Paul B.

Guys, If you'd warned me in advance I would have, I could have done a better job. Now you're stuck with my bulletin board version. (Now you also have me looking up every other word to make sure it's spelled correctly.) When I was younger, they told me I was funny. Now they say I'm sometimes satirical but most often just plain old sarcastic. "Sarcastic old fart" (may substitute "******* or s.o.b." for "fart", if you please). Side note: There is this fella that actually changes his name to "They Said" - thinks someone should take credit for all the uncredited quotes. Have thought many times of changing mine to "Genesis" ...easier to spell, would save time answering the phone, and less confusing when I answer the phone at home. Can't say I've read anything of Lizzard's (seen some of his books that are out of print ...may have read his column without knowing his name???). I have written a short story of sighting Elvis and Frank Zappa on a Conch Train in Key West (My friends enjoyed it, but then again, you it was one of those "You had to be there" situations). I'm mostly interested now in the older writers (mostly dead, older writers) such as Aleichem, Bunin, Gide, Kafka, Nabokov, Proust, Exupery, Sartre, Pushkin....well anyway, you get the picture. I have read all of Vonnegut's books (I think) and most of Heller's (nothing can touch the classic "Catch-22"). I'm in process of finishing Ray Bradbury's 100 most celebrated tales (short stories). I like his Mars stories the most. If you like funny sport stories, I highly recommend "The Umpire Strikes Back" by Ron Luciano (& David Fisher) - some of you old timers may remember his umpiring style in the American League (at 6'4" and 300 pounds he was hard to mistake for anyone else, and between innings you could catch him munching on a hot dog from one of the vendors in the stand). I believe his first book is the funniest - the second was "Strike Two". ....He talked about how fast Nolan Ryan was throwing the ball... I believe he said: Ryans fastballs were so fast he had to call them by ear. Mike, When you go, make sure to take a satchel full of money with you. I heard the average cost to take a family of 4 to the ballgame runs about $260. Cincinnati is below the average (very conservative town) and Boston is at the top (obvious, after winning the series). Meiers, I have so far received one call for siding cleaning - doing estimate this afternoon.

Ken, Menco carries the lambswool replacement pads as do Sherwin Williams stores (at least one in my area). For applying stain to large areas you have many options such as airless, pump-up, apply with lambswool pads, apply with roller, etc. One watch-out is if the boards are not close together, the lambswool will not go between the boards very well and brushing takes much time. Sherwin Williams (along with others) carry a stain brush thats about 4" wide and you can attach (screw in) a long or short handle.

I just bid on a shadow-box fence for a 35 unit condo village. Each unit averages about 40 linear ft. of fence (although most were different and had to measure all to arrive at that number). The fence is 6 feet tall. My first dilemma: was after closely looking at the fence, I noticed that the boards were overlapping about 1 inch on each side (see first photo). This calculates to about 1.5 square feet per linear foot. On small jobs, I would normally overlook this but on large ones, simple details will cut deep into the profits quickly. Also if you take the board edges and the vertical supports into consideration, you add another 1/2 square foot per linear foot of fence. So now when I look at my square footage of 6 foot tall fence and add another 2 square feet to it, now it becomes 8 square foot of fence per linear foot. At 1400 linear feet times 8 sq ft times 2 sides = 22,400 sq ft. if I ignore the details (which my competition most likely will) 1400 linear feet times 6 sq ft times 2 sides = 16,800 sq ft. As you can see the delta is 5,600 sq ft. and even at $0.35 per square foot, it's worth about $1,960. My other dilemma was materials: stain at 150 sq ft per gallon for the 5,600 sq ft delta at $15 per gallon is a cost difference of $570 (38 gallons). Same with stripper and brightener: at $0.04 per square foot it's a delta of $224. If I pick a stain that covers 200 sq ft vs. 150 sq ft, (at $15 per gallon) I can make up about $420. Better yet, if I find a stain that covers at 250 sq ft per gallon I can make up another 22 gallons of stain or $330. That's assuming my competition is not using a stain that gets 250 sq ft per gallon. Finally, the overall price to the customer (for example) if I bid 22,400 square feet at $0.35 sq ft or $7,840. If my competition bids 16,800 at $0.40 per square foot or $6,720, he/she has out bid me by $1,120. Of course if the competition is a bottom feeder and has a $.10 per square foot difference, then the gap widens to over $1,900. Of course, this is what a property manager loves to see. I'll tell you what I did and what I bid after the project is awarded. In the mean time, I would be interested to hear how some of you "wood specialist" handle similar situations.

