ARCHIVED BLOG POSTS
2013
"You know that great prejudice exists against all successful business enterprise - the more successful, the greater the prejudice." John D. Rockefeller (1839-1937) As a young man, working as an office assistant for 50 cents a day, it is said that Rockefeller's great ambition was to have $100,000 ...
04/29/2013
20
Comments
My brother, Kenny, came to town on business for one night, so we got together and went to a baseball game! The last time we had been to a baseball game together was the 1969 All Star Game held in Washington DC. Count the years - that's once every 44 years! At that game we had a very good time. ...
04/28/2013
Had I appeared to my thirteen year old self, what advice would I have given my younger self? And, more importantly, would I have believed that it was me, and would I have taken my own advice? Just thinking about this gives me a headache! But, let's think. First of all, I had a business then! I m...
04/28/2013
This post inspired by chapter 5, "Multitasking," in the book THE ONE THING, written by Jay Papasan and Ben Kinney and Gary Keller. As I sit here reading and thinking, and my fingers are making motions that my brian memorized many decades ago (which I can do at over 100 words per minute with very ...
04/27/2013
One of the unwritten codes in the Men's Room is that you don't look down, but while in the Men's Room a home inspector always looks up! What did this home inspector see? Structural steel fireproofing! Oh, sure, like I'm going to believe YOU don't look around and inspect things when you go places...
04/26/2013
This family has lots of kids and an unfinished basement that is partially finished as an ice hockey rink! And, as we all know, a house full of kids needs an extra fridge in the basement. And there it is. Sitting there just beside the penalty area. It's full of sodas and water and treats for th...
04/25/2013
This beautiful, oak staircase fully demonstrates the "I don't care" attitude in new construction - "nuff said. You will notice that there are brads shot into the wood. They are NOT at the pre-drilled points, already provided by the staircase producer who is obviously trying to be careful to prote...
04/24/2013
What do you say when you see a bathroom vent hanging by a thread ... um, I mean glue and tape? As I am doing a pre-drywall inspection I am walking around talking. It is virtually a running commentary, and I love to point out the good things I am seeing. In this house there were two upstairs bath...
04/23/2013
自由企業 "The Customer is God, and the market decides everything."Ancient Chinese Saying The symbols above mean "free enterprise" in traditional Chinese script. Interestingly, the symbols also can say "economic risk." Free enterprise is a system of economic risk! From start to finish. And t...
04/22/2013
28
Comments
Yes, despite everything I saw I was particularly struck by the floating porch corners. Sure, the new porch lacked lots of things, like a permit for instance. The sides are 34" off the ground, so guardrails would be needed. The stairs are 65" wide, so a handrail would be needed on both sides. Th...
04/21/2013
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Jay Markanich
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