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CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

September 29, 2012

A Walk to Remember
Filed under: Ned Weirdness — nedpelger

I had the most astoundingly beautiful prayer walk this morning. I got out early, 5 am on a misty, dark morning. The trees were silhouetted by moonlight coming through the mist. As I walked through the woods, I saw lightning bugs scattered around on the ground. Their lights no longer flashed, I suppose they were dying. So it was hundreds of points of light as I walked along in the dark.

I’m still moved by the majesty of those moments. I don’t know one trillioneth of what is going on in this universe, but I do know the manager. And the manager is cool. I’m so grateful to be in this game, whatever it is.

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

August 3, 2012

Marilyn Monroe loves bridges…never saw an ugly one
Filed under: Ned Weirdness — Tags: — nedpelger

Did you know Marilyn Monroe loved to read classic literature? Her library included Dostoyevsky, Milton, Hemmingway and Kerouac. When she wasn’t shooting, she took literature and history night classes at UCLA. She also loved bridges, as shown in her poem below:

Oh damn I wish that I were
dead — absolutely nonexistent –
gone away from here — from
everywhere but how would I do it
There is always bridges — the Brooklyn
bridge
– no not the Brooklyn Bridge
because
But I love that bridge (everything is beautiful from there and the air is so clean) walking it seems
peaceful there even with all those
cars going crazy underneath. So
it would have to be some other bridge
an ugly one and with no view — except
particularly like in particular all bridges — there’s some-
thing about them and besides these I’ve
never seen an ugly bridge

I love bridges too. Each has her own unique beauty, just like each woman does. TBW, by the way, thinks that makes me a low-standard dope. I don’t disagree. But I love to look at bridges and women.

Here’s a Marilyn Monroe slide show with her at bridges, dams, and reading…along with a few other things. Relax and enjoy, it’s Friday.

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

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

June 29, 2012

Lex, Go Shoot the Guineas
Filed under: Ned Weirdness — Tags: — nedpelger

Henry James once said the two most beautiful words in the English language are “Summer Afternoon”. I hope you’re taking advantage of some of your summer afternoons to enjoy the beauty of wherever our are.

The answer that you’re too busy doesn’t pass muster. You’ll be too busy your entire life, then look back and wonder why you have so little joy. The memories need to get made in the moment and now’s the moment.

I’ve been spending more time in our garden this year (having a huge project just go away a couple weeks before the start date will do that). As I put up fence, rototill weeds and just admire the plant growth, I recalled an incident from our previous neighbors.

We live in the country. We’ve generally kept donkeys and sheep and our neighbors had goats and horses. A few years ago a friend stopped up to give us six guinea hens. He heard me mention that I’ve always wanted them. They act as an alarm system, squawking when strangers come around.

So our guineas made themselves comfortable for a few months, managing to avoid getting eaten by the foxes (the fate met by the previous chickens). I didn’t hear them squawk too much, but enjoyed seeing them in the pasture.

Then one evening, just after supper, we got a call from the neighbor woman. I knew she was an absolute animal lover and a very nice person. She said on the phone, “Ned, I just hate having to make this phone call, but your guineas fly over the fence and poop all over our patio furniture. We have to clean off the furniture almost every day. I don’t want to cause any problems, but it really is a pain.”

I said, “Oh I understand. Don’t worry. We’ll take care of it.” When I hung up the phone, I said, “Lex, go shoot the guineas.”

Within about a minute and a half, I heard bang, bang, bang, bang, bang and bang. We had six dead guineas (Lex was always a pretty decent shot).

The neighbor lady never mentioned that to me and never called with another complaint. She moved away a couple of years ago, I should have asked her what she thought when the shooting started.

The moral? Make some memories, have some fun, do the unexpected. Give folks something to talk about at your memorial service. It’s coming sooner than you think.

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

June 22, 2012

Friday Fun: Statuesque and Toppling
Filed under: Ned Weirdness — Tags: — nedpelger

How can I make beautiful models walking in high heels and falling over tie into construction?

Structural analysis? No. Decision making strategies? Not really. Safety planning? Maybe could evaluate the behaviors and risks like they do in the video, but no.

