June 19th, 2007

Uncategorized — 4 Comments
19
Jun 07

Idiocy of the Day

Thanks to Chris for highlighting this news gem of the day: Flushed Bra Causes Sewer Collapse. Since I’ve never experienced British plumbing first hand, I’ll take Chris’s friend’s word that it is very delicate. That’s no excuse. The person who flushed their bra and panties down the toilet is an idiot deserving public humiliation. However, living with the secret shame of knowing they caused sewage problems for the rest of County Dunham will have to be punishment enough.

A few years ago, my mother had a Christmas party where one of the guests flushed a tampon down the bathroom toilet and clogged it up for the rest of the night, creating discomfort for everyone else (there was no way she was going to let anyone use the master bedroom’s bathroom). The cause wasn’t known until a day or so later when a contractor friend of hers came over, pulled out the toilet, and found the nasty item. After that, my mother asked the guests who did it, but no one would admit a thing.

In any case, I can’t get over what people think they can send down the sewage main via the commode. I’m surprised the bra and panties got as far as they did, so English toilets must be very high-flush. Could any Britons please enlighten this Yank on the subject?

blogging / communication styles / television — 3 Comments
19
Jun 07

How Not To Conduct Business

I caught an episode of Property Ladder (The Not So Talented Mr. Remodel) where this guy attempts to flip a house on a budget of $20k, only to have it escalate higher and higher and delaying the finish date for open house.

His problem? A great deal of it may be setting unrealistic goals, as the house painter turned house flipper initially had contractors working on the house, but decided to take on the renovations himself. Well, the contractor’s renovations kept revealing more costs, though him taking on the house on his own really didn’t cut any costs.

His bigger problem was that that he kept people around him in the dark, especially his investor. He would keep all the problems (especially the rising costs) from his “silent partner” until it was too late (and got less than he needed when he finally approached him), used credit card advances to keep him and his family afloat without telling them, and he couldn’t even give Kirsten Kemp, the show’s host, any straight answers when she asked him pointed questions about his progress and why he was taking on the project himself. He had the same problem while discussing what he needed from his investor. He may have tried to avoid incriminating himself, but he only made himself look like a moron and a pushover in the process.

It was absolutely painful to watch him try to take on the whole house himself, especially when the sod arrived for the front and back yards. Some of the sod was already brown and dead. Instead of calling the company and insisting on fresher product, he used it and hoped for the best.

Most of the time, these home flip shows demonstrate the ups and downs of trying to rehabilitate a depressed house, but this one was a total downer. This guy sinking lower and lower because of his communication problems and his unrealistic goals and budgeting served as a cautionary tale of how not to go about doing business and life. Hopefully, this guy learned how to communicate after the show (along with staying on task and admitting he needs to get professional help when he needs it).

I can’t imagine anyone wanting to hire him after the episode aired. I’m surprised some of these people go on reality tv, but they exist to provide train wrecks for the rest of us.