Rothacker Reviews

The Dryer Sheet

Remember those terror filled dreams you used to have in junior high school?  Sure you do.  There's no way you could forget walking through the school hallways - wearing just your underwear, could you?  I bet a chill is running up and down your spine right now as we speak, isn't it?  And what about that overwhelming sense of relief, when after catching your breath and wiping the sweat from your brow, you realized it was just a dream. 

So I'm at work yesterday worrying about how many more days I can go before I have to shine my shoes.  Knowing I should have shined them three days ago, I look down.  What do you suppose I see sticking halfway out the bottom of my pants, laying on top of my black shoe and illuminating the entire office like a city search light?  The dreaded dryer sheet.  How many of my trusted pals and work cohorts saw the Dave-is-a-geek billboard?  All of em'.  How many told me about it?  None of em'.  I might as well have been walking down the school hallway with a "I am a nerd" sign taped to my back. 

Aren't some of the things we worry about kind of silly?  Actually, I didn't take the dryer sheet incident seriously.  At last count it's about the tenth time I've done it.  Now if I were to be caught walking down the school hallway in my undies, I'd take that very seriously.  Even writing about it out loud gives me the creeps!  All in all I'd say we need to wear more dryer sheets to work and lighten up a bit on ourselves.

Relax now, you're dreaming.  Those aren't real snakes in your bed.

Air Conditioner Scandal in Tampa?

Could you imagine the cost of running a full page ad in the Tampa Tribune since October?  The ad talks about  a federal law which prohibits air conditioning manufacturers from making units of a certain energy rating on or after January 23, 2006.  Today.  The air conditioning contractor listed in the ad is offering to send someone out to perform an air conditioner life expectancy check-up -  for free. 

For the record, I am not saying that just because a company spends a small fortune in advertising and then offers to send someone out to your house for free to check out how long they think your a/c will last...I am not saying or implying that they are doing anything scandalous. 

If you live in the Tampa Bay area and have seen these ads or have seen the article in the Tribune that discusses these ads, and would like to know what the deal is - from a person who has been in the profession for twenty-two years, post a comment here or drop me an e-mail.  I'll also tell you a few things that the ad and article do not tell you.

An Evening With Stephen King

Rosemary and I arrived at the McArthur Gymnasium on the campus of Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, forty-five minutes before the doors opened.  A couple hundred people were already in line waiting to hear Stephen King speak.  King was there to kick off the second annual Writers in Paradise writer's conference.  Standing in line I felt as if the crowd was already sitting on the edge of their seats in hopes of a good old fashion bloodletting.  An ambulance or fire truck drove by, sirens fully engaged.  The crowd with wide open eyes turned toward the street.  I sensed a disappointment that no gore was to be seen with their brief glance.  Just before the doors were to open, four women walked to the front of the line.  Eight-hundred eyeballs began to smell blood.  I grabbed my cell phone, ready to dial 911.  I thought the rent-a-cops would be stampeded by the frenzied and raging crowd.  I'm not sure a battalion of marines could have prevented these women from being disemboweled upon the spot.  The doors opened however, and sure enough they snuck in.

The gym was small and intimate.  Lloyd W. Chapin, Eckerd's dean of faculty introduced Dennis Lehane, Eckerd's writer-in-residence who in turned introduced Stephen King.  My first impression of King was one of frailty.  I suspect he still suffers from the accident incurred seven years ago.  King began his talk by telling everyone the percent of chance that someone would break into their car that evening - and be lurking in the backseat.  And if they weren't getting their car broken in, he relayed the statistical odds that their houses would be broken into - and someone would be lurking.  While it was funny, one couldn't completely discount the chance it could actually happen.  And that tiny little what if? is what I think makes King one of the greatest authors who has ever lived.

Next, King recited Willow, a brand new 7,500 word short story.  I have no idea what it is about.  I heard his words, but could not comprehend them.  As everyone else in the gym seemed to understand, I will chalk it up to a newly discovered short coming.  It's probably one of the reasons I do not listen to audio books.  Oh well.

