The economy needs tuck pointing

The economy shrank by 3.8%. It previously was expanding, and when its done shrinking it will expand again. Just like the freeze-thaw effect on masonry. When there's intense freeze-thaw cycles, part of the structure crumbles away and needs to be tuck pointed. Just a thought. Is Obama a tuck pointer?

Immigration Laws chasing away immigrant workers

The Associated Press is reporting that Gov. Bill Ritter says fewer immigrant workers are coming to Colorado because of tougher state laws.
AP reports that Ritter admitted that immigration laws passed in 2006 have hurt Colorado's ski and hotel industries by making it harder to find enough seasonal workers.
and agricultural employers along the northern Front Range aren't finding as many immigrant workers as in the past.
Why wasn't construction mentioned?
With unemployment among Coloradans running 6.1%, are the locals being referred to fill those jobs? Are Coloradans willing to work as hard at the immigrant workers did?

Crossing fingers on Economic Stimulus Plan

Obama's $819 billion economic stimulus plan has passed the House, but it faces a bigger battle in the Senate. If it passes, let's hope it works. Lets hope it puts people to work, building roads, building schools, building business. The personal tax cuts won't hurt either.

National Contractors Rating Bureau

Residential Contractors apparently can buy a customer service rating from an internet marketing company.

The following release is running on PR Newswire
National Contractors Rating Bureau, LLC is proud to announce its partnership with Shivonne LaViolette who will be starting the Denver sales operation for TrueBlueContractors.com.
As Vice President of Sales & Marketing, Mrs. Laviolette's first goal is to recruit and develop our sales team in Denver, Colorado. Anyone wishing to be considered should send their resume to slaviolette@truebluecontractors.com or call 720-297-6027.
TrueBlueContractors.com takes homeowner/contractor matching to a new level by making sure homeowners are serious, contractors get screened annually, and matching is not charged "per lead." Oh, and it's free to homeowners!
Contractor members receive annual membership, massive advertising, a web profile, unlimited free referrals to pre-matched homeowners, and the pride and competitive edge that come with being a rated member of TrueBlueContractors.com. And all this costs less than the price of a small yellow page ad

The architects who define denver

Mary Volz Chandler at the Rocky Mountain News has just posted a column about the architects who define Denver. Take a look at the column while the newspaper still exists. No one knows from day to day if it will cease publication or be sold.
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2009/jan/23/buildings-redefine-denver-by-design/

Some things just need repeating....

"This is a little bit like having the coolest seat in hell," joked Tom Clark, executive vice president of the Metro Denver Economic Development Corp., about Colorado doing better than other states in the worst downturn since the 1930s.

http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_11521769

Poet notes masons contribution in inauguration

There are many reasons to celebrate Tuesday's inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President. But on that day, masons and masonry manufacturers had extra reason to celebrate. Masonry's contribution to the building of this country was noted in the inaugural poet Elizabeth Alexander's poem "Praise Song for the Day."
picked the cotton and the lettuce, built
brick by brick the glittering edifices
they would then keep clean and work inside of.

Pretty awesome stuff!

The following is a transcript of the inaugural poem, “Praise Song for the Day,” written and recited by Elizabeth Alexander, as provided by Graywolf Press.

Each day we go about our business,
walking past each other, catching each other’s
eyes or not, about to speak or speaking.

All about us is noise. All about us is
noise and bramble, thorn and din, each
one of our ancestors on our tongues.

Someone is stitching up a hem, darning
a hole in a uniform, patching a tire,
repairing the things in need of repair.

Someone is trying to make music somewhere,
with a pair of wooden spoons on an oil drum,
with cello, boom box, harmonica, voice.

A woman and her son wait for the bus.
A farmer considers the changing sky.
A teacher says, Take out your pencils. Begin.

We encounter each other in words, words
spiny or smooth, whispered or declaimed,
words to consider, reconsider.