I TRY to bid every job at a (reasonable) PROFIT (albeit sometimes the margin gets a bit thin regardless of how hard I try). I bid this job at a higher square footage than the competition and that is where the job was lost. Most of my competitors also do not collect sales tax (reclassification is an option, but that's another story). I submitted specs outlining procedures and product (stain) and attached a list of assumptions and exceptions as the basis to my estimate. Normally, the specs and assumptions help achieve an apples-to-apples comparison in bid evaluation and lean the scale in my favor. This job was awarded based on price. Although the property manager was impressed with the detail and quote "professional" estimate, she was not much interested in the jobs technical details and why that makes a difference in the end result. I find that not all but most customers (at least initially) do not care if a contractor loses money on a job or not. It is more so with property managers, as in their minds contractors are a dime a dozen. Homeowners tend to understand somewhat more when you explain the benefits of a good contractor staying in business (you can go back to them again and again). I didn't fret over losing this job because shadow-box fences are a PITA (as Henry said). I do prefer the larger projects like this, as I can keep 4 people busy for a week on one site. Thanks Beth! As you know, I'm here from time to time whether I post or not. Great place to learn! I travel more now (my social director requires me to - she says it's for my health) and my fingers are in a couple more pots, making it harder to devote the same amount of time as in past.

I have not heard of state audits for taxes - they mostly seem to follow and pick up the crumbs after the feds have cleaned your wallet. I heard last night one of the states is trying to add a 2% tax to food sold at fast food places like McDonalds. I know they aren't allowed to tax food taken out - only food consumed on premises but it's just a matter of time. I try to purchase as much as possible within my area, be it township, city, county or state but sometimes things are either not available, too slow to get or way over priced. I needed a 200ft of hp hose a few weeks ago and my local quoted $450 for it and 4-5 days to get. Two days later it was sitting at my feet for about half that (including shipping). Thank you Water Cannon!!!

I vascillate between $125 and $150 for absolute minimum depending on what side of the bed I fall out of, what type of work it is and how far we're booked. For deck refinishing the minimum is $350. For Insurance work my minimum is $250 otherwise they will nickel & dime you to death. I know we say "free estimates" but you would think people would use their head a bit and not ask you to drive 25 miles to give one where they only expect to pay $30. I try to screen them on the phone, but every now and then one sneaks by me. In the past week I've had at least a dozen calls asking for estimates where my minimum was much more than they expected to pay. Here are few examples: - Clean 12' x 15' concrete pad - Clean 15' x 15' wood deck - no railing - Clean and stain a 4' x 6' potting table - (3 calls) Wash 1 side of a house - (30' and 60' of vinyl siding) - Wash 2 car garage floor - Wash basement floor - Wash 3' x 50' brick paver walkway

In Ohio, every individual and business is expected to pay sales tax on internet or other out of state purchases where taxes are not paid. It's voluntary.... I understand there were about 900 people/businesses that reported taxable internet purchases last year.

One definition of a low-baller (business) is the one that claims they will beat any competitor's price by "X" percent. A large percentage of businesses "low-ball" at certain times or on certain products. For example, you've most likely heard the terms "door busters" or "loss leaders" which is one method of attracting customers. Introductory pricing which is lower than the standard would also be considered low-balling (Super Cuts offers $4 hair cuts during their first couple months after opening, after which they raise prices to $12). Sears, HH Greg, Circuit City and others that sell electronics have a policy to meet or beat their competitions prices. In most businesses one can be a low baller without sacrificing quality. Low balling may be an essential business strategy for certain businesses. However, once you sacrifice quality, you become something less than a low-baller. -

Valspar has the "American Tradition" interior/exterior paints and the "Severe Weather" Wood Protector and Deck & Siding Stain. (In my area at least)...they are sold at Lowe's. Their line is water based with the solid being 100% acrylic.

