Sorry so late but I just drove in from Buffalo. Congrats Jim. You do a great job for all of us to enjoy such a wonderful site. I for one am proud to be a part of it.
I'm totally addicted to it. Can't walk by the computer without checking in for more posts. Sometimes that is only a few minutes apart.
Daris
Like a durn cigarette addiction fer me.....I sit there and tell myself "just stay away fer awhile ".......and after 20 sec. of cold sweats and uncontrollable shakin.................I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE !!!!!...........
Jim, thanks for all your hard work putting this thing together. Besides being a great site, it's a great place to make good friends. And they're the best kind of friends 'cause they don't borrow my tools and forget to return them.
And thanks to Bud Cline for directing me over here just over a year ago.
I also want to say ( GREAT JOB AND KEEP IT UP ) you can also see it is late when I get on ,need to let the family go to bed because if I get on before this I get told about it.
How time flies. It seems like just yesterday when I got that late night email from Jerry askin "where the hell are we?" Jerry, me and "T" were the only ones here. I recall the echo in the building quite well. That didn't last very long tho.
Thanks Jim.
I think that was my first PM . Congratulations Jim.
congrats, this is the best site ever:bo w: i enjoy all the people here along with excellent info and links sure glad you invited me here keep it up and remember.... fuzzy side up
i first come to kmow grump about 10 years ago on the FCI board..the thing that got me was he has a rough past and he is not afraid to admit it.. i real stand up guy if ya ask me...he has my respect,...but he used to post pics of his helpers on the fci board.. some really hot helpers, i think he is over due... so grump how about a helper pic for old times sake???
Congratulations, Jim, great job done with this forum. Once the bars kicked us smokers out several years ago, it left a void where we used to get together with installers and talk shop. Like Daris, we are checking our emails at least twice a day, and there have been times where we have spent hours perusing posts on this site. It really is a privledge to be included in this great group of members you have attracted.
...but he used to post pics of his helpers on the fci board.. some really hot helpers, i think he is over due... so grump how about a helper pic for old times sake???
Most of them pictures have been of models I used to illustrate products and projects I was writing about - much of them for computer gear, but also for tools and other stuff. When it was time for me to work, I was usually all business and, unfortunately, didn't take very many pictures of my helpers - not the female ones anyway. I didn't want to take advantage of the situation.
However, I went through my collection of pictures and found some that are of helpers, are females, but most are not "on the job" pictures. I've been real lucky in that I am still friendly with most of my former helpers. I fired a lot of people over the years. I'm picky and if you can't do the work, you're gone. But apparently I wasn't as big an ass as I thought I was because I've managed to continue friendships with all of these former helpers. Click on the pictures to see them full-size.
This is Sheila, who tied my last helper (a guy) for the longest-lasting helper I had in 35 years.
This is Connie, who worked as my bookkeeper and sales staff for 2 years.
Most summers I hired high school students for part-time work. Corinne invited me to her college graduation ceremonies last year, the daughter of one of my closest friends from my own high school worked on and off for several years, ending as a "painter" when I was putting an addition on my old house. Then there's Amber, who kicked ass nailing hardwood and humping tools and materials right up to the day before school started again (she's the one in red, kickin' ass in soccer too).
Sarah wasn't actually MY helper, but she worked for my materials supplier and was my "go-to" person when I had to send my customers into their showroom for their selection. She knew what I wanted and was very good to my customers.
Some of my helpers started out modeling for an article or illustrations. The girl on the right, in front of my van, helped illustrate a table saw review I was doing and, along with her friend on the left, helped me do some laminate installations on a couple jobs. Lilly posed with some tools and stuff (here with the Bosch table saw) and helped work on my addition too.
And yes, I had "affairs" with helpers too. But, my affairs started as personal relationships before they became helpers. Christie was the daughter of my bookkeeper and we lived together before I ever let her work with me on a job. Ann Marie was a dancer I met when I wrote reviews for L&L Promotions. We became friends and dated occasionally for a couple of years. She would visit from Reno sometimes and help me on jobs if I had to work when she was visiting. The pic of her is the only one of these I didn't take.
That's my sorted (or should that be "sordid") past when it comes to female helpers. Well, part of it anyway. I have had other female helpers and quite a few male helpers I don't have pictures of (not digital pics anyway). I can attest to the fact that females can do floorcovering work just as well as any man.
I can attest to the fact that females can do floorcovering work just as well as any man.
Jim
JIM, YOU ROCK
You are the first person I've encountered in 20 years that had the guts to say that, out loud.
We have hired a number of female helpers over the years, and the girls were the best ones. More attention to detail. The last one, however, thought we should have a profit-sharing plan. Guess what happened to her?
Thanks, buddy. Wish I'd had a chance to work with ya.
.........I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE !!!!!...........
That didn't last very long tho.
:bo w:
