Construction Processes

Window cleaning:

Turns out that not all scouring pads are equal. I switched to 3M from unbranded, without stopping to test, and ripped up three panes of glass. Bad day. On the other hand, process optimised to:

- clear large debris with wet rag

- wipe down with (covalent solvent + newspapers)

- razors as necessary

- also scouring paste (Cif) has been pretty safe so far, but has become redundant...

I guess we should have done more research before embarking on window cleaning. Ah well, the undirect nature of this project. Here's some useful info.

Paint removal:

- pour thinner over surface, in a fashion that allows it to spread before evaporating

- scrub with steel brush

- dry with newspaper

- scrapers/razors as necessary

TIL: to prevent cracked cement surfaces, cement + water finish must be applied before underlying mortar is dry. (~1-3 hours)

Screw sizes:

http://freespace.virgin.net/matt.waite/resource/handy/screwsize.htm

Acrylic vs. Polycarbonate:

(aspect)	Acrylic	Polycarbonate
popular synonyms	perspex, plexiglas
price	~35% lower	~35% higher
shatter resistance	lower	higher
scratch resistance	higher	lower
heat resistance	lower	higher
ultraviolet light resistance	higher	lower
light transmission	~4.5% higher	~4.5% lower
(template row)

Gaps in wooden floor:

0. Approach floor.
1. Use blade to dig up troughs between beams (25 ft x 41 troughs).
2. Use vacuum cleaner to remove debris.
3. Mask edges of troughs.
4. Apply silicone in troughs.
5. Use finger to squish out excess silicone.
6. Remove masking.

At least the scope of work is somewhat predictable. For a while. :)

Customer Service

Customer service: it's not exceeding expectations, but delivering more value than folks believe they paid you. Economics, people, economics.

More like an elucidation, I suppose.

Pretention in the Specialty Coffee Industry: grow up, it's just business. And that's prolly why I'm a consultant, and not a hipster. :P

Fortunately for the hipsters - there are loads of cafe owners who believe in the emotionally eviscerating properties of cool coffee. :)

Nausea

After six years of servicing clients, girlfriends, and employers, who are both fussy and averse to detailed plans, my nausea is increasing.

This exercise: observe people, empathise with them, and derive a social context - if I do not practice this daily, I quickly pity them less.

This exercise: observe people, note their contradictions, become an optimisation - if I do not practice this daily, I quickly pity too much.

Sociopathy vs. Psychopathy: what happens when damn-fool pseudo-scientists introduced terms first, and definitions later.