know why people have such a need to oversimplify everything. That mass of stuff between our ears is likely a frontier we will not fully understand before our sun cools. I agree with you, Walter. (It's generally dangerous to do otherwise.[:-thumbu])

Oh, how you love to rock that boat. I do admit it is fun, so let's rumble. While you say you agree heartily with Brother Katen, your argument departs from what he wrote. While he writes, "In addition to attitude..." you write, "Truth is, each of us is only as good as his brain." You make no mention of "in addition" to anything else. Native intelligence is one of the greatest gifts a person can have. But it is a resource. Resources can be used to do great good or great evil. Now I am not talking about touchy-feely good and evil. You can't argue logically with that sort of crap. I'm simply stating that there are positive and negative consequences of using any resource. I suspect that the person with the greatest native intelligence at any particular time in history is likely to be pulling a rickshaw. But that person has the potential to do more good - or at least less bad - than the brightest person with power and a greedy soul. Additionally, that rickshaw operator can't get much done, not because he has only one cylinder, but because it is his current lot in life. (Or her, obviously.) So far as needing to find "workers who are smarter than the current crop," I see that as a partial truth. The potential of the current "crop" is unknown. Given consistent, rigorous, academic and practical education, I have little doubt that many would fail and many would succeed. That seems to me more a matter of laziness than native intelligence, however. I managed to graduate at the top of my class in college. I was the president of two discipline-specific honor societies and I am an active member of Phi Kappa Phi. Graduating at the top of my class meant that I had the best grades, but I know for a fact that I was not the smartest person - I just worked harder. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't want to be the "smartest" person. There seems to be a social inaptitude that often accompanies genius. I prefer Guinness. And so far as pushing boulders uphill, just to watch them roll back down, I think that's what people do from generation to generation. It's my kids' turn now.[]id="green">

I agree. Same is true of home inspectors.[]

Could be a rat - have to be there to tell anything more. They never heard of 'such a thing' as a visual inspection? Expectations were certainly not set.

That's my point, sort of. I wanted to show that the discussion of mold in this business is painted with too broad a brush. The same is often true of Rn, WDO and IR. The best way to make my point wrt mold was to point out someone of unquestionable intellect who does mold inspection and mitigation. If the topic was Rn, WDI or IR then I could easily find inspectors of high repute to support that. The point --> if someone has the intellect and takes the time to truly understand a subject, then they should be proud to offer that service as they peruse a structure. Debating whether a home inspector should be 'doing' mold, Rn, WDI or IR is moot. If someone has only a weekend certificate, then he should not. But that's true of home inspection itself! On the other hand, if one has invested the time and effor to truly learn a subject, then great! I'm sure that people will still say things like, "A home inspector should not be doing xxxx." I say, "That depends."

You might be right, but only praise has been heaped on either of them. And all that's been mentioned is what exists on their public websites.

I believe that. Although Pete has had training in controlling microbial problems in buildings, he's probably on Daniel's list simply because he's a friggin' genius. Pete could do anything he sets his mind to.

On that, I agree. But I would say the same thing of home inspectors.id="blue"> I believe they are among the few who should maintain their titles. It is the rest who should not be allowed to use it. There is a short list of home inspectors who are extremely qualified. Should they change their titles because the majority are unqualified? The answer may be yes, but then everyone else simply follows suit and the game goes on.id="blue"> Home inspector -> Master home inspector -> Senior Master home inspector -> Chief Senior Master Home inspector -> ...

And I agree with Jeffrey in today's world. Look, what training is available today that most HIs will pay for? It is garbage, as are the tools most use in their testing. If a home inspector actually had the intellect and took the time to learn about mold the way Friedman has, THEN the home inspector has the advantage of looking in every visible nook and cranny - something the average IAQ person does NOT do. Jeffrey sees the world that is, while Daniel sees the world that could be.

I take nothing on the Internet personal. Shallow logic, on the other hand drives me nuts! It ain't you, it's the words.