How about just watching them walk and fall, then laughing because it’s not you? That works for me for some Friday Fun.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y18iHbl-Ha8

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

June 15, 2012

Remembering a Friend Who Wrestled Bears…and a Chimp
Filed under: Ned Weirdness — Tags: — nedpelger

When I first met Bob Bashore, we were youngsters working for Huth Engineers (he in traffic and me in structures), we connected on our shared wrestling background. Bob had some of the best wrestling stories ever, though, because he’d search for the opportunities to wrestle animals. If you’re over 50, you may recall the promotions for retail venues that included the spectacle of watching the local tough guys wrestle a bear.

I recall seeing one event at the opening of the local Tastee Freeze. The black bear knew a couple of wrestling moves (thigh snatch and side roll) and had the strength of well…a bear. I was in elementary school when I saw it, but I remember the older guys complaining about not being able to get a good grip because the skin just pulled all over. The bear would knock guys down and we’d all laugh. Then the bear would be given an ice cream cone and we’d laugh more.

Bob Bashore searched out these events, which often offered $50 if anyone could pin the bear. He managed to pin the bear on a couple of occasions. The story I love, though, was when he matched up against a chimp. They used a raised boxing ring for these matches. The fellow who preceded Bob did something to make the chimp angry. Then Bob went in and threw the chimp to his back for a split second.

The chimp bounced back onto his feet and was enraged. He picked up Bob and threw him like a play toy out of the ring. Bob broke a couple ribs as he landed on the chairs in the audience. He told me with a smile that he never felt the need to wrestle animals after that.

Bob had previously founded and ran a successful traffic construction company and then worked for many years as a traffic engineer. He loved body building and won more than 50 physique competitions including Masters Mr Universe. The photo below shows his work.

Bob was a gentle man who loved helping others meet their fitness goals. I recall him coming to my house and teaching me how to lift weights properly and get started on a program.

Bob died last week, a 68 year old who lived the last few years with incredible pain. His body gave out on so many levels. At his Memorial Service yesterday, a friend recalled asking Bob how he was doing. Bob replied, “I don’t want to talk about me. Nothing has changed. How are you doing?”

I love that response. The honesty, the focus on others and the acceptance of life’s current situation inspire me. I hope it inspires you as well. Let’s go into this weekend appreciating what we have and focusing on how we can help others. That would honor my friend Bob Bashore.

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

May 11, 2012

Friday Fun: Push to Add Drama
Filed under: Ned Weirdness — Tags: — nedpelger

You are walking through a charming square in Belguim and you see a big red button with a sign hanging above that says, “Push to Add Drama.”

What do you do? If you work in construction, my guess is that you push the button. Click on the link and you’ll see what happens:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=9OIJRMqYAA0

Hope you had a good week that didn’t have too much drama. As for me, I had more than my share this week. Oh well, I’ll just work harder next week.

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

April 12, 2012

Don’t Walk and Text with a Bear Coming Toward You
Filed under: Ned Weirdness — Tags: — nedpelger

If you want a laugh, watch about 20 seconds of this video.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=WmhvdtX72eQ

The only thing that would have made it better would be for the bear to have chased and caught him…truly teaching the miserable distracted walker a lesson about paying attention.

I’m becoming a proponent of cutting down on all the multi-tasking. Most of us would benefit from doing one thing at a time and doing it well. Distracted driving simply kills and maims too many people, for example, to justify its continuance. I’ve vowed to severely limit my distracted driving and hope you’ll do the same. I don’t have that many readers that I can afford to lose them willy-nilly in car accidents.

We had surveyors on a site in State College, PA a few weeks ago and they kicked out a black bear. That was also in the middle of a town, with residential areas all around.  I guess the moral of the story is that the unexpected happens often, so pay attention.

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

March 22, 2012

Funniest College Application Essay
Filed under: Ned Weirdness — Tags: — nedpelger

While I generally post about construction concepts, I like to showcase creative solutions from diverse sources. Lex sent me this college application essay that makes me laugh out loud. The kid who wrote it now attends NYU.

