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CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

May 29, 2009

The Wages of Sin is…Prison and Maggots
Filed under: Ned Weirdness — nedpelger

Construction Supervisor Mark Hawkins hails from Britain and worked in Dubai. He decided to cross that marital infidelity line with Sally Anita, another Brit in her early 40s. Mrs Anita’s husband let the police know that the couple was canoodling at a 5 star hotel in Dubai.

sally_anita

Now Mark Hawkins and Sally Anita both find themselves in a horrendous prison, probably for a year. Adultery turns out to be a serious crime in Dubai. Mrs Anita says, “It’s filthy here. The food – when you get it – has maggots in it. The lights are on all day and night. I have no-one to talk to. I am confused, frightened and I feel totally abandoned. We sleep two women to each bunk. I share my bed with a Russian woman. We sleep top to tail. It’s horrendous.”

So here’s another reason (besides having to give away half your stuff) to not think with your Johnson. Just think of this as a little public service announcement.

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

May 26, 2009

What Goes Up…
Filed under: Industry outlook — Tags: — nedpelger

Those of us that make a living designing or constructing buildings may be interested in a recent ENR article about US skyscrapers selling at incredibly cheap prices. A 40 story tower in NYC (1330 Avenue of the Americas) just sold to a Canadian pension fund for $100,000. Three years ago that building sold for $500M. The owner defaulted on his $130M bank loan for a building located near the Museum of Modern Art, Rockefeller Center and Central Park. The Canadian pension fund held that $130M loan and agreed to take over the rest of the mortgage payments in hopes of avoiding a total loss.

While this example amazes, plenty of tall buildings around the country are selling at incredible prices. Tenants leave, developers can’t find new tenants or loans to cover the shortfall and the properties go into default. With the lack of financing options, one source compared it to a scenario if all houses had to be paid for in cash, with no financing available. The prices of houses would plummet, because so few buyers would be able to purchase. The supply of houses would be huge and the demand would be tiny, thus the prices would free fall.

Many industry sources think the next 12 months will see this scenario play out in the commercial real estate market. If it does (if the government or the market are unable to help create a sense of confidence for the banks to loan again), then we may be in for a rough ride for a spell.

We may be wise to pay heed to what Winston Churchill said about World War II in 1942, “Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”

To end on a more upbeat tone, though, I’d like to share this article in the NY Times Magazine that may encourage you in the career choice you made.

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

May 22, 2009

The Joy of Misunderstandings
Filed under: Ned Weirdness — Tags: — nedpelger

As you know, misunderstandings abound on the jobsite. We strive to limit them, as managers and supervisors, yet they crop up daily.

I came across this letter from a grandmother to her grand-daughter that illustrates the point. Grandma is eighty-eight years old and still drives her own car. She writes:

Dear Lizzy,

The other day I went up to our local Christian book store and saw a ‘Honk if you love Jesus’ bumper sticker .

I was feeling particularly sassy that day because I had just come from a thrilling choir performance, followed by a thunderous prayer meeting. So, I bought the sticker and put it on my bumper.

Boy, am I glad I did; what an uplifting experience that followed.

I was stopped at a red light at a busy intersection, just lost in thought about the Lord and how good he is, and I didn’t notice that the light had changed.

It is a good thing someone else loves Jesus because if he hadn’t honked, I’d never have noticed. I found that lots of people love Jesus!

While I was sitting there, the guy behind started honking like crazy, and then he leaned out of his window and screamed, ‘For the love of God!’

‘Go! Go! Go! Jesus Christ, GO!’

What an exuberant cheerleader he was for Jesus!

Everyone started honking! I just leaned out my window and started waving and smiling at all those loving people. I even honked my horn a few times to share in the love!

There must have been a man from Florida back there because I heard him yelling something about a sunny beach.

I saw another guy waving in a funny way with only his middle finger stuck up in the air. I asked my young teenage grandson in the back seat what that meant. He said it was probably a Hawaiian good luck sign or something.

Well, I have never met anyone from Hawaii , so I leaned out the window and gave him the good luck sign right back. My grandson burst out laughing. Why even he was enjoying this religious experience!!

A couple of the people were so caught up in the joy of the moment that they got out of their cars and started walking towards me. I bet they wanted to pray or ask what church I attended, but this is when I noticed the light had changed.

So, grinning, I waved at all my brothers and sisters, and drove on through the intersection.

I noticed that I was the only car that got through the intersection before the light changed again and felt kind of sad that I had to leave them after all the love we had shared.

So I slowed the car down, leaned out the window and gave them all the Hawaiian good luck sign one last time as I drove away. Praise the Lord for such wonderful folks!!