[:-banghea You did not say that people in a certain organization take the simple path to learning (i.e., boondoggles). You did say that people who belong to a certain organization do mold inspection. There is a huge difference. Daniel does mold inspection and he belongs to the the same organization as you. You cannot automatically connect a mold inspector with Pro-Lab anymore than you can automatically connect a home inspector with the Podunk School of Home Inspection and Beauty Products.

Lewis, You have hit on the real issue plaguing home inspection, IAQ, hair salon products, and online diplomas. It centers on the stupifying of our entire society. There are innumerable 'companies' offering 'education' in home inspection, IAQ, CO detection, IR analysis and booger flicking. They make intelligent people cringe at the thought of associating themselves with such an 'education'. That, in turn, leaves the true experts in such things in a quandary. YES, Daniel Friedman lists himself as a mold inspector. He should be proud to do so, given the incredible depth of knowledge he has amassed in the field. Truly a spectacular, and very kind soul! Until rigorous education and or training in all things home inspection related, this will continue to be the sort of field where people say, "Yeah, and did you ever notice that these guys are in *****?" There are people who should be ashamed to prostitute themselves as mold inspectors. There are others who should rightfully be proud to call themselves such. The same is true of home inspection in general.

Isn't that the sort of topic we are supposed to stay away from here? It does absolutely nothing to to further discussion of the actual topic.

Do you include Daniel Friedman in that statement?Dan's site Friedman's a genuine building scientist. He's got real education and real credentials. I don't consider him a "mold inspector" and I doubt that he'd ever call himself one. From everything I can see, the term "mold inspector" is synonymous with the term "fraud." - Jim Katen, Oregon You're wrong, Jim. If you go to the following link, he writes, "HIRE AN EXPERT" and has a hyperlink under that titled, "Find a mold inspectorid="maroon">." Go here and click on Find a mold inspector (Scroll down a bit) Click on that link and you will find he lists himself (And Pete Engle). As you know, mold inspection has been a popular topic at TIJ before. On one of those threads, I mentioned that I knew a VERY smart HI who was disappointed that I was choosing NOT to do mold inspections. It was Daniel to which I referred. He believes a home inspector has a much better opportunity to provide mold inspections than any IAQ expert. I have little doubt that you know him and Pete well enough to turn this around, but as of now - he does call himself a mold inspector and he does believe that HIs should be inspecting for mold.

That should read, "I couldn'tid="maroon"> care less..." Very common slip.

Do you include Daniel Friedman in that statement?Dan's site

24 years ago when my wife was pregnant, I told a lady in a grocery store, "good luck on your pregnancy too." She wasn't. I felt terrible. And I had a boss - Vishwas Abhyankar. He took back a programmable calculator I was using for my work. I called him an Indian giver. Brain farts happen.

Damn, dude! Glad you're alright. You have to have a sense of humor in this world.

Chill out, Cub Scout! Jeez, Louise there weren't even any broken bones. I've broken bones and years later, it cracks me up. Please, laugh - 'tis the season. It wasn't even that funny - no offense, Jim[:-party]

With a little red paint, the image of candy canes on the roof would be quite festive.

Completely agree, Bro! Like I said, I'm working on it. The dumbing down of our already ADD culture ain't helping. Ignore the crap. Create something meaningful. I like it! Increase the love. Increase the optimism. [:-headphoNo colors anymore, I want them painted black... NOT! Color my world.

Cornball or not, it's nice to have optimists around. I look at the same thing but see confirmation that the past was more beautiful than the present - a negative trend. I don't like being that way. Perhaps it's the weather. I'm a Pearl Jam fan. Eddie Vedder says, ***k the pessimists! I'm working on it.

They will do whatever makes them the most money. There is not a thing you can do to change that. Like it - or not. Bottled water costs more than gasoline and both polute the planet, but people can't get enough of either. Not a real bright bunch, us.

If you are looking to take a cheap shot at someone, at least put forth the energy to press "Click to verify" on his website logo. It shows that Rick is a member until Dec 20, 2007. He is apparently a thinking person who doubts the wisdom of a previous decision. Good for him, I say.