Scott Stone

Here is a group pic of my fleet. It is not often that they are sitting side by side. Someone is almost always working. Oh, and it is a crappy cell phone picture.

My parents recently bought a cabin, and it actually has a deck. I have not seen it yet, but it looks like it was painted dark brown, with a white lattice. What does it take to strip that paint, and actually put a good stain or sealer on it? Am I better off just telling them to repaint it again? They are ignorant when it comes to decks. It is very likely one of the few that they have ever seen, so that they do not know what to expect. So what do you say?

NO cabin, as in Old Folk Arizona style. It is a double wide mobile home. ANything in the woods and that is a second home is a cabin around here. When I see it, I will post some pics. Might be a few weeks.. or months...

Go to this website. The guy is Don Aslett that is the guru for cleaning. For what it is worth, I am firends with his son and he does know his stuff. www.cleanreport.com

My average cost of operations over and above employee salaries is about 25% for most aspects of my business. There are some areas where do to higher workmens comp premiums it goes up to 37% of my gross, over and above employee salaries. As for working all the time. I don't. Sometimes I am able to take a nap.

There is a bit of a difference betwen combat troops and troops protecting embassies. Additionally, it was 30 years ago that the US embassy was closed down. For your information, here is a chronology of events as it relates to Vietnam. http://www.oakton.edu/user/~wittman/chronol.htm You will notice on April 29 and 30th the american personnel were evacuated. You will also notice that in 1991 a US office was extablished to help research MIA's from the Vietnam war. That means that for 16 years there was no official representation of the US in Vietnam. So consequently, I will stand by my statement and still assert that the US presence in Vietnam, and the continuation of the battle as you attempt to assert is correct. Of course, to be clear, that statemetn is, the US pulled out of Vietnam 30 some years ago. We did reestablish an embassy there, but from your statement it appears you think that the US is still fully involved in the conflict. IN fact relations were not normalized for another four years, or until 1995 when the embassy was reestablished.

There are so many points to be made so late int he game, but, I have a few observations. AC guy said we were still in Vietnam. No, we left about 30 some years ago and left them to their own devices. Of course, they quickly fell to the communists that were being supported by the Russians and the Chinese. They did not have much of a chance. That war really was a proxy war. Second, there are a lot of differing opinions on how the "war" in Iraq is going. If you look at history, there were still Nazi sympathizers that were firing at American soldiers for years after the suicide and defeat of Hitler. We are still well within that window. Someone else said that there were over 30,000 women and children that have been killed. While that may be true, and I am certain that there have been abuses by our troops, rewgrettable as that may be, most of those deaths have been inflicted by their fellow countrymen, and those same abuses and murders are why the US is over there trying to help them to learn what freedom is, and help them establish it. Just a casual observation, have you ever noticed that in wars the US is involved in like this one and Vietnam, how little regard our enemy has for human life, whether their own, or that of their countrymen? I can't imagine our military wiring up one of my kids to blow up a couple of soldiers... Next, this has got to be one of the largest political footballs of history. The Democrats are so into going against anything the elected president says, Mind you in the second term there was no dispute, so he was elected. That he could say the sky is blue and they would disagree with him. Their agenda is not Bush's agenda, and anything they can do to cast aspersions is what they want to do. Finally, you cannot say you support the troops and not the war. IT is an intellectually vacant response, and you are not taking into account how the troops feel about what they are doing in an environment that few of them arehave seen before. Unless htey lived in Yuma Arizona all of their life, I cannot imagine anyone that has seen somethign similar, yet they are reenlisting in records percentages. Finally, everyone is devastated by the american death toll. Keep this in mind. There are over 100,000 troops there at any given time. (BTW this is a low number.) Many have cycled in and out multiple tours, so figure 300,000 different people have served in the militarty in Iraq. (again, a low figure) yet less than 1% of them have fallen in harms way. For our side, it is the least bloody war in history.

I guess I am opposite, three toads and a princess. Quite a shock after three boys. Emotions are different, and the plumbing is different. All in all, it is so worth it. Wish we could have had about 6 more.

two weeks ago we worked a 15 hour day when the high that I sya on my incab thermometer was 122. It was well over 100 for most of the day, and 100 by 11 am. The dew point was a little elevated. Secrets for dealing with the heat? 1. Wear a broad brimmed hat. I like Tilly hats, which are available ont eh web but cost $50 or more. Their are plenty of others out there. 2. Wear Long pants, and a long sleeve cotton shirt. It will absorb the sweat, and keep you cooler. It also keeps the sweat from evaporating off your body while the sun is cooking you. 3. Plenty of cool, not Ice, water. Your body assimilates the cool water better, and you can easily drink it more often. 4. Athletic drinks. Gatorade, Powerade, Propel, or Option. The last two are suger free for my naturally sweet friends out there (that means Diabetic) 5. If you have not peed in the last cople of hours, start drinking. Not just a little dixie cup of water, drink a quart. 6. Start early, if you can. Welcome to my world.