Will write again soon,

Love, Grandma

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

May 16, 2009

They Don't Pay Him Enough for That
Filed under: safety — Tags: — nedpelger

A reader sent the photo below, which makes me laugh. Imagine your boss telling you, “OK Joe, today you’re on bridge pier demo, but we’re going to suspend you in the air with the crane to save some money.” This truly is a wacky and wonderful business.

demo_hanging_backhoe

My advice for you today comes from Lt Dan in Forrest Gump, “Don’t do anything stupid, like getting yourself kilt.”

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

May 12, 2009

Tangled Up and Blue
Filed under: Electrical — Tags: — nedpelger

If you work in construction, you encounter an increasing number of wires and cables in your world. Everyone seems to want more data ports, more phones, more power outlets and more cable TV jacks.  My Dad and Grandfather had a small electrical contracting business and had pride in the neatness of their cable runs. I learned at an early age to run the cable straight and true, to care what it looked like even if most other people didn’t.

The assortment of photos at Dark Roasted Blend fascinates me and I thought you would enjoy seeing a few of them. I’ve seen some ugly electric utility company wiring in Third World countries, but this photo from Vietnam takes it to another level.

Tangled_power_wires_vietnam

The fact that workers need to get in that mess, as shown below from Nepal, further amazes me.

Tangled_power_wires_nepal

Of course, I don’t get to see that kind of wiring on my job sites, but the phone and data wiring below looks a bit too familiar.

Tangled_data_wires

Tangled_data_wires_sloppy

Enough of the crap, the photo below shows what we strive for on our projects.

wiring_bundled

Speaking of crap, though, I saved the best for last. I think this photo takes multi-tasking to a whole new level.

Tangled_wires_toilet

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

May 8, 2009

The Beauty of Saying It with Construction
Filed under: Ned Weirdness — nedpelger

A town councillor in Wales, Mark Easton, had a beautiful view of the mountains, until a new neighbor purchased the land below his house and built a new home. The new home was 18 inches higher than the planning dept had approved, so Mark Easton, mad about his lost view, went to the local authority to make sure they enforced the roof line height.

The new neighbor had to drop the roof height, at great expense. Recently, Mark Easton called the planning dept, and informed them that his new neighbor had installed some vents on the side of his new property. Mark didn’t like the look of these vents and asked the planning dept to investigate.

When they went to Mark’s home to see what the vents looked like, this is what they found…

vents_finger

vents_finger_landscape
The Local Authority said the vents can stay since there is no planning law referring to shutter design.

I’m told this is a true story, though I haven’t verified. Seems crazy enough to be true to me. Remember to play nice.

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

May 6, 2009

Last Chance to Win $100
Filed under: Construction Superintendents — Tags: — nedpelger

I’ve gotten a few correct answers from my Super Tips Puzzler, but will wait a couple more days before I randomly draw a name and send them a $100 check. So the odds are fairly good, you might want to consider sending in your answer.

As for site growth, I was pleased to meet with the owners of Haller Enterprises, Inc (an MEP firm I often work with) and see the note they stuck in all their employees paycheck envelopes. The note explained that the ConstructionKnowledge website could be a great resource for them to continue to learn and grow. They further encouraged employees to log in to the Forum and begin interacting with others. I’ve been disappointed we can’t seem to get a steady stream of posts going on the Forum.  So I again encourage you to sign in, make a post, respond to someone else’s post.

I’m involved in some other forums for other topics and they really are fun and useful. I hope we can get this going…

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

May 2, 2009

What's Your Legacy?
Filed under: People Skills — Tags: — nedpelger

The first Super Tips Newsletter went out and I got the note below from Jake Toews, my first boss in construction. He’s retired now, but still keeps his hand in the design and building game.

Ned,
I enjoyed your newsletter.  We both remember Bud Caldwell and his gift for training young people.  When I was a young, green project manager on a treatment plant in Tremont, Bud was the job super.  He taught by example.  He made tools in his shop to solve problems, he “suggested” alternatives when he saw a better way, but most of all he was patient – not like the lead character in your concluding joke!  Many folks at TAH were beneficiaries of Bud’s wisdom.  I had never seen the conversion chart done like that before.

Jake

The note made me smile, as I remembered Bud Caldwell. He was an old guy when I knew him, his lungs polluted by asbestosis. Yet his love for construction and his enthusiasm made him not seem old to me. He was vibrant. He liked that I wanted to learn and put in the effort to teach me.

If you’re an old hand in the business, do you look for younger folks with potential? Do you enjoy the two edged sword of learning and teaching? On the other hand, if you are a whippersnapper, do you seek out those experienced Construction Supervisors that seem willing to teach?

Not to put too fine a point on it, but we’ll all be worm food soon enough. Take some time to help others. Like the Boy Scouts always strive to leave a campsite a little nicer than how they found it, try to improve this profession that’s been good to you. Think Legacy.