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CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

August 7, 2010

Pretty Face a Detriment for Construction Supervisors
Filed under: Ned Weirdness — Tags: — nedpelger

When Dereck Hench, my main Construction Supervisor, prevents a problem by looking ahead or does something extraordinary, I often say to him, “You’re not just another pretty face.” Of course he blushes and stammers. Well not really, but the thought of him blushing and stammering makes me laugh.

Turns out, his not so pretty face, and those of the rest of the guys I work with, may actually be an attribute. The Journal of Social Science just published a study that clearly showed discrimination against beautiful women who were applying for jobs in traditionally male dominated positions like Construction Supervisor, Mechanical Engineer, Manager of R&D, etc.

As we all know, beautiful men and women generally get hiring preference compared to the rest of us sorrowful specimens. In fact the beautiful people get all sorts of preferred treatments. Not so, it appears, in the field of Construction Supervision where we apparently prefer the women to be plain.

I certainly can support one of the conclusions of the study:

“The study chided those who let stereotypes influence hiring decisions. Given the importance of hiring and the consequences of making a wrong choice, the authors said, managers need to rely more on information from the individual rather than on stereotypes about physical appearance.”

Perhaps to right this historic wrong, we need to swing the pendulum a bit the other way. Beauty contests on the jobsite would certainly be motivational and would reward the beauty that has been previously discriminated against. Just a thought…though I really don’t want to see Dereck in a Speedo.

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

August 5, 2010

Ugly Building and a Gorgeous Garden
Filed under: Ned Weirdness — Tags: — nedpelger

Driving on Rt 322 yesterday, I saw a building that made me think, “Someone actually went out of their way to make that facade look that way.” I was so moved I had to stop and snap a photo.

The colors look bad, but that vertical striping of the steel siding really screams cheap. On one of my first buildings when I started Pelger Engineering and Construction, Inc, the Owner wanted those vertical siding stripes. We did it, but every time I drive by I feel the regret. Beauty may be skin deep, but ugly goes all the way to the bone.

Speaking of beauty, a property just down the road from the photo above also moved me to stop and snap a picture. The folks that take care of this property give a visual gift to everyone that drives by. What a nice way to make the world a little better!

As you live through this challenging year (and aren’t they all challenging in one way or another?), contemplate how you are making the world better. If you can’t think of any examples, get busy.

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

June 18, 2010

It’s Friday, Relax, Breathe, Watch This
Filed under: Ned Weirdness — Tags: — nedpelger

I don’t know about you, but I’ve had a tough week. It seems everything seems just a bit more challenging these days. I think that’s probably the new reality and am trying to adjust.

Still, it’s Friday and we need to relax, take some deep breaths and laugh a little. Yesterday I was corresponding with an architect friend who loves movies and discussing various great lines. He came up with the idea of a video montage of all the great one word lines in movies. For example, lines like …”HUH?” from the African Queen, “Five” from Dr. Strangelove and “Badges” from Treasure of the Sierre Madre.

I did a quick YouTube search for great one word movie clips (couldn’t find any) but did find the “The 100 greatest movie lines in 200 seconds”. It’s a fun watch, see how many you know and how many memories come floating back.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QUT0tweX1M&NR=1&feature=fvwp

Hope you enjoy your week-end.

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

June 5, 2010

Joining the Damn Church
Filed under: Ned Weirdness — Tags: — nedpelger

I’m doing lots of church projects these days. I generally try to avoid working for churches because I’ve experienced some rotten behavior from church building committees. The secret, I think, involves determining if the church leaders really do want to treat others (including contractors) the way they want to be treated themselves.

Fortunately I’m working with some great folks on these projects and really enjoying it. I shared this story with one of the pastors and he loved it. I think you may too.

A man walks into a church office and says to the secretary, “I want to join this damn church!”

The astonished woman replies, “I beg your pardon, sir. I must have misunderstood you. What did you say?”

“Listen up, dammit. I said I want to join this damn church!”

“I’m very sorry, sir, but that kind of language is not appropriate. Please excuse me for a moment.”