Sometimes you have to just weed out the slow pays or charge them interest. If you charge interest, make sure it's in the contract up front.

I subscibe to HP's monthly "Incoming" e-mail newsletter which has some great info from time to time for all size business. They also have an area for free on-line classes such as: Introduction to Excel Introduction to Microsoft Word Advanced Word Advanced Photoshop Firewall basics Running your small business with QuickBook 2002 etc., etc. Subscribe at HP: http://h30046.www3.hp.com/subhub.php?regioncode=NA&langcode=USENG This month there is an article on tips for tactful techniques on collecting receivables titled "Reign in Your Receivables". I thought was it was agreat article and may be useful for some of the folks here. I've copied it below and posted a link below: Reign in Your Receivables Even the most successful company can run into a cash-flow crunch when customers don't pay on time. So how can you cut down on payment cycles without fear of alienating or upsetting your key clients? While there are several tried and true practices for cutting down your receivables, sometimes it's best just to use your imagination. Here are some methods small business CEOs are using to get paid on time. Plan ahead to collect on time • Match billings to customers' payable cycles. Call each slow payer and ask how long it typically takes the company to process a bill and mail a check. Then make it clear that you expect to be paid within that period. If customers don't pay when they say they will, call them within three business days and ask when you can expect the check. If the answer is, "It's in the mail," ask for the check number and date it was mailed. While this tactic may annoy some customers, experience shows that it's unlikely to cost you the business. • Stay consistent. "The language on the invoice should match the language on the contract the customer signed," says Tracy Wald, chief financial officer at Seattle consultancy Leonhardt:Fitch. That way there's no excuse for customers to claim confusion over what exactly they are being billed for. That is especially important if you sell an unquantifiable service like branding, as Wald does. • Work off milestones, not months. Avoid billing monthly if you can. It's far better, says Wald, to tie your billing milestones to tangible deliverables. For example: At some point during a project, you and your team give a major presentation to a client. Don't wait until the end of the month to bill for it. Instead, use the presentation date as a milestone in your billing cycle. • Don't let last be least. The most difficult check to collect is often the last one, since that's when the job is complete and your negotiating power is reduced. So Richard Larkin, CEO of staffing company Larkin Enterprises in Bangor, Maine, is careful about when he mails out his final invoice. He plans for it to arrive while his workers are still at a job site. If his customers take too long to pay, Larkin still has the option of pulling his workers off the job before they complete it. • Put your faith in plastic. Ron Simkins, CEO of LexJet, says asking customers to use credit cards for their purchases has made all the difference to his company, a direct marketer of printing materials in Sarasota, Fla. He says 90% of his customers -- including Whirlpool and Kinko's -- have opted to pay with plastic for fees ranging from $100 to $100,000 annually. Simkins for one is convinced that big companies are moving "in droves" to plastic to reduce the administrative expense of dealing with small vendors. "Corporate credit cards are not a new thing; what's new is the use of cards to mitigate the cost of purchase orders." What the trend means to LexJet is simple: the company gets its money literally overnight. What's more, there are no invoices to track down and no more frantic calls to make to customers' accounts-payable departments. What's in it for the customer? With no purchase orders to process, the cost of bringing on a new vendor is greatly reduced. But as is the case with invoices, the customer still has 30 days to pay. Finally, if the company isn't satisfied with the purchase, it's a simple matter for the vendor to call the credit-card company and ask that the charge be removed. At least that's the argument that Simkins makes to all his customers. "We teach them how to do it and why to do it," he says. Simkins insists he's no shill for the credit-card companies, though. He says there's nothing in it for him personally other than better cash flow for his $10-million company. Of course, there's a cost for that convenience. The credit-card company charges a fee of 2% to 3% of the purchase, a small price to pay, he argues. "Our cash flow is worth more than that on the float." Still, to some company owners, such fees smack of factoring, but Simkins says he'd rather get 97% of his money now than wait 30, 60, or 90 days to get it all. Employ good collection strategies • Charge interest. Do what banks and other creditors do -- assess a service fee. Include this standard notice on all invoices: Overdue accounts will accrue a 1.5% monthly service charge. Foresight, a 50-employee software company in Dublin, Ohio, sends customers invoices that include the following phrase: "If paid by September 30, your cost is x; if paid after September 30, your cost is y (invoice amount plus interest)." Nettie Morrison, Foresight's receivable specialist, found that specifying