We cross dirt roads and highways that mark
the will of some one and then others, who said
I need to see what’s on the other side.

I know there’s something better down the road.
We need to find a place where we are safe.
We walk into that which we cannot yet see.

Say it plain: that many have died for this day.
Sing the names of the dead who brought us here,
who laid the train tracks, raised the bridges,

picked the cotton and the lettuce, built
brick by brick the glittering edifices
they would then keep clean and work inside of.

Praise song for struggle, praise song for the day.
Praise song for every hand-lettered sign,
the figuring-it-out at kitchen tables.

Some live by love thy neighbor as thyself,
others by first do no harm or take no more
than you need. What if the mightiest word is love?

Love beyond marital, filial, national,
love that casts a widening pool of light,
love with no need to pre-empt grievance.

In today’s sharp sparkle, this winter air,
any thing can be made, any sentence begun.
On the brink, on the brim, on the cusp,

praise song for walking forward in that light.

The American Solar Energy Society released a report on jobs created by the Green movement. The report shows that 9 million jobs and $1,045 billion in U.S. revenue in 2007 was created by renewable energy and energy efficiency industries. While the report includes auto salesmen who work at dealerships which sell hybrids in addition to conventional gas guzzlers, it does not include masons or people employed by the masonry manufacturers. It seems more education needs to be done. Masonry is a green material that significantly reduces the need for energy consumption.
www.ases.org/greenjobs
Key conclusions from this report include:
• Renewable energy and energy efficiency currently provide more than 9 million jobs and $1,045 billion in revenue in the U.S. (2007). The previous year (2006) renewable energy and energy efficiency represented 8.5 million jobs and $972 billion in revenue.• 95% of the jobs are in private industry.• As many as 37 million jobs can be generated by the renewable energy and energy efficiency industries in the U.S. by 2030 – more than 17% of all anticipated U.S. employment.• Hottest sectors include solar thermal, solar photovoltaics, biofuels, and fuel cells (in terms of revenue growth).• Hot job areas include electricians, mechanical engineers, welders, metal workers, construction managers, accountants, analysts, environmental scientists, and chemists. The vast majority of jobs created by the renewable energy and energy efficiency industries are in the same types of roles seen in other industries (accountants, factory workers, IT professionals, etc).• Renewable energy and energy efficiency can create millions of well-paying jobs, many of which are not subject to foreign outsourcing. These jobs are in two categories that every state is eager to attract – college-educated professional workers (many with advanced degrees), and highly skilled technical workers.• The renewable energy industry grew more than three times as fast as the U.S. economy in 2007 (not including hydropower). Renewable energy is also growing more rapidly than the energy efficiency industry, but the energy efficiency industry is currently much larger than the renewable energy industry.

Not all Change is Good

The promise of the Obama campaign, the mantra, was "Change."
Well, here comes some of the "Change."
Obama's nominee to head the Department of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, has promised to change the focus of immigration enforcement. Rather than working to make sure that construction and hospitality and agriculture have enough legal individuals to do the job, she announced she will work to prosecute employers who hire illegal immigrants.
Yep, criminalize the employers whose businesses are fighting to keep what's left of the economy afloat.
Nice change Obama.

LOL! New construction tool

Check out the new tool that they are using in Minnesota
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/weather/2009/01/15/kare.banana.hammer.cnn

Whats a Tudor?

Mary Volz Chandler at the Rocky Mountain News has a fun article describing the different home types available around Denver. Most of the houses are masonry - digging that !
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2009/jan/02/the-rockys-expert-helps-you-identify-classic-in/

masonry paybacks

Seems an Arkansas guy wanted some beer pretty badly. He decided that he'd just throw a cinder block through aliquor store window, grab some booze, and run. So he lifted the cinder block and heaved it over his head at the window.The cinder block bounced back and hit the would-be thief in the head, knocking him unconscious. The liquor store windowwas made of Plexiglas. The whole event was immortalized on videotape.