When Will Obama Stop Blaming Bush?

It's now a year since Obama has been in office. He gave himself a fairly good grade. What was it, a B+, right? Wow, maybe he should reconsider, yes? OK, I'll admit I didn't vote for him, but when he was elected I took the high road and decided to give him 12 months and then evaluate him. That's fair, yes?

But since that year has passed, I'll do my evaluation. I'll give him a D-. Let me tell you why. First, he won't take responsibility for anything. Nothing presidential or even manly about that. Everything is still Bush's fault. OK, for the first couple of months he can say that, but still? It's time to man up.

Under his watch we've had 2 terrorist attacks on our soil. But again, not his fault. His administration won't even call them terrorists, they're just folks with "extremist viewpoints." And heaven forbid we use the "M" word. But authorities had full knowledge of both the Fort Hood extremist and the Christmas day panty-bomber.

The former was very vocal about condemnations of Jews and Christians alike. Yet he was allowed to keep his position. The panty-bomber was on a watch list after his own father alerted the CIA, yet he was allowed to fly to the US.



He bows to foreign leaders. What's up with that? Again, not presidential. Sort of pathetic actually. Behavior that could only be topped by doing something like giving the Queen of England an iPod with his speeches on it. Oh wait, he did that.

Obama's administration has shown a decided lack of leadership in general and with regards to Iran and North Korea in particular. I'm still wondering what became of all the war protesters. You would think they would be fuming. After all, one of the ways he earned their votes was the promise to bring the troops home. Yet the war has expanded.

The economy is in worse shape than ever. Bush's fault. Yet rather than take action to generate jobs, the administration's full focus has been on health care reform. The country needs economic leadership, not a legacy pursuit.

As we usher in 2010, we can only hope for brighter horizons. Just don't take any wooden nickels, folks.

Finding a Remodeling Contractor

A lot of homeowners are gearing up to have a home improvement project done in the near future. There are reasons for this:

• Everyone's getting ready to file tax returns and bring home those big bucks.
• The housing bubble bust is keeping homeowners where they are; they're not moving.
• Yes, "young adults" are re-nesting and moving back in with mom and dad since they can't afford to live away, have to repay college loans, or have been laid off because of the sluggish economy.
  

Folks that are looking to hire a contractor have to be careful. There are a lot of fly-by-night operators in this field. After Hurricanes Ike and Katrina, many people learned what the term "storm chasers" means.

These folks are not local contractors but they travel from state to state following the homeowners insurance checks. In many cases they're reputable, but in others, not.

The trick is to vet any service professional before you hire them. Beware of companies that change DBA names every few years to lower insurance costs. This happens more often than most people realize.

Remember, it it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Let the buyer beware.

Metal Stud Framing Simplifies Construction

I spent many years as a commercial carpenter, and would probably still be doing so if the government would enforce the immigration rules that are on the books. But no; anyone who can sneak across the border can secure a construction job in Texas, Louisiana, or California, or anywhere else without providing proof of citizenship. Often these are federally-funded jobs.

But when I was a commercial carpenter, a lot of what I did was metal framing and hanging and finishing drywall. I loved that build-out work. Especially framing with metal studs. Many tasks are simplified, like creating arched doorways and case openings.

Metal framing is also better on the environment than stick framing, if you're into that whole save-the-planet thing.

Oh, I agree with taking care of the planet, but I've been around long enough to know that this is a trendy movement, much as the "Late, Great Planet Earth" book was, or the population explosion that never happened. Give me a super-sized break!

But, back to metal framing. Wood is frequently warped, and when you order a load of studs for a bigger project, you have to take what you get. Not like smaller things where you can go to Home Depot and hand-select each stud.

That's why drywall is hung differently on residential project than on commercial ones. Residential? The sheets lay down. Commercial? The sheets stand up. It all depends on making that joint on the long side where it splits the stud.

Steel stud framing goes together easier as well. Forget toe-nailing; just zip in a framing screw. On heavy-gauge studs and track use self-tapping screws; on interior partition studs, use the little pointy ones that make you say, "Ouch!"

Metal studs also have "keyways" that make it easy to run Romex, PEX, or conduit. No more drilling through wooden studs at an awkward angle. So yes, I would go for metal stud framing over stick framing almost every time.

Goodbye Christmas, Hello New Year!

Hard to believe another year is shot all to hell. Again. It was fast but good. Luckily, the whole real estate implosion didn't impact us here in South Texas as bad as it did for some areas of the country. There's something to be said about living in the Houston area.

Texas is Still Energy Friendly

For one thing, it's the energy capital of the country. As bad as King Obama wants us to power our homes on solar power panels and bat guano, it ain't gonna happen overnight. So there's that. Energy related businesses are uprooting and moving here because Texas is business friendly and has no state income tax.

Then there's the Houston Medical Center. If you ever get sick, this is the place to be; it's like a city unto itself. When I worked at the Marriott Medical Center, I saw a steady stream of patients from countries with "socialized medicine" come here to have their ills treated. Well, the ones with money anyway, not the average Joe or Jane.

The Med Center not only brings a lot of money and jobs to Houston, but also to every other area of the country that's involved with "Big Pharma". That's a huge supply chain, but don't count on it to continue when we switch over to the dark side with nationalized health care. How's that hope and change workin' out for ya, America?

More Jobs in My Back Yard

Houston is also one of the largest ports in the country. The Houston ship channel leads up to it from the gulf. Chemical plants and refineries garnish the port and surrounding area like pearls on a necklace. California still cries, "Not in my back yard!" That's OK, you can buy it from us. At least we've got jobs.

So, yeah, 2009 has been a good year. What will 2010 bring? I'll start it off with the Houston Marathon in January. I hope to spend even more time volunteering for my daughter's middle school orchestra. (She plays a mean violin!)

Troubleshoot and Repair Electric Range, Oven

I received a frantic email from a reader on Thanksgiving Day. It was from a lady whose oven had stopped working. It turns out that it was just the bottom oven heating element that had gone south.

That one is an easy fix since most heating elements are plug and play. That's the good news. The bad news is that I doubt she could find one on Thanksgiving Day in time to cook Big Bird. Also, they can be hard to find sometimes since there are so many models. The search box below is the one I use to find hard to find replacement appliance parts.

Appliance Model Number

As long as you have a few basic tools, it's actually easy to troubleshoot an electric range. Of course, there's the electricity to beware of (that's my disclaimer) but other than that, it's fairly straightforward.

I've got a Maytag oven myself. I bought it when Maytag was it's own company and they still made quality appliances. They make shabby goods now and forget about getting service in a timely manner. Oh Maytag repair man, where have you gone?



Other appliances are a bit more complex. Refrigerator troubleshooting, for example, involves compressors and refrigerant. Some of this work requires a license. But there are still many things a homeowner can repair.

The bottom line is that it sometimes pays off and saves money to try to repair appliances yourself.

Don't be Like Tiger Woods

The news has been crazy about Tiger Woods' infidelity "issues". So what is it, just too tempting since he has all the bucks and these bimbos have a way at putting themselves in his path? I mean, it's not that his wife is hard to look at.

Could it be the Bill Clinton Syndrome?

This is my theory. Sure, the money and social life have a lot to do with it, but I think it's more about what I call the Bill Clinton Syndrome (BCS). It all circles around one key concept, like a pack of vultures descending on some random carrion.

What drives many politicians, sports stars, and yo-yo rappers isn't fundamentally the money, it's a power/conquest thing. It carries on it's shoulders an additional burden that grows with the power - the belief in invulnerability.

To Be Rich and Bulletproof

Why else would President Bill Clinton use an intern for a human humidor in the White House and then smirk as he perjured himself? (Now, how was it you define the word "is" in Arkansas again, Bill?) Why else would that bastion or morality, Senator Barney Frank, let his boyfriend use their love-nest apartment as an office for a gay escort service? Did they really think they would get away with it? Yes, yes, and yes.

So I don't think Tiger Woods is any different. It was all about the conquest, even if they were all bimbo gold-diggers. Conquest on the links and between the sheets. How could he think he wouldn't get busted? Hello?



Avoid the BCS and be Happy

Sounds simple, eh? It really is for most of us. Go ahead and chase the bucks. I'm all over that. Just use commonsense and avoid the bimbos, or the boy-toys if you're a woman. And never ever be an Elmer Fudd sounding Senator who hooks up with a boyfriend who runs a gay bordello. Never.

Interested in home improvement and woodworking?