3A. ESSAY:
IN ORDER FOR THE ADMISSIONS STAFF TO GET TO KNOW YOU, THE APPLICANT, BETTER, WE ASK THAT YOU ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTION: ARE THERE ANY SIGNIFICANT EXPERIENCES YOU HAVE HAD, OR ACCOMPLISHMENTS YOU HAVE REALIZED, THAT HAVE HELPED TO DEFINE YOU AS A PERSON?

I am a dynamic figure, often seen scaling walls and crushing ice. I have been known to remodel train stations on my lunch breaks, making them more efficient in the area of heat retention. I translate ethnic slurs for Cuban refugees, I write award-winning operas, I manage time efficiently. Occasionally, I tread water for three days in a row.

I woo women with my sensuous and godlike trombone playing, I can pilot bicycles up severe inclines with unflagging speed, and I cook Thirty-Minute Brownies in twenty minutes. I am an expert in stucco, a veteran in love, and an outlaw in Peru.

Using only a hoe and a large glass of water, I once single-handedly defended a small village in the Amazon Basin from a horde of ferocious army ants. I play bluegrass cello, I was scouted by the Mets, I am the subject of numerous documentaries. When I’m bored, I build large suspension bridges in my yard. I enjoy urban hang gliding. On Wednesdays, after school, I repair electrical appliances free of charge.

I am an abstract artist, a concrete analyst, and a ruthless bookie. Critics worldwide swoon over my original line of corduroy evening wear. I don’t perspire. I am a private citizen, yet I receive fan mail. I have been caller number nine and have won the weekend passes. Last summer I toured New Jersey with a traveling centrifugal-force demonstration. I bat .400. My deft floral arrangements have earned me fame in international botany circles. Children trust me.

I can hurl tennis rackets at small moving objects with deadly accuracy. I once read Paradise Lost, Moby Dick, and David Copperfield in one day and still had time to refurbish an entire dining room that evening. I know the exact location of every food item in the supermarket. I have performed several covert operations for the CIA. I sleep once a week; when I do sleep, I sleep in a chair. While on vacation in Canada, I successfully negotiated with a group of terrorists who had seized a small bakery. The laws of physics do not apply to me.

I balance, I weave, I dodge, I frolic, and my bills are all paid. On weekends, to let off steam, I participate in full-contact origami. Years ago I discovered the meaning of life but forgot to write it down. I have made extraordinary four course meals using only a mouli and a toaster oven. I breed prizewinning clams. I have won bullfights in San Juan, cliff-diving
competitions in Sri Lanka, and spelling bees at the Kremlin. I have played Hamlet, I have performed open-heart surgery, and I have spoken with Elvis.

But i have never been to college.

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

March 16, 2012

Friday Fun in Construction
Filed under: Ned Weirdness — Tags: — nedpelger

A bit of levity to end the work week. Here’s a use for all those old VCR tapes we have gathering dust on our shelves: VCR Blocking.

On this next photo, I love the normalcy of the folks just standing waiting for a bus. The likelihood of the bus stop canopy crashing down on them doesn’t appear to be a concern.

I’m imagining a workman’s comp case and the construction company owner decides that if the employee has to be on crutches, he can still come to the job site and shovel. Hence the invention of the crutch-shovel.

Hope you have a wonderful good week-end.

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

February 20, 2012

Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Lincoln
Filed under: Ned Weirdness — Tags: — nedpelger

As you know, I normally stay out of politics in these posts. Folks of all political stripes can agree on the endlessly fascinating aspects of the construction industry. So that’s what I try to showcase.

Yet, sometimes, in the course of human affairs, a wrong presents itself that simply must be righted. So please forgive my delving into politics today to right such a wrong.

I’m a big Abraham Lincoln fan. He’s a brilliant, yet folksy, self-made man who consistently took the hard road to do the right thing.  In short, to me, he’s just the bee’s knees. So when I saw the following political attack ad, I knew I had to respond. Please view it yourself and see if you agree that this ad presents a new low in distortion and meanness.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3tOFWBhP0s&feature=youtu.be

Happy Presidents Day, Mr Lincoln, and all the rest of you.

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