what the amount of interest would be -- as opposed to merely stating that 1.5% of the charges would be appended every month -- made a huge difference in how quickly customers paid up. • Use phone etiquette. Morrison has also mastered the art of phone empathy. "I say to them, 'I know they're not paying you to chase around invoices,' or something to that effect," she says. Showing that you understand where people are coming from helps to mollify them and possibly even win them over as an ally. But when you do have someone on the phone, always try to get a specific date by which you'll get paid. Answers like "soon" or "next week" aren't actionable. If the customer avoids specifying an exact date, be prepared to calmly explain to them what you plan to do if you don't get paid on time. While you shouldn't be threatening, make sure your remind customers that they signed a contract. "Use statements like 'you expect us to ship on time, so we expect you to pay on time,'" says Richard Kadet, a veteran CFO who works for the Brenner Group, a San Francisco Bay Area-based consultancy. "You must create an expectation within their A/P department that you will call and insist on payment within the contract terms." • Keep a journal. Take detailed notes of every collection conversation that you have. Record the date of the conversation, who you spoke to, the commitment made to you, and the end result of the call. • Don't get emotional."You have to be dispassionate about it," advises Cullen G. Williams, CFO of Larkin Enterprises. "Don't make it personal. Be very bland. Use simple, non-threatening sentences." During collection conversations, Williams tries to make it very clear that he'll do "whatever was reasonable to comply with the customer's requests," which meant, in some cases, supplying backup documentation "10 times over," he says. • Use guilt, not anger. To achieve your aim -- getting paid -- it's important to get the names of all the people you've talked to, especially if they've made a commitment. "Once you get that commitment, whoever you talk to will feel guilty when you call back," says Wald. "They've made a promise, and I've found that they'll do what they can because they don't want to be thought of as someone with no integrity. It could be the owner, a clerk, anyone." What's the proper way to react if your contact lies to you? With disappointment, rather than anger. "It's just a sigh, mostly," says Wald. "Then I say, 'I told my boss you guys were going to pay, and now I'm going to look like an idiot.' And after saying something like that, rather than getting angry with them, I ask for their help." • Pay attention to the marketplace. Morrison monitors the business press not only to stay alert about potential mergers (and bankruptcies) among her company's customer base, but also to have an excuse to pick up the phone and talk with a client. For example: A client might be in the news because it's introducing a new product or having a strong earnings quarter. Morrison calls to congratulate the customer and winds up shooting the breeze, and as a result she develops better relationships with her contacts. • Collect in person. If you offer a discount -- say, 2% net 10 -- for prompt payment, how can you prevent customers from abusing it? Call them and offer the lower price, provided you can send someone over to pick up the check within 10 days. When you do visit, make sure that you bring documentation to support exactly what the customer owes you. The last thing you want on a collection call is a dispute over the amount of the bill. • Recoup the discount. Giving up 1% to 2% of your receivables can add up. When customers take the discount but pay past the due date, charge the difference on their next invoice. Again, experience shows that most of them will just ante up. • Don't hesitate to negotiate. Your company needs cash, but your customer does too. Is there a middle ground where you can meet? Negotiating a payment schedule is one idea. It doesn't have to be anything fancy; you can ask a late-paying customer to commit to giving half now and the rest the following week. Seeking a smaller amount may make it easier for an accounts-payable employee to cut you a check. And partial payment today is better than no payment tomorrow. • Ask for the oldest first. If a customer owes you for more than one invoice, you should always start by looking to collect on only the oldest invoice. "Asking for them all at once can seem too insurmountable," he says. And the collecting "tends to get easier once you've gotten the oldest one." Plus, he adds, by asking for payment on only the oldest invoice, you are subtly currying goodwill with the customer, who'll appreciate your leniency in not demanding the entire debt. • When necessary, revoke privileges. Rolf Albers of Albers Manufacturing Co. has been in business for 23 years, yet one thing still baffles him. "If I went to a department store today and wanted to buy a refrigerator, they would make me pay today, in one form or another," he says. "But a small manufacturer with no track record can call me, wanting $1,000 worth of equipment, and they think that they can wait 90 days to pay. It's a stupid system, but that's the way it is," exclaims Albers. So he does his best to prevent customers from taking advantage of "the system." If customers get too far behind on payments, Albers converts them to COD status. Link to article: www.hp.com/sbso/advice/articles_inc9.html