King finished the evening by answering questions the audience had written down.  Dennis Lehane moderated.  Here were some of the questions:

Were you a weird little kid?

"No, I led a normal childhood."

Did music influence your work?

King said yes.  He listens to heavy metal while writing and believes music makes the world right.

Did poetry influence your work?

Indirectly.  "I read poetry every night before I go to bed."

Who was your most evil character?

King replied in a nanosecond, "Randall Flagg."

What was your most scariest book?

In another nanosecond, "Pet Cemetery."

Two other questions: Do you like the music group Abba and Who will play centerfield for the Red Sox next year?  Rosemary and I wanted to vomit.  Here on stage was one of the best authors who has ever lived and he was being subjected to questions like these last two.

King volunteered himself the question he is asked most frequently, "where do you get your ideas from?"  The jist of his answer centers on asking the question "what if?"  He recanted where he got the idea behind his soon to be published book, Cell.  While walking down a street in New York City, he spotted a person making wild gestations as he approached.  King then noticed the guy was talking on a cell phone.  He asked, "what if the voice on the other end of the phone was giving him directions to kill?  And from that point his story develops.  Neat tidbit to think about while you read this book, eh?

I have a few more observations regarding the crowd that I'll save for a separate post.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sheer Effort

Anne Lamott, in her book Bird by Bird, talks about beginning to write but not knowing exactly where the piece will go.  Anne tells us about a Special Olympics event that she attended.  She goes on to mention how the action in two separate games led her to an idea for an article.  Her essay would never have materialized if she had not attended both contests and allowed the activities in those events to permeate her awareness.  The process of way leading onto way however, is not what I wanted to discuss today.  Today I am more interested in the sheer effort put forth by one of the contest participants.

Special Olympics are for mentally and physically challenged folks.  Anne witnesses and describes a twenty-five yard race.  Some participants veer off course into the stands, others move ahead at a snail's pace.  As confusion rains down upon the field, the race takes on the look of a pack of turtles racing a pack of house cats.  Everyone finally crosses the finish line with the exception of one sixteen year old girl.  She had completed five of the twenty-five yards.  Anne verbally illustrates the picture of a young girl with a normal looking face above a wracked and emaciated body...supported by metal crutches.  The girl is moving forward by the inch.  She eventually crosses the finish line and her face lights up, absolutely stoked as Anne says, with her achievement.

Stop for a moment, disengage your mind and body from the Bullet Train Express to Nowhere.  Picture this young lady, her muscles and bones contorted in unnatural ways, pain exploding throughout her body, moving forward by the inch.  She doesn't quit.  She doesn't give up.  If this vision of sheer effort doesn't overwhelm the guards and take over your mind's cellblock , you have yet to deboard the train.

I am not sure that there is a rational human being alive whose emotions wouldn't swell as they watched this young girl struggle to complete the race.  While beauty is found in paintings, in nature, in writing, in sculptor and in just about anything within our universe, what could be more moving and beautiful than watching another human being put forth the all out soul-draining sheer effort to accomplish something?

 

 

 

Tampa Bay Traffic: Faceless Spirits

The people who drive their missiles of death in and out of traffic, cutting others off, speeding and failing to use turn signals, have no face.  They sit as a black cloud of vapor in their vehicles of destruction.  Their spirits are cold and unattached. 

Do you know why they have no face?  Because it is impossible to see your grandma, brother, sister or husband deploying an automatic firearm into living and breathing people .  But they do.  Every time they get behind the wheel and drive without regard for others.  Eventually their bullets will tear into someone's flesh and end a life - or more.

The faceless spirits who unleash terror on the roads around Tampa Bay are people you know.  In a near miraculous transformation we recognize their face, the one that appears on the Internet, the TV or in the newspaper following one of their senseless crimes.  "That's Uncle Bob.  He appears a little sheepish, but that's Uncle Bob.   How in the world could he have  murdered that woman and her children?"

