I came across this story and thought you’d appreciate it:

Three contractors were visiting a tourist attraction on the same day. One was from New York, another from Texas, and the third from Florida.

“Easy,” he said $1,000 for me, $1,000 for you and we hire the guy from Texas.”

Hope you have a great weekend. Remember to spend some time planning and some time laughing.

These guys look like they’re having some fun. Oh to be young.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZPcxt2ch0g

Hope you have yourself a fun weekend. It will be what you make it.

My buddy Kneal sent me this photo that made me laugh out loud.

Before you decide I just fell off the turnip truck, I know that no one really saw this revision cloud and hole sawed that opening. I’m sure some wise guy looked up and saw the cloud-like shape and had a great idea for PhotoShop.

The photo reminds me of a story from my friend Bob Navitiski. He was working as an inspecting engineer down at the Philadelphia Ship Yards in the 1970s. He warned the contractor that their was a buried water line in the vicinity of their digging. They spent a day or so carefully digging pits and trying to find this rogue line.

After he went back to the drawings, he realized that what looked like a line on the old prints was actually a fold in the paper. They had been searching for a fold.

Construction isn’t for the perfectionist or the faint of heart. We do our best and keep moving forward, otherwise this crazy business would drive us to drink.

One of the great joys of working in construction is the jobsite humor. Most of us that chose this industry are a little off and our sense of humor tends that way as well. Lots of quick witted guys and a high threshold for what’s considered offensive combines for lots of laughs on the jobsite.

So on the occasional Friday, I will post some Wise Guy thoughts that I’ve encountered that amuse me. John Wilkes, who lived in England in the 1700s, was one of the great smartassess of all time.

For instance, when told by a constituent that he would rather vote for the devil, Wilkes responded: “Naturally.” He then added: “And if your friend decides against standing, can I count on your vote?”

John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, supposedly said to Wilkes, “Sir, I do not know whether you will die on the gallows or of the pox.”

To which Wilkes replied, “That depends, my lord, on whether I embrace your lordship’s principles or your mistress.”

I came across the chart below that also made me laugh, so thought I’d include it.

Hope you have a great weekend.

Here’s a quick bit of construction humor to start your weekend.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0f_8czgB3c

Also, here’s a post from the Construction Knowledge Forum that I thought you’d enjoy:

I was on a construction job recently and we were installing petroflex, it was coiled on a reel cart. I watched as one of the guys thought he could reel it out by himself. I tried to warn him. I told him that he might be able to turn it 2 or 3 times but on the 4th or 5th time, he really would need more than his own strength to unreel it.

You know how construction workers are, a bit on the egotistical side and thought he could handle it…even laughing at me, telling me “Maybe YOU would need help!”

I watched as he unreeled…1..2…3 times on the 4th time, it snatched him off the ground and he spun around the reel 2 or 3 times. All I could hear was..”WOoaaaah” as he spun each time. After completeing his 3rd spin, the reel threw him to the ground. He hollered, “I’m hurt and man, you were right!”

Have a good one.

Back by popular demand (meaning this video cracks me up and I want to show it again), here’s a post from a couple of years ago.

We went to Penn Cinema movie theater yesterday, as I walked into the toilet I remembered this video on Men’s Restroom Etiquette. It expounds on the social contract of male restroom use. Men are praised for their efficiency compared to woman, but warned of several rules to never break.
1. Wast no time: walk in, do your business, wash your hands, exit
2. Never make eye contact
3. Use an appropriate decision strategy for urinal selection
4. Speech is your enemy. Never ever, under any circumstances, say a single word in a Men’s Room.
Watch the video to understand one of the best lines in video history, “Ralph and Chuck begin to…ralph and chuck.”

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzO1mCAVyMw

Since most of us build toilet facilities in our buildings, I thought you would benefit from knowing the rules about how to use those facilities. You may want to forward this instructional video to Building Owners prior to beneficial occupancy. You may even want to insert this video in the Plumbing Operation and Maintenance manuals. I’m just saying…

By the way, I have a Drainage Calculation app review today in the Apps Blog.

There was an old Construction Superintendent who lived in Arkansas and hadn’t been exposed to much beyond his little town. One day, he was out with his crew, framing a building on the edge of town, and saw the strangest thing in his entire life. He saw an elephant come walking down the street and go into cabbage field next to his jobsite.

This old Super just stood and watched this elephant in the cabbage field. As I said, he hadn’t been much for education and had never seen an elephant before, never even seen a picture of one.

Turns out the circus was coming through the town and one of the elephants escaped from a wagon. The sheriff came walking onto the jobsite and asked the old Super about the elephant. The old man replied, “I never seen anything like it. That critter keeps pulling up the cabbage with its tail.”

The sheriff said, “What? Pulled them up with his tail? What did he do with them?

The old Super replied, “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you!”

Take a minute to smile at the stupidity of others. Can you imagine yourself in any of those scenarios?

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RKY9u-S8TU&NR=1

I’m working on a project right now to try to figure how to raise an existing roof 4′ for a steel framed joist and deck, EPDM roof system for a 130′ x 80′ room. I’m hoping we don’t end up on one of these videos. If you’ve ever done a steel roof raising, shoot me a note, I’d appreciate hearing about your experiences.