Jon, Best wishes on a full recovery.

I bet a 2-part epoxy would work well. Can be found in automotive stores, Sears hardware and other hardware stores.

"Safety First and Make IT Last!

Most of our success in removing pot stains, grease stains and mat shadows come with the use of sodium hydroxide based stripper and pool shock. We apply stripper, then pool shock. It may take several pool shock treatments and longer dwell time to get the job done. The big watchout is pool shock will lighten the area more than citric, citralic or oxalic acids (in my experience). If this happens, you need to treat the entire deck with pool shock or feather it in (gets time consuming).

Ditto.... Just recently I was told by a customer that I didn't need to include stripping the stain from the deck in the estimate (just cleaning) as it could be pressure washed off. While this may be true, with high pressure you can strip just about anything.

Muriatic acid tends to darken concrete, and is mostly harmful if not diluted properly. When highly diluted, such as in Prosoco's Vana Trol (diluted 1:4 or more), it does a great job of cleaning without causing damage. Rust removers that contain phosphoric acid, such as Zep's "Lime, Rust, and Calcium Remover" or Prosoco's "Ferrous Stain Remover" tend to lighten concrete. CCPC, When spraying acids, chose a pump up sprayer with Viton seals, as they are compatible with acids. I prefer the Chapin 3 gallon #2279 (or equiv.) with safety relief valve. I modify them by replacing the stock hose with longer, clear braided hose.

What type of wood is it? For PTW: I would clean with percarb., brighten and remove millglaze with oxalic. Remove mill marks (if any). Make sure the moisture is at 12% or less before you stain.

Tony, The GPM's would not be an issue in the spinner as long as it does not create extra pressure and over-spin the bearings (that would hurt the spindle).