The secretary then leaves her desk and goes into the pastor’s study to inform him of her situation. The pastor agrees that the secretary should not have to listen to foul language.

They both return to her office and the pastor asks the old man, “Sir, what seems to be the problem here?”

“There is no damn problem,” the man says. “I just won 200 million bucks in the damn lottery and I want to join this damn church to get rid of some of this damn money.”

“I see,” said the pastor. “And is this bitch giving you a hard time?

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

June 3, 2010

Jerking Around Vs Ticking Off
Filed under: Ned Weirdness — Tags: — nedpelger

I was meeting with a church building committee yesterday and presenting a final estimate for a project we will start next week. We were discussing some re-pricing to get a clear idea of some of our options. The one building committee member suggested I get some additional price break-down from one of the trade contractor bidders that I doubt we’ll use. I didn’t want to waste the bidder’s time if he really didn’t have a shot at the job and said, “Well, I don’t want to jerk the guy off.” I kept on talking as my brain slowly processed what I had just said.

It’s rare that I’m embarrassed but I certainly was then. The guys kind of laughed as I finally got around to saying that I should have chosen my phrasing a bit more carefully. They were good-natured and mentioned that construction will be starting next week and lots of things will get said in church that usually don’t.

I really was surprised that I just blurted that out and it took me about ten minutes to realize that I was thinking both that I didn’t want to jerk the guy around and that I didn’t want to tick him off. Unfortunately, I guess my brain combined them.

If you want to see one of the best excited answers to a question, watch the short video below from Dr Strangelove: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. General Buck Turgidson responds to the US President about the possibility of an accidentally released nuclear bomb mission actually getting to Russia to hit its target. I laugh out loud every time I watch it.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxLe8MWdWe0&NR=1

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

May 14, 2010

God’s a Bit Sloppy in Geometry
Filed under: Ned Weirdness — Tags: — nedpelger

Puzzler:
What could make me conclude that God is a bit sloppy at geometry? Or at the least that He’s rounding off some significant digits?

2 Hints: The answer involves construction and I’m currently reading the The Daily Bible in Chronological Order NIV.

See if you can be the first to post the correct answer and win the title of Chief Construction Knowledge Poo-bah.

UPDATE: I asked my son if he had figured out the answer to the Puzzler and he responded, “That’s not a Puzzler, that’s just some random Bible verse you read.” As I thought about it, I had to reluctantly agree with him. So here’s the answer.

In 2nd Chronicles 4:2 Hiram the Artisan makes a large makes a large, fountain-type bowl located just off the altar. This bowl is called “The Sea” and is described as follows: “He made the Sea of cast metal, circular in shape, measuring 10 cubits from rim to rim and 5 cubits high. It took a line of 30 cubits to measure around it.”

To consider this bowl in math terms, it’s half a sphere with a diameter of 10 cubits. Since we know the circumference is diameter x Pi (or 3.1416), we know the diameter should be 31.416 cubits. Since the verse provides the measured diameter of 30 cubits, something is off. Was Pi in Biblical times 3.0 or was this a bit of inaccurate reporting? I developed a theory about this.

Years ago, when reading the NIV Study Bible, I came across a few notes that indicated some of the numbers didn’t jive with similar numbers from other Bible locations and suggested those numbers seem likely to be copyist errors. Attending a seminar on genetics at Princeton, given by the now Princeton President Shirley Tilgman, she discussed the copying errors that happen when cells reproduce. The errors don’t occur often, just occasionally and enough to muck up the calculations and make everything much more difficult to understand.

I theorized that Biblical copying errors, like DNA copying errors, are not random but intentional and lead to the concept of how much more complicated the universe is than we generally suppose. I’m comfortable with that complexity, but still work to understand my little bits truth that hover around me.

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

April 2, 2010

Now That’s Just Silly
Filed under: Ned Weirdness — nedpelger

I’ve had a couple of thoughtful posts, so now it’s time for something completely different. If you have 4 minutes, you will laugh out loud at something in this video.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5ElfwU5VZU

Here’s a photo a friend sent me that should inspire us all…though I’m not sure to what.

