SWCAMBORNE

As this week began I was very anxious about a job. I had made it to the final round of interviews, which had included a 45 minute phone interview, a 3 hour group interview and a final 2 hour individual interview with a panel of 6 interviewers. I had been told that I would be called either way on Tuesday. Well Tuesday came and went and I received no phone call. finally on Wednesday I received notification that they had decided on someone else. Surprisingly after the intial let down of not getting the position I am in fantastic spirits. The Big Dance starts today. Go Bruins!!!!

This link is courtesy of my sister-in-law Lynne B:

Subject: Coolness Test

I Know I have Changed!!! LOL Let’s see if you have?

Coolness Test
This test is based on how cool you were in High School– What Crowd you
ran with, etc., but it’s still pretty accurate.
You may want to send it to your friends to see if they’ve changed.

SEE IF YOU ARE A STILL A COOL PERSON:
http://www.elks590.org/main/cooltest.htm

This photo was taken in Baja California just south of Rosarito Beach.

This one was taken in Rio de Janeiro. The one in Baja is newer, more colorful, closer to the road and much closer to Los Angeles.

We are about to start a little remodel and so I’ve been thinking about contractors and how they work. I think this idea came up when I was talking to John Lyman, our very good contractor at the end of our last job. But I just remembered it since we are about to start a new one.

A remodel opportunity

I decided that if I were a contractor and wanted to profitably grow my business. I would raise my prices 15% and give half of it to the subs. With my half I would spend half on this idea A Digital Completion Package as a marketing tool and half (three to four percent of revenue) I’d put in my pocket. When I went in on a bid I would show the potential customers a sample of the digital completion package they would get when the remodel was done. It would include photos from our weekly job meetings, all of the relevant documents, all of the data on the house and before and after photos of the job. The trick would be to shoot digital photos of the general job site every week and of the nameplate or box label of every piece of equipment installed. Photograph the subs business cards for starters in fact almost all of the data could be gathered using digital cameras.

Some potential customers would be so pleased that they would gladly pay the increase and it would be easy to find good reliable subs because you can afford to pay them more. The package would have the additional benefit of creating a good historical record for dispute avoidance purposes.
This is an example of what would be in the Package:

Builders Completion Kit for: ____ Any Street, Any Town

• Before and After Photos

Very good photos. Video?

• Weekly Job Photos

Cell phone photos. Video?

• Documents

1. Plans
2. Permits
3. Bid
4. Statements
5. Weekly meeting minutes
6. Change orders
7. Correspondence
8. EPA data sheets

• Job Data

1. Paint Mfg, type and colors
2. Appliances Mfg, Model Serial Number, Photo
3. Fixtures Mfg, Model Serial Number, Photo
4. Prints
5. Stucco Mfg, type and colors
6. Data on all materials for finish
7. Subcontractor list

“Be the change you want to see in the world.”

- Mahatma Gandhi

A classic English phone booth is a beautiful thing. They are also an anachronism in this day of the cell phone and are being removed fairly rapidly from everywhere except the most touristy areas. They are being refurbished and resold however by various entrepreneurs. This one is for sale for $5000:

This seems like a lot of money for a little nostalgia in the back garden possibly for storage of garden tools. But what about American phone booths. The aluminum ones with the accordian doors. They also are vanishing. Here is an opportunity for a local entrepreneur to save a piece of Americana and make a few bucks.

On the last day of any dive trip we have to take an excursion because we can’t fly within 24 hours of diving. This year we took a very long van trip to Chichen Itza to see the temple which was interesting but even better was the rare Motmot bird we saw while at Chichen Itza.

The photo is from Mangoverde world bird guide and was supplied by Mike F.  Mike is the official naturalist of the Codger Divers

Simon, (my dad) keeps asking me to comment on his postings and I was resistant until I discovered I could have my own series. Now everyone will have to deal my rantings too. Like father, like daughter. Mostly I am going to talk about my dealings in the garden, which considering my condo life is very limited. However, I do take great joy in pulling the weed most people refer to as mint. Expect pictures of the evil plant in the future but sice this is my first posting I thought I would keep it simple. Also expect some pictures of my two adorable cats, otherwise known as the monsters, Basil and Tictac. Anyway I would love comments and will learn to take the criticism.

It’s spring in Southern California and an old mans fancy turns to thoughts of Henges.

Check out this article about Henges in America.

It doesn’t mention fridgehenge (shown above) but we found this link to Fridgehenge in Sante Fe New Mexico and this run of photos on Flickr

These excellent “Washing Machine Cows” were created by Aldo Santini and are on display at outside the Giorgio Santini Art Gallery (tel 011 52 661 614 1459). They are located south of Rosarito Beach in Baja California. It is an easy 45 minute drive from the border south to the art gallery. Get off the toll road at Rosarito and drive south another 15 minutes. The gallery has some excellent art and the “cows” are a site to behold. You can own a “cow” for not a lot of money and you get a threefer: Art, recycling and promoting art in Mexico.