Whether you like or dislike Bush or Kerry, this is worth reading. Regardless of your political affiliations, many have been incensed at the accusations that John Kerry made about the conduct of those he said he served with in Viet Nam when he testified before the Senate many years ago. Those men who served with him are now finally speaking out. Comments below. Subject: FW: John Kerry's shipmates speak out "While in Cam Rahn Bay, he trained on several 24-hour indoctrination missions, and one special skimmer operation with my most senior and trusted Lieutenant. The briefing from some members of that crew the morning after revealed that they had not received any enemy fire, and yet Lt.(jg) Kerry informed me of a wound -- he showed me a scratch on his arm and a piece of shrapnel in his hand that appeared to be from one of our own M-79s. It was later reported to me that Lt.(jg) Kerry had fired an M-79, and it had exploded off the adjacent shoreline. I do not recall being advised of any medical treatment, and probably said something like 'Forget it.' He later received a Purple Heart for that scratch, and I have no information as to how or whom. Lt.(jg) Kerry was allowed to return to the good old USA after 4 months and a few days in-country, and then he proceeded to betray his former shipmates, calling them criminals who were committing atrocities. Today we are here to tell you that just the opposite is true. Our rules of engagement were quite strict, and the officers and men of Swift often did not even return fire when they were under fire if there was a possibility that innocent people -- fishermen, in a lot of cases -- might be hurt or injured. The rules and the good intentions of the men increased the possibility that we might take friendly casualties." -- Commander Grant Hibbard, USN (retired) . ******************************************************* "We resent very deeply the false war crimes charges he made coming back from Vietnam in 1971 and repeated in the book "Tour of Duty." We think those cast an aspersion on all those living and dead, from our unit and other units in Vietnam. We think that he knew he was lying when he made the charges, and we think that they're unsupportable. We intend to bring the truth about that to the American people. We believe, based on our experience with him, that he is totally unfit to be the Commander-in-Chief." -- John O'Neill, spokesman, Swift Boat Veterans for Truth . ******************************************************* "I do not believe John Kerry is fit to be Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces of the United States. This is not a political issue. It is a matter of his judgment, truthfulness, reliability, loyalty and trust -- all absolute tenets of command. His biography, 'Tour of Duty,' by Douglas Brinkley, is replete with gross exaggerations, distortions of fact, contradictions and slanderous lies. His contempt for the military and authority is evident by even a most casual review of this biography. He arrived in-country with a strong anti-Vietnam War bias and a self-serving determination to build a foundation for his political future. He was aggressive, but vain and prone to impulsive judgment, often with disregard for specific tactical assignments. He was a 'loose cannon.' In an abbreviated tour of four months and 12 days, and with his specious medals secure, Lt.(jg) Kerry bugged out and began his infamous betrayal of all United States forces in the! ! Vietnam War. That included our soldiers, our marines, our sailors, our coast guardsmen, our airmen, and our POWs. His leadership within the so-called Vietnam Veterans Against the War and testimony before Congress in 1971 charging us with unspeakable atrocities remain an undocumented but nevertheless meticulous stain on the men and women who honorably stayed the course. Senator Kerry is not fit for command." -- Rear Admiral Roy Hoffman, USN (retired), chairman, Swift Boat Veterans for Truth . ******************************************************* "During Lt.(jg) Kerry's tour, he was under my command for two or three specific operations, before his rapid exit. Trust, loyalty and judgment are the key, operative words. His turncoat performance in 1971 in his grubby shirt and his medal-tossing escapade, coupled with his slanderous lines in the recent book portraying us that served, including all POWs and MIAs, as murderous war criminals, I believe, will have a lasting effect on all military veterans and their families. Kerry would be described as devious, self-absorbing, manipulative, disdain for authority, disruptive, but the most common phrase that you'd hear is 'requires constant supervision.'" -- Captain Charles Plumly, USN (retired) . ******************************************************* "Thirty-five years ago, many of us fell silent when we came back to the stain of sewage that Mr. Kerry had thrown on us, and all of our colleagues who served over there. I don't intend to be silent today or ever again. Our young men and women who are serving deserve no less." -- Andrew Horne . ******************************************************* "In my specific, personal experience in both coastal and river patrols over a 12-month period, I never once saw or heard anything remotely resembling the atrocities described by Senator Kerry. If I had, it would have been my obligation to report them in writing to a higher authority, and I would certainly have done that. If Senator Kerry actually witnessed or participated in these atrocities or, as he described them, 'war crimes,' he was obligated to report them. That he did not until later when it suited his political purposes strikes me as opportunism of the worst kind. That he would malign my service and that of his fellow sailors with no regard for the truth makes him totally unqualified to serve as Commander-in-Chief." -- Jeffrey Wainscott . ******************************************************* "I signed that letter because I, too felt a deep sense of betrayal that someone who took the same oath of loyalty as I did as an officer in the United States Navy would abandon his group here (points to group photo) to join this group here (points to VVAW protest photo), and come home and attempt to rally the American public against the effort that this group was so valiantly pursuing. It is a fact that in the entire Vietnam War we did not lose one major battle. We lost the war at home ... and at home, John Kerry was the Field General." -- Robert Elder . ******************************************************* "My daughters and my wife have read portions of the book 'Tour of Duty.' They wanted to know if I took part in the atrocities described. I do not believe the things that are described happened. Let me give you an example. In Brinkley's book, on pages 170 to 171, about something called the 'Bo De massacre' on November 24th of 1968... In Kerry's description of the engagement, first he claimed there were 17 servicemen that were wounded. Three