I know my wife, and I really know her schedule. Even though I think that she might benefit from it, there is no way in the world that she would even think about being actively involved in it. As she says, for her the internet accomplishes two things. The first is spending money, (which she does in prodigious amounts) and the other is planning vacations. (ditto)

That four wheeler would pull the trailer better if you put the jack up.

I would not buy one because I am either wearing a company tee, or my wife and I are going somewhere she would not want me to wear it. She hates logo shirts, unless it is hurley, et. al. for the kids.

Sounds like an upcharge to me. Good grief, why do people think that they can dictate how a professional does their job?

I do this sort of work all the time. There are a lot of opportunities here. I have a contract that I do this type of work for a set price per square foot. They also let me do the measuring. What this means is that they understand that some jobs are going to be worse than others. So, if I was you I would set a certain price and live by it. Aroud here, 10 cents a foot is high. But others think that is low. It all depends on what your market is like.

To test you for diabetes they typically take a urine sample from a physical. If they come back and say you are peeing maple syrup, that's bad. After that they usually either take a quick blood test with a gluco meter. ***** our finger and have the magic gadgets whir. Pretty soon it will come back and spit out what your current blood sugar is. If it is high, and this all depends on the doctor, they send you in to get a a1c test done. This actually is a blood test that tells what your average blood sugar has been for the past three months. If it is over 130 they start to worry. They like to see it somewhere between 90 and 120. After that, the doc will decide what needs to be done. They really like it if you control it with diet and exercise. They will also usually tell you need to lose weight. You are far less susceptible to high blood sugar if your weight is near a normal range and under control. The symptoms are similar to what is listed above. If you are constantly thirsty and are constantly peeing, you need to get checked. If you have mood swings,especially after not having eaten in a while, it is possible that you have a blood sugar problem. If your vision is screwy, it is a possibility that you have diabetes. In later stages you can get neuropathy which means that your hands and feet start tingling and you start losing your sense of touch. This is bad enough, but additionally, it reduces blood flow to extremities...Yes, even that extremity. ;) This can lead to other problems. If you get diagnosed, make sure that you get your weight down. It will make it a lot easier for you to deal with. I recommend the third world diet. Eat like an ethiopian and work like a mexican. 2000 calories and exercise. If you are faithful, the weight will drop off. If you suspect it, get it checked. That way you will either have the relief of knowing that you are ok, or you can launch into solving the problem.

Why in the world would you go to Scottsdale in the middle of August? Enjoy your vacation and give me a shout if you get bored. I am sure that i can come up with something for you to do. Might have some parking garages in Scottsdale to do about that time.

Yeah, I am naturally sweet. I found out when I went to get a CDL physical. Things I noticed, I was cosntantly thirsty and always peeing, and when I had to pee, I had to pee right then. I also was constantly tired. In my opinion, it is nothing to be scared of, as long as you make the efforts to get it under control. Lost weight, and watching your diet really helps.

I haven't done anything. I have paid to have a ton of stuff done. I did install laminate floring in the family room and one of the downstairs bedrooms. Installed wood shutters, removed and installed 20" porcelain tile, repaint, interior and exterior and a 3000 foot slab poured on the side of the house from the front walk to halfway back in the back yard. I am told the cabinets and countertops are next. Of course, then it will be done, until the next thing. FWIW, my dad did a lot of remodeling when I was growing up. Problem was, I was the youngest boy of four, so I was always the grunt. Was never shown how to do anything. Now, I use it to my advantage.

Why wait until then? I need the breaks now.

I take a monthly draw. This is the amount used to declare for Social Security. It is enough to get the Max from SS, but not so much that I am paying extra in. Of course, it is debatable if it will still be there when I finally decide I am too old for this crap anymore. The rest of my income comes in the form of a distribution of the profits. That alone, as a corporation, saves me 15%+ off my gross in FICA Taxes.

Here is where I spent the fourth 32 47'43.00" N 117 13'30.83" W And spent a week at the first of the month here: 21 16'26.34" N 157 49'18.66"W

Hey, i wanna come, and I use cox reels and love them. think that I have about 10 of them right now. (Am I sucking up enough???) I always am fascinated by manufacturing processes. I should have been an industrial engineer.

The better (more expensive cox reels hae a locking mechanism similar to the Hannay reels. I use the cox reels and have little problem with them. For what it is worth, the rel manufacturers recommend that you always pull all of the hose off the reel. I don't but I am willing to risk crushing the center of my hose reel. I have seen it happen on a really cheap reel. You would probably be amazed at how much the hose expands when it is under pressure.

Okay, we are on the same page. I guess I should be happy. I get my $50 a week spending money for lunches and stuff. Sounds like a fair trade to me.

My wife is a huge beach junky. I do have a question though. How do you control her spending away from the beach? As for me, I can take or leave the beach, anywhere but Hawaii. But that is just me. Williamsburg would be my preferred spot, but would be really happy into DC. There is a lot of stuff to do there as well, and plenty of hotels and good air access. If I can swing it, I sure am not driving and a raft is out of the question.