Hope you have a great Easter week-end.

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

March 31, 2010

Taking Some Time to Reflect
Filed under: Ned Weirdness — nedpelger

If you’ve been blessed to have children and were present at the birth, you probably remember that birthing moment with awe. I recall the grand mixture of emotions: joy, fear, love, disgust and probably a couple others. I was solidly in the game, though not at all sure how to play. I was terrified I’d screw the whole thing up. Time passed, I made lots of mistakes though generally I did OK as a husband and parent.

This week our daughter Anna gave birth to our first born grandchild. They named him Levin. Our son-in-law brought his 8 year old son Clay (whom I love dearly) into the marriage, so I have some experience with being Poppy. I’m fascinated, though, how different the birth experience is for a grandparent than a parent. My best analogy relates to wrestling. When I was preparing to go out for a match, I had some of the most intense feelings of my life…a combination of excitement and dread. When I watched my son go out for a match, on the other hand, my emotions were so much calmer, everything seemed more in perspective.

The photo below shows our other daughter, son and me hanging out in the waiting room. We were relaxed, and no, I wasn’t picking my nose, though I can’t vouch similarly for Tessa.

We had a relaxed day, hearing the updates about the progression of labor. I can’t resist throwing in a photo of Anna in the early stages of labor, as she looked so beautiful and radiant.

She went through the labor and delivery process mostly keeping that smile. She’s an athlete with a great positive attitude and was sure she’d be fine with this birthing thing. She once ran a marathon without any preparation and that’s mostly the way she approached having Levin. It seems to work for her.

As I recall, the first few months with a new baby present a different sort of challenge. Anne Lamott, one of my favorite writers, says, “Bringing a new baby home is like getting the world’s worst roommate. It’s like Janis Joplin with a hangover and PMS.”

So Anna, Chris, Clay and Levin will be in the muddle of that living and learning. In a way, I’m on the other side of it. I still have a full and joyful life, yet age seems to level the peaks and valleys a bit. Nothing seems quite as scary as it once did. No matter what happens, life continues and we get through…until we don’t. And it’s all good. Especially holding a little newborn and realizing that this amazing cycle starts anew.

A buddy of mine since 7th grade heard about Levin and advised me to take some time to reflect, to think about the things that count in the long run. I hope you don’t mind that I’ve taken his advice here and decided to share with you.

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

March 19, 2010

Ouch!
Filed under: Ned Weirdness — Tags: — nedpelger

I stumbled across this quick construction video that I guarantee will cause the same grimace for every man that watches it.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prpfxkGLVm0]

Any time a video clip ends with “Dude, are you all right?” you know it can’t be good.

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

March 2, 2010

Sleeping Around
Filed under: Ned Weirdness — Tags: — nedpelger

A good friend, who’s a project coordinator for a local contractor, sent me this photo with the caption:

Sleeping Around

It’s always the kids that suffer.

Another buddy sent me this little gem below.

When you’re from the country ~ you look at things a little differently…

A rancher got in his pickup and drove to a neighboring ranch and knocked at the door. A young boy, about 9, opened the door. “Is your Dad home?” the rancher asked.

“No sir, he isn’t,” the boy replied. “He went into town.”

“Well,” said the rancher, “Is your Mother here?”

“No sir, she’s not here either. She went into town with Dad.”

“How about your brother, Howard? Is he here?”

“No sir, He went with Mom and Dad.”

The rancher stood there for a few minutes, shifting from one foot to the other and mumbling to himself.

“Is there anything I can do for you?” the boy asked politely. “I know where all the tools are, if you want to borrow one. Or maybe I could take a message for Dad.”

“Well,” said the rancher uncomfortably, “I really wanted to talk to your Dad. It’s about your brother Howard getting my daughter, Suzie, pregnant.”‘

The boy considered for a moment. “You would have to talk to Pa about that,” he finally conceded. “If it helps you any, I know that Pa charges $500 for the bull and $50 for the hog, but I really don’t know how much he gets for Howard.”

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