of us were wounded. I was the first..." -- Joseph Ponder . ******************************************************* "Lt. Kerry returned home from the war to make some outrageous statements and allegations... of numerous criminal acts in violation of the law of war were cited by Kerry, disparaging those who had fought with honor in that conflict. Had war crimes been committed by US forces in Vietnam? Yes, but such acts were few and far between. Yet Lt. Kerry have numerous speeches and testimony before Congress inappropriately leading his audiences to believe that what was only an anomaly in the conduct of America's fighting men was an epidemic. Furthermore, he suggested that they were being encouraged to violated the law of war by those within the chain of command. Very specific orders, on file at the Vietnam archives at Texas Tech University, were issued by my father [Admiral Elmo Zumwalt] and others in his chain of command instructing subordinates to act responsibly in preserving the life and property of Vietnamese civilians." -- Lt. Col. James Zumwalt, USMC (retired) . ******************************************************* "We look at Vietnam... after all these years it is still languishing in isolated poverty and helplessness and tyranny. This is John Kerry's legacy. I deeply resent John Kerry's using his Swift boat experience, and his betrayal of those who fought there as a stepping-stone to his political ambitions." -- Barnard Wolff . ******************************************************* "In a whole year that I spent patrolling, I didn't see anything like a war crime, an atrocity, anything like that. Time and again I saw American fighting men put themselves in graver danger trying to avoid... collateral damage. When John Kerry returned to the country, he was sworn in front of Congress. And then he told my family -- my parents, my sister, my brother, my neighbors -- he told everyone I knew and everyone I'd ever know that I and my comrades had committed unspeakable atrocities." -- David Wallace . ******************************************************* "I served with these guys. I went on missions with them, and these men served honorably. Up and down the chain of command there was no acquiescence to atrocities. It was not condoned, it did not happen, and it was not reported to me verbally or in writing by any of these men including Lt.(jg) Kerry. In 1971, '72, for almost 18 months, he stood before the television audiences and claimed that the 500,000 men and women in Vietnam, and in combat, were all villains -- there were no heroes. In 2004, one hero from the Vietnam War has appeared, running for President of the United States and Commander-in-Chief. It just galls one to think about it." -- Captain George Elliott, USN (retired) . ******************************************************* "During the Vietnam War I was Task Force Commander at An Thoi, and my tour of duty was 13 months, from the end of Tet to the beginning of the Vietnamization of the Navy units. Now when I went there right after Tet, I was restricted in my movements. I couldn't go much of anyplace because the Vietcong controlled most of the area. When I left, I could go anywhere I wanted, just about. Commerce was booming, the buses were running, trucks were going, the waterways were filled with sampans with goods going to market, but yet in Kerry's biography he says that our operations were a complete failure. He also mentions a formal conference with me, to try to get more air cover and so on. That conference never happened..." -- Captain Adrian Lonsdale, USCG (retired). ******************************************************* "I was in An Thoi from June of '68 to June of '69, covering the whole period that John Kerry was there. I operated in every river, in every canal, and every off-shore patrol area in the 4th Corps area, from Cambodia all the way around to the Bo De River. I never saw, even heard of all of these so-called atrocities and things that we were supposed to have done. This is not true. We're not standing for it. We want to set the record straight." -- William Shumadine. ******************************************************* "In 1971, when John Kerry spoke out to America, labeling all Vietnam veterans as thugs and murderers, I was shocked and almost brought to my knees, because even though I had served at the same time and same unit, I had never witnessed or participated in any of the events that the Senator had accused us of. I strongly believe that the statements made by the Senator were not only false and inaccurate, but extremely harmful to the United States' efforts in Southeast Asia and the rest of the world. Tragically, some veterans, scorned by the antiwar movement and their allies, retreated to a life of despair and suicide. Two of my crewmates were among them. For that there is no forgiveness. " -- Richard O'Meara . ******************************************************* "My name is Steve Gardner. I served in 1966 and 1967 on my first tour of duty in Vietnam on Swift boats, and I did my second tour in '68 and '69, involved with John Kerry in the last 2 1/2 months of my tour. The John Kerry that I know is not the John Kerry that everybody else is portraying. I served alongside him and behind him, five feet away from him in a gun tub, and watched as he made indecisive moves with our boat, put our boats in jeopardy, put our crews in jeopardy... if a man like that can't handle that 6-man crew boat, how can you expect him to be our Commander-in-Chief?" -- Steven Gardner . ******************************************************* "I served in Vietnam as a boat officer from June of 1968 to July of 1969. My service was three months in Coastal Division 13 out of Cat Lo, and nine months with Coastal Division 11 based in An Thoi. John Kerry was in An Thoi the same time I was. I'm here today to express the anger I have harbored for over 33 years, about being accused with my fellow shipmates of war atrocities. All I can say is when I leave here today, I'm going down to the Wall to tell my two crew members it's not true, and that they and the other 49 Swiftees who are on the Wall were then and are still now the best." -- Robert Brant . ******************************************************* "I never saw, heard of, or participated in any Swift boat crews killing cattle, poisoning crops, or raping and killing civilians as charged by John Kerry, both in his book and in public statements. Since we both operated at the same time, in the same general area, and on the same missions under the same commanders, it is hard to believe his claims of atrocities and poor planning of Sea Lord missions. I signed this letter because I feel that he used Swift boat sailors to proclaim his antiwar statements after the war, and now he uses the same Swift boat sailors to support his claims of being a war hero. He cannot have it both ways, and we are here to ask for full disclosure of the proof of his claims." -- James Steffes