Do the faceless spirits leave home each day with the intent to murder someone?  Probably not.  Please don't let the difference between intent and the act of killing someone cloud your observation however.  People are dying  on streets around Tampa Bay everyday and our friends and relatives are killing them.

Stop for a moment and think about your closest friend or relative who drives a vehicle.  Would you rather see their smiling face at your backyard cookout?  Or would you rather see their wide-eyed and scared face on the six o'clock news?  I am relatively certain you wouldn't want to see the faces of the young couple they just killed. 

The punishment and consequences handed down for vehicular crimes are not deterring the ordinary citizen-turned-criminal.  It's up to you and I to inititate effort.  It is time we put an end to letting our loved ones drive the Tampa Bay roadways devoid of human spirit and face.  Express concern for their driving habits.  Ask if they use turn signals, if they speed or if they dart in and out of traffic.  And, before you let them leave for the day...

"Honey, pick up some milk after work and please don't kill anyone with your car today."

For some interesting commentary on the driving habits of Tampa Bay and Hillsborough County motorists, please visit Tommy Duncan's post  at Sticks of Fire.  Be sure to click on the links within his articles for continued coverage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vantagepoints on Learning and Life Offer

Kevin Eikenberry has sculpted a work of art.  In the process he provides an invaluable lesson of learning.  Kevin is offering a one day (TODAY) offer  on the purchase of his book, Vantagepoints on Learning and Life.  Wait a minute, Kevin provides a lesson in learning, his book is on learning...are you starting to get the feeling you should sit up straight and lean forward?  Well, I think you should.

To begin with, Kevin's offer is off the charts.  He is giving away so much stuff for free, it will slow your world down.  You know why?  Cause he causes you to pay attention to his gig, and in doing so, causes you to not think bout everything else.

Wayne Gretsky or Michael Jordan.  Who is better?  This is the decision I am trying to make between Kevin's marketing campaign and his FREE offer.  It is most easy to get caught up on all of the stuff that he is giving away for free.  But in reality, I am in awe of his marketing effort.  I am also taking notes...

Design: HVAC in 2006 Part II

Mr. Jones hits fifty this year.  There are two things he wants to accomplish in 2006.  One is to take the family to Disney World.  The second is to purchase a Harley-Davidson motorcycle .  His heating system breaks down in February.  The event catches him by complete surprise.  His a/c guy never mentions what bad shape the overall system is in.  In fact, he needs to replace the cooling unit as well.  Now Mr. Jones is pissed.  He can't trust his a/c guy and he will have to call additional companies out to give him estimates.  Mr. Jones tells the contractors he has a very limted amount of cash, but they keep telling him he needs a system which will provide him comfort and save money in utilities.  Soon panic sets in and Mr. Jones blocks everything out but the lowest price, afterall, he just needs heating and cooling.  As the contractors do not seem to be listening, the negotiations begin to deteriorate, breaking down to conflict and agitation.  Ironically, Mr. Jones visited three Harley shops and never once noted the utter disgust from sales folks as he did the a/c salesmen.  And, for him personally, it was a delight to talk about various bike options and ideas. 

Mr. Jones needs a system that will heat and cool his house.  There is no correlation between comfort, Disney World and the Softail and there never will be for him.  Mr. Jones, with grandchildren and one kid still in college, while his wife still works, is not unlike millions of other baby boomers - lifestyle is of utter importance. 

There is no delight for the person who must pick out a casket for a relative and there is no delight for a person who must purchase an air conditioning system.  The sooner a/c contractors realize this, the sooner they can concentrate on financing lifestyles.

In the future, customers will simply purchase conditioned air.  Choices will include:

• High Efficient Air - The contractor will provide a system that is designed to minimize utility expenditure.  Initally, the cost per month will be more, but will be offset by lower gas and electric bills.  After install costs have been reduced, so too will the price of conditioned air.  All maintenance and repairs will be covered for the contract's duration.  Microprocessor based equipment will monitor utility useage and limit consumption.  The homeowner will have over ride capabilities.  The overall strategy of this system is to take monies that would be spent on utilities and apply them toward financing lifestyles.

• Comfort Air - For some customers, clean and comfortable air might be important.  Elderly customers or those with allergies might be examples.  The contractor will design the system and cost will be in accordance. 

Options like these lend more separation to customer's wants and needs.  The customer who doesn't want comfort, doesn't have to pay for it. 

The aging of the contractor's workforce will necessitate change.  The days of the mainstream craftsman will soon be gone.  For the most part they are gone today, but work methods have not changed.  We see less experienced workers trying to perform the work of a craftsmen and what you have is a product that will not work.  (The average homeowner thinks it does, but it doesn't) 

The future will yield installation practices so simplified, a Micky Dees worker with one week of training under supervised guidance could install a more functional and correctly working system than what is being delivered today.  This is our industry's soft spot.  This is where that hybrid company I spoke of in Part I will attack.  They will slice and dice unnecessary waste and complication from the soft flesh of our underbelly.

A simplified installation practice is one of the contractor's key components in the delivered air package. 

 

Design: HVAC in 2006

Matt Michel, CEO of the Service Roundtable , asks his clients to look ahead to 2006, and make predictions as to where they see the air conditioning industry and their business heading.  The question is asked on a private discussion list.  I believe Matt is regularly in contact with somewhere around fifteen-thousand people and my guess is the discussion list hits about a quarter of these folks.  As of yesterday, I think two people had responded.  The holidays might have contributed to the low response.  I search for excuses because nowhere in the air conditioning industry will you find a group of people with more heart, more knowledge and more desire to improve their positions, both personally and biz wise.

I would like to present my viewpoint here at Rothacker Reviews so as not to tie up the discussion list and maybe, just maybe, expose some of these good people to the leadership and management coaches who often stop by here.  For my HVAC (heating, ventilating and air conditioning) friends: check out the Most Excellent Folks column on your left.

HVAC in 2006:  Change will occur in increments invisible to the human eye.  The force necessary to overcome the A/C world's inertia is beyond comprehension.

Pressed to predict the future, I will say this.  Major change will come to the residential side of the HVAC industry one day.  And when it comes, there will be no inert mass of people to overcome.  It will completely bypass the ninety-four percent crowd.  This is the amount of contractors in the industry today who fight change as if Hitler himself were leading the charge.  A popular view is one where the equipment manufacturers or Sears or Home Depot might swoop in and redo the landscape.  I don't think so.  I believe it will come from a hybrid company whose parts have perfected lean manufacturing, advanced/inexpensive technology and possess the ability to educate and mobilize a whole new workforce.  The catalyst for change will become more profound as the workforce ages.  Less people to do the work will force the issue.  Look for an Asian company, a major world finance company and a Microsoft and a Wal-Mart type of company to combine and pull this off. 

I believe an organizing impetus for change will be a redefinition of what type of business HVAC contractors are in.  A popular view is the contractor is in the comfort business.  Actually this viewpoint demonstrates advancement.  As the railroad industry did not evolve into the transportation industry, the HVAC industry did evolve into the comfort industry - kind of (the six percenters).

People however do not care about comfort.

"You are wrong David, dead wrong."

Perhaps to a degree, you are right.  But let's try something out.  Greater comfort equals a consistent temperature, humidity and clean indoor air environment in your house.  You mention to your contractor, while she is out performing preventive maintenance on your system, that one bedroom will not cool and you are interested in improving the indoor air quality.  She offers you sound solutions that will fix the problems and cost you about three-thousand dollars.  All of a sudden you begin to back peddle - and redefine your definition of comfort.  Yes, you would like to install  air purification equipment equipment and remedy uneven temperatures, but you would love to take the family to Disney World!

The HVAC business is not in the business of providing stuff people love.  But it could be in the business of financing lifestyles of love.  I will present an example and carry on this discussion with an emphasis on Design and the HVAC biz.