Yes, lawyer talk ..."I did not have *** with that woman..." Oh, I didn't mean Monica, I meant the other woman!

Are those undesolved EFV-38 crystals in the first photo? Bleach will kill the mold - if using household at 6% sodium hypochlorite, mix 1:1 with water. If using liquid pool shock at 12-15%, then dilute 1:3 with water. Looks like there is stain on the step that needs to be stripped - use your HD-80 and if the mold is still on there, apply the bleach/water mix.

Oxidization of vinyl and paint is a similar change that takes place to iron as it rusts (oxidization). Oxidization is wearing or breakdown of the materials and will happen to vinyl, aluminum and paints that are exposed to the elements (sun, rain, cold, heat). Some colors take longer to break down, while others break down quickly. How many of you remember the red car paints of the 60's and 70's? You were lucky if the paint was not oxidized in 4-5 years. In most cases it could be buffed out if you didn't let it go too long. There were other colors that oxidized fast also. Then came colors and urathanes with UV protective additives and it seemed to improve things. You are dealing with similar breakdown of the vinyl materials. We washed a house with vinyl siding a few weeks ago which had extreme oxidization. The worst of it was on the shutters and 2 sides exposed to sun all day. The siding ended up decent using a strong mix of butyl degreaser and pool shock and some hand brushing, but the shutters were ready for the trash. Upon talking to the owner, she told me the siding and shutters were only 7 years old. Well, it went 7 years without washing and applying a protective wax. I believe you need to treat vinyl siding like a cars paint job - wash it and wax it every year. (OK, the car should be washed more than once a year.) Oxidization levels vary so greatly that it's impossible to predict how easily it will come off or if it will come off totally. By the way, a 2200 sq ft house can be hand brushed in about 3-4 hours by 1 person (gutters extra).

You should know the draw rate of your piece of equipment (you should confirm by testing). You can test by filling a 5 gallon container and drawing water from it while timing how long it takes, then use the average to get your gallons per minute draw rate. Ratios and percentages are fairly easy to calculate. Your first number should always be your chemical, with the second number being water. For example: 1:5 ratio is a 16.7% dilution/concentration. Think of it this way: 1 part chemical plus 5 parts water is a total of 6 parts; 1 part divided by 6 parts = 16.66% or of your mix is chemical 1:2 ratio is 33% 1:3 ratio is 25% 1:4 ratio is 20% 1:9 ratio is 10% etc., etc.

I'm with you Tony, CCPC and Mike! Don't you just hate it when your customer thinks charging $60 per hour is too much to refinish their deck or wash their house? Or when they think it's less expensive for them to go out and buy a P/W.I agree, you should know enough to make emergency repairs, but I also believe in spreading the money around so that the mechanic will be there when I need him (I can